SWOT analysis of big bazar

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,
and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture.

This analysis should be part of any business plan. While the prospective entrepreneur can create one to
promote his business plan, an objective version is recommended.

Strengths
 High brand equity
 Infrastructure
 Product diversity
 Supply chain

Weaknesses
 Falling revenue /sq.ft
 Unable to meet store opning target
 Preceptions among consumer

Opportunities
 Organized retail
 Understanding consumer prefrences
 Global expantion
 Targeting area more porn to devlopment

Threats
 Compititors
 Government policies
 Economic condition
 Unorganized retail
Big Bazaar
Retailing in India has witnessed a huge growth in the recent years. Retailing in India is gradually
inching its way towards becoming the next boom. The Indian retail industry is largest among all
the industries in India, According to the India Retail Report 2009 compiled by research group
“Images F&R Research” rising economic growth will fuel the growth of industry and it will
touch Rs. 18,10,000 crores by 2010.
Big Bazaar is Indian personification of retail. It’s like an Indian bazaar or mandi or mela. Big
Bazaar, which has become a household name by now, has emerged as one of the prominent
organised retailing player in Indian arena. It has been successful in establishing a chain of
shopping malls in various cities of India, reflecting the look and feel of Indian bazaars at their
modern outlets targeting higher and upper middle class customers with a strong distribution
network.
Big Bazaar faces a formidable competition from the unorganised sector. Change in consumer
behavior, intensification of competition with the emergence of new players has made it difficult
to achieve the forecasted success. An insight into unorganised retailing reveals that it enjoys
higher margin due to many reasons including low operational cost, and low taxations.
Being aware of the threats and opportunities present in the Indian retailing, the top management
at Big bazaar planned various strategic alternatives. Big Bazaar has huge promotion budgets. The
biggest idea behind all advertisements is to prompt people to do bulk shopping. There are two
types of promotional strategies of big bazaar. One is the holistic advertisement which promotes
the brand and creates awareness among people. Other type of promotion is the particular store
oriented promotion. There are promotional efforts even inside the store
Big Bazaar ensures that no other kirana store / departmental store are offering considerable
discount compared to its own price. This helped it Big Bazaar in being the "value for money"
store. Product mix at Big Bazaar is compared to kirana store.

Strategic Decisions Taken to Build the Big Bazaar Brand

Indian customers prefer to purchase grains, grams, etc., after touching them, so it’s better not
to sell in polythene packs. Big Bazaar has counters where you can touch wheat, rice, sugar, etc.,
before purchasing. Advertisements about schemes and offers through local newspapers, radio in
local languages, inspires customer more than the traditional ways. For Indians, shopping is an
entertainment; they come in groups, with families so Big Bazaar offers something for every
section of family. Their newspaper advertisements are present just before launch of any new
scheme. This creates aura about the Big Bazaar brand in the minds of customers. Big Bazaar bill-
boards are displayed on prime locations in various cities as a brand building exercise. They
display the catch-phrases now-a-days. For a retailer, location is one of the most important things.
The strategic decisions to secure spaces before other retailers join in have resulted in creating
early presence in market.

Big Bazar, is the chain of retail stores of the big banner Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd., which in
turn is a segment of Kishore Biyani, regulated Future Group of Companies. Moreover the
customer friendly ambiance and the organized retailing of products also makes Big Bazar one of
the successful retail companies in India.

Big Bazar Overview: Big Bazar, a part of the Pantaloon Group, is a hypermarket offering a
huge array of goods of good quality for all at affordable prices. Big Bazar with over 50 outlets in
different parts of India, is present in both the metro cities as well as in the small towns. Big
Bazar has no doubt made a big name in the retail industry of india, moreover shopping here is
further made a memorable experience with the varied rates of discounts on products as well as
discount vouchers available in a variety of amounts, like INR 2000, INR 3000, INR 4000, INR
5000 and INR 10000 on all Big Bazar products and accessories.

