Shop Name - AMARDEEP

LOCATION: Shop No.3, Skyway Apartments, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400053

SYMBIOSIS INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT,

BENGALURU

RETAIL MANAGEMENT
SUBMITTED BY: DEEPIT SINGH UPPAL, PRN- 19020841055.

A visit to Amardeep
Store to understand
the features of the
store better.
 Shop Name - AMARDEEP
LOCATION: Shop No.3, Skyway Apartments, Lokhandwala Circle, Shastri Nagar,
Andheri West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400053

During the first few week of when the pandemic hit, the most helpful stores were the
nearby brick and mortar kirana stores. One such super market which I want to focus
on is the one next to my house – Amardeep.

This store was on the move to help some of its customer who had slowly shifted to
online purchases. This was the time when he could regain those customers for life
and I was one such customer .

With more and more stress on fulfilling the needs of the consumers, such local
supermarkets did reveal this fact about human behaviour - though the big retails
shops such as big bazaar and online delivery of grocery still exist and run
successfully, the attraction towards these local supermarkets such as Amardeep shop
still exists.
Everyday essentials, needs, quick go to meals are the unmistakable item
classifications for which a purchaser shops from a supermarket. Flour, pulses, rice
and oil are the couple of things that buyers look for the most for purchase from these
stores as they cost low in contrast with the market cost and there is simplicity of mass
buy. Overview shows that around 35 percent of the all-out respondents purchase their
everyday cooking things from the supermarkets.
Quick utility products had shares of 25 per cent; milk products such as butter, curds,
frozen goods, and confectioneries were the most bought. Beverages had 10 per cent
share while vegetables and fruits segment had share of 5 per cent as Indians always
prefer fresh, local and dedicated vegetables outlets.

A video showcasing
the interiors,
packaging and store
layout of Amardeep
Stores.
Features of Amardeep Supermarkets: The   One-stop Shop
 Advantage over small kirana shops, mom & pop shops –
Very few sales staff are hired by the mom & pop stores. Nilesh Talpadia, Owner of
Amardeep shop, says, “We have an edge over the local retailers as we shelf almost
each and every household requirement under one umbrella. The customer can have a
look and feel of the products unlike the Mom & Pop stores where they have to name
an item in order to receive it. An example of the same is when a customer goes to buy
‘Maggi’ at our store and finds ‘yippee’ noodles; they tend to try it once. This cannot
happen at mom & pop stores as they will never see the shelf and the products.” The
visibility along with the location of the items placed in the shelf provides these
modern retail outlets to have an advantage over small mom & pop stores.
Today Indians are looking for more brand options that they can buy by putting in
minimum efforts. Supermarkets fulfill this demand of consumers and present
international, national and private brands at one place. That is reflected in the survey
as well, as 30 per cent of the respondents prefer to visit a supermarket because they
find enormous product range and product brands in an organised format under one
canopy. About 23 per cent said that they find better and more brands options in a
superstore than any kirana outlet.
Nilesh says, “(When) any new brand enters the modern retail outlet, people feel all
powered-up because they now have options to choose from. Small shops, on the other
hand, just keep the popular products and that does not work for them.”  

 Advantage over Big Brand Retailers – Hypermarket and Big

Supermarkets
Modern Big retail outlets – such as D-Mart, spend a lot of money and time for
identifying customer preferences.
As Big Brand Supermarkets are a large in size and has high variety and deep
assortment, they need high initial capital to be invested. Apart from space huge
amount of space is also needed and therefore it becomes difficult to open such shops
in residential areas of an already packed place such as Mumbai .

The material cannot be bought and sold from warehouses according to customer
demands in big box retail markets. The material if dispatched from the warehouse
after certain days cannot be expedited for one customer. Whereas Amardeep could
cater to the special demands of its customers and could have the food delivered to the
customers houses.

The satisfaction level of customers is minimum as no special salesperson is assigned

to help the customers. Whereas in a store such as Amardeep, the customer gets
attention to the queries it has regarding the products.

So, what Category does Amardeep fall into?

Let’s have a look at all the factors that define a particular store and keep
answering those questions for Amardeep shop:

1) Location – Situated in the residential colony of one of the most hype areas in
Mumbai, this shop is used by maximum number of people staying within this
residential area. Thus, we can say that this store comes into the category of
easy and accessible location for most of its users .

