Project on retail

8/7/2019 Project on retail

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TABLE OF CONTENT

Acknowledgment………………………………………….…………….1

Introduction…………………………………………………….….…….2

Literature Review…………………………………………….…….……4

Retail Industry: An Overview…………………………………….……...6

Objective of Study……………………………………………………….11

Westside: Retail Giant…………………………………………………...13

Research Methodology…………………………………………………..21

Hypothesis……………………………………………………………….22

Data Analysis…………………………………………….………………27

Consumer Pull Factors……………………………………………….…..35

Recommendations…………………………………………………….….36

Conclution……………………………………………...………….……..37

Bibliography………………………………………………………….…..39



INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Retailing consists of the sale of goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such asa department store, shopping mall etc .The retailer buys goods or products in largequantities from manufacturers either directly or through a wholesaler, and then sellssmaller quantities to the end-user. Retail establishments are often called shops or stores. Retailers are at the end of the supply chain. Manufacturing marketers see the

process of retailing as a necessary part of their overall distribution strategy.

In the retail outlet various type of good and service are provide to the customer but

all the goods and services are generally homogenous in nature through all the other retail outlets. Product and services of every company are available in every retailoutlet. It is also find that many customer only used to shopping in own decidedoutlet rather from every outlets even there is homogenous among the product andservice offer by the every retail outlet .So This put the question in the mind of theevery retailer that is there is any gap between what customer expected from retailersand what retailer provides to customer during shopping.

No two customers have the identical likes and preferences. Delivery value andnarrowing down the zone of tolerance is a tightrope walk for marketer in organized

retail sector. Especially in market like India the challenges is formidable becauseorganizations need to cater to a wide and diverse group of customers .Thus buildingequity and generating volumes in such complex market tapers down to the functionof managing customer expectation.

Customers take their time to first sketch their needs and then arrive at a specificdecision. At the end of the day the question is what does the customer expect? Howto fulfill the glaring gap between need and expectations? The answers to thisquestion are “by delivering the value “

But in many case retailers are not aware of what their customer expect. Hence theyare unable to deliver the right value to the right customer and satisfy them.Especially in this competitive scenario where the customer are well informed,commanding and demanding at the same time it has become imperative for theorganization to be updated on the “WHAT”,”WHY”and “HOW” of each and everycustomer. This calls for empathizing with the customer by indulging into their

priorities and decision making.

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Even in the case of a product as simple as beauty soap, customer have versatileexpectations like, good packaging fragrance, herbal or medical benefit, glowing skinetc. and all this at an affordable price. A daunting task but companies have no option

but to offer the expected value, that too by keeping the operating costs low.

Following general expectations of a typical customer

• Value of Money

• Availability and location

• Service expectations

• Quality in Product

• Need based solution

So in other to deliver the value, Retail outlets in addition to providing products andservices, need to cater for a wide range of motives. The various determinants of retailoutlet preference include cleanliness, well-stocked shelves, and range of products,helpful staff, disabled access, wide aisles, car parking, multiple billing points andenvironmentally friendly goods. These differing motives arise as retailers cater todifferent types of shoppers who include economic consumers (concern with value),

personalized consumers (concern with relationships), recreational shoppers (shoppingas a leisure activity) and apathetic consumers (who dislike shopping). Retailers haveto satisfy budding customers, older consumers as well as time crunched individualswhose motives all tend to be conflicting as well as different. Retailers need to

establish a good image to prevent customers from shopping around. They must cater to shoppers need for pleasure and practicality.

If expressed as a calculation, customer satisfaction might look something like this:

Customer expectations = Companies Performance/ Companies Satisfaction

Satisfaction is a consumer’s post-purchase evaluation of the overall serviceexperience. It is an affective reaction (Menon and Dubé, 2000) in which theconsumer’s needs, desires and expectations during the course of the serviceexperience have been met or exceeded (Lovelock, 2001). Satisfaction in this sense

could mean that a supermarket has just barely met the customer’s expectations, notexceeded nor disappointed those expectations. The benefits of taking the customer’sresponse beyond satisfaction at this level by exceeding expectations, is a competitivestrategy many retailers aspire to achieve. There is a recurrent struggle for existenceand survival in the wake of deep competition, drastically changing customer attitudesand expectation levels.

The study would enable us to understand the impact of various factors that influence aconsumer’s shopping behavior in a departmental store. It would also help in knowingthe magnitude and direction of movement of these factors amongst each other. Thesefactors have been divided into three heads- Store, Situation and Shopper factors.

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LITERATURE REVIEW

The concept of store loyalty is derived from the concept of brand loyalty which refers tothe tendency to make repeat purchases of products of the same brand. Store loyaltyrefers to the tendency to repeatedly shop at the same store for similar or other products.A loyal customer would give preference to a specific store and would tend to be far more forgiving of errors of the store

There are three main set of variables that have been found to have an impact on

loyalty of customers:

1. Store Related Variables

2 .Shopper Related Variables3. Situation Related Variables

Loyalty has been found to be greatly influenced by Store Related Variables. Some of

the important store related variables are Shop location, Products Range and Store

Image. In consumer priorities, assortment and variety come after convenience and

price. (Arnold, Stephen J., Tae H. Ourn, Tigert, and Douglas 1983,’ Determining

Attributes in Retail Patronage) Shop location is an influencing variable on loyalty as

convenience of shopping is among the main criteria of the customers. Location related

variables are given importance in analyzing both trade areas and retail patronage

behavior (Hubbard, Raymond 1978,’ A review of Selected Factors ConditioningConsumer Travel Behavior’, journal of Consumer Research) .The consumers are

favorably inclined to revisit a store where they have positive shopping experiences

like a great range of assortments , good environment etc. The image of the store has

also great effect on the loyalty of the customers. Store image reflects shopper’s

perception of a store in terms of functional and psychological attributes.

