The iPhone Saga continues...

When I posted on my Facebook page at 11.35pm on the night of 16 Oct. 2014 that I was the first in the city of Chennai to receive a 64 GB Gold variant of the iPhone 6, someone sarcastically quipped "So?!?" Well. It was no big deal. Really. Anyone could have been the first one if they had put in the effort. And for me, it was pure fun. And a Retailer's delight too - to see how a Retailer delights his customers through completing a much anticipated and well hyped "transaction". In many parts of the country, the event was quite publicized and draw discerning customers to the Retail Stores - one retailer in Chennai had gone a step ahead to rope in leading actress Hansika Motwani to do the honours. India's largest mobile store chain, The Mobile Store took a full page Ad in national newspapers urging people to preorder and get the device in the midnight. Flipkart, India's largest ECommerce company along with rivals Snapdeal and Amazon was taking preorders promising one-day delivery. Crazy Apple Fans lined up the outsides of the Retail Stores, from UB City in Bangalore to Select City Walk in New Delhi's posh Saket area. I, however chose to skip the queues and chose to book with a low-key Retailer close to my workplace. I really took a chance with this Retail Shop, it is called Hello World located at Adyar, in South Chennai. They charged me Rs. 5,000 as booking charges 5 days before the original launch and assured to deliver the phone by midnight.

 On the day of release, I called then twice during the day to check if everything was as per plan, and they continued to assure that they were geared up for the event and I could come over after 11.30 in the night to collect the "piece". Yeah, ultimately its a piece, but a precious one though! I finished work, went home, had shower and dinner and drove back to the shop and reached around 11.15pm. There were 2-3 other customers who had turned up at that time. I was actually taking a chance, just in case they offered to sell the piece well before the time the invitation suggested. And in true Indian style, they did. They "sold" the first piece to me well in advance of the promised time but cautioned me not to activate the phone until 00.00 hours, lest I lose warranty.

I came back to my car, clicked a Selfie and shared on social media and whatsapp groups - small thrills, you see. And was greeted and responded by many people whom I knew and didn't. I really felt happy that the Retailer stood its purpose and kept us its word by delivering what was promised.

I came home and waited patiently, only to activate my new iPhone6 at 00.05 hrs. Its a delight to restart or swicth on an iDevice. And I love that experience absolutely. The finesse with which a product has been created and packaged - Hats off to Steve Jobs for this. I have been using Apple products for a decade now, with my first one being an iPod Nano 4GB. In the year 2004, it was a miracle to store over 10,000 songs on a single portable device that can be heard through headphones, on a car through an AUX Jack as well as played on a music system. And Apple has gradually grown its line-up. at the moment, I guess they have over 30 SKUs, some in sales in a few countries while some have been discontinued from production as well.

There have been a number of reviews about iPhone6 itself, so I am not going to get into the technicalities. Your favourite news websites are a better source than mine. So, I would urge you to read what you think suits you best. I am only going to share how it feels as a user, as a keen observer of consumerism, as a retailer and as a Retail Consultant who advises various businesses.

The iPhone6 is a tad bigger than the previously launched iPhone5S. The beauty of the earlier iPhones and iPods was that they could be managed using one hand, depending on what suits you. Not anymore with the new model. While a few can hold the device comfortably in one hand, most people, including a few women may find it difficult to use it on one hand. However, the flipside is the screen size looks much bigger. You get to see and read a lot more, especially on sites like twitter and facebook as well was webpages. While the default font size remains the same (it can be increased through manual settings though), one gets a feeling of using a non-Apple device. Maybe like an HTC or Sony. Samsung has launched various sizes appealing to various strata of people, just like how another Korean Automobile company Hyundai does. So, it depends on which other smartphone you compare it with. But interestingly the new model is lighter than the previous one, so the size is compensated with the pressure exerted by the palm.

Speed is immensely better in the iPhone6, but you would realise this only while using certain apps. And the likes of Facebook and Twitter have updated their own apps in line with the iOS8 Operating system, so the apps now open up and perform much better than in previous devices. Battery drains slower than before, although I haven't put the device to too much of use such as having a Facetime Call or watching a movie. Features like Near Field Communication (NFC) and ApplePay wouldn't be usable in India, for we dont have the relevant infrastructure here. Other than some basic cosmetic changes, there is nothing new in the device, although hardcore Apple Fans will tell you about the technicalities which I dont think will change the way we live! However, to each his own. 

At the moment, its been just about 36 hours since I have been using the phone and it seems to be working well and doing its job to its best. And my love for Apple keeps increasing by the day. As the saga continues...

