The event was attended by 150 people, including RAI members and academic partners.
STOrai presents quotable quotes and glimpses:

“South India is the birthplace of both – retail and modern retail in India. It has 25% of the population of the country but 30% of the retail turnover” – said Bijou Kurien during his Key Note Address.  “South India has built strong vibrant brands – and malls recognize that they need local and regional brands as much as they need their national counterparts”, he added.

– Bijou Kurien

“Family owned businesses are an extension of the family environment for our staff” said M. Banumathi, Head Naidu Hall, Kovai, during the panel discussion on the Dynamics of Family owned businesses.  Her co-panelist, T.Shantakumar, MD, Kirtilals said “Professionals have a role to play as family owned businesses grow. However, the key to success for both sides is to ensure that the professionals are able to align with family culture and business values”.
Read More Here: http://goo.gl/f3flrQ

The panel on “The Art and Science of retailing” provided rich insights.
K.R. Nagarajan, Founder & MD, Ramraj Cotton spoke about his journey of converting the traditional ‘veshti’  into ‘occasion wear’ – something to be worn with pride and dignity , which resulted in a business which today spans 59 stores.  “The power of white is in its purity.  Customers who wear pristine white clothes for 21 days, find themselves unable to revert to colored clothes.  But white does not mean simple – we sell 2500 designs of dhotis – because customer tastes change from Kochi to Kovai to Kumbakonam”.
Read more here: http://goo.gl/WQb3KL

Nigam Patel, Director, Prozone CSC spoke about how tier 2 cities in India are attractive mall destinations.

“Managing a mall is a long term play – it needs patience.  We’ve also learnt that we need a mix of local and national retailers”.

His co-panelist, Girish Pande, COO, Fun Cinemas, concurred – “We’ve built malls in 9 tier 2 cities and we find these markets to be vibrant. Kovai Fun Cinemas sees 100,000 people per month, one of the highest in India.”

Read more here: http://goo.gl/vKbtyA

P Subramaniam, Consultant, RmKV Silks, spoke about the learning process they went through while deciding to move from high street to malls.

“Inspite of being a strong brand in Chennai and Tirunelveli the decision to set up a store in Brookefields mall in Kovai was taken after much debate – and was driven as much by market potential as by the lack of high street properties”.

Read more here: http://goo.gl/vKbtyA

The panel on multi-channel retail pointed out that for regional retailers – going online, or being present on social media is a non-negotiable.

“You either leverage technology or go out of business” – was how M. Ramakrishnan, MD, Thulasi Pharmacy  put it .

Read More Here: http://goo.gl/KTZET6

Delegate feedback showed that RAI’s use of bi-lingual panel discussions met with much appreciation, something we intend to continue in future events in the South.

The panel discussion on “Realty facts in the emerging cities for Retail in South India” had industry experts analyzing & providing insights about the topic

Panelists in the discussion were:

Moderator: Anand Sundaram, CEO, Pioneer Property Zone; Nigam Patel, Director, Prozone CSC; P Subramaniam, Consultant, RmKV Silks (P) Ltd.;
Shubhranshu Pani, Regional Director, Retail, Jones Lang LaSalle; Girish Pande, COO, Fun Cinemas and Mani Chinaswamy, MD, Appachi Cotton

Question from Moderator: Anand Sundaram, CEO, Pioneer Property Zone:  How do you choose a market to set up a mall?

Nigam Patel, Director, Prozone CSC

“Mall management is all about patience”

• First mall in Aurangabad
• Our concept of Ground + 1, large car parking, ‘dominant shopping center’ – helps us capture emerging markets.
• We need a good mix of local plus national retailers. It took us time to understand this in Aurangabad, but we’ve been able to apply this markets like Coimbatore.

P Subramaniam, Consultant, RmKV Silks

“Key questions for us : What is the ‘fertility’ of the market? How does the brand connect and consumer relevance operate in that city?”

