To study on Gaps & Customer perception for ladies Indian

wear private label

SHOPPERS STOP LTD.

JANUARY APRIL 2015

BY
MANISH KALA
MUM13MM22

FACULTY GUIDE
SONALI SALDHANA
BATCH 2013- 2015
MASTER OF FASHION MANAGEMENT

DEPARTMENT OF FASHION MANAGEMENT STUDIES

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY

[MUMBAI]
 DECLARATION

I, Manish Kalahereby declare that the Project entitled To study on Gaps

&Customer perception for ladies Indian wear pvt label is my original
work and no part of the project has been copied from any other reports or any
other were carried by someone else and this have been submitted for any other
degree/award. However, any material taken from any other published sources
has been suitably referred and acknowledged at various places.

Name: Manish Kala

Roll Number: Mum13mm22

Batch: 2013-15

Centre: Mumbai

Date: 17/04/2015

Place: MUMBAI
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am grateful to NIFT for providing me an opportunity to do research work on

To study on Gaps &Customer perception for ladies Indian wear pvt
label. I express my whole hearted thanks to my guide Mrs. Sonali Saldhana for
his encouragement and moral support in organizing my work and giving me
valuable tips for making it presentable.

I am indebted toMr. UTTAM SINGH, Mr.PADMA PAL, and Mrs. ALEFIYA EZZI .
my industry mentors who guided and supervised me throughout this study. I
have no words to express my gratitude to them.

I am also thankful to Mr. ADIYA SINGH for providing me the details of conducting
the research from its inception.

My thanks are also due toMr. SIDDHARTH GUPTAfor his advice in collecting data
and other relevant information.

I will be failing in my duty if I do not mention the name of my CC

Ms. Lipi Choudhary and other faculty for his help in my Degree Project|
NAME: MANISH KALA
ADDRESS: E-1/435 CHITRAKOOT, VAISHALI NAGAR, JAIPUR
Master of Fashion Management

Date of submission: 14/05/2015

 Executive Summary

Title of the project:

To study on Gaps & Customer perception for ladies Indian wear private label

Company: Shoppers Stop, an Indian department store chain promoted by the K Raheja Corp
Group isone of the leading retail stores in India. Shoppers Stop Ltd. began by operating a chain
of department stores under the name Shoppers Stop in India.Shoppers Stop retails a range of
branded apparel and private labels under the followingcategories of apparel, footwear, fashion
jewellery, leather products, accessories and home products. These are complemented by cafe,
food, entertainment, personal care and various beauty related services. It provides quality
services, products and the right kind of shopping environment.

Project Objectives:
To understand the buying and merchandising process of the private labels in the Ladies
Indian-weardepartment at SSL.

To review the in-season performance of the private labels in Indian-wear.

To identify and analyze the gaps in the ladies ethnic wear private lable brands of
Shoppers Stop.

To study customers perception about the ladies Indian wear private label brands
ofShoppers Stop.

To do a competitive analysis wear private labels in of major Ladies department stores

in terms of product, pricing, VM.

To provide feasible solutions to boost the performance of private labels.

Research Methodology:
Use of primary and secondary data. Primary research data gathered by questionnaire tool and on
job information observation. Secondary data sources company database, internet and
publications.
Key Findings:

Product assortment of Haute curry bottoms lacks in depth.

Missing of new and innovative styles in STOP.
Less options of Ankle length and Patiyalas in STOP which are preferred by customers.
Less options of cap sleeves and 3/4th sleeves in STOP.
High Price range for Kashish and STOP, EPP is also high with less number of
options.
Customers Perceived Mrp is on lower side for Private Label Brands of Shoppers Stop.
Less options for Haute Curry in EPP.
Missing of theme tags.
Wrong positioning of Kashish .

Suggestions:
To introduce more options in fashion bottoms for Haute Curry.
Use of more innovative and new designs in STOP.
Number of options for 3/4th sleeves and cap sleeves in tunic and ankle length legging
and patiyalas in bottoms should be increased for bottoms in MnM.
Price points should be revised.
Use of theme tags to add value and attractiveness for customer.
Narrowing the wide assortment of Kashish according to the brand image.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER NUMBER TITLES PAGE NUMBER

1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 About The retail 1
1.2 Need for the project 2
1.3 Objective of the project 3
2 Research Methodology 4
2.1Research process flow chart 5
2.2 Research Design 7
3 Literature Review 8
3.1 Company Background 8
3.2 Indian Wear at Shoppers Stop 23
4 The buying and Merchandising 22
Process
4.1 The pre-season Planning 24
4.2 In season Review 27
4.3Merchandising Process 29
5 5 Customer Perception and 32
feedback
5.1 Studying the customer 32
feedback and perception
5.2 Statistical Data analysis of the 33
survey
5.3 Analysis of customer survey 43
6 Competitive analysis 45

6.1 Competitive analysis of fusion 50

wear
6.2 Competitive analysis of work 53
wear (MnM)
6.3 Competitive analysis of work 57
wear(SKD)
6.4 Competitive analysis for 60
premium wear
7 Conclusion 63

7.1 Areas of concern and 63

recommendations
8 Limitation of the Study 67
 Appendix
Questionnaire
Q.1 Where do you generally go for the shopping of ethnic wear?

a) Multi brand outlet b) Exclusive brand outlet c) Local retailers

Q.2 Which is you favourite Multi brand outlet for ethnic wear shopping?

a) Shoppers Stop b) Pantaloons d) Lifestyle

d) Westside e) others .. (Please specify)

Q.3 Which is your favourite Ethnic Brand? (Name any two)

a) ... b) .

Q4. Are you aware of the exclusive Shoppers Stop labels for Ethnic wear? (STOP, Haute Curry,
Kashish)

a) Yes b) No

Q.5 What do you usually buy from Shoppers Stop in the ethnic wear section?

a) Sets (CKD)
b) Sets (SKD)
c) Mix N Match

Sleeve length of Only

Bottom Wear Tunics/Kurtas
Kurtas Dupattas

Salwars Thigh Length kurtas Full Sleeves

th
3/4 Sleeves(17 inches)
Patialas Knee length kurtas

Cap Sleeves
Churidars- Knit Calf length kurtas

Spaghetti/ Straps
Churidars- Woven Ankle length kurtas

Ankle length Leggings Kaftans Any Length

Fashion Bottoms (Flared

Any Length
pants, Dhoti pants, Skirts)
 Q.6 Please rate the following attributes in the order of importance in a garment when you shop ethnic
wear, on a scale from 1 to 5. (1 lowest and 5 highest)

a) Price ./5 b) Quality /5 c) Fit ./5

d) Style/ Design . /5 e) Color ../5 f) Fabric ../5

g)Brand /5

Q.7 Please rate the following private label brands in Ethnic wear at shoppers stop on
mentioned criteria on the scale of 1 to 5 (1 lowest and 5 highest).

Brands Price Quality Fit Fabric Color Style

STOP ../5 ../5 ../5 ../5 ../5 ../5

Haute ../5 ../5 ../5 ../5 ../5 ../5

Curry
Kashish ../5 ../5 ../5 ../5 ../5 ../5

Q.8How much are you willing to pay for these kurtas when you are getting your preferred color, fit and
fabric? (Choose from the given price options) (kurtas on page 3)

1).. 2) 3).

Price options

a) Below 1000 b) 1000-1500 c) 1500-2000

d) 2000-2500 e) above 2500

Q9 How much are you willing to pay for these SKDs when you are getting your preferred color, fit and
fabric?(Choose from the given price options)(SKDs on page 3)

1).. 2) 3).

Price options

a) Below 1500 b) 1500-2000 c) 2000-2500

d) 2500-3000 e) 3000-3500 f) Above 3500

Name: Occupation: .

Age: .. Marital status: .

Gender:
KURTAs

(1) (2) (3)

SKDs

(1) (2) (3)

1.1 ABOUT RETAIL INDUSTRY

Retail in India is one of the pillars of its economy and accounts for 14 to 15 percent of its
GDP. The Indian retail market is estimated to be US$ 450 billion and one of the top
five retail markets in the world by economic value. India is one of the fastest growing retail
markets in the world. The Retail Industry in India has come forth as one of the most dynamic
and fast paced industries with several players entering the market. The India Retail Industry is
gradually inching its way towards becoming the next boom industry.