6/10 was not the best date: #BigBillionDay

I have been keenly watching the proposed #BigBillionDay of Flipkart for quite some time. There has already been much written about the negative customer experience they created on this day and how competition took advantage of this – by offering products at a much lower price (note: I didn’t say “cheaper” and shall come back to it). Apparently, the Bansals chose 6/10 as the day since it was also the house number where they started their business a couple of years back. I found this to be a weird coincidence, honestly no offence meant. This is that time of the year when the Retail Industry sees a surge in sales – for big consumer brands such as the ones in Consumer Durables and Electronics, Apparel and Watches, the 3rd Quarter of the Financial Year beginning Oct-Dec. contributes almost 40-50% of their annual sales. Brands and Retailers have taken advantage of this proposition during this period, thanks to the biggest festival of the country, Diwali, Id and Christmas which fall during these months. Salman, Shah Rukh, Aamir and all other leading actors of the country plan their movie releases during this time of the year hoping to see a massive box-office opening. In general, people tend to save all through the year only to spend during this time – from cars to bikes to all kinds of shopping, consumers go easy during their respective festival times.

 

Am sure the Bansals knew this. Or probably not, I wonder. Why would a Retailer, online or offline discount their products during festive season when consumers are anyway going to spend? They would rather increase the bill values and promote big ticket items to cash in on the popularity of the festive mood. While offline Retailers do pass on a benefit to the consumers, it is mostly in the form of a freebie – a gift article or perhaps a Gift Voucher, so as to enable the customer to come back to them again. I have been witnessing over the past few days, full page advertisements by leading brands such as Samsung, Sony, Panasonic etc. about their latest LCD and LED TVs. The screen size seems to be getting bigger while the Selling Price has remained the same or has rather reduced considerably compared to the past few years.

In my humble opinion, Flipkart should not have undertaken this activity during this time. Atleast, they should have refrained with those massive discounts, notwithstanding the fact that the offers advertised didn’t match with what curious e-customers found, apart from the error pages. There was much angst by the public who took to social media sites like twitter and facebook – some published long blogs while many were content with the 140 characters to display their frustration and rejection of the idea of Big Billion Day. I will not get into the mechanics of the promotion, would rather reserve it as a case for another day.

Simply put, the festive season is not for discounting. I find it weird that the Bansals have given an explanation such as the one above for the date that was chosen. We in India, generally like to ape the West mindlessly. The Black Friday Sales that happen in the US is at the end of the year who follow the calendar year to close their books of records. What is given on discount are the older models ahead of new launches starting the New Year. Some intelligent geek who would have shopped in the US during one such sale might have pondered this idea during one of their internal meetings and bingo! The Flipkart Team took it too seriously! From a pure Retail Marketing point of view, I think this is one of the most disastrous campaigns that would remain etched in the memory of consumers and marketers. Many Brands and Retailers have been taken by surprise that Flipkart sold the products at a lower price than what they had offered, sometime even lower than cost. To the astonishment of the Consumer Products Industry, Flipkart claims to be the guiding institute for developing the E-Commerce Industry in the country.

While I do appreciate what they been championing, the method undertaken is not appropriate. E-Commerce shopping in India means Discount Shopping, to the extent that people do not see it as a convenient alternate method for shopping at all. In the process, Flipkart has distanced itself further from fellow Retailers and e-Tailers. It would have helped if this activity was conducted in February, which is one of the leanest months for consumption. Hope they take note of this and plan their marketing better in future.

Facebooking Customers

I have heard a lot about social media marketing and how it helps brands and Retailers to reach out to a large customer base. But I tried it out for the first time, all by myself. Facebook promotion is quite simple. One needs to provide the target segments of people whom you would like to reach out to and pay online - rather set payment guidelines; and it automatically collects the payments at the end of the campaign. I was quite astonished at the simplicity of the Facebook campaign mechanism - no wonder there are so many who have benefitted through it and are spending billions of dollars at the moment.

For my start-up Retail venture, Smiling Baby which was inaugurated last Friday (26th Sep. 2014), I created a viral promotion to reach out to the people who reside in and around Adyar, in South Chennai where the store is located. Within a span of minutes, I could see increasing levels of "Clicks" and "Likes" for my page. Within 36 hours, the campaign had reached almost 20,000 people! Over 9,000 people had clicked the post and 3,400 people had viewed the photos... For a first timer, this was a remarkable achievement I would say.

So, what went well? To begin with, the usage of the right key words - based on location of customers on their respective walls; their preferences - words such as child, baby care, etc. that they have used quite much. And ofcourse the choice of both genders to reach to the maximum number of people.

