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Welcome AddressVP Harris
Chairman, Southern Regional Council and MD, Witco (India)
Welcome Address – CRS 2014
It’s time we shift focus inward and examine what we do and how we could do it different?
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VP HarrisChairman, Southern
Regional Council and MD, Witco (India)
Currently there is uneasiness in Retail despite great hopes for a promising future.Some feel the problems are due to the Economic Slowdown.To others, it’s the re-alignment of markets between the huge, big, medium and small.Yet others, feel it’s all due E-CommerceOr a of all of the above.
How many of us use the CCTV footage for other than security? Is that not a terrific tool to understand shopper habits?
Welcome Address – CRS 2014
Photo
VP HarrisChairman, Southern
Regional Council and MD, Witco (India)
The right leadership with focus is more critical than ever before. Dynastic succession is no guarantee of success, either in politics or anywhere else. Listening to the Customer and sensing what even she does not know she needs is key. Before omnichannel existed as a term, retailers were taking orders on phone, via messenger, gestures, domestic help or notes. They accepted payment through check, monthly accounts or even an oral IOU. Deliveries were to office, home or hotel. Assortments were even taken to the customer’s doorstep. Simply put, understand a need and fulfilling it.
Welcome Address – CRS 2014
Technology is a great facilitator and enabler. Brands like the Uber taxi service have invented a new delivery model entirely based on it. However, we cannot forget that the genius is in the "thought" the "idea" the "concept"
The New design of Witco stores is an example of this. Just like the Opec Oil Crisis forced the US Auto Sector to invent fuel economic cars, exorbitant mall rentals forced us to look for an effective design to compress 6000 sft stores to 600 sft!
This was even more challenging in a market like Chennai, where a lady is used to examining 100 Sarees just to confirm her choice! The new design does not allow "scanning" the entire range of Hand bags and also acts as speed breaker! A multi-brand selection is displayed price band wise.
It helped us outsell the other three stores in the same category at the mall, which are larger to our store by 30 to 100% in size! The stand-alone store where we adopted this design saw growth while other stores were de-growing due to the slowdown.
VP HarrisChairman, Southern
Regional Council and MD, Witco (India)
Photo
Welcome AddressVP Harris
Chairman, Southern Regional Council and MD, Witco (India)
