INTRODUCTION

 Branding starts with an objective assessment of the current

position of the brand versus its competition - measurements of
competitive share, market growth, and projections for the
industry.

 Customer Analysis 
 Competitor Analysis
 Internal Analysis

 Market research, the cornerstone of a brand audit, is essential

to true understanding of how the market defines your brand.
• A study to introduce a new Brand in the store is carried out.
A survey regarding the customer preferences about a new
brand was done and analyzed.

• The competitor’s survey also helped in determining the

brands and merchandise type missing at Ladies section of
Lifestyle.

• In the end the project was concluded by proposing the ideal

percentage area of western, ethnic and lingerie in the ladies
wear section and sales and spf was improved.
PROJECT OBJECTIVE
 To observe and understand the Brands on the floor of an MBO,
to see how each of them contributes to the total sales.
 To understand how the same brands at different MBOs, with
same merchandise and price, still have various factors to affect
their sales.
 The introduction of new brand was done to understand what are
the various factors to be taken care of before taking an initiative
like this and how the absence or presence of one type of
merchandise or brand effect the sales of a MBO.
 To increase the Sales at any given day in the women’s western
wear section, and to have loyal customers.
WALKING THE TIGHT ROPE
 CHANGING ECONOMY AND CONSUMERS

 POWER OF MEDIA

 POINT OF SALE PROMOTIONS

 EMPLOYEES AS STRENGTH

SOURCE: Images Yearbook Business of Fashion 2009

 The five commandments for retailer from the marketing,
communication and brand building standpoints are:

 Make e-retailing part of your primary focus, and hence

increase your spend on digital media, ROI will be better.
 More for less should be the mantra in terms of marketing and
media budgets.
 Use social media like Facebook, or Linkedin to create word
of mouth publicity.
 Become media owners yourself, and leverage revenues from
advertising in your own stores to a captive target audience.
 Build for the future.

SOURCE: Images Yearbook Business of Fashion 2009

METHODOLOGY
 BRAND ANALYSIS
• There are 17 Brands at Lifestyle at present, in the western wear
section.

• The product mix of the brands , was studied in detail, with price
range and also the area occupied by each of them. Then the sales
per sq/ ft was calculated.

• The sales per day were accounted both during the regular period
and during the sale period.

• Sales per month, both according to the data were recorded too.

• Then the target customer and the age group was defined.

BRANDS ANALYSIS AT LIFESTYLE

CONCLUSION
BRANDS SALE/SQ FT REMARKS
WITH LOW
SALE
1.It was concluded that UCB 15.15 POOR
most of the Brands in the
ALLEN 16.26 POOR
Western wear section, SOLLY
had low sales/ sq ft as USI 18.5 POOR
compared to the standard BOSSINI 19.6 POOR
sales.
VAN 20.32 POOR
HEUSEN
•The target spf at LEVI’S 34.72 MODERATE
Lifestyle is 30. PEPE 34.72 MODERATE
JEANS
•The brands not meeting CODE 34.72 MODERATE
it have to be reworked FOREVER 41.66 MODERATE
upon. NEW
1. UCB
 No shop in shop at Lifestyle
 No accessories available
 The location is distractive
 No fashion stock available

2. ALLEN SOLLY & VAN HEUSEN

 Unattractive display
 Display of only basic merchandise
 Location of the brand in one corner

3. USI
 Brand location next to lingerie
 Target market – youth, should be next to similar int. brands
QUESTIONNARE ANALYSIS
 PROFESSION •Major customers of Lifestyle is the
youth.
9% •Should focus on Brands and
merchandise which are formal, for
SALARIED everyday work wear and easy to
25%
STUDENT maintain.
66% •For the student category, the
BUSINESS merchandise should be trendier,
fresher looking, low maintenance
and bright colors with lower
pricing.
RESIDENCE LOCATION More hoardings and advertising
12% should be done in those areas to
7% aware the people about the store
SECUNDRABAD and make an impact such that they
41% TARNAKA come to Lifestyle to shop
13% BANJARA HILLS
irrespective of the distance.
HI TECH
AMEERPET
OTHER
11%
16%
 MARITAL STATUS
•Marriage is a major factor
17% determining the choice of the
women when it comes to shopping
in western wear.
MARRIED
SINGLE
•More of Indo- western should be
83% introduced to encourage shopping by
the married women too.

