Big Bazaar Project
Big Bazaar Project
Big Bazaar Project
1. INDUSTRY PROFILE
2. COMPANY PROFILE
5. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
5.1 3year balance sheets
5.2 Ratios
2007 – 2008
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that, the project work entitled “COMPANY ANALYSIS REPORT
supervision.
David Gilbert has defined retail as “any business that directs its marketing
efforts towards satisfying the final consumer based up on the organization of
selling goods and services as a means of distribution.
The word “retail” is derived from the French word “retaillier” which implies
“to cut again” or “to break bulk”. This can be applied to the functions carried
out by retailers which include assembling, sorting, standardizing, storing,
selling, providing credit facilities, packing; etc.Thus retailing is asset of
business activities which adds value to the products and services sold to the
consumers for their personal or family use.
Early retailing in India is can be traced back to the weekly haats or gatherings
at the market place where vendors used to put their offerings on sale. The
markets also saw the emergence of local mom and pop stores that are the
common kirana stores selling multiple goods with convenient
availability .Kirana stores have traditionally dominated the Indian retail
market for a long time .Bulk of the retail stores in India are small family run
businesses utilizing predominantly the house hold labor.
The inherent advantages of the un- organized retail sector include low cost
structure, negligible real estate cost, economic labor costs, low tax liabilities
and familiarity with shop loyal customers.
Organized retail began to make its mark in India in the 1970s when shops like
Raymonds, Nallis and Bata were in the market through their exclusive stores or
franchisees .The early 1980s witnessed the emergence of organized retail stores
such as “Akbarallys” in Mumbai and “Spencers”in chennai.
These stores later evolved in to multi chain outlets and were the first to establish the
concept of organized retail in India.
Retailing, the biggest private sector industry in the world ,is one of the prime
movers of an economy .One of the significant drivers for formal real estate and
urban development ,it accounts for 10% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
of the most developed countries. Globally, retailing is big business –worth a
staggering of $6.6tn according to recent report submitted by McKinsey & Co.-
and much of it is accounted for by organized retailing.
INDUSTRY EVOLUTION
At year end of 2000 the size of the Indian organized retail industry is estimated at Rs.
13,000 crore
RECENT TRENDS
Favorable demographics
Growth in income
Increasing population of women
Raising aspirations: Value added goods sales
IT is a tool that has been used by retailers ranging from Amazon.com to eBay
to radically change buying behavior across the globe.
‘E-tailing’ slowly making its presence felt.
The recent years have witnessed rapid transformation and vigorous profits in
Indian retail stores across various categories. This can be contemplated as a
result of the changing attitude of Indian consumers and their overwhelming
acceptance to modern retail formats. Asian markets witness a shift in trend
from traditional retailing to organized retailing driven by the liberalizations
on Foreign Direct Investments. For example, in China there was a drastic
structural development after FDI was permitted in retailing. India has entered
a stage of positive economic development which requires liberalization of the
retail market to gain a significant enhancement.
India is on the radar screen in the retail world and global retailers and at their
wings seeking entry into the Indian retail market. The market is growing at a
steady rate of 11-12 percent and accounts for around 10 percent of the
country’s GDP. The inherent attractiveness of this segment lures retail giants
and investments are likely to sky rocket with an estimate of Rs 20-25 billion in
the next 2-3 years, and over Rs 200 billion by end of 2010. Indian retail market
is considered to be the second largest in the world in terms of growth
potential.
Availability and cost of retail space is one major area where Government
intervention is necessary. Liberalizing policy guidelines for FDI needs focus as
well. Proper training facilities for meeting the increasing requirements of
workers in the sector would need the attention of both Government and the
industry. Competition for experienced personnel would lead to belligerence
between retailers and higher rates of attrition, especially during the phase of
accelerated growth of the retail industry. The process of avoiding middlemen
and providing increased income to farmers through direct procurement by
retail chains need the attention of policy makers. Taking care of supply chain
management, mass procurement arrangements and inventory management
are areas that need the focus of entrepreneurs.
The prospects are very encouraging. The first steps towards sophisticated
retailing are being taken, and "Crossroads" is the best example of this
awakening. More such malls have been planned in the other big cities of
India.
Even though India has well over 5 million retail outlets of all sizes and styles
(or non-styles), the country sorely lacks anything that can resemble a
retailing industry in the modern sense of the term. This presents
international retailing specialists with a great opportunity.
It was only in the year 2000 that the global management consultancy AT
Kearney put a figure to it: Rs. 400,000 crore (1 crore = 10 million) which will
increase to Rs. 800,000 crore by the year 2005 – an annual increase of 20 per
cent.
