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Project Research

On

By: Kaarshini Bhandari

B.Voc (RM&IT) 2014 - 17

Roll No. 149021

Subject : Practicals

St.Francis Degree College for Women,

Begumpet, Hyderabad.

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Acknowledgement :

I would like to thank Anthony sir to help me out in choosing the store and gave me an insight about the viva , I would like to thank Darrel sir who first briefed me about the topic and gave me key points to go through the store , I would like to thank Subi ma'am who helped me in doing research and gave me good suggestions , I would like to thank Mrs. . Patricia Hassan the manager who allowed me to do a research on her store , I would like to thank Ms. Mitika Vazir who guided me throughout the store gave me the extensive information and cleared all my questions , I would even like to thank Mr. Ajit Chand Bhandari my dad who accompanied me to the store & gave me his insight about the store as a customer & lastly I would like to thank Jia Lalwani my classmate who accompanied me several times to the store had given a different opinion which increased my thinking capacity and view towards the store .

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ContentsSl. No. Topic Page Number

01. Our Story ( Introduction & History) 01.

02. Message from the Founder 01.

03. Values 02.

04. Reason to choose Good Earth 02.

05. Format 02.

06. The Interaction with 03.

07. The Branches & Stores 04.

08. Product Line 05.

09. Expectations 10.

10. Ambience 10.

11. The present theme - Samarqand 11.

12. Samarqand - The Silk route 11.

13. Market research & development 12.

14. Procurement 12.

15. Warehouse 13.

16. Maintenance 14.

17. Visual Merchandising 14.

18. Store set up 16.

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19. Store Operations 17.

20. Sales procedures 18.

21. Packaging 18.

22. Delivery 19.

23. Marketing Strategy 19.

24. International Plans 20.

25. Expectation Vs. findings 21.

26. Conclusion 22.

27. Bibliography & Webliography 23.

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Our story ( Introduction & History ) :

Good Earth was found by Ms . Anita lal in the year 1996. With its first store at Kemps Corner , Mumbai , Good Earth set standards for stylish luxury retail across India . Presently it has 9 stores all over India , one store in & an online store .

Message from the Founder :

Anita lal , founder & creative director believes that " TRUE LUXURY IS IN THE DETAILS OF EVERYDAY LIVING ; IT IS BEING SURROUNDED BY THE THINGS THAT ARE NATURAL & HAND CRAFTED WITH DESIGNS THAT ELEVATES SPIRITS "

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Values :

1. Values of sustainability . Sustaining tradition & ecology is a core value .

2. Encouraging quality craftsmanship & revival of lost Indian traditions that are beneficial to the environment & to society , is what we constantly work towards .

Reason to choose Good Earth :

1.To know more about a unique store which deals in home decor in Indian style.

2.The store does not promote itself on an extensive scale. How is it still existing .

3.The international plans and new plans to expand business in India .

Format :

The Good Earth is a specialty store & chain format in 9 cities of India .

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The interaction with :

The Good Earth was a good experience because of the patient answering and proper explanation of two people at Good Earth.

1. Patricia Hassan : The manager of store . She was very helpful in giving her insights on the Good Earth as overview. She was the one who introduced Good Earth as an store which is connected to roots . She was patient enough to answer my calls even in the middle of nights and helped guided me trough out the project .

2. Mitika Vazir : The executive business developer & interior designer of store . She gave me the complete information in detail and guided me to the topics which were very unique. She made me capable enough to answer any questions on Good Earth . She was patient enough to answer all my questions .

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The branches and stores :

1. The Good Earth has 9 stores in India namely in

Mumbai ( 3 stores )

Delhi ( 3 stores )

Chennai ( 1 store )

Bangalore ( 1 store )

Hyderabad ( 1 store )

2. The Good Earth has 2 stores even at Singapore

3. The online store

Http://www.goodearth.in/

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Product line :

1.Décor - home decor including beautiful lamps , lanterns and elegant show pieces .

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2.Dining - the dining set made by gold , silver plating & beautiful design according to theme.

3.Barware - bar accessories including glasses , containers etc.

4.Spa – samragni products , natural & herbal soaps , essence , natural oils , natural & herbal

extracts .

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5.Textiles - pillow covers , dining table mats etc.

6. Bed textiles - bed sheets .

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7.Clothing - women -Indian dresses & clothes

8.Gumdrops - cotton and soft cloth clothes for children aging between 2-5 years.

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9. Candles - perfumed & vanilla essence candles to light up home.

10. Furniture - elegant and beautiful range of limited furniture pieces.

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Expectations :The online survey and the introduction given by few people I got to know about few things of Good Earth which gave a basic understanding about Good Earth , the basic expectations from the understandings are :

1. Beautiful visual merchandising 2. Costly3. For higher class people4. Believes in quality not in quantity5. Driven by passion6. Has a set of loyal customers.

Ambience :

The store has very beautiful ambience . The day starts with a special Indian traditional energizing and refreshing process called samragini . The refreshing aura of this process purifies the store itself and the people come in also forget about the negativity they bring in. Soft music selected which is played in all the stores in India which elates the moods of customer and attract them towards the product line. The visual merchandising of the store is set in such way that every product can be clearly seen and the beauty of products can be relished by the

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customers . In all the customer enjoys all the 5 senses which keep him in a totally different mood which changes his shopping experience .

