CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1) Background of the brand

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL) is a part of USD 44.3 billion Aditya
Birla Group. With a revenue of Rs. 7,181 crores and a retail space of 7 million sq. ft. (as
on 31st March, 2018), it is India's first billion-dollar pure-play fashion powerhouse with
an elegant bouquet of leading fashion brands and retail formats.
ABFRL emerged after the consolidation of the branded apparel businesses of Aditya
Birla Group comprising ABNL's Madura Fashion division and ABNL's subsidiaries —
Pantaloons Fashion and Retail (PFRL) and Madura Fashion & Lifestyle (MFL) in May
2015. Post the consolidation, PFRL was renamed Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd.
ABFRL hosts India's largest fashion network with over 11,000 points of sale, which
include close to 2,500 exclusive ABFRL brand outlets across 750+ cities and towns,
4,900+ multi-brand outlets and 4000+ department stores across the country. It has ~22
million loyalty members as of 31st March 2018.

1.2) Background of the study

This project was done under ABFRL- Central Trade (Refer to Pg. no. 13) department
and the function of this project was to set Visual Merchandising guidelines for new
store openings.

The measures were taken and implemented. The store taken into consideration for two
out of the three objectives was a Louis Phillippe store in the Maleshwaram district of
Bangalore.

1.3) Objectives

 Cost cutting and development of New VM props/ Substitutes:

This can be done through bargaining with the vendors/reducing down the
quality of props/ develop new props that are more cost effective.
 Vendor Management:

1
 The process of vendor management starts right from obtaining quotations from
the vendors and continues even after the new store has been launched.
 Setting up timelines for VM requirements in store:
Forming a calendar plan for the Area Visual Merchandisers which can make
them do timely delivery of work.

1.4) Methodology

 Primary data collection: The primary data has been collected by way of
 Direct observation,
 Conversation with the employees and vendors and,
 Practice.

 Secondary data collection: The secondary data has been collected through
books, magazines and internet.

1.5) Scope

The result of the project will help the team- Central Trade in the following
ways:

 Higher profits for the Franchisees: Since the cost has been reduced
down of a number of VM props, that means the profits will be
more.
 Time saved: Vendors have been set for almost all of the products.
The production time can be saved down along with the time spent
in bargaining and obtaining samples.

2
1.6) Limitations

The limitations of this study are as follows:

 Time constraint: 9 weeks was a very short time to see a new store
opening as the procedure generally takes about two and a half
months to get completed.
 EOSS: Half of the project was done during the End of Season Sale.
At that point of time there were no new store openings taking place.

3
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1) Background of Louis Phillippe

Louis Philippe (ABFRL, n.d.) is a premium Indian brand of men's apparel. It is a

brand of Madura Fashion & Lifestyle, a division of the Aditya Birla Group. This brand
was started in 1989. It is one of the largest apparel brands in India as of 2018. The
brand name is inspired by King Louis Philippe, who was King of the French from
1830.

The Label is an online fashion and lifestyle magazine for men by Louis Philippe.

Defining class, elegance and status, Louis Philippe is a purveyor of fine clothing for
the discerning gentleman. In pursuit of excellence, Louis Philippe stands for precision
in craftsmanship that translates into clothing that are classic and contemporary, and
perfect for the quintessential man. An international super brand for menswear
clothing, Louis Philippe offers a range of formals, semi-formals, custom-made
clothing and accessories. Addressing the needs of the style-conscious man, the brand’s
clothing range boasts of a collection of suits, shirts, trousers, T-shirts and accessories
that can be bought in-store and online.

The sub-brands in Louis Philippe portfolio include:

 LP MAINLINE (menswear formals)

 LP LUXURE (collection of luxury wear)
 LP SPORTS (casual and semi-formals)
 LP JEANS (denim collection)

2.2) Visual merchandising

Visual merchandising (Sharan, 2017) is the practice in the retail industry of developing
floor plans and three-dimensional displays in order to maximize sales.[1][2]

4
Both goods and services can be displayed to highlight their features and benefits. The
purpose of such visual merchandising is to attract, engage, and motivate the customer
towards making a purchase.

Visual merchandising commonly occurs in retail spaces such as stores.

