A STUDY OF MARKETING MIX OF RELIANCE SMART

CONTENT PAGE No
CHAPTER-1

 Introduction of the Project

CHAPTER-2
 Objective, Scope & Limitations of the Study
CHAPTER-3
 Research Methodology
CHAPTER-4
 Data collection & Sources
CHAPTER-5
 Findings of the study

CHAPTER-6

 Conclusion

 Suggestion

1
INTRODUCTION
This project is all about marketing strategy applied by RRELIANCE
SMART,BALASORE. Here we will deal with the organizational
structuappliedeliance smart and brief knowledge about organised retail
in India as well as Balasore. The purpose of this training was to have
practical experience of working within the organization, in the field of
marketing and to have exposure to the important management practices
in field of marketing. While writing this report the language has been
keep simple and the entire discussion has been logical and has coherent
outlines. The main motto of the project work was marketing strategy
of Reliance Smart, Balasore.

The project report is divided into several parts; first part consists of
Introduction to Reliance retail. In which company profile has been
included with brief introduction to reliance mart. Next part consists of
retail sector in India. This also deals with growth of organized retail in
India. Third part includes the marketing strategy used by reliance
smart. It includes their profit maximization strategy and how to retain
their customer and how to increase the no. of customer.
Now going through the CSR doing the SWOT analysis we come
towards the market plan mix. At last this project contains the conclusion
and suggestions.

2
RETAIL INDUSTRY IN INDIA
Retailing in India is one of the pillars of its economy and accounts for
14 to 15 percent of its GDP. The Indian retail market is estimated to be
US$450 billion and one of the top five retail markets in the world by
economic value. India is one of the fastest growing retail markets in the
world, with 1.2 billion people.

India's retailing industry is essentially owner manned small shops. In

2010, larger format convenience stores and supermarkets accounted for
about 4 percent of the industry, and these were present only in large
urban centers. India's retail and logistics industry employs about 40
million Indians (3.3% of Indian population).

Until 2011, Indian central government denied foreign direct investment

(FDI) in multi-brand retail, forbidding foreign groups from any
ownership in supermarkets, convenience stores or any retail outlets.
Even single-brand retail was limited to 51% ownership and a
bureaucratic process.

In November 2011, India's central government announced retail reforms

for both multi-brand stores and single-brand stores. These market
reforms paved the way for retail innovation and competition with multi-
brand retailers such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Tesco, as well single
brand majors such as IKEA Nike, and Apple. The announcement
sparked intense activism, both in opposition and in support of the

3
reforms. In December 2011, under pressure from the opposition, Indian
government placed the retail reforms on hold till it reaches a consensus.

In January 2012, India approved reforms for single-brand stores

welcoming anyone in the world to innovate in Indian retail market with
100% ownership, but imposed the requirement that the single brand
retailer source 30 percent of its goods from India. Indian government
continues the hold on retail reforms for multi-brand stores. June 2012,
IKEA announced it has applied for permission to

4
invest $1.9 billion in India and set up 25 retail stores. Fitch believes
that the 30 percent requirement is likely to significantly delay if not
prevent most single brand majors from Europe, USA and Japan from
opening stores and creating associated jobs in India.

On 14 September 2012, the government of India announced the opening

of FDI in multi brand retail, subject to approvals by individual state.
This decision has been welcomed by economists and the markets,
however has caused a massive upheaval in India's delicate governance
structure.

5
GROWTH OF RETAIL INDUSTRY IN INDIA

This graph shows the growth of retail industry in India starting from
2006- 2016. When reliance came into the organized retail there was
very few corporate backed retail giants Like BATA. After 2006 when
reliance came into this sector other players also came into existence
ex :- Big Bazar, vishal mega-mart.

Contribution of retail industry

in Indian GDP is 28% pa

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The retail sector in India can be divided into two major categories:
Organized Unorganized

7
MARKETING STRATEGIES OF RELIANCE MART

RELIANCE RETAIL LTD has launched its much-awaited hypermarket

format (which also happens to be India’s largest hypermarket) called
“Reliance Smart” at Odisha, Balasore on 30 September 2020.

Spread across 14,244 square feet. Mr. Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and
Managing Director, Reliance Industries Ltd, said: “Organized retail has
the potential to trigger socio-economic transformation on an
unprecedented scale in our country and will bring about enormous spin-
off benefits to the Indian economy and its various constituents”.