The total concept and idea of shopping has undergone an attention drawing change in terms
of format and consumer buying behaviour, ushering in a revolution in shopping in India.
Modern retailing has entered into the Retail market in India as is observed in the form of
bustling shopping centres, multi-storied malls and the huge complexes that offer shopping,
entertainment and food all under one roof.

A large young working population with median age of 24 years, nuclear families in urban
areas, along with increasing workingwomen population and emerging opportunities in
the services sector are going to be the key factors in the growth of the organized Retail sector
in India. The growth pattern in organized retailing and in the consumption made by the Indian
population will follow a rising graph helping the newer businessmen to enter the India Retail
Industry.
In India the vast middle class and its almost untapped retail industry are the key attractive
forces for global retail giants wanting to enter into newer markets, which in turn will help the
India Retail Industry to grow faster. Indian retail is expected to grow 25 per cent annually.
Modern retail in India could be worth US$ 175-200 billion by 2016. The future of the India
Retail Industry looks promising with the growing of the market, with the government policies
becoming more favourable and the emerging technologies facilitating operations.

A department store is a retail establishment with a building open to the public, offering a
wide range of consumer goods. It typically allows shoppers to choose between multiple
merchandise lines, at variable price points, in different product categories known as
"departments".

Department stores usually sell products including clothing, furniture, home appliances, toys,
cosmetics, gardening, toiletries, sporting goods, do it yourself, paint and hardware and
1
additionally select other lines of products such as food, books, jewellery, electronics,
stationery, photographic equipment, baby needs, and pet supplies.

In our country, departmental stores have emerged as a major and prominently recognized
organized retailing channel, especially for Indian and international fashion brands, targeted at
the upper middle and higher income segments. Apparel is the most important product
category sold by these retailers in India, accounting for nearly two-thirds of their sales. The
major players in this segment in India include shoppers' stop, lifestyle, pantaloons, Westside
and Globus.

1.2 Need for the Project

The ladies Indian-wear department at Shoppers Stop Ltd. consists of three brands- STOP,
Haute Curry and Kashish. The brand STOP is further divided into three sub-brands- Classics,
Naturals and Workwear. STOP consists of affordable everyday-wear for middle-aged women.
Haute Curry is a fusion-wear brand that caters to the young women who are fashion forward.
Kashish is a premium brand which consists of occasion-wear with more ornate and
embellished merchandise which command a higher price range.
The aim of this study is to identify internal factors of the current scenario of ladies ethnic
wear apparel in Shoppers Stop Ltd. This project is intended to understand the entire process
of the buying department in the particular section and use the resulting analysis to act as a
Recommendation to boost the performance of the brands.
A primary research- qualitative research and quantitative research will be conducted to gain a
greater understanding of the performance of the labels to determine current and potential
opportunities of these labels.
The analysis resulting from the project is intended to act as a recommendation for
improvement of the working of the private labels aforementioned. The aim is to gain a
greater understanding of the current aspects of Indian-wear apparel to determine
Shoppers Stops current position amongst the competing department stores and
potential opportunities for their brands.

Overall, the goal of the research is to uncover data to answer these informational
needs in order to determine the gaps in the buying process which affect the
success of their private labels provide a conceptual foundation for a better

2
approach and further developing better strategies.

After analyzing the aforementioned research, the project will present and
recommend the findings and strategies to incorporate the most effective way to
optimize the final output of the private labels and perception of the customers,
Activities: which forms one of the core areas that define the success of a
private label. By utilizing these recommendations the aim is to help Ladies-
wear Indian private labels at Shoppers Stop to position itself as genuine,
relatable brands that offer the best quality product in its category.

1.3 Objectives of the Project

To understand the buying and merchandising process of the private labels in the
Ladies Indian-wear department at SSL.

To review the in-season performance of the private labels in Indian-wear.

To identify and analyze the gaps in the ladies ethnic wear private lable brands of
Shoppers Stop.

To study customers perception about the ladies Indian wear private label brands of
Shoppers Stop.

To do a competitive analysis wear private labels in of major Ladies department stores

in terms of product, pricing, VM.

To provide feasible solutions to boost the performance of private labels.

3
 2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A list of important activities to be carried out during the tenure of the graduation project has
been mentioned step- by- step below.

1. Study of Ladies-wear at Shoppers Ethnic wear

2. Development of Research Proposal

3. Study of Private Label Merchandise

4. Literature Survey

5. Background Study of the category

6. Design and Development of Methodology

7. Design and Development of Sampling Technique

8. Data Collection

9. Design and Development of Competitive Survey

10. Data Collection

11. Data Analysis and Inference Drawing

12. Final Documentation and Presentation

13. Incongruity detection and redressed

14. Final Report Presentation

4
2.1 Research Process Flow Chart

Customer
Study the Buying Competition
Perception &
Process Analysis
Feedback Analysis

Inference from
Recommendations
Data Analysis

Brief Overview of the Process

1. Studying the Buying and Merchandising Process

An in-depth understanding and learning of the buying and merchandising process of the
private labels of Shoppers Stop.

2. Customer Perception and Feedback Analysis

Survey forms will be developed to get the opinion of customers on various

factors such as:
Price range
Aesthetic Appeal
Comfort
Future Collections, etc.

2. Competitive Analysis
Study will be carried out about the competition brands of Shoppers Stop
ethnic-wear vis--vis the pre-defined parameters such as:
Assortment
Price range
Visual Merchandising

5
3. Inference from Data Analysis

Findings from the above mentioned study will be used to develop final analysis of the gaps in
terms of critical factors for the private labels.

5. Recommendations

Lastly, suggestions and recommendations drawn from the gap analysis will be proposed.

6
2.2 Research Design

Data Collection

Types of Data:

Nominal data
Ordinal data

Nature of Data Collection:

Primary Research
Secondary Research.

Primary Research

Method of Data Collection:

Methodology 1: Observations and Learnings

o Data Collection Tool: First-hand information through on-the-job activities and
observations during the tenure of the graduation project in the company.
Methodology 2: Survey technique
o Data Collection Tool: Questionnaires

Area of study: Mumbai

Secondary Research

Source for Data Collection:

Existing Company database

Internet
Publications

Data Analysis and Presentation

Tabular Representation
Graphical Representation
Descriptive Representation

7
 3 LITERARTURE REVIEW

3.2Company Background

Shoppers Stop, an Indian department store chain promoted by the K Raheja Corp Group is one of
the leading retail stores in India. Shoppers Stop Ltd. began by operating a chain of department
stores under the name Shoppers Stop in India. It started in the year 1991 with its first store in
Andheri, Mumbai. Currently, Shoppers Stop Ltd. has 67 stores in 31 cities.

Promoted by Mr. Chandru L. Raheja, Mr. Ravi C. Raheja and Mr. Neel C. Raheja, the K. Raheja
Corp. have been leaders in the construction business for over 48 years. With its wide range of
merchandise, exclusive shop-in-shop counters of international brands and world class customer
service, Shoppers Stop brought international standards of shopping to the Indian consumer
providing them with a complete shopping experience.

Shoppers Stop retails a range of branded apparel and private labels under the following categories
of apparel, footwear, fashion jewellery, leather products, accessories and home products. These
are complemented by cafe, food, entertainment, personal care and various beauty related services.
It provides quality services, products and the right kind of shopping environment.

Shoppers Stop is famous for the expertise and acumen relating to the current practices of the
industry. It has developed itself as a household name and has set high standards for itself. The
average age of the employees in the organization is 25 years.

It has been awarded "The Hall of Fame" and won "The Emerging Market Retailer of the Year
Award", by World Retail Congress at Barcelona, on April 10, 2008. Shoppers Stop is listed on
the BSE.

8
It was awarded the "Most Admired Apparel Retailer" at the Images Fashion Awards 2000. With
a customer entry of about 25,000 customers a day, a national presence with over 3,00,000 square
feet of retail space and stocking over 450 brands of garments and accessories,
Shoppers Stop has clearly become a one stop shop for all customers.

