SPENCER’S RETAIL LIMITED

Mentor: Prof. D.K. Batra

Batch 2: Group 8
Simran Grover (19PGDM128)
Abhishek Sanghai (19PGDM141)
Karan Kapoor (19PGDM158)
Subindu Halder (19PGDM200)
Soumik Mal (19PGDM260)
Sounak Chakraborty (19PGDM261)
 Spencer's Retail Limited

Type Subsidiary

Industry Retail

Founded 1863 as Durrant & Spencer

Founders Charles Durrant & John William Spencer

Headquarters Kolkata, West Bengal

India

Number of locations 120 Across 35 Cities

Number of employees 5000+

Parent RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group

Website https://www.spencers.in
Introduction and History
Spencer’s Retail Limited is a part of the prestigious RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group which is an
Indian Conglomerate which has many brands under its umbrella like CEAT Tyres, Zensar
Technologies and KEC International.

Spencer’s Retail Limited started tasks as a retail chain in the mid-1990s in India. SRL has its
stores generally set up in the below mentioned 2 configurations:
 Convenience stores known as Spencer's
 Hypermarkets known as Spencer's Hyper
The turnover of Spencer’s Retail Limited was Rs. 2187 crore in the financial year 2019. The Net Sales
of SRL stood at Rs 553.59 crore in March 2020 which was 5.76% more than Rs. 523.46 crore in March
2019. The Quarterly Net Loss was observed to be Rs. 25.24 crore in March 2020 down 1004.66%
from Rs. 2.79 crore in March 2019.

What are they doing?

Between 2006-2009, Spencer's as a store and brand expanded quickly and had 300+ stores
at one point. In 2008, Spencer's opened its Largest Store in India in the eastern Indian city of
Kolkata. The store has an enormously large area of more than 72,000 square feet (6,700
metre square) and is situated in the South City Mall. During 2009 to 2016 it closed down
many non-performing stores and the Company accomplished in receiving the initial
investment on EBITDA level by 2016. The ongoing procedure has been that of Profitable
Growth in picked Geographies.
The organization has propelled a Diversified Private Label Program under the name of Smart
Choice by Spencer's and has been concentrating on Increasing portion of High Margin
Categories. The organization accomplished positive Profit after tax (PAT) for the year 2018-
19. As of 30th June,2019 the total number of stores of SRL has expanded to 160 on an
independent premise. In July 2019, Spencer's also acquired Natures Basket Limited from
Godrej Industries Ltd. It is said that this acquisition will assist them with unlocking mutual
gains and cooperative synergy and offer access to them in the western markets of India
where Spencer's has a low presence.
Spencer’s is among the earliest retailers in India and is the brand which made consumers
open to the concept of retailing in India. The first since forever hypermarket was propelled
by Spencer's in Hyderabad in 2000. Today, Spencer's runs 120 stores, incorporated 37 Hyper
stores in more than 35 urban areas in India.
Some of the new things happening at Spencer’s include:
 Spencer’s has introduced ‘The Tropical Paradise’ and ‘Guruttwakarshan’ range of apparels in
India.
 It has opened its 3rd hyperstore in Lucknow
 Spencer’s wins the Most Admired Retailer of the Year– EAST at EIRS 2016
 Tweets by @Spencers_Retail

This year we deliver your gifts starting at just Rs 99. Personalized gifting options
for your loved ones was never this easy.
 RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group's retail lead Spencer's Retail has turned out wellbeing and health
counsellors over its hypermarket outlets. Spencer’s has delegated such guides to give data
to buyers on wellbeing and health advantages of different food things that they can buy and
use through for their general well-being. These guides have gone through training directed
by nutritionists from Dr Lal Path Labs on wellbeing and immunity building advantages of
different food items

Spencer's purpose of existing and core values includes: Makes Fine Living Affordable – that
is making its products and services available to its customers at a low and reasonable price
which they can afford and at the same time providing them with a great shopping
experience in an exclusive retail scenario.
Kind of Merchandise
1. Food- This includes fruits and vegetables, beverages, staples, processed foods,
spices, fish and meat and dairy. It has the widest assortment in food products from
various parts of the country to fulfil the expectations of different customers.

2. Personal Care- This category includes various products and brands of the sub-
categories - baby care, skin care, beauty, personal hygiene, men’s grooming, oral
care and hair care. Besides food and grocery, Spencer’s also takes care of the beauty
and hygiene needs of its customers.

