Retail is all about detail !!!

“Retail is all about detail”. This statement came to life when Mr. Ashoke Bhaskaran, Vice-president (Hyper), Reliance Retail addressed the students of retail varsity at CBS. Retail is not only about the glitz and glamour that one experiences at a mall but the sheer hard work that makes the experience glamorous. According to him, it’s as simple, as “clean, Stack and Serve” but becomes complex as it deals with the most delicate of the entities, human mind! Product, suppliers and customers are three most critical drivers of any retailer’s success, and customer perceptions of the store can break or make the retail destiny.


Every Retail activity stands strong on four important pillars, namely Merchandising, Store Operations, IT and Supply chain/ logistics. Support functions such as commercial, HR and marketing keep the pillars strong rooted to the base objectives – margins and customer satisfaction. Among the pillars, store operations assume prima face importance as it serves as the pre ultimate point of contact between the retailer and the customer. The entire success plan can go to shackles, if “The Ops guy” fails to execute, even if other support functions paved the way for the same. At the end of the day, making the customer visit the store frequently will do the trick, and operations can play a great role in ensuring the same

Any activity will ultimately depend upon the results it yields, so does retail. Though sales and turnover can be adjudged as safe indicators of success, it can only throw light on the traction of the products, and not the effect in real monetary terms. According to him, the retailer should consider the residual profit value in rupee terms after considering all the expenses incurred in the process.


He stressed on Service as a major differentiator. According to him, Human resource plays a major role in bringing all the pillars together to attain the ultimate objective of retail as price, quality, range, ambience, location advantage and other value added services can be easily replicated by other retailers but it’s the human touch and service that will serve as the thin line of difference and the final frontier for success. From the customer’s point of view, this sets the service level expectations which need to be fulfilled to sustain in this simply complex journey of retail.

By Ramya, Retail Varsity,CBS

A Swashbuckling Inning !!!

Session by Mr.Krishnamachari Srikkanth on Leadership @ CBS

Never give up in life...Keep pushing the envelope till you achieve what you want...These words are still lingering in my mind. Well, wondering who could deliver these lines with so much panache and style right? None other than our own “Cheeka” a.k.a Kris Srikkanth to the entire world. Yes the pioneering pyrotechnic batsman of the 80s & 90s, when the cricketing world was yet to know about the coming of 20-20's and dashing one-day games !!!

It was a memorable and highly inspiring session by the important member of the 1983 cricket world cup winning Indian team that urged the optimist in me to remain hopeful that anything you aspire to become or desire to possess in life will ultimately bow down in front of you. But to get it surrender to you, one must use the weapons in his artillery called hardwork and diligence to the fullest limit.

Typical of his inimitable style of going after the bowling right at the beginning of his innings, he started off with his view on what an individual must possess in order to scale heights in his/her career. The word was “Faith”.This is necessary to any individual to grow in life , as if one doesn’t believe in his/her capability , the last thing he could expect is the world having faith in him.So believe in oneself and believe that this belief will take you places.

Another important factor that differentiates the best from the rest , is the ability to take up responsibility and deliver under testing conditions. This idea was spoken over by him with examples being stated from the 1983 World Cup , which Indians won , even after being considered the underdogs. Kapil Dev , inspired the entire team, which was feeling quite low after having been defeated by the mighty West Indies team in the first league match. It was very easy to give up under those circumstances and just go through the motions for the rest part of the World Cup. But Kapil paaji did not let this happen.. As they say, “ When the going gets tough , the Tough get going” , Kapil took the responsibility over his shoulders and literally bowled through the opposition to win us the World Cup.

Even after having seen so many greats entering and leaving the cricket field, one man according to Srikkanth who still remains on the top of that league of extraordinary gentlemen is Kapil Dev.
Remember what he said a day before the world cup finals ??? " Don't write us off..". His spirit of never-say-die still inspires the rest of the country.

Srikkanth also struck a philosophical chord when he touched upon the idea of being detached from whatever you do in life , which in a way meant that – Never expect too many things from life , take every day as it comes and live every day to the fullest.That was quite spiritual too.!!! ... No wonder it comes from a man who can hook the fast bouncer from Andy Roberts to a six in the high-tension world cup final and still maintain his cool !

