WGSN Seminar - Retail Trends

Retail strategies to connect better with the consumers
Day two of IFF'10 began with the WGSN seminar on retail trends that had Juliet Warkentin, Content Director, WGSN speak exclusively about the smart strategies followed by various retailers from across the globe, for generating good business.

At the outset she suggested, “Get involved in story telling through your brand because a store that tells a story is a beautiful store to which the women consumers can relate better.” She also drove home the point that the customers are looking for value, quality and beauty, all at the same time. So she put forward her view, “If you have a good product why be boring about it.”

From her experience of the global fashion industry, Warkentin shared key directions for the coming season and inspiration from around the world. In this context she claimed, “Visual merchandising (VM) is very important. The impact should be such that it actually gets the consumer to stop and take a look. Making things fashionable and doing things in different ways will get your brand to perform well.” Quoting examples from across the world she added, “Having an international appeal is also very important.” Coming to the point about the product portfolio on display, she claimed, “Not everything should be expensive. The word 'SALE' helps to get more footfalls.”

The other important factors pointed out by the international fashion consultant in the course of her discussion was music, merchandise mix, charity, eco-friendliness and the likes. She emphasised on the fact that music helps to generate good ambiance within a store. Hence, for the new-age discerning buyer, selection of tracks is an important criteria. Also retailers who support the green revolution get appreciated by modern consumers who believe in protecting the environment. She stressed on the fact that the interiors have to be different so that the consumers can expect different merchandise at the store each time.”

There was also a panel of eminent representatives from the Indian fashion industry to take the discussion forward. Agreeing to the retail guidelines laid down by Warkentin, Indraneel Goswami, GM, Philips Lighting Luminaires claimed, “Lighting plays a key role in defining the look of a store. There are also endless possibilities of exploring different combinations in generating new ambiance each time.”

A brand like Titan has actually taken the initiative to do something different with the consumers. As a final note, Badal Suchak, Head VM Titan Industries shared that the brand had involved its customers in a unique way. They created garden patches in their various stores and customers were presented a potted plant.. He said, “The idea was to make them feel that the earth is so beautiful. It is an emotional connect and such an interaction has actually helped us to establish a better relationship with our consumers.”

-Sayanti Banerjee, Mumbai Bureau

Fashion Buying

Fashion brands are gearing up to offer variations to the consumers
The session on fashion buying became more interactive as an open-house discussion that had active participation from the audience as well. Thorsten Allenstein, MD, Triumph India observed, “It is very important for a fashion buyer and a retailer for that matter, to work out a matrix in which the amount of style, price, customer identification will be made evident. Since the fashion cycles have been introduced to India recently, the risks are higher now and there is a need to deliver on time. So planning is important.”

From the perspective of ethnic wear manufacturers and retailers, Manoj K Bhaskar, COO, Hara shared, “For us the fabric is very important. Also, having the knowledge of the market trend has helped us to diversify. Being present in large format stores, now we know exactly what works for us. Understanding the customer base, depending on the region, has helped our products to sell.”

Vijay Misra, Director, W shared, “Before launching our brand in the market that would offer kurtas for women, we realised that most of the ethnic wear brands had 300 to 400 pieces available but the styles were very similar. The depth and detailing were missing. So we decided to start off with only 60, which seemed to be our magic number, but we did create different options for fashion-conscious consumers.”

This debate on how to sell, what to sell and where to sell was taken up by another panel, a little later in the day with the aim of zeroing in upon some of the evolving fashion spaces. Anurag Mathur, MD, Cushman & Wakefield India observed, “I feel that if a traditional India retailer like Nalini comes into the mall space, they will bring in their loyal consumers along with them.” Sailesh Chaturvedi, CEO and Director of Tommy Hilfiger India, candidly said, “Mall owners are trying to create an interesting brand mix and thus are encouraging various retailers to come in. Though they may not be compromising on the rentals, there is a lot more transparency there as compared to the high streets.” As a concluding note Shilpa Malik, Founder and CEO, Star Centres suggested, “It is a good idea to have kiosks within the stores. It will help to create the overall look of the store and make things more interesting for the consumers from time to time.”

-Sayanti Banerjee, Mumbai Bureau

Indian Fashion Panorama

Stupidity or Excellence?
The dynamics of fashion were discussed at a great length on Day-II of the IFF, 2010. “Be stupid and you will get it” quipped Sumeet Yadav, Head-International Business Development, Reliance Brands and Business Head, Diesel, as he began his presentation at the forum.

Yadav asserted that it is pivotal to understand the consumer's lifestyle before chasing the fashion trends to establish a brand. The audience unanimously appreciated Yadav's point that differentiation is critical to a business success. He explained the same by citing an example,''The world is full of stupid people else we would have been deprived of bell-bottoms and torn jeans. So, stupidity has proven to be a smart way of establishing a trend.”

