1

OBJECTIVES
1. To evaluate the recent trends of Indian retail industry in order to
come out with prospects for Indias one of leading retail chains
Vishal Mega-Mart.

2. Simultaneously to know the people perceptions towards retail

outlets.

3. To know the consumers expectations from Vishal Mega Mart.

4. To come out with conclusions & suggestions based on the analysis

& interpretation of the data.

COMPANY PROFILE
V

Value

Increase

Shopping Hypermarket

A
Affordable

L
Low Price

Founded in1986 in Kolkata.

148 showrooms in 91 cities/23 states.
Opened as Indian 1st hyper-market.
Turnover : 2005 - Rs. 1463.12mn
2006 - Rs. 2884.43mn
2007 - Rs. 6026.53mn

It has over 70,000 products range.

Covering about 26,29,433 sq. ft. in 23 states across india.
VISHAL Apparels Brands
Zeppelin :

Mens Shirts &

Trousers

Fizzy Babe :

Ladies & Kids Girls

Kitaan Studio :

Mens Shirts &

Trousers

Jasmine :

Ladies & Kids Girls

Blues & Khakis

Mens Trousers

Zero Degree :

Kids Boys

Paranoia :

Mens Shirts & T-Shirts

Soil :

Mens Shirts

Chlorine :

Mens Shirts

Massa Bay :

Mens Trousers & Bermudas

Fume :

Mens Shirts, T-Shirts,

UnderGarments.

Any place that calls itself Vishal which means big and also, adds a mega to
its name must be gigantic, right? Wrong! The only thing big about this place is its
name. The rest would give a pimple an inferiority complex. Just goes to show you
the magnitude of their extremely inflated egos that they have to call themselves such
a thing.
Fine, now that we are in, lets check out what they have to offer. The clothes look
decent, feel decent and are also decently priced, but decency isnt actually a virtue
now-a-days. Despite the absence of any well known brands, their range is pretty
diversified and well maintained. They stack clothes for men two floors of it, by the
way women and children and most new designs find mention. Youd have to
actually take the plunge and buy stuff to discover whether they would last though.
The place on the whole is worth a visit, for the clothes, if not for anything else.
Started as a humble one store enterprise in 1986 in Kolkata(erstwhile, Calcutta) is today
a conglomerate encompassing 117 showrooms in 75 cities / 20 states. Indias first
hyper-market has also been opened for the Indian consumer by Vishal. Situated in the
national capital Delhi this store boasts of the singe largest collection of goods and
commodities sold under one roof in India.
Vishal Retail is one of the fastest growing retail chain in Indian Retail market. The
chain has currently 108 showrooms in 20 states. The vishal brand is known for great

modern style for men, women, and children. Vishal offers high level fashion styling.
Since 1986, the name vishal has been synonymous quality, value, and fashion integrity.
The company was started under the leadership

of Mr. Ram Chandra Agarwal, a

dynamic personality.
Vishal offers an unparalleled collection of cloths for the entire family. . Each garment is
hand selected for quality and contemporary styling. Vishal manufactures majority of its
own garments and out sources some under its direct quality supervision. This enables
us to offer the lowest possible and most reasonable prices.
Its goal is to provide a range of fashion wear to suit every pocket. Our product mix
represents the most current fashion trends in tops, bottoms, formals and accessories
for men, women and kids. Our courteous staff will ensure that consumers get a perfect
fit. All vishals stores are air conditioned and tastefully decorated with easy excess to
the products, giving to customers a unique shopping experience. Vishals trained staff
will be able to help you select the garment of your choice and also help you color
coordinates the accessories that you may want to buy.
The group is today Rs. 6026.53 million company. The groups prime focus is fashion
retailing. The Vishal stores offer affordable family fashion at prices to suit every
pocket. The groups philosophy is integration and towards this end has initiated

backward integration in the field of high fashion by setting up a state of the art
manufacturing facility to support its retail endeavors.
Vishal is one of fastest growing retailing groups. Vishals outlets cater to almost all
price ranges. Our showrooms have a product range so wide that all your household
needs can be catered under one roof. Our stores give you international quality goods
and prices hard to match. The cost benefits that we derive from our large central
purchase of goods and services are passed on to the consumer.
Our loyalty programme gives the Indian consumer of
being rewarded every time he makes a purchase at any
of our stores anywhere in the country. Consumers can
make purchases at any store and accumulate points at a
central level. These points are redeemable at any of our
stores. You can accumulate points even when you make
a purchase while traveling and redeem points at any
store. So no matter where you are in India you can partake in our loyalty
programme.

Infrastructure
The VISHAL Group

Vishal Retail Ltd. has a factory in Gurgaon, Haryana. This factory has more than
700 imported machines that have a capacity to manufacturer 150000 pieces a month.
The factory occupies 80000 sq ft of covered space. The Vishal group indirectly gives
employment to more than a 1000 people. These people work in ancillaries that
supply finished goods to the company. Our 10 warehouses cater to 117 showrooms
in 20 states/75 cities. It is covering about 2059292 sq. ft. in 20 states across India.

RETAIL INDUSTRY

10

The India Retail Industry is the largest among all the industries, accounting for over
10 per cent of the countrys GDP and around 8 per cent of the employment. The
Retail Industry in India has come forth as one of the most dynamic and fast paced
industries with several players entering the market. But all of them have not yet
tasted success because of the heavy initial investments that are required to break
even with other companies and compete with them. The India Retail Industry is
gradually inching its way towards becoming the next boom industry.

The total concept and idea of shopping has undergone an attention drawing change
in terms of format and consumer buying behavior, ushering in a revolution in
shopping in India. Modern retailing has entered into the Retail market in India as is
observed in the form of bustling shopping centers, multi-storied malls and the huge
complexes that offer shopping, entertainment and food all under one roof.

A large young working population with median age of 24 years, nuclear families in
urban areas, along with increasing workingwomen population and emerging
opportunities in the services sector are going to be the key factors in the growth of
the organized Retail sector in India. The growth pattern in organized retailing and in
the consumption made by the Indian population will follow a rising graph helping
the

newer

businessmen

to

enter

11

the

India

Retail

Industry.

In India the vast middle class and its almost untapped retail industry are the key
attractive forces for global retail giants wanting to enter into newer markets, which
in turn will help the India Retail Industry to grow faster. Indian retail is expected to
grow 25 per cent annually. Modern retail in India could be worth US$ 175-200
billion by 2016. The Food Retail Industry in India dominates the shopping basket.
The Mobile phone Retail Industry in India is already a US$ 16.7 billion business,
growing at over 20 per cent per year. The future of the India Retail Industry looks
promising with the growing of the market, with the government policies becoming
more favorable and the emerging technologies facilitating operations.

12

13

The Global Retail Scenario

Large format retail businesses dominate the retail landscape in the United States and
across Europe, in terms of retail space, categories, range, brands, and volumes.
Indian retail industry cannot hope to learn much by merely looking at the Western
success stories in retail. Their scales of operations are very huge, the profit margins
that they earn are also much higher and they operate in multiple formats like
discount stores, warehouses, supermarkets, departmental stores, hyper-markets,
convenience stores and specialty stores.. The economy and lifestyle of the West is
not in line with that of India and hence the retailing scene in India has not evolved in
the same format as the West nor can we learn valuable lessons from their style of
operations.

In retailing, the conventional wisdom used to be, that, the critical success factor was
location. But precise location no longer matters and geo-demographics is
increasingly becoming irrelevant. The leading multiple chain retailers, superstores
and malls create their own centers of gravity, attracting customers by car, bus, train
or even by plane to wherever they are located.

14

The growth of multiple chain retailers has been relentless for many years in the west
and this has been accompanied by the development of retail names as brands in their
own right. Discount retailer Walmart has catapulted to the top of the Fortune 500
rankings in the U.S. with a turnover of $258 billions (2003 revenues the basis for
2004 rankings), ahead even of oil major Exxon Mobil and the mammoth
manufacturing giant General Electric.

