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THE SUMMER INTERNSHIP REPORT

The Great Indian Shopping Festival of Future Group

In the partial fulfillment for the award of post graduate program in Marketing Management

Place of Research

Kolkata

Submitted to Submitted by

Ananya Chatterjee Anup Kumar Ojha

USHA MARTIN ACADEMY SALT LAKE SEC-5 KOLKATA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Serial No Name Page No

1. Project Title 1 – 2

2. Table of Contents 3 – 4

3. Declaration 05

4. Summer Training Certificate

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5. Acknowledgement 07

6. Preface 08

7. Company’s Profile 09 – 23

8. Store Profile 24 - 28

9. Executive Summery 29

CHAPTERS

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Serial No Name Page No1.

Introduction30 – 49

2. Literature Review 49- 50

3. Research Methodology 51

4. Research Tools 525. Objectives 53

6. Need of Study 54

7. Data Description 55 – 70

8. Customer Survey Data 71

9. Questionnaire 72

10. Recommendation 73 -74

11. Conclusion 75 – 76

12. Suggestions 77 – 80

13. Bibliography 81

DECLARATION

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I Anup Kumar Ojha, Student of Usha Martin Academy did 2 Months training with Pantaloons retail Ltd Kolkata. I covered various Aspects of Customer Management level in my two months training. This material provided in this Report is original and has not been Submitted anywhere for my other Diploma or Degree.

Signed By Institute Guide Signed By Student

Name:_______________ Name:_______________ Date:________________ Date:________________

CERTIFICATE

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This is to certified that the project report on “The Great Indian Shopping Festival Of Future Group” submitted to Usha Martin Academy Kolkata is in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of Post Graduate Programme in Marketing Management, is a bonafied work carried out by me at Pantaloons Kankurgachi Kolkata.

Signed By Institute Guide Signed By Student Name:_______________ Name:____________ Date:____________ _ Date:____________

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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I take this opportunity to thank the management of pantaloons .For allowing us to be associated with the organization and hence exposing me to its unique culture which has helped immensely in enriching our knowledge and gaining a valuable insight into the practical aspects of “The Great Indian Shopping Festival of Future Group”.

I am very grateful to Mrs .Priyanka Basu (Project Associate UMA) Mr. Ananya Chatterjee ,Store Manager, Pantaloons Retail India Ltd and Mr. Amit Sadhwani (Sr marketing Executive) and also the entire staff of Pantaloons who had been extremely cooperative and helpful at every step throughout the project period.

Last but not the least we also extent our heartiest thanks to the customers of pantaloons who spent their precious time in filling our questionnaire.

Anup Kumar Ojha

Management Trainee

USHA MARTIN ACADEMY KOLKATA

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PREFACEI am Anup Kumar Ojha doing my Post Graduate Program in Marketing Management (PGPM)Student of Usha Martin Academy Kolkata, undergone training program in pantaloons retail India limited (PRIL) an arm of Future Group. I have been assigned a task as a project related to shopping Festival. The project title is “The Great Indian Shopping Festival of Future Group” Kolkata. The project duration was two months.

I feel great and pleasure in presenting in this research project which is essential in partial fulfillment of our marketing management program. Research program is an integral part of curriculum and its purpose is to provide the student with practical exposure of market in today’s changing scenario. It helps in development of practical scales and Analytical thinking process. It also makes students aware of about the perception and taste of consumers. Thus it helps in molding the student according to the requirement of the market. After globalization there has been vast change in Indian retail market. Global player have entered the fray which has forced the Indian retailers to change their strategies and culture. Consumer buying preferences, taste choice, has changed and have become more quality conscious. It leads to boom in customer market and people were on the spending speed.

So in such a competitive retail market where every retailer is trying to capture maximum no of customer market. So this research project studies the current situation of customer service, demand, expectations, satisfaction and outcome during the great Indian shopping festival. And through the survey taken with the customers we can understand the psychology of Indian consumer and very well analysis that what they want and desire. This survey helps retailers to satisfy the customers and delighting them with such unique goods which other competitors cannot think of.

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COMPANY PROFILE

Retailing…

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Retail consists of the sale of goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be individuals or businesses. In commerce, a "retailer" buys goods or products in large quantities from manufacturers or importers, either directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells smaller 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. The term "retailer" is also applied where a service provider services the needs of a large number of individuals, such as a public utility, like electric power. Shops may be on residential streets, shopping streets with few or no houses or in a shopping mall. Shopping streets may be for pedestrians only. Sometimes a shopping street has a partial or full roof to protect customers from precipitation. Online retailing, a type of electronic commerce used for business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions and mail order, are forms of non-shop retailing. Shopping generally refers to the act of buying products. Sometimes this is done to obtain necessities such as food and clothing; sometimes it is done as a recreational activity. Recreational shopping often involves window shopping (just looking, not buying) and browsing and does not always result in a purchase.Retail comes from the Old French word retailer (compare modern French retailer), which means "to cut off, clip, pare, divide" in terms of tailoring (1365[citation needed]). It was first recorded as a noun with the meaning of a "sale in small quantities" in 1433[citation needed] (from the Middle French retail, "piece cut off, shred, scrap, paring"). Like the French, the word retail in both Dutch and German (detail Handel and Einzelhandel, respectively) also refers to the sale of small quantities of items.

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TYPES OF RETAIL OUTLETS Marketplace is a location where goods and services are exchanged. The traditional market square is a city square where traders set up stalls and buyers browse the merchandise. This kind of market is very old, and countless such markets are still in operation around the whole world. In some parts of the world, the retail business is still dominated by small family-run stores, but this market is increasingly being taken over by large retail chains. Retail is usually classified by type of products as follows:Food productsHard goods ("hardline retailers") - appliances, electronics, furniture, sporting goods, etc. Soft goods - clothing, apparel, and other fabrics. There are the following types of retailers by marketing strategy:Department stores - very large stores offering a huge assortment of "soft" and "hard goods; often bear a resemblance to a collection of specialty stores. A retailer of such store carries variety of categories and has broad assortment at average price. They offer considerable customer service.Discount stores - tend to offer a wide array of products and services, but they compete mainly on price offers extensive assortment of merchandise at affordable and cut-rate prices. Normally retailers sell less fashion-oriented brands.Supermarkets - sell mostly food products;Warehouse stores - warehouses that offer low-cost, often high-quantity goods piled on pallets or steel shelves; warehouse clubs charge a membership fee;Variety stores or "dollar stores" - these offer extremely low-cost goods, with limited selection;Demographic - retailers that aim at one particular segment (e.g., high-end retailers focusing on wealthy individuals).Mom-And-Pop (or Kirana Stores as they call them in India): is a retail outlet that is owned and operated by individuals. The range of products are very selective and few in numbers. These stores are seen in local community often are family-run businesses. The square feet area of the store depends on the store holder.Specialty stores: A typical speciality store gives attention to a particular category and provides high level of service to the customers. A pet store that specializes in selling dog food would be regarded as a specialty store. However, branded stores also come under this format. For example if a customer visits a Reebok or Gap store then they find just Reebok and Gap products in the respective stores.General store - a rural store that supplies the main needs for the local community;Convenience stores: is essentially found in residential areas. They provide limited amount of merchandise at more than average prices with a speedy checkout. This store is ideal for emergency and immediate purchases.Hypermarkets: provides variety and huge volumes of exclusive merchandise at low margins. The operating cost is comparatively less than other retail formats. A classic example is the Metro™ in Bangalore.

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Supermarkets: is a self service store consisting mainly of grocery and limited products on non food items. They may adopt a Hi-Lo or an EDLP strategy for pricing. The supermarkets can be anywhere between 20,000-40,000 square feet. Example: SPAR™ supermarket.

Malls: has a range of retail shops at a single outlet. They endow with products, food and entertainment under a roof. Example: Sigma mall and Garuda mall in Bangalore, Express Avenue in Chennai.Category killers or Category Specialist: By supplying wide assortment in a single category for lower prices a retailer can "kill" that category for other retailers. For few categories, such as electronics, the products are displayed at the centre of the store and sales person will be available to address customer queries and give suggestions when required. Other retail format stores are forced to reduce the prices if a category specialist retail store is present in the vicinity. For example: Pai Electronics™ store in Bangalore, Tata Croma.E-tailers: The customer can shop and order through internet and the merchandise are dropped at the customer's doorstep. Here the retailers use drop shipping technique. They accept the payment for the product but the customer receives the product directly from the manufacturer or a wholesaler. This format is ideal for customers who do not want to travel to retail stores and are interested in home shopping. However it is important for the customer to be wary about defective products and non secure credit card transaction. Example: Amazon and Ebay.Vending Machines: This is an automated piece of equipment wherein customers can drop in the money in machine and acquire the products. For example: Soft drinks vending at Bangalore Airport. Some stores take a no frills approach, while others are "mid-range" or "high end", depending on what income level they target. Other types of retail store include: Automated Retail stores are self service, robotic kiosks located in airports, malls and grocery stores. The stores accept credit cards and are usually open 24/7. Examples include Zoom Shops and Red box. Big-box stores encompass larger department, discount, general merchandise, and warehouse stores. Convenience store - a small store often with extended hours, stocking everyday or roadside items; General store - a store which sells most goods needed, typically in a rural area; Retailers can opt for a format as each provides different retail mix to its customers based on their customer demographics, Lifestyle and purchase behavior. A good format will lend a hand to display products well and entice the target customers to spawn sales.

Retail pricing

The pricing technique used by most retailers is cost-plus pricing. This involves adding a markup amount (or percentage) to the retailer's cost. Another common technique is suggested retail pricing. This simply involves charging the amount suggested by the manufacturer and usually printed on the product by the manufacturer.In Western countries, retail prices are often called psychological prices or odd prices. Often prices are fixed and displayed on signs or labels. Alternatively, when prices are not clearly displayed, there can be price discrimination, where the sale price is dependent upon who the customer is. For example, a customer may have to pay more if the seller determines that he or she is willing and/or able to. Another example would be the practice of discounting for youths, students, or senior citizens.

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Transfer mechanism

There are several ways in which consumers can receive goods from a retailer: Counter service, where goods are out of reach of buyers and must be obtained from the seller. This type of retail is common for small expensive items (e.g. jewelry) and controlled items like medicine and liquor. It was common before the 1900s in the United States and is more common in certain countries like India. Delivery, where goods are shipped directly to consumer's homes or workplaces. Mail order from a printed catalog was invented in 1744 and was common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Ordering by telephone is now common, either from a catalog, newspaper, television advertisement or a local restaurant menu, for immediate service (especially for pizza delivery). Direct marketing, including telemarketing and television shopping channels, are also used to generate telephone orders. Online shopping started gaining significant market share in developed countries in the 2000s Door-to-door sales, where the salesperson sometimes travels with the goods for sale. Self-service, where goods may be handled and examined prior to purchase.

Second hand retail

Charity shopSome shops sell second-hand goods. In the case of a nonprofit shop, the public donates goods to the shop to be sold. In give-away shops goods can be taken for free.Another form is the pawnshop, in which goods are sold that were used as collateral for loans. There are also "consignment" shops, which are where a person can place an item in a store and if it sells, the person gives the shop owner a percentage of the sale price. The advantage of selling an item this way is that the established shop gives the item exposure to more potential buyers.

