GST on Cinema Tickets

The Union Government of India has recently announced a reduction of GST on Movie Tickets from 28% to 18%. The Film Industry took collective credit for hard-bargaining this issue with the Prime Minister and many celebrities thanked him on social media. However, the average movie-goer isn’t too kicked.

2018 has been very average for the Indian Film Industry with many high profile, high budget Hindi films tanking like no other, notably Shah Rukh Khan’s latest outing “Zero” and Amitabh Bachhan / Aamir Khan’s magnum opus “Thugs of Hindostan”. Needless to say, the only saving grace was Superstar Rajinikanth’s 2.0 directed by ace Director Shankar, his third outing with the mega actor after Sivaji - The Boss (2007) and Enthiran (The Robot) which released in 2010. Produced by Lyca at an estimated budget of over Rs. 550 Crores (a little less than USD 80 million) - perhaps the only Indian film to have been invested so much upon. And to everyone’s surprise, the film has raked over Rs. 700 Crores at Box offices worldwide in its first three weeks of release and is still seeing full occupancies during the Christmas / New Year weekend as well. Karan Johar took up the release of the film in the Hindi Belt and has done a fantastic job indeed. 

I was at Delhi two weeks back and finished my meetings ahead of schedule and was sitting over a Cappuccino in one of South Delhi’s tony Malls. Was quite excited to watch 2.0 in Hindi (after watching 4 times in Tamil already at various theatres in Chennai). The ticket cost for 2.0 in 3D was Rs. 450 including GST. Add to that, my proposed indulgence of Popcorn, Nachos and Coffee and I would have ended up spending at least Rs. 1,000 over 4 hours. At a spur of the moment, I decided against it and went ahead with some other plans. Of the Rs. 450, I guess 28% would have been taxes. So, I would have paid about Rs. 120 as GST which would now be reduced by Rs. 40 approximately (depending on Ticket costs). 

Is reduction of GST on cinema tickets a good move? Yes. 

Will it draw more audiences in to the Cinemas / Multiplexes? Perhaps Not.

Here’s why I reckon so;

Most theatres focus on the F&B offering than the core - Movies. Multiplex chains like PVR and SPI Sathyam (now owned by PVR) focus on the “experience” of watching a movie while standalone Cinemas too have focussed on improving facilities. Sadly, reduction of GST is not enough to draw audiences. We need better content from film makers and needless to say, a sharp reduction in F&B prices. By reducing the prices and focussing on volumes, the Theatre Owners would see a significant jump in occupancy which hovers around 40% on weekdays and approx. 70% on weekends. 

GST is now reduced from 28% to 18% on Tvs - Smart Tvs which come with built-in OTT Apps like SunNxt, Hotstar, Zee5 and of course YouTube. Theatre Owners, hello there?!?

Staff Empathy - Wake up India!

Like many of you, I too saw the viral video of the Zomato delivery guy consuming the food meant for Guests on his scooter. As a benefit of doubt, I initially thought he was eating the food he had ordered for himself or his family. I never shared the video and the ensuing Memes even to my close family or friends. Something stopped me from doing it. It takes me back to 1997 when I joined my first job as a part-time employee in erstwhile Madras. Being a humid city and blessed with four seasons of Summer through 12 months, the city was eponymous to a hot weather all through the year and about 20 days of winter. So Ice-Cream as a product category was a 12-month business opportunity and no wonder, “Baskin Robbins” set-up their second store in India here after debuting in Mumbai. I would study Computing at NIIT from 7am - 9pm and pursued B. Com from 4pm - 8pm at RKM Vivekananda College. A chance glance on the local tabloid and I saw there was a job opportunity at this shop and I headed. 

I got selected but the Franchisee wanted me to work all day which I couldn’t since I had classes in the morning and evening. So, I suggested I can work part time from 11am - 3pm which he agreed to for a monthly remuneration of Rs. 300. We were a crew of 6 and had to run all errands - from receiving stocks to cleaning tables to serving scoops. Around the same time, local brand “Arun” would sell their stick Ice-Cream for Rs. 5 while a scoop of Baskin would cost Rs. 33. We had to not just convince Customers to try and buy our offering but also justify why they should pay so much for the product.