3. Home- The home category includes a large range of home décor products like home
furnishings, travelling products, bathroom and kitchen essentials, toys and stationery
and dining needs.

4. Electronics and electricals- SRL deals in a wide range of home appliances, electrical
fittings and accessories, digital equipment and accessories and kitchen appliances.

5. Fashion and Accessories- Men’s and Women’s Casuals, innerwear, footwear,

accessories, women’s ethnics and men’s formal apparels.

6. Specialities- These include a range of exclusive products like party delights, diet
foods, nuts and dry fruits, baby food, pet food and organic food.
 Products
Electronics
Fashion and
Food Personal Care Home and Speciality
Accessories
Electricals

Fruits and Men's

Vegetables Beauty Home decor Home Casuals
appliances Organic
Staples Skin Care Home Men's Food
Furnishings Kitchen Office
Beverages Hair Care Appliances Wears Diet Food
Bathroom
Processed Oral Care Essentials Electrical Women's Pet Food
Food Baby Care Fittings and Casuals Baby Food
Dining
Dairy Men's Essentials Accessories Women's Nuts and
Fish and Grooming Travel Needs Digital Ethnic Wear Dry Foods
Meat Personal Equipments Innerwera Party
Toys and and
Spices and hygiene Stationery Accessories Delights
Condiments Accessories
Footwear

What SRL does differently apart from these offerings which makes it a true differentiator
in the food and grocery modern trade is:
1. Patisserie- Patisseries are located in Spencer’s hyperstores and are basically live
bakeries which offer freshly made delicacies of different tastes of the world. It
offers confectionary and other baked items.

2. Wine and Spirits- Some of the Spencer’s flagship and big stores have an in-shop
wines and spirits corner which deal in branded wine, rums, liqueurs, rum and
whiskey.

3. Gourmet- This section offers a huge variety of Gourmet biscuits, beverages,

breads, chocolates, cheese, convenience goods, fresh fruits and vegetables and
more than 2500 such products which also serve as ingredients to many countries
around the world.

4. Epicuisine- Epicuisine is present in only a few hyper stores. This term was made
by clubbing two terms that are epicure and cuisine. This section deals in various
ready to eat and cook meals.

5. Nutty Delights- SRL offers a vast exotic and unique range of all kinds of nuts
including dry fruits, spices and exotic nuts.
 6. Tobacconist- SRL also deals in pipes and tobaccos which are hand rolling tobacco,
snuff and chewing tobacco, cigarette holder, pipe tobaccos and specialist
cigarettes.

