Reliance Digital
Reliance Digital
Industry Profile
1.1 Indian Retailing: Retailing in India is one of the pillars of its economy and accounts for about 15% 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 Walmart, 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 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. Indian government continues the hold on retail reforms for multi-brand stores. Organized retailing, in India, refers to trading activities undertaken by licensed retailers, that is, those who are registered for sales tax, income tax, etc. These include the publiclytraded supermarkets, corporate-backed hypermarkets and retail chains, and also the privately owned large retail businesses.
Unorganized retailing, on the other hand, refers to the traditional formats of low-cost retailing, for example, the local mom and pop store, owner manned general stores, paan/beedi shops, convenience stores, hand cart and pavement vendors, etc. Organized retailing was absent in most rural and small towns of India in 2010. Supermarkets and similar organized retail accounted for just 4% of the market. 1.2 Background of Indian retailing: Most Indian shopping takes place in open markets or millions of small, independent grocery and retail shops. Shoppers typically stand outside the retail shop, ask for what they want, and cannot pick or examine a product from the shelf. Access to the shelf or product storage area is limited. Once the shopper requests the food staple or household product they are looking for, the shopkeeper goes to the container or shelf or to the back of the store, brings it out and offers it for sale to the shopper. Often the shopkeeper may substitute the product, claiming that it is similar or equivalent to the product the consumer is asking for. The product typically has no price label in these small retail shops; although some products do have a manufactured suggested retail price (MSRP) pre-printed on the packaging. The shopkeeper prices the food staple and household products arbitrarily, and two consumers may pay different prices for the same product on the same day. Price is sometimes negotiated between the shopper and shopkeeper. The shoppers do not have time to examine the product label, and do not have a choice to make an informed decision between competitive products. India's retail and logistics industry, organized and unorganized in combination, employs about 40 million Indians (3.3% of Indian population). The typical Indian retail shops are very small. Over 14 million outlets operate in the country and only 4% of them being larger than 500 sq ft (46 m2) in size. India has about 11 shop outlets for every 1000 people. Vast majority of the unorganized retail shops in India employ family members, do not have the scale to procure or transport products at high volume wholesale level, have limited to no quality control or fake-versusauthentic product screening technology and have no training on safe and hygienic storage, packaging or logistics. The unorganized retail shops source their products from a chain of middlemen who mark up the product as it moves from farmer or producer to the consumer. The unorganized retail shops typically offer no after-sales support or service. Finally, most transactions at unorganized retail shops are done with cash, with all sales being final.
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Until the 1990s, regulations prevented innovation and entrepreneurship in Indian retailing. Some retails faced complying with over thirty regulations such as "signboard licences" and "antihoarding measures" before they could open doors. There are taxes for moving goods to states, from states, and even within states in some cases. Farmers and producers had to go through middlemen monopolies. The logistics and infrastructure was very poor, with losses exceeding 30 percent. Through the 1990s, India introduced widespread free market reforms, including some related to retail. Between 2000 to 2010, consumers in select Indian cities have gradually begun to experience the quality, choice, convenience and benefits of organized retail industry.
1.3 Growth of Indian retailing: Growth over 1997-2010 India in 1997 allowed foreign direct investment (FDI) in cash and carry wholesale. Then, it required government approval. The approval requirement was relaxed, and automatic permission was granted in 2006. Between 2000 to 2010, Indian retail attracted about $1.8 billion in foreign direct investment, representing a very small 1.5% of total investment flow into India. Single brand retailing attracted 94 proposals between 2006 and 2010, of which 57 were approved and implemented. For a country of 1.2 billion people, this is a very small number. Some claim one of the primary restraints inhibiting better participation was that India required single brand retailers to limit their ownership in Indian outlets to 51%. China in contrast allows 100% ownership by foreign companies in both single brand and multi-brand retail presence. Indian retail has experienced limited growth, and its spoilage of food harvest is amongst the highest in the world, because of very limited integrated cold-chain and other infrastructure. India has only 5386 stand-alone cold storages, having a total capacity of 23.6 million metric tons. However, 80 percent of this storage is used only for potatoes. The remaining infrastructure capacity is less than 1% of the annual farm output of India, and grossly inadequate during peak harvest seasons. This leads to about 30% losses in certain perishable agricultural output in India, on average, every year.
Indian laws already allow foreign direct investment in cold-chain infrastructure to the extent of 100 percent. There has been no interest in foreign direct investment in cold storage infrastructure build out. Experts claim that cold storage infrastructure will become economically viable only when there is strong and contractually-binding demand from organized retail. The risk of cold storing perishable food, without an assured way to move and sell it, puts the economic viability of expensive cold storage in doubt. In the absence of organized retail competition and with a ban on foreign direct investment in multi-brand retailers, foreign direct investments are unlikely to begin in cold storage and farm logistics infrastructure. Until 2010, intermediaries and middlemen in India have dominated the value chain. Due to a number of intermediaries involved in the traditional Indian retail chain, norms are flouted and pricing lacks transparency. Small Indian farmers realize only 1/3rd of the total price paid by the final Indian consumer, as against 2/3rd by farmers in nations with a higher share of organized retail. The 60%+ margins for middlemen and traditional retail shops have limited growth and prevented innovation in Indian retail industry. Growth after 2011 Before 2011, India had prevented innovation and organized competition in its consumer retail industry. Several studies claim that the lack of infrastructure and competitive retail industry is a key cause of India's persistently high inflation. Furthermore, because of unorganized retail, in a nation where malnutrition remains a serious problem, food waste is rife. Well over 30% of food staples and perishable goods produced in India spoil because poor infrastructure and small retail outlets prevent hygienic storage and movement of the goods from the farmer to the consumer. One report estimates the 2011 Indian retail market as generating sales of about $470 billion a year, of which a miniscule $27 billion comes from organized retail such as supermarkets, chain stores with centralized operations and shops in malls. The opening of retail industry to free market competition, some claim will enable rapid growth in retail sector of Indian economy. Others believe the growth of Indian retail industry will take time, with organized retail possibly needing a decade to grow to a 25% share. A 25% market share, given the expected growth of Indian retail industry through 2021, is estimated to be over $250 billion a year: a revenue equal to the 2009 revenue share from Japan for the world's 250 largest retailers.
The Economist forecasts that Indian retail will nearly double in economic value, expanding by about $400 billion by 2020. The projected increase alone is equivalent to the current retail market size of France.
