A walk through Reliance Mart

Let me start with a disclaimer: this is not written with a motive to discredit Reliance or any other retailer, rather it’s a self study to understand the Indian retail scenario.

I walked in at about 10:30 at the six month old Reliance Mart store in crown Interiorz Mall. The motive was to check out the supermarket format from Reliance, I had in the past visited Reliance Fresh and Trendz models but the Mart was a first.

The place is strangely quiet perhaps my choice of a Wednesday morning is the reason or the store’s inability to play some music is to blame.

I start my walk through the aisles which are wide and quite a treat. The product display though is not upto the mark; I see dust all over and torn product information tags. Also a little further into the furniture section ….I find a console with a broken glass panel still on display. That is a BIG No No that can’t be excused. It brought to an abrupt halt to a hitherto nice experience in the furniture section.

I moved on to a section which had some gift items and knick knacks….sadly most of the shelves were empty or had the same product repeated over and over. Infact there would have been 50-70 odd pieces of a small dusty looking elephant that looked like he needed a bath desperately.

Moving onto the clothes and accessories section, I find unkempt shelves, shoddy HOT spots and very uncommunicative staff who don’t even bother to check if a customer may need some assistance.

Passing through I reach the groceries section where I ask a passing staff member if sodexho food coupons are accepted at the store. The person nods and moves on. I pick up a few items and wander through to the billing section. Of the twenty odd counters only two seem to be manned though by now the time is close to noon.

I present my purchase and the sodexho coupons only to be told that they are redeemable againt food items, something that the previous staffer had neglected to mention. I present the credit card which is swiped atleast 9 times on three different machines before the payment can be made.

Billing for a purchase of 5 products worth Rs.269 takes almost ten minutes and two staff members to execute. I wonder what they will do in peak hours with more traffic in the store.

Overall: The store overall looks nice, is spacious and the categories are cleverly marked through circular signages hanging overhead. Where it needs a lot of tweaking is in personnel management and intelligent product placement.

Retail Consultant- who the hell is that?

When asked “what do you do?”
I answer that ‘I am a Retail Consultant’. This nearly always fetches me blank stares till I go further and explain that my line of work involves everything from the retail layout to the communication inside a store.
Those who are slightly communication savvy understand this. Those who are not, interpret it as designing Malls and Shops.

This oft faced confusion prompts me to explain what exactly my job is:
A retail consultant is an individual or agency that helps determine a retail strategy for stores or other types of retail businesses. Usually, the goal is to increase sales by driving more people to the store and attracting them to products once there. A retail consultant may deal with promotions, merchandising, store design, location and even some personnel decisions.
Being a retail consultant may seem like a focused task, but in reality it is not. Marketing, promotions, HR, store design and merchandising are all specialized areas. Where a consultant comes in is to be able to tie –up all these specialties in a focused manner which enhances the brand/store experience.

Elementary Queries

What is Retail?

Retail is the art, science and commerce of selling to the end customer.

That sounds very simple doesn’t it? But did you notice I said selling to the end-customer and not just selling?

Now suddenly does it take on a different hue?

Selling can be to anyone. To a distributor or dealer, to a shopkeeper or to a company.
It’s only when you are selling directly to the end customer or consumer does selling become Retail.

You might right now be feeling like saying but ‘that’s elementary by dear Priyanka’.
But hang on a minute isn’t it true that at times the simplest of truths are overlooked in an attempt to get at more complicated and seemingly enormous falsehoods?

So no harm in reiterating the obvious. Infact for those who wish to be or are already linked to the retail scene in any manner I would suggest that this be a mantra they repeat before, during and after every meeting and brainstorming session.

“Retail is the art, science and commerce of selling to the end consumer.”

The reason for being so emphatic about this point is the utter neglect or convenient slotting into stereotypes I witness at every meeting of that one person who is pivotal to the entire retail exercise “THE CUSTOMER”

He/she is nicely fitted into an existing matrix which on the basis of annual income, ownership of a car or AC and age claims to be able to access his/her innermost desires and thoughts.

Now how smart is that?

We are a country of billion plus and growing, then how difficult is it for those racking (as well as wrecking) their brains inside closed rooms is it, to just walk out and speak to a few flesh & blood customers and understand what it is that they really seek in a brand?

The Indian customer has always been quirky; I have personally known people who would preserve Shoppers Stop plastic bags only to be able to carry the merchandise they picked up at Sarojini Nagar’s export reject markets in them.

What’s the point you ask?

The point was the impression it made on the neighbours who assumed the frequent shopping trips were to Shoppers Stop.

The same girl who uses nothing but L`oreal products for her skin and hair also regularly eats pani-pooris at the neighbourhood chaat stall.

The Aunty who pours Ayur shampoo into the empty Sunsilk bottle is known to many. So is the uncleji who keeps Four Square cigarettes in a pack of Marlboros.

And I have met a plumber whose latest mobile phone with touchscreen put me in great discomfort as I tried my best to keep my plain Jane Nokia 6300 out of sight.


So coming back to the root point…please, please go out spend time in the shops, markets and malls….see how buying decisions are made or rejected and talk with the customers. At the risk of never being hired again may I say that the shop floor executive of a brand maybe able to give you more insights on how to successfully reach out to the customer than the GM –Marketing for the same brand.

The Tale of Retail

Retail scenario in India is going through a very complicated and at the same time exciting phase. We have the most traditional of formats competing with the computerized large- format chain versions and wonder of wonders actually surviving too.

That the sector is changing beyond recognition is a given. That the worldwide economic slowdown is affecting it and what seemed like only an upward surge a few months ago doesn’t seem as rosy now is equally true.

My attempts to understand the market and also jot down some notes and observations have resulted in this blog.

I am not promising to be always original as from time to time I might like to copy out observations by experts in the field.

However I will surely try to be informative and interesting.
See you around.