Use of colours in the layout –

Spencer’s does this quite well, to enhance its branding throughout the store. The entire
store is generally themed around the signature orange colour that is employed liberally
throughout the layout. Different segments of the store are further colour coded in a manner
to demarcate them separately. This serves to enhance consumer perception of a
departmentalized store.
For example, the area of the store that consists of groceries is themed green, everything
from the colour of the flooring to the signage, and also the plastic baskets in which the
vegetables and fruits are displayed are green to create a sense of harmony through colour
blocking.
Discount signs are done up in pale yellows and are made eye-catching to consumers often
accompanied by earlier prices slashed through in smaller font and the newer prices in a
larger font so as to attract the attention of customers.
Signage, façade, storefront –
The design philosophy: Spencer's designs its stores in a sophisticated way to deliver its
brand promise, thereby differentiating itself from the competition. Over the years, due to
this, Spencer's has established a loyal client base and high brand equity.
The distinctive brand positioning of 'Makes Fine Living Affordable' is fundamental to the
retail design strategy, originating from the transformation of its customers from a price-
conscious buyer to an internationally oriented, well-travelled citizen of the world who is
searching for genuine foreign flavors and experiences. As a result, Spencer's has grown from
being just another food store to be a hypermarket retailer of the world-class.
Each element in the store is expressed in its philosophy,
Storefront Design: The store entrance is similar to an entrance arch, which leads the
shopper to a friendly and exciting world. This is done in the ever familiar and recognizable
Spencer’s orange.
Interior Design: The interiors are carefully selected based on the particular location of the
store to ensure that shoppers enjoy a warm, friendly environment with an upscale look and
feel. The stores have colour-corrected lighting, veneers and textures carefully selected that
complement the brand's colour palette, creating a fresh, cheerful and spacious atmosphere.
Shopfit Design: The focus is on displaying new, foreign goods alongside local products in an
appealing, space-efficient and low-maintenance manner. The stores aim through hubs to
drive product interactions.
Graphics & Signage: Spencer's shopping is a visual treat, enhanced by "Heritage boards"
telling the history of Spencer, curved signage with the tagline "Makes Fine Living Affordable"
signature, and category-specific colour arches suspended over zones and divisions to
provide a visual relief and serve as navigational aids.
Visual merchandising –
Visual merchandising is taken very seriously at Spencer's, with the goal of using theatre and
edutainment to represent Spencer's as the shopping destination which 'Makes Fine Living
Affordable'.
This is evident in the hotspots and focal points spread throughout the store, which include
thematic product displays to welcome shoppers and give them the opportunity to absorb
the environment that constitutes a 'good living' experience before continuing their
discovery journey through the shops.
It also applies to the presentation and display of merchandise in the store. Category-
specific colour-coding makes simple navigation, while "farm-fresh" and "Fine Living" visual
metaphors drive home the brand promise. The segment of fish & meat and delicatessen is
illustrated by models of seafood, foods, loaves of bread and cheese.
Accompanying the shopper –
The male shopper is often observed as 1). Shopping alone 2). Accompanied by spouse 3).
Accompanied by family (spouse and kids).
In the first case scenario, he is most often observed to be a Shopping Avoider or Speedsters.
In the second case scenario, he is most often observed to be a Necessity User, focusing on
sensible things that are necessary for the household.
In the third scenario, he is most often observed to be a New Technologist, who is
encouraged by his children or spouse to try out new things or is more of Time Saver, who
after a long workday is looking to wrapping up a quick shopping trip.
The female shopper is often observed as 1). Shopping with friend/household help 2).
Accompanied by kids.
In the first case scenario, she is most often observed to be a New Technologist, as she is
often open to suggestions from the friend or household help who is accompanying her.
In the second case scenario, she is most often observed to be either a Necessity User or a
New Technologist, and is either rushing to make sure all the monthly necessities have been
added to the shopping basket or is often seen giving into purchasing what her kids have
discovered and taken a fancy to.
Customer services –
This is at the forefront of the Spencer’s retail philosophy,
Store assistants: They are interspersed throughout the store, and have particular specialised
expertise and know-how of the retail area they are in charge of, be it the household
electronics to make-up and personal care segment. There are also people positioned at the
loose pulses, cereals, vegetables and fruits counter, they help shoppers pack and weigh
their purchases and also assist with the automatic labelling and pricing tag that is generated
for such items.
Samplers: There are people who are specifically appointed to enable consumers to sample
new releases particularly in snacks and eatables.
Commission agents: These are the in-store personnel who are appointed to push a
particular brand at customers and to get them to purchase the specific brand of which they
serve as representatives of. They are often seen at the make-up counters and frozen and
packaged foods divisions.

Competition faced by Spencer’s Retail Limited

Spencer’s Retail Limited faces competition from 3 kinds of businesses:
 Modern Traders
 General Traders
 E-Commerce Players
Modern Traders include convenience stores like 24*7, limited assortment supermarkets like
Reliance Fresh and some Supercentres or Hypermarkets like Big Bazaar.
General Traders include local kirana and mom n pop stores which also pose a competition to
Spencer’s Retail Limited as they offer convenience and a wide assortment of branded and
non-branded goods along with personalized services.
E-Commerce players include BigBasket, Grofer’s, Milkbasket, Amazon, Flipkart, etc which
through their growing presence and segments. The fast-growing number of internet users
and the changing preference of consumers to shop online rather than visiting offline stores
has made India the world’s fastest growing e-commerce market and thus pose a challenge
for all offline retailers.