As much as 96 per cent of the 5 million-plus outlets are smaller than 500
square feet in area. This means that India per capita retailing space is about 2
square feet (compared to 16 square feet in the United States). India's per
capita retailing space is thus the lowest in the world (source: KSA Technopak
(I) Pvt Ltd, the India operation of the US-based Kurt Salmon Associates).
From a size of only Rs.20,000 crore, the ORGANISED retail industry will
grow to Rs. 160,000 crore by 2005. The TOTAL retail market, however, as
indicated above will grow 20 per cent annually from Rs. 400,000 crore in 2000
to Rs. 800,000 crore by 2005 (source: survey by AT Kearney)
Given the size, and the geographical, cultural and socio-economic diversity
of India, there is no role model for Indian suppliers and retailers to adapt or
expand in the Indian context.
The first challenge facing the organised retail industry in India is:
competition from the unorganised sector. Traditional retailing has
established in India for some centuries. It is a low cost structure, mostly
owner-operated, has negligible real estate and labour costs and little or no
taxes to pay. Consumer familiarity that runs from generation to generation is
one big advantage for the traditional retailing sector.
In contrast, players in the organised sector have big expenses to meet, and
yet have to keep prices low enough to be able to compete with the traditional
sector. High costs for the organised sector arises from: higher labour costs,
social security to employees, high quality real estate, much bigger premises,
comfort facilities such as air-conditioning, back-up power supply, taxes etc.
Organised retailing also has to cope with the middle class psychology that
the bigger and brighter a sales outlet is, the more expensive it will be.
The above should not be seen as a gloomy foreboding from global retail
operators. International retail majors such as Benetton, Dairy Farm and Levis
have already entered the market. Lifestyles in India are changing and the
concept of "value for money" is picking up.
India's first true shopping mall – complete with food courts, recreation
facilities and large car parking space – was inaugurated as lately as in 1999 in
Mumbai. (this mall is called "Crossroads").
COMPANY PROFILE:
Big Bazaar
History: Pantaloon began as a textile and fabrics manufacturer in 1987 .It entered
the retail business in 1997 with the opening of the first Pantaloon Retail store in
Kolkota .Its promoter Kishore Biyani has kept on modifying his business model at
each stage of the industries development by demonstrating an uncanny instinct for
coming out with alternative formats .
According to him, “There isn’t a single formula for success in India’s retail market ”
and “The businesses that succeed are those with the biggest ideas and the right tools
to execute them .” Currently, Biyanis Future group commands a retail empire
comprising 55 Pantaloon Retail stores , 51 Big Bazaars (hyper market discount stores)
and 77Food Bazaars (food &Grocery outlets).In addition it operates “Central” mall in
some cities which provides various facilities like restaurants, shopping
arcades ,toys ,books and life cycle products all under one roof .
Big Bazaar
Big Bazaar, is the chain of retail stores of the big banner Pantaloon Retail
(India Ltd., which in turn is a segment of the Kishore Biyani, regulated
Future Group of Companies. Moreover the customer friendly ambiance and
the organized retailing of products also makes Big Bazaar one of the successful
retail companies in India.
.
KISHORE BIYANI
The company operates their chain of super markets under the brand names of
Big Bazaar - Discount stores
E-Care - Customer Service Support
E-ZONE - Consumer Durables
Food Bazaar - Exclusive food market
Central - Hypermarket
Pantaloons - Fashion apparels
E-Care - the special post-purchase customer service support the service and
support at EZone will be unparalleled with the special 'E-Care' customer support
centre. E-Care is a special, dedicated support system designed to offer the best
customer service after computers, laptops, handy cams, MP 3 players and mobile
phones. Where the Purchase of any product at EZone.
Pantaloon Retail was recently awarded the International Retailer of the Year 2007
by the US-based National Retail Federation (NRF) and the Emerging Market
Retailer of the Year 2007 at the World Retail Congress held in Barcelona.
Pantaloon Retail is the flagship company of Future Group, a business group
catering to the entire Indian consumption space.
Future Group
Future Group is one of the country’s leading business groups present in
retail, asset management, consumer finance, insurance, retail media, retail spaces
and logistics. The group’s flagship company, Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited
operates over 7 million square feet of retail space, has over 1000 stores across 53
cities in India and employs over 25,000 people. Some of its leading retail formats
include, Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Central, Food Bazaar, Home Town, eZone, Depot,
Future Money and online retail format, futurebazaar.com.
