44Mini TRS business model proves to be the
most promising one for emerging markets
that are driven by external factors like
growing aspirations, democratization
of information, media exposure, young
demographics, rising spending power and
improving lifestyle standards. We identify
white spaces in existing cities by mapping
all potential markets with defined
catchment that can sustain our retail
model. We then shortlist our franchise
partner and location that is ideal for the
concept.
Can you decode the distribution model
for the Mini TRS?
Raymond already has an extensive
distribution network through direct
and indirect channels such as agents,
distributor and wholesaler networks that
service over 15,000 outlets across the
country. These direct and indirect channels
of distribution provide us the platform to
reach the emerging towns with the right
product mix and faster turnaround time.
The only way that any organization can
reach out to such markets in a relevant
and engaging manner is also through
franchising. At Raymond, the essence of
creating partnerships with entrepreneurs
in such markets was understood very early
and that has helped the brand create very
strong and engaged channel partners.
Has online retail’s popularity enabled
your plans for these micro markets or
has it proved to be a hurdle?
Online market has surely helped
us in our retail expansion plans by:
- Increased aspirational levels of customers
- Improved consumption basket through
increased frequency of purchase across
various product categories.
What has been the growth percentage
and revenue figures in the last one year
and how much are you expecting in the
next fiscal?
These stores continue to add incremental
revenue and income to the company since
they have opened in completely new
markets and towns. Over 90% of the stores
opened have exceeded our expectations in
revenue generation.
Omni-channel seem to be the way
forward today. What is your strategy in
this context?
The Mini TRS also has an integrated digital
omni-channel capability, through which
the customers can access a curated range
of products from our online webstore –
Raymond Next. All the stores are connected
through an interactive kiosk located in
the store. In case a customer wants a
product that is not available at the store,
he can access our webstore and select the
product from this curated range. He may
then choose to get the product delivered
either at the store or at his desired address.Going back to the context of brick and
mortar retailing, can you elaborate a bit
on your VM strategy?Visual Merchandising at The Raymond
Shop is centered around 3 main principles- Consumer Experience, Execution
Scalability and the use of Technology and
Crowdsourcing to make the two seamless.
We have moved from being more tactical
in our execution to more experiential in
all that we do. With almost 1000 doors
to execute visual merchandising, we at
Raymond Retail believe in keeping our VM
plans simple yet effective and engaging for
customers.
We believe that through the right VM we
should be able to surprise and inspire our
customers. There are well known basics,
necessary to visual merchandising – such
as display themes, groupings, and colour.
But in order for VM to be truly successful,
it needs to elevate the product and the
overall shopping experience. It is also
about empowering our customers to take
informed decisions.Whilst planning VM for our network, it
all begins with the product. So our key
responsibility is to highlight and bring
alive this proposition through effective
VM. Over time we have shifted from using
basic signage to highlighting innovation
and the product features through more
interactive communication and displays
that are centred around the lifestyles of the
consumer. We have with the use of props
and technology made sure that the visual
merchandising is real time and can serve
as a platform for more product interaction.
Simplistic and minimalistic design routes
combined with new materials make the
communication more interesting and
engaging.We have empowered our store teams
and also trained VM champs at each
store to execute these set-ups under the
guidance of well-trained regional visual
merchandisers. The use of our employeeengagement app to upload and thereby
make content in real time makes this
process effective. We celebrate the great
work and also crowd source ideas to keep
the energy and creativity at stores at its
highest.Going further, what other innovative
retail strategies have you lined up for
the future? And what are your expansion
plans?Mini TRS will continue to provide the
immersive Raymond retail experience
across all emerging markets and towns to
its discerning customer. It is about a ‘single
view of customers’ irrespective of which
channel, city and store they shop in. The
idea is: ‘Think global, act local’, which is
brought alive by empowering our store
managers, franchisee and area managers.Every franchisee is supported by an area
manager who builds local calendarized
activation and marketing plans for each
outlet depending on the local festivals
as well as key talking points. Through a
cooperative marketing pool, the activation
calendar is implemented through the local
franchisee and store so that they may
leverage their local knowledge to maximize
the efficiency of all such activities.While there are broad brand guard-rails
available, each city/ market develops and
drives activations and promotions that are
best suited for its market and customers.What is the kind of turnovers that the
retail division is aiming at in the years to
come?In retail we have a mantra for growth that
we internally refer to as 5Gs of growth.
These are Competitive Growth (faster than
the competition); Profitable Growth (+ve
EBIT); Sustainable Growth (continuous year
on year); Inclusive Growth (Company and
Franchise partners) & Experiential Growth
(enhancing customer experience). This 5G
growth leads to exponential growth for
Raymond. lPayal GulatiJuly 2019