To add to this, Shoppers Stop has benchmarked itself with the best in the world. This is testified
by the fact that Shoppers Stop is the only Indian member of the "Intercontinental Group of
Departmental Stores", which has the likes of Selfridges (United Kingdom), Karstadt (Germany),
Marks & Spencer (UK), Matahari (Indonesia), Myers Grace Bros. (Australia) and Rustan's
(Philippines) among its members.

Corporate Profile
Vision:
To be a global retailer in India and maintain its No.1 position in the Indian market in the
Department Store category.

Mission:
Nothing but the best.
To strive and achieve nothing but the best in terms of processes, practices & deliverables.

Values to help achieving mission and vision:

We will not take what is not ours.
The obligation to dissent (against a viewpoint that is not acceptable).
We will have an environment conducive to openness.
We will believe in innovation.
We will have an environment conducive to development.
We will have the willingness to apologise and forgive.
We will respect our customers' rights.
We will create an environment of trust.
We shall be fair.
We will be socially responsible.

9
Top Management
Shoppers Stop is headed by
Mr. B.S. Nagesh- Customer Care Associate & Vice Chairman, Shoppers Stop Ltd.
Mr. Govind Shrikhande- Customer Care Associate & Managing Director, Shoppers Stop Ltd.

Customer Profile
Shoppers Stop's core customers represent a strong SEC A and B+ skew.
They fall between the age group of 16 to 40 years.
The majority of them are families and young couples with a monthly household
Income above 30000 and an annual spend of 15000.
The target customers are upper-middle class and upper class.

A large number of customers are also Non-Resident Indians, who visit the
stores for cultural clothes.

The 4 Ps of Shoppers Stop

Product
The stores offer a complete range of apparel and lifestyle accessories for the entire
family. From apparel brands to cosmetic brands, Shoppers Stop caters to every
lifestyle need.

Shoppers Stop retails products of domestic and international brands such as Louis
Philippe, Pepe, Arrow, BIBA, Gini & Jony, Carbon, Corelle, Magppie, Nike,
Reebok, LEGO, and Mattel.

Shoppers Stop has also introduced its own line of clothing in the classic, value
classic and value fashion segments. It retails merchandise under its own labels, such
as STOP, Kashish, LIFE and Vettorio Fratini, Elliza Donatein, Haute Curry,
Acropolis etc.

The company also licensees for Austin Reed (London), an internationa and women's outerwear
are retailed in India exclusively through the chain.

The merchandise at Shoppers Stop is sold at a quality and price assurance backed

10
by its guarantee stamp on every bill.

Shoppers Stop has 4 divisions:

The Mens apparels, Ladies apparels, Kids wear and the Non-apparels. Following
is their contribution to the turnover.

Figure 24: Contribution of SS Divisions to Sales

CATEGORY %AGE CONTRIBUTION TO SALES

Mens Apparel 34.3%
Womens Apparel 20.2%
Kids Apparel 8.7%
Non- Apparel 36.8%

The like-to like division wise sales can be seen as follows:

Non- Apparels consists of Leather, Watches, Jewellery. Electronics and Personal Accessories.

11
It operates with 90 departments handling around 450 brands managing a combined footfall of
Over 25,000 customers each day.

Price
Shoppers Stop has a proper mix of both affordable and premium priced products. The brands are
sold at MRP and lower.
Shoppers Stop is a bridge to luxury departmental store which includes selling High Quality

12
products at a high price. The USP is the variety of choice given to the customers rather than the
price.

Place
Expanding its operations to Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Delhi, Chennai, Ghatkopar, Pune
(Mumbai) and most recently Calcutta, Shoppers Stop is today recognized as India's premier
shopping destination.

Shoppers Stop has also launched its e-store with delivery across major cities in India in 2008.The
website is WWW.SHOPPERSSTOP.COM . The Website retails all products available at
Shoppers Stop stores including apparel, cosmetics and accessories.

13
Promotion
Shoppers Stop First Citizen - a loyalty programme and a virtue
Shoppers Stops virtue of always putting the customers first has enabled it to pioneer a reward-
based loyalty programme called Shoppers Stop First Citizen. This was launched in 1994.
The program offers its members an opportunity to collect points and avail of special benefits.
Currently, Shoppers Stop has the data base of 3 lakh members who contribute to nearly 65% of
the total sales of Shoppers Stop. They also offer a co-branded credit card with Citibank for their
members, called the First Citizen Citibank Titanium Credit Card.

With a growing base of over 2.25 million members contributing over 72% to sales
annually, Shoppers Stop First Citizen loyalty programme is the biggest and most
successful programme in this category.

Print Advertisements and Outdoor Media

14
Discounts and Promotions

Special Events and Associations

Brand Ambassadors

15
Social Media

16
17
 3.2 Indian- wear at Shoppers Stop

Ladies Ethnic wear in Shoppers Stop provides a national as well as in-house

labels. The national brands available at Shoppers Stop are BIBA, W, Seven
East, Gili, Sanaa, etc. The private labels offered in Indian-wear are STOP,
Kashish and Haute Curry.

The philosophy of Shoppers Stop Indian wear is to offer a complete wardrobe

solution with true value and at a great price for the customers.

The Brand Positioning of Shoppers Stops Ladies Indian -wear can be mapped as follows.

18
Private Labels

1) STOP

Contemporary quality brand for the urban modern woman. It is a combination of personal values,
customer insight, and shared love of fashion with lots of entrepreneurial team spirit. It aims to be
a blend of fashion and functionality.

Product Basket:
STOP is divided into three sub-brands

STOP
STOP Classics Workwear STOP Naturals

Philosophy: Philosophy: Philosophy:

Timeless classics with a Understated But never A blend of ethnic fashion
Contemporary Twist. A Underestimate A must with contemporary Styling
perfect every day wear for have for the urban working With a touch of rustic charm.
our modern Indian woman. woman.

Merchandise: Merchandise: Merchandise:

MNM kurtis with emphasis MNM kurtis are slim fits The USP of this segment is
on ethnic surface with fashionable key its rustic and classic styling
Ornamentation. detailing and innovative of plains and hand blocked
SKD sets with varied bottom Silhouettes. prints and textures in natural
wear like churidars, salwars Knit churidars for the smart dyes.
and patialas. Urbane chic look. Sets of
printed bottom and dupattas
for the individualistic woman
to create her personal style
and look.

19
 Customer Profile:
Age group: 25 to 45 years.

Single or married

Profession- Professional works in MNC organization or educated housewife.

Lifestyle - Loves to spend on herself, influenced by colleagues / clients and friends

Hobbies - Reads TOI, Cosmopolitan, Elle, film magazines etc.

Personality Traits - Spirited with a mature social life

Needs - comfort, wash n wear, colorful attractive every day wear , versatile for their
various chores throughout the day

Priority: Comfort and Functionality/ Style/ Affordable prices.

2) Haute Curry:

Haute Curry is a brand

inspired by contemporary
fashion. Haute Curry for
women mirrors the new age
Indian
Woman. Rooted at home and taking on the world with passion, playing myriad of
roles with lan and taking on the challenges in her stride. It is contemporary fashion
with elements of ethnicity.

Attempt is to reinvent Indian ethnic fashion, with an aim to provide fashion in a

modern retail environment to the Indian woman.

Mission:
To be a trendsetter in the womens Ethnic Fashion Category.

Customer Profile:
Age group 20- 35 years

20
Profession - Young professionals working in BPO MNCs & educated housewives.

Lifestyle Modern but yet carries the traditional values, loves to spend on
herself with evolved fashion sense. Exposure to international fashion.
Social Life- Going to brunches, parties, pubs, coffee shops etc.
Hobbies Ardent reader of Page3, Elle, Cosmo, Vogue etc.

Personality Straits -

o Highly fashion conscious

o Looks for young fashion with ethnic feel
o Is upwardly mobile
o Seeks exclusivity
o Is bold and confident
o Trend driven
o Gets influenced by peer pressure & colleagues

Needs - Bright attractive colors and a lot of shine to add to the glamour value; not very
price sensitive if the product is fashionable and a must have.
Problems with - Outdated style, boring colors, uncomfortable fitting.
Priority: Fashion/ Color and Shine/ Glamour/ Price

21
 3) Kashish:
Kashish aims to paint, decorate and ornament
clothes for celebrations that are a part of every
individual.

It offers specific designs weddings, festivities, etc. Some of the occasions it caters to are:
o Festivals
o Formal Parties
o Special Occasions.

