CERTIFICATE OF OWNERSHIP AND ORIGINALITY
All statistics are drawn from official, national and international sources unless otherwise
indicated.
All the information in the report is verified to the best of author’s ability but does not accept
responsibility for the loss arising from decisions based upon them.
This report has been prepared for the exclusive academic use of National Institute of Fashion
Technology.
All rights reserved. No part of the report may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by
any means without the prior permission of the authors.
Pre-Season Planning and In-Season Performance Analysis of the
Ladies’ Ethnic-wear Private Labels
Shoppers Stop Ltd.
By
Neekita Kenkre
M/MFM/12/21
Under the guidance of Prof. Lipi Choudhary
Batch 2012- 2014
Master of Fashion Management
Department of Fashion Management Studies
National Institute of Fashion Technology
[Mumbai]
1. INTRODUCTION
India has been a nation of ‘dukandars’ – around 12 million retailers – consisting of more
retail shops than those in the rest of world put together. Retailing has been in our blood as shopkeepers or as shoppers. But things are changing in the country in the way shopping
is done, the way retailing is getting modernized and organized, and the way people are
viewing this industry – as students, as shoppers and as academicians.
Kishore Biyani
1.1 Retail Industry in India
Retailing is an integral part of the value chain in an organization. It is a function that provides
the ‘last mileage connectivity’ between an organization and its customers. In many parts of
the world retailers have emerged as one of the most potent forces in influencing the
performance of the value chain.
Retailing is one of the biggest sectors and it is witnessing revolution in India. The new
entrant in retailing in India signifies the beginning of retail revolution. India's retail market is
expected to grow tremendously in next few years.
Retailing is one of the pillars of the economy in India. The Indian retail landscape is evolved
from the brick-and-mortar model to adopt technology for connecting with consumers. The
aim is to achieve a complete seamless customer experience. The Indian retail sector accounts
for over 20% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and contributes 8% to total
employment. The cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in single-brand retail
trading, during April 2000 to June 2011, stood at 69.26 million USD. The current estimated
value of the Indian retail sector is about 500 billion USD and is pegged to reach 1.3 trillion
USD by 2020.
The total concept and idea of shopping has undergone a vast drawing change in terms of
format and consumer buying behavior, ushering in a revolution in shopping in India. Modern
retailing has entered into India as is observed in the form of sprawling shopping centers,
multi-storied malls and the huge complexes that offer shopping, entertainment and food all
under one roof.
The Indian retail industry has experienced growth of 10.6% between 2010 and 2012 and is
expected to increase to USD 750-850 billion by 2015. The industry has long way to go as
1
there is a huge opportunity in streamlining
the sector. Indian retail sector is gradually
inching its way towards becoming the next
boom industry.
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
Figure 1 : Indian Retail Market
population will follow a rising graph
helping the newer businessmen to enter 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.
Food and Grocery is the largest category within the retail sector with 60 % followed by
Apparel and Mobile segment.
Organized & Unorganized Retail sector in India
Currently India constitutes only 8% of organized retail and remaining 92% is left
unorganized, which may grow much faster than traditional retail. It is expected to gain a
higher share in the growing pie of the retail market in India. Various estimates put the share
of organized retail as 20% by 2020.
The growth pattern in organized retailing and in the consumption made by the Indian
population may follow a rising graph helping the newer businessmen to enter the India Retail
Industry.
The country's traditional retail industry is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 5%
over the next year, while the organised retail is estimated to register a growth rate of around
25% during this period.
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Figure 2: Share of Organized and Unorganized Retail
Within the organized retail sector, Apparel is the largest segment. “Food and Grocery” and
“Mobile and telecom” are the other major contributors to this segment.
Evolution of Indian retail
According to AT Kearney, The Windows of Opportunity shows that Retailing in India was at
opening stage in 1995.
While barter is considered to be the oldest form of retail trade, since independence, retail in
India has evolved to support the unique needs of our country given its size and complexity.
Haats, Mandis and Melas have always been a part of the Indian landscape. They still
continue to be present in most parts of the country and form an essential part of life and trade
in various areas.
Public Distribution System (PDS) has its origin during WWII, when British introduced
rationing of grains. The system was started in 1939 in Mumbai (previously named Bombay)
and subsequently extended to other major towns and cities. By 1946, as many as 771 cities/
towns were covered. The system was abolished post war, however, on attaining
Independence, India was forced to reintroduce it in 1950 in face of renewed inflationary
pressures in the economy. Today, PDS would emerge as single largest retail chain in the
country.
Organized retail formats that were introduced in pre independence era include Canteen Stores
Department (CSD) and Post Offices. CSD was introduced to provide canteen facility to
armed forces.
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The Khadi & Village Industries (KVIC) was set up post-independence. Today there are more
than 7,050 KVIC stores in India (www.kvic.org). In the first decade of 21st century a lot has
transformed in the Indian marketplace. During 1950s till 1980s, investment in various
industries was limited due to low purchasing power of the consumers and governments’
policies favouring small scale sector. Initial step towards liberalization were taken in 198590. It was in this period that many restrictions on private companies was lifted, and in 1990s,
the Indian economy slowly progressed from being state led to becoming ‘market friendly’.
While independent retail stores like Akbarally’s, Vivek’s and Nalli’s have existed in India for
a long time, the first attempts at organized retailing was noticed in textiles sector. Raymond
was pioneer in this field that set up stores to retail fabric. It also developed a dealer network
to retail its fabric. These dealers sold a mix of fabrics of various textile companies. The
Raymond’s distribution network today comprises of 20,000 retailers and over 430
showrooms across the country.
Other textile manufacturers who also set up their own retail chains were Reliance- which set
up Vimal showrooms- and Garden Silk Mills with Garden Vareli. It was natural that with the
growth of textile retail, readymade branded apparel could not be far behind and next wave of
organized retail wave in India saw the likes of Madura Garments, Arvind Mills, etc. set up
showrooms for branded mens wear. With the success of the branded mens wear store, the
new age department store arrived in India in early 1990s.
This was in sense a beginning of a new era for retail in India. The fact that the post
liberalization, the economy had opened up and a new large middle class was spending power
has emerged, helped shape this sector. The vast middle class market demanded value for
money products. The emergence of modern Indian housewife, who managed her home and
work led to a demand for more products, a better shopping ambience, more convenience and
one stop shopping. This has fuelled the growth of department stores, supermarkets and other
super specialty stores. The concept of retail as entertainment came to India with the advent of
malls. The development of malls is now visible not only in the major metros but also in the
other parts of the country.
4
Figure 3: Evolution of Indian Retail
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Indian retail
The current sign of reforms by the Government
to initiate Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in
various sectors is bringing a new enthusiasm to
the investment climate in India.
The recent announcement by the Indian
government with Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) in retail, especially allowing 100% FDI in
single brands and multi-brand FDI has created
positive sentiments in the retail sector.
The major opposition party of India and its
allies are currently opposing the FDI in multi-
Figure 4: FDI
Source: Deloitte
brand retail. Some of the ruling party allies such as DMK, UDF (Kerala) are also against the
policy.
Key drivers of retail growth in India
The growing disposable income in the country is resulting in increasing consumer spending
habits. A large young working population with median age of 24 years, nuclear families in
5
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.
Factors driving the organised retail sector include the following:

Higher incomes driving the purchase of essential and nonessential products

Evolving consumption patterns of Indian customers

New technology and lifestyle trends creating replacement demand

Increase in rural income as well as urbanization

Increase in easy access to credit and consumer awareness

Growth of modern trade format across urban, Tier I, Tier II and Tier III cities and
towns

Rapid urbanization and growing trend towards nuclear families
Expected Future Trends
FDI in specialty stores: Multi-brand organized retail in specialty stores such as Consumer
Electronics, Footwear, Furniture and Furnishing etc. are expected to expand and mature in the
next few years. However the policy condition on sourcing will continue to be a major
bottleneck for FDI in many of these segments
Dominance of unorganized retail: Flexible credit options and convenient shopping locations
may help traditional retail to continue its dominance in retail sector.
Growth in small cities and towns: Stiff competition and saturation of urban markets is
expected to drive domestic retail players to tap the
potential in small cities
Online retail in India
India’s eCommerce market is at an early stage but is
expected to see huge growth over the next four to five
years. Over the past 12 months, venture capitalists have
invested heavily in India’s eCommerce market, new
players have emerged, and the eCommerce ecosystem
has developed, presenting a huge opportunity for
companies willing to work through some of the
logistics and payments challenges in India.
Figure 5: Online Retail in India
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An increasing number of global companies are eyeing the rapidly growing eCommerce
market in India. As the world’s 11th-largest economy (and fourth-largest emerging economy
after BRIC peers China, Brazil, and Russia), India is starting to appear on eBusiness
organizations’ lists of key international markets.
The e-commerce market in India is set to grow the fastest within the Asia-Pacific Region at a
CAGR of over 57% between 2012 – 2016. E-commerce sales in India will surpass $1 billion
for the first time this year and reach $8.8 billion by 2016. India’s e-commerce industry is set
to grow on the back of rising demand from consumers and increasing penetration of
technology.
India will grow quickly off a small base. India’s eCommerce market is poised to grow by
more than five-fold by 2016 as the number of online buyers and per capita online spending
increase rapidly. This market is gaining more attention as global brands look to markets that
are in the early stages of eCommerce adoption but offer significant long-term potential.
Almost 75% of India’s internet users are under the age of 34. As many of them move into the
earning segment in the years to come, Internet commerce is expected to get a significant
boost.
The world's consumers spend on average 22 percent of their disposable income on purchases
on the Internet, with Indians at the forefront (33 per cent). Chinese and Indians spend the
most time shopping online at 8 hours per month, while French, Finnish, Japanese and Spanish
allocate less than four hours to the activity.
Figure 6: Annual Online Spend as a %age of Disposable Income
7
1.2 Growth of Departmental Stores in Indian retail
Formats that have emerged or become popular in the 1990s are classified as modern retail
formats. In terms of professional management and efficiency of integration with the value
chain, these formats are classified as part of organized retail chain in India.
Economic liberalization, competition, and foreign investment since 1990s led to the
proliferation of brands, with both foreign and Indian companies acquiring strong brand equity
for their products. Hence, franchising emerged as a popular mode of retailing. Over the last
15 years, franchising as a format of retail expansion has gradually matured.
International franchising is also in an interesting phase in India as global organizations like
Pizza Hut, Marks and Spencer, McDonald’s, Subway, HP, Holiday Inn, Medicine Shoppe,
Domino’s, Gold’s Gym and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) have set up franchises in India.
The franchisee showrooms of various readymade garments manufacturers like Arvind Mills,
Madura Garments, and Raymond etc. and Titan are perhaps the most visible successes of
franchising in India. One of the pioneers in this field, in the area of beauty and personal care
products has been Shahnaz Hussian. Today the chain of Shannaz Hussian parlours has more
than 200 franchisees in India (www.shahnaz-hussian.com). As the economy evolves and
retail as a sector continues to grow, various new avenues in franchising are emerging in the
Indian franchise scenario.
The other major retailing organization format in India is ‘chain stores’. More and more new
or established companies in other trade are coming in to the retail business in India,
contributing to the introduction of new formats like malls, supermarkets, hypermarkets,
discount stores, specialty stores and department stores.
In India, the most of the retail sector is unorganized. The main challenge facing the organized
sector is the competition from unorganized sector. Unorganized retailing has been there in
India for centuries. The main advantage in unorganized retailing is consumer familiarity that
runs from generation to generation. It is a low cost structure; they are mostly operated by
owners, have very low real estate and labor costs and have low taxes to pay. Organized retail
business in India is very small but has tremendous scope.
8
Figure 7: Share of Organized Retail Sector in Total Retail Trade
%AGE
YEAR
SHARE
ORGANISED
OF
RETAIL SOURCE
SECTOR
2005
3.5%
AT Kearney
2008
5%
McKinsey & Company
2010
8%
AT Kearney
2013
10%
AT Kearney
Data shown in Table is collected from secondary source. Therefore, these are in approximate figures.
Department Store
Department stores generally have a large layout with a wide range of merchandise mix,
usually in cohesive categories, such as fashion accessories, gifts and home furnishings, but
skewed towards garments. These stores are focused towards a wider consumer audience
catchment, with in-store services as a primary differentiator. Usually, department stores are
located within a planned shopping centers or traditional up-market downtown centers. The
department stores usually have 10,000 - 60,000 sq. ft. of retail space.
Various examples include:

Shoppers' Stop, controlled by the K. Raheja Group, a pioneering chain in the country's
organized retail;

Pantaloons, a family chain store, which is another major player in the segment;

Westside, the department store chain from Tata Group's Trent Ltd;

