Nostalgia; "Best of the Best" in APAC

During a recent trip to Kolkatta I met an old friend and well wisher; Mr. S K Chowdhury (or Subrata as he is fondly called) of Music World. We met in 1997, when we were both toiling hard to open the first of its kind music store in India. It was a futuristic store and we have some great memories of the various little incidents leading up to the launch including an awkward moment with a leading star, whom we had approached to launch the store. I used to be involved in the marketing for Music World till I got pulled away into other formats and rolls.

But being in the same office it was but natural that we meet and catch up daily. In fact the day would seem incomplete if we had not done so. Being a part of the start up team we also shared a fierce pride in having started specialty retail in India. When we met recently it was but natural that we should recall one of the most memorable instances and that's what I would like to share.

One of the recognitions for the pioneering effort of the RPG Retail team was being awarded the "Top Retailer of India" and more importantly the "BEST OF THE BEST" award across the Asia Pacific region. Five such top retailers were selected for the "Best of the Best" award out of entries from countries like Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, etc.

The then head of RPG Retail directed Mr. Chowdhury and myself to attend the function in Singapore and receive the award on behalf of the team. The function was held on 28th October 2004 and we knew that we had been short listed for the Top Retailer of India. We were both expecting that and quite excited about that itself.

Five retailers from across APAC were selected for the "Best of the Best" award. Imagine our absolute surprise, happiness, pride, etc., etc., when RPG Retail was announced as being one amongst this five! A memorable day for the team and more importantly for Indian Retail and Indian Professionals. We could hold our own and come out on tops while being compared in an industry where operators in all the other countries had years and years of experience as compared to the RPG Retail team, which had been running the show for Just over 8 years!!

Weekend musings

The week that has gone by was a memorable one. Apart from the landmark launch of Nano, we learnt that the IPL now stands for International Premier League and not Indian Premier League. More importantly the stock markets seem to be clawing back and with it the sentiments seems to be improving. Is it the light at the end of the tunnel with regards to this downturn??

I don't think so, if one were to believe what the papers report. In fact, maybe that's the problem. media today defines the mood and nowadays all we read about is the gloom and doom. I remember the heady days of 2007 where the papers were full of upbeat news. It is not as if there were no problems or issues then and similarly it is not as if there is nothing positive happening nowadays. However, the focus is on the downturn and hence our mood that we seem to have a very long way to go!!!

I end the musing with a quote attributed to Mr. Kishore Biyani. At a recent event, when asked about when the recession would end, he quipped; "The day we stop reading the papers!". Now, that's food for thought.

Have a great week ahead.

Store staff; The face of any Retailer

The store is only as good or bad as the staff that manage the same and are the face of that retailer.

Over the last 13 plus years since corporate retail started getting staff, training them and ensuring that they present the right imagery has been a huge challenge and it is not becoming any easier.

Initially in 1996/ 97 the challenge was to overcome the bias of working in a store. Staff would not join or leave in a few days because of the label of working in a "dukan"or "kadai". The reason is very simple. Even today most of the traditional stores are manned by people who are usually relatives of the store owner or from their village. Hence, they are usually illiterate and are not the ideal poster boys for a career in retail!

One of the early initiatives to overcome this issue of getting store staff, especially trained staff was the start of RIRM (RPG Institure of Retail Management). Short term diploma courses with on the job training was given and every batch would be snapped up by not only the RPG retail stores but also other retailers. The idea being that a diploma and some class room sessions would communicate the difference between a job with a corporate retailer Vs being a "dukandaar" or "kadaikaaran". Usually the courses would start off very well and once the students graduated and started working in a store, many would stop after a few days. The societal pressure and conditioning came through very strongly when one person wanted to be posted to another store far away from where his home was or he would have to quit. His parents did not want him to be seen working in store by their neighbours!

Training store staff is a challenge as it is multi faceted. It involves three areas of inputs -
- Retail knowledge such as how to stack, how to do FIFO, etc.
- Product knowledge, which is crucial is some categories like electronics
- Attitudinal training and service orientation.

The key challenge is the fact that that most store staff come from a very economically challenged background and most of the inputs are not only alien to them but something they do are not exposed to in their day to day life.

For example, when product inputs regarding something as basic as rice used to be given, they would find it very difficult to relate to as their families would never buy the quality that was being sold. Therefore to try to understand what use and benefit is there in cleaned rice without any broken rice usually is a challenge. In fact, till a series of training sessions were held for every staff, most used to think that the store they worked in was very expensive. The happy outcome of the training was that the families of many of the staff started shopping. It is said that, You need to believe in the product you sell. Otherwise, your skepticism will be obvious to your customers. Nowhere is this more relevant than in retail.