Sales techniques

Behind the scenes at retail, there is another factor at work. Corporations and independent store owners alike are always trying to get the edge on their competitors. One way to do this is to hire a merchandising solutions company to design custom store displays that will attract more customers in a certain demographic. The nation's largest retailers spend millions every year on in-store marketing programs that correspond to seasonal and promotional changes. As products change, so will a retail landscape. Retailers can also use facing techniques to create the look of a perfectly stocked store, even when it is not.A destination store is one that customers will initiate a trip specifically to visit, sometimes over a large area. These stores are often used to "anchor" a shopping mall or plaza, generating foot traffic, which is capitalized upon by smaller retailers.

Customer service

Customer service is the "sum of acts and elements that allow consumers to receive what they need or desire from your retail establishment." It is important for a sales associate to greet the customer and make himself available to help the customer find whatever he needs. When a customer enters the store, it is important that the sales associate does everything in his power to make the customer feel welcomed, important, and make sure he leave the store satisfied. Giving the customer full, undivided attention and helping him find what he is looking for will contribute to the customer's satisfaction.

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MANAGEMENT HIERARCHY IN THE RETAIL OUTLET

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ABOUT FUTURE GROUPFuture Group, led by its founder and Group CEO, Mr. Kishore Biyani, operates some of India’s most popular retail formats that include Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Central, Home Town, Ezone and Food Bazaar. While retail forms the core business activity of Future Group, the group has developed significant presence in consumer finance, capital, insurance, brand development, retail media and logistics. The group’s retail formats bring in around 250 million customer footfalls every year and provide a platform for over 30,000 small, medium and large entrepreneurs in India to sell their products and services to these customers. The group has a retail presence in 85 cities and 65 rural destinations and employs over 35,000 people directly. The group’s flagship enterprise, Pantaloon Retail India Limited was founded in 1987 and is listed in the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange since 1991. The company along with its subsidiaries operates around 16 million square feet of retail space in the country. Other group companies include, Future Capital Holdings, a financial services company, Future Ventures, engaged in operating and investing in allied businesses, Future Supply Chain Limited which operates a nation-wide logistics and warehousing network, Future Brands India Limited, a brand and intellectual property rights development corporation and Future Human Development Limited, an educational and manpower training company with campuses in Ahmadabad, Bangalore and Kolkata that offers degree programs in association with IGNOU.

Over the years, the group has also developed successful partnerships with Indian and foreign companies. The group has partnered with Tata Group to operate the brand T24 as a telecom service provider for its customers. It also operates rural retail chain in partnership with Godrej Group. Some of the include joint ventures includes ones with Generali, an Italy-based insurance major which is among the three largest insurers in the Europe, Staples Inc, the largest office stationery retailer in the world and French fashion brand, Celio. The group also has exclusive brand license partnerships with leading global brands like Lee cooper, Converse, Callaway, Prince, Spalding and Wilson. Future Group believes in developing strong insights on Indian consumers and building businesses based on Indian ideas, as espoused in the group’s core value of ‘Indianness.’ The group’s corporate credo is, ‘Rewrite rules, Retain values.’

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GROUP VISION...

Future Group shall deliver Everything, Everywhere, Every time for Every Indian Consumer in the most profitable manner.

GROUP MISSION...

We share the vision and belief that our customers and stakeholders shall be served only by creating and executing future scenarios in the consumption space leading to economic development.

We will be the trendsetters in evolving delivery formats, creating retail realty, making consumption affordable for all customer segments – for classes and for masses.

We shall infuse Indian brands with confidence and renewed ambition.

We shall be efficient, cost- conscious and committed to quality in whatever we do.

We shall ensure that our positive attitude, sincerity, humility and united determination shall be the driving force to make us successful.

Core Values...

Indianness: confidence in ourselves Leadership: to be a leader, both in thought and business Respect & Humility: to respect every individual and be humble in our conduct Introspection: leading to purposeful thinking Openness: to be open and receptive to new ideas, knowledge and information Valuing and Nurturing Relationships: to build long term relationships Simplicity & Positivity: Simplicity & positivity in our thought, business and action Adaptability: to be flexible and adaptable, to meet challenges Flow: to respect and understand the universal laws of nature

Companies and its Products...

Home Solutions Retail (India) Limited Future Brands Limited, Future Media (India) Limited Future Logistic Solutions Limited, Future Capital Holdings Limited Pantaloon Food Product (India) Limited Future Knowledge Services Limited Future Generali India Insurance Company Limited

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FUTURE GROUP TIMELINE

1987: Company incorporated as Manz Wear Private Limited. Launch of Pantaloons trouser, among India’s first formal trouser brand.1991: Launch of BARE, the Indian jeans brand.1994: The Pantaloon Shoppe – a franchisee network is set up as an exclusive menswear chain.1995: John Miller – formal shirt brand is launched.1997: Company enters modern retail with the launch of Pantaloons.2001: Big Bazaar, India’s first hypermarket chain, launched in Kolkata2002: Food Bazaar, the supermarket chain is launched.2004: Central – India’s first seamless mall -- is launched in Bangalore.2005: Group moves beyond retail, acquires stakes in Galaxy Entertainment, Indus League Clothing and Planet Retail. Sets up India’s first real estate investment fund Kshitij to build a chain of shopping malls.2006: Future Capital Holdings, the company’s financial is formed to manage over $1.5 billion in real estate, private equity and retail infrastructure funds. Plans forays into retailing of consumer finance products. Home Town, a home building and improvement products retail chain is launched along with consumer durables format, Ezone and furniture chain, Furniture Bazaar. Future Group enters into joint venture agreements to launch insurance products with Italian insurance major, Generali Forms joint venture with US office stationery retailer, Staples2007: Future Group crosses $1 billion turnover mark Specialised companies in retail media, logistics, IPR and brand development and retail-led technology services become operational. Pantaloon Retail wins the International Retailer of the Year at US-based National Retail Federation convention in New York and Emerging Retailer of the Year award at the World Retail Congress held in Barcelona. Futurebazaar.com becomes India’s most popular shopping portal.2008: Future Capital Holdings becomes the second group company to make a successful Initial Public Offering in the Indian capital markets[1] Future Generali launches life and non-life insurance products for the Indian market Big Bazaar crosses the 100-store mark, marking the fastest ever expansion of a hypermarket format anywhere in the world. Total operational retail space crosses 10 million square feet mark. Future Group acquires rural retail chain, Aadhar present in 65 rural locations.

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JOINT VENTURE PARTNERSHIPS

Generali GroupThe third largest insurance company in Europe, Generali was founded in 1831 and has dominant presence in Europe, South-east Asia and China. The joint venture companies are present in life and general insurance space in India.Staples IncUS-based, Staples Inc is the world’s largest office stationery retailer. The joint-venture company currently operates stores in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and other Indian cities.CelioFrench fashion wear makerClarkC&J Clark International Ltd. is a UK-based footwear and accessories retailer. The Future Group has entered into a 50:50 joint-venture (JV) to form 'Clarks Future Footwear Ltd.'. The JV launched its first (1,600 sq.ft.) stand-alone store in Connaught Place, Delhi on 19 April 2011. The brand seeks to gain a share of the premium segment in this category. Franchisee & Licensee RelationshipsConverse, Speedo, Lee Cooper, Wilson, Prince, Callaway, Spalding, AirwalkArticlesWall Street Journal, August 8. 2007: In India, a Retailer Finds Key to Success Is ClutterWall Street Journal, November 17, 2007: Moving Up in MumbaiKnowledge@Wharton, November 1, 2007: Retailer Kishore Biyani: 'We Believe in Destroying What We Have Created'Outlook Business, 4 April 2009, The Atheist Turns to MythologyThe Times, London, 14 January 2008, In India, giving the customers what they want means offering the art of chaosThe Washington Post, 26 January 2009, Applying Meaning to Management with Ancient Hindu MythologyThe National, October 15, 2009: The making of India's retail KingThe Global Post, 22, January 2009: The Wal-Mart of IndiaThe Economic Times, August 16, 2010: How Kishore Biyani hooks India Inc's top talentForbes, 14 September 2010, Pantaloon's Retail RedoThe Economic Times, 19 July, 2010: Modern retailers more responsive in cutting prices than kiranas

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

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Business Leader

Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Services) – Kishore Biyani Considered to be one of the most prestigious business awards in India, a jury comprising leading names in Indian business selected the winners based on courage, creativity, passion, endurance and vision.CNBC Indian Business Leaders Awards 2006 The First Generation Entrepreneur of the Year – Kishore Biyani Organized by CNBC-TV18, the twelve awardees in various categories are decided by a high profile jury, along with research partners - The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, Development Dimensions International (DDI) and AC Neilson ORG MARG. Lakshmipat Singhania – IIM Lucknow National Leadership Awards 2006 Young Business Leader – Kishore Biyani The award recognizes and honors individuals who have contributed consistently to the betterment of our country through their pursuit of excellence. The awards were presented in New Delhi by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in December, 2006.

Corporate Leadership & Governance

Retail Asia Pacific Top 500 Awards 2006 Asia Pacific Best of the Best Retailers – Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd Best Retailer in India – Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd - The company has since won this award for every year till 2011. The Retail Asia publication in association with EuroMonitor and KPMG honours the best retailers in 14 countries across the Asia Pacific region. The awards were presented in Singapore in October, 2006.Asiamoney Awards 2006 Best Managed Company in India (Mid-cap) – Pantaloon retail (India) Ltd. The Asiamoney publication conducts a poll among fund manages and investors and does a quantitative analysis of financial performance to select best managed companies in Asian countries.World Retail Congress Awards Emerging Market Retailer of the Year 2007 – Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd The inaugural World Retail Congress held in Barcelona, Spain in March 2007 attracted over one thousand retail professionals from over sixty countries. The awards were decided by a multinational Grand Jury. Winners in other categories included Inditex, Mall of Emirates, Marks & Spencer and IKEA.National Retail Federation Awards International Retailer for the Year 2007 – Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd The National Retail Federation is the world’s largest retail trade association with over 1.4 million members in the US and across the world. Some of the past winners of the award include Metro AG (Germany), Carrefour (France), Zara (Spain), Boticario (Brazil) and Ito Yokado (Japan). The award was presented at the Retail’s Big Show held in January 2007 in New York.

BRANDS

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Readers’ Digest Awards 2006 Platinum Trusted Brand Award - Big Bazaar The Reader’s Digest awards are based on surveys done among consumers by independent research agency, Nielsen Media Research.CNBC Awaaz Consumer Awards 2006 Most Preferred Large Food & Grocery Supermarket – Big Bazaar Conducted in association with AC Nielsen-ORG Marg across 21 major cities, nearly 10,000 consumers were asked to choose their most preferred brands.

DIGITAL

Best Indian Website In The Shopping Category - Futurebazaar.com [6] PC World, a leading consumer technology magazine selected the best Indian websites in various categories based on use of technology for delivering solutions, information being presented in an intuitive and concise manner and overall experience aided by design.

People Resources

Hewitt Best Employers 2007 Best Employers in India (Rank 14th) – Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd.Leading human resources consultancy, Hewitt Associates conducts an annual survey of the best employers in India, as part of its global initiative. It is based on CEO interview, People Practices Inventory and Employee Opinion Surveys. Pantaloon Retail became the only retailer to feature among the twenty-five best employers in India. PC World Indian Website Awards.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS...