Lifestyle, part of the Dubai-based retail chain, Landmark Group; and

The Globus department and superstore chain.
Various departments within the store have a designated selling space allocated to them,
including a point-of-sales terminal to transact and record sales, and salespeople to assist
customers. A majority of the department stores in India possess women’s, men’s, kids’,
fashion accessories, and kitchenware and home fashion departments. Some departments, to
provide convenience to their customers in the browsing and selection of the merchandise,
have further sections on ethnic/ Western, formal/ causal, and accessories.
Department stores provide a distinctive shopping experience to customers on account on
account of services (home delivery, credit card, restaurants, cloakroom, and changing room
etc.) extended along with core offerings and atmospherics of the retail store.
9
Pricing of the merchandise offered is relatively high due to trained sales staff, range of
merchandise offered and services, and high capital investments.
Department stores, generally, opt for centralized buying taking in to consideration the
preferences and tastes of the consumers. In case of multiplicity of departments within stores,
each department carries out its own buying in accordance with the demand patterns of their
customers.
Some department stores deal only in specific product category on account of variety and
brand available in particular product category, examples being Arcus in Gurgoan and the
Food Bazaar chain of grocery stores.
Current Scenario
‘India's leading department store chains clocked double digit, same-store sales in the FY14
ended March, significantly higher than in FY13, despite the continuing squeeze on household
budgets and high inflation that slowed down the overall consumer goods sector to a decade
low.
Same-store sales or sales at stores that were operational last year, of Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle
International and Reliance Fashion & Lifestyle grew 10-20% in FY14, as against 6-8% the
year before, as discounts coupled with an added focus on fast fashion boosted demand and
average basket size. Same-store sales are an important indicator of consumer demand and the
health of the retail industry.
Mr. Govind Shrikhande, MD at Shoppers Stop said that while the overall discounts days were
higher, there was a strong recovery in volume growth and transaction size increased by
around 10% too. Shoppers Stop posted a 10.2% like-to-like sales growth in FY14 over 8% a
year before.
The downturn for the retail sector began almost two years ago as an increase in the prices of
essential commodities, lower salary increments, adverse macro-economic conditions and
government inaction dented consumer confidence.
10
Figure 8: LTL Sales of Major Department Stores
This in turn forced retail chains to extend end-of-season sales and add more days to their
discount calendar that impacted margins. But now, retailers are seeing better demand and an
increase in profitability as well. The revival in sales has come on the back of changes in
inventory.
Mr. Kabir Lumba, MD at Lifestyle International said that retailers worked harder on the
fashion quotient with a better assortment this year. So, with a better proposition, they have
managed to make a strong comeback on our full-price merchandise post sale season. Lifestyle
posted a 15% same-store sales growth in FY14 over 4.5% in the year previous. Experts feel
shoppers spending more on fashion products and apparel indicate initial signs of revival.
Due to rupee depreciation last year, several international brands that are imported looked at
increasing prices. Hence, consumers could have shifted to Indian retail chains that have a
stockmix with a lot of local brands as well.
Retailers are also exploring strategies such as in-store events and promoting private labels to
drive sales. Lifestyle International, for instance, signed Deepika Padukone to endorse its
private ethnic wear brand Melange. As for Shoppers Stop, it has added over 4 lakh members
to its First Citizen loyalty programme, a significant number considering that over threefourths of sales come from members.
To be sure, shoppers are cutting back on trips to restaurants and supermarkets. The consumer
goods segment posted a growth of around 6% last year compared with 18% the year before.
The sharp decline is reflected in the same-store sales of grocery chains as well. For instance,
Reliance Retail's fashion and lifestyle segment posted 20% like-to-like growth compared with
8% in FY13 while its value format posted 9% growth versus 18% in FY13.’1
1
Article “Blooming same-store sales of Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Reliance lift gloom on retail front” at
economictimes.indiatimes.com
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Some of the major players in department store category in India are listed below. These major
players are also strong contenders for competition to Shoppers Stop Limited.
Globus
Globus was launched in 1998 as a part of the Rajan Raheja
Group. The company opened its first outlet in Indore
followed by two more in Chennai. The flagship store was
opened on 1st November 2001 in Mumbai, followed by a vibrant store in New Delhi.
Subsequently, its stores were launched in Bangalore, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Ahmedabad,
Noida, Lucknow, Varanasi and Hyderabad.The organization has an innovative and adaptive
environment. Globus has achieved customer delight by presenting value products and
services through continuous improvement. It has a team of dedicated and passionate
employees maintained by constant training.
Globus has developed long lasting relationships with its business partners. It employs the best
practices of the industry through cost analysis. It has brought about a veritable revolution in
the retail industry through its constant efforts and innovation in apparels. It has been a
benchmark for many upcoming retailers. It has brought about an important change in the
industry and hasdistinguished itself from others. Globus has acquired the best processes and
procedures in various fields, such as Marketing & Brand Development, Research & Design,
Human Resources, Services, Administering Policies & Procedures and Production &
Merchandising.
Lifestyle
Lifestyle is an international fashion store of the Landmark
Group, a Dubai-based company. Lifestyle created a
revolution in the Indian Retail Industry by bringing a truly
international shopping experience. It was launched in Chennai, and now it is one of the
largest professional retailers spread across 3,25,000 sq. ft. in various cities such as Chennai,
Gurgaon, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
It is a heaven for shoppers with a vibrant and spicy lifestyle. It provides a wide choice of
products at affordable prices with a convenient world-class environment and a friendly
layout.
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Being one of the best shopping destinations, it has won the ‘Most Respected Company in the
\Indian Retail Sector' and the 'Most Admired Large Format Retail Company' awards in India.
Pantaloons
Pantaloon Retail was the flagship enterprise of the
Future Group. With a chain of 81 fashion stores
across 40 cities and towns, Pantaloons is constantly
extending its foot-prints into the rest of modern India.
Pantaloons which was previously controlled by the Future Group has now been taken over by
Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited ['ABNL']. ABNL is a part of the prestigious Aditya Birla Group,
a $40 billion Indian multinational, operating in 36 countries across the globe with over
136,000 employees.
The first Pantaloons store was launched amidst much fanfare in Gariahat, Kolkata in 1997.
Over the years, the brand has undergone several transitions and re-invented itself to bring
forth compelling trends and styles catering to the evolving fashion hub.
Since its inception, Pantaloons progressed from retailing just a mix of brands to its very own
popular private labels as well, designed by the in-house Design Studio. With a sharp focus on
bringing the latest in fashion, the Design Studio combines its prowess in design and
aesthetics to present styles that keep the consumer fashionably dressed each season.
Initially positioned as a store catering to the fashion needs of the entire family, Pantaloons
has transitioned to a fashion and lifestyle brand with an emphasis on youth and a focus on
designs that are inherently in sync with current fashion trends.
Westside (Trent)
Tata Group founded Trent Ltd. (Westside) in 1998. The
acquisition of a London-based retail chain Littlewoods
by the Tatas was followed by the establishment of Trent
Ltd, which was later renamed as Westside.
It is one of the largest and fastest growing chains serving the customers in various categories,
including men's wear, women's wear, kid's wear, footwear, cosmetics, perfumes and
handbags, household accessories, lingerie and gifts. The company offers products with a
balance between style and price. There are 25 Westside departmental stores operating in
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various cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi, Banglore, Noida, Gurgaon, Nagpur,
Kolkata and many others.
Trent had established a hypermarket business with Star India Bazaar which provides them
products at lower price and better shopping experience. Star India Bazaar offers customers a
variety of products in categories, such as staple foods, fruits, vegetables, consumer
electronics, health and beauty products and many more at affordable prices.
In the year 2005, Trent acquired 76% stake in Landmark, which is one of the largest books
and music retail chains in the country.
14
1.3 Growth of Private Labels in India
Private
Labels
are
a
win-win
solution for retailers and customers
in
the
current
retail
market
structure. While retailers expect
better bargaining power with their
vendors, in turn better margins and
control over their merchandise mix,
customers get a wider range, better
quality and good prices for the
products.
The growth of private labels is
directly linked to the growth of
modern retailing. Retailers need to
gain customer confidence in its
offerings so as to successfully
introduce private labels. Private
label’s share in the modern retail in
India is about 7%, but it is as high
as 40% in European countries, and
as low as less than 1% in China.
What are Private Labels and why
use them?
Private labels are brands owned,
Figure 9 Trend of Private labels
merchandised and sold by retailers
themselves. These can be categorized into store brands, store sub-brands &Umbrella brands.
They are also called in-store or own brands. Private labels are unique to a particular retailer
and they can be divided into a number of categories where the retailer’s name is evident on
packaging. From apparel, healthcare products and furnishings to consumer items, they are
making their presence felt in a variety of retail items in the country.
15
Private label products are commonly referred to as name brand, store brand, own label,
retailer brand or generics. These are brands owned by the retailer rather than the producer or
manufacturer. Private label products are found in almost all food and grocery categories.
Recently, retailers have been aligning private label brands with identified consumer trends,
such as premium and indulgence, everyday value, health and wellness, and organic and
ethical (Collins & Bone, 2008). Similarly, Reliance Retail and Food Bazaar offers a range of
PLs to suit various consumer needs.
The reasons why retailers choose to offer private labels include generating additional margins
by by-passing branded suppliers as the power shifts from national brands to retailers; filling
gaps in their product range which may not be currently addressed by branded suppliers;
including a product variant or a size option in that category and using private labels to
differentiate their store’s product range from competitors; and create a distinctive advantage
This helps in improving profitability and loyalty to the retailer.
Globally, private labels contribute 17% of retail sales with a growth of 5% per annum.
International retailers like Wal-Mart of USA and Tesco of UK have 40% and 55% own label
brands representation in their stores, respectively. Private label penetration in the United
Kingdom is close to 37 per cent currently,
and is forecast to exceed 40 per cent by 2011.
In Germany private label has shot up from 12
per cent of sales to 34 per cent over the last
decade. And apart from the multi-brand retail
stores, a category of retailers like Ikea, Toys
‘R’ Us, Zara has also been created who sell
only private label brands.
The Increasing Acceptance of Private
Labels in India
Indian retailing has seen a lot of ups and
downs over the last few years. With the
increasing growth of the organised retail
sector, private labels or store brands are also
Figure 10: %age Share of Private Labels
increasingly accepted by the Indian organised
retail market. The recession has significantly given a thrust to private labels, thus favourably
16
affecting the private label sales of almost all major retailers like Reliance Retail, Future
group, Aditya Birla Retail, Bharti Wal Mart Retail, Hypercity, Infiniti Retail, Trent, Shoppers
Stop etc., offering private label in their merchandise mix.
Though the growth of private labels was seen across categories, growth in grocery was
prominently seen in supermarkets at 15% and hypermarkets accounting for 30% of total
value sales.
Introduction of private labels in categories such as apparels and footwear, toys, electronics
and appliances enable retailers to expand their offerings. Even Apollo Pharmacy and
Guardian Pharmacy entered into their private labels in 2010 in health, beauty and personal
care products.
The private label market in India is currently estimated at Rs 13 billion, which accounts for
10-12% of organised retail in India. Retailers such as Pantaloon, Trent, Shoppers Stop and
Spencer’s have increased focus on private label retailing. Aditya Birla Retail plans to increase
the share of own brands in sales from the present 3% to 10% in the next 2-3 years.
According to industry estimates, private label margins for electronics goods are up to 20%
higher compared with average national brands. This rises to 30-50% when it comes to
clothing. Department stores tend to price their products at par with standard-priced products
of some leading brands in India, while electronics and appliance specialist retailers, as well as
health and beauty specialist retailers, generally price their products lower than the respective
leading brands in order to generate volume sales. (Euromontior, 2012)
In India there is a growing trend towards acceptance of private label brands and thus their
penetration is on the rise especially in the apparel, consumer durables, home care and FMCG
segments. India is still an under-branded country and in each category there is still a lot of
scope for growth, this is where the private label comes in and the story is looking good so far.
For instance, Future Group has already tasted the success with its Tasty Treat brand which is
just behind Frito Lay in the potato chips segment. Its Care Mate in the baby diaper segment
has left behind Huggies in the in-store sales. At Spencers, diapers and agarbattis sell more
than market leaders across the store chain.
Experts comment that when it comes to local tastes and preferences, private label brands have
an advantage over national brands and this reflects in the increasing percentage share of these
goods in Indian retail chains.
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Low Pricing is Moving Consumers toward Private Labels
It has been reported that mid- to higher-income consumers in developing countries are often
the first to try and accept private label as low-income shoppers are more cautious in their
purchase and need higher levels of trust in a product. Though the lower income households
purchase more private label goods in both edible and non-edible categories than the other two
income brackets, it is also true that national brands still constitute the bulk of their market
baskets.(Nielsen Homescan, 2012)
Consumers prefer to buy private label products mainly due to their low pricing and prefer to
buy such products from large chained retailers, which also offer a wide variety of private
label products with better quality (Euromonitor, 2012). Consumers in India prefer private
labels over national brands due to availability and price benefits in that category.
According to the Technopak’s Private Label Report 2012, food and grocery segment is a key
driver for PLs accounting for 20-25 percent, and sometimes even 40 percent, of all categories
in Private Labels. Margins in private labels in staples like sugar, groceries can range between
15-25%.
Future Impact of Private Labels
‘Many retailers have increased their profits by offering private label products since there are
huge margins to be achieved from private label products, which are 30-40% higher margins
than branded products. Retailers are not any more offering low quality products for a lesser
price, but they are creating new level of differentiation, better pricing for a good quality
product and new merchandising and promotion strategies.
One major advantage to the retailers in India, and which works in favour of private labels,
comes from the fact that Indian consumers are less brand conscious and more quality and
freshness conscious. Most major retailers have introduced private labels not only in food and
grocery products, but also in apparels and accessories, consumer durables, toys, healthcare,
and home furnishings. The Future group plans to increase its private label portfolio by adding
more than 60 products to its private label range.
Nirmalya Kumar, Professor of Marketing and Director of the Aditya Birla India Centre,
London Business School, and co-author of Private Label Strategy, says private label brands,
which occupy less than 5 per cent of the market in India now, are likely to corner 50 per cent
of the market as the retail space opens up and matures.
18
Retailing in India is still very primitive. At the moment, private labels almost do not exist in
the country. They are less than 5 per cent of the retail business and still have a long way to
go. But Indian retail is extremely hot and it offers a proposition that can't be seen anywhere
else in the world. Only in China and India can retail chains have as many stores as they have
in the US. In no other country can one imagine companies having 5,000-6,000 stores of their
own.
Private labels have come a long way over the last three decades. They started with retailers
wanting to offer cheaper substitutes. This was for two reasons. One, having a private label
meant that retailers could negotiate a better margin from the manufacturer. And the other,
when they had private labels they had a differentiator. While every shop sold a Coca-Cola
and Pepsi, a private label meant that the store now had something that other stores did not.
The biggest change in the last decade or so has been the entry of premium private labels.
They are no longer saying "buy us because we are cheap", instead today, they are saying "buy
us because we are the best". By offering high quality products, many private labels have
started charging more than regular manufacturers.
Today, retailers have realised that by having top quality private labels they can differentiate
themselves from other stores and be a destination store. For instance, Tesco in Europe has a
range called the Tesco Finest line. It does have a Tesco Value line, which is cheaper, but the
Finest line only sells premium products at premium prices. Tesco's Finest chocolate, for
instance, sells at 50 per cent premium over, say, Cadbury's.
Similarly, its yogurt sells at more than 50 per cent premium over Danone and other yogurts.
Retailers are now doing everything it takes to create premium brands. They advertise on
television, take up brand-building exercises, and most importantly, they focus on developing
a better product than the existing manufacturers' brands.
Organised retailers in India are giving a big push to their own private label products to cash
in on a growing appetite among consumers for differentiated and value products. India’s
largest hypermarket retailer Future Group, for instance, is looking to launching six-eight new
products in the next three-six months. It already has private brands in 40-50 merchandising
categories. Also, private brands offer higher margins for retailers, since distribution and
marketing costs of these products are very low.
19
Private brands are growing 20-25% each year. In certain categories, share of private brands
for Future Group is as high as 35-40%.Market research agency Nielsen expects India’s
private label market to grow five-fold to $500 million by 2015. Private label sales rose 22%
in 2012, according to the agency. Food products such as packaged foods, refined edible oils,
breakfast cereals, ketchups and sauces itself account for 75% of total sales of private label
goods.’2
2
An article by Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad -MICA in India Retail Report 2013
20
1.4 Growth of the Indian Ethnic Wear Market
‘The unorganized segment, which traditionally, and still largely, caters to the ethnic wear
industry, has demonstrated steady growth
over the past years and is set to grow
further by 8.4% over the next decade from
the present INR 61,679 crore, or USD
11.63 billion.
Modern retail, especially large format
retailers are ramping up their expansion
plans across metros and Tier I & Tier II
Figure 11: Ethnic Wear Market in India
cities. This will contribute significantly to
the growth of the Indian ethnic wear market.
The women’s segment currently accounts for an overwhelming 87% of the total ethnic wear
market at INR 54,425 crore (USD 10.26 billion); it is the
will continue to drive the overall sector. The 10%
3% growth of this segment that
women’s wear segment alone is expected
to grow at a steady rate of 8% over the coming decade. The ethnic kidswear segment is
projected to grow at a CAGR of 10% for the next few years. Even within kidswear, it is
interesting to note that the
girls’ ethnic wear market is two and a half times the size of the
boys’ ethnic market.
While the market for men, presently at INR 1623 crore (USD 305.82 million), is expected to
grow at a CAGR of 8.5%, this will largely be within the high fashion, high value segment
that is heavily guided by occasion-based purchases.
The opportunities thrown up by the wedding/bridal market in India are tremendous. Right
from local boutiques to established traditional retailers and regional brands, every bridal wear
retailer is vying for a share of the loyal consumer’s wallet in a market that is governed more
by design than brand. Niche brands such as Manyavar, Diwan Saheb, and Vastra are few
examples of players that have managed to command a premium for their services.
Owing to the religious and cultural diversity of India, a wide range of occasions are
celebrated. Such celebrations typically start early in the year in January, when Northern India
celebrates Lohri, and culminate around October-November with Dussehra and Diwali. On
such festive occasions, consumers tend to purchase ethnic wear for both personal use and for
21
gifting, as brands typically bring out new trends and designs to coincide with a festive
occasion. These occasions typically drive the growth for women’s, kids’, and men’s ethnic
wear.
Ethnic wear was initially a category that was largely restricted to the older age segment.
However, it is now finding acceptance even among younger consumers, especially women.
The young college going girl teams her Indian kurta with either a pair of denims or leggings
that represent a fusion of ethnic wear with western wear. This has led to brands focusing on
ethnic fusion wear product offerings, in western styles and prints, in order to capture the
opportunity. With an interesting interplay of wovens and knits, these brands have completely
redefined ethnic wear for younger consumers.
Ladies across all ages prefer the salwar kameez subcategory as it is associated with the
attributes of convenience, comfort as well as contemporary fashion. One of the key emerging
trends contributing to the growth of this segment is the gradual increase in the number of
women in the corporate workforce. Many brands have been able to envision this opportunity
and have made suitable changes in their respective product portfolios.
Thus it is not surprising that, within ethnic wear, kurtas and salwar kameez, which represent
38% of women’s ethnic wear market, are expected to grow at robust rates in the next decade.
Currently at INR 20,700 crore (USD 3.90 billion), the salwar kameez category is poised to
witness optimistic growth at a CAGR above 10%.
Although traditional markets shall continue to be of importance, a consequence of the above
factors is the increasing salience of modern formats among consumers. Until modern retail
opened its doors for urban consumers, local tailors and neighbourhood boutiques were
satisfying the ethnic wear needs of most consumers. Large format retailers were unheard of.
Further, these local tailors barely met standards in terms of quality and designs. With the
coming of modern retail, consumers have easy access to branded products that straddle the
tiered pricing segments. In the value segment where few organized brands have been able to
make a mark for themselves, large format retailers such as Reliance Trends, Max, and Big
Bazaar offer private labels. In the premium segment, there are national players such as BIBA
and W, to name a few, while strongly entrenched local players dominate their respective
geographies. Neeru’s, in Hyderabad, Frontier Bazaar and Bombay Selections, in Delhi, and
Jashn, in Mumbai, are some examples.
22
Popular LFS formats such as Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, and Westside are increasing the width
of the private label offering and offer the consumers contemporary styling as well as
convenience of comparing multiple brands under one roof
A very crucial pocket of growth will be the demand from the small towns, which are the
metro cities of the future. A large number of brands are already eyeing this opportunity.
Miraaya, for instance, has a strong presence in Tier II and Tier III cities both through its
EBOs and large formats. BIBA has also opened a large number of stores in Tier I and Tier II
cities like Vadodara, Indore, Patna, Visakhapatnam, Agra, etc. However, the demand for
ethnic wear is large even within these cities and this demand frequently drives small town
consumers to big cities for their shopping requirements. The onset of the e-commerce
revolution is also changing the game. Consumers are able to purchase many, if not all,
popular ethnic wear brands from the comfort of their homes.
With many physical brands setting up online stores and others selling through online portals,
customers who do not have access to physical stores can purchase the brands online. Though
there are issues that need to be ironed out before the online space emerges as one of the
preferred shopping destination for ethnic wear, many ethnic wear brands have started to think
of their online presence as a viable sales channel rather than just a website.
As different channels continue to emerge and evolve in the ethnic wear market, the growth of
brands will be largely dependent on their ability to differentiate themselves across product
and service offerings.’3
3
Authored By: Amit Gugnani - Senior Vice President, Fashion and Pakhie Saxena - Associate Director, Retail
23
According
to
Technopak
Analysis, the current market of
sarees and ethnic wear stands at
Rs
31,000
crore
and
is
projected to grow at 10 per cent
to reach Rs 45,000 crore in
2014. The burgeoning growth
in this segment is attracting
major apparel retailers, such as
Shoppers Stop, Future group's
Pantaloon, Westside of Tata's
retail arm Trent and W stores,
which are also aggressively
expanding into Tier II and III
cities.
Anant Daga, chief executive
officer
of
W,
a
leading
contemporary Indian women's
wear brand, has witnessed huge
successes not only in metros
but in smaller towns as well.
Figure 12: Ethnic Wear Segmentation
They believe that Tier II and III
markets promise to be a great destination for the brand to extend its experience. W plans to
open 100 stand-alone retail stores by the end of financial year 2011-12.Currently, the brand
has 60 exclusive stores across 25 cities in India. Besides focusing on metros like Delhi,
Mumbai and Bangalore, W has already ventured into Tier II and III markets such as
Lucknow, Jalandhar, Meerut, Bhopal, Coimbatore and Kanpur. Daga added that based on the
response they would chart out the next phase of expansion across this segment. Branded
ethnic wear is one of the top selling categories in Shoppers Stop stores. For the past few years
this segment has seen double digit growth in Shoppers Stop, according to Govind
Shrikhande, customer care associate and managing director, Shoppers Stop. Shoppers Stop
continuously keep renovating this category and adding more designs and varieties to suit the
24
changing fashion trend,. After the mix and match section, Shoppers Stop has also included a
lot of ready-to-stitch material in the stores.
Retailers aver that there are a number of factors that influence the growth of this segment,
which is dominated by 95 per cent unorganised retailers. Despite the big influence of western
wear, a majority of women still have a large representation of ethnic wear in their wardrobe
for various occasions. In fact, the willingness to spend has increased all the more with
different traditional and contemporary designs being offered. This is why even new entrants
like Reliance Trend, a part of the Mukesh Ambani Group, are focusing on this segment.
‘Women are the primary shoppers for Future Group according to Rakesh Biyani, CEO
(retail). The women's segments are the top-selling segments and they actively focus on the
changing trends and designs in this segment.
A number of well known designers have their own-label retail showrooms now at high streets
–Anita Dongre, Rohit Bal, Wendell Rodericks – besides the mushrooming of ethnic wear
retail entities – Kimaya, Fabindia, Sabhyata. And then there are the well established retail
chains such as Shoppers Stop, Pantaloons, Westside, W and others that offer branded ethnic
wear.
Also growing side by side are local retail brands such as Hyderabad’s Neeru’s and
Lucknow’s Jashn that are rapidly expanding across urban India and looking beyond. And
finally, there is the growing clutch of e-commerce portals such as Fashion and You offering
branded ethnic wear, which are especially attracting tiers 2 and 3 consumers.
Women’s ethnic wear is leading the organised market growth. Kilol and Jashn are betting on
franchised exclusive stores to go national and international simultaneously. Others like the
Bangalore-based Soch, Mumbai's Isvarah, Jole Clothing and Hyderabad’s Neeru's have tied
up with retail chains such as Future Group's Central and Lifestyle.
Jashn was launched in 2003 and never grew less than 28-30%. Today, they are present in
over 21 cities. Unorganised ethnic wear retail is 90% of the market.
Overall apparel category spends are rising, with special focus on ethnic wear brands, where
many new brands have emerged as market heroes. They sensed the vacuum in the market,
ease of entry, and attracted women – the most interesting target consumer. Technopak
25
Advisors places the Indian ethnic wear market at Rs. 56,800 crore, growing at 9% annually
(2010-11).
Investors are also seeing the opportunity. Azim Premji's Premji Invest dished out Rs. 125
crore for a 7% stake in Fabindia, valuing it at over Rs. 1,500 crore. The handicrafts and handcrafted apparel sector has to take into account designs, techniques and traditions. Fabindia
provides market access to rural artisans while providing inputs that give their products a
contemporary context and relevance. Fabindia has expanded to Dubai, Mauritius, Rome and
Nepal.’4
4
www.hindustantimes.com
26
1.5 Need for the Project
The ladies’ Indian-wear department at Shoppers Stop Ltd. consists of three brands- STOP,
Haute Curry and Kashish. The brand STOP is further divided into three sub-brands- Classics,
Naturals and Workwear. STOP consists of affordable everyday-wear for middle-aged women.
Haute Curry is a fusion-wear brand that caters to the young women who are fashion forward.
Kashish is a premium brand which consists of occasion-wear with more ornate and
embellished merchandise which command a higher price range.
The aim of this study is to identify internal factors of the current scenario of ladies’ Indianwear apparel in Shoppers Stop Ltd. This project is intended to understand the entire process
of the buying department in the particular section and use the resulting analysis to act as a
recommendation to boost the performance of the brands.
A primary research- qualitative research and quantitative research will be conducted to gain a
greater understanding of the performance of the labels to determine current and potential
opportunities of these labels.
The analysis resulting from the project is intended to act as a recommendation for
improvement of the working of the private labels aforementioned. The aim is to gain a greater
understanding of the current aspects of Indian-wear apparel to determine Shoppers Stop’s
current position amongst the competing department stores and potential opportunities for
their brands.
Overall, the goal of the research is to uncover data to answer these informational needs in
order to determine the gaps in the buying process which affect the success of their private
labels provide a conceptual foundation for a better approach and further developing better
strategies.
After analyzing the aforementioned research, the project will present and recommend the
findings and strategies to incorporate the most effective way to optimise the final output of
the private labels and perception of the customers, which forms one of the core areas that
define the success of a private label.
By utilizing these recommendations the aim is to help Ladies’ Indian-wear private labels at
Shoppers Stop to position itself as genuine, relatable brands that offer the best quality product
in its category.
27
1.6 Objectives of the Project

