Lurking in the corners of mirth and merriment that mark the dawn of another year is always room for introspection and some retrospection. Umpteen times it has been said that India is in the midst of a retail revolution. And as the retail mass rolls along there are many who have added their own, lending momentum and even speed to the movement. There have been new impulses and pushes, imparting it a robust look. So long the movement has been more or less a consequence of an inertia that was dismantled as the winds of change blew in. What it craves for now is a concerted, directional push.
A few major events shaped the business of fashion and fashion retail in the year just past us. We list some below:
- The mall-multiplex crawl into the two and three tier towns and cities
- Acquisitions and mergers that allowed consolidation of brands as they let bigger entities to take a stake to help push their business better
- The launch of initial public offers (IPO) by a handful of brands and retailers
- Indian exporters gain with the phase-out of quotas in January 2005
- Brands and retailers in expansion mode and actually consolidating their position in the marketplace
- The entry of a number of international brands across categories and segments
- Good performance by a couple of brands in the mass segment
- Beginning of a boom in luxury retail
- Indian fashion designers making a mark at the New York and London fashion weeks
- Substantial increase in ad spend by clothing brands
- Home fashion emerging as a distinct branded segment
- Visual merchandising gets the focus it deserves
- Union commerce minister Kamal Nath coming to the Images Fashion Forum in Mumbai and President APJ Kalam coming to NIFT, the country's premier fashion institute
IMAGES BoF lists a few steps at the retail and brand points that may be borne in mind as the year moves on:
- Look for every collaborative tie-up with non-competing brands and services
- Avoid cash discounts and offer more value-addition offerings
- Brands must offer impeccable quality
- Get the right sizes. Industry should collaborate to arrive at uniform sizing across the country as in the West
- Offer be-spoke services. The good old darzi is needed more than ever
- Add e-tailing to your brick-and-mortar stores
- Focus on specific consumer/market segment and take every possible step to satisfy them
- Go for shop-in-shop and exclusive brand stores
- Place trained, polite staff to manage your counters; teach staff not to engage in idle chit-chat when consumers are in the store
- Go the hog in involving the customer in your brand and merchandise at the shop
- Take weekly feedback from shop floor personnel on what customers are liking and buying brands that cater to the same segment as yours. Is it the price, quality, colour or style that led to a particular buy?
- Don't offer too much at one go. Phase out the offerings consistently
- Offer simple carry bags
- Meet the demands of all partners – buyers, vendors and retailers