1.4 The Indian Retail Market: Indian market has high complexities in terms of a wide geographic spread and distinct consumer preferences varying by each region necessitating a need for localization even within the ng geographic zones. India has highest number of outlets per person (7 per thousand) Indian retail space per capita at 2 sq ft (0.19 m2)/ person is lowest in the world Indian retail density of 6 densi percent is highest in the world. 1.8 million households in India have an annual income of over 45 lakh (US$85,500). Delving further into consumer buying habits, purchase decisions can be separated into two categories: status-oriented and indulgence oriented indulgence-oriented. CTVs/LCDs, refrigerators, refrige washing
machines, dishwashers, microwave ovens and DVD players fall in the status category. Indulgence-oriented products include plasma TVs, state oriented state-of-the-art home theatre systems, iPods, art high-end digital cameras, camcorders, and gaming consoles. Consumers in the status category end buy because they need to maintain a position in their social group. Indulgence Indulgence-oriented buying happens with those who want to enjoy life better with products that meet their requirements. When it comes to the festival shopping season, it is primarily the status oriented segment that status-oriented contributes largely to the retailers cash registe register. While India presents a large market opportunity given the number and increas increasing purchasing power of consumers, there are significant challenges as well given that over 90% of trade is conducted through independent local stores. Challenges include: Geographically dispersed population, small ticket sizes, complex distribution networ and little use of IT systems, network, limitations of mass media and existence of counterfeit goods.
1.5 Major Indian Retailers: REI AGRO LTD Retail: 6TEN and 6TEN kirana stores Future Groups-Formats: Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Pantaloons, Central, Fashion Station, Brand Factory, Depot, aLL, E-Zone etc. Raymond Ltd.: Textiles, The Raymond Shop, Park Avenue, Park Avenue Woman, Parx, Colourplus, Neck Ties & More, Shirts & More etc. Fabindia: Textiles, Home furnishings, handloom apparel, jewellery RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group Retail-Formats: Spencers Hyper, Spencer's Daily, Music World, Au Bon Pain (Internaional bakery cafeteria), Beverly Hills Polo Club The Tata Group-Formats: Westside, Star India Bazaar, Steeljunction, Landmark, Titan Industries with World of Titans showrooms, Tanishq outlets, Croma. Reliance Retail-Formats: Reliance MART, Reliance SUPER, Reliance FRESH, Reliance Footprint, Reliance Living, Reliance Digital, Reliance Jewellery, Reliance Trends, Reliance Autozone, iStore Reliance ADAG Retail-Format: Reliance World K Raheja Corp Group-Formats: Shoppers Stop, Crossword, Hyper City, Inorbit Mall Nilgiris-Formats: Nilgiris supermarket chain Marks & Spencer: Clothing, lifestyle products, etc. Lifestyle International-Lifestyle, Home Centre, Max, Fun City and International Franchise brand stores. Pyramid Retail-Formats: Pyramid Megastore, TruMart Next retail India Ltd (Consumer Electronics)(www.next.co.in) Vivek Limited Retail Formats: Viveks, Jainsons, Viveks Service Centre, Viveks Safe Deposit Lockers PGC Retail -T-Mart India [1], Switcher, Respect India, Grand India Bazaar,etc., Subhiksha-Formats: Subhiksha supermarket pharmacy and telecom discount chain. Trinethra- Formats: Fabmall supermarket chain and Fabcity hypermarket chain Vishal Retail Group-Formats: Vishal Mega Mart BPCL-Formats: In & Out
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German Metro Cash & Carry Shoprite Holdings-Formats: Shoprite Hyper Paritala stores bazar: honey shine stores Aditya Birla Group - "More" Outlets Kapas- Cotton garment outlets Nmart Retails with 71 operating Stores till now and total 153 Stores in India and 1 to open in Dubai Shortly. (Expected to be 150 by the end of Aug-2012)
Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani (1932-2002) Founder of Reliance Group Backward vertical integration has been the cornerstone of the evolution and growth of Reliance. Starting with textiles in the late seventies, Reliance pursued a strategy of backward vertical integration - in polyester, fibre intermediates, plastics, petrochemicals, petroleum refining and oil and gas exploration and production - to be fully integrated along the materials and energy value chain. The Group's activities span exploration and production of oil and gas, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals (polyester, fibre intermediates, plastics and chemicals), textiles, retail, infotel and special economic zones. Reliance enjoys global leadership in its businesses, being the largest polyester yarn and fibre producer in the world and among the top five to ten producers in the world in major petrochemical products. Major Group Companies are Reliance Industries Limited, including its subsidiaries and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Limited.
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2.1.2 About Reliance Retail Limited Reliance Retail Limited is an organized retail arm of the Reliance Industries Limited. Reliance industry is the largest conglomerate in India. It has an annual turnover of US$35.9 Billion. It is also listed on 206th position in the Fortune Global 500 companies. Reliance Retail is actually the retail group of Reliance Industries Limited. It has a number of brands like Reliance Time Out, Reliance Digital, Reliance Wellness, Reliance Autozone, Reliance Super, Reliance Mart, Reliance iStore, Reliance fresh, Reliance footprint, Reliance Jewels, Reliance trends, and Reliance living.
Reliance Group was established in 1970's. The Reliance Retail was found in the year 2006 as an operating subsidiary. It has its head office in Mumbai, India. Reliance is gearing up to revolutionize the retailing industry in India. Towards this end, Reliance is aggressively working on introducing a pan-India network of retail outlets in multiple formats. A world class shopping environment, state of art technology, a seamless supply chain infrastructure, a host of unique value-added services and above all, unmatched customer experience, is what this initiative is all about. The retail initiative of Reliance will be without a parallel in size and spread and make India proud. Ensuring better returns to Indian farmers and manufacturers and greater value for the Indian consumer, both in quality and quantity, will be an integral feature of this project. By creating value at all levels, we will actively endeavor to contribute to India's growth. The project will boast of a seamless supply chain infrastructure, unprecedented even by world standards. Through multiple formats and a wide range of categories, Reliance is aiming to touch almost every Indian customer and supplier.
2.1.3 About Reliance Digital Reliance Digital is a Consumer Electronics, Durables, IT & Telecom retail arm of Reliance Retail Group, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited hosts over 150 national and international brands of electronic products. Reliance Digital Stores offer more than 4000 types of electronic products. After a successful launch of Reliance Fresh stores across several towns and cities in India, Reliance Retail Limited unveiled Reliance Digital in the year 2007, its pilot consumer electronics concept mega store. The new destination for the latest in technology and entertainment products & services, and currently 58 Reliance Digital stores are operating in India.