The variety of product range in Big Bazar: This large format store comprise of almost everything
required by people from different income groups. It varies from clothing and accessories for all
genders like men, women and children, playthings, stationary and toys, footwear, plastics, home
utility products,cosmetics, crockery,home textiles, luggage gift items, other novelties, and also
food products and grocery. The added advantage for the customers shopping in Big Bazar is that
there are all time discounts and promotional offers going on in the Big Bazar on its salable
products.

The Big Bazaar market at Hiland Park, Kolkata.

The significant features of Big Bazar: Shopping in the Big Bazar is a great experience as one can
find almost everything under the same roof. It has different features which caters all the needs of
the shoppers. Some of the significant features of Big Bazar are: The Food Bazar or the grocery
store with the department selling fruits and vegetables There is a zone specially meant for the
amusement of the kids. Furniture Bazar or a large section dealing with furnitures. Electronics
Bazar or the section concerned with electronic goods and cellular phones. [FutureBazaar.com] or
the online shopping portal which makes shopping easier as one can shop many products of Big
Bazar at the same price from home Well regulated customer care telecalling services

The following are few of the sections at Big Bazar: 1. Books 2. Cameras 3. Computers &
Peripherals 4. Electronics 5. Gift Vouchers 6. Health and Fitness 7. Home & Kitchen 8. Jewelery
9. Memory & Storage 10. Mobiles & Phones 11. Movies & Videos 12. Watches 13. Women’s
wear 14. Men’s wear 15. Children’s wear 16. Others
The strategic Decisions that Are Taken To Construct the Big Brand of Bazaar

The strategic decisions that take to the construction of Big Bazaar were: -

Real estate game

For a retailer, the location is one of the most of the important things. According to Kishore
Biyani, the cost of real estate should be less than 5% of total sales of store to furnish advantages
maxima to the customer.

The strategic decisions to obtain from the spaces before the other retailers participate had for
result cost saving. Also, it created the first presence in the market.

Nourish Relations

Kishore Biyani follows to the strategy to develop confidence and nourishes relations with the
suppliers. This confidence took to the strategically correct decisions most of the time. Whoever
works with the Future Group, or leaves in the initial matters or continues forever.

The usage of Technology, Planning Scenario &the amplifier; Said History

The big plannings of Bazaar and the conception used technologies in advance as planning
scenario and said history. These techniques principally were used for the trace of store
conception, the selection of store location. The strategy to use converged user, the tool of
development of based prototype did the brand to adapt to the quick one changes the external
environment.
Customer service desk

As the name suggest this is a spare part debt which mainly focuses on customer service like if a
customer finds difficulty in finding any product ,if there are any customer complaints, they are
also look in to, any customer assistance etc is also provided

There is also an exchange counter where the customer is dissatisfied or wants to exchange the
product he or she purchase for any reason the customer can exchange them within 7 days of
purchase.

When a customer bring a product for exchange the product is first received and checked if it is
used or deliberately damaged or tampered with.if it is in acceptable condition,then the customer
is issued at a credit note for that amount(product’s price).the customer then can purchase any
product for that amount or can take the money back by encashing the credit note at the credit
counter. If the customer buys the product less than the amount in the credit note, the difference
amount will be returned to the customer and on the other hand if a customer buys a product more
than the amount in the credit note, the customer will be ask to pay the difference amount.

This department is also responsible for announcing all the offers running in the stores on
different products throughout the day. This department also does gift wrapping for any product if
the customer wants it at free of cost.

The department also collects customer’s opinion/feedback for continous improvement in their
service.