“The launch of yet another step by Reliance Retail towards providing

international shopping experience to all our customers at unmatched
affordability, guaranteed quality and choice of products and services.
Reliance Smart marks the achievement of another milestone in our effort
to unleash a retail revolution in India.” Mr.Ambani added.

Reliance Smart offers some unique services to the shoppers like

tailoring, shoe repair, watch repair, a photo shop, gift services and
laundry services, all within the store. The store also houses its own fresh
bakery, serving “hot, off-the-oven” bread and bread products throughout
the day and local savories, an ice-cream train for the kids, a chakki,
ready-made batter and loose tea and pickle for the

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housewives. Reliance Smart will also sell fine jewelry and fashion
jewelry as part of its lifestyle section.
INTRODUCTION TO RETAILING SECTOR
Retailing sector of India can be split into two segments. They are the
informal and the formal retailing sector. The informal retailing sector is
comprised of small retailers. For this sector, it is very difficult to
implement the tax laws. There is widespread tax evasion. It is also
cumbersome to regulate the labor laws in this sector. As far as the
formal retailing sector is concerned, it is comprised of large retailers.
Stringent tax and labor laws are implemented in this sector.
If the retail industry is divided on the basis of retail formats then it can
be split into the modern format retailers and the traditional format
retailers. The modern format retailers comprise of the supermarkets,
Hypermarkets, Departmental Stores, Specialty Chains and company
owned and operated retail stores
The traditional format retailers comprise of Kiosks, Street Markets and
the multiple brand outlets. The retail industry can also be subdivided
into the organized and the unorganized sector. The organized retail
sector occupies about 3% of the aggregate retail industry in India.

9
SIZE AND CONTRIBUTION OF THE RETAIL INDUSTRY IN
INDIA

In terms of value, the Indian Retail industry is worth $300 billion. India
retail industry is the largest industry in India, with an employment of
around 8%. Its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product is about 10%,
the highest compared to all other Indian Industries. The retail sector has
also contributed to 8% of the employment of the country. The organized
retail sector is expected to triple its size by 2010. The food and grocery
retail sector is expected to multiply five times in the same time frame. The
major reason behind the low participation in the Indian retail sector is the
need for lumpy investments that cannot match up their break even points.
The government policies are being revised from time to time to attract
investments in this sector.
THE INDIAN RETAIL INDUSTRY — SKY IS THE LIMIT

In terms of the retail development index India ranks fifth. In Asia it

occupies the second position, next to China. Among all the global
markets, the Indian retail market is the most expanding. This is owing to
absence in restriction at the entry level. So the large foreign companies
can reap the benefits of economies scale by entering the green retail
fields of India. There are many reasons why the retail industry in India
can reach the zenith.
Firstly, the organized retail sector in India has a very low contribution to
the entire retail sector in the country. Hence there is ample scope for the
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new players to achieve success in the backdrop of soaring disposable
income of the upcoming generation. Secondly, not only have the
incomes increased but there has been a sea change in the preferences of
the consumers. These factors have acted as a stimulus for the ushering of
foreign players retailing in apparels, accessories, electronic appliances
etc. Large shopping malls have already mushroomed in the metropolitan
cities. There still lies untapped potential in the Indian Retail Market.
The size of retail industry in an economy depends on many factors and
the level of consumer spending is the most important among these
factors. The retail sector in India has grown by leaps and bounds in the
last five years. The reason behind this growth has been the synergy of
many propellants. However the growth is not always genuine as there
are exaggerations as well. But these exaggerations also have benefits
since they given a feel of growing competition all around. Secondly the
present situation is just a depiction of nascent stage. The future of the
trajectory may not be as steep as it is now or may be even slope
downward. 'What will be the future size of the retail industry' is the mind
boggling question. Another moot point that will gain importance in due
time concerns the future of the unorganized retail market which
constitute a significant proportion of the whole industry. The retail stores
have proved to be a vantage point for the customers. This implies that
the small farmers who used to sell their product in the sabji-mandis and
on roadsides are going to lose a significant market share as they

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can't employ the two profit maximizes-economies of scale and
economies of scope.
RETAILING IN INDIA: THE PRESENT SCENARIO

The present value of the Indian retail market is estimated by the India
Retail Report to be around Rupees. 12, 00,000 crore($270 billion) and
the annual growth rate is 5.7 percent. Retail market for food and grocery
with a worth of Rupees, 43,900 crore is the largest of the different types
of retail industries present in India. Furthermore around 15 million retail
outlets help India win the crown of having the highest retail outlet
density in the world. The contribution of retail sector to GDP has been
manifested below:
Country Retail Sector's
share

in GDP (in %)
India 10
USA 10
China 8
Brazil 6
As can be clearly seen, retailing in India is superior to those of its
contenders. Retail sector is a sunrise industry in India and the prospect
for growth is simply huge. There are many factors that have stimulated
the rise of the shopping centers and multiplex-malls in a jiffy. Some of
them can be listed as follows:

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 Rise in the purchasing power of Indians- the rise in the per
capita income in the last few years has been magnificent. This has
led to the generation of insatiable wants of the upper and middle
class. The demand of new as well as second hand durables has
risen throughout the country thus providing the incentive for taking
up retailing.
 Favorable to farmers- retailing has helped in removing the
middlemen and has thus enhanced the remuneration to farmers.
This is a new revolution in the agricultural sector in India and will
go a long way in amending the condition of agriculture, a major
concern among policy makers.
 Use of credit- a typical Indian is most conversant with using credit
cards than carrying money. These have led to a shift of the
consumer base towards supermarkets and make the payments in
the form of credit.
 Comfortable Atmosphere- a visit to a retail store appears to be
more soothing for the generation-Y. People and kids prefer to shop
in an air conditioned a tech savvy manner. The retail
industry is the second largest employer in India. It currently
employs about 7 percent of the total labor force in India. Finance
Minister P. Chidambaram's recent statement “salaries ought not to
be legislated” is a welcome move as most of the organized retail is
in private hands. However only about 4.6% of

13
 the total retail trade is in organized sector. It generates about Rs.55,
000 crore ($12.4 billion). The major and minor players desperately
need to work hard in this direction so that next time the figures
look more decent. The government must also make an attempt to
ameliorate the situation as political instability and infrastructure
namely power and roads are the major roadblocks in the path of
smooth functioning of the market.
RETAIL SECTORS IN NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES: China -
The total sales from retail market in China reached US$755 billion in
2005. However organized retailing in China accounts for only 20% of it.
Also the fragmentation of China's retail market is so high that top 100
retailers make up for only 10.5% of the total market. The registered sales
of department stores grew by 25.7% and that of convenience stores grew
by 36.5% in 2005. The Chinese retail market is expected to reach new
highs as the population of strong middle class is expected to double by
2020 and mergers and acquisitions among retailers are3 going in great
guns. The WTO restrictions are also expected to have a favorable impact
on its retail sector.
Japan - total annual sales for the Japanese retail industry for 2003
amounted to JPY 133,273 billion. Japan had 1.2 million retail
establishments in June 2004 and there were 42,738 specialty superstores.
Between 2002 and 2004 annual sales per store increased by 3.8%. The
growth was mainly driven by the grocery superstores but the number of
superstores specializing in clothes gradually came down.
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The organized retail sector in Japan couldn't perform at its full efficiency
because of collapse of the 'bubble economy' in the early 90s.
RETAIL DISTRIBUTION IN INDIA

The distribution sector bridges the gap between the producer and
consumer and thus forms a crucial link. Distribution of retail in India
has multiple dimensions. Its uniformity is difficult to decide and easy
to argue. Distribution in any sector is usually measured by the reach of
its products to people. But in case of the retail sector in India it also
implies the dispersion among the organized and unorganized spheres.
The question of distribution hovers mainly around the intentions of
private players to reach out to the less rich people. But the point that
has caught the public eye recently is the ambiguous mood of the
beneficiaries and the chauvinist government that produces civil
service.
PROPAGATION OF THE RETAIL SECTOR:

The expansion of the retailing in India has been magnificent especially

after the advent of liberalization and the abolition of licensing. A
comparative study with other developed countries indicates that the
retail sector has achieved a fantastic breakthrough in the Indian
economy. India topped the A.T. Kearney's Global Retail Index in both
2005 and 2006as can be seen below:
The GRDI Score as calculated by A.T. Kearney is a weighted average
of market attractiveness, market saturation, country risk and time
15
pressure. India had a GRDI score of 100 in both 2005 and 2006.
Implying market potential and attractiveness. As the graph clearly
depicts, India's contenders like Russia and China are nowhere in
competition. This result has been obtained mainly because of a higher
APC (Average Propensity to consume) of the Indian people.
According to IMF, India has a APC of more than 60% while the
corresponding figure for Japan is 57% and China is 39%. Also Indians
tend to exhaust 40% of their consumer spending on groceries
(foodstuffs). These figures are intensified by the fact that Indians have
special preference for lifestyle products and they feel comfortable in
buying against credit as the credit card and mortgage market has been
growing by more than 30%.
We present the results from another survey below in order to
strengthen our findings.
AVAILABILITY OF RETAIL STORES
Country Number of stores