Customer Profile:
Age group - 25 to 45 years.
Matured working professional or a house wife with a refined and elegant taste.

Lifestyle: Pays high regards to traditional values and culture, loves attending and
organizing family functions/ get together.

Personality Traits: Sophisticated and classy, contemporary but not funky, individualistic,
fashionable but not a trend setter.
Needs - Expensive looking, elegant and rich garment with sophisticated styling

Problems with - Gaudy color ,over-styling and loud embroidery and any ornamentation
that does not look classy enough
Priority: Sophistication/ Color/ Price.

22
 4. THE BUYING AND MERCAHNDISING PROCESS

For an in-depth understanding and an all-inclusive analysis, the project required an

acquaintance with the buying and merchandising process of the private labels at
Shoppers Stop. Buying and Merchandising processes are elongated one, it formed
a major part of the daily in- the- job activities, thus spanning across the entire tenure
of the project.
Buying Process
The buying process in a departmental store can be explained as a suggested staged
process before a buying decision is made. It includes:

Recognition of customer need

Identify the right specification of a product to satisfy the need

Searching for a vendor/supplier that can produce a product which meets specification

Choose the supplier that meets supply requirements

Specify the order (Timelines to be met, quantities to be booked and delivery schedule)

Evaluate performance of product and supplier

The buying process at Shoppers Stop consists of two primary procedures:

A] The Pre-season planning

B] The In-season activities and Performance review

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4.1 The Pre-season Planning

1) Design direction

The head buyer along with the design team of a label have the preliminary
brainstorming session regarding what they plan to bring on the floor for a
particular season.
The buyer and merchandiser gives a brief to the designers about which styles
worked and which styles didnt work in the previous season. The buyer also
provides the design team a direction for the upcoming season. The design team then
works towards the concept presentation.

2) Concept Presentation

The design presents the mother theme along with the minor themes for the season. The
designers have a different minor theme for the silhouettes, colors, embroideries and the
prints that will form a part of the collection in the concept presentation.

3) Sampling Designs

Once the concepts are frozen, the design team begins work on the new samples.
The design team are given a fixed budget for every season. This budget is
directed towards the sampling and sourcing of inspiration ideas and materials.
The samples are made at the various vendors that work with the label. Usually,
the designer makes the samples keeping in mind the details of the style vis--vis
the strengths of the vendor.
The number of samples made is in relation to the Option Plan for the season.

Option Plan is the assortment plan prepared by the merchandiser
for the label at the beginning of the season. The option plan is a
detailed intake plan for the season. This intake plan is made in
tandem with the like-to-like sales of the same season in the
previous year and other elements such as the festivals, holidays, etc.
which could affect the sales. The designers have to make
the option plan and therefore, need to take into consideration the
type of buttons, patterns and other structural details to fit into the

specified MRP.

24
 4) Sampling Comments

Sampling comments are the first set of comments made on the new samples. This
is a preliminary review of samples done by the buying and design team. The
buyers do the cost negotiations with the vendors based on tentative quantities for
the styles that they feel are very strong for the upcoming season.

5) Receipt of Samples and Cost Sheets

The buyers at this stage are responsible to attach with all the important information such as
the Style Name, garment attributes like length, fabric, color and buyers and designers name
and the season name.
The buyer follows up with all the vendors for the cost sheets of all the samples.
Albeit a few vendors, Shoppers Stop follows the method of open costing with
the vendors in the ethnic wear department.
Open Costing is when the components of a cost-sheet are up for discussion with
the vendors. This includes fabric cost, cost of trims used, cost of surface
ornamentations such as embroidery, CMT charges, etc. Although the cost of
fabrics and trims are more or less fixed, the negotiations are mainly focused on
the CMT and surface ornamentation charges.
This is different from Closed Costing, in which the negotiations are done on the final cost
of the garment as specified by the vendor and not on the cost components. This form of
costing lacks transparency as compared with the Open Costing method, as the charges
applied for the various cost components are not revealed to the buyer.

6) Internal Range Presentation

The internal range presentation takes place in attendance of the design team, the buying
team and the merchandisers of that particular label and department.

25
Buyer Makes the entry in the buy sheet of all the styles in buy sheet and notes down the
changes recommended in the sheet as comment

The design team arranges the collections according to their month wise input. This is done to
ensure that the appropriate collection is brought on the floor at the appropriate time. For
example, the Festive collection is put in the September input so that it is brought on the floor
before Diwali festival.
In the internal range presentation, the merchandisers give feedback on all the styles presented
by the design team and decide the perceived MRP of each garment. At this stage, the styles are
dropped in case the merchandisers do not approve of the design and aesthetic appeal of the
style or if they feel that the perceived MRP is too high for that style.

Any alterations and changes in samples are noted by the buyer during the range presentation.
In case of a major change like re-styling of a garment, the design team is responsible to execute
these changes and handover the revised sample to the buyer for booking. However, in case of
minor changes like changing the colors or replacing the existing fabric with a similar quality
fabric, the buying team is responsible to communicate the changes to the vendors and execute
the changes in the pre- production sample.

7) Final Costs and Range Build

At this stage, the buyer negotiates the costs of the selected styles with the vendors to achieve
the target ASP (Average Selling Price) and margins. In case the vendor cannot meet the target

26
cost, the styles are either redesigned to fit into the budget or the styles are dropped. Thus the
range is build.

The final numbers of the samples are tallied with the required options as per the range plan. If
the options are short in any particular category, the designers work on additional samples to
meet the option plan requirements.

8) Range Sign-Off

Once the costs, MRPs and margins of the samples are finalised, the range is presented to the
Business Heads. The Business Heads give the final feedback on the range.
After getting all the approvals from the business heads, the merchandising team
and the buying head assign the quantities to each style and also decide the size
ratios for the same. This is also called as Booking the range.

9) Confirmed Order Sheets Sent By Buyer

After the range sign off, the buyer sends all the vendors their respective order
sheets which acts as a confirmation of orders for the vendor. It is an indicator
that the vendor can begin work on those styles which are mentioned in the order
sheet.
The Ethnic wear the range presentation for id done in two phases in first phase the A/W 15
from June to august was done and then September to December in second phase.

4.2 In-Season Review

Confirmation of orders by Vendors

The vendor has to acknowledge this order sheet with his confirmation and
acceptance. The vendor has to confirm the receipt of this order sheet with his
confirmation and acceptance.

The final costs for the styles are closed by this stage from both the parties. The
original samples along with the comments for the required alterations are
dispatched to the vendor for him to proceed with further action.

11) Lab Dip/Strike Off Approvals And Fabric Orders

27
Immediately after the order confirmation, the vendors start work on the fabric lab
dip approvals and strike off approvals. Once the buyers approves of the same, the
vendors go ahead and place the bulk orders for the fabric as per the average
consumption required for the production. The vendors get a lead time of around
100-120 days to make sure the bulk fabric is in house. The buyers job is to
constantly chase the vendor to meet the timeline.

Print Strike-Off- A test length of fabric specially printed in order to check the
pattern registration, pattern repeat and the matching shades in the design

Lab Dip- A lab dip is a swatch of fabric test dyed to hit a color standard.

12) PP Sample Approval & Lab Tests Approval

The PP sample approval is a very importance practice which is religiously followed at

Shoppers Stop for every style. It is a mandatory practice for all vendors to submit a pre-
production sample. Buyer wants Pre-Production sample (PP sample) to be made in actual
production line, so that operators know what they are going to make. This sample is made with
actual fabric, trims and accessories and made by sewing line tailors. PP sample must be
approved by buyer and the technical persons prior to proceeding actual production. The PP
sample is tried by a live model and the fit comments are taken into consideration by the
technical team. The comments are noted and sent to the vendor by the technical team, if the
technical team approves the sample, the vendor can consider it as a green signal to proceed
with the bulk production of the same style. But, if the technical team rejects the PP sample, the
vendor has to re-submit the PP sample for approval.
The vendors are also required to send the lab test reports on the garment quality to the technical
team to prove that the garment the garment meets the prescribed quality standards.