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2.3.3 Values We believe in people We believe in and follow the customer We believe in the good of the community We believe in each other
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2.3.4 Promises A delightful shopping experience A delighted community A delightful place to work
Services Reliance Digital reviews all its products to provide the best to its customers. It has a specially designed Experience Zones to get the real feel of the product before purchasing it. Reliance Digital provides financial assistance through easy EMI Schemes; Company has appointed Bajaj Capital to provide financial assistance to its consumers. Consumers have to make 40% down payment and the remaining amount is distributed into 8 EMIs and interest rate varies from brand to brand products. Reliance Digital has a ResQ facility, which serves the purpose of a technical support team. It comes to rescue to provide solutions for problems that customers may face with products from
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all leading brands. This facility is available 7 days a week; 365 days a year from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. They have qualified engineers to deal with installation and to guide you with the usage of the appliances.
ResQ services are Product installation: ResQ help to set up customers product for optimum performance
Specialised training to customers on products and related applications by an industry trained personnel
Authorised Service Station for diagnosis and repairs (Caters to all brands)
One stop solution for repairs for all brands products Repairs covering both pre and post manufacturer warranty periods On-site service for select products for the rest, our engineers shall transport products to and fro from the service station
Live demonstration of all features of the product Provide handy care tips
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To ensure that products do not malfunction, resQ offer periodic services and maintenance check-ups Tips on upkeep of products for optimal performance Also covers products not purchased from Reliance Digital
ResQ offer a host of utility products and accessories that are compatible with products & help customers get more of them!
Free repairs, including both parts and labour Free preventive maintenance visits during plan period
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Refining
Textiles
Retail
Reliance Digital Reliance fresh Reliance footprint Reliance Jewels Reliance trends Reliance Petroleum Retail Roxy Office Depot GAPCO And many more
Petrochemicals - Polymers
Recron Stretch Recron Cotluk Recron Dyefast Recron 3s Recron LP Relpet And many more
Reliance industry is the largest conglomerate in India, having number of brands with the different businesses. The ownership pattern of Reliance Digital can be explained as - Reliance Industries Limited has different subsidies; Reliance Retail Limited is one among the subsidies and under which Reliance Digital is one of the Retail Business of Reliance retail. Reliance Digital or the Reliance Retail Limited has not listed in stock market individually but Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) as whole listed under stock market where all the subsidies of RIL is considered to be a group and listed in the stock market. Hence Reliance Digital is a Public Limited Company and Mr. Mukesh D. Ambani is the Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited.
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Brand Philosophy If service wasn't important. If technology wasn't complex. If variety wasn't confusing. We would have no reason to be in business. We help you buy.
eZone eZone is an experience-led lifestyle format that brings together the best in national and international consumer electronic and durables brands in a family-centric environment. Typically covering 12,000 square feet, an eZone store truly enables you to experience electronics through three dedicated zones - Liberation Zone, Experience Zone and Home Zone. The Liberation Zone offers personal products like computers, laptops, handy cams, MP 3 players and mobile phones. Entertainment products such as Plasma / LCD, Flat TVs, Home Theatre systems, DVD players, and Stereo systems are displayed in the Experience Zone. In the Home Zone segment, one gets to pick electronic goods of his or her choice including Refrigerators, AirConditioners, Washing Machines and Microwave ovens among other kitchen-related appliances. eZone also offers an unparalleled service and support through the special E-Care customer support centre. E-Care is a special, dedicated support system designed to offer the best customer service after purchase of any product at eZone.
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Others There are other unorganized consumers electronic and durables brands such as Pai International, Girias and Harsha Electronics are operating in Karnataka and some other states of the country and these can be called as local market competitors but these brands are not to be considered as competitors for Reliance Digital Retail Limited.
Signage Signage is kind of visual graphics created to display information about products to customers.
Experience Zones Experience zones take consumers through a delightful and interactive voyage in the world of electronics and durable goods. Crafted with the latest signage, audio and merchandising where customers can experience the products before purchasing.
Home theater experience zone It is an exclusive experience zone in reliance digital store. It is a small room arranged well furnished with sound systems where consumers can experience the home theaters before purchasing.
Play station Play station is advanced video gaming station where customers who visit the store can play and have delightful shopping experience with reliance digital.
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Learning Center Learning center is training center that is located within the reliance digital store where employees are trained on the products those arrived in the store and usually this center is used for meetings in the store.
Operating Model
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Operating Model Explanation 1. The operating model begins with Pre installation Counseling & queries of customers basically this happens though telephonic queries by customers or approach to know about product available in reliance digital and this step will supported by resQ team. Usually this will not be the initial step in most of the cases, customers directly approach store to know about the products. 2. The second step could begin the actual operating model because most of the customers first approach store and get to know details about their required product, when customers walk in to the store employees counsel the customers, attend their queries and also understanding their requirements they provide consultative solution to customers and this can be considered as beginning step of operating model. 3. After counseling and consultation when customer make the purchase of goods, delivery of goods will be supported by Reliance D&L Team, team also help customer in exchange and product pick-up in case of any replacements after sale of goods as post sales service. 4. When goods are delivered to customers by D&L team, reliance resQ team helps customers by Demonstration and Installation of product at customers place. 5. And after sales services such as extended warranty/maintenance and repairs will be supported by resQ team in the company. 6. And also replacement and up gradation of products will be supported by resQ team and further queries regarding products etc will handled by resQ team, with this again operating model may continues as discussed above.
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Reliance Digital has classified electronics and consumer durable goods into four departments as 1. Consumer Electronics 2. Home Appliances 3. Information Technology 4. Telecommunication
When the goods in the departments need to be ordered; each department follow the following procedure for ordering the stock.
4. Brand people deliver ordered goods to respective central ware house, central ware house become the distribution center for the stores. 5. Distribution center sends the goods to the stores those are ordered. 6. When the goods arrive to the store goods are received by material department of store. 7. And finally goods are sent to the respective departments. 8. Each department has to update its stock report every day for the stock reference and keep follow up on stock level.
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The McKinsey 7S model The McKinsey 7S model was named after a consulting company, McKinsey and Company, which has conducted applied research in business and industry. The McKinsey 7S Framework was created as a recognizable and easily remembered model in business. The seven variables, zable which the authors term "levers", all begin with the letter "S": These seven variables include structure, strategy, systems, skills, style, staff and shared values. Structure is defined as the skeleton of the organization or the organizational chart. The authors describe strategy as the plan or course of action in allocating resources to achieve identified goals over time. The systems are the routine processes and procedures followed within the organization. Staff are described in terms of personnel categories within the organization (e.g. engineers), whereas the skills variable refers to the capabilities of the staff within the organization as a whole. The way in which key managers behave in achieving organizational goals is considered to be the style variable; this variable is thought to encompass the cultural style of the organization. The shared values variable, originally termed super ordinate goals, refers to the significant meanings or guiding concepts that organizational members share.
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From above 7, three are called Hard S these are such as Strategy System Structure And other four are called Soft S, namely Skills Staff Shared value Style McKinseys 7s at Reliance Digital Strategy Strategy is the plan of action an organization prepares in response to, or anticipation of, changes in its external environment. Strategy is differentiated by tactics or operational actions by its nature of being premeditated, well thought through and often practically rehearsed.
