1. The document discusses sales trends and strategies for three major Indian electronics retailers - Infiniti Retail, Next Retail, and Reliance Digital. 2. It provides details on their store counts and expansion plans, fast selling products in 2008 like LCD TVs and cameras, and focus on emerging categories like laptops and gaming consoles. 3. The retailers also discuss their private label strategies and key challenges like managing costs, vendor relationships, and consumer experience.

2. 28 | TV VEOPAR JOURNAL | DECEMBER 08 | adi-media.com | An ADI Media Publication
Ajit Joshi, Managing Director and Chief Executive
Officer, Infiniti Retail Limited
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
store in Vadodara. We expect to be
35 stores chain by March 2009 and
100 stores chain by March 2011.
On private labels
We have successfully launched our
private label across select catego-
ries in all our stores. In less than
a month, we have witnessed some
good numbers.
Products that have currently hit the
shelves and have picked up well are:
Croma wine cooler – almostll
stocked out
Croma split AC 1 ton – picking up ll
Croma split AC 1.5 ton – veryll
good response
Croma wet and dry vacuum clean-ll
er – within a week clocked good
numbers
Croma handy car vacuum cleanerll
Our strategy for bringing in prod-
ucts under our label is two fold:
Products that are premium in quality,
that is, at par or better than the lead-
ing brand in that category but priced
20-30 percent lower. These are target-
ed at smart shoppers who look at qual-
ity products at the best possible price.
Secondly, products that are innova-
Infiniti Retail
tive and are a unique assortment
available only to Croma customers.
Thepremisebehindlaunchingourown
label is to strengthen our philosophy of
helping customers buy by bringing in
a carefully selected assortment that
suits their requirement to the tee. Our
collection therefore is called Hand-
picked by Croma, though the brand we
will operate under it will be Croma.
The USP of Croma brand is:
Tata seal of authenticityll
Involvement at each stage to bringll
the best possible product
Full ownership and responsibilityll
Giving our customers all No Ques-
tions Asked Replacement War-
ranty and an extended warranty
absolutely free
Stringent quality control – regu-ll
lar quality audits by reputed
agencies
Attractive finance and exchangell
schemes
We thus want to leave no stone un-
turned to give our customers com-
plete peace of mind and assurance
that it’s truly the best buy. Our
private label brand ambassadors
will guide customers on the product
benefits and features to help them
make informed decisions.
Soon we shall cut across categories
by launching products ranging from
mixers, microwave ovens, toasters,
massagers to music systems, lap-
tops, and LCD TVs.
List of some products that are expect-
ed to be in stores by January are:
Microwave ovens: grill, convectionll
and solo
Boom box : 2 types of LCD TV andll
iPod
Digital photo framell
Oven-toaster-grillerll
Blender and chopperll
Toastersll
Cordless kettlell
Massagers – foot, mini massager,ll
bendable massagers
Laptop bags of 3- 4 typesll
Fans – box fans, standing fans,ll
tower fans
We are also in the process of rolling
out dedicated CRM for private label
to ensure customer satisfaction.
Infiniti Retail.indd 28 12/30/08 1:16:41 PM