The Franchisee was a shrewd businessman in his 30s and had an idea which took us all by surprise. He suggested that each of us can take any one scoop of ice-cream daily. There was a register we maintained and we tried as many flavours. Over a few days, we requested if we could take them home instead and make the family happy which he obliged. Over the weeks, we got tired of eating daily and said we wouldn’t do it anymore. The Franchisee had hit two mangoes with this move - he ensured we never pilfered the food; he ensured the staff knew what we were suggesting to Customers and so could sell them easily.

This was my first lesson in Retail, my first job as well. Frontend Retail Staff in India, most of them find it difficult to make ends meet. Salaries of CXOs have grown multi-fold in decades, but not that of these guys. So there is always a sense of remorse (at least for some of them) that they are unable to afford the products or services. I am not taking this as an excuse for living poor, after all that’s a choice too but they do really cannot afford even basic needs at times. I feel really bad for this Zomato delivery guy for all the negative publicity the society gave him. Imagine the humiliation his Mother, Wife and Children would face from their neighbourhood? Will anyone employ him again? With our excessive media trials, we have killed a family's reputation Sigh.

We have failed as a society, yet again thanks to our "one-upmanship" and self-styled righteousness in the garb of exposing someone who was at fault. Oh, btw that guys doesn't need our sympathy. The world needs more of our empathy. Am sure you agree. 

The Retail Staff (including the delivery staff) deserve better. Better Salary, better empathy and better social acceptance. When we give them something beyond what they deserve, they will not only display integrity but also build a better society that we live in. Remember, no one was born a thief. We just become one, thanks to circumstances.

Coming soon - 60,000 Retail Centres in India…

The Central Government announced on Sunday that it is planning to issue application forms for 60,000 Fuel stations across the Country to be operated through Dealers using the trade name of the Three Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum. There are already 62,000 (and counting) fuel stations across India which retail Petrol, Diesel and allied products while a bunch of them also retail CNG for commercial vehicles. About 10% of these stations are operated by private players such as Shell, Essar, etc. It is a remarkable feat that the world’s highest fuel retail station is in India at the Ladakh region of Jammu & Kashmir in the Himalayas which is a favourite among auto-enthusiasts. 

As in the past, prospective applicants need to apply online and pay an Ernest deposit to the OMCs which would be followed by a lucky draw. And those who win would be awarded the contracts and assistance provided by the respective agencies in setting up the outlets while those who didn’t qualify would be refunded their deposits. While this generous move by the BJP Government is seen as a positive measure since no such new contracts have been issued in the past four years, critics have dubbed this as a meaningless move with spiralling fuel costs and dwindling vehicle sales over the past two quarters this financial year and a mere public-pleasing stunt ahead of the upcoming National Elections in May 2019. So, the verdict is split. 

It costs a whopping Rs. 1.5 – Rs. 2 Crore to set up a Fuel Station spread over 5,000 sq. ft in the name and style of the OMCs while the cost is more than double for private players like Shell who have stricter norms towards the setting up of the outlets. The biggest challenge for setting up a Fuel Station has been land acquisition, especially on National & State Highways which have seen a 10-fold increase in vehicle traffic over the past decade, thanks to better roads, lower cost of acquiring personal vehicles and a generally heightened mood for vacations and road trips. 

Being an avid traveller and a terrific lover of road trips myself, starting with my beloved Hyundai Santro in 2005 till the new age Mahindra XUV500 (I upgraded to an Automatic from the previous Manual this March), I have personally seen how the entire ecosystem has evolved over the past 15 years or so. In fact, I plan my trips now, whether short or long depending on the wayside amenities that I could use, from rest rooms to coffee shops, meals to speciality snacks and of course the need for service centres, local vehicle mechanics and Authorised Service Centres, etc. The need for such pitstops vary when I travel solo or with family and of course based on the number of hours we travel at a stretch. 