Wal-Mart is the worlds largest retailer. Already the worlds largest employer with
over 1million associates, Wal-Mart displaced oil giant Exxon Mobil as the worlds
largest company when it posted $219 billion in sales for fiscal 2001. Wal-Mart has
become the most successful retail brand in the world due its ability to leverage size,
market clout, and efficiency to create market dominance. Wal-Mart heads Fortune
magazine list of top 500 companies in the world. Forbes Annual List of Billionaires
has the largest number (45/497) from the retail business.
A ruthless policy, of, Always Low prices - Always has brought Walmart to the
top. On the day after Thanks giving in November 2002, Wal-Mart sales hit $1.43
billion in one single day. Walmart and Nordstrom in the U.S. and Sainsburys and
Marks & Spencer in the U.K. have grown by rapid geographic expansion in their
own countries. Specialists like Benetton of Italy and IKEA of Sweden and The Body
Shop of the UK are international and the fast food chains like McDonalds and Pizza

15

Hut are everywhere. The same products are increasingly available from the same
names on every continent. Retailers worldwide have immensely benefited from the
sustained growth of the disposable income of their global consumers.
Retail has played a major role world over in increasing productivity across a wide
range of consumer goods and services.

The impact can be best seen in countries like U.S.A., U.K., Mexico, Thailand and
more recently China. Economies of countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong,
Sri Lanka and Dubai are also heavily assisted by the retail sector.
Retail is the second-largest industry in the United States both in number of
establishments and number of employees. It is also one of the largest world-wide.
The retail industry employs more than 22 million Americans and generates more
than $3 trillion in retail sale annually. Retailing is a U.S. $7 trillion sector.

16

Geographic Saturation:
The end of the nineties has signified a turning tide of retailer power. The limit to
retail ambition is geographic saturation. There is already a fear that the U.S is overmalled, that available shopping space exceeds customer demand for products. The
retailer logic that if we build new stores they will come, is being belied. Many
retailers have started postponing their store expansion plans. The track record of
some of their international store expansions is also not promising.
Category Killer Competition:
The threat of saturation is accompanied by a new competition from the low cost
category killers. Specialist competition is eating away at the market share and
forcing down the prices and gross margins of the multiple chains. The success of the
giant killers in the toys segment Toys R Us and in home furnishings Home
Depot, in the area a case in point.
Alternative Shopping Channels:

17

The newest retail format that is showing growth in the U.S., and is more frightening
for retailers than for consumers, is the Internet. The potential for on-line shopping
which is growing in the U.S. questions retailers investments in more physical sites
and stores and makes it imperative that they too explore the new agenda of Eretailing or e-tailing

The Indian Retail Scenario

Retail is India's largest industry. It accounts for over 10 per cent of the India's GDP
and around eight per cent of the employment. Retail sector is one of India's fastest
growing sectors with a 5 per cent compounded annual growth rate. India's huge
middle class base and its untapped retail industry are key attractions for global retail
giants planning to enter newer markets. Driven by changing lifestyles, strong income
growth and favorable demographic patterns, Indian retail is expected to grow 25 per
cent annually. The Indian retail industry is expected to grow to $427 billion in 2010
and $637 billion in 2015. Retailers of multiple brands can operate through a
franchise or a cash-and-carry wholesale model. It is expected that retail in India
could be worth US$ 175-200 billion by 2016.
India is the country having the most unorganized retail market. Traditionally it is a
familys livelihood, with their shop in the front and house at the back, while they run
the retail business. More than 99% retailers function in less than 500 square feet of
shopping space. Global retail consultants KSA Technopak, have estimated that

18

organized retailing in India is expected to touch Rs 35,000 crore in the year 2005-06.
The Indian retail sector is estimated at around Rs 900,000 crore, of which the
organized sector accounts for a mere 3 per cent indicating a huge potential market
opportunity that is lying in the waiting for the consumer-savvy organized retailer.
Emerging markets such as India and China are the final frontier for retail taking the
focus away from saturated Western markets. Since 2001, 49 global retailers entered
90 new markets, but at the same time, 17 retailers left markets in 2005.
The organized retail industry in India had not evolved till the early 1990s. Until
then, the industry was dominated by the un-organized sector. It was a sellers market,
with a limited number of brands, and little choice available to customers. Lack of
trained manpower, tax laws and government regulations all discouraged the growth
of organized retailing in India during that period. Lack of consumer awareness and
restrictions over entry of foreign players into the sector also contributed to the delay
in the growth of organized retailing. Foundation for organized retail in India was laid
by Kishore Biyani of Pantaloon Retails India Limited (PRIL). Following Pantaloon's
successful venture a host of Indian business giants such as Reliance, Bharti, Birla
and

others

are

now

entering

into

retail

sector.

A number of factors are driving India's retail market. These include: increase in the
young working population, hefty pay-packets, nuclear families in urban areas,

19

increasing working-women population, increase in disposable income and customer

aspiration, increase in expenditure for luxury items, and low share of organized
retailing. India's retail boom is manifested in sprawling shopping centers, multiplexmalls and huge complexes that offer shopping experience, complete entertainment
and

different

types

of

food

all

under

one

roof.

But there is a flip side to the boom in the retail sector. It is feared that the entry of
global business giants into organized retail would make redundant the neighbourhood kiryana stores resulting in dislocation in traditional economic structure. Also,
the growth path for organized retail in India is not hurdle free. The taxation system
still favours small retail business. With the intrinsic complexities of retailing such as
rapid price changes, constant threat of product obsolescence and low margins there
is always a threat that the venture may turn out to be a loss making one.
A perfect business model for retail is still in evolutionary stage. Procurement is very
vital cog in the retail wheel. The retailer has to fight issues like fragmented sourcing,
unpredictable availability, unsorted food provisions and daily fluctuating prices as
against consumer expectations of round-the-year steady prices, sorted and cleaned
food and fresh stock at all times. Trained human resource for retail is another big
challenge. The talent base is limited and with the entry of big giants there is a cat
fight among them to retain this talent. This has resulted in big salary hikes at the
level of upper and middle management and thereby eroding the profit margin of the

20

business. All the companies have laid out ambitious expansion plans for themselves
and they may be hampered due lack of requisite skilled manpower.
But retail offers tremendous for the growth of Indian economy. If all the above
challenges are tackled prudently there is a great potential that retail may offer
employment opportunities to millions living in small town and cities and in the
process distributing the benefits of economic boom and resulting in equitable
growth.
Purchasing power of Indian urban consumer is growing and branded merchandise in
categories like Apparels, Cosmetics, Shoes, Watches, Beverages, Food and even
Jewellery, are slowly becoming lifestyle products that are widely accepted by the
urban Indian consumer. Indian retailers need to advantage of this growth and aiming
to grow, diversify and introduce new formats have to pay more attention to the brand
building process. The emphasis here is on retail as a brand rather than retailers
selling brands. The focus should be on branding the retail business itself. In their
preparation to face fierce competitive pressure, Indian retailers must come to
recognize the value of building their own stores as brands to reinforce their
marketing positioning, to communicate quality as well as value for money.
Sustainable competitive advantage will be dependent on translating core values
combining products, image and reputation into a coherent retail brand strategy.