Now, the big task lies ahead - to engage these people over the coming days and also to bring them to the retail store, so they could experience the shopping first hand. I am looking forward to the four-day long weekend starting Thursday. Hopefully, many of those who have liked the posts and photos should turn up and shop, for that is when the campaign would have been really successful.

Why the iPhone6 will help Retailers!

Sep. 9, 2014 would be an important day in the history of Apple. The company, which regained its ground in the mid-2000s ever since the launch of the first launch of its iPod and later the iPhone has come a long way, with various models, variations and sizes. On Tuesday, Timothy Cook, CEO, Apple Inc. announced the launch of its newest mobile phones, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Here is a look at how the phones compare in size with the iPhone 5S which was launched in 2013.

 

The new iPhone 6 has various interesting features – better camera for higher quality photos and videos, a better battery life (which has been one of the biggest grouses of iPhone users) and a number of cosmetic changes through the new operating system, the iOS 8 which will be released on Sep. 17, 2014. The iPhone models starting with the 4S, some of the models of iPod and iPad would be able to upgrade to iOS8. The new iPhone is much thinner than the current model. Take a look at it.

Apple also announced the launch of Apple Pay, a mobile payment system in which users can pay through the mobile phones over a technology called Near Field Communication in which the user has to simply tap the iPhone 6 on to a terminal, confirm the payment with fingerprint sensor and the payment is done. There is no storage of credit card numbers, so there is very little possibilities of data theft. Apple also claims it would never know how much the user paid, thereby maintaining highest level of privacy for users. The service would be available over 220,000 outlets across the US, a mere 2.7 of the total number of retail stores that accept credit cards. Notably, it would take many years for this new form of mobile payment to even come to India, forget gaining acceptance. Add to that the negligible single-digit market share that Apple has in India anyway!

What’s interesting is the way the iPhone 6 and Plus have been priced. Although the official announcement about prices in India is yet to come, it is expected to be sold around Rs. 50,000 for a 16 GB, around Rs. 58,000 for 64 GB and about Rs. 65,000 for a 128 GB model. Yes, you read that right, 128 GB of storage space in a handheld device! In the meanwhile, older models of the iPhone has been seeing prices coming down over the past few days just before the announcement of the new iPhone. It is further expected to be slashed just in time before the offical launch of the new iPhone 6 in India, which is expected on 17 Oct. 2014, well in time for the festival of Diwali.

I believe the iPhone 6 would not be much of a game changer for the company, atleast in India. The changes made are purely cosmetic, such as the size and a better User Interface (UI), but other than that, I wonder why many first timers would opt for the new iPhone 6. Apple has finally entered the Phablet segment – which is an inbetween platform for phones and tablets with the iPhone Plus. It would take upon the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 directly in competition, although Samsung would lead the way due to its pricing and reach. But what the new iPhone would do is bring down the prices of the existing models considerably, and make them more affordable to potential buyers.

Bundling with a Telecom Player hasn’t seen much of a success in India, although that’s how the first iPhone was launched way back in 2007 in association with Bharti Airtel. Over the years, the company realised that users are not loyal to the Telecom Companies and switch networks as and when they feel, such as moving to a new job (with a different corporate plan) or city. Since 2012, Apple has brought in the much celebrated EMI Schemes in association with Banks and retailers. Most recently, it has also been trading in older smartphones, and not just the Apple iPhones. So, models such as iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and 5S will see their prices reduced and consumers would be lapping up these phones with delight. However, Apple has an opportunity to build a strong connect and ecosystem with existing Apple users over the next 3 – 5 years. It needs to pump in more and more older models into the market, so users get to understand the Apple experience and would most certainly trade-up with the newer iPhones in future.

Sync-ing customers with Technology

Smartphones have come a long way in India over the years. Until about ten years ago, the most popular phones for business purposes were BlackBerry followed by Nokia Feature Phones for personal uses. Others like Samsung, LG, Motorola, etc. had very limited models and therefore very less sales (penetration) as well. Things started changing with the launch of the Apple iPhone in 2007. The iPhone revolutionised the way people used mobile phones with its remarkable technology, style and utilities. As is quite famous about Apple Founder Steve Jobs, the company doesn't conduct much of surveys about user's needs - it rather provides features that users never thought they would need one - the most recent being the finger print scanner for unlocking the iPhone 5S which was the most recent launch in 2013. Samsung Electronics, which is one of the leading Electronics companies in the world has surged past others in less than half a decade to dominate the world's number one position in Smart Phones across the world as well as in India. According to a recent report on NDTV Profit, Sales of Smartphones rose by 84 per cent in the quarter ending June 2014. Local and Foreign companies alike are sacrificing profit margins to build market share in India, which counts 914 million mobile users, according to Government of India data.
Technology Consultancy IDC India projects annual smartphone sales growth of around 40 per cent for the next five years in this price-sensitive nation.