per 1,000 people

India 22
Japan 10

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 USA 38
The above table reinforces our view that India has done a great job in
retailing. One noteworthy point here is that Japan in spite of being one
of the most densely populated countries has fared poorly than India.
But this euphoria loses its charm if we compare the percentage of
organized retail in the total value generated by the retailing sector.
According to international
standards, a retail store is
nominated as organized only
when it features more than
10 employees. The above chart
clearly portrays the miserable
condition of
India's organized retail A forecast of 40% annual growth in the
organized retail sector seems sound. The number of shopping malls in
India has grown from 1 in 2001 to 100 in 2005 but still more effort is
needed to turn the predictions into reality. Studies have further showed
that non-urban areas account for only about 15% of organized retailing
So it is high time that the retail industries pay importance to
diversification and reach out to non- urban markets. If they remain
confined to the metropolis then they will soon hit a ceiling and will be
able to grow no more. But at the same time they must realize that the
rustic people are sceptic about

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18
the urbane lifestyle habits. The mega retail players will have to drop
their policy of full extraction of consumer surplus and will have to
employ the local people to overcome the myth that entry of a branded
retail will displace the millions of traders, shopkeepers and hawkers.
Protests must be welcomed and meetings encouraged making life
easier.
Retail markets in Germany, South Africa and many other countries
allow 100% foreign investment in retail. This has helped in setting up
of cash and in creating wholesale markets. However, in India, only
51% FDI is allowed in single-brand retail and that too with prior
approval. In case of multi-brand retail, FDI is completely prohibited.
This is a perfect beginning but foreign investment should be gradually
liberalized to modernize farming and help farmers scale up. Moreover,
restricting FDI for protecting mom-and-pop stores seems unjustifiable
since Tata, Reliance and Bharti have already made a foray in the
sector.
COMPONENTS OF RETAIL SECTOR

The major components of the retail sector are:

Food and Grocery, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs),
Consumer Durables, Apparel, Footwear and leather, Watches, Jewellery,
4 and Beauty

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The anatomy of the retail market has shown that the clothing and textiles
constitutes 39 per cent of the organised retail pie, followed by food and
grocery, which accounts for 11 percent of the total retail market.

However, according to the survey conducted by KPMG for Federation

of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), among these,
the food and grocery is expected to witness the fastest growth followed
by clothing as the second-fastest growing segment.

MARKETING STRATEGIES
Marketing strategy is a method of focusing an organization's energies
and resources on a course of action which can lead to increased sales
and dominance of a targeted market niche. A marketing strategy
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combines product development, promotion, distribution, pricing,
relationship management and other elements; identifies the firm's
marketing goals, and explains how they will be achieved, ideally within
a stated timeframe. Marketing strategy determines the choice of target
market segments, positioning, marketing mix, and allocation of
resources. It is most effective when it is an integral component defining
how the organization will successfully engage customers, prospects, and
competitors in the market arena. Corporate strategies, corporate
missions, and corporate goals. As the customer constitutes the source of
a company's revenue, marketing strategy is closely linked with sales.

TYPES OF STRATEGIES
Marketing strategies may differ depending on the unique situation of the
individual business. However there are a number of ways of categorizing
some generic strategies. A brief description of the most common
categorizing schemes is presented below:

 Strategies based on market dominance - In this scheme, firms

are classified based on their market share or dominance of an
industry. Typically there are four types of market dominance
strategies:
o Leader

o Challenger

o Follower
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 o Nicher

 Porter generic strategies - strategy on the dimensions of strategic

scope and strategic strength. Strategic scope refers to the market
penetration while strategic strength refers to the firm’s sustainable
competitive advantage. The generic strategy framework (porter
1984) comprises two alternatives each with two alternative scopes.
These are Differentiation and low-cost leadership each with a
dimension of Focus-broad or narrow.
o Product differentiation

o Market segmentation

 Innovation strategies - This deals with the firm's rate of the new
product development and business model innovation. It asks
whether the company is on the cutting edge of technology and
business innovation. There are three types:
o Pioneers

o Close followers

o Late followers

 Growth strategies - In this scheme we ask the question, “How

should the firm grow?” There are a number of different ways of
22
 answering that question, but the most common gives four answers:
o Horizontal integration

o Vertical integration

o Diversification

o Intensification

POPULAR BRANDS OF RELIANCE SMART ARE:

Zeppelin : Mans Shirts & Fizzy Ladies & Kids

Trousers Babe : Girls

Kitaan Mans Shirts & Jasmine : Ladies & Kids

Studio : Trousers Girls

Blues & Mans Trousers Zero Kids Boys

Khakis : Degree :
Paranoia : Mans Shirts & T-Shirts Soil : Mans Shirts
Chlorine : Mans Shirts Massa Mans Trousers

Bay : & Barmudas

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PRODUCT CATEGORIES

HOME FURNISHING
Drawing Bedroom
Room
Door Mat Bed Sheet
Carpet Pillows
Curtains Pillow Cover
Kitchen Bathroom
Apron Bath Mats
Kitchen Towel Gift Sets
Napkin

FOOTWEAR

BOYS GIRLS
Shoes Slippers
Sandals Sandals
LADIES MENS
Shoes Shoes
Slippers Slippers

MANS

Upper Lower
Shirt Casual Jeans(MP)
Shirt Formal Cotton Trouser(MPC)
24
 Ethnic & Winter Wear
Sports
Night Suits Suit(WMC)
T-Shirts Blazer(WMB)
Dupatta Windcheater(WMW)
Sherwani Jacket

LADIES ACCESSORIES
Upper Lower
Kurta Pants Jeans
Skirt Top Capri
Ethnic Winter Wear
Nighty Jackets
Lancha Stawll
Sharara Blazer
Salwar Suit Track Suit

INFANTS

Garments Accessories
Hot Pant Bed Sheet
Frock Under Garments
Baba Suit Socks

WOMEN

25
 Sarees Personal Items
Fancy(SRF) Cap(LCA)
Synthetics Socks(Las)
Banarsi
Jewellery Cosmetics
Necklace LIp Gloss
Ring Nail Polish

KIDS BOYS

Lower Sets Winter Wear

Jeans Night Suit Suit
Bermudas Baba Suit Blazer
Dungries Jacket
Upper Ethnic
ShirtKurta- Pyjama
Formal
T-Shirt Sherwani
KIDS GIRLS

Lower Sets Winter Wear

26
 Hot Pant Night Suit Hipster Set
Skirt Capri Set Blazer
Dungaree Jacket
s
Upper Ethnic
Tops(GWSharara
T)
Frock(GF Lancha
K)

HOUSEHOLD

Dinner Set Jug Cake Server

Home Aids Pressure Non Stick
Cooker
Floor Wiper Cooker Handi
Sanitary Pressure Pan DosaTawa
Brush
General Electrical Bone China
Plastic App.

Goods
Coffee Mug Chopper Soup Set
Bucket Microwave Dessert Set
Oven
Glass Ware Thermo Porcelain
Ware
Cup Tiffin Cup & Saucer

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 L$emon Set Container

LIFESTYLE

Time Zone Opticals Gifts &

Novelties
Ladies Ladies Sun Flower Vase
Wrist Glass

Watch
Mans Wrist Mans Sun Key Chain

Watch Glass
Mans Electric & Perfume
Accessories Electronics
Items
Belts Battery(ABT) Spray
Wallets Calculator(EE
C)

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TOYS & GAMES

Soft Toys Dolls Cycles &

Scooters
Musical Barbie Cycles
Toys Doll
Non- Other Scooters
Musical Dolls
Board Games Infant Video Games
Toys
Wooden Teether T.V. Video
Blocks Game
Puzzles Swing Hand Video
Game

FOOD MART
FOOD & BEVERAGES
Snacks
Drinks
Cereals
Vegetables
Fruits

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 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

 To study the promotional strategies of Reliance mart

 To study the challenges and future prospects of Reliance mart

 To study the different Brand offerings by Reliance mart

 To study the distribution strategies of Reliance mart

SCOPE OF STUDY
This project gave us great exposure to the customer’s perception to the
marketing strategies adopted by the Reliance mart. Because it includes
the service offered by them. The study also identifies the attitudes and
preference of the consumers. The study also focused on Media through
which the product reaches the consumers this project helped us in
knowing the market practically.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Methodology is a way to systematically solve the research

problem. When we talk to research methodology we not only talk of
research methods but also consider the logic behind the method we use
in the context of our research results are capable of being evaluated
either by researcher himself or by other.

The purpose of this section is to describe the methodology carried out to

30
complete the work. The methodology plays a dominant role in any
research work. The effectiveness of any research work depends upon the
correctness and effectiveness of the research methodology.

