Cover Story- Malls or Stand-alone (Premium) - View Free Sample
The popularity of malls can be gauged quite simply from the fact that we visit malls more often than we go shopping. This is what retailers are cashing in on. Visiting a mall is not just restricted to shopping because malls accommodate entertainment and dining as well. For some it's also another way to unwind after a hectic week. But do the extra visits enhance chances of unplanned purchases? Statistics show that it does. Managers at apparel stores reveal that 30-40 per cent people who walk into the store actually make a purchase. This explains why malls are so important in the increasingly harsh retail environment. Retail experts who keep an eye on the changing line-up in shopping centres reveal that small regional brands are increasingly moving off the high streets and into malls. Malls are the new interesting place offering experiences that amuse, delight and entertain. Until a few years ago, the general perception was that malls only attracted those looking to kill time and window shop. So it was the high streets where real sales happened. This view is slowly changing. Air-conditioned comfort and easy parking are leading the shoppers to malls. Not to forget the snob value. With multiple malls coming up across the country, mall developers are offering low rentals to retailers as an incentive to enter their properties. Limited supply of real estate on high street is another reason for the move. Malls also offer a retailer the comfort and advantage of being in the midst of other like-minded brands that may drive in the walk-ins. A good mall can provide an independent store owner a continuous flow of potential customers. Basic amenities such as rest rooms, dedicated parking space and food courts are available at the malls, whereas the stand-alone stores lack these facilities or they come at an extra cost. While shoppers prefer visiting malls as against stand-alone shops, even retailers find the former more affordable at times.

Challenges and Growth Drivers in Food and Grocery- Ravi Kannan of Snowman Logistics (Premium) - View Free Sample
Ravi Kannan, Director & CEO at Snowman Logistics Limited (SLL) discusses the issues, challenges and growth drivers in the food and vegetable industry, and reveals SLL's future plans. SLL has temperature controlled warehouses at 17 locations which are integrated with ERP for seamless flow of information between all the branches. SLL plans to ramp up its warehousing capacity from 21,780 MT to 60,000 MT by 2014-15.

Category Watch- Sneakers (Premium) - View Free Sample
The white canvas Saturday school shoe of yore has donned newer hues in a sportswear market which has the potential to grow at 33 per cent between 2010-14. With a handful of brands at play in this niche category, the opportunity in a billion plus population is huge. S&A looks back and forth. Since the rubber-soled plimsolls of the late18th century to the canvas topped multihued sneakers (because the rubber soles made walking so quiet that a person could sneak up on someone) of today, sneakers or keds or canvas shoes, have come a long way. The world over, especially in the US, sneakers emerged as "artifacts of societal shifts, reflecting social revolution in the 60s, punk rock rebellion of the 70s, and hip-hop identity of the 80s. Sneakers are a consumable aesthetic representation of culture, and their value as a medium for communication transcends the leather, mesh, and rubber of which they are comprised." Back home, the white canvas Saturday school shoe was the only avatar that the common man was familiar with until almost the late 80s. It was a minuscule number that was aware of the Nikes, Reeboks, Adidas or Puma. A study by Ernst & Young estimates the sportswear retail market at Rs.365.8 billion, expected to grow at a robust CAGR of 33 per cent during 2010-14. Out of this the footwear segment makes up for 60 per cent of the total market. Anupam Bansal, Director, Liberty Shoes, pegs the total footwear market "at about Rs.20,000 crore, with the unorganised segment hogging almost 85 per cent. Out of this, the sports shoe market would be roughly a Rs.3,000-Rs.4,000 crore market. The market would be more in the organised segment because the sports shoe is a technology product and most of the people are making sports shoes in an organised set up" .

The Business of Design- Making SALE a big deal (Premium) - View Free Sample
In a competitive market retailers and brands are constantly trying to increase their topline with offerings, promotions and store experience strategies. SALE is a time tested strategy to attract footfalls and increase conversions with well communicated compelling offers. Stores and brands use different communicate strategies in their SALE windows - some a no fuss message to create awareness and a very few others opportunistically transforming them into Brand Billboards. SALE ! SALE ! SALE ! Scream the news papers and store windows in the market place which are working on grabbing the attention and enticing shoppers with irresistible deals . It's often human to be unable to resist a great deal and Retailers and Brands have taken full advantage of this right from when discount retailing came into existence in the 1950s. Deals often change 'wants' into 'needs' and retailers use this as a panacea to most topline challenges. Nielsen's recent Shopper Trend Study reveals that 30% shoppers change store and brand based on promotions offered. Also, 54% of brand or store loyal shoppers are active deal seekers. Markdown Sales are either a planned seasonal event or a tactical call to address specific stock issues. For each, the tone and effort of the sale is different. I prefer calling them- Complete and Overlay Sale Windows. In the former, SALE is the primary single message in the window and in the latter it's a secondary communication message added onto to the window communication promoting a featured offering.