• Each brand needs to look at its own areas of strength and how those can be leveraged
• RmKV has its roots in TIrunelveli (TN) – it’s a familiar and a family brand in that market.
• In spite of that – we had to analyze to understand why move to a particular city and not another city
• For example – our hypothesis was that Coimbatore is a ‘feeder’ market – catering to Salem, Erode, Tirupur, Pollachi, and Palakkad
• We are an established brand, but we had to answer some key questions when moving into emerging markets like Coimbatore

Girish Pande, COO, Fun Cinemas

“In deciding to open up a mall in a tier 2 city, we go back to the basics: Do consumers have money? Do they want to spend? Do they have other opportunities to spend?”

• We’ve opened 8 malls before Coimbatore and we’ve found that tier 2 markets give us much better success.
• Cities like Ahmedabad, Chandigarh & Lucknow – these are places where we see growth.
• Coimbatore has emerged as a flagship market for us – we have the highest ad rates in Coimbatore, and we see 100,000 customers a month at our multiplex.
• At the mall – the anchor retailers – Reliance / McDonalds are also doing exceedingly well.
• When we open a new mall in a tier 2 market, we go back to the drawing board and ask basic questions about consumption patterns.

How do you view the retail / mall opportunity?

Mani Chinaswamy, MD, Appachi Cotton

“Retail can build an ‘aura’ around niche businesses – malls provide footfalls.”

• We are a one-store wonder; a factory outlet in a niche ‘sustainable cotton’ market.
• Our ‘product’ is niche, high value handloom sarees, stoles, scarves etc.  The retail arm for us is a channel to absorb all the organic cotton produced by the contract manufacturers whom we work with.
• We’ve used the sustainability plank to create a “cotton trail” a visual imagery of how organic cotton reduces the ‘man-animal’ conflict.

How do you make malls more desirable than a high street – for retailers? Do they need to be?

Nigam Patel, Director, Prozone CSC

“Partner with retailers to make malls work in the long run.”

• Building malls is about making relationships with Retail work.
• It’s a buyers market – we need retailers more than they need us.
• Malls are more attractive than high streets – because they are a secure environment – with parking. Appeals to all three generations.
• But the mall business is about patience – and break evens are northwards of 3 years.
• Building partnerships with retailers which will ‘go the distance’ is important.
• When times get tough, it’s relationships and not LOI’s (Letters of Intent) which come to the rescue.

Why did you choose a mall in Coimbatore over the high street?

P Subramaniam, Consultant, RmKV Silks

“Strong brands in good malls act as a pull factor for consumers.”

• Three reasons:
  • Shopping has become experiential
  • Our brand challenge is to connect with the younger consumer – and malls give us this.
  • There was no good property (which matches our brand) available on the high street.

• Shopping has become experientialOur brand challenge is to connect with the younger consumer – and malls give us this.There was no good property (which matches our brand) available on the high street.

• Also the mall option was a way to derisk our investment into a new market like Coimbatore. The alternative would have been to build our own store. Given we were entering a new (albeit adjacent) market, we wanted the flexibility that leasing provided us with.

What do regional retailers prefer – malls v/s high street – in tier 2 cities?

Shubhranshu Pani,  Regional Director, Retail, Jones Lang LaSalle

“Brands have to balance high streets and malls. They have to bring the experience of malls into the high street stores and the personal touch of high street stores into the malls. “

• Number of malls coming up in tier 2 cities is limited. In the last 15 years, malls have covered only the top 50 cities. India has 117 cities with population > 4 lakhs – the tipping point for mall development.
• In the near future high streets will continue to be more dominant
• Brands prefer high street stores and stand alone stores, as long as mall capacity is limited.
• Once the malls comes in then brands will move.
• For any retailer – to expand into tier 2 / 3  – they have to therefore look at high street.

Question:Partnership dynamics between malls and retailers

Shubhranshu Pani,  Regional Director, Retail, Jones Lang LaSalle

• In tier 2 markets, lack of space on high streets, and limited mall capacity means that strong retail brands may chose to build their own space.

P Subramaniam, Consultant, RmKV Silks

• Brands may not want to build their own stores in new markets – they will want to de-risk and ‘feel’ the market out before committing – i.e. a ‘low stakes’ approach.

Shubhranshu Pani,  Regional Director, Retail, Jones Lang LaSalle

• Mall managers / landlords are usually willing to partner with strong brands – and waive lock in’s.
• Regional brands in malls – this combination attracts maximum footfalls.