Modern Trade General Trade E-Commerce

Big Bazaar Mom n Pop and Bigbasket

D-Mart Kirana Stores, Grofer's
24*7 Street Vendors Milkbasket
Reliance Fresh Flipkart
Walmart Amazon
 COVID-19 and SPENCERS
SL. No Particulars
1 Impact of Covid-19 pandemic
on the business of the Company
2 Ability to maintain operations
including the
stores/warehouses/office
spaces functioning and closed
down
3 Schedule if any for restarting
the operations
4 Steps taken to ensure smooth
functioning of operations
5 Estimation of the future impact
of COVID19 on its operations
6 Details of Impact of COVID-19
on Company’s: -
6.1 Capital and Financial Resources
6.2 Profitability
6.3 Liquidity Position
6.4 Ability to service debt and other
financing arrangements
6.5 Assets
Disclosures
The Company’s business falls under the category of Essentials,
accordingly the Company operated all the stores during the
lockdown period (as per the approved timings of the State
Governments) and the Company was selling
essential & non-essential items as per the orders of the
government applicable from time to time
The Company Stores/ Warehouses are operational as per the
timings allowed by the State Governments and Offices are
opened with very limited staff.
The company comes in services of essential nature so all the
stores are in operation after keeping in view the guidelines
issued by MHA.
With the support of the authorities, some of the following
measures are taken for ensuring smooth functioning of
operations
Firstly, to ensure safety for its employees & customers by
training social distancing to staff & providing free masks to
customers not wearing one - in - store.
Secondly, Passes and hired vehicles were arranged for the staff
to commute during lockdown.
Thirdly, safeguarded supply side continuity with pro-active and
non – stop measures by establishing early communications
with manufacturers & distributors.
Further, actively managed truck delivery operations by working
with local governments officials.
Customer value proposition across segments offers wide range
of assortments in hygienic environment along with the various
initiatives including "Out of Store delivery" will help the
company combat this severe economic disruption. The
Company is taking all the necessary steps and precautionary
measures to ensure smooth functioning of its operations and
to ensure smooth functioning of all its operations and to
ensure safety and well-being of all its employees. Given the
criticalities associated with nature, condition and duration of
COVID-19, the impact assessment on the Company’s Financial
Statements will be continuously made and provided for as
required.
The Company has adequate financial resources to ensure
smooth operations
Revenues from non- food merchandise (Apparel, General
Merchandise and Electronics & Electricals) has been adversely
affected which have impacted the company’s gross margins
and EBITDA disproportionately
The operation was not hampered during the said period.
Company’s liquidity position was adequate
Company has serviced the debts and interest there on as per
the terms of the arrangement.
Based on the current assessment, the company expects to
 majorly recover the carrying amount of trade receivables and
other financial assets and does not expects any impairment of
intangibles
6.6 Supply Chain Suppliers and transporters were continuous kept available and
supplied the products at the Company’s stores and warehouses
as and when required.
6.7 Demand for its As the company in retails business which is an essential service.
products/services The demand for food products were unchanged. However, the
demand of non-essential commodities like general
merchandise and apparel was reduced to a very low level
Spencer’s Financials
The standalone performance reveals a sustained YOY increase in operational revenue.
Spencer has managed to drastically improve its operating margins by reducing operating
expenses by 20% and with a 6.7% growth in revenues in FY20. A major part of this
improvement is due to change in accounting standards under Ind AS-116 for lease expenses.
The ability to protect intrinsic profitability on a wider operating base was achieved through
a number of initiatives directed at reducing the inventory, accelerating throughput,
enhancing the proportion of out-of-store sales, increasing inventory turns, liberating
working capital and turning working capital-negative through the course of the year.

Figure: Spencer retail business performance

Growth Plans
Inorganic Growth
Business strengthening initiative during FY2019-20 was the acquisition of Natures Basket.
The acquisition was made in view of the strong private brands of Natures Basket, a scale-up
opportunity for the brand, attractive intrinsic profitability, and a complementary business
model where the aggregate would prove larger than the standalone sum of the
constituents. This gave Spencer an entry into Mumbai and the western part of India,
opening up a significant growth region.
The growth plans include focus on various initiatives to transform Natures Basket’s business
model integrating the acquired company (and respective owned brands) into Spencer’s
ecosystem by blending the two operations, enhancing cross-sale, replicating parts of
Natures Basket operations into Spencer’s and rationalising some unviable Natures Basket
stores.

