1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

“A comparative study of effectiveness of different promotional strategies

(schemes) with reference to Smart Bazar”
All this information has collected regarding the project through primary and
secondary data.
This report highlights on the understanding the marketing strategies of Smart Bazar
and their effect on sales of the products.
From the questionnaire & the data collected from net & other resources and find
market potential of big bazaar.
The objective of this this is understood marketing strategies of Smart Bazar and its
effect on the sales of its services and products.
The finding of the thesis is that customer is interested in products and services
given by Smart Bazar & give different type of promotional activity for the
effective market potential.

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 CONTENTS

S.NO. CONTENTS PAGE

NO.
1. Declaration
2. Certificate
3. Acknowledge
4. Executive Summary
5. Chapter 1. Introduction to Industry 7-12
6. Chapter 2. Introduction to Company 13-30
7. Chapter 3. About the Topic 30-39
8. Chapter 4. Research Methodology 39-44
9. Chapter 5. Data analysis and interpretation 45-59
10. Chapter6. . Findings 60-63
11. Chapter7. Suggestions and recommendation 64-65
Chapter 8. Bibliography 66
Annexure. 67-69

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 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION OF INDUSTRY

Introduction of Indian Retail Industries:

In the background of high consumerism and income of the urban consumers, in
recent year there are a number of companies have expressed their interest towards
retail sector outlets. As a result numbers of shopping malls have started their
operations in metro and urban areas. Pantaloon, big bazaar, Smart Bazar, Reliance
Fresh are the best known examples of retail sector outlets in India.
Retailing is the interface between the producer and the individual consumer buying
for personal consumption. This excludes direct interface between the manufacturer
and institutional buyers such as the government and other bulk customers. A
retailer is one who stocks the producer’s goods and is involved in the act of selling
it to the individual consumer, at a margin of profit. As such, retailing is the last link
that connects the individual consumer with the manufacturing and distribution
chain. Some of the key features of retailing include:

 Selling directly to customers without having any intermediaries

 Selling in smaller units / quantities, breaking the bulk

4
 Present in neighborhood or in the location which is quite convenient to
the customers.
 Very high in numbers
 Recognized by their service levels
 Fitting any size and or location

It is assumed that due to the entry of a number of retail outlets in the urban and
semi urban areas, the mindset of the existing customers have undergone drastic
changes. Besides it is also reported that the traditional retailing such an age old
Grocery shops have directly faced competition with the organized retailing sector.
In some parts of the country, it is reported that the traditional retails are resisting
the entry of organized shopping malls. For instance the traditional retails of
Bhubaneswar with the active support of the consumers at large didn’t allow
reliance Fresh to start outlet initially.

RECENT TRENDS
 Retailing in India is witnessing a huge revamping exercise as can be seen in
the graph
 India is rated the fifth most attractive emerging retail market: a potential
goldmine.
 Estimated to be US$ 200 billion, of which organized retailing (i.e. modern
trade) makes up 3 percent or US$ 6.4 billion

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  As per a report by KPMG the annual growth of department stores is
estimated at 24%
 Ranked second in a Global Retail Development Index of 30 developing
countries drawn up by AT Kearney.

Retailing in India: the present scenario

The present value of the Indian retail market is estimated by the India Retail
Report to be around Rs. 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 Rs. 7, 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 it 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
6
huge. There are many factors that has stimulated the rise of the shopping centers
and multiplex-malls in a jiffy. Some of they can be listed as follows:

Above graph shows the contribution of organized retailing of different countries

i.e, 1. US shows that it contributes 85 percent shares of organized retail.
2. Japan shows that it contributes 65 percent shares of organized retail.
3. China shows that it contributes 22 percent shares of organized retail.
4. India shows that it contributes 5 percent shares of organized retail.

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.

7
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 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 road blocks in
the path of smooth functioning of the market.

Components of Retail Sector

The major components of the retail sector are:
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Food and Grocery, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs), Consumer Durables,
Apparel, Footwear and leather, Watches, Jewellery, and Health and Beauty
1) The anatomy of the retail market has shown that the clothing and textiles
constitutes 39 percent of the organised retail pie.
2) food and grocery accounts for 11 percent of the total retail market.
3) Consumer durable constitutes 5 percent of the total retail sector.
4) Footwear shows 9 percent of the total retail sector.
5) Furniture and furnishing shows 8 percent of the total retail sector.
6) Catering services shows 7 percent of the total retail sector.
7) Jewellery and watches shows 7 percent of the total retail sector.
8) Books , music and gifts shows 3 percent of the total retail sector.
9) Mobile handsets shows 3 percent of the total retail sector.
10)Others shows 8 percent of the total retail sector.

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

9
expected to witness the fastest growth followed by clothing as the second-fastest
growing segment.

