From the Editors Desk

While the Indian consumer goods sector grew under the steady dominance of global FMCG behemoths such as the Unilever Group, Colgate Palmolive and the home-grown Godrej Industries, a few players such as Karsanbhai Patel's Nirma and CK Ranaganathan's Cavin Kare (then Beauty Cosmetics), altered the course of the game in the '80s.

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Week At a Glance  News - Headlines, Apparel, Specialty.. Big Bazaar to open 30 more stores Zara is Trent's first choice for tie up Once bitten, not shy: There is always plan B for Vishal Retail Govt to open FDI in retail from April '12 Vishal Retail opens four new stores Future ties up with Payback Retail FDI: secy's panel to meet on Friday Sanjiv Goenka all set to make luxury retail debut Wadhawan Lifestyle to bring two more global brands to India US brand A&F heading east News - Food, QSR .. Coco Loco | The HIP 'Nariyalpaniwallas' AgroTech Foods enters Ready to Eat category DCM launches Hariyali First, a customer loyalty programme US developing cold storage facilities in India Domino's adds folk touch to its new store opening in Ahmedabad with cultural ... SRS to open 33 food & beverages outlets in Delhi, NCR Amit Burman's Litebite Foods expands into overseas market Instant noodles, instant energy? Demand for culinary herbs surges Cocoberry in talks with Abraaj, PEs to raise Rs 70 crore Trends Online retail: Are e-retail firms in India building a bubble again? 2000 brands, half a mn subscribers; 99Labels makes waves Sale of fashion brands picks up on e-commerce sites Global luxury brands rethink India strategy The new age Indian kitchen Multi-retail FDI making headway, but with riders Tier I & II cities are not the same; retailers need to cut growth expectations It's in fashion to tie up with designers ITM Mumbai & retailer Hypercity launch PGP in Retail Demand for carry bags dips after extra charges Insight Cost Control Tips, Tactics & Strategies Identifying the point at which the brand message and shopper behavior disconnect RFID and the Green Supply Chain The Science and Art of Customer Relationship Management The Power of Private Brands   News - Headlines, Apparel, Specialty ..  Big Bazaar to open 30 more stores FashionUnited India Kishore Biyani promoted Future Group, which runs the largest retail chain of value and lifestyle formats, plans to open 25-30 Big Bazaar outlets by June 2012 at an investment of Rs 300 crores. Since the Big Bazaar format witnesses three-million footfalls each week, it's evident that this model is working for the Future Group. Right now there are 152 Big Bazaar stores in the country. Also there are 13 Fashion at Big Bazaar standalone stores. The Group is targeting opening 30 more such stores this year. The Future Group will invest another Rs 70 to Rs 80 crores for Fashion at Big Bazaar stores. Zara is Trent's first choice for tie up FashionUnited India It was a question of Zara or Arcadia. Trent the retail arm of Tatas has decided in favor of Zara, for now. Trent had entered into a franchisee agreement with UK's Arcadia Group three years ago and was planning to open at least 15 stores of Arcadia's Topman and Topshop brands. But since then, it had a change of plan and decided to promote the Spanish fashion retailer. Zara has been a hot favorite among Indian shoppers. Since February 2009, Trent has opened two Zara stores in Delhi (Select City Walk and DLF Promenade) and one in Mumbai (Palladium). After building up the Zara network, Trent is keen on looking again at Arcadia. Once bitten, not shy: There is always plan B for Vishal Retail Economic Times The 9,000 sq ft office of V2 in Delhi's Mahipalpur suburb near Gurgaon is abuzz with activity. Around 25 executives are either working the phones or typing furiously on their PCs. In the reception area, people with cartons containing IT gear for the warehouse are waiting to be called in. Inside, promoter Ram Chandra Agarwal sits in a glass-panelled cabin preparing for his second coming in retail. A poster on the reception wall reads: 'Winners don't do different things, they do things differently'. It seems to capture the thinking of the man who ran his first retail venture Vishal Retail into the ground-and is back for a second wind in the same business. Govt to open FDI in retail from April '12 Business Today The government is likely to permit foreign direct investment (FDI) in the multi-brand retail sector from April 2012 and is expected to come up with a final draft of a proposal in this regard by the end of July. In the first phase, foreign multi-brand retail chains will be allowed in the metros Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. In the second phase other metros like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune will be included. The BJP said it would oppose the move in every forum. Vishal Retail opens four new stores Hindu Business Line After selling Vishal Retail to Texas Pacific Group and Shriram Group, Mr R.C. Agarwal is back on the