Description
Documentation about positioning strategies adopted by the Shopper's Stop for its various stores and its impact on brand identity.
SHOPPER’S STOP LTD.
Positioning strategies adopted by the company for its various stores and its impact on brand identity.
1
Contents
COMPANY BACKGROUND ....................................................................................... 3 SWOT ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................ 4 MARKETING MIX ........................................................................................................ 5 TARGET GROUP .......................................................................................................... 8 POSITIONING OF THE STORES ................................................................................ 9 ADVERTISING & PROMOTIONS ............................................................................ 13 LOYALTY PROGRAMS ............................................................................................. 18 IMPACT OF POSITIONING ON BRAND IDENTITY.............................................. 20 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 22
2
COMPANY BACKGROUND
Shoppers? Stop is promoted by the K Raheja Corp Group, one of leading players in real estate development and hotels. Shoppers? Stop has progressed from being a single brand shop to a family orientated fashion and lifestyle store. Shoppers? Stop operates under the Departmental store format, and was one of the pioneers of the large format stores in India. Shoppers? Stop hass created a new business unit to manage its specialty businesses like Crossword, Mother care, F&B business and MAC.
They benchmark with global retailers, and strive to enhance their service offering in line with the emerging global trends. They began by operating a chain of department stores under the name “Shoppers? Stop” in India. Currently they have twenty four (24) such stores across the country and three (3) stores under the name “HomeStop”. Over the years, they have also begun operating a number of speciality stores, namely Crossword, Mothercare, Brio, Desi Café, Arcelia, Stop & Go and MAC. They are also experimenting with other formats of retailing through their various ventures.
3
SWOT ANALYSIS
4
MARKETING MIX
PRODUCT
1.
General Products : Shopper?s Stop includes domestic as well as internation retail articles and products Private Label:Shopper Stop has also launched their own private labels such as STOP. Others : In addition to the above,Shopper Stop also does promotional marketing.e.g.They launched ZooZoo range and also other similar products have been launched. These also form the part of the Product as SS.
2.
3.
Private Labels of Shopper Stop
5
PLACE
1.
Shoppers Stop is Indian largest chain of Super Stores and has many stores in whole of india Shoppers Stop Ltd. Excels in Service quality and the stores of a high class feel which is different from Big Bazaar or similar stores.
2.
PROMOTION
1.
The communication strategy of Shopper?s Stop has been to reach out to the customers in their own style and language SS uses print as well as OOH media to promote the brand.The brand uses brand ambassadors like Kareena Kapoor to endorse the brand. The private label STOP is promoted in store through logo and proper placement in the store adjoing similar national brands Associates itself with Local festivals and events
2.
3.
4.
PRICING
?
SS has a proper mix of both premium and affordable priced products.The brands are sold at MRP and lower. The main USP is the choice given to the customer rather than the Price.
Various Pricing Strategies used by Shopper’s Stop are as below:
1. 2. 3.
Premium Pricing Economy Pricing Psychological Pricing
6
4. 5. 6. 7.
Optional Product Pricing Promotional Pricing Geographical Pricing Value Pricing
7
TARGET GROUP
Shopper Stop mainly divides its customers on the basis of 2 main variables
1) Geographic and Demographics : Age,Gender,Income on the basis of geography 2) Psychographics(or behavioral)
Shopper Stop is present in many cities across India so it has to modify itself according to the geography. Geographical segmentation is very important for SS. SS mainly targets people with high disposable incomes in Tier 1 Cities like Mumbai,Delhi etc. Within Mumbai also their stores are in areas like Juhu,Nirmal Lifestyle Mulund.The malls and places which are considered to be high class,modern and upmarket. On basis of Psychographics, the SS targets people who want a choice of good clothing and products which are branded, high quality and in the upper price range.
8
POSITIONING OF THE STORES
Shoppers’ Stop Shopper?s Stop is the flagship business of departmental stores. They retail a range of branded apparel, footwear, perfumes, cosmetics, jewellery, leather products, accessories, home products, electronics, books, music and toys in their stores. They also retail their own private label apparel, footwear, fashion jewellery, leather products, accessories and home products. These are complemented by cafe, food, entertainment, personal care and various beauty related services. Promotions and events are an integral part of their service offering to their customer, which helps them to create a unique shopping experience. They retail products of domestic and international brands such as Louis Philippe, Pepe, Arrow, BIBA, Gini & Jony, Carbon, Corelle, Magppie, Nike, Reebok, LEGO, and Mattel among others, through their stores. They retail merchandise under their own labels, such as STOP, Kashish, LIFE and Vettorio Fratini, Elliza Donatein, Haute Curry, I Jeanswear, Insense, Mario Zegnoti, Acropolis and Indi-Visual. Their designer section show cases some of India?s prominent fashion designers (Ritu Kumar, Satya Paul and LABEL), retailing affordable designer wear. They are also licensees for Austin Reed (London), an international brand, who?s mens? and womens? outerwear are retailed in India exclusively through their chain.
