An Odyssey from Adyar to Africa!

I was watching the second day’s cricket match of the second edition of the Indian Premier League on Sunday, 19 April 2009. What struck my eyes was the big branding of one of India’s leading Retailers, Odyssey. One could not miss this name on the back of the team’s jersey of each player of Deccan Chargers, one of the eight teams that's part of this new concept in playing the game in just 20 overs! Enough has been said and written about the format, so I save my readers of any more of that...

Coming back to Odyssey – Dictionary.com defines this word as “a long series of wanderings or adventures, esp. when filled with notable experiences, hardships, etc.”

A very apt name christened by its Founder and Promoter. For all the struggles they have seen over the past decade to be where they are today. I have been seeing this brand since their inception in the year 1995 – at a nondescript location at Adyar in South Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu, India. It was among those first stores to be “Organized” for the categories they were offering – mainly Books and stationery, Music and other leisure products. They were quite popular among students and youth in the city, especially in that area – given the affluence of people who resided in and around along with a number of schools.


Among the first initiatives of expansion of the business by the promoters was to step into a prominent Luxury Hotel in the city in 1999. This made them be seen, by the literati and the glitterati, and Brand recognition started to increase. In a couple of months, expansion was seen across various cities in South India. Even before they were acquired by Deccan Chronicle Holdings in 2005, they launched a co-branded Credit Card with ICICI Bank, one of the largest banks in India. This was a great initiative at that time. There are not too many Retailers who have ventured into this path and Odyssey is among the few who have got it right. However, a lot more could be done by Retailers through such partnerships – to be regularly in touch with their customers, to begin with. After signing up over two dozen stores in the same year, the brand started seeing more stores being rolled out – this time all over the country.


The year 2008 saw maximum store openings including another first to its credit – the first Leisure Retailer in India to enter Travel Retail when it opened its outlets at the Bengaluru International Airport on 23 May 2008. This was followed by other Airports such as Hyderabad and Delhi Airports and I am told that they are aggressively pursuing this subset of the larger Industry quite well. Also on the cards – a long list of Metro Rail stations at Delhi. As on date, although largely present in South India, they have 40 stores across 13 Indian cities. With one of the largest network of Leisure and Book Retail Stores in India, the Brand’s main USP, as I believe, is its simplicity. Most stores have a universal appeal with its furniture and decor only varying to suit the needs of the particular markets. Although Books are still the mainstay even today, they have ventured across various categories including Toys and Electronics, which needless to say are quite popular among its core audience. They also hold Book Reading sessions with prominent authors and writers at their Outlets – a unique but a sure way of getting more walk-ins into their outlets.


Coming back to where I started – advertising through IPL. Many of you would know that the promoters bought the Franchise of the Deccan Chargers Team in the year 2008 at a whopping USD 107 million! The sheer coincidence or rather the advantage of having such a sound backing from its parent and a pan-India presence would have obviously prompted the Retailer to take pole position as against the choice of its sister concern, Deccan Chronicle, a daily newspaper that’s present only in three cities in the country. This is also a first in our Industry – I am yet to see Retailers advertise through such media for obvious reasons of exorbitant advertising costs, although sports goods / FMCG manufacturers and marketers are exceptions. What a sensible way of utilizing space of its promoters’ assets and mainline communication to its potential and present target segments! Wow. And an opportunity to retail the Team Jerseys and other accessories at their Outlets - a clever, yet simple way of getting more shoppers walking into their Stores! This brand, from Adyar to Africa, has come a long way and probably there would be a day when they own a team as well. Hopefully. And I would be cheering for their team, as much as their success. For sure.

Driving Retail sales using ATMs!!

Its public knowledge that effective 01 April 2009, the Reserve Bank of India has mandated that cash withdrawals from an ATM, regardless of which bank one has his/her account with, are free of any additional charges. This means, if an individual has a Debit Card from Bank A, and wishes to withdraw her money using the ATM of Bank B, then she wouldn’t be charged Rs. 15 or Rs. 20 (1USD = INR 50) which she was being charged earlier. That’s great news. Especially for those who have their accounts with smaller Banks – those Banks who have smaller ATM networks. All the more in Tier II towns. And ofcourse, my favourites – the villages and rural areas.

So, what?

Well. I see this as a huge opportunity for Retailers. It’s already quite common to see ATMs in non-banking locations such as Petrol Bunks, Airports, Railway Stations, Malls and Supermarkets. These ATMs which are today much more sleek and compact than their older cousins (including in-built CCTV cameras that are as small as shirt buttons), could easily be fit into smaller areas. Till now, many retail formats haven’t sensed the usability and importance of these ATMs. To begin with, its additional rent to the lessor or landlord.

If buying bread-milk-eggs could bring customers regularly into supermarkets, then why not ATMs! Look at a scenario – In India, on an average, we withdraw enough cash to last for a week or so. According to latest estimates, about 40-45% of its Sales transactions in Organized Retail are made using Debit and Credit Cards. Which means, there is a huge opportunity to attract those who use cash – from buying convenience products to luxury goods. A strong reason why ATMs must be encouraged across various Retail formats – most importantly at Hypermarkets and Supermarkets.

In today’s economic slowdown, the biggest hit format happens to be Supermarkets. With most categories seeing less than 60% “fill-rates” due to various reasons, many SKUs being unavailable (partially) through the year and hardly any major difference among the various “brands” of grocery retailers, those who have an ATM will certainly see more walk-ins. Needless to say, there would be something or the other that they may want to pick-up and there you see – higher conversions! And yes, users visit ATMs not just to withdraw cash – today, banks offer many other services, such Cheque-Drop Boxes, Tele-banking, internet banking, details about new and existing products and services such as personal loans, home loans, insurance, etc. Many reasons why users keep visiting ATMs.

Other areas where I see advantages for Retailers – since most ATMs prefer to have a Security Guard posted 24/7/365, the Retailer and the Bank could share the cost. The ATM Booths could have fliers of Offers and Promotions at the Retail Store, thereby informing ATM users about what’s the latest in the store. Retailers could use the banks’ existing database and send them mailers (by post/email). In return, the Retailer could pick on a random basis, an ATM user over the past month and gift a voucher! Consumers who use a particular banks’ ATM/Debit cards could get special offers – Savings (Read: discounts) on products that they shop. Wow. And many more.

When most Retail formats have seen a 20-30% dip in their footfalls today, this could be a great way to bring more people even near or outside the Retail Stores. And yes, as I always believe in, its consumption that drives growth. Always.