21

There is no doubt that the Indian retail scene is booming. A number of large
corporate houses Tatas, Rahejas, Piramalss, Goenkas have already made
their foray into this arena, with beauty and health stores, supermarkets, self-service
music stores, new age book stores, every-day-low-price stores, computers and
peripherals stores, office equipment stores and home/building construction stores.
Every retail category has been attacked, by the organized players today. The Indian
retail scene has witnessed too many players in too short a time, crowding several
categories without looking at their core competencies, or having a well thought out
branding strategy.
As the corporates the Piramals, the Tatas, the Rahejas, ITC, S.Kumars, RPG
Enterprises, and mega retailers- Crosswords, Shoppers Stop, and Pantaloons race to
revolutionize the retailing sector, retail as an industry in India is coming alive.
Retail sales in India amounted to about Rs.7400 billion in 2002, expanded at an
average annual rate of 7% during 1999-2002. With the upturn in economic growth
during 2003, retail sales are also expected to expand at a higher pace of nearly 10%.
Across the country, retail sales in real terms are predicted to rise more rapidly than
consumer expenditure during 2003-08. The forecast growth in real retail sales during
2003- 2008 is 8.3% per year, compared with 7.1% for consumer expenditure.
Modernization of the Indian retail sector will be reflected in rapid growth in sales of
supermarkets, departmental stores and hyper marts. Sales from these large-format

22

stores are to expand at growth rates ranging from 24% to 49% per year during 20032008, according to a latest report by Euro monitor.

In a developing country like India, a large chunk of consumer expenditure is on

basic necessities, especially food-related items. Hence, it is not surprising that food,
beverages and tobacco accounted for as much as 71% of retail sales in 2002. The
share of food related items had, however, declined over the review period, down
from 73% in 1999. This is not unexpected, because with income growth, Indians,
like consumers elsewhere, have started spending more on non-food items compared
with food products. Sales through supermarkets and department stores are small
compared with overall retail sales.
Nevertheless, their sales have grown much more rapidly, at almost a triple rate
(about 30% per year during the review period). This high acceleration in sales
through modern retail formats is expected to continue during the next few years,
with the rapid growth in numbers of such outlets due to consumer demand and
business potential.
The factors responsible for the development of the retail sector in India can be
broadly summarized as follows:
Rising incomes and improvements in infrastructure are enlarging consumer
markets and accelerating the convergence of consumer tastes. Looking at income

23

classification, the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER)

classified approximately 50% of the Indian population as low income in 1994- 95;
this is expected to decline to 17.8% by 2006-07.

Liberalization of the Indian economy which has led to the opening up of the market
for consumer goods has helped the MNC brands like Kellogs, Unilever, Nestle, etc.
to make significant inroads into the vast consumer market by offering a wide range
of choices to the Indian consumers.
Shift in consumer demand to foreign brands like McDonalds, Sony, Panasonic, etc.
The internet revolution is making the Indian consumer more accessible to the
growing influences of domestic and foreign retail chains.
Reach of satellite T.V. channels is helping in creating awareness about global
products for local markets. About 47% of Indias population is under the age of 20;
and this will increase to 55% by 2015. This young population, which is technologysavvy, watch more than 50 TV satellite channels, and display the highest propensity
to spend, will immensely contribute to the growth of\ the retail sector in the country.
As India continues to get strongly integrated with the world economy riding the
waves of globalization, the retail sector is bound to take big leaps in the years to
come.

24

The Indian retail sector is estimated to have a market size of about $ 180 billion; but
the organised sector represents only 2% share of this market. Most of the organised
retailing in the country has just started recently, and has been concentrated mainly in
the metro cities. India is the last large Asian economy to liberalize its retail sector. In
Thailand, more than 40% of all consumer goods are sold through the super markets
and departmental stores. A similar phenomenon has swept through all other Asian
countries. Organised retailing in India has a huge scope because of the vast market
and the growing consciousness of the consumer about product quality and services.
A study conducted by Fitch, expects the organized retail industry to continue to
grow rapidly, especially through increased levels of penetration in larger towns and
metros and also as it begins to spread to smaller cities and B class towns. Fuelling
this growth is the growth in development of the retail-specific properties and malls.
According to the estimates available with Fitch, close to 25mn sq. ft. of retail space
is being developed and will be available for occupation over the next 36-48 months.
Fitch expects organized retail to capture 15%-20% market share by 2010.
A McKinsey report on India says organised retailing would increase the efficiency
and productivity of entire gamut of economic activities, and would help in achieving
higher GDP growth. At 6%, the share of employment of retail in India is low, even
when compared to Brazil (14%), and Poland (12%).

25

Retailing in India is gradually inching its way to becoming the next boom industry.
The whole concept of shopping has altered in terms of format and consumer buying
behavior, ushering in a revolution in shopping. Modern retail has entered India as
seen in sprawling shopping centres, multi-storeyed malls and huge complexes offer
shopping, entertainment and food all under one roof.
The Indian retailing sector is at an inflexion point where the growth of organised
retail and growth in the consumption by Indians is going to adopt a higher growth
trajectory. The Indian population is witnessing a significant change in its
demographics. A large young working population with median age of 24 years,
nuclear families in urban areas, along with increasing working-women population
and emerging opportunities in the services sector are going to be the key growth
drivers of the organised retail sector.
Initially, this was about Indian corporate houses rolling out malls and supermarkets,
but with Wal-Mart coming into the Indian market, the era of the superstore is
dawning. Unlike the kirana stores that served us for decades, this new breed of retail
chains is heavily dependent on IT.
Wal-Mart, the worlds largest retailer, and Bharti Enterprises have signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore business opportunities in the

26

Indian retail industry. This joint venture will mark the entry of Wal-Mart into the
Indian retailing industry.
The biggest competitor for Bharti-Wal-Mart is likely to be Reliance Retail, the retail
wing of Reliance, which had planned to establish 10,000 stores by 2010. It had
already opened 11 pilot stores under the Reliance Fresh format in Hyderabad.
All these trends and developments present a great business opportunity for software
and hardware vendors from across the globe. Indian solution providers are targeting
this segment have reason to rejoice. For while organised retail occupies a miniscule
two to three percent of the overall Indian retailing industry, that is poised to change.

Traditionally retailing in India can be traced to

The emergence of the neighborhood Kirana stores catering to the convenience of
the consumers.
Era of government support for rural retail: Indigenous franchise model of store
chains run by Khadi & Village Industries Commission
1980s experienced slow change as India began to open up economy.
Textiles sector with companies like Bombay Dyeing, Raymond's, S Kumar's and
Grasim first saw the emergence of retail chains

27

 Later Titan successfully created an organized retailing concept and established a

series of showrooms for its premium watches
The latter half of the 1990s saw a fresh wave of entrants with a shift from
Manufactures to Pure Retailers.
For e.g. Food World, Subhiksha and Nilgiris in food and FMCG; Planet M and
Music World in music; Crossword and Fountainhead in books.

Post 1995 onwards saw an emergence of shopping centers, mainly in urban areas,
with facilities like car parking
Emergence of hyper and super markets trying to provide customer with 3 Vs Value, Variety and Volume
Expanding target consumer segment: The Sachet revolution - example of reaching
to the bottom of the pyramid.
At year end of 2000 the size of the Indian organized retail industry is estimated at
Rs. 13,000 crore

28

STRUCTURE OF RETAIL INDUSTRY IN INDIA

The retail industry continued in India in the form of Kiranas till 1980. Soon,
following the modernisation of the retail sector in India, many companies started
pouring in the retail industry in India like Bombay Dyeing, Grasim etc. As has been
mentioned earlier the retail sector in India can be widely split into the organised and
the

unorganized

sector.

The

unorganized

sector

is

predominant.

Unorganized Retail Sector

The unorganized retail sector basically includes the local kiranas, hand cart, the
vendors on the pavement etc. This sector constitutes about 98% of the total retail
trade.
Organised Retail Sector
The organised sector trading is undertaken by the licensed retailers who have
registered themselves to sales as well as income tax. The organised retail sector have
in their ambit, corporate backed hypermarkets and retail chains. The private large
business enterprises are also included under the organised retail category.
The organised retail sector can be further subdivided into:
In-store Retailers

29

This type of retail format is also known as the brick and mortar format. These retail
stores are in the form of fixed point sale outlets. They are specially designed to lure
the customers. There are different types of stores through which the instore retailers
operate. Branded Stores appear in the form of exquisite showrooms. Here the total
range of a particular brand is available and the quality is certified by the
government. There are also multi brand specialty stores that sell a series of brands so
that the consumers are free to choose from the wide variety of available brands.