2) Variety and Assortment – The variety is certainly limited and assortment is

limited too as compared to big box retail hops such as Big Bazaar and D-Mart.
3) Time for Shopping – Quick Purchase and Check out.

4) Inventory Turnover and Price – Offers max retail prices, does not have many
special schemes of discount etc. Works in small batches with cash of cycle
rotating very fast as compared to a big box retail where huge quantities are
ordered in one go. Higher price and higher inventory flying off the shelf.

5) Competition – Faces many competitions. Has many other local kirana and
mom & pop stores around its location. Tries to overcome them with the
increase in variety and depth of assortment which these local kirana stores are
not able to offer due to lack of floor space.
Thus, from all the above 5 points we can conclude the shop to be a Convenient
Store which uses location of the shop as its prime advantage to cater to the needs
of the customer.

Store Layout for Amardeep Shop

A retail store layout is very important and strategic for enhanced customer
experience. Customers interaction with merchandise affects their purchase behaviour.
Amardeep has two segments of the layout:

 Outside of the shop: Amardeep has covered the outside available area with
impulse buying items.

The strategic spacing such askeeping impulse buying items outside. The
outside space is utilised to keep all kinds of vegetables and impulse buying
items such as chips, ice creams, yogurts and drinks such as soft drinks energy
drinks etc.

 Inside the Shop: This is the pattern of behaviour and way that a customer
navigates through a store. Understanding customer flow and the common
patterns that emerge when customers interact with merchandise based on the
store layout is critical to retail management strategy. Physical retailers have to
follow this strategy very wisely as this can impact the amount of purchase a
customer in their shop does. This area includes all kinds of biscuits, food
items, body sprays, and all other fast moving consumer goods.

While the exterior retail store layout includes exterior store design and customer
flow, it also includes the following factors:

 Geographic location of the retail store (real estate)

  Size of the building and length of the walkways accessible from the entrance
and exit

 Use of furniture and exterior space for people to gather and interact

 Style of architecture of the retail building

 Color of paint and choice of exterior building materials  

 Design of the physical entrance and exterior window displays

Also known as the “racetrack” layout, think of the loop design as the “yellow brick
road” of retail store layouts. A loop store layout uses a path to lead customers from
the entrance of the store to the checkout area. This is a versatile choice for store
design when implemented with another layout style or used as a prominent feature of
the retail store. Designers accomplish the loop effect by making the floor path a
standout colour, lighting the loop to guide the customer, or using a different floor
material to mark the loop. Lines are not recommended, as they can be a psychological
barrier to some customers, potentially discouraging them from stepping away from
the loop and interacting with merchandise.
Store Location

The only factor that no other retail shop can copy is your location. No other shop
can have the same location as your shop.

Amardeep has a great advantage with respect to the location. It is a choice which
every customer makes, also called Customer Choice location stores since there are
not many stores in the vicinity that offer the same assortment and variety.

City Location – Mumbai

In a residential area with lots of inner streets and homes this shop certainly has the
advantage of location. It attracts a lot of customers because of its sustainable
competitive advantage of variety and assortment. The size of the trade area is a little
more than a local kirana store.

Advantages:

 Convenience
 High traffic and visibility
 Modest occupancy cost
 Separation from competition
  Few restrictions
 Young professionals
 Returned empty-nesters
 Incentives to move provided by cities
 Jobs!
 Low occupancy costs
 High pedestrian traffic