2.2.1) Contribution to retail brand strategy

Visual merchandising contributes to a brand's personality and the characteristics

associated with the brand. The design of the store should reflect this as part of their retail
brand strategy. This includes the in-store environment and brand communications used,
such as signage and images displayed in-store. These visual elements play a part in
building a retail brand and therefore they help a brand differentiate itself from its
competitors, create brand loyalty, and allows for a brand to place premium pricing on
their products.

2.2.2) Methodology

 Interior displays
In-store visual merchandising can be used to capture the attention of consumers
whilst they are in the store, an essential component in the buying decision-
making process. To capture the attention of the customer, the retailer must
consider the customer's needs during this process.[15] Factors that contribute to
the overall in-store design include the store layout, store design, point of
purchases displays, item display, assortment display, and signage.[16] When
applied successfully to a store, these factors can meet the needs of the consumer
and provide a positive in-store purchasing environment.
 Store layout
The layout of a store is a significant factor for the maintenance of a thriving
business, which can help advance sales and profitability. An effective store
layout encourages consumers to shop the entire store and view an extensive
assortment of merchandise. The most common forms of store layouts include
grid layout, racetrack layout and free form layout. Choosing a store layout
depends on the type of store and the nature of the product sold. A grid layout is
generally organized in a rectangular shape, which allows customers to shop
quickly and maximize shop floor space, ideal for a supermarket or hardware
store. A racetrack layout ensures that the consumer only follows one path when

5
 browsing the store. This is beneficial in the sense that the consumer will come
into contact with every product on the shelf. Free form layout is a suitable layout
for a store that encourages browsing. This type of layout is more relaxed in its
structure, which leaves the customer feeling less rushed. The entrance of the
store, otherwise known as the transition zone, is an important area in the store.
This is an area where all shoppers pass on entry into store, and is significant as
this zone is where consumers can observe the stimuli and sense the general vibe
of the store. Therefore, thoughts and representations a consumer has about the
store and the brand depend on this area.
 Mannequins
Mannequins are used by apparel retailers to display their products in-store and
in the window display. They are a tool used to show consumers what their
products look like on a person. The mannequins will commonly be styled to
match trends as well display the latest products available. A study found that
retailers projected an ideal image to consumers with the size and proportions of
the mannequins. This is used to further reinforce the characteristics of their target
market. However, consumers found the size of mannequins to be unrealistic but
would give a favourable response to the mannequins when they were headless.
This was because the participants in the study found the faces of the mannequins
unrealistic and could not relate to them. Therefore, it is important for retailers to
understand the thoughts and opinions of consumers on visual stimuli such as
mannequins so they can create a more desirable shopping environment for the
consumers.
 Cross selling
Bundling is promoting objects that work together as a set. It inspires people how
to use the products in their lives and also makes complimentary product
suggestions. In a fashion retail store, complete outfits on a mannequin or the
placement of tops beside jackets and bags by other accessories such as scarves
and jewellery are an example of bundling. The store has already done work in
envisioning the look the items can used to achieve. Bundling also directs
attention to specific products thereby limiting the product selection presented.
 Atmospherics
The atmospherics also have a large influence on the store environment.
Atmospherics should all coordinate with each other to create a consistent

6
 ambiance and positively influence the consumer's shopping experience and
buying decision-making process. Visuals such as light and display are not
always enough to enhance the overall ambience of the store, and retain customer
attention; therefore, other elements such as music and scents can be used.
 Light
Light can be used in many ways in retail stores, from highlighting an object or
area of a store to simply illuminate the entire store. Bright light can create a sense
of honesty, positivity, and can promote impulse purchasing. Lighting can also
be used to highlight the store layout and urge customers to flow through the
store, exposing them to more merchandise. The lighting inside a retail store can
be used strategically to highlight products on display or to create a comfortable
environment for consumers. It is an important element used (alongside music,
temperature, fragrance, and layout) in retail to create an atmosphere that matches
with the brand's personality.
 Music
The music played within a store can promote a brand's image, and can also aid
consumers into making purchase decisions. Music that suits the style of the store
and the target audience is an important factor to consider. Music with a slow
tempo can cause the consumer to relax; therefore, they spend more time in the
store. This leads to more contact with merchandise and increased purchasing.
Having music, which is popular within the target market, can also encourage
consumers to linger in the store longer.
 Exterior displays
Exterior window displays can be used to sell product and entice customers into
the store. An eye-catching, innovative window display can promote the brand
image. It can be used to advertise. Windows can give consumers and by-passers
understanding as to what goods are sold in store. They are also an effective way
of promoting fashion trends and providing useful information to the target
audience.
 Window display
Visual merchandising is a multi-sensory tool used by retailers to catch the
attention of customers and attract them into a store to make a purchase. The first
piece of visual merchandising customers encounter with a brand is the window
display. Window displays are used as an initial attraction to bring customers into

