Page 51 - DMGT550_RETAIL_MANAGEMENT

Retail Management

Notes 10. During the first half of the 20th century, general stores were displaced in many areas of the
..................... by many different types of specialized retailers.

3.9 Service Retailing

Destination stores are creating a lot of buzz at present. The concept is picking up slowly but
steadily in the Indian retail sector, with this new retailing model already increasing footfalls in
many of the country’s retail stores, consequently increasing the inflow of revenue for the retail
stores.
A combination of various categories of stores, the destination stores are giant-sized retail stores
catering to the mass merchandiser with its wide array of services. It offers low-priced products
of a discount store as well as provides varieties of a departmental store. The services offered by
destination stores attract and compel customers to travel long distances to shop and enjoy the
luxury of these stores.
Already an established and popular concept in the international market, destination stores are
comparatively new in India. The model adopted by retailers here to run destination stores is
hybrid in nature, where the retailers sometimes run the stores themselves and sometimes tie-up
with established players to offer additional services.
“Service retailing is a concept that most Indian retailers are now aiming at as it increases
footfalls and revenue earnings. With competition increasing in the market, retailers are now
trying to woo their customers through these kinds of stores where they can offer them an array
of products and a variety of services. This is an absolute win-win model for both retailers and
buyers alike,” said Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO of the Retailers’ Association of India to a Retailing
360 correspondent.

Big Names in Service Retailing

Many big players in the domestic retail sector have already initiated the model and are reaping
benefits now. Names such as Future Group, Spencer’s Retail, Aditya Birla Group and Hypercity,
among others are already following the model and have transformed their large format retail
stores into service-oriented destination stores offering a gamut of consumer-oriented facilities.

Sharing her opinion on this score, Shakuntala Sarkar, senior manager - Corporate
Communications, Spencer’s Retail Limited, said, “Adopting such methods improves store-client
relationship. This also increases consumer loyalty towards the store. In fact, service retailing has
pushed up the sector’s revenue by 25-30%. It is increasingly becoming very popular and in the
days to come might become a major tool to attract customers.”
According to the retail industry experts, the concept of service retailing however is at a nascent
stage in India at present. Its presence is felt primarily in the metros and other big cities of the
country. However, experts are hopeful that it would pick-up well across India in the coming
days, with more and more retailers joining in to offer specialised services.

Additional Services

The plethora of specialised services offered by destination stores generally range from financial
services to laundry, salons, spa, travel services and others. For instance, in a number of Spencer’s
Retail outlets, there are corners dedicated to wine, cigar, flower, gourmet, bakery, pet care and
others, while Future Group has started operating a salon under its brand.
Hypercity, on the other hand, caters to book lovers through its bookstores under its own label
Crossword. It has forged partnerships with a number of names such as Vodafone, Presto and

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