World of Fitness and Health

• What are the values and market opportunities that inspired you to create this agency?

The growth that we’ve had as an agency, year-on-year, has been really good, but it is the feeling as an entrepreneur of always wanting more that motivates me. I’m grateful for what we already have but having that constant challenge and reaching for those bigger goals drive me to move forward.

• Since inception in 2019, what major milestones have Kreative Digitals achieved?

 We have helped clients generate revenue of more than Rs 500 crores during FY 2022. Being a company that follows a proper and systematic approach when it comes to research and development, campaign formulation and meticulous analysis, we take pride in the results we have delivered to our clients who have shown their trust and faith in us.

• As an agency, what are the added benefits that you provide to your clients to stay ahead of the competition?

We have always believed in delivering quality services that offer effective marketing to stay ahead of competition. We have the right tools, technology, and processes in place to manage and track campaigns effectively, which will help our clients save time and resources. Our strategies help companies to take advantage of the latest technologies and trends, while our guidance on campaigns yields better results. 

The data-driven insights that we provide and with our expertise have always helped our clients make informed decisions. Having had expertise in performance marketing, we assist clients to reach their target audience more effectively, leading to increased engagement and conversions. 

• Please share one successful instance of managing an event, the responses of the same and the testimonial from the client.

We had the privilege of sponsoring the esteemed D2C India 2023 event in Bangalore, where we not only had the opportunity to showcase our startup through a dedicated stall but also actively participated as panelists. The event organizers did a remarkable job in curating a beautiful setup, fostering an atmosphere of innovation and connection. It was a truly enriching experience for us as we had the pleasure of engaging with numerous investors and brand founders, forging valuable connections and exchanging insightful ideas.

• What are the different services that you offer?

At Kreative Digitals, we offer a slew of services such as performance marketing, social media marketing, designing, influencer marketing, and animation.

• How has the association with Indian Retailers strengthened your reach and visibility?

We have businesses across varied industries achieve their business goals especially in terms of lead generation and brand awareness. It is through our fruitful and meaningful association that we have always had with our clients which has helped us become a known face in the digital marketing space. This has become possible only because of our sincere work ethics and exceptional expertise that we have about performance marketing.

• Tell us about your brand expansion goals 2 years down the line.

As a startup owner, our vision for the next five years is to establish ourselves as one of India's premier creative marketing agencies. We aspire to become synonymous with innovation, captivating content, and unparalleled creativity. When individuals contemplate ideas that push the boundaries of imagination, we aim for our name to effortlessly spring to the forefront of their minds. Our ambition is to not only meet but exceed the expectations of our clients by consistently delivering exceptional and engaging experiences that leave a lasting impact. With an unwavering commitment to excellence, we are driven to shape the landscape of creative marketing in India and beyond.

What builds a brand such that it lasts forever and keeps growing as the ages pass, is no small task. Kankatala is one such saree brand that has been able to reach such heights. The company takes pride in having a loyal customer base through generations who return to their stores for every occasion. 

Despite having such a long-standing player in the fashion retail sector, the 78-year-old brand has opened only a few outlets here in India. The company ascribes its conservative and traditional approach as the reason behind taking so long to expand to North India. 

“So as a family we are very conservative in our business and careful in how we grow – we want to grow very sustainably,” said Anirudh Kankatala, Director, Kankatala Sarees. “We are very well planned and well-calculated in our expansion. We had our second store expansion only in 2000 and since then we have opened in Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, and Kakinada. And, only 3 years back we opened in Hyderabad – that was our first expansion outside Andhra Pradesh,” he added. 

Established in 1943 by the late Kankatala Appalaraju, the business has now grown to 11 stores in Andhra Pradesh, several other cities, and has a strong online presence. In 1982, Kankatala Mallikharjuna Rao, Anirudh’s father, popularly known as Mallik, the second generation Kankatala, entered the business. There was a major turnaround, with the opening of the first plush Kankatala store, which was Vishakhapatnam’s first air-conditioned shop.

Retail Strategy

The company has a very single-dimensional approach in terms of retail strategy. Anirudh stated, “So, actually as a retail strategy, we don’t try to differentiate based on stores, we try to maintain our USP and don’t change the product as per the city.”

It is indeed true that when a brand comes to Delhi, it is assumed that people will expect to go there for Banarasis (popular North-Indian Saree made in Varanasi) more than Kanjirvaram (silk sari made in the Kanchipuram region in Tamil Nadu) because it is north of India. 

“However, we as a brand believe that many people know Kankatala for Kanjivaram - people have been shopping at Kankatala because they like Kanjivaram. We decided not to change the strategy of the brand is catering to our customers,” Anirudh further added.  

The company is planning to open more stores in the north, in (Mumbai) Maharashtra, one in Ahmedabad in Gujarat, and Kolkata. 

Building Online Presence

In this technology-driven age, much of the competition is on how strong the brand’s presence is online. Being deeply traditional in its approach, the brand had obviously faced tough challenges to transition to online. 

Anirudh stated, “We did have a lot of challenges to take a traditional business online. For us it is 1,000 products, it is only one quantity, and once it is sold it gone. Then we need to take the new pictures and upload them. So I have to train my team to understand e-commerce and go online.” “And, we are from Vishakhapatnam, so finding talent to go digital was also a challenge. The family support was there to help us expand online,” Anirudh further added. 

The brand took almost one year (in 2017) to start the online website and since then it is reported to be growing at 30 percent YoY. In fact, the company attributes its online explorations as the reason behind the company’s growth. 

“One of the main reasons for the growth is because we started online, social media and shipping. Then we have realized that there is so much potential for our brand in Hyderabad and Bangalore. Then we have realized the potential to take Handlooms to the capitals of the states and then after Hyderabad, we had a vision and my father’s dream to be in the capital of India and finally since the last three we have looking for a place,” Anirudh stated. 

The company is also said to be very particular about Vastu. Anirudh said, “For us to find a place in south ex which is almost a 50-year old market, it was very difficult. Finally, we have been able to find a place and our landlord has been very supportive to us and we finally opened in New Delhi.”

Fusion Is New Trend

The brand is devoted to bringing line-ups that are a fusion of South and North in their new lineups. “Kanjivaram is a South Indian saree and Bandhini is a North Indian technique from Gujarat and Rajasthan; so we took Kanjivaram sarees and got Bandhini done on it, “ said Anirudh. “Then, we got Petni from North and got Kalamkari (style of painting from South) hand painting done on it”
 
However, the brand is also aware even though the fusion style is new and trending, the classics like Kanjivaram, Banarasi will never go out of style.

Necessary Technological Adoptions

Given the new trends that the brand is adopting, it is important to cater to the right audience who desires those, and for the same, the brand needs to adopt the necessary technologies to handle that successfully.  

“We are using an ARP-system to help us understand which weaving cluster is more in demand, which colours are moving, accordingly we are using the technology. And, we are using the google analytics and heatmap analysis of the website to understand what people are interested in – what colours,” Anirudh further added. 

Even though the traction the brand gets through online is a small fraction in online – but more than the revenue the online branding has helped us grow. So, initially, when you went online, we thought online as a business is separate and offline separately, but we realized the strategy has to be together. The online branding has helped us as the brand grow and helped to expand to new physical stores and wouldn’t have been possible through an online presence. 

It is also true that Kankatala coming to the North is going to ruffle some feathers within the saree segment. Anirudh’s however stated, “As a brand, we believe that competition is the best thing that can happen to a business. Because Kankatala here, it is going to bring a lot of people to the South Ex market that is not just going to benefit me, it is going to benefit the whole of South Ex.”

The company is currently working towards expanding the online presence more and thinking of an international expansion, starting with starting trunk shows in America and then possibly a physical store in America. 

In North India, the Kankatala brand has opened its outlet in the South Ex region, which was inaugurated by Bollywood Actress Karisma Kapoor. 

London-based Seraphine, a maternity wear brand, was started in 2002 by Cécile Reinaud. The brand was launched in India by Rajat Kapoor and the franchise has been in this business for about three years.

It is the one-stop solution for pregnant women. The brand boasts of easy-to-wear asymmetrical dresses, ruffled dresses, maternity jeans, lingerie, gowns, dresses, tops and much more. It offers everything from everyday essentials to show-stopping evening wear. 

In an interaction with Indian Retailer, Kapoor shares the success story of the brand.

What is the secret behind being the No 1 maternity brand since the last 18 years?

Our design, comfort, and quality play a role in the clothing's excellence. When women get pregnant, they buy one size bigger and compromise on the design and fit. Pregnancy is the thing when women shouldn't think about any compromise. So, we decided to make women feel great and make their journey happy. We make sure about the pregnant ladies' comfort, which is very delicate during that time. Women go through a lot of changes at that time and they shouldn't compromise on fashion and comfort, and we are all about that. 

Are you witnessing any specific consumer trend in the Indian market?

Indian women, when they get pregnant, usually do not look into their style and fashion sense, however, the trend is changing. We provide a much more comfortable outfit for their beautiful moment of motherhood. The way it is designed, it is more suitable for pregnant women. In India, the mentality is changing, and women are also getting fashionable.  It differentiates the Indian market from the global market.

What is your branding strategy in India?

We are present in multiple channels offline as well as online. We are present only in one store located at Select CityWalk, Saket, New Delhi. The products are also available online through our website. Today, Seraphine has a global reach. It’s flagship stores are present in London, Paris, New York, LA, Dubai and Hong Kong. We have tied up with hospitals also, which has specialization in maternity. At present, we also have a presence across all social media platforms. 

How did the idea of franchising strike you?

Considering the demands of India's products, there are lots of companies providing clothing, and still, there is a category that is unexplored yet. There is potential for maternity wear in India, and we got the idea of selling maternity wear in India.  
 

Timex Group has announced its partnership with the retail entity Timehut as an authorised online retailer for its leading brands today. Through this partnership, Timehut will be authorised to sell all the brands under Timex Group across various e-commerce portals such as Flipkart, Amazon, Myntra, Ajio, Tata Cliq as well as brand’s owned channels. This will help Timex India to have control and grow marketplace across channels. 

In an interaction, Sharmila  Sahai, MD, Timex shares more about the deal, future strategies and a lot more.

Excerpts from the interview:

Can you give us a brief about Timex’s legacy and the company’s future roadmap in India?

Timex brings with itself a historic legacy of 165 years in watch-making that roots back to 1854 in Waterbury, Connecticut. For over a century, Timex as one of the oldest watch companies in the world has been delivering quality timepieces at extremely affordable prices.

Recently, Timex Group which is synonymous with quality and innovation announced its growth recapitalization globally, as it has entered into an agreement pursuant to which an affiliate of The Baupost Group, LLC, (Boston-based investment firm) will acquire majority ownership of the company. This investment is a testament to Timex’s transformation into a highly consumer-focused company synonymous with quality and innovation. It will provide Timex with a competitive advantage and enable it to pursue many opportunities, strengthen market position and drive efficiencies. 

Right from increasing the Indian market share for the brand Timex, to growing our fashion portfolio for our fashion-conscious customers, we have some of best global brands in our fashion portfolio like Versus Versace, Ted Baker, Nautica and we are also adding a new brand Furla for our customers.We also want to ensure that we bring new collections for our Tier 2 and 3 customers with quality offerings under the brand TMX.

We aim to achieve this by leveraging our distribution channel and growing the e- commerce channel in partnership with Timehut to offer our consumers trendy, innovative timepieces and the best of global selections in India at the comfort of their home.

What does the recent strategic partnership between Timex Group and Timehut means to you as a brand?

With the Indian retail industry already at the cusp of transformation during pre-covid times, the pandemic and its restrictions around has accelerated the emergence of E-retail and its growing influence on Indian shoppers. To capitalize on the growth in e –retail and to offer its consumers, a ‘worry free shopping experience’ TGIL has partnered with the retail entity Timehut.

 The vision is to enable a seamless integration of online and offline for all Timex Group Brands with the help of Timehut. This development will not only support revenue growth but also increase the profitability of Timex group while modernizing its retail experience, as through Timehut we will be able to control offers & discounts, elevate brand experience and present the entire range of watches under the bouquet of brands to our consumers. 

The partnership in the first phase will focus on maximizing profitability by cutting the middleman, enhancing the consumer experience by offeringthe best selection of 100% authentic watches. In the second phase, we will on-board other brands and set up offline stores under Timehut in addition tobuilding a strong digital footprint through investments on e-com enabled website, strong digital marketing initiatives and software to support backend operations. 

In our initial months, we have been able to servemore than 15,000 customers till date and have seen a consistent month-on-month growth in customer orders. In fact we were able to double our orders last month and look forward to steady growth in the upcoming year.

Share the importance of digitisation in today’s dynamic economy and how is Timex Group keeping up with ever-evolving consumer expectations?

The onset of the pandemic has vastly impacted consumer behaviour and brand communication. As social distancing and digitalisation continues to become the new normal, we have planned to focus our communication through social media and are rigorously communicating with consumers on quality, durability and authenticity.

We have also partnered with Viniculum, a global software company that enables omnichannel retailing and aggregator for marketplace ecommerce.We are hopeful that Vinculum partnership will help Timehut strengthen its presence across the Indian ecommerce market through its robust infrastructure, advanced technology and strong marketing acumen.It will further enable modernisation of warehouse, linking offline retailers in Tier2/3 cities,thereby gaining market share and a new consumer base to grow sales.

Tell us your future plans for 2021.

Covid 19 gave us several challenges but also presented us with new opportunities. Understanding consumer needs and staying abreast of consumer trends and insights has been at the centre of our innovation strategy. Considering the rise in the number of fitness enthusiasts across India, we had launched the fitness band- Helix Gusto 2.0, Timex fitness band and our most recent smartwatch launch - Timex iConnect Premium Active in the health and fitness category.Timex Fitness band also awarded as the ‘Editor’s Choice Award – Lifestyle Fitness Band of the Year’ at the Jagran HiTech Awards 2020. These fitness wearables areone of the latest examples where we are pushing the boundaries of innovation and providing Indian consumers the opportunity to own high-quality smart wearable products which they can wear anytime- whether it is a formal get-together, a business meeting, or any outdoor activity.

“We are rethinking our strategies with the evolving market dynamics, in order to reach out to our consumer with an improved experience. Through our strategic partnership with Timehut, Timex Group aims to strengthen its consumer focus and offer the best assortment of global fashion brands with faster delivery and better service quality. Timehut is further open for strategic partnership with brands looking to amplify their online presence with their expertise to generate more sales, get new consumers, and expandthe brand’s online presence,” says MD Sharmila Sahai

While the initial Covid scenario was very tough & challenging, we instantly shifted to cash preservation but at the same time we were served with an additional opportunity to develop our OEM business and for that we partnered with Flipkart to offer our manufacturing, designing & after sales capabilities for some of customers most-loved fashion brands on Flipkart.

We will continue to expand and improve our footprint in modern trade and e-commerce continuously as these segments help us not only in sales and driving brand preference but also further help us in serving our customers better, offering trendy innovative timepieces and the best of global watch assortment. We aim to achieve this by leveraging our distribution channel and growing business in e-commerce channel throughour partnership with Timehut.

Are there any upcoming launches you have in mind during the upcoming season?

With the onset of pandemic, since our consumers have been spending most of the time working from home, we also decided to introduce a WFH collection from Timex, encouraging our consumers to style up by giving them an opportunity to feel good and stay motivated even while working from home.

Further, keeping in line with the seasonal trends, Timex Group is also launching theFurlabrand watches in India offering a range of classic timepieces that come with strong Italian design combined with timeless precision and craftsmanship.

Additionally, we are also working on several new products across brands for Valentine’s Day which is a prime time for gifting and shopping by style conscious consumers.

Test Interview Content

Ashish Chauhan, MD & CEO, Bombay Stock Exchange believes that in the current times technology is the only catalyst of change in retail while citing the example of how volumes of trading transactions at BSE have shot up exponentially over the years. Tech is rapidly changing the form of conducting the retail businesses across the world. It is thus enabling ecommerce to evolve rapidly with the pace of speed of change. According to him online, offline and phygital will be the future of retail with their balance will continue to shift over a period of time.

How retail business can be reframed with technology?

In consumer retail any business gets reshaped by modern age technologies. The consumer retail happening 100 years back was very different from how it was 500 years back. The technology of shipping has changed the way of conducting business over the years. The telephones and printing technology started catalogue retailing in US and in other countries and then supermarts and hypermarts started coming in lately with large amount of goods started getting shipped and manufactured across the world.

While, retail gets shaped by many influences including changing laws and regulatory compliances, most importantly, it gets changed due to technology. The ecommerce oriented retail will continue to evolve with rapid pace of speed of change.

How technology has enabled in the volumes of trading transactions at BSE?

Trading transaction volumes at BSE has gone up from 200cr in the period of Harshad Mehta to 20 lakh crore currently. Basically, the technology has become easier. With automation, people have been transacting more therefore trading volumes have gone up by 5,000 to 20,000 times across many exchanges in the world. This has also led to emergence of commodities, currencies, carbon management and other exchanges.

It’s a 2 percent online ecommerce and 25 percent digitally influenced buying so what would be the move in the future?

Somewhere down the line there is a physical requirement of people to experience things so online and offline will remain together for sometimes to come. Will the equilibrium be established between pure digital and somewhere in between is what remains to be seen. Though currently it is 2 just percent of buying online but the growth could be much higher on the digital further,than the growth in physical retail.

Over a period of time probably 25-30 percent of the retail will happen through digital and few companies would end up capturing that value chain than that ends up becoming very large sort of influencer on pricing and logistics and all.

Do you suggest that phygital will acquire more volumes?

Phygital will also have very large proportion of volumes. Pure non-digital physical retail may slowly shrink but it will not completely wipe out because the economies at which that business works, the digital, which is centralized, may not be able to reach there. So, I think all three channels will continue to work with their balance to shift over a period of time. Thus, in future whoever will be able to crack omni-channel integration will be able to create billions of dollars of wealth going forward.

How cloud technology can come to the rescue of small retailers?

In contrast to large vendors, many small retailers are not been able to set up the technologies and interface it with their partner’s technology because it is expensive. But, cloud technology can enable seamless interfacing with your partner vendors and provide solutions in very real time even though they are not tech savvy and cannot invest in expensive technology. 

In the quest of acquiring larger pie of retail sale at airports Future Group is eyeing to tap airport locations with launching Future Lifestyle Fashion stores across Goa, Lucknow, Bhubaneswar and Guwahati airports soon. The company is also planning to bid for Chennai and Chandigarh airports. Also with its ambitious Retail 3.0 strategy Future Group is planning to launch around 200 Brand Factory Stores blended with technology in the coming years while eyeing to bring in 1 cr online Indian customers to its different formats of offline stores. Hence, while candidly speaking about the Future Retail’s future strategies Rakesh Biyani, Joint Managing Director, Future Retail Ltd. during ReTechCon 2018 in Mumbai.

Do you have plans to expand your Brand Factory format stores?

Under our Retail 3.0 strategy we are planning to expand the presence of Brand Factory Stores across the country. The stores will be blended with technology in the coming years. The format is doing well and seeing its performance we are planning to launch 200 more stores in the coming years.

And what will be the focus for Central stores?

Simultaneously we are focusing on Central stores with more emphasis on celebrating categories with wider space allocated to them. Such as in the store we have footwear spread over 18,000 sqft and handbags are spread over 6,000 sqft among other categories. Central is about brands and new products. Consumer seeks choice and Central offers assortment of choice.

With FLF’s airport retail outlets which are the locations you are eyeing at?

We are in the process of tapping airport locations with launching Future Lifestyle Fashion stores across Goa, Lucknow, Bhubaneshwar and Gwahati airports soon. Next we are bidding for Chennai and Chandigarh airports.

What will be the size of these stores and seeing high rental cost at airports how will you attain profitability?

The Goa stores will be of 10,000 sqft and others will be of 4000 sqft. Goa airport has a rent of Rs 3000 per sqft per month thus time will tell the profitability. But the price of the products at these will be same across inside as of outside of airport.

How will you bring online consumers to your offline stores?

We are aiming to bring 1 cr online Indian customers to our different formats of offline stores. For this we does campaigns like India Decides The Price on Twitter. With every retweet the price keeps coming downward. The campaign is done on jeans, backpacks, luggage, and home products among other. The campaign is for Big Bazaar, Central and it has got amazing response with sale is going up by four to five percent.

According to you why retailers have reduced the numbers of discounting days?

Things are now striding towards good balance with some retailers reducing the numbers of discounting days and the overall sale optimizing well. Likewise any industry goes through a cycle every retailer is trying to do something or the other to gain the market share.

Finally are you planning increasing the number of Cover Story stores?

Cover Story has 12 stores and we could launch similar number of stores in the coming years. The brand is into fast fashion. Value retailers are doing better.

The Indian eyewear market is rapidly growing given the young population and growing awareness of branded eyewear. Growing at a rate of 10 per cent per annum for the last five years, the eyewear industry has witnessed entry of a majority of high end brands under licensing agreement. Major brands as Raulph lauren, Dior, Elle Saab etc. have licensed their names for eyewear category. in Vineet Sharma, MD, Aureole Inspecs shares insight about the eyewear licensing industry. 

Excerpts:

How is Indian retail responding towards eyewear licensing?

As far as retail scenario is concerned, it is divided in a big way. When we talk about certain luxury brand, in order to attract the consumers, every retailer wants brands that the consumers could relate to either in an aspiration value or possibly the name the consumers can recall the most.

Of course the retailers are putting this as a page and obviously the brands have their own attraction. So one – it is aspirational value for the consumers and second – from the knowledge perspective (what they know) and the third is the curiosity of the international brands which they don’t know when they are exposed in market.

How is the competition from global brands?

The brands do attract in a major way and the consumers have a great resonance to it. So, obviously one can conclude that licensing is really working well. But don’t forget that we still have too many licensees in the market which are coming in eyewear predominantly through trading route. There is not so much of direct licensing happening. We have global players which are companies getting licensing, manufacturing, and owning the distribution and if you look at their India operations, they are not doing deals directly.

When we talk about licensing in eyewear, many companies in India are the effect of their parent companies holding licenses and they are purely doing trading in India. There are few companies like us who have been practicing licensing in the country because generally the licensor in here are at a very nascent stage lacking international experience or exposure within licensing.

How has been your experience with brand licensing for eyewear as this genre is not very common in India?

Licensing is at a very nascent stage so people handling licensing don’t understand it. Consumers have responded in a great way, but is industry truly doing eyewear licensing. There are brands, and sub-licensing happening as well (some of the distributors are producing on behalf of the brand) but as far as local licensing is concerned, I don’t think a lot has happened. The question is - are the Indian brands licensors’ ready; do they understand the businesses and brands that work better?

What are the challenges that licensors face and how should they address those challenges?

One of the largest challenge for licensors is ‘quality’ which is proportional to choosing the right partner for short term gain or long term establishing values such as quality, right pricing and comradery between the partner because actually the licensee is the one who actually does invest, not just in stock, but the designs, R&D and is the one firing all the guns. The licensee is not going to be understood or heard.

Talking in Indian front, the Indian brands need to understand licensing better, work with partners who are not just dangling a cheque in front of them but truly becoming partners.

What has been the most popular segment in eyewear?

From an aspirational level, not each customer who aspires, buys but luxury brands have surely been the crowd pullers. I think sports brands are still struggling to make it in a big way, but lifestyle brands are the largest in terms of volumes and perhaps even value.

What are your future plans from licensing per say?

We have signed up with Pepe Jeans just now and have also brought in Hackkit. We have already put it in EBOs. We are also going to bring in Ted Baker, Converse and we have another 4 designer labels from japan & US lined up.

My experience with Indian brands so far has been not very good. Right now I would prefer to deal with international brands because the Indian brands are very nascent and looking for short terms gains rather than investments. 

According to you, why is brand Licensing an effective retail strategy?

From retailer’s perspective, it is always good to have brands which are recognized. All these brands are trying to create relationship with audiences. They are reckoning upon current consumers, possible consumers and future consumers.

Also licensing gives good sales mix to the retailer where he can have certain degree of licensed products being sold and contributing a lot to his margin.

ECommerce connects people like Indra Nooyi to local brands

While eCommerce is revolutionising the retail space in the country, and tussle between online and offline market place is the talk of the town, a number of challenges are being faced by e-retailers as well, payment being one of them.

In a candid chat with Retailer Media, Rahul Narvekar, the Founder and CEO of Indianroots shared about the challenges faced by an e-Retailer, the scalability issue and the efficiency of eCommerce which connects people like Indra Nooyi, the CEO of PepsiCo to a local brand of Kolkata.

What are the major challenges for an e-Retailer operating in high-end segment?

When we started in 2009-10, the early days of eCommerce, people said that nobody is going to buy online because of the issues of fitting; fabrics etc and people will go to a mall, try the clothes and only then buy. Then people realised that we have a great page with a much wider range of apparel. With Fashion and you, the moment we said 60 per cent off on Prada, Zara or Gucci, the sizing issues went out of the window.

What is your take on online payments and COD?

Payments were also an issue. People were reluctant to put in card details. To cater that issue, we did COD (Cash-On-Delivery), which became the biggest enabler of eCommerce in those days. Then for a very long time, it was COD that was ruling. Now, the new trend that we have seen is that people have started using wallets like Paytm.

Initially in eCommerce, one could do only a smaller amount of transaction of ticket size as equivalent to 600 to 800 INR. As the factor of buying online has gone up, the average value of order has gone up. Now people are okay to spend a couple of lakhs online also. People don’t have thirty to forty thousand stacked at home, which made them move towards card payments or the e-wallets.

How do you analyse the emergence of digital wallets?

These wallets have become greatest enablers of eCommerce as one need not to bother about security of card details. Plus, in case of any issue in future, one can raise complaint with wallet service provider and get his money back. That is the new big thing. Now the wallets are going to grow big and the next trend we are observing is that the wallet providers are becoming eCommerce companies like Paytm.