My pet peeve on highway travel has been the lack of good quality toilets (well, good is a relative term, so!) and clean and hygienic food outlets which have somewhat been fulfilled at least across Tamil Nadu Highways which I frequent the most by road. While only a handful International and National Retailers such as Café Coffee Day, KFC, Mc Donalds and A2B have scratched the surface of the opportunity of Highway Travel Retail, there seems to be an enormous opportunity that lays ahead of us. I see these upcoming 60,000 new Fuel stations (many say only 1/3^rd of all locations proposed actually turn up in reality) as nothing other than Retail Centres, where apart from filling Fuel, one can have various other retail offering from food outlets like cafes to speciality restaurants, shops selling snacks, fruits and condiments for the journey ahead and of course, wayside motels for a quick overnight stay for tired drivers and their families. 

Reliance Retail with their Fuel stations did come up with some of these models way back in 2006-07 but the whole effort slowly dwindled due to decentralisation of Fuel prices and today, they remain large parcels of land ready for an explosive growth. These fuel stations (and Retail Centres) could be beneficial not only for travellers but also for the nearby towns and villages, generating sustainable employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. 

I am writing this sitting in the back seat of a Bolero travelling on work and just stopped at a highway shack where I had a glass of Coffee. I see a new Retail Centre coming up closely (when I close my eyes).

My i Vs. Mi Experiences

I purchased my Mobile SIM card for the first time in the year 2002 in Chennai from Aircel and that number is still active. My my first handset was an Ericsson followed by Samsung R220, the first mobile phone launched in India with a multi-colour display. This was followed by a few Nokia models over a decade and a Sony Ericsson P1i before I finally moved to Blackberry. A few models and 4 years later, I moved on to the Apple Ecosystem with iPhone 4S in 2011. I upgraded to 5S, 6 and 7 over the years as well as including other i-Devices such as 3 generations of iPod, 2 variants of iPads, a MacBook, Apple Tv and finally an iWatch. With a paid plan for Apple Music and a huge storage on iCloud, I don’t have to worry about my stuff on the hard disk anymore, for its all safe and secure, “Up in the Air”. Hopefully. With a seamless integration within the iOS, it is almost impossible for me to move out of the Apple Ecosystem anymore and I guess I will remain clued in here. however, when the announcements for new models of iPhone XS & XS Max were announced last month, I had less interest than last year for the iPhone 8 & X. Somehow I felt that Apple has stopped making mobile phones for common users and is perhaps focusing on a niche segment who can use most of their offering.

Notwithstanding my self-prejudice for a coveted Brand and its products that I love so much, I decided to visit a Retail Store to physically touch and see the new launches. On a sunny Chennai afternoon last weekend, visited an upmarket Mall in the City, which for some strange reason has four retail stores next to & opposite to each other who sell multi-brands of Mobile phones and accessories apart from an Apple Premium Reseller (APR) and a Mi Experience Store. Even before I could visit the APR I happened to see the new iPhones at one of Tamil Nadu’s leading multi-brand Retail Store. The Staff were as uninterested as I were and they hardly explained why the new damn thing costs a lakh and fifty thousand bucks, with which one can but at least three new laptops or 15 mediocre mobile phones or perhaps even 5 top-end new mobile phone models. I didn’t bother to even ask queries and quickly moved on to the next chore with the family. Was having a sad grin on my face that the same “me” had waited at the same Mall five years back in a queue for four hours on a sunny November afternoon along with my better half to buy my Apple iPhone 5S on the launch day. How things change, huh!

My wife has been asking me to buy her a wearable device to measure footsteps, which we have been exploring for the past few days. Surprisingly, Croma and Reliance didn’t have a wide range while the Mi Experience Store at Express Avenue Mall didn’t have the widely popular Mi Watch 2. The staff at the Mi Store was unapologetic that it wasn’t available at their flagship store in South Chennai and instead advised us to visit a few days later when it would arrive at the Store. Really? Do Brand staff think Customers will Queue up anymore for their once coveted products? We ended up buying at another store whose Sales staff surprised us and matched the same price as the Mi Experience store where the device’s price is Rs. 200 lower than outside. At the Mi Experience store, I saw a wide range of products including LED TVs but another flagship Mi A5 model of Mobile Phone wasn’t available, once again. 