Crossword Crossword is a speciality store in the leisure bookstore category. The store focuses on methodical classification, clear signages, and dedicated enquiry/order desks. There are cafes, reading tables and stores within the store to enhance the customer experience. The product mix consists of books, magazines, CDROMs, music, stationery and toys. Forty eight (48) Crossword stores are currently being operated, out of which twenty six (26) stores (including 10 shops in shops) are run by the Company and twenty two (22) are run by external franchisees
9
HomeStop HomeStop is a format which retails hard and soft furnishing and home accessories. Their offerings through HomeStop ranges from hard furnishing such as home furniture, modular kitchens, health equipment and recliners, and soft furnishing such as mattresses, draperies, carpets and home accessories such as decorative accessories, kitchen accessories and appliances,. They are currently three (3) HomeStop, one each in Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi.
Brio and Desi Café (F & B) Their foray into Food and Beverages (“F & B”) began with Brio. Brio has been designed with the intention of providing a warm and friendly place to relax, revive and reflect. It currently operates twenty (20) Brio stores. They have started an Indian cuisine concept under the name of Desi Café as another concept to add to the food and beverages offerings. It currently operates three (3) Desi Café stores in Mumbai, Lucknow and Rajouri.
Hypercity They have a 19% stake in Hyper city Retail (India) Limited, which operates the store named “HyperCity”. The store, having an area of approximately 124,500 square feet offers food and grocery, general merchandise and apparel. Currently, there is one HyperCity store in operation. Hypercity Retail (India) Limited has also opened three (3) stores called „ExpressCity? in Jaipur and one (1) store in Thane, to experiment with smaller versions of the format. ExpressCity is a retail format which is similar to a convenience store format primarily retailing food, grocery and household needs
10
Their growth strategy is based on increasing the reach and penetration across the country by opening new stores and through multiple retailing channels and formats, and furthering Shoppers? Stop as an experiential retail brand through unique national and international products. They also look at enhancing their merchandise width by adding new product categories and services, and strengthen their offerings by adding new brands and private labels to offer a better depth in each category.
They also endeavour to enhance their base of loyal customers through the First Citizen Programme. They believe that as they grow in size and scale and expand the reach further, their current economies of scale would be further enhanced. They also continue to focus on at enhancing their operational efficiencies and human capital, which is critical in any service driven industry such as retail. They are also investing in other formats by way of joint ventures, licenses and franchisee arrangements. The following are the initiatives under such arrangements: M.A.C. They have opened M.A.C. stores under a Supply and License Agreement with the cosmetics major Estee Lauder. Currently it is operating four (4) MAC store in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.
Arcelia Arcelia is a new retail concept aiming at the bridge to luxury segment, with a strong emphasis on experience and indulgence and is primarily caters to discerning women shoppers. It primarily retails cosmetics, fragrances, fine jewellery, footwear, handbags etc. They currently have two (2) stores operational in Delhi and Pune. Mothercare Under an exclusive franchisee arrangement by virtue of a Development Agreement with Mothercare UK Limited, they have opened Mothercare stores, which market a variety of products for expecting mothers, babies, toddlers and children, the focus being on style, function and safety. It currently operates eighteen (18) Mothercare stores; out of which ten (10) are shop in shop and eight (8) are standalone stores.
11
Nuance Group They have forayed into airport retailing through our joint venture with The Nuance Group AG, Switzerland. They will handle the retail operations in the domestic terminals while the joint venture company will handle the operations at the duty free zones in international terminals. The joint venture company, called Nuance Group (India) Private Limited, has already bagged contracts to operate outlets at the international airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Timezone Timezone marks their foray into entertainment retail. They have acquired a 45% stake in Timezone Entertainment Private Limited which is in the business of providing family entertainment centres. It currently operates six (6) outlets in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Hyderabad.
HyperCity-Argos They have ventured into new formats of retailing, namely catalogue stores, call and collect stores, internet retail website and telephone orders through their subsidiary, Gateway Multichannel Retail (India) Limited under the name of „HyperCity-Argos?. Currently operating five (5) stores at Thane.
12
ADVERTISING & PROMOTIONS
Advertising strategy is based on creating a bond with the customer and enhancing their trust in Shoppers? Stop. Advertisements thus promote the Shoppers? Stop brand and not the merchandise, store or the property location. They extensively use promotions and events to further their relationship with the customers. They have a central marketing team at service office in Mumbai, supported by representatives at their stores. Advertising
Being in the retailing business, Shoppers Stop has been a pioneer - and that's not just a juicy compliment. They were the the first in India (since 1991), they have a fruitful IT setup, and they have constantly expanded their product line, encouraging even unconventional tie-ups like Om Shanti Om movie clothing line. They have also pioneered in developing their B2B sourcing technique. Some online interviews revealed that they intend to rapidly expand to over 50 stores in 2 years, from the current strength of 22 in eleven cities.