This section deals with research design used, data collection, methods
used and sampling methods used.

RESEARCH DESIGN
A research design specifies the methods and procedures for conducting a
particular research.

According to Ker linger “Research design is a plan, structure and

strategy of investigation conceived so as to obtain answers to research
questions and have to control variance.”

Our research design We have chosen descriptive research design for our
study because we have been provided with the project about the
marketing strategies adopted by Reliance Mart.

To accomplish the predefined objectives of the research, descriptive

research design is used to collect the require information from the

31
sources. It’s a fact finding approach generalizing a cross sectional study
of the present situation.

DESIGNING THE QUESTIONNAIRE

Structured questionnaires and observation method have been used to

conduct the research.

SAMPLING METHOD

Specific sampling method was used to collect the data from the
respondents because sample size is large. Customers & employees of
Reliance Mart were selected for the survey.

SAMPLING UNIT

The data was collected from the Customers & employees by

questionnaire and observation method in the Reliance Mart (Crown
Interiors Mall) & Vishal mega mart (sec-31.faridabad)

SAMPLE SIZE

The data were collected from:

 50 customers

 50 employees

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Data collection:There are two major methods of data collection:
 Primary data

 Secondary data

In my research study I have used both primary as well as secondary data

collection method. For primary data observation method is used, and for
secondary data the sources used are books, journals, magazines and
Internet.

DATA COLLECTION SOURCES

PRIMARY SOURCE:- Primary data collection is used when there is

need for collecting first hand data. In such cases, no adequate and usable
data is available to the researcher. The following data have been
collected by using following primary sources.

QUESTIONAIRE
COLLECTION OF DATA DIRECTLY FROM THE EMPLOYEES
OBSERVATION
INTERVIEW

(1) TELEPHONE INTERVIEW

GROUP INTERVIEW
(2)

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SECONDARY SOURCES:-Secondary data collection is used where
adequate and usable data is available to researcher. Primary data
collection by one person may become secondary data for another. The
following secondary sources have been used in collecting information
about the project.

1. MAGAZINES
2. NEWSPAPERS
3. WEBSITES

CRM POLICY OF RELIANCE MART

CRM policy of reliance mart can be divided into four major parts, namely;
1) Customer loyalty

2) Customer retention

3) Customer communication

4) Customer gratification

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There exists a blanket customer relationship programs called the reliance
one membership program for the purpose of maintaining customer
loyalty. The membership program is a very simple one where a willing
customer is required to fill a form giving personal information and he
gets a temporary card which will be made permanent after six months.
On each purchase of Rs. 100 the customer gets one redeemable point on
the production of card at billing counter. The collected points can be
redeemed in form of discounts on future purchases on demand of the
customer.

Customer retention policy implementation is at the zonal level.

Generally each state is regarded as a zone and the offers and discounts in
a zone are not available in other zones. Such policy helps reliance retail
to understand and capture the local markets better.
The products which show improvement due to offers and discounts on
them are repeated with these offers again so as to retain the sales of the
customers who bought it the last time.
Also such the day’s best offers are constantly announced in the store
making the regular customers aware about them.
Maintaining a good store ambiance is also a part of customer retention
policy of reliance retail. Clean and hygienic environment with properly
and well spaced products along with a uniform color theme attracts the
existing customers to the store again and again.

35
A fast billing system and good and easy grievance handling system
which can be accessed thru customer service desk and company website
ensures that customers feel satisfied with the store management. Less
harassment to customers means better customer retention.
Communication to existing customers takes the form of sums and e-
mails, generally sent to reliance one members. They get information
about ongoing offers and also information and latest news about their
nearest stores and the company in general.
Another source of customer database is the information collected during
the organizing of special events in the stores. Customers participating in
such events provide their contact information which are also used in
form of database for communication purposes.
Thank you and festive cards on special occasions are an innovative way
of communicating with the customers.
Trained salespersons make customer gratification very easy. A simple
thank you with a smile goes a long way for the store to keep the
customers happy.
The special events organized by the stores across India are also a way to
gratify the customers by allowing them to play and win prizes.
Gift vouchers and discount coupons are an attraction for the customers
and give them the feel that the store cares about them and their money.
Local customers many a times make limited personal contacts with the
store staff just like that made at a kirana store and help the store to some
extent to maintain a relationship with the customers.
36
The implementation of the policies brings out certain limitations in
them. Few major ones are as follows
The personal contact numbers of reliance one members are open to tele
marketing calls from various marketers as they leak out of the reliance
retail’s database, causing unnecessary harassment to customers.
The customer communication policy is less followed in small towns and
cities and is more concentrated towards the metro cities.
There is a common CRM policy for both reliance fresh and mart. This
should not be the case as both the stores offer different kinds of
merchandize and generally attract different kinds of customers.

