Now, India's retail biggies bet on localisation
Localisation efforts are now undertaken for retailers' existing stores & before rolling out newer ones. Restaurants reprinting menu cards | In pics: World news & trends
KOLKATA: Wal-Mart has used it to its advantage. So has Tesco. Now India���s leading retailers are doing it too. We���re talking about strategies of localisation, which are increasingly being adopted by domestic retail biggies, be it Trent, Shopper���s Stop, Future Group or even Reliance Retail. Such localisation is taking place in multiple areas store layout, merchandise mix and apparel design ��� and may even lead to creation of regional private labels.
Retail chains now feel the ���one-format-fits-all��� strategy may slow down their growth process. Thus, localisation efforts are now undertaken for both retailers��� existing stores and before rolling out newer ones. Analysts feel such localisation helps in shoring up revenues.
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���Regional market share is every bit as important as national scale if we have to grow profitably. Customisation is a great strategy to appeal to various niche customers,��� says Shopper���s Stop CEO and customer care associate Govind Shrikhande. Shopper���s Stop has undertaken such localisation beyond the routine ways of size and colour assortment to the domain of brand mix.
���In the fashion business, one believes that customers in the SEC A category behave similarly. Hence the customisation is mainly focused on the extent of brand mix available in the store. For instance, in Kolkata we stock two best-selling local brands ��� Moustache and Turtle which are not sold anywhere else. This, we believe, balances the customer requirement vs cost,��� adds Mr Shrikhande.
Future Group has undertaken localisation in its store design, product design adaptations and product mix. ���If there is a critical mass, we may even look at the possibility of rolling out regional private labels,��� Pantaloon Retail CEO Rakesh Biyani told ET. He said Pantaloons is like a departmental store in Kolkata.
Westside marketing head Neeti Chopra said: ���While we do maintain a high degree of standardisation, we localise in colour and sizes and product mix.��� Westside offers a bigger selection of larger sizes in North India to suit the body types of people there.
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