retail track with four new V2 stores in Delhi and NCR. With the launch of three new stores in Delhi, and one store in Faridabad, the apparels company is now operating a total of seven stores. "This is the first phase of expansion and we will open more stores in the coming months," said Mr R.C. Agarwal, CMD, Vishal Retail Ltd. Future ties up with Payback Hindu Business Line The Future Group is launching a common loyalty card across all its retail formats, in September, in association with Payback, a multi-partner loyalty programme company, based in Germany. Ms Vibha Rishi, Executive Director, Customer Strategy, Future Group, said, "We intend reaching 10 million members through the Packback loyalty programme within a year." The common loyalty card for the Future Group formats would also include the other clients of Payback. Retail FDI: secy's panel to meet on Friday Hindustan Times A committee of secretaries (CoS) will meet on Friday to discuss a formal proposal to allow up to 51% foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, but with a few conditions. At least 50% of the total FDI should be in back-end infrastructure such as cold-chain and warehousing, and the minimum FDI in any multi-brand retail project should be $100 million (R450 crore). Further, these large deep discount stores will be allowed to be set up only in cities with a population of more than 10 lakh, and only in those states that allow FDI in multi-brand retail. At least one-third of these stores' sales should be made to small retailers, and they should source a minimum of 30% of manufactured items from small and medium enterprises. Sanjiv Goenka all set to make luxury retail debut Business Standard Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka group, is set to debut into real estate, with a mall selling "luxury brands" such as Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH), Canali, Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci and Zegna. CESC Properties, is building Kolkata's first luxury mall, Spencer's Galleria. It will house 20 luxury brands. Goenka says he guarantees the mall, designed by British architectural firm RTKL, and constructed by Larsen & Toubro, would be a destination for people beyond Kolkata. An official close to the development said that the brands would be finalized in 6 months. Four to five have been signed on, which includes Canali and Gucci. Wadhawan Lifestyle to bring two more global brands to India Fibre2fashion.com Wadhawan Lifestyle Retail Private Limited (WLRPL), the lifestyle arm of Wadhawan Group, proposes to launch at least two leading global fashion brands in the country by next quarter. The Mumbai-based company presently offers international brands like Christian Audigier, Ed Hardy, and Adolfo Dominguez in India. WLRPL intends to launch around 30 new outlets in Tire I and Tier II cities by March 2012. It has already embarked on plans for expansion of its existing labels, and proposes to come up with its personalized brands within next two years. US brand A&F heading east Business Standard Ohio-based casual luxury brand, Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), is exploring opportunities to enter the Indian market, according to industry insiders. Abercombie operates 1,069 stores across four brands. Eric Cerny, Manager, Investor Relations, at A&F, did not elaborate on the compay's India-specific plans. As of now India has only 30 percent of the world's leading 500 global luxury brands, and accounts for less than one percent of the global luxury market.   News - Food, QSR ..  Coco Loco | The HIP 'Nariyalpaniwallas' Livemint Cousins Savinay Jain, 27, and Mayank Sethia, 25, decided to quit their jobs and set up Coco Loco, a mobile, chilled coconut-water vending service-at malls. By the end of the financial year, they had set up carts at six malls and big-ticket retail spaces across the National Capital Region, met their overheads and clocked about 20% operational profit. They already have a franchise each in Udaipur, Rajasthan, and Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. Their short-term goal is take the venture across the country, especially to states which do not grow coconut. They have a direct supply chain for coconuts from the coastal areas, and sell the excess supply to local nariyalpaniwallas. Jain says they are trying to make coconut water a hip and healthy alternative to colas. AgroTech Foods enters Ready to Eat category India Infoline.com AgroTech Foods Ltd has marked its entry into the Ready-to-Eat category with the launch of its new range of Sundrop 10 min Yummeals. Sundrop Yummeals is now available in retail outlets across Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. DCM launches Hariyali First, a customer loyalty programme Hindu Business Line Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar, the rural retail arm of DCM Shriram Consolidated Ltd (DSCL), has announced the launch of 'Hariyali First', its customer loyalty programme. It is India's largest rural retail chain with 275 outlets across eight states. 