Organic growth
SRL plans to expand its presence in its existing clusters. The Company will focus on
increasing its non-food business revenues, enhancing the in-store experience and building
team capabilities to realize its growth plans for the business.
Growing experiential retail through hyper-local engagements: The company plans to
expand into tier 3 cities which are becoming more brand aware due to rapid growth in
internet penetration and ecommerce. The growing focus will be on proprietary non-food
brands and increasing priority for lifestyle products. The strategy will be to review product
assortment with a growing weightage for high-velocity products, local produce and a larger
velocity for core and basic products as well as fashion apparel.
Direct customer engagement program across stores to enable personalised connect with
customers through phone delivery, residents’ welfare association connect, in a bid to make
Spencer an experiential and value enhancing retail brand.
Spencer will rely on groceries to draw customer volumes and non-food share / apparel
products to drive margins. It will continue to refit and transform existing store layouts to
enhance appeal for these new additions to product assortment.
Key strategic areas
• Focus on margin-accretive private brands and increase its share in the Company’s revenue
• Grow the revenue share of non-food items, primarily apparel and general merchandise
• Leverage economies-of-scale
• Omni Channel Business
• Launch stores in existing clusters

PART A

1. Catchment area South City Mall located at the heart of South Calcutta is a developed
area with high rise buildings and multiplexes. It has a Gross Leasable Area of 1,000,000
ft2 (93,000 m2) and parking for 2,500 vehicles. Kolkata comprises a total of 14,850,066
population. South Kolkata accounts to 1/3rd of the entire population.
The catchment area comprises of

 Primary Catchment area which see a massive surge of customer wave from the
southern part of the city, majorly from the south of South City Mall as there aren’t
any major shopping mall south to South City. A major number of customers visiting
the store are from South i.e. Jadavpur
 Secondary Catchment area sees a lot of crowd visiting the store from east and west
of the mall. Customers coming from Bypass area and Dhakuria area form the eastern
wave and Kalighat and Tollygunge area forms the Western wave of customers
approaching. Lesser movement can be seen from the northern side due to presence
of Dakshinapan and Gariahat Shopping area which has a vast spread of assorted
retail.
 Tertiary Catchment area sees a smaller number of customers visiting South City due
to other malls and alternative shopping destination in areas near to them. Although
people from south west and south can be seen visiting because it the nearest mall to
their location.
 LEGEND

- Primary
Catchment Area

- Secondary
Catchment Area

- Tertiary
Catchment Area

Figure 1. Catchment Area

2. Types of customer that were identified in the store

a. The well-informed shopper – Many shoppers were spotted who went thoroughly
through the products and alternatives, reading through labels and
simultaneously browsing on their mobile phones to gather information in order
to make an informed purchase.
b. Showroomers are those who try on or check out products in person but decide to
purchase them online if they find a better price. These type of customers visits
stores with an agenda to try on a product or an array of products to get a feel
and touch before making a purchase.
c. The wanderer who do not have any defined intention of buying any product.
They typically walk in because something caught their eye or they’re simply
killing time.
d. Customer on a mission - They already know what they want and intend to just
get in and out of your store. They want to get their hands on their purchases
ASAP so they can leave and get back to doing other things. Especially electronics
and liquor section can be seen with these types of customers.
e. Confused customers who aren’t sure if they want to purchase or they’re unable
to decide what exactly to buy. Often, customers who are having trouble deciding
either don’t have enough information, or have too much that they’re
overwhelmed
 f. Regulars customers are the best types of shoppers to have in your store. They
already love you (otherwise they won’t be coming back) so you don’t have to go
for the hard sell.

3. Proximity to metro and other transport facilitie s

Kolkata is facilitated with metro connectivity north-south of the region. The nearest
metro station is Rabindra Sarovar at 2.2 km. Other stations close to South City Mall are
Tollygunge metro station (Mahanayak Uttam Kumar) at 2.4 km and Kalighat Metro
station at 3.1Km. Lake Gardens, Dhakuria and Tollygunge all have local train stations as
well each within 3kms range.

Figure 2. Metro Stations nearby

Bus Facilities are available in South Kolkata. It is one of the most sought after means of
transportation in Kolkata after metro railway. Closest bus-stands to South City Mall are
Dhakuria Bus Stand (1.4 Km) and Jadavpur 8B bus-stand (1.5Km). MW1 Bus stand, Golf
Green Bus Stand are some bus-stands that are a little far-off.
Figure 3. Bus Stands nearby

4. Proximity to other shopping locations and trading area

Closest Local market are Jadavpur Supermarket, Corporation Market, Kalitala

Market, Gariahat Market (2.8 Km), Fresh Market (3.2 Km) located at Jyotish Roy
Road. More than 6 local fish markets and vegetables markets are present within 4Km
radius. Gariahat Roadside Market presents wide assortments of product ranging
from groceries to apparels. Jadavpur New Market is similar to Gariahat market on a
smaller scale. Closest Malls and Shopping Complex are Lake Mall (2.7 Km),
Dakshinapan Shopping Complex (1.5 Km), Acropolis Mall (4.8 Km) and Quest
Mall(4.9KM).

