No more EMIs for shopping

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come very strongly against the ongoing practice of Retailers like Croma, The Mobile Store, Imagine, Univercell and many more in assosciation with product companies and Banks to offer interest free EMIs (Equated Monthly Instalments). Currently, Brands like Apple, Samsung and many others subsidise their products by passing on the margins to Banks in return for offerring interest free EMIs. Using a credit card, consumers can own their coveted piece of technology or household items by converting their purchases into convenient monthly payments instead of paying at one shot. Many people have bought their first iphone or other smartphones which offline and online retailers have been offering for quite a while. Believe me, it is indeed tempting. Instead of spending ₹45,000/- all together,  one could pay as low as ₹4,000 for 12 months without paying a penny as interest. Even though Consumers could have paid the full sum, they prefer to pay in instalments. The scheme has graduated many who were having feature phones and CRT Tvs to upgrade to a smartphone or an LCD/LED Tv respectively. 

So, where is the catch? Who bears the interest cost? 

Within the organized retail trade, debit/credit card penetration is quite low at about 15-35% at the max. Banks earn 1.25-2.50% commission on such transactions from Retailers. So, at a 12% interest rate on a transaction of ₹15,000, the bank could have earned ₹1,800 as interest. Instead, it gets only 2% on the transaction. The balance 10% is usually offset by the Brand which is promoting the scheme along with the Retailer. This is on top of the Retailer margin that the Brand pays the Retailer. Therefore, the real value of the product sold is much lower than what is perceived by the customer. The Brand usually doesn't disclose the discounted price of the product so as not to lose the value the customer would derive from the product. 

The scheme has been a massive hit especially among youngsters and first time income earners who are new into their jobs but would like to impress people around them with fine gadgets et al.

The Banks usually anticipate a credit roll over, which means the customer is unable to pay the EMI and therefore pays only the minimum due in a certain month and rolls over the EMI to the next month, on which the Bank earns 3% interest on the said amount. They make up the lost out interest here too. 

RBI is of the opinion that such schemes mislead customers about the impact of rolled over interests by Banks. The new Governor Mr. Raghuram Rajan probably also believes that these schemes promote unwarranted consumption thereby reducing monetary liquidity in the system. Among the slew of economic measures that have been taken since Sep. 13, this is a key one. Retailers are fuming. With the impending festivals eason coming in, Brands and Retailers expected a surge in sales. But this scheme has come as a dampener. Many middle class pople who aspired for their favourite consumer durable or furniture may have to put off their puchases or pay in full. 

NBFCs and private financiers have however been exempted. Bajaj Finserv which has an over 40% market share in Retail credit must be happy. But for availing the scheme provided by them, customers must furnish certain other details such as proof of income, proof of address, PAN Card, etc. So, there is still hope for Retailers and Customers. May the festival of lights bring hope to one and all and increase consumption. Consumption laeds to Growth. Retail prospers. 

Airport Retailers get an added advantage

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently announced that Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) are not allowed to carry Indian currency out of the country. Earlier, the limit was ₹10,000 to carry with them after clearing Customs and Immigration. This was basically some loose change to meet Food & Beverage expnses while in the Security hold area. While cafes and restaurants do accept prominent foreign currencies, even foreigners try to finish their Indian currencies while leaving the country.

What brings an opportunity is for Retailers to sell Indian souvenirs and interesting take aways which can be spent using the Indian currency.

Keeping this in mind, we had created a very large section called "The Spirit of India" at the Bangalore International Airport. Within this area was a designer boutique from ace designer Deepika Govind among others. One could buy scarves, stoles, jewellery, neck ties and many more before departing. There was also a bookstore which was operated by India's largest bookstore chain Crossword. The store had many interesting books that doicted Indian history, arts among others. I remember, the most sold book used to be "Kamasutra". Foreigners would take it as a souvenir and NRIs would take it as a gift for their friends who lived abroad.

The present rule is expected to be enforced with full force by RBI. If so, then this is a boon for Retailers to sell Indian products to those who are departing the country. 