Reliance retail generally delays the processing of permanent

membership cards to those customers who have not paid for such a card.
Customers have been waiting for over three months for their card. Those
who have paid the nominal fee of Rs. 50 get their permanent card within
15 days but the rest who have optioned not to pay the fees do not receive
the card until too late.
Unmanned billing counters create long queues at the open counters. This
creates impatiens in the customers as they expect faster billing at the
stores and do not want to stand with too much of goods held in their
hands while billing.

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 SWOT ANALYSIS

The SWOT analysis contains the

STRENGTH

WEAKNESS

OPPURTINITIES

THREATS

Of any company. Now we see the SWOT analysis of Reliance Mart.

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 RELIANCE SMART
STRENGTHS:

 High quality,

 latest in-style products,

 international shopping experience

 value for money pricing

 loyal following

 Own brand of merchandise, which is both trendy and

individualistic.
 new introductions every week

 variety of designs and styles

 exciting mix with a range extending from stylized clothes,

footwear and accessories for men, women and children to well-
co-coordinated table linens, artefacts, home accessories and
furnishings.
 Well-designed interiors, sprawling space, prime locations, lovely
coffee shops add to the customers’ shopping experience.
WEAKNESS:

 Needs to expand faster to maintain market share

 Size of the stores should be increased to stock more products.

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  Targets the middle-class segment. Higher class customers do
not prefer west side.
 Trent limited may not be able operate west side efficiently
due to its other operations.

OPPORTUNITIES:

 To survive in today’s world globalization is important.

Reliance mart has a wide opportunity to go more global to
improve and expand its business.

 They also have the opportunity to consider more overseas

supplier which will actually give them cost advantage, rather
than suppliers available on a local level.
 They also have the opportunity to maximize the use of
available technology to improve their functioning and to gain
competitive advantage.

THREATS:
 If the unorganized retailers are put together, they are parallel to a
large supermarket with no or little overheads, high degree of
flexibility in merchandise, display, prices and turnover.

 Shopping Culture: Shopping culture has not developed in India

as yet. Even now malls are just a place to hang around with
family and friends and largely confined to Window-shopping.
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  Cultural Variation leads to variation in merchandise in India at
different geographical locations.
 Competition from future group and various other retail stores
which are growing rapidly.

INDIAN CONSUMERISM

The lifestyle and profile of the Indian consumer is going through a rapid
transformation. The population of India is young, energetic and full of
enthusiasm. 50% of the Indian population is under the age of 25. There
has been a transition from price consideration to quality and design, as
the focus of the customer has changed. The upper and middle- class
population of today needs a feel good experience even if they have to
spend a little more for that. People are moving towards luxury and want
to experiment with fashion and technology. There is an increasing need
of better apparels, cars, mobile phones and consumer durables.

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The food & grocery, clothing, consumer durables and books & music
sectors are the major retail sectors. However, unorganized small outlets
largely control the sector. Hence there is tremendous potential for the
organized sector in various formats, such as hypermarkets,
supermarkets, specialty stores, category killers and discount chains.

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FINDINGS
1. The choice of a store location has a profound effect on the entire
business life of a retail operation. A bad choice may all but
guarantee failure, a good choice, and success.
2. Choosing a retail location is, at best, a risky undertaking.
Considering the consequences of choosing a location that proves to
be unsuitable, it pays to get as much assistance as possible.
According to a survey more than 60% of the customer prefers to
shop in a retail store which is easily accessible to them.
3. Advertising plays a very important role in achieving growth for
any retail company. This is evident from the fact that Advertising
by Retail Industry registered a rise of 14 percent during January -
May 2009 over January - May 2008.
4. The right location, trained manpower, software assistance, product
with a distinct differentiation, a strong value proposition, efficient
supply chain management - these are the factors that influence the
success of a retail outlet. With competition in this segment
increasing, differentiation and a strong value proposition assume
significance. Retail chains are realizing that they cannot be another
‘me-too’ store. The differentiation today among the 5- 6 retail
chains has come through private labels, which in some cases
account for as much as 70 per cent of the total merchandise in the
outlet.