What changes have been incorporated in terms of model of operation?

Talking from the model per say, initially it was inventory led model, with the players buying from vendors and selling to consumers. Now, everybody is looking to more of a marketplace model. The challenge of a marketplace model is that in drop shipment (when vendor directly ships to the customers), the product is replaced – like people received soaps instead of ordered i-phone.

Challenges are there, but that’s the only way to scale and now the vendors have also realised that it doesn’t pay to short chase the customer because then the site will drop you. So, if the ratings of a seller go down beyond a certain point, then he is dropped from the website. That evolution is happening and we are moving to a more marketplace model.

What are the upcoming trends in online fashion retail?

As far as the consumer behaviour is concerned, a lot of showrooming is happening. People walk into a mall, try out stuff and then order it online. Now with mobile-sites and apps, it has become easier because of the mobility factor and single click checkout through Smartphone has further evolved the online market.

People are becoming more experimental in terms of fashion and open to change. Even in office behaviour, people are more casual, it’s okay to wear jeans and t-shirts, brands are playing a bigger role due to awareness. Earlier, people knew a little about the brands. Customer demands have also gone up as people want to wear clothes that fit well and they are willing to pay extra for that customised fit.

Are people going online for high-end brands?

Yes, they are, definitely. Be it high-end or low-end, people are buying online seriously. Malls are in dearth of consumers these days.

How much is the market share of Indianroots in ethnic retail?

We are a market leader in ethnic. This year, we did a turnover of INR 61 crore and this year we will cross INR 500 crore. Next year as in 2016, we are looking at 1800 crore, so we are now looking at a billion dollar revenue in 3 years of time.

What is the USP of Indianroots?

There are two USPs of Indianroots. One is exclusivity as we are only in fashion space and we are not about electronics or anything else. Another fact is that we are everything for everyone. So, one can buy a 400 Rs kurti to a dress worth Rs 4,000. We have everything from local brands to regional brands to designer brands. For instance, we have Weavers Studio from Kolkata on our site. We created a video rather a TV commercial of Weavers Studio on NDTV.com. Indra Nooyi, Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo, brought the entire collection. We are getting on to connecting a customer like Indra Nooyi to Weavers Studio and making a customer like Indra Nooyi access to a brand like Weavers Studio – a small brand from Kolkata.

When a customer goes on to Amazon, they get lost among the sheer number of product range, whereas at Indianroots that doesn’t happen, they don’t get lost into electronics etc.

What are the challenges you face while dealing with designers?

There are lots of challenges. Designers are far more creative people who have their own issues. What happens in eCommerce is that suddenly you get a lot of orders. We work with a brand called AND at Indianroots where we did 6.5 crore sale in a month’s time. One can deliver so much in a month’s time, which is a major challenge in eCommerce as it’s all about scalability. Most of the designers are not equipped to handle that kind of bulk order. Now they are learning and investing as well.

Designer Ritu Beri recently showcased her ‘Baby Beri’ collection at India Kids Fashion Week 2015. In a tête-à-tête with Retailer Media, she talked about the inception of Baby Beri and the evolution of kids fashion segment from unorganised players to brands.

How has kids fashion industry evolved over the years? Any factors affecting this change?

Industry analysts point out that the kids wear market is the fastest-growing in ready-to-wear apparels, expected to maintain an average growth of 13 per cent till 2016. The Rs 38,000-crore kids’ apparel industry is seeing players honing their expansion plans. 

What factors are driving this market?

Rising media exposure, high disposable income of the parents, fashion sense and brand consciousness among children are driving factors of kids’ apparel market in India.

What made you venture into kids wear segment and launch Baby Beri?

My journey as a mother made me realise the need for designer wear for children, something that’s exclusive and yet easygoing! My collection ‘Baby Beri’ was launched in 2009, it is predisposed towards supporting the under privileged children of India.

What is the scope for Indian brands amidst global players?

There are many international brands available in the market but Indian brands are likely to be accepted more than international counterparts as they can provide an unmatched value proposition and adapt to local taste profiles.

What is your take on brands entering kids segment which is dominated by unorganised players?

Contrary to popular belief, the share of branded kids wear in the market has shrunk considerably over the last few years, as some key brands have faced a major correction in their business. I would presume that branded apparel is still less than 10 per cent of the kids’ market in India.

The unorganised players, who offered a wide range of styles at low prices and concentrated on higher volumes, dominated this market. However, this is gradually giving way to branded clothing becoming the popular option for kids wear. Many domestic and global companies are extending their portfolios, and expanding their geographies, in order to leverage the growth of the kids wear market in India.

What is a kids wear brand’s target audience: the kid or his parents?

The significance of fashion is primarily attributed to the fact that everybody wants to look good. Today’s kids have become more fashion conscious and they love to be stylish and unique.

Parents are not the sole decision-makers today, as children, from a very early age, take active part in the shopping process. Once they start going to school, peer pressure and exposure to a wider range of media makes them much more aware of the latest trends, celebrity styles, their favourite cartoon characters, et cetera, as compared to earlier generations. Thus, today’s children know exactly what they want to wear and how they would like to be dressed.

Which age group is the most active in this sense?

The age groups of 7-12 are very aware of fashion, they love to be more stylish and unique.

What specifications should a brand keep in mind while designing for kids' apparel and accessories?

Children today are brand conscious. This is the only segment which has not been impacted by the economic slowdown and is poised for significant growth. Whilst designing for children, one must consider the fit and comfort factor of the clothes for children.

Designer Ritu Beri recently showcased her ‘Baby Beri’ collection at India Kids Fashion Week 2015. In a tête-à-tête with Retailer Media, she talked about the inception of Baby Beri and the evolution of kids fashion segment from unorganised players to brands.

How has kids fashion industry evolved over the years? Any factors affecting this change?

Industry analysts point out that the kids wear market is the fastest-growing in ready-to-wear apparels, expected to maintain an average growth of 13 per cent till 2016. The Rs 38,000-crore kids’ apparel industry is seeing players honing their expansion plans. 

What factors are driving this market?

Rising media exposure, high disposable income of the parents, fashion sense and brand consciousness among children are driving factors of kids’ apparel market in India.

What made you venture into kids wear segment and launch Baby Beri?

My journey as a mother made me realise the need for designer wear for children, something that’s exclusive and yet easygoing! My collection ‘Baby Beri’ was launched in 2009, it is predisposed towards supporting the under privileged children of India.

What is the scope for Indian brands amidst global players?

There are many international brands available in the market but Indian brands are likely to be accepted more than international counterparts as they can provide an unmatched value proposition and adapt to local taste profiles.

What is your take on brands entering kids segment which is dominated by unorganised players?

Contrary to popular belief, the share of branded kids wear in the market has shrunk considerably over the last few years, as some key brands have faced a major correction in their business. I would presume that branded apparel is still less than 10 per cent of the kids’ market in India.

The unorganised players, who offered a wide range of styles at low prices and concentrated on higher volumes, dominated this market. However, this is gradually giving way to branded clothing becoming the popular option for kids wear. Many domestic and global companies are extending their portfolios, and expanding their geographies, in order to leverage the growth of the kids wear market in India.

What is a kids wear brand’s target audience: the kid or his parents?

The significance of fashion is primarily attributed to the fact that everybody wants to look good. Today’s kids have become more fashion conscious and they love to be stylish and unique.

Parents are not the sole decision-makers today, as children, from a very early age, take active part in the shopping process. Once they start going to school, peer pressure and exposure to a wider range of media makes them much more aware of the latest trends, celebrity styles, their favourite cartoon characters, et cetera, as compared to earlier generations. Thus, today’s children know exactly what they want to wear and how they would like to be dressed.

Which age group is the most active in this sense?

The age groups of 7-12 are very aware of fashion, they love to be more stylish and unique.

What specifications should a brand keep in mind while designing for kids' apparel and accessories?

Children today are brand conscious. This is the only segment which has not been impacted by the economic slowdown and is poised for significant growth. Whilst designing for children, one must consider the fit and comfort factor of the clothes for children.

Da Milano, which was primarily involved in exporting leather bags, started emphasizing on retailing leather products since 2000. What was the inspiration for you to venture into retail?

Da Milano’s journey began with a flagship store at Connaught Place in 1989 – a store that has emerged as an icon destination and a one-stop shop for all leather products in India. The fact that our products were acceptable and embraced at fashion destinations of the world, bolstered confidence to take these to the niche and discerning clientele in India. The inspiration was – ‘Make in India and made for India’ – words of today that had resonated and echoed at Da Milano in the early 90’s.

Since then, what are the changes you have observed in the luxury retailing market in India?

Da Milano believes that every market has a traditional ethos – an ethos that reflects the nation’s culture. While most accept that fashion in luxury emanates in the West, Da Milano believes in blending the West with the Orient that meets client aspirations and provides them a signature style, that is in sync with geographies and emerging fashion statements of the area. Da Milano has successfully evolved to do this and has been a part of this development and change that manifests in its range and array of offerings that has made retailing an experience to revel with ambience and facilities.

What percentage of your sales comes from exports and from domestic and international sales?

Majority of our sales now come from retail – 85 per cent of these are driven by our stores. The rest come from channels such as corporate and online.

What new products or segments you are targeting next?

Product innovation is at the heart of our strategy. In addition to leather bags and a wide range of Da Milano leather accessories, Da Milano will also retail a wide range of leather shoes for men and women and an array of fashion leather apparel.

Envent, a consumer electronic brand launched in 2011, is scaling up to reach its consumers. With focus on retail and product development, Sukhesh Madaan, Founder and CEO, Envent, unveils his plans for this year.

Gunjan Piplani (GP): Starting off, how does Envent keep itself different from other IT product brands in India?

Sukhesh Madaan (SM): I come from a background where I spent 30-35 years working for brands like Sony Ericsson, Microsoft, Intel and others. I have also worked on consumer market, research to start off. I realised that there is a big void between what people want and what is being offered. The things that could have been made more affordable to the people have not really been so due lowered demands or other reasons.

We are more inclined towards youth or new India, bringing them products which would be affordable and functional. The kind of products we have including keyboards, mouse, headphones and also lifestyle product, don’t require much rocket science in terms of product development, but it’s just that nobody has thought about it.

We are planning to create niche with products including keyless or touchless keyboard and likes of the same. We will only be bringing innovative products which are not heavy on pocket.

GP: You have a very different product line. Would you like to explain our readers more about it?

SM: Our product range is divided into three categories, IT peripherals, lifestyle products and telecom. All the products in these three categories only ensure better productivity.

For example, people use smartphones of various brands these days and these smartphones eat up batteries very quickly. To help the consumers, we have introduced a battery boost case, which increases batteries by 2x or 3x. In our products, more than science, its logic what is involved.

Understanding the ground reality, we are racing with time and not offering cheap products. All our products are RoHS certified, which is a European certification. So, ideally all our products are globally acceptable in terms of being non-hazardous to the environment and health.

We are working hard in terms of both product development and after sales. We have tied up with third party service providers and also have our own service station for after sales services.

All our products carry replacement warranty.

GP: Now that you have products like battery boosters compatible to various phones, are you taking a step further to tie up with these brands?

SM: Right now, India is an open market and we can easily purchase products from multi brand retail outlets including Croma and likes. So we are reaching out to these stores as of now and selling our products through them. The response to the products is tremendous.

For corporate tie-ups, there is nothing concrete that has happened as of now, but we are now showing our products to various brands in the market and I think we are not a competition but the only product enhancers for them. We can be sold as an extension to their products which a consumer can opt for.

GP: You have been a part of the IT industry for long now, what kind experience do you bring to your company?

SM: The first foremost thing that I am bringing in is a systematic way of working. From the day one, everyone in our office, including me, has maintained our commitment sheets and we make sure we fulfill those commitments. Moreover, we don’t really work on paper and all our documentation is online which makes the complete chain of work very easy.

GP: How are you retailing your products in India?

SM: We have our distribution channel in place with regional distributors, strategic partners and multi brand retailers. We are present across 360 stores presently and the number grows every day. Going forward, we have plans to have our own retail stores for which we have even shortlisted a few locations. We see that the market has a void in terms of if a consumer wants to go and buy all the accessories, there is no one place to go. Every store will not have one thing or the other. With exclusive stores, we would ensure that people get every accessory they want at one place.

The exclusive stores would be named GAS – Gadgets & Accessories Store. It will take about three to four months to start off the opening of stores. For these stores, we will follow the franchising model and aim to have eight stores by Diwali and 25 by end of 2012 financial year.

GP: With gadgets being the hottest selling products online, what is your take on online retailing?

SM: Apart from physical stores, we are also present online. Our products are being sold through fove to seven websites currently. In terms of a standalone website, we will sell our products but not with much of focus on that. What we will ensure with our website is the availability of all our products which at a given point in time is or is not being sold by other websites.

GP: Who are your target audience?

SM: People in the age group of five to 50 years are our target audience with focus on 16-35 who use a lot of gadgets and have an inclination towards technology.

GP: What initiatives have been taken for product development and R&D?

SM: We indulge into a lot of research where in we move into the market to understand what people want. It is then that we indulge into product development.

We have tie-ups with certain manufacturing facilities for making the products.

We will be launching iPad 3 accessories for which production is on and the products will be available by end of June or early July. We are also working on Samsung S3 accessories and as far as lifestyle is concerned, we are launching breathe analyzer. With this people can themselves analyse the level of alcohol consumed.

Moreover, we are also bringing a weighing machine which will be as small as a notebook and can be carried around easily in a handbag. 

Intel has recently launched Ultrabook amidst media glare. The brand foresees an upswing in the times to come. Ankur Gaurav caught up with Sandeep Aurora, Director- Marketing, Intel to get an insight into this burgeoning market.

Ankur Gaurav (AG): Why will one go for ultrabooks and not laptops or netbooks?

Sandeep Aurora (SA): Depending on what the user needs and their usage and their pocket, they will decide whether they wish to go for normal laptops or netbooks or ultrabooks.

AG: What are the parameters which will make any computing machine fall in the category of ultrabooks?

SA: There are four parameters which will decide, if it is to be called an ultrabook.

1. It has to be less than .8 inches wide.
2. The boot up time from sleep mode to active mode has to be less than seven seconds.
3. The battery life has to last at least five hours.
4. It should have built- in security features.

AG:  How many designs/models are there in the market if talking about all kinds of Ultrabooks?

SA: Over 100 designs of ultrabooks are available in the market from different manufacturers.

AG:  How do you see the share of ultrabooks in the market in the near future?

SA: By 2013, majority of the computing devices will be ultrabooks.

AG:  What has been the market response for Ultrabooks?

SA: It is impressively positive. Response from the press, analysts and users has been very good. Right now you do not see that many numbers happening as the number of Ultrabooks in the market was less, as most of the manufacturers were waiting for IVY bridge processors to come. But now, since it has finally come in the market, the year 2012 will be the year of Ultrabooks.

AG: What all other products do you see as your competitors?

SA: There is no competition as such. All these devices are complimentary. What they need depends on the user profile. There is no competition.

AG:  What is the price for ultrabooks?

SA: The price range starts from Rs 50,000. But we are planning to cut down the starting price by the end of this year.

AG: How do you see the future of ultrabooks in terms of innovation?

SA: With times to come you will see sliders, flippers, hybrids and everything. It is just a start of the journey . By the end of this year, there will be over ten designs. Innovation will keep on happening.  

Mutti, the Italian brand, is one of the leading manufacturers of tomato based products. The brand has recently entered the Indian market to give the consumers a feel of Italian cuisines, all at home. Arvind Tomar, Executive India, Mutti India explains the business plan for India and how brand identity will be popularised in India.

Gunjan Piplani (GP): From Italy to India, kindly elaborate on the journey.

Arvind Tomar (AT): Mutti has been a known brand for past 100 years in Italy for tomato based category.  Mutti Italy has created various formats for Tomato based products with unique recipe e.g. Pulp, Puree, unique range of Sauce, peeled tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, ketchup, Tomato concentrates ( double and triple concentrates) with and without vegetables, tomato vinegar, etc. They also represent various options for packaging for consumers i.e. Cans, Bottle, Plastics and Tubes forms. It’s a long journey that started 100 years ago and finally landed in India with its unique recipe to bring True Italian cuisine experience for Indian consumers.   

(GP): What new are you bringing for the Indian consumers?

(AT): Our products offer complete Italian cuisine flavour for the Indian taste buds, though the taste is slightly spiced up to Indian palate. We use 100 per cent Italian tomatoes and herbs and our Pasta and Pizza sauce is 100 per cent natural without any preservatives, no added color, no added flavoring agent and no thickening agent. It is 100 per cent vegetarian. 

(GP): How do you see the Indian consumer market for your product? What are the price points?

(AT): In India Italian cuisine is third largest and fastest growing food category after Indian and Chinese food. Out of home awareness is very high and our objective will be to drive in home consumption of pasta and pizza with true authentic taste and differentiation. We have 225 gm pouch at Rs 80 and our 380 gm glass bottle is priced at Rs 130.

(GP): How are you selling your products in India? Kindly explain the supply chain and retail structure?

(AT): We will set distribution network comparable to any FMCG. We will have from factory to CFA to distributor to retailers. The focus will be high on modern trade as we have good Target audience at Modern Trade.

(GP): What is your retail presence in India? What is the growth plan from here on?

(AT): We just started in Noida as test market launch in April and we will gradually make Pan-India presence.

(GP): What is your target audience and target cities?

(AT): Metros and mini metros are our target cities and our target audience are people who are aware about the Italian cuisines and are out of home user and wanted to experience and experiment true authentic Italian food at home.

(GP): What is your marketing strategy in India? Kindly elaborate about your ATL and BTL activities?

(AT): For BTL our objective will be to make people aware about our brand authenticity and learn art of pasta and pizza cooking. We plan to educate consumers about pasta and pizza preparation and cooking at home through live demonstrations and tasting. ATL will be town specific till we reach Pan-India and we go to electronic media TV Campaign.

(GP): How are you competing with the well established brands in India?

(AT): We are actually not competing with them as our Offering is unique and very well differentiated in pasta and pizza category, where we bring True Italian Authenticity and Experience. Our Quality, Authenticity and uniqueness will make us category driver and our objective will be to grow category.

(GP): What are your target revenues for the next year?

(AT): We expect category to have significant growth and next two years category will be well above 50 Crores in this segment and we will like to dominate the category.

(GP): What is interesting and exclusive about Mutti?

(AT): Its unique authentic Italian recipe and 100 year old brand, bringing true Italian cuisine and experience to Indian consumers. 

Bianca Home has emerged as a home furnishing brand in India. A journey which started off as an exporter is now making waves in the domestic retail segment also. Hitel Dalal, Director, Bianca Home shares his future plans for the company.

What has been the journey of Bianca Home?

Bianca Home is the retail arm of Mangal Exports. We have been into the export of home textiles and handicraft products from past 30 years, mainly to USA. In 2009, we entered the domestic retail market for home furnishing with our brand Bianca. Bianca is an Italian name and stands for white.

We intially started off with selling all the designs and products which we were exporting to international market and then looking at how the market is responding, we discarded the slow moving designs and after one year looking at response we started manufacturing designs specifically for the Indian market, keeping in mind the trends and festivals. So it brought us more closer to the domestic customers.

What is your retail presence in India?

We have dealer and distributor division, wherein we have distributors in different states who takes care of dealers of that particular state. We have about 11 distributors and more than 150 dealers across India. Another medium we move well in is the large format stores including WellHome, Bombay Store etc. We supply to different centres of these chain stores.

Thirdly we also have exclusive Bianca Home stores, which are presently two in number, each in Mumbai and Pune.

What is plan for the expanding retail presence of Bianca Home?

We are adding more and more distributors and are looking for distributors down south which is still an untapped market for us. We are eyeing places including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and majorly through large format chain stores in these regions. We have about 30-35 shop-in-shops space and now we are targeting 50-55 shop-in-shops stores. These shop-in-shops offer our products, have complete stocks. These spaces also have our promoter who also takes care of space. We also refill the stocks keeping a track of the daily sales happening.

For exclusive stores, we are moving slow, as we are concentrated more on supply chain. We plan to open three stores of Bianca Home, one each in Gujarat, Mumbai and third in Bangalore or Delhi. Whole purpose of store is to bring to the consumers full range of Bianca as these stores act as our gallery.

These stores are company owned and the one’s planned for future would be company owned. In terms of size our two stores are of 800 sq ft and 500 sq ft, respectively and for future stores we will be looking at a store size between 800-1000sq ft.

How do you promote your brand?

We invest judicially in promoting, advertising our products and also do a lot of in-shop branding. While for advertising we have a lot of flyers in terms of promotions we have schemes, wherein we offer one on one free or give discounts on certain amount of purchase. Moreover, specifically for in-shop, we become a part of end of season sale or festive sales.

What is the price range you are currently working on and who are your target audience?

Our target audience has been the upper middle class and we offer products starting from Rs 1000.

Where is your manufacturing facility? Do you plan to raise the capacity?

We are based in Mumbai and do our product fabrication and packaging here while the fabric and other expertise come from all across India including Haryana, Tamil Nadu and other regions of down south.

We also have a factory in south and some of the factories are manufacturing exclusively for us. At present we have enough capacity and can handle even three times of the current demand.

What next do we see in terms of products?

We are doing a lot of product innovations; soon we will be launching product range which will be economically priced as the demand is becoming high of these products. We have received feedback from our distributors and dealers that the demand of economically priced products in rising so we will launching products priced between Rs 500-Rs 1000. We plan to make this as our fast moving range.

Magppie which has been known as the tableware brand is now writing a new story of being a complete home solution provider. After the stint with the brand Icecubes in 2007, Magppie starts afresh in the modular kitchen arena. Looking forward to a new start, Vinod Jain, Managing Director, Magppie shares his plans, in a one-on-one with Gunjan Piplani.

GP: With a second innings in modular kitchens, where do you see Magppie going from here on?

VJ: Magppie now plans to become a complete home solution provider. We will not just stick to kitchens. This journey which started with a bottle opener has moved to kitchens, bars, wardrobes and will soon move to terraces and other living spaces. For this we have also changed our logo which is designed in such a way that it depicts ‘I am home’. Following this philosophy, we are looking towards complete home solutions in next five years. We are working with an international team of designers.

GP: Who are your target consumers and how are you promoting your kitchens?

VJ: We are targeting people with annual income Rs 10 lakh and above. With the launch, we will be doing a lot of advertising and advertorials. Moreover, modular kitchens is a very one to one business driven by customer relationship. We will do a lot of events, inviting people to our stores creating a live kitchen for them to make them understand about the functionality. We will be having about 25 -30 people every week in each store. This word of mouth will help us get to more people.

We will also bring in people who are building new home, architects and designers. These people will also act as influencers for us.

GP: With this new kitchen and bar concept store, what is your retail expansion plan from here on?

VJ: In terms of our retail presence, this is our first concept store. We will soon have one in Mumbai of similar size. Additionally, once all our solutions are in place, we will see some large format, about 12,000 sq ft, stores, which will be complete Magppie home solution stores. So with 2013 we will have three new stores, one concept and mega store in Mumbai and one mega store in Delhi.

We are targeting Delhi and Mumbai for now, as most of the disposable income lies with people in these two cities and Magppie is a well known brand here. Then, we would like to go to Punjab, cities including Ludhiana and Chandigarh. We already have an accessory store in Chandigarh which will soon be converted into a concept kitchen store.

Next area would be Ahmedabad and Bangalore where I see a huge potential.

Overseas, we have a store in Sydney. We have been receiving proposal from various European countries for our stores but we want to push ourselves properly in India first.

GP: What investments have gone into this transformation that Magppie is making now?

VJ: We had invested about Rs 60 crore six years ago in technology in our unit in Kundli, Haryana.

GP: How much time the complete process takes once you get the order?

VJ: The designing takes about three-four weeks, the delivery takes two-three months and installation is a quick process of five days.

GP: What is your take on the current modular kitchen scenario in India?
VJ: The Indian market is transforming in the same way that the European market did. 10 years back people used to invest only in living rooms, and then came the bathrooms and now its kitchens. Looking at the Indian consumers, they are very adaptive and anything new we launch they are willing to take it. Now same is happening with the kitchens, people are asking for concepts and they are ready to spend.

GP: What is your vision about Magppie in kitchens from here and what revenues do you expect?

VJ: I see this company, in next three years we want to touch 400 crore in kitchen segment. We are looking at big business in terms of commercial value. We want to be a brand for India, Poggenpohl which is a German brand catering to needs of German consumers, in India there is no Poggenpohl and I want to make Magppie the Poggenpohl of India.

Alberto Torresi, a men’s footwear brand by Virola Shoes Pvt Ltd, after a success in the European market now works towards growing big in India. Vouching on the ‘Stressless’ technology, Ishaan Sachdeva, Director, Alberto Torresi, wants to bring to Indians shoes which are comfortable and fashionable, all in one. In conversation with Gunjan Piplani, he unveils his future plans for the brand.

Gunjan Piplani (GP): How Alberto Torresi came into being in India?

Ishaan Sachdeva (IS): We started as exporters and have a presence across European markets. Alberto Torresi is our in-house brand which is being sold across the European market for more than a decade now but in 2010 we decided to bring this brand to India. It has been positioned in a segment which is not typically Indian and not typically European as well. We have tried to bring in the international designs and nature into these shoes in a very Indianised manner.

GP: The Indian footwear market is full of international and domestic brand, what different are you getting for the Indian consumers?

IS: Before we started off in India, we did a lot of market research and product development. What came to light is that the Indian market is full of footwear that is either comfortable or fancy, not the two together.