Restaurants in Malls…

I was recently at Forum Vijaya Mall (Chennai), one of the newest in town. It was a Sunday and I was there for lunch, but the upper level of car parking was almost empty around noon, which took me by surprise. However, I was told two days later by someone who works for the Mall that there were over 45,000 footfalls on that day. The Restaurant that I was supposed to visit was located on the second floor of the Mall. As is usually the case, I checked the reviews of the restaurant on the Zomato app on my iPhone. Most of them had written good things about the place and its menu, not to forget their wonderful service. Here is a sample;

After such a good meal, the bill came to around 2500 bucks. "Not bad at all!", we thought, given the amount of food we had eaten. The service too was perfect. The waiters were very watchful, responsive and most importantly, proactive. – Amruth

A great place with tastefully done interiors and food! The options on the menu are limited, but every single item you are served taste good and also look really good on the plate! – Nandhini

If I have to be perfectly honest, there could not be a more unfortunate location to host such a lovely restaurant. A mall in Vadapalani is hardly any place for a classy place like this. Where venue fails, Salt takes North Indian Cuisine and gives it a fantastic twist, to ensure they stand out from the others. I expect much more of this restaurant in the near future. – Vaishnavi

Apart from many reviews, the one above set me thinking. Are Restaurants in Malls a viable option as compared to those on high streets? Are Mall shoppers the right TG for specialty restaurants in Malls? For the cost of operation in Malls, do restaurants make any money at all as a business option? When I spoke to the gentleman who runs the restaurant, he mentioned that the rent is about Rs. 65 per sft per month. Assuming they have an area of 2,000 sft, their rent per month would be about Rs. 1.30 lakhs. Add to that all other expenses which would be around Rs. 2 lakhs pm. On a conservative estimate of Rs. 15 lakhs of sales per month and an operating margin of 50%, the store would recover its expenses and have an EBIDTA of about Rs. 2 –3 lakhs per month. Given the way the outlet has been done, their investment would have been about Rs. 70 lakhs. So, the restaurant makes about Rs. 25 lakhs in profits (before interest and taxes a year)  and would take about 3 years to break even.

On the contrary, business would be double, if not more were it to be on a High Street. There are a number of good quality specialty restaurants that are garnering those numbers already. So, why do Restaurants still prefer Malls? Perhaps, Brand building and familiarity. I don’t see any logical reason why someone would invest so heavily in a Restaurant inside a Mall and wait for 3-4 years to break even, when it could be faster in a High Street. What works best are for established brands such as Rajdhani, Sigree, Mainland China, etc. which have built reputation over the years and have hence chosen to be within Malls to leverage their brand value. For first timers in the Restaurant business, Malls are probably not the place to be in. This is not restricted just to Chennai but to other cities as well. I was at Chandigarh a few weeks back and they have a brand new Mall called Elante. I was almost alone at Chilis on a weekday evening, which is located in the same floor as the cinemas on the fourth floor of the mall. Restaurants in India’s most successful Mall, Select City Walk face the same fate – Restaurants are empty through the week with weekends being their only busy times.

So, what ails Restaurants in Malls?

Mall shoppers are mostly for spending time, probably window shopping. Conversions for Retailers too is lower than on high streets. The sheer number of footfalls make up for lower conversions and therefore helps Retailers and Restaurants. Unless you are a destination such as a Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Café Coffee Day, Starbucks, Subway, KFC, Pizza Hut, etc. These are places which plan to visit and hence drop by. Eating out is way to expensive these days, given the cost of ingredients. And Restaurants are trying their best not to upset their clientele by absorbing losses as much as they can. But then, consumers are staying away from eating places on a regular basis, as was the case a couple of years ago. For example, a could of years ago, the neighbourhood area of Koramangala in Bangalore had almost 50 eating joints, a third of whom have closed over the last one year.

Mall hoppers prefer food courts instead, which are usually pathetically planned. Mall planners in India somehow do not build large enough food courts, with thousand of chairs and a breathable exhaust system, that are modular and scalable as and when consumers increase. Instead, they try to lease all counters at one shot thereby not having scope for further expansion in future. What would cost around Rs. 600 for a family of three in the food court would probably cost over 50% more in a fine dine restaurant within the Mall.