Figure 4. Shopping locations nearby

5. Competition 
Major competitors are Big Bazaar and Reliance Fresh in Modern Trade category. One
Reliance Fresh shop is present in the primary catchment area (800 m) and another is
 present in the secondary catchment area (3.4 km). Two Reliance Fresh shops are
present in the tertiary catchment area (7.6 km both).
For Big bazaar there’s only one mart is present at RashBehari Avenue in primary
catchment area (2.5 Km). Two are present in secondary catchment area (4.7km,
3.4km).
Gariahat Market place is a large shopping location and trading area for the
inhabitants of South Kolkata. Customers living near Gariahat region and north to it
prefer buying from here rather going down south. Jadavpur Market although smaller
in dimension, captures a good portion of the pie down south of South City and falling
within 2-3kms distance it is quite a good competitor.
In General Trade category, the area has mom and pop stores in every corner and
alley in the Prince Anwar Shah region.

Part B
The Spencer’s outlet that we have chosen for the purpose of this study is the Spencer’s
Hypermarket at South City Mall, located at 375, Prince Anwar Shah Rd, South City Complex,
Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal 700068.
The Hypermarket is located on the basement floor, i.e. one level below the ground floor.
This puts it on the same level as the underground car parking thus enabling a lot of the
shoppers who travel using their own personal cars to easily carry their purchases from the
store and stow them in their car.
Store Layout and Merchandise Placement: Next to the main entrance with the security
checkpoint is the baggage deposit counter wherein for security purposes either the baggage
you enter with has to be deposited here or is sealed before entry into the store.
Figure 5. Retail Layout of Spencer’s South City Mall
Once we enter into the store the first section that shoppers encounter on the right-hand
side is the entire Electronics section with an assortment of television sets (all major brands,
flatscreens, all wall-mounted displays), home theatre systems (plugged-in with the
television sets for consumers to experience), music players (mostly boxed in retail
packaging, very few on display).
Towards the centre-right is the mobile phone segment with their securely latched
display/experience pieces for consumers to try out. A total of three flat table displays in all
for the mobile phone section which has its own dedicated space.
Then further up on the right-hand side is the Kitchen and Home Appliances, everything from
food processors, mixers, blenders, juicers, ovens, microwaves, toasters, refrigerators,
washing machines etc. are present here. The retail format is such that there is one piece of a
particular merchandise/gadget on display for representation purposes and if the gadgets are
small to medium-sized then the packaged retail pieces are kept on the lower shelves so that
the customers themselves can place it into their shopping cart. For the larger electronic
appliances, there is always a Sales Personnel available to guide you with the features and
facilitate the buying process.
Running parallel on the left-hand side is the Personal Care and Make-Up section. The section
of the left starts with an assortment of Make-Up counters dedicated to different brands
such as Lakme, Maybelline, L’Oréal. There are dedicated Sales Assistants at each of these
counters to assist the shopper in their decision-making process and for seeking
recommendations, there are glass displays throughout and most of the merchandise here is
readily visible to the consumer, however, the retail space is a bit cluttered.
Then goes further onto Personal Care items, this section is further divided along gender
lines. There are a dedicated women’s personal care and hygiene segment which features
everything from hair removal creams, sanitary napkins, body care and grooming items. The
men’s segment features an assortment of shaving kits and accessories, deodorants and
body care products that are exclusively targeted at male consumers. The shelving is usually
done in keeping with product-usage and the primary purpose that it serves. The optimum
shelf level is occupied by the most popular brands and those which have discounts of them.
The more specialty brands are kept towards the lower shelves. One thing that we noticed
here was that the entire Personal Care section has items within easy reach of the consumer
and their eye level.