CHAPTER 2.
INTRODUCTION TO COMPANY

Smart Bazaar, formerly Big Bazaar, is an Indian retail chain of hypermarkets,

discount department stores, and grocery stores. The retail chain was founded by
Kishore Biyani under his parent organisation Future Group, which is known for
having a significant prominence in Indian retail and fashion sectors. Big Bazaar is
also the parent chain of Food Bazaar, Fashion at Big Bazaar (abbreviated as fbb)
and eZone where at locations it houses all under one roof, while it is sister chain of
retail outlets like Brand Factory, Home Town, Central, eZone, etc.

Founded in 2001, Big Bazaar is one of the oldest and largest hypermarket chains of
India, housing about 300+ stores in over 120 cities and towns across the country.
In February 2022, Reliance Industries took control of over 200 Future group stores
and rebranded Big Bazaar as Reliance's Smart Bazaar Stores.
At Big Bazaar we have always tried understanding our customer’s better keeping
in mind their love for better bargains and getting maximum value out of each rupee
they spend. This has always pushed us to think innovatively and striving to
continuously giving our customers additional reasons to shop.
Times are tough and we understand that this is the time when we need to stand by
our customers. Hence, to share the burden of running our customer’s household the
idea of Big Bazaar PROFIT CLUB was born.
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Big Bazaar PROFIT CLUB is the most innovative product that the Indian Retail
Market has ever witnessed. It offers an unmatched value proposition to its
customers. A unique membership program where one can pay Rs. 10,000 and can
shop for Rs. 1000 per month for the next 12 months i.e Rs. 12,000 over a period of
12 months. After the huge success of ‘Profit Club Rs 10000’, Big Bazaar launches
its new program “Profit Club Rs 5000 card”. On paying Rs 5000, customers will
get a membership card topped up with Rs 6000, with which they can shop
for Rs 400 every month for 15 months This card can be used across 240 + Big
Bazaars, Food Bazaars and fbb- Fashion at Big Bazaar stores across the country.
In case you miss shopping in a particular month, the amount can be carried forward
to the next month.
Members of the Big Bazaar PROFIT CLUB will also receive the benefit of
existing offers on their Payback cards and T24 mobile services.
The Big Bazaar PROFIT CLUB Card can be used as a Gift Card for your friends
and family, like children living away from home or parents residing in other cities
etc.
The Big Bazaar PROFIT CLUB Card can also serves as an excellent Employee
Incentive program for your employees. It can also be extended to your business
partners as a gift.

Some of the Franchisee exclusive business categories are:

 Mens Fashion
 Ladies and Kids
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  Footwear
 Toys and Games
 Home – General
 CDIT
 Watches
 Mobile

Reliance Retail is the retail initiative of Reliance Industries Limited and is central
to the group’s consumer facing businesses. Reliance Retail has 249 million
registered customers buying across all its formats. It recorded more than 780
million footfalls across all its stores in FY23, a scale unmatched by any other
retailer in India. Reliance Retail has been at the forefront of bringing about Retail
revolution in India. Reliance Retail’s operating model unleashes the aspirational
energy of the new, resurgent India. Reliance Retail’s guiding philosophy rests on
the tenets of enabling inclusion, growth and building sustainable societal value for
millions of Indians. Reliance Retail has been ranked amongst the fastest growing
retailers in the world. It is ranked 53rd in the list of Top Global Retailers and is the
only Indian Retailer to feature in the Top 100. It is the largest retailer in India with
the widest reach.
In a short period, it has forged strong and enduring bonds with millions of
consumers by providing them unlimited choice, outstanding value proposition,
superior quality and unmatched shopping experience across all its stores.
Reliance Retail’s growth over the years has triggered a large socio-economic
transformation on an extraordinary scale in India. With nearly 3 million daily

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transactions, Reliance Retail operates at a scale unparalleled in the Indian retail
industry and continues to enrich the quality of lives of millions of Indians every
day.
Reliance Retail has adopted a multi-prong strategy and operates a wide array of
store formats that cater to planned shopping needs, as well as daily or occasional
needs of the customers across major consumption baskets of Grocery, Consumer
Electronics, Fashion & Lifestyle .In Grocery consumption basket, Reliance Retail
operates Fresh Signature, Smart superstore, Smart Bazaar, Smart Point, Freshpik,
Shree Kannan Departmental, 7-Eleven and Jayasurya stores focused on food, fresh
produce, bakery, dairy products, home and personal care products, as well as
general merchandise items .With an ambition to help every Indian household get
access to quality products at reasonable price points, Reliance Consumer Products
Limited, the company’s FMCG arm, has built a strong portfolio ranging from
Campa, Raskik and Sosyo in the beverage category to Enzo, Glimmer, Puric, Get
Real and Dozo in the home & personal care segment..
In Fashion & Lifestyle, Reliance Retail operates a portfolio of formats that serves
customers across value, mid, premium and luxury segments. Reliance Retail
operates Trends, Trends Woman, Trends Man, Trends Footwear, Avantra by
Trends, Azorte, Centro, Reliance Jewels, Hamleys formats and a portfolio of more
than 50 marquee international brands such as GAP, Armani, Burberry, Diesel,
GAS, Marks & Spencer, Superdry, Brooks Brothers, Steve Madden and more.
Reliance Retail has a strong presence in digital commerce channels led by AJIO, a
fashion & lifestyle destination store bringing the best of national and international
brands to customers’ doorsteps and Jiomart, a cross-category horizontal platform
that leverages the wide network of Reliance Retail’s stores and well-established
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supply chain infrastructure. Reliance Retail reported a turnover of Rs. 2,60,364
crores for the financial year 2022-23. As on March 31, 2023, Reliance Retail
operated 18,040 stores across 7,000+ towns with a retail area of over 65.6 million
sft.