30

SEGMENT OF RETAIL

The Indian retail industry is diversified into different segments such as clothing,
textile, jwelery, wathches, footwear, health and beauty product, consumer durables,
Mobile, furniture,food & grocery, book, music etc.In terms of retail sale the major
contribution is of food & grocery, followed by clothing and textile, jwelery etc. Now
if we look at the table above then it is evident that in organised retail sale, clothing,
textile & fashion accessiories dominates in terms of sale followed by food and
grocery sale. The total contribution of organised retail is just 3 % of total retailing.

31

In percentage terms clothing, textile & fashiopn accessiories dominates the

organised reatil sale. So one thing can be concluded here that inspite of having good
retail sale in food and grocery ,organised retail contributes only 11% .

32

RECENT TRENDS IN RETAILING

Earlier in the Retail industry growth rate graph is is quite clear that retail industry is
growing at a steady pace of 8-9 %.bUt the organised retail is growing at a very fast
pace ie, 30%. So it is estimated that by the year ending 2010 the total volume of
organised retail will be near to Rs 100,000 cr. Structural changes in retail will
surely start affecting a large number of small retailers at some stage, be it after one
or two decades, especially when the overall size of the organized retail in food
reaches about 25-30%, said the report prepared by researchers of the International

33

Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and Michigan State University (MSU). The
emerging structural transformation in retail trade would benefit the society as a
whole, but noted that the gains will accrue early to consumers

Malls in India
The largest form of organized retailing today. Located mainly in metro cities, in
proximity to urban outskirts. Ranges from 60,000 sq ft to 7,00,000 sq ft and above.
They lend an ideal shopping experience with an amalgamation of product, service

34

and entertainment, all under a common roof. Examples include Shoppers Stop,
Piramyd, and Pantaloon. Over the last 2-3 years, the Indian consumer market has
seen a significant growth in the number of modern-day shopping centers, popularly
known as malls. There is an increased demand for quality retail space from a
varied segment of large-format retailers and brands, which include food and apparel
chains, consumer durables and multiplex operators.

Shopping-centre development has attracted real-estate developers and corporate

houses across cities in India. As a result, from just 3 malls in 2000, India is all set to
have over 220 malls by 2005. Today, the expected demand for quality retail space in
2006 is estimated to be around 40 million square feet. While previously it was the
large, organised retailers with their modern, up-market outlets, and direct
consumer interface- who had been a key factor driving the growth of organized retail
in the country, now it is the malls which are playing the role.

Factors such as availability of physical space, population densities, city planning,

and socio-economic parameters have driven the Indian market to evolve, to a certain
extent, its own definition of a mall. For example, while a mall in USA is 400,000
to 1 million sq.ft. in size, an Indian version can be anywhere between 80,000 sq.ft.
and 500,000 sq.ft. By 2005, total mall space in the 6 cities of Mumbai, Bangalore,

35

Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, and National Capital Region (Delhi, Noida, Gurgaon)
is expected to increase to over 21.1 million sq. ft.
Compared to other big cities, Kolkata and Hyderabad are relatively new entrants in
the mall segment, but are witnessing quick growth. Smaller cities like Pune,
Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Chandigarh and Indore, are also expected
to see a formidable growth in the growth of malls in the near future. But malls in
India need to have a clear positioning through the development of differential
product assortment and differential pricing, in order to compete effectively in a
growing mall market.
Segmentation in malls, like up-market malls, mid-market malls, etc. , proper
planning, correct identification of needs, quality products at lower prices, the right
store mix, and the right timing, would ensure the success of the mall revolution in
India.

36

Retailing in India is witnessing a huge revamping exercise as can be seen in the

graph
India is rated the fifth most attractive emerging retail market: a potential goldmine.
Estimated to be US$ 200 billion, of which organized retailing (i.e. modern trade)
makes up 3 percent or US$ 6.4 billion
As per a report by KPMG the annual growth of department stores is estimated at
24%

37

 Ranked second in a Global Retail Development Index of 30 developing countries

drawn up by AT Kearney.
Multiple drivers leading to a consumption boom:
Favorable demographics Raising aspirations : Value added goods sales.
Growth in income Increasing population of women
Food and apparel retailing key drivers of growth
Organized retailing in India has been largely an urban phenomenon with affluent
classes and growing number of double-income households.
More successful in cities in the south and west of India. Reasons range from
differences in consumer buying behavior to cost of real estate and taxation laws
. Rural markets emerging as a huge opportunity for retailers reflected in the share of
the rural market across most categories of consumption
ITC is experimenting with retailing through its e-Choupal and Choupal Sagar
rural hypermarkets.
HLL is using its Project Shakti initiative leveraging women self-help groups to
explore the rural market.
Mahamaza is leveraging technology and network marketing concepts to act as an
aggregator and serve the rural markets.
IT is a tool that has been used by retailers ranging from Amazon.com to eBay to
radically change buying behavior across the globe.

38

 e-tailing slowly making its presence felt.

Companies using their own web portal or tie-sups with horizontal players like
Rediff.com and Indiatimes.com to offer products on the web.

The above two pictures shows us that how service to customer has changed during
the due course of time. In earlier days the retailing format allows the customers to
purchase product from specific counter they are not allowed to look for different
products by themselves, so ultimately they are bound to purchase goods from the
shop as per the recommendation of the retailer.

39

But this form of retailing i.e. counter service is overtaken by self service. In this new
pattern the customers to alllowed to roam inside the premise of the shop to collect
different types of goods, which they wish to purchase. So this type of self service
pattern has increased the buying experience of the customer and this has also
increase the sale volume of the retail outlet.
So, this change in retailing trends has tremendously increased the number of
customer towards the retail outlet.

A Stock Keeping Unit, or SKU as an initialism is a unique identifier for each of the
distinct products and services that can be ordered from a supplier.SKUs are often
assigned and serialized at the merchant level. All merchants using the SKU method

40

will have their own approach to assigning the numbers based on regional or national
corporate data storage and retrieval strategies.
Over the past 30 years, the role of the warehouse has changed dramatically as
customer and vendor compliance issues have surfaced and a greater emphasis has
been placed on supply chain visibility and customer satisfaction.
There for the stock keeping units, or SKU has increased so many folds. In older days
the number of SKUs used to be lass than 200. But now a days it has matamorfised
to 8,000-10,000 SKUs. this has increased the visibility of the products in the ware
house.

41

If we go foe the size of a retail outlet than it is quite obvious from the above two
pictures that the size of shop has increased from few hundred sq ft. shop to few
thousand sq. ft. shop. Earlier the shops were kirana stores, pop and mom stores
which were very less in terms of size. These stores are specially meant for catering
the needs of nearby localites. So naturally the no of shops were more as compared to
the new format of shops
But if we look at the big size outlets such as hypermarkets, supermarkets,etc. there
size is 50,000 sq. ft. and more. Now the new size of outlet i.e. lakh sq. ft. outlets are
in pipeline. In this new big size retail outlets goods are displayed in an orderly
manner, for example different corners for catering different sets of peoples.
Now every big business houses is in process of entering into this type of big space
retail business, eg. Bharti is foraying in this type of retail after reliance had made
their entry.

42

Now retailing has changed its pattern in terms of gadgets application. Earlier the
shops were using very less gadgets which are manually operated. In some cases
there were no use of gadgets in retailing. But with the elipse of time gadgets are
being incorporated in retailing day by day.
Now each type of retailing sector,it may be textile, grocery, food and beverage e.t.c
has incorporated advanced gadgets in their retail sales. For Ex. In food and
beverages retailing refrigrators, Proper lighting e.t.c used frequently.

43

In milk retailing today refrigetator vachile are being used for sale. Now even grocery
are being sold in new type of gadgets. So the application of gadgets has increased
the fresness of goods and increased the diplay of products helping

Retailing sector has undergone a mammoth change over the last decade. The late
nineties saw a how the modern day computers, printers, and scanners, etc have
replaced the traditional bahikhatas.