The ultimate aim of this department is to help and statisfy customer in every possible manner and
make customer;s experience memorable.
Big Bazaar: Brand's Identity, Personality & Symbolism

Big Bazaar is Indian personification of retail. It's like an Indian bazaar or mandi or mela, the
environment created by traders to give shoppers a sense of moment. Its personality is of being an
entity away from fancy or pretty and being authentically "no-frills". Kishore Biyani never hired
any foreign consultant for Big Bazaar which is evident from Indian-specific personality of the
brand. The brand's personality is self-explanatory by its tag-line only. This statement places Big
Bazaar at the top of customer's mind. It reflects that entrepreneurship and simplicity are the
essence of character of Big Bazaar. To use predatory pricing is not in the personality of Big
Bazaar, they never sell goods below the price they have purchased it. Big Bazaar, the "Indian
Wal-Mart", is the modern Indian family's favorite store. Big Bazaar symbolizes modern retail,
the business which isn't looked up to in our country, is now in the eyes of many multi-national
biggies. Big Bazaar has shown a robust growth in recent years (.

Demerits of Marketing a Commodity Market

Brands evolve from ‘unbranded commodities' to references, where the name is used for
identification. This is also evident from the Goodyear's (1996) chronological brand
categorization

There is lack of differentiation if marketing of commodity is done. Commodities and

differentiated products are the two ends of the product spectrum. Each unit of a commodity is
exactly like every other unit. A product is a commodity when all units of production are
identical, regardless of who produces them. Commodities tend to be raw materials like corn,
wheat, copper, crude oil, etc. The stone marble is mined and sold by many companies in
Rajasthan; it's like an unbranded commodity, where each producer is selling identical product.

People that produce commodities are referred to as "price-takers". This means that an individual
producer has no control over his/her price. On the other hand, people who are owners of brands
or differentiated products are "price-makers". Producer of a differentiated product creates a
separate market for his/her individual product.

Value of Branding

Branding plays a crucial role for all the products and services. A successful brand is an
identifiable product or service, and buyers or users perceive values in it which matches their
needs.

There are certain advantages of branding. They are: -

 Product dies but a good brand never dies: The first car T-model is no more but the brand
'FORD' is still alive. 'Pears' soap that was launched somewhere in the end of 1800 is still alive
although they have changed the product. Even they are looking for line extension but basic brand
names are the same.
Sales or market share: A brand generates familiarity and trust, and hence, leads to greater sales.
Branded products have an edge over unbranded products.

Premium price: Brands generate trust, a brand manager can charge extra price and people pay
for that trust.

Differentiation: Creating a brand is nothing but creating a strong association. This association
clearly differentiates the branded product from the rest.

According to brand evolution model developed by Kunde (2000) (as the value of brand
becomes stronger and more relevant to customers, the brand becomes more involving, and thus,
managers need to make their brand values more relevant to increase customer's involvement.
This is explained by religion model also. The model distinguishes 5 types of brands: -

 Product Brand: Products without any form of added value connected to the generic
element.
 Concept Brand: Brands that are driven by emotional values - as opposed to product
characteristics.
 Corporate Concept Brand: Brands that merge with the company and present
themselves in a sustained and consistent way.
 Brand Culture Brand: Brands that are so strong that they - in the eyes of the consumer -
have become equated with the function they represent.
 Brand Religion Brand: The ultimate brand position is that of brands that - in the eyes of
the consumer - have become a "must", a faith to which they profess.

Big Bazaar: Positioning & Establishment

Big Bazaar has established itself in the first quadrant of Organization Value and Customer Value
Matrix .The SWOT Analysis of current strategy of Big Bazaar elaborates the core competencies
and areas of improvement. The key features that have shaped in establishing of brand includes: -

 Big Bazaar ensures that no other kirana store / departmental store are offering
considerable discount compared to its own price. This helped Big Bazaar in being the
"value for money" store.
 Big Bazaar scores high on product mix as compared to kirana store.
 Cheap and local products are heavily stocked in Big Bazaar which make it easier to
attract lower middle class category of customers.
  Promotion of kirana is rare event but Big Bazaar used this channel efficiently to establish
itself as national brand.

 Customer loyalty resulting in high up sell, i.e., selling to existing customers.

 Big Bazaar refrains from high-end locations for business which reduces its rental budget
and provides competitive advantage over competitors. Kishore Biyani has taken "early
movers advantage" in many retail spaces.