Loyalty is also influenced by shopper related variables. Several factors such as age,

income and social class of the shopper have found to influence on customer’s

decisions.(Moore, Charles Thomas , and Joseph Barry Mason 1969, ‘ A research Note

on major Retail Centre Patronage) Customers belonging to different age groups prefer

different stores. There have been researches done which suggests that the greater the

congruence between self image and store image, the greater is the probability that the

customer is loyal. (Pathak, D.S., W.J.E .Crissy, and R.W Sweitzer 1974,’ Customer

Image Versus the Retailers’ Anticipated Image,’ Journal of Retailing, Vol.50).There is

a direct linkage between personal values and desired consumer benefits. This means

different customers have different levels of desired consumer benefits which vary

according to their own perceived values.

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Loyalty is also influenced by the situation related variables. These factors include task

definition, level of involvement, shopping orientation and usage of information. These

indicate the intensity of need and the comfort of the shopper in taking a purchase

decision. The store choice has been found to depend on buying situations that differ

with the level of involvement (Moschis, G.P .1976,’ Shopping Orientations and

Consumer Uses of Information)

Thus we can say that the existence of the customer is integral to the existence of the

retailer. The ability to understand consumers is the key to developing a successful

retail strategy. A key factor in understanding customers is identifying the customers

for product or service, which means the target segment, and the demographics of this

segment, their needs and buying behavior.

Recognition of the need for a product or a service is the first stage that may lead to a

consumer buying. The need may be psychological or functional.

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RETAIL INDUSTRY: AN OVERVIEW

The Indian retail industry is the fifth largest in the world. Comprising of organized andunorganized sectors, India retail industry is one of the fastest growing industries inIndia, especially over the last few years. Though initially, the retail industry in Indiawas mostly unorganized, however with the change of tastes and preferences of theconsumers, the industry is getting more popular these days and getting organized aswell. With growing market demand, the industry is expected to grow at a pace of 25-30% annually. The India retail industry is expected to grow from Rs. 35,000 crore in2004-05 to Rs. 109,000 crore by the year 2010.

According to the 8th Annual Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) of AT Kearney,

India retail industry is the most promising emerging market for investment. In 2007, theretail trade in India had a share of 8-10% in the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of thecountry. In 2009, it rose to 12%. It is also expected to reach 22% by 2010.

Top Retailers Worldwide: Rank Retailer Home Country

Leading global retail players by revenue

Sr.

No.Company Name Country Banner Sale 2007E

(In (US $ million)

No of Outlets

2007

1 Wal- Mart Store US 395,305 7,331

2 Carrefour France 142,229 13,419

3 Tesco UK 103,573 3,750

4 Metro Group Germany 102,942 2,541

5 Seven & I (ii) Japan 84,375 22,590

6 Kroger US 73,633 3,672

7 AEON (i) Japan 73,416 14,803

8 Target US 71,125 1,591

9 Schwarz Group Germany 70,969 8,575

10 Costco US 69,704 518Source – Planet retail

According to a report by Northbride Capita, the India retail industry is expected to growto US$ 700 billion by 2010. By the same time, the organized sector will be 20% of thetotal market share. It can be mentioned here that, the share of organized sector in 2007was 7.5% of the total retail market.

Tata group is another major player in Indian retail industry with its subsidiary Trent,which operates Westside and Star India Bazaar. Established in 1998, it also acquired thelargest book and music retailer in India ‘Landmark’ in 2005. Trent owns over 4 lakh sq.ft retail space across the country.

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The Future

The retail industry in India is currently growing at a great pace and is expected to goup to US$ 833 billion by the year 2013. It is further expected to reach US$ 1.3 trillion

by the year 2018 at a CAGR of 10%. As the country has got a high growth rates, theconsumer spending has also gone up and is also expected to go up further in thefuture. In the last four year, the consumer spending in India climbed up to 75%. As aresult, the India retail industry is expected to grow further in the future days. By theyear 2013, the organized sector is also expected to grow at a CAGR of 40%.

Malls in India

Over the last 2-3 years, the Indian consumer market has seen a significant growth in

the number of modern-day shopping centers, popularly known as ‘malls’. There isan increased demand for quality retail space from a varied segment of large-formatretailers and brands, which include food and apparel chains, consumer durables andmultiplex operators. Shopping-centre development has attracted real-estatedevelopers and corporate houses across cities in India. As a result, from just 3 mallsin 2000, India is all set to have over 220 malls by 2005. Today, the expected demandfor quality retail space in 2006 is estimated to be around 40 million square feet.While previously it was the large, organized retailers –with their modern, up-marketoutlets, and direct consumer interface- who had been a key factor driving the growthof organized retail in the country, now it is the malls which are playing the role.

Factors such as availability of physical space, population densities, city planning, andsocio-economic parameters have driven the Indian market to evolve, to a certainextent, its own definition of a ‘mall’. For example, while a mall in USA is 400,000 to1 million sq.ft. in size, an Indian version can be anywhere between 80,000 sq.ft. and500,000 sq.ft. By 2005, total mall space in the 6 cities of Mumbai, Bangalore,Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, and National Capital Region (Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon)is expected to increase to over 21.1 million sq. ft. Compared to other big cities,Kolkata and Hyderabad are relatively new entrants in the mall segment, but arewitnessing quick growth. Smaller cities like Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Ludhiana,Jaipur, Chandigarh and Indore, are also expected to see a formidable growth in thegrowth of malls in the near future. But malls in India need to have a clear positioningthrough the development of differential product assortment and differential pricing, inorder to compete effectively in a growing mall market. Segmentation in malls, likeup-market malls, mid-market malls, etc., proper planning, correct identification of needs, quality products at lower prices, the right store mix, and the right timing,would Ensure the success of the ‘mall revolution’ in India.