The even greater challenge was the attitudinal training and service orientation. As a race most of us are not taught basic social graces like saying Please/ thank you or smiling or wishing. To change that conditioning and instill something as basic as smile at the customers was a challenge. One youngster innocently asked 'Sir, should we smile at the ladies also? Wont they mistake us?' This might sound very funny, but from his point of view, it was a very valid doubt.

Personal grooming was a favourite topic and I guess is even now a focus area. When a session on body odour and the importance of using powder or deodorant was being made an innocent comment was "Sir, is that not only for ladies?". Of course today it is the age of the metro sexual male and the penetration and use of these products have increased.

Lastly, the entire training bit has to be simple and easy to implement. At the end of the day, it is not rocket science and should not be made into one. One should never forget the background and conditioning these youngsters have and the challenge they face in first understanding and then implementing any training inputs. But still, it would do well if we remember these incidents as a reminder to KISS*!


(* Keep It Simple & Short)

Population Pressure

Standing inside the lift going to the ground floor, I have often been faced with a barrage of a human wall on the ground floor. Rushing to get inside the lift!!! And similarly in an airport transit bus, where everyone gets in and crowds around the entrance or rather the exit!

I have mentioned 2 instances to showcases very different scenarios.

I recollect an incident where I called out loudly “Hey guys, this building does not have a basement. The lift stops here. Unless we get off, you can’t get in”
Increasingly I reflect on this incident as also my various interactions with people from out of India who wonder about this phenomenon and have come up with this theory called “Population Pressure”.

As a race, we Indians or rather people from Asia which comprises of a large population are conditioned from childhood to push, shove, elbow, barge in... In short fight for our place in the good ‘Ole Earth.

In the presence of such overwhelming numbers, we can’t afford the niceties of holding a door open or waiting! If one does not MOVE, they are left standing. I remember reading about the Tokyo Metro system, where you have staff to push people inside the compartments so that the doors can close!

What is this population pressure?

Conditioning.

Growing up in an environment where there is nothing called as personal space and the least amount of space will be willingly taken up by another human being, the tussle between social grace/ manners and the pressure to get something out of life is an ever present reality in our lives’.
- Rushing into a lift
- Driving in the wrong lane, even though we want to turn right.
- Vehicles blocking the free left turn lane
- Elbowing into a line
The list can go on.

Is there a solution to this?

Not really, because the population explosion that continues is driven largely by people who cant and don’t read blogs. Or rather, can’t read at all. Period!

Is there a solution? NO. This is a social phenomenon and will take its own course to correct/ change/ morph.

So, what does this have to do with retail?

As a customer we don’t mind browsing and shopping for s long as we want. It could be a few minutes or a few hours. But, the billing counter is a barrier to freedom. Ideally, from a psychological perspective we would like to browse, pick and choose and walk out with what we have taken. FREEDOM, in its absolute sense.

Although the self service concept panders to this inherent whim in our minds, the Billing counter is a reality check. A barrier to be crossed. (I shall write about this in detail later)
Going back to the population pressure theory and linking it to this perceived barrier, is a CRUCIAL factor for any retailer.

Typically a cashier faces challenges, such as –
- Customers lining up and a customer’s bill is taking too long, because many products are not found while scanning! One needs to actually manage a cash till to understand the dynamics. Forget, “If looks could kill”, in a line at the cash till, it’s more like “If thoughts could kill”. And the cashier is not immune to it.
- Population pressure kicking in – Regular customers or someone who has purchased a few things, try to elbow themselves out of this barrier by requesting to be billed first.

As a retailer what can one do?
- Make the staff aware of this reality
- Discourage people from line jumping
- Train the staff to manage “Population Pressure” which is all the more evident during the evenings and weekends.

Successful retail is all about creating, managing and meeting expectations. The key being creating the right level of expectation. That’s another topic for another day!

Have a great weekend.

Falling between the tables

I have been travelling and it was a great experience to observe new things and ruminate, so that I can share with all of you. I visited some of the stores during this short trip of mine and was reminded of an interesting anecdote, when I saw a few stores trying to morph into something else.

