Drive Technology Retail ...CDIT ...Consumer Durables , IT and Telecom ....

2. Infiniti Retail
O
n Croma stores
Infiniti Retail Limited is
a 100 percent subsidiary
of Tata Sons and operates Croma,
a national chain of mega stores of
consumer electronics and durables.
Currently, we are operating a total of
25 Croma stores in India – nine Cro-
ma stores and a Croma Zip store at
the domestic airport in Mumbai; two
Croma stores in Ahmedabad; three
Croma mega stores in Pune; one in
Surat; three in Bengalooru; one in
Delhi; five Croma stores in Delhi
NCR – Faridabad, Greater Noida,
and Ghaziabad respectively; and one Ajit Joshi, Managing Director and Chief Executive
store in Vadodara. We expect to be Officer, Infiniti Retail Limited
35 stores chain by March 2009 and
100 stores chain by March 2011. tive and are a unique assortment private label brand ambassadors
available only to Croma customers. will guide customers on the product
On private labels The premise behind launching our own benefits and features to help them
We have successfully launched our label is to strengthen our philosophy of make informed decisions.
private label across select catego- helping customers buy by bringing in Soon we shall cut across categories
ries in all our stores. In less than a carefully selected assortment that by launching products ranging from
a month, we have witnessed some suits their requirement to the tee. Our mixers, microwave ovens, toasters,
good numbers. collection therefore is called Hand- massagers to music systems, lap-
Products that have currently hit the picked by Croma, though the brand we tops, and LCD TVs.
shelves and have picked up well are: will operate under it will be Croma. List of some products that are expect-
l Croma wine cooler – almost The USP of Croma brand is: ed to be in stores by January are:
stocked out l Tata seal of authenticity l Microwave ovens: grill, convection
l Croma split AC 1 ton – picking up l Involvement at each stage to bring and solo
l Croma split AC 1.5 ton – very the best possible product l Boom box : 2 types of LCD TV and
good response l Full ownership and responsibility iPod
l Croma wet and dry vacuum clean- l Giving our customers a No Ques- l Digital photo frame
er – within a week clocked good tions Asked Replacement War- l Oven-toaster-griller
numbers ranty and an extended warranty l Blender and chopper
l Croma handy car vacuum cleaner absolutely free l Toasters
Our strategy for bringing in prod- l Stringent quality control – regu- l Cordless kettle
ucts under our label is two fold: lar quality audits by reputed l Massagers – foot, mini massager,
Products that are premium in quality, agencies bendable massagers
that is, at par or better than the lead- l Attractive finance and exchange l Laptop bags of 3- 4 types
ing brand in that category but priced schemes l Fans – box fans, standing fans,
20-30 percent lower. These are target- We thus want to leave no stone un- tower fans
ed at smart shoppers who look at qual- turned to give our customers com- We are also in the process of rolling
ity products at the best possible price. plete peace of mind and assurance out dedicated CRM for private label
Secondly, products that are innova- that it’s truly the best buy. Our to ensure customer satisfaction.
28 | TV VEOPAR JOURNAL | DECEMBER 08 | adi-media.com | An ADI Media Publication