AGE GROUP
•Merchandise should be of the latest
4%
trends, and available in sizes
considering the general body type of
33%
Indian women between 20 to 25 years
15-20 of age may range from petite to being
20-25 obese
25-30 •Have more of youth brands to attract
63% women from 15 to 20 years of age
•More Indo-western and Formals for
25 to 30 years age group
0%
MONTHLY HOUSEHOLD •The store should have brands that
0% are comparatively low in prices, and
INCOME
aim the middle class as a target.
24%
•This would help attract the middle
< 10,000 class and increase footfalls as well as
38%
10,000-20,000 sales.
20,000-40,000 •Contrary to this it should also have
50,000-1,00,000 merchandise which has the target
>1,00,000 market as high class customers who
38%
prefer to buy International brands,
like FCUK, Calvin Klein etc.

Have new schemes like special

discounts, for particular days in the
week or particular hours, for
example in the noon etc. this would
give customers more reasons to
come more often and by changing
the product display from time to
time would also help in getting their
attraction.
 •Only 12% know about it through
the hoardings.
•This clearly shows that the store
hardly has hoarding around the city
for people to know.
•The store needs to spend more on
media and advertising, to attract new
customers in town or even the ones
loyal to other stores.
 

0% INFLUENCING FACTOR •Lower priced merchandise, at par with

the latest trends should be introduced.
16%
11%
• Besides the quality of the products
should be kept in mind too.
LOCATION •The ambience of the store should be
AMBIENCE made more comfortable, cleaner and
BRANDS VARIETY attractive.
VALUE FOR MONEY •The first step towards this is the Visual .
•The music also plays an important part
73%
and should be played keeping in mind the
taste of the customers in general.
  
3% •With 97% of the people agreeing
CONVENIENT LOCATION
with the convenience of the
location, there is no doubt that
location is not the reason for low
sales at any point of time.
YES • Since the store is located in the
NO middle of the twin cities, it is easily
accessible from anywhere in the
city.
97%

CLUTTERED WOMEN SECTION •The shelves are over stacked

and untidy.
•The number of merchandise on
21% a fixture is exceeding both, the
ideal and the physical capacity.
YES The garments are not displayed
NO properly and are falling off the
racks.
79%
•This gives a very shabby
appearance to the entire section
as a whole
AVAILABILITY OF SIZES •The major drawback with
Lifestyle is that it does not have
17% plus sizes.
• Brands like GIA, which target
large and plus sizes should be
YES introduced or such sizes should be
NO introduced in the private label, as
these are sizes women in India
83%
have a problem to find, especially
in Western wear.

•The brand targets more of the youth

VALUE FOR MONEY and the young women, who are ready to
experiment with colors and silhouette .
9%
•The women today want more of variety
23%
and trendy clothes than dull and sober
CODE colors and basic silhouette as available
GINGER in Code.
FAME FOREVER •Both these labels, Code and Fame
Forever should get introduced to trends
68% and newer silhouettes as in Ginger.
•This would attract more customers to
buy these brands.
MERCHANDISE-NEW TRENDS •This issue can be dealt easily by buying
more Fashion stock when it comes to the
brands at the store.
• Most of the brands have only basics in
37% their merchandise and the seasonal stock
YES is hardly seen.
NO •New trends can be introduced in the
63%
private labels and better merchandise
can be designed.
•This will also add to the exclusivity of
the store.

DISCOUNTS SATISFACTION •The store can have discounts during

the off sale period like special offers
on women’s day, Valentines Day, to
26% name a few.
•The sale banners and promotions
YES should be done in a way that people
NO should know about it even before it
starts.
•There should be big display cards, in
74%
and out of the store to make it look
different than the routine period and
more attractive.
 •The staff should be well aware of the
0%
2%
STAFF ASSISTANCE merchandise in the store and should know
what sizes are available, what not and
10% where exactly what merchandise is kept.
•They should be polite and humble in their
VERY GOOD behavior and follow that ‘customer is
GOOD always right’.
SATISFACTORY •Greeting or even just saying a ‘hello’ with
POOR a genuine smiles also makes the customer
happy and want to come to the store again.
88%