Long, long ago, in an earlier assignment I was witness to a very curious discussion. The HR head and the top honcho of an FMCG company were discussing and the comment was: "We lost a good sales person and created a bad manager". Upon enquiring it was explained that a top rated sales person was promoted to motivate him. It ended up with disastrous consequences. Being a poor leader he was unable to manage the team and what used to be a great contribution from him as a sales person was also lost to the organisation.

A lot of the stories I hear from the emerging retail sector resonate with this thought because -

When someone sees a success, it is quite natural to try and replicate it. Hoping to even better it. Very early on someone told me that "There is no success formula; Every Successful person has a formula". Retail validates this concept. Duplication is not a recipe; Differentiation is!!! How is your store different and more importantly is that difference in alignment with all other elements of the retail strategy. For example: A discount store opens in an upper middle class locality and customers patronise the store. Just because a boutique opens next door, if this store tries to morph into one, the existing customers might actually be confused and those who chose to go to the boutique store would anyways not bother.

I am leaving a few thoughts on the table for your comments and feedback. Would expand and expound on this and the training bit over the weekend.

P.S. - I realised that the Blog is like a store. Shall expand on this thought also, later!!!

Call the cops!!!

Hope you all had a great weekend and a greater still start to the week. At least the stock markets were on an upswing and it is a historic day for every Indian. 'Nano' was launched. A promise made was kept and as an Indian, it swells my heart.

My post to start the week has been prompted by one of the comments wherein it is mentioned that the staff did not even know the name of the product. This is a common enough occurrence and a huge problem for any retailer as also the customers. This is definitely due to the expectation that is created in our minds the minute we walk into an air conditioned, brightly lit store. The root of this issue lies in a variety of reasons, the least of which is the reality that most staff come from a very economically challenged background. Shall delve into that later this week.

This challenge has led to several awkward situations in a store, many of which were outright hilarious, like what happened in this incident.

One of the new staff at a store was very excited and enthusiastic. They had just attended the training program and the "wish the customers" rule was fresh and being actively followed. Suddenly this person rushed up to the supervisor who was busy checking something and stage whispered "Madam, please call the police immediately. It is urgent". The supervisor was initially alarmed, but decided to enquire as to what the matter was, before reacting.

Upon enquiring, the young staff, wide eyed and in a louder stage whisper said; Customer is asking for drugs!

The poor lady who turned out to be an elderly person had been asking whether brown sugar was available; for BAKING!

The supervisor in charge of the store later narrated this incident to highlight how one has to learn and improve continuously as training cannot be like in the film "Matrix"; load a disk and they get to know everything!

Will write more about this and some ideas that have worked. Have a great week.

Some visuals to break the monotony of text!!!

Some of my pictures to share with all of you. I have chosen a sunset to mark the end of a week, a picture which shows a gap between walls to signify opportunity beyond and a close up of a well irrigated field as a symbol of future prosperity and well being for ALL. Om Sivoham.

What will be, will be. Shall write about that next week, of course, in addition to retail! Adios. :-)

Voting is not a right, It's a DUTY

I often feel ashamed of being a part of the educated class in India. We are a pampered lot (In a lot of ways) and it shows up most obviously on election day. For most, its a glorious holiday!! The reality that people don't do their duty has made companies now declare it a working day, with a few hours permission at best.... Supposedly to vote!!

We read news papers, many a magazines and are also active on the net. I witness the enormous amount of appeals, comments of outrage, opinions, etc., that flows through my mail box and group messages daily.

One question. Did you vote? is like the school bell, suddenly rendering everyone speechless or rather text less....

A few brave souls reply with the obvious justifications like; Whats the use? Everyone is as bad as the other and so on.

I have only 2 views about this -

1. This is our duty. In return for our identity as an Indian, the least we can do is VOTE. Ask the people who live in non-democratic countries what a luxury this is. We are given this right and duty by our constitution and yet most fritter it away.

2. Now I speak like a retailer. Do you know how to increase the margins of a category or a store? You focus on the relatively better margin products. Slowly and surely the margins move up. It does not happen overnight. But it happens. Similarly, I agree that the choices are not great. But, support the lesser of the evils. Slowly and surely the message will get through and the bar will raise.

I sincerely hope that the coming election is a landmark in Indian history because the educated class voted and they defined the standards we want for an India we want to leave for our children!

Postscript - Another excuse albeit a genuine one! I don't have an election card and it is too difficult and time consuming to get one. And my response - Anyone who says this should never ever bother about a gas connection, ration card, driving license, passport, etc. If the person has any one of these, we all know the effort required for that. Cant that person expend the same as a duty towards the country?