P Subramaniam, Consultant, RmKV Silks

• Consumer perception is that the prices in malls will be higher as compared to the high street –that facilities such as the air-conditioning, parking,  clean toilets will be priced in.
• We had to undertake a ‘uniform pricing’ campaign to deal with this perception.
• Consumers are willing to travel to malls to buy.

Girish Pande, COO, Fun Cinemas

“If you build, they will come”

• High streets with a long history (Linking Road – Mumbai, Connaught place in Delhi),  with decent parking will thrive.
• The issue is whether tier 2 cities can attract enough investments for new malls.
• Stores in malls take time to attract footfall. Unlike high streets where presence ensures footfall – malls cannot immediately compete with high streets where consumers have shopped for decades. Malls take 3 years to settle.
• As a retailer,  take a view on the future of your high street  – will it last 15 / 20 years?  What developments are planned? How will the parking problem evolve over the next decade?
• If you are not happy with the answers, move to a mall, if there is one available.

Audience Question: What should small retailers entering into malls be careful about?

Shubhranshu Pani,  Regional Director, Retail, Jones Lang LaSalle

“Malls can be trial and error – it takes 3 years for a store in a mall to settle. Once you settle, stay.”

• Look at the intention of the mall developer – they should be in the business long term, and want to run the mall.  They should have the infrastructure to maintain the mall.
• Who is the anchor?  The anchor tenant draws the catchment –  smaller retailers get the benefit of their ‘name value’
• In tier 2 cities – you need strong regional brands to be present. – check whether they are.
• Check that the catchment does not have other shopping centers / malls.  What is the consumption potential of the catchment? What is the income profile?
• Check the design of the mall / shopping center as a customer would – Is their parking? How does public transport work? Are there schools / colleges / markets in the catchment.

Question: Why do kiosks get ‘second hand treatment’ from malls?

“Malls are not targeted at kiosk owners but at retailers.”

• Malls are not in the business of kiosks.
• Depending on what is sold in kiosks – there can be issues of security, safety,  cleanliness and hygiene (food kiosks).
• 70% of Kiosk owners are often first time retailers – not often serious about he business and do not have financial wherewithal.   They need to prove credentials and are often asked for a deposit.
• Kiosks must not inconvenience long term tenants – hence sometimes, they are priced prohibitively –  to keep non-serious players out.

From L-R: Anand Sundaram, CEO, Pioneer Property Zone; Nigam Patel, Director, Prozone CSC; P Subramaniam, Consultant, RmKV Silks (P) Ltd.;
Shubhranshu Pani, Regional Director, Retail, Jones Lang LaSalle; Girish Pande, COO, Fun Cinemas and Mani Chinaswamy, MD, Appachi Cotton

The Panel Discussion on The Art and Science of Retailing Occasion Wear in South India had industry experts discussing on how they blend science & art of retailing occasion wear.

Panelists of this discussion were:

K.R. Nagarajan, Founder & MD, Ramraj Cotton

Jagdish Sarda, Founder & MD, VENFIELD

Somesh Warakandan, Director, VKR Silks

S.Franklin John, Principal, Nehru College of Management

Moderator: Bijou Kurien

Opening comments by Bijou Kurein (Moderator)

“Occasion wear is emotive and high value. It needs a blend of both the art and the science of retailing.”

• The art of retailing is intrinsic; the science, that which is structured and learned
• Owner retailer driven companies have retailing down to an art. Being an owner and feeling a ‘sense of ownership’ are two different things.
• Owner retailers – feel the pain of profit and loss.  The promoters owns money – the professional, a sense of ownership,  The owner knows how money works – in terms of stock, customer service, employee satisfaction.
• When you build a business in a smaller city, where your family has deep generational roots, you know the customer better and can ‘localize’ communication and marketing, without thinking about it as being  marketing.
• The art of retailing is often transitioned over “dining table” conversations – it’s a DNA level infusion.

Question: How does your business integrate the art and science of retailing?