VISION STATEMANT:
We share the vision and belief that our customers and stakeholders shall be served
only by creating and executing future scenarios in the consumption space leading
to economic development because of increasing number of nuclear families,
working women, greater work pressure and greater commuting time, convenience
has become a priority for Indian customers. They want ever thing under one roof
for easy access and multiplicity of choice. The growth and development of
organized retailing is driven by two main factors – lower prices and benefits the
customer can’t resist. India is rapidly involving into a competitive market place
with potential target consumers in the niche middle class segments. The market
trend indicates tremendous growth opportunities.

MISSION STATEMENT:
We shall deliver Everything, everywhere, everytime for every Indian Consumer in
the most profitable manner.

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 Product Categories

HOME FURNISHING

Drawing Room Bedroom

Door Mat Bed Sheet
Carpet Pillows
Curtains Pillow Cover
Kitchen Bathroom
Apron Bath Mats
Kitchen Napkin Towel Gift Sets

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

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 MENS
Upper Lower
Shirt Casual Jeans(MP)
Shirt Formal Cotton Trouser(MPC)
Ethnic & Sports Winter Wear
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 Stawl
Sharara Blazer
Salwar Suit Track Suit

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

WOMEN
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
Shirt Formal Kurta- Pyjama

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 KIDS GIRLS
Lower Sets Winter Wear
Hot Pant Night Suit Hipster Set
Skirt Capri Set Blazer
Dungries Jacket
Upper Ethnic
Tops(GWT) Sharara
Frock(GFK) Lancha

HOUSEHOLD
Dinner Set Jug Cake Server
Home Aids Pressure Cooker Non Stick
Floor Wiper Cooker Handi
Sanitary Brush Pressure Pan Dosa Tawa
General PlasticElectrical App. Bone China
Goods
Coffee Mug Chopper Soup Set
Bucket Microwave Oven Dessert Set
Glass Ware Thermo Ware Porcelain
Cup Tiffin Cup & Saucer

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L$emon Set Container

LIFESTYLE
Time Zone Opticals Gifts & Novelties
Ladies Wrist Watch Ladies Sun Glass Flower Vase
Mens Wrist Watch Mens Sun Glass Key Chain
Mens Accessories Electric &Perfume/Deo
Electronics Items
Belts Battery(ABT) Spray
Wallets Calculator(EEC) Deo

TOYS & GAMES

Soft Toys Dolls Cycles & Scooters

Musical Toys Barbie Doll Cycles

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

FOOD MART

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CHAPTER 3
ABOUT THE TOPIC

Marketing help to define the business for the customer's interests, not your own. It
is the process of learning what customers want or need and determining how to
satisfy those wants or needs. It is also used to confirm whether the customer
reacted to a marketing program as expected. The benefits of market research
include:
 Learning who your customers are and what they want.
 Learning how to reach your customers and how frequently you should try to
communicate with them.
 Learning which advertising appeals are most effective and which ones get no
response.
 Learning the relative success of different marketing strategies, thus
improving return on investment.
 Learning how not to repeat your mistakes.

Smart Bazar has been the pioneer of retail revolution. Its first fight was against
local ‘Kirana’ stores. The task was to change the mindset of consumer to bring
about changes in their shopping patterns. It wanted people to do bulk shopping for
their monthly ration instead of going to the shop each week.