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Challenges of Retailing in India

Retailing as an industry in India has still a long way to go. To become a truly flourishingindustry, retailing needs to cross the following hurdles:

• Automatic approval is not allowed for foreign investment in retail.• Regulations restricting real estate purchases, and cumbersome local laws.• Taxation, which favors small retail businesses.• Absence of developed supply chain and integrated IT management.• Lack of trained work force.• Low skill level for retailing management.• Intrinsic complexity of retailing – rapid price changes, constant threat of productobsolescence and low margins.

The retailers in India have to learn both the art and science of retailing by closely

following:

How retailers in other parts of the world are organizing, managing, and coping up withnew challenges in an ever-changing marketplace. Indian retailers must use innovativeretail formats to enhance shopping experience, and try to understand the regionalvariations in consumer attitudes to retailing.

Retail marketing efforts have to improve in the country - advertising, promotions, andcampaigns to attract customers; building loyalty by identifying regular shoppers andoffering benefits to them; efficiently managing high-value customers; and monitoringcustomer needs constantly, are some of the aspects which Indian retailers need to focus

upon on a more pro-active basis.

Despite the presence of the basic ingredients required for growth of the retail industry inIndia, it still faces substantial hurdles that will retard and inhibit its growth in the future.

One of the key impediments is the lack of FDI status. This has largely limited capitalinvestments in supply chain infrastructure, which is a key for development and growthof food retailing and has also constrained access to world-class retail practices.

Multiplicity and complexity of taxes, lack of proper infrastructure and relatively highcost of real estate are the other impediments to the growth of retailing. While the

industry and the government are trying to remove many of these hurdles, some of theroadblocks will remain and will continue to affect the smooth growth of this industry.

Fitch believes that while the market share of organised retail will grow and becomesignificant in the next decade, this growth would, however, not be at the same rapid paceas in other emerging markets. Organised retailing in India is gaining wider acceptance.The development of the organised retail sector, during the last decade, has begun tochange the face of retailing, especially, in the major metros of the country. Experiencesin the developed and developing countries prove that performance of organised retail isstrongly linked to the performance of the economy as a whole.

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This is mainly on account of the reach and penetration of this business and itsscientific approach in dealing with customers and their needs. In spite of the positive

prospects of this industry, Indian retailing faces some major hurdles (see Table 1),which have stymied its growth. Early signs of organized retail were visible even in the

1970s when Nilgiris (food), Viveks (consumer durables) and Nallis (sarees) startedtheir operations.

However, as a result of the roadblocks (mentioned in Table 1), the industry remainedin a rudimentary stage. While these retailers gave the necessary ambience tocustomers, little effort was made to introduce world-class customer care practices andimprove operating efficiencies. Moreover, most of these modern developments wererestricted to south India, which is still regarded as a ‘Mecca of Indian Retail’.

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SEASONS OF RETAILING

Summer Season• It’s usually from May to July.

• Low sales are recorded during this period.

• This season is good for promotions and launching new advertisementcampaigns.

Fall Season• August and September are important months.

•

Retailers are provided a good opportunity to increase their share.

Holiday Season• It begins usually at the end of October and carries through the fourth quarter endingin January.

• Festivals like Dusherra, Diwali, Halloween, Christmas and New Year Eve bringmore customers.

• Usually it’s the best time for retailers.

Spring Season• It lasts from February to May

• Fewer footfalls are recorded in malls.

CUSTOMERS

Men

• While guys tend to prioritize fashion to a lesser degree than girls, “right-look” and the “dude” image is still important to them.

• Boys tend to spend more money on electronic gadgets, food, sports goodsand music.

Women• “Tween” girls represent a lucrative opportunity for retailers. They are going to

become the future buyers.

• “Teen” girls are more trend savvy. It’s not just the clothes and accessories, butthe whole look that the teen girls aspire to define.

‘Post teen” girls spend more on jewellery and household items and thus they



OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDT

SHOPPER FACTORS

1) What influences a shopper to patronize a National Brand or Private Label?

2) Which of the two ‘manifest satisfaction’ or ‘latent satisfaction’ has stronger impact

on store loyalty?

3) Does the similarity between retail mix-elements and desired benefits of customer

lead to higher shopper loyalty?

SITUATIONAL FACTORS

1) Is there any impact of ‘recency of purchase experience’ and ‘frequency of visit to a

store’ on probability of repurchase from that store?

2) Is there any impact of ‘buying situations’ and ‘level of involvement’ on the store

choice?

3) Of the three, ‘mall image’ (tenancy mix), ‘socio-economic status,’ and ‘store

format’ of shoppers, which has the highest impact on ‘store image’?

STORE FACTORS

1) How convenience and location influences a shopper’s loyalty for a store?

2) How differentiation in type and quality of assortment offered by a store affects the

buying behavior of shopper?

3) How similarity between self-image and store-image leads impacts store loyalty?

4) How store image impacts store loyalty and how it influences store satisfaction in

shaping shoppers’ overall store loyalty?

The location of the retail store had, for a long time, been considered the most important‘P’ in retailing. If a retail store was located in the right place, it was considered to beadequate assurance for success. Over the years, with advent of non-store retailing andthe rise in web-based retail, merely choosing the right location can’t be consideredadequate. However, the retail location is an important part of the retail strategy, as thelocation of the store conveys a fair amount of its image. It also influences themerchandise mix and the interior layout of the store

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While a retailer can change his merchandise mix, adjust prices, improvecommunication with consumers and offer better services, once a store comes intoexistence, it is fairly difficult to change the location. Moving from one location toanother may result in the loss of customers and employees. Moreover, the new

location may not always have the benefits of the earlier one.