Mr. Kishore Biyani, Managing DirectorKishore Biyani is the Managing Director of Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited and the GroupChief Executive Officer of Future Group

Mr. Gopikishan Biyani, Whole time Director. Mr. Rakesh Biyani, Whole time Director Mr. Vijay Kumar Chopra, Independent Director. Mr. Shailesh Haribhakti, Independent Director Mr. S Doreswamy, Independent Director Dr. D O Koshy, Independent Director Ms. Bala Deshpande, Independent Director

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Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited, is a large Indian retailer, which is part of the Future Group, and operates multiple retail formats in both the value and lifestyle segment of the Indian consumer market. Headquartered in Mumbai, the company has over 1,000 stores across 71 cities in India and employs over 30,000 people, and as of 2010, it was the country's largest listed retailer by market capitalization and revenue .

With effect from 1 January 2010 the company separated its discount store business, which includes the Big Bazaar hypermarket and the Food Bazaar supermarket businesses, into Future Value Retail Ltd., its wholly owned subsidiary, so that the company may be listed independently.

The company’s brands include Pantaloons, a chain of fashion outlets, Big Bazaar, a hypermarket chain and Food Bazaar, a supermarket chain. Some of the company's other regional brands include, Depot, Shoe Factory, Brand Factory, Blue Sky, aLL, Top 10 and Star and Sitara.

A subsidiary company, Home Solutions Retail (India) Limited, operates Home Town, a large-format home solutions store, Collection i, selling home furniture products and E-Zone focused on catering to the

consumer electronics segment.

LINES OF BUSINESS

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The company is present across several lines of business which have various formats (stores) Plywood, The Dollar Store (JV)

Fashion - Pantaloons, Central, all, Brand Factory, Blue Sky, Top 10, Fashion Station, Big Bazaar, Lee Cooper (JV),IPM MEERUT(JV)

General Merchandise - Big Bazaar, Shoe Factory, Navras, Electronics Bazaar, Furniture Bazaar, KB'S FAIR PRICE

Electronics – E-Zone, Electronic Bazaar, STAPLES (JV) Home Improvement - Home Town Furniture - Collection i, Furniture Bazaar, Home Bazaar E-tailing (Online Shopping) - www.futurebazaar.com Books & Music - Depot Leisure & Entertainment - Bowling Co., F123, TGIF (Thank God it's Friday!) Wellness - Star & Sitara, Tulsi Telecom & IT - Gen M, M Bazaar, M-Port, ConvergeM, Future Axiom, T 24 (in alliance

with TATA Teleservices) Consumer Durables - Koryo, Sensei, IPAQ Service - E Care, H Care , Design & Service Malls - Central (Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Mumbai, Vadodara, Gurgaon, Indore,

Ahmadabad) Investment & Savings - Insurance: ULIP, Pension, Endowment etc.

Stock Information

Listed on: Bombay Stock Exchange Stock Code: BOM:523574

Company Timeline

1987 Company incorporated as Manz Wear Private Limited. Launch of Pantaloons trouser, India’s first formal trouser brand.

1992 Initial public offer (IPO) was made in the month of May. 1997 Pantaloons – India’s family store launched in Kolkata. 2001 Big Bazaar,‘Is se sasta aur accha kahi nahin’- India’s first hypermarket chain

launched. 2002 Food Bazaar, the supermarket chain is launched. 2007 Future Group crosses $1 billion turnover mark.

GROUP WEBSITES

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Pantaloon Retail (www.pantaloonretail.in)

FutureBazaar (www.futurebazaar.com)

Future Brands (www.futurebrands.co.in)

Future Group (www.futuregroup.in)

Future Capital Holdings (www.fch.in)

Future Generali (www.futuregenerali.in)

Future Human Development (www.fhdl.in)

Future Supply Chain Solutions (www.futuresupplychains.com)

Future Media (www.futuremedia.in)

PANTALOONS

Celebrate the Fresh Look, Fresh Feel & Fresh Attitude at Pantaloons Fresh Fashion!

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Fashion is all about the now. Why, then should people not see a fresh look every time they walk into a Pantaloons store? That is the thought behind 'Fresh Fashion'. An idea that has captured the imagination of young India. With a focus on the youth of today, Pantaloons offers trendy and hip fashion that defines the hopes and aspirations of this demography.Pantaloons Fresh Fashion stands out as a fashion trendsetter, on the lines of how fashion is followed internationally. The ‘look’ and ‘what’s in’ today for the season is sacrosanct.Pantaloons takes its promise of 'fresh fashion' very seriously making available to its customers the latest in fashion every week!All Pantaloons stores reflect the new ideology -- Fresh Feeling, Fresh Attitude, Fresh Fashion. The stores offer fresh collections and are visually stimulating thanks to appealing interiors and attractive product display!The first Pantaloons was opened in Gariahat in 1997. Over the years, it has undergone several transitions. When it was first launched, this store mostly sold external brands. Gradually, it started retailing a mix of external brands while at the same time introduced its own private brands. Initially positioned as a family store, it finally veered towards becoming a fashion store with an emphasis on 'youth' and clear focus on ‘fresh fashion’.

Today, the fashion store extends to almost all the major cities across the country. A pantaloon has established its presence with stores not just in themetros, but also in the smaller towns.

Pantaloons stores have a wide variety of categories like casual wear, ethnic wear, formalwear, party wear and sportswear for Men, Women and Kids.

ENVIRONMENT

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The working environment of Pantaloons is very smooth and healthy. The employees are

providing their best of efforts to uplift their organization. The company also looks after

their employees with keen interest, and provides all the facilities like training, enhance

customer handling power, motivational skills, etc. Future Group aims to address

opportunities in the education, training and skill development space by leveraging its

understanding of the consumer-centric retail business. They have focused interests in the

knowledge, learning and development space with operations in a variety of services viz.

education, training, skill development and talent management. Future Learning’s unique

strength lies in its rich experience in the learning and development domain, especially

across the retail industry. Through Future Learning, Future Group leverages its vast

understanding of the consumer-oriented business it has managed and pioneered over the

last fourteen years.

In Pantaloons, Kakurgachi we have observed certain things like:

They have fun zone, happiness committee, where the employees are given opportunities to

share their thoughts, feelings, emotions and spend their leisure time in playing caram

boards, watching television, etc. as the employees are spending more than 9 hours of time

in the store. By all these facilities they are maintaining a very good and joyful environment

in their working place. The ultimate reason behind is to satisfy their employees and enrich

their mind to be with the organization and help the organization to reach its goals and

achieve its targets.

2.10 SWOT ANALYSIS

A SWOT analysis of the Indian organized retail industry is presented below:

Strength:

1. Retailing is a "technology-intensive" industry. It is technology that will help the organized retailers to score over the unorganized retailers. Successful organized retailers today work closely with their vendors to predict consumer demand, shorten lead times, reduce inventory holding and ultimately save cost. Example: Wal-Mart pioneered the concept of building competitive advantage through distribution & information systems in the retailing industry. They introduced two innovative logistics techniques cross-docking and EDI (electronic data interchange).

2. On an average a super market stocks up to 5000 SKU's against a few hundreds stocked with an average unorganized retailer.

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Weakness:

1. Less Conversion level: Despite high footfalls, the conversion ratio has been very low in the retail outlets.

2. Customer Loyalty: due to high competition in the retail market customer loyalty is very less, as all the stores are providing similar products

3. Employee turnover: Due to low salary the Employee turnover rate is very high in this organization. Since the workers or the employees are paid very less, that’s why they tend to leave the company very soon. This mainly takes place among the low or ground level workers, as they always look for better opportunities outside and try to increase their career growth rate. Turnover thus is indeed high and that is disadvantageous to the benefit of the company as again they have to train the new worker that comes on board.

Opportunity:

1. The Indian middle class is already 30 crore & is projected to grow to over 60 crore by 2010 making India one of the largest consumer markets of the world. The projections indicate that by 2015, India will have over 55 crore people under the age of 20 - reflecting the enormous opportunities possible in the kids and teens retailing segment.

2. Organized retail is only 3% of the total retailing market in India. It is estimated to grow at the rate of 25-30% p.a. and reach INR 1,00,000 crore by 2010.

3. Percolating down: In India it has been found out that the top 6 cities contribute for 66% of total organized retailing. While the metros have already been exploited, the focus has now been shifted towards the tier-II cities. The 'retail boom', 85% of which has so far been concentrated in the metros is beginning to percolate down to these smaller cities and towns. The contribution of these tier-II cities to total organized retailing sales is expected to grow to 20-25%.

4. Rural Retailing: India's huge rural population has caught the eye of the retailers looking for new areas of growth. ITC launched India's first rural mall "Chaupal Saga" offering a diverse range of products from FMCG to electronic goods to automobiles, attempting to provide farmers a one-stop destination for all their needs

Threats:

1. If the unorganized retailers are put together, they are parallel to a large supermarket with no or little overheads, high degree of flexibility in merchandise, display, prices and turnover.

2. Shopping Culture: Shopping culture has not developed in India as yet. Even now malls are just a place to hang around with family and friends and largely confined to window-shopping.

3. Competitors, global big player’s planning to penetrate into the Indian market.

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About the Store:

Kankurgachi, Pantaloons:

The largest pantaloons with Food bazaar

Opened on 17th march, 2007

Did a business of 1.26 crores in a single day in its 1 st year of operation-still unbroken on 15th

August 2007.

The first e-zone (cut-in)opened at pantaloons kankurgachi.

The highest no of staff promotions happened in east zone

“It Happened In India” the book written by Mr.Kishore Biyani was launched at kankurgachi by Mr.Kishore Biyani himself.

T24-India’s first unpaid mobile service by Future group started its journey in east zone from here.

LAYOUT OF THE STORE:

The net carpet area is 51000 sqft

The total super built up area of the store is 85000 sqft

Our store has one customer entry/exit point

We have separate entry & exit point for staffs

We have four floors-

1. At ground floor- Ladies Apparels, Customer Service Desk (CSD), Wellness,

Fine Jewellery, Fashion Accessories, Mobiles & Blue Sky

2. At first floor- Men’s Apparels & footwear

3. At second Floor- E-Zone, kids wear, Sports wear, Toys, Mela, Gift

items & Luggage

4. At Third Floor- Food Bazaar, Food Court, Liquor Shop, Fun Zone, Warehouse & Back Office

Floors can be accessed through escalators, elevators or stair cases

We have separate stair cases for staff and customers

Our store has 27 cash counters- on an average 7 cash counters at each floor

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1. Description of tasks handled-

As being a marketing trainee certain tasks handled by me are:-

Selling on floor: helping and guiding the customer in the FGSF department to choose among all the available products, assisting them in shopping.

Check previous day’s performances: Daily Sales Report (DSR): Sales report includes information such as the sales volume

per product or per product line. With the help of this report, we finally came to know whether the sales target has been achieved for the previous day and how much is left for the remaining week.

Department targets: Every department is given a weekly target from the management, which is to be achieved; on the basis of their achievement employees are given incentives.

Check department’s cleanliness Identify the stock v/s sales Identify fast moving and slow moving goods- Products which are sold in large quantities

are known as fast moving goods. Products which are sold in small quantities are known as slow moving goods.

As a management trainee I have gained enough experience particularly in relation to the initial efforts such as floor designing, stores arrangement, selling counters, and helping the customers in billing, which are the basic activities in a retail store.

We have experienced the effect of team work. An exposure to work with the immediate superiors and experienced colleagues. And also learned the practical aspects of retailing, face to face dealing with the customers.

Relationship marketing: The essence of the successful retailing is the lesson to be learned step by step and continuously every day. Retailing provides these wonderful opportunities of imbibing this vital quality of dealing with customers reaching up to their expectations, as each customer leaves a clue that would please customers.