The panel agreed to the fact that media influences fashion trends to a great extent. However, there is a difference between 'Fad' and 'Fashion'. The latter lasts longer then the former. The much heralded 'Green Revolution' has been fairly cashed in on by the brands, by making consumers aware about environment-friendly raw material that is used in the manufacturing of garments. “Magazines, websites, exhibitions and social networking sites play a major role in spreading the latest fashion trends” added Rajiv Grover, VP, Genesis Colors.

While presenting his theme on the luxury market in India, Grover pointed out that the definition of luxury differs from person to person. “What might be a luxury for a common man can be a necessity for a high-class customer. A treat for the entire family at a fast-food chain might just be a normal routine for a school-going kid from the upper-class segment of the society” said Grover. Conceding to the opinion Devanshu Dutta, Chief Executive admitted that prices in the luxury market are inelastic and are not effected by market dynamics.” Dutta added that the Indian consumer is extremely price conscious and desires value for money.

At the end of the discussion, Rahul Gambhir, Director, Licensing, Tommy Hilfiger, India pointed out that accessories form a vital part of any attire and complements the wardrobe. “Today, accessories like wallets and belts may not necessarily find a place in the shopping list of any middle-class household. However, if a brand promotes them along with the main product, customers would want to own a label which is within his/her reach”added Gambhir.

Regional Retailers Conclave

Which is the better one - Regional or large-format?
The Regional Retailers Conclave at the IIF '10 was quite an invigorating and insightful session. Successful retail entrepreneurs from various parts of the country congregated at a single platform to discuss the learnings from success stories of franchise and independent retail organizations.

Amid discussions on the better profitability between regional retail stores and MBOs, a regional retail entrepreneur shared an enlightening abservation, “We monitor our resources and revenues ourselves however, the MBOs understand it through the management.”

Samir Sahni, Ritu Wears (Delhi), Darpan Kapoor, Kapsons (Chandigarh), Gurpreet Singh, G&B (Delhi), along with other panelists opined that the recession did not affect the regional retailers unlike big brands. The panelists agreed that during the downturn, most of the regional retailers reduced their costs and not the targets, which in turn fetched them higher returns. However, the same was not the case with MBOs hence they faced the heat.

There was a mixed reaction amongst the panelists on being defined as an 'unorganized retailer'. Some felt that they are more organized then the MBOs as they understand the customer's pulse by building up a kinship with them. They are at an advantage by being regional and hence are able to connect with the customers in a better manner.

Though most of the panelists pointed that they do not face tough competition from their larger counterparts, some opined that malls are the markets of the future. They agreed to the fact that the malls have better facilities and ambiance to serve the new generation of customers and give them a high-class shopping experience.

One of the panelist expressed that over a period of time government's attitude has also changed towards them, “Earlier, the banks never used to lend us money. We were not discussed in budgets and government did not have a priority for us. Now the situation has improved considerably.”

Some of the retailers have also launched their captive brands. They agreed that captive brands fetch higher returns than foreign brands. So they often launch collective discount schemes in the store to attract customers to the indigenous brands.

-Pragya Gupta, Mumbai Bureau

Fashion Brands Conclave: The Way Forward

Thoughts shared by the fashion industry stalwarts
The final session of IFF '10 day 2, 'Fashion Brands Conclave' had an interesting mix of retailers on the stage. There were ethnic, western wear, jewellery as well as footwear retailers to share their views and opinions from many years of experience in the fashion industry as key learnings from the forum.

Salil Chaturvedi, Director, Provogue said, “Advertising is crucial and also selecting the location of the store according to the brand's target audience is important. For instance, we would prefer to launch ten stores in Mumbai because that will get us better media coverage than any other place.”

Sandeep Jain, ED, OWM (the company that owns the brand Monte Carlo) shared, “ We are a 'crop to shop' label. We buy wool, make the yarn and sell it at our stores as finished products. We add value to each and every stage of product development.”

Murali Desingh, MD, Crocs India emphasised, “Stand-alone stores are important for creating the brand identity before diversifying the retail presence through multi-brand outlets (MBOs) and other retail formats.”

As an international observer, Wolf Jochen Schulte- Hillen, Chairman, SH Selection GmbH, suggested, “As a retailer you should focus on the consumer. The location or the format of the retail presence for a brand should be according to the preference of the consumer. In this new age, the internet and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are helping to generate more business.”

As a final word in appreciation of the ten years of IFF, Vijay Jain, CEO Orra, concluded, “We have a long association with the Images group now. An event like IFF has always helped us to look for newer opportunities and learn from one another.”

-Sayanti Banerjee, Mumbai Bureau