Restaurateurs would do well to experiment new concepts first on the High Streets. That is where people frequent. There are no SCAM, errrr CAM expenses (Common Area Maintenance) on High Street Locations and no restrictions to close the restaurant at a stipulated time. The biggest benefit of being on High Streets is that the signage builds familiarity among customers over time. No wonder, there are more successful restaurants in India and the world over on High Streets!

Is there something as a Click-Only customer?

I was recently invited to attend the first edition of the Retail Marketing Summit Chennai, organized by Paul Writer, a leading consultancy which works in the Marketing space and advises various enterprises. The day was very exciting, with speakers from various Retail companies and Brands expressing their opinions. During the course of discussions, there was a topic which was discussed elaborately by the esteemed panel of guests as well as the audience. The topic of discussion was, whether there was someone called a “Click-only customer” that existed, who shops only online. There were ayes and naes but there was no single answer that could be fully validated. On the need for having an online presence and also focusing on the internet commerce business, Mr. Pattabhi Rama Rao, President of Australian Foods, which runs the Cookieman chain of stores felt that the market is too small at the moment on the internet and Retailers should continue to focus on the offline business by providing a better customer experience. In his own words, Man is a social animal and social interactions would never cease to exist. Pattabhi should be knowing well. With over a dozen years behind him in the Hospitality business, he started off the Cookie business 13 years ago. His brand of cookies were priced 10 times as that of a normal biscuit, although such a comparison is odious. He continued his focus in the business and now has over a 50 stores across the country. Most of his outlets are located in prime locations in Malls and Airports. Many of them bake fresh cookies at the store and the aroma spreads all over. It appeals to the senses and therefore converts a passerby into a customer, a customer into a loyalist and a loyalist into a brand ambassador. However, there is indeed an opportunity to sell categories like cookies online, although they are restricted to gifting and occasion based purchases.

In another panel discussion, Calvin John of Caratlane.com which specialises in the sale of jewelry products said that a customer has purchased 35 times in a few months from their site. And he felt that there were a small but growing species of “Click-only customers” who shopped extensively online. Jessie Paul, the convener of the event and also a moderator in one of the sessions confirmed this and said that she shops grocery extensively online at BigBasket.com, a Bangalore based start-up which has been slowly but steadily growing its online-only grocery business. With more and more people shopping online, it is all about convenience and discounts? Would the charm of shopping (at Retail outlets) dwindle over time? There are references to the West and how things have been changing in developed countries. A lady from the audience says that at Macys.com, sales were 37% of the total compared to just 26% in the previous year during the holiday season. And this was countered with a view that the sales increase was only during the Holiday Season when Macy’s was very badly organized at their stores. In India, the Books category was the first to succumb. Customers (in India) bought books online from Indiaplaza, Flipkart, eBay and the likes not just for convenience but also due to the generous discounts that were being doled out. But for those discounts, would customers have bought online? Perhaps yes, but a majority would prefer browsing and buying at their favorite books stores down the road such as Crossword.

The Internet Commerce business in India is still too small compared to the Offline one. As it is, Organized Retail in India is just under 10% of the INR 200,000 Crores market size. And e-commerce accounts for a decimal percentage of that. Although online retailers are showing double digit growth year on year, the business model is largely led by discounts and there is no hypothesis at the moment to prove that shoppers would still buy online at full prices, except for the gifting and essential categories. In my opinion, there is room for online and offline Retailers, But the bigger growth is offline, given the levels of broadband, internet and computer penetration in India. Payments gateways for credict cards, debit cards and Net Banking is quite limited too. In fact, I would place my bets more on m-commerce - shopping on smartphones which is still an untapped category. So, if you are a Retailer or a Brand, do build an internet commerce site now, if you already don’t have one. But remember, Retail is all about customer experience, and there is no better place than the store to demonstrate it.