Keeping this in mind, we worked with a lot of international designers, invested a lot of money, and imported new technologies. Finally, we came up with ‘Stressless’ technology which makes the customer feel the comfort and see the fashion. We changed the thinking of a comfort shoe not being a fashion shoe.

GP: In today’s time footwear brands are expanding their offerings to accessories as well. What new are you bringing to Alberto Torresi?

IS: Soon you will see Alberto Torresi launching accessories starting with wallets in this season. Moreover, we currently are a men’s footwear brand, so now it’s time to bring in the women’s footwear as well. So soon there will women footwear brands which we will add to the portfolio, one of which will be the counterpart of the Alberto Torresi’s premium range. Also we have formed a joint venture with an Italian company, whose brand we will be selling in India.

Expanding the existing Alberto Torresi range, we will soon be coming up with premium collection and a mass market brand.

GP: Who are your target audience and what is the price range?

IS: We are majorly targeting the youth segment. India has more than 65% population below 35 and which wants functional shoes which look good. Moreover, in order to cater to them we also launched colours including blues and reds. Though it surprised them initially, but then these colours are being taken well. Now we see a lot of colours in men’s footwear.

The price range for shoes starts from Rs 1995 and goes upto Rs 3495 and for sandals starts around Rs 1495 goes upto Rs 1995.

GP: Now that you are planning big for Alberto Torresi, what retail presence are you looking at?

IS: We don’t have any exclusive stores in India as of now, but we are present in approximately 120 key retail store including Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop, Reliance Footprints, Central and other. Apart from that we also have a distribution channel, so the tally goes upto more than 200 stores.

By the end of this year we should have 250 point of sales and by end 2013 end we want to achieve 800 point of sales.

In terms of regions we are present in north India, growing strong in south, a bit in east and looking towards south. We are growing strongly in west. We are targeting the metros, tier I and tier II cities and also looking at tier III cities but some selective ones.

The exclusive stores will come when the complete spectrum of brands is in place which will be in two years of time.

GP: Going online is the new buzz. Elaborate about your online retail presence.

IS: The online retail segment is growing really well and apart from selling space it is also a way of creating attention for the brand among large number of customers. Understanding the importance, we have recently tied up with Jabong.com, fashos.com and koovs.com. We soon will be tying up with some more.

GP: What are your investment plans?

IS: We touched somewhere around Rs 10 crore which we will triple this year. The major investment has gone into the manufacturing unit to increase production capacity and to ensure availability.

GP: Elaborate about your manufacturing unit and capacities?

IS: We already have our units up in Agra and we starting off with a new one as well. The new unit will be functional by June.

Currently we are producing about 2.4 million pairs a year, 10000 pairs a day and we are scalling up to 17000 per day which we will be able to achieve by end of the year.

GP: What is current turnover and what are your future expectations?

IS: We have approximately done Rs 15 crore and expecting about Rs 30 crore. We are looking at doubling the numbers growth every year for at least next two years.

The Indian mass is not accustomed to the gaming segment as well as the US market, yet the signs of maturity like any other sector are visible in the country. On the sidelines of a recent meet, Jayont R. Sharma, Chairman & CEO, Milestone Interactive Group, talks up the prospects of the industry and what needs to be done to ensure growth.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): Could highlight on the outlook of the global gaming market? What is the role of retail?

Jayont R. Sharma (JRS): If you look at the US market, which is the largest gaming industry in the world, they have around 6,500 stores and among the fastest growing category in the downturn. As a retail category, the gaming segment is an exciting proposition for us. Specialty stores in the long run are expected to perform far better than the general stores. The challenge for us is to find the right balance between different sizes of the store. In India, where the video gaming penetration is a meager 2 per cent, for us we would like to take that figure up to 10 per cent in the near future. This can be done by engaging these consumers at the store from an interactive point of view, user experience is very critical, otherwise the market cannot expand. At Game4u, we ensure consumer engagement is performed efficiently.

AS: Gaming industry in the country is a niche segment, how big is the market?

JRS: The gaming sector in the country is pegged at 10 billion in 2010, which is growing at 30 per cent y-o-y and now touched 13 billion mark in 2011 and we expect the figure to be around 46 billion by 2016. Out of this, close to 2.3 billion will be contributed by the mobile gaming segment.

AS: Could you elaborate on the demographics of the customer for this segment?

JRS: The primary consumer group for gaming players is the late teens and mid 20’s, i.e., young earning population, with tendency to spend and high purchasing power. 16-24 is the core group, then 25-34 and 98 per cent of the customers are male. The buying is still concentrated across top metro cities where in Delhi/NCR has emerged as top market followed by Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad etc. The awareness among tier II & III cities is below the radar and we expect the markets to evolve.

AS: What is Game4u all about and how well is your retail network spread? What is your store format?

JRS: Game4u is the only specialist retailer in the country. We have three properties within our brand; re-play, exclusive4u and deals4u. We have eight company owned stores in the country four in Mumbai, two in Punjab and now two in Delhi. Our format is 400-600 sq. ft with 15-18 ft frontage. In 2009, we launched Game4u.com our e-retail store and in 2010, we forayed into physical retail. We plan to set up 50 stores in three years across top 30 cities. We are growing at 18 per cent as of 2011-12 and projected growth for 2017 is 30 per cent. A typical store needs an investment of 60-70 lakh, but till now we have invested close to eight crore on setting up stores.

AS: The concept of shop-in-shops is catching up in retail, how have you made use of this format? Is high-street viable or malls?

JRS: We have set our shop-in-shops at Reliance Timeout and Hamleys. This clearly depends on the space that is available to us across these formats. Generally we look at close to 300 sq. ft. This arrangement is concessionaire based, hence the figures cannot be disclosed. We pay for the space that is being provided by the brands. We have two in Mumbai and now in Gurgaon with Reliance Timeout. The challenge of managing stores on high-streets is huge and with the footfalls that malls attain these days, we feel the format is best served within malls.

AS: You have just started up with loyalty programme, what is it all about? What are your expectation from it?

JRS: The loyalty programme is an effort from Game4u to recognise the loyal customers and offer them something substantial, which will result in consumer engagement and retention. Our customers are very demanding. The privileges are attained with every purchase from our stores and this goes live on 10th of this month. With this initiative, we hope to attract 25,000 customers in the first three months.

AS: How do you plan to foray into the regions in the country with your stores in the future?

JRS: We will concentrate on the West and North region initially then the South and finally East. The reasons we plan to foray into East at last is because the current regional contribution is just 7per cent, while Delhi is at 35per cent, Mumbai 31per cent, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru is 27per cent each.   

Since its existence, the coffee giant has gone about its business rather quietly and has promised to continue in the same manner. The ever-present K. Ramakrishnan, President - Marketing, Café Coffee Day (CCD) shares the company’s planning and how they have build themselves to be among the top coffee-players in the country.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): Café Coffee Day has hardly been visible in the marketing arena, where are you focused on communicating, is it the social media?

K. Ramakrishnan (KR): We at Café Coffee Day have not allocated any marketing budget as such because, for us the café outlets are the biggest tool for marketing, wherein engaging customers with coffee and their experience is the prime objective for us. We are more focused on our social platform where we have a fanbase of more than 2 million fans who help us improve our offerings through the inputs shared and also enable us to track latest trends in taste of consumers. We mostly cater to the young mass of the country but what we have witnessed is that the demand for coffee from non-youth mass is also at a high level. Co-creation is part of our brand and this has brought us closer to our varied customers.

AS: CCD has always been active in various engagement programmes; please tell us more about them? Who is your vendor/partner for such initiatives?

KR: Engaging is not only about understanding the customers’ demands but also ensuring that the existing ones are recognised and thereby given privileges so as to retain and keep the customer interested about the brand. Café Coffee Day has its café moments scheme where every purchase you make gets you an extra load/credit. We also have special surprise benefits when after every five visits, the customer is served free-of-cost offering from our end. For this our vendor is a company called Quiksilver. We have started with the offer in Bangalore in February this year and by end of April this will be applicable in Delhi/NCR also.

AS: We expect Starbucks to have its first outlet in the country in the next six months time, are there any preparations in the offing to counter their entry?

KR: Starbucks coming into India does not bother CCD at all, primarily because our target is the mass in general; it is just that the young population has spread the word about our brand to a whole new level. Their competition is more with the likes of Costa, Gloria Jeans, Coffee Bean etc. as they are recognised as premium coffee chain brands in the country. As far as our own café Square format goes, we have two outlets in the country and they are no plans to expand anytime soon.

AS: CCD has its own premium format, Square; do you see it giving competition to other premium brands in the country?

KR: Square is a three and half year old concept and we have one each in Delhi and Bangalore. The format is generally three times the size of our café outlets. The Square café is a challenging format firstly because of larger space and with real estate rates going as high as they are, the prospects of setting up more café’s is a herculean task. Square is for the coffee fanatics in the country and the flavours offered vary to what is offered at our café outlets. Also, for a larger format we need to recruit additional staff and train them extensively which can only be done when the no. of outlets are in single digits.

AS: What products are offered through e-commerce by CCD and how much does it contribute to the overall revenue?

KR: Our e-commerce model mostly deals with products like packaged coffee, coffee-maker, t-shirts, mugs etc. We have plans to start offering our coffee menu for online purchase in the next couple of months. At this moment, the e-model for CCD contributes a minuscule 5-10 per cent but we believe that the scope for growth margins will be better.

AS: How many outlets do you have in the country, what is the ratio between urban and rural market? Also, what are your expansion plans in terms of outlets?

KR: Café Coffee Day has more than 1300 outlets across the country, out of which 700 outlets are positioned in the top eight cities. Delhi/NCR has 183, Bangalore is second with 170, 153 in Mumbai, Chennai has 60 and Hyderabad has 60 as well. We plan to reach 2000 outlets by 2014. 

Launched in 2008, the brand offers home décor solutions ranging from vases to furniture and from bedsheets to upholstery fabric. Looking at the prospects in the Indian market, the brand is now aggressively growing its retail presence across the country. Rajat Singhi, Founder and Creative Director, Address Home, shares his retail plans with Gunjan Piplani.

Gunjan Piplani (GP): Now that Address Home is opening up new stores, what are plans from here on?

Rajat Singhi (RS): Address Home currently has two stores each in Delhi and Mumbai and one store each in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. As per our expansion plans, we will be expanding our presence by launching more stores, across India. We are also tapping the huge potential of tier-II cities, as there is a lot of customer demand for our products from these cities. Over and above this, we are extending our footprint to overseas markets and will open stores in Dubai and Kuwait.

GP: What is Address Home all about?

RS: Address Home is a brand that offers everything to furnish and decorate one’s home; a complete lifestyle experience is what we call it! Address Home offers bespoke bed linen and cushions, paired with trendy accessories such as vases and lamps, lights and glassware, serving and dining pieces, flowers and candles to complete one’s home. We frequently introduce new collections at our stores and will continue to increase our product offerings.

GP: How many stores do you plan to open in next one year? Which regions and audience do you plan to target?

RS: The brand is looking at opening 12 exclusive stores, in cities across India, which include Pune, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Delhi/ NCR, Chennai and Bangalore.

GP: All this would be exclusive? Will the exclusive stores be company owned or franchised?

RS: For now, all the exclusive stores will be company owned.

GP: Is Address Home present in multi brand stores? If yes then how many stores and do you plan to expand here as well?

RS: Currently, Address Home is not present in multi brand stores. That is a choice driven from our philosophy of offering an exclusive brand experience to our customers. In the future, if we feel that this experience can be emulated in multi-brand stores without diluting our brand image, we could explore that route.

GP: Tell us about the store formats of Home Address?

RS: With a carpet area of 1500-3000 sqft, each Address Home store caters to the individual needs of the target audience it intends to address. The brand has three formats, each one unique in terms of store size, merchandise selection, etc. However, a common design philosophy runs through each format.

GP: How much investment does the company plan to do for its expansion plans?

RS: 2012 is an exciting year for the company, as the brand is poised for aggressive growth. Over the next three years, the company plans to invest about Rs 20 – 30 crore towards growth and expansion of the brand.

GP: Do you plan to expand your facility as well? 

RS: As we are heading towards expansion and new retail outlets, we shall also look at expanding our manufacturing facility to cater to the growth.

GP: Are you completely into retail or also export?

RS: Address Home is predominantly a retail brand in the domestic market. However, the company is an established name in the home furnishings industry worldwide.  The company manufactures stylised home linens for high end retailers such as Crate and Barrel, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus and Harrods of London, to name a few. 

GP: What are your expectations from the new expansion plan?

RS: It is our endeavour to provide the Indian consumer the finest in home fashion, which includes trendy accessories, accent furniture and linen to compliment contemporary lifestyles. The expansion will allow us to reach out to a wider audience across the country and strengthen our brand presence.

Khaadi is a Pakistani brand well known for its hand woven fabrics. The brand is a complete one-stop solution for home textiles, as well as women’s and men’s garments and fabrics, including khaadi, conventional lawn, ready to wear prêt wear and men’s salwar kameez.

The company recently participated in Lifestyle Pakistan, an exhibition, which was conducted to better trade relations between India and Pakistan. Danish A Adamjee, COO, Khaadi reveals his retail plans for India and also his takeaway from the exhibition.

Gunjan Piplani (GP): What opportunities do you see in the Indian retail arena? What are your plans for India?

Danish A Adamjee (DA): India has come across as a strong retail market. It will be an easy market to capture, as the Indian and Pakistani tastes of clothing are quite similar. The Pakistani fashion will only bring freshness to the existing Indian fashion. Now that we see the trade policies getting better between India and Pakistan, we want to grab that opportunity. We see India as a quick essential market for growth, as the culture and preferences of the two countries are similar. We want to enter India as a 100 per cent retail brand, adhering to the 30 per cent clause of SME sourcing. We have always operated as a company-owned 100 per cent retail brand across various operations globally.

GP: What is your retail format and what are your offerings in Pakistan?

DA: We operate in a store format of minimum 3,000 sq ft of store space in Pakistan, which can go up to 10,500 sq ft. We are a complete solutions provider for men, women and home textiles. Though we showcased only women’s wear at the Lifestyle Pakistan exhibition, when we launch ourselves in India, we will bring all our products. We specialise in hand woven, stitched and embroidered khaadi, which is called Khaadi Khaas. We want to attract customers with our hand work. Our objective is to keep our workforce intact and promote ourselves as a brand that specialises in handwoven fabrics.

GP: What is your objective behind participating in this exhibition?

DA: We are here to get a feel of the people’s requirements and also to make our presence felt. If things work out and the protocols fall in place, we might as well be seen in India by December this year.

GP: What are the price points that you are selling at?

DA: We are bringing in fashion at affordable prices. The price of our products begins at Rs 2,200. We do a lot of value addition to our products in terms of embroidery and embellishment.

GP: With things falling in place, can we expect a reduction in the prices?

DA: Once the protocols, including security, export and better trade policies, are met, the prices are likely to come down by 5 per cent.

GP: Coming to India will mean producing larger quantities. Is Khaadi ready for it?

DA: We will be manufacturing in Pakistan itself, where we have a 5,000-strong workforce. Right now, we produce about 55,000 units in a month and we sell only at our stores. Coming to India will call for 200,000 units a month and we are ready for it.

GP: What have you gained from the exhibition? The exhibition over, what are you looking forward to now?

DA: Our coming to India and participating in this exhibition has worked in our favour, as people are getting aware about our brand, product and quality. We have been waiting for trade to happen between India and Pakistan for more than 40 years, but nothing really worked out. Now that this exhibition has taken place, I think it is a fresh ray of hope for entrepreneurs like us. 

Baskin Robbins, with its exotic flavours and great tasting ice creams, has become a household name in India. Dunkin' Brands, which brought Baskin Robbins to India over 18 ago, now plans to introduce its famous coffee and baked goods chain, Dunkin’ Donuts, in the Indian market. Nigel Travis, CEO, Dunkin’ Brands, gives us an overview of how things have followed a pattern and what is their global outlook.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): Your brands Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins are well recognised across the globe. What is your brand positioning?

Nigel Travis (NT): Over the last 18 years, the Baskin Robbins brand has grown rapidly in India to become the single largest premium ice cream brand. Today, Baskin-Robbins India operates more than 400 franchised shops in over 95 cities. In the last three years alone, the brand has opened in more than 250 locations. While Baskin Robbins has been in India for many years, a master franchising agreement for Dunkin’ Donuts was signed only last year. That agreement with Jubilant FoodWorks is the largest international franchising agreement we have ever signed. We expect to see 500 Dunkin’ restaurants opening over the next 15 years. The combination of signing with the right franchisees, the popularity of Western brands in India, and the growing discretionary income of consumers make this the right time to open Dunkin’ in India.

Baskin Robbins is one of the most premium brands in the country has been accepted well by the audiences and the ice cream flavours are in sync with Indian demand and tastes.

AS: How many outlets do you have globally and in Asia for both the brands?

NT: Dunkin' Brands operates 16,800 outlets globally. Of this, the Asia-Pacific region accounts for over 5, 400 outlets, driven by the Baskin Robbins brand. The company intends to expand its store count to 7, 000 in the region by 2015.

AS: There is a significant difference in the offerings of both Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin Robbins. How has that strategy worked out for you?

NT: We believe that the success of Baskin Robbins has given us the confidence of introducing Dunkin’ Donuts in India. Both the brands are into the dessert segment and we expect the positive response for the same in Indian market. Dunkin’ has its world chain of Dunkin’ Donuts offering coffee and baked goods, and it is growing in every market.

It is all about offering quality and understanding the environment. We strongly believe the strategy has worked out very well in various countries and we are hopeful of getting overwhelming response from the Indian market as well.

AS: How has Baskin Robbins’ journey in India been? What have you learned from the experience, which you will implement for Dunkin’?

NT: Baskin Robbins has done extremely well in India and we have received an incredible response for the all the ice cream flavours. It is available in almost 95 cities of India and we are expanding the chain as the demand is increasing in the market. In Indian cities, Western chains are increasingly gaining popularity and changing old dining habits.

We are also launching our other world brand, Dunkin’ Donuts, in India in the first half of the year as we believe India's growth is going to be so rapid that it will be a pretty big driver for Dunkin’ Brands.

AS: What are your plans for the Indian market with Baskin Robbins as well as the upcoming Dunkin’ Donuts? How many outlets are expected this year for Dunkin’?

NT: Our franchisee, Jubilant FoodWorks is planning to open 500 Dunkin' Donut shops over the next 15 years in India. We should have the first Dunkin' restaurant opening in the first half of the year.

AS: What is your marketing strategy for Baskin Robbins and Dunkin’ Donuts? Will the strategy differ for the Indian market for Dunkin’?

NT: Dunkin' Brands Inc has recently announced its association with the NBA superstar, Lebron James, to market Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robbins ice cream in Asia. James will promote Dunkin’ brands in China, Taiwan, India and South Korea through advertisements, online media and in-store marketing. James will also make personal appearances in Asia after the season ends in June. The deal with James is part of our expansion plan in Asia.

Hewlett Packard has always been the leader in innovation – be it the revolutionary printers or the portable systems. Now, with digital printing starting to take shape in the country, HP has made its first move in this segment. Puneet Chadha, Director, Graphic Business Solution, HP, tells us how the company ensures this advantage.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): The entire imaging segment in the country has matured over the last five years. What is your take on this and how has HP contributed to the growth?

Puneet Chadha (PC): Digital printing is yet to evolve fully in the country. Overall, the printing market in India is worth Rs 1.25 crore. The digital printing segment is roughly about 4.5 per cent of the total and we expect this portion to rise in the next three years. It is predominantly a conventional market, primarily comprising enhanced walls, featured walls, dark-painted walls and wallpapers. The rest of the market is a very mural-centric sort of a market. Wall art is a different concept, which gets personalised design solutions in the market, which will go a long way as customers nowadays prefer customised carpets, ceilings, furniture, floorings and printing. Today, HP offers products for the latex printers, which can print on non-coated media. This opens up the opportunity that was not here earlier and we expect the trend to evolve and mature in the near future.

AS: What is the current scenario of this segment in the country?

PC: Everything that could go digital is going digital and printing is no exception. It has gone beyond that now; even in interior decoration, we can see how digital process has played its part. From the consumer point of view, the home furniture business, which is a Rs 10,000 crore industry, is growing at 12 per cent. Even the per-capita income growth has been drastic. Over the last couple of years, consumers have got more and more comfortable spending on home furnishing. The indicators to growth of this segment are clearly visible.

AS: The HP products are innovative. How do you intend to structure their pricing?

PC: Our products are priced at a reasonable point; we do not intend to make a high-price product costing Rs 1,000 per sq ft. We have priced it relative to what people are willing to pay right now. For example, textured wall are Rs 80 per sq ft, while paints can be anywhere between Rs 10 and Rs 60. The wallpapers start from Rs 40 and go as high as Rs 1,000 per sq ft, but typically, wallpapers are sold at Rs 150-200 per sq ft and that is the price we are targeting.

AS: Who is your targeted customer with this range of products? What are the trends in this segment?

PC: These products are being targeted across sectors. The designs are not really loud, because people want to slow down their lives in their homes. The trends that we have come across are interesting; the customer wants subtle designs, designs that can change over time and things that can be moved around, enabling one to customise their design themes. We expect the festival timeframe to be the most active period, wherein people revamp their households. Also, people are not shy of experimenting when there is something new and catchy available to them.

AS: What is the international outlook of the imaging segment? What are the challenges that the Indian segment faces?

PC: These changes in trends are primarily because there are no geographical boundaries today. It is all about making sense for the space that they have and not about walls, ceilings or rooms; it is more about the functional purpose. There was a time when we were influenced by the West and had a preference for modern products. People are going for the acrylictic kind of environment today.

AS: What will be your distribution/retailing channel for these solutions? Where will these products be made available?

PC: The idea is to make these products available countrywide. Even today, our products are available everywhere, but the pasting facility is limited to Delhi as of now. We recognise the need for us to grow our channel network and there are some people who are keen and capable to take this forward. We feel home-furnishing outlets, toy stores and book stores are the places where footfalls are already visible.

AS: You’ve stressed upon the fact that this segment still has room for growth. Do you foresee any competition from the industry?

PC: The competition scenario is hardly possible in this segment; we definitely have a first-mover advantage. At this point of time, we feel complementing the industry is more essential than trying to create competition within the industry. As far as paints are concerned, they are here to stay, but we believe that the aspirations of people will ensure that digital is the future for this industry.  

McCain Foods India Pvt Ltd, which entered the Indian market in 1998, has now become one of the leading names in the frozen food segment. A company, which started by supplying frozen potato fries to Wimpy’s, has now become a household name with its retail presence across India.

Vikas Mittal, Managing Director, McCain Foods India Pvt Ltd, and Ramesh Manoharan, Regional Director, Quality Assurance, Research & Development, McCain Foods India Pvt Ltd, talk about the steps they are taking to become the leading company in the frozen foods arena.

Gunjan Piplani (GP): Moving from Dabur, you recently took over as the Managing Director of McCain. What kind of expertise do you bring along and what kind of strategies have you taken up?

Vikas Mittal (VM): The whole retail expansion of McCain is about creating a brand and an FMCG model altogether. I believe all the expertise that I have accumulated over the years will go into shaping our new plans. We want to make McCain a household name in India. Our ultimate vision is that McCain should be a part of every household’s food basket. This is beginning to happen, and with my expertise, I think we can surely achieve this.

GP: The company is positive about going high on retail expansion. What are your plans on the same?

VM: Overall, we want to double our existing base for both modern trade as well as the neighbourhood kirana stores. Modern trade is in an expansion mode, so our target would be to have 100 per cent presence in modern trade shops, which have freezer reliability.

In terms of traditional trade, it is a long marathon. Right now, we are present in about 4,500 shops, but we still have a long way to go. We are facing a major challenge when it comes to the presence of freezers in these shops, but we aim to educate the shop owners about the need for freezers.

GP: What new is happening at the product front?

VM: We produce our products in India, starting from the potatoes itself. McCain Foods in India has been engaged in laying the foundation for a sustainable potato supply source through investment in an extensive agronomy programme, under which we have partnered with almost 1,200 contract farmers, mostly in Gujarat. We process about 40,000 tonnes of potatoes every year, which we might soon expand further.

We all want to eat food that is healthy, and, at the same time, tasty and easy to make. We want to cater to the woman of today, who is busy and needs instant solutions for everything. We meet the requirements of these women by making them aware of the multiple ways of cooking and providing them with options for the same.

We have launched our Idli Sambar frozen pack and we will be further expanding our portfolio by launching more products based on rice, lentils, soya and paneer.

GP: The concept of frozen food comes with a perception that it needs to be fried, but today’s health conscious generation avoids fried food. What are you doing on that front? Also, how are you creating awareness among people?

VM: We mostly go to kitty parties, interact directly and demonstrate our products to women who are our main target audience.

Ramesh Manohar (RM): The concept of oven baked products is more of a table top concept, which is yet to become widely accepted in the Indian households. Most of the households in India still don’t have an oven. But having said that, we know that ovens are fast making their way into the Indian kitchens and people want to eat healthy food. We have already started educating people about that. We would slowly imbibe this practice in visual merchandising and advertisement.

GP: What are your future expectations and how are you taking on competition?

VM: We are looking at doubling every year, as we are a growth driven company. Competition is not a barrier as our emphasis lies on educating people about our products.

Now that it is entering the Indian market with Global Overseas as its partner, we ask Luca Gios, Managing Director, Kelme Sports, whether the brand intends to be in India for a long time.

Monginis, one of the leading bakers in India, has planned big in terms of its presence and products in 2012. Monginis offers cakes, cookies, chocolates (gourmet), breads, buns, pizza base, and other bakery products, such as khari, toast, butter, etc.