Reliance Digital routinely have different campaigning strategies for their new products and to move stock which offer exciting sales promotion offers for the customers to persuade them to know the product and purchase it. For e.g. During Christmas and New Year sale they had up to 50% discount on products. Reliance Digital uses display fixtures to communicate and educate customer about the sales promotion and they decorate the window areas with the products related to their promotion.
System The system that Reliance Digital has for its sale of goods is friendlier and assists customer in purchase of products. The procedure that they follow in Reliance Digital for sale of product is initially when customers walk in to store junior sales associate welcome customer in to store by greeting them and ask them how he can assist them, when customer ask him about his required product junior sales associate takes customer to that particular department and leaves customer to Senior sales associate or Team leader to attend the customers, here the person attend customer queries and explain about product features and benefits. And also consult them to go for
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particular product. When customer makes purchasing decision the same person takes customer to cash counter to make bill of the purchased product and when customer reaches cash counter ter cashier at counter greet the customer and makes billing and keep the product in Reliance Digital carry bag and hand over to customer in case goods are heavy to carry there are store boys who help customer taking them out of store and keep the products in their vehicle and if the products are huge in size they make delivery arrangement through D&L Team.
Structure The design of organizational structure is a critical task of the top management of an organization. It is the skeleton of the whole organization. It prescribes the formal relationship among various positions and activities.
Organisation Structure
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Store Hierarchy
CMO Commercial Operations Manager VM Visual Merchandiser DM Department Manager CE Consumer Electronics Telecom Telecommunication HA Home Appliances IT Information Technology TL Team Leader SSA Senior Sales Associate JSA Junior Sales Associate MOO Material Operational Officer MOE Material Operational Executive CRM Customer Relationship Manager SHE Senior Helpdesk Executive JHE Junior Helpdesk Executive
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Skills Employees must have products knowledge and they should have skills to persuade customer to purchase product. At Reliance Digital Company provide training to the employees on products which help employees to make sale of product with their best knowledge of product and skill. In successive intervals the company sends mystery shoppers to stores to evaluate the performance of the employees and they rate the performance of employees in the store and report to the company if the training is required company arranges for it. And whenever new product has arrived to store they provide training on that particular product in the store learning center. During the training conducted by the company they make sure that the employees are aware about the products information and also sales associates are given proper selling skill tips and training on selling procedure. Employees are also trained on how to greet and groomed to their best ability and they are trained to handle all minor issues encountered in the store.
Staff Organizations are made up of humans and it's the people who make the real difference to the success of the organization in the increasingly knowledge-based society. The importance of human resources has thus got the central position in the strategy of the organization, away from the traditional model of capital and land. Reliance Digital has 58 stores in pan India and has got more than 1000 employees working for the company.
Shared value We believe in people We believe in and follow the customer We believe in the good of the community We believe in each other
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Style Reliance Digital has a very friendly environment for all the employees .The management follows top/down and bottom/up approach. Where in top management transfers the information from the higher level to the lower level. The target and objectives are set by the top level managers and are delegated to the lower level managers those in turn transfer to Team leader and sales associates in the store level, hence all the major decision are taken by the higher authority and shared to the lower level. The lower level employees i.e., Team leader and sales associates revert back to the daily reports to the Department manager who in turn reports to the store manager and further store manager to his higher authority and it continues. Every employee has a participative approach towards the business. Every employee is concerned with his Duties, Responsibilities and accountability for the happening of the event and employees have to report to their higher authority at regular intervals.
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4. SWOT Analysis
Strength: Brand Name Reliance - Reliance Industries Limited, is a Fortune Global 500 company and is the largest private sector company in India. resQ Services - The dedicated service arm that is available for support all 365 days of a year, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Network - Over150 international and national brands. Private label sale Some of own products (Reliance Reconnect). Product mix - One-stop shops for all technological solutions, it has over 4000 products at reasonable prices.
Weakness: Poor inventory control. Inadequate human resources. Operating costs are too high.
Opportunity: Potential for investment. High growth potential. E-retailing. Retail franchising. Wholesale trading.
Threat: Increasing competitors market share. Price war with competitors. Inflation. Competition offered by Chinese products.
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Analysis: Long term funds increase in 2010 compare to the year 2009. Share capital remains unchanged where Reliance Digital Retail Limited borrowed more funds in the form of secured and unsecured loans. The investment in fixed assets is increased to 10448.63 lakhs in 2010 from 8509.70 lakhs in 2009. The investment on current asset increased from 3989.34 lakhs in 20009 to 6790.10 lakhs in 2010.
Interpretation: The Reliance Digital Retail Limited investing more money in the form of fixed assets. The current liabilities are not sufficient to meet the regular requirements and also company is using long term funds to finance current assets.
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Profit and Loss Account for the year ended 31st March, 2010
The sale is increased from 31628.01 lakhs in 2009 to 41186.78 lakhs in 2010. Though sales has increased when comparative to last year the loss margin increased in 2010 because of increased in the operating expenses. Reliance Digital Retail Limited should take measures to reduce operating expenses.
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6. Learning Experience
Opting for internship at reliance digital was an opportunity for me to understand the retail industry and its nature of business. Understanding Retail management difference in organized retail and unorganized retail was a huge scope for my learning, the process and operation in organized and unorganized retails has a lot of difference that I could able to compare in my learning. Using theoretical knowledge of Marketing and Retail Management I found how practically the strategies are implementing in organized retail and also I could find some areas of improvement that can be done in the company. Learning about merchandising and stocking in retail for the sale and motivating sales team was a good exposure. I could find the level of difficulty in convincing customers and the pain that sales team undergoes to make a sale of product. In my course of the study I understood all the factors those are to be considered for an effective sale where I could find how merchandising plays a vital role in attracting customers and stimulate them to buy the product. I understood the flow of work and the organizational hierarchy from top level management to the store level. And also I could understand the motivational factors that make employees to have job satisfaction in the organization. Customers mentality towards promotional sales programme also led me to understand that people look for price prior to the quality or the actual product. Overall exposure to Retail Management was an eye opener to me as how business is carried out and what all should be considered for making sales and to have effective retail management.
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7.2 Objectives of the study To study internet advertisement strategies To study online advertisement strategies with respect to Reliance Digital To study perception of customers on internet advertisement To study customers awareness and preference for online purchasing To suggest measures for improvement to the company
7.3 Scope of the study Reliance Digital management is planning to establish e-commerce distribution channel to make easily available electronic and durable goods to their customers since it is necessary for the company to advertise their brand on internet. Therefore study on developing effective advertising strategies over internet would help the company to have advertisement strategies for online advertising.