Indeed the exposure at our company’s retail outlets taught enough of the practical marketing and sales essentials, which were further, enhance with timely and on the spot guidance rendered effectively by the supervisor on the floor.

Observing the Customers - Taking problems of the customers to the department manager’s notice by observing the customers.

Doing the marketing activities: As a trainee I have participated in many promotional activities like gaming to promote the store such as “Othello, Plado, What men desire, etc”.

Ensure all the stocks are properly tagged (hard tags, soft tags and skin tags).

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Ensure all damaged stock has been removed from the floor. Monitor sales and services. Check whether all the products are ironed or not. Find out which stocks are to be refilled, note them down and refill them from the

logistics. As a Marketing Trainee, I have also participated on The Great Indian Shopping

Festival- a marketing activity, an initiative taken by the Future Group, to promote the sales and satisfy their customers.

EXECUTIVE SUMMERY

The legendary indian, Mahatma Gandhi expressed the importance of the customer by stating:

“customers is the most important visitor to our premises.He is not dependent on us, We are dependent on him.He is not an intrerraption on our work.He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider on our

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Business.He is part of it. We are not Doing him a favour by serving him. He is doing us a favour us an opportunity to do so. To understand this quote and to adhere to its wisdom can increase success by obtaining,retaining and satisfying customers”.

Satisfying our customers is an essential element to staying in Bussiness in this modern world of global competition. We must satisfy and delight our customers with the value of our products and services to gain loyalty and repeat Bussiness. Customer satisfaction is therefore a primary goal of process improvement programs. So how satisfied are our customers ? One of the best ways to find out is to ask them using customer satisfaction surveys. These surveys can provide management with the information they need to determine there customer’s level of satisfaction with their product and with the services associated with these product. Employees and the management of the store can use survey information identify opportunities for on going process. Improvements and for monitor the impact on those improvements in shopping festivals. The paper include detail on designing your own customer satisfaction and outcome from The Great Indian Shopping Festival of Future Group questionnaire,tracking survey results and example reports that turns survey data into a dissatisfied customer will tell 7 to 20 people about their negative experience. A satisfied customer will only tell three to five people about their positive experience. So a retailer should always think in that way to satisfy their customer and delighting them with the services which competitors never think of.

Consumer Satisfaction Process

The paramount goal of marketing is to understand the consumer and to influence the buying behaviour.One of the main prospectives of the consumer behaviour research analysis buying behaviour from the so called “information procssing perspective”(Holbrock and Hirschman 1982). According the model, customer decision making process comprises a need satisfying. Behaviour and a wide range of motivating and influencing factors. The process can be depicted in the following steps.

(1) Need Recogniton – Realisation of the difference between desired situation and the current situation that serves as a trigger for the entire consumption process.

(2) Search for information – Search for data relevent for the purchasing decision,both from internal and /or external sources.

INTRODUCTION

Retailing – The Concept...

Retailing consists of the sale of goods or merchandise from a very fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be individuals or businesses. In

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commerce, a "retailer" buys goods or products in large quantities from manufacturers or importers, either directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells smaller quantities to the end-user. They attempt to satisfy consumer needs by having the right merchandise, at the right price, at the right place, when the consumer wants it.Retail establishments are often called shops or stores. Retailers are at the end of the supply chain. Retailing may be understood as the final step in the distribution of merchandise, for consumption by the end consumers. Manufacturing marketers see the process of retailing as a necessary part of their overall distribution strategy.

Evolution of Indian Retail...

Origin of retailing in India can be traced back to the emergence of Kirana stores which used to cater to the local people. Eventually the government supported the rural retail and many franchise stores came up with the help of Khadi and Village Industries Commission. The economy began to open up in the 1980s resulting in the change of retailing. The first few companies to come up with retail chains were in textile sector like Bombay Dyeing, S Kumar’s, Raymonds, etc. Later Titan launched retail showrooms in the organized retail sector. Before 1995, retail outlets such as Foodworld in FMCG, Planet M in music and Crossword in books had taken their entry in to the market. Eventually hypermarkets and supermarkets emerged.

SIZE AND CONTRIBUTION OF RETAIL INDUSTRY IN INDIA

In terms of value, the Indian Retail industry is worth $300 billion. India retail industry is the largest industry in India, with an employment of around 8%. Its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product is about 11%, the highest compared to all other Indian Industries. The retail sector has also contributed to 8% of the employment of the country. The food and grocery retail

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sector is expected to multiply five times in the same time frame. The major reason behind the low participation in the Indian retail sector is the need for lumpy investments that cannot match up their break even points. The government policies are being revised from time to time to attract investments in this sector.

Retailing In India- The Present Scenario...

The present value of the Indian retail market is estimated by the India Retail Report to be around Rs. 12, 00,000 crores ($270 billion) and the annual growth rate is 5.7 percent. Retail market for food and grocery with a worth of Rs. 7, 43,900 crores is the largest of the different types of retail industries present in India. Furthermore around 15 million retail outlets help India win the crown of having the highest retail outlet density in the world. The contribution of retail sector to GDP has been manifested below:

Country Retail Sector's share in GDP (in %)

India 10%USA 10%China 8%Brazil 6%

As can be clearly seen, retailing in India is superior to those of its contenders. Retail sector is a sunrise industry in India and the prospect for growth is simply huge. There are many factors that have stimulated the rise of the shopping centre’s and multiplex-malls in a jiffy. Some of them can be listed as follows:

Rise in the purchasing power of Indians- the rise in the per capita income in the last few years has been magnificent. This has led to the generation of insatiable wants of the upper and middle class. The demand of new as well as second hand durables has risen throughout the country thus providing the incentive for taking up retailing.

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Favourable to farmers- retailing has helped in removing the middlemen and has thus enhanced the remuneration to farmers. This is a new revolution in the agricultural sector in India and will go a long way in amending the condition of agriculture, a major concern among policy makers.

Use of credit- a typical Indian is most conversant with using credit cards than carrying money. These have led to a shift of the consumer base towards supermarkets and make the payments in the form of credit.

Comfortable Atmosphere- a visit to a retail store appears to be more soothing for the generation-Y. People and kids prefer to shop in an air conditioned a tech savvy manner.

Unorganized retailing in India:-

In India, most of the retail sector is unorganized. In fact, the retail business contributes around 11% GDP. Of this, the organized retail sector accounts only for about 3% share, and the remaining share is contributed by the unorganized sector. Unorganized retailing has been there in India for centuries in the name of mom and pop stores. The main advantage in unorganized retailing is consumer familiarity that runs from generation to generation. It is a low cost structure, mostly operated by owners, has very low real estate and labour costs and has low taxes to pay.

ORGANISED RETAIL IN INDIA In late 1990s, the retail sector witnessed a level of transformation. Retailing from then, has been perceived as an attractive commercial business for organized business, i.e. the pure retailers began to emerge. Organized retail business in India is very small but has tremendous scope. It accounts for only 11% of the GDP. In the total market, it accounts for only $8 billion of total revenue. Organized retail sector includes supermarkets, hypermarkets, discounted stores, speciality stores and discounted stores.

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Growth Drivers For Indian Retail Sector...

Rising incomes and improvements in infrastructure are enlarging consumer markets and accelerating the convergence of the consumer tastes

Liberalization of the Indian economy

Increase in per capita income

Advent of dual income families also helps in the growth of retail sector

Consumer preference for shopping in new environments

The Internet revolution is making the Indian consumer more accessible to the growing

influence of domestic and foreign retail chains.

THE RETAIL MARKET- ITS ADVANTAGES

Demographic favour and Urbanization

Rising disposable income

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Increase in number of people in earner category.

Shopping convenience

Low labour cost of skilled ones.

Changing consumer habits and lifestyles.

Plastic card revolution.

Greater availability of quality retail space.

Constraints Of The Retail Market...

Numerous licence, permits and registration requirement.

Lack of trained personnel at all level.

Industry laws and taxation hurdles.

Underdeveloped supply chain

Underdeveloped logistics infrastructure.

Lack of national distribution networks and hubs

SCOPE FOR GROWTH OF THE INDIAN RETAIL SECTOR...

The scope of the Indian retail market is immense for this sector is poised for the highest growth

in the next 5 years. The growth of scope in the Indian retail market is mainly due to the change in the consumer behaviour. For the new generation have preference towards luxury commodities which have been due to the strong increase in income, changing lifestyle, and demographic

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patterns which are favourable. The scope for growth in the Indian retail market is seen mainly in the following cities:

Mumbai Delhi Pune Ahmedabad Bangalore Hyderabad Kolkata Chennai

The scope of the Indian retail market is very vast. And for it to reach its full potential the government and the Indian retailers will have to make a determined effort. The Indian retail industry accounts for 11% of GDP and 8% of employment. India is being touted as the next big retail destination with an average three year compounded annual growth rate of 46.64%.

CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT BY THE COMPANY:-

Attracting and retaining customers Uses non-traditional marketing strategy Behavioural psychology Moving demo-trolley Used young population as strategic blessings Movie centric promotions Regular interesting offers/discounts Spot discounts Night shopping culture Occasions based services Baby’s day out promo More organized floors

EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT BY THE COMPANY:-

Consider biggest assets Employee welfare trust Employee growth /training programs “PRERNA” the employee suggestion plan Standardization of staff room Up gradation for education Internal publications- “Pragati”

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ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE LAST TWO YEARS:-

Big Bazaar has consistently won numerous awards each and every year in several categories. Achievements in the last two years are listed below:

Indian Retail Forum Awards 2008

Most Admired Retail Company of the year - Future Group Retail Face of the Year - Kishore Biyani Best Retailer Of The Year ( Hypermarket) - Big Bazaar

The INDIASTAR Award 2008

Food Bazaar: Best Packaging Innovation

Retail Asia Pacific 500 Top Awards 2008

Gold Winner -Top Retailer 2008 Asia Pacific

Coca-Cola Golden Spoon Awards 2008

Most Admired Food & Grocery Retail Visionary of the Year: Kishore Biyani Most Admired Food & Grocery Retailer of the Year – Supermarkets: Food Bazaar Most Admired Food & Grocery Retailer of the Year - Hypermarkets: Big Bazaar Most Admired Retailer of the Year - Dynamic Growth in Network Expansion across

Food, Beverages & Grocery: Future Group

The Reid & Taylor Awards For Retail Excellence 2008

Retail Leadership Award: Kishore Biyani Retail Best Employer of the Year: Future Group Retailer of The Year: Home Products and Office Improvements: home town

Images Fashion Forum 2009

Most Admired Fashion Group Of The Year - Future Group Most Admired Private Label - Pantaloons, the lifestyle format

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Critic’s Choice For Pioneering Effort In Retail Concept Creation – Central

Coca-Cola Golden Spoon Awards 2009

Most Admired Food & Grocery Retailer of the Year Most Admired Food Court Most Admired Food Professional

MARKETING IN RETAIL INDUSTRY...

The retail sector is one of the most competitive in the business world, and so effective marketing strategy is needed in order to be successful.

Use of Internet

With the Internet increasing in popularity all the time, it is extremely important to use Internet marketing as a way to improve market share. In order to improve access to customers, create a web site where customers can view merchandise and possibly buy products online. Selling products online is a great way of expanding business without having to spend lots of money on new premises or retail locations.