To understand the pre-season planning of the private labels in the Ladies’ Indian-wear
department at SSL

To review the in-season performance of the private labels in Indian-wear.

To identify and analyse the gaps in the buying process of the department.

To study current customer’s perception of current assortment of Ladies’ Indian-wear
in Shoppers Stop.

To do a competitive analysis of Ladies’ Ethnic-wear private labels in major
department stores in terms of product, pricing, VM.

To provide feasible solutions to boost the performance of private labels.
28
2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A list of important activities to be carried out during the tenure of the graduation project has
been mentioned step- by- step below.
Activities:
Study of Ladies’ Ethnic-wear at Shoppers Stop
Development of Research Proposal
Study of Private Label Merchandise
Literature Survey
Background Study of the category
Design and Development of Methodology
Desing and Development of Sampling Technique
Data Collection
Design and Development of Competitive Survey
Data Collection
Data Analysis and Inference Drawing
Final Documentation and Presentation
Incongruity detection and redressal
Final Report Presentation
29
2.1 Research Process Flow Chart
Study the Buying
Process
Customer
Perception &
Feedback Analysis
Inference from
Data Analysis
Recommendations
Competition
Analysis
Brief Overview of the Process
1. Studying the Buying Process
An in-depth understanding and learning of the buying process for the Ladies’ Ethnic-wear
private labels of Shoppers Stop will be carried out. Since it is an elongated process, it
will be spanning across the entire tenure of the project.
2. Customer Perception and Feedback Analysis
Survey forms will be developed to get the opinion of customers on various factors such
as:

Price range

Aesthetic Appeal

Comfort

Future Collections, etc.
3. Competitive Analysis
Study will be carried out about the competition brands of Shoppers Stop ethnic-wear visà-vis the pre-defined parameters such as:

Assortment
30

Price range

Visual Merchandising
4. Inference from Data Analysis
Findings from the above mentioned study will be used to develop final analysis of the
gaps in terms of critical factors for the private labels.
5. Recommendations
Lastly, suggestions and recommendations drawn from the gap analysis will be proposed.
31
2.2 Research Design
Data Collection
Types of Data:

Nominal data

Ordinal data
Nature of Data Collection:

Primary Research

Secondary Research.
Primary Research
Method of Data Collection:

Methodology 1: Observations and Learnings
o Data Collection Tool: First-hand information through on-the-job
activities and observations during the tenure of the graduation
project in the company.

Methodology 2: Survey technique
o Data Collection Tool: Questionnaires
Area of study: Mumbai
Secondary Research
Source for Data Collection:

Existing Company database

Internet

Publications
Data Analysis and Presentation

Tabular Representation

Graphical Representation

Descriptive Representation
32
3. LITERATURE REVIEW
3.1 Company Background
Figure 13: Shoppers Stop Logo
Shoppers Stop, an Indian department store chain promoted by the K Raheja Corp Group is
one of the leading retail stores in India. Shoppers Stop Ltd. began by operating a chain of
department stores under the name “Shoppers Stop” in India. It started in the year 1991 with
its first store in Andheri, Mumbai. Currently, Shoppers Stop Ltd. has 67 stores in 31 cities.
Promoted by Mr. Chandru L. Raheja, Mr. Ravi C. Raheja and Mr. Neel C. Raheja, the K.
Raheja Corp. have been leaders in the construction business for over 48 years. With its wide
range of merchandise, exclusive shop-in-shop counters of international brands and world
class customer service, Shoppers Stop brought international standards of shopping to the
Indian consumer providing them with a complete shopping experience.
Shoppers Stop retails a range of branded apparel and private labels under the following
categories of apparel, footwear, fashion jewellery, leather products, accessories and home
products. These are complemented by cafe, food, entertainment, personal care and various
beauty related services. It provides quality services, products and the right kind of shopping
environment.
Shoppers Stop is famous for the expertise and acumen relating to the current practices of the
industry. It has developed itself as a household name and has set high standards for itself.
The average age of the employees in the organization is 25 years.
It has been awarded "The Hall of Fame" and won "The Emerging Market Retailer of the
Year Award", by World Retail Congress at Barcelona, on April 10, 2008. Shoppers Stop is
listed on the BSE.
33
It was awarded the "Most Admired Apparel Retailer" at the Images Fashion Awards 2000.
With a customer entry of about 25,000 customers a day, a national presence with over
3,00,000 square feet of retail space and stocking over 450 brands of garments and
accessories, Shoppers Stop has clearly become a one stop shop for all customers.
To add to this, Shoppers Stop has benchmarked itself with the best in the world. This is
testified by the fact that Shoppers Stop is the only Indian member of the "Intercontinental
Group of Departmental Stores", which has the likes of Selfridges (United Kingdom),
Karstadt (Germany), Marks & Spencer (UK), Matahari (Indonesia), Myers Grace Bros.
(Australia) and Rustan's (Philippines) among its members.
Corporate Profile
Vision:
To be a global retailer in India and maintain its No.1 position in the Indian market in the
Department Store category.
Mission:
Nothing but the best.
To strive and achieve nothing but the best in terms of processes, practices & deliverables.
Values to help achieving mission and vision:

We will not take what is not ours.

The obligation to dissent (against a viewpoint that is not acceptable).

We will have an environment conducive to openness.

We will believe in innovation.

We will have an environment conducive to development.

We will have the willingness to apologise and forgive.

We will respect our customers' rights.

We will create an environment of trust.

We shall be fair.

We will be socially responsible.
Top Management
Shoppers Stop is headed by
Mr. B.S. Nagesh- Customer Care Associate & Vice Chairman, Shoppers Stop Ltd.
Mr. Govind Shrikhande- Customer Care Associate & Managing Director, Shoppers Stop Ltd.
34
Customer Profile

Shoppers Stop's core customers represent a strong SEC A and B+ skew.

They fall between the age group of 16 to 40 years.

The majority of them are families and young couples with a monthly household
income above ₹30,000 and an annual spend of ₹15,000.

The target customers are upper-middle class and upper class.

A large number of customers are also Non-Resident Indians, who visit the stores for
cultural clothes.
The 4 P’s of Shoppers Stop
Product
The stores offer a complete range of apparel and lifestyle accessories for the entire family.
From apparel brands to cosmetic brands, Shoppers Stop caters to every lifestyle need.
Shoppers Stop retails products of domestic and international brands such as Louis Philippe,
Pepe, Arrow, BIBA, Gini & Jony, Carbon, Corelle, Magppie, Nike, Reebok, LEGO, and
Mattel.
Shoppers Stop has also introduced its own line of clothing in the classic, value classic and
value fashion segments. It retails merchandise under its own labels, such as STOP, Kashish,
LIFE and Vettorio Fratini, Elliza Donatein, Haute Curry, Acropolis etc.
The company also licensees for Austin Reed (London), an international brand, who’s men's
and women's outerwear are retailed in India exclusively through the chain.
The merchandise at Shoppers Stop is sold at a quality and price assurance backed by its
guarantee stamp on every bill.
Shoppers Stop has 4 divisions:
‘The Men’s apparels, Ladies apparels, Kids wear and the Non-apparels. Following is their
contribution to the turnover.
35
Figure 24: Contribution of SS Divisions to Sales
CATEGORY
%AGE CONTRIBUTION TO SALES
Men’s Apparel
34.3%
Women’s Apparel
20.2%
Kid’s Apparel
8.7%
Non- Apparel
36.8%
The like-to like division –wise sales can be seen as follows:
Figure 35: SS Division wise Sales
Non- Apparels consists of Leather, Watches, Jewellery, Electronics and Personal
Accessories.
36
Figure 16: SS Category wise Sales
5
Shoppers Stop Quarterly Report March 2014
37
5
It operates with 90 departments handling around 450 brands managing a combined footfall of
over 25,000 customers each day.
PRODUCT
OFFERINGS
Apparel
Men'sWear
Casualwear
Women's
Wear
Casualwear
Accessories
Kid's
Wear
Men’s
Accessories
Indianwear
Inner-wear
&
Nightwear
Sportswear
Formalwear
Indianwear
Maternity
wear
Girlswear
Boyswear
Winterwear
Beauty &
Fragrances
Men’s
Kid’s
Accessories
& Toys
Home &
Kitchen
Gold, Silver
& Platinum
Bed
Skincare
Fashion &
Artificial
Bath
Kids’
Haircare
Accessorie
s
Jewellery
Make-up
Women’s
New Born
Women’s
Accessories
Formalwear
Shoes
Fragrances
Travel
Kitchen &
Dining
Living
Appliances
Nightwear
& Lingerie
Decor
Price
Shoppers Stop has a proper mix of both affordable and premium priced products. The brands
are sold at MRP and lower.
Shoppers Stop is a bridge to luxury departmental store which includes selling High Quality
products at a high price. The USP is the variety of choice given to the customers rather than
the price.
Place
Expanding its operations to Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Delhi, Chennai, Ghatkopar, Pune
(Mumbai) and most recently Calcutta, Shoppers Stop is today recognised as India's premier
shopping destination.
Shoppers Stop has also launched its e-store with delivery across major cities in India in 2008.
The website is “www.shoppersstop.com”. The website retails all the products available at
Shoppers Stop stores, including apparel, cosmetics and accessories.
38
Figure 17: List of SSL Stores
Source: Shoppers Stop Quarterly Report March, 2014
Promotion