Future Group companies includes, Future Capital Holdings, Future Generali India
Indus League Clothing and Galaxy Entertainment that manages Sports Bar, Brew
Bar and Bowling Co. Future Capital Holdings, the group’s financial arm, focuses
on asset management and consumer credit. It manages assets worth over $1 billion
that are being invested in developing retail real estate and consumer-related
brands and hotels.
The group’s joint venture partners include Italian insurance major, Generali,
French retailer ETAM group, US-based stationary products retailer, Staples Inc
and UK-based Lee Cooper and India-based Talwalkar’s, Blue Foods and Liberty
Shoes.
Future Group’s vision is to, “deliver Everything, Everywhere, Everytime to Every
Indian Consumer in the most profitable manner.” The group considers ‘Indian-
ness’ as a core value and its corporate credo is - Rewrite rules, Retain values.
Group Websites:
futurebazaar.com
futuregroup.in
kshitijfund.com
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.
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 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 and 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.
Major Milestones
1987 Company incorporated as Manz Wear Private Limited. Launch of
Pantaloons trouser, India’s first formal trouser brand.
1991 Launch of BARE, the Indian jeans brand.
1992 Initial public offer (IPO) was made in the month of May.
1994 The Pantaloon Shoppe – exclusive menswear store in franchisee format
launched across the nation. The company starts the distribution of branded
garments through multi-brand retail outlets across the nation.
1995 John Miller – Formal shirt brand launched.
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.
2004 Central – ‘Shop, Eat, Celebrate In The Heart Of Our City’ - India’s first seamless
mall is launched in Bangalore.
2005 Fashion Station - the popular fashion chain is launched
Group enters into joint venture agreements with ETAM Group and
Generali.
2008
The Reid & Taylor Awards for Retail Excellence are an important
feature of the Asia Retail Congress - Asia’s single most
important global platform to promote world-class retail practices - and
are aimed at honouring the best, in Asian Retail scenario. India played
host to Asia Retail Congress 2008.
2007
Most admired retailer of the year: Large format, multi product store:
Big Bazaar
Most admired retailer of the year: Food and Grocery: Food Bazaar
Most admired Retail Company of the year: Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd.
2006
ORGANISATION STRUCTURE:
Mr. Kishore Biyani, Managing Director
Anshuman Singh
Arvind Chaudhary
Damodar Mall
Hans Udeshi
Hemchandra Javeri
Kailash Bhatia
Madhumati Lele
CEO - Services
Rajan Malhotra
Sanjeev Agrawal
CEO - Pantaloons
Vishnu Prasad
Kruben Moodliar
Mayur Toshniwal
Rajesh Joshi
Rohit Malhotra
Sandeep Marwaha
Sanjay Jog
Ushir Bhatt
Executive Board Member
Atul Takle
Prashant Desai
Vinay Shroff
Anand Adukia
TRAINING:
A competent Learning & Development Team is responsible for training
employees at all the levels across the countr y, focusing on primary and
secondary research into various aspects of retail and assessment of training
needs across Knowledge, Skills & Attitude areas. The emphasis is on
creating product and process knowledge through well defined programs
like Praarambh and Parikrama. For the critical front line staff, the
Company's unique outbound residential training program Gurukool
focuses on integrating the mind, body and soul and brings about
measurable attitudinal and behavioral changes. The program has covered
nearly 4,500 employees. The SMILE initiative for training of new Store
Manager's has been created and disseminated to over 100 store managers
by this team. The year under review has witnessed the organization
focusing on Talent Management and Development. A well-the established
system of competency mapping
and assessment centre deployment is in place, and during the year under
review 25 assessment centres were conducted covering 400 associates across
various levels. The training program are conducted to build the skill level
which are mapped with employee's current as well as potential job role
keeping in mind the current and future business needs. In addition, the
Company has tied up with leading business schools and institutes of higher
learning like Welingkars' Institute of Management Development and
Research, KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research,
Chennai Business School, Indira School of Career Studies and Indian
Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, among others. This
has been done to create a strong bench strength of young and dynamic
future store managers and retail professionals. At the same time, it also
provides internal growth opportunities to existing employees through
various customized and innovative program.
Design Management
SWOT Analysis
Strength:
Weakness
1. Less Conversion level : Despite high footfalls, the conversion ratio has
been very low in the retail outlets in a mall as compared to the standalone
counter parts. It is seen that actual conversions of footfall into sales for a
mall outlet is approximately 20-25%. On the other hand, a high street store
of retail chain has an average conversion of about 50-60%. As a result, a
stand-alone store has a ROI (return on investment) of 25-30%; in contrast
the retail majors are experiencing a ROI of 8-10%.