The Electronics section opens up into the Travel section wherein in arrays of suitcases in
different shapes and sizes are lined up.
To the left of the Travel section in a circular manner is the Fashion (Apparel and Accessories)
section which features womenswear, menswear and kids wear from different private label
brands and some that are under Spencer’s label. This area does not have the abundance of
Sales Assistants as the Electronics and Make-Up sections did. Majority of the consumers
here browse the items with their own self-interest and find the right sizes from the
merchandise racks themselves and seem to require no assistance in the buying process.
This space flows into the Cutlery and Dining ware segment, which is stocked with all sorts of
kitchen utensils and tableware.
This further opens up to an area which is dedicated to Cleaning Products, and there are
Sales Assistants particularly demoing recently launched cleaning products such as sanitizing
sprays and cleaners.
Next to the Personal Care section is the different sub-sections for food items, everything
from grains, pulses, cooking oil, spices, cooking mixes to breakfast cereals, snacks, ready-to-
eat food, packaged food items, chocolates, soft drinks, juices are present here. There are
also refrigerated expansions for dairy products such as milk, milk alternatives, yoghurt (both
flavored and unflavored), the usual varieties of cheese and cottage cheese. There are many
brand-specific Sales Assistants here who are tasked with promoting particular brands and
offer a ‘test and trial’ of the brands' new launches, they are well learned about the products
and often try to push the product onto consumers to try out the latest offerings.
There is a dedicated centre space for lines of cold containers, the first line is all ice cream
storage and the second line is all frozen food items, such as a variety of chicken nuggets,
fillets, salami, and other meat cold-cuts, also a variety of frozen vegetarian options.
Before we encounter this space though there is a whole section dedicated to fresh Fruits
and Vegetables. There is a small dedicated packaging area since these items are sold loose
and also the display is made to look very attractive, with fruits and vegetables placed in a
pattern in wooden baskets/plastic crates with labels that inform the consumer the region
from which the particular item has been sourced along with the price (and in some cases the
slashed discount price).

Moving out of the above section one encounters the ‘From Around the World’ section which
has its own special dedicated area. It is stocked with imported food items from around the
world and is premium priced. The shopper density in this area is fairly low.
This section then opens up to the Bakery, which has a whole range of breads, sweet and
savory items and the Food Court, where you can sit down to evening snacks of different
kinds and tea. Also, in the same area are small setups of Flurry’s and Wow! Momo and two
other restaurants, one which is dedicated to selling Shawarmas and Arabic cuisine and other
one deals in Indian chaats and snacks. Opposite to this the is Spencer’s Wine & Spirits their
dedicated in-store liquor store. And adjacent to it is the fresh fish market, a dedicated cold-
storage space which sells fresh seafood produce.
Human Movement: Movement within the store is guided by the retail setup of the store,
customers navigate from section to section depending upon their purchase requirements.
One observation, however, is that customers find it difficult to navigate through the retail
space often as this particular outlet is a bit cluttered and the crowds of shoppers are fairly
dense. It is often noticed that there are people who have had to come to pause midway
because there isn’t any space for movement within the store.
Ease of Merchandise Location: The placement of merchandise throughout the store is in a
very logical manner though, and it follows the idea that allied or similar sections are close by
or adjacent to each other. Shoppers are thus guided by the different sections and walk
through them in a similar pattern, this makes sure that a shopper passes through almost all
the sections and might even end up making an unplanned purchase on the way to the
section they intend to head for. Also, there are banners and signage directing customers to
different items present within the store and the in-store personnel are always extremely
helpful at directing customers to the right location for a particular item.
Waiting Time: The cash counters are located in between the Food Court and the Bakery.
There are double lines of check-out counters and there is a total of seven pairs of check-out
counters. Two of these fourteen counters are for express check-out. The waiting time at the
regular counters ranges from about 10-15 minutes on normal days.

Part C
In this section we have covered the shopping time of the customers visiting the Spencer’s
Hypermarket at South City Mall, located at 375, Prince Anwar Shah Rd, South City Complex,
Jadavpur, Kolkata, West Bengal 700068.
Accompaniment & time spent : At around 6:55pm a young couple who both seems to be
working professional visited the store. The couple visited the store mainly for their monthly
grocery items and spending some time in the store to pick up some more items that they
find it useful for them. The couple spent a total time of around 40 minutes and they left the
store at 7:37pm. The couple had a shopping list and they had a preferred set of items which
they wanted to buy but they have browsed through other items to see whether they could
buy anything more other than the shopping list.