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7.4 Methodology Universe: The respondents for the study will be the people who have awareness about use of internet and already using internet for the various purpose and the respondents can or cannot be the customer of Reliance Digital but the respondents would have knowledge about electronic and durable goods. Sample Frame: The research is limited to Bangalore city. Sample Size: The size of the sample is 100. Sampling Technique: The technique used here is the non probability sampling method, convenience sampling technique.
7.5 Data collection method Primary Data collection method has been used; the information for the study collected from the respondents who have the awareness of internet and using the internet for various purposes, Primary data was collected from internet users to know the awareness of online purchasing and the perception towards internet advertisements which would help in designing advertisement strategies.
7.6 Tool of data collection The tool used to collect the data was the questionnaire which consists of multiple choices, open ended and close ended questions to measure the internet users attitude and perception towards internet advertisement and also awareness of online purchasing.
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7.7 Analysis Techniques The collected data were analyzed using simple average method and Chi-square Test. Simple average method
Number of respondents for the particular research ------------------------------------------------------------------- X 100 Total number of respondents Chi-square (X2) Test
X2 = (Oi Ei)2/ Ei Where Oi = the frequencies observed Ei = the frequencies expected = the sum of
7.8 Limitations of the study 1. The survey research is limited to Bangalore city only. 2. The respondents response may be bias. 3. As the sample size is 100, it may not be sufficient to get accurate data.
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Almost 24*7 16% Once in a week 7% Once in two days 10% Twice in a day 28%
Chart 8.1
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Inference The study shows that 39% of respondents browse internet once in a day it is being the highest and 16% of respondents browse internet almost 24*7. Therefore 55% of respondents browse internet on daily bases so with this we can notice that more than half of the internet users making use of internet for various purposes in their day today life, hence internet being the best channel for communication to create awareness about product or brand.
Percentage of Responses (%) 24.93 26.61 3.92 16.24 12.60 6.45 9.25 100
Analysis The above table reveals that respondents browsing websites often in their regular intervals 89 respondents using social networking website Facebook, 95 respondents says they browse google, 14 browse Wikipedia, 58 Gmail, 45 Yahoo, 23 Youtube and also 33 respondents browse other websites viz., Rediffmail, Skype, twitter, linkedin, hotmail, moneycontrol, orkut, indiatimes, songspk, torrento, irctc, icccricket, bcci, news.com etc.
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100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
89
95 58 14 45 23
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Chart 8.2 Inference From the survey we can find that 95 respondents use search engine google and Wikipedia is also being one of the search engine but only 14 respondents are using it where social networking website Facebook having highest usage by the respondents, other social networking website such as twitter, likedin and orkut etc having less usage by the same respondents. Gmail, Yahoo and kut Youtube are used by 58, 45 and 23 respondents respectively. Other websites include Rediffmail, Skype, twitter, linkedin, hotmail, moneycontrol, orkut, indiatimes, songspk, torrento, irctc, icccricket, bcci, news.com etc. these all together mentioned by different respondents. By the survey we come to know websites viewership by the respondents.
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Analysis 37% of respondents browse internet for advertisement to know the product features, price, offers and discount. And also for the comparison of products on which they are in need and some respondents think that browsing advertisement on required product saves time in searching for the information about the products.
Yes 37%
No 63%
Chart 8.3 Inference From the chart 03 we can conclude that 37% of the respondents browse adve advertisement for various reasons on their required product therefore posting advertisement of the products might reach to these people on their requirement time ese time.
How respondents read promotional emails Options Percentage (%) Always 3 Sometimes 48 Often 11 Seldom 6 Hardly 20 Not at all 12 Total 100 Table 8.4
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Analysis From the Table 04 we can see that only 3% of the respondents read all the promotional emails and 12% respondents do not read at all, 48% respondents say they read sometimes, 11% often, 6% seldom, and 20% hardly read promotional emails.
Always 3%
Chart 8.4 Inference Study shows that only 3% reads all promotional emails and 12% do not read at all and from rest 85% we can come to conclusion that they read rarely. Hence mailing promotional emails may be one of the ways to create brand and product awareness.
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Analysis 77% of the respondents have awareness about the online shopping websites and 23% do not have awareness. Therefore we can see that 77% of the internet users have awareness about e ecommerce websites.
No 23%
Yes 77%
Chart 8.5
Inference From the study we can draw inference that 77% internet user in the market are aware of ecommerce websites hence these 77% of the internet users can be potential customer for the company perhaps the company open an e commerce distribution channel to make electronic and e-commerce durable goods available easily to customers. And here we will come to know about the market ome awareness about online shopping websites.
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Total Percentage of Online shopping websites Responses Responses (%) 31.51 Flipkart 52 13.33 Snapdeal 22 6.67 OLX 11 5.46 Homeshop18 9 10.90 Ebay 18 7.88 Amazon 13 8.49 Myntra 14 4.24 Naaptol 7 11.52 Others 19 100 Total 165 Table 8.6
Analysis From the table we can see that 52 respondents has awareness about flipkart online shopping website out of 77 respondents who has awareness about online shopping websites, 22 respondents know about snapdeal, OLX is known to 11 respondents and homeshop18, Ebay, Amazon, Myntra, and Naaptol known to 9, 18, 13, 14 and 7 respondents respectively and also 19 respondents mentioned other shopping websites viz., futurebazaar, Mginger, indiatimesshoping, inkfruit,quicker, tradus etc.,.
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60 50 40 30 20 10 0 22 11 9 18 13 14 19 7 52
Chart 8.6
Inference In the chart 06 we can see flipkart is the online shopping website well known to all most all respondents i.e. 52 respondents have mentioned flipkart website out of 77 respondents who have awareness about online shopping w websites. Snapdeal stands in the second palce 22 respondents mentioned snapdeal and ebay being the third highest and also we can see OLX, Myntra, Naaptol nd etc holding their position in the market through this survey. Here we can understand market awareness of different e-commerce websites. commerce
From Table 07 we will come to know that 39% of the respondents purchased different products from various online shopping websites and 61% of the respondents have not purchased any of the products online. And 39% respondents who have purchased have mentioned products that
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they have purchased online they are pen drive, books, jewels, mobile, shoes, clothes, wrist watch, iphone, micro oven, hard disk, laptop and movie tickets.