Shoppers Stop First Citizen - a loyalty programme and a virtue
Shoppers Stop’s virtue of always ‘putting the customer first’ has enabled it to pioneer a
reward-based loyalty programme called Shoppers Stop First Citizen. This was launched in
1994.
The program offers its members an opportunity to collect points and avail of special benefits.
Currently, Shopper’s Stop has a database of over 2.5lakh members who contribute to nearly
65%of the total sales of Shopper’s Stop. They also offer a co-branded credit card with
Citibank for their members, called the First Citizen Citibank Titanium Credit Card.
With a growing base of over 2.25 million members contributing over 72% to sales annually,
Shoppers Stop First Citizen loyalty programme is the biggest and most successful programme
in this category.
39

Print Advertisements and Outdoor Media
Figure 18: Shoppers Stop Hoardings

Discounts and Promotions
Figure 19: Promotional Offers
Figure 20: Discounts offered at Shoppers Stop
40

Special Events and Associations
Figure 21: Associations with Bollywood

Brand Ambassadors
Figure 22: Shruti Hassan as brand Ambassador for Haute Curry
41
Figure 23: Soha Ali Khan as brand Ambassador for Kashish

Social Media
Figure 24: Shoppers Stop on Facebook
42
Figure 25: Shoppers Stop on Twitter
Figure 26: Shoppers Stop on Youtube
43
3.2 Indian- wear at Shoppers Stop
Ladies’ Ethnicwear in Shopper’s Stop provides a wide range of merchandise through both
national as well as in-house labels. The national brands available at Shopper’s Stop are Biba,
W, Seven East, Gili, Sanaa, etc.The private labels offered in Indian-wear are STOP, Kashish
and Haute Curry
The philosophy of Shopper’s Stop Indian-wear is to offer a complete wardrobe solution with
true value and at a great price for the customers.
The Brand Positioning of Shoppers Stop’s Ladies’ Indian-wear can be mapped as follows.
High
F
A
S
H
I
O
N
Low
Medium
High
Low
PRICE
Figure 27: Brand Positioning of Shoppers Stop Indian Wear
Private Labels
1. STOP:
STOP
is
a
classic
yet
contemporary quality brand for
the urban modern woman. It is a
44
combination of personal values, customer insight, and shared love of fashion with lots of
entrepreneurial team spirit. It aims to be a blend of fashion and functionality.
Product Basket:
STOP is divided into three sub-brands
STOP Classics
STOP Workwear
Philosophy:
Philosophy:
“Timeless classics with a
“Understated
contemporary
twist”.
STOP Naturals
Philosophy:
A Underestimated”
but
A
never “A blend of ethnic fashion
must with contemporary styling”
perfect every day wear for have for the urban working With a touch of rustic charm.
our modern Indian woman.”
woman.”
Merchandise:
Merchandise:
Merchandise:
MNM kurtis with emphasis MNM kurtis are slim fits The USP of this segment is
on
ethnic
surface with
ornamentation.
fashionable
detailing
and
key its rustic and classic styling
innovative of plains and hand blocked
SKD sets with varied bottom silhouettes.
prints and textures in natural
wear like churidars, salwars Knit churidars for the smart dyes.
and patialas.
urbane chic look. Sets of
printed bottom and dupattas
for the individualistic woman
to create her personal style
and look.
Customer Profile:

Age group: 25 to 45 years.

Single or married

Profession- Professional works in MNC organisation or educated housewife.

Lifestyle - Loves to spend on herself, influenced by colleagues / clients and friends

Hobbies - Reads TOI, Cosmopolitan, Elle, film magazines etc.

Personality Traits - Spirited with a mature social life

Needs - comfort, wash n wear, colourful attractive every day wear , versatile for their
various chores throughout the day
45

Problems with - Sheer or tight or fitted, high maintenance, expensive for monthly
buying.

Priority: Comfort and Functionality/ Style/ Affordable prices.
2. Haute Curry:
Haute Curry is a brand inspired by
contemporary fashion. Haute Curry for
women mirrors the new age Indian
woman. Rooted at home and taking on the world with passion, playing myriad of roles with
élan and taking on the challenges in her stride. It is contemporary fashion with elements of
ethnicity.
Attempt is to reinvent Indian ethnic fashion, with an aim to provide fashion in a modern retail
environment to the Indian woman.
Mission:
To be a trendsetter in the women’s Ethnic Fashion Category
Customer Profile:

Age group – 20- 35 years

Profession - Young professionals working in BPO’s, Call centers, Ad agencies,
MNC’s & educated housewives.

Lifestyle – Modern but yet carries the traditional values, Loves to spend on herself
with evolved fashion sense. Exposure to international fashion.

Social Life- Going to brunches, parties, pubs, coffee shops etc.

Hobbies – Ardent reader of Page3, Elle, Cosmo, Vogue etc.

Personality Straits o Highly fashion conscious
o Looks for young fashion with ethnic feel
o Is upwardly mobile
o Seeks exclusivity
o Is bold and confident
o Trend driven
o Gets influenced by peer pressure & colleagues.
46
o Loves shopping as stress relief.
o Follower of fashion through movies, television, yearly fashion shows

Needs - Bright attractive colours and a lot of shine to add to the glamour value; not
very price sensitive if the product is fashionable and a must have.

Problems with - Outdated style, boring colours, uncomfortable fitting.

Priority: Fashion/ Colour and Shine/ Glamour/ Price
3. Kashish:
Kashish aims to paint, decorate and ornament
clothes for celebrations that are a part of every
individual.
It offers specific designs weddings, festivities, etc. Some of the occasions it caters to are:
o Festivals
o Kitty parties
o Formal parties
o Weddings and special occasions.
Customer Profile:

Age group - 25 to 45 years.

Matured working professional or a house wife with a refined and elegant taste.

Lifestyle: Pays high regards to traditional values and culture, loves attending and
organizing family functions/ get together.

Personality Traits: Sophisticated and classy, contemporary but not funky,
individualistic, fashionable but not a trend setter.

Needs - Expensive looking, elegant and rich garment with sophisticated styling

Problems with - Gaudy colour ,over-styling and loud embroidery and any
ornamentation that does not look classy enough

Priority: Sophistication/ Colour/ Price
47
4. THE BUYING PROCESS
For an in-depth understanding and an all-inclusive analysis, the project required an
acquaintance with the buying process of the private labels at Shoppers Stop. This process
being an elongated one, it formed a major part of the daily in- the- job activities, thus
spanning across the entire tenure of the project.
The buying process in a departmental store can be explained as a suggested staged process
before a buying decision is made. It includes:

Recognition of customer need

Identify the right specification of a product to satisfy the need

Searching for a vendor/supplier that can produce a product which meets specification

Choose the supplier that meets supply requirements

Specify the order (Timelines to be met, quantities to be booked and delivery schedule)