0% SHOPPING AT LIFESTYLE •With no percentage stating no or maybe,

the customers at Lifestyle are loyal
towards their store.
40% YES •The merchandise, brands, ambience, etc
NO all are likeable the customers want to
DEFINITELY come back again.
60% MAYBE •To maintain its exclusivity, the store
should offer special services which will
be discussed later.
0%
 5
4.5 •Lifestyle had the most convenient
4 location, had good brand variety, at
3.5
par with Central but not better than
3 Lifestyle
2.5 Central
Shoppers Stop.
2 ShopperStop •Shoppers Stop had better rating in
1.5 Westside all the attributes.
1 Pantaloons •Lifestyle needs to improve its VM
0.5
and Displays.
0
Shopping Location Ambience Brand variety Prod. Display
Preference
NEW BRAND LAUNCH
•The analysis showed that quality of
the merchandise was the most
important aspect by the customers
when it came to shopping. At any
given day, customers would buy
merchandise of good quality.

•The comfort factor of the garment

was also important and anything
that’s just in fashion or looks good
but is not comfortable was not to be
bought.

•The style was another factor but it

was not the only factor to determine
the sales.
As long the merchandise was of good
X axis- brand attributes quality and comfortable, the price did
Y axis- no. of people not matter a lot.

•In the end, the brand value was of

the brand was of lest importance to
the customers. If the merchandise is
•The results show that 46% of
the total population wants a new
denim brand.
•No fashion stock and no
options of skinny fits, slim fits
and other new styles.
•A new brand focusing on only
women denims should be
introduced. ‘Jealous 21’ is one
of the options available.

•53% of the customers want to

see a brand focusing on Party
wear, at Lifestyle.
•At present, there is no brand
which has this merchandise.
•The new brand which is
launched should focus on evening
wear.
COMPETITION ANALYSIS
Sampling method- Non probability convenience sampling
Target Market- Females between 15 to 45 years of age.
Sample size – 50
Justification- The same as for the customer feed back survey for
lifestyle. The sample size is reduced by half , since the survey was
to be conducted at 3 different stores, and it was not possible to
survey inside the stores. This would take a lot of time.
Place of survey- outside Shoppers Stop, Hyderabad Central &
Westside

• Pantaloons was not taken in consideration for the survey since the ratings
in the previous survey showed that it had lower ratings in all the factors.
SHOPPERS STOP WESTSIDE HYDERABAD CENTRAL
PROFESSION
RESIDENCE LOCATION
MARITAL STATUS
AGE GROUP
MONTHLY HOUSEHOLD
INCOME
HOW OFTEN DO YOU SHOP?
MEANS OF KNOWING THE
MBO’s
FACTORS INFLUENCING
SHOPPING
 ATTRIBUTES RATING
SHOPPERS STOP MERCHANDISE WESTSIDE MERCHANDISE

SALES PROMOTION SALES PROMOTION

12% 13% 12% 11%
RETURN/EXCHANGE RETURN/EXCHANGE
12% 9% 9%
11% POLICY
VALUE FOR MONEY VALUE FOR MONEY
9%
11% 10% IN STORE MOBILITY 12% MOBILITY

VISUAL MERCHANDISE 14% VISUAL

13% 9% 11% MERCHANDISE
9% AMBIENCE 13% AMBIENCE

HYDERABAD CENTRAL MERCHANDISE

SALES PROMOTION
10% 16%
RETURN/EXCHANGE
10% POLICY
VALUE FOR MONEY
16%
12% VISUAL MERCHANDISE

AMBIENCE
14% 12%
10% STAFF ASSISTANCE
OVERALL RATING
 CONCLUSION
SIMILAR BRANDS AT ALL THE MBO’s

BRANDS LIFESTYLE CENTRAL SHOPPERS WESTSIDE

STOP
VAN Has old New fashion New fashion na
merchandise, no stock, good stock, the fixtures
HEUSEN fashion stock, bad display, brand are hanging, more
display right in the no. of pieces
beginning of the available.
women's section

ALLEN Has old New fashion na na

merchandise, no stock, good
SOLLY fashion stock, bad display, new
display, sizes not merchandise
available promoted well
BRANDS LIFESTYLE CENTRAL SHOPPERS WESTSIDE
STOP
REMANIKA Very few styles & A good no. of A good no. of na
options , staff options available, options available,
doesn’t know how newer, fresher newer, fresher
to display the good stock, more party stock, more party
pieces wear, shorts, wear, shorts,
summerish, trendy summerish, trendy
collection collection, brand
location at the
entrance