Where Amardeep Store Scores? Surveys reveals that location is the key reason for
the higher day-to-day customer footfall than any kirana store or big box retailer.
Also, a convenient shopkeeper extends a personalised treatment to their consumers, is
concerned about them, and eventually develops a friendly relationship with them.
Around 33 per cent of the respondents reported inconvenience at supermarkets, while
17 per cent said that long billing queues made them avoid shopping there. Nilesh
Talpadia, owner of Amardeep store, expressed his satisfaction about the relationship
he has maintained with his customers . In his words “There are customers who have
been buying their monthly necessities from us for the past 20 years. We give them
discounts and tell them about the deals personally. This has brought about a sustained
growth in our business.” Statistics indicate that there is a small grocery store for
every 50 households whereas one modern retail outlet for 1500 households.
Where Amardeep store does not score? The consumer looks for discounts, fairly
priced products, captivating options accompanied with better look and feel – all these
are fulfilled by modern supermarkets. This way supermarkets gain a customer with a
higher ticket value. mom & pop stores, on the other hand, satisfy the personal
requirements and convenience of the neighbourhood. Their ticket values might be
less; nevertheless, the bonding developed over the years with their customers seems
enough to sustain their small businesses. It seems the two retail formats enjoy to stay
in their own space as of now. However, with the number of modern retail stores
increasing, the war will, sooner or later, turn intense.
Indians are price-sensitive consumers. A kirana store can never compete with the kind
of discounts and deals a supermarket offers to consumers. A kirana store only
provides discount for a few rupees and, that too, for consumers who are frequent
buyers. Most of the supermarkets have some or the other offer running. Bulk
purchase always comes with discounts and deals. Bix box retailers says, “We have
theme-based offers based on the season or period. There are also offers which are
vendor funded. Period-based offers, such as ‘budget-week offers’, are focused on the
basic grocery items that consumers tend to buy for a month (usually at the beginning
of the month). These are period-driven (for a week or ten days) and are primarily off-
price. Apart from this, we have theme-based offers where a great collection of price
offs, cross promos and combo offers are focused around products for the season or
theme such as winter specials, back to school, diwali specials, kitchenware specials,
bed and bath specials, international food products etc.” The Easyday Market stores
also offer finance schemes for easy shopping. The Easyday Markets and Easyday
Hyper stores promise ‘Har Din, Sabse Kam Daam guaranteed’ offer and puts forward
an extensive product mix at EDLP (every day low price) which are at least 3-5%
lower on a ‘monthly basket of products’ vis-a-vis similar stores.
The loyalty card concept is a way to share the margin with loyal customers. The
intention is to retain the customers and then start giving them a share of the profit
made from loyal customers. But the gain in the long run is often overlooked by the
discount-sensitive Indian buyer. This is because the customer moves around to the
store giving him a better discount at the point-of-sale, instead of a loyalty card which
will give fruit only when the loyalty card points swell.

How does the location of Amardeep Store create a SCA?

Have you ever felt the need to buy something in the middle of the night? Are you in
such a hurry that you do not want to go through a long line at the grocery only to pay
for a few items? Yes, even the fast lane in the grocery is taking too much of your
time sometimes.  These days, people want things done with a snap of a finger, and we
are not just only referring to gadgets here. Nowadays, everyone is living the fast life
and to keep up with that, services have to be done as quickly as possible to meet the
needs of the people. We see drive-through, automated teller machines, and other
services made to make everything faster. This is where Amardeep Store comes into
play.

Specially during the pandemic, the services offered were unmatched. When no other
online store was ready to deliver essentials, it was Amardeep store which made sure
to pile in the stock and serve its customers and ultimately regained their loyalty.

Having such a store near you always comes in handy. Because it is open 24 hours a
day, seven days a week, one can get a hold of anything he needs in a flash.
Convenience stores are found almost anywhere. You do not have to go too far or wait
till morning to buy what you need. May it be oil for your car or as simple as a hot
chocolate or coffee, the staff at would be happy to be of service.

Although bigger businesses offer a wider variety of items, the stocks are limited
compared to those sold in the grocery. Another thing is that items sold at a store
come at a higher price compared to those in the supermarket. Well, convenience
comes with a price. And for a reasonable price difference, one may not be able to
save money by buying at a convenience store but surely, he can save plenty of time.

1. They are a natural destination retail location.

Convenience stores are placed in locations that are convenient for local customers.
They are a natural destination point for the neighborhood in which they are located. If
someone requires a couple of items that doesn’t justify a trip to the local grocery
store, then a trip to the convenience store down the street makes more sense.
Although the prices at a convenience store tend to be a little higher, customers spend
less to get there, which creates a pricing balance.

2. It provides an economic boost to the community.

Convenience stores have stable revenue streams because of the nature of their
business. People stop by these stores because they are convenient, having what they
need to get through their day. Many locations offer gasoline for sale as well, along
with propane or kerosene, which generates more local economic activity.
Convenience stores provide employment opportunities, business ownership
opportunities, and are relatively recession-proof in most locations.

3. It doesn’t cost much to start a convenience store.

Although the cost to start a convenience store business which includes fuel at an
important location in a community may cost over $1 million, it is also possible to
start a store for around $10,000 in the United States. Much of the cost variation
depends on if you’ll lease or own the property, if there is an existing business in
place you can take over, and if there are franchising fees involved.