7
 a store and are also used as a marketing tool to communicate the brand's image
to the consumers as well as to distinguish itself from its competitors. The
importance of the window display is that it is a touch point consumers have with
the brand. By generating interest or curiosity with the window display, a brand
can leave an impression on the consumer and furthermore the consumer can
figure out the quality and character of the products the brand has to offer.
 Colour
Colour is a powerful tool in exterior displays. It can aid creativity for exterior
window displays and can have a unique effect on the consumer. The use of
colour can create atmosphere, grab the attention of by-passers, and attract them
to the store. Different colours can trigger different emotional responses. Warm
colours such as red, orange and yellow can initiate exciting, cheerful, friendly,
vibrant, simulating reactions, purple can give the impression of elegance and
sophistication, while grey colours can give off a depressing, dull feel. Using
colours that associate with a certain product or brand representation is also a
useful technique when planning window displays.
Colour is a significant tool used in visual merchandising. It can be used to
influence the behaviour of consumers and evoke different reactions.
 Graphics, photography and signage
The use of graphics and photography in window displays is an effective way of
communicating information to the consumer. The most common form of
communication in window displays is through text and signage, especially when
advertising a sale or a special. This technique is commonly directed towards
price driven customers who are constantly on the lookout for bargains.
Colourful, bold text and graphics are used to grasp the attention of these
consumers. Signage should communicate a short, clear message, which is
consistent with the brand's marketing communications model. Visually, signage
should be appealing to the eye and easy to read. One effective way of using
signage in windows is using a self-adhesive vinyl cut-out to the window; small
signs in the window can also be used to communicate the price of a good or the
discount.

8
2.3) Vendor Management

(Fournier, 2015)The term vendor management is used when describing the activities
included in researching and sourcing vendors, obtaining quotes with pricing,
capabilities, turnaround times, and quality of work, negotiating contracts, managing
relationships, assigning jobs, evaluating performance, and ensuring payments are made.
It requires a lot of skills, resources, and time.

Though many business owners believe that vendor management is simply about finding
the supplier with the cheapest price for a product or service, it’s about more than that.
It’s about streamlining the process for heightened efficiencies and managing vendor
relationships to ensure that the agreements made are mutually beneficial for both parties.

With effective vendor management processes in place, you can properly establish
service, quality, cost, and satisfaction goals and choose and manage third-party suppliers
that help you achieve those business goals.

The Four Parts of the Process

Vendor management is typically broken down into four steps. The first is the
establishment of the business goals mentioned above. It’s much easier to select and
manage vendors when you have clearly defined performance parameters to compare and
contrast.

The second part of the process is to select the best vendors that will be able to match
your company’s performance characteristics. Every vendor will have its strengths and
weaknesses, and choosing the right one is a very critical task to optimizing operational
results.

Third is managing your suppliers. On a daily basis, your vendor managers will need to
monitor performance and output, ensure contract terms are being followed, approve or
disapprove changes, provide feedback, and develop relationships through effective
communication, honesty, and integrity.

Finally, the fourth aspect of vendor management is meeting your goals on a consistent
basis. This requires continuous work in influencing vendors to meet performance
objectives to ensure profitability.

Building Relationships with Vendors

9
To get the most success out of your vendor management process, you need to take a
strategic approach to building and maintaining relationships with your best vendors.
Good suppliers are hard to come by, so it’s important to nurture your relationships with
the suppliers you don’t want to lose.

Share information and priorities: For your vendors to effectively meet your needs to the
best of their ability, it’s important for you to provide the necessary information in a
timely manner. This might include launch dates, changes in design, forecast
information, and other pertinent information that might affect quality or service.