The original logo now functions as the Raheja group's logo for retail stores. I was surprised to know about their diverse investments. Apart from Crosswords, they own other speciality store brands including HomeStop, mothercare, Brio and desicafe'.
Old logo
New logo
13
The Ad Campaign
The current campaign speaks of a logo change and a untenable 'Start Something New' tagline. Such rebranding campaigns communicate an underlying reason for the change, benefits (if any) to the consumer. This campaign seems to starkly lack that. Here's one of the Print Ads
The management of Shoppers Stop have got strong business acumen. The advertisement of Shoppers Stop directly relate to their target audience in terms of style, classy look and wardrobes available. The ad here tries to mix the western influence on the wardrobe collection in terms of style and class, and still tries to correlate with the Indian culture.
Shopper Stop also advertised its product range by being the official wardrobe partner for various events and parties. Due to uge demand and craze of such fasionable products, 14
such schemes work out well for Shoppers Stop. For eg people adored Deepika Padukone?s style in Love Aaj Kal and they could purchase two of her signature kurta?s from the movie at Shoppers Stop!!!
Promotions Shoppers? Stop use promotions as an important part of our marketing tool to reinforce the brand positioning „Feel the experience, while you shop?. The promotions are targeted at enhancing the fun in shopping and providing the customer with a unique shopping experience and not just on offering discounts and bargains. Their belief is to give more for same and not same for less.
The companies plan their annual promotions calendar and carry out these promotions simultaneously across all our stores.
Some of our promotions and events include: ? Parikrama: Festival celebrating Indian tradition and culture, which not only serves to bring the consumers closer to culture, but also provides a platform to promote upcoming artisans from remote and rural areas giving them an opportunity to showcase their art and craft at Shoppers? Stop. ? Fly to Santaland: Customers shopping upto or more than a predetermined value woul be eligible to enter a contest and win a holiday to The Santa Village in Finland showcasing apparel and accessories for men with offers ranging from gifts to trips to international destinations and discounts etc. with every buy that they make. The event serves to bring men into the stores. ? Wardrobe Exchange: A charity promotion under which customers donate their old garments and accessories and earn discounts on new purchases at Shoppers' Stop. The old garments are donated to Concern India Foundation.
15
? ?
Rims And Dials : A festival which solely focuses on watches and sunglasses Do Your Denim : This event is geared towards bringing out the creativity of customers to design their own denim jeans
Besides these, they organized several other festivals such as: ? ? ? ? Disney Carnival, in 1993, with official Disney characters from Disney Inc (Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy) participating. The Tycoon Tie Festival in 1994, in which the largest tie in the world was displayed and featured in the Guinness Book of World Records. Festival of Britain, in 1996 in collaboration with the Government of Great Britain. The Buy and Fly to Seven Wonders of the World, in 2001 which provided customers an opportunity to win a trip to the Seven Wonders.
They also hold sales at the end of each season (twice a year to mark the end of each season) wherein they offer a range of discounts on our merchandise. These not only help them clear their inventory, but also bring in larger number of customers into the stores.
First Citizen Programme Started in April 1994, the First Citizen programme is the center of loyal customer management process. We had 971,537 First Citizens as on December 31, 2008. First citizens accounted for about 62% of their sales for the year ended March 31, 2008 and 61% of the sales for the nine months ended December 31, 2008. They have three levels in First Citizen membership namely Classic Moments, Silver Edge and Golden Glow, depending on the spend in our stores:
First Citizens receive: • Reward points on their spend in our stores, which can be exchanged for merchandise • Special schemes and promotions available only to First Citizens. • Extended or exclusive shopping hours, especially during festivals • Invitations to select events and celebrations • Home delivery of alterations.
16
• Comfort Lounges at select stores. It is a tradition to invite First Citizens to inaugurate new stores. ‘First Update’ from Shoppers’ Stop „First Update? is a complimentary bi-monthly magazine sent to Golden Glow First Citizens. The articles are written keeping in view the lifestyle preference of the customer covering various topics such as health, shopping, product specific information, , fashion trends, new arrivals in store, store updates, contests/offers, entertainment and travel.
First Citizen Co-branded credit card They have introduced Co-Branded cards as an extension of the First Citizen programme. They currently offer (subject to fulfillment of conditions) a First Citizen Citibank –co branded card to First Citizens. This card provides additional points over the regular reward points besides other benefits such as free insurance, offer alerts, EMI schemes, etc. The reward point system allow the member the flexibility to earn reward points by shopping at any place of their own choice and still have them redeemed at Shoppers? Stop.