The present theme – Samarqand :

The cultures from past 200 years are bought with change in the themes which are launched every year by GOODEARTH . In the month of October in the season of dussera the theme is launched with a very big show . In this launch the Good Earth family is invited . This event is promotional event for the new collection . Where the new exclusive collection is displayed . The theme of this year samarqand is highly inspired by the creativity and the uniqueness .

Samarqand – The Silk route

The Samarqand is the capital of Uzbekistan . Mainly this was one of the silk route and many cultures are inspired because of this trade . This trade brought the culture of two different countries together . This year the Good Earth concentrates on this culture . The complete product line from the furniture pieces to the wall décor from dining to barware everything is designed according to the theme of silk routes . The specialty of Good Earth is that according to the theme they change the store itself . The products are inspired and are beautifully arranged which is a visual delight to anyone who enters the store .This is the USP of Good Earth that it merges effortlessly with new themes .

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The end to end process.

Market research & development :

GOODEARTH has a very special procedure to do market research . Yearlong a team of 20 people is doing survey of India . These people find out a theme which is connected to the culture and tradition of India , the theme which has the essence of indianess . This theme is theme which is then followed for one complete year . The complete product line is design according to the theme .These research team tries to bring out old themes nearly 200 years old themes in a very contempary and a new way .

Procurement :

Once the market research is done the team of designers come into action . The artisan and craftsmen are hired according to the requirement of the theme .

For example for the theme of Kashmir 2 years ago , the artisans were hired from Kashmir itself the reason was that they were the people who were deeply connected with the culture and could represent it best in their work .

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Now this combination of team ( designers and artisans ) work together on the procurement . The goods sold in the Good Earth are maximally handmade and the other raw materials are procured from different locations as per the requirement arises .

The yearlong the art pieces are added and the collection is improvised . Many times the art collection of past collection are also remade if they are possible to make and are much in demand .

Warehouse :

The main ware house of GOODEARTH is at Delhi . The finished products are sent there the bar-coding , packaging and storing are done here . This is the main hub from here the goods are sent to other warehouses . For south the main warehouse is at Bangalore which receives the goods and further transport it to the south stores at Chennai , Hyderabad & Bangalore .

The main processes take place at the warehouse of Good Earth are ,

1. Stock receiving

2. Documentation

3. Stock checking

4. Quality check

5. Selected goods sent for bar-coding

6. Pricing

7. Then stored until the time of departure

8. Before departure recheck

9. Staged & allocated according to the stores

10. Documents provided to the delivery person

11. Delivery

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Maintenance :

The maintenance is one of the eminent part of Good Earth . The maintenance is on different levels from the maintenance of inventory to the maintenance of staff . These are the various fields where the maintenance is taken care of at Good Earth.

1. Store

2. Staff

3. Appearance

4. Financial accounting

5. Inventory

6. Stock

7. Customers information

Visual merchandising :

Visual merchandising is one of the main pillar of any store and so does the Good Earth believes . Good Earth has a very beautiful and flexible visual merchandising . As the theme changes every year and new products are introduced this needs a very flexible

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fixtures as well as the color combinations which go well with any type of art pieces placed .

One of the main reason why visiting Good Earth is a delight is the visual merchandising which is changed in every 15 days . Special 2-3 days workshops are arranged by the Good Earth people for their visual merchandising team in all states which gives them new ideas about how to best design the store which can attract the customers .

With the visual merchandising the other things that walk hand in hand to uplift the mood of customer and to make him feel elated are the soothing music which are played

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in all the stores of Good Earth in and across India , the smell of the samragni which brings the modern place connected to the roots of India . In this way Good Earth gives his customers best visual experience and a perfect feel of India.

Store set up :

The store set up is very simple , elegant , classic and different type of store set up every time you visit the store . The store set up is specially designed in such a way that the different product lines do not mix up with each other . They are clearly visible and all the products are in easy reach of the customers .

The products are lined up in order like the entrance has the wall pieces followed by the spa collection with the bar ware collection with the dining arrangements , the textiles are followed and jewelry collection. On the second floor we can find the women dressing apparels and the gumdrops for the children and the furniture collection. The collections of perfumed candles are placed around the store which adds to visual merchandising . In this way the store is set up in different visual effects every fort night to give a new effect to store .

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Store operations :

There are many store operations which take place on a daily basis so effectively and smoothly that a regular customer also does not gets a clue . But a great effort is exerted to do and maintain these operations in a proper way so that any kind of inconvenience is not caused to stock , financial accounts , store itself & the most important the customers. The few store operations include

1. Cleaning of store : one of the most important operation as the first thing anyone first notices in a store is cleanliness . The Good Earth maintains a cleaning process day long . Every 2 hours the floors are cleaned and the stock is also cleaned in every 4 - 6 hours to maintain the freshness . The cleanliness out of store i.e. The parking area and the walking passage is also properly done . This gives a customer different image of store .