20
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28
%
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29
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30
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31
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32
%
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33

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34
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35
 
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
Several studies on apparel retail sector and usage of promotions are reported in
36
context of developed markets. Like Indian organized retail industry is poised for
growth. Apparel sector in particular has a great opportunity with alignment of
Indian economy to globalised markets. With the widespread use of sales
promotions-. Short term activities which provide inducements to consumers and
trade it becomes imperative for managers to understand such practices and
understand challenges
India as an Apparel Retail sector has grown to accommodate and use sales
promotion as an important tool to push sales and more importantly create brand
Retailers like Lifestyle, for instance, has a loyalty programme called "The Inner
Circle'while pantaloons offers a Green Card' Rewards programmes, Westside has
West' to woo the customers.
Marketers use price oriented promotions such as coupons, rebates and price deals
to increase sales and market share, to entice trial, and to encourage brand
switching. Gupta suggests that 84% of the sales increases due to promotion come
from brand switching.
Loyalty or continuity programs such as frequent user programs and shoppers which
reward consumers' repeat purchasing of a particular brand or at a particular outlet,
have their greatest value encouraging consumers with divided loyalty to purchase a
given brand.
The Indian retail industry is undergoing major revolutions. Retailing in India is
gradually becoming the next boom industry .The consumer buying patterns
changing steadily The growth of India's retail sector not only limited to urban areas
but also growing in rural areas. In the next five years, it is expected that, industry
will expand more than 80%.

37
With the advent of modern format retailers and the growth of plastic cards, affluent
urban Indian women are shopping like never before. They spend mornings
browsing in stores looking for deals or latest styles. It's here the role of sales
promotion becomes prominent. Indian shoppers are deal hungry and rely heavily
on price deals, off the shelf discounts and the gift vouchers .In the large urban
centres apparel retailers and Pantaloon have popularized loyalty cards, gift
vouchers and price deals. This sales promotion can be categorized as the new form
of promotional activity which the Indian Apparel industry is offering and making
the best out of it. Shoppers stop for instance has over 60% of its revenues from its
"First citizen" entitled for various discounts and loyalty points.
In view of above research studies, the emergence of sales promotions in Indian
retail segment needs to be identified. This research will look into the promotional
activities in indian apparel retail segment . Also this encompass the promotional
strategies of major retail brands like Westside, Lifestyle and Shopper Stop among
others. The effectiveness of these sales promotion activities will be studied w.r.t
increasing sales/revenues as well as creating and building brand loyal customers.

MARKETING STRATEGY OF SMART BAZAR

Product
Smart Bazar offers a wide range of products which starts from apparels to food
items, footwear to home furnishing, crockery to sport items, child care products to
toys, watches, drinks etc. There are many in house brands promoted by Smart
Bazar. In pursuance of their business plan to diversify their portfolio of offerings,
FMCG products play a key role. FMCG products are usually meant to fulfill the
38
daily needs of consumers and therefore, VRPL believe retailing of FMCG products
will bring customers to their stores on a frequent basis and this may in-turn lead to
consumption of their apparels. VRPL have a number of private labels for apparels
such as Zepplin, Paranoia, Chlorine, Kitaan Studio, Famenne, Fleurier Women and
Roseau.

Vishal Mega-mart sold over 300,000 pairs of jeans, 50,000 DVD-players and
25,000 microwave-ovens. In all, the fashion, electronics and travel segments made
up about 70% of sales. Last year, these categories made up only about 60%.

Price
Smart Bazar promises its consumers the lowest available price. The concept of
psychological discounting (Rs. 99, Rs. 49, etc.) is used as promotional tool. Smart
Bazar also caters on Special Event Pricing (Close to Diwali, Christmas, New Year
39
etc.). Selling combo-packs and offering discount to customers. The combo-packs
add value to customer. Through Bundling, they also reduced the price of the
products. In addition to VRPL’s strategy to continue procurement of goods from
small and medium size vendors and manufacturers which leads to cost efficiencies,
VRPL intend to procure FMCG and apparels from
low-cost production centers located outside India. Towards this objective, VRPL’s
propose to increase their procurement of finished and semi-finished goods from
China and thereby realize economies of scale and pass on the benefits so accrued
to their customers. The efforts of VRPL’s retail business are targeted towards
families having total income which can be classified under the “lower middle” and
“middle” income groups. VRPL follow uniform pricing policy across their stores
in respect of private labels and non-branded products sold by them. This enhances
brand loyalty, encourages customer confidence and results in operational
convenience. In relation to the other products, the prices may vary between stores
on account of state-specific taxation and vendor policies.

Place
Vishal Mega-mart stores are located in 129 cities with 172 outlets. VMM has
presence in almost all the major Indian cities. They are aggressive on their
expansion plans.
Vishal Retail targets cities with urban population of 1 million people or above or
can be classified as Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. In Tier-1 cities, the company opens
retail outlets on the outskirts, rather than the prime area. Its target market includes
people with middle income and lower income levels. This enables the company to