Chart 8.7
Inference From the Chart 07 study shows that 39% of the respondents purchased different products from online shopping websites and the products have already mentioned in analysis of table 07. With this information we can come to conclusion that 39% of the respondents purchased online and also mentioned electronic goods that they have purchased such as mobile, pen drive and laptop and home appliance micro oven. Chi-square (X2) Test Chi-square test at 5% level of significance Age Group 20 - 25 25 - 45 Above 45 Yes 9 24 6 39 No 20 30 11 61 29 54 17 100
Ho: Online purchase made for products and the ages are independent. E (1, 1) = 39*29/100 = 11 E (1, 2) = 61*29/100 = 18
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Oi 9 20 24 30 6 11 100
Ei 11 18 21 33 7 10 100
(Oi Ei)2 4 4 9 9 1 1
[(Oi Ei)2 / Ei] 0.364 0.222 0.429 0.273 0.143 0.100 1.531
X2 cal = 1.531 X2 table = 5.99 [2 degree of freedom] 2 Degree of Freedom because (3-1) * (2-1) = 2 Degree 1.531<5.99 X2 cal < X2 table Therefore accept Ho
Respondents view about statement Online marketing would take over traditional marketing in next 10 years Options Percentage (%) Strongly agree 29 Agree 51 Can't say 18 Dis-agree 2 Strongly dis-agree 0 Total 100 Table 8.8
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Analysis 51% of the respondents agree to the statement online marketing would take over traditional marketing in next 10 years, 2% dis agree to the statement and 18% of the respondents leave view that cant be said and in which 29% of the respondents strongly agree to the statement.
Disagree, 2%
Strongly disagree, 0%
Agree, 51%
Chart 8.8
Inference Study shows that respondents are very optimist about the online marketing only 2% of the respondents dis-agree to the statement Online marketing would take over traditional marketing in next 10 years and 18% says that it cant be said but together 80% of the respondents are optimist about the statement. This would help the study to draw inference about perception of the respondents with respect to online marketing against traditional marketing.
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Medium News paper T. V. Ads Internet Product brochures Pamphlets Hoardings/Banners Others Total Analysis
Percentage of Responses (%) 18.27 27.92 38.58 4.57 3.05 6.09 1.52 100
Table 09 shows that internet being the easiest way to get information about required product, 76 respondents mention internet. T.V Ads stand in second place where 55 respondents feel that it is another easiest way to get information about required product, news paper stands in third place 36 respondents mentioned news paper Product brochures, pamphlets, & hoardings/banners paper. roduct mentioned by 9, 6 & 12 respondents respectively. 3 respondents mentioned others they are Mobile SMS i.e. promotional messages and friends recommendation.
80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
76
55
36 12
Chart 8.9
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3 3
Inference From the chart 09 we can conclude that internet is the easiest way to get information about required product, 76 respondents mentioned internet. 55 mentioned T.V.Ads and 36 mentioned internet. news paper. Therefore posting ads of the products would be effective way for advertising since the study shows reach is very high than any other medium.
Analysis From the Table 10 we can see that 78% of the respondents would prefer to watch motion ads on websites and 22% respondents will not prefer.
No, 22%
Yes, 78%
Chart 8.10
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Inference Survey says that 78% respondents prefer to watch motion ads on websites with this information we can conclude that posting motion ads on websites would be effective in order to make best advertisement strategy.
Respondents view about the statement Internet advertisement is more effective than conventional advertisement
Options Percentage (%) Strongly agree 10 Agree 53 In differentiate 21 Dis-agree 16 Strongly dis-agree 0 Total 100 Table 8.11 Analysis 53% of the respondents agree to the statement internet advertisement is more effective than conventional advertisement, 16% dis-agree to statement, 21% says cannot differentiate and 10% says strongly agree to the statement.
Agree, 53%
Chart 8.11
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Inference From the chart we can see that 53% of the respondents agree to the statement internet advertisement is more effective than conventional advertisement and 10% strongly agree to the same statement hence we can understand here the perception of the respondents against internet advertisement and its effectiveness.
From the Table 12 we can see that 98% of the respondents search for the information on required products only 2% of the respondents do not search for the information on their required products over internet.
No, 2%
Yes, 98%
Chart 8.12
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Inference By the Chart 12 we can draw inference that since 98% of the respondents search for the information on their required products over internet hence posting information about products with the advertisement on internet would have higher reach than any other medium to the any internet users.
Table 13 says that 49% of the respondents prefer online shopping where 51% of the respondents do not prefer online purchase. We can see that almost half of the internet users prefer online . purchase/shopping.
No 51%
Yes 49%
Chart 8.13
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Inference In the Chart 13 we can see that almost half of the respondents prefer online purchase hence by the survey we can draw conclusion that having an e-commerce channel to a company might increase its revenue and sales because 49% of the respondent says that they prefer online purchase.
Willingness to buy electronic & durable goods online among 49 respondents who res prefer online shopping
From the Table 14 we can see that among 49 respondents who prefer online shopping 37 respondents are willing to buy electronic and durable goods online and 12 respondents are not willing to buy electronic and durable goods online.
No 25%
Yes 75%
Chart 8.14
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Inference We can see that out of 49 respondents who prefer online shopping 37 respondents are willing to buy electronic and durable goods online i.e. there is a response around 75% for the willingness to buy electronic and durable goods online hence having a plan to establish e-commerce channel for commerce the company would be a right decision.
Based on the survey Table 15 says that 5% of the respondents have browsed Reliance digital website and they liked the product information and the product display on the website would give better visual experience. And 95% of the respondents never browsed Reliance digital website so far. Yes 5%
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Inference From the Chart 15 we can see that 5% of the respondents have already browsed Reliance Digital website and rest 95% never browsed the website hence creating awareness about the company and the brand is crucial and therefore designing strategies for internet advertisement is vital in order to create awareness in the internet users.
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9.2 Suggestions It is suggested that company should post advertisements on all social networking websites. Company should send promotional emails to the existing and potential customers on regular intervals. It is suggested to provide complete information about all available products on the company website. It is suggested that company should conduct Soft skills training to the employees by expert soft skill trainers. It is suggested to increase the customer attention and understand the actual need of the same. Operating costs seems to be very high it is suggested to reduce the cost through switching off few Lights and Display Televisions when there are no walk-ins of customers into store. During peak hours of business it is suggested to implement waiting line strategies at the billing counter. Employees should be trained on service quality and service quality delivery to the customers. Service quality has to be delivered along with the product delivery to the customers. It is suggested to establish e-commerce channel soon and should be implemented proper internet advertisement stratetegies.