2. Maintenance of records of inventory : The recording of the old inventory is updated and the new inventory is added year long . The inventory is updated with the use of computers which eliminates many errors . This even is a plus point for the store people because the inventory is checked every day and they can be aware of the condition and requirement of stock beforehand .

3. Maintenance of accounts : special people are appointed to maintain the records . It is one of the most important document as it is a chain store and hence the details of accounts are to be shared with the chain store on regular basis. This even helps them to know their financial stability .

4. Maintaining the customer relation : The customer relations are maintained both in store and trough becoming a part of their lives through the social media . The staff is being properly trained not to bump into customers . They are always nearby to assist but only when the customer wants them to ,as they believe to give them space and tot influence them with their ideas . And the social relations , the Good Earth does not believe in spamming the mail ids of their customers or fill the inbox by messaging . They send invites for few occasions where they want to invite their customers . By this way they do not promote themselves at a large scale but they maintain a certain standards because they believe if their product is good enough the customer will return .

5. Security : there are always minimum 2 security guards at the main entrance . And one near the store .

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6. Parking space : the biggest problem of the shopping experience is adequate parking space . Good Earth has ample space to park vehicles both 2 wheelers and 4 wheelers . The watchman at the entrance properly guides you how to park to avoid any future problems .

7. Cafeteria : when you are out with your family on a shopping trip you surely need refreshments . Good Earth has a cafeteria which provides you with snacks and coffee for refreshing your mind.

Sales procedures :

The sales procedures at Good Earth are very simple and easy . The customers are provided with this wide choice out of which they can choose . The ladies mostly opt to see the whole store and children and husbands are left alone the Good Earth people also attend them provide them with refreshments and then even confirm that children do not play in the store . The assistance is given when they ask for as Good Earth believes the customer must get their privacy . Once they decide what to buy they are guided towards the billing counter and here their contact information is been recorded , to keep them updated with the special programs being held at the store . Then they are provided with the bill . Bill can be paid by cash and kind .

Packaging :

This is an exclusive style of Good Earth. They know they sell exclusive products which people like to gift near and dear ones , hence they have special packaging for all the articles they sell be it of any size . This gives the articles a exclusive image with decency .

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Delivery :

The Good Earth does not to door step delivery . Where as in some cases where their customers are from out of India they deliver them with the articles . The charges are borne by the customers. In case of online store the articles are delivered and here also charges are borne by the customers.

Marketing strategy :

The Good Earth has a very unique style of marketing himself in the competitive market of home decors and furnishing . Good Earth does not believe in extensive marketing because it irritates the customers .the marketing strategies are ,

1. Launch of new theme - event

2. Special events where in entertainment and dining are bought together for customers

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3. Special programs teaching new skills

4. Sales

5. Special exhibition

Good Earth believes that their products speak for them . They have such a quality that their customers return back to them and are satisfied with their silent , decent but effective promotional strategies .

International plans :

Good Earth has 2 stores in Singapore . And as any other Indian company it also have dreams to open up stores in other countries . The difference is that Good Earth have been passionate about its plans this is the reason that in the initial years even after being in losses it was continued , and we can see the results it is one of the most unique home decor store which runs to satisfy the limited customers loyal to it.

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Expectation versus finding :

The findings for the expectations are as follows,

Beautiful visual merchandising - . The visual merchandising is very beautiful which can catch any ones attraction .

Costly - Good Earth is a luxury retail store and the prices are very high . Two reasons for high prices are they are made by artisans which are hired only for few months hence their charges are more & secondly the best research and quality of raw material is used to give supreme quality of goods .

For higher class people - as it is a luxurious store every one cannot buy it . It is very expensive buying things from Good Earth . But there are few products which cost less and can are purchased by middle class people .

Believes in quality not in quantity - the Good Earth team does research for 12 months and this research is only for the theme and best quality of goods.

Driven by passion - Good Earth is completely driven only and only by passion. In the initial years it was in loses due to the expensive costs of goods but the investors and the founder never left their passion to give back something good to earth and now it is a successful chain store even out of India and even has other international plans .

Has a set of loyal customers - today Good Earth is existing because of quality it gives and the customers who strive for it . The loyal customers are the base of the business and word of mouth is enough to run Good Earth .

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Conclusion : Good Earth is a passion driven company which has high goals . The main goal of Good Earth is to serve its customers with the most unique style of home decor which is made by artisans . The art the promote is often ancient but the look and technique they add to it makes it different from other home decor brands .

The process of making of the goods to delivering it is very effortlessly and simply carried out with the help of skilled and educated labor . The theme attached to this gives it an extra edge .

Marketing their brand is not their key mission . They simply believe their work talks for them, their customers talk for them , they need not go into extensive marketing . Whereas still they are popular because of the dedicated services they provide . They have online store as well as international store , and want to open many more .

Good Earth is a very impressive in its visual merchandising , store management and operations , service , uniqueness , quality and the dedication they show towards their work .

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Bibliography & Webliography :1. Interview with Mitika Vazir

2 Http://www.goodearth.in/

3. www.facebook.com/good earth

4. www.bing.com

5. online store link : Http://www.goodearth.in/