Like an excited and thrilled spectator I kept watching the ball going over the fences far too many times, which is a feature of Srikkanth’s innings and before I could realise the damage done to my herd-mindset by the flurry of shots in the form of inspirationally pulled moments and influentially hooked quotes , the match was won.

This was one unforgettable match , where I saw the Chennai Hurricane 'squarely cut'ting off the mindblocks and 'driving' home his points on real leadership....

By Pradeep, Marcom Varsity, CBS

A whiff of tacos, pesos & Maquiladoras @ CBS!!!

Session on Business & marketing in Mexico at CBS
(As a part of the BRIC & N11 Series Sessions in the International Marketing Course)

It’s a small world !!! It is said that the continents are getting closer everyday due to tectonic shifts. This phenomenon is not quite evident physically but people level exchanges from these places make us believe that they occur in reality. Exchange programmes between countries is a testimony to this fact .These programs not only bring people from various parts of the world close to one another but in a way show that though people are different across the world ,they all belong to one big single human family.

Ok, now why am I suddenly taking up the role of a United Nations spokesperson?:)

The idea is to drive home the point that CBS was witness to one such event . As a part of Rotary International ’s initiative to encourage exchange programmes between countries , a team of Rotary friends from Mexico got an opportunity to visit Chennai . And as I have always maintained, We being the lucky few from CBS ,as a part of our International Marketing course requirement, got an opportunity to interact with them as they presided over to our campus in Chennai.

The team included Mr. Guillermo Antonio Lopez Portillo Gerardo (General Director, SDM Group) , Mr. Jose Luis Andrade R (Graphic Designer & Marketing Consultant) ,Ms. Sabina Perez Hernandez (Business Administrator) ,Ms. Silvia Araceli Garcia Carbrera (Software Engineer) and Ms. Cynthia Baustista (Psychology Counsellor) , ably guided by Mr.George Cherian, Chairman , GSE Programme (07-08). They are people from diverse backgrounds , each one being an achiever in his/her field.

Like India, Mexico is a place with rich cultural past of Aztec, Mayan & Inca civilizations. Knowing to do business in Mexico is all the more important as the country finds the no.1 place in the Goldman sachs N-11 Economies, next to BRIC.

The session started off on a high ,with our presentations on Indian Business and Economy to them.Then came our turn to talk on the Growth of IT and services industry in India and the way it has changed the world’s outlook towards India as an emerging economic superpower. The icing on the cake was when we gave them a glimpse of Indian Culture , which was very well taken and appreciated by them. Further they were so touched by the "Hamara Bajaj" campaign that reflected the "modern in outlook with feet firm on traditional values" trend among Indian youth.
It was quite enchanting and enlightening to see what they had to offer to us in terms of their culture and values. They were extremely proud of the fact that after having won independence from the Spanish ,they stood strong in the world economically and were on the right path of growth and development.

The highly inspirational part of the session was delivered by Mr.Guillermo , when he spoke about the way he started off his business in a modest way and there on only by sheer determination and the tenacity to accept risk with open arms, went on to become one of the most successful entrepreneurs of Mexico. He emphasised on the point that without risk one would not scale heights as an entrepreneur.In a way he encouraged all of us to go ahead and take on the world with sole belief & confidence in oneself and his/her capabilities.

There were some interesting moments in the session when we discovered the fact that there was a book-store called ‘Gandhi’ in Mexico , yes named after our very own father of the nation. And the Mexicans knew enough about the man whom we call ‘Baapu’. The OOH advertising case presented by Mr.Jose about this enterprise was pretty interesting and cheeky. We had a glimpse of their continuous campaign through highway hoardings...like our Amul hoardings.
Apart from being nearness to the equator, another common factor that I discovered between Mexico and Tamil Nadu was the sport , Bull-Fight .It is considered an art in their country , just like the way JalliKattu(a bull taming sport played in Madurai, city of Tamil Nadu) is a rave in the rural parts of Tamil Nadu.

Knowing about doing business in a different culture apart, it’s really pleasant to meet people like this from across the world, who share the same ideas and thoughts . Like the upanishads proclaim, "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam", after all, 'the entire world is one family'. Other such family members from Korea, Brazil, Russia and China will soon be visiting us ; watch out this space.

By Pradeep ,Marcom Varsity,CBS

This Movie is Worth a Watch!!!