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 5. Variety offered by any retail store is of very much important to
attract all type of customers in the stores. A large variety of
products caters to each segment of customers.
6. Shopping experience within a store also has a great impact on
selecting a product from a particular retail store. Overall ambience
includes infrastructure facilities provided by the store such as air
conditioners, lighting etc.

Pricing is in fact a dramatic controller of at least 3 key strategic

elements to any company's success: Company’s image, the product and
services company sells and consumer behavior. The Importance of
Pricing their Products' will give them an insight into developing
appropriate costing methods and the impact of getting it wrong in
today's competitive creative market. This topic should be of interest to
anyone who is unsure if they are getting it right. Remember the
difference between:

1. Over or under-pricing their work can mean a very short future for
any business. Approximately 60% customers think that Price is the
most important factor while they go for shopping in a retail stores
2. Quality in everyday life and business, engineering and
manufacturing has a pragmatic interpretation as the non-
inferiority, superiority or usefulness of something. This is the most
common interpretation of the term. The quality of a product or
service refers to the perception of the degree to which the product
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 or service meets the customer's expectations. Quality has no
specific meaning unless related to a specific function and/or object.
Quality is a perceptual, conditional and somewhat subjective
attribute. And in addition to that, more than 90% of customers
place quality as the most important factor than anything else in the
list to shop in a retail store.
3. More than 70% of customers place variety as an important factor
to shop in a particular retail store.

4. Brands name bears an important role while shopping of any type of

goods. So building a brand for a retail store is important as 80% of
customer still prefer to buy branded clothes in the retail store
instead of local or unbranded clothes.

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 CONCLUSION
Given the developments and prospects, the Indian retail sector is in its
nascent stage of evolution. While there are obstacles, there are clear
opportunities in modern retailing in India. There are many lessons that
India can take from other countries, which have moved along the path of
retail evolution. The retail sector has proved to be of immense
significant from macro-economic point of view. The sector’s capability
to give strong growth momentum by creating multiplier effects on other
sectors is not in dispute. It is now necessary to cautiously expand and
develop the sector, as the government, at present, has done by permitting
partial FDI in the sector. Given the scope, the retail sector is certainly
expected to fetch the long-term economic benefits for the country.

The convenience and personalized service offered by the unorganized

sector holds its future in good stead for the future. Organized retail of
late has seen a tremendous boom and is attracting more people to the
malls.
What is to be seen is how organized retail can duplicate the same level
of personalized customer service levels offered by the unorganized
sector to have a higher conversion ratio.
The target audience for both the organized and unorganized retail
formats remains relatively the same. When shopping in malls, people
value the experience related to the trip the most and return most
frequently for the same. Besides, while enjoying the experience they
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seem to buy high ticket and items of conspicuous consumption most
frequently.
Gaining and maintaining consumer preference is a battle that is
never really won. Continued and consistent branding initiatives that
reinforce the consumer’s purchase decision will, over time, land the
product in consumer preference sets. Attaining and sustaining preference
is an important step on the road to gaining brand loyalty.

SUGGESTIONS
1. Include more trained sales person to help customers in the store
while shopping.
2. Improve quality of the products especially clothes.

3. Play good songs or soothing music in the store rather than cheap
filmy songs.
4. Customer care service can be introduced

5. More branded products can be displayed in the store as people still

prefer branded clothes than offered by local vendors.

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6. Constant reminder of discounts through pamphlets, speakers inside
the store for inducing consumers for impulse buying.
7. Add more cosmetic products as its having a huge market of
consumers attached to it.
8. Display of product should be improved so that the product is easily
visible to the consumers.
9. Proper advertisement in press and outdoor to make Vishal Mega
Mart should be visible in the eyes of consumers.
10. Should have parking spaces in front of every store.

11. Hire more salesgirls as in ladies section its very difficult for
both the consumers and salesman to interact with each other.
12. Regular training to sales person to improve there overall
performance.
13. Customization of clothing should be given an important
consideration.
14. Proper packaging and provide contrast labelling in displays
of product.
15. Should apply electronic supply chain management for better
inventory management.
16. Proper power back up as air conditioners are not working to
their full capacity at many stores.
17. Proper placements of Gondola in the stores as space
between them are very less.

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18. Proper display in the gondola and top most rack of the
gondola should be used for storing of inventory rather than display
of product.

19. Should provide more festival schemes and at proper time.

20. Should use psychological pricing-more discounts by

increasing the price
21. Proper display of cutlery items

22. Clothes should

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