Recently, I was reading how Best Buy has embraced omni-channel in the US by ensuring a wide variety of models across Brands were made available at the Store and the Retailer also offered multiple models of delivery such as in-store, same day delivery, Day +1 delivery, at home delivery, etc. This was the only way they could counter the intense competition from Amazon in the US. Back in India, things remain unchanged. Croma has a namesake omni-channel model but the staff are disinterested in taking the effort. The bigger surprise was Mi Experience Store, where the staff could have immediately engaged with us, potential buyers of a Watch to browse the range on a device kept right at the store where one could browse and buy with a deliver in a day or two, Lost opportunity. 

This is just my personal experience and am damn sure there are millions of such experiences across the world where Customers are walking away without purchasing, thanks to disinterested staff and their respective Managements. A report in the Economic Times suggests that of the 1 lakh units kept ready for the opening weekend in India, not more than 50% were sold, thanks to low interest of Customers for various reasons, from new innovations to pricing. This is a first for Apple, what with already sagging Sales and the same trend could continue if they keep making iPhones which people stop buying for snob-value. And a younger brand like Mi which boasts of giving a run for money with its devices could do better with Merchandise Planning some Staff training. hope that’s not asking for too much from a Brand which has apparently carved a niche for itself.  

Would Pricing alone entice Customers?

This is my 21^st year in Retail and I am still not amused that the Indian consumer’s love for discounted prices has never waned. Back in the late 90s when I first encountered a modern Retail outlet at Mandaveli at South Madras where my mother sent me to check out the new Store since the Sugar that was sold there was cheaper and of better quality than at the Ration Shop we would buy regularly, I was quite amazed at the whole set-up. It was a nice shop on RK Mutt Road with a bold red signage and white font which read “Subiksha” meaning prosperity in Sanskrit language. That the Indian Consumer has been price-conscious is known, but what’s interesting that almost all products in the country is today is sold at MRP – of course there are exceptions.  In categories like Electronics, the concept of Maximum Retail Price is just for Statutory Prices – to satisfy the Tax authorities. It’s been more than a decade since Electronic items were sold on MRP, barring new releases of Mobile Phones – Apple retains MRP for quite a long time since launching new product ranges while most other Brands cannot and do not retain MRP for more than 2 weeks since launch. 

In Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), MRP has always existed and will remain so, thanks to the MRP Act which governs pricing of consumer products. However, most Retailers of all sizes – S, M, L or XL or XXL (pun intended) offer or atleast promise to offer products below MRP. Subiksha’s initial success was due to a Brand promise that “Every product was priced below MRP” including Medicines which was an instant hit. The Retailer carefully priced products a rupee or more below – but at least One rupee lower than MRP which was a rarity those days. Even Kiranas wouldn’t reduce so much from the price of products, however would offer credit to consumers which was the first example of ensuring “Customer stickiness” a buzzword today. Over the years, most other Retailers have played on the Price and used it to their advantage. India’s first organized Grocery Retailer Foodworld had exciting price-offs on special days and this would draw crowds to the stores. Foodworld also launched Private Label products – “different cover, same product” which was cheaper by 10-20% across Spices, Ketchups and so on. A few years later, Food Bazaar came up with the premise of EDLP, a term coined originally by Sears in the 1960s USA which was popularised by Wal-Mart later on. 

Every Day Lower Price by Food Bazaar meant that there was no need for the consumer to worry about price change gimmicks; prices were low every day on a whole lot of items which kept / and keeps driving footfalls to the stores till date. On 26 Jan. 2006, Big Bazaar celebrated “Maha Bachhat Day” or “Big Savings Day” which was sort of similar to Black Friday and Thanksgiving weekend shopping in the West. The result was overwhelming and the Retailer has steadily increased it to 3-4 days now culminating with a weekend. In 2012, Flipkart ran “Big Billion Day” which was a runaway hit while also upset thousands of customers because they couldn’t get their hands on many products which were sold out in seconds and the delivery of products took more time than usual. Proof, that Indian consumers are extremely price-sensitive and will embrace price offers all the time. While this article is mainly focussed on Grocery, the competitive / discounted pricing works for every other product that’s sold in retail – from Agarbathis to Audi Cars, Furniture to Apartments (sans GST, as they advertise!).