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10.2 Conclusion From the study we can draw conclusion that reliance digital can establish e-commerce business arm to make available all electronic and durable goods easily to the existing and potential customers. Study clearly shows that there is huge scope for e-commerce in the current scenario, people are aware of online shopping and also most of them prefer online shopping since it saves time and is more convenient to buy by making comparison with various other available products over internet, hence it is necessary to have internet advertisement strategies to the company when it has a plan to establish e-commerce arm. Posting the advertisements over internet on various websites would have high reach to the internet users and would create awareness about online shopping option. In order to have greater reach to all the internet users company can post advertisements on social networking websites, and also other various website where people browse most often such as yahoo, rediffmail, hotmail, youtube etc., and in the social networking websites, facebook has the greater stake in the market. Most of the internet users have facebook account and other social networking websites such as twitter, linkedin etc., also have the potential to reach internet users. Therefore posting advertisement about products and services of the company on social networking website will have impact on reaching online shopping option provided by the company. Most of the respondents in the study mentioned that online marketing would take over traditional marketing in the next 10 years and also respondents have perception that internet advertisement is more effective than conventional advertisement. Respondents are highly optimist about the ecommerce business and its success in the future. Posting video advertisement of the brand would be more effective and the same is preferred by the most of the respondents as it has been drawn from the study. Video advertisement gives a kind of pleasure experience in watching it and also provides information about the products. Today internet users feel that the easiest way to get information about required products is internet. Internet is only the medium where people can get the information immediately on required product at any point of time. Hence posting advertisement about products available with the company over internet would be effective in its reach to the customers who wish to buy the products online or off line.
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During the survey, respondents, when asked about if they ever browsed reliance digital website, 5% of the respondents mentioned that they did and liked the product display and Information on the website that the company has given. At the same time when we browse reliance digital website we do not find all products information those are available with the company, it is suggested to company that they provide complete information of all products on the companys website along with product image so that customers can easily compare and view its features and benefits that are with products. Email marketing is one of the best ways to market the brand today. We can see many companies are doing email marketing to promote their brand and respondents mentioned that few of them read promotional emails always and few read rarely, but when respondents are in need of products they go through the email that has been sent by the company. Hence it is suggested to company that it should send emails about the offers during seasons and on regular intervals of time so that brand can be get promoted by creating awareness in the internet users.
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2. contextual ads on search engine results pages A search engine results page (SERP), is the listing of web pages returned by a search engine in response to a keyword query. The results normally include a list of web pages with titles, a link to the page, and a short description showing where the Keywords have matched content within the page. A SERP may refer to a single page of links returned, or to the set of all links returned for a search query.
3. Banner ads over internet A web banner or banner ad is a form of advertising on the World Wide Web delivered by an ad server. This form of online advertising entails embedding an advertisement into a web page. It is intended to attract traffic to a website by linking to the website of the advertiser. The advertisement is constructed from an image (GIF, Flash, often employing animation, sound, or video to maximize presence. Images are usually in a high-aspect ratio shape (i.e. either wide and short, or tall and narrow) hence the reference to banners. These images are usually placed on web pages that have interesting content, such as a newspaper article or an opinion piece. Affiliates earn money usually on a CPC (cost per click) basis. For every unique user click on the ad, the affiliate earns money.
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4. Blog and interact with your visitors. A blog (a portmanteau of the term web log) is a personal journal published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete entries ("posts") typically displayed in reverse chronological order so the most recent post appears first. Blogs are usually the work of a single individual, occasionally of a small group, and often are themed on a single subject. Blog can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog. Many blogs provide commentary on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries; yet still others function more as online brand advertising of a particular individual or company. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability of readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (art blog), photographs (photoblog), videos (video blogging or vlogging), music (MP3 blog), and audio
5. Write and publish online press releases. Press release is one of the best online advertisement mediums and a definitive method to build web credibility. Press release and Press release distribution service would make that product/ service gets the right exposure to the target audience. Press release services target not only Indian audience but have a global coverage.
6. Facilitate and run contests and give away via web site. The Contests are facilitated on the websites which is decentralized competition, the server automatically determines scores based on the performance of participants and rewarded further on their scores. These contests facilitated via website of the company and help to advertise the brand and its products/services.
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7. Facilitate Interactive media to potential and existing customers. Interactive media normally refers to products and services on digital computer-based systems which respond to the users actions by presenting content such as text, graphics, animation, video, audio, etc. Interactive media is related to the concepts interaction design, new
media, interactivity, human computer interaction, cyberculture, digital culture, and includes specific cases such as, for example, interactive, interactive narrative, interactive advertising, algorithmic art, videogames, and social media. An essential feature of interactivity is that it is mutual: user and machine each take a more or less active role. Most interactive computing systems are for some human purpose and interact with humans in human contexts.
8. Social network advertising. Social network advertising is a term that is used to describe a form of Online advertising that focuses on social networking sites. One of the major benefits of advertising on a social networking site (facebook, myspace, friendster, bebo, orkut...and many others) is that advertisers can take advantage of the users demographic information and target their ads appropriately. There are three major classifications of Social Network Advertising: a. Direct Advertising that is based on your network of friends - This can be the most effective format but also causes the most controversy. An example is the Facebook beacon project. Based on an action your friend has taken, you might see a message in your news feed saying 'Bob has just bought a 'RadioHead CD from MusicWorld'. This can be an extremely effective mode as often people make decisions to purchase something or do something based on their close group of friends. However, there is also a lot of controversy surrounding this as it can be considered exploiting the personal relationships you have with your friends and also raises privacy concerns. b. Direct Advertising placed on your social networking site - This is a more traditional form of web advertising that is minimally effective. Just like you see banner ads on many other sites, this is a similar concept, except on a social networking site. You can see these
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- for example - as a brick in the top right of MySpace pages or as a banner on the left of Facebook profiles and so on. There are two differences however - One is that these social networks can take advantage of demographic data on your profile and hence target the ad directly to you. Secondly, these types of ads can also be placed by individual developers on their application pages through ad networks. They have access to the same data and can generate income for application developers giving them further motivation to create apps and giving advertisers a more engaging way to reach out to these social networking users. c. Indirect Advertising by creating 'groups' or 'pages' - This is an innovative marketing technique in which a company will create a 'page' or 'group' that users can choose to join. They will use this to build up 'subscribers' or 'fans' and use this to market a contest, a new product, or simply just to increase brand awareness. These groups can quickly grow in numbers of subscribers which can become a very effective marketing tool.
9. Interstitial Advertisements On the World Wide Web, interstitials are web pages displayed before or after an expected content page, often to display advertisements or confirm the user's age (prior to showing age-restricted material). Most interstitial advertisements are delivered by an ad server. Some people take issue with the use of such pages to present online advertising before allowing users to see the content they were trying to access. Less controversial uses of interstitial pages include introducing another page or site before directing the user to proceed; or alerting the user that the next page requires a login, or has some other requirement which the user should know about before proceeding.
10. E-mail marketing Email marketing is directly marketing a commercial message to a group of people using electronic mail email. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing. It usually involves using email to send ads, request business, or solicit sales or donations, and any email communication that is
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meant to build loyalty, trust or brand awareness. Email marketing can be done to either cold lists or current customer database. Broadly, the term is usually used to refer to:
a.