Types of Locations

Various options are available to the retailer, for choosing the location of this store.The choice of the location of the store again, depends on the target audience and thekind of merchandise to be sold. For ex, the location of a convenience store would not

be suitable for that of an expensive jewellery boutique. Typically, a store maybe

1. Freestanding/ Isolated Store,

2. Part of a business district, or

3.Part of a Shopping Center- A shopping center has been defined by the

International Council of Shopping Centers as “a group of retail and other

commercial establishments that is planned, developed, owned and manager as a

single property”. The availability of parking is an important feature of every

shopping center. Westside - Mani Square Mall in Kolkata is a part of the

shopping center.

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WESTSIDE – RETAIL GIANT

Established in 1998 as part of the Tata Group, Trent Ltd. operates Westside, one of

India's largest and fastest growing chains of retail stores. The Westside stores havenumerous departments to meet the varied shopping needs of customers. These includeMenswear, Women’s wear, Kid’s wear, Footwear, Cosmetics, PerfumesandHandbags, Household Accessories, lingerie, and Gifts. The company has alreadyestablished 36 Westside departmental stores (measuring 15,000-30,000 square feeteach) in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad & Noida (to beconsidered as 1 city), Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Lucknow,Mumbai, Mysore, Nagpur, Pune, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara and Jammu. The companyhopes to expand rapidly with similar format stores that offer a fine balance betweenstyle and price retailing.

Trent ventured into the hypermarket business in 2004 with Star Bazaar, providing anample assortment of products made available at the lowest prices, aptly exemplifyingits ‘Chota Budget, Lambi Shopping’ motto. At present Star Bazaar has 4 stores in 3cities located in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Bangalore. This store offers customers aneclectic array of products that include staple foods, beverages, health and beauty

products, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, consumer electronics and household itemsat the most affordable prices. Star Bazaar also includes a large range of fashionablein-house garments for men, women and children, exclusively available at the store.

In addition, Trent recently acquired a 76% stake in Landmark, one of the largest books & music retail chains in the country. Landmark began operations in 1987 with

its first store in Chennai with a floor space of 5500 sq. ft. At present Landmark have10 stores, varying in size from 12,000 sq. ft. to 45,000 sq. ft, 3 in Chennai and 1 eachin Bangalore, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Vadodara, Gurgaon, Pune, Lucknow andAhmedabad. Until 1996, Landmark’s product portfolio comprised books, stationery,and greeting cards. It was later that music was added to it. Landmark also sparked thetrend of stocking curios, toys and other gift items. What separates Landmark fromother stores of its kind is the range and depth of its stock.

This story began circa 1998 when The Tatas acquired Littlewoods – a London basedretail chain. This acquisition was followed by the establishment of Trent Ltd (a Tata

enterprise that presently operates Westside). Littlewoods was subsequently renamedWestside.

In a rapidly evolving retail scenario, Westside has carved a niche for its brand of merchandise creating a loyal following. Currently, the company has 46 Westsidestores measuring 15,000-30,000 square feet each across 20 cities. With a variety of designs and styles, everything at Westside is exclusively designed and themerchandise ranges from stylized clothes, footwear and accessories for men, womenand children to well-co-coordinated table linens, artifacts, home accessories andfurnishings. Well-designed interiors, sprawling space, prime locations and coffeeshops enhance the customers’ shopping experience.

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VISION STATEMENT

“To be the most preferred, consistently profitable lifestyle retailer “

By this vision statement it is very clear that company wants to express yourself themost prefer retailer to the people. It means when people will think about shopping

people will think about Westside. Not only this, as well as company wants to beconstantly profit gainer by providing lifestyle product.

MISSION STATEMENT

“Our mission is to be seen by our customers as the most relevant retailer in the

country

To achieve the goal, we will understand their needs; win their confidence, and

offer best in class products and services at affordable price.

We shall always be in the forefront of fashion and services by anticipating and

exceeding the expectations of our customer.

Our leadership will be the product of our styling, quality and service

consciousness.

We will continue to scale new heights of excellence through teamwork, in an

atmosphere which encourages creativity and innovativeness.”

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CUSTOMER SERVICE POLICY

“It is a policy to satisfy our customers with the range, quality and value of our offer.

However, if you are not satisfied with any item that you have purchased we will be

happy to assist you.

For unused merchandise please return the items together with your receipt within

30 days we will change them or give you a complete refund. If you don’t have a

receipt we will give you an exchange or a gift voucher to current or last known

selling price.

We have very confidence in the quality of our merchandise but should you have a

problem, please bring it our attention. If you have receipt, we will change the item

or give you complete refund. If you don’t have receipt, we will give you an exchange

or refund to the current or last known selling price.”

By the customer service policy it is very clear that the company give more importanceto their customer. Customer satisfaction is more important for the company in terms of quality of product, price of product, range of product. Company is very confidence anhonest in their product quality. Company give their loyal customer one year qualityassurance. It means in case of any manufacturing problem like colour bleeding,stitching problem within a year, company will exchange the product or give them

complete salling price.

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STORE LAYOUT

PRIVATE BRAND IN WESTSIDE

• NUON

• SRC

• GIA

• URBAN ANJEL

• INTIMA

• ASCOT

• RICHMOND

• DAVID JONES

• AZZUREO

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EXTERNAL BRAND IN WESTSIDE

• LEVIS

• KILLER • PROVOGUE

• LEE

• WRANGLAR

• MUFTI

• SPYKAR

• BLACKBERRY

.Ladies wear

Kids wear

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Mens wear

SERVICES & STORE ATMOSPHERE IN WESTSIDE

Helpfulness of the store staff – Store staff are always ready to help their customer.They always attain their every customer with very polite behavior. They alwayssuggest their customer correct perfect fit and combination. Staffs are alwaysinforming their customer correct product care instructions.