Evaluate performance of product and supplier
The buying process at Shoppers Stop consists of two primary procedures:
A]
The Pre-season planning
B]
The In-season activities and Performance review
The flow chart below, explains all the activities that take place in this process with the help of
an ideal timeline to be followed for the Autumn/Winter’14 season. This timeline is in tandem
with the ‘Buying & Merchandising Calendar’ formed at the beginning of the year at Shoppers
Stop.
The Flowchart in the “green” colour explains the activities that form a part of the Preseason planning process.
The flowchart in the “blue” colour explains the activities that form a part of the in-season
activities and performance review of the range.
48
DESIGN DIRECTION
1st week of June '13
CONCEPT PRESENTATION
1st week of July '13
30 days
SAMPLING DESIGNS
10th of July'13
Immediately after concepts are finalised.
SAMPLING COMMENTS
10th of August'13
30 days
RECIEPT OF SAMPLES AND COST SHEETS
10th of October '13
60 days
INTERNAL RANGE PRESENTATION
1st of November'13
20 days
FINAL COSTS AND RANGE BUILD
20th of Novembert'13
20 days
RANGE SIGN OFF
1st of December
10 days
CONFIRMED ORDER SHEETS SENT BY BUYER
15th of December'13
15 days
49
VENDOR'S CONFIRMATION OF ORDERS
20th of December'13
5 days
LAB DIP/STRIKE OFF APPROVALS AND FABRIC ORDERS
End of December'13
10 days
FABRIC INHOUSE
4th week of April'14
110 days
PP SAMPLE APPROVAL AND LAB TESTS APPROVAL
15th of May'14
20 days
PRODUCTION TO START
Immediately after PP approval (Lead Time for production is 35 days)
INSPECTION TO COMPLETE
By end of June'14
10 days
DA INTAKE
1st week of July'14
7 days
RANGE LAUNCH
By 3rd week of July'14
VELOCITY REPORTS
Weekly analysis after the range launch
FLOOR WALK
By 15th of September'14
50
4.1 The Pre-season Planning
1) Design direction
The head buyer along with the design team of a label have the preliminary brainstorming
session regarding what they plan to bring on the floor for a particular season.
The buyer gives a brief to the designers about which styles worked and which styles didn’t
work in the previous season. The buyer also provides the design team a direction for the
upcoming season. The design team then works towards the concept presentation.
2) Concept Presentation
The design presents the mother theme along with the minor themes for the season. The
designers have a different minor theme for each month’s input. They also give a flavour of
the silhouettes, colours, embroideries and the prints that will form a part of the collection in
the concept presentation.
Below are the theme boards of the ethnic wear label Haute Curry for Spring/Summer ‘14
51
Figure 28: Haute Curry Themes for Spring/ Summer ‘14
3) Sampling Designs
Once the concepts are frozen, the design team begins work on the new samples. The design
team are given a fixed budget for every season. This budget is directed towards the sampling
and sourcing of inspiration ideas and materials.
The samples are made at the various vendors that work with the label. Usually, the designer
makes the samples keeping in mind the details of the style vis-à-vis the strengths of the
vendor. For Example, if the designer wants to make a collection of knitted tops with
placement prints, then he/ she would make that collection with the vendor that is equipped
and experienced with it.
The number of samples made is in relation to the Option Plan for the season.
 Option Plan is the assortment plan prepared by the merchandiser for the label at the
beginning of the season. The option plan is a detailed intake plan for the season. This
intake plan is made in tandem with the like-to-like sales of the same season in the
previous year and other elements such as the festivals, holidays, etc. which could affect
the sales. The designers have to make the samples as per the MRP’s mentioned in the
option plan and therefore, need to take into consideration the type of buttons, patterns and
other structural details to fit into the specified MRP.
Below are the option plans for STOP, Haute Curry and Kashish for Autumn/Winter’14.
52
Figure 29: Option Plan for A/W ‘14
53
4) Sampling Comments
Sampling comments are the first set of comments made on the new samples. This is a
preliminary review of samples done by the buying and design team. The buyers do the cost
negotiations with the vendors based on tentative quantities for the styles that they feel are
very strong for the upcoming season.
5) Receipt of Samples and Cost Sheets
A lead time of 60 days is given to the design team to ensure that the samples are in house
from all the vendors. The buyers at this stage are responsible to attach “Tags” to the garment
with all the important information such as the Style Name, garment attributes like length,
fabric, colour and buyer’s name, designer’s name and the season.
Figure 30: Sample tags
The buyer follows up with all the vendors for the cost sheets of all the samples. Albeit a few
vendors, Shoppers Stop follows the method of “open costing” with the vendors in the ethnic
wear department.
Open Costing is when the components of a cost-sheet are up for discussion with the vendors.
This includes fabric cost, cost of trims used, cost of surface ornamentations such as
embroidery, CMT charges, etc. Although the cost of fabrics and trims are more or less fixed,
the negotiations are mainly focused on the CMT and surface ornamentation charges.
54
This is different from Closed Costing, in which the negotiations are done on the final cost of
the garment as specified by the vendor and not on the cost components. This form of costing
lacks transparency as compared with the Open Costing method, as the charges applied for the
various cost components are not revealed to the buyer.
The cost sheet format followed at Shoppers Stop is shown below:
Figure 31: Cost Sheet Format
6) Internal Range Presentation
The internal range presentation takes place in attendance of the design team, the buying team
and the merchandisers of that particular label and department.
The buyers have to enter all the styles in the “BUY SHEET” before the range presentation
takes place.
55
 Buy Sheet is the most important document that the buyer works with. It is the considered
to be the “Bible” for a brand for each season. It is a consolidated sheet of all the styles of
a season which includes the new styles and also the spill-over styles of the previous
season which are supposed to go on the floor. It contains all the important information
regarding each style for the entire season and the buy plan of the season.
All the elements included in the buy sheet are further illustrated in the table and images
below.
Buyer Comments
Attach cap with sleeveless
style
Phase
Jan
Season
S14
Department Number
370
Brand
SC
Product
KU
Sr. No
27
Style Code
S14370SCKU27
Style Name
Pink princess
Silhouette
A Line
Casual/Festive
Casual
Grade
B
Designer
Pramila
Vendor
Khushi Impex
Colour
Off White
Fabric
Printed Cambric
Kurta length
38
Sleeve length
Cap Sleeves
MRP
1199
Margin
55%
PO Cost
500
Vat/Cst
11
New Landed Cost
511
DA Actual
DA WK 40
56
Size Ratio
XS:S:M:L:XL:XXL
Size Ratio
1:1:3:3:3:1
Size set
12
Final
Order
Quantity
900
Sum of Stores
68
Andheri
12
Figure 32: Buy Sheet Format
The designers arrange the garments story wise in relevance to their theme boards. The below
images depict the theme boards and their corresponding collection of the private label Haute
Curry for the Spring/Summer’14 season.
57
Figure 33: Theme wise Collections for SS ‘14
The design team arranges the collections according to their month wise input. This is done to
ensure that the appropriate collection is brought on the floor at the appropriate time. For
example, the Festive collection is put in the September input so that it is brought on the floor
before Diwali festival.
The images below show two collections made of light weight cotton fabrics and in soothing
colours which were planned for March Input (S/S’14) as they are appropriate collections for
summer season.
58
Figure 34: March Input for STOP
In the internal range presentation, the merchandisers give feedback on all the styles presented
by the design team and decide the perceived MRP of each garment. At this stage, the styles
are dropped in case the merchandisers do not approve of the design and aesthetic appeal of
the style or if they feel that the perceived MRP is too high for that style.
Any alterations and changes in samples are noted by the buyer during the range presentation.
In case of a major change like re-styling of a garment, the design team is responsible to
execute these changes and handover the revised sample to the buyer for booking. However, in
case of minor changes like changing the colours or replacing the existing fabric with a similar
quality fabric, the buying team is responsible to communicate the changes to the vendors and
execute the changes in the pre- production sample.
7) Final Costs And Range Build
At this stage, the buyer negotiates the costs of the selected styles with the vendors to achieve
the target ASP (Average Selling Price) and margins. In case the vendor cannot meet the target
cost, the styles are either redesigned to fit into the budget or the styles are dropped. Thus the
range is build.
The final numbers of the samples are tallied with the required options as per the range plan. If
the options are short in any particular category, the designers work on additional samples to
meet the option plan requirements.
8) Range Sign-Off
Once the costs, MRPs and margins of the samples are finalised, the range is presented to the
Business Heads. The Business Heads give the final feedback on the range.
59
After getting all the approvals from the business heads, the merchandising team and the
buying head assign the quantities to each style and also decide the size ratios for the same.
This is also called as “Booking the range”.
9) Confirmed Order Sheets Sent By Buyer
After the range sign off, the buyer sends all the vendors their respective order sheets which
acts as a confirmation of orders for the vendor. It is an indicator that the vendor can begin
work on those styles which are mentioned in the order sheet.
In the ethnic wear department at Shopper’s Stop, the A/W’14 range was presented in two
phases for the private label “STOP”. The input for the months July-August was closed in
the first phase and the input for the months September-December was closed in the second
phase.
60
4.2 In-Season Review
10) Confirmation of orders by Vendors
The vendor has to acknowledge this order sheet with his confirmation and acceptance. The
vendor has to confirm the receipt of this order sheet with his confirmation and acceptance.
The final costs for the styles are closed by this stage from both the parties. The original
samples along with the comments for the required alterations are dispatched to the vendor for
him to proceed with further action.
11) Lab Dip/Strike Off Approvals And Fabric Orders
Immediately after the order confirmation, the vendors start work on the fabric lab dip
approvals and strike off approvals. Once the buyers approves of the same, the vendors go
ahead and place the bulk orders for the fabric as per the average consumption required for the
production. The vendors get a lead time of around 100-120 days to make sure the bulk fabric
is in house. The buyer’s job is to constantly chase the vendors for the approvals so that all the
timelines are adhered to.
Print Strike-Off- A test length of fabric specially printed in order to check the pattern
registration, pattern repeat and the matching shades in the design
Lab –Dip- A lab dip is a swatch of fabric test dyed to hit a colour standard.
61
Figure 35: Lab Dip/ Strike-Off Approvals
12) PP Sample Approval & Lab Tests Approval
The PP sample approval is a very importance practice which is religiously followed at
Shoppers Stop for every style. It is a mandatory practise for all vendors to submit a preproduction sample. Buyer wants Pre-Production sample (PP sample) to be made in actual
production line, so that operators know what they are going to make. This sample is made
with actual fabric, trims and accessories and made by sewing line tailors. PP sample must be
approved by buyer and the technical persons prior to proceeding actual production. The PP
sample is tried by a live model and the fit comments are taken into consideration by the
62
technical team. The comments are noted and sent to the vendor by the technical team, if the
technical team approves the sample, the vendor can consider it as a green signal to proceed
with the bulk production of the same style. But, if the technical team rejects the PP sample,
the vendor has to re-submit the PP sample for approval.
The vendors are also required to send the lab test reports on the garment quality to the
technical team to prove that the garment the garment meets the prescribed quality standards.
Labels & Tags
Sample description
Labels --L3 wash care label Tags -- kashish tags
Style
Colours
Fabric
Season
Sleeve less 32" Kurta (MnM)
ROSE TUNIC
MEASUREMENTS POINTS
PINK
Tol.+/-
Required
Actual
Length (From HSP)
1/2
32
ok
CHEST
1/2
37
ok
Waist at 14"HPS
HEM -1/2
1/2
33
ok
1/2
30
-0.5
SHOULDER
1/4
11
ok
ACROSS CHEST
1/4
10
0.25
Neck width
1/4
8.5
0.5
Neck depth
1/4
4.75
ok
ARMHOLE - Curved
1/4
16.5
1.5
Tol +/-:
Req.
ALL OVER NECK OPENING SHOULD NOT BE LESS THAN
1/2
23"
0
0.75"
SIDE SEAM ALLOWANCE FOR KURTA
Remarks
RAYON
Date of approval
SS - 14
25-04-2014
Picture
Conditionaly Approved
Not approved
Comments
1 front slit need to clsse to till the marking .
2 pintucks length found un even .
3 armhole found too loose .
4 improper edges at neck/ shoulder .
5 take care of embrodiery .
6 printing deffects will not be acceptable .
7
8 Measurement deviation at variouse places -- not acceptable.
9 Untrimmed threads found more in sample -- Take care in production.
10 Yoke to be graded according to size.
Remarks Resubmit sample.
MEASUREMENTS POINTS Tol.+/-
XS
S
M
L
XL
XXl
LENGTH FROM HPS
1/2
CHEST
1/2
Waist 14.5" from HPS
1/2
Hem
1/2
SHOULDER
1/4
Across Chest below 5" from HPS 1/4
ARMHOLE CURVE
1/4
32
35
31
29
10.5
9.5
15.5
32
37
33
30
11
10
16.5
32
39
35
31
11.5
10.5
17.5
32
41
37.5
32
12
11
18.5
32
43
40
33
12.5
11.5
19.5
32
45
42
34
13
12
20.5
NECK WIDTH
1/8
Neck Depth -- Straight Upto collar point
1/8
8.25
4.5
8.5
4.75
8.75
5
9
5.25
9.25
5.5
9.5
5.75
Note
All over neck opening should not be less than 23”
Side seam allowance for kurta should be 0.75”
Follow New Churidar measurement chart
Cutting of panels should be as like orginal sample -- Waist shaping to be smooth.
Grading required in front yoke -Minimum 1/4' ' grading
Uneven print registration -- Not acceptable.
Use only 3 Ply poly Coats threads for stitching
Brocade piping tears & uneven -- Not acceptable.
5 Threads Over lock for all seams with minimum width of ¼”.
Neck Should be as in original sample.
Front back should be same.
All Measurement in inches.
Note: For Label Placement
Use kashish main label & SK-1 size label.
Main label to be attached at centre back inside neck seam piping.
Size label attach adjust ant to main label at wearer left.
slit kurta wash care to attach at 2.5” above Side slit in side seam at wearer left.
Wash care / vendor code label to be attached together.
WASH CARE LABEL DETAIL
L1- Hand Wash only. L3 -- Dry clean only.
Figure 36: PP Comments Sheet sent to Vendor
63
13) Production and Inspection
After the approval of the PP sample, the vendors start with the bulk production. The
production lead time for the vendors is 35 days. After, the production is completed, the
vendors co-ordinates with the technical team for inspection of the production samples. At
shopper’s stop, it is a norm for the vendors to send the shipment sample just before shipment.
They should be sent in actual packing with all labels, tags, etc. This sample is usually kept for
future reference for the buyer and also to double check the sample before the bulk is sent out
to the warehouse.
14) DA Intake
Purchase Order sent to
the Vendors
Delivery
Authorization
Vendor dispatches merchandise
to the DC
DC's check the merchandise and
confirm through the system
Accounts Department
receives the confirmation
DC trandports weekly requirement to
the store
Stocks are uodated in the
store
Payment to the Vendor
Figure 37: DA Process
Delivery Authorization (DA) is an international system followed by all major retailers. DA is
prepared based on the projected sales for that week.
Shoppers Stop follows the OTB system and has a weekly OTB for the ethnic wear private
labels. For example, the weekly OTB for a label is say 10,000 pieces in MNM and 3000
64
pieces in SKD, the buyers have to draw a list of styles and quantities that they would like
include in that week’s DA after consultation with the vendors (on delivery schedule for the
styles) and send this list to the merchandisers. The merchandisers then shoot Purchase Orders
to the vendors with the style name and the exact required quantity against it.
Thus with delivery authorization system Shoppers Stop can place order according to the
demand assessment with the condition that it would pick up a fixed amount every week. Thus
it doesn’t have to stock goods at his place and block money in inventory. It also helps in
better inventory management as it is based on weekly projections. It is an assurance for both
the Shoppers Stop as well as the manufacturer.
Manufacturer dispatches the weekly requirements to the 4 DC’s according to the DA. DC’s
check the details (date, number) of the product and match it with the invoice. If any detail
does not match, even if it is one piece, is rejected. If accepted it causes a mismatch between
the Purchase Order and Delivery Authorisation. Hence the PO has to match with the Invoice
carried by the Manufacturer.
15) Range Launch and Floor walk
After the range is launched, the buyer’s responsibility includes conduction floor walks in
different stores to check the quality of the merchandise and the visual merchandising. They
also are liable to take constant feedback from all the sales associates and the department
managers on the floor regarding the performance of the new styles.
In-case, the buyers send out a quality report on all the issues that the find with the
merchandise of a particular style to the respective vendor. If the buyer finds unacceptable
defects in the merchandise on the floor, the merchandise is returned to the Vendor. Some
common defects found in the merchandise while conducting a store visit for quality check is
illustrated below.
65
Figure 38: Quality Checks during Floor Walk
 Item Velocity Report
The buyers also receive a weekly sell-thru report from the merchandising team where they
review the performance of all the styles on the floor. Separate reports are made brand-wise
for MNM (Mix n’ Match) and SKD (Salwar Kurta Dupatta)/ CKD (Churidar Kurta Dupatta)
styles.
66
Figure 39: Sell Thru Summary given by Merchandisers
The buyers then prepare the velocity report based on these reports and determine the good,
poor and average sellers for that week. The styles are listed as per their performance under
the heading of “Good, Average and Poor” Sellers.
The buyers also tend to then follow up with the CSAs of the stores to know the attributes of
the style which makes it a good or a poor seller; for example, gaudy colours do not work well
in particular stores.
Figure 40: Sell Thru Summary prepared by Buyers
67
Other Important reports maintained by the buyer
1) Order Book
An order is mainly prepared for the purpose of audits at the company, both internal and
external. It is a consolidated book for all the styles of the season. It consists of the garment
picture, cost-sheet and other important details of the style such as, style code & name, MRP,
total booked quantity, DA week, etc.
Figure 41: Order Book
2) PIP (Product Information Package)
This is given to the CSAs of all the stores Pan-India before sending the styles on the floor. A
PIP consists of all the important details of each style of the season according to the story/
theme. This information is drawn from the buy sheet.
68
The purpose of a PIP is to educate the CSA’s about the styles present on the shop floor, so
that they can project the product better and make an effective sale by passing the information
to the consumers.
The PIP is uploaded by the buyer on the online portal of Shoppers Stop called “Spandhan”
which can then be accessed by all the CSAs. The PIP is updated regularly as and when new
styles are taken for the DA.
Figure 42: Contents of PIP
69
70
5. CUSTOMER PERCEPTION AND FEEDBACK
5.1 Studying the customer perception of current assortment of Indian-wear
at Shoppers Stop
For the purpose of the study, a survey was conducted so as to find out how the customers of
Shoppers Stop Ladies’ Indian-wear observe its apparel. The aim of the resulting analysis is to
help achieve the key goal of providing recommendations for any gaps in the performance of
the Shoppers Stop Indian-wear private labels and its future operations.
The survey is critical to this study because it reflects the opinion and needs of the customers,
which is the basis for all market strategies. Without an understanding of the customer, it
would be impossible to analyse the loopholes in the current and future scenarios of the
exclusive labels of Shoppers Stop Indian-wear.
The survey has been designed to gather unbiased, objective information from the sample
population. The survey was conducted over the period of 4 months (January - April) of my
project through periodic visits to the stores. The questionnaire used is shown in Annexure A.
The objective of the survey: To find the customer perception of Ladies’ Ethnic-wear at
Shoppers Stop
Data Collection tool for survey technique: Questionnaire
Area of study: Mumbai (Western Suburbs)
The survey is targeted towards current customers of Shoppers Stop
Sample Size: 100
Sampling Technique: Judgemental
71
The Statistical analysis for the survey is as follows:
Question 1: “Which are your favourite Indian wear brands?”
This was a warm-up question asked to know the preference of Indian-wear brands by the
customers.
It was an open-end question so as to know the popularity of various competition brands. The
survey results showed that Biba was the most popular amongst the competition brands,
followed by W.
Which are your favorite Indian-wear brands?
Biba
W
Seven East
Global Desi
Haute Curry
Kashish
STOP
Pantaloons
Westside
Others
37.50%
22.22%
6.94%
8.33%
19.44%
11.11%
16.67%
5.56%
1.39%
20.83%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Figure 43: Favourite Indian-wear Brands
Question 2: “Are you aware of the exclusive Shoppers Stop labels for Indian wear?”
This multiple choice question was to find out the Brand Recall factor of the exclusive labels
offered by Shoppers Stop in the ladies’ Indian-wear section. The customers could indicate
any brands out of the three or none, so as to know the brand recall of each individual label.
The survey showed that STOP and Haute Curry had more customer brand recall and
popularity. This was followed by the premium-wear label Kashish. There were few customers
who were unaware of the private labels offered, most of them being first-time customers.
72
Are you aware of the exclisuve Shopper's Stop
labels for Indian-wear?
100%
84.72%
84.72%
80%
70.83%
60%
40%
20%
9.72%
0%
STOP
Haute Curry
Kashish
None
Figure 44: Brand Awareness of Private Labels
Question 3: “Which brand do you prefer from the exclusive Shoppers Stop labels?”
This was a multiple choice question asked to find the popularity of brands amongst the
customers. The analysis showed that the private label Haute Curry had the highest
attractiveness among the customers. The survey also showed that a substantial number of 30
customers said that they do not prefer any specific brand.
Which brand do you prefer from the exclusive
Shopper's Stop labels mentioned above?
70%
60%
50%
36.11%
40%
30%
34.72%
22.22%
18.06%
20%
10%
0%
STOP
Haute
Curry
Kashish
Figure 45: Brand Popularity of Private Labels
73
None
Question 4: “Why do you purchase Indian-wear from Shoppers Stop?”
This multiple choice question was asked to fine out the purpose for which the customers
purchase from the exclusive labels of Shoppers Stop Indian-wear.
The survey showed that maximum number of the customers preferred to purchase the private
labels for casual-wear, followed by work-wear and then festive-wear.
One of the respondents said that the label STOP was preferred for casual/ workwear whereas
the other two private labels were preferred for occasion-wear
Why do you purchase Indian-wear from
Shopper's Stop?
100%
80%
69.74%
60%
40%
40.28%
27.78%
20%
0%
Workwear
Festive/ Ocassionwear
Casualwear
Figure 46: Purpose of Purchase
Question 5: “What do you usually buy from the private labels in the Indian wear section?”
This multiple choice question was to find out which classification within Indian-wear is most
sought after. Since the Indian-wear at Shoppers Stop is split into two sections, that is, Sets
and Mix & Match, it was important to know the preferred section for a well-rounded analysis.
The survey results showed that a substantial number of customers preferred MNMs over Sets.
Within Sets, Churidar/Kurta/Dupatta (CKD) sets were favoured more than the Salwar/ Kurta
Dupatta (SKD) sets.
74
What do you usually by from Shopper's Stop
in the Indian-wear section?
Sets-CKD
20.83%
Sets-SKD
9.72%
Mix n Match
91.67%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Figure 47: MNM vs. Sets Popularity
Question 6: “Within MNM, what do you prefer in the following categories?”
Bottom Wear
Tunics/Kurtas
Salwars
Thigh Length kurtas
Patialas
Knee length kurtas
Churidars- Knit
Calf length kurtas
Churidars- Woven
Ankle length kurtas
Ankle length Leggings
Kaftans
Sleeve length of
Kurtas
Full Sleeves
3/4th Sleeves
Cap Sleeves
Spaghetti/ Straps
Fashion Bottoms (Flared
pants, Dhoti pants, Skirts)
This was an optional question asked only if the respondent chose “MNM” as a preferred sort
of assortment. Here, the respondent was asked to choose various options they preferred
within the 3 categories mentioned, that is, Bottom-wear, Kurtas and Sleeves. The aim was to
find the type of bottom-wear most preferred and the most preferred Kurta lengths and Slevee
lengths.
75
The survey results showed that for bottom-wear, knit churidars were most popular. For Kurta
lengths, Knee length was the most preferred length, whereas amongst Sleeves, choice of 3/4th
or elbow sleeves was common.
Within MNM, what do you prefer in the
following?
Fashion Bottoms
16.67%
37.88%
Ankle Length Leggings
9.09%
BOTTOMWEAR
Churidar- Woven
63.64%
Churidar- Knit
30.30%
Patialas
24.24%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Salwars
27.27%
69.70%
7.58%
15.15%
6.06%
9.09%
KURTAS/ TUNICS
0%
20%
40%
60%
16.67%
SLEEVES
7.58%
0%
10%
16.67%
15.15%
20%
30%
40%
50%
80%
65.15%
37.88%
60%
Thigh Length
Knee Length
Calf Length
Ankle Length
Kaftans
Any
Full Sleeves
3/4th Sleeves
Cap Sleeves
Sleeveless
Straps
Any
70%
Figure 48: Preference within MNM
Question 7: “Please rate the private labels in terms of the given criteria in the order of
importance in a garment, on a scale from 1 to 5”
This question was aimed at finding the customer perception of the performance of each
private label on the key areas. With respect to an individual private label, this question helped
to point out the key factors that the customers are satisfied with and the ones which need to
76
be worked on. It also helped to compare the performance of the 3 labels with each other on
the critical areas.
The factors that were rated by the customers were pricing, quality, variety, fashion quotient
and fit.
The analysis showed that the label Haute Curry scored higher in aesthetic aspects such as
color, style/ design and important product features like quality and fit. However, the label fell
short on its price range and maximum respondents found the label to be expensive.
For the label STOP, the survey showed that it excelled when it came to price range and the
comfort that the products offered. However, maximum respondents felt that the label needs to
work on its product features and aesthetics.
The label Kashish received an average response on all the attributes. However, it scored the
least on its price range.
Average Rating Scored by Labels from 1 to 5
(1 being the lowest & 5 being the highest)
3.85
3.80 3.873.83
3.90 3.83
3.82
3.78 3.80
3.76
3.77 3.79
3.74
3.80
3.73
3.70
3.70
3.70
3.60
3.56
3.60
3.56
3.50
3.45
3.50
3.41
3.40
3.30
3.20
3.10
Haute Curry
Kashish
STOP
Figure 49: Average Rating on Key Areas
Question 8: “Please rate the level of satisfaction with the variety of options offered in the
private labels in Indian wear brands at Shoppers Stop.”
This question was asked using a Likert scale, to find out the customer satisfaction in relation
to the variety of assortment offered by the private labels in the Shoppers Stop Indian-wear
77
department. The question was trailed by a follow-up question asking the respondent to
indicate the reason for their satisfaction or dissatisfaction in relation to the options offered for
sale. This question also helped to compare the relative level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction
of each private label, as stated by the respondents.
How satisfied are the customers with the assortment
offered by the labels
(expressed as percentage)
70%
57.63%
60.78%
57.14%
60%
50%
40%
STOP
30%
20%
10%
KASHISH
16.95%
20.34%
16.67%
14.29% 13.73% HAUTE CURRY
13.73%
11.76%
11.90%
5.08%
0%
Very
Satisfied
Satisfied
Neutral
Dissatisfied
Figure 50: Level of Customer Satisfaction
While most of the respondents were satisfied with the assortment offered by all the 3 labels,
the reasons for their dissatisfaction were noted down. Some of the common reasons given
were:
Sizes and Fits
o Many respondents had complaints with the lack of sizes available for a particular
style in a store.
o There were complaints regarding the fits for the labels STOP and Kashish with
respect to certain silhouettes.
Price Range
o Many respondents found the price range offered by Haute Curry and Kashish to be
expensive.
Options
o The most common reason for dissatisfaction with STOP was the lack of new and
innovative styles. Many of them felt that the patterns offered were old and the colors
could be improved.
78
Quality
o One of the major complaints against the label Haute Curry was regarding the color
bleeding.
o Some respondents also felt that they were unable to find season-appropriate colors
and styles. As the survey was conducted during Summer season, the respondents
wanted more options in pastel colors, cooler fabrics and shorter sleeves.
o According to the survey, some of the assortment lacked the following elements
Short Length Kurtas