44

So fast and smooth has been this change that in no time, cities ranging from the
metropolitan background to the most mediocre background, have already accepted
this change with open arms.
In the years to come, we perhaps might see more such changes coming our way and
expect a similar fashion of acknowledgement and acceptance from its users.

In early days business were run without using Bar code. This type of operation is
being performed by the retailer manually. Now a days Bar coding is frequently used
by the retailer in there business operations. Barcoding helps business streamline
operations by automating data collection.

45

In recent times bar code is replaced by advanced RFID . It helps the retailer in
augemented sales operation Both bar coding and RFID are quite similar; both are
intended to provide rapid and reliable item identification and tracking capabilities.
The primary difference between the two technologies is that bar coding scans a
printed label with optical laser or imaging technology, while RFID scans, or
interrogates, a tag using radio frequency signals. Because of the low cost of bar code
labels, established standards, and global deployment, bar coding is a widely
accepted, mature technology, while, in the past, RFID had been limited to niche
applications.

46

Shopping has never been such interesting, thanks to the latest efforts of the retail
chains, that today people create time to shop around, rather than finding time to
shop, as in before this retail boom. They have increased the buying experience by
introducing shoppertainment. Today it is perceived as one of the most look after
shopping.
Retail chains have pulled every trick from their hat, to lure the customers, hold their
imaginations, and provide them interesting options consistently. And they have been
successful so far, but lets see how long

47

NEWER CONCEPT- FARM RETAIL

The New Middle Man
The food and grocery business offers a beguiling prospect, although estimates vary
widely. The India Retail Report 2007, put together by leading Indian and foreign
consultancies, estimates that the retail pie was worth Rs 1,200,000 crore in 2006,
with food and groceries accounting for a whopping 63 per cent. But the share of
organised retail in this sector was negligible.
According to Crisil Research, food and grocery (F&G) items account for a
significant 74 per cent of total retail sales, which it places at Rs 12,80,000 crore (Rs
14.8 trillion) in 2008. However, F&G accounts for only 18 per cent of the total
organised retail market, as the penetration of organised retail in the F&G vertical is a
mere

per

48

cent.

What it means is that the opportunity in agriculture is very, very big as Rakesh
Bharti Mittal, vice chairman of Bharti Enterprises, says. The company, which
revolutionised telecom in the 1990s by expanding its reach to millions of customers,
is hoping to do the same with its foray into agriculture, specifically vegetables and
fruits. It has launched Field Fresh Foods in partnership with EL. Ro Holdings India,
an investment company of the Rothschild family, and expects a turnover of $1
billion (Rs 4,100 crore) in five years. Mittal will be invest Rs 10,000 crore ($ 2.5
billion) to cover 10 million sq. ft. of retail space by 2015. By then, they hopes to
cover all cities with a population of one million and above. The underlying
philosophy, the company says, is to link Indian farms to the world by creating the
countrys first global outsourcing opportunity in fresh produce. Its 300-acre farm
leased from the Punjab Agricultural University has been experimenting with exotic
vegetables destined for the European market. Snow peas, cherry tomatoes, bell
peppers and sugar snap peas are being tested out at the Ladowal farm close to
Ludhiana, which is the lynch pin of its farming initiative.
The numbers get bigger with RIL. Officials have refused to discuss its retail plans
with media, but company sources say it is setting aside Rs 50,000 crore to build its
farm-to-fork linkage. Reliance has drawn up plans for a presence in 784 towns and
6,000 mandi (wholesale market) towns with 1,600 rural business hubs to service

49

these. It has already rolled out 177 Reliance Fresh stores across major towns in 11
states. According to a company report, RIL is targeting a turnover of Rs 40,000
crore in the next few years.
All of a sudden, the farmer is in demand. Retail chains want his produce they
also want his farm. Companies from DCM to the Tatas to Triveni are investing big to
help the countrys notoriously inefficient and hamstrung agriculture to scale up
production, modernise farm practices and persuade farmers to use the best seeds
and improved irrigation system so that they get good returns
If India Inc is expected to invest more in agriculture, many of the existing acts need
to be amended. Till the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act is
amended, farmers cannot sell their produce in the open market, but only in the
mandis (wholesale markets). The mandi is controlled by the arthiyas (commission
agents) and mashokars (middle men) who pay a fee to the government for the
upkeep of the market and improving the infrastructure.
So far, 16 states have amended the Act but until these states frame the rules under
the amended Act it remains a legislative exercise that does not change ground
realities. Delhi has once again extended the deadline to March 2008 for all 29 states

50

to amend the law.Till that happens, India will remain one of the most fragmented
markets for agriculture produce.
The amendment of the Act has paved the way for contract farming in a numbers of
states although there is a restriction on the lease period. Under the model law on
contract farming, a farmer can lease out his land for a minimum of 11 months and a
maximum of 30 months. Companies getting into retail complain that 30 months is
too short a time to recoup investments. Farmers are wary of longer leases because
they fear they would lose their land rights. The corporate entrants have been seeking
an amendment in the Revenue Act so that they can lease land for up to 10 years.
Says Rakesh Mittal: We need to amend the law so that farmers can lease land on
long tenure without alienating their ownership rights.
Currently, only three states Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra allow farmers to
lease land. Here too, farmers are now leasing out their land for 30 months. In the
wake of the agitation against the special economic zones however, companies are
finding it very difficult almost impossible to pick up land for agricultural purposes.
For most, one of the inspirations has been PepsiCo. The food subsidiary of the US
soft drink company has been successful in transforming agriculture in a part of
Punjab where Pepsi pioneered the concept of contract farming for bulk procurement
of crops like potato, tomato, groundnut, chilli and paddy. In partnership with the

51

Punjab Agriculture University and Punjab Agro Industries Corporation, it used

location-specific R&D to boost yields of tomato and chilli by almost three times.
It is the same idea that is driving the latter-day corporate farm evangelists. Mittal
says drip irrigation methods will be promoted to stop the wastage of water which he
terms an ecological nightmare. Other good practices are part of the package that
companies are offering farmers across the country: improved seeds, fertilisers and
pesticides, technical support on multi-cropping, better irrigation methods.

52

Opportunity in Indian Retail

Standing on the threshold of a retail revolution and witnessing a fast changing retail
landscape, India is all set to experience the phenomenon of a global village. India
presents a grand opportunity to the world at large, to use it as a business hub. A
Vibrant Economy, India tops A T Kearneys list of emerging markets for global
retailers for the 3rd consecutive year. The 2nd fastest growing economy in the
world, the 3rd largest economy in terms of GDP in the next 5 years and the 4th
largest economy in PPP terms after USA, China & Japan, India is rated among the
top 10 FDI destinations.
With a stable Government with 2nd stage reforms in place, India can be reasonably
proud of having put in place some of the most widely accepted Corporate Ethics
(Labour Laws, Child Labour Regulations, Environmental Protection Lobby,
Intellectual Property Rights, and Social Responsibility) and major tax reforms
including implementation of VAT, all of which make India a perfect destination for
business expansion.
India is the fastest-growing market in Asia Pacific for international tourist spending,
according to latest Visa Asia Pacific release. The economy is growing by over 8 per
cent a year and Indias growth rate can actually exceed that of China by 2015. The
Indian economy is expected to grow larger than Britains by 2022 and Japans by
2032 to become the third-largest economy in the world after China and US and
finally become the second largest economy after China by 2050.