Promotional Offers

Retail business is extremely competitive, and so even the smallest of promotions can give an edge over competitors. Business strategy should be to come up with regular and innovative promotions to entice customers into store. These promotions can range from offering a free gift with certain products to a competition entry when certain items are purchased

Signage and storefront

Although one can use plenty of complex marketing strategy techniques to attract customers, nothing is simpler and more effective than having a bold and effective storefront and signage. If you have a shop window, then keep the displays up to date and imaginative. Change the display each season and alter your sign every few years to keep things looking good.

Customer concern

Effective marketing strategy should always begin by asking customers what sort of products,

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services and promotions they want. This will give a better idea of how to market products and improve customer base.

MARKETING ENHANCES SALE AND VICE VERSA...

Marketing enhances sales which generates revenue

Generated revenue is partially invested in marketing

MARKETING AT PANTALOONS

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MARKETING

SALESREVENUE

Future group

The Group...

Future Group, led by its founder and Group CEO, Kishor Biyani, is one of Indian’s leading businesses houses with multiple businesses spaning across the consumption space. Future Group operates some of most india’s retail formats that includes Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Central, Home

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Focus on satisfying

customers needs

Product

Price

PlacePeople

Process

Physical Evidence

Promotion

Town, Ezone, and Food Bazaar. While retail forms the core business activity of Future Group, the group has developed significant presence in consumer finance, insurance, brand delovement, retail media and logistics. The group’s retail formats bring in around 240 million customer footfalls every year and provide a platform for over 30,000 small, medium and large entrepreneurs in India to sell their Products and services to these customers. The group has a retail presence in 85 cities and 60 rural Destinations and employs over 35,000 people directly . The company follows a multi-format retail strategy that captures almost the entire consumption basket of Indian customers.In the lifestyle segment, the group operates Pantaloons, a fashion retail chain and Central, a chain of seamless malls. In the value segment, its marquee brand, Big Bazaar is a hypermarket format that combines the look, touch and feel of Indian bazaars with the choice and convenience of modern retail. In 2008, Big Bazaar opened its 100th store, marking the fastest ever organic expansion of a hypermarket. The first set of Big Bazaar stores opened in 2001 in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore. The group’s speciality retail formats include supermarket chain – Food Bazaar, sportswear retailer - Planet Sports, electronics retailer - eZone, home improvement chain - Home Town and rural retail chain, Aadhaar, among others. It also operates popular shopping portal - www.futurebazaar.com.Future Capital Holdings, the group’s financial arm provides investment advisory to assets worth over $1 Billion that are being invested in consumer brands and companies, real estate, hotels and logistics. It also operates a consumer finance arm with branches in 150 locations. Other group companies include, Future Generali, the group’s insurance venture in partnership with Italy’s Generali Group, Future Brands, a brand development and IPR company, Future Logistics, providing logistics and distribution solutions to group companies and business partners and Future Media, a retail media initiative. The group’s presence in Leisure & Entertainment segment is led through, Mumbai-based listed company Galaxy Entertainment Limited. Galaxy leading leisure chains, Sports Bar and Bowling Co. and family entertainment centres, F123. Through its partner company, Blue Foods the group operates around 100 restaurants and food courts through brands like Bombay Blues, Spaghetti Kitchen, Noodle Bar, The Spoon, Copper Chimney and Gelato. Future Group’s joint venture partners include, US-based stationery products retailer, Staples and Middle East-based Axiom Communications. Future Group believes in developing strong insights on Indian consumers and building businesses based on Indian ideas, as espoused in the group’s core value of ‘Indianness.’ The group’s corporate credo is, ‘Rewrite rules, Retain values.’

The company follows a multi-format retail strategy that captures almost the entire consumption basket of Indian customers. In the lifestyle segment, the group operates Pantaloons, a fashion retail chain and Central, a chain of seamless malls. In the value segment, its marquee brand, Big Bazaar is a hypermarket format that combines the look, touch and feel of Indian bazaars with the choice and convenience of modern retail. The group’s speciality retail formats include, books and music chain, Depot, sportswear retailer, Planet Sports, electronics retailer, Ezone, home improvement chain, Home Town and rural retail chain, Aadhar, among others. It also operates popular shopping portal, futurebazaar.com.

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Future Group Manifesto...

“Future” – the word which signifies optimism, growth, achievement, strength, beauty, rewards and perfection. Future encourages us to explore areas yet unexplored, write rules yet unwritten; create new opportunities and new successes. To strive for a glorious future brings to us our strength, our ability to learn, unlearn and re-learn our ability to evolve.

We, in Future Group, will not wait for the Future to unfold itself but create future scenarios in the consumer space and facilitate consumption because consumption is development. Thereby, we will effect socio-economic development for our customers, employees, shareholders, associates and partners.

Our customers will not just get what they need,But also get them where, how and when they need.

We will not just post satisfactory results, we will write success stories.We will not just operate efficiently in the Indian economy, we will evolve it.

We will not just spot trends; we will set trends by marrying our understanding of the Indian consumer to their needs of tomorrow.

It is this understanding that has helped us succeed. And it is this that will help us succeed in the Future. We shall keep relearning. And in this process, do just one thing:

Rewrite Rules. Retain Values.

FUTURE GROUP LAUNCHES 'THE GREAT INDIAN SHOPPING FESTIVAL' 2011

Offers on over 1000 brands. Prizes like cars, bikes, international holidays, gift hampers to be won with loads of entertainment. India’s unique shopping event bringing together the country’s most popular shopping destinations

April 16, 2011: The Future Group today announced the opening of the most awaited and exciting 'The Great Indian Shopping Festival', at all its retail stores across the country. It would be a month long festival with exciting offers, contests, prizes and entertainment for its customers across India. Each retail format of Future Group will have their own special offers and activities planned for the customers, giving them

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variety and entertainment.

Future Group expects over 3 crore shoppers to visit its stores across the country during the shopping festival from the 16th April to 15th May, 2011.

Kishore Biyani, Group CEO, Future Group, “In the second edition of the Future Group Shopping Festival, the event will be bigger and better. It is a unique event in India with celebrations and offers in across the country and forms one of the most ambitious marketing and consumer initiatives of Future Group. The festival brings in fabulous offers, bumper prizes and gifts and great entertainment, to make shopping experience exciting for the entire family. During the festival our objective is to introduce consumers to all our brands and formats, in different categories, and bring in new customers into each of our formats. We believe that customer sentiment is very positive, and we expect to see a huge response to the festival.”

'The Great Indian Shopping Festival' is a jumbo combination of offers on over 1000 brands, gifts and prizes. Some of the prizes that can be won include cars, bikes, international holidays and gift hampers. All this coupled with loads of entertainment and fun. All Future Group retail formats will participate in the shopping festival including the flagship formats – Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Pantaloons, Central, HomeTown and eZone; as well as other formats such as –Brand Factory, Indigo Nation, Celio, Staples, Mother Earth, etc. Food and fun places such as Sports Bar, Copper Chimney and Spaghetti Kitchen are also part of this festival. The Future Group has always been successful in gaining the confidence and trust of the consumers and intends to continue the same. The group hopes to bring fun, excitement and joy to the customers, like always, through this festival.

India is a land of Festivals. The colorful mosaic of Indian festivals as diverse as the land is an expression of the spirit of celebration. Festivals in India are an integral part of people’s life. They are round the year vibrant interludes in the mundane routine of life. Every season brings along new festivals, each a true celebration. The same festival, through celebrated differently in the various parts of the country, exhibits an eternal harmony of sprit.

To salute this spirit, Future Group presents – Future Group The Great Indian Shopping Festival. A Festival specially created for you. packed with fun and excitement. This occasion promises you- Best offers on shopping from all Future Group Stores; Assured Gifts; Bumper Prizes in lucky Draws, Festivities, Entertainment & above all – a celebration which is larger than life.

SONE KI CHIDIYA (SKC)

Once India was known as Sone Ki Chidiya (The Golden Bird).A land and people held in awe for her prosperity Her intellect, her culture Today the world looks towards India again and it is in our hands to make Sone Ki Chidiya (The Golden Bird) soar again. Here is how it works: You can get one Sone Ki Chidiya (SKC) point on every purchase of 250 Rupees. For example: if you shop for rupees 1000 - you can get 4 SKC points If you shop for 1,650 rupees – you can get 6 SKC points If you continue shopping at Future Group Outlets – you can get exciting assured gifts. During Future Group The Great Indian Shopping Festival (FGTGIS) period (16th April, 2011 to 15th May, 2011),please remember to carry this E- Passbook, whenever

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you shop at any of the participating Future Group outlets only. the participating outlets are……….

Big Bazaar Food Bazaar Home Town E-zone Furniture Bazaar Electronics Bazaar Home Bazaar Pantaloons Brand Factory Central Planet Sports

Sone Ki Chidiya offer turns favourable for small format Future stores

Conceptualized with the idea of offering Sone Ki Chidiya stickers to the customers with one time shopping worth Rs 1,000, Kishore Biyani-led Future Group seems quite happy with the customers' response and the sales growth the brand is experiencing due to its ongoing countrywide retail show 'The Great Indian Shopping Festival'.

Meanwhile, underneath the much discussed sales figures, the company sees the festival as also contributing towards generating popularity of the brand – especially for the stand--alone and comparatively smaller format stores.

“One good thing for us is that our smaller format stores and stand-alone concepts are receiving greater benefits out of the festival; something which is tough to achieve on their own,” said Damodar Mall, group customer director, Future Group.

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Elaborating further, Mall added, “Across the board, we have been getting immense response from the customers and during the last 10 days, over a lakh people have got their passbook and have been using the concept – the concept Future Group has exclusively launched for the festival.”

Speaking about the sales growth during the last 10 days, Mall said, “Our growth, during the last 10-15 days, has seen much higher rate than our usual growth rate over the years. We expect further growth as we are approaching towards longer week-ends due to festivities like Christmas and New Year.”

When asked specifically about the growth of its apparel and lifestyle retail chain Pantaloons, Mall said, “Pantaloons is growing at 15-20 per cent higher over the last year growth. In this particular season, the rate is much higher than the usual average.”

However, he did not disclose details of the sales figures but said: “We will share the details only when the festival is over.”

The Great Indian Shopping Festival is running across almost all Future Group stores including Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Pantaloons, Central, HomeTown, eZone, Depot, LootMart, Brand Factory, Scullers, Urbana, Indigo Nation, One Mobile, Staples, Etam, Lee Cooper Sports Bar, Copper Chimney and F123.