K.R. Nagarajan, Founder & MD, Ramraj Cotton

“Our mission was to create a status symbol out of the veshti”

“Fashion is about mixing habit with comfort”

• Converting the ‘veshti’ into occasion wear has been our mission.
• When we started, in 1980’s – only the cooperative movement produced dhotis (called “Kadar” dhotis; Kadar means respect). However these were low quality.
• Dhoti’s were associated with the blue-collar, labourer class.
• In a bid to market the product, when I wore the product and went to a five star hotel, I was made to wait, while others (who were wearing formal trousers) were allowed to enter.
• I realized that there was a need to re-position the product.
• So, I made it a point to associate, tangible ‘signs of success’ with the ‘veshti’ – for example, I would make it a point to be seen driving in a Mercedes wearing the white veshti,  I got temple elephants to salute people wearing white veshtis and made sure that there were people passing them who wore that garment.
• We’ve also used the emotive appeal of actors – from the Tamil and Malayalam film industries to be our brand ambassadors.
• Focus: that’s been a critical component. We’ve stuck to the message of ‘pristine, pure white’.
• We believe that consumers who wear white for 21 days, will not want to revert to coloured clothes.
• While our range of merchandise spans mens wear, our entire branding,  positioning and marketing is about the “power of white”.
• Our positioning of the veshti as ‘occasion wear’ was also deliberate.  Festivals and occasions are instances where people seek the comfort of traditional and the familiar.
• We wanted the consumer to feel proud about wearing ethnic, traditional wear.
• Lastly, we’ve used product innovation to get people to adopt the category (example – veshtis with belts, pockets, and inner boxers / drawers) – all based on consumer feedback and aimed at making the consumer comfortable about wearing the dhoti.

Somesh Warakandan, Director, VKR Silks

“Looking at the silk saree category from the “outside in” is what helped us expand.”

• For us the art of retailing is the art of “retaining”.
• Most of our sales staff have been with us for more than 30 years. They are able to sell to three generations of women customers and are able to map merchandise to profile and taste.
• Customers no longer see us as “wedding saree” sellers – they look at us as a place to shop for festivals.
• That “outside in” differentiation is what helps us expand our business.

Jagdish Sarda, Founder & MD VENFIELD

“Garments and brands both become commoditized, but service endures. “

• Retail is not about opening a big store, dumping stock and pushing sales. Its about how you treat your customer.
• You need to be present where the customers habitually goes. In the past that was the temple – today it’s the mall, and tomorrow it will be online.
• As an entrepreneur I am in love with “action” but the business demands that – beyond a point – I have to be replaced by technology – otherwise it cannot grow.

Question: How can academia help retailers understand the art and science of retailing?

S.Franklin John, Principal, Nehru College of Management

When it comes to occasion wear, do not assume that price drives value. “

• Handling the customer is an art, understanding her is the science of it.
• Research tell us that we have two brains (right and left) and two levels of consciousness (cognitive and sub-conscious)
• Connecting with the consumer is a right-brain, emotive, and a sub-conscious phenomenon.
• Retailers who forget this get lost in feedback scores and their brands become ‘bland’.

The panel discussion on Professional Outlook in the Family Run Retail Business had business leaders from several retail chains in south India, which have been family run discussing on dynamics of professional outlooks in such businesses.

Panelists in the session included:

M. Banumathi, Head Naidu Hall, Kovai

Gnanasekar Kandaswamy, MD, Pazhamudhir Nilayam

T.Shantakumar, MD, Kirtilals

Amar Subash, GM Security, Commercial &   Retail Biz, Tyco India

Moderator: Sanjay Badhe, Deputy Director, Retail School of Excellence, Great Lakes Institute of Management

Question: Do family run businesses need professionals?

T.Shantakumar, MD, Kirtilals

“Both family members and professionals go through a period of adjustment when professionals join the business.”

• Businesses need professionals to scale.
• Professionals bring in discipline, process and systems.
• The entrepreneur, though, brings in a level of customer connect that the Professional cannot.
• The challenge is to get the professional aligned to family culture and business values.
• We do several informal meets, lunches with senior professionals when they join.  Our purpose is to empower each Store Manager so that they can engage and connect with the customer, the same way that the entrepreneur can.

Question: How do you solve conflicts?

T.Shantakumar, MD, Kirtilals

“When new family members enter the business, we are careful to mentor both them and the professionals already in the business.”