Alteration facilities- Westside store are give free alteration service for better fit.Westside customers can alter their garments which they purchased from Westsidestore, in any Westside store in India.

Special care for customer demand- Westside store are very careful for their customers. If customer are not found their size or pattern of any product in a particular store, on customer demand the store bring that particular product from other store.

Lighting- Stores are very brightly lit from inside and CFL tubes are put all over thestore. Lights are focused on clothes

Color- Wall color is cream so that light can be reflected easily and visibility is goodin store. Paint has a luster in itself i.e. paint is having mirror finish so that light getsreflected and clothes and other stuff are clearly visible. Color is also such that itdoesn’t get dirtier easily due to people leaning against the wall and resting thei5r footson the wall.

Visual communication- The signage and graphics are put all over the place to promote various brands. Promotional schemes are displayed by posters hanging over the various product ranges. The brand names are clearly mentioned on boards. Also

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directional signage are there showing the way to washrooms, drinking water, exit etc.Category signages, Point Of Sale (POS) signages and departmental signage are presentin many numbers.

Westside’s name,logo and store identity is very clear from the posters

Music- Basically english as well as hindi songs are put inside the store but normallyenglish songs are put up which are famous and are latest. The volume is kept low sothat people can talk among themselves and can easily interact with store personnel’s.Continous announcement of schemes are done in between this music playing to drawthe attention of customers and lure them for impulse buying.

Smell- A fragrant is put in the air conditioning duct so as to spread good smell insidethe store and remove any bad odours present in air. It gives a pleasant experience tocustomer and is refreshing.

Security- Security of the store is pretty good. Cc TV’s are put all over thestore tokeep check on notorious customers. Infrared detectors are put at the entrance and exitwhich alerts gaurds if person is trying to steal the things. Each and every floor has asecurity manager and 3 security guards are appointed for each floor. Security guardsspecially take care outside the trial rooms so as to stop people from hiding thingsinside their clothes.

Mirrors- They are put all over the store so that people can see how the clothes,watches, jewelry etc. looks on them. These mirrors are also cleaned at regular intervals. They are also put inside the trial rooms for customer’s convenience.

Escalators- they are put one at each floor for going down and going up at a normalspeed that makes shopping convenient without making the people getting tired. Allthe 3 floors are connected through escalators.

FACING THE CHALLENGE

The greatest challenge for Westside in its quest for a place in the retail sun is not thecompetition from similar organized players, but from the unorganized sector (98 per cent of India’s retail garment industry operates in the unorganized sector).

The other challenge for Westside is that the retail fashion business in the country is becoming increasingly crowded with new players, Indian and foreign. Among thenew entrants have been Wills Sport, Lifestyle, Raymond’s (Be), Primus Globus,

Nike, Crocodile, Mango and the latest, Marks & Spencer.

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PROMOTIONS

1. Club west card program

An assured return-and-exchange policy reinforces customer confidence in the

chain. Another winning Westside idea is Club West, a customer loyalty programme

launched in May 2001. The 30,000-plus members of this club get rebates at

restaurants and on holiday packages from the Taj Group of Hotels, home delivery

of alterations, and best of all, special shopping hours on the first day of any

discount sales event organized by the chain.

Important benefits of clubwest card

• Most attractive rewards shopping

• Instant use of the card

• Easy to operate

• Extra convenience

• Validity at all stores

Westside does its regular brand building through advertisements in the media with brand ambassador Yuvraj Singh and other young models; more important are its

in-house promotions, which peak during the three main festive seasons: summer,Diwali and Christmas. The promotions are mostly theme based, with decorations tomatch, live bands and other attractions.

2. Fashion Logy

Westside has launched a new ad campaign titled 'Fashion Logy'. The campaign isdesigned to provide the buyer with not just clothing, but also guides and aid ondressing smart, styling and accessorizing. The campaign sees on-ground activitiesand promotions designed to interact with the consumer about their style It includeswomen’s corporate wear, girls wear, and glam denim.

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THE THREE Cs

Corporate clothing is a major component of Westside merchandise. The emphasis

here is on the three Cs: Comfort, Crispness and Coordination, and the goal is to provide the complete corporate look, where color, clothes and accessories aremixed and matched in a manner that creates harmony between the person and theclothes he or she wears.

Westside employees are given regular training for better interaction. Some thingsmay take longer. The wish list, a tool for customers to let Westside know their

preferences, cannot be realized immediately. Only if there is an optimum demandcan the store look at fulfilling it. Gia, Westside’s brand for larger-sizedrequirements, was the outcome of one such need.

The company identifies star employees in each store and designates them ascoaches responsible for the training of their own store staff. Today, each store hasthree kinds of coaches — a customer service coach, an IT skills coach and a

product knowledge coach. The success of this programme has made it a benchmark for all Tata Group companies

WESTSIDE PROVIDES FOUR LEVELS OF SERVICE

Self service- Self service is the corner stone of all discount operations.Many customers are willing to carry out their own locate compare select

process to save money.

Self selection- Customer find own goods, although they can ask for assistance

Limited Service- Westside also offers services like credit, merchandizingetc.

Full Service- Sales people are ready to assist to any phase of the locatecompare select process. Customers who like to be waited own prefer thesetypes of stores



RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Sample and data collection

This survey was conducted in the context of retail. For 70 percent of the interviews,data were collected in face-to-face interviews of customers coming to Westsidewhile exiting point-of-sale venues. For the remaining 30 percent, because certainretailers prohibit the interviewing of their clients exiting their stores, interviews took

place in the subjects' homes, as a function of the store they attended most frequently.The study provides a representative sample of the main Shopping centre in Delhi. Inorder to reckon with possible multi-loyalty, questions related to satisfaction, loyalty

and behavior were asked for the regular main store visited (at least once a week).