Mother Dairy has been a well known brand in the country for a long time now. Mother Dairy products, sold through the company booths, ice cream carts and Safal outlets, have become an indispensable part of our daily lives today. In a candid conversation, Munish Soni, Deputy General Manager, Marketing (Dairy Products), Mother Dairy, tells us about the company’s plans this season and how it plans to expand further.

Vrinda Oberai (VO): Mother Dairy is a known brand in the space of milk and milk products. What steps are you taking to make it more popular with consumers?

Munish Soni (MS): We are taking various steps. When it comes to Delhi-NCR, we are a brand known to everyone. Earlier, we were present just in Delhi-NCR, but now we are expanding to other geographies as well. Broadly speaking, Mother Dairy is roughly a Rs 5,000 crore brand. We have three verticals – the dairy brand called Mother Dairy; the fruits and vegetables brand called Safal; and an oil brand called Dhara.

The dairy product business is divided into the fresh dairy and ice cream verticals, each worth Rs 250 crore. Our ice creams are sold in roughly 40 markets in north India, including in Delhi-NCR. Our ice creams are also available in Mumbai, Pune and Kolkata, and we have recently launched in Bengaluru as well. We will soon be launching in two other markets in the west. As far as the fresh dairy products are concerned, right now we are present only in Delhi-NCR.

We are also present in the curd category in Mumbai. Very recently, we have launched fruit yoghurts in Mumbai. Gradually, we plan to expand Mother Dairy nationally. We will be expanding in the southern markets and we will launch in the east as well.

VO: What is your brand’s USP? What out-of-the box initiatives are you taking with regards to your business strategies in order to survive competition?

MS: Providing best value proposition to the customer is our USP. Eighty per cent of our focus goes into making a good product.

Mother Dairy is not the most advertised brand, neither is it the most visible brand. But, the focus is on giving the best value proposition to the customer, as well as making a differentiated product in comparison to the competition. For instance, we have a benchmark called 60:40 product, wherein we have our products tested in blind with the competition’s products. According to this benchmark, 60 per cent of the products should be rated as better than competition. If that does not happen, that product goes into renovation. For instance, for the Mishti Doi launched in 2000, we had to increase the price from Rs 5 to Rs 9 in view of the inflationary pressure). But we realised that the value proposition of the product was lower – at that price point, the product had started competing with ice creams. We re-worked on the same over a period of time, re-did the

packaging, changed the composition, etc, and now, Mishti Doi is giving more than 200 per cent growth in this particular category.

The business strategies differ from category to category. For us, the foremost is differentiated product quality. We believe in giving an out of the world product experience to the consumer. For instance, our curd is made out of standardised milk with 4.7 per cent fat, unlike other competition, such as Nestle, Amul, etc. Better fat will translate into better texture and a better product experience. We also make it a point to serve it in better packaging.

VO: What is new this summer season? Who is your target audience? How are you planning to cater to them?

MS: Ice cream is about variety and fun. We will be adding 15 new variants, which will be seen in the diet range of ice creams as well as in the three main categories for ice creams – impulse (cones, etc); take home (picked up on the way and enjoyed with family); and galloons (institutional business).

We are doing well in the kulfi space. The primary challenge for us was to figure out how to industrialise this product. So, we launched flavours like pan kulfi, rabri kulfi, etc.

Our target audience differs for different products. For example, the probiotic milk and lassi are enjoyed by all, the licklollies are loved by kids while cones and bars are more popular among the youth.

VO: What steps are you taking to engage your customers?

MS: We do cross category promotions, wherein we give out some freebies with our products. For instance, we were giving out Camlin colours with the cheese. When we launched yoghurts in Mumbai, which was a new thing there, we gave 100 grams of yoghurt free with curd. As a result, we got a very good response.

VO: From which region and from what product category do you draw your maximum revenue from?

MS: As far as the regions are concerned, the bulk of our business comes from Delhi-NCR. Now, we are focusing on Mumbai, and we will see the shift happening soon. We are registering good growth in Mumbai, and we expect it to do better than what we had initially experienced in Delhi.

In terms of products, ice creams and fresh dairy each contribute to 50 per cent of our revenue.

VO: What are your plans for the regions that are not going that strong?

MS: Different regions have different nuances. For instance, east is the most cost conscious region. So we have to design our product portfolio and propositions keeping that in mind, and then decide the price of the product accordingly.

VO: How many POS do you have at present? How many do you want to achieve by the end of 2012?

MS: We have 1,000 capital outlets in Delhi-NCR. The Mother Dairy curd is being sold through 15,000 retail outlets, ice creams through 80 SKUs and fresh dairy products through 25 SKUs.

VO: What are the criteria for owning a Mother Dairy kiosk?

MS: Owning a booth involves many factors, including capital cost, acquiring land, viable business proposition, etc. The confessionals are appointed by the deputy general of rehabilitation. At present, we have booths only in Delhi-NCR.

When it comes to ice cream vends, we ensure that the person owning it has integrity. We have about 4,500 carts vending ice creams in Delhi-NCR. We do not have any specifications for location, but we do ask them to operate in the areas that are important for us. For instance, we tell them that we should have 30 carts in the India Gate area.

VO: What are your future plans for the domestic market?

MS: We will expand our portfolio in locations where we are not present or where we have a limited number of product offerings. We will also launch new variants, new range of ice cream and innovative products in the fresh dairy category. We are looking at a combination of portfolio and geographical expansion in the days to come. 

With coffee becoming the big thing in the Indian Food & Beverages segment, we frequently hear of new brands entering the market. In such competition, all it takes to become successful is being different. KS Narayanan, CEO of Blue Foods, and representative of Coffee Bean, shares the journey of the brand in the Indian market and its strong points.

The coffee market in India has caught the attention of who’s who of the industry. Already present in the country for more than 5 years through Barista, Lavazza group has made its foray with its exclusive Expression outlets in the country. We get in touch with Attillio Capuano, Asia & Pacific Director, Lavazza and ask him about the brand and its history. 

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): What are the reasons for Lavazza entering India on its own?

Attillio Capuano (AC): Over the last 4 years, Lavazza has been in the process of consolidating its presence in the Indian market and now it intends to enhance its position in a highly dynamic market like India. Lavazza coffee shop business supports are overall business strategy in India to raise the profile of the company and reach out to our target customers. Lavazza Experience is made up of ambience, quality and excellence, which has been strategized into Lavazza Expressions, available across 30 outlets and now in India. Other than Delhi, we will be opening up further outlets in key metros across the country. Lavazza Expression is all about innovation, design and creativity, bringing the European culture to Indian audience. We are visible across all formats around the globe; be it high-street, malls, international airports for image and quality of the company.

AS: What is the idea behind Lavazza Expressions, is the format uniform across the globe?

AC: The reason behind Expressions was the brand getting into deeper sense of international business. If you look at the Italian model, we never felt the need of having a coffee chain because in Italy Lavazza is truly represented in many so-called café bars. The moment we stepped out in the international markets, the concept of coffee and expresso totally changed for us and hence the concept of global coffee shops was introduced. When I say we are using the same format in every single country wherever we are present with Lavazza, we incorporate the different cultures for the respective market without tweaking without philosophy. So what we are going to is offer common base of everything but we will serve specific recipes suiting their needs and tastes. For e.g. in the Anglo-Saxon and Asia, the milk consumption is high, which has made it mandatory for us to build recipe that suit the palate.

AS: With regards to Lavazza’s acquisition of Barista, how much have you invested in the Indian market?

AC: Since 2007, when we started in the country and made major acquisition with Barista, we have invested around 100 million Euros which includes the budget for new plant located down south slated to be operational in 7-8 months time also any expansions happening within the Lavazza expressions and Barista outlets in the country.

AS: How varied is the product offering compared to Barista and who is you targeted consumer?

AC: The products made available at Lavazza Expressions will be comparatively higher to what we offer at Barista, considering the fact that Barista is more for the generic consumer base, whereas the Expressions is a concept which will be cherished by the coffee and art enthusiasts. The food recipes will also be available in a wider range.

AS: How do you perceive the Indian coffee market, where is it moving?

AC: The Indian coffee market is huge and open, just to give you an idea, India’s capacity per capita consumption of coffee is 60 gms whereas Italy’s is 5kg. Also the preference towards cold offerings is also picking up; the market is still at an infant stage so the competition within brands can only be beneficial to the market. One cannot determine the size of the coffee market with the no. of shops being visible in the country, which is only one of the aspects for gauging the market. The consumption of coffee has definitely improved compared to 90’s but still it has a long way to go to catch up with the best in the world.

AS: Your expansion plans for Lavazza in the country?

AC: Out major investment in the country is going to be for the coffee-processing plant, after that we will be focusing on entering in the retail space. The equipment and technology being implemented in the plant will be of the highest standard and we have realized that India has the raw materials to become a major coffee producer but the processing is where Lavazza will provide its Italian expertise. We will work on making sure that the coffee being served up in our outlets are processed and ready to be used in homes, offices etc.  Lavazza was introduced 4 years back and now is present across through 30 cities around the globe. In India we plan to have 3 expression outlets in the next 2 years, these we will be positioned in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Davidoff is a brand that symbolises class, timeless quality and products that go in-tune with its philosophy. Jean Florent Denee, Area Sales Manager-Asia, Davidoff, shares his views on the last 11 months that the brand has spent in India and sheds light on its international presence.

Established in 1954, Liberty Shoes Ltd has proved to be a brand that caters to a diverse set of style conscious customers across the globe. We connected with Anupam Bansal, MD, Liberty Retail Revolutions Ltd, to understand the new happenings at their end, including the brand’s growth pattern and inspiration…

Vrinda Oberai (VO): How big, do you think, is the role being played by brand endorsements by celebrities (for various retail brands) these days?

Anupam Bansal (AB): Brand ambassadors play a key role in shaping brand communication for the customers. Celebrities are chosen as brand ambassadors because they are popular faces, well recognized and have a strong connect with the masses. They have a huge fan following, which helps the brand reach out to the masses through them. Celebrities associate themselves with the brand they believe in, and their endorsement gives the brand the credibility they are seeking.

VO: How different has the response been to brand association (Hrithik Roshan, in Liberty’s case) in comparison to other forms of marketing and brand promotions done initially?

AB: Hrithik represents a quantum leap for Brand Liberty. His mega star status elevates the brand to a stratospheric level, which will definitely help create a buzz in the marketplace. Hrithik’s iconic appeal to contemporary youth imbues the brand with a fresh feel and that is a dream come true. Also, as a style idol, he lends the brand a very fashion forward status. Consumers are aware of the association and the announcement has received overwhelming response. Customers are awaiting the surprises that the brand is going to offer in terms of collection, design, styles and much more.

VO: What is the USP of your new campaign – A feeling called Liberty?

AB: With the new campaign ‘A feeling called Liberty’, the brand will strengthen its repositioning as a more youth-centric brand, with elegant and unique footwear designs, different from its earlier avatar as a family-centric brand. The basic motive of the campaign is to invite the customers to come and ‘express themselves’ and their style statement with Liberty shoes as they make with the choice of their apparel, accessories, et al. For them, shoes shouldn’t be a tangible product, but a product with a lot of intangible attachments.

VO: How have your marketing strategies changed over time? How do you position your brand in the prevalent times?

AB: The market, especially the consumer market, is being increasingly driven by young spenders with an insatiable appetite for the new and trendy. It is, therefore, no surprise that in such a scenario, a brand like Liberty decides to strengthen connect with the youth by injecting a heady dose of youthfulness into our marketing strategies. And the most important marketing strategy for Liberty at the moment was to get a face for the brand so as to carve a niche for itself. Liberty took the leap from being a family brand to becoming a stylish and aspirational brand through the brand association with Hrithik Roshan.

For the current season, we are coming up with a series of large innovative advertisements in the print media to enhance the impact and draw attention to Liberty. The campaign covers the entire collection of Liberty and features the formal as well as the casual range. The new look is based on the latest trends for Autumn Winter 2011. The campaign, apart from press, also includes in-store posters as well as the digital media. Obviously, the ripples of this supernova is being felt all across with the fresh youthful feel of Brand Liberty taking the centre-stage not just in the showrooms but also in the hearts and minds of the customers.

This is the beginning, which will kickstart a chain of many more exciting events associated with Brand Liberty.

VO: What is Liberty’s current market share in the footwear retail sector? How do you see the same increasing in the times to come and why?

AB: Our brand has, over the years, emerged as one of the most trusted and sought after footwear brands. One also needs to realise that the footwear market in India is highly fragmented with the unorganized sector having an overwhelmingly large share. There is a preponderance of niche brands. In this scenario, comparing different brands is akin to comparing apples and oranges. So it’s difficult and somewhat impractical to quantify market shares.

VO: What are your expansion plans and what is the kind of investment that you are looking at with regards to the same?

AB: We are in the process of expanding our national retail presence to the interiors of the country covering smaller cities and towns with the launch of an outlet every week. We plan to open 100 stores all over India, of which 50 per cent of our expansion plans would be in the southern market. We have already marked our presence in Salem, Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Madurai, Nagercoil, Chennai, Bangalore, etc and aim to take the count of our stores to 345 by the end of this financial year. We are investing around Rs 25-40 lakh in each store.

VO: What brands, in your opinion, are your immediate competitors?

AB: Rather that competing with the brands of the world, our focus is to work upon ourselves as we have just entered into the phase of repositioning the brand. Liberty is one brand in the country that has the maximum number of sub-brands under its umbrella and thus has a lot to offer to each and every person of the family. So, we are not competing against any one brand but are competing with many in the sub categories.

VO: Are you doing something new/different at Liberty, which sets you apart from the other players with respect to attracting your target audience?

AB: We have adopted a consumer-driven approach and made sure that the shelf space in the stores is occupied by products that today’s generation, the young families, wish to buy rather than the products that the company wishes to sell. This customer connect has yielded valuable results. Today Liberty is drawing in a younger, more fashion- focused target customer, but more importantly, with the company’s operating expertise – from footwear design to the retail floor – we are able to identify emerging footwear trends and deliver the hottest styles that consumers want here and now.

We have been using merchandising as a tool to get more footfalls and this has taken the form of striking merchandising systems that flow product, store-by-store, filling each location's demand for the "hottest" footwear.

VO: Has your target audience grown over these years?

AB: Yes, it has. Since its inception in the early ‘50s, Liberty has incorporated new sub-categories in the buyer segment. As a family footwear brand, catering to both male and female, as well as all age groups and income strata, we have a growing range that today extends from Rs 99 per pair to Rs 7,000 per pair.

Apart from consumers, we are also meeting the needs of the institutional sector including defence, hospitality, railways, airways and many more. ‘Warrior’, a B2B initiative in the form of a Safety Shoe from the house of Liberty, is doing really well and is receiving extremely good response not only from India, but also abroad.

VO: How have you seen this brand grow over the years? What has been your inspiration?

AB: I have had a first-hand experience of the Liberty growth saga. My main inspiration, in all of this has been the founding fathers of Brand Liberty, whose vision, commitment and sense of enterprise led to the emergence of one of the country’s most trusted brands. The Indian growth story, when rest of the world was reeling under an unprecedented financial crisis, has also been an abiding source of inspiration for me. It has instilled in me a sense of self-belief that we can overcome the most challenging of situations and take on the world’s best and succeed.

VO: What is it that you’re seeking to attain (ultimate goal)?

AB: Our ultimate goal is to be recognised as the country’s most preferred footwear brand, both in terms of style and comfort. Also, we look forward to emerging on the world stage as part of the Brand India success story.

Leading appliances brand, Fisher & Paykel, has made its foray into the Indian market. Andrew Paykel, Chief Operating Officer, Fisher & Paykel, shares his experiences and his expectations from the Indian market.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): Tell us about Fisher & Paykel and its history.

Andrew Paykel (AP): Fisher & Paykel was founded in 1933 by Maurice Paykel and Woolf Fisher. We are a New Zealand-based company with a vast global reach. Since 1934, when the company was officially launched, we have grown up to become a global company with a global reach with over 3,000 people. We manufacture in the USA, Mexico, Italy, Thailand and New Zealand. We sell our products to over 18 countries. We had been looking at the Indian market for the past three years. We are a high-end brand, focused on a direct sales channel, and the true quality, performance and reliability of our products speak for themselves.

AS: What are the brand values and design philosophy that Fisher & Paykel is associated with around the world?

AP: The brand values at Fisher & Paykel are all about real, generous, human and curious. We create real products for real people living real lives. We care about our customer, our people, our planet and our business. We design, build and sell desirable intuitive products, which make life easier and enjoyable. Our design philosophy is founded on a pioneering spirit and our curiosity to challenge the conventional appliance design and consistently deliver products tailored to human needs.

AS: Could you elaborate on the varied product range that Fisher & Paykel offers?

AP: Our product range comprises of five varied products – cook, cool, clean, wash and dry. We understand the dynamic nature of modern living and we deliver products that are adaptable, functional and durable. We have built-in cook tops, built-in ovens, ventilation, refrigeration, washing machines, etc.

AS: Who will be your target audience in the country? Which regions will you be catering to initially?

AP: Our target audience is the new generation of discerning Indian consumers, who desire aspirational and quality high-end built-in appliances. This customer is open to experimenting with new and cutting edge technologies and demands products that match international standards. This consumer has an open and growing appetite for premium products fuelled by higher disposable incomes and strives for upgradation. This customer often has two kitchens, one for show and the other for cooking. Keeping this in mind, we will be bringing in our range of built-in oven, coffee, steam, hoods & hobs and dishwashers. Also our range will comprise of free standing refrigeration, washers and dryers. Initially, our products will be available in the northern region, ie in Delhi/NCR, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, etc.

AS: What will be your initial strategy now that you have forayed into the Indian market?

AP: Our channel strategy is to interact with designers, architects, modular kitchen manufacturers and kitchen cabinet segment experts. We will also look into the possibility of shop-in-shop concepts and experience centres. We regard real estate as one of our primary business sector and especially in India, we will be on the lookout for project opportunities, real estate developers, hotels and serviced apartments.

AS: Logistic and services are considered one of the biggest challenges in the segment in India. How exactly will you strategise yourself in this regard?

AP: The service strategy for Fisher & Paykel in the country is going to be an important aspect of launch. We will have a designated F&P technical manager, who will ensure that a controlled channel is established through the distributor. We will also set up our customer service centres, employ technical support vans, provide home delivery and installation of products and create an inventory of spare parts to meet the requirements of the consumer without any hassle.

AS: What are your marketing strategies? Which is the preferred medium for you?

AP: Our marketing strategy will comprise of traditional mediums such as print, PR activities, lifestyle magazines, engaging with chefs, architects as well as the digital platform, which is highly viable these days.

The coffee industry is not an integral aspect of our economy yet. However, given the fact that India is the sixth largest coffee producing nation in the world, and with a huge consumer base available, one can clearly foresee good times ahead for the industry. Venu Madhav, COO, Café Coffee Day shares his views on the industry.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): According to various coffee chiefs, the market is vastly fragmented. What is your take on this?

Venu Madhav (VM): The market is definitely fragmented, but at the same time, it is very urban- centric. Even in urban cities, there is fragmentation in the type of coffee that is consumed – while filter coffee rules the South, it is instant coffee that is a hit in the North. Therefore, there is a wide variety of panorama that is available for the coffee industry. But going across the café route, where people are understanding the implication of espresso, cappuccino etc, we have seen a significant uptake of coffee consumption in these areas, which has gone up from 60,000 tonnes to one lakh tonne. So we have to reach out to the customer by making him experience the coffee, getting him to understand the coffee nuances, grow on the coffee and then start experimenting with various available flavours.

AS: How familiar is the Indian customer with the dynamics of coffee in general?

VM: A consumer, who doesn’t know what a cappuccino is, is not familiar with the dynamics of the coffee structure across the country. Brands like CCD catch the attention of the consumer by offering varied tastes and styles. With the trends following the path of convenience, the instant coffee products are a viable form of coffee for the consumer.

AS: How do conferences like IICF benefit a brand like Café Coffee Day?

VM: With the help of conferences, there will be a lot of local interested parties looking to be a part of the industry by looking for opportunities at different levels in the coffee industry. Also, the foreign experts who visit the conferences get hindsight as to how and where the coffee sector is moving in the country. The trends visible in the market and potential tie-ups with Indian brands are a possibility through this initiative.

AS: CCD being the head sponsor for the event, what role have you been assigned?

VM: As the head sponsor for IICF, we will make sure that through our vast range of coffee outlets across north India, the concept of this conference is explained. We will undertake various activation programmes with IICF, which will further benefit the entire conference. Our basic role is to promote coffee across non-traditional areas in the country, such as Srinagar, which are not well known for its coffee consumption.

AS: How would you define the coffee market in a layman’s term?

VM: The coffee industry is ripe and awareness has definitely been created of late. People in the non- traditional areas are much more comfortable with the consumption of coffee compared to earlier times and the awareness created by the cafes across the cities have played a huge role in this regard. The way forward in this sector is to target the youth, who are heavy coffee consumers in the country.

AS: With the FDI in retail not that far away in the country, how exactly is the implementation going to impact the industry?

VM: In the café market, the induction of FDI in retail is hardly going to be that impactful. There are almost six international brands present in the country. So the further entry of brands will provide greater impetus for the growth of the sector in the country. There is a strong need for aspirational brands that can form a part of this ever-growing sector.

Germany-based Simba Toys, which had forayed into India in 2009, is one of the country’s fastest growing retail brand portfolios in the toys and games domain. The company boasts of a range of over 80 brands and 3,000-plus SKUs available in the Indian market. In a candid chat with Pradeep Parmar, Business Head-India, Simba Toys, we learn about the company’s plans and its approach till date towards the Indian market among other interesting insights. Read on….

Vrinda Oberai (VO): “Fifty stores across the country in the first calendar quarter of 2012.” How did you zero in on such an explosive expansion plan?

Pradeep Parmar(PP): India is a huge market more; than 63 cities here have a population of one million and above and many cities have a population base of several million. Hence, 50 stores pan-India in year one would provide recognition to the brand and also provide feedback on our product range from different regional markets.

VO: What is it that you’ve learnt about the Indian market and the consumer behaviour over a period of time (from 2009 onwards)?

PP: It has been a great learning curve. Each region has its specific customer base inclined on preferences. It is a diverse market out there – we need to understand the requirements of our retail partners. They, being in the pan-India market for many years, have guided us in the right direction.

VO: Toys and games are two categories you’re present across and expanded in over a period of time. How has the journey been?

PP: It has been a very positive experience for us. The market segment is emerging as young Indian couples want the very best for their kids. They are aware of international brands and want quality products that add value. Our focus always has been on quality and value. This has been recognised by our retail partners and distributors in the last couple years. The result is an excellent brand presence across India.

VO: How has your experience with licensing been? Any plans to enter into similar deals like the one for ICC World Cup 2011?

PP: Licensing is an important part of our business in India. Moving on from the ICC experience, we now have licensed toys in Cars 2 (Disney) as well as school bags in Marvel Heroes, Spiderman, Avengers, Disney Princess, Dora and Mr. Men and Little Ms categories. Many new interesting license ranges will be introduced in 2012.

VO: What challenges have you faced on the way? Who are, in your opinion, your immediate competitors?

PP: India in a huge market, both in size and geographically. Hence, there are challenges and corresponding opportunities. Building a pan-India sales and marketing team has been a challenge. Modern retail and support distribution channel is new to India. Hence, to find and train the right team is challenging. Our focus has been on investing in human resources by constant training about our product range and sales and marketing support. The toys segment in India is growing at 25 per cent every year. Hence, the market is providing growth opportunities to all key players and new entrants. The most important thing is to focus on your customer base and build your team to serve the growing market segment.

VO: What is the USP of your brand, which sets you apart from the other players in the toys and games segment?

PP: Our focus in the Indian market has been to provide EN71 certified quality product range with excellent customer service. Our products are priced between Rs 49 and Rs 20,000 in the Indian market. With about 800 SKUs in the market, we now offer a very wide range of products to the customers. Recently, we have even started developing and sourcing our product range in India. We have introduced our “Pick a Trick” licensed product range based on the show on NICK channel. The range was conceptualised, designed and produced in India exclusively for the Indian market.

VO: What is your core marketing strategy and how have you modified it over a period of time?

PP: Our core marketing strategy has been to focus on brand building. Our focus has been on communicating with our customers about our product range with a focus on quality and value. VO: What is your target audience and has it expanded over a period of time? What are the innovations that you’ve experimented with during this time? PP: As mentioned earlier, the market is growing at about 25 per cent every year. It is a great challenge to manage this growth and keep all our existing customers satisfied. We are in constant touch with all our customers and interact with them to evaluate the possibility of introducing new product ranges. The introduction of the “Pick a Trick” range is based on such interactions with our customers.

Magppie was the first design led stainless steel home accessories brand in India. In less than a decade, they have achieved an international status and are present over 20 countries. Piyush Sehgal, Business Head, Magppie Retail Ltd, shares their business idea with us.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): Tell us about your brand Magppie. What is your USP?

Piyush Sehgal (PS): We started way back in 1999, when we had a strong manufacturing capability in stainless steel. We decided to glamourise stainless steel for the Indian consumers. Since then, up till now, our primary USP has been our design ability. We worked with over 200 international designers and 30-40 Indian designers. We have always been able to churn out the newest design products and provide emotional products to the consumers that they could really feel and experience while using them.

AS: When you say emotions are expressed through your products, could you talk us through your product range?

PS: We have traditionally been very strong in the home accessories business. So these are lifestyle accessories that people use for various purposes. We categorise them in varying ways; the most important is guest entertainment. So wherever you have touch point of the guest, we have offerings that can really enrich that experience of guest interaction at your home, so there will be products catering to your dinner area like thali sets and coffee sets. Then there are décor products as well, which would enhance the look of your living room. That was primarily the traditional business that Magppie was involved in. Starting this Diwali, we are launching into a couple of new categories and we are moving into the direction of art furniture. Back in 2007, we had introduced our ice-cube brand, which is the modular kitchen brand, where we sell premium kitchens in the range of Rs 12 lakh to Rs 50 lakh. So we are using our steel capabilities, design bandwidth and out kitchen manufacturing abilities to enter the space of art furniture capturing the space of your living area.