KRAUSS Good stock, similar Good stock, similar Good stock, similar na
to other MBOs to other MBOs to other MBOs

LEVI’S Basic styles, no Latest styles, good Latest styles, good na

fashion stock fashion stock, more fashion stock, more
variety of tops variety of tops.
Shop in shops for
both men n women
together
BRANDS LIFESTYLE CENTRAL SHOPPERS WESTSIDE
STOP
LEE Very less stock, no More variety, More variety, na
fashion stock, only fashion stock, more fashion stock, more
one display wall display fixtures display fixtures
unit

PEPE JEANS Very less stock, no More variety, More variety, na

fashion stock fashion stock fashion stock

UCB Good merchandise na Shop in shop na

new trends
STORES PRIVATE LABELS

LIFESTYLE Code- good merchandise, formal, semi formal, trendy

Ginger- bright colors, trendy clothes, price range is economical.
Fame forever- casuals, basic styles, designs are not attractive, dull colors

SHOPPERS STOP Elliza donatein- economic, casuals, formals, good display, dresses
Austin reed- formal, semi formal, price range affordable
Stop- casuals, bright clothes, trendy dresses, very according to the season
Life- similar merchandise as stop, affordable.

WESTSIDE NUON- lot of variety, colorful clothing, chest print t-shirts, shorts etc, price
range affordable.
Westside- casuals, formals, good price range, large sizes available too. Many
color options
Corporate class- formals, various styles.
Designer pret- India’s best designers, has the brand name
Westsport- sports wear, affordable prices

CENTRAL Annabelle- has a wide range of merchandise mix, party wear, very feminine
designs
Honey- casuals, tees starting from 199, all colors available, capris, dresses too.
Affordable price range
Ajile- sports wear, affordable prices
CONCLUSION
 INTRODUCTION OF A NEW
BRAND
 As the Brand Analysis of all the Brands at Lifestyle, Shopper Stop,
Central and Westside was done, the major factor that was observed
was the less fashion stock at the store as compared to the other MBOs.
The same brands that were at all the MBOs had similar and trendier
merchandise except at Lifestyle.

 Thus, introducing a new Brand at the store which fulfilled the needs
and desires of the customers, such that shopping at Lifestyle becomes
a wholesome experience, was the new approach concluded.

 DERIVABLE: The new Brand that is suggested to be introduced

in Lifestyle is a private label which focuses on sportswear, gym wear
etc.
 FACTORS AFFECTING THE CHOICE OF NEW
BRAND:

 Shopper Stop has fresher and more fashion stock

 At Central, the factor was the private label, called AJILE.

The merchandise mix of the brand is:
T-shirts, sweatshirts, track pants, three-fourths, socks.
The price range: Rs. 299 to 799

 Westside too, has a private label called, WESTSPORT. This brand

again focuses on sportswear.
The merchandise mix of the brand is:
T-shirts, sweatshirts, track pants, ganjis, three-fourths, shorts.
The price range: Rs. 349 to 599.
CHARACTERISTICS/FEATURES OF
NEW BRAND
 Due to the increased awareness of health and weight issues
among women both working and non- working class, the
launch of a sportswear brand is ideal.

 The brand should have an economical price range and should

target the middle class. The suggestive price range is Rs. 249
to 749. This price has been suggested keeping in mind the price
of the competitors.
 The brand should have more color options, instead of the
basic blacks and darker tones. It should experiment with neon
and bold color pallet and techniques like inside outside and
others, which is very popular in the west. This does not incur
more cost but adds more aesthetic value to the merchandise.

 Opposed to the other brands which target people only going

to the Gym or other weight training activities, this brand
should target people going to gym, athletics, dancing, yoga,
aerobics or any other form of outdoor activity or just for
casual day wear. The advertising should be done in a way it
aims all the above activities and not just gymming or sports.
 The major aspect of the brand should be that it should have
organic clothing to symbolize eco- friendliness. This will
give Lifestyle a new dimension and be the first one to come
up with an issue of social responsibility.