Allow strategy and innovation: When you and your vendors work together on strategy,
you can get the best value for your money. Invite the vendor to meetings that involve
the product he is working on. You hired him because he’s an expert in that area so he
could provide valuable insights or innovative suggestions that make the product better
or even cheaper, which could give you a competitive advantage.

Look to the future: Short-term relationships with vendors will only lead to short-term
gains and marginal cost savings. The real value comes from building partnerships for
the long terms. Doing so will enable trust and commitment from your vendors, which
could lead to discounts, preferential treatment, and access to expert knowledge.

Focus on win-win agreements: You won’t be able to build relationships with strong-arm
negotiation tactics. Instead, you’ll create resentment that can lead to further problems
down the road. Focus on negotiating agreements in good faith that allow both parties to
walk away feeling good about the deal.

2.4) Material used for making VM props

 Rubberwood
Rubberwood is a light-coloured medium-density tropical hardwood obtained
from the Pará rubber tree usually from trees grown
in rubber plantations. Rubberwood is commonly advertised as an
"environmentally friendly" wood, as it makes use of plantation trees that have
already served a useful function.

10
 Polyurethane (PU) Paint
A polyurethane coating is a layer of polyurethane (a type of polymer) that is
applied to a material's surface in order to protect it. A polyurethane coating can
protect the base material from corrosion, weathering, abrasion and other
processes that would degrade the material over time

 Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is an alloy of Iron with a minimum of 10.5% Chromium.
Chromium produces a thin layer of oxide on the surface of the steel known as
the 'passive layer'. This prevents any further corrosion of the surface. Increasing
the amount of Chromium gives an increased resistance to corrosion.

 Fibre-reinforced polymer
Fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) (also called fibre-reinforced polymer, or fibre-
reinforced plastic) is a composite material made of a polymer
matrix reinforced with fibres. The fibres are usually glass (in fibreglass), carbon
(in carbon fibre reinforced polymer), aramid, or basalt.

 Solid Acrylic
Solid Acrylic is a non-porous low-maintenance material used for surfaces such
as countertops. It can mimic the appearance of granite, marble, stone, and other
naturally occurring materials, and can be joined invisibly by a trained craftsman.

 Sun board
Sun board or Foam board is a very strong, light, and easily cut sheet material
used for the mounting of vinyl prints, as backing in framing, and for painting.

 Vinyl
It is a type of plastic that is made from ethylene (found in crude oil) and chlorine
(found in regular salt). When processed, both the substances are combined to
form Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) resin, or as is commonly referred to - Vinyl.
The most common use of vinyl is that in construction, especially as vinyl
flooring and vinyl siding. In fact, these uses of vinyl are often thought of as its
only uses. In addition to these, vinyl has many other uses because of its ability

11
 to combine with various additives and modifiers, thus making vinyl highly
suitable to be used in the manufacture of many different products.

 PU leather
PU leather is an artificial leather material made with split leather (that's the
fibrous part of the hide left over from making genuine leather) which has been
coated with polyurethane (hence the name “PU”), and then applied to the surface
of the furniture.

 Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF)

MDF is generally denser than plywood. It is made up of separated fibres, but can
be used as a building material similar in application to plywood. It is stronger
and much denser than particle board. The name derives from the distinction in
densities of fibreboard.

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 CHAPTER 3

PRIMARY DATA ANALYSIS

3.1) Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. is a multiple channel organisation

The first channel being:

3.1.1) Retail:

The retail channel of ABFRL only has Exclusive Brand Outlets which are owned and
managed by the respective Brands- Louis Phillippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and
Peter England.

These stores are Company Owned Company Operated (COCO)

The next channel is:

3.1.2) Central Trade

Trade is a separate department in the organisation- ABFRL.

Central-Trade is one of the most profitable area for the company. It functions by
working with franchisees.

It works in two ways:

 MBOs: MBO is a multi-brand outlet. These outlets may have other brands
outside Madura as well.
Examples of MBOs where the Trade team is present is Pothys and Snowwhite
 Buy and Sell: The Buy and Sell stores opened by Central Trade are Franchisee
owned, Franchisee operated (FOFO)
The company sets up the stores for the franchisee by hiring own vendors but
the payment is done by the franchise owner.