40
overcome competition to some extent due to its first mover advantage (as
competitors have relatively less space in tier-2 and tier-3 cities) and helps to lower
rental cost. As at 3Q FY08, 78% of the company’s 82 stores are in Tier-2 and Tier-
3 cities.The company plans to maintain the ratio of Tier-2 and Tier-3 to Tier-1
cities at 80:20.
Promotion
Advertising has played a crucial role in building of the brand. Smart Bazar
advertisements are mainly seen in print media i.e. newspapers, Television with
Tina Parekh as there in advertisement, and sometime road-side bill-boards.
VRPL’s category management system is used to plan promotional schemes. They
launch promotional schemes weekly. Apart from general sales promotion, the
category manager formulates promotional plans for ‘slow movers’. In addition, to
promote sales, they focus on layout of the stores and positioning, presentation and
display of merchandise, in order to appeal to the customer. In addition, VRPL have
introduced, in association with SBI Cards & Payment Services Private Limited, a
co-branded credit card. VRPL’s propose to continuously undertake such initiatives
to increase the satisfaction of their customers.
Vishal Mega Mart started many new and innovative cross-sell and up-sell
strategies in Indian retail market. The various promotion techniques used at VMM
include:
-5 Din Ki Maha Bachat
-2 din Ki Maha Loot
-Dhan-teras Dhamaal
-Great Savings
41
-Smart Bazar Gift Voucher Rs. 1000.
-25% Off On All Items – Every Month
-Discount Offers At Various Festive occasions
-Grand Winter Sale – 50% & 60% discount for 2 days
-Paise Bachao Aandolan – 9 Din Ki Maha Loot
-Vishal Reward Plus: Consumers can make purchases at any store and accumulate
points at a central level. These points are redeemable at any of our stores.
-Cross category promotions are now catching up where discounts are being offered
on grocery purchases, redeemable against purchase of apparel and household
products.

People
Vishal Retail has been established by Mr. Ram Chandra Agarwal, a first generation
entrepreneur. He has been instrumental in expanding the business from an apparel
store in Kolkata to 82 value retail stores with pan- India presence. The
management team has a pool of talented professionals with right mix of working
experience. Professionals are one of the key assets for any organization. The
salient features of staff of VMM are: -
-Monthly, weekly & daily sales targets are communicated to the staff & efforts are
made to consistently achieve the set targets.
-Employees are motivated to think out-of-the-box. Retail sector is in growth stage,
so staff is empowered to take innovative steps.

42
-Multiple counters for payment, staff at store to keep baggage and security guards
at every gate, makes for a customer-friendly atmosphere.
-VMM motivates & retains store staff & maintains a positive work environment.
-Well-dressed staff improves the overall appearance of store.
-Strong Recruitment Cell, 2,509 employees joined in 2009.
-8500 employee Strength.
Due to intense competition, the requirement of skilled manpower is increasing. At
the same time, the availability of skilled manpower is declining and attrition rates
are increasing throughout the industry. We foresee an increase in the employee
cost going forward (Figure 7) due to company’s efforts to attract and retain the
employees. Although employee cost is increasing; still the company’s motive is to
retain the valuable employees in the company.

Process
VMM adopted the business model as shown in (Figure-9) to run their activities
smoothly. This process includes four steps as follows:
Manufacturing Capacity; Strong Logistics; Products; Retailing
The goods' dispatch and purchasing area has certain salient features which include:
-Multiple counters with trolleys to carry the items purchased.
-Proper display / posters of the place like (Kids Wear, Grocery, and Stationary
etc.).
-Home delivery counters to be started soon.
43
-Three Layer Security Checks.
-No. of Parallel Billing Counter
-Retail Exchange Software Solution – PRIL
-Integrated With SAP & ERP

Physical Evidence
It deals with the final deliverable or the display of written facts. This includes the
current system and available facilities.
-Infrastructure – Stand Alone Commercial Building
-Clean, Air-conditioned outlet
-Equipment – computer, BCR, Desk etc State of Art

Year---- Milestone

2001-- Incorporated as Vishal Retail Private Limited acquired the proprietorship

firm Vishal Garments & the Vishal Garments opened first store outside Kolkata.
2002-- Opened first Store in Delhi
2003 --Acquired Vishal Apparels, a manufacturing unit. Set up a manufacturing
unit in Gurgaon.
2004--Started thier largest store of at Mathura Road, New Delhi having an area of
80,000 square feet nominated for the Images Retail Awards’ 2004

44
2006--Thier Company was converted into a public limited company 103
implementation of production and retail module of SAP Broadband connectivity
with each and every location Increased thier presence to an aggregate of 17 States.
2007-- Increase in number of stores to 50 spread across in 18 States
Management Organization Structure

