@home: Knick-knacks Did the Trick
@home: Knick-knacks Did the Trick

One of the largest manufacturers of moulded furniture Nilkamal Ltd, features among the Rs 1000 crore listed companies. Nilkamal made foray into the home retailing segment with the @home chain of complete home solution stores across India. Manish Parekh, Director, @home (Nilkamal Ltd) in a tête-à-tête with Franchise India Media reveals his ‘crisp’ business plans.

Franchise India Media (FIM): What is your perspective about the retail industry post the recession?

Manish Parekh (MP): Initially, retailers carried out mindless expansions and defaulted. Without giving it a second thought, retailers leased stores at unviable prices in the rush to expand. It was the retail euphoria that everyone wanted to be part of. However, the economic slowdown that hit the industry in 2008-09, actually infused a lot of sense in retailers. Now, they are much more realistic and pragmatic when it comes to taking expansion decisions. Some of the retailers are currently are not making money.

FIM: For how long can the retailers survive without making profits?

MP: It’s very difficult for retailers to survive without making profits. It is a very ambiguous situation for them almost like the chicken and egg theory. What should they do first?  Should they put retail infrastructure in place first or wait for consumers to come and buy and make profit first. Overall consumerism in India is at a nascent stage, they are not in a mood to go out and splurge.

FIM: Tell us about your retail format @home?

MP: @home has 16 large format retail outlets and is spread across the country. An @home store has an average space of 25,000 sq.ft. We have positioned ourselves as home maker store. @home houses products from around the globe that cover the entire gamut of home essentials. The extensive range includes furniture, soft furnishings, lighting, kitchenware, home accessories and more. @home serves as the final destination for people, who have bought apartments/houses and are looking to furnish them.

FIM: How difficult is it to get consumers walking into your store?

MP: Drawing the crowd is very important, we are very strong in south and west but in north we still have to estabilish ourselves as a strong brand we need to market ourselves better.

FIM: Will you stick to the large format stores only or are planning to come up with small formats as well?

MP: Our format has to be big because we stock furniture at our stores. We are going a bit slow because market is still developing. We are planning to open three stores in the coming financial year and 30 more stores slated till 2013. We are closely analysing the market movements. We are ready to revise our plans according to the market demands.

Yes, we are planning to open small formats, in which we will only stock accessories; this will help us in improving our store visibility. It will give consumers an idea about our product offerings and they will visit our bigger formats.

FIM: Are you planning to franchise your new outlets?

MP: No, not as of now. Presently we are concentrating on learning this model. We have learnt a lot in past five years and will venture the format once we are fully prepared.

FIM: What has been your biggest learning?

MP: We learned a lot about the role of merchandising; the right mix of merchandise etc. Currently, we stock over 90 per cent of renowned international merchandise from trendiest designer brands. Every @home product exudes a touch of class and exclusivity and creates that perfect ambience that will attract customers. We have also learned about various formats of retail.

FIM: Now women’s and kids’ roles have become crucial when it comes to shopping for home, do you agree?

MP: Yes, and especially in our segment women and kids play an important role, now its no more a patriarchal decision things have become more democratic. Now whole family goes to check out a store.

FIM: Are you planning to advertise about such products?

MP: No, because currently we are busy marketing our brand, product portfolio advertising will take some time.

FIM: What kind of response does a shopping catalogue generate?

MP: In two to three weeks, it generates a very good response and has a long shelf life. If people plan to do their apartments then they go by these catalogues.

FIM: Do you think a more refined approach can drive your business growth?

MP: Refining will be a sort of evolution for us. At the moment we are busy creating a brand name for us. We will become more refined but at the later stage. We have come up with knick-knacks and they have done really well. We have made profits by selling things like court-hangers that are not available elsewhere even though it is a very useful item.

 

 

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