13) Production and Inspection

After the approval of the PP sample, the vendors start with the bulk production. The production
lead time for the vendors is 35 days. After, the production is completed, the vendors co-
ordinates with the technical team for inspection of the production samples. At shoppers stop,
it is a norm for the vendor to send the shipment sample for just before the shipment. They
should be sent in actual packing with all labels, tags, etc. This sample is usually kept for future
reference for the buyer and also to double check the sample before the bulk is sent out to the
28
warehouse.

4.3 MERCHANDISING PROCESS

From here the merchandising process start

29
 14) DA Intake

Delivery Authorization (DA) is an international system followed by all major retailers. DA is

prepared based on the projected sales for that week.

Shoppers Stop follows the OTB system and has a weekly OTB for the ethnic wear private
labels. For example, the weekly OTB for a label is say 10,000 pieces in MNM and 3000. pieces
in SKD, the buyers have to draw a list of styles and quantities that they would like include in
that weeks DA after consultatiothe styles) and send this list to the merchandisers. The
merchandisers then shoot Purchase Orders to the vendors with the style name and the exact
required quantity against it.

Thus with delivery authorization system Shoppers Stop can place order
according to the demand assessment with the condition that it would pick up a
fixed amount every week. Thus it doesnt have to stock goods at his place and
block money in inventory. It also helps in better inventory management as it is
based on weekly projections. It is an assurance for both the Shoppers Stop as
well as the manufacturer.

Manufacturer dispatches the according weekly requirement to the 4 DC according to the DA.
DCs check the details (date, number) of the product and match it with the invoice. If any
detail does not match, even if it is one piece, is rejected. If accepted it causes a mismatch
between the Purchase Order and Delivery Authorization. Hence the PO has to match with the
Invoice carried by the Manufacturer.

30
 15) Style Analysis

After the range is launched, the merchandiser keep an eye on the availability of the stocks in different
stores through MMS (Merchandise management software) and availability sheet is updated for
different stores. If any store is below 90% of its MDQ (base stock) then the replenishment is made by the
merchandiser also looking at the factor of store grading.
Merchandiser also maintains ITEM velocity report to keep a track of various styles performance by
looking at 3 KPI Sell through, NWC (net week covered) and ROS (Rate of sales).
Item velocity report also plays a key role for buyer and merchandiser in planning for the next season
as the The styles with good sell through are preferred on being repeated for next season.

Item Velocity Report

The buyers also receive a weekly sell-thru report from the merchandising team where they
review the performance of all the styles on the floor. Separate reports are made brand-wise
for MNM (Mix n Match) and SKD (Salwar Kurt styles).

The buyers then prepare the velocity report based on these reports and determine the good,
poor and average sellers for that week. The styles are listed as per their performance under
The heading of Good, Average and Poor Sellers.

31
5. CUSTOMER PERCEPTION AND FEEDBACK
5.1 Studying the customer perception of current assortment of Indian-wear at Shoppers Stop

For the purpose of the study, a survey was conducted so as to find out how the customers of Shoppers
Stop Ladies Indian-wear observe its apparel. The aim of the resulting analysis is to help achieve the
key goal of providing recommendations for any gaps in the performance of the Shoppers Stop
Indian-wear private labels and its future operations.

The survey is critical to this study because it reflects the opinion and needs of the customers, which
is the basis for all market strategies. Without an understanding of the customer, it would be
impossible to analyses the loopholes in the current and future scenarios of the exclusive labels of
Shoppers Stop Indian-wear.

The survey has been designed to gather unbiased, objective information from the sample population.
The survey was conducted over the period of 4 months (January - April) of my project through
periodic visits to the stores. The questionnaire used is shown in Annexure A.

The objective of the survey:

To find the customer perception of Ladies Ethnic-wear at Shoppers Stop

Data Collection tool for survey technique: Questionnaire

Area of study:

Mumbai (Western Suburbs)

The survey is targeted towards current customers of Shoppers Stop

Sample Size: 100

Sampling Technique: Judgmental

32
5.2 Statistical analysis for the survey is as follows:

Q.1) Where do you generally go for the shopping of ethnic wear?

Count of Fav_Shop
90 79
80
70
60
50
40
30
20 15
10 5
0
EBO LR MBO

Around 80% Shoppers of ethnic wear in shoppers stop prefers MBO and 15% Shoppers of ethnic
wear in shoppers stop prefers EBO for the shopping of ethnic wear, which shows the target customers
of shoppers stop ethnic wear are shops ethnic wear from organized retail.

Q.2) which is you favorite Multi brand outlet for ethnic wear shopping?

Count of MBO
60 51
50
40
30
18 17
20
8
10
0
Lifestyle Pantaloons SS Westside

51% target customers likes to shop ethnic wear from Shoppers Stop, 18 % from Pantaloons, 17% from
Westside and 8% from Lifestyle.

33
Q 3) which is your favorite Ethnic Brand?
Count of Fav Brand
35
31
29
30
24 25
25 22
20
15 12
10 11
8 9
10 7
5
0

BIBA is favorite brand with 16% followed by Pantaloons private label brands, global desi and Haute curry
and Westsides private label brands.

Q.4) Are you aware of the exclusive Shoppers Stop labels for Ethnic wear?

Count of SS_Pvt
80
67
70
60
50
40 32
30
20
10
0
no yes
67% of the customers are aware of the private label brands of shoppers stop i.e Haute Curry, STOP and
Kashish
32% of the customers are not aware about the Private label brands of shoppers stop.

34
Q.5) what do you usually buy from Shoppers Stop in the ethnic wear section?

Count of MnM Count of sets

80 68
80
67
60
60
40 31
40 32
20
20
0
0 no yes
no yes

67% customers buys Mix and Match from Shoppers Stop while only 31 % Customers buys Sets from
Shoppers Stop.

Within MNM, what do you prefer in the following categories?

Sleeve length of Only
Bottom Wear Tunics/Kurtas
Kurtas Dupattas

Salwars Thigh Length kurtas Full Sleeves

3/4th Sleeves(17 inches)

Patialas Knee length kurtas

Cap Sleeves
Churidars- Knit Calf length kurtas

Spaghetti/ Straps
Churidars- Woven Ankle length kurtas

Ankle length Leggings Kaftans Any Length

Fashion Bottoms (Flared

Any Length
pants, Dhoti pants, Skirts)

35
 40
35
35
31
30 28

25
20
20
16
15

10

5 4

0
Salwar Patiyala Churidar-knits Churidar-woven Ankle Length Fashion Bottoms
Legging

In Bottom Wear 35% Customers prefer Fashion Bottoms, Followed by 31% Churidar-knits and 28% Ankle
length.

Tunic Length Preference

25 23
22
21
20

15
11
10

5 3

0
any length calf length kaftans Knee Length thigh length

23% customers prefer Knee length tunic and22% prefers Calf length tunic.

36
 Prefered Sleeves Length
35 33

30

25 22

20

15 13
11
10
6
5

0
3/4th any length cap sleeves full sleeves strap

33% customers Prefer 3/4th sleeve length, 22% doesnt have any sleeve length preference and 13 %
customers prefer no sleeves and 11% cap sleeves

Q.7) Please rate the following attributes in the order of importance in a garment when you shop ethnic wear, on a
scale from 1 to 5. (1 lowest and 5 highest)
5.00 4.66
4.42 4.32
4.50 4.06 4.18
3.79 3.96
4.00
3.50
3.00
2.50
2.00
1.50
1.00
0.50
0.00
Price Quality Fit Style Color Fabric Brand

Most of the customers looks for style followed by fit, color, quality, fit and price and least they look for
brand, price and Fabric.

37
 Q.8) Please rate the following private label brands in Ethnic wear at shoppers stop on mentioned criteria on the
scale of 1 to 5.

Chart Title
5.00
4.52 4.42
4.50 4.20 4.1
4.08 4.02 4.00 4.03 4.06 4.08
3.98
4.00 3.83 3.73
3.63 3.67
3.50 3.56
3.50 3.34

3.00

2.50

2.00

1.50

1.00

0.50

0.00
Price Quality Fit Style Color Fabric

Stop Haute Curry Kashish

1) Price: In price points Hautecurry leads while customers thinks Kashish is on higher side and the
whole outcome is Shoppers stops private lable are on higher price side.
2) Quality: In quality customers thinks hautecurry is best in quality followed by kashish and stop
scores low in quality.
3) Fit: Kashish scores high in fit while stop is on the lower side.
4) Style: In Style Hautecurry scores high followed by kashish and Stop with the least score.
5) Color: Hautecurry scores a lot in color while customers doesnt like the colors offered by Stop.
6) Fabric : Hautecurrys scores good in fabric also , followed by kashish and Stop.