17
LOYALTY PROGRAMS
To enhance the shopping experience of customers and offer the „ultimate shopping experience, Shoppers? Stop started a loyalty program named ‘First citizen’. It is this emotional connect that they have been able to create with our customers through their service offering and special promotions that has helped them convert many of them into loyal customers. A person can become a First Citizen club member by submitting an application form. The club provided membership to the frequent customers in three stages- Classic Moments, Silver Edge and Golden Glow. The customer gets reward points every time he shops and these points can later be redeemed for any item in the Shoppers? Stop store. The First Citizen Program membership also entitles the customer to exclusive privileges such as product previews, priority billing and other special benefits. These benefits are highlighted as under – ? They were entitled to various offers at selected departmental stores in other countries. ? The card holders can also earn a point if they used their cards even at places other than stoppers? stop. ? Accident insurance up to Rs. 20,00,000 for first citizen golden glow Citibank card holders and Rs. 10,00,000 for first citizen silver edge Citibank card holders. ? They received invitations to exclusive preview sales, discounts and other promotional activities. ? All stoppers? stop outlets across the country featured Citibank financial centres at which the first citizen card holders could avail of the various services offered by Citibank like loan facility for homes and automobiles. Shoppers? stop also launched a co-branded card named First Citizen Citibank Master Bank in collaboration with Citibank in 2001. The customer of shoppers? stop who joined the First Citizen club would get the First Citizen Citibank Master Bank. This was the first
18
co-branded card in India.
Thus, the First Citizen Citibank Credit Card truly meant more
rewards for the loyal customers of Shoppers Stop. It also had a loyalty program, called ‘SKIDS’ for children of First Citizen Club members who were of the age group 4 to 14. This is a program offering members an opportunity to avail of a variety of special benefits, by amassing points on their purchases, and it also offers them privileged shopping experiences. Currently, Shoppers? Stop has a database of over 4.5 lakh members who contribute to a large percentage of the total sales of Shoppers? Stop. Incidentally, Shoppers? Stop is the only retailer from India to become a member of the prestigious Intercontinental Group of Departmental Stores (IGDS). The IGDS consists of 29 experienced retailers from all over the world, which include established stores like Selfridges (England), Karstadt (Germany), Shanghai No. 1 (China), Matahari (Indonesia), Takashimaya (Japan), C K Tang (Singapore), Manor (Switzerland) and Lamcy Plaza (Dubai). This membership is restricted to one member organization per country/region. The Key benefits of a Loyalty Program The underlying principle of loyalty cards is based on structured marketing efforts that reward, and therefore encourage, loyal buying behaviour. The various studies on loyalty behaviour of a consumer towards a particular store and the key benefits he derives from any loyalty program are mentioned as under – ? If the customers seek the benefits from loyalty programs then he/she tends to make more utilization of such programs. ? His/her number of visit to the particular store increases considerably. ? Purchasing decisions of customers under such loyalty programs is confined and they visit the company?s store when the customer wants to purchase certain items which are sold in the company. ? Customers also tend to involve their family members, friends and others in such programs so that they can also enjoy the benefits of the programs and ultimately it increases the customer base of the company which runs such loyalty programs.
19
? Since all the time customers get one or more benefits from these programs, so there is inclination in purchasing of products and services from the same company. ? Other than financial benefits customer also get the privilege of insurance (in some cases) and make purchase of goods from other stores etc. Sample Value Table Monthly Expenses Shopping at Shopper?s Stop Restaurant/Entertainment Grocery Travel Total for the Month Full Year Cost (in Rs.) 3,000 9,000 3,000 5,000 20,000 170 190 190 * 12 = 2,280 Reward Points 120
* Every Rs. 100 that First Citizen Citibank Golden Glow Card members spend at Shoppers' Stop will get them 5 Rewards Points and every Rs. 100 that First Citizen Citibank Silver Edge Card members spend at Shoppers' Stop will get them 4 Rewards Points. Every Rs. 100 that is spent elsewhere will earn them 1 Rewards Point.
IMPACT OF POSITIONING ON BRAND IDENTITY
BRAND IMAGE How the brand is now perceived BRAND IDENTITY How strategists want the brand to be perceived BRAND POSITION The part of the brand identity and value proposition to be actively communicated to a target audience
The postioning used by Shopper Stop has lead to a strong Brand identity formulation and hence stronger Brand Image.
20
The Shopper Stop has made their positioning in sync with their brand identity through ? ? ? ? ? Focused on Delivering and Measuring Customer Service Training Employees to Deliver Customer Satisfaction Offering Trust in Price and Quality versus ‘Mom and Pop’ Private Label Contribution to be Limited to 25% Product Brand Proliferation
This report gives a perspective of Shopper Stop and its various programs with their positioning, advertising and positioning. Due to the repost and specifically the above points we conclude that the impact of their strong positioning and positive communication of the brand identity,the brand image of SS has come out be positive and strong.
21
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. www.shoppersstop.com 2. www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoppers'_Stop 3. http://www.indiaretailbiz.com 4. http://www.indianrealtynews.com 5. http://www.retailangle.com
22
doc_407657931.docx
Documentation about positioning strategies adopted by the Shopper's Stop for its various stores and its impact on brand identity.