AS: Who primarily constitute your targeted sector?

PS: We are primarily targeting the premium customers and our price range also reflects the same. Even though our products start at prices as low as Rs3,000, the accessories can cost as high as Rs 60, 000-70, 000. But kitchens, as I just mentioned, could go up to Rs 50 lakh.

AS: Are your manufacturing your products in the country or getting them sourced from international markets?

PS: We do most of our manufacturing here in India itself and I think that has been one of the USPs of the brand. The operational excellence that we have pioneered in the last few years by making some mistakes and learning from them is what has given us the bandwidth to be able to manufacture in- house in the country. We have three plants here in India; we have an extended manufacturing ability in China. We have been supplying to our retail stores in India as well as the export business outside.

AS: The consumer trend has evolved drastically over the past decade. How will you define this change?

PS: When we started, the Indian consumer was obviously not that experimental. When we launched our stainless steel lifestyle accessories, there was a consumer need development that we had to undertake. At that time, it was difficult to see stainless steel products as premium products, which can be gifted in their whole network. Since that time until now, consumers have really gone through a dramatic shift in their psyche. Most importantly, they are much more travelled, they have seen products abroad, they go through the design trends that exist outside India and now they are able to experiment much more. The disposable incomes have also increased tremendously. The kind of homes people build and make investments in bringing them up have also grown multifold. The sales of our products depend on how one invests in their homes. So as the home segment had grown in India, the sale of designer home accessories has grown in tandem. AS: Setting up products of such varied proportion would have required you to forecast before rest of players do. How did you do that? PS: Magppie, when it started in 1999, was launched with the premise that Indian consumers have some latent need that we wanted to capture. We had to test it out to understand the particular need. If you look at stainless steel in the Indian psyche, it is just a bartan, so to position stainless steel as a premium metal, which could be at par with silver, was tough. But we knew one thing for sure that if we provided the Indian consumers with good designs, good quality finished steel and most importantly, understanding their need at home, we could do it. This understanding gave us the impetus to offer products to suit their requirements.

AS: How many retail stores do you have and how many are you planning to open in the near future?

PS: In our accessories business, we have around 16 stores. We have four stores in the modular kitchen business. Our plan is to open 5-7 new outlets in the next 6-9 months. The focus will not be on the numbers, it will be on the quality of those retail locations, because with time, the brand is moving from premium to luxury and it is important to tap into the best locations. Four of these stores will be coming up by the next month. Two of them will come up in Delhi while we are opening one each in Chandigarh and Mumbai. We have one store in Sydney as well, which is our only international store as of now. We plan to open stores all across Europe.

AS: How has the international market responded to your product offerings?

PS: The response from these markets has surprisingly been fantastic. We have our products being retailed on the best lanes of Europe as well as in some of the best areas in the US. The most important aspect of our products is that these are Indian, yet very international, the reason being they are made by a lot of international designers. Hence, the thinking is customised for Indian consumers but the origin of this thinking is incorporated from the West.

AS: What is the format of the stores that you follow?

PS: We have multiple product categories; we have lifestyle stores where most of our accessories are being retailed. Within the next month, we will be moving in another direction altogether. We will be launching some new products, including bar accessories and art pieces. So, our upcoming stores will run on a new format, where they will not only be retailing the accessories but also the art furniture offerings. Our business has always depended on footfalls; hence we have primarily concentrated on setting up our stores in malls, because this gives us the advantage of impulse purchases. But moving forward, this is going to change as we are looking at setting ourselves in areas where consumers would see it as a destination product. So we are targeting the high-street locations with our next two stores in Delhi.

Epson is a well recognised name in the imaging and printing market the world over. One of their top priorities has been to localise to the specific markets that they are present in. S M Ram Prasad, Deputy General Manager, Sales & Marketing, Epson India, provides us the structure to the ever-growing success of the brand worldwide.

S Aadeetya (SA): What is the nSolution programme all about? Who is your target audience with this initiative? Ram Prasad (RP): The nSolution is an enterprise programme that is undertaken annually, where channel partners, distributors and dealers come together for a workshop where the products are displayed and dealings are also entertained. At present, we have 1,400 channel partners in the enterprise segment all over India. Customer/vendor engagement programmes are organised, printing solutions, point of sale solutions are also made available. We primarily cater to the education sector, retail sector and hospitality sector with our products. Last year, the programme covered 10 cities, which we have taken up to 16 this year. We also conduct n-gage programme, which happens on a quarterly basis, where we cover 100 cities.

SA: Is this programme a part of your traditional marketing strategy in order to engage and encourage vendor retention? RP: Well, this programme is more of an engagement strategy from our part. We believe that the sector undergoes tremendous changes every year and someone needs to update the vendors and distributor market about the changes that transpire.

SA: Where are your products manufactured? How much is your production capacity?

RP: Epson products are primarily manufactured in Indonesia and Thailand. We have our R&D set-up in Japan. Our plants are manufacturing around 50,000 printers for the Indian market. SA: Where is this specific segment moving in the country? What are the current trends in this regard? RP: When it comes to having competitors, we have different competitors for different products. This primarily includes the likes of HP and Canon in the printing segment. In dot matrix, we have TVS and Wipro, for scanners we have Canon, Kodak, HP and some 40 other brands for projectors. We earlier had three inch receipt printer, which is concerned with the jewellery stores, retailers or even a kirana shop. However, they have preferred six inch receipt printers. The reason for this is primarily concerned with the mindset of the consumer. For example, if a consumers shops for around Rs 25,000 worth of jewellery and he is given a three inch small receipt, he tends to reject it outrightly. These are some of the factors that have prompted us to bring out higher sized receipt printer for commercial use, which have been received quite positively to our delight.

SA: How has the brand been perceived in the Indian market? What is the scenario of this segment in the country? How is the market spread across brands?

RP: The scope for printers in the household sector is quite feasible even in the present times. The main problem with the numbers justifying the trend is lack of proper after-sales services and availability of accessories. So, if a printer and cartridge initially cost you Rs 2,000, then the cartridge brought after use is priced at par with the printer. HP is the market leader when it comes to digital imaging segment. The enterprise sector contributes 10 per cent to our revenue in the country, whereas the SME sector contributes 20-25 per cent to the total revenue. The end-solution market share for Epson is 30-35 per cent at present, which is growing on a yearly basis. The Tier I cities are clocking a growth of around 10-15 per cent every year, whereas the Tier II cities like Coimbatore, Bhubaneswar and Udaipur are showing a growth of around 100 per cent, which are staggering figures.

SA: How much do you invest on your marketing plans?

RP: Our main marketing initiative constitutes of ATL activities and also some outdoor road shows. Talking about figures, Epson invests around 10-15 per cent of its total revenue on marketing in the country.

With its products available in more than 300 cities in a time frame of just three years, Turtle has risen to be one of the leading manufacturers and retailers of men’s apparel and accessories in India. In a candid conversation with Vrinda Oberai, Shitanshu Jhunjhunwalla, Director, Turtle Limited, shares his company’s plans and his take on the retail market and its trends.

Vrinda Oberai (VO): When did the first Turtle retail outlet become operational in the country? Do you have any international presence with regard to exclusive stores abroad?

Shitanshu Jhunjhunwalla (SJ): Turtle was launched in 1993 at Kolkata, with the capacity to produce around 7,500 shirts a year. Our first retail store got operational that very year in Park Street. The brand has has come a long way since then and has grown manifold into a national brand present across 550 cities. Apart from exclusive Turtle stores, its products are sold in over 1,500 leading outlets including Central, Globus, Pantaloons and Shopper’s Stop. In terms of international presence, we have a strong foothold in the Middle Eastern countries like Dubai, Bahrain and Kuwait. At the moment, we do not have any EBOs internationally.

VO: What is the USP of your brand? How do you position your brand in the market?

SJ: Quality and value proposition prices are the USPs of the brand. We offer a wide array of products in apparel and accessories suited for every occasion, maintaining the highest standards in quality and in tune with international design and fashion trends. Our positioning as a brand that offers excellent value for money has worked. We work very hard on achieving our vision, which is to offer our consumers their latent needs at the right prices and to become the most respectable brand in the country. Our positioning can be put as an entry-level premium lifestyle brand.

VO: How have you seen the apparel and accessories market grow over the period of time? How, according to you, is the Indian apparel and accessories market different from abroad?

SJ: The apparel and accessories markets have grown manifold in the last 10 years. With exposure to foreign brands and investors in India – the mall culture and retail revolution has taken the country by storm – many new brands have come into the picture and many leading brands continue to innovate. The Indian apparel market has started to emulate the markets abroad with many malls coming up in India and organised retail growing rapidly in the country. But we still have a long way to go in terms of scale and processes that the brands abroad have developed.

VO: How does your target audience differ from that of abroad? How does the consumer connect differ in both markets? SJ: The brand awareness among consumers in India is at a very nascent stage with most people in Tier II and III cities experiencing brands and retail in the past 4-5 years or so. The consumer connect abroad is far more challenging as the consumers are well educated in brands and retail and they have to be engaged with custom-made solutions. In India, the consumers are getting educated fast and many brands and large format retailers have started their own engaging platforms such as loyalty programs, online shopping, etc.

VO: What is your take on FDI in retail? What, in your opinion, will be the expected effect on the apparel and accessories market in India?

SJ: I believe with more and more foreign brands coming into India, the so-called domestic brands would have to quickly evolve into global Indian brands and would have to compete with the foreign brands. This would not only evolve the Indian brands rapidly but further give them a chance to shine on the global platform.

VO: What are the issues and challenges facing the industry? What has been your approach till date and what is in the pipeline?

SJ: Retailing today involves not only just the selling of a product but it also involves engaging and attracting a customer towards your brand. Today, retailing is about much more than mere merchandising. The current year started with uncertainties for the industry. The finance ministry’s decision to impose excise duty on branded garments shook the industry and apparel sales across the country. This led to week long protests. Many companies had even shut down manufacturing on the issue. This resulted in practically no business in the sector in March and April. Skyrocketing prices of cotton and uncertainty ruled the industry. As a result, the textile mills were not prepared to accept long term orders in June owing to the unpredictability in the movement of cotton prices. The retail sector in India is witnessing rejuvenation as traditional markets make way for new formats such as departmental stores, hypermarkets, supermarkets and specialty stores. The retailing configuration in India is fast developing as shopping malls are increasingly becoming familiar in large cities. Apart from this increasing number of young working population, hefty pay packages and emerging opportunities are the main factors contributing to the growth of the retail industry.

VO: What has been your marketing strategy and how has it changed over time?

SJ: Our marketing plans are strategically designed to position Turtle as the most respected apparel brand and are, therefore, in sync with the advertising strategies. Over time, the brand image of Turtle has progressed into the lifestyle space and so have our marketing and advertising. We now look at more tactical advertising on national media as well as new medium such as multiplexes and the digital space. VO: Brand visibility is something that is a priority for any company’s marketing strategy. What is your take on the same? SJ: Brand visibility and salience are the key growth driver of any brand’s marketing strategy. It is very important to understand your customer and target group and then be visible in their places of interest and sight. You should know your ‘meant-for’ and ‘marked-for’ audience, and position your brand communications accordingly.

VO: What are your expansion plans? What has been your learning on the way?

SJ: Our plans for 2011-12 are very optimistic and we are looking at a growth of 60-80 per cent, which we are confident that we will achieve. Apart from our quantitative targets, we have set a lot of qualitative targets and have ushered in new systems and processes. Our per-employee output and profitability is improving and being monitored consistently. The current year will be very crucial for us as we are putting in various building blocks to take us to the next higher level. We dream big and commit ourselves to our dream while retaining the passion and bonding of an enterprising organisation.

One of the leading electronic brands, based in Hong Kong, has marked its entry into the Indian market. With a vision of the long-term plan for the Indian market, R Venkat, CEO and Director, Westinghouse Appliances India Pvt Ltd, shares company’s comprehensive marketing and distribution strategy to provide an impetus to its India operations.

Rajni Pandey (RP): Tell us more about Westinghouse. Why did you decide to foray into the Indian market? What opportunities do you see for Westinghouse in India? 

R Venkat (RV): Westinghouse has been a household name for generations. The brand Westinghouse is part of the global company, Westinghouse Electric Company, which was formed in the year 1886 by George Westinghouse at Pittsburgh, USA.

India is a growing market and we see a huge potential for our products in India. We are extremely honoured and proud to introduce Westinghouse range of household appliances in the Indian market. As the consumers are evolving, the only way to ensure consumer delight is innovation to meet their stated and innate needs. We are confident that Westinghouse will strike an instant chord with the Indian customers as it provides for an unparalleled experience with Westinghouse products.

RP: Tell us about your initial investment in India foray.

RV: Initially, we will be investing around Rs 70 crore in the next three years. The amount would be spent on aggressive marketing campaign with the support of print advertisement, in shop activity, exhibition, and online campaign. We would also be adding a few more new product lines in India apart from existing range of small domestic appliance, personal care equipments, garment care, heaters, baby care and fans.

RP: At the first phase, which are the markets you have demarcated where your products will be available?

RV: Our products are primarily meant for urban and sub-urban consumers. Our product range would help Indian women in saving time spent on preparation time for cooking. Later on after successful launch of our product in the urban markets, we will stretch ourself to the rural markets in India.  

RP: As Westinghouse brand would be new to Indian consumers, what kind of marketing plans you have to popularise the brand?

RV: We will be doing lots of brand awareness activity. We are planning to do print advertisements, in shop activity, exhibitions and online campaign. Some of the products are for the first time being introduced by any company in the Indian market. The products like master chef mixer (it does chopping and cooking at the same time), water purifier (through vapor distillation), multipurpose electric pressure cooker with LCD  display (it does pressure cooking, slow cooking  rice cooking, and auto keep warm function), contact grill and griddle (with extra large cooking plates, 180 degree adjustable hinges), transparent deep fryer (glass bowl with clear plastic housing) and digital multi function toaster oven are some of the unique offerings from the company.

RP: Where the products will be sourced from? Will there be any manufacturing facility in India? Will there be any product modification to suit the Indian household needs?

RV: The entire product will be sourced from the Hong Kong. Right now, we don’t have any plans to set up manufacturing plant in India. To provide effective after sales support and service, we have already tied up an all India services company that would be covering more than 120 towns and cities in the first phase. We are looking at going pan-India by the year 2013 primarily with the help of traditional distribution channel, modern retail channel, institutional channel and online sales. By third year of India operation, we are expecting to generate Rs 200 crore worth business.

RP: What are your future expansion plans? Do you have any plan to set up exclusive stores?

RV: We have our research and development wing working on introducing some customised products, especially for the Indian markets. There are not so many options available in kitchen equipment range in India, so we are trying to fill that gap in this segment. As of now we are not planning for any exclusive retail store, but in future we will be introducing experience zone centres in the country.

One of the leading electronic brands, based in Hong Kong, has marked its entry into the Indian market. With a vision of the long-term plan for the Indian market, R Venkat, CEO and Director, Westinghouse Appliances India Pvt Ltd, shares company’s comprehensive marketing and distribution strategy to provide an impetus to its India operations.

The business that started out of Mr. Naynesh Pasari’s passion for luxury watches has now evolved as the most serious business in the country. Mr. Naynesh Pasari, CEO, Luxury Collections, shares his insight into the ever-glamorous niche segment of luxury watch collection, which has taken its first foot forward in the country by associating with the top crux brands from around the globe.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): What is Luxury Collections all about? What was the idea behind this start-up?

Naynesh Pasari (NP): Watches became my passion about two years ago. I was particularly fascinated by the brands Ritmomundo and Cyril Ratel. I came across these brands while flipping through a magazine when I was in the United States sometime ago. The watches caught my attention with their unique style and design. We started negotiating with the company to bring them to the country and also started studying the market in India with regards to how the watch is perceived by the consumer and who are the major players in the market at present. It was more passion than any business strategy that made me get into this enterprise. Luxury Collections has just been set up for this purpose and as of now we have two brands under our portfolio.

AS: What was the investment that you made for bringing the brand into existence? In future, where will most of the investing be done?

NP: The figures of investment vary, because figures for retailers and distributors are primarily sourced in the form of brand building. We would have to work out the figure. Our primary focus of investment will definitely be in marketing the brand and we are in touch with our principles to device a complete strategy to implement the plans and we are doing our best in this regard.

AS: Looking at the range of products, which is sure to catch the eye of the elite in the country, is exclusivity going to be a part of your philosophy?

NP: Basically, for the principles, they are heavily relying on the distributor. They will portray the role of the brand as a face in India. The brand has commenced on a positive note; it is still at a nascent stage but we have started participating in trade events across the country in search of the right partners for association. It has also made us more visible within the market and the response has been encouraging. Also considering that the competition in the watch market is taking off, it augurs well for the brand.

AS: Are these brands planning to enter the Indian market on their own anytime in the near future?

NP: As of now that does not seem to suit their planning, which has clearly not reached the level of long-term strategy. Take for instance, brands like Hublo. These are well-known brands in India, yet they do not feel the need to go for the standalone format. It takes a lot of time to build a brand and to increase its footprints in the country.

AS: Tell us something about the trends and insights related to the watch market in India.

NP: There have been so many changes in the industry over the years. About 5-10 years ago, people were not even aware of the luxury symbol, which has now become prevalent across most of the metros. The masses in India have deeply appreciated the international brands coming in to the country. As far as the trends in the watch market are concerned, I can say rubber straps have become popular in the last couple of years. Men have become more open to the culture of wearing watches, which was not very prominent earlier.

AS: How would you quantify the luxury watch market in India at present?

NP: We are taking a market size of about Rs 5,000 crore, which is segmented into luxury watches – with jewellery and without jewellery. The market is growing at 15-20 per cent, which is a positive sign.

It has been 12 years since the designer duo of Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna surfaced into the fashion circuit in the country with a bang. Finally their wait to become a part of the Wills Lifestyle Fashion Finale has been fulfilled. The charismatic duo share their journey to becoming one of the heavyweights in the society.  

S.Aadeetya (SA): What inspires the designing of your clothes and what materials are being used to design them?

Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna (RG&RK): This collection that we are showcasing is for the Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week Finale 2011 and the theme is theatre of illusion. We are known for our variable clothes, known for something which more cutting-edge, straight-line, so the garments that you could see were a little more embellished, dramatic compare to generally what we do.

SA: How has the association with Wills Lifestyle been for your brand? How has this benefitted you?

RG&RK: It has been a great journey for us with the Wills Group, we as designers love corporate backing, we do prêt line for them, which is retailed all over their 44 stores across the country. We have been able to undertake transition of our products from ramp-to-the-rack. We as designers cannot undertake; sales, distribution, designing and financial aspect of business. Hence the assistance from their end has enabled us to reach to those who do not have the availability of our stores in their region.

SA: The fashion scenario in the country has transformed rather drastically since then, how has the change been for you?

RG&RK: When it comes to fashion, we have to go through changes almost every season with the market, trend and also with what we feel as our idea of fashion also keeps changing.  But we still started with prêt 12 years back; we were infact part of few designers who started their ready-to-wear label. Nowadays people travel a lot, they are getting exposed to the trends in the West and prefer to have them available in the country itself. Also the internet age has assisted a lot; the likes of Facebook, blogging give us the impression that we are 20 years ahead of the time we started.

SA: How will have you made yourself visible across the international market?

RG&RK: We have been actively participating fashion shows across the globe. There is this show in Paris that we have been doing for around 10 seasons. Then we also showcase at the New York show called Coutre.  More than the fashion shows we prefer the trade shows when it comes to the international circuit. Our mileage overseas has grown over the years; we have been pleased with how the international market has come up, we are looking forward to working with some new people in the US. But you cannot compare the potential of the Indian market with regards to fashion. India is the real-deal for us.  

Wills Lifestyle has been offering you products that complement every facet of your personality at work, when you are relaxed, while you party and for special occasions. Here we have Mr. Atul Chand, Chief Executive, Lifestyle retail business, ITC talking us through the fashion journey of brand over the years.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): Wills lifestyle has tied up with many designers over the years, how fruitful has the association been?

Atul Chand (AC):  We are the title sponsors of this particular event in first place, because there are some great synergies between the event and ITC’s lifestyle brands; Wills Lifestyle and Fiama Di Wills, there is opportunity for us to work together, create benchmarks and that is how this particular event and sponsorship of this event initiated in 2006. Further on from there, we have had a strong relationship with the fashion fraternity and we thought that it would be a great opportunity if we could take this event from the ramp and take to the rack, so that we can celebrate with the customers who come to the stores. So not only would they view it across different medias but also get a chance to own one. Consequently we tied up with designers for the ramp-to-rack initiative, with about 10 designers where they get an access to the retail footprint to our customer base and therefore their labels are available across the country. It’s been a fruitful set-up. It accounts for about 15% of our sales.

AS: With regard to your initiation in 2006, a lot has changed over the past 5 years, how have you seen the market and trends evolve?

AC: Well, a lot of things have happened in the last 5 years. For one, India is a buoyant economy and therefore there is growth happening. There has been a huge expansion in the last couple of years, infact if I were to take the last two years and the next one year, we would have doubled are retail presence by having more stores in the same cities and also going to Tier II & III cities.  A lot of designers have got added. So from 1-2 there are about 10 of them, who create special collections which get retailed in the Wills Lifestyle store and these meet with good success. So fashion is coming into the mainstream and designer wear which was earlier restrictive or limited in terms of accessibility and pricing is not got the prêt version. Though it is still aspirational, glamorous, it has become now wearable.

AS: How has the Tier II & III cities responded to you brand?

AC: I think there is an affluence happening in these cities, there is a rise in aspiration as well and this is all getting fueled by the creation of modern retail spaces and lot of brands and lot of choices. So, one is that there is a demand, and secondly people are able to supply to meet that particular demand. The response has been extremely positive and we have penetrated across some 15 odd new markets in the last 1-2 years. As we go across to more markets bringing in more stores with our products, this is a good time to explore down this path.

AS: At present, how many stores does Wills Lifestyle operate across the country with? How many coming up in the near future?

AC: Willis Lifestyle today is operating across the country through 78 stores. We have plans to take the figure to 90-95 by the end of the fiscal year. Our stores are positioned at about 40 cities.

AS: What is your marketing strategy for the brand? How much are you investing in this regard?

AC: I think investments are all linked to what you’re expansion plans are. It would suffice to say, that whatever investments are required, whether it is in terms of retail expansion, newer products or working with designers or sponsoring the Wills Lifestyle India fashion Week, those are things that we will definitely invest in, to be able to grow the business, market and scale up.

AS: What are the future plans for Wills Lifestyle?              

AC: As I said, firstly we will concentrate on retail expansion. Second is, we’ve created high-end collections, which is designer wear as well as men’s formal collection. We will be adding more premiumness to the range and we have also experimented with lots of new concepts; like having boutique stores, we have stores in ITC hotels. So the idea is to make it more up-scale, make it more premium through the products, retail formats and through the imagery.

It takes good part of 2 decades to establish yourself as a clothing wear brand in the country, that’s how competitive this segment is currently.  We have Mr. Yogesh Tiwari, VP- Sales & Marketing Head, Blackberrys, who narrates the journey of the brand in his own version.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): You’ve been existing in the country for over 2 decades now, how has the journey been?

Yogesh Tiwari (YT): In the year 1991, 20 years back, when we launched, we started with a very small office-cum-factory space in Kotla today we have a three manufacturing units and unparalleled capacities. The growth of Blackberrys has been well thought out and we have worked extremely hard at establishing a very solid base.  One may call it controlled growth, if you may. Today, at 20, we now have a sound foundation from every perspective - a strong distribution and retail network, product portfolio, brand positioning etc. We are ready to now harness all our strengths and take a quantum leap this year onwards. In the process, we have had to make some harsh decisions in the process, like axing our women’s range, but these decisions have helped us in sharpening our focus. Overall our growth has been meticulous and well planned at the same time aggressive. We have built our strengths in the last 2 decades and we do see the brand reaping the rewards as we launch into our expansion plans now.

AS:  At present how many stores do you have?  In which part of the country are you prominently visible? Please cite the reasons.

YT:  At present, we partner with over 900 MBOs pan India, 92 stand alone store and 32 Franchise outlets .We are focused from all P’s perspective, onto the young India. We do believe that the aggressive growth for brand India is equally shared by the young small business entrepreneur who lives in smaller cities, as is the Tier 1 knowledge workers. We believe the spirit of our brand and our audience in the smaller towns will resonate an emotional cord.

AS:  How well equipped is your manufacturing plant? How is the design part done?

YT:  This year we complete 20 years of being in the Indian market. We launched in the year 1991 and have expanded since then. Today we are the largest manufacturers of suits in all of northern India. In fact we are increasing in all dimensions. We have already invested in doubling our Suits & trousers capacities very recently, which will be scaled up even further.

AS: In India, it’s been the women’s segment which most of the brands target, how are you catering to both men and women segments in particular? What is the ratio of men and women merchandise in your store?

YT:  Apparently we have dropped women’s range to focus on the highly buoyant menswear category.

AS: The accessories segment has flourished over the past couple of years? How has the response to your brand been?

YT:  Blackberrys in terms of accessories has been great. Blackberrys captures the essence of manhood with the following offerings on fashion styling: Sun Glasses, Ties, socks etc. as its accessories and has been spectacularly appreciated for its high design and comfort look.

AS: Over the years, how has the shift in demographics as well as fashion trends impacted the mindset of retailers in the country? What trends will be preferred in the foreseeable future?