 It should have organic packaging. Each packaging should

have health or fitness related quotations on it.
 Besides the gym wear the brand should also has ‘GYM
GEAR’ like head bands, gloves, socks etc. to enhance the
brand image.

 Promotional schemes like buy worth Rs. 1500 and get a

gym bag free also help towards the brand image.

 The marketing strategy that Lifestyle can use for the first
time is by endorsing a celebrity as the brand ambassador.
The celebs too will be inclined to be a part of it since it
supports a global issue.
AREA REQUIRED:

 The area that can be used for this is next to the lingerie section;
the wall is void and should be turned into wall space.

 Bossini has been given a lot of area, which can be compressed

and the non sellers should be removed, thus providing space.

 The area would be around 224 sq ft.

 SUGGESTIONS FOR INTRODUCING
NATIONAL BRANDS
 According to the consumer survey, it was concluded that 53%
of the women want to see Party wear to be included in the new
brand at Lifestyle.
 The brand In’sense, at shoppers stop has a good collection of
party wear which includes dresses, tops, and skirts
 The price range is Rs. of 299 to 1999.
 This brand is supposedly having good sales and attracts a lot of
young crowd.
 The other aspect of clothing demanded by customers is
Denims by 46% of women. Thus the new brand
‘JEALOUS 21’ can be introduced.
 The brand has a merchandise mix of knits, woven and
denims. The price range is Rs. 299 to 1599.
 It was also suggested by few of the consumers in the survey.
 It is out and out a women’s brand so with the right display
and promotion, it has an edge over other denim brands
which have denims for both men and women.
 The target market is middle class.
 The denim brands like vibe and x-pose can be replaced by
this.
 Other brand for party wear dresses is a brand called MUAH.
 It has stores in Mumbai, Delhi and noida, for the time being.
 The price range is between Rs. 699 to 2499.
 The major influencing factor of this brand is the merchandise
mix, which has dresses, skirts, tops, pants in all shapes and
sizes and are very much up to date with the latest trends in
fashion.
 This store is a hit in the places where it is and has a target
market of women between 18 to 30 years of age.
IDEAL CONTRIBUTION OF WESTERN WEAR,
ETHNIC WEAR AND LINGERIE TO THE
TOTAL LADIES WEAR AREA

The Western, Ethnic and Lingerie have been given a

percentage of area according to the merchandise and the
sales per sq/ft of the section. The area varies depending on
a lot of factors:

 The number of brands in each section

 The area occupied by each of the brands
 The type of fixtures required for each of the brands.
 The monthly sales of the merchandise in each section.
 The sales of the Western wear have fallen in the last few
months, as earlier shown in the Brand Analysis of the
section. The total sales being Rs. 103253

 On the other hand the spf of the Ethnic section is more

than the target already set.

 The Lingerie section too does not have up to the mark

sales.
 PRESENT AREA AND SPF
PRESENT AREA (SQ
DEPARTMENT SALES SPF % AREA
FT)

WESTERN 5293 103253 20 50

ETHNIC 3766 183963 49 36

LINGERIE 1532 28649 19 14

APPAREL LADIES 10591 315865 30 100

PROPOSED AREA AND SPF

 PROPOSED AREA AND SPF

DEPARTMENT PROPOSED SPF % AREA SALES SALES

AREA(SQ FT) GROWTH
ETHNIC 5296 45 50 238320 30%

APPAREL 5296 45 50 238320 30%

LADIES 2

OVERALL GROWTH

OVERALL SALES SPF SALES SPF GROWTH

LADIES GROWTH
PRESENT 315865 30

PROPOSED 370222 35 17% 17%

 SWOT ANALYSIS
STRENGTH

• Lifestyle has a wide variety of women’s wear Brands in western wear

with a target customer of 16 years to 40 years of age.
• The brands are both national and international.
• The major target customers are middle class thus targeting a large
section of the society.
• Style, fit and quality, collections and price are a major strength in the
private labels.
• Ginger which is private label is the highest selling among the western
brands and a favorite among the customers.
• The location of the store is very convenient as it is located right in the
centre of the twin cities.
• The customers are loyal to the store as observed by the consumer
survey.
 It has a coffee shop inside the store providing good refreshments.
 The major factor for people to shop at Lifestyle is the Brand
Variety.
 The Discounts are satisfactory.
 WEAKNESS

 The Visual Merchandising of the store is not good.