Chapter 4.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

45
Definition of Research
The word research is derived from the Latin word meaning to know. It is a
systematic and a replicable process, which identifies and defines problems,
within specified boundaries. It employs well-designed method to collect the data
and analyses the results. It disseminates the findings to contribute to generalize
able knowledge. The characteristics of research presented below will be
examined in greater details later are:
 Systematic problem solving which identifies variables and tests
relationships between them,
 Collecting, organizing and evaluating data.
 Logical, so procedures can be duplicated or understood by others
 Empirical, so decisions are based on data collected
 Reductive, so it investigates a small sample which can be generalized to a
larger population
 Replicable, so others may test the findings by repeating it.
 Discovering new facts or verify and test old facts.
 Developing new scientific tools, concepts and theories, this would
facilitate to take decision.
For the proper analysis of data simple statistical techniques such as percentage
were use. It helps in making more generalization from the data available. The data
which was collected from a sample of population was assumed to be representing
entire population was interest. Demographic factors like age, income and
educational background was used for the classification purpose.
Research Design:
46
 It was important to collect detailed information on various aspects for
effective analysis.
Research design can be of three forms:
 Descriptive Research: It is conducted to ascertain certain magnitudes
and to provide an accurate snapshot of some aspect of the market
environment. For example: Determining the size of the market, market
share, availability of distributors, sales analysis, studies of consumer attitude
etc.
 Exploratory Research: This is used when one is seeking insight into the
general nature of a problem, the possible decision alternatives, and relevant
variables that need to be considered. Little prior knowledge is required.
Research methods are highly flexible, unstructured and qualitative. For
example: What new product should be developed, what should be the
positioning of our product, etc.
 Causal Research: Causal studies are designed to determine whether one
or more variables cause or determine the value of other variables. It is an
evidence of relationships of variables. For example: Whether decrease in
price will lead to an increase in the sales of a product, or whether the
presence of a sales person will help in increasing the sales in a retail outlet,
etc.
 These three types can be viewed as cumulative. The research design adopted
for project research is Causal Research.

47
  Once the researcher has decided the ‘Research Design’, the next job is of
data collection. For data to be useful, our observation needs to be organized
so that we can get some patterns and come to logical conclusions.
 Depending upon the sources utilized, whether the data has come from actual
observations or from records that are kept for normal purposes.

Methods of data collection

Type of Research: - This research is Descriptive Research in nature because in
this we are conducting a customer based survey to know the opinion of customers
about the promotional strategy of the Vishal Megamart.

Sources of Data:- There are two types of data has been used in this research.
Primary and Secondary.

Primary Data:-Survey by Questionnaire from concerned authorities &

questionnaire for the customers.
Secondary Data:-Previous Report and websites of the organization. For Literature
review few researches has been used.

Objectives of the study

 To understand the different marketing strategies being followed by
Smart Bazar.
 To learn their marketing mix.

48
Marketing help to define the business for the customer's interests, not your own. It
is the process of learning what customers want or need and determining how to
satisfy those wants or needs. It is also used to confirm whether the customer
reacted to a marketing program as expected. The benefits of market research
include:

 Learning who your customers are and what they want.

 Learning how to reach your customers and how frequently you should try to
communicate with them.
 Learning which advertising appeals are most effective and which ones get no
response.
 Learning the relative success of different marketing strategies, thus
improving return on investment.
 Learning how not to repeat your mistakes.

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Although it would have been nice to conduct a perfect research study, but this
study is conducted under certain limitations, which were faced while doing this
research. So it is highly recommended to consider these limitations while going
through the project study.

These limitations are as follows

49
1. LIMITATION OF TIME
The limitation of time was another constraint in the study as the study had
to be conducted in few months therefore many aspects have been left
unexplored. Research period is not just much enough to know fully about
the strategies & consumers perception.

2. INHIBITIONS OF THE RESPONDENTS

The respondents did not reply the question with precision as they were busy
with their own work or they were not interested in taking part in such a
research. Employees sometimes feel hesitated while telling about their view
about their marketing strategies.

3. RESEARCH HAS BEEN CONDUCTED IN A LIMITED AREA

The research has been conducted for the Smart Bazar(Pritampura ,Delhi) but
not all their retail outlet have been covered therefore it has been mentioned
that the research has been conducted in a limited area.

4. THE SAMPLE SIZE IS SMALL

The sample size taken for this thesis is small; it may not actually represent
the whole population. The data collected were totally depending on the
respondent’s views, perception, behavior, psychology related to particular
scheme which could base in nature.

50
These limitations were very common and yet we came across these with a positive
note and the subsequent chapters in this report shall explain the rationality behind
the structural compilation.

Scope of study

This project gave me great exposure to the customer’s perception to the marketing
strategies adopted by the Smart Bazar 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 me in knowing the market practically.

CHAPTER 5
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
Analysis of employees question
Q.1-Do you adopt the sales promotion techniques?
Table 1: Data showing uses of promotional techniques by Smart Bazar.
Particulars No. of respondents Percentage
YES 100 100%
NO 0 0%
SAMPLE SIZE 100 100%

51
Fig 1: Data showing uses of promotional techniques by Smart Bazar.

Interpretation – As this question is design to know that Smart Bazar uses sales
promotion techniques or not. When I asked from ten employees of Smart Bazar
they all reply that they use sales promotional techniques.

Q.2-Which type of sales promotion techniques you adopt?