Browsing Time: The couple did not spend much time in browsing items as they already
knew what are items they want to buy but they have spent some browsing time when they
were not sure of a particular item they are not sure which one to buy. Of the 40 minutes at
the store the browsing time was about 12 minutes and the couple spend most browsing
time in Epicuisine section which contains snacks and drinks items which are all exported.
Buying from this section was definitely was not in their shopping list and they do browsed
through a lot of items like fruit drinks, chocolates, dips, waffles and many more. They even
browsed through the snacks items like cookies, bhujiyas and chips. While going through the
chips they took the items which were at the eye level like picking up Lays Cream and Onion
Rs20 pack rather than selecting the Rs 35 pack which was kept at a higher level. Even in case
of cookies they took ITC Mom’s Magic and Sunfeast Dark Fantasy which were kept at the
eye level and they did not spend much time going above or beyond their eye level.

This pictures the section of Epicuisine where the couple had most of their browsing time.
Interaction time with shop personnel: They couple interacted for the least amount of time
with the shop personnel which showed that they were regular customers of this particular
store. They interacted with the shop personnel while choosing their dips for snacks items.
They interacted for the shop personnel for 10 seconds. They interacted with the personnel
once again when they were looking for a particular type of Quaker’s oats. At that point they
interacted with them for about 1 minute 20 seconds.
Time spent on admiring/looking at Visual Displays : Since Diwali sales are going on and
there were sales on apparels and electronic items so they do spent some time looking at the
visual displays on the electronic section and the apparels section and the cumulative time
spent on looking at Visual Displays were about 2 minutes. They did not stop at these
sections but while passing by these sections they did look at these sections.
Impact of time spent on conversion : They interacted with the shop personnel twice and
first when they were looking for the dips and after the interaction they took the dips that
were recommended by the shop personnel. And second time they interacted with the shop
personnel as they were looking for a particular type of oats and the shop personnel assisted
them in finding it. So because of the these conversations they did not had to look for those
particular items anymore and did not waste any more time for those items. So they spend
no extra time after these interactions and the time spend was the interaction time which
was 10 seconds and 1 minute and 20 seconds.

Consumer Research

1. "Spencer's Retail" – Perception (3 being Excellent, and -3 being Poor)

2. "Big Bazar" – Perception (3 being Excellent, and -3 being Poor)

3. "Reliance Fresh" – Perception (3 being Excellent, and -3 being Poor)

Semantic differential Scale:

There are some attributes on which Spencer’s Retail and Big Bazaar are rated same by the
consumers. These include aesthetics, maintenance, product assortment, merchandise
display and movement in the store. Consumers perceive Spencer’s to be better than Big
Bazaar in parameters such as service, quality and cleanliness thus associating Spencer’s with
high quality. Whereas Big Bazaar takes over Spencer’s in most of the other parameters
including friendliness of staff, parking facilities, discounts, promotional schemes and
convenience in shopping.

Maintenance, quality and convenience of shopping are some parameters which consumers
are indifferent to while shopping in Spencer’s or Reliance, whereas Spencer’s is considered
to be superior in most of the other parameters including aesthetics, merchandise display,
services offered, quality, product assortment, parking facilities, discounts and cleanliness.
Consumers hardly perceive Reliance superior on any parameter except friendliness of the
salespeople.

After closely understanding what consumers perceive about Spencer’s and its closest
competitors- Big Bazaar and Reliance, through the semantic differential scale, we can say
that Spencer’s Retail can work on training and friendliness of its staff and in case of some
stores work on the place in terms of parking space available and movement in the store.
Spencer’s is facing tough competition from its competitors Big Bazaar, Reliance Fresh and others.
Spencer’s has to do intensive media advertisements by roping in celebrities as brand ambassadors to
create awareness of its existence, since most of the customers come to know about Spencer’s only
through word of mouth. Even despite having good brand awareness Spencer’s lacks in terms of
availability of products, range of items, pricing and advertisement regarding offers and discounts
which can mesmerize the customers to walk in to Spencer’s as compared to its competitors like
Reliance Fresh, Big Bazaar, Food world etc. Also parking space should be increased and quality of
sales executive should be improved by appointing experienced sales staff who can cater to the needs
of the customers. The management has to take some major steps and implement the above-
mentioned suggestions/recommendations as it directly affects the sales of Spencer’s. 86.5% people
go to Supermarket’s. Company can enhance its business or increase its sales by providing better
customer service than its competitors, increasing the variety of merchandise with deep assortment
and intensive promotion with the help of pamphlets, kiosks, radio about various offers, also provides
club Spencer’s membership cards along with establishing a digital presence.