SHOPPER’S STOP LTD.
Positioning strategies adopted by the company for its various stores and its impact on brand identity.
1
Contents
COMPANY BACKGROUND ....................................................................................... 3 SWOT ANALYSIS ........................................................................................................ 4 MARKETING MIX ........................................................................................................ 5 TARGET GROUP .......................................................................................................... 8 POSITIONING OF THE STORES ................................................................................ 9 ADVERTISING & PROMOTIONS ............................................................................ 13 LOYALTY PROGRAMS ............................................................................................. 18 IMPACT OF POSITIONING ON BRAND IDENTITY.............................................. 20 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 22
2
COMPANY BACKGROUND
Shoppers? Stop is promoted by the K Raheja Corp Group, one of leading players in real estate development and hotels. Shoppers? Stop has progressed from being a single brand shop to a family orientated fashion and lifestyle store. Shoppers? Stop operates under the Departmental store format, and was one of the pioneers of the large format stores in India. Shoppers? Stop hass created a new business unit to manage its specialty businesses like Crossword, Mother care, F&B business and MAC.
They benchmark with global retailers, and strive to enhance their service offering in line with the emerging global trends. They began by operating a chain of department stores under the name “Shoppers? Stop” in India. Currently they have twenty four (24) such stores across the country and three (3) stores under the name “HomeStop”. Over the years, they have also begun operating a number of speciality stores, namely Crossword, Mothercare, Brio, Desi Café, Arcelia, Stop & Go and MAC. They are also experimenting with other formats of retailing through their various ventures.
3
SWOT ANALYSIS
4
MARKETING MIX
PRODUCT
1.
General Products : Shopper?s Stop includes domestic as well as internation retail articles and products Private Label:Shopper Stop has also launched their own private labels such as STOP. Others : In addition to the above,Shopper Stop also does promotional marketing.e.g.They launched ZooZoo range and also other similar products have been launched. These also form the part of the Product as SS.
2.
3.
Private Labels of Shopper Stop
5
PLACE
1.
Shoppers Stop is Indian largest chain of Super Stores and has many stores in whole of india Shoppers Stop Ltd. Excels in Service quality and the stores of a high class feel which is different from Big Bazaar or similar stores.
2.
PROMOTION
1.
The communication strategy of Shopper?s Stop has been to reach out to the customers in their own style and language SS uses print as well as OOH media to promote the brand.The brand uses brand ambassadors like Kareena Kapoor to endorse the brand. The private label STOP is promoted in store through logo and proper placement in the store adjoing similar national brands Associates itself with Local festivals and events
2.
3.
4.
PRICING
?
SS has a proper mix of both premium and affordable priced products.The brands are sold at MRP and lower. The main USP is the choice given to the customer rather than the Price.
Various Pricing Strategies used by Shopper’s Stop are as below:
1. 2. 3.
Premium Pricing Economy Pricing Psychological Pricing
6
4. 5. 6. 7.
Optional Product Pricing Promotional Pricing Geographical Pricing Value Pricing
7
TARGET GROUP
Shopper Stop mainly divides its customers on the basis of 2 main variables
1) Geographic and Demographics : Age,Gender,Income on the basis of geography 2) Psychographics(or behavioral)
Shopper Stop is present in many cities across India so it has to modify itself according to the geography. Geographical segmentation is very important for SS. SS mainly targets people with high disposable incomes in Tier 1 Cities like Mumbai,Delhi etc. Within Mumbai also their stores are in areas like Juhu,Nirmal Lifestyle Mulund.The malls and places which are considered to be high class,modern and upmarket. On basis of Psychographics, the SS targets people who want a choice of good clothing and products which are branded, high quality and in the upper price range.
8
POSITIONING OF THE STORES
Shoppers’ Stop Shopper?s Stop is the flagship business of departmental stores. They retail a range of branded apparel, footwear, perfumes, cosmetics, jewellery, leather products, accessories, home products, electronics, books, music and toys in their stores. They also retail their own private label apparel, footwear, fashion jewellery, leather products, accessories and home products. These are complemented by cafe, food, entertainment, personal care and various beauty related services. Promotions and events are an integral part of their service offering to their customer, which helps them to create a unique shopping experience. They retail products of domestic and international brands such as Louis Philippe, Pepe, Arrow, BIBA, Gini & Jony, Carbon, Corelle, Magppie, Nike, Reebok, LEGO, and Mattel among others, through their stores. They retail merchandise under their own labels, such as STOP, Kashish, LIFE and Vettorio Fratini, Elliza Donatein, Haute Curry, I Jeanswear, Insense, Mario Zegnoti, Acropolis and Indi-Visual. Their designer section show cases some of India?s prominent fashion designers (Ritu Kumar, Satya Paul and LABEL), retailing affordable designer wear. They are also licensees for Austin Reed (London), an international brand, who?s mens? and womens? outerwear are retailed in India exclusively through their chain.
