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At the POP Asia In-Store Marketing Forum held recently in Mumbai, BS Nagesh of Shopper’s Stop made some interesting points about lifestyle retailing, pinpointing where Indian marketers are going wrong
Think about it. The humble ‘kullar’, once used to serve tea in villages and roadside stalls, is entering high society now.
“It’s used in lifestyle restaurants these days,” said BS Nagesh, managing director and CEO, Shopper’s Stop. Nagesh was trying to prove his point that lifestyle retailing is all about changing mindsets at the POP Asia In-Store Marketing Forum 2006, powered by ‘Point-of-Purchase’ magazine and VMRD, with agencyfaqs! and ‘The Brand Reporter’ as its media partners. The topic under discussion was ‘Indian Lifestyle Retailing’.
“One of the key factors that impacts lifestyle retailing is the consumer himself,” said Nagesh. “We marketers have got so used to segmenting consumers in slots that we aren’t able to understand that, over the years, this concept has gone for a toss. Let’s say a celebrity goes to a store in a posh locality and, later, the same celebrity is spotted buying something off the street or at Chor Bazaar. How can we slot people when they have multiple lifestyles and when their mindsets change constantly?”
“The second point that impacts lifestyle retailing is the retail space,” said Nagesh. He elaborated that retailers should go out of their way to please customers. The third factor that influenced lifestyle retailing, according to Nagesh, was the influencer. “Whether it is a Shah Rukh Khan or a Preity Zinta, marketers must realise the extent to which they can influence consumers. Media, too, plays a key role in this.” Adding to that, Nagesh said that peer groups are a key element in influencing decisions and retailers and marketers need to look seriously at this element.
Nagesh frowned upon a common problem in the Indian retailing scenario: “Store planners create a store. Visual merchandisers present a store. But the communication gap between the two is too huge at present in India. We will need to tackle this problem.”
However, the bigger challenge, according to Nagesh, is the mall developer. “Malls start off well by stacking big-brand stores. But then they go and ruin it all by putting a small kiosk selling products such as noisy toys in the front of the mall. This lack of a sense of coordination is a big challenge.”
Nagesh concluded with the five ‘M’s’ that matter in lifestyle retailing: “Money, Media (including influencers and facilitators), Mobility, Malls and, put together, we’ll all have a great Mindset.”
© 2006 agencyfaqs!