7P Analysis of Big Bazaar

7P Marketing Mix is more useful for services industries and knowledge intensive industries.
Successful marketing depends on number of key issues. The seven keys issues are explained as: -

Product

Big Bazaar offers a wide range of products which range from apparels, food, farm products,
furniture, child care, toys, etc. . Products of all the major brands are available at Big Bazaar
.Also, there are many in house brands promoted by Big Bazaar. Big Bazaar sold over 300,000
pairs of jeans, 50,000 DVD-players and 25,000 microwave-ovens. In all, the fashion, electronics
and travel segments made up about 70% of sales. Last year, these categories made up only about
60%.

Price

The tag-line is "Is se sasta aur accha aur kahin nahi". They work on the model of economics of
scale. There pricing objective is to get "Maximum Market Share". The various techniques used at
Big Bazaar are: -

 Value Pricing (EDLP - Every Day Low Pricing): Big Bazaar promises consumers the
lowest available price without coupon clipping, waiting for discount promotions, or
comparison shopping.
 Promotional Pricing: Big Bazaar offers financing at low interest rate. The concept of
psychological discounting (Rs. 99, Rs. 49, etc.) is used as promotional tool. Big Bazaar
also caters on Special Event Pricing (Close to Diwali, Gudi Padva, and Durga Pooja).
 Differentiated Pricing: Time pricing, i.e., difference in rate based on peak and non-peak
hours or days of shopping is also a pricing technique used in Indian retail, which is
aggressively used by Big Bazaar.
 Bundling: Selling combo-packs and offering discount to customers. The combo-packs
add value to customer.

Place

 Big Bazaar stores are located in 50 cities with 75 outlets.Big Bazaar has presence in
almost all the major Indian cities. They are aggressive on their expansion plans.

 Promotion

Big Bazaar started many new and innovative cross-sell and up-sell strategies in Indian retail
market. The various promotion techniques used at Big Bazaar include "saal ke sabse saste teen
din", Future Card (the card offers 3% discount), Shakti Card,

Brand Endorsement by M. S. Dhoni, Exchange Offer - ‘Junk Swap Offer', Point-of-Purchase

Promotions.

Advertising has played a crucial role in building of the brand. Big Bazaar advertisements are
seen in print media, TV, Radio (FM) and road-side bill-boards.

People

They are one of the key assets for any organization. The salient features of staff of Big Bazaar
are: -

 Well-trained staff, the staff employed by Big-Bazaar are well-suited for modern retail.
  Well-dressed staff improves the overall appearance of store.
 Employees are motivated to think out-of-the-box. Retail sector is in growth stage, so staff
is empowered to take innovative steps.
 Employs close to 10,000 people and recruits nearly 500 people every month.
 Use of technology like scenario planning for decision making.
 Multiple counters for payment, staff at store to keep baggage and security guards at every
gate, makes for a customer-friendly atmosphere.

Process

The goods' dispatch and purchasing area has certain salient features which include: -

 Multiple counters with trolleys to carry the items purchased.

 Proper display / posters of the place like (DAL, SOAP, etc.).
 Home delivery counters also started at many places.

Physical Evidenc

It deals with the final deliverable or the display of written facts. This includes the current system
and available facilities.

Big Bazaar: Brand Extensions Actually Made & Future Possibilities

Future Group is planning to split Big Bazaar into two entities. One will be front-end consumer-
oriented entity and other will be for back-end operations. Back-end entity may enter into joint
venture with leading international cash and carry retailers. Foreign partners like Carrefour,
Metro, Costco, etc., are in the race, and their role will be to improve efficiency in sourcing and
logistics, which will help drive down prices and boost margins.

The front-end operations will be further divided in three categories, Big Bazaar Express with
store area less than 40,000 sq. ft., Standard Big Bazaar with store area between 40,000 to
75,000 sq. ft., and Big Bazaar Supercentres with store area more than 75,000 sq. ft. . Future
Group is also planning to distribute financial products like consumer loans and insurance through
Big Bazaar outlets.