4. Next Retail
O
n sales trends in 2008
Next is a multi-brand, multi-
product outlet and stocks an
entire range of consumer durables
including air conditioners, LCD and
plasma TVs, home theater systems,
washing machines, refrigerators,
microwave ovens, and small home
appliances of the brands LG, Sam-
sung, Sony, Electrolux, Kelvinator, Sunil Mehta, Chief Executive Officer, Next Retail
Whirlpool, Onida, Philips, Kenstar, India Limited
Videocon, and Sansui. Next also
stocks Xbox of Microsoft, computers ping enthusiasts (including home- aspiration of Indian consumers has
and laptops of Acer, HCL, Lenova, makers) across all demographic and brought these categories into focus.
and HP. Next has recently intro- psychographic segments.
duced imaging and accessories prod- In today’s market scenario, digital
uct categories and plans to expand On emerging product still camera is one of the fastest
operations in these categories to all categories and fast selling growing categories along with LCD
outlets in the current year. products TVs. Split ACs with flat fascia pan-
LCD TVs and home theaters are els have gained popularity. Due to
Next aims at changing the way an the major focus categories as they this, the contribution of split ACs
Indian consumer shops for electron- are witnessing massive growth. The has gone up to 60 percent whereas
ics. Next Retail India Limited has primary reason is drop in the prices 40 percent is contributed by win-
more than 370 outlets across 16 by all brands which made the cat- dow ACs. Frost free refrigerators
states with a presence in 187 towns egories within reach of wide section in metros have grown more than the
spanning metros and large towns. of consumers. Also, the increased direct cool segment. The growth in
fully automatic washing machines
Next has more than doubled its last segment is higher than in semi auto-
year’s turnover in the current finan- matic washing machines segment.
cial year. Plans ahead are more am-
bitious with a targeted turnover of
“Next has more than On issues to be addressed
Rs. 1,250 crore for the current finan- doubled its last year’s The key issues to be addressed
cial year with 500 plus outlets.
turnover in the current by any retail organized today are
trained manpower; managing con-
Next stands by its brand promise of financial year.” flict of interest with traditional
Best brands. Best bargains. It has channels; proposition of private la-
opened up a world of choices for shop- bels; and IT Infrastructure.
30 | TV VEOPAR JOURNAL | Q-III | DECEMBER 08 | adi-media.com | An ADI Media Publication

5. Reliance Digital
O
n sales trends in 2008
Reliance Digital is a Rs. 500
crore company on an annual-
ized basis. For 2009, we are going to
register four-fold growth over the cur-
rent year targeting Rs. 2,000 crore.
Our focus is on consumer technology
solutions. Our idea is not just to sell
consumer brands and products but
also the relevant technology solutions.
Our endeavor is to understand what
consumers want and suggest them
the right products. Reliance Digital
is a premium format with relatively
greater emphasis on premium catego-
ries like LCD TVs and frost free refrig- Peshwa Acharya, CMO & Head - Marketing &
erators over CRT TVs and single door Consumer Experience, Reliance Digital Retail Limited
refrigerators. Reliance Digital has in-
troduced Reliance resQ, a network of more sophisticated and multi format. need to be brought down. Retaining
in-house service centers that will pro- and training of good manpower is an-
vide post-sales support services. It is On fast selling products other challenge. Also there is a high
managed directly by Reliance Digital. LCD TVs, digital cameras, laptops, cost of informing and communicating
Reliance Digital carries out strong na- mobile phones, and split air condi- with our target consumers, which is
tional promotional campaigns, which tioners were the fast selling products becoming expensive; it is getting
have been created into marketing during the year. more difficult to catch the premium,
properties Anniversary Promotion in time stretched consumers.
May and You are the King Diwali pro- On private labels Also, vendors, brands, and manu-
motion in Oct 2008. Such promotional In private labels, our focus presently is facturers should try to understand
campaigns receive fantastic consumer on accessories and not on parent prod- the special significance of modern
response and our sales shoot up. ucts. Our aim is to primarily establish retailing. We should jointly focus on
Reliance Digital as a destination for creating fantastic consumer experi-
On emerging technologies national and international brands. ence, which no other traditional or
There is a clear shift toward laptops, Once this goal is accomplished, we will small formats can create. So, modern
which are clearly becoming a house- start selling more private labels. Pri- vendors should capitalize on this op-
hold use product. Wi-fi is another vate labels are already contributing portunity. Modern retailing can re-
emerging technology, transforming 5-10 percent to the overall turnover of ally be the seeding point for many of
the way Internet is used at home. Reliance Digital, which may increase the new categories and technologies
Gaming consoles and gaming as a cat- to 20 percent in 2009. like wireless routers, MP4, Full HD,
egory are also becoming very popular. Blu Ray, mobile blue tooth, gaming,
Digital cameras are growing at a fast Issues that need to be addressed etc. This is where they can conduct
pace. In the music segment, MP3 play- Most of the costs of retailing are going seeding, consumer understanding,
ers are taking off. LCD TVs, double up, while in digital retail, the year- test trials, product modifications, un-
door refrigerators, and fully automatic on-year consumer realization may derstanding the needs of the Indian
washing machines are the emerging actually come down. The other issue consumers, and thus drive home new
products. Home theaters are becoming is that rentals are skyrocketing and concepts to consumers easily.
An ADI Media Publication | adi-media.com | DECEMBER 08 | Q-III | TV VEOPAR JOURNAL | 31