I happened to visit D-Mart at Salem in Tamil Nadu, India this week. I have visited one of their outlets in Mumbai 8 years before while exploring setting up CCD within their premises. I was awed by their offering. Almost every product was on discount – below MRP to be precise. No crazy promos, no confusing promotions, buy this and get that and so on. Simple, straightforward discounts as we Consumers like it. In no time, I was carrying a basket and when I went to the Billing counter, I was informed by the girl I was to pay Rs. 901. Unbelievable that I picked so many things. But frankly, there was more to do than pricing which stuck me – the store was spic and span. For a grocery cum Hypermarket in a Tier 2 town with a population of less than 20 lakh population, that was surprising. The girl, when I asked said the store was seven months old and is filled up to the brim on the weekends with Customers shopping till late in to the night after the city is shut. Says something about us.

Can Malls resurrect?

I went to a once-upon-a-time popular Mall in Chennai a week back – to watch a movie at Inox. I went 10 mins before the show began; during the intermission, I bought a Samosa and Tea for Rs. 200 and left the venue just after the film ended. There was nothing for me in the mall to hang around. No coffee shops, interesting retail concepts, a poorly scattered food court and absolutely uninteresting Mall Management. The toilet was a saving grace, neat and clean as always. 

Chennai Citi Centre was one of the earliest new-age Malls in Chennai which opened almost a decade back. Compared to the previously popular and hugely successful Spencer’s Plaza, Citi Centre managed by the ETA Group preferred to lease retail spaces as against selling them like Spencer’s. The initial euphoria was huge – located on RK Salai leading to the world-famous Marina Beach and the road being used by two former Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu viz., Dr. Karunanidhi and Dr. J Jayalalitha for their daily commute. The road was in its best form all these years with Traffic Police stationed all day and night as well as reasonably safe. The Mall opened with Chenai’s iconic Landmark Store, Lifestyle and Inox as anchors followed by Foodworld, Mc Donalds & KFC in the food court and roof top; a slew of national and international brands followed. The “Marina” food court had some interesting concepts offering a range of food and beverage options. Café Coffee Day was conspicuously missing inside. Instead, CCD opened a café right opposite the Mall which continues to be a crowd puller. The Atrium would be used for interesting events and activities.

A few years in to it’s bull run, Express Avenue Mall opened 3 kms away, followed by Phoenix Market City two years back. With a spread of no more than 2 lakh sq.ft for Retail and F&B, Inox Cinemas spread over 30,000 sft, private Office spaces spread over 20,00 sft. and two levels of basement Car Parking, the Mall had little to offer in terms of retail space. As always, Small is Beautiful. Plus, it had a great locational advantage. But the Mall Management let the mall die a slow death for reasons best known to them. Almost all the original Retailers have vacated but for Basics Life and Giordano apart from Lifestyle and Inox. I approached the Mall Management two years back and suggested we could do wonders with what we have on hand and give a run for money due to its locational advantage and easy access to South Madras. They refused to oblige and have remained adamant on letting the opportunity pass by. Even now, the mall is sitting on a gold mine, if only one could take a serious look at what could be done to make it great, once again. 

Citi Centre is not an isolated case. During the Mall boom in India between 2006 – 2012, about 800 Malls of all shapes and sizes were operational at its peak across India’s Top 50 cities & towns. Thanks to a slowing economy since 2013 onwards, uncertain consumer sentiment and tough business conditions, more than half of them have shut down or have morphed in to Office spaces. A recent research report suggested that the Mall vacancies have improved off late and over 80 Malls are expected to open in the next 24 months across India. As we speak about this, VR Chennai opened its doors to the city just a month ago, spread over a million sft. 

So what happens to these Malls which do not get the desired traffic (of customers) anymore? Many people compare this situation to the Ghost Malls in the US, which I believe is not fair. The Indian Economy continues to show strong signs but for some shortfalls here and there. Older Malls can be resurrected, if only the Mall Owners prefer to do so. In our country where most of the Malls are owned by Real Estate companies, their only focus is generating a certain “revenue” per sft. Taking an extra mile to get consumers walking in regularly and keeping them hooked – this is no rocket science. Can be done pretty easily at much lower costs with very minimal efforts. Add to this, inefficient Management Teams in many cases who have never worked earlier in Malls or have a deeper understanding of Retail dynamics. Just that the Mall Owners must come out of their slumber and their fixation for a certain “fixed” revenue model and consider Professional Management. Malls are community centers and Mall owners must connect with the consumers and not just their bank a/cs.