Research design

The research design would be descriptive and cross sectional

Data collection

The data would be collected from primary source through questionnaires,interviews, observations etc. The sample would be surveyed on the basis of

questionnaire and data would be quantified for further analysis.

Sample size

The sample would be selected on random basis at the store itself. A sample of 100respondents would be used in the research. These would be further divided amongstthe stores for an evenly distributed data collection.

Data Sources

Both Secondary and Primary Sources of data will be used.

The major type of information used is primary data. This is done thru primarysurvey. The literature review is a secondary data type. The sources include books,

periodicals, websites, printed literature etc.

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HYPOTHESIS

The various hypotheses are based on the store related factors,situation related factors and shopper related factors.

Hypothesis Based on Store Related Factors

Loyalty is affected by factors that are related to the store, including-

a. Trade Area Related

Convenience is the primary reason that customers show patronage towards a

particular store. These studies assume that convenience is the primary reason

for loyalty. Most work in this area stems from a model proposed by Huff

(1964). The Huff Model states that consumer patronage is directly

proportional to utility factors given by square feet and inversely proportional

to disutility factors given by physical distance. The limits to enhancing

loyalty are essentially seen as limited centripetal pull of a store/ shoppingcenter. Location-related factors are given importance in analyzing both trade

areas and retail patronage behaviour (Hubbard, 1978). These studies most

often count the benefits of locating a store in a shopping center/ mall to

increase the store’s ‘destination’ traffic rather than just stay with the

convenience pull. In fact these studies determine shopping center traffic more

accurately than single store traffic. Huff’s model has subsequently been

studied by introducing trade overlap areas for effects on store patronage .

Generally speaking, these studies have resulted in the formation of the Theory

of Gravitational Pull in the field of retailing patronage studies. Apart from

distance, several other factors such as income and social class perceptions

have also been studied from the perspective of retail center patronage

decisions.



Convenience is the main motive for shoppers repeat buying at a

store.

b. Product Related-

Within a given trade area, studies emphasize the ‘uniqueness of assortment’ as a wayof influencing store loyalty and patronage. In consumer priorities, assortment andvariety comes after convenience and price (Arnold, Tae, and Douglas, 1978; Craig,Gosh, and McLafferty, 1984; Louviere and Gaeth, 1987). Given that consumers arefavourably inclined to revisit a store where they have had positive shoppingexperiences (found something they could not find anywhere else), these storessuggest that competing stores need to differentiate themselves based on type and

quality of assortment offered. The emphasis here is on tailoring the environmentalclues using retail mix elements to foster patronizing.

One of the used strategies is to develop own store Private labels. Consumers havedistinct perceptions of national and local brands vis-à-vis the retail private store

brands. Categories such as paper, plastic and wraps, and food products have high penetration of private brands. The lowest share is observed in case of cosmetics and baby foods. In India, private brands are found in more than fifty percent of stores.Category such as grocery and washing products show a higher presence of such

brands (Business Today, 26 October 2003). It has been observed that the impact of

the store brands on the consumer loyalty is lower in product categories where the‘quality believability’ of national brands is higher.

Hypothesis Based on Shopper Related Factors

Several factors such as age, income and social class of the shopper have beenfound to influence retail patronage decisions (Moore and mason, 1969). The

orientation of the shopper also impacts the preference of a store. Several studies havefound a correlation between shopping orientations and lifestyle and with store loyaltyand preference for stores. It has been found that shopper seeking more hedonicgratification from the shopping tends to patronize ‘new’ format stores that focus onexperimental marketing and offer better ambience and service (Sinha, 2003).Shopping orientation correlates differently with the information mix elements,varying with source, source credibility, and preference for a source by someconsumers and usage of such information,

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The aspect of congruity between the retail mix elements as designed by the retailer

and the self-image/ self-concept of the consumer has received much attention.

Research has shown the greater the congruence between self-image and store-

image; the greater is the probability that the customer is loyal. It has also been

found that if retail mix elements are in congruence with the desired benefits, it

results in customer loyalty (Osman, 1993). There is a direct linkage between

personal values and desired consumer benefits. Past experience with the outlet has

also emerged as one of the major drivers of loyalty. It acts as an influencer in

forming expectations about desired benefits from purchasing at a store (Guttman,

1990). A consumer’s selection of a store is not completely random. The more

recent the purchase experience and more frequent the visits to the store, the more

is the likelihood of repurchasing that product in that store (Aaker and Jones, 1971).

Several theories can be applied to study information processing by consumers.

One set of theories assumes that evaluation criteria are considered simultaneously.

This theory states that consumers do not distinguish between objective and

subjective evaluation criteria. They tend to use both simultaneously when arriving

at a decision (Hirschman and Krishnan, 1981). Another set of theories hold that the

process happens sequentially- first there are certain factors used to make a choice

among clusters and then, within the chosen cluster, other parameters are used for

decision-making (Fotheringham, 1988). It is generally agreed that as dimensions

of comparison among stores increase and, the consumer has to process vast

amounts of information before making a choice, the hierarchical process becomes

more relevant (Black, 1984).

The third set of theories states that consumers use a limited set of evaluative

criteria when making a choice and this varies depending on personality, context

and product. To assess store perception on attributes that are meaningless to

consumers can be misleading to a retailer. These theories draw significantly fromautomatic cognitive information processing models and the threshold model of

consumer behaviour and examine how attitude leads to behaviour/ patronage).

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Hypothesis Based on Store Satisfaction

Satisfaction has often been regarded as an antecedent of store loyalty (Bitner,1990). Store satisfaction can be defined (Engel et al., 1990, p. 481) as: Theoutcome of the subjective evaluation, that the chosen alternative (the store) meetsor exceeds expectations. This definition is within the tradition of conceptualizations of satisfaction that are used in the product literature. The basisfor the definition forms the disconfirmation paradigm (Oliver, 1980). According tothis paradigm, satisfaction is believed to occur through a matching of expectationsand perceived performance. In case a consumer makes this comparison, he or sheelaborates on the evaluation of a store. In order to do so, a consumer must bothhave the motivation and the ability to evaluate the store relative to the reference

point employed (Petty et al., 1983).