Expansion woes for Retailers

I have admired the way Mahindra Retail has built a respectable business over the past few years, ever since the launch of “Mom & Me” Stores in 2009 which sell mothercare and babycare products. In a short period of time, the company had built a massive network of 115 stores ( as on this date) spread over 10,000 – 15000 sft. primarily at residential locations in metros and mini-metro cities. The Brand has earned the respect and spending of thousands of customers for their friendly staff, wide assortment and excellent service at their stores. The market size for this category is about INR 40,000 crores and the organized segment accounts for less than 5% with small mom-and-pop stores taking away most of the business. Apart from Mom & Me, there is no other respectable national chain of repute in India other than Mothercare, which is operated in India by Shoppers Stop and kids wear sections of reputed Retail Brands such as United Colors of Benetton, Tommy Hilfiger, Zara, to name a few. Therefore, they had a massive opportunity to quickly garner market share within the organized space. Just when things were going good, they launched a new division in the name and style of “Beanstalk” which focused on Toys, Puzzles, Games, etc. While many of the Beanstalk showrooms were part of the Mom & Me stores or located adjacent to them, many were standalone locations in pitiable environments. While Hamleys caters to the upper end of this market, Beanstalk tried to bridge the gap competing with the neighbourhood stores.

Although scaling up evens out Fixed costs in the Retail business in the long term, it also proves to be a massive cost burden in the short-medium term. I guess, that’s exactly what happened to Mahindra Retail. Their swanky office in South Bangalore is spread over three floors, houses hundreds of employees and over a dozen senior recruits – from merchandising to operations to marketing and business development. While there were plans to reach a billion dollars in sales, the company could manage not more than 20% of that figure in the fourth year of its operation and was losing over INR 50 Crores every year. Obviously, the plot was lost somewhere and half a dozen senior guys moved out of the company over the past few months. The company also plans to shut atleast 10 stores in the near short term which are making heavy loses. As reported in The Mint newspaper, Mahindra Retail declined to comment on the specifics of the store closures but chief executive K. Venkataraman said in an emailed statement, “Retail Industry is cutting costs as a rule everywhere, and Mahindra Retail too does where we deem fit. Closure of non-performing stores, and some churn in management are unavoidable realities of the business, much as new stores and new management replace the lost ones.”

The biggest bane of Retailing in India is the Real Estate and Manpower costs which is what plaguing most of the Retailers. Ideally, the Rent to Sales ratio should be not more than 15-18% in the second year of operation but that is not to be. Manpower costs are enormous in the beginning of the business as most Retail companies believe in showing off a massive strength of show in its teams. I am aware of so many case studies from the west where frugal HR costs are the norm. But in India, we have cultivated a culture of large teams, each level overseeing the other and hence so many layers and levels. While Mom & Me is essentially present only on High Streets, a very smart strategy I would say (to keep Maintenance and allied costs lower which are a big takeaway in Malls and Shopping Centres), the unrealistic High Street Rentals are not helping Retailers much.

Mom & Me is not just a retail store – it has already cultivated a calibrated relationship with its customers during its short tenure and I am sure the company would tide over the current circumstances quite well. The challenge is whether to expand further to leverage fixed costs or to build efficiency with the current set-up. Would make for a great case study in years to come.

Car Care at its best

I pass through this outlet almost everyday but have always been on a rush. This time around, I stopped by and experienced first hand what they have to offer. I am referring to the 3M Car Care outlets which have sprung up across the country quietly but drawing attention from car enthusiasts and those who love to maintain their cars spic and span. These outlets are franchised and are managed by capable entrepreneurs who have an inclination towards the automotive business and customer service. Spread between 1,500 sft – 4,000 sft covering three different business models, these stores provide complete car care which include the following;

• Car Detailing
• Interiors / Exteriors
• Corrosion Treatment
• Films for sun protection
• Car Care products Retailing
• Car Graphics
• Customer Engagement
• DIY Bays

I was warmly welcomed by a service staff who knew his subject well – he explained the different packages they offered and justified why they were expensive. There were already two vehicles which were undergoing treatment – a Mercedes S Class and a Renault Duster. I asked him how is the business doing and he gave a smile, meaning things were doing quite well. Location was not totally a disaster though. It is located on the Beach Road, close to the iconic Light House (in Chennai). Although I felt it could have been located more strategically. Another gentleman walked over to me shortly and started interacting. Introducing himself as Vijay, he informed that he was the Franchisee Owner of the store. He explained in great depth his interest in automobiles, cars and bikes alike and his love for taking good care of them. According to him, the investment on the store including security deposit is around a crore (though I felt it was quite high) and the monthly business was about 15 lakhs with a margin of 35% on Sales.