2. Customer Loyalty: Retail chains are yet to settle down with the proper
merchandise mix for the mall outlets. Since the stand-alone outlets were
established long time back, so they have stabilized in terms of footfalls &
merchandise mix and thus have a higher customer loyalty base.
Opportunity
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." Hariyali Bazar" is started by DCM Sriram
group which provides farm related inputs & services. The Godrej group has
launched the concept of 'agri-stores' named "Adhaar" which offers
agricultural products such as fertilizers & animal feed along with the
required knowledge for effective use of the same to the farmers. Pepsi on
the other hand is experimenting with the farmers of Punjab for growing the
right quality of tomato for its tomato purees & pastes.
Threat
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.
Conclusion
To conclude, it can be said that though the global retail industry has
reached its maturity, the Indian retail industry is still at its infancy. But with
the huge potentiality existing in the Indian market, it is expected to grow in
leaps and bounds in the near future.
Instead of comparing the total global retail industry with the Indian retail
industry, lets compare Wal-Mart alone with the Indian retail industry & put
forward few interesting facts:
1. Retail Sales of Wal-Mart for the year 2003 was US $ 25,632.9 Crore; higher
than the size of Indian retail industry.
2. The size of any Wal-Mart store is much higher than the size of any
existing shopping mall in India.
3. Wal-Mart has over 4,800 stores, which is unparallel to any of the India's
large format store.
4. New stores opened annually by Wal-Mart are about 420, much higher
than all organized Indian retailers put together.
5. The sales per hour of $2.2 Crore are incomparable to any retailer in the
world.
6. Wal-Mart has around 30,000 suppliers throughout the world and more
than 600,000 SKU's on its web site, a number that cannot be compared.
8. Time between each Barbie Sale at Wal-Mart is just two seconds (same rate
at which babies are produced in India!)
Overall, it can be said that " Retail Industry" in India will emerge as one of
the best 5 Business sectors in this decade.
Opportunity Threat
Organized retail (4.15%)
Competitors
Evolving consumer
Government policies preference
Unorganized retail
MARKETING PRACTICES AND STRATEGIES
BIG BAZAAR
FOR THE GREAT INDIAN MIDDLE CLASS
Marketing Initiatives
Considering the scope and scale of the consumercentric business, the Company aims
to achievedominance in terms of mindshare of every section of consumers. The
objective is to acquire a dominant mindshare among consumers that is similar and
complimentary to the huge shelfspace the Company has for various merchandise and
categories. Being present in various businesses within the consumption space
requires your Company to develop strong marketing teams that can implement
effective communication strategies. These become far more critical in the current
context, wherein we are entering new categories, t argeting new customer segments
and increasing out footprint in new geographies, cities and town. The Indian
environment demands that we communicate our brand message not only at the
national level, but also in multiple languages and build targeted campaign
for each community to cater to. Keeping in mind the criticality of marketing and
communication initiatives, the Company has developed a multi-tier marketing
department that delivers customized solutions to individual formats, zones and also
works at the Company and national level. The Company is also working with some
of the most well known advertising, branding and communication companies and
media houses to effectively implement these initiatives. One of the best evidence of
the strength of its initiatives was the Sabse Sasta Din celebrations at Big Bazaar stores
across the country that attracted millions customers, many of whom were visiting
Big Bazaar for the first time. Through the year, the Big Bazaar team uses multiple
communication channels, languages and messages to build the brand.
The Company's flagship format, Pantaloons went in for an exciting makeover during
the year under review, the highlight being the signing up of style icons Bipasha Basu
& Zayed Khan as its brand
ambassadors. A multi-media approach was used with the celebrities on radio, TV,
print and outdoor campaigns. Complimenting this were other initiatives like
association with Femina Miss India 2007 Pageant and Pantaloons Channel V VJ
Freshers. The Company is also placing a lot of emphasis on creating and developing
brands that cater to Indian aspirations. A subsidiary Company, Futurebrands, led by
Mr. Santosh Desai, formerly CEO of McCann Erickson India is leading this initiative.
The Company plans to invest significantly in its private label portfolio and hopes to
transform each of the brands in categories like fashion, general merchandise, foot
and consumer durables, into national brands. With 150 million annual footfalls being
registered across it stores, the Company has formed a new subsidiary, Future Media,
that is engaged in creating and delivering media properties within the retail
environment. Retail media is a mature media platform in most developed markets
and this subsidiary has already roped in some of the largest media buyers in the
country to advertise on its network. The Company is leveraging this in-house
expertise and resource to further build its own brands.