However, in some cases it may be very hard for consumers to generateexpectations to evaluate store performance and to compare the expectations and

performance as if they were independent elements. However, to the extent that anexplicit comparison is made between expectations and performance, the consumer is likely to be aware of the outcome of this evaluation. We label it as manifestsatisfaction. Manifest satisfaction is the result of an evaluation, which is wellelaborated on.

Hypothesis Based on Store image

The image of store is found to drive loyalty. The more positive the store image, thegreater is the degree of loyalty. Several studies report direct linkages between storeimage and intensity of store loyalty. Store image reflects shoppers’ perception of astore in terms of functional and psychological attributes. These can also beclassified as tangible and intangible attributes. The tangible attributes of the store,such as merchandise, location, sales people, and displays, are explicit andobservable. The intangible aspects, such as ambience, co-shoppers and other

psychosocial factors are difficult to measure and hence manage (Martineau). Theretail literature also discusses the congruence between self-image and store image.Studies show that this congruence leads to loyalty. Shoppers select cues from thestore environment and draw inferences about the characteristics of a typicalshopper of the store. The tenant mix also affects the store image. Malls, whichanchor stores tend to, absorb the image of the store. A mall with a department storeas an anchor reflects an image of high quality merchandise and customer service.A mall a price format store as an anchor has an image of a low service mall. It hasalso been found that shopping at an upscale mall is more likely to create high levelof self-congruity. Shoppers belonging to high economic strata are more likely to

perceive stores housed in downscale mall to have a lower quality image. The study propounds that store image should be seen as a result of an interaction between themall image, socio-economic status of shoppers, and store type.

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The Relationship between Image, Satisfaction and Loyalty

In our view, manifest satisfaction is directly and unequivocally related to storeloyalty. Manifest store satisfaction means that an explicit evaluation of the store ismade, which in case of a positive evaluation leads to store commitment. So,manifest satisfaction will be positively related to store loyalty. Latent satisfactionis the result of an implicit evaluation of the store choice, which is not elaboratedon and of which the consumer is not fully aware. Latent satisfaction means mereacceptance of the store, which will not necessarily lead to commitment.

Nevertheless, latent satisfaction may also be positively related to store loyalty, butless strongly than manifest satisfaction. Therefore, hypothesis 61 can be formulatedas follows:The fact that the amount of consumer satisfaction and store loyalty in general are

positively related, as we expect, is hardly supported by the literature. Although a

number of studies address the relationship between satisfaction and loyalty asrelated to products and services,there is little empirical evidence to support theexplicit relationship between store satisfaction and store loyalty .

Customers’ patronage behaviour towards a particular store is dependent on their image of that particular store . The more favourable the store image, the higher thevalence of the store to the customer. However, the exact relationship between storeimage and store loyalty has remained inconclusive. There is both evidence for adirect relationship and an indirect relationship whereby store satisfaction acts as amediator.

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DATA ANALYSIS

Price of the item

Statement Percentage

Very Dissatisfied 1

Dissatisfied 16

Moderate 28

Satisfied 44

Very Satisfied 11

Total 100

Very Dissatisfied

Dissatisfied

Moderate

Satisfied

Very Satisfied

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Store Ambiance


Dissatisfied 11.0

Moderate 17.0

Satisfied 52.0

Very satisfied 20.0

Total 100

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Dissatisfi

Moderate

satisfiedV Satisf

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Ease of availability


Dissatisfied 11.0

Moderate 27.0

Satisfied 40.0

Very satisfied 22.0

Total 100

Dissatisfied

Moderate

Satisfied

Very Satisfied

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Sales Promotion OffersStatement Percentage

Very Dissatisfied 12.0

Dissatisfied 33.0Moderate 28.0

Satisfied 23.0

Very Satisfied 4.0

Total 100

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

V Dissfi

dissatified

moderate

Satisfied

V Satisfie

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Ambience would be an important factor


Not at all 10

Week 27

Moderate 26

Strongly 10

Very Strongly 27

Total 100

Not at allWeek

Moderate

Strongly

Very Strongly

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Convenience would be given special attention

Statement Percentage Not at all 6.0

Week 20.0

Moderate 20.0

Strongly 34.0

Very Strongly 20.0

Total 100

Not at all

Week

Moderate

Strongly

Very Strongly

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Word of mouth is important

Statement Percentage Not at all 6.0

Week 14.0

Moderate 48.0

Strongly 24.0

Very Strongly 8.0

Total 100

Not at all

Week

ModerateStrongly

Very Strongly

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Consideration to Rebate and Discounts on Purchase


Not at all 7.0Week 22.0

Moderate 16.0

Strongly 21.0

Very Strongly 34.0

Total 100

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

not at all

weak

moderate

stronglyVery Stro

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CONSUMER PULL FACTORS

• A critical factor in Westside’s success has been its strategy to attractshoppers & keep them in stores- the amount of time shoppers spend in a store is

perhaps the single most important factor in determining how much they will buy. . In having understood the pulse of the customers in India, Westside hasclearly established itself as a brand with an Indian heart.

• Over the years Westside has also developed and successfully introduceda range of new brands especially suited to the Indian palate. These brands like

NUON (earlier 2F 4U) have been a tremendous success amongst the newgeneration. What has also given Westside a competitive edge is that in addition

to an extensive range of internationally renowned brands like Spykar, Lee andFast Track they also offer the option of a less known brands for low budgetcustomers.