Aesthetically Haute curry is most preferred Brand of ladies ethnic wear of shoppers stop
while Kashish is the second preferred brand, Stop is not much preferred by the customers
aesthetically as well as from the price point and quality also.

38
Q.9) how much are you willing to pay for these Kurtas when you are getting your preferred color, fit and fabric?
(Choose from the given price options).

Mnm1
60 53

40
24
20
20
2
0
1000-1500 1500-2000 2000-2500 below 1000

1) 53% of the customers will pay 1500-2000 for the kurta offered by BIBA at 1999 and 24 will
pay 2000-2500 for this while 20% will pay 1000-15000. This shows that most of the customers
are satisfied by the price point of this kurta.

39
 Count of MnM2
50 46 45
40
30
20
10 3 5
0
1000-1500 1500-2000 2000-2500 below 1000

2) 46% will pay 1000-1500, 45 % will pay 1500-200 for this kurta offered by Haute curry at
Rs.1999, This shows that the customers thinks that Haute curry is a bit overpriced.

Count of MnM3
80
68
70
60
50
40
30
20 15 16
10
0
1000-1500 1500-2000 below 1000

3) 68% will pay 1000-1500, 16% will pay below 1000 and 15 % will pay 1500-2000 for the
kurta of pantaloons whose original price is 1099. This shows that Pantaloons price points are
preferred by the customers.

40
 Count of SKD1
50
40
40

30 25

20 16
10
10 4
0
1500-2000 2000-2500 2500-3000 3000-3500 above 3500 (blank)

40% will pay 2500-3000, 25% will pay 3000-3500 and only 16% will pay 2000-2500. This shows
that the Set offered by BIBA is on a high price point side as its original price is Rs 3799.

41
 Count of SKD2
60 55

50
40
28
30
20
9
10 3
0
1500-2000 2000-2500 2500-3000 3000-3500 (blank)

55% will pay 2000-2500 and 28% will pay 2500-300 for the set of Haute curry whose original price is
2799, this also shows that haute curry is a bit overpriced.

Count of SKD3
60 50

40 29
16
20

0
2000-2500 2500-3000 3000-3500

50% will Pay 2500-3000, 29% will pay 3000-3500 and 16% will pay 2000-2500 for the Kashish set
whose original price is Rs3299 , this also shows that Kashish is also on the higher price point side in the
perception of customers.

42
Age of Respondents

Series 1
45
40
40

35

30

25

20
16
14 13
15
10
10 7
5

0
Below 20 20-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45

Series 1

Most of the target customers i.e 40% are in the age group of 26-30 followed by 16% in 31-35 and 13% in
36-40.
This shows that most of the target customers lies in the age group of 20-35

5.3Analysis of the Customer Survey

Maximum number of target customers are in age group of 20-30 and 31-40.

Most of the target customers prefer buying ethnic wear from MBO.

BIBA, W and Global desi are most favorite brands of the customers followed by the private|
label brands of Shoppers stop and Pantaloons.

The Brand recall and awareness of the private label is commendable among the respondent.

67% of the respondent prefer Mix and match and only 30% respondents prefer sets.

43
 Churidar-knits and fashion bottoms are most preferred bottoms and Knee length kurta are
preferred in tunics and 3/4th sleeve length is most preferred length in tunics.

Most of the respondents looks for Style, Fit and price but they doesnt care about the brand
which shows that the Brand Loyalty factor is not that strong among the respondents.

Haute curry price points, style and colors are preferred by respondents while kashish is
preferred in fit and quality.

Respondents are not happy with STOP brand in many factors i.e. Price, fit, fabric and style
and they feel the innovation is missing in STOP and STOP is a bit on the expensive side as
compared to other competitive brands.

According to the results of Pictorial questions BIBA and Pantaloons are perfectly positioned in
price range according to the target customers while Haute curry is a bit on the higher
price range side in Mix and Match.

In Sets pictorial question all the brands are a bit on the expensive side as per the customers
perception.

44
 6. COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

Competitive Analysis for Private Label brands of Ladies Ethnic wear in major
Department stores.

For an in -depth study of the status quo of ethnic wear private labels and its relevance and
position as compared to its existing competitors in the market, comparative analysis of private
labels in the ethnic wear category of major department stores has been conducted.

The platforms studied for the same, have been used as a base for the competitive analysis and
simultaneously recommending solutions for any gaps found.

Core criteria

Non-Core criteria

The study of the current scenario of apparel has been done within the context of the key
platforms mentioned above, based on secondary data available from company database and
observations from the store visits, in the western suburbs of Mumbai.
Objective of the Competition Analysis
The objective of the Analysis is to know about the competitors product offering, price range and value
proposition in the market for the womens wear private label brands offered in the ethnic wear section.
The analysis was conducted to

1) Understand the assortment width/depth in terms of major items, styles, fabrics and
colours stocked by the competitors in their private labels.

2) Act as tool to determine the price points of different product offerings within the
category.

3) Help determine the visual display features provided by the competitor to its private
45
 label for ethnic wear category.

For an all-inclusive analysis, three brands were taken into consideration. These brands are:

1) Westside
Established in 1988 as a part of the TATA Group, Trent Ltd. operates Westside. The
Westside stores have numerous departments to meet the varied shopping needs of
customers. These include Menswear,Footwear, Wome
Cosmetics, Perfumes and Handbags, Household Accessories, lingerie, and Gifts. The
company has already established 74 Westside departmental stores (measuring 15,000
- 30,000 square feet each) in 42 cities pan-India.
Westside offers three private labels in the ethnic wear section:
1) Bombay Paisley A fusion wear, affordable label, targeted towards the
youngsters.
2) Zuba A more expensive label which offers designer garments made of rich Indian
hand woven textiles.
3) Westside The affordable label for everyday wear. It is their biggest label in the
ethnic wear section and provides a wide assortment of MNM and SKD products
for casual wear and work wear.

2) Pantaloons
The first Pantaloons store was launched in 1997. Pantaloons stores have an abundance of
choices across categories that range from western to Indian wear, formal to party wear and
active wear for men, women and kids. Pantaloons has extended its horizons to fashion
accessories like fragrances, footwear, handbags, watches, sunglasses and much more.
Pantaloons has 81 fashion stores across 40 cities and towns pan-India. Pantaloons which was
previously controlled by the Future Group has now been taken over by Aditya Birla Nuvo
Limited ['ABNL'].

Pantaloons offer three private labels in the ethnic wear section:

1) Rangmanch -It offers a melange of contemporary styles with an Indian vibe across a
wide range of kurtas and churidars exuding charm and simplicity.
2) Akkriti - This contemporary brand offers indo-western silhouettes in kurtis, dhoti pants and
patialas. The eclectic vibe of colours, fabrics and designs make it a great option for fashion
conscious youngsters.

46
 3) Trishaa- It is a brand for traditional Indian occasions. The collection has a plethora of
designs across salwar-kameez-dupatta sets.

3)Lifestyle
Lifestyle International (P) Ltd. started it operations in India in the year 1999 and operates in overall 25
cities with more than 41stores all across India. It is a part of the Dubai based retail and hospitality
conglomerate Landmark Group and comprises Lifestyle stores (Large format Departmental stores),
Home Centre (Home Improvement stores) and Max (Value fashion chain) along with International
fashion apparel brands UCLA and Bossini. Each Lifestyle store brings together five concepts under
one roof Apparel, Footwear, Children, Homeware & Furnishing and Beauty & accessories, offering a
convenient one-stop shop for customers.
Lifestyle offers only one private label in ethnic-wear-
Melange It is a contemporary ethnic wear brand for women. Its wide assortment includes, kurtas,
salwars/ churidars, dupattas and kurtis for ladies that can be liberally mixed and matched.
The collection at Melange boasts of designs inspired by traditional Indian crafts like block printing
and exquisite hand embroideries on cotton, silk and other fine fabrics.

To better understand the positioning of competitor brands, the following table can be seen.