Table 2: Data showing which type of sales promotional techniques is used by
Smart Bazar.
Particulars No. of respondents Percentage
Discount 60 60%
Coupons 10 10%
Free gifts 10 10%

52
Buy one get one free 20 20%
Others 0 0%
Sample size 100 100%

Fig 2: Data showing which type of sales promotional techniques is used by Smart
Bazar.

Interpretation: As this question is design to know that which types of sales

promotion techniques is used by Smart Bazar. When I asked from ten employees
of Smart Bazar. Through this figure we can easily know that 60% of employee told
that discount techniques is used and 20% told that coupon technique is used and

53
10% told that buy one get one free technique is used and rest of 10% told that
others technique are used by Smart Bazar.

Q.3-Which techniques is most attractive to the customer?

Table 3: Data showing that which techniques are most attractive to the customer.
Particulars No. of respondents Percentage
Discount 50 50%
Coupons 10 10%
Free gifts 10 10%
Buy one get one free 20 20%
Others 10 10%
Sample size 100 100%

Fig 3: Data showing that which techniques is most attractive to the customer.

54
Interpretation: Through the analysis we can easily know that discount technique
attract 50% of the customer of Smart Bazar , 20% customer of Smart Bazar are
attracted by coupons technique , 20% customer of Smart Bazar are attracted by buy
one get one free technique and rest of 10% customer are attracted by other
techniques.
Q.4-Do you strongly rely on these techniques?
Table 4: Data showing that employee really rely on these techniques or not.

Particulars No. of respondents Percentage

Yes 40 40%
Generally 30 30%
Sometimes 30 30%
No 0 0%
Sample size 100 100%

55
Fig 4: Data showing that employee really rely on these techniques or not.

Interpretation: Through the analysis we can easily know that 40% of employees
really believe on these sales promotional techniques , generally 30% employee
believe that it should be there and rest of 30% believe that it should be used some
time.
Q.5- For how long you stick to particular techniques?
Table 5: Data showing that for how long one techniques is used by Smart Bazar.

Particulars No. of respondents Percentage

One week 70 70%
10-15 days 20 20%
More than one month 10 10%
Sample size 100 100%

56
Fig 5: Data showing that for how long one techniques is used by Smart Bazar.

Interpretation: Through the analysis we can easily know that 70% employees told
that the duration of using one technique is 0ne week , and 20% told that the
duration of using one technique is ten to fifteen days and remaining 10% told that
technique is used for more than one month.
Q.6- Do really these techniques increases sales?
Table 6: Data showing that these techniques really increases sales of Smart Bazar
or not.

Particulars No. of respondents Percentage

Always 50 50%
Sometimes 50 50%
Rarely 0 0%
No they don’t 0 0%
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Sample size 100 100%

Fig 6: Data showing that these techniques really increases sales of Smart Bazar or
not.

Interpretation: Through this analysis we can easily know that 50% employees
really believe that by using sales promotional technique the sales of Smart Bazar
always increases and 50% think that it is helpful for increasing the sales of Smart
Bazar for some times.

Q.7- Does it helps to introduce a new product?

Table 7: Data showing that sales promotional techniques really help in introducing
a new product or not.

58
Particulars No. of respondents Percentage
Yes 60 60%
No 10 10%
Can ‘t say 30 30%
Sample size 100 100%

Fig 7: Data showing that sales promotional techniques really help in introducing a
new product or not.
Interpretation: Through the analysis of this question we can easily know that
60% employee believe that sales promotional technique helps in introducing a new
product and 10% don’t believe and remaining 30% says that they don’t know.

59
Analysis of customer question:
Q1. Since how many days you are visiting the Smart Bazar?
Table 1: Data showing that from how many days customer is visiting in Smart
Bazar.

Particulars No. of respondents Percentage

>1 years 20 20%
1-2 years 30 30%
2-4 years 35 35%
<4 years 15 15%
Sample size 100 100%

60
Fig 1: Data showing that from how many days customer is visiting in Smart Bazar.
Interpretation: Through the analysis of this question we can easily know that 20%
of the customer are coming to Smart Bazar from past one year, and 30% are
coming to Smart Bazar from past two years, 35% customer are coming to Smart
Bazar from past four years and remaining 15% are coming to Smart Bazar from
more than four year.
Q.2 Are you satisfied with its products and customer handling?
Table 2: Data showing the satisfaction level of customer for the product and
customer handling offered by Smart Bazar.
Particulars No. of respondents Percentage
Yes 60 60
No 40 40
Sample size 100 100%

61
Fig 2: Data showing the satisfaction level of customer for the product and customer
handling offered by Smart Bazar.
Interpretation: Through the analysis of this question we can easily know that 60%
of customers are satisfy with the product and customer handling being provided by
Smart Bazar and remaining 40% are not satisfied.

Q.3) Do you enjoy the discounts being provided here?