• Take conflicts offline – for one to one personal discussions with both, family members and the professionals.
• Once the decision is made – then both have to align with the decision, even if they don’t agree.
• We are clear, that professionals who cannot align with the family values and the business culture – cannot continue with us.
• We use the period of the first 90 days on the job, to gauge that alignment.

Question: How do family businesses attract good professionals

M. Banumathi, Head Naidu Hall, Kovai

“Family owned retail stores provide high emotional connect to professionals – that’s why they stay.”

• You have to attract good people – not just at senior levels, but especially at the front end.
• Family businesses provide an environment which is an ‘extension’ of the home environment.
• For us, our sales men and saleswomen are our “Heroes”, and – like in the movies, we want them to be visible to the customers (audience) not us – the ‘directors’ and ‘producers’.
• We recruit for attitude not qualification or experience.  We also ensure that we take on and solve their problems, so that they are free to do what they do best which is sell.  (example – savings schemes)
• We encourage them to develop confidence, by getting them mentored by senior sales staff. Our staff calls seniors as “Amma / Appa / Akka / Anna” – a mark of the depth of relationship.

Question: How do family businesses attract good people?

M. Banumathi, Head Naidu Hall, Kovai

“Word of mouth is the best advertisement”

• Our sales staff help us keep our pulse on the market. They tell us what customers want – and purchase managers do regular monthly meetings to make sure that our range / merchandise reflect that local know-how.
• We have found, that customers in different towns (from Coimbatore to Madurai )have different tastes. By formally recording customer needs via salespeople,  we find that our business is better, and inventory lower.

Question: How do family  businesses retain professionals?

Gnanasekar Kandaswamy, MD, Pazhamudhir Nilayam

“Make sure that you treat family members and professionals fairly and equally.”

• Most entrepreneurs think that professionalism is about appointing a CEO – this is not true.
• A company is professional when it has proper systems and structures to run day to day operations without interference of the entrepreneur.
• The entrepreneur should focus on “directionalizing”  and setting targets.
• We do not differentiate between professionals and family members.
• Both have to take the consequences of their decisions – good and bad.

Question: How do you stop yourself from not interfering with the professionals?

T.Shantakumar, MD, Kirtilals

“Empower the professional and then “walk away” – let him do his job.”

• Once you have delegated authority to a professional – then you have to give him the space to perform.
• If you interfere and micro-manage he will not perform.
• At the same time, the customer needs you – so you still need to be available to the customer.
•  Other than that – you walk away – decisions regarding the stores has to be done by the manager dedicated for that.
• If you have to override the manager in front of the customer, then after the incident, you go back and motivate the manager so he does not lose heart (or face).

Question: How do you stop yourself from not interfering with the professionals?

Gnanasekar Kandaswamy, MD, Pazhamudhir Nilayam

 “Identify your core values, centralize and control only those. Leave the rest to the professionals.”

• If you are thinking about professionalizing – do not lose the core values – essence of the brand.(in the mind of consumer)
• We have “centralized”  the core values by a monthly review process – we focus on targets and the support needed to achieve the targets.
• This ensures that our presence is not needed – and that gives the professional the space to perform.

Question: How do family owned business score when it comes to adopting technology?

Amar Subash, GM Security, Commercial & Retail Biz, Tyco India

“Family owned retailers are profitable. They do not therefore view technology as a cost – they see it as an investment.”

• The key is accessing the entrepreneur and getting enough time from him to demonstrate value.
• Once you demonstrate value, then technology adoption and  rollout is much faster among family owned businesses than among modern retailers where decision makers span multiple levels in the hierarchy.
• Once you have built credibility – they are also far more open in terms of looking at technology to solve strategic issues. More importantly, willingness to be transparent about the issues is much higher.

Panel Discussion on Creating Channel Supremacy the Multichannel Way had experts from retail chains in South India brainstorming & discussing the trends on retail industry, especially in the context of multichannel retail.

Panelists in this session were:

Suraj Shantakumar, Director Business Strategy, Kirtilals

Sunil Sanklecha, MD, Nuts & Spices

M. Ramakrishnan, MD, Thulasi Pharmacy

Zarook Shah, Director, The Grand Mall

Moderator: Sastry Subrahmanya, Director, PWC

This is what the panelists had to say:

Question: What is your view on multi-channel?