Trade is moving at a very fast pace i.e. 1 new store opening every month.

They take under themselves the three main brands under ABFRL- Louis Phillippe,
Van Heusen, and Allen Solly.

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3.2) Props used in VM

After making multiple visits to multiple Exclusive Brand Outlets, there was a lot of
things that were observed, out of which it was found out that the following are the
elements that are needed for a new store opening:

• Hangers

Figure 3.2.1

14
• S hooks

Figure 3.2.2

• Mannequins- Bust form, Leg form, Standing and sitting postures

Figure 3.2.3 15
• Façade Signage

Figure 3.2.4

• Table tops

Figure 3.2.4

16
• Signage for: Washroom, trial rooms, push & pull

Figure 3.2.5

• Cash back logo

Figure 3.2.6

17
• A5/A4 stands

Figure 3.2.7

• Easel stands and their Offer communication

Figure 3.2.8 18
• Call out props

Figure 3.2.9

• Photo frames

Figure 3.2.10

19
• Steam iron

Figure 3.2.11

• License pouch

Figure 3.2.12

20
• Carpet

Figure 3.2.13

• Street Map

Figure 3.2.14
21
3.3) Objective #1: Cost cutting and development of substitutes/new
products.

To help the company in cutting down the overall cost incurred in VM elements, it was
important to study the props, the time taken to produce them, and the material used in
their production. After consulting vendors and the Trade and Brand team member, the
material used and the number of days taken for the production of each element was
found out which is as follows:

S. Elements Specifications Production

No. Time (days)
1 Hangers  Pine wood
 Brown Polyurethane (PU)
paint 15-20
 Golden hook
 LP logo screen printing
2 S Hooks  Stainless Steel 4-5
3 Mannequins  FRP- Fiberglass reinforced
polymer 15-20
 PU Paint- Off white colour
4 Façade signage (High  Milky white acrylic
Street)  Titanium sheet 20
 Warm white LEDs
 Side Lit
5 Façade signage  3D Acrylic box letters
(Malls)  Sides- Titanium/ Pre-coated 20
Gold Aluminium sheet
 Warm white LED
 Front lit

22
6 Façade signage (LP  Solid acrylic letters
sports stores – high  Red/ Blue LED 20
street/ malls)  Front lit
7 Cash Back logo  Titanium sheet
 Warm white LEDs 20
 Halo lit effect
8 A4/A5 size Table  Sun board (2mm)
Tops  Paper (100 GSM – double 4-5
folded from sides)
9 Washroom/Trial  Front- Gold laser ply cut outs
rooms/Push & Pull  Back- Black acrylic 4-5
Signage
10 A4/A5 Table / Easel  Material- Metal
Stands  Paint- Powder coated Gold 4-5
11 Offer communication  Sun Board
for easels  Print on Vinyl 4-5
 Vinyl Lamination
12 Vinyl Call out props  Vinyl
 Back lit 4-5
 White LEDs
13 Brick Call out props  Pine wood
 Polish Finish 4-5
 Wording grove
14 Steam Iron  Brand used- Jiffy 1
15 License pouch  Polyurethane Leather 4-5
16 Carpet  Hand Tufted
 Blue colour 45-60
 Wool
 Art silk
17 Street Map  19 mm Medium Density
Fibreboard (MDF) 10-15
 Duco paint- Red and Blue

23
  Router cut
TABLE- 3.3.1

3.4) Objective #2: Understanding Vendor Management Process at

ABFRL

3.4.1) Understand the functioning of vendor

The primary step to understand the functioning of vendors is to have the information
regarding the work that they specialise in and also their contact details so, that there is
no disruption in the communication

The following is the list of Vendors that were registered with ABFRL but were not
known by the teams of all the brands.