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Year 5 of Entrepreneurship

Very frankly, I am an Entrepreneur by accident. Having been part of India’s Retail revolution with 21 years’ behind me; having worked across various Retail verticals such as Food & Grocery, Malls, Airport Retail, QSR and Automotive Retail; Rated among Top 50 Retail Professionals in India; Young Achiever Awardee and so on, I never endeared to become an Entrepreneur. My entry to Entrepreneurship was more circumstantial than a planned one, which is very unlikely of me. Having spent a large part of my professional career in Business Strategy, I continue to remain methodical in most of my approaches. But this journey was different.

I decided to take a break from my professional career on this day, 1 Aug. 2014 and set foot in to this unknown, uncertain and unapologetic world of Entrepreneurship. With loads of aspirations in my mind, a continued fondness for Retailing and a special focus on the “Baby Care” format, I set-up Smiling Baby, a retail store that sells products needed for new born babies up to 6 years and Maternity products for Pregnant women and new Mothers. I created a catalogue spanning over 3,000 SKUs almost singlehandedly, right from finding suppliers to POS providers, staffing to architects, almost everything. Ran the venture for a year after having invested close to Rs. 1 Crore of personal savings that my wife and I made over a decade. Within no time, the bank account came to mere 4 digits although we didn’t achieve expected sales. Various factors, including failing miserably to expect potential Investors on my name than on the business, massive impact on offline Retail thanks to online companies selling Diapers and more below cost price; and lastly Investors refusing to put their money on a purely offline model swelled with Capex of over Rs. 40 lakhs per store. 

On the first anniversary of the store, the shop was not operational. Call it bad timing, miserable luck or simply underestimating the vagaries of Entrepreneurship. We moved to a smaller location close by but again, the misery continued; Chennai witnessed massive rains and floods in November 2015 and the store had recreated a mini Niagra within. Lost almost all of the stocks, computers, interiors, et al. The Insurance guys didn’t support stating that the “flooding” clause was not covered in the Policy. Bizarre  Continued to operate for a while until we decided to call it a day, once and for all. The business was shut, lock seal and barrel. Everything was lost, but for my persistence and perseverance. Decided to join hands with a fellow-Retailer and co-create a workable model, which again much to my chagrin, failed. All attempts were through and I didn’t have the courage to invest another penny more into this sinking ship. 

Went to the Himalayas and cooled my heels for a few weeks; introspected at Lake Gurudongmar at 18,000 feet, wandered around Lachen for a few days in freezing winter. Came back resurrected and found new ways to survive. While I was already pursuing Retail Consulting on and off, I decided to focus full time on Consulting and started to reach out to clients. Got a few wins, gathered steam and today have more work coming my way than I can actually handle, that I have to decline a few assignments. Life’s Good. Meanwhile, explored and worked on a Franchise model for Smiling Baby and today we already have a few stores up and running and business is picking steam. Hope to raise an Investment soon and scale up Smiling Baby across the 32 Districts of Tamil Nadu, the southern state of India.

My biggest achievement has been my “perseverance” and my “never give up” attitude. That’s one thing I wasn’t wired as a child by my parents and later by many whom I have admired and continue to do so. However, there is as much guilt that shows up often – my parents and wife continue to support me day and night in my adventures and endeavours, which is atrocious sometimes. I have peeled their skin more than they deserve and this haunts me a lot. But for my wife who’s stood rock steady the last four years – I am not an easy guy to; She’s handled our marriage of 12 years, my emotional tantrums and most importantly, the financials of the household. She has taken care of my Late Aunt who had Stage 3 Advanced Cancer in her Uterus & Vagina, my Kids education and their wellbeing and of course my parents – all singlehandedly. She's my Angel, she's my Investor and so she's my Angel Investor! And she continues to put the same smile on her face every morning while waking up and puts more effort than the previous day at workplace till date. 

Entrepreneurship is not easy. It is not for everyone. We don’t just need a strong financial backing and good luck – more than that, we need a supporting family and loved ones. A lot of people will come and encourage us midway, some may even discourage us but what matters is our undying spirit to keep moving on. My journey has just begun, Miles to Go…