'Hariyali First' is a point-based programme that has differential point systems for different categories. The benefit of these points is over and above the other offers that might be running at the outlet. Mr M. Rajesh Gupta, President, Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar, said that this program would add value to the shopping experience of the customer, and since products for agricultural needs was covered, it would also benefit farmers. US developing cold storage facilities in India Daijiworld.com Developing cold storage facilities to strengthen food security in India was a main priority for the US, according to USTDA Director, Leocadia I. Zak, a member of the delegation led by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Zak's views were corroborated by Robert D. Hormats, Under Secretary for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs. Domino's adds folk touch to its new store opening in Ahmedabad with cultural ... IndiaCompanyNews Dominos pizza recently launched its new store at Wide Angle Multiplex, Satellite Tower in Ahmedabad. The unique launch was a cultural extravaganza for the people of the city. The store marks another milestone in Domino's Pizza's expansion plans in the region. JLF has now also strengthened its portfolio by entering into an agreement with Dunkin' Donuts Franchising LLC, for developing the Dunkin' Donuts brand, and operating restaurants in India. SRS to open 33 food & beverages outlets in Delhi, NCR Central Chronicle Faridabad-based SRS Ltd, which has interests in cinema exhibition, retail and food courts, today announced that it will set up additional 33 food and beverages outlets in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). Presently, the company operates 11 food courts, three dining restaurants, and one banquet across cities in North and Central India. The company proposes to come out with the IPO in the near future. The food courts of the company are run under the brand name of SRS 7dayz, while the fine dining restaurants are operated under the brand name of Punjabi Haandi. Amit Burman's Litebite Foods expands into overseas market Economic Times Dabur's Chairman Amit Burman-promoted Lite Bite Foods has made its overseas debut, with its first outlet of Lite Bite-owned multi-store restaurant, Punjab Grill, in Singapore. The company, which is the largest franchiser for the fast-food chain Subway in India, has close to 50 outlets across the country and aims to grow to 200 outlets over the next three years. Lite Bite plans to utilise its Indian cuisine brands Punjab Grill and Zambar for its overseas expansion. Instant noodles, instant energy? Business Standard Indo Nissin's Top Ramen wants to jump on to the health bandwagon. In its latest effort, the company is trying to relaunch the brand as 'super noodles'. It now wants to focus on its health benefits. Its earlier tie-ups did help the company establish a loyal consumer base, but it remains confined to the South and the East of the country. The brand currently reaches 3 lakh outlets. However, Indo Nissin is the leader in cup noodles with 65 per cent share of the Rs 36-crore market. Demand for culinary herbs surges Economic Times According to industry estimate, the market for culinary herbs is growing at a fast pace of 20% to 25% a year. Trikaya Agriculture, which caters to five-star hotels and specialty restaurant chains, operates from its Mumbai retail store with fresh supplies coming from its farms in Pune and Ooty. "Volumes are going up and I see a growth of 35% to 40% in sales and acreage with people experimenting with western and continental food," said Samar Gupta , MD, Trikaya Agriculture. Cocoberry in talks with Abraaj, PEs to raise Rs 70 crore Economic Times Specialty food company chain Cocoberry is in talks with Dubai-based Abraaj Capital to raise about 70 crore for a minority stake, a person with direct knowledge of the development told ET. Abraaj is the frontrunner among 4-5 investors the Gurgaon-based company is negotiating with, another person familiar with the company's plans said. The list includes Norwest Venture Partners, Temasek Holdings and Arcapita , a Bahrain-based PE house.   Trends  Online retail: Are e-retail firms in India building a bubble again? Economic Times K Vaitheeswaran's career as an entrepreneur in online retail is almost as old as online retail in India. For nearly a decade and a half, he nursed his ecommerce startups, waiting for the business of selling things on the internet to grow big. Now he finds that he is in the middle of what has all the makings for a perverse fight in India's online retail business. Flush with cash from venture capital and private equity funds, online retailers are pursuing a single-minded strategy of acquiring as many customers as they can, as soon as they can. To stake out the largest possible territory, they are cutting prices so deep that even costs are not being covered, he says. However, he feels that while there is growth, there are profits too, when businesses scale after 3-4 years. 