Suraj Shantakumar, Director Business Strategy, Kirtilals

“Multi channel maturity is a function of business maturity.”

•Our business is about high value diamonds and gold.  Our key value proposition is personalized service – which social media to an  extent excludes.

•Our definition of multi channel includes : Direct to home for personalized  shopping; roadshows and exhibitions for the store catchment.

•We’ve developed  Special design lounges –  an IPAD app – which customers can use to BYOJ (Build Your Own Jewelry)

•This App ‘aggregates’ range across all stores – and creates an ‘endless aisle’ for customers.

• We are present online and on social media but these are for ‘display ‘ purposes.

M. Ramakrishnan, MD, Thulasi Pharmacy

“Multi Channel for us is events which increase customer engagement.” 

•We run a chain of 39 pharmacy stores all over Tamil Nadu.

•We use health camps as a way to engage with the catchment.  Strategic PR exercises.

•We are present online – but to give information, we do not have an e-commerce enabled website as yet.

•Since our Target Audience are usually above 60 our multi channel and technology choices reflect that.

•Home delivery / prescription reminder services / email marketing are our version of “multi channel”

•Because we deal with health and because our target audience is older;  customers have concerns on privacy and security of online transactions.

•We have found that loyalty programs based on purchase patterns have met with some resistance – but discount based programs have been successful.

•Social media is a good channel for the neutraceutical side of the business. In addition, touch-screens in-store help to educate about usage / side effects of drugs.

Question: How is the customer expectation influence retailers choice of channel?

Zarook Shah, Director, The Grand Mall

•We run a mall in Chennai – we are a neighborhood mall, and are in the shadow of Phoenix Market City who are much larger than us.

•In addition, we also have an analytics / Ux company (Ux = User eXperience)

•Customers are jumping online at the first opportunity – so retailers have to think multichannel.

•Use interactive technology to present SKUs and range not available in store – using mobile technology.

Sunil Sanklecha, MD, Nuts & Spices 

•We are a chain of gourmet food stores.  Our Retail stores are a channel for the family business of dry fruit.

•23 stores in Tamil Nadu. Present online and on social media

•Created the online store to cater to customers who had moved outside the state.

•Most online retailers focus on price discounting as a way to drive traffic.  The trade-off is price v/s experience.  Online channels cannot provide the same experiential feel.

•Depending on which markets and customer segment – most retailers need both. It’s not an “either / or” thought process.

Online channels appeal to the “left” brain, brick and mortar to the “right” brain. One is quantitative and price based – the other is experiential. – Sastry Subrahmanya, Director, PWC (Moderator)

Zarook Shah, Director, The Grand Mall

•As a neighbourhood mall we have found social media far more useful than mainline print / media advertising.

•Email marketing and aggregating offers of all our tenant retailers  has helped us personalize our offering to the catchment.

Audience Question: How much should you spend on online advertising ? 

•We spend 2 to 3% of turnover on advertising. Of that about 20% is for online advertising.  (Sunil Sanklecha – Nuts ‘n’ Spices)

•We’ve found that a combination of social media / flyers works better than a radio / print media mix (Zarook Shah – Grand Mall).

•Our industry is regulated. We use PR – not advertising. We run a ‘handwriting’ contest which covers 100,000 children and helps us connect with the community.  Our advertising budget is miniscule – 0.2% of turnover.  (M. Ramakrishnan, MD, Thulasi Pharmacy )

•Online advertising is nascent for jewelry industry, we use a traditional ad budget – mostly in print and hoardings. (Suraj Shantakumar, Director Business Strategy, Kirtilals)

Summary:

All brands need an online presence to be able relevant to the customer.  – Zarook Shah, Director, The Grand Mall

When you go online is a function of investments and bandwidth – Sunil Sanklecha, MD, Nuts & Spices

If you can’t use technology – be prepared to go out of business – M. Ramakrishnan, MD, Thulasi Pharmacy

Keeping customer experience consistent across channels is key.  – Suraj Shantakumar, Director Business Strategy, Kirtilals