Investments
51% FDI allowed in single brand retailing FDI Laws relatively liberal in wholesale
trade
Metro AG and Shoprite already operating
More Foreign Retailers eyeing possibilities in wholesale
Tesco and Carrefour expected to operate soon

53

Wal-Mart has already sined a JV with the Bharti Group

Woolworths (Dick Smith Electronics - durable retail arm) recently started
their operations through a JV with Tatas with plans to open 60 Croma stores
by 2009.
French retailer Geant is also expected to begin operations in India soon.
A report by investment banker Goldman Sachs, credits India with the potential to
deliver the fastest growth over the next 50 years. According to Standard & Poor's,
foreign direct investment (FDI) to India is likely to grow the fastest in next few
years. As targeted FDI is to hit $13 billion in the 12 months ending March 2007,
more than double Indias previous best of $5.5 billion hit in the previous year.
India is investing over US $130 billion in infrastructure by the end of this decade.
Indian retail industry itself has attracted investment of over INR 200 billion (over $4
billion) in creating infrastructure, systems & shop-fit. The additional retail space is
expected to add INR 300 billion ($ 6.67 billion) of business to organised retail.
Indias stock market continues to rise at unprecedented levels and foreign investors
are flooding in. The quantum of investments is likely to skyrocket as the inherent
attractiveness of the segment lures more and more investors to earn large profits.

The Indian Consumer

With the largest young population in the world - over 890 million people below 45
years of age! India is indeed a resplendent market. India has more English speaking
people than in the whole of Europe taken together. Its 300 million odd middle class,
the Real consumers, is catching the attention of the world. As the economy grows
so does India's middle class. It is estimated that 70 million Indians earn a salary of
over INR 800,000 ($18,000) a year, a figure that is set to rise to 140 million by
2011. The number of effective consumers is expected to swell to over 600 million by
2010 sufficient to establish India as one of the largest consumer markets of the
world
.

54

Private Consumption & Retail

With the changing face of retail, the Indian consumer is in for a rapid
transformation. While the consumer spending continues to grow at double digit
figures, leading retailers have recorded an increase in sales between 50 to 100
percent in the calendar year 2006 over the previous year.
According to India Retail Report 2007, the total private consumption touched INR
20,000 billion (US $ 445 billion) at current prices in the calendar year 2006 with
organised sector accounting for INR55,000 crore ($12.4 billion) business increasing
its share to 4.6 per cent of the total Indian Retail Value that stood at INR12,000
billion ($270 billion). Moving forward, organized retailing is projected to grow at
the rate of about 37 per cent in 2007 and 42 per cent in 2008. Organised retail in
India has the potential to add over INR 2,000 billion ($45 billion) business by the
Year 2010.
The consumer spending is ultimately pushing the economy into a growth-andliberalisation mode. The Indian market is becoming bolder by the day, with the
economy now expected to grow at over 8 per cent and average salaries being hiked
by about 15 per cent, there will be lot more consumption.

Opportunity for Global Players

Favourable demographic and psychographic changes relating to Indias consumer
class, international exposure, availability of quality retail space, wider availability of
products and brand communication are some of the factors that are driving the retail
in India. Over the last few years, many international retailers have entered the Indian
market on the strength of rising affluence levels of the young Indian population
along with the heightened awareness of global brands, international shopping
experiences and the increased availability of retail real estate space.
Development of India as a sourcing hub shall further make India as an attractive
retail opportunity for the global retailers. Retailers like Wal-Mart, GAP, Tesco, JC
Penney, H&M, Karstadt-Quelle, Sears (Kmart), etc stepping up their sourcing

55

requirements from India and moving from third-party buying offices to establishing
their own wholly owned / wholly managed sourcing & buying offices shall further
make India an attractive retail opportunity for the global players.
Manufacturers in industries such as FMCG, consumer durables, paints etc are
waking up to the growing clout of the retailers as a shift in bargaining power from
the former to the latter becomes more discernible. Already, a number of
manufacturers in India, in line with trends in developed markets, have set up
dedicated units to service the retail channel. Also, instead of viewing retailers with
suspicion, or as a necessary evil as was the case earlier, manufacturers are
beginning to acknowledge them as channel members to be partnered with for
providing solutions to the end-consumer more effectively.
Though lucrative opportunities exist across product categories, food and grocery,
nevertheless, presents the most significant potential in the Indian context as
consumer spending is highest on food. Further, wet groceries i.e. fresh fruits and
vegetables is the most promising segment within food and grocery as very few
organized retailers have tapped this opportunity in spite of wet groceries being the
preferred choice of most Indian households.
The next level of opportunities in terms of product retail expansion lies in
categories such as apparel, jewellery and accessories, consumer durables, catering
services and home improvement. These sectors have already witnessed the
emergence of organized formats though more players are expected to join the
bandwagon. Some of the niche categories like Books, Music and Gifts offer
interesting opportunities for the retail players.
Currently the fashion sector in India commands a lions share in the organised
retail pie. This is in line with the retail evolution in other parts of the world, where
fashion led the retail development in the early stages of evolution and was followed
by other categories like Food & Grocery, Durables etc. Fashion across lifestyle
categories makes up for over 50 per cent of organised retail and with the kind of
retail space growth that India is witnessing we can certainly foresee a very healthy
prospect for the fashion industry.
As nations become richer, their people start appreciating luxury goods and fine
dining. India has over one million such people and this number is expected to

56

triple by 2010. A recent report divides consumers for luxury goods into four
categories luxuriated: source of affluence is largely traditional and inherited; New
rich: adequate spending power and are acquiring orientation to luxury; Getting there:
acquiring spending power and spend mainly on education, housing and large
automobiles; Mid-affluent: are also acquiring orientation to luxury but unlikely to
indulge beyond a limit.
The most important categories for luxury goods consumers are housing, travel,
education, higher end automobiles, electronics and other home improvement
products besides fashion, lifestyle and fine dining. The most important reason for
luxury retail not taking off in India so far has been the lack of luxury retail
environment. The presence has been primarily confined to luxury hotels with
shopping plazas.

Retail Space Growth

100 mn sq ft of quality shopping centre space by 2007-08
To generate retail sales of over Rs. 50,000 cr ($ 11 bn)
Rs. 20,000+ cr ($ 4 bn+) investment in pipeline for retail infrastructure, systems &
shop-fit
Space for 15,000+ new outlets, 100 hypermarkets, 500 department stores and 2000
supermarkets
Over 10,000 small and big existing outlets to undergo complete facelift
By the Year 2010-11 this space will grow to 300 million sq. ft. offering business
worth over $17 billion for Design, Shop Fit and support systems.

57

Plans of Some of the Large Retailers:

Pantaloon : Expansion into all possible formats of retail across categories and
segments. 30 mn sq.ft by FY10, foray in insurance, real estate and consumer finance
the turnover is expected to touch Rs. 30,000 cr ($ 6.67 bn) in FY10-11.
Reliance : Rs. 30,000 cr ($ 6.67 bn) investment to set up multiple retail formats with
expected sales of Rs. 90,000+ cr ($ 20 bn) by 2009-10
RPG : Planning IPO, 450+ MusicWorld, 50+ Spencers Hyper covering 4 mn sq ft
by 2010
Lifestyle : Rs. 450+ cr ($ 90 mn) investment in next 5 years to expand on Max
Hypermarkets & value retail stores, Home & Lifestyle Centres.
Rahejas : Shoppers Stop, Crossword, Inorbit Mall, Home Stop and recently
lunched hypermarket named Hypercity. 55 hypermarkets across India, by 2015.
Subhiksha : 1000 stores and Rs. 1000+ cr ($ 240 mn) sales by Dec 2007.
Piramyd : 1.75 mn sq ft of retail space and 150 stores in next 5 years.
Trent : Trent to open 27 more stores across its retail formats adding 1 mn sq ft of
space in the next 12 DLF malls.
Trinethra : Recently acquired by the AV Birla group, Trinethra (currently with two
formats - Trinethra and Fabmall) plans 220 stores with a turnover of over Rs. 300 cr
($667 mn) this fiscal.
Vishal Group : Plans include an IPO and investment close to Rs. 1250 cr ($ 278
mn) by 2010, targeting 220 outlets, taking its cumulative retail space to 5 mn sq ft
and sales turnover of Rs. 5000 cr ($ 1 bn+).
Bharati Group : Plans Rs. 31,500 cr (US$ 7 bn) investment in creating retail
network in the country including 100 hypermalls and several hundred small stores

58

59

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Type of research :

Descriptive research

Sampling technique :

Restricted random sampling

Size of the sample :

250

Type of data :

Primary data

Data collection instrument

Questionnaire method

Sources & statistical analysis

Through chart & table

60

DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

Q1. How frequently you visit Vishal Mega Marts?
a) More than once in a week
b) Once in a week
c) Once in a month
d) Not estimated

More than once

Once in a week

Once in a month

Not estimated

81

54

102

in a week
No. of
13
Respondents

120
Not estimated, 102

100
Once in a week, 81

No of Respondents

80
60

Once in a month, 54
More than once in a week

40

Once in a week
20

Once in a month

More than once in a

week, 13

Not estimated

0
0

-20

61

Interpretation: This question was designed in order to study the buying pattern of the
consumers. The findings showed that 40.8% consumers most of them are not random in their
buying. Although there are 32.4% & 21.6% people who visit Vishal Mega Mart once in a week
and month respectively. We can say around half of the buying in Vishal Mega Mart is frequent &
random and the rest is vice-versa.