2000 brands, half a mn subscribers; 99Labels makes waves Moneycontrol.com Ishita Swarup's 99Labels.com is a members-only, e-tail venture that offers branded apparels and accessories on discount, with cash-on-delivery as a payment option. 99Labels.com has, till date, partnered over 2,000 international brands. It delivers to more than 200 cities in India. According to Swarup, the number of brand offerings will continue to rise and they will have a lot more offerings for men, woman, children, and home. The portal attracts 50,000 visitors everyday and powers over 700 transactions daily. "This is not about competing with traditional retail. It is facilitating retail," said Swarup. Given the real estate cost in India and the diverse nature of the country, e-commerce will drive retail. Excerpts: Sale of fashion brands picks up on e-commerce sites mydigitalfc.com E-commerce portals are witnessing more and more customers buying fashion products online. The top products picked up online include inner wear, t-shirts, shirts and bags. Several offline fashion retail chains like Pantaloons and Shoppers Stop too have launched their online business. With this, the Rs 120 crore online fashion category is expected to see tremendous growth. Global luxury brands rethink India strategy FashionUnited India In spite of the many break-ups, the Indian market holds huge interest for global retailers. Reliance Brand's President and CEO, Darshan Mehta says the company is being approached by numerous global fashion houses and brand retailers regularly. Though selling high-value luxury products in India does have its downside, such as shortage of good real estate, high customs duties, and the buying habits of the value-conscious Indian consumer, the fact is there is a potential for nearly 60 to 80 million consumers buying luxury products as a matter of routine by the turn of the current decade. The new age Indian kitchen Express Buzz With every international kitchen brand making a beeline for India, and local brands mushrooming to bridge the price gap, the basic kitchen--a small linear, 6-foot long affair with cabinetry, cooktop, chimney and sink--costs around Rs 1 lakh. Across the kitchens of urban India, amateur chefs are experimenting with new and high tech equipment, and exotic ingredients, to transform the way we eat, cook, and live. Multi-retail FDI making headway, but with riders Business Standard The committee of secretaries (CoS) looking into the issue of allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in the multi-brand retail segment is likely to meet this Friday to try for more agreement on the issue. The government seems to be contemplating 51 per cent FDI in the segment but is planning to introduce several riders with it. The panel, headed by cabinet secretary Ajit Kumar Seth, would also look at finalising these. Inter-ministerial discussions are also underway. Though the government has already held a series of meetings within various quarters of the ministries, the one underway now is more broad-based, having larger participation and examining all the riders and their effects, a senior official from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) said. Tier I & II cities are not the same; retailers need to cut growth expectations Daily News & Analysis Expectations of retailers needs to come down. Organised retail is well-established in Tier I cities and is beginning to get established in Tier II cities. But it will still take two years for organised retail to become a viable business in Tier II cities. However, look at unorganised retail. The mom-and-pop store guy can deliver goods to your house in five minutes. The unorganised sector is never going to be wiped out. Some questions answered: It's in fashion to tie up with designers Economic Times This month, India's largest make-up brand Lakme announced the launch of Lakme Absolute, a high performance long wear make-up line co-created by fashion designer Manish Malhotra. Last month, watchmaker Timex said it will take its bridal line of jeweled watches designed by Tarun Tahiliani , and branded 'TT for Timex', to the US and Canada next year. Last to last month... Well, there are plenty of examples for the fashion fraternity's growing bonhomie with India Inc over the last couple of years. Marketers are increasingly leaning on homegrown designers for business associations ranging from signature lines to limited-edition special range to woo India's new class of young and ambitious consumers who would happily pay a premium to stand out in a crowd. ITM Mumbai & retailer Hypercity launch PGP in Retail MBAUniverse.com ITM Group of Institutions and Hypercity, a chain of retail stores, have announced the launch of Hypercity-ITM Post Graduate Program in Retail. This 18-month program is exclusively designed for young retail aspirants who will be tutored by the faculty of ITM GLC (Global Leadership Centre), and Hypercity Managers and