47
 Figure 60: Comparison between Competing Brands

Style and Youthful, affordable Trendy, youthful and

POSITIONING
Affordability fashion vibrant brand

Exclusive Tata Multi brand (national Multi brand (national

FORMAT TYPE Trent Group (Only brand and private brand and private
Private Labels) labels) labels)

PITCH Affordable Style Fresh fashion Latest Fashion

TARGET Affluent consumers Consumers in SEC A Affluent consumers in

CUSTOMER in SEC A and B and B SEC A and B

PRIVATE LABELS
OFFERED IN THE
LADIES ETHNIC
WEAR SECTION

For the purpose of the analysis, Westside store at Malad (West), Pantaloons Outlet at Malad
(West), Shoppers Stop store at Malad (West) were taken into consideration.

48
49
6.1 Competitive Analysis for Fusion Wear
Observations
Description Bombay Akkriti Hautecurry
Pasiley (Pantaloons) (Shoppers Stop)
(Westside)
Top Assortment Width Kurta, Tunic, Kurta, fusion Kurta, Tunics,
Wear Dress, kurta with short Kaftan, Dresses,
Kaftans, Knit length and Jumpsuits, Skirts,
tops, knit assymetric hem shirts, churidar sets
dress line, dress and
jackets

depth 10 Options 22 options 38 options

Fabric Cotton, Cotton , viscose, cambric, Jersey,

Cambric, rayon, cotton, rayon, viscose
Jersey

Price Epp 699- 599-999 kurta and 699-899

899(EPP) tops at 599 and
kurta,tops, dresses and
kaftan at 699 jumpsuits at 999
and dress at
899

Whole 699-1199 599-1999 699-3499 in MnM

and 2899-5000 in
SKD

Bottom Assortment Width Printed Leggings, Printed Skirt, printed

Wear Plazzos, pants, shorts, leggings
Skirts, Plazzos, Printed
leggings leggings
,Printed
shorts

depth 6 options 7 Options 5 options

Price Epp 499 with 399 for leggings, 999

printed 899 for printed
leggings at pants and skirts
559 and and shorts at 699
shorts and
plazzos at
799

50
 Price 499-799 399-1399 999-1299
Range

VM One one wall 4 display 2 dedicated walls ,

dedicated arms and 6 four with 6 display arms
wall with 6 way browsers each and 4 two
display arms browser for MnM
and 5 four and 2 for SKD
way
browsers

Rs 899 Shorts at Rs 699

Bombay Paisley Product Assortment

Rs 1199
Rs 999 Rs 699
Rs 699
Akkriti by Pantaloons Product Assortment

51
 Rs 1499 Rs 2699 Rs 699 Rs 1299

Haute Curry Product Assortment

Analysis of Fusion Wear

Haute Curry has wide range of product assortment with a lot of depth as compared to
other competitive brands.

In bottoms Haute Currys Assortment lacks depth and also width as compared to other
competitive brands as Haute Curry misses out on number of options in skirts, shorts and
printed pants as compared to other brands like Akkriti and Bombay Paisely and the price
of the bottoms are also on the higher side as compared to other brands.

Haute Curry also have an edge over the competitive brands as Haute Curry is only fusion
brand which provides SKD but it also can affect the brands image as its Targeted
Customers might want more options or variety in bottoms and top wear rather than in SKD.

Entry price points are same for all the brands but the number options in EPP are low as
compared to other brands.

Price Points are on the higher side for Haute Curry as compared to other Competitive
brands which might be concern as the targeted customers are young and college going.

52
 6.2 Competitive Analysis for Work Wear (Mix and Match)

Descriptio Westside Rangmanch Stop Melange

n (Pantaloons) (Shoppers Stop) (lifestyle)

Top Assort Width Straight Kurta, Straight kurta, Kalidar Kurtas, Straight Kurtas,
Wear ment kalidar kurta, kalidar kurta, Angarakhas, kalidar Kurtas,
AOP kurta angarakhas and straight kurtas, Angarakhas,
kurtas with tunics, flared Kurtas with
asymmetric hem kurtas and short varying lengths
line and block kurtas and asymmetric
print flared kurta hemlines.

depth 54 options 76 options 94 options 85 options

Fabric cotton, Cotton, Cambric, Cambric, Poly Crepe,

cambaric, Rayon Dobby, Slub Cambric, Knit
cotton flex, Cotton, Voile,
south cotton Poly Crepe,
South Cotton,
Moss Cotton

Price Epp 699-899, 699 799 899 499 basic

for staright straight kurta
kurta and
kalidar at 899

Whole 699-1399 799-1899 899-1999 499-2299

Botto Assort Width salwar, Knit and woven Knit and woven Knit leggings
ms ment Churidars, bottoms mainly churidar, and woven
patialas, churidars and salwar, printed churidar and
Plazzos and leggings churidar Plazzo
printed bottoms

Depth 5 options 10 options 8 options 6 options

Price Epp 499 for basics 559 699 399 basic cotton
and printed for churidar
599

Whole 499-699 559 699-2199 399-1099

53
 Rs 1199 Rs 1399 Rs 899

Westside MnM product Assortment

Rs 1499 Rs 1499 Rs 1799

Rs 1299

Rangmanch by Pantaloons Product Assortment

54
 Rs 1499
Rs 1599 Rs 1899 Rs 899

STOP Mnm Product Assortment

Rs 599 Rs 799 Rs 999 Rs 1199

Melange by Lifestyle MnM Product Assortment

55
Analysis of Work wear Mix and Match
STOP has larger number of options as compared to other competitive brands.|
Price Range of STOP is wide as compared to other competitive brands and also the maximum
price point is less as compared to Lifestyles price point which gives and edge over Lifestyle.
STOP lacks in providing fashion element in the large product assortment as compared to
Rangmanch by Pantaloons and Westside as still asymmetrical hemline is missing and low
options in short kurta.
STOP has a narrow product assortment when it comes to bottoms, STOP misses out on
options like palazzo, printed pants and leggings as compared to competitive brands of
Lifestyle and Pantaloons.
Number of Options in EPP are less for STOP.
More options are in high price range as compared to Lifestyle, Pantaloons.

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 6.3 Competitive Analysis for Work Wear (SKD)
Description Westside(SKD) Trisha(Pantaloons) Stop(Shoppers Stop)

Top Assortment Width Kalidar and Kalidar, angrakha, Kalidar, Angrakha,and

Wear staright straight and Churidaar sets
placement print
basics

depth 30 options 24 options 20 options

Fabric Cotton, Cambric, Cotton, Cambric, Cotton , Cambaric and

Handloom Rayon , viscose, power loom
Chanderi, brocade

Price Epp 1399 basic 1699 1999 basic cotton

placement print churidaar sets

Whole 1399-2999 1699-3499 1999-3299

VM 2 dedicated wall 2 dedicated walls ,

with 6 straight One dedicated wall with 7 display arms on
display arms 4 with 12 display one and 5 display arms
four way browsers arms and 2 two on other wall, 6 racks
way browsers and 2 and 2 two way
four way browsers browsers

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 Rs 2999 Rs 2799 Rs 2599

Westside SKD Product Assortment

Rs 2899 Rs 2799 Rs 3299 Rs 1999

STOP SKD Product Assortment

Rs 1799 Rs 2299 Rs 3499 Rs 2799

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 Trishaa by Pantaloons Product Assortment

Analysis of Work Wear SKD

The number of options for STOP in this section is less as compared to Westside and Pantaloons.

High Entry price point of STOP and few options in EPP while Westside and Pantaloons
provides more options with low price points.

The difference of Rs 600 and Rs 300 is huge difference in EPP with respect to Westside and
Pantaloons and the assortment of STOP is poor as compare to other competitors.