ASSURED GIFTSItem Token Amount NO. of SKC

Branded Overnight Bag 249 Rupees

69 12

Imported 6 pcs Glass Set worth Rupees 299

69 12

Imported 6 pcs Bowl Set worth Rupees 499

129 24

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Branded Duffle Bag with wheels worth Rupees 1199

249 48

Bajaj sandwich maker worth Rupees 2099

599 100

Spalding 19 Trolly Bag worth Rupees 3999

699 100

Sensei Digital Video Camera worth Rupees 6990

699 100

Sensei Video Camera worth Rupees 6990

799 100

Koryo 20L Grill Microwave oven worth Rupees 3990

1499 200

Spalding set of 3 Trolley Bags worth Rupees 9999

1499 200

Moserbaer 20 inch LCD TV worth Rupees 14900

4999 400

Recliner Chair worth Rupees 16999

4999 400

Future Group expects Rs850 crore sales during shopping festival

Last year, Big Bazaar recorded sales of Rs700 crore. This time the Group is targeting growth of over 20% and sales of up to Rs850 crore Kishore Biyani-promoted Future Group on Monday said it expects sales worth Rs850 crore during the month-long shopping festival at its stores, which began last week, reports PTI.The Group also said it expects to attract over 2.75 crore bargain hunters at its 1,000 outlets across India during 'The Great India Shopping Festival'. The festival, which began 16th April and will go on till 17th May, covers all Future Group stores, including Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Central, Hometown, Food Bazaar and Brand Factory."Last year, during the first edition of the festival, we recorded sales of Rs700 crore. This time we are targeting growth of over 20% and total sales of up to Rs850 crore at our group's outlets," Big Bazaar business head for North Zone, Vineet Jain said. He said the Group is also aiming to increase footfalls (number of customer visits) by over 20% during this year's festival."During the month, we are targeting footfalls of 2.75 crore, against 2.50 crore customers during last year. As the market

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condition currently is much better compared with last season, we expect a major boost in both demand and sales," Mr Jain said. The festival, which was started last year by the Rs10,000-crore group, includes special discount offers, besides customer interactive programmes like food sampling, lucky draws and beauty contests."It also offers us an opportunity to amalgamate our shopping formats, which is part of our group's recent focus area. Besides, the customer engagement programmes allow our brands to be more recognisable," he said. Future Group had last year announced plans to invest Rs3,000-Rs4,000 crore to more than double its retail space to around 24 million sq ft by 2013-14. This is part of its ambitious

effort to increase revenue to Rs25,000 crore during the period from Rs10,000 crore in 2008-09.

SHOPPING FESTIVAL AT PANTALOONS `1. Price promotionsPrice promotions are also commonly known as" price discounting". These can be done in two ways:

A discount to the normal selling price of a product, or More of the product at the normal price.

Price promotions however can also have a negative effect by spoiling the brand reputation or just a temporary sales boost (during the discounts) followed by a lull when the discount would be called off.

2. CouponsCoupons are another, very versatile, way of offering a discount. Following are the examples of the use of coupons:

On a pack to encourage repeat purchase

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In coupon books sent out in newspapers allowing customers to redeem the coupon at a retailer A cut-out coupon as part of an advert On the back of till receipts

The key objective with a coupon promotion is to maximize the redemption rate – this is the proportion of customers actually using the coupon. It must be ensured when a company uses coupons that the retailers must hold sufficient stock to avoid customer disappointment. Use of coupon promotions is often best for new products or perhaps to encourage sales of existing products that are slowing down.

3. Gift with purchaseThe "gift with purchase" is a very common promotional technique. In this scheme, the customer gets something extra along with the normal good purchased. It works best for

Subscription-based products (e.g. magazines) Consumer luxuries (e.g. perfumes)

4. Competitions and prizesThis is an important tool to increase brand awareness amongst the target consumer. It can be used to boost up sales for temporary period and ensure usage amongst first time users.

5. Money refundsHere, a customer receives a money refund after submitting a proof of purchase to the manufacturer. Customers often view these schemes with some suspicion – particularly if the method of obtaining a refund looks unusual or onerous.

6. Frequent user / loyalty incentivesRepeat purchases may be stimulated by frequent user incentives. Perhaps the best examples of this are the many frequent flyer or user schemes used by airlines, train companies, car hire companies etc.Parking lot analysis : We have worked in the parking area of Pantaloons, Kankurgachi for 2 weeks only on weekends, i.e., only on Saturday’s and Sunday’s to find out the problems in the car parking area for which our customer’s were going back due to lack of parking space.

We used to note down – The time the car arrives. The time taken for checking the car and noting down its number. The time the car is waiting in a queue due to lack of parking space. Number of cars waiting at particular time. The time taken for the car to be parked. Analyze the problem in coordination of the security guards.

2. CONTRIBUTION TO THE ORGANISATION:

My main contribution through this research work is to draw a comparative study on the Great Indian Shopping Festival Pantaloons, Kankurgachi which in turn would help the organization

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to understand the strengths and weaknesses or drawbacks in its FGSF department. My survey was mainly focused on outcome, customer needs, complains, suggestions and ways to improve customer satisfaction.As a Marketing trainee I have helped the team members of my department to sell products and assist customers while they were shopping.I used to collect feedback from customers and report them to our managers and concerned persons to help the organization and to aware them about the problems faced by our customers, and finally come up with the solutions to serve our customers better.

We have given certain suggestions about the parking lot analysis, which if implemented will definitely help to reduce the number of customers returning back due to lack of parking space.

Some of the suggestions are as below:

Logistics cars should not be allowed on Saturday and Sunday after 5pm.

Security staff should be well trained and should know driving, which is often required.

There is a crossing (cut off) opposite to Kankurgachi Pantaloons car entrance gate, where security person should be appointed, particularly on Saturdays and Sundays.

Customers are getting down and getting in, in front of the gate. This practice should not be allowed. Number of security staff in the parking lot should be increased on Saturday, Sunday, holidays and during sales.

Pantaloons cannot increase the car parking area, but within the same area the car parking capacity can be increased by using parkonet, the one that is used in big-bazaar sealdah.

If the car parking is not full, the first 3 to 4 parking slot should be kept empty near the gate so that two car can pass by easily.

LITERATURE REVIEW

The field of consumer psyche and behavior is enormous, and highlights the importance of the customer at the centre of the marketer's universe. Each consumer is unique with different needs and buying choices are influenced by habits that are in turn tempered by psychological and social drivers that affect purchase decision processes.

The general structure and concept of consumer psyche is fragmented into four major categories: External influence, Internal influence, lifestyle and Decision making. External influences include culture, demographics, social status, reference group, marketing activities and family. Internal influences include perception, learning, memory, motives, personality emotions, and attitude. The lifestyle produce needs and desires.

Culture plays the most pervasive influence on external factors of consumer psyche. Culture

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varies in values and nonverbal communications. Demographics consist of structure, size and distribution. Social status refers to ones position in relative to others on one or more dimensions valued in society. Household plays an important decision on most consumption decisions.

Consumer psyche theory prior to the Second World War was based on accepted economic theory of the "rational man" model of decision making. The central idea of economics is that people make decisions by weighing costs and benefits in a rational manner. The consumer's objective is therefore to select a set of product quantities that maximize satisfaction (or utility), subject to available income. Utility in this context means the ability of a product to meet functional needs. The consumers then expend their income (budget) and selects specific amounts of the two products. Product prices and income are predetermined and, consequently only the quantities of the two products purchased are varied to maximize utility. Rational therefore means the "explainable" processes of consumer behavior.

Current approaches suggest that behavioral foundation in consumer decision processes are beyond pure rational dimensions and stem from both innate and acquired needs that Involve a complex combination of conscious and unconscious processes as well as rational and emotional factors.

Thus consumer rationality is mediated by dynamics such as personal paradigms and perceptual distortion, risk tolerance, and power relations which in turn are subject to cultural and intellectual prejudices such as gender, age, and ethnicity. This contributes to the notion of marketing as a normative discipline with elements of art rather than science in its practice. Arguably as research "explains" the complexity of the dynamics of consumer psyche, it will expand the definition of what constitutes a rational consumer. This behavioral component allows marketers to identify prospective customers' needs and wants, and influence the exchange, perception, and satisfaction dynamics of the purchasing decision process.

VARIABLES AND ATTRIBUTES

VARIABLES -

The first half of the project is mainly activity and record based. So no specific variables and attributes have been considered. In the second part, several variables have been taken into consideration for the project to be possible. There are certain independent variables on which the consumer psyche depends. These are:

Age Gender Profession

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Average Shopping Frequency of visit Community

Therefore the customer psyche is the dependent variable and all the above mentioned are independent variables.

ATTRIBUTES -

The attributes used under each kind of variable are as follows:

Format preferred to big bought from Pantaloons The Great Indian Shopping Festival Format preferred not to be bought from Pantaloons Average shopping during shopping festival Buying occasions Lucky Draw Participation Overall Experience about Future Group Shopping Festival Customer Expectations from the Great Indian Shopping Festival.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY It is necessary to adopt a particular method to complete a project successfully. The steps that have been taken to complete this project are as follows:

1. Research Approach: The Approach adopted to complete this project was that of 2. “THE GREAT INDIAN SHOPPING FESTVAL OF FUTURE GROUP”. And the study

primary data is collected from various customers. The survey was done in pantaloons retail India store Kankurgachi Kolkata.

3. Research Design: Depending upon the objectives of the research the most suitable Marketing research design is “Exploratory research”. The purpose is to find out the experience of customers while shopping in pantaloons during “The Great Indian Shopping Festival” and analysis of outcome of Future Group from this Shopping Festival.

4. Data Collection: The information used in this project was through primary sources i.e. Personally interacting the customers in the outlet and getting the first hand information and secondary Sources i.e. Personal interview and observation.

5. Research instrument: The instrument that was chosen to conduct the market research was that of “structured questionnaire”. This has been done because data obtained in structured studies are easier to tabulated and interpret then data gathered in other ways. A list of questionnaire was prepared which could give relevant information when answered by the respondents. Analyzing the collected data and reporting the findings: Finally the data has

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been collected was thoroughly analyzed and processed to obtain the required information. The data has been summarized in the form of graphs.

6. Sample Design and Size...

Sampling Unit: Pantaloons Customers

Sampling Size: 200 potential customers

Sampling Technique: Questionnaire type

Sampling Area: Pantaloons Kankurgachi

7. Analyzing the collected data and reporting the findings: Finally the data has been collected was thoroughly analyzed and processed to obtain the required information. The Data has been summarized in the form of graphs.

.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND ANALYTICAL TOOLS

For doing any kind of research, it is very essential for us to determine in advance as to what is going to be the sample size for us. Because of the simple reason that one can not simply do the research on the whole population due to the constraints like time, money & energy . Therefore when the field of inquiry is large, this method difficult to adopt because of the resources involved. It is possible to obtain sufficiently accurate results by studying only a part of total population.

First step in the research process is to single out the problem we want to study. One kind of research problem, those which relate to states of nature. The formulation of a general topic into a specific research problem, thus, constitutes the first step in a specific enquiry. In my topic the main problems is to study the customer experience of the services provided by Pantaloons retail India ltd., are they satisfied with services, what are there expectations of services from retailers, is there anything new that the customer is looking for, what Indian retailer are doing about it.

In this project I have decided to use both the primary and secondary data. Because I believe that lot articles and research paper have been done on this topic and these could provide us with a lot of information on various service parameters. These articles will give us a totally different view of the service standards and what all require to be done.

It becomes very much essential for us to develop a working hypothesis because it has to be tested.I also need some kind of primary data through questionnaire filling.

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I have decided to use deliberates and simple random sampling because to know the reaction of customers for different services we need to target the people who regularly goes for shopping in organized formats and then we have decided to pick 200 people randomly.

Have also decided to use other data collection techniques like observation and personal interviews. I have decided to use structured close ended questionnaire so that the response could be properly coded and analyzed.

It would become easier for us to understand the customer experience and what are the areas of Improvement he is looking for.

I have also decided to use other data collection techniques like observation and personal interviews. I have decided to use structured close ended questionnaire so that the response could be properly coded and analyzed. It would become easier for us to understand the customer experience and what are the areas of improvement he is looking for.

OBJECTIVE 1. The purpose is to find out the experience of customers while shopping in pantaloons

during “The Great Indian Shopping Festival” and analysis of outcome of Future Group from this Shopping Festival. And customer services as a part of customer experience is to put things in mind as to how customer service affects the whole shopping experience of the customers and what all is needed on the part of retailer to make that experience a remembering one for every individual customer. The objectives of the project can be summarized as:

Understanding customer acceptance of this new concept (GISF) Know your business Understand consumer buying behavior. Consult with customers and employees. Set customer sensitive services standard. Communicate service standards to customers and performance to employees. Manage your organization based on service standards and quality. Understand the customers’ expectations from The Great Indian Shopping Festival. Understand problems which happened with customers during shopping festival.