It is a unit of Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd and caters to the Great Indian Middle
Class. It was started as a hypermarket format in Mumbai with approx. 50,000 sqft of
space. Its values and missions are to be the best in Value Retailing by providing the
cheapest prices and hence goes the tag-line
It sells variety of merchandise at affordable rates, the prices of which it claims are
lowest in the city but the level of services offered is also very low. Usually the items
are clubbed together for offers as on the lines of Wal-mart and Carrefour and it also
offers weekend discounts. It currently operates out of 64 stores and top 15 stores
register a cumulative footfall of 27 lakh a month on an average.
The following graph shows the retail life cycle and we can say that Big Bazaar is
currently at the Growth Stage.
Cash flow
Flows
Maturity
Growth
Decline
Introduction
Time
OBSERVATION:
There were various observations made from the time I entered the store. They can be
summed up as follows:
Verticals inside the store relates to each category of product
o Food Bazaar
o Depot- books
o M-bazaar
o Electronic Bazaar
o Furniture Bazaar
o Footwear Bazaar
Trolleys are not easily available, especially on other than ground floor.
Little attention to cleanliness. Dust on shelves as well as some product items.
In-house packaging not efficiently done.
Crowded store interiors. Items are arranged in a cluttered way. Tried to stock
maximum number in limited area.
Sign boards are not prominent. Lack of direction creates confusion.
Family crowd is evident. Youth comprises of only around 10% of the crowd.
Food Bazaar very efficiently managed. It is a bit over-staffed but layout is very
good. Shelf space is used very well to stock products with clear distinction.
POSITIONING STRATEGY
We can get an idea about how competitive this retail sector is, by looking at the
degree of 5 forces. Threat of substitute is minimal and supplier bargaining power is
also less, but the rest of the forces are deciding factor in the company’s marketing
strategy. They being ‘high’, means degree of competitiveness is also high. Big Bazaar
is involved in bulk purchases so bargaining power of suppliers is low. The retail
chain will not accept very low margins.
The intensity of each and every force of Porter’s model is ‘high.’ This means that the
shop owner is struggling with very less control over his own operations and his
strategies are affected by external factors. Again the competitiveness in this market is
very high and market share for each shop is low due to high number of stores. This
gives more bargaining power to both buyers and suppliers. It is a very easy market to
enter, therefore threats of entrants is high too.
4Ps OF MARKETING
Marketing mix is a deciding factor in formulating marketing techniques for the success
of a particular brand, commodity or company. The components of marketing mix are:
Product
Price
Promotion
Place
The survey which was conducted gives the effect of each and every component of the
4Ps on the consumer’s mind. These components have a huge bearing on the retail battle
between Big Bazaar and Kirana stores.
PRODUCT:
Big Bazaar
Big Bazaar offers the maximum variety for each category of product and this is cited by
the customers as one of the main reasons why they like shopping at the hypermarket.
The product is the same in every store in the city but the brand options are more in Big
Bazaar. Also, the quantity for each product is not limited to large packs only.
Observations also revealed that local brands of popular commodities, like diapers,
sugar, wheat flour garments etc, are very popular in Big Bazaar stores. These products
are never advertised but offer huge margin on sales. In this way lower middle class
customers are targeted well. The commodities sold by the retail chain also includes its
“own products” which get a ready distribution network. The own products of Big
Bazaar include My World fashion magazine which is not available anywhere else. So
costs are low for such products.
Kirana stores
Products at kirana stores are limited. Actually they have very less shelf space. The store
owner does not have many options regarding the range of products that can be sold
because area of the shop is also not very large. There is not much variety in each
product i.e. the brand choice available to customers is low. Kirana stores usually avoid
keeping expensive products which cost more than Rs. 200 and they limit themselves to
cheaper and daily use items.
Conclusion:
Big Bazaar scores high on the product part of marketing mix.
Customer has more choices of brand in Big Bazaar rather than kirana store.
Customers like touching the product and selecting it themselves before buying.
The customers trust retail chains with quality of the product. They feel food
products of Big Bazaar will have no adulteration. This quality is not assured in a
kirana store.
Cheap and local brands are heavily stocked in Big Bazaar which make it easier to
attract lower-middle class category of customers.