• All the two floor floors are carefully structured. Ground floor floor andFirst floor caters exclusively to Women and Men respectively. Thus givingthem privacy and more freedom to look into their products.

• Women’s need more space and look for comfort. They are less likely to buy if the place is congested and makes them feel uncomfortable. At Westsidesofas have been placed in the women section so as to make the females morecomfortable.

• Westside has been able to create a brand image and is consistentlymaintaining its brand identity by new additions in products and catering to the

market need.

• They are catering to different age groups under one roof. For ex. On the1st floor which is men’s section both formal and college wear is available. Thisway they are able to build a huge customer loyal base.

Westside caters to not only the clothing needs and desires of its

customers. They have bed sheets, kitchenware, jewellery, perfumes, baby products, household items, etc. This way a customer who enters Westside just to buy one or two items usually ends up buying a lot more.



RECOMMENDATIONS

• To increase more footfalls more promotional activities must be carriedout. For this Westside can either offer more discounts or increase their advertisements. Increase in the number of footfalls will lead to increase in sales.

• Since Westside is not only catering to apparel need of the society a fewadditions like Books, Music items, Electronic gadgets etc can also be added to the

products available inside their store. The demand for the above products is always

in the market.

• Allowing more space between the entrance of a store and a product givesit more time in the shopper’s eye as he or she approaches it. It builds a littlevisual anticipation.

• The number of trial rooms available at Westside is very less as comparedto the number of people coming. This usually results in long queues and waiting

by customers.

• Install more full length mirrors inside the store so as to assist thecustomers to make better purchase decisions.

• Play light music inside the store to make the shopping a pleasurableexperience.

• They can also exhibit their new line of clothing through events likefashion shows.

•



CONCLUTION

This research has a number of limitations that must be acknowledged.

• First, the sample used for this study consisted mostly of college

students. Therefore, these results may not be applicable to the wider population

in general.

• Secondly, the results of this study are limited to a specialty retail

branded purchasing context.

Lastly, it must be acknowledged that there may be numerous other variables thatcontribute to the development of customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and wordof mouth communication which are briefly touched upon below.

All of the hypotheses in the study were supported by the data. The hypothesis testresults indicated that both utilitarian and hedonic shopping benefits have a positiveeffect on customer satisfaction. The results also indicate that customer repurchaseis positively associated with customer loyalty and word of mouth communication.

There are studies which have contributed for extending the consumer benefit/loyalty framework to the retail branding context. Customer satisfaction isan antecedent of word of mouth communication, but customer loyalty (favorablerelative attitude) must be present to mediate the relationship. This finding isimportant for theory building in this and other marketing and consumer contexts.

In the increasingly competitive environment faced by today's retailers, the pursuitof consumer loyalty is paramount. In order to be competitive, retailers mustidentify the key ingredients of consumer loyalty and the relationships between the

benefits delivered to the consumer and important outcomes (i.e. satisfaction,loyalty, word of mouth communication).

This study doesn’t identify two types of benefits mostly desired by the consumer:utilitarian and hedonic. Retailers should understand this if they expect to provideutilitarian benefits to consumers by way of having the right product on hand at theright place and time. In addition, they must recognize that the consumer alsodesires a hedonic benefit in terms of the shopping experience. The results of thisstudy doesn’t indicate that consumers expect the purchase experience to offer hedonic qualities such as excitement, entertainment, escapism, fantasy, and fun.Retailers that utilize the store-as-the-brand strategy should recognize this and work to deliver hedonic value throughout the purchase experience. In addition, retailersshould recognize that performance in the delivery of these consumer benefits islinked to important outcomes such as satisfaction, loyalty, and word of mouthcommunication.

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Another important finding not undertaken in this study indicates that consumer satisfaction is linked to attitudinal loyalty. Although one could argue that other variables not examined in this study contribute equally to attitudinal loyalty,satisfaction appears to be an important antecedent. Therefore, retailers should

recognize that in order to create a loyal customer base, they must satisfy the desiresand needs of the consumer. One way that retailers can provide satisfaction to theconsumer is through the delivery of value in the form of utilitarian and hedonic

benefits associated with the purchase experience. Retailers should recognize that theymust meet or exceed the consumer's expectations in terms of the benefits the consumer is seeking. It is also important for retailers to understand the link between satisfactionand other important outcome variables (i.e. attitudinal loyalty, word of mouthcommunication) because satisfaction contributes to these outcomes.

The finding of this study doesn’t talk about the attitudinal loyalty which serves as amediator between consumer satisfaction and consumer word of mouth

communication. It is reasonable that attitudinal loyalty would mediate the relationship between these constructs because it is a more enduring concept when compared toconsumer satisfaction. In their pursuit of customer loyalty, it is important for retailersto understand this relationship and the associated implications. Delivering a satisfying

purchase experience can lead to attitudinal loyalty, and in turn, that attitudinal loyaltycan lead to the consumer engaging in word of mouth communication about the retailstore brand.

The extant body of literature on the consumer benefits/loyalty framework is in an earlystage of development. The primary goal for future research should be to identify andexamine the various types of consumer benefits that influence consumers' satisfaction,loyalty, and word of mouth communication. In-depth qualitative research in the formof personal interviews and focus groups would provide a better understanding of the

benefits desired by consumers. This qualitative research would, in turn, contribute tothe development of better measures to capture each type of benefit. In turn, it isimportant to continue to examine the relationships between consumer benefits andoutcome variables that are crucial to the success of the retail firm (e.g. customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and word of mouth communication). A particularlyimportant area of investigation is the role of attitudinal loyalty as a mediator betweencustomer satisfaction and word of mouth communication.

Future research should also focus on replicating this study with a different targetrespondent. A large survey of consumers of various backgrounds in various geographicareas could help to make the findings of this study more generalizable to the overall

population.

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