More variety in Occasion-wear

Basic/ core styles

Unique/ quirky prints

Kurtas with embroidery

Salwars and Ankle-length leggings are not offered in the MNM section

Insufficient colors in the Knit Churidars section.
Question 9 A: “Out of the pictures shown, please choose the style/ styles that you would
prefer to purchase”
This is the first part of the pictorial question. This consisted of 10 arbitrary pictures of
experimental silhouettes and styles in Indian-wear. When presented with the pictures, the
respondents were asked to select one or more of the styles that they would purchase if offered
for sale. This helped to analyse future potential for the private labels of Shoppers Stop, to
incorporate novel styles/ silhouettes in their assortment. It also pointed out various details and
aspects of the garment that can or cannot be experimented with. Most importantly, it helped
to understand the mindset of the customers better.
79
Most Preferred Style
S10
S9
S8
S7
S6
S5
S4
S3
S2
S1
18
19
19
9
14
17
10
13
20
19
0
5
10
15
20
25
Figure 51: Most Preferred Style
The 5 most preferred styles were as follows:
Figure 52: Top 5 Styles
To further the analysis, an age-group wise preference of the 10 styles was also noted. This
can be seen as follows:
80
Age-group Wise Style Preference
14
12
12
S1
10
9
7
6
S6
4
4 4
3
2
3
2
11
0 0 0 0 0 00 0
22
31-40
2 2
11
0
20-30
S7
3
2 2
1
Below 20
S5
5
3
1
S4
7
6
5
4
0
8
7
6
S3
9
8
8
2
S2
10
41-50
1
0
0
S8
22
0
51-60
1 1 1
0 000 0 0 00
S9
S10
Above 60
Figure 53: Age-wise Preference of Styles
Question 9 B: “Out of the pictures shown, please choose the color palette that you would
prefer the most while purchasing garments”
This is the second part of the pictorial question. This consisted of 5 pictures of standard
colour palettes; such as, deep colours, dark colours, pastel shades, neutral colours and bright
colours. When presented with the pictures, the respondents were asked to select the colour
palette that they like the best and would consider while purchasing garments. This helped to
analyse how much importance the customers attached to the colour story of a garment.
While some customers gave no preference to the colour of the garment while making a
purchase, most of the customers chose colour palette depending on the on-going season.
81
Most Preferred Color Palette
C5
11
C4
22
C3
5
C2
25
C1
18
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Figure 54: Most Preferred Color Palette
The most preferred color palettes were
Figure 55: Top 2 Color Palettes
A comparison with the age-groups surveyed also showed the inclination of a particular agegroup
towards
a
certain
colour
palette.
This
can
be
seen
as
follows.
Age-group Wise Colour Preference
14
15
C1
9
10
7
7
5
5
0
0 00
1
0
Below 20
1
1
20-30
C2
7
5
2
4
3
0
31-40
C3
4
1
2
41-50
2
C4
11
51-60
Figure 56: Age-wise Color Preference
82
0
0
1 111
Above 60
C5
Question 10: “Age”
This demographic question was asked in order to know the age group within which majority
of the customers lie and to correlate the survey results depending on these groups.
Age
9.72%
4.17%
2.78%
40.28%
Below 20
13.89%
21-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
above 60
29.17%
Figure 57: Age of Respondents
Question 11: “Occupation”
This demographic question was the last question of the survey, asked in order to better
understand the profile of the respondents and correlate the survey results accordingly.
Occupation
13.89%
25.00%
Home Maker
Working Professional
Student
61.11%
Figure 58: Occupation of Respondents
83
Analysis of the Customer Survey

Maximum respondents of the survey fell into the age-group of 21-30 and 31-40 years.

About 60% of the respondents were working professionals, followed by Homemakers and then students.

Most of the respondents purchased Indian-wear from Shoppers Stop for casual-wear,
followed by work-wear. The number of respondents purchasing occasion-wear was
very few.

National Brands like Biba and W were the clear favourites of the respondents and
hence are strong competitors of the private labels.

The private labels have a commendable brand recall and awareness among the
respondents.

About 35% of the respondents showed no brand preference. This directs towards a
significant gap in the customer loyalty towards the private labels.

A whopping 92% of the respondents preferred MNM over Sets. Within MNM, Knit
Churidars were the most preferred in the bottom-wear category, whereas their woven
counterparts were least preferred. Also, a substantial portion of 62% of respondents
showed a preference for ankle-length leggings and salwars, collectively. These
categories are currently missing from the bottom-wear assortment offered currently by
the private labels.

Knee-length Kurtas were the most preferred amongst top-wear, whereas kaftans were
least preferred. Thigh-length and Ankle-length kurtas were preferred by a collective
portion of 42% of the respondents. Although these lengths are a part of the current
assortment, very few options in these are available and could be exploited further to
its fullest capability.

For the sleeve-lengths, maximum respondents preferred 3/4th sleeves. Cap sleeves was
another favourite of the respondents, however, very few options were available with
cap sleeves. Considering the summer season, in which the survey was conducted, cap
sleeve kurtas are season-appropriate styles which should have been capitalised on.

Many of the respondents were dissatisfied with the sizes available at the store at a
given time. A major factor which results in the shortage is the total quantity booked
per style and its subsequent ratio. For example, for the label STOP, if 1200 pieces of a
style are booked, they are distributed amongst 60 or more stores pan India. Each size
set consists of sizes ranging from XS:S:M:L:XL:XXL depending on the style. Each
84
size set consists of a size ratio in which the sizes are sent to the stores. Let us assume
the ratio to be 1:2:3:3:2:1. Hence, approximately only 2-3 size sets reach a store for a
particular style. In this case, if the ratio for a size is merely 1, the store is likely to
receive only 2-3 pieces of the given style in that particular size. Hence, this causes
shortage.

Another cause for dissatisfaction among the respondents was the price-range,
especially for Haute Curry and Kashish, as many of them felt that the styles offered
were expensive.

The most common reason for dissatisfaction with STOP was the lack of new and
innovative styles.

According to the customer feedback, some of the lacking elements in the assortment
were core styles, short length kurtas, better embroidery, better colors in the knit
churidars section, etc.

In the first part of the pictorial question, the age-group of 21-30 showed a preference
for the styles:
The above styles indicate the preference for asymmetrical hemlines, experimental
silhouettes, unique prints, bold colors and color-blocking as the features to be
included in the garments.
The age-group of 31-40 preferred the styles:
85
The above pictures showed that the older age-group of 31-40 preferred simpler
silhouettes, but were experimental in their choice of patterns and prints. They emphasised
on the comfort and elegance of the garment.

In the second part of the pictorial question, the age group of 21-30 years preferred the
duller shades of pinks and mauves as the palette indicates.
The age-group of 31-40 years preferred the either the bright shades or the deeper
shades of blues. This can be seen as follows:
Since majority of the respondents (current and potential customers) fall under these
age- brackets, the above shown preferred styles and colors should be taken into
consideration by the private labels for their future collections.
86
6. COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
Competitive Analysis of Ladies’ Ethnic Wear private labels in major
department stores.
For an in -depth study of the status quo of ethnic wear private labels and its relevance and
position as compared to its existing competitors in the market, comparative analysis of
private labels in the ethnic wear category of major department stores has been conducted.
The platforms studied for the same, have been used as a base for the competitive analysis and
simultaneously recommending solutions for any gaps found.
Figure 59: Criteria for Competition Analysis
The study of the current scenario of apparel has been done within the context of the key
platforms mentioned above, based on secondary data available from company database and
observations from the store visits, in the western suburbs of Mumbai.
Objective of the Competition Analysis
The objective of the Analysis is to ascertain the competitor’s product offering and value
proposition in the market for the women’s wear private labels offered in their ethnic wear
categories.
87
The analysis was conducted to

Understand the assortment breadth/depth in terms of major items, styles, fabrics and
colours stocked by the competitors in their private labels.

Act as tool to determine the price points of different product offerings within the
category.

Help determine the floor space and visual display features provided by the
competitor to its private label for ethnic wear category.
For an all-inclusive analysis, three brands were taken into consideration. These brands are:
1) Westside
Established in 1988 as a part of the TATA Group, Trent Ltd. operates Westside. The
Westside stores have numerous departments to meet the varied shopping needs of
customers. These include Menswear, Women’s wear, Kid’s wear, Footwear,
Cosmetics, Perfumes and Handbags, Household Accessories, lingerie, and Gifts. The
company has already established 74 Westside departmental stores (measuring 15,000 30,000 square feet each) in 42 cities pan-India.
Westside offers three private labels in the ethnic wear section:
1) Bombay Paisley – A fusion wear, affordable label, targeted towards the
youngsters.
2) Zuba – A more expensive label which offers designer garments made of rich
Indian hand woven textiles.
3) Westside – The affordable label for everyday wear. It is their biggest label in the
ethnic wear section and provides a wide assortment of MNM and SKD products
for casual wear and work wear.
2) Pantaloons
The first Pantaloons store was launched in 1997. Pantaloons stores have an
abundance of choices across categories that range from western to Indian wear,
formal to party wear and active wear for men, women and kids. Pantaloons has
extended its horizons to fashion accessories like fragrances, footwear, handbags,
watches, sunglasses and much more. Pantaloons has 81 fashion stores across 40 cities
and towns pan-India. Pantaloons which was previously controlled by the Future
Group has now been taken over by Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited ['ABNL'].
88
Pantaloons offer three private labels in the ethnic wear section:
1) Rangmanch -It offers a melange of contemporary styles with an Indian vibe
across a wide range of kurtas and churidars exuding charm and simplicity.
2) Akkriti - This contemporary brand offers indo-western silhouettes in kurtis, dhoti
pants and patialas. The eclectic vibe of colours, fabrics and designs make it a great
option for fashion conscious youngsters.
3) Trishaa- It is a brand for traditional Indian occasions. The collection has a
plethora of designs across salwar-kameez-dupatta sets.
3) Lifestyle
Lifestyle International (P) Ltd. started it operations in India in the year 1999 and
operates in overall 25 cities with more than 41stores all across India. It is a part of the
Dubai based retail and hospitality conglomerate Landmark Group and comprises
Lifestyle stores (Large format Departmental stores), Home Centre (Home
Improvement stores) and Max (Value fashion chain) along with International fashion
apparel brands UCLA and Bossini. Each Lifestyle store brings together five concepts
under one roof – Apparel, Footwear, Children, Homeware & Furnishing and Beauty
& accessories, offering a convenient one-stop shop for customers.
Lifestyle offers only one private label in ethnic-wearMelange – It is a contemporary ethnic wear brand for women. Its wide assortment
includes, kurtas, salwars/ churidars, dupattas and kurtis for ladies that can be liberally
mixed and matched.
The collection at Melange boasts of designs inspired by traditional Indian crafts like
block printing and exquisite hand embroideries on cotton, silk and other fine fabrics.
To better understand the positioning of competitor brands, the following table can be seen.
89
Figure 60: Comparison between Competing Brands
POSITIONING
Style
Affordability
Exclusive
FORMAT TYPE
and Youthful,
affordable Trendy, youthful and
fashion
vibrant brand
Tata Multi brand (national Multi brand (national
Trent Group (Only brand
and
private brand
and
private
Private Labels)
labels)
labels)
PITCH
Affordable Style
Fresh fashion
Latest Fashion
TARGET
Affluent consumers Consumers in SEC A Affluent consumers in
CUSTOMER
in SEC A and B
and B
SEC A and B
PRIVATE LABELS
OFFERED IN THE
LADIES
ETHNIC
WEAR SECTION
For the purpose of the analysis, Westside store at Malad (West), Pantaloons Outlet at Malad
(West), Shopper’s Stop store at Goregaon (West) and Lifestyle store at Goregaon (East) were
taken into consideration.
90
6.1 Competitive Analysis for Fusion Wear
FUSION WEAR- Key Observations
DESCRIPTION
PAISLEY
(WESTSIDE)
Tunics,
Kaftans, Knit
VARIETY-
Tops, Kalidar
WIDTH
Kurtas
and
Straight
NO
OF
OPTIONS
AKRITI
CURRY
(PANTALOONS)
(SHOPPER’S
STOP)
Maxi
Dress,
Kurtas
with
asymmetric
hemline,
Short
kurtas and shirts
Kurtas
ASSORTMENT
FOR TOP WEAR
HAUTE
BOMBAY
12
25
Flex,
Cambric, Sub
PRICING
FOR
TOP WEAR
₹699-₹899
PRICE
PRODUCT
OFFERING
ASSORTMENT
shirts, shirts and
churidar sets
Cambric, Voile
Jersey,
Mul,
Rayon,
Crepe,
₹499-₹1699
₹699-₹1999
at
₹499
and ₹699-₹899
Leggings,
Low
Crotch
Pants, Shorts,
Palazzo Pants
Skirts,
Shorts,
Leggings, palazzo
pants
Pants,
leggings
BOTTOM
NO
t-
Dresses at ₹ 899)
VARIETY-
WEAR
jumpsuits,
₹499-₹899 (Shirts
ENTRY
POINT
FOR
dresses,
Chambray
₹699-₹1199
RANGE
tunics, kaftans,
Cambric,
Cotton
PRICE
tops,
30
Jersey, Cotton
FABRICS
Kurtas,
OF
OPTIONS
5
7
91
6
printed
PRICE
RICING
FOR
BOTTOM WEAR
₹549-₹799
RANGE
ENTRY
Printed
PRICE
Leggings
POINT
₹549
Three
BROWSERS
₹349-₹1199
for
4-way
browsers
on
VISUAL
the floor space
MERCHANDISING
1
WALLS
Printed
Leggings
for ₹349
₹999-₹1299
Printed
Leggings
for
₹1299
4 browsers on the
floor space
6 browsers with
one nesting
table
dedicated 1 dedicated wall 6 display arms
wall with 6 with
display arms
3
display
arms
Haute Curry also
offers SKD sets
which is not offered
by the other labels
Akkriti and Bombay
Paisley. The price
range of the SKD
range is ₹2799₹5499
₹3199
Figure 61: Haute Curry SKD
92
₹699
₹799
₹599
₹899
₹699
Figure 62: Product Assortment of Bombay Paisley (Westside)
₹69₹9
₹699
₹
₹799
₹699
₹1699
₹1199
₹699
₹699
Figure 63: Product Assortment of Akkriti (Pantaloons)
93
)
₹1399
₹1499
₹1399
₹699
₹899
₹1399
9
9
₹699
₹699
₹999
₹1099
₹699
₹1399
9
Figure 64: Product Assortment of Haute Curry₹699
(Shoppers Stop)
Analysis of Fusion Wear:

Haute Curry offers a wider range of products and more number of options as compared to
the other fusion wear labels in top-wear. Jumpsuits, T-shirt and Churidar Sets are some
of the product categories offered by Haute Curry which is missing in the other labels.

However, Haute Curry has very few variety and options in the bottom wear range and is
missing on important fashion products like skirts and other fashion bottoms provided by
other labels.

Haute Curry has much higher price points as compared to the other labels for top wear.
Maximum of the styles are in the range of ₹1000 and above.
94

The other labels provide a lot of options and strong styles in the entry price point range
whereas Haute Curry has neglected this price range.