 The ambience of the store is not attractive.
 The prices are at the higher end and as analyzed by the survey, it
does not provide the value for money.
 The women’s section is cluttered and merchandise needs to be sorted
and placed with proper space for the customers to walk around.
 There is still a need for updating merchandise with respect to the
latest trends.
 The private label ‘Fame Forever’ does not have good sales.
 A party wear brand is missing as compared to the other MBOs.
 OPPORTUNITIES

• There is a scope and need for introducing a sports wear brand

as a private label or as another brand at the store.
• A new party wear brand can be launched to increase the target
market and add new dimension to the store.
• More fashion stock can be bought.
• With increased indulgence in the retail therapy by the women,
a numerous new offers and attractive discounts and themes can
be introduced to attract the women of all age groups.
• The retail environment is still not suitable for relaxed and integrated
shopping. Store has to provide a better environment, along with good
facilities of car parking, clean walking areas, and clean restrooms.

• Today’ consumer seeks occasional price offs and attractive offers.

Earlier, buying from sales was considered down-market, but today it is
considered smart. The consumer must be offered price-offs, and
discounted value in planned and systematic cycles. By doing this, the
objective should be to increase unit purchase and more categories. 

• Consumers are willing to spend money, but want it to be well spent-

value for money is an important parameter now. And if they are able to
get a better value at the same price, it would help maintaining long term
loyalty. Instead of completely depending on reduction sales to bring
revenue, Pantaloons has reduced its price while keeping the same store
experience.
• This is imperative for companies with weak health, ones who need to
rein in costs. Reduced direct costs eliminate waste and minimize
administrative, logistics and store operations costs. Analyzing all the
above will not only help in the short term by reducing expenditure, but
also in the long run make retail back – and front- end operations leaner
and more efficient. 

• Investment appetite of PE companies is still very strong, and has funded

many apparel companies in the last 24 months- ICICI Venture in
Shoppers Stop and Pantaloon, UTI Venture in Koutons and Primus
Retail , to name a few. PE companies are looking for differentiation in
offer, superior execution of operations, and realistic valuations of
business to invest in.

• Look away from the traditional marketing methods, and initiate more
effective ones like the internet, and social networking to keep costs low
and still reach out to a large audience. Online retailing has been launched
by Shoppers Stop and Big Bazaar besides some lingerie company like
Groversons and Tipsy, and have shown a better than expected response
from the customers.
 THREATS

• With increasing number of MBOs opening up and already established

Shoppers Stop, Westside, Central and Pantaloons, the competition is
neck to neck, since all of them have similar brands and merchandise.
• The main factors which now affect the shopping preference of the
customers is now basically the VM, discounts, etc since the rest is the
same.
• Central and Westside have their own private labels in sportswear.
Lifestyle does not.
• Shoppers Stop has more party wear and fashion stock.
• Shoppers Stop is located inside the mall, where shopping is not the
only reason for people to visit.
• Central has more Brands and more area.
• Shopper stop has more of hanging display of merchandise.
CONCLUSION
• The project has successfully culminated in the implementation of certain
retail strategies from those recommended. The analysis done by the
questionnaire feedback changed the merchandise placement on the floor.
They have taken it into consideration to advertise the brand in the other
part of the city where everyday new potential customers are born. The
display of the mannequins and the windows was displayed.
• The area proposed shall be implanted soon.

• The new brand suggestions were appreciated and would be worked upon.

• The training module will be incorporated to train all sales staff to bring
them to a common platform to provide superior services to the
customers.
 
• The project work and study has been an immense source of learning, in
turn teaching us retail basics and tactics.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 Images Yearbook Business of Fashion 2009
 Retailing Management – Michael Levy, Barton A Weitz
 Research Methodology – CR Kothari
 www.rncos.com
 www.lifestylestores.com
  www.dailynewsandanalysis.com
 www.buzzle.com
 http://www.surveysystem.com/sample-size-formula.htm
 http://www.childrensmercy.org/stats/definitions/convenience.htm
 http://lathamandcompany.com/people_who_care_about_you.htm
 http://www.buzzle.com/articles/retail-store-management-tips.html
THANK YOU