There is a term called customer experience management that makes sure that the shopping experience of a customer becomes a pleasurable one. And retaining the customer of Pantaloons and earning profit of the store with keeping high margins in stock. In today’s world it becomes important for a retailer to keep an eye on every aspect of Industry. And to have a futuristic approach. Retailer must be sharp and should think far more forward than its competitors. As to

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survive in this retail world and market it is important to understand the psyche of customer and to retain the customer one must look into every aspect and try to delight its customers for future.

In this project we will try to cover the few aspects of the store which is being assigned to me. I have tried to Gain knowledge about the customer, there psyche, Behavior of customer in the store, understood the need, requirement of customer. What other competitors are doing in the market under the radius of store. Try to regain customers. Using various kinds of tactics to get customers it is important for a lifestyle retailer. Pantaloons is one of the store in India which provides Offers ,quality products with discounted offers And to make the store profitable it becomes important for them to maintain that image by using various Methods and Research.

Offers and discounts

Schemes

Lucky Draws

The great Indian shopping festival

Giving good shopping experience to customers

NEED OF THE STUDY

Customer service is normally an integral part of a company’s customer value proposition. This is

one of the benefits that describe what is the level of focus of any retailer to provide services to

the customers. It is very important to make a point that unless a retailer is not aware of the

customer expectations of the services, it becomes quite a tedious task for any retailer to set his

own service standards for his store. Because of the simple fact that all the efforts are in vein if

the provided services are of no use to the customers.

One should clearly understand that the whole concept of retail mix comes into picture for the simple reason of providing all that a retailer had thought of, and the level of services he had planned. Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.

Customer service may be employed to generate such competitive advantage as a particular service proposition can be harder to copy for competitors a company may attempt to differentiate itself from its competition through the provision of better customer service. The consistent delivery of superior service requires the careful design and execution of a whole system of activities that includes people, technology, and processes.

Technology has made available a wide range of customer service tools. They range from support websites and the ability to have live chats with technical staff to databases tracking individual customers'

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preferences, pattern of buying, payment methods etc., and tailoring products and service responses based on this advanced data. Specialist software that is designed for the tracking of service levels and for helping recognize areas for improvement are often integrated into other enterprise operational software tools such as ERP software.

Customers tend to be more forgiving of organizations that acknowledge and apologize for their mistakes rather than denying them. Taking responsibility for mistakes and correcting them is considered an important aspect of good customer service

Details Of The Project

The success of a company depends on the feedback it gets from its customers in terms of sales and values. Thus, in order to retain its performance, a company has to maintain its sales levels consistently. Achieving consistent sales is only possible when the company has a good establishment in the industry in terms of brand and position. In the retail industry, one of the best methods to promote a company is above the line and below the line activities carried out with reference to specific stores. These activities not only foster the sales of the company but also enhances brand establishment. In store activities are below the line activities performed inside specific stores where customers can get immediate offers, discounts and gifts as and when they come to shop in the stores. This not only satisfies the customers but also guarantees their revisits to the stores.

Another important method to ensure a large amount of customers is to seek into their minds and find out what they want and what they desire for. Knowing the customer psyche and their attitude facilitates a company to carry out its marketing strategies in a more fruitful manner. Customers will not only feel connected when they get things at prices they want, but they would also ensure their loyalty towards the company.

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This project is based on the description of the great Indian shopping festival of future group (16th April to 15th May) activities done to promote Pantaloons and the impact of these activities on the business of Pantaloons. The second part of the project is an analysis done on the customer psyche of the Pantaloons consumers. The report includes the details of different attitudes and the mindsets of the customers of Pantaloons which has been formulated on the basis of feedback obtained from the store customers on an individual basis. The feedback has been formulated with respect to the different constituents of the Pantaloons store. The project brings forth the issues concerning the customer awareness and measures to improve them.

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

The tools and methods of data collection identified earlier were employed to gather data on the

consumer perception. The data accrued, especially from the interviews and questionnaires

circulated, are tabulated and depicted on graphs in the following pages. The data thus gathered

and tabulated is analyzed. The data is then scrutinized and relevant interpretations are drawn.

The major objectives of analysis of data are:

1.To evaluate the outcome of future group from shopping festival.

2. Describe the study population and its relationship

3.Examine effects of other relevant factors

4.Seek further insight into the relationships observed or not observed

5.Evaluate impact or importance

6. Evaluate customer’s responses among the great Indian shopping festival

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Age of the respondents-

The first criteria respondents were asked to indicate was the age group they belonged to.

Respondents were asked to choose among four age group categories. The age groups were

identified as key factors impacting shopping and purchase decisions of consumers.

The highest number of respondents falls in the age group 18-25. It can be deduced that most of

the consumers who visit retail outlets regularly are the youth. They make up almost half of the

population who shop at retail stores. Consumers were asked to indicate their gender. The object

of this question is to understand the demographics of the population under study. The highest

numbers of respondents were male, as is depicted by the chart presented above. The number

of Female respondents was less compared to the male respondents.

Consumers approached were asked an open-ended question to indicate the reasons they select

a particular store to shop at as against any other retail outlet. Their responses were a broad

idea of the factors that influence shopping and buying decisions was formed.

DATA ANALYSIS

Customer Survey Data

No of Male 116

No of Female 84

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Male58%

Female42%

Percentage of Male Female

(2).Age Group:

Age Total No18-25 6826-30 5031-35 4036-40 1345 Above 29

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34%

25%

20%

7%

14%

Percentage of Different Age Group

18-2526-3031-3536-4045 above

Analysis:- Both the graphs show almost equal results in terms of age factor. The maximum amount of customers of Pantaloons is of the younger generation. It proves that this group of people is more inclined towards the economic and friendly environment of Pantaloons. The next group of people who are mostly found in the store are the ones who want to run their family expenses in a cost-effective manner. Awareness among the older generation is not appreciable.

(3).No of People who know about Future Group Shopping Festival

Yes 160

No 40

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Yes80%

No20%

No of People who know about Future Group Shopping Festival

(4).How did you came to know about Future Group Shopping Festival

Television 28

Friends 17

News Paper 50

Future Group Stores 82

Others 23

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Television14%

Friends9%

News Paper25%

Future Group Stores 41%

Others12%

No of Respondents

(5).How much do you shop on an average in the whole Festival?

Below 500 05

500-1000 11

1000-3000 61

3000-5000 34

5000-8000 37

8000- 10000 20

Above 10000 32

60

3%6%

31%

17%19%

10%

16%

Percentage of Average Shopping during the great Indian shopping festival

Below 500500-10001000-30003000-50005000-80008000-10000Above 10000

(6).Are you Happy with Future Group Shopping Festival?

Yes 186

No 14

61

Yes93%

No7%

Customer Satisfaction Level

(7).Did you participate in lucky draw?

Yes 191

No 9

62

96%

5%

percentage of participants in lucky draw

Yes No

(8).Do you think discount voucher is really useful for you?

Yes 179

63

No 21

Yes90%

No11%

No of People who think that discount voucher is really useful for them

(9).Which Format of Future Group you preferred most?

Pantaloons 138

Big Bazaar 22

Home Town 10

Brand Factory 5

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Food Bazaar 11

E-zone 13

Others 1

Pantaloons69%

Big Bazaar11%

Home Town5%

Brand Factory

3%

Food Bazaar

6% Ezone7%

Others1%

Most preferred Format of Future Group

(10).Do you like Future Group?

Yes 195

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No 5

Yes 98%

No3%

Customers Satisfaction level

(11).Why -----------------------------------------?

NA 72Discount 7Friendly 6Because it’s close to my house 6It provides full satisfaction to customer 2

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One stop shop 22Reasonable price 4Variety 7Useful 7Attractive offers 8Nice shopping collection 11 Comfortable 4Innovative 5Good Quality and More variety product 43

NA35%

Discount3%

Friendly3%

Because its close to my House

3%It provides full satisfaction to customer

1% One stop shop 11%

Reasonal Price2%

Variety3%

Useful3%

Attractive offers4%

Nice Shopping Col-lection

5%

Comfortable2%

Innovative2%

Good Quality and More variety

product 21%

No of Respondents

(12).What’s your overall experience about Future Group Shopping Festival?

Good 68

67

Very Good 13

Best 16

Excellent 14

Great 10

Not Good 05

Na 60

Good37%

Very Good

7%

Best9%

Excellent8%Great

5%

Not Good

3%

Na32%

Customer Satisfaction Level

(13).What more do you expect from Future Group Shopping Festival?

More offers and more discount 57More affordable price 06Mre collection and varieties 21

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Better Service 08To happen more frequently 04Improvement in quality 09More customers friendly 01Many more prizes 10More Brands 07Na 77

More offers and more discount 28%

More af-fordable

price 3%More collec-

tion and va-rieties11%

Better Service 4%To happen more frequently

2%Improvement in quality

5%More customers friendly

1%Many more prizes

5%

More Brands4%

Na39%

Customers Expectations

By analyzing the responses to this question, we, the researchers, as well as companies, can

identify customer preferences among the varied choices of stores, and can calculate how much

market share they hold. The highest number of responses has been attributed to Pantaloons.

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Pantaloons attract people of higher income groups, and offers products that appeal to a wide

array of consumers. Satisfaction level based on the given parameters for the Shopping festival

Satisfaction level based on the given parameters for the following stores:

By analyzing the responses to this question, we, the researchers, as well as companies, can

identify the effectiveness of advertisements, location, brand, price, promotion, product variety

etc., on the target consumers. This helps to understand the current consumer perception of the

Pantaloons kkg store identified and the corresponding satisfaction levels.

From the tabulated data depicted above and responses of the consumers, it is evident that a

good number of target consumers are satisfied with the stores at large. However, there are

those who are unsatisfied or who have never visited the store at all. Such consumers form the

potential market that the companies must strive to attract.

There are also quite a few respondents who were highly satisfied with the retail chains. It is

imperative for the stores to find out why this is so. They can modify and apply the same

attractions towards the consumers who are less satisfied. This goes to show that Pantaloons is

doing many things right. It seems to enjoy a reasonable amount of goodwill. The marketing

strategies, advertisements, promotions, quality, pricing, product variety etc., seem to be very

appealing and also translate into sales and repeat purchases.

CUSTOMER SURVEY DATA

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When customers came to the future group shopping festival (FGSF) counter, we chose them randomly to answer a satisfaction survey. I obtained customer surveys over a 2 months period. Around 200 Questionnaire were filled with the customers in 2 months time duration. With the different responses from every customer Negative to positive. The questionnaire contained around 15 questions keeping in mind the 15 Parameters of the store that are:

Future Group Shopping Festival Offers Discount voucher Gifts Lucky draws Preferred format Average shop in the hole festival Quality Service After Sale services Billing Convenience Service experience with store associates Price Variety Availability Navigation of the store

With the number of responses varying from highly satisfactory to Poor. I tried to target the customers of Pantaloons inside as well outside the store at Future Group Shopping Festival (FGSF) counter, at the cash counters, in the different sections or departments while handling them as sale staff, attending them at home delivery counters.