Crossword Crossword is a speciality store in the leisure bookstore category. The store focuses on methodical classification, clear signages, and dedicated enquiry/order desks. There are cafes, reading tables and stores within the store to enhance the customer experience. The product mix consists of books, magazines, CDROMs, music, stationery and toys. Forty eight (48) Crossword stores are currently being operated, out of which twenty six (26) stores (including 10 shops in shops) are run by the Company and twenty two (22) are run by external franchisees
9
HomeStop HomeStop is a format which retails hard and soft furnishing and home accessories. Their offerings through HomeStop ranges from hard furnishing such as home furniture, modular kitchens, health equipment and recliners, and soft furnishing such as mattresses, draperies, carpets and home accessories such as decorative accessories, kitchen accessories and appliances,. They are currently three (3) HomeStop, one each in Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi.
Brio and Desi Café (F & B) Their foray into Food and Beverages (“F & B”) began with Brio. Brio has been designed with the intention of providing a warm and friendly place to relax, revive and reflect. It currently operates twenty (20) Brio stores. They have started an Indian cuisine concept under the name of Desi Café as another concept to add to the food and beverages offerings. It currently operates three (3) Desi Café stores in Mumbai, Lucknow and Rajouri.
Hypercity They have a 19% stake in Hyper city Retail (India) Limited, which operates the store named “HyperCity”. The store, having an area of approximately 124,500 square feet offers food and grocery, general merchandise and apparel. Currently, there is one HyperCity store in operation. Hypercity Retail (India) Limited has also opened three (3) stores called „ExpressCity? in Jaipur and one (1) store in Thane, to experiment with smaller versions of the format. ExpressCity is a retail format which is similar to a convenience store format primarily retailing food, grocery and household needs
10
Their growth strategy is based on increasing the reach and penetration across the country by opening new stores and through multiple retailing channels and formats, and furthering Shoppers? Stop as an experiential retail brand through unique national and international products. They also look at enhancing their merchandise width by adding new product categories and services, and strengthen their offerings by adding new brands and private labels to offer a better depth in each category.
They also endeavour to enhance their base of loyal customers through the First Citizen Programme. They believe that as they grow in size and scale and expand the reach further, their current economies of scale would be further enhanced. They also continue to focus on at enhancing their operational efficiencies and human capital, which is critical in any service driven industry such as retail. They are also investing in other formats by way of joint ventures, licenses and franchisee arrangements. The following are the initiatives under such arrangements: M.A.C. They have opened M.A.C. stores under a Supply and License Agreement with the cosmetics major Estee Lauder. Currently it is operating four (4) MAC store in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.
Arcelia Arcelia is a new retail concept aiming at the bridge to luxury segment, with a strong emphasis on experience and indulgence and is primarily caters to discerning women shoppers. It primarily retails cosmetics, fragrances, fine jewellery, footwear, handbags etc. They currently have two (2) stores operational in Delhi and Pune. Mothercare Under an exclusive franchisee arrangement by virtue of a Development Agreement with Mothercare UK Limited, they have opened Mothercare stores, which market a variety of products for expecting mothers, babies, toddlers and children, the focus being on style, function and safety. It currently operates eighteen (18) Mothercare stores; out of which ten (10) are shop in shop and eight (8) are standalone stores.
11
Nuance Group They have forayed into airport retailing through our joint venture with The Nuance Group AG, Switzerland. They will handle the retail operations in the domestic terminals while the joint venture company will handle the operations at the duty free zones in international terminals. The joint venture company, called Nuance Group (India) Private Limited, has already bagged contracts to operate outlets at the international airports at Bangalore and Hyderabad.
Timezone Timezone marks their foray into entertainment retail. They have acquired a 45% stake in Timezone Entertainment Private Limited which is in the business of providing family entertainment centres. It currently operates six (6) outlets in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Hyderabad.
HyperCity-Argos They have ventured into new formats of retailing, namely catalogue stores, call and collect stores, internet retail website and telephone orders through their subsidiary, Gateway Multichannel Retail (India) Limited under the name of „HyperCity-Argos?. Currently operating five (5) stores at Thane.
12
ADVERTISING & PROMOTIONS
Advertising strategy is based on creating a bond with the customer and enhancing their trust in Shoppers? Stop. Advertisements thus promote the Shoppers? Stop brand and not the merchandise, store or the property location. They extensively use promotions and events to further their relationship with the customers. They have a central marketing team at service office in Mumbai, supported by representatives at their stores. Advertising
Being in the retailing business, Shoppers Stop has been a pioneer - and that's not just a juicy compliment. They were the the first in India (since 1991), they have a fruitful IT setup, and they have constantly expanded their product line, encouraging even unconventional tie-ups like Om Shanti Om movie clothing line. They have also pioneered in developing their B2B sourcing technique. Some online interviews revealed that they intend to rapidly expand to over 50 stores in 2 years, from the current strength of 22 in eleven cities.