62

Q2. Which type of retail outlet would you prefer for shopping?
a) Mom & pop shops
b) Retail as separate outlet
c) Shopping malls
d) Anyone of them
Mom & pop shops

Retail as separate

Shopping malls

Anyone of them

124

67

outlet
00

No. of

59

Respondents
160
140
Shopping malls, 124

120
No of Respondents

100
80
Anyone of them, 67

Retail as separate
outlet, 59

60

Mom & pop shops

40

Retail as separate outlet

20

Shopping malls

0
-20

Anyone of them

Mom & pop shops, 0

0

-40

Interpretation: This question was asked in order to know the preference of the consumers
among the various available options. The findings were quite surprising that none of them prefer
Mom & pop shops, although 26.8% people are ready to choose anyone of them. This shows the
increased attraction towards complete shopping experience which consumers get in shopping
malls.

63

Q3. How deep is your attachment with Vishal Mega Marts?

a) Loyal
b) Loyal to some extent (first choice)
c) Depends upon the requirements and convenience
d) Disloyal

Loyal

Loyal to some

Depends upon the

extent

requirements &

Disloyal

convenience
18

No. of

76

156

00

Respondents

200
Depends upon the
requirements &
convenience, 156

No of Respondents

150

Loyal

100
Loyal to some
extent, 76

Loyal to some extent

50
Loyal, 18
0

Disloyal, 0
0

-50

Interpretation: This is a very important question due to the fact that it not only shows the
level and pattern of attachment but also the level of satisfaction of consumers. The results showed

64

that a large no. of respondents (62.4%) keep their options open and decide according to their
requirements and convenience. Although lots of people (30.4%) find themselves loyal to some
extent and 7.2 % are loyal.
We can say that overall consumer behavior is inclined towards loyalty depending upon our ability
to provide complete range, quality, service and convenience.

65

Q4. Level of satisfaction in Vishal Mega Mart from

1) Ambience :
a) Very Good
b) Good
c) Average
d) Poor

No. of Respondents

Very Good

Good

Average

Poor

04

79

149

18

180
160
Average, 149

140

No of Respondents

120
100
80
60
40
20

Poor, 18
Very Good, 4

0
-20 0

Very Good

Good

Average

Poor

Good, 79

-40

66

Interpretation: Findings show that from the ambience of Vishal Mega Mart the level of
satisfaction of 59.6% consumers is average & of 31.6% consumers is good. Only 1.6%
customers are well satisfied & 7.2% are unsatisfied also. Ambience

is having extremely

important role to visit the retail outlet & willingness to buy products.

2) Customer Dealing :
a) Very good
b) Good
c) Average
d) Poor

No. of Respondents

Very Good

Good

Average

Poor

14

76

157

03

200

Average, 157

No of Respondents

150

100

Very Good

Good

Average

Poor

Good, 76
50
Very Good, 14
Poor, 3

0
0

-50

67

Interpretation:

Customer dealing is a very crucial factor behind success of any retail

outlet & in this question their level of satisfaction from customer dealing shows that some of
them (36%) are satisfied up to some extent, nevertheless most of them (64%) are not properly
dealed by sales executives of Vishal Mega Mart.

3) Product Quality :
a) Very good
b) Good
c) Average
d) Poor

No. of Respondents

Very Good

Good

Average

Poor

16

173

61

00

250

200

No of Respondents

Good, 173
150
Very Good

Good

Average

Poor

100
Average, 61

50
Very Good, 16
0

Poor, 0
0

-50

68

Interpretation: Quality of product is as important factor for any business as blood for
human life & he findings shows that most of the consumers are satisfied by the quality aspect of
Vishal Mega Mart.

4) Schemes :
a) Very good
b) Good
c) Average
d) Poor

No. of Respondents

Very Good

Good

Average

Poor

83

71

96

00

120
100

Average, 96
Very Good, 83

No of Respondents

80

Good, 71
60

Very Good

Good

40

Average

Poor

20
0

Poor, 0
0

-20

69

Interpretation: It can not be neglected that schemes help to increase footfalls & sales in
any retail outlet. & this is good that Vishal Mega Mart provide different-different schemes to
their customers always & most of its customers are satisfied from it.

5) After Sales service :

a) Very good
b) Good
c) Average
d) Poor

No. of Respondents

Very Good

Good

Average

Poor

48

163

39

00

200
Good, 163

No of Respondents

150

100

50

Very Good, 48

Average, 39

Poor, 0
0

-50

70

Very Good

Good

Average

Poor

Interpretation: Results are quite favorable for Vishal Mega Mart. Most of the customers
are satisfied by their after sales services, which influence them to visi the store again. We can
say that after sales services play a complementary role in decision making process as they play
very influential role in evaluating various retail stores.

6) Security Measures :
a) Very good
b) Good
c) Average
d) Poor

No. of Respondents

Very Good

Good

Average

Poor

57

132

61

00

160
140

Good, 132

120
No of Respondents

100
80
60

20
0

Poor, 0
0

Good

Average

Poor

Average, 61

Very Good, 57

40

-20

Very Good

-40

71

Interpretation: Results show that security measures of Vishal Mega Mart are also in a
good position, which make mind of consumers free of tension & they can do their shopping
easily & more comfortably.

Q5. To locate your preferred product in Vishal Mega Mart is

a) Very easy
b) Easy
c) A little bit tough
d) Tough

No. of

Very easy

Easy

A little bit tough

Tough

42

106

84

18

Respondents

140
120
Easy, 106

No of Respondents

100

A little bit tough, 84

80

Very easy
Easy
A little bit tough

60

Tough
Very easy, 42

40
20

Tough, 18

0
0

72

Interpretation:

Findings show that approx. 50% of the respondents can locate their

preferred product easily,but in the other hand half of the respondents are not comfortable to
locate easily,which shows executives inefficiency in Display & Visual Merchandising. So,
Availability of products are also very important point,which should be kept in mind by retailers.

73

Q6. Do you purchase the in store brands products of Vishal Mega Mart in Food
mart section?
a) Always
b) Mostly
c) Sometimes
d) No
Always

Mostly

Sometimes

No

08

46

129

67

No. of
Respondents

160
140
Sometimes, 129

No of Respondents

120
100
80

Always

Mostly

Sometimes

No

No, 67

60
Mostly, 46

40
20
Always, 8

0
-20

Interpretation: Results show that there are very few customers, who purchase the Vishal
in store brands products in food mart section, which is not the favorable condition for Vishal
Mega Mart.

74

Q7. If no, whats the reason?

a) Quality
b) Price
c) Brand Loyalty
d) Awareness

Quality

Price

Brand Loyalty

Awareness

No. of
04

00

14

49

Respondents

60
50

Awareness, 49

No of Respondents

40
Quality
30

Price
Brand loyalty

20

Awareness

Brand loyalty, 14
10
Quality, 4
0

Price, 0
0

-10

75

Interpretation:

This question is designed to know why customers are not interested in

Vishal in store brands product ? & the result is quite surprising that 73.13% of them are
unknown to their in store brands products.
.Q8.