This is a delightful news for Retailers selling mobile phones and accessories. Univercell, Chennai based Retailer of technology products including smart phones, feature phones and related gadgets has grown consistently over the years and is rated No. 1 in terms of their network, Strategic Locations, Innovative Marketing, Friendly service and most importantly, a wide array of products across various brands. The Retailer, recently launched its newest format, rightfully called "Univercell Sync" at the tony Nungambakkam neighbourhood in Central Chennai. The store, spread over about 800 sft is strategically located to enthuse passersby to drop over. While the brand is quite popular in the city, the new "Sync" suffix is sure to attract a lot of people to get inquisitive and enquire the details about the new initiative.

The store layout is interestingly divided as various zones for purposes such as Photography, Music, Work, Accessories and Kids. Gadgets are displayed utility-wise rather than Brand-wise, which is a great way to encourage customers to choose the right gadget according to their uses. Global giants such as Apple, Samsung and LG share the display space with home grown Micromax and Karbon. However, the phones are still displayed price wise within the display areas so buyers can choose within the price range they require.

I was pretty impressed with the Music zone, especially. If CDs killed Music Cassettes fifteen years ago, the iPod killed the CD players a decade ago. Today, most of music is stored and played digitally and handphones have most of them, since people prefer to have a single gadget for making calls, taking photos and for listening to music. The display also includes music gadgets such as speakers, bluetooth devices to stream music, ear phones, head phones and cables to connect. With the touch of a button, its quite easy to connect one's phone to many of the devices and have a live display, which would aid buying the right product quite easily.

I was also quite intrigued with the kid's zone - a special area for interaction with the young ones - kids can hang around and explore various interesting things about the gadgets and the friendly staff are also helpful to teach them a thing or two.

Overall, the store is a notch above the hundreds of retail stores across the city that also "sell" mobile phones. The Univercell Sync stores dont just sell, they rather provide a very unique experience that the next-gen is looking for. Do drop over at the store in the coming days and enjoy a world class experience and share your thoughts.

The store is located at:
New No. 103, Old No. 52,
Nungambakkam High Road,
Chennai.
Landmark: diagonally opp Basics Store.

Bye Bye Employment! Hello Entrepreneurship…

July. 31, 2014 will be a big day in my life, personally and professionally since I called it a day at my full time employment and chose to tread a more difficult path that is Entrepreneurship. I have had a keenness to do something on my own since my college days. But I was very clear that I would get into something on my own only after learning substantially in the professional world. Not that I have learned much in the past 15 years, but I think I am now ready to drive things my way.

I started my career 17 years back, as a scoop boy at Baskin Robbins’ first store in Chennai, way back in 1997. It was a part time job and I earned Rs. 400 a month for working 5 hours a day, 6 days a week. I quite enjoyed my work. It was one of the first modern retailers in India who inculcated a habit of removing the cups (of ice cream) after eating the same. Ever since then, I’ve had a liking for consumer businesses. My first full time job was with RPG Retail, initially at Musicworld Calcutta (as it was then known) followed by Foodworld Chennai. Standing on the shop floor, observing how consumers touched, felt and bought products, I realised that Retailing was my first love. And there has been no looking behind ever since.

I moved to Bangalore on 14 Jan. 2004 with just four bags and a big dream at heart – to excel in the field of Retailing and to build a career that I can be proud of. I was part of the core team that set-up the first seamless Mall in India, Bangalore Central at Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune. I was inclined towards the Fashion Industry and that pushed me towards finding the role of Area Manager for South India at United Colors of Benetton. Then, I got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join a team that was building an airport! Joined BIAL and contributed towards setting up the first ever Organised Travel Retail Business in India.

The urge to see the country at large and learn from its diversity drove me to join Cafe Coffee Day as General Manager – Business Development. While I travelled across the metros and mini-metros extensively, I also drank lots of coffee, which has been one of my favourite beverages all my life and made a number of friends in the Retail world all over the country. The E-Commerce bug bit me too and I joined Indiaplaza.com where I set-up the Lifestyle vertical ground-up in a very short period of time. In 2012, I moved back to Chennai to join Royal Enfield where I was responsible for various roles, most importantly building a robust Dealer Network all across the country. I travelled 3 days a week, four times a month for over 100 weeks and visited some of the most far-off places in the country from Bettiah to Baruch, Kapurthala to Karur.