Trainers. The partnership represents a new approach in academia-industry collaborations that has the potential to produce industry-ready students managing retail unit operations as they gain tacit and best industry experience from the practitioners during the course. The program offers guaranteed placement for its students. Demand for carry bags dips after extra charges Times of India The move to charge customers for plastic bags in retail shops at malls has led to a dip in demand for carry-bags as a section of buyers refuse to pay extra for them. "Ever since retailers in Mumbai malls decided to charge for plastic bags, the demand for these bags has gone down by 30%," said Sanjay Nair, Vice-President of the Retailers' Association of India. The association, which has Reliance, D-Mart, Shoppers Stop, Food Bazaar and Pantaloons as members, has been charging Rs 3 to Rs 7 for plastic bags, depending on the size. Retail shops outside malls have not started charging their customers for bags. "We would rather concentrate on recycling plastic as it does not harm the environment, and there are technologies available for bio-degradation of plastic,'' Nair said.   Insight  Cost Control Tips, Tactics & Strategies IOFM When the economy weakens, companies often need to make quick cost reductions to preserve their profitability. But such cost-reduction initiatives may create their own problems or fall short of their goals, unless managers first address a few key questions. These include: Which initiatives have the most potential? Will these initiatives generate savings quickly? Can we pursue these initiatives without disrupting our company? Fortunately, there are strategies that companies can use, which often achieve real and rapid cost reduction, without interfering with their day-to-day operations. Companies can usually benefit by revisiting and reapplying these evergreen practices. Identifying the point at which the brand message and shopper behavior disconnect The Hub Brand marketers are generally accustomed to letting data-driven consumer insight inform decision-making. They're used to creating brand affinity with consumers. And, in the past, a sales-driven initiative was often executed through trade and discount promotion tactics. Today, brand marketers must apply data and develop insights about their brand's shoppers. These include insights into their transition from consumer to shopper mindset; shopper mission and media behaviors; and how behavior changes when they shop a particular category or brand at different channels or retailers. RFID and the Green Supply Chain Xerafy When companies try to reduce waste in their supply chains, they typically focus on improving efficiencies. However, there is another type of waste in the supply chain - the physical waste created by transport packaging, and the wasted effort and cost of managing large fleets of transport containers (carts, pallets, boxes) and replacing those assets when they are inevitably lost. One way to reduce this waste is to employ returnable transit items (RTIs), which include reusable plastic boxes, returnable pallets, metal rolling carts, and other types of reusable packaging. However, managing these often-expensive assets can be challenging, without a way to track their location and status in real-time or near real-time. That is where RFID comes in. This paper explores how RFID is used to manage a fleet of returnable transit assets and reduce waste in the supply chain. It also examines ways in which RFID can enable recycling programs and other environmentally friendly activities. The Science and Art of Customer Relationship Management M. A. Sahaf, H. Ishtiaq Qureshi and Rafi Ahmed Khan Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is recognized as crucial in the success of any business in today's relationship era where the main aim of an organization is to retain customers. A body of recent research shows that companies that have best harnessed change in CRM architectures have realized significant strategic advantage. An effective CRM strategy aims to personalize the customer's experiences across all organization touch points. By coordinating the customer's interactions, a firm is able to optimize customer satisfaction, which translates into increased profitability and revenue. A successful CRM strategy calls for a perfect alignment between strategy, processes, technology and people. The Power of Private Brands Willard Bishop Shopper demand for and purchases of private brands are growing briskly. According to PLMA (Private Label Manufacturers Association), private brand items account for 24% of unit sales and 19% of dollar sales in U.S. supermarkets, both all-time highs. While there are several drivers of the general increase in shopper demand for private brands across the grocery industry, three of the most important include economy, quality and marketing. This study demonstrates the importance of private brands to today's shoppers.

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