PRICE:
Big Bazaar
Price is the critical point in a competitive industry. Big Bazaar works on a low cost
model. It considers its discounted price as its USP. There is an average discount of 7-8%
on all items in respect to their MRP. Prices of products are low because it is able to
secure stock directly from the manufacturer. There are huge synergies in terms of bulk
purchasing, central warehousing and transportation. These all factors help the retailer
to keep low prices. Survey indicated that low prices were the biggest factor in
customers’ mind while coming to Big Bazaar. It has never focused on giving great
services, but laid emphasis only on low prices to attract crowd.
Kirana stores
Price is a very biased issue in a kirana store. Interview with some store owners revealed
that general policy regarding prices in a store is to give ready discount to its regular
customers but to charge the MRP from new customers. Departmental stores generally
work on tight margins of 6-7%. Change in prices is directly passed on to the customers.
Conclusion:
Almost everything has some kind of discount in Big Bazaar.
It clubs small quantities to make bigger packs and then lower prices which
kirana stores are unable to do.
It considers price to be the biggest attraction for all customers.
Consumers accept the fact that they come from faraway places because it is
cheap in Big Bazaar for bulk shopping.
It is not possible for kirana stores to give hefty discounts on all items.
Customers feel same price for all customers as a plus point of Big Bazaar as
compared to differential price policy of kirana stores.
Some customers feel cash discount is fine but bulk offer deals are of no use
because you end up getting more than you want which is a waste.
PROMOTION:
Big Bazaar
Big Bazaar has huge promotion budgets. The biggest idea behind all advertisements is
to make people do bulk shopping. After talking to the store manager I found out that
there are 2 types of promotional strategies. One is the holistic advertisement which
promotes the brand and creates awareness among people. It is not targeted at
promoting each store but only creates an image of Big Bazaar as low-cost shopping
option. The store has advertised through TV, road shows and also started reality show-
typed promotional campaign “The Big Bazaar Challenge.” Promotions like “Sabse Sasta
Din” are a very successful strategy to get footfall.
Other type of promotion is the particular store oriented promotion which includes
speaking on the loudspeaker in nearby blocks. Leaflets are given in local newspaper.
There are promotional efforts even inside the store. During the survey, it was noticed
that Buy 2 Get 1 Free type of promotions are very common. Original prices are cut
down and new prices are shown, of which customer takes quick notice. There are
loyalty schemes which reward regular clients. Promotion is also done through co-
branded credit cards with ICICI bank.
Kirana Stores
Kirana stores are involved in almost negligible promotion activity. They rely mainly on
advertisement from the manufacturer of goods to pull in customers. They promote
certain brands by putting names on shelves etc but they do not advertise themselves as
preferred store for local people. One reason can be they work on tight budgets which
have no scope for advertisements. Leaflet promotion maybe done once while
inaugurating new store, but not during the course of existence.
Conclusion:
Retail chain Big Bazaar cannot survive without promotions on national or
regional level.
A big ad budget helps it to get large scale of operations.
Customers accept the fact that advertisement campaign of Big Bazaar did
influence them in their buying behavior.
Its Buy 2 Get 1 Free strategy influences the customer mindset a lot once they
enter the store.
Customers feel loyalty card schemes make them come again and again to the
store.
Promotion of kirana store is a rare event.
PLACE:
Big Bazaar
Place means the location of the business. Big Bazaar has always worked on low-cost
locations. It targets semi-urban population with its placement. Its strategy is to find a
cheap location and it never goes for hot spots in the city. The talk with the manager
revealed that the Teghoria store was opened when it was scarcely populated. Even in
Gurgaon, Big Bazaar chose Sahara Mall instead of Metropolitan or City Centre, which
are more popular than Sahara Mall. It relied on promotional activities to make up for
unattractive locations. The channel of place is company owned stores to have complete
control. Another strategy used by Big Bazaar to overcome location disadvantage is use
of internet. It has launched a merchandise retailing website www.futurebazaar.com
which targets high-end customers ready to use credit cards. Therefore Big Bazaar has
made headway into a potentially high-yielding sector of online trade. Internet as place
has put them in a profitable position because there is minimal expense of maintaining a
website. The promotion of this website is done through advertisement on Google. The
website is put as sponsored link.
Kirana Stores
Kirana stores are always placed in crowded market area which is located in each block
and sector. On talking to the owners, it was found that some stores were inherited by
them from their father, so they had no choice of location. Otherwise it is common
practice to find busy street corners to get maximum customers. Location is important
because buying decision is on impetus during day-to-day life. So the customer goes on
for the nearest store. The store owners are ready to pay more rent for better locations
because their promotion activity is negligible.