Even for bottom wear, Haute Curry is highly priced than the other labels. The label is
selling printed leggings at ₹1299, whereas the similar product category is being sold at
other labels for less than half the price, at ₹549 and ₹349.
95
6.2 Competitive Analysis for Everyday Wear (MNM)
EVERYDAY WEAR (MNM)- Key Observations
RANGMANC
DESCRIPTION
WESTSI
H
DE
(PANTALOO
MELANGE
STOP
(LIFESTYL
(SHOPPE
E)
R'S STOP)
NS)
Basic
Kalidar Kurtas, Straight
Kalidar
Straight
Kurtas
Kurtas,
with Kurtas,
Kurtas in asymmetric
kalidar
Angarakhas
varying
hemlines, basic Kurtas,
,
straight
VARIETY
lengths,
printed straight Angarakhas,
kurtas,
- WIDTH
Few
kurtas for EPP
Kurtas with tunics,
Kalidar
varying
flared
Kurtas,
lengths
and kurtas
Tunics
asymmetric
and
short kurtas
hemlines.
NO
ASSORTMENT
FOR
OF
OPTIONS
TOP
WEAR
50 (About 70 options (35 90
15 options options in EPP)
options
90 options
(30 in EPP)
(20 in EPP)
Poly Crepe,
Cambric,
for EPP)
Cambric,
Cambric,
Cotton
Dobby, Cotton Cambric,
Dobby,
Flex,
Flex
Slub
Knit
South
Cotton,
Cotton
Voile, Poly
Crepe,
FABRICS
South
Cotton,
Moss
Cotton
96
₹599-
₹599-₹1999
₹1299
₹499-₹1999
₹699-
(Asymmetric ₹1499
Angarakha
for
PRICING
FOR
₹1299,
PRICE
Embroidered
RANGE
kurta
with
foil print for
TOP WEAR
₹1099, Knit
dress
for
₹999)
ENTRY
₹599-₹899
₹599-₹999
₹499-₹899
₹699-₹899
Knit/Wov
Knit/Woven
Knit/Woven
Knit/Wove
en
Churidars
Churidars,
n Churidars,
Churidars,
Salwars,
Patiala And
Salwars,
Printed
Dupatta
Patialas,
Churidars
Sets,
PRICE
POINT
VARIETY
PRODUC
T
Palazzo
Palazzo
Pants,
Pants,
Printed
Straight fit
Churidars
Pants
ASSORTMENT
25 colours 40 colours in 35 colours in
25 colours
FOR BOTTOM
in
in churidars
WEAR
churidars,
10 colours in
15 colours
salwars
OFFERIN
G
churidars
in salwars
NO
OF and
10
OPTIONS colours in
patialas
97
churidars,
₹499-₹699
₹499
₹499-₹699
PRICE
₹499₹1299
RANGE
PRICING
Churidars
and
₹499
for Salwars
for Churidras
₹499,
for
Salwars
Printed
Patiala sets
ENTRY
for
churidars for for ₹999
PRICE
Patialas
POINT
and
FOR
BOTTOM
WEAR
Churidars
₹499,
₹499,
₹699
Printed
Churidars
for ₹599
11
floor 18
browsers,
floor 5
browsers,
BROWSE
4 racks for racks
RS
all
gondolas Workwear-
4 for churidars
for
5 browsers,
Classics &
churidars
Naturals- 3
bottoms
browsers
each
VISUAL
3
3
MERCHANDISI
dedicated
walls with 16 walls
NG
walls with display arms
21
10 display
arms
WALLS
dedicated 6
dedicated Workwearwith 19
display
display arms over 5
dedicated
arms
walls,
Classics &
naturals-
6
arms over 1
wall each
None
OTHER
ELEMEN
2 nesting tables 4
for
displaying tables
EPP products
TS
nesting 3
for tables
displaying
STOP
EPP
MNM
products and
printed
98
nesting
for
leggings,
3
bust
forms
for
kurta
display.
₹699
₹899
₹1299
₹699
Figure 65: Product Assortment of Westside (Westside) in MNM Category
₹799
₹1499
₹1499
Figure 66: Product assortment of Rangmanch (Pantaloons) in MNM category
99
₹499
₹799
₹1399
₹1299
₹999
Figure 67: Product assortment of Melange (Lifestyle) in MNM category
₹1199
₹1399
₹1199
₹999
₹899
₹699
Figure 68: Product assortment of STOP (Shoppers Stop) in MNM category
100
Analysis of Everyday Wear (MNM):

STOP has a wide variety of options in kurtas, however the width of products is limited
as compared to the other labels. STOP needs to include shorter length kurtas and other
fashion elements like asymmetric hemlines in kurtas which are stocked by its
competitors.

STOP price range is well in par with the other labels, the maximum price closes at
₹1499 which is less than Lifestyle and Pantaloons.

However, STOP gives more emphasis on fashion products fetching a higher MRP
than EPP products.

The other labels have a wider assortment of styles in the EPP range as compared to
STOP.

STOP has many significant missing elements in bottom wear like salwars and printed
churidars which are present in other labels like Westside and Melange.

As compared to other brands, their bottoms like Palazzo Pants are more highly priced.
STOP should have more competitive pricing like its competitor brands for bottom
wear.

Labels like Melange and Pantaloons used attractive packaging concepts like “Theme
tags”, which were attached to the garments. These tags denoted that those particular
styles were part of a specific collection, thus making their styles more thought of and
well presented.
Figure 69: Theme Tags used by Competitors
101
6.3 Competitive Analysis for Everyday Wear (SKD) category:
EVERYDAY WEAR (SKD)- Key Observations
DESCRIPTION
NO
WESTSIDE
OF
OPTIONS
35
FABRICS
(PANTALOONS)
30 (15 EPP)
Cambric,
ASSORTMENT
TRISHA
Cambric, Dobby,
Cotton Flex,
South Cotton,
Handloom,
Kota, Jaquard And
South Cotton
Viscose Chanderi
PRICE
₹1599-
RANGE
₹2999
STOP
(SHOPPER'S
STOP)
25
Cambric,
Dobby, Voile,
Powerloom
₹1699-₹2999
(Kurta+ Jacket set
₹1499-₹2999
for ₹2699)
₹1599-₹1899
PRICING
ENTRY
(placement
PRICE
print
POINT
embroidered
and
₹1699-₹1999
(Kurta + Dupatta
₹1499-₹1999
Set)
sets)
2 of 4-way
BROWSERS
browsers
VISUAL
MERCHANDISING
2
WALLS
dedicated
walls with 12
display arms
102
11 of 2-way
browsers on the
2 browsers
floor
12 display arms on
the wall
4 display arms
over 1
dedicated wall
₹1899
₹2499
₹2599
₹2599
Figure 70: Product assortment of Westside in SKD category
₹1699
₹2499
Figure 71: Product assortment of Trisha (Pantaloons) in SKD category
103
₹1499
₹2299
₹2999
Figure 72: Product assortment of STOP (Shoppers Stop) in SKD category
Analysis of Everyday Wear (SKD):

STOP has a much poor assortment of SKD sets as compared to the other labels.

Trisha and Westside have a specific design sensibility and unique assortment for their
EPP styles. Here, Westside offers a distinctive range of style with placement prints
and embroidered necklines for their EPP range, whereas Trisha has a unique concept
of selling Dupatta & Kurta set sold without the bottom as a part of their EPP line.
STOP however, doesn’t have a separate EPP range; they simply have few styles of
lesser MRP as compared to the other styles.

STOP has a more reasonable minimum price range for SKD than the other labels. The
minimum of STOP at ₹1499 is better than its competitors which start at ₹1599-₹1699.
The label is at par with the other labels with its maximum price.
104
6.4 Competitive Analysis for Premium Wear
PREMIUM WEAR- Key Observations
DESCRIPTION
ZUBA
MELANGE
(WESTSIDE)
(LIFESTYLE)
KASHISH
(SHOPPER’S
STOP)
Straight
Kurtas,
Angarakhas,
Stoles
And
Kalidar Kurtas,
Bottom Wear
VARIETY-
Like
WIDTH
Pants,
Pallazo
Straight
Kalidars.
Straight Kurtas
Shantoon
Kaftans
and
Shirts
Churidars.
Core
Kurtas,
styles
are offered in
ASSORTMENT
5 colorways.
NO
OPTIONS
OF 20 (MNM and
SKD)
30 (only SKD)
70 (30 MNM
and 40 SKD)
Cotton,
Chanderis,
Tussar
FABRICS
Chanderi, PST,
Silk, Net,
Handloom
Cottons
Jacquard, Powerloom,
Brocade
and Shantoon,
and Chanderi
Silk
Mul,
Rayon,
Silk,
Crepe
and Georgette)
₹3000-₹6000
₹799-₹3999
PRICING
(Jacquard set for
PRICE
(Kurtas
and ₹4000, Chanderi
RANGE
SKD
for set
₹1499-₹3999,
Stoles
105
w/embroidery
for for
₹4000,
₹999-₹5599
(₹999-₹2099
for MNM and
₹2399-₹5599
for SKD)
₹1199-₹2799
Brocade set for
Bottoms ₹4599, SKD and
and
for
₹799- one
₹899)
set
by
designer
duo
Dhruv
&
Pallavi
for
₹5500
3 Browsers for
SKD
4 browsers on
BROWSERS
&
Browsers
floor and 1 1 rack
2
for
MNM, 1 Rack
rack
& 1 Nesting
table
VISUAL
MERCHANDISING
2
1
WALLS
dedicated
wall with 6
browsers
walls
dedicated
with
display
6
arms
(5pcs of each
style
displayed)
were
1
₹2299
Figure 73: Product assortment of Zuba (Westside)
106
for
MNM with 4
arms & 1 wall
for SKD with
6 arms
*
₹1699
wall
₹2499
₹2999
₹3999
Figure 74: Product assortment of Melange (Lifestyle)
₹999
₹4599
₹1999
Figure 75: Product assortment of Kashish (Shoppers Stop)
107
₹9999
Analysis of Premium Wear brand:

Zuba is a premium label from Westside and has a distinctive brand identity. The label
provides garments made of handloom and silk fabrics and is associated with designer
Krishna Mehta.

Melange SKD range caters to the occasion wear and festive wear requirements of the
customers. Most of the products are heavily embroidered and are made of festive
fabrics like Jacquard, Brocade and Chanderi.

Kashish although positioned to be a festive wear brand, offers a wide variety of
product assortment ranging from printed kaftans, cotton kurtas to more festive kurtas
and sets made of Chanderi and Georgette. Unlike the other labels, the identity of
Kashish appears confused looking at its product assortment. Although, it has a much
wider assortment than the other labels, the brand identity of Kashish is not clearly
defined.

The price range of Kashish has the widest range with kurtas starting from ₹999 and
going up to ₹5599. This range suits the pockets of all types of customers and hence is
more commercially viable than the other labels.
108
7. CONCLUSION
7.1 Areas of Concern and Recommendations
The in-depth study of the private labels, the buying process helped to build a strong
foundation for the project. It helped me to identify internal factors of the current scenario of
the private labels in ethnic-wear.
Further, the customer survey and competition analysis conducted during the project helped to
achieve a comprehensive understanding of the current position of Indian-wear apparel of
Shoppers Stop amongst the competing department stores and potential opportunities for their
labels.
The qualitative research and quantitative research so conducted helped me to gain a greater
understanding of the performance of the labels to determine current and potential
opportunities of these labels. The resulting analysis from the same, have been used to
propose certain recommendations to boost the performance of the brands.
The final recommendations have been given vis-à-vis areas of concern which were brought
forward in terms of critical gaps through the above mentioned analysis.
1. Area of Concern: Product Assortment
Recommendation 1:
The competitive analysis showed that the major competitors such as Westside and Pantaloons
had an assortment of Short Kurtas which were waist length, in their labels Westside and
Akkriti respectively. This option was missing in the Shoppers Stop ethnic-wear assortment.
Thus, a collection of short kurtas with 28” length should be incorporated in the assortment.
Recommendation 2:
According to the pictorial question regarding preferred silhouettes/ styles asked during the
survey, it was found that many of the customers were willing to experiment with new
silhouettes. The styles that were preferred the most had asymmetric hemlines, SKD with
flared pants etc. This was especially true in case of the younger age- group below 31 years.
For the label Haute Curry, which already offers an eclectic range of styles, this could mean
more creative freedom to take the brand a step further.
109
Figure 76: Experimental Silhouettes Age-group 21-30
Also, many of the respondents were of the opinion that the private label STOP offered older
patterns and need to include more innovative styles. The older age-group of 31-40 years,
most of the customers preferred simpler silhouettes with experimental prints. This could
mean an opportunity to incorporate new prints into the collections while maintaining simpler
silhouettes. For the label STOP, incorporating such new styles can increase the level of
satisfaction of its customers.
.
Figure 77: Experimental Silhouettes Age-group 31-40
110
Since these customers formed a major chunk of the respondents, it is recommended that
innovative styles be included in the assortment with bolder prints, different hemlines and
patterns, etc.
Recommendation 3:
During the survey many customers pointed out the lack of assortment appropriate for the
current season of summers. Since most of the garments had either 3/4th sleeves or no sleeves
and inappropriate fabrics, customers who were looking for such options such as cap sleeves
or half sleeves were left dissatisfied. Also, many customers felt that the fabrics used were
inappropriate for the current season.
Thus, it is needed for the labels to be more sensitive with such details and churn out season
appropriate assortment on the floor such as shorter sleeves, pastel colours and light weight
cotton fabrics during summer.
Recommendation 4:
The findings of the customer survey showed that a substantial percentage of about 40% of the
customers preferred ankle-length leggings, followed by 24 % of customers opting for salwars.
These options are missing in the assortment of all the three private labels. Also, almost 30 %
of the customers preferred patialas, which although offered, are in minimal quanities and
options. The competition analysis showed that competing brands such as Westside, Zuba,
Melange, offered salwars and patialas along with other bottom-wear.
Also, as seen in the competition analysis, competing brands of label Haute Curry such as
Bombay Paisley and Akrriti had a much wider assortment in bottom-wear including printed
leggings, shorts, varying lengths of skirts, etc.
Therefore, it is recommended to include essential bottom wear options like Salwars and
Ankle Length Leggings to STOP MNM and fashion bottom-wear options like skirts, printed
leggings, shorts etc. to Haute Curry.
2. Area of concern : Price Range
Recommendation 5: A major portion of the respondents during the customer survey, felt that
the price range for the brands Haute Curry and Kashish was high. This was a cause for
dissatisfaction, according to the findings. According to the feedback, some customers felt that
111
the styles offered in these labels were physically appealing but higher priced than what they
should be offered for. This could mean losing out on a customer group with a liking towards
the assortment otherwise.
₹2799
₹3999
Figure 78: Actual MRP higher than Perceived MRP
Thus it is recommended that the actual MRP of styles offered in these two labels, should
match the perceived MRP of the styles as viewed by the customers so as to provide value for
money to the customers.
Recommendation 6:
As per the competition analysis, the competing brands of Haute Curry, namely, Bombay
Paisley and Akkriti provide a lot of options and strong styles in the Entry price Point range.
Bombay paisley offers its EPP range between ₹699- ₹899, whereas Akkriti provides its EPP
range between ₹499- ₹899. The label Haute Curry does not offer an EPP range, completely
missing out on the category.
112
The label STOP provides an EPP range between ₹699- ₹899. Although this price range is at
par with the competing brands, the styles provided within this range are not enough.
Therefore, it is recommended to introduce EPP Range for Haute Curry and improve the
assortment width and depth at EPP level for STOP.
3. Area of Concern: Stock of Sizes
Recommendation 7:
During the customer survey it was found that many of the respondents were dissatisfied with
the sizes available at the store at a given time. A major factor which results in the shortage is
the total quantity booked per style and its subsequent ratio. For example, for the label STOP,
if 1200 pieces of a style are booked, they are distributed amongst 60 or more stores pan India.
Each size set consists of sizes ranging from XS:S:M:L:XL:XXL depending on the style. Each
size set consists of a size ratio in which the sizes are sent to the stores. Let us assume the ratio
to be 1:2:3:3:2:1. Hence, approximately only 2-3 size sets reach a store for a particular style.
In this case, if the ratio for a size is merely 1, the store is likely to receive only 2-3 pieces of
the given style in that particular size. Hence, this causes shortage.
In order to counter this problem, the private labels should increase the quantity booked per
style so that every store receives a minimum of 3-4 size sets of each style.
4. Area of Concern: Packaging
Recommendation 8:
All the Kashish hang tags have “Dry Clean Only” indication on them. This is required for
most of the premium-wear label’s garments. However, certain styles have easy maintenance
and do not require specific wash care. Even for such garments, the same hang tag is used.
This specification on the hang tags may demotivate the customer from purchasing the
products.
Therefore, it is recommended to have different hang tags for different styles for this label, or
to include a separate hang tag with the “Dry Clean Only” specification on the garments which
require special wash care.
Recommendation 9:
113
During the competition analysis, it was observed that the labels of competing stores such as
Pantaloons and Lifestyle used attractive packaging concepts like “Theme tags”, which were
attached to the garments along with the hang tags. These tags denoted that those particular
styles were part of a specific collection, thus making their styles more thought of and well
presented.
It was also observed that the competing labels used a separate hang tag depicting certain
wash care specifications. For example, Westside had a tag depicting the maintenance of hand
crush in the garments after wash.
Such labels add value and increase the attractiveness for the customers. Therefore, using such
tags is recommended.
5. Area of Concern: Brand Identity
Recommendation 10:
Kashish although positioned to be a festive wear brand, offers a wide variety of product
assortment ranging from printed kaftans, cotton kurtas to more festive kurtas and sets made
of Chanderi and Georgette fabrics. Unlike the other competing labels, the identity of Kashish
appears confused looking at its product assortment. Although, it has a much wider assortment
than the other labels, the brand identity of Kashish is not clearly defined.
114
Figure 79: Wide Assortment offered by Kashish
Therefore, for the consumers to better relate to the brand, the product assortment of Kashish
needs to adhere to its brand identity.
115
6. Area of Concern: Visual Merchandising
Recommendation 11:
Recently the Shoppers Stop store at Malad, where the study for the project was mainly
conducted, underwent an overhaul. So the visual display of the ethnic-wear department
appears to be aesthetically appealing and the merchandise is displayed in an attractive and
uncluttered manner. However, so as to take the display a step further, there is still scope for
improvement.
The sections can have visual aids such as Bust Forms on the Nesting tables or Racks to
increase the appeal of the merchandise. Also, special signage to display key garments such as
core kurtas or bottom-wear can be added to increase the value proposition of the labels.
Lastly, fashion bottoms can be stacked separately either on gondolas or nesting tables to
boost the performance.
116
8. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
This study has attempted to delve into some of the important issues. However it is admitted
that there are some limitations in the conduct of this study which are as follows:
The study has been undertaken on an All India basis but it was not possible to visit whole of
India for this purpose and the study is restricted only to selected areas of the Western Suburbs
of Mumbai, because quantitative information was very difficult to obtain. Some of empirical
investigations could not be carried out in detail because of the non-availability of relevant
information for undergoing those investigations.
The data is self-reporting in nature which cannot be generalized. The possibility of errors
being introduced into the data by ignorance or selective perception calls for cautious
interpretations.
For a well-rounded analysis and findings, it was imperative to direct the customer survey
towards the regular customers of Shoppers Stop, which could have been done by taking the
‘First Citizen’ customers into consideration. However, due to constraints of access and
external validity, this data was inaccessible. As a result of this, a subset of the targeted
population of the survey was first-time customers who were not able to provide an objective
feedback of the private labels.
There appears to be little updated information on as a lot of changes have taken place but
were not incorporated. Most of these are off-shoots of the self-imposed restrictions during
the process of research in order to keep the research within manageable limits as time
allowed was short.
117
PRE-SEASON PLANNING AND IN-SEASON
PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF THE LADIES’
ETHNIC-WEAR PRIVATE LABELS
SHOPPERS STOP LTD.
JANUARY – APRIL 2014
BY
NEEKITA KENKRE
M/MFM/12/21
FACULTY GUIDE
LIPI CHOUDHARY
BATCH 2012- 2014
MASTER OF FASHION MANAGEMENT
DEPARTMENT OF FASHION MANAGEMENT STUDIES
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY
[MUMBAI]
Ladies’ Ethnic-wear, Shoppers Stop
Project Executive Summary
Project Executive Summary
Project Title:
Pre-season Planning, In-season Performance Analysis of the Ladies’ Ethnic-wear Private
Labels
Name of Company: Shoppers Stop Ltd.
Department: Buying & Merchandising Department for Private Labels of Ladies’ Ethnic-wear
Project Objective:
This project was intended to understand the entire Buying process the private labels in ladies’
Ethnic-wear at Shoppers Stop and to study the internal and external factors of the current
scenario of the private labels. The goal was to identify and analyse any gaps in the functioning
of these labels so as to provide recommendations in order to boost their performance.
May 21, 2014
Ladies’ Ethnic-wear, Shoppers Stop
Project Executive Summary
The three private labels consist of –
Exclusive Labels in
Ladies' Ethnic-wear
STOP
Classics
STOP
Workwear
STOP
Naturals
Strategic Mandate:
This transition includes a comprehensive study through:

Studying the buying process which comprises of the pre-season planning and the inseason review of the labels.

Conducting a survey to understand the opinions and needs of the current customers of
Shoppers Stop Ladies’ Ethnic wear.

Conducting an exhaustive research of the value proposition offered by the competing
labels.
Research Process and Findings:

By gathering first-hand information through on-the-job activities, the buying process was
understood. It required being a part of the pre-season planning for the season A/W ’14,
May 21, 2014
Ladies’ Ethnic-wear, Shoppers Stop
Project Executive Summary
and the in-season review for S/S ’14. This being an elongated and continuous process,
it formed a part of the entire tenure of the project.

The customer feedback and perception analysis directed towards a gap in meeting the
customer expectations. This was in terms of certain missing product categories,
expensive price range, lack of sizes, etc. It also helped to point out towards the mindset
of the customers and willingness to experiment with innovative styles.

The competitive analysis helped to ascertain the product offering by the private labels of
major department stores and determine the position of Shoppers Stop’s private labels
as compared to these. The platforms studied for the same included Assortment, Price
range and Visual Merchandising. The Department Stores taken into consideration were:
Westside, Pantaloons and Lifestyle. This directed towards certain incongruities in terms
of entry price points, product packaging, etc.
Conclusion:
The in-depth study of the private labels and the buying process helped to build a strong
foundation for the project. It helped in identifying the internal aspects of the private labels in
ethnic-wear.
Further, the customer survey and competition analysis conducted during the project helped to
achieve a comprehensive understanding of the current position of Indian-wear apparel of
Shoppers Stop amongst the competing department stores and potential opportunities for their
labels.
The final recommendations have been given vis-à-vis areas of concern which were brought
forward in terms of critical gaps through the above mentioned analysis.
Areas of Concern included:

Product Assortment

Price Range

Stock of Sizes

Packaging

Brand Identity

Visual Merchandising
May 21, 2014
ANNEXURE- A
Sample Questionnaire used for surveying the current customers of
Shoppers Stop to find out their perception of private labels in the
store:
Q.1 Which are your favourite Indian wear brand?
Q2. Are you aware of the exclusive Shopper’s Stop labels for Indian wear? (STOP, Haute
Curry, Kashish)
Q.3 Why do you purchase Indian-wear from Shopper’s Stop?
•
•
•
Work wear
Festive/ Occasion wear
Casualwear
Q.3 What do you usually buy from Shopper’s Stop in the Indian wear section?
•
•
•
Sets (CKD)
Sets (SKD)
Mix N Match
Bottom Wear
Tunics/Kurtas
Sleeve length of
Kurtas
Salwars
Thigh Length kurtas
Full Sleeves
Patialas
Knee length kurtas
Churidars- Knit
Calf length kurtas
Churidars- Woven
Ankle length kurtas
Ankle length Leggings
Kaftans
Fashion Bottoms (Flared
pants, Dhoti pants, Skirts)
Any Length
118
3/4th Sleeves
Cap Sleeves
Spaghetti/ Straps
Any Length
Only
Dupattas
Q.4 Please rate the following brands in terms of the given criteria in the order of importance
in a garment, on a scale from 1 to 5.
Attribute
Quality
Price
Fit
Comfort
Style/Design
Fabric
Colour
STOP
KASHISH
HAUTE CURRY
Q.5 Please rate the level of satisfaction with the variety of options offered in the private
labels in Indian wear brands at shoppers stop.
Very
Satisfied
Satisfied
Neutral
Dissatisfied
STOP
Kashish
Haute Curry
Please give your reasons for the above answer.
Q.6 A] Out of the pictures shown, please choose the style/ styles that you would prefer to
purchase.
Q.6 B] Out of the pictures shown, please choose the color palette that you would prefer the
most while purchasing garments.
Q.7 Please indicate your Age group
•
•
•
•
•
•
Below 20
20-30
31-40
41-50
51-60
Above 60
Q.8 Please indicate your Occupation
•
•
•
Home Maker
Working Professional
Student
119
Q.6 Part A
1
2
3
4
9
5
10
6
7
120
8
Q.6 Part B
1
2
3
4
5
121
REFERENCES






www.raymondindia.com
www.imagesretail.com
www.hindustantimes.com
www.hindustantimes.com
www.4psbusinessandmarketing.com/25082011
www.shoppersstop.com
122
CERTIFICATE FROM FACULTY MENTOR
This is to certify that Ms. Neekita Kenkre has completed the Degree Project entitled “PreSeason Planning, In-season Performance Analysis of Ladies’ Ethnic-wear Private
Labels” under my guidance. She has been submitting the progress report on time. She is
hereby allowed to participate in the internal and external jury for Degree Project.
(_________________________)
Name of Faculty Mentor: Ms. Lipi Choudhary
Date: 21nd may, 2014
Place: Mumbai.
i
DECLARATION
I, Neekita Kenkre hereby declare that the Project entitled “Pre-Season Planning, In-season
Performance Analysis of Ladies’ Ethnic-wear Private Labels ” is my original work and
no part of the project has been copied from any other reports or any other were carried by
someone else and this have been submitted for any other degree/award. However, any
material taken from any other published sources has been suitably referred and acknowledged
at various places.
Name: Neekita Kenkre
Roll Number: M/MFM/12/21
Batch: Master of Fashion management, 2012-2014
Centre: NIFT, Mumbai
Date: 21nd May, 2014
Place: Mumbai
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I am grateful to NIFT for providing me an opportunity to do research work on “Pre-Season
Planning, In-season Performance Analysis of Ladies’ Ethnic-wear Private Labels”. I
express my whole hearted thanks to my faculty guide Ms. Lipi Choudhary for her
encouragement and moral support in organizing my work and giving me valuable tips for
making it presentable.
I am indebted to Ms. Ekta Kamran, Trading manager at Shoppers Stop Ltd., my industry
mentor who has guided and supervised me throughout this study. I have no words to express
my gratitude to her.
I am also thankful to Mr. Hitesh panchal, Deputy Buyer for Haute Curry & Kashish, for
providing me the details of conducting the research from its inception.
My thanks are also due to the Ethnic-wear team at Shoppers Stop for their advice in
collecting data and other relevant information.
I will be failing in my duty if I do not mention the name of my CC Mr. Tanmay Kandekar
and other faculty for his help in my Degree Project
NAME: Neekita Kenkre
ADDRESS: C-Wing, 604, Oberoi Gardens, Thakur Village, Kandivli-East, Mumbai-400101.
Master of Fashion Management
Date of submission: 21nd May, 2014
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter No.
Title
Page No.
1
INTRODUCTION
1-28
1.1
Retail Industry in India
1-7
1.2
Growth of Departmental
Stores in Indian Retail
8-14
1.3
Growth of Private Labels in
India
15-20
1.4
Growth of the Indian
Ethnic wear Market
21-26
1.5
Need for the Project
27
1.6
Objectives for the Project
28
RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY
2
2.1
Research Process Flow
Chart
2.2
Research Design
29-32
30-31
32
LITERATURE
REVIEW
33-42
3.1
Company Background
33-38
3.2
Indian-wear at Shoppers
Stop
39-42
3
iv
Chapter No.
Title
Page No.
4
THE BUYING
PROCESS
43-64
4.1
Pre-Season Planning
46-54
4.2
In-season Review
55-64
5
CUSTOMER
PERCEPTION AND
FEEDBACK
65-80
6
COMPETITIVE
ANALYSIS
81-102
6.1
Competitive Analysis for
Fusion-wear
85-89
6.2
Competitive Analysis for
Everyday-wear (MNM)
90-95
6.3
Competitive Analysis for
Everyday-wear (SKD)
96-98
6.4
Competitive Analysis for
Premium-wear
99-102
7
CONCLUSION
7.1
8
Areas of Concern and
Recommendations
103-110
103-110
LIMITATIONS OF
THE STUDY
111
APPENDIX
112-115
REFERENCES
116
v
TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure No.
Title
Page No.
1
Indian Retail Market
2
2
Share of Organized and Unorganized
retail
3
3
Evolution of Indian Retail
5
4
FDI
5
5
Online Retail in India
6
6
7
Annual Online Spend as a %age of
Disposable Income
Share of Organized Retail Sector in Total
Retail Trade
7
9
8
LTL Sales of Major Department Stores
11
9
Trend of Private labels
15
10
Percentage Share of Private Labels
16
11
Ethnic Wear Market in India
21
12
Ethnic Wear Segmentation
24
13
Shoppers Stop Logo
33
14
Contribution of SS Divisions to Sales
36
15
16
SS Division wise Sales
SS Category wise Sales
vi
36
37
Figure No.
Title
Page No.
17
List of SSL Stores
39
18
Shoppers Stop Hoardings
40
19
Promotional Offers
40
20
Discounts offered at Shoppers Stop
40
21
Associations with Bollywood
41
22
23
Shruti Hassan as brand Ambassador for
Haute Curry
Soha Ali Khan as brand Ambassador for
Kashish
41
42
24
Shoppers Stop on Facebook
42
25
Shoppers Stop on Twitter
43
26
Shoppers Stop on Youtube
43
27
28
Brand Positioning of Shoppers Stop Indian
Wear
Haute Curry Themes for Spring/ Summer
‘14
44
51-52
29
Option Plan for A/W ‘14
53
30
Sample Tags
54
31
Cost Sheet Format
55
32
Buy Sheet Format
56-57
33
Theme wise Collections SS ‘14
57-58
vii
Figure No.
Title
Page No.
34
March Input for STOP
59
35
Lab Dip/ Strike-Off Approvals
62
36
PP Comments Sheet sent to Vendor
63
37
DA Process
64
38
Quality Checks during Floor Walk
66
39
Sell Thru Summary given by
Merchandisers
67
40
Sell Thru Summary prepared by Buyers
67
41
Order Book
68
42
Contents of PIP
69-70
43
Favourite Indian-wear Brands
72
44
Brand Awareness of Private Labels
73
45
Brand Popularity of Private Labels
73
46
Purpose of Purchase
74
47
MNM vs. Sets Popularity
75
48
Preference within MNM
76
49
Average Rating on Key Areas
77
50
Level of Customer Satisfaction
78
51
Most Preferred Style
80
viii
Figure No.
Title
Page No.
52
Top 5 Styles
80
53
Age-wise Preference of Styles
81
54
Most Preferred Color Palette
82
55
Top 2 Color palettes
82
56
Age-wise Color Preference
82
57
Age of Respondents
83
58
Occupation of Respondents
83
59
Criteria for Competition Analysis
87
60
Comparison between Competing Brands
90
61
Haute Curry SKD
92
62
63
64
65
66
67
Product Assortment of Bombay Paisley
(Westside)
Product Assortment of Akkriti
(Pantaloons)
Product Assortment of Haute Curry
(Shoppers Stop)
Product Assortment of Westside
(Westside) in MNM Category
Product assortment of Rangmanch
(Pantaloons) in MNM category
Product assortment of Melange (Lifestyle)
in MNM category
ix
93
93
94
99
99
100
Figure No.
68
69
70
71
72
Title
Product assortment of STOP (Shoppers
Stop) in MNM category
Theme Tags used by Competitors
Product assortment of Westside in SKD
category
Product assortment of Trisha
(Pantaloons) in SKD category
Product assortment of STOP (Shoppers
Stop) in SKD category
Page No.
100
101
103
103
104
73
Product assortment of Zuba (Westside)
106
74
Product assortment of Melange (Lifestyle)
107
75
Product assortment of Kashish (Shoppers
Stop)
107
76
Experimental Silhouettes Age-group 21-30
110
77
Experimental Silhouettes Age-group 31-40
110
78
Actual MRP higher than Perceived MRP
112
79
Wide Assortment offered by Kashish
115
x