YT:  The Changing age profile has impacts in the trends in the fashion industry because of the complex relationship between age and fashion. Retail industry has taken cautious steps to cater the situation with reasonably healthy ideas to equally run with the pace of the trends and we feel we have accommodated the same. In future we would keep exploring innovative ways to enhance the brand and conjure up fresh ideas to promote it globally.

AS: Talk us through your future plans for Blackberrys in terms of expansion?

YT:  We will be looking at aggressive expansion going forward. Tier 2 cities are our clear focus and we will be looking at our growth coming in from these. Currently we are present in more than 900 MBOs and this number is bound to go up as we penetrate down to smaller towns. Therefore, greater investments in SIS and retail stores are planned this year.

An international fashion house, with an emphasis on luxurious statement pieces, Ozel combined cutting-edge contemporary style with traditional influences and materials synonymous with old-school glamour. On the event of launching Ozel's web store, Sonil Jain, CEO, Ozel Clothing India speaks over his plans to be one of the leading fashion brands in India.

Rajni Pandey (RP): Tell us about the entry of Ozel in India?

Sonil Jain (SJ): Ozel has been introduced in India last year and it caters mainly to niche market, targeting at the consumers who looks for international brands. The products which we bring to India are of international quality and stylish and at the same time are very fresh in designs.  

RP: Why did you select Delhi to launch your first store in India?

SJ: We launched our first store in the GK I market in New Delhi. Being a Delhite, I believe that Delhi is a very fashion forward, there is always space for new brands and people are very stylish here. Even Mumbai could have been better location but we wanted to be sure and established before we step out for other cities.

RP: What is your expansion plans? What would be the destination for your next stores?

SJ: We are looking at expanding through online store. This is a segment where we want to give people a new product every week. We are going to offer more than 15000 products through our online store. Basically, Delhi is where we thought there is a segment which is looking for these kinds of fashion forward brands and that was why we entered Delhi. In Bombay we are selling through some of the multi-brand stores and high-end boutiques. In Bangalore we have just started to sell through some multi-brand outlets. Within a few months we plan to have our distribution network pan India.

RP: How are you promoting your brand in India?

SJ: We are promoting our brand through various medium. We have very strong brand association from the west. We have launched about seven brands since last year in India and also we are planning to launch four more international bands within a few weeks. We participate in evening shows; we showcase our products in various exhibitions in different cities; and we are also advertising through online medium. We advertise our brand on different fashion websites.

RP: How do you source your products?

SJ: We have tie-ups from various international brands. We import our products from various markets; some are from Middle East, some from UK, US, Hong Kong, Australia and others. So, we want to provide our consumers a kind of clothing line which is just not ordinary, and price wise it should be affordable to them.

RP: How do you manage your online inventory and timely delivery of products to your consumers?

SJ: We will be catering to entire India through our online store. We have just established a back-end network completely which is pre-tested; initially, we have a back-end group of about 10 people which is actually going to be 40 people in the coming few months. So, the entire infrastructure, be it product or back-end support, has been set up and is in place. So, operating online should not be a challenge for us. The timeline for delivery of products will be maximum of six working days.

RP: What is your expectation from your online store?

SJ: We have a huge expectation from our brand. It has given a lot of credibility to our brand. We have recently rolled out a unique programme called seven days free trial for all our customers who buys our product online. In case consumers find the product not suitable or not as per his or her requirements, they can return the product within seven working days and the price of the product will be refunded to their respective account. That’s how we intend to build up the network with consumers.

RP: Are you planning to launch any exclusive store of Ozel? What would be the area and investment?

SJ: We are planning to launch our second exclusive store in West Delhi. We plan to expand into north India first before we look for expanding in southern India. The first store we have is of 1400 sq ft which is in GK I and the second store, which will be launched in West Delhi, would be of about 800 sq ft. It is hard to say anything about investment in stores as currently our main focus is on our online store, this is the platform where we can show our strength. 

Aspri Spirits have been sourcing in imported liquor from all across the globe for many years now and they are actively involved in making sure that the varied forms of spirits are encouraged and consumed in the country. Here is Sumedh Singh Mandla, CEO – Core Brands, Aspri Spirits Ltd, sharing his overview on the company.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): Tell us about Aspri Spirits, what are you dealing in and in which segment?

Sumedh Singh Mandla (SSM): Aspri Spirits is one of the biggest players for import, marketing and distribution of beverages in India. We currently import wines from 12 countries and spirits from about 9 countries. The idea for us is to emerge as one of the most important players in the market providing complete solution for the alcoholic beverage products to all the important hotels, restaurants and retail segment. We spend a lot of time in educating people about what we do; we have a team of around 100 people who are based out of Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. We plan to bring more interesting products, promote and educate about them and help them grow their demands.

AS: How many brands are you associated with currently?

SSM: We currently have over 50 brands. As part of our basic portfolio, we are just catering to the imported products right now. We import these brands from across 17 countries and we do the marketing and distribution of these brands in India.

AS: What is your opinion on the ever changing liquor market and demand in the country?

SSM: The liquor market in India has lot of segments which are growing, wine being one of them. We have seen a good demand in white spirits category, so we see vodka and tequila as a strong growing segment. In terms of brown spirits, we are one of the largest consumers of whiskey, rum and brandy in the world. Lot of this consumption is based on the domestic brands. Over a period of time people are asking for a better level of quality and also different tastes, which provides an opportunity to the international brands to be sold in India. Wine as a segment has grown well, but the overall baseline for volume of wine is very small. Percentage-wise, wine is growing very well.

AS: You speak of growth but to a lesser extent, so how can the potential be tapped into?

SSM:  Well, I think education is the core. We by default are not wine consumers. Even it terms of taste preferences we prefer the dark spirits more. Wine is comparatively new for lot of people, but the younger generation to a certain extent has made the form much more attractive to the people. What we need is educating the people, a lot tasting events for wine, wine dinners, visiting the winery in the country. These could probably escalate the impact of wine to a much larger extent.

AS: How exactly are you charting out your marketing strategy for the brand?

SSM: As we have almost 50 brands in our portfolio, we make sure these are exclusively marketed and distributed by us across India. India is a big country; every state has its own rules and regulations, so we always earmark certain brands with cities, states where we want to promote these brands in the short  and long term frame based on which our promotional calendar for the year is prepared.

AS: Which region in the country does your brand primarily focus in the country?

SSM: Well for the premium liquor segment, it is Mumbai or Maharashtra is the biggest market, followed by Delhi/NCR and Bangalore. These three form a part of our core set-up. There are also a lot of other markets which are growing, for example, Pune, Chennai and Hyderabad. We touch base with about 23 cities in India, which is the largest reach for any importer or distributor for that matter. The idea for us is not only to help the premium segments to grow, but also making sure that we make the other segments grow as well.   

AS: How have the returns for Aspri Spirits been over the years?

SSM: We basically are a close-knit company; hence we do not divulge financial figures. As far as growth is concerned, we have been clocking a growth rate of around 50% year-on-year and we hope to continue at the same rate in future as well. 

DLF Place Saket, a happening mall from the house of DLF Group, is a complete family destination, popular with both tourists and locals. Arindam Kunar, Vice President, DLF Saket talks about this mall which is eventually becoming a prominent retail destination at the heart of South Delhi for the plush brands it houses that meet the demands of today’s consumers of all age groups.

Arindam Kunar (AK): The mall is positioned as a “family and kids mall”, and thus has a wide array of offerings for the entire family that include entertainment, food and beverage and a wide variety of categories in shopping, which in itself is a big draw. In addition, we stay in touch with our customers through various modes of communication and constantly update them of new offerings and deals. Exceptional convenience like parking, sense of security and safety as well as our marketing events and promotions draw our catchment area to our mall.

RP: What is the daily average footfall in your mall? What's the figure during peak hours?

AK: Our daily average footfall ranges between 30,000 on a weekday that goes up to 50,000 on weekends. The peak hour is between 2 pm and 6 pm.

RP: Tell us about your tenant mix and leasing strategy?

AK: Our mall positioning is paramount in our leasing strategy. Our focus on leasing is to bring well known brands with customer affinity, and categories which cater to the whole family. While fashion is the mainstay of any posh mall like ours, we try and cater to the fashion for him, her and kids. Similarly, kids play a big role in our leasing strategy as does home and home décor or furnishings. We were the first one to introduce a concept like Julia Gabriel. 

RP: What is your marketing and promotion strategy? What kind of support do you provide to the brands housed in the mall?

AK: Our marketing and promotion strategy is to generate sales for our tenants, and thus most of our efforts are based on minimum purchase or similar strategy. In addition to building a brand connect with our customers through constant touch and also on facebook and tweeter, we also actively conduct various annual events like DLF Shopping Festival, Diwali Festival, Christmas Festival, etc. People have come to expect some innovative and exciting events from us now. DT being our sister concern, work well with us for all movie related events. Mall décor and unique installations within the mall also play a critical part. Most importantly, our tenants and we work together on every opportunity to our mutual benefit.

RP: Do you follow revenue sharing model? If yes, what is the percentage of the tenants who do belong to this model? Is it beneficial for retail sector to grow?

AK: We have a mix of minimum guarantee and revenue share models with out tenants. It is a good model to work with our tenants as it brings a shared sense of responsibility and builds common ground to work aggressively for revenue enhancement.  Brand and category selection being right, this is a beneficial way to grow the business.

RP: What is the total area of parking in your mall? What are the amenities you're providing to this mall?

AK: We have more than 900 car bays parking. We provide many facilities in the mall which include car wash, salon, money exchange, gift packing, valet parking, first aid, feeding room, handicap assistance, kids’ play area, cab service, courier service, baby stroller, lost and found services, etc.

Britannia Nutrition Foundation (BNF) is an initiative to combat malnutrition among children. The programme aims at providing suffering children with extra-fortified products from Britannia. A step towards effacing the problem of malnutrition in the country in collaboration with NGOs and public enterprises. Vinita Bali, MD, Britannia Industries Limited elaborates

Rajni Pandey (RP): It is since when that you started with Britannia Nutrition Foundation and the consequent initiatives in this regard?

Vinita Bali (VB): The Britannia Nutrition Foundation (BNF) was established in October 2009. The whole purpose of establishing BNF is to become the catalyst for getting the right dialogue and purposeful action around a very big problem area called “malnutrition”. While there have been several policy initiatives and actions taken by the government, the complete deliverable result is actually quite pathetic because still 64 years after the independence, we are still talking that 47 per cent of India’s children under the age of five years are malnourished. We are talking about the health indicators. I mean if you look at the human health index, India ranks 143 or 145. We are talking about the fact that our economic progress, which we all are proud of, has far outstripped our social progress. With the result, access to hygiene, sanitation and healthcare, food and nutrition is not available to a large population of our country. We are talking about the fact that because of under nutrition and malnutrition our country loses 3-4 per cent of our GDP every year. People lose work because access to health is not there. Because of all these reason we belief that it was important to at least get all multi sector stock holders into a room together to start with and say how do all of us feel about all these issues, are we committed to solve it and so on. So, we started Britannia Nutrition Foundation two years ago and we got a very encouraging response. This was sort of the first forum at least in India that everybody, who has even a small role to play, is brought in the same deliberation and we would gauge more from the programme where people from the planning commission is going to be there, people from development sector, nutrition field are also going to be there. And our whole thing is that we are the catalyst and the role of the catalyst is to stir the molecules so that action happens.

RP: Are you pursuing these kinds of initiatives abroad as well?

VB: We don’t operate BNF initiatives outside India because we don’t do business outside the country. But our work has been acknowledged by the former President of US, Bill Clinton, as a part of Clinton Global Initiative in 2009 wherein at the closing ceremony one of the things which was talked about was BNF and more importantly about the initiative that Britannia as a company had taken to fortify the products that it sells and to how many people those products reach. Another acknowledgment that we received was in August 2008 where Bill Gates wrote an article for Times Magazine where he talked about what he called creative capitalism, which is how the private sector and private public partnership (PPP) come together to create something that is meaningful, and there he talked about Britannia, Naandi and Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) partnership as one of the most eight creative examples of private public partnership.

RP: Is BNF a part of your CSR activity or do you keep the two initiatives separate?

VB: I don’t belief in CSR, but I strongly belief in corporate responsibility. For me, the difference between the two is that if we are responsible as corporate and incorporate that into our business model then it’s no more a social responsibility, it’s just what we have to do. A lot of time social responsibility is seen as writing a cheque or sponsoring a hospital or sponsoring a school, etc.  I don't believe in that because I believe whatever we do as responsible corporate citizens, we do it in a sustainable manner. So, I would substitute the “S” for corporate social responsibility as corporate sustainable responsibility and the only way in which it is sustainable is when it becomes a part of my business model then I can continue it forever. Suppose, if I leave and a new person comes in my place and he or she doesn’t like what we are doing, they will change it and say now we are going to run some educational institutions. That's why we spent a lot of time thinking about it and we embedded it in our business model and that's why we call it as our corporate sustainable responsibility and not corporate social responsibility.

RP: What kind of market research you do to take record of malnutrition in India? How do you, as a result, plan for the resultant products in this category?

VB: We don't have to do the market research because a large part of these statical reports are made available by the government bodies such as ministry of women and children welfare, ministry of education. Our target audiences are all the people who are malnourished in our country. 70 per cent of the Indian children are iron deficient and anaemic. They reside both in urban and rural India. So, for that we have done the fortification of the products that we sale in the market. When it comes to the severely malnourished, that is where we have to reach with the extra-nutritional products in places like schools or Anganwadi centers.  

RP: How effective are your products?

VB: The efficacy of our product is excellent. We have done field studies where children who had hemoglobin label of 8-9. After about three months of serving specially fortified biscuits, where the biscuit becomes the carrier of iron, their hemoglobin level raises to 11-12. We are very confident of what we are doing and we are not the only one who is trying to erase malnutrition from the country, several other countries have successfully done that before.

RP: What is next when we talk about product launch by Britannia which can be used as a tool to combat malnutrition in India?

VB: We have two kinds of products, one is what we sell in the market, out of which 50 per cent of products we have fortified and those are very good supplement for people who otherwise have a normal diet. These are available at every kirana or retail shop. But these products don’t meet the requirements of those people who are severely malnourished, generally the children. So, we have introduced special nutritional biscuits to meet the need of these people and the products are made available with the help of NGOs who work with schools for mid-day meal and Anganwadi centers.  Plan is there to come up with several other products. For that we will make an announcement at the right time.  

When fashion heavyweights like JJ Valaya, Tarun Tahiliani went the retail-way, many expected the trend to catch up with the upcoming and established designers. After showcasing at the elite Milan Fashion Week, Ms. Charu Parashar has been smitten by the lure of retailing. Here she is lending her thoughts on the model and also her plans for the same.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): How frequently do you introduce new collection?

Charu Parashar (CP): The collections that we work on basically depend upon the change in style trends and also seasons to a certain extent. We primarily work on the prêt collection, but are major source of interest is generated by Indian wear and wedding wear, which comprises around 60% of our total design stock and sales.

AS: Who are your clientele for the products?

CP: If you look at the varied offerings from our side, which include the accessories, the pricing that we operate on are for the niche segment of the society. Suits start up from Rs 30,000 and go up to lakhs. We have not been catering to the business segment as of yet, but with our stores we feel that our reach is bound to widen.

AS: Who or what is the inspiration for your designs?

CP: The inspiration behind this collection is royalty. My USP is a lot of colour. I have done a lot of tone-on-tone Swarovski and Diamante, nothing over the top; embellishments are very intricate. My designs and colours are never too loud, in-your-face types. Emphasis is on silhouette, and my clothes are never top to bottom embroidered.

AS: This is your first store. How many are expected in the next one year?

CP: After this, we plan to open up our first store in Mumbai; we have a definite plan and hence we do not want to rush with things. If everything is in place, we will be launching the Mumbai store by December. I am a designer who emphasises on sales; I attain sales of 95% from all multi-brand stores.

AS: How do you benefit from showcasing at fashion shows?

CP: I have been showcasing at fashion week like Wills, Dubai Fashion Week and a couple of more fashion shows, but I think fashion show does give you an edge when it comes to something like showcasing your design on the right kind of model. Wills is an amazing platform, given me business from every possible direction in the last five years.

With the launch of LACS Magnum tablets, the ever-evolving space has a new entry into the segment. We have with us Mr. M.D Jain, Managing Director, LACS MAGNUM taking us through the journey that the brand has made since its existence and the revamping that it has undertaken to establish as a force to reckon with with its attractive product range.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): Tell us about LACS, when did you start and how much did you invest?

M.D Jain (MDJ): We started up LACS in Jan’10. We have invested around Rs.40cr in building up our products. Our aim is to reach to every nook and corner in the country and make them tech-savvy also providing them with high-tech equipments and gadgets at an affordable price range.

AS: Talk us through your range of products.

MDJ: We have 14 models ranging from different sizes to different space capacities i.e. 4.3, 5, 6.3, 7.2, 10.9 inches.  The pricing starts up from 99$ and goes upto 799$. We are providing 12 month E.M.I as low as Rs 650 per month as option to buy our tablets. Also we have facilitated 1 year replacement & damage warranty, which is a first being done in the world. We have designed our products and specifications keeping in mind the diverse nature of our country.

AS: Which sectors are you catering to? What is your role in the retail sector?

MDJ: At the moment, we will be catering to the requirements of the consumers who have been fascinated by the technology of tablets. Since these were available at high-end prices, affordability was an issue. We have followed the principle of 4 A’s i.e. Awareness, Accessibility, Availability, Affordability etc. We will give impetus to the education sector in the future as well, but right now, it is quite pre mature to talk about our product strategy.

AS: Are you manufacturing your products in the country?

MDJ: We do not manufacture our products in the country. We have contract-based agreements with manufacturing vendors in China, from where we import the products and make it available through our widely spread 10,000 experience zones. For the time being we do not see the need to start-up our own unit in the country as we are the ones providing the design strategy, product design and technology to the vendors.

AS: Nowadays, there are a lot of tablet players in the country, how different are you from existing players?

MDJ: When you talk about the tablet market in the country, it is still at a nascent stage. The presence of player such as Blackberry, Apple has got nothing to do with us. We will be challenged by the present domestic brands such as Olive, Beetel and the ones coming up. LACS magnum is here to bring in a bit of variety to the existing product range and also make it more affordable which in return provides us a wider spectrum in terms of consumer reach.

AS: How are you going to make the products available in the market?

MDJ: We will set up our Experience Zones all across the country; 10.000 of those will be coming up in the next 1 year. These will be on the franchise model and also the individually owned ones. The best part about franchising our zones is that it is tax-free. Our stores will require a space of around 100 sqft.  These will be consumer interactive stores where they can experience the touch-and-feel of our products. Also other than these zones, we will look into the possibilities of having direct sales executives which will widen our network even further.

AS: What is your marketing strategy for LACS and future plans in the pipeline?

MDJ: We will be undertaking 360 degree route for our marketing strategy i.e. BTL, outdoor, radio, TV commercial, print etc. The investment that we will be making in marketing is Rs.30cr in the first year.  In terms of the future, as of now we only have the vision to set-up our brand thoroughly; thereafter we will look into evolving ourselves in the market; at the moment, we have created a niche for ourselves in this sector.  

After the worldwide success of Tara Jewels, the brand has made a name for itself in the Indian market as well. Mr. Vikram Raizada,Executive Director,Tara Jewels Ltd. illustrates the same and the outlook of jewellery as a whole through this intuitive session.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): Tell us about Tara Jewellers, when did you start-up?

Vikram Raizada (VR): Tara Jewels Limited, which owns the “Tara Jewellers” brand is one of the leading second largest exporter of studded jewellery exporters from EPZ and EOU complexes  in the country for the year 2006-2007, 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 (Source: Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council). The company was incorporated in 1995-2001 and we’ve had a fruitful experience in the international market.  We manufacture in India and China. We have 3 manufacturing units in India and one in China. We export to various key jewellery markets in the world; these include USA, which was the largest market in the world for Indian exports of gems and jewellery for fiscal 2009, also UK, continental Europe, European Union, South Africa, Australia, China, Canada, UAE, etc. In European Union, we exported to 16 countries including Austria, Germany and Switzerland. We have our subsidiaries in some of these countries:USA, Hong Kong and China, and distribution offices in USA, Germany, Hong Kong and Australia, distributed across the world. Looking at the changes and evolution in the Indian market, we decided to expand our retail footprint over here, and presently operate through 31 standalone retail stores in India.

AS: When you say standalone retail stores, where exactly have you positioned them in the country?

VR: We believe mid-income segment of India’s retail jewellery market is largely untapped by organised jewellery companies and see it as a key long-term driver of growth for an integrated large scale jewellery manufacturer like us. Our strategy of setting up stores in the country is to follow exclusivity. We have concentrated the Indian market in an organised way; our initial focus was to roll out in west, central and north India Delhi region, looking at the remaining parts subsequently. Our first 31 stores are in 19 cities across the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi. It is important to understand that while we are looking for width, and we are also looking for depth. We have not followed the conventional strategy of opening up in key metros for our stores. We are present in metros, mini-metros and other cities possessing higher concentration of mid-income segment, Tier I, II & III towns. That is the level of penetration within which we have wanted to work in the country.

AS: Did you have a definite planning in terms of your positioning of stores in the country?

VR: We had undertaken study in the Indian market, across different town classes, to understand the perception of Indian women on jewellery. We believe there is a great aspiration for diamond jewellery, but at the same time there are certain barriers in the Indian woman’s mind. So our strategic approach was defined to address those barriers, and fundamentally we see ourselves undertaking the role of expanding the market. Strategically, we looked at 4 basic points; one to redefine the jewellery purchase process, secondly to re-engineer & the develop smart retail formats, thirdly to build consumer confidence, fourth to inculcate good trans-create best practices from the our experience in the international market. We have got extensive fair experience across the market, which enables us to differentiate between markets.

AS: What are the trends that you came across in the women segment for jewellery?

VR: Over the years, the efforts of market through various organisations and retailers, there has been great aspiration that has been created for Diamond jewellery. As far as gold jewellery is concerned, it is evidently a part of the Indian lifestyle and is very much part-and-parcel of the way we lead our lives. On the diamond jewellery front, there was a perception, that diamond jewelleries are expensive, probably created by the industry themselves, because our stores look as opulent, which sets-up certain perceptions. An Indian woman has been uncertain about the diamonds, not surprising considering the level of understanding they have for the gold jewellery.  Due to various practices she felt that gold represents a better investment value. These factors have acted as barrier in the minds of Indian women.

AS: Talk us through your product categories in terms of your jewellery? Which sectors are you catering to with your products?

VR: We have covered almost the entire jewellery gamut, whether it is diamond jewellery, coloured stone or gold. Retail is a very localised business, so these 31 stores do reflect our catchments taste. The consumer today is looking for certain basic values, e.g. like preference towards certified and hallmarked jewellery. All our product offerings are not only hallmarked, but are also certified by 3rd party international laboratories.  Our target sector is the middle income class of India, because we believe that jewellery has been relatively deeper penetrated in the wealthier portions of India, and we have realized the opportunity that we wish to address.

AS: What according to you are the trends visible in the Indian Gem & Jewellery industry? What is the future of industry in the country?

VR: The Indian market is significantly different, because today while the Indian consumer is looking at jewellery from a fashion perspective, the fact is that, jewellery is seen as a significant investment in India. That is the principle perception of people towards the jewellery category. Trends do come in, there is an emergence of fashion category in jewellery now, as well as occasion wear, but still we have to confess that wedding jewellery still forms a pivotal part of the industry. There has also been emergence of every-day wear, there is a definite segmentation in jewellery just like in watches, shoes etc. We give prime importance to the part of educating the consumer as well. We intend to involve customers in various customer education programs through partner organisations like GIA, India at our retail stores, for which we have introduced the concept of consultative selling in our stores.

AS: Tell us about your technology set-up for the jewellery?

VR: Tara Jewels is known to be strong on the technological front. The company is mechanised and has introduced a number of technologies into its projection processes. As a matter of fact, there are a number of patents that Tara Jewels has in various manufacturing and setting technologies, which allows us to create well-designed and prepared products in the market. Tara Jewels has access to advance technologies. We use technologies to maintain quality consistency in our offerings, enhance higher perceived value, reduce human efforts, increase quality checks and higher reliance etc. We own the patented turntable technology and use for multi-skilled workforce, which is an indigenously developed manufacturing facility based on “precision oriented jewellery” concept. We have applied for grant of patent to our invisible plate setting technology for setting princess diamonds in wax. Similarly, we have also applied for grant of patent on resizable ring technology which enables resizing of rings without disturbing the shape or falling of stones in case of studded rings.

It's quite exciting when an Indian buys out any international brand with the intention of bringing it into the country. Franco Leone's story has been similar. Narrating the journey of the brand over the years, Mr.Fuzail Ahmad, Business Development Head, Franco Leone talks up the prospect of footwear in the country.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): Tell us about Franco Leone, when did you startup?

Fuzail Ahmad (FA):  Franco Leone started up around 30 years back. Franco & Leone are basically two Italian designers who formed this brand and later they sold this brand to Mr. S.C Bhambri, who is a Delhi-based businessman.  He had the knowledge about footwear and he is the one who has established this brand in India. Earlier they were exporting this brand to Russia, but after the fall of the country, the economy experienced a  debacle. After this, they concentrated on domestic market and they have created a niche product i.e. Franco Leone. We are focusing on the formal footwear category. It is a well-known brand in India, available in 700 stores across the country, which includes the MBO’s as well as the chain-stores like Shopper-Stop, Lifestyle, Reliance, Big life and Metro as of now.

AS: Why have you forayed into the footwear retail segment?