(*Contact details of vendors cannot be disclosed)

S. No. Vendors Specialisation

1 Adwings  Signage
 In store communications
2 Akshar Sales  Signage
3 MD Signs  Signage
4  Mannequins
Dimensions
 Hangers
5 Mudra Creative  Signage
 Window elements
 Street Map
 In store Communication
6  Street Map

Pampa Arts  Window elements

 In store Communication
7 MD Signs  Signage
8  Signage
Comart
 Window elements

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  Street Map
 In store Communication
9 Shrishti Creations  In store Communications
10  Hangers

Vivek Creations  Mannequins

 Street Map
11 Venture Signs And Display  Signage
12 Mohan Das Lex  Signage
13  Mannequins
Indo Nippon
 Hangers
14 Salman  Signage
15 Carpet Kingdom  Carpets
16  Signage
Ss. Kartik
 In store Communications
17  Signage
Omkar
 In store Communications
18 Vasanth  In store Communications
19 Azaad Carpets  Carpets
20 Deepak S Raja  Carpets
21  Signage
 Window elements
B Universal
 Street Map
 In store Communication
TABLE- 3.2.1

3.4.2) Vendor Management Touch points

The process of vendor management is very important for a smooth functioning of any
organisation. After observation, below mentioned touchpoints came out to be ideal for
Vendor Management.

• Obtaining price quotations:

The first step is to collect the price quotation of the existing props.

25
 All the vendors were contacted and asked for the quotation that they’re offering
their products in.

• Checking quality of work:

To check whether the vendors will be capable to deliver quality material, it was
important to have samples. All the vendors were requested to send samples of their
particular props.

• Creation of sync b/w vendor and franchise

It was noted that one of the main objectives of vendor management is the creation
of sync between the vendors and the buyer.
Creating a proper communication channel between the two party is ideal.

• Payment norms
Vendor management cannot be right until and unless both the party agree on the
payment norms.
The payment norm that ABFRL is following in terms of these vendors is 100%
advance payment.
The buyer is supposed to pay 100% of the amount before the production of props
starts.

• After sales service

Hiring a vendor without the promise of after sales service can prove to be a risky
task.
At ABFRL, only the vendors providing with Signage and Cash back logo were
offering free service for the period of 1 year.

• Transportation cost
Another important task that vendor management takes into consideration is the
transportation cost (from the vendor’s factory to the store) levied by the vendor.
The local vendors at ABFRL do not charge transportation cost when the location is
in Bangalore.

• Setting vendors for different requirements

26
 It was observed that hiring different vendors for very new store opening becomes a
very tedious task. It is better to set vendors who know the company’s
requirements.
The Trade team does not have set vendors which in turn takes them a lot of time to
set up a new store.

3.3) Objective #3: Preparation of calendar plan for AVMs

For a timeline to be prepared for an Area VM, it is important to know the activities
taken by them during a new store opening.

In this process, it was mandatory to meet all the stakeholders in order to know the
different activities conducted and the time taken to complete those activities.

The list of stake holders and the information gathered from them is as follows:

S. No. Stake Holders Information gathered

1 Vendors
2 Project team
3 Franchise owners
 Process of production
 Time taken for the production
of VM props
 Time taken in the creation of
store and furniture layout
 Time taken for providing the
correct measurement of the
store area and Façade.
 Snag lists of different brands
 Any information affecting
store elevation (Ex. Market
norms of the area of the store)
 The time they are willing to
open the new store.
 Time taken in making the
payments to the vendors

27
 4 Area Visual Merchandisers  No. of elevations that generally
take place for any NSO.
 Time taken for the preparation
of each wall elevation as well
as floor fixture elevation.
 Time taken for the preparation
of façade elevation
 Gap in terms of No. of days in
between the soft launch and
hard launch.
TABLE- 3.3.1

Once this information was collected, the next step is to know what all are the floor
fixtures that are used in a Louis Phillippe store. (Refer to Annexure-2)

28
 CHAPTER 4

FINDINGS AND SOLUTIONS

(Note*: The findings mentioned in the project are the problems that were found out
that the organisation was facing and the Solutions given were the work done in the
course of 2 months. The solutions were actually implemented to solve the problems.)

4.1) Objective #1: Cost cutting

4.1.1) FINDINGS

The trade team of ABFRL was facing issues with the costing of new store elements as
the franchise owners were not ready to pay huge amounts.

The company had a list of vendors for all the elements but after observations there
were two problems that were highlighted in terms of high cost:

1) There were very few registered vendors so, they were charging high amounts
as there was a monopoly.
2) The quality used for the products by the vendors was according to the earlier
standards. (very fine quality). There was no need for it.