The Great Indian Shopping Festival of Future Group

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1. NAME ____________________________________________________________________________

2. ADDRESS___________________________________________________________________________

3. GENDER(a) Male (b) Female

4. AGE(a) 18-25 (b) 26-30 (c) 31-35 (d) 45- above

5. Do you know about Future Group shopping festival?(a) Yes (b) No

6. How did you came to know about Future Group shopping festival?(a) Television (b) News Paper (e) Others (c) Friends (d) Future Group Stores

7. How much do you shop on an average in the whole festival? (a) Below 500 (b) 500- 1000 (c) 1000- 3000 (d) 3000-5000 (e) 5000-8000 (f) 8000-10000 (g) Above 10000

8. Are you happy with Future Group shopping festival?(a) Yes (b) No

9. Did you participate in lucky draw?(a) Yes (b) No

10. Do you think Discount Voucher is really useful for you?(a) Yes (b) No

11. Which format of Future Group you prefer most?(a) PANTALOONS (b) BIG BAZAR (c)HOME TOWN (d) BRAND FACTORY (e) FOOD BAZAR (f)E- ZONE (g) OTHERS

12. Do you like Future Group? (a) Yes (b) No

13. Why___________________________________________________________________________

14. What’s your overall experience about Future Group shopping festival?

___________________________________________________________

15. What more do you expect from Future Group shopping festival?

RECOMMENDATIONS

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No of Gifts were quite less than the required number, the customers were very much agitated and disturbed. So I would recommend that planning such huge events allover India Pantaloons must organized it properly and find out the expected sales and plan for gifts accordingly.

Due to non availability of gifts customer loyalty was hampered. It should be done in a more organized manner. No of gift counters is very less in accordance to the no of customers It department should be improved. Employee should be trained in well manner. Customer Service Desk should be increased. Materials stock of Pantaloons should be updated regularly and adequate

stock should be maintained. Employee turnover ratio of Pantaloons is very high, so necessary

amendments need to be fostered by the human resource department of the store for retaining the employees.

A huge communication gap exists between the customers and the staff and also between the organization members which create inconvenience at times.

All the cash counters should be mace active and not kept closed so that customers can avail a prompt service.

There should be a proper sitting arrangement for the customers so that they can shop with ease.

Staffs lack knowledge about the offers and discounts. They need to be properly trained in this regard.

Frequent announcements should be made in the store to help out the customers on matters of ongoing offers.

After sales services should be properly catered to for gaining customer loyalty.

Employee welfare programs should be conducted to foster a good ambience in the store.

Stocks of prizes were less should increase. Employees should know the exact criteria.

Customer inconvenience about the quality of prize.

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Promotion was not good. Some employees should give knowledge about shopping festival to the

customer. To attract more customers we have to reduce the purchase amount from

3000 to 2000. More banners outside Pantaloons about shopping Festival to attract more

customers. Price and Brand quality of prizes should be improve. Gift redemptions process should be more easy and fast.

CONCLUSIONS

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The overall analysis indicates that both the understanding the customer psyche of Pantaloons and analyzing the business impact of the in store activities have the same motive, i.e., to formulate recommendations for increasing new customers and retaining old ones. In order to initiate this motive, it is essential to know what impact does “The Great Indian Shopping Festival on the customers and what do they want and desire for. The thorough understanding of these points can help Pantaloons to instigate facilities which are more and more convenient for the customers.

The analysis shows that although the in store activities could not help much in terms of increasing the sales level, but the footfall increased to a good level due to the shopping festival. This is altogether a good sign for the store because increasing footfall means a increase in sales in the future. Also, through the analysis, an idea was obtained about the customer psyche. It brought out the loopholes of the store and the gap between the desires of the customers and the provisions of the store. This would ultimately help the company to make the necessary changes for the convenience of the customers.

My association with Pantaloons over the last few weeks has given me a taste of the corporate world. It has helped me to gain experience regarding the management of corporate activities and also taught me how to deal with people of different temperaments. My learning and experience through this project has added a significant value to my career and knowledge.

As the data gathered through questionnaire suggests that the maximum number of customers fall between the age group of 18-25. The percentages in terms of number of customers that fall in 18-25 is 34%.As the Indian customers have different mindset. And

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they have the tendency to spent little and get more. And they always expect Value for their every penny. And Pantaloons in that context fulfill there all their expectations. Now there are 25% of the customer’s falls in between 25-30. Therefore information suggests that the customers mainly fall between 18-25 year age group and that constitute 34% of the total sample size.

Talking about the factors that motivate customers to come to the Pantaloons store mainly focus on their own in house brand availability and value for money. 69% of the customer believes that Pantaloons has their own branded products to offer to the customers within a good price range. Considering the fact that this project is focusing on customer experience while shopping led us to study whether they are satisfied with the variety and the product range available and 80% of the sample size believe that they get good variety and product range.

Pricing also becomes an important factor for customer to take in to consideration for evaluating their shopping experience. 70% of the sample size believes pricing is good enough to come again. One of the important factors that can make or destroy the customer shopping experience is interface with customer care associates. 55% of the sample size has had good experience with CCA. 45% responded that they have not had satisfying experience with CCA’s.

Providing a good billing experience to the customers is a must for every retailer. This is a point where customer can really get frustrated if they spend lot of time to get billing done. 60% of the sample sizes have said that their billing experience has been excellent. 40% responded that their billing experience had bad experience.

Taking in to consideration all the above mentioned factors when customers were asked to rate their overall shopping experience during “The great Indian Shopping Festival of Future Group, 85% have said that their experience has been good and to 15% of the sample size this has been satisfactory.

CUSTOMERS SUGGESTIONS Fresh Fashion, Discount etc. More offers and goods at affordable prices. Facility should be better.

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Fast service at customer desk. Customer service, server should be quick. Offers not up to the mark as products

provided against SKC points are not of reputed brands. Improvement in quality. It will be better. More than one in a year to be organized. Quality of merchandise. To happen more frequently. If they make it a bit longer. To get more fresh fashion within one life-style budget. More varieties. Brand new collection or varieties. Latest collection with lots of discounts. Should have sitting arrangement. Every day lucky draw, simpler payment processing. More new innovation. Just bring new. More customers friendly. The schemes and offers should be properly checked before applying to customers. The Cashiering Should be done fast so as to save time of customers. The size should be always be available in the store for customers as mostly they are out

of stock. More cost effective clothes should be there in women section. Good variety of merchandise should be there. Should be trendy and keep pace with the

market trend. There are no plain formal shirt in Lombard The trail rooms should be tidied up, especially the floors should be clean. Shoes may not

be allowed and the AC need to be more strong there There should be facility to redeem the usage of the membership card by just name and

phone no since many time people forget to bring their cards Very nice service The CSD dept is under staffed kindly improved It was nice on experience but request You to have more varieties It was very bad no manners in the staff as in how to talk with the customers. They make

us wait for more than hours on asking for a fresh box they denied The experience is good overall but the songs are too old and boring and the air-

conditioning is set too high, so its very hot. I love shopping in pantaloon but these really dampen the experience

Very bad for most of the assured gifts mentioned in the GREAT INDIAN SHOPPING FESTIVAL. Lists was not available and on asking people were not sure whether same will come or not by stipulated time. This is nothing but cheating with customer.

SUGGESTIONS

Problems in the store premises which I observed during my store visit for 2 months. The most important thing which store should never forget is customer is always right. Customer is treated as god. Whether its fault of customer, the employee should always have to accept it on them and try to satisfy customer on them .The few problems came up to me were like:

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Because of single FGSF counter Customers were Facing problem in Gift redemptions and it was too much time consuming.

Systems are sometimes hanged due to server failure. This delays the customer billing and the Cashier has to give manual billing.

Gift product should be available in the store.

Employees: When the Employees in the store are appointed for store, no formal Training is provided to them.

During shopping festival we found that customers were not getting right information from the employees of Kankurgachi pantaloons and because of that they were facing problems and they were unhappy with customer service .

Their attitudes towards Customers as with the colleagues are not up to the mark.

They lack in basic Communication skills. This plays a very vital role in Front end.

They many times don’t come in formal dress .It has been observed that they don’t wear Formal shoes instead of that they wear different color of shoe on the floors. So the dress code must be followed.

Cashiers at billing counters: The Cashiers at billing counters were not having proper knowledge of the system which they were Handling as which should be taken care of before putting them at customer end.

Long Queues on Cash tills, which According to S.O.P should be only 4 people at the

time. They don’t even greet the customers which is must for them.

Swipe cards are swiped at billing counters without informing the customers which is straight away a crime.

They don’t inform the customers about the Offers, Schemes, which sometimes customers are not aware about. So they should tell this thing too..

Cashiers due to over crowd put bills on hold and which many time create problem and the Products are sometimes charged twice or to other customer by fault.

Management: I.T rooms are not properly arranged. This can lead to mishappening

of the store one day.

No I.T facility for the employees who lack in computer knowledge.

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The I.T staff misuses the room for their leisure activities.

As it’s always filled with people for chatting, as eating Joint.

If the employees of the company are not satisfied with the services provided to them. How can they make the customers delighted with their services?

The stock which customers demand is most of the time out of stock or unavailable in Store.

The customers face this problems lot of time and which moves our customer to othercompetitor’s store. And thus we lose our customer.

The security of the store is not tight, that’s why shrinkage has gone up in this year.

There should be proper measure for the above problems, so that we can be

efficient, Customer centric can get our customer satisfied; Delight them with all the services and quality.

To keep the track on the customer demographics, income, lifestyle, shopping pattern etc helps in customizing the services and providing the good customer experience. Maintaining proper database of customers so that we can offer them with schemes and retain them as our loyal customers.

The following 10 steps should be followed by the store according to the customer recommendation:

1. Maintain Flexibility

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2. Speak with Authority.

3. Make the Shopping experience enjoyable.

4. Make the shopping experience convenient.

5. Showcase new items and new ideas.

6. Maximize product affordance.

7. Minimize the clutter.

8. Simplify the product display.

9. Provide effective navigation aids. It should not be confusing.

10. Show the merchandise.

If we will be able to keep our employees Happy then only we can get back and retain thetarget customers in the pocket. If we will be able to make one loyal customers, it means wehave earned our profit.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. "Pantaloon Retail nod for Future Capital IPO".2. http://www.livemint.com/Articles/PrintArticle.aspx?eat=tp&artid=E96C9986-6A65-11E0-A3E0-

000B5DABF613

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3. "Harvard Business School Press, April 28, 2006, BIG BAZAAR, Ananth Raman". Harvard Business Review.

4. "Readers’ Digest Awards 2006".5. "Awaaz Consumer Awards 2006".6. "Best Indian Websites by PC World".http://www.technologytalk.in.7. "India's 25 best employers". rediff.com.8. Categories: Companies based in Mumbai | Economy of Maharashtra | Economy of

Mumbai | Conglomerate companies of India | Retail companies of India9. http://www.bseindia.com/bseplus/StockReach/AdvanceStockReach.aspx?scripcode=52357410. Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited-Company Information11. a b Ahmed, Rumman (6 January 2010). "Future Group: Value Retail Unit May Consider IPO".

WallStreetJournal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704842604574641823209322750.html?mod=googlenews_wsj.

12. "Future group mulls listing value retail entity". The Economic Times. 5 Jan 2010. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/market-news/Future-group-mulls-listing-value-retail-entity/articleshow/5413947.cms

13. Krafft, Manfred; Mantrala, Murali K. (eds.) (2006). Retailing in the 21st century: current and future trends. New York: Springer Verlag. ISBN 3540283994.

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