FA: Since we wanted to upgrade the positioning of the brand, that is why we have been undertaking a lot of activities in terms of advertising through different media whether it is outdoor or print media. But to enhance or uplift the brand equity, we see the need for us to set-up our own flagship stores to enhance our image in the market as a brand. It also enables us to present our wide range of products, which is not possible with the MBO’s.

AS: Are you manufacturing the footwear as well, if yes, where do you have your units in the country?

FA: Yes, we do manufacture our products in the country. We have 3 units; 2 units are in Badli and 1 is in Greater Noida. Considering the rise in demand for footwear in the country over the last few years, we will soon be setting- up couple of more units in the country; this will be located in Bahadurgarh. We can produce 3000 pairs at the moment.

AS: Footwear requires quality designing, finishing etc. do you have any design set-up catering to this?

FA: As far as the designing is concerned, we have two designers based in Italy; Walter & Alberto, we have hired them to design Franco Leone products. They travel to the European countries to be updated with the latest trends in design & fashion over there and provide us with various samples, out of which the most viable ones for the Indian market are chosen and taken into the manufacturing process.

AS: From where are you sourcing your raw materials for the products?

FA: We primarily source our raw materials from within the country and at times there are requirements for some which are not available in the country hence sourced from abroad.  We source leather from Chennai & Jalandhar Tanneries. We have sole manufacturers in India. We get the moulds from Italy and manufacture the footwear in India.

AS: Could you share the technology that is being undertaken by Franco Leone for its footwear production?

FA: Franco Leone has always been avid follower of latest technology with regards to our footwear manufacture. Recently we have introduced Direct Injection PU-sole (DIP), with this facility our footwear does not have any in-sole, which increases the flexibility of the shoes, and it is also very light.

AS: You are specifically catering to the men’s segment in your flagship store, reasons?

FA: We have always been associated with men’s footwear & accessories. The flagship store has enabled us to showcase our whole range of products under one roof, which is convenient to the customers.

AS: In terms of men’s footwear we have seen drastic changes in their taste and preference, what trends do you follow in the country currently?

FA: Trends concerning formal footwear is on the rise, especially fashion footwear. They prefer the ones with long toes, shiny leather & light-weight shoes and the demand for the same is expected to rise in the near future. In the casual segment, we’ll be seeing varied colours.

AS: Are you into any licensing agreement with Playboy for their products & merchandises?

FA: We have a licensee agreement with Playboy international for footwear & accessories covering South Asia.

Such has been the rise of flower business in the country, that growth of brands like Ferns-n-petals has not gone unnoticed. What made them foray into this segment is something only the minds behind them can reveal. Here is Mr. Pawan Gadia, CEO  & Head of Ferns & Petals E-commerce doing so on behalf of the brand.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): FNP has been present in the country as a brand for quite some time now, how has it been for you over the years?

Pawan Gadia (PG): We started in 1994; our first shop did well, which resulted in the opening of another shop and so on. Later on we were approached by people enquiring about the possibility of taking our brand into franchising. During this time, we realised that the scope of wedding as a business opportunity for us is highly viable. Initially we were not taken seriously with our offerings, so we arranged a wedding in Taj Hotel once, then later on we arranged in Le Meridian etc. In 2002, we started-up with our online division.

AS: How many stores do you have in the country? How much is the area covered of each and investment required?

PG: When I had joined in a decade back, we had 10 shops, presently we are have 110 shops spread across 45 cities in the country. Each store requires investment of around Rs. 10 lacs, and the size of each store is about 300-400 sq.ft. The size is such because fresh flowers are a perishable commodity, so the required portion in a store for storing flowers is 100 sq.ft; the rest is utilised for displaying other items, and then there is front side of the store. We are already visible in the Tier II & III cities, the idea now is to increase the number of stores in these region as well as the metro cities. Of the 110, 12 are company-owned outlets and the rest are franchise stores.

AS: Why did you go for company-owned shops?

PG: A flower business requires close-monitoring, which we have learned over the years. The transportation, handling and storing requires personal assistance. But now that the system is set, we have realised that we can grow more rapidly with company- owned outlets. That’s the reason why we will be  expanding our stores in Mumbai. Managing outlets across the country is not feasible for us through our own outlets, hence the number of such concept stores is limited for the time being.

AS: Flower has been regarded more as goods for devotional chores in the country, how were you able to create a standing for yourself since existence?

PG: I would say certain amount of luck as well as prediction. Flowers used in for the devotional purposes are not our speciality. What has happened is, over the years, customers are travelling across the globe which in turn is resulting into this deep exposure, understanding and knowledge of varied flowers available. The customers today are more expressive and also people today have more disposable income in their hands.

AS: What has your role been in arranging weddings of varied magnitudes?

PG: Wedding business is a high-volume concept; we just arranged a wedding in south India, which had only flowers of worth a crore. Our role in providing flowers has made people realise the freshness and glow in ambience that they bring when assembled in either weddings or in house itself. Also people with their taste & choice want to stand out and be noticed, same goes with the flowers been chosen for weddings especially the lavish ones.

AS: Where are you sourcing areas for the flowers across the world?

PG: We primarily source from Pune & Bangalore, these are the two moderate climate cities in the country, and this is where the majority of flowers are grown. We also source them from Uttaranchal. Talking about the international sourcing, they are majorly brought in from Thailand, China & part of it from Holland.

AS: Flowering business requires efficient logistic operations, in what way have you handled it?

PG: Every flower has a life, the moment it is brought in from the field till it reaches our godowns, keeping that in mind, we either fly-in the flowers or it comes by bus that depends upon the distance covered as well as the shelf life of the particular flower.

AS: What are your future maneuvers?

PG: We plan to double-up the number our stores in 2 years time. We will be opening our own office in Mumbai as well as 12 company-owned outlets. In Delhi, we will be opening 3 more outlets.

The VIE group has been entrusted to provide quality and delicious authentic thali’s.  Mr. Kamlesh Barot, Director, VIE Hospitality Group shares the menu in detail also highlighting the evolution of hospitality sector in the country.

 Aadeetya Sriram (AS): Tell us about your group, when was it formed? Talk us through your journey.

Kamlesh Barot (KB): This group was formed in 2010 but the family of promoters have been in this business of hospitality, exclusively since 1947.  The journey started with our father and uncle putting up “Ishwar Bhavan” known by the yesteryears gentry, mostly senior citizens today, followed by Revival, Rajdhani, Ikxia, Quay Lounge and now the Revival Indian Thali brands have been promoted by this family's next generation, growing from food to accommodation, franchising and management contracts in both the hospitality spheres, that were scaled up to a hundred in number over the years.

AS: What is the kind of products and offerings that you provide?

KB: Food, beverages and accommodation ranging from Indian to international and mobile to fine dine restaurants, award-winning room properties offering an ace up over any competition ever, be it the first to start a flair bar tending school, specialized catering to hospitals or environment and health initiated concepts. We have been ahead of the curve till date. The latest being showcased at the Revival Indian Thali outlets.

AS: Talking about the hospitality sector in the country, how has it evolved over the years?

KB: From the Inns (read Dharamshalas) to be recorded today in the 50 best properties of the World, hospitality sector in our country has evolved and how! It has proved to be the biggest money spinner in getting the highest foreign exchange, without exporting any capital goods out of the country, employing the highest number of people after the construction industry in this green hospitality industry's niche.

AS: You have a lot of varieties in terms of your offerings, please enlighten us?

KB: At Revival Indian Thali we offer regional culinary delicacies from across India on a Golden Kansa Thali. Kansa is recommended as the alloy for dining utensils by the ayurveda due to its unique restorative properties. This Thali set is also available for sale. Each thali meal comprises not less than 30 items with each day's menu being unique. The menu incorporates at least 2 organic items each day and involves the philosophies of ayurveda (paakashastra) as well as modern nutrition (guidance from the director of dept of home science at SNDT University) in its planning. Only specially sourced and certified trans-fat free oils & fats are used in the cooking.

Home style recipes are sourced from across India, rigorously tested and standardized before incorporation into the recipe docket. Select recipes from this docket are also gifted to regular patrons & privilege card holders. Those that visit the restaurant on birthday/anniversaries have their pictures taken and mailed to then in a special photo-frame free of cost.  The staff is HACCP trained, the servers sanitize their hands every hour, surprise lab tests are carried out on the food, time-temperature charts are maintained, and the guests are invited to the kitchen to see the hygiene levels, to see how the kitchen functions and to interact with the maharajs. There is also provision to take groups on a tour of the destination including the iconic Jama Masjid which is a stone's throw from the restaurant. We save on paper usage by minimising on the printing of collaterals, most of which are now designed in house and displayed in house on LCD screens. Small LCDs at each table cycle through the day's menu and offer tips on how to best enjoy a Thali meal.

AS: What are the challenges that you face being part of a sector which has still not been recognized as an industry?

KB: The standards offered by this Industry, which can be uplifted to such greater heights with our Indian minds, doing wonders in other industries abroad, that the world's service sector industries would follow our footsteps to emulate how this industry perfects the art of personalization in service. The warmth that Indians can portray in their service to hotel and restaurant guests, can never be seen anywhere in the world, if push comes to shove. The human power that this industry possesses and employs is the biggest challenge that I foresee, which can turn the tables of this game, provided the right talent is triggered by the right people at the right time, as the IT sector did for itself in the last decade. Our old school still extorts and does ragging under the guise of grinding, which leads to college drop-outs for interns and attrition to other industries on employment. Human factor is therefore, the biggest challenge today for this industry that can become the best ace to bring this industry up to its rightful dignity

AS: Do you have any plans in the pipeline for the future?

KB: Our outlets shall be visible in metros of India, to start with on a franchise model infused with a PE/VC trajectory for this scaling up, touching a score every half a year, followed in parallel with the international cities, from the beginning of the next year in the food and beverage sector, while plans on accommodation, after the new CRZ relaxations are on the Board level.

Bicycles have been the ever-present fixture in the Indian scenario. Firefox Bikes has tried accomplishing the feat of bringing in high-quality imported bikes from around the world, Mr Shiv Inder Singh, Managing Director, Firefox Bikes gives his insight of the cycle industry in the country.  

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): What is Firefox all about? Where do you have your presence in the world? When did you start-up?

Shiv Inder Singh (SIS): Firefox started up in 2005, we opened up our first showroom in Delhi.  Firefox is owned by me and my partner, who is based in Taiwan and been a part of the bike business for almost 30 years. He is more or less handling the U.K and European markets. We wanted to offer bikes across all size and age groups, made to international specifications, quality standards etc. Due to my partner’s long connections and reach into the U.K market, we had access to the widest range available which gave us the edge as a brand. We started up with 38 models of bikes targeting across different age-groups. Since Firefox, I don’t think no one has been able to offer such a comprehensive range of bikes in the country.

AS: You are providing imported bikes which are manufactured keeping the international standards in check, how does that comply with your pricing?

SIS: There are two things; pricing is linked to technical and quality standards. All these years, the automobile & the motorcycle sector in the country grew double-fold; the same did not take place in the bicycle industry. The bike industry is huge in India, 12 to 15 million bicycles are sold annually in the country, but they had captive market, who could not afford purchasing the bikes or the 4-wheelers. The bicycle sector stalled in the technology of 50’s. When we brought in the bicycles under Firefox, these were the product of 21^st century. When you do that, you need to pay that extra buck. Our range, when we brought in started at Rs. 2000-3000, now it has moved up because of the price inflation, as of now the pricing starts at Rs. 3500, our adult bikes range from Rs. 16,500 and our road bikes at Rs. 23,000.

AS: How many franchisee outlets do you have in the country?

SIS: At present, we have 7 company-owned outlets, and over 60 dealer-outlets. Even out of the franchise outlets, almost 50% are exclusive Firefox outlets. Generally our stores are covered in 800-1000sq.ft and the investment amounts to 5-6 lacs per store. We have 4 outlets in Delhi, store in Chandigarh and a couple in Mumbai.

AS: How is technology implemented in your products? Please elaborate on the set-up?

SIS: The most important function of the cycles is the gears, you pay for them. They enable you to climb terrains easily, help you to take inclined planes easily. For the smooth functioning of gears, the frame on which the bicycle is built has to be perfectly aligned. Generally in India because of the fact that geared cycles were not that prominent, frames alignment was not a major issue.

AS: What are the trends of bicycle industry in the country?

SIS: The bicycle industry prior to this was divided into 2 segments i.e. standard and fancy. Earlier standard segment was the backbone of the industry in the country. Gradually the market has been shifting from the standard ones to the fancy segment primarily because, the spending power of consumer has increased, which has resulted in more financial support from the banks in order to acquire motor-cycles. The fancy cycle segment is rising, courted by the kids of households who have become the heavy spenders in a family in recent times.

AS: The future plans for Firefox in the country as well as internationally?

SIS: We will work towards bringing in more high-quality bikes in the country as well expanding our coverage through dealers who know the art of selling. We have realised the potential of the fancy-cycle segment in the country and would like to utilise the opportunity to its optimum.

The world renowned footwear Expo Riva Schuh is in India for the first time. Mr. Roney Simon, MD, Italian Exposition Pvt. Ltd & Overseas Director, FICCI for Italy, the chief engineer, who has brought about this initiative gives a lowdown of what can be expected out of the event.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): How did the concept of Expo Riva Schuh come into being? How did an Italian initiative make its way into India?

Roney Simon (RS):  The Expo Riva Schuh is one of the largest shoe fairs in Italy in what we consider street-smart shoes. The fair is spread across 31,000sq. mt of area, where we have 41 countries participating in the fair, exhibiting at the fair, and 101 countries visit the fair. It’s by far the most successful fair in footwear. The volume of companies participating at the Expo Riva Schuh is the highest compared to any other fair happening across the world or India. The Garda Fair, as it is popularly known, is like a permanent destination because more than 150-200 companies from India participate twice a year, where they book their orders for the whole year.  So the idea borne out of the fact that India does not have any credible fair in the finished goods area. With China forging its mark in the market, one of the ways to promote India is to bring world-class events & happenings to our own country, bringing in international brands and seeking attention of the global market.  The Expo Riva Schuh is here by invitation, which means that the entire industry who exhibit at the Riva Del Garda in Italy, have approached us with the possibilities of organising the fair.

AS: How does your trade show function?

RS: The basic purpose of organising the event in India is to showcase the global market the sort of potential the country has, as well as to make them interested in venturing out and building up their base in the country in the near future. The Expo Riva Schuh is definite to guarantee world-class expertise. We are lending our know-how, and we are convinced that India is a great partnership country; we want to make our presence felt all around the globe and portray India as a lucrative destination for top international brands. We just don’t want to be a trade fair, instead we want to be a trade catalyst, helping brining in quality, knowledge of trends etc.

AS: How do you view the current Indian footwear industry? Which direction is it moving?

RS: The Indian footwear industry has nothing to fear with regards to the international market, we have some of highly capable people and companies in the industry, who have doing a fine job, we are just lacking in terms of experience, the connectivity, where we believe Expo Riva Schuh will come into its own. We are just a couple of steps behind from being a developing market to developed market. It has definitely taken us some time in coming to India, but we believe now that we are here, the Indian shoes industry and manufacturer s will make sure that within 5-10 yrs they will be among the renowned markets in the world.

AS: How does the trend of fashion in the foreign countries differ with the Indian market?

RS: It’s difficult to talk about trends in a market where we are just settling in. Brands need to provide footwear at a competitive price, which will be separating you from the other players in the market. We have the low-cost country advantage, but we also need to inculcate productivity, which actually is a sub-product of design. The footwear industry is going to transform into leather and footwear fashion industry, and we will make sure that we dictate the trends to the brands in the country. In order to reach the levels of Italian footwear industry, we have to struggle a lot, but the most important aspect is the urge and enthusiasm that is amongst the brands to fulfill such an aspiration.

AS: How do manufacturers benefit from participating in this event?

RS:  This is a platform to meet people and thus save on cost of travelling abroad. Also the domestic players can identify the particular domestic customer as the Indian market is expanding by leaps and bounds; the dealers get the chance to interact and undertake bulk orders, which in totality will help the Indian economy as footwear industry prosper. Also the international brands will be coming in with a view to establish themselves in the country in the form of joint-partnerships with Indian players, which in turn will open up avenues for brands from everywhere, offering the consumer a whole new varied choice of footwear in India.

With the launch of Denizen brand, Levis Strauss & Co. has set the mark for more consumer insight centric products in the country. Mr. Aaron Boey, Global President, Denizen takes us through the journey of brand building.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): Tell us about Denizen as a brand of Levi’s? How many stores do you have?

Aaron Boey (AB): Denizen was launched in August last year, and immediately was made available in Karnataka, India as well. We spent one season to test the entire concept. It was a new brand at that point of time, and built on basis of inputs & insights that we got from Indian consumers. Therefore we build the brand; the product, the retail format, the branding, the marketing etc. and we spent a season to test it out over there. The feedback that we got was extremely positive, and hence we have rolled-out the brand nationally. In terms of distribution, we have got 250 exclusive stores, and more than 2000 multi brand outlets. We are available nationally, accessible to consumers everywhere.

AS: When you say testing, how exactly did you undertake the operation?

AB: We tested the branding, the brand proposition, its values, personality, look and feel etc. which was conducted to our satisfaction. Secondly, we tested the product which was really important; because this brand was built on the basis of inputs we attained from the consumer, about their needs, aspirations in terms of styles, which the product basically has to reflect. The most important aspect of our testing was the retail format, studying the looks of our stores, and providing with a store which is inviting and makes the experience of shopping pleasurable.

AS: What kind of trends have you come across during your testing in the country?

AB: We have tapped the trend in India as well international trends. The young, aspiring educated youth of the country are extremely aware of the trend patterns globally.  In India, denim is a big trend, and we stand for the best in denim. Our promise with Denizen is that, you can’t get better jeans for the price, and we offer the best fitting jeans in the market.  Levis Strauss & Co. provides us with their expertise to keep ourselves updated with the trends internationally making them available to the Indian consumers promptly.

AS: Where do you have your manufacturing units for Denizen in the country?

AB: We basically work with multiple Indian vendors, we design, develop the product but all the manufacturing is conducted by the vendors present all across the country.

AS: What is your marketing strategy for Denizen?

AB: Denizen is going to be marketed as an international brand. We have brought the best trends from all over the world to India; it’s going to be done in a way so that consumer can relate to and feel comfortable with the brand. Hence, we have Imran Khan as the brand ambassador; the consumers can be rest assured that the services we are offering be it shop experience or online sale, the standards are maintained by the brand globally.

AS: Levi’s is known to be involved in sustaining the environment, how is Denizen following the philosophy?

AB: Being part of Levis Strauss & Co, we understand our need to continually follow the philosophy of sustaining the environment with Denizen or for that matter any other brand under this family. Sustainability is a key initiative, right across the company. We have undertaken the concept through our stores, the materials that we use for the stores, like energy-saving initiatives that we implement, sustainability in our products where we use less water, and also communicate sustaining the resources to our consumers.

AS: How much revenue has Levis Strauss & co. accumulated for the year 2010?

AB: In 2010, Levis Strauss & Co has accumulated 4.5 billion$ across all our brands.

AS: What are the plans for Denizen?

AB: India as a market is a promising country, we will continue our focus on India. Internationally we will continue to focus on the other markets. Denizen is now available in India, South Korea, Pakistan, and Singapore. Towards the later part of the year, we are launching Denizen in the U.S, Mexico and afterwards we will look at expanding the brand around the world.

With the handicraft art under serious threat of extinction, MDCPL has done its bit in restoring some of the lost pride and heritage. Mr. Arun Agarwal, Managing Director, Moradabad Design & Consulting Pvt. Ltd. (MDCPL) enlightens us about the effort being put in by them.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): Tell us about MDCPL? What was your idea behind this initiative? How long have you been in existence?

Arun Agarwal (AA): MDCPL is a mega-cluster scheme under the government of India. The purpose of this initiative is to serve the portions in the country, which has huge talent of art & craft. We involve ourselves in developing the skills of the man force undertaking handicraft production as well as providing them with the education of marketing their products.  We are helping the artisans of the Moradabad cluster, to develop their skills, providing them the platform to establish themselves in the industry. We started up less than a year back.

AS: What is the role of government in setting up MDCPL?

AA: MDCPL is a public-private partnership venture; the government plays its role in determining the factors within which the industry is run, as we provide our expertise to meet their objectives. They have trusted our industry knowledge for this.

AS: How much have you invested in MDCPL?

AA: We have invested Rs.40cr which includes the cost of setting up our design center which is due to be completed by July this year, marketing costs.

AS: How is MDCPL connected to the retailers?

AA: In terms of retailing, we are discussing the possibility of Shop in Shop, it is categorised into 2 parts, first one being the cottage emporium & hhac showrooms, one thing we are making sure is that not neglecting the Indian market, the middle-class over here wants such products, so within India we are planning to set-up shop in shop concepts, we will also be launching our brand catering to retailing, M3, which we hope will be a successful enterprise.  We plan to have 5 stores in the first 2 years, after which we will gauge the viability of expanding our reach. We have already conducted the demographic study for the positioning of the stores; we will primarily focus on Chennai, Ludhiana, Gurgaon, and Mumbai which satisfy our requirements.

AS: What is the export mechanism that MDCPL has adopted?

AA: We will be undertaking the export process in two ways; either we will link them with the exporters or with an objective to make them an entrepreneur, there will be entire logistic support in terms of documentation, packaging, compliance, we will link them with the exporter, if not we will ensure they their fair share of margin from the exports of the handicrafts across the globe.

AS: Will you be looking at the possibility of partnering with retail brands such as Fab India?

AA:  We can definitely see ourselves partnering with them in the near future, but we must ensure that we are not providing them with our products just for the sake of their relevance to the vertical but also providing the goods for the value that represents the brand. We intend to create the look the retailer associates with and hence providing them with the goods of their choice.

 The Bombay Store recently tied up with the NGO, Magic Bus. Here, Mr. Anaggh Desai, CEO, talks to us about this recent alliance.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): What sort of merchandise Magic Bus is planning to introduce in alliance with The Bombay Store?

Anaggh Desai (AD): The Bombay Store has entered into a strategic alliance with the Magic Bus and has introduced a variety of product range that is designed by Design Stack. These include T-shirts, key chains, coffee mugs, watches, satchel bags and card holders. Currently, these are exclusively retailed at The Bombay Store outlets with plans to be retailed at other outlets with other designs and merchandise. We along with the Magic Bus also plan to introduce other range of merchandise in the near future.

AS: Who will be the target audience and what will be the price range of this merchandise?

AD: The Magic Bus merchandise is youthful and contemporary that is designed keeping in mind the young audiences that are between the age group of 7-17 years. These products are priced keeping the marketing standards and hence are available from Rs. 75/- onwards.

AS: Have you done any kind of market survey prior to the launch of this merchandise?

AD: There was an informal dip stick studies conducted via our  stores, social media etc to see how people would respond to a cause. Besides this, we had the Magic Bus experience of the past couple of years where they had been selling some limited number of merchandise via the web.

AS: What is the USP of this range of merchandise?

AD: The Magic Bus merchandise is designed keeping in mind the principles of the NGO that promotes gender equality, education and health & hygiene through the medium of sport. The merchandise reflects all these pillars in their product range.

AS: What's the idea behind such an initiative? How both the parties, The Bombay Store as well as Magic Bus, will be benefiting by such venture?

AD: Keeping corporate social responsibility as one of the prime objectives of the Bombay Store and its mission to contribute towards the society and help in the betterment of contemporary India. The Bombay Store has entered into a strategic alliance with the Magic Bus to provide an exclusive range of merchandise that will help promoting the products and in increasing sales. The store is creating a special space that will be dedicated to display all the Magic Bus products. The revenues earned from the sale of this product range will be utilised for Magic Bus activities and child development programmes.

AS: Why did Magic Bus select The Bombay Store as its retail partner to launch its products?

AD: Founder of Magic Bus and the CEO of The Bombay Store are old colleagues who were jointly responsible for some successful launches in the past and reconnected when MB wanted to display posters at the TBS outlets. Reliving the old days over coffee, TBS said let's do something bigger, better & far reaching. From concept to execution, this was completed in less than 70 days.

AS: What other CSR initiatives have been undertaken by The Bombay Store?

AD: As corporate social responsibility is our prime objective, we tie-up with a lot of NGO’s as well as artisans and craftsman from various villages to sell their products. We also plan to open an NGO corner at our heritage store that will have showcase an array of products only dedicated for NGO’s and help in the development of contemporary India.

Jewellery has been a part of Indian women's culture for ages; Gitanjali Group has further strengthened its hold in the segment for over 50 years. Mr. Mehul Choksi, CMD, Gitanjali Group, talks to us about the importance of jewellery segment in the country.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): How long have you been operating?
Mehul Choksi (MC): Gitanjali Group is one of the world’s largest integrated diamond and jewellery manufacturer-retailers with an annual turnover of nearly US$ 2 billion. The India based group was established in 1966 and today its activities -- from sourcing and processing rough diamonds to manufacturing, branding and retailing gold and diamond jewellery are spread across the entire value chain and all across the globe.

AS: Where do you have your manufacturing units in the country?
MC: We have diamond manufacturing facilities at Hyderabad, Mumbai and Surat; and jewellery manufacturing facilities at Mumbai, Coimbatore, Surat, Kolkata and Hyderabad.

AS: What is the marketing strategy for your brands?
MC: After the pioneering launch of Gili, the first branded jewellery line in India way back in 1994, Gitanjali Group has introduced a number of other brands for different consumer segments and needs. The communications and marketing strategy for each of the brands is appropriate to its positioning and target group. Each of these brands has a brand ambassador, usually a Bollywood celebrity who further strengthens the consumer connects with the brand. Besides the print and TV campaigns, brands also organisee and hosts special events – fashion shows, entertainment evenings, contests and tie-ups to further consolidate the relationship with the target consumer.