And now, I am on a sojourn which I have dreamt off all my life. In my new role, I would be spearheading my own Retail Venture named Smiling Baby which is a store that caters to young parents and would sell products for newborn kids up to 6 years of age. I have a vision to take this concept across the state and spread modern retailing in this category; let’s see how far I am able to reach. I have also been teaching at B-Schools for the past 8 years and I plan to take this more seriously now. And lastly, I intend to play a role of a Retail Consultant and share my skills and knowledge to help small and medium Retailers.

I have reached this far with the blessings of my parents and elders, support of friends and extended family, encouragement of my Bosses and colleagues, a bit of hard work and of course abundant grace of God. I don’t consider having achieved considerably yet and the journey has just begun. And I have Miles to Go before I sleep.

Online Dining

I have enjoyed my pizzas better at the restaurant that at home, all along. It is more to do with the fun of dining – you plan a trip to the pizzeria, a walk or a short drive usually, or even at a Mall after finishing retail therapy. I fondly remember the bottomless Coke and unlimited Pizzas at Pizza Corner in Chennai in the late 90s during my most cherished college days with my gang of friends. Have ever since been a fan of pizzas and the love has only been growing. Frankly, I like pizzas from different places, be it Dominos or Pizza Hut, California Pizza Kitchen or standalone indie restaurants. One of my most favourite of course has been from “Italia”, the fine dine restaurant at The Park, Bangalore. For me, Pizza is an all time snack. I am usually game for a pizza at any time of the day (or evening) although I avoid a heavy dinner of pizzas. In fact, the love of pizza is more because of the yummy accompaniments, the cheese garlic bread and an array of toppings, especially the gherkins and olives. Am not a big fan of coloured flavoured colas and would rather prefer a strong coffee if not a lemon ice tea to drown the heavy food.

What I like best is food to be served hot and fresh from the kitchen. Haven’t been a big fan of home delivery or takeaways since I feel that the freshness is somehow lost, especially the international fare such as pastas, pizzas etc. although Indian food is still doable – we have an option to reheat the curries and biryanis at home once again which can’t be done with pizzas and pastas. Have avoided ordering pizzas at home for a long time now since I have had not-so-great experiences in the past, but that was probably because I used to live in Bangalore where the ambient temperature outside is not conducive to serve hot food by road.

This Football season, I decided to order pizzas at home. No, I don’t follow the game but why not enjoy the delicious offers provided by F&B Retailers! So, first it was Dominos followed by Pizza Hut. On the first occasion, the pizza arrived pretty late, almost 45 minutes since I ordered. I was very disappointed with all the promises made by the company on various media, but gave a benefit of doubt to the delivery boy – he must have had a lot of orders to fulfil and mine was probably the last one. So, I didn’t make an issue about it and just left it there. Yes, I would give them a try once again in future and I hope they live up to expectations.

On the next occasion, the pizzas were served hot and were in a consumable condition even after 20-30 minutes of being delivered at home. What was surprising was it was a Sunday and was the day of the “Final” match between the two teams. And yet, the pizzas were sent on time, well ahead of the promised time. They have a future customer for sure!

In both occasions, I used the mobile applications of both these companies. The UI for Dominos is a bit confusing while the one for Pizza Hut seemed much better. In fact, I had to switch over to the website while ordering for Dominos since that seemed to be a better option. The UI is perhaps not designed by retail experts and with consumer feedback, it lacks the sensibilities that customers look for, especially people of the older age and for women, both of these segments may not be very mobile savvy. Also, one of my friends quipped on his Facebook post recently how the delivery boys call a number of times to take directions. The Pizza companies can take a cue from Uber, the taxi service guys who have a GPS enabled map on their cell phones that help the drivers reach their destination without even calling once.

Mobile App Zomato also integrates Home Delivery along with providing reviews about restaurants and they are growing rapidly not just in India, but also internationally. Overall, I guess online dining, or rather online ordering is a great way to reach out to customers. It is also non-intrusive in a way. There is no need to call a number and go through the menu being repeated often – the menu is just there on the mobile app or on the website and helps users to choose what they want quickly and easily. Once customers are used to it, they would rather prefer this option instead of calling on the phone, whenever they desire to order food home. So, go ahead and try ordering on your phone next time. And yes, do take a minute to share your feedback. Happy Dining…