Advertising: The Essential of Brand Building Process

Advertising is an essential component of brand building. The advertisement and brand building
is done through various ways, the techniques used are: -

Tag-line: Big Bazaar tag-lines are the key components of advertising. These tag-lines are
modified according to demographic profile of customers. These catch-phrases appeared on
hoardings and newspapers in every city where Big Bazaar was launched. Everybody understood
and connected easily with these simple one-liners. The catch-liners include "Hindi - Chane ke
bhaw kaaju", "Bengali - Rui er dame illish", "Hindi - Stall ke bhaw balcony", etc.

Print Ads: Big Bazaar newspaper advertisements are present just before launch of any new
scheme. This creates aura about the Big Bazaar brand in the minds of customers.

TV Ads: Kishore Biyani spends a lot of money in brand building exercise. Big Bazaar
commercials are shown on various channels in India. Presently, Fashion@Big Bazaar
commercial is aired.

Road-side Advertisements: Big Bazaar bill-boards are displayed on prime locations in various
cities as a brand building exercise. They display the catch-phrases now-a-days.

Radio Ads: This technique is used in cities like Sangli (Tier 1 / Tier 2 cities). Now-a-days, it is
replaced by advertisements on FM channels. This informs customers about all new happenings at
Big Bazaar.

Fashion Shows: "FASHION @ BIG BAZAAR - Desh Badla, Bhesh Badlo" is the latest
invention of the Indian iconic brand. In an effort to take the Fashion to the masses, Big Bazaar,
the flagship hypermarket brand of retail chain of Future Group, organized a three-day Fashion
Show on the streets of Bandra, Mumbai.

Brand Endorsement by Celebrity: Big Bazaar is always associated with celebrities for
advertising and marketing of its brand name. The current campaign is starred by Brand
Ambassador and Indian Cricket ODI Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Earlier Himesh
Reshammiya and Sanath Jaisuriya were associated with Big Bazaar.
Factors that Shaped Big Bazaar During its Life Cycle

The Big Bazaar brand name is in its growth stage  Pantaloon Group faced various small and
large scales troubles in the introductory stage of the brand.

Present years are the high growth years in retail sphere as market has high potential to sustain
growth. The sales are increasing, more and more firms are coming to market, foreign players are
entering into retail sector, and pie of organized retail is increasing in retail sector.
Strategic Decisions Taken to Build the Big Bazaar Brand

The strategic decisions that lead to building of Big Bazaar were: -

Real Estate Game

For a retailer, location is one of the most important things. According to Kishore Biyani, real
estate cost should be less than 5% of total sales of store in order to provide maximum benefits to
customer.

The strategic decisions to secure spaces before other retailers join in have resulted in cost-
saving. Also, it has created early presence in market.

Nurturing Relationships

Kishore Biyani follows strategy to develop trust and nurture relationships with suppliers. This
trust led to strategically correct decisions most of the time. Whoever works with Future Group,
either leaves in initial deals or continues forever.

Use of Technology, Scenario-Planning & Story-Telling

Big Bazaar planning and design used advance technologies like scenario-planning and story-
telling. These techniques were mainly used for store-design layout, store-location selection. The
strategy to use user-focused, prototype-based development tool made the brand adapt to the fast-
changing external environment.

Design Management

Design-led thinking helped Big Bazaar to achieve ‘customer-first' objective and ultimately led to
better financial performance. Big Bazaar strategy to focus on design led to creation of Idiom, an
independent design and consultancy firm, based in Bangalore. They are one of the few
organizations in India having economists, ethnographers and sociologists working across various
teams as a part of Design Management team.

Back-end Operations, Supply Chain

Harvard Business School just did a case study on Pantaloons' Supply Chain and it says that
Pantaloons' is the most cost-effective supply chain in the world. India may not have a modern
supply chain b