4. Convenience stores are not bound by local pricing needs.

The benefit of a convenience store, from an ownership perspective, is that pricing is

independent of recommended systems. Most customers are willing to pay a little more
for the convenience of being able to purchase a wanted item close to home.
Convenience stores can also provide an outpost for travelers, which allows for higher
pricing because providing access to needed items saves time for the traveler, which is
valuable to them. Even if there are multiple stores within a 5-mile radius, a
convenience store will generate a loyal following, which creates income for the
owner.

5. Franchises are often available.

About 40% of the convenience stores operating in the United States are connected to
a franchise opportunity. That equates to almost 60,000 convenience store locations.
Although the cost of purchasing a franchise is similar to the cost of purchasing an
established store, the actual costs are much lower than if you were creating your own
brand. Most franchise owners become profitable faster than independent owners, and
there is internal training and support offered by the franchising company.

Innovative practices to improve SCA for Amardeep

Congested parking lots, out-of-stock merchandise, interminable checkout lines,

indifferent sales help or no help at all—once these were facts of life that retail
customers reluctantly tolerated. Now customers enjoy more retail alternatives than
ever before, from one-stop superstores to the Internet. Driven by time pressures, they
value quick-and-easy shopping excursions. They expect retailers to meet their needs,
not the other way around. The retailer that spares its customers hassles and delays
wins their business and outperforms its old-fashioned competitors. From prepurchase
through post purchase, customers want convenience.
“Convenience” as a catchall term which always includes location and may include
other features such as product assortment, knowledge of sales associates, speed of
checkout, hours, service levels, store layout, and ample parking.  While convenience
remains ill-defined among retailers, industry studies provide some insight into how
consumers define convenience. Discount Store News conducted focus groups in
which customers were asked, “What makes a store more convenient?”

Customers enhance the convenience of their market offers in four main ways that
encompass the entire shopping experience:

1) They are easy to reach (access convenience);

2) they enable customers to speedily identify and select the products they
want (search convenience);
3) they make it easy for customers to obtain desired products (possession
convenience); and
4) they expedite the purchase and return of products (transaction
convenience)

Customer convenience has driven most innovations in retailing, including

supermarkets, department stores, strip centers, regional malls, and category
superstores. The emphasis that customers place on convenience has prompted
retailers to extend one-stop shopping, redesign store operating systems, emphasize
the sale of services, and invest in nonstore retailing.

Access - Amardeep too is trying to be more convenient. Like all forms of

convenience, access convenience is germane to both store and nonstore retailing. It
includes an accessible location, parking availability, store hours, proximity to other
stores, and telephone and Internet access. Without accessibility, all other forms of
convenience are irrelevant. Instead of shifting or extending their hours of operation to
better fit customers’ preferred shopping times it is open for 24 hrs and 6 days in a
week.

Search convenience is the speed and ease with which consumers identify and select
products they wish to buy. Retailers can help customers find the right products
through focused merchandising, intelligent store design and layout, knowledgeable
salespeople, customer interactive systems, and visual merchandising practices,
especially product displays, packaging, and signage. In many cases, retailers offer
customers quality and price guarantees that reinforce sound merchandising
decisions. The more effective a retailer’s efforts in facilitating customers’ product
searches, the quicker and easier the customer’s journey through the shopping
experience. These stores give buyers confidence that they will find the products they
want without having to go elsewhere.

Possession convenience is the speed and ease with which consumers can obtain
desired products. It exists when the merchandise is in-stock and available on a timely
basis.
Merchandise availability results from a retailer’s strong in-stock position, timely
production, or timely delivery. Amardeep guarantee that advertised products will be
in stock. It invests in high inventory per square foot to let stores carry many units in
each size and avoid disappointing customers. 

Transaction convenience is the speed and ease with which consumers can affect or
amend transactions. Once consumers engage a retailer and select the product(s) they
want, they still must participate in a transaction to complete the purchase. They may
also seek to amend the transaction following the purchase. Post purchase transactions
usually involve returns triggered by problems with a product or simply a customer’s
change of mind. Transaction convenience concerns how quick and easy it is to do
business with a firm during or after the purchasing act.

THANKYOU!

References:
https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/attention-retailers-how-convenient-is-your-
convenience-strategy/?use_credit=9752d873fa71c19dc602bf2a0696f9b5

https://www.handystorefixtures.com/blog/3-tips-planning-convenience-store-layout

https://www.indianretailer.com/magazine/2013/february/SUPERMARKET-VS-
KIRANA-STORE-A-Consumer-Survey.m61-2-9/