Conclusion:
Location is something which is permanent. So cautious decisions are taken while
selecting place.
Big Bazaar refrains from high-end locations for its business.
Some customers travel from far places to the store. So place factor has less
influence on them.
Semi-urban customers still prefer kirana shops, so location of retail chain should
be near to them because they will not travel too far.
Kirana shops make sure availability of goods nearest to the residential area.
PROFITABILITY
Profit is the basic motive behind the running of any business. Both retail formats have
their own budgets, future projections and financial limitations. Profitability measures
the efficiency of operations. It also helps us decide the better option amongst the two.
Big Bazaar and local departmental stores work on different scales of operation. The
deciding factor here is investment capability.
Big Bazaar
This retail chain is present in all major cities of the country. And this means there is
huge requirement of capital. The stores generally occupy 30,000 square feet of space on
an average. In the wake of rising real estate prices, “place” component of marketing mix
becomes an increasingly important factor in deciding future strategies. The store
included in the survey revealed that they have average sales of 8 lacs per day. But they
do not disclose their profits for particular store. Big Bazaar is a brand under Pantaloon
Retail (India) Ltd. The net worth of the company is Rs 526.88 crores. This includes all
the investments made by the promoters and subsequent reserves created during the life
of the business. The profit after tax in financial year 2005-06 was 64 crores on revenues
of 1871 crores. This means a net profit ratio of 3.42%. this is very low for a national retail
chain but it highlights the fact that the sector has a huge potential and will generate
more profits once the government policies are in favor of opening up the sector further.
Low profit can be attributed to
High cost of research required to study each and every region of the country
The large number of staff needed to manage all the stores
Burgeoning real estate prices which leads to high rentals
Huge promotional activities undertaken to ensure enough footfall
Kirana Stores
Kirana stores have only one source of income i.e. margins available on selling FMCG
products. The store owners revealed that in earlier days, they used to enjoy margins of
well over 11% on products from HUL, P&G and Marico. But now the margins have
slipped to around 7%. Another thing to be noticed is that credit period given by
distributors has also come down significantly, though the shop owners refused to give
details on that. Average daily sales of a Salt Lake kirana shop covering 180 square feet
in busy AE block market stands at Rs 6000-7000. Profits made each month are
confidential information which none of the owners wanted to give. But considering the
margins and overhead expenses, they might be making a daily profit of Rs 350.
A NEW BEGINNING
The survey has revealed major distinctions between Big Bazaar and local kirana stores.
A new entrant would like to adopt the best of both formats to sustain in this
competitive environment. We will study the best practices to be followed by an
individual who wants enter the sector. An individual, when starting afresh, will not be
able to gather enough resources to start a whole new retail chain. Therefore we would
study the desired marketing mix of a departmental store to be opened in a market area
of Salt Lake City. The major aim will be to give the Big Bazaar experience in a relatively
small departmental store. The finances can be arranged through family money which
will be invested in the business and subsequent loans from banking institutions.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
PLACE
The new store should have a central location in the market because customers will not
prefer one store over the other. They would simply go the most accessible one.
Proximity of location to places like coaching institutes, offices etc would be an added
advantage. The store should be spread over an area of at least 900 square feet. The store
should be such where customers can roam around and feel the products for themselves.
Survey revealed that many customers consider shopping as time pass, hence they take
their time in selecting items. So there should be enough walking space in between
product racks. Over the counter purchase is not desired anymore. The place should be
well lit and air conditioned. All the products in all sizes should be on display.
PRODUCT
Product variety is a big factor in determining customer response. The owner should not
limit itself to brands of few companies only. The range of items available should suit the
local requirements. There should be a balance between branded goods and local
products. The shelf space should be efficiently utilized to give maximum exposure of
the product to the public. The store should include beauty products in its display
because women are chief buyers in departmental stores. The products should be clearly
categorized as high-end or low-end. The customers should be assured of quality of non-
branded items like loose packs of wheat flour, pulses etc. Diversification of product
type is recommended. It should stock perishable food items, instant eatables, FMCG
goods like toiletries.
PRICE
Price of goods depends on the success of the store over a period of time. Margins are
very tight. It is not possible for the owner to match the prices and discount schemes of
retail chains. The store should start off with inaugural discounts to get attention. These
discounts should be slowly discarded. The owner should recognize high potential
customers and give some relief off the MRP mentioned to gain loyalty. This will help
the store in long term. One way to offer better prices is by having local products like
biscuits etc which are of assured quality. This satisfies the demands of low-end
customers and local products also give better margins. The store needs to make sure
that no other kirana shop is offering considerable discount compared to its own prices.