The original logo now functions as the Raheja group's logo for retail stores. I was surprised to know about their diverse investments. Apart from Crosswords, they own other speciality store brands including HomeStop, mothercare, Brio and desicafe'.
Old logo
New logo
13
The Ad Campaign
The current campaign speaks of a logo change and a untenable 'Start Something New' tagline. Such rebranding campaigns communicate an underlying reason for the change, benefits (if any) to the consumer. This campaign seems to starkly lack that. Here's one of the Print Ads
The management of Shoppers Stop have got strong business acumen. The advertisement of Shoppers Stop directly relate to their target audience in terms of style, classy look and wardrobes available. The ad here tries to mix the western influence on the wardrobe collection in terms of style and class, and still tries to correlate with the Indian culture.
Shopper Stop also advertised its product range by being the official wardrobe partner for various events and parties. Due to uge demand and craze of such fasionable products, 14
such schemes work out well for Shoppers Stop. For eg people adored Deepika Padukone?s style in Love Aaj Kal and they could purchase two of her signature kurta?s from the movie at Shoppers Stop!!!
Promotions Shoppers? Stop use promotions as an important part of our marketing tool to reinforce the brand positioning „Feel the experience, while you shop?. The promotions are targeted at enhancing the fun in shopping and providing the customer with a unique shopping experience and not just on offering discounts and bargains. Their belief is to give more for same and not same for less.
The companies plan their annual promotions calendar and carry out these promotions simultaneously across all our stores.
Some of our promotions and events include: ? Parikrama: Festival celebrating Indian tradition and culture, which not only serves to bring the consumers closer to culture, but also provides a platform to promote upcoming artisans from remote and rural areas giving them an opportunity to showcase their art and craft at Shoppers? Stop. ? Fly to Santaland: Customers shopping upto or more than a predetermined value woul be eligible to enter a contest and win a holiday to The Santa Village in Finland showcasing apparel and accessories for men with offers ranging from gifts to trips to international destinations and discounts etc. with every buy that they make. The event serves to bring men into the stores. ? Wardrobe Exchange: A charity promotion under which customers donate their old garments and accessories and earn discounts on new purchases at Shoppers' Stop. The old garments are donated to Concern India Foundation.
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? ?
Rims And Dials : A festival which solely focuses on watches and sunglasses Do Your Denim : This event is geared towards bringing out the creativity of customers to design their own denim jeans
Besides these, they organized several other festivals such as: ? ? ? ? Disney Carnival, in 1993, with official Disney characters from Disney Inc (Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Goofy) participating. The Tycoon Tie Festival in 1994, in which the largest tie in the world was displayed and featured in the Guinness Book of World Records. Festival of Britain, in 1996 in collaboration with the Government of Great Britain. The Buy and Fly to Seven Wonders of the World, in 2001 which provided customers an opportunity to win a trip to the Seven Wonders.
They also hold sales at the end of each season (twice a year to mark the end of each season) wherein they offer a range of discounts on our merchandise. These not only help them clear their inventory, but also bring in larger number of customers into the stores.
First Citizen Programme Started in April 1994, the First Citizen programme is the center of loyal customer management process. We had 971,537 First Citizens as on December 31, 2008. First citizens accounted for about 62% of their sales for the year ended March 31, 2008 and 61% of the sales for the nine months ended December 31, 2008. They have three levels in First Citizen membership namely Classic Moments, Silver Edge and Golden Glow, depending on the spend in our stores:
First Citizens receive: • Reward points on their spend in our stores, which can be exchanged for merchandise • Special schemes and promotions available only to First Citizens. • Extended or exclusive shopping hours, especially during festivals • Invitations to select events and celebrations • Home delivery of alterations.
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• Comfort Lounges at select stores. It is a tradition to invite First Citizens to inaugurate new stores. ‘First Update’ from Shoppers’ Stop „First Update? is a complimentary bi-monthly magazine sent to Golden Glow First Citizens. The articles are written keeping in view the lifestyle preference of the customer covering various topics such as health, shopping, product specific information, , fashion trends, new arrivals in store, store updates, contests/offers, entertainment and travel.
First Citizen Co-branded credit card They have introduced Co-Branded cards as an extension of the First Citizen programme. They currently offer (subject to fulfillment of conditions) a First Citizen Citibank –co branded card to First Citizens. This card provides additional points over the regular reward points besides other benefits such as free insurance, offer alerts, EMI schemes, etc. The reward point system allow the member the flexibility to earn reward points by shopping at any place of their own choice and still have them redeemed at Shoppers? Stop.