Would you prefer home delivery services if Vishal Mega Mart offers ?

a) Yes
b) Somewhere
c) Cant say now
d) No

Yes

Somewhere

43

189

Cant say now

No

No. of
18

00

Respondents

250

No of Respondents

200

Somewhere, 189

150

Yes
Somewhere

100

Cant say now

No

50

Yes, 43
Cant say now, 18
No, 0

0
0

-50

76

Interpretation: This question was asked in order to forecast the future of Home delivery
services, if Vishal Mega Mart provides it to its customers & the results proved that large no. of
people (93.2%) are willing to use this service in future according to their convenience.

Q9. Do facilities like Fun stations, Play stations, Junk food stalls, PVRs attract
you to go to any mall or retail store ?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Doesnt matter
d) Cant say

Yes

No

Doesnt matter

153

36

61

Cant say

No. of
00

Respondents

200
Yes, 153

No of Respondents

150

Yes
No
Doesn't matter
Can't say

100
Doesn't
matter, 61

50

No, 36

Can't say, 0
0

-50

77

Interpretation:

For most of the respondents (61.2%) facilities like Fun stations,

Play stations, Junk food stalls, PVRs affect positively their choice of retail outlet
or mall. Definitely this denotes the importance of these facilities as it is the driving force for
most of the respondents and people want a complete shopping experience.

Q10. How you grade Vishal Mega Mart as a big retail chain ?
a) The best
b) Better
c) Good
d) Bad
e) worst
The best

Better

Good

Bad

Worst

00

43

207

00

00

No. of
Respondents

250
Good, 207

No of Respondents

200

150

No. of Respondents
Better

100

Good
Bad
Worst

50

Better, 43

0
0

No. of
Respondents, 0
2
3

Bad, 0
4

Worst, 0
6

-50

Interpretation: T& Finally this question was asked in order to identify the level of grading
of Vishal Mega Mart by its customers in comparison to other retail chains.
& the result shows that most of the respondents (82.8%) are giving it good position, which is only
one step greater than bad & according to very few respondents (17.2%) it is better than other
retail chains.

78

79

CONCLUSIONS
1) From the above research done on the trends of Indian retail industry,
following

conclusion will be drawn:-

Indian retail industry has metamorphosed from kiranas (pop and mom
stores) to big space super markets.

The unorganized retailing has overtaken by the organized retailing though

the share of organized retailing is very less in current scenario.

Organized retailing is mostly seen in urban areas due to more disposable

income of this population.

Now the format of retailing has changed a lot to give more buying
experience to consumers.

Indians prefer to shop at modern trade (super markets, hypermarket etc.)

due to higher standards of hygiene and attractive ambience.

Changes in lifestyle demand for global trends have given thrust on the
growth of specialty shops etc.

Consumer durables are another promising sector because, with increasing

purchasing power, consumers tend to spend the most on this category.

As government is continuing its plans to liberalize FDI in the retail sector

in India, foreign companies like Wal-Mart are waiting on the threshold.

Malls have mushroomed in various locations and they become the

centres of entertainment for the new generation.

Rural markets emerging as a huge opportunity for retailers reflected in the

share of the rural market across most categories of consumption.

80

2) On the basis of the study of consumer behavior of Vishal Mega Mart, it can be
safely concluded that various factors affect buying behavior of retail
consumers differently at different levels. These factors have to be taken in
consideration while deciding and targeting the consumers. If the Vishal Mega
Mart focuses and targets on recent trends of Indian Retail Industry priority
wise, definitely the outcome will be very favorable for them. The conclusions
drawn from the study of their consumer behavior is as follows:

Today customers want a complete shopping experience rather than only to

go & purchase the products & to get this shopping experience they prefer
to go to malls or those retail chains, which provide it to them.

Some of the consumers of Vishal Mega Mart are loyal towards it,but
loyalty of most of them depends on their requirements & convenience.

Their level of satisfaction from

Ambience : Average
Customer dealing : Good & Average
Product quality : Good
Schemes : Very good, Good & Average
After sales services : Good
Security measures : Good

Some of its customers are able to locate their preferred product easily,
but some of get it tough too, which shows the inefficiency in display &
Visual Merchandising of their employee.

The survey shows that there are many of the customers, who are unaware
of their in store brands products in food mart section.

81

82

SUGGESTIONS
First of all, Vishal Mega Mart should provide Fun stations, Play stations,
Junk food stalls etc. to its consumers that they could get a complete shopping
experience, what they actually want.
It should start some customer loyalty programs for its regular customers.
For instance : If a customer does a shopping of 1000,hell get 10% discount
on next purchasing or, there may be lucky draw, gift coupons etc. for them.

The next effort should be to make some investment in improving the interiors
of their respective establishments to make shopping an enjoyable experience
for the customer.
Sales executives should be trained properly about how to deal with customers,
proper Display of products & Visual Merchandising, Colour Blocking, so
that customers could easily locate their preferred products.
It should use different kind of Sales Promotion Tools to make aware to its
customers about their in store brands products.
It should start home delivery services on the order of more than 1000 Rs.
It should provide more hygienic and attractive environment & ambience to its
customers.
As its target segment is lower-middle income group, but nowadays it should
target the middle & middle-upper income group also due to more chances of
profit from them.

83

The message, therefore, for the Vishal Mega Marts is to closely examine what
changes are taking place in their immediate vicinity, and analyse whether their
current market offers a potential redevelopment of the area into a more
modern multi-option destination.
It also needs to make substantial investments in understanding/acquiring some
advanced expertise in developing more accurate and scientific demand
forecasting models.

84

85

LIMITATIONS

The reliability always depends upon the responses of respondents how sincerely
they have given answer.

Constraint of time and resources limited the scope of study.

86

87

QUESTIONNAIRE
Dear Sir/Madam,
Q1. How frequently you visit Vishal Mega Marts?
a) More than once in a week
b) Once in a week
c) Once in a month
d) Not estimated
Q2. Which type of retail outlet would you prefer for shopping?
a) Mom & pop shops
b) Retail as separate outlet
c) Shopping malls
d) Anyone of them
Q3. How deep is your attachment with Vishal Mega Marts?
a) Loyal
b) Loyal to some extent (first choice)
c) Depends upon the requirements and convenience
d) Disloyal
Q4. Level of satisfaction in Vishal Mega Mart from

Very good

Good

1) Ambience
2) Customer
Dealing

88

Average

Poor

3) Product
Quality
4) Schemes
5) After Sales
Services
6) Security
Measures
Q5. To locate your preferred product in Vishal Mega Mart is
a) Very easy
b) Easy
c) A little bit tough
d) Tough
Q6. Do you purchase the in store brands products of Vishal Mega Mart in
Foodmart section?
a) Always
b) Mostly
c) Sometimes
d) No
Q7. If no, whats the reason?
a) Quality
b) Price
c) Brand Loyalty
d) Awareness

Q8. Would you prefer home delivery services if Vishal Mega Mart offers ?

89

a) Yes
b) Somewhere
c) Cant say now
d) No

Q9. Do facilities like Fun stations, Play stations, Junk food stalls, PVRs attract
you to go to any mall or retail store ?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Doesnt matter
d) Cant say

Q10. How you grade Vishal Mega Mart as a big retail chain ?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)

The best
Better
Good
Bad
worst

90

91

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY by C. R. Kothari

INDIAN RETAIL SECTOR:A Primer by Mehrotra, Nitin
RETAIL INDUSTRY :SHANGING TRENDS by Kesksr, Dhananjay.

WEBSITES
www.vishalmegamart.net
www.imagesretail.com
www.indiaretailbiz.com
www.india-reports.com
www.business.mapsofindia.com
www.retailindustry.about.com
www.marketresearch.com

92