Table 3: Data showing the satisfaction level of customer with the discount
provided by Smart Bazar.

Particulars No. of respondents Percentage

62
Yes 85 85%
No 15 15%
Cannot say 0 0%
Sample size 100 100%

Fig 3: Data showing the satisfaction level of customer with the discount provided
by Smart Bazar.
Interpretation: Through the analysis of this question we can easily know that 85%
of the customers are satisfied with the discount provided by Smart Bazar and the
remaining 15% are not satisfied by the discount provided by the Smart Bazar.

Q4. Are you satisfied with sales promotion activity of the Vishal Megamart?

63
Table 4: Data showing the satisfaction level of customer with the sales promotion
activity by Smart Bazar.
Particulars No. of respondents Percentage
Yes 85 85%
No 15 15%
Sample size 100 100%

Fig 4: Data showing the satisfaction level of customer with the sales promotion
activity by Smart Bazar.

Interpretation: Through the analysis of this question we can easily know that 85%
of the customers are satisfied with the sales promotional activity provided by

64
Smart Bazar and the remaining 15% are not satisfied by the sales promotional
activity provided by the Smart Bazar.

Q. 5 Which offer do you like the most?

Table 5: Data showing the offer which are most preferred by the customer.
Particulars No. of respondents Percentage
Discounts 50 50%
Free gifts 20 20%
Buy one get one free 25 25%
If any other 5 5%
Sample size 100 100%

65
Fi:g 5: Data showing the offer which are most preferred by the customer.
Interpretation: Through the analysis of this question we can easily know that 50%
of the customer are satisfied with the discount provided at Smart Bazar , 20%
customer are satisfied with the free gifts , 25% customer are satisfied with the buy
one get one free technique and remaining 5% are satisfied with the other
promotional activity.
Q6. Do you think you will keep visiting the Vishal Megamart?
Table 6: Data showing the customer loyalty that they will continue visiting to
Smart Bazar in future or not.
Particulars No. of respondents Percentage
Yes 80 80%
N0 0 0%
Can not say 20 20%
Sample size 100 100%

66
Fig 6: Data showing the customer loyalty that they will continue visiting to Smart
Bazar in future or not.

Interpretation: Through the analysis of this question we can easily know that 80%
of the customer will continue to buy in future and the remaining 20% are not sure
that whether they will come or not.

67
 Chapter 6.
Findings and conclusion
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 12 percent during January - May 2007 over January -
May 2006.
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
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 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.
5. Variety offered by any retail store is of very much important to attract all
type of customers in the stores.
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.
7. 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 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
8. 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 or service meets the customer's expectations. Quality has no specific
meaning unless related to a specific function and/or object. Quality is a

69
 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.
9. More than 70% of customers place variety as an important factor to shop in
a particular retail store.

10.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 unbrand.

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.

70
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 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.

71
 CHAPTER 7.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND 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.
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

72
 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 Smart Bazar 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.
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 be in sync with fashion.

73
 CHAPTER 8.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books referred:

 Retailing Management
Pradhan, Swapna

 Retail Management – A Strategic Approach

Berman, Barry & Evans, Joel R.
74
  The Art Of Retailing

Websites:

 www.google.com

 www.wikipedia.com

 www.vishalmegamart.com

 www.scribd.com

 www.slideshare.com

ANNEXURE.

Questionnaire for the Customers

Name-
Occupation-
Age-
Gender-
Address-
75
1. Since how many days you are visiting Vishal Megamart?
a) >1 year
b) 1-2 year
c) 2-4 years
d) 4< years
2. Are you satisfied with its products and customer handling?
a) Yes
b) No
3. Do you enjoy the discounts being provided here?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Not Really
4. Are you satisfied with sales and promotion activity of the Vishal
Megamart?
a) Yes
b) No

5. Which offer do you like the most?

a) Discounts
b) Free Gifts
c) Buy one Get one free
d) Other if any.
6. Do you think you will keep visiting Vishal Megamart?
76
a) Yes
b) May be
c) NO

Questionnaire for Employees

• Name :- ___________________________

7. Do you adopt the Sales Promotion techniques?

a) Yes b) No

8. Which type of sales promotion techniques you adopt -

A. Discount [] B. Coupons [ ]
C. Buy one and get free [] D. Free gifts []
E. If other, specify …………………………

9. Which techniques is most attractive to the customer?

A. Discount [ ] B. Coupons [ ] C. Buy one and get free [ ] D.

Free gifts [] E. If other, specify …………………………
77
10. Do you strongly rely on these techniques -

a) Yes b) No c)Sometimes d)Generally

11. For how long you stick to particular techniques?

a) 1 month b)10-15 days c)one week d) depends on the need

12 Do really these techniques increases sales?

a) Every time
b) Sometimes
c) Generally
d) No they don`t

13. Does it help to introduce a new product?

a) Yes b) No c) can`t say

78