PROMOTION
A departmental store which operates in a particular locality does not need full fledged
promotional campaigns. But for a start up, the store should distribute leaflets in local
newspapers to create awareness among residents. The leaflet should include special
features of stores with maximum emphasis on inaugural discounts on items. This
should help it create a favorable ‘word of mouth’ scenario. Another way is to talk to
general public and ask for their suggestions on improving the layout. In this way,
people will feel happy about going to the shop and shopping. The store should use in-
store advertising to make best use of large floor space by putting up discount boards
inside the store above a particular product as well as just outside the shop.
In this way, we can make use of the marketing mix for a new venture which belongs to
the unorganized retail sector. Application of the best marketing practices of organized
retail stores combined with benefits of accessibility of local kirana shops helps to ensure
success.
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE:
Ratio analysis
“Ratio analysis is a study of relationship among various financial
factors in a business”
Ratio analysis is a technique of analyzing the financial
statements by computating ratios. In other words, it is a
process of determining and interpreting relationship between
the items of financial statements to provide a meaningful
understanding of the performance and financial position of an
enterprise.
MEANING:
A study of relationship between various items or group of items
in financial statements is known as ratio analysis.
Ratio’s can be expressed in the following ways:
PROPORTIONS
RATE
PERCENTAGE
With the help of ratio analysis the data given in the financial
statement and make it understandable.
It helps the management in forecasting and co – ordination.
It helps in guiding the financial part of the business.
Comparision of performance of one business with that of
other business doing the same type of business can be
made.
It helps in raising finance from financial institution.
PROFITABLITY RATIOS
Gross profit ratio
Net profit ratio
Operating ratio
Return on investment
Return on equity capital / Earning per share
Return on share holders funds
LIQUIDITY RATIOS
Current ratio
Quick ratio
SOLVENCY RATIOS
Debt equity ratio
Interest coverage ratio
Debts to total funds ratio
Proprietary ratio
ACTIVITY RATIOS
Stock turnover ratio
Debtors turnover ratio
Average collection period
Working capital turnover ratio
Fixed assets turnover ratio
Capital turnover ratio
FORMULAS TO BE USED IN THE RATIO ANALYSIS
o PROFITABILITY RATIOS:
Net profit ratio: This ratio establishes the relationship between net
profit and net sales. This ratio gives the overall profitability position
of the business.
It is calculated as follows:
Net profit= Net profit after taxes x100
Net sales
o LIQUIDITY RATIOS
The word liquidity means ability to pay short term obligations when it
becomes due. A liquid asset is an asset that can be easily converted into
cash.
Current ratio: This ratio establishes the relationship between current
assets and current liabilities.
It is calculated as follows:
Current ratio = Current assets____
Current liabilities
A CURRENT RATIO OF 2:1 IS GENERALLY
CONSIDERED AS GOOD.
Liquid /Quick /Acid test ratio: This ratio establishes the relationship
between liquid assets with that of current liabilities with the help of
this ratio.
It is calculated as follows:
Liquid ratio = ___liquid assets____
Current liabilities
Where liquid assets = all current assets- closing stock- prepaid expenses.
o SOLVENCY RATIOS:
The term solvency means the ability of the business to
pay its obligations on the due date. Some payments are
to be paid in short run and some other payments in the
long run.
Debt equity ratio: This ratio establishes the relationship between
debt & equity with the help of this ratio one can find out how much is
the owners fund when compared to outsiders funds.
It is calculated as follows:
Debt equity ratio = __debt___
Equity
Where debt= All long term borrowings
= debentures and long term loan
Where equity= equity share capital+reserves & surplus.
o ACTIVITY RATIOS:
These ratios help in judging the efficiency of the firm in managing
the assets are converted into sales is captured by activity ratios.
Stock turnover ratio: This ratio establishes the relationship between
cost of the goods sold with that of average stock.
It is calculated as follows:
Stock turnover ratio= ____cost of goods sold (or) net sales___
Average stock
Where CGS= Net sales – Gross profit
Average stock= opening stock +closing stock
2
If CGS figure is not available in the problem then take sales as
numerator.
Ratios
4000
(Rs.in crores)
3000
2000
1000
0
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Years
10
8
6
(Rs)
4
2
0
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
year
50
0
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
years
ROCE (%)
25.00%
(Rs. in crores)
20.00%
15.00%
10.00%
5.00%
0.00%
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
years
400.00%
(Rs.in crores)
300.00%
200.00%
100.00%
0.00%
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
years