Sending email messages with the purpose of enhancing the relationship of a merchant with its current or previous customers, to encourage customer loyalty and repeat business.
b.
Sending email messages with the purpose of acquiring new customers or convincing current customers to purchase something immediately.
c.
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12. Annexure
QUESTIONNAIRE Sl.No.: /02/12 Place: Bangalore
I Pramod Kalli, Pursuing my MBA from CMRIT Bangalore (Affiliated to VTU Belgaum). I am carrying out an academic project titled A Study on Developing Effective Internet Advertising Strategies with Respect to Reliance Digital at Bangalore. I request you to spare your valuable time to respond the questionnaire. The information shared will be kept confidential. NOTE: PLEASE MARK YOUR ANSWER WITH IN [X]
2)
3) If Yes, how often you use internet? a) Once in a day c) Once in two days e) Almost 24*7 b) Twice in a day d) once in a week
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4)
6) If Yes, Kindly write the reasons to browse advertisement a) ___________________________________________ b) ___________________________________________ c) ___________________________________________ d) ___________________________________________
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7) I read all promotional Emails of my Inbox. a) Always b) Sometimes c) Often d) Seldom e) Hardly f) Not at all
12) Online marketing will take over traditional marketing in next 10 years. Strongly Agree Agree Cant say Dis-agree Strongly Disagree
13) In your opinion what could be the easiest ways to get information about required product? a) News paper b) T.V. Ads c) Internet d) Product brochures e) Pamphlets f) Hoardings/Banners if others please mention ___________________
g) Others
14) Would you prefer to watch motion (video) advertisement on websites for your required product? a) Yes b) No
15) Internet advertisement is more effective than conventional advertisement. Strongly Agree Agree In differentiate Dis-agree Strongly Disagree
16) Do you search for information on your required products over internet? a) Yes b) No
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18) If Yes, Would you like to buy electronic and durable goods through online? a) Yes b) No
20) If Yes, what you liked most (please brief in your words) _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________
THANK YOU
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13 Bibliography
Books 1. David J. Luck and Ronald S. Rubin, Marketing Research (7th Ed; New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India Pvt. Ltd, 2001) 2. G. C. Beri, Marketing Research (3rd Ed; New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Co. Ltd, 2000) 3. Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane Keller, Pearson, Principles Of Marketing-,(12th
Edition,2006Phi) 4. Advertising and Integrated Brand Promotion, OGuinn, Allen, Semenik, 4/e, Thomson, 2007 5. Integrated Advertising, Promotion, and Marketing Communications, Clow, Baack, 3/e, Pearson Education, 2007 6. Roger D. Blackwell, Paul W. Miniard And James F. Engel, Consumer Behaviour (9th Ed; New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.) Journals International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management Journal of Retail & Leisure Property Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services
Others Reliance Digital Employees Induction Kit. Reliance Digital Products Brochure.
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The primary challenges for Reliance Digital in establishing a successful e-commerce platform include low current website engagement, as only 5% of respondents have browsed it, and the necessity to shift consumer perception towards digital engagement. Although 77% have awareness of online shopping, and a significant portion is interested in purchasing electronics online, Reliance must improve digital marketing strategies, enhance website functionality, and create compelling online experiences to convert this potential into actionable sales .
Expanding into a wide range of retail formats allows Reliance Retail to capture diverse market segments by addressing varied consumer preferences and needs. Formats such as Reliance Fresh, Reliance Trends, and Reliance Digital enable targeting grocery, fashion, electronics, and more, ensuring comprehensive market coverage. This diversification mitigates risks and enhances revenue streams by optimizing cost efficiencies across shared supply chains and leveraging cross-format synergies .
The reported browsing behavior indicates that only 5% of respondents have visited the Reliance Digital website, suggesting low online engagement despite substantial interest in electronic products online. This implies that while there is potential for high online sales, the current effectiveness of their online presence is limited. Enhancing digital marketing efforts and website visibility could leverage the growing trend of online shopping, especially since a significant portion of respondents express readiness to purchase electronic goods online .
Reliance Retail distinguishes itself by introducing a pan-India network of retail outlets in various formats, aiming to provide a world-class shopping environment facilitated by state-of-the-art technology and a seamless supply chain infrastructure. It emphasizes creating value not only for consumers but also for farmers and manufacturers, focusing on a superior customer experience and value-added services across a wide range of categories .
Reliance Retail's strategic focus on technology and supply chain innovation contributes significantly to its market position by optimizing operational efficiencies and enhancing the customer experience. Advanced technology facilitates seamless integration of supply chains, provides data-driven insights for inventory management, and supports a superior in-store experience. This scalable infrastructure not only reduces costs but also supports rapid expansion, helping Reliance Retail maintain competitive advantage in a dynamic market .
Reliance Industries' ownership pattern, where Reliance Retail Limited operates as a subsidiary under the conglomerate, allows for financial support and strategic alignment with broader corporate goals. This structure facilitates access to resources, economies of scale, and integrated business strategies from different sectors. Consequently, Reliance Retail can pursue expansive growth and innovative retail strategies, aligning with the goals of the broader conglomerate .
Reliance Retail employs a comprehensive strategy that spans multiple formats and product categories, allowing it to reach a broad customer base and penetrate various market segments across India. In contrast, Shoppers Stop focuses primarily on department store formats and lifestyle products. While Reliance has a larger market presence due to its extensive product range and national footprint, Shoppers Stop relies on customer loyalty and brand image within the lifestyle segment for competitive differentiation. Reliance's strategy facilitates rapid expansion and diverse consumer reach, whereas Shoppers Stop emphasizes brand exclusivity and targeted customer service .
Reliance Industries has utilized backward vertical integration as a strategic approach to grow and dominate various industry sectors. Starting with textiles in the 1970s, they progressively moved into polyester, fiber intermediates, plastics, petrochemicals, petroleum refining, and oil and gas exploration and production. This integration allows them to be fully integrated along the materials and energy value chain, providing a comprehensive control over costs, quality, and supply chain .
Reliance Digital differentiates itself from competitors by emphasizing customer service through practices such as live product demonstrations and preventive maintenance check-ups. The resQ service plan offers extended warranties, on-site service, and periodic maintenance, which increase customer loyalty and trust. Such comprehensive services provide added value to the purchase experience, setting Reliance Digital apart operationally in a competitive retail market .
Reliance Digital leverages its competitiveness through offering over 4000 types of electronic products from more than 150 national and international brands. This extensive assortment aims to cater to diverse consumer needs across electronics, IT, telecom, and durables, making it a one-stop shop for customers. This variety, combined with services such as live product demonstrations and comprehensive warranties, enhances customer satisfaction and loyalty .