4.1.2) SOLUTION:
1) Studying different kind of material used in making store elements

2) Reducing down the quality of material according to brand specifications but not
compromising on the look.

3) Getting new vendors to break down the monopoly and get fresh ideas on board

4.1.2.1) Explanation:

 Hangers:
Vivek creations (a new vendor) was taken on board for the hangers. The cost
was bargained since the quality of wood was changed from Pine wood to a
cheaper quality called rubber wood. The paint and hook remained the same.

29
 Samples were made which are as follows:

Figure 4.1.2.1.1

The hangers were a little light in weight but looked exactly the earlier hangers in terms
of appearance.

Since for one store, more than 1000 pieces need to be ordered, the cost on hangers
went down considerably once the new quotation was received which is as follows.

Earlier Quotation (Riddhi Inc.)

Current Quotation (Vivek Creations)

Figure 4.1.2.1.2

30
  Mannequins:
Earlier, the mannequins were taken from Dimensions but there was no timely
delivery and since there was a monopoly so, the quality kept reducing down.
Now, Indo Nippon and Vivek creations were set as vendors for mannequins.
Though the cost of a few type of mannequins is a bit high in comparison to
Dimension (Fig. 4.1.2.1.3) but the overall cost came down and there was a
promise of timely delivery which in turn saved the rent of the store.

Earlier Quotation

(Dimension)

TOTAL- 110542.5/-

Figure 4.1.2.1.3

Current Quotation
(Indo-Nippon)

(Vivek Creations)

TOTAL- 96900/-

Figure 4.1.2.1.4 31
  Carpets:
Earlier, the carpet that was being used was a hand tufted carpet made of wool
and art silk. It used to take 45-60 days in its production and was very expensive
(Fig. 4.1.2.1.7)
Since the carpet was made of wool, pilling was also an issue which made the
carpet lose its colour made its maintenance very difficult.

Hand tufted wool carpet PP-5005 blue

Figure 4.1.2.1.5 Figure 4.1.2.1.6

So, there was another carpet introduced which was a Poly-Propylene (PP) machine
made carpet. Its production time was 4-5 days and did not have the problem of pilling.
The price went down considerably (Fig. 4.1.2.1.8)

Quotation

Figure 4.1.2.1.7

32
Figure 4.1.2.1.8
 In-store Visuals:
There was monopoly of the vendor called Shrishti Creations. He was charging
too much for all the products (Fig. 4.1.2.1.9).
A new vendor was taken on board- Adwings. The price was bargained and
finally the order was placed after looking at the samples since the price
reduced down to almost half. (Fig. 4.1.2.1.10).
This change in vendor helped the brand team as well since they were paying
huge amounts to Shrishti Creations earlier.

Shrishti Creations

Figure 4.1.2.1.9

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 Adwings

Figure 4.1.2.1.10

 New Product:
A lot of money was spent on table tops showing different discounts on
different items during EOSS period. The money was getting wasted as once the
discount is removed, the table top was discarded.
The solution to this was a new product which looks like a calendar and can be
used as a table top. It is a one-time investment. For every new discount, a page
can be turned and the calendar table top can be put up that way.

Figure 4.1.2.1.11
34
4.2) Objective #2: Vendor Management

4.2.1 FINDINGS

The Trade team was facing some problems regarding vendor management including
the advance payment and after sales service norms.

The problems are mentioned in brief:

1) There were very less no. of registered vendors and most of them were
concentrated in Karnataka region.
2) The order quantity was large for all stores, being a sole provider for the
company, vendors used to make delayed deliveries.
3) Having a monopoly, the vendors had set the payment terms according to them
i.e. 100% advance payment.
4) Apart from Signage and Cashback logo, no other existing vendor was
providing after sales services.

4.2.2) SOLUTION:
1) Getting new vendors on board or reviving the old ones with new terms and
conditions.

2) Connected with Vendors who are available locally and also have their office in
Kerala (where the shortage of vendors is the most)

3) Handling and going through all the problems faced in the touchpoints mentioned
below:

4.2.2.1) Explanation:

There are various touchpoints where the team was facing problem

 Checking quality of work:

o The work was not organised because the AVM did not have labelled
samples from different vendors.
o Categorizing samples on the basis of need, vendor and price helped the
team save a lot of time for the next store opening.