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LOYALTY PROGRAMS
To enhance the shopping experience of customers and offer the „ultimate shopping experience, Shoppers? Stop started a loyalty program named ‘First citizen’. It is this emotional connect that they have been able to create with our customers through their service offering and special promotions that has helped them convert many of them into loyal customers. A person can become a First Citizen club member by submitting an application form. The club provided membership to the frequent customers in three stages- Classic Moments, Silver Edge and Golden Glow. The customer gets reward points every time he shops and these points can later be redeemed for any item in the Shoppers? Stop store. The First Citizen Program membership also entitles the customer to exclusive privileges such as product previews, priority billing and other special benefits. These benefits are highlighted as under – ? They were entitled to various offers at selected departmental stores in other countries. ? The card holders can also earn a point if they used their cards even at places other than stoppers? stop. ? Accident insurance up to Rs. 20,00,000 for first citizen golden glow Citibank card holders and Rs. 10,00,000 for first citizen silver edge Citibank card holders. ? They received invitations to exclusive preview sales, discounts and other promotional activities. ? All stoppers? stop outlets across the country featured Citibank financial centres at which the first citizen card holders could avail of the various services offered by Citibank like loan facility for homes and automobiles. Shoppers? stop also launched a co-branded card named First Citizen Citibank Master Bank in collaboration with Citibank in 2001. The customer of shoppers? stop who joined the First Citizen club would get the First Citizen Citibank Master Bank. This was the first
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co-branded card in India.
Thus, the First Citizen Citibank Credit Card truly meant more
rewards for the loyal customers of Shoppers Stop. It also had a loyalty program, called ‘SKIDS’ for children of First Citizen Club members who were of the age group 4 to 14. This is a program offering members an opportunity to avail of a variety of special benefits, by amassing points on their purchases, and it also offers them privileged shopping experiences. Currently, Shoppers? Stop has a database of over 4.5 lakh members who contribute to a large percentage of the total sales of Shoppers? Stop. Incidentally, Shoppers? Stop is the only retailer from India to become a member of the prestigious Intercontinental Group of Departmental Stores (IGDS). The IGDS consists of 29 experienced retailers from all over the world, which include established stores like Selfridges (England), Karstadt (Germany), Shanghai No. 1 (China), Matahari (Indonesia), Takashimaya (Japan), C K Tang (Singapore), Manor (Switzerland) and Lamcy Plaza (Dubai). This membership is restricted to one member organization per country/region. The Key benefits of a Loyalty Program The underlying principle of loyalty cards is based on structured marketing efforts that reward, and therefore encourage, loyal buying behaviour. The various studies on loyalty behaviour of a consumer towards a particular store and the key benefits he derives from any loyalty program are mentioned as under – ? If the customers seek the benefits from loyalty programs then he/she tends to make more utilization of such programs. ? His/her number of visit to the particular store increases considerably. ? Purchasing decisions of customers under such loyalty programs is confined and they visit the company?s store when the customer wants to purchase certain items which are sold in the company. ? Customers also tend to involve their family members, friends and others in such programs so that they can also enjoy the benefits of the programs and ultimately it increases the customer base of the company which runs such loyalty programs.
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? Since all the time customers get one or more benefits from these programs, so there is inclination in purchasing of products and services from the same company. ? Other than financial benefits customer also get the privilege of insurance (in some cases) and make purchase of goods from other stores etc. Sample Value Table Monthly Expenses Shopping at Shopper?s Stop Restaurant/Entertainment Grocery Travel Total for the Month Full Year Cost (in Rs.) 3,000 9,000 3,000 5,000 20,000 170 190 190 * 12 = 2,280 Reward Points 120
* Every Rs. 100 that First Citizen Citibank Golden Glow Card members spend at Shoppers' Stop will get them 5 Rewards Points and every Rs. 100 that First Citizen Citibank Silver Edge Card members spend at Shoppers' Stop will get them 4 Rewards Points. Every Rs. 100 that is spent elsewhere will earn them 1 Rewards Point.
IMPACT OF POSITIONING ON BRAND IDENTITY
BRAND IMAGE How the brand is now perceived BRAND IDENTITY How strategists want the brand to be perceived BRAND POSITION The part of the brand identity and value proposition to be actively communicated to a target audience
The postioning used by Shopper Stop has lead to a strong Brand identity formulation and hence stronger Brand Image.
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The Shopper Stop has made their positioning in sync with their brand identity through ? ? ? ? ? Focused on Delivering and Measuring Customer Service Training Employees to Deliver Customer Satisfaction Offering Trust in Price and Quality versus ‘Mom and Pop’ Private Label Contribution to be Limited to 25% Product Brand Proliferation
This report gives a perspective of Shopper Stop and its various programs with their positioning, advertising and positioning. Due to the repost and specifically the above points we conclude that the impact of their strong positioning and positive communication of the brand identity,the brand image of SS has come out be positive and strong.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. www.shoppersstop.com 2. www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoppers'_Stop 3. http://www.indiaretailbiz.com 4. http://www.indianrealtynews.com 5. http://www.retailangle.com
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doc_407657931.docx