Session by Mr.V. Vishwakiran, Senior Manager- Alliances & Partnerships, HCL Technologies

Camera ...Lights ..Action...!!!The curtains went up and as the camera started rolling , we went through the journey of new product development along with Mr Vishwakiran.

Wondering Why terms like camera and curtains find a place in this blog???Well, this was a session with a difference.Different because Mr.Vishwakiran took us through the idea of new product development in the form of a movie , starting with the development stage in the first reel to the decline stage in the ultimate reel.

The stages involving the growth and maturity of a product life cycle were also a part of the movie , or rather session.There were innumerable instances of technology playing a role in the life cycle of a product development.This cannot be kept away as Mr. Vishwakiran comes from a technological background.:).But this was the best part of the session too as we got a glimpse of how much the world around us has changed due to technological innovations and what role has India played in this...

The rate at which every new product developed is being outdone by a better version sums up the importance of technology’s role in future.’Obsoloscence’ is the word loved by people in the field of Information Technology , as it gives them the opportunity to strive more and eventually give the world a better product.Well, this again need not be restricted to information technology, as anything in the world today finds itself out of the race if it ceases to innovate.

Now, this word ‘Innovation’ drives me close to another aspect of his session.No marks for guessing, given the entire setting of this blog one must have guessed what I am talking about. If not , this is for the weak minds, it was ‘Apple’. Yes, Steve Jobs found a prominent place throughout his session. An avid admirer of Mr Jobs, Mr Vishwakiran told us about how this genius took the world by storm with his Innovations and still thrives on doing things differently. Anybody would have easily given up looking at the hurdles that Jobs had to cross, but given the fire to perform and the zeal to reach the zenith ,Jobs kept delivering and swore by his Innovations.Today the result can be seen when the whole world keeps waiting eagerly to his products.

This way he took us thro several other interesting technological advances which only keeps getting better by the day.The Nintendo video game station formed the closing point of the session, the level to which innovation has reached today was aptly seen with the way this game station is used.Phenomenal, is the word that lingered in my mind at the end of the session.

Once the movie ends and as we walk out of the theatre , we leave behind the thoughts of the movie and carry on with life. But this was one movie whose content, we'll take it for life

By Pradeep, Marcom Varsity, CBS

Retail Assortment Planning – Simply Complex!!

Session @ CBS by Mr.K. Radhakrishnan, Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Retail(Hyper)

"Retailing is simple, but it aint easy". A statement that has defied the test of times, be it the Wal-Marts of the world or the next door Kirana wala. This very fact emerged even more realistic as Mr. Radhakrishnan, CEO, Reliance Retail (Hyper), took us through a real time journey in to the world of Assortment Planning. A session that took us beyond the realms of detailed theory to experience the real world approach to one of the most important pillars of efficient customer Response (ECR). i.e., Efficient Assortment.

A well planned assortment in a retail store is one of the critical factors that drive customers, as it defines the real value to the customer. Value!! A tricky word that is, had always been yet another "low price tag-low value" funda. This myth got shattered as Mr. .Radhakrishnan made us realize that low price doesn't always translate into low value. It is nothing but a game of price and other attributes that establish a product's perceived value to the customer; at the same time ensure that the game is a "win-win-win" proposition for the customer, retailer and the manufacturer. A statement that yet again redefined that retail isn't an easy game after all, a game played in and with the minds of the customer!!

We got an insight into the years of experience and practical learning that weaved various success stories in the retail arena, as he introduced us to an important tool which helps the merchandiser to strike a trade off between retailer productivity and customer satisfaction. The Category role matrix helps the retailer classify merchandise bricks based on the level of gross margin and sales volume on a high/low scale. This helps in various assortments level decisions that form the crux of merchandising.
Understanding merchandise hierarchy made us realize that planning is that thin line that rules a game well played and won

Every game has its own set of rules, so does merchandise assortment planning, rules that can redefine a category. We, the future retailers were exposed to five rules to get a high five with a merchandise category!! However, science is always not the solution, but an aid. It all boils down to common sense when a merchandiser takes deletion decisions. For example, deleting range building SKUs can have a suicidal effect on the customer's needs.

If science is one block in the big retail puzzle, we realized other bodies of knowledge such as economics, marketing, psychology also make up the retail pie. Brand Equity and Elasticity of demand are some concepts that can turn the tables around for retailers.

"Its all