The customer lounge is powered by lighting wifi and one can use the facility while the car is being spruced up. Customers have written their compliments and feedback on Post-Its, which is incidentally one of the most iconic products of 3M.

The company has taken up print advertisements recently which has helped increase walk-ins but what they actually need to do is much more – own the category and grow it too. The market size for Car Accessories in India is estimated to be over Rs. 1,000 crore, most of which is unorganized. Car Dealerships and private players like Carnation,3M, etc. have a huge potential, given the shoddy ways of getting your car done up at busy street-side shops. If marketed well, this could be a viable Retail model and is easily scalable. Like in many other cases, I see a bigger opportunity in smaller towns across the country where people take good care of their possessions.

For me, its about making up my mind for a 20K bill – sooner than later, I would be there!

Why Flipkart is not Amazon's competition

My former boss and CEO of indiaplaza.com K. Vaitheeswaran always used to say that the best business model on the internet retail space is perhaps without stocking inventory. In my short stint at this web company, which was also the pioneer of India's ecommerce business with the same name set shop in 1999, I added around 60 vendors in just 6 months who would list their wares-from designer clothing to everyday wear, from watches to wallets and so on. During the late 90s, internet cafes were coming up all around the country. To browse the internet on bulky 17" screens with a dial up connection that would take five minutes or more to connect would cost around Rs. 100/- an hour (and the prices subsequently came down due to increased competition and lower internet rates). Shopping online those days was a novelty - well it continues to remain so still I guess. The early 2000s saw a slew of players come and go and during the last part of the decade saw the emergence of the likes of flipkart.com, myntra.com and many others. These ecommerce companies or etailers stocked merchandise-large warehouses were set-up in the suburbs of cities and mostly internal logistics teams ensured last mile delivery. Most of them were venture funded and blew their investors money on advertising, PR and promotions. Some companies were spending as much as Rs. 1,500 for acquiring a new customer - while there is no global benchmark as such for this purpose, the sum would be recovered from the same customer when he/she spends atleast Rs.6,000/- over time assuming 25% Gross margins. Not an impossible task once the customer is habituated to the internet way of shopping. Sadly, of the 25% Gross margins, what remains is less than 1-2% and that too for smart and successful companies. Most of them, even today are reporting negative margins. Well, for any business it takes time to stabilise. Typically for product retailers, break-even happens between 15-18 months and much earlier for F&B retailers. None of the ecommerce companies in India of sizeable scale and repute are profitable as I write this article. And many of them are on the path to profitability. After burning millions of dollars. The good part is customers have taken up to e-shopping faster than they have taken to Organised Retailing. Retail Industry in India is about Rs. 400,000 crores approximately and less than 10% is fom the Organised Retailers. Led by apparel and fashion, the organised industry is seeing massive growth, at a CAGR of over 15% over the past 6-8 years. Not bad, while global retailers are seeing negative growth on same store growth year onyear. Amidst all this, the $61 Billion Amazon launched its India site in June 2013. Not much different than its previous avatar, Junglee.com which was launched with much fanfare in early 2012. Amazon.in is a marketplace, a business model where retailers, small or big can list their products and Amazon attracts potential customers to shop on its site with secure payment gateways and millions of items listed across its pages. The Amazon trust is expected to attract many more customers and in the short term, Amazon may also build large warehouses and extend direct sales to its customers, subject to Retail FDI regulations. And there has been speculation that sooner than later, Amazon would compete heavily with the likes of Flipkart. Within the online space, perhaps yes but not in the consumption space. The e-tailers have to compete directly with the physical Retailers, both Organized and Unorganized. They are the main competition for the ecommerce companies. Together, Amazon, Fipkart and hundreds of other sites would fuel up consumption using the internet. However, with low penetration of Broadband Internet and 3G on mobile phones, it is unlikely that this retail landscape would change drastically over the next five years. Afterall, half a decade is a long time in business...