35
 Payment norms adjusted
o The old vendors were taking 100% advance payment and thus, there
was never a timely delivery of props.
o When new vendors were taken aboard, the payment norms were set to
be 60% before production and 40% before final delivery.

 After sales service

o A one year after sales service norm was set for all the vendors. Those
who agreed to the condition were taken on board.

 Transportation cost
o It became a huge problem for the stores that were in other parts of
South India but a solution was suggested that either one of the vendors
who is getting the bulkiest of material can get all the props or the
franchise owner can send his own vehicle to the vendor. This was the
transportation cost can be reduced down considerably.

 Setting vendors for different requirements

o Another problem that the Trade team faced was that they did not have
assigned vendors for all stores. For every other store, they had to
bargain and then order props which wasted a lot of time.
o Fixing up vendors and giving them bulk order for 5 stores at once not
only reduced down the cost but also in future will save a lot of
bargaining time as well as the production time. This means that 15 days
could be saved from the process of opening up a store.

36
4.3) Objective #3: Setting up Timelines

4.3.1) FINDINGS

1) Since the AVMs do not sit at a common office, there was a lot of
miscommunication between them in terms of the process to be followed
while handling a new store opening.
2) The AVMs were not given a set target or a deadline by which they had to
complete the whole process. So, there used to be a lot of procrastination.
3) ABFRL did not provide the AVMs with a complete list of procedures to be
followed during a NSO. Because of this reason, a lot of steps used to be
missed out from the overall process which hindered the smooth
functioning.
4) Whenever there was a new joining of AVM, it got difficult for the team to
give them direction to start from.

4.3.2) SOLUTION:

The objective was to prepare a timeline for the AVMs. It was done by the usage of
Gantt Charts in the following way:

The below mentioned chart shows the procedure to be followed and the no. of days
taken in the completion of each procedure.

37
 TIMELINE IN BRIEF
Days taken for completion
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Receiving furniture layout

Objectives

Order placement

Store launch

Completion of snag list

Figure 4.3.2.1

The above timeline (Fig. 4.1.2.1.12) is in brief which shows the no. of days that will be
taken by the AVMs for the completion of these processes.

The parent processes mentioned in the chart have their own sub processes which are
shown in depth in the below mentioned Gantt chart (Fig. 4.1.2.1.13):

38
 TIMELINE IN DEPTH
Days taken for completion
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50

Discussion with AFS manager regarding market norms

Wall elevation
Re-elevation 1
Final wall elevation along with floor fixture elevation
Objectives (In Depth)

Final facade elevation

Taking of approvals and making final changes
Sending the qty of fixture order to the Projects Team
Final order placement
Payment for orders
Follow up with vendors
Receiving and setting up store elements and stock
Soft Launch
Creation of Snag list
Hard Launch
Completion of snag list

Receiving furniture layout Order placement Store Launch Completion of Snag List

Figure 4.3.2.2

In depth understanding of the Gantt chart and the timeline is mentioned in Annexure-1

39
 CHAPTER 5

LEARNINGS
 Learnt about different type of materials used in the production of elements
used for Visual Merchandising
 Understood the nuances of cost cutting for various materials by deciding
whether to bargain price, reduce the quality of props or develop cheaper
substitutes.
 Learnt why and how does a deal take place between ABFRL and its franchisee.
 Focused on the practical implication of the theoretical knowledge gained about
vendor management.
 Understood where and how to form Gantt charts to depict timelines in a
meaningful way.

40
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1) ABFRL. (n.d.). https://www.louisphilippe.com/content/about-us-4. Retrieved from

https://www.louisphilippe.com/content/about-us-4:
https://www.louisphilippe.com/content/about-us-4

2) Fournier, J. (2015). https://www.hcmworks.com/blog/what-is-vendor-management.

Retrieved from HCM works: https://www.hcmworks.com/blog/what-is-vendor-
management

3) Sharan, B. S. (2017). Visual merchandising: An effective tool for fashion. Retrieved

from http://www.homesciencejournal.com/archives/2017/vol3issue3/PartA/3-2-
110-394.pdf:
http://www.homesciencejournal.com/archives/2017/vol3issue3/PartA/3-2-110-
394.pdf

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