4. 30 | TV VEOPAR JOURNAL | Q-III | DECEMBER 08 | adi-media.com | An ADI Media Publication
Sunil Mehta, Chief Executive Officer, Next Retail
India Limited
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,
Whirlpool, Onida, Philips, Kenstar,
Videocon, and Sansui. Next also
stocks Xbox of Microsoft, computers
and laptops of Acer, HCL, Lenova,
and HP. Next has recently intro-
duced imaging and accessories prod-
uct categories and plans to expand
operations in these categories to all
outlets in the current year.
Next aims at changing the way an
Indian consumer shops for electron-
ics. Next Retail India Limited has
more than 370 outlets across 16
states with a presence in 187 towns
spanning metros and large towns.
Next has more than doubled its last
year’s turnover in the current finan-
cial year. Plans ahead are more am-
bitious with a targeted turnover of
Rs. 1,250 crore for the current finan-
cial year with 500 plus outlets.
Next stands by its brand promise of
Best brands. Best bargains. It has
opened up a world of choices for shop-
Next Retail
ping enthusiasts (including home-
makers) across all demographic and
psychographic segments.
On emerging product
categories and fast selling
products
LCD TVs and home theaters are
the major focus categories as they
are witnessing massive growth. The
primary reason is drop in the prices
by all brands which made the cat-
egories within reach of wide section
of consumers. Also, the increased
aspiration of Indian consumers has
brought these categories into focus.
In today’s market scenario, digital
still camera is one of the fastest
growing categories along with LCD
TVs. Split ACs with flat fascia pan-
els have gained popularity. Due to
this, the contribution of split ACs
has gone up to 60 percent whereas
40 percent is contributed by win-
dow ACs. Frost free refrigerators
in metros have grown more than the
direct cool segment. The growth in
fully automatic washing machines
segment is higher than in semi auto-
matic washing machines segment.
On issues to be addressed
The key issues to be addressed
by any retail organized today are
trained manpower; managing con-
flict of interest with traditional
channels; proposition of private la-
bels; and IT Infrastructure.
“Next has more than
doubled its last year’s
turnover in the current
financial year.”
Next Retail.indd 30 12/30/08 3:11:47 PM

5. An ADI Media Publication | adi-media.com | DECEMBER 08 | Q-III | TV VEOPAR JOURNAL | 31
Peshwa Acharya, CMO & Head - Marketing &
Consumer Experience, Reliance Digital Retail Limited
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-
erators over CRT TVs and single door
refrigerators. Reliance Digital has in-
troduced Reliance resQ, a network of
in-house service centers that will pro-
vide post-sales support services. It is
managed directly by Reliance Digital.
Reliance Digital carries out strong na-
tional promotional campaigns, which
have been created into marketing
properties Anniversary Promotion in
May and You are the King Diwali pro-
motion in Oct 2008. Such promotional
campaigns receive fantastic consumer
response and our sales shoot up.
On emerging technologies
There is a clear shift toward laptops,
which are clearly becoming a house-
hold use product. Wi-fi is another
emerging technology, transforming
the way Internet is used at home.
Gaming consoles and gaming as a cat-
egory are also becoming very popular.
Digital cameras are growing at a fast
pace. In the music segment, MP3 play-
ers are taking off. LCD TVs, double
door refrigerators, and fully automatic
washing machines are the emerging
products. Home theaters are becoming
Reliance Digital
more sophisticated and multi format.
On fast selling products
LCD TVs, digital cameras, laptops,
mobile phones, and split air condi-
tioners were the fast selling products
during the year.
On private labels
In private labels, our focus presently is
on accessories and not on parent prod-
ucts. Our aim is to primarily establish
Reliance Digital as a destination for
national and international brands.
Once this goal is accomplished, we will
start selling more private labels. Pri-
vate labels are already contributing
5-10 percent to the overall turnover of
Reliance Digital, which may increase
to 20 percent in 2009.
Issues that need to be addressed
Most of the costs of retailing are going
up, while in digital retail, the year-
on-year consumer realization may
actually come down. The other issue
is that rentals are skyrocketing and
need to be brought down. Retaining
and training of good manpower is an-
other challenge. Also there is a high
cost of informing and communicating
with our target consumers, which is
becoming expensive; it is getting
more difficult to catch the premium,
time stretched consumers.
Also, vendors, brands, and manu-
facturers should try to understand
the special significance of modern
retailing. We should jointly focus on
creating fantastic consumer experi-
ence, which no other traditional or
small formats can create. So, modern
vendors should capitalize on this op-
portunity. Modern retailing can re-
ally be the seeding point for many of
the new categories and technologies
like wireless routers, MP4, Full HD,
Blu Ray, mobile blue tooth, gaming,
etc. This is where they can conduct
seeding, consumer understanding,
test trials, product modifications, un-
derstanding the needs of the Indian
consumers, and thus drive home new
concepts to consumers easily.
Reliance Digital.indd 31 12/30/08 3:11:16 PM