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6.4 Competitive Analysis for Premium Wear (SKD and MnM)

Descriptio Zuba(Westside) Kashish Melange(lifestyle)

n (Shoppers Stop)

Top Assortmen Width Straight kurta, Straight, Kalidar Kalidars and

Wea t kalidar kurta, kurtas and kaftans Straight kurta sets
r angrakha , stoles, and few assymetric
plazzo , pants and hem line sets
foil printed
churidar

depth 16 options (MnM 12 in MnM and 36 26 options in SKD

and SKD) in SKD

Fabric Cotton, Cambric, Cotton, Silk, tussar Cotton, Jacquard,

Shantoon, Tussar silk, Rayon, Crepe Chanderi and
Silk and Chanderi and georgette georgette

Price Epp 1499-1999 ,1499 999 for mnm kurta 2144

for kurta and stoles and 2699 for SKD
at 1199 and
bottoms at 799

Whole 1499-3999 999--1999(MnM) 2144-3999

2699-5499 (SKD)

VM

Rs 3999
Rs 3599
Rs 3499 Rs 2599
Rs 2799 Rs 2999

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 Rs 4999 Rs 3999 Rs 3499 Rs 2799

Melange Product Assortment

Rs 2499 Rs 2699 Rs 3999 Rs 2899

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Analysis of Premium Wear ( MnM and SKD)
Kashish has a wide variety of assortment with 36 options in SKD and 12 in MnM while compared
to Westside and Lifestyle.
Zuba has less options but all the options are unique and serves the premium brand identity of Zuba.
Kashish has a wide price range as compared to other competitive brands.
Kashish has wide variety assortment which also sometime gives the impression of confused brand
identity as some of products doesnt fall in the category of premium wear.
Less options of handloom and silk product also affects Kashish, as Lifestyle and Zuba of Westside
has more options of silk and handloom in premium wear.

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 7 CONCLUSION

7.1Areas of Concern and Recommendations

The in-depth study of the private labels, the Buying and Merchandising process helped to build
a strong foundation for the project. It helped me to identify internal factors of the current
scenario of the private labels in ethnic-wear.

Further, the customer survey and competition analysis conducted during the project helped to
achieve a comprehensive understanding of the current position of Indian-wear apparel of
Shoppers Stop amongst the competing department stores and potential opportunities for their
labels.

The qualitative research and quantitative research so conducted helped me to gain a greater
understanding of the performance of the labels to determine current and potential opportunities
of these labels. The resulting analysis from the same, have been used to propose certain
recommendations to boost the performance of the brands.

The final recommendations have been given vis--vis areas of concern which were brought
forward in terms of critical gaps through the above mentioned analysis.

1. Area of Concern: Product Assortment

Recommendation 1:

The competitive analysis showed that the major competitors such as Westside and Pantaloons
had an assortment of Fashion Bottom in fusion wear while Shoppers Stops Fusion brand Haute
Curry lacks the depth and when most of the target customers are in the age group of
20-30 and 31-40, so to target the group of 20-130 haute curry should include more options in
fashion bottoms. And as per the survey conducted most of the around 35% target customers
wants to buy Fashion bottoms.

Recommendation 2:

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In fusion wear to target the customers of age 20-30 Shoppers Stop have Haute Curry but in
product assortment there are sets also which is effecting the brand identity of a fusion brand a
young brand cause some of the products in product assortment doesnt go with the brands
identity of haute curry as the target customers of this brands are more into Mix and Match

Recommendation 3:

STOP as a brands lacks in the innovation and creativity in designs which is evidently brought up by
the survey which shows that target customers gives STOP only 4 and 3.6 in style and colors as
compared to other in house brands and its competitors like Pantaloons Rangmanch and lifestyle
are doing good in terms of innovation which can be concluded by looking at their product assortment.

Recommendation 4:
The findings of the customer survey showed that a substantial percentage of about 29% of the
customers preferred knee length tunics, followed by 33 % of customers opting for 3/4th sleeves and
11% cap sleeves . These options are missing in the assortment of all the three private labels the
competition analysis showed that competing brands such as Westside, Zuba, Melange, offered more
options in tunics.
In STOP bottoms also the assortment is not that deep in comparison to other competitive brands as
ankle length leggings and patiyalas are missing from the assortment while other competitive brands
Rangmanch and Westsides MNM has a good deep assortment of the bottoms.

Therefore, it is recommended to include essential bottom wear options like patiyalas and
Ankle Length Leggings to STOP MNM and fashion bottom-wear options like skirts, printed leggings,
shorts etc. to Haute Curry.

2. Area of concern: Price Range

Recommendation 5:
A major portion of the respondents during the customer survey, felt that the price range for the brands
Stop and Kashish was high and while competitive analysis shows that the Haute curry fusion brands
are also a bit overpriced as compared to Pantaloons and Westsides in house fusion wear brand.
This was a cause for dissatisfaction, according to the findings. According to the feedback, some
customers felt that the styles offered in Kashish were physically appealing as Kasish scores over 4.1 in
style and 4.08 in colors but higher priced than what they should be offered for. This could mean
losing out on a customer group with a liking towards the assortment otherwise.

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Thus it is recommended that the actual MRP of styles offered in Kashish should match the perceived
MRP of the styles as viewed by the customers so as to provide value for money to the customers which
is also derived by the pictorial question results when Kasish sets perceived Mrp was between 2500-
3000 while its actual price was 3299 which is quite high than perceived Mrp.

Recommendation 6:

As per the competition analysis, the competing brands of Haute Curry, namely, Bombay Paisley and
Akkriti provide a lot of options and strong styles in the Entry price Point range.

While Hautecurry offers very less options in EPP as compared to competitive brands which can also
effects its target customers as most of them are young and college going and as per the survey the
customers are least bothered about the brand name while buying ethnic wear so this could lead to
loosing of customers as they dont have any brand loyalty.
Results of the pictorial questions shows that the perceived Mrp of Haute currys kurta was between
1000-1500 while the actual price is Rs1999, which is also on higher side, and in SKD also the
perceived Mrp was in between 2000-2500 while actual price is Rs2799.
Therefore it is recommended to include more options in EPP range for Haute curry.

3. Area of Concern: Packaging

Recommendation 8:

During the competition analysis, it was observed that the labels of competing stores such as
Pantaloons and Lifestyle used attractive packaging concepts like Theme tags, which were attached
to the garments along with the hang tags. These tags denoted that those particular styles were part of a
specific collection, thus making their styles more thought of and well presented.
It was also observed that the competing labels used a separate hang tag depicting certain wash care
specifications. For example, Westside had a tag depicting the maintenance of hand crush in the garments
after wash.

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Such labels add value and increase the attractiveness for the customers. Therefore, using such tags is
recommended.

5. Area of Concern: Brand Identity

Recommendation 10:

Kashish although positioned to be a festive wear brand, offers a wide variety of product assortment
ranging from printed kaftans, cotton kurtas to more festive kurtas and sets made of Chanderi and
Georgette fabrics. Unlike the other competing labels, the identity of Kashish appears confused looking
at its product assortment. Although, it has a much wider assortment than the other labels, the brand
identity of Kashish is not clearly defined.

Area of Concern: Visual Merchandising

Recommendation 11:

Recently the Shoppers Stop store at Malad, where the study for the project was mainly conducted,
underwent an overhaul. So the visual display of the ethnic-wear department appears to be
aesthetically appealing and the merchandise is displayed in an attractive and uncluttered manner.
However, so as to take the display a step further, there is still scope for improvement.
As too much use of 2 way browsers and less use of nesting table and a little bit unorganized
manner of displaying of MnM as compared to SKD

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8. LIMITAIONS OF THE STUDY

This study has attempted to delve into some of the important issues. However it is admitted
that there are some limitations in the conduct of this study which are as follows:

The study has been undertaken on an All India basis but it was not possible to visit whole of
India for this purpose and the study is restricted only to selected areas of the Western Suburbs
of Mumbai, because quantitative information was very difficult to obtain. Some of empirical
investigations could not be carried out in detail because of the non-availability of relevant
information for undergoing those investigations.

The data is self-reporting in nature which cannot be generalized. The possibility of errors being
introduced into the data by ignorance or selective perception calls for cautious interpretations.

For a well-rounded analysis and findings, it was imperative to direct the customer survey
towards the regular customers of Shoppers Stop, which could have been done by taking the
First Citizen customers into consideration.
However due to constraints of access and external validity, this data was inaccessible. As a
result of this, a subset of the targeted population of the survey was first-time customers who
were not able to provide an objective feedback of the private labels.

There appears to be little updated information on as a lot of changes have taken place but were
not incorporated. Most of these are off-shoots of the self-imposed restrictions during the
process of research in order to keep the research within manageable limits as time allowed was
short.

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