AS: Could you elaborate on the design technology you have implemented?
MC: Our design department brings together a combination of human skills and advanced technology. The teams (different for specific brands and specific markets) are headed by professionally trained designers – usually graduates from leading institutes like NIFT, SNDT etc, and they are supported by a team of 15-20 CAD experts. The designers have a detailed knowledge of various jewellery making techniques and current global design and fashion trends. Special teams focus on specific markets – India, USA, Japan, Europe, Middle East, etc.

AS: What is the trend of jewellery that consumers prefer currently?
MC: India was traditionally a gold jewellery consuming country, but modern, younger consumers have shown a marked preference for diamond studded jewellery. The diamond designs are more contemporary and have an international look and feel.  Also where jewellery purchases were strongly influenced by the investment motive, now fashion and look have become important too; also jewellery buying is no longer restricted to weddings and occasions but is also for daily wear, work wear, casual social functions etc. While heavier gold jewellery, or large diamond jewellery pieces are more suited for the weddings and occasions purchases, smaller, lightweight pieces with a relatively lower diamond content are suited for the daily – work wear -- casual category.

AS: What is your export scenario, India’s role in export, comment?
MC: Gitanjali is one of India’s leading exporters of diamonds and diamond jewellery and there is great potential for India to grow its business in this segment, particularly by expanding jewellery exports. Gitanjali is also exporting well known Indian brands - Nakshatra, Asmi, Gili, D’damas etc, to the overseas markets.

AS: You have a lot of procedural mechanism set-up in place? Do you have any training for the same?
MC: Yes, we have a specialised HR department which organises training and development programmes as appropriate.

AS: Your future plans for Gitanjali Group?
MC: Rapid expansion of the branded jewellery business both in India and abroad, extension into the luxury lifestyle retailing, particularly in India and the development of a 171-acre sector specific special economic zone (SEZ) at Hyderabad are some of the key projects. In India, each jewellery brand is expanding through the rapid development of a franchisee network, while Indian and international brands are both being marketed abroad. After the recent acquisition of key Italian brands, the Group plans to take the Made in Italy brand to international markets, with special branded stores. Recently it has also ventured into the luxury lifestyle sector in India under the banner of Gitanjali Lifestyle. It runs the Giantti Luxury Ensemble for high end Indian and international jewellery brands, and a chain of department stores, Maya by Gitanjali Lifestyle retailing jewellery, watches, apparel and other fashion accessories for the woman of today. A further pioneering step is the group’s foray into setting up a sector specific Special Economic Zone (SEZ), a 171-acre Hyderabad SEZ and the first unit has already begun functioning.

Established as an endeavour to cater to the palates of modern Indian tea aficionados, Tea Culture of the World, a unique brand of luxury health tea, is the brainchild of Dr. Rupali Ambegaonkar, Founder and CEO, Tea Culture of the World.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): What is Tea Culture of the world all about? What was the objective behind start-up?

Rupali Ambegaonkar (RA): Tea Culture of the World, a unique brand of luxury health tea, is a venture by Iron Buddha Company aimed at making available some of the finest, most exotic and rare tea from around the world in the Indian market. With a product offering that includes exotic tea variants such as Rose, Blooming, Red, Chrysanthemum, Colyx, Oolong, White, Puerh, Chamomile, Tie Gua Yin, Jasmine Tea and Green tea amongst many others, we are the first brand to introduce such novel variants of tea in the Indian market. Tea Culture of the World aims at providing its customers with not only tea that is pleasing to the taste buds but also those that are beneficial for health.

AS: Where do you source your raw materials for your tea products?

RA: At present the tea is imported from China. We are in talks with Sri Lanka, South Africa and Argentina as well for various more blends and variants of tea.

AS: India, is a tea-consuming nation, how are your offerings different from the ones available in the market?

RA: Indians drink approximately 6,200,000 tons tea every year, but most of the population roots for masala tea and black tea. Having said that, there is also a segment that consumes green tea and flavoured tea therefore we provide tea variants that are rare and exotic and currently many of them are not available in India. These teas are organic products that are least processed and high in essential nutrients. Our products not only have an elegant flavour but also have a gamut of health benefits that range from anti-ageing, anti-cancer, reducing body heat, lowering the risk of heart diseases, effective against sore throat and rich in anti-oxidants.

AS: How are these health-teas beneficiary to the consumers?

RA: We spend so much time and money on consuming products that claim to have health benefits. Products like creams, gels, tonics, medicines and various such products are not only least effective but also at times harmful for the body. These teas being organic have no side-effects of any kind. These teas have enormous health benefits, research has time and again proved that tea has the potential to reduce cholesterol, provide antioxidants, aid in weight loss control diabetes, also stop free radical accumulation and also be a good anti-aging tool. What is better than consuming a multitude of nutrients while you sip on your favourite brew which tantalises all your senses?

AS: Your pricing strategy for these products seems to be on the higher side, which segment of consumer base are you targeting for your tea?

RA: Good health is priceless, so we won’t say that tea is expensive. It may be perceived a little on the higher side but if you compare the quantity and quality with others you will definitely see a big difference as these teas are least processed and comes in whole leaves or flowers so you can brew a lot more tea compared to the equivalent quantity of other teas. Also one pack would suffice you for a month, which makes the tea quite economical compared to the plethora of benefits and the exotic flavors are concerned.

AS: What are your company plans in the country?

RA: At present, the tea is available exclusively online at www.teacultureoftheworld.com where people can know more about the product before they purchase them. We are in talks with various exclusive and high-end retail and hotel chains to make the product available and are in further stages of talks with exclusive restaurants and hotels for the same. We plan to launch our own flagship stores cum teahouse where the products will be available for purchase.

AS: How is the consumer aware of the brand with reference to tea variants and their health benefits?

RA: We are engaging in various consumer awareness programs ranging from Tea-tasting sessions to speaking about the products through various forms of media. We have been educating the people about the benefits of these teas and the brew itself through social media like Facebook and Twitter. Audience can interact directly with us through social media. We actively speak about the health benefits that come with each tea. This information is also available with each box of tea.

AS: Any other verticals that you cater to? Do you plan to venture into other verticals?

RA: At the moment we do not cater to any other verticals but we do have future plans to venture into others as well.

AS: Are you manufacturing your products in the country? Where do you have your manufacturing unit?

RA: Most of the teas that we provide need special care and can be grown in special conditions only. They need to be packed immediately as they are least processed and any delay will lead to the tea leaves loosing the flavor therefore it s not possible to manufacture them in the country. We have our manufacturing unit in Shanghai where they are manufactured and packed and then imported to our country.

AS: Your marketing strategy?

RA: We are in talks with various exclusive and high-end retail and hotel chains to make the product available and are in further stages of talks with exclusive restaurants and hotels for the same to make the tea available for retail and direct consumption. We also plan to launch our own flagship stores cum teahouse where the products will be available for consumption and purchase. We are looking at making the tea available at the leading metros before having a pan India presence.

AS: Your accumulated revenue till date & your future plans for Tea Culture?

RA: At present we can not divulge in any facts or figure. We plan to open our own flagship stores and make many more exotic tea variants from across the globe available for the audience where they can enjoy the tea.

With an array of brands under it's umbrella, Virola Group has come a long way since its existence in early 90’s. Mr. Sushil Sachdeva, Director of Virola Shoes Pvt. Ltd enlightens us about their venture in the country.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): Tell us about Virola group? How long have you been in existence?

Sushil Sachdeva (SS): Virola International was set up in the year 1990. It was during this year that the company ventured into the export market of footwear. However, Virola Shoes, incepted in early 2010 is amongst the top 10 Footwear Exporters of India which has over 175 customers all across the globe. Virola’s maiden domestic venture, “Alberto Torresi” showcases a phenomenal range of Men’s shoes which gives a perfect blend of style, innovation and real comfort. The superior workmanship and quality material used to craft these shoes add an enticing proposition to the customers.

AS: Where do you have your manufacturing units in the country, what is your production capacity? How much have you invested in them?

SS: At present we have 6 factories for our manufacturing, but are in the finalising process of setting up one more factory.  We have invested around Rs.25 million for the manufacturing units.

AS: Where do you source your raw-materials from? How far is your vendor coverage based in the country?

SS: We source it from India as well as we import from other countries like Brazil, Bangladesh, Italy, Portugal etc.  From Brazil and Bangladesh, we source leather while from Italy we source soul and from Portugal we source other material required for making shoes. Our current vendor base includes 125 vendors who are based Pan India at places like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Chennai etc.

AS: Could you share with us your technology being implemented for footwear production?

SS: We are using the technologies designed and developed by Italian, Dutch and German designers and technicians working exclusively for us, like WELLFLEX, STRESSLESS.

AS: Which specific markets does Virola Shoes cater to?

SS: Virola shoes cater to Indian Market and Virola International caters to the rest of world.  Virola International has around 200 plus customers spread across 60 plus countries in 6 continents.

AS: Tell us about your R&D set-up? How much have you invested in them?

SS: We believe that R&D is an important exercise for every brand and this is the reason why we spend 10% of the total turnover. This exercise of R&D enables us to keep abreast with the marketing trends. Also detailing gets more profound and sought after when regular R&D initiatives are taken by any company. 

AS: What trends does the consumer follow currently in terms of the footwear segment?

SS: Indian market used to follow the UK trends but now with globalisation the international trends have started to pour in with great ease. Also the Indian market has seen a phenomenal improvement and change as far as setting trends is concerned.

AS: Tell us about your brand Alberto Torresi, its consumer base and offerings?

SS: Alberto Torresi is an international brand selling across Europe and been introduced in India in October 2010.  It caters to the premium segment from 18 to 45 and what we are offering is fashion with comfort.

AS: Do you have any manufacture training in place for your staff?

SS:  We do have manufacture training in our factories based in Agra where we have our design team of around 50 people who are based in our Agra factories.

AS: Your annual turnover? How much growth have you attained y-o-y basis?

SS: The annual turnover of Alberto Torresi is Rs. 45 Million$, marking a growth rate of 20% every year.

AS: Your future expansion plans?

SS: We are planning to place Alberto Torresi in more stores across India so that we can go ahead with marketing strategies to promote the brand in all parts of the country. Also we are all set to enter countries such as Australia, New Zealand and other Scandinavian countries.

Adept at providing integrated floor solutions in country, Squarefoot has come a long way since its inception in the segment, Mr. Gaurav Saraf, Director, Squarefoot does the talking on behalf of his and brother’s brainchild.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): What is Squarefoot all about? When did you start-up? How much was your initial investment?

Gaurav Saraf (GS): Square Foot is a pan India flooring Chain. We started up in 2003 December. The parent company Classic Floorings & Interiors (P) Ltd has been in the business of distribution of flooring since 1995. Our initial investment was 30 lacs.

AS: What kind of flooring products do you offer?

GS: We basically cater to the soft flooring genre. We offer laminated wood flooring, engineered wood flooring, solid wood flooring, outdoor wood flooring, vinyl floorings and sports floorings. We have different grades of flooring for homes, offices, retail, hospitality, and the healthcare industry

AS: Could you elaborate on the production mechanism of your products? Where do source your materials from?

GS: Square Foot sources it products from France, Germany, Sweden, Malaysia, Indonesia, Spain, Thailand, Brazil, and China. Different woods grow in different parts of the world so we partner with the best companies for woods that grow in their backyard.

AS: Who are  your consumers? How many stores do you have in India?

GS: We have 6 stores in India, 8 offices so totally we have 14 centres of our own. Our products are available in 55 cities through dealers and organised and unorganised MBO’s. We have different floorings for homes, offices, retail, hospitality, and the healthcare industry

AS: There has been a rapid evolution in terms of the flooring industry in the country? How vital has been the contribution of wooden flooring as an alternative to the conventional granite and marble flooring?

GS: In the last decade we have really started dressing up our homes. Today every house in India has one or all the bedrooms in wooden flooring if not the living or dining as well. People using vitrified tiles generally go in for laminate wood as it is in a similar price point as tiles and the higher end houses have engineered and solid wood floorings. People segregate personal and common areas even at home, the personal areas like bedrooms and dens etc are cozier and reflect the taste and spirit of the users so people generally prefer to use wooden flooring in these areas. Most common areas of the family like kitchen and dining have stone flooring.

AS: Your market share in the segment in India?

GS: India has 2 markets organised and unorganised. We would today have 20% market share of the organised market, unfortunately there are no numbers for unorganised market to reach a total market size.

AS: Do you have R&D set up in place? How have you invested in them?

GS: Most of the manufacturers we buy from have a very rigid R&D set up. Most of the products are made under laser control parameters and pre inspection is done by our quality inspectors for all Made to order and special range goods before dispatch to us. Most of our products come with a 10-year guarantee.

AS: How conscious are the consumers when opting for wooden flooring; is this something which can prevail over the long term?

GS: Today the consumer is very conscious of wooden flooring and exactly what he wants in his house. The consumers know also the difference in different types of products as well. We see first time buyers experimenting with laminated wooden flooring, and upgrading next time to engineered wood or solid wood products. In the long run wooden floorings are here to stay and will gain market share over hard floorings as there are many inherent benefits of the same.

AS: We have seen no. of players entering the segment in the country? What is the scope of this industry as a business?

GS: This is already an over saturated business and what you see now is more players coming into the unorganised industry or tile companies or carpet companies adding this as a product range. Today the consumer looks for specialists and `we see the organised market being a key player in this as wooden flooring can be spoilt by water so quality is of prime importance. The segment shall grow 20% year on year for the next 5 years atleast.

AS: Your annual turnover?

GS: We have installed more than 40 million sq.ft since inception.

AS: Future plans for Squarefoot?

GS: We are looking at adding 2 outlets this year and 8 outlets in the next 2 years.

Pressto is the global leader in high quality dry cleaning, currently offers its high quality dry cleaning services through exclusive stores in the country, Esther Lennaerts, Executive Chairperson, Pressto, emphasises on the need to take dry-cleaning business as seriously as an I.T company in the country.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): Tell us about Pressto?

Esther Lennaerts (EL): Pressto is the only Launderette player in India with Express dry-cleaning services & Boutique in –store cleaning concept. Pressto is the global leader in high quality dry cleaning with more than 500 stores in over 20 countries and over 100 million satisfied customers. Pressto marked its footprints in India in the year 2008 and currently offers its high quality dry cleaning services through 12 exclusive stores in Mumbai & Delhi. Each garment at Pressto store is individually analysed and put through specialised cleaning cycles using the appropriated product to give the best results. Pressto maintains the promise of clean and hygienic environment with the use of antibacterial and deodorizing Dry cleaning machines which cares for your garment, best steam presses in the world, innovative packaging material to preserve the quality and freshness of garments. We particularly specialise in stain removal, with the latest products including the ultrasonic gun to analyze and treat each stain carefully, without damaging the garment.

AS: Could you elaborate on the kind of services you provide?

EL: Our services involve; DRY CLEANING: Customized Dry Cleaning with anti bacterial and deodorising treatment helps in achieving the best possible results.  LAUNDRY:  A precise cleaning program with in- house developed cleaning products, results into a crisp well cleaned and finished product STEAM PRESSING: The manual pressing method gives the best finish to the garment with attention to each detail, DESIGNER WEAR: The Pressto care and attention coupled with the latest technology, CURTAINS: Curtains are cleaned using proprietary methods facilitating rejuvenation of texture and revival of colour. REPAIRS, ALTERATIONS & DARNING: Through the Pressto repairs and darning service, garments are given a new lease of life. In selective stores alterations are also offered. 2 HOURS EXPRESS DELIVERY: Pressto’s unique service of delivering a finished garment in just 2 hours, SPECIAL FINISHES: Starching: Light or heavy starch, Aqua stop: Stain & Water- proofing treatment, Pressto Soft: adds extra softness Silk Finish: Revives the colour of dark silk.

AS: How is Pressto operated?

EL: The most important aspects of PRESSTO’s dry cleaning process is that, PRESSTO has an in- store boutique cleaning concept and process. The customers’ garments stay inside the store all the time and are treated then and there by our professional staff under the watchful eye of the store manager who actually also actively participates in the whole process. So everything happens right inside the store and exactly according to the customers’ personal preferences. PRESSTO machines are imported from Europe to ensure the best possible result. Cleaning materials and processes are the best available globally. Through extensive research over the past 3 years we are now also able to reliably treat all kinds of Indian garments and fabrics including most of the challenging Indian stains. Our store managers have a dual role. They service the customer directly in our stores and manage the store operations. They are trained experts in customer and garment care, who understand fabrics, garments and individual needs of customers. Everybody who works at a PRESSTO store undergoes a minimum of 45 day training in garment care. More than 27,000 households and 100,000 customers in Mumbai & Delhi have chosen to entrust their garments to us.

AS: What made you invest in setting up dry-cleaning stores? How much did you invest?

EL: India has a rich heritage of beautiful and colourful garments and textiles, and with global brands coming to India and the ever increasing purchasing power of customers, there was and is an issue of finding a reliable dry cleaner providing high quality services. And hence Pressto did fit well into the supply-demand scenario. Our biggest achievement so far is that PRESSTO INDIA already is the leading garment care and cleaning company while becoming profitable at store level within 12 months. We invested over 10 Cr and opened our first store in 2008.

AS: What sort of potential does the retail dry-cleaning segment in India portray?

EL: Dry cleaning till date was a black box for the customer. You give the garment after which it returned wrapped in a news paper. No questions asked what the process really is and if is done hygienically. However that scenario is now fast changing in India. Designer wear and branded clothes are a heavy investment and hence customers are awakening faster towards the processes associated with dry cleaning as well as laundry. Our approach towards the same is very special. In case of PRESSTO, all the machines are right inside our store. We are completely transparent in our dealing. Demystifying the process of dry cleaning and educating/advising customers has been given very high priority. Entry of international labels as well as buyers getting biased towards designers is in short good news for us, as when you buy the best we know how to maintain it in the best manner.

PRESSTO now has set the quality benchmark at a superior level. Even the unorganised dry cleaners will now have to improve their service parameters. We will keep working to stay the market leader in quality dry cleaning in India as well as in the rest of the world. PRESSTO Spain is well connected with leading garment brands to improve our know-how and capability. This is filtered through the company through training and creating professionals at the frontline – the customer touch points – and who we treat with utmost care and respect

AS: How many stores do you have around the world, size of store, investment in each store?

EL: PRESSTO has over 500 stores and 10 million customers worldwide in 22 countries on five continents ( Europe (Portugal, Greece, Croatia...), South America (Brazil, Chile, Panama…. Oceania (Australia), Asia (China, Singapore, Malaysia, India), and even Africa (Morocco, Angola, Nigeria). Very recently new regions continue to be incorporated to the PRESSTO family, like the Middle East Gulf Countries, which allow for further significant sustainable growth in all the company's markets in the coming years.  In all these countries, PRESSTO works with master franchisees.  The average size of  stores globally may be around 800 sq.ft. Investments for setting up a store are USD 100,000 to 200,000 depending on size, equipment, fit-out and other factors.  

AS: What technology have you implemented for your services?

EL: Our dry cleaning process has an internal circuit where with every cycle the solvent is cleaned and re-used to minimize wastage while retaining the highest quality levels. Besides we hardly use  water since we have an internal circuit to clean and re-use the water. We also carefully manage the heating and cooling of water for all the processes thus minimising energy use. In all, in terms of water usage, our average water usage per day per store is about twice as much as what a normal household would use and cleaning your garments with PRESSTO uses far less energy per garment than if you would at home. Some of these processes and systems have been developed in India itself and we keep developing such systems and processes all the time. It is part of our CSR policy.

AS: Do you undertake any training procedure for the staff of your stores?

EL: Finding the right people was the biggest challenge. When you start a new brand in an unorganised sector it is a challenge to attract the best talent. Therefore first of all we started building the PRESSTO Brand internally by training and explaining the staff, who we are, what we do and how we do it differently.  

Everybody who works at a PRESSTO store undergoes a 30 day mandatory induction training and skills development program which educates them about (1) PRESSTO, where we stand for, and how we service our customers, (2) the company and store organisation and processes, (3) understanding garment types and garment care and (4) specific skills training including pressing, washing, customer communication and managing a store. And, ongoing training and skills development is an integral part of our organisation and business model and process and every employee undergoes some 2 weeks of training every year. Skills development through dedicated and on the job training is one of our top 3 priorities and every employee has a SKILLS PASSPORT to monitor progress and performance.  

AS: Do you have any marketing strategy for your brand?

EL: Point number 1 in our marketing strategy is to deliver superior and reliable garment care and cleaning services according to customer needs while being transparent.  So far we have cleaned over 2 million garments for some 50,000 customers. This has resulted in “word-of-mouth marketing” which we consider the most credible and effective way of marketing. Point number 2 is to be at the right location - convenient for customers, with good visibility – so high street - and signage opportunities. Other marketing strategies are around customer education, PR and local advertising

AS: Your global as well as Indian revenue?

EL: PRESSTO worldwide network revenue would be around 400 Cr (2009) and PRESSTO India will reach the Rs.100 Cr mark in a couple of years. 

AS: Your plans for the future? Any new innovations in store?

EL: PRESSTO aims to offer complete wardrobe and upholstery management. The services are extended to darning, alteration and special finishes like water/stain resistant treatment, durable softness treatment, and fabric friendly non chlorine bleach for garments which have turned grey or yellowish over time. To ensure that you can keep your garments and upholstery in the finest condition PRESSTO offers various products like moisture absorbers to ensure you control the moisture content in your closet to prevent mildew, fungus and stale odours.

Vestian Retail is the one-stop shop, providing real estate services for high end retailing in India. Committed to providing retail‐focused solutions, Mr.  Shrinivas, CEO, Asia Pacific, Vestian, explains the need to utilise the market efficiently.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): What is Vestian Global all about? Could you elaborate on the kind of services you provide?

Shrinivas Rao (SR): Vestian Global Workplace Services Private Limited is an Integrated Real Estate Services Corporation which specialises in providing real estate solutions to corporate end-users for Strategic Advisory, Transaction Advisory and Project Services and Retail solutions.

AS: Who are you catering to?

SR: We are a conflict-free real estate service firm, focused solely on providing end user / occupier representation.

AS: How do you envision the prospect of your Vestian Retail? Do you have any specific targets?

SR: Vestian Retail Group mapped the global store footprint of 323 of the world’s top retailers across 73 countries to identify trends in global retail expansion at national and local levels. The report found that although the global economy pulled out of recession in 2010, it remains a testing time for retailers, with consumer spending subdued in developed markets. However, Asia has maintained its position as the most popular destination for luxury retailers, attracting 84% of the luxury brands covered in the survey.  Vestian with its in-depth sector knowledge and international and local market expertise, can bring in a high value proposition to both International and national retail players in Asia. Hence in the current scenario we believe there is an great opportunity in this sector. We haven’t set any specific targets at this point of time for this Retail Vertical.

AS: What in your opinion is the outlook of Indian Retail? How do you see it growing?

SR: India has the luxury of ever increasing consumer demand and this will support the growth of India retail. The industry should grow 25 % annually with a specific focus on home needs.  Having said that, discretionary spending has seen a rise in the last 2 years paving the way ahead for lifestyle and fashion retail.  Across categories Value is of huge significance.

AS: Do you operate as a back-end servicing?  What sort of technology have you implemented for your products?

SR: We are a consulting company primarily catering to real estate needs of our clients.

AS: Where are you based in the country? Do you plan to expand your presence?

SR: Head quartered in Chicago, USA, Vestian has its Corporate Offices in India (Bangalore) & China.  Office locations in India also include Chennai and Hyderabad; and representative offices in Mumbai and Delhi.

AS: Do you have any recruitment training programme in place? Could you elaborate on the process?

SR: We have a corporate initiation program to align operatives with our philosophy of integrity and work ethics with an emphasis on Delivering Measurable Results. On the job training / inductions is provided for all new hires.  A regular knowledge upgrade sessions is conducted for the existing team members by our expert team leaders from diverse back ground to stay abreast with the industry trends.

AS: What sort of role will Vestian Retail be undertaking?

SR: Vestian Retail would provide services in the areas of retailer expansion strategy, development advisory and project management. We would see ourselves as partners in the growth of our retail clients as all of our associations are long term.

AS: Your Annual turnover?

SR: Vestian Global Workplace Services Private Limited is a 100% subsidiary of Vestian Inc. a Macro Economic Fund based out of Chicago, USA set up with a base of USD 1 Billion

AS: Your future plans for Vestian in the country?

SR: Despite the tough market conditions, Global retailers have continued to expand in Asian markets.

At Vestian, we see a great potential for retailers to setup stores not only in Tier 1 cities BUT tier 2 and tier 3 locations. With Vestian Retail Advisory group, retailers can benefit not only in terms of space options BUT also in terms of in depth knowledge of customer preferences, buying power etc.

Timex has set standards of high quality watch-making through excellent technology and innovative product development, Mr.V.D Wadhwa, Managing Director, Timex Group India Ltd. shares his knowledge of the brand in the country with Retailer.

Aadeetya Sriram (AS): What is your strategy behind launching Helix?

VD Wadhwa (VW): Helix is a brand that reflects aspirations and desire of today’s youth who wish to fly high. This collection is in sync with the latest fashion trends and is the perfect match for the hip and happening youngsters. We have launched Helix globally 1^st in India, as we believe the market for young earning consumers in the country is quite humongous. The collection incorporates state-of-the-art technology and precise engineering, which are hallmarks of Timex. We believe the ever changing needs of the youngsters will catch the eyes of Helix. Initially watches will be available in top 8 cities in the country, we have launched 30 styles at the moment, within the next 2 months we will be launched further 70 styles for the brand, which totals up to 100 for Helix.

AS: What is your marketing strategy for Helix?