Background Trent is the retail arm of Tata Group founded in 1998 by Ms. Simone Tata. Currently operate in three store formats Westside Star Bazaar Landmark
Background In 1997 Tata sold Lakme to HLL for Rs. 2 bn. In 1998 Tata’s acquire Littlewoods Retail store and renamed it as Trent Ltd. Littlewoods retail stores renamed as Westside.
Number of Stores
Findings Store owned brands and other brands ratio 30:70 M R conducted to understand customer behavior to enhance customer loyalty Sold in house brand only-higher margins, more control over manufacturers(quality, cost),no intermediary costs Expensive real estate- leased shop space Required spacious showrooms in metros :10000 – 20000 sq ft
Westside model Free from layout/boutique layout – fixtures and aisles arranged as symmetrically Merchandise displayed at 2 levels on same floor Merchandise in separate clusters e.g.. Women's wear and accessories clubbed together for convenience 2 main divisions Apparel- men’s wear ,women's wear, lingerie, kids wear Product- household gifts, other accessories
Promotion and Marketing Signed Yuvraj Singh, as its celebrity endorser Westside launch marketing campaign on print and television media with budget of Rs. 200 million 8% of revenue is spent on marketing and promotion
Sourcing and stocks Each store on avg stored 30000 SKU’s of different products Merchandise sourced from 250 exporters from Delhi , Mumbai and Bangalore Centralized buying for all products except cosmetics and perfumes to avoid sales tax Carried 63 days of stock days
Product Positioning Positioned as value for money products- good quality , low prices ,contemporary and exclusive designs and wide variety Good store ambience – shelves not overloaded Focus on “ I-got-a quality-product-at-a-reasonable-price” feelings
Apparel Westside merchandise - India’s best known fashion designers Wendell Rdericks Anita Dongre Krishna Mehta Monisha Bajaj Mona Pali
Division Women Wear Western formals, casuals and ethnic wear Range had great depth Designer clothing introduction Kids wear Sporty and international look Catered to wide age group : infants to teens For girls – Gypsy ,Sporty , guns n roses line For boys – skull and studd lines
Cont. Mens Wear Formals,casuals,ethnic ,sports wear,part wear Latest styles Household Towels,bathroom sets etc Well coordinated,allowed mix n match New introductions each week
Cont. Gift Section Diyas , terracotta pots ,urns Range of furniture Utility In wrought iron and rope : magzine racks , stools , etc
“ Fashion at affordable pricing ” Focus on 2 parameters – style and affordability Total advertising spend 8% of sales
In-house Promotions Peaked during summer , Diwali and Christmas – “Festival of Delights “ program Promotions based on themes – matching decorations , liver brands and other attractions
External Promotions Advertising on media – model fleur xavier for advertising contract
We’ve learned that it is absolutely essential to listen to customer-what they want in terms of style and price,and to understand the demographic of it all- Simone Tata Conducted research to better serve customers Focus on customer Feedback Trust in customers reflected confidence in products Loyalty Program : Clubwest
Question1 . Advantage High margin on own brands Control over manufacturers, quality and distribution High quality raw material and designing No intermediary – High margin
Question 1 Disadvantage Heavy investment in brand building Poor economies of scale Customer perception
Q2. Discuss the westside model in detail? Answer Free from layout/boutique layout – fixtures and aisles arranged as symmetrically Merchandise displayed at 2 levels on same floor Merchandise in separate clusters eg . Womens wear and accessories clubbed together for convenience 2 main divisions Apparel- mens wear,womens wear,lingerie.kids wear Product- houehold,gifts , other accessories
Customer Feedback : Information about customer preferences, Repeat customer. Heavy advertisement leads to brand awareness and sale of products
Q3. While the retail clothing industry is predominately unorganized, competition between organized retail is still acute, with many Indian business houses evolving and international players showing interest. Analyze the competition in retail clothing and lifestyle products industry with special reference to Westside. What strategies would you recommend for Westside to position itself effectively against the competition?
Main competitor
Westside should focus on High Quality and stylish in house clothing brands. Good customer service. Location of store . Promotional schemes and discounts.
Q4. Why They should Huge financial base – Rs 2 billion from sale of lakme Increase in profit carried forward in 2002 – from 64.6 to 90.9 million 10 billion dollar untapped market in India Would have a first movers advantage in India Adept at conducting M R – have a good in house team plus understand importance of M R
Experience in retail business : established supply chain and trained personnel Could enter food business under a different name to avoid brand dilution for westside A study on food and grocery retail market by KSA technopak , food retail sales make up for 63 % of total retail sales
In absolute terms, food retail sales had grown from Rs 3,81,000 crore in 1996 to Rs 7,03,900 Crore in 2001 when the non-food retail sales grew from Rs 2,22,400 crore in 1996 to Rs 4,19,000 crore in 2001
Why they shouldn’t No experience in retail of food items Would need to acquire new competencies eg . Cold storage May lead to brand dilution for Westside as people associate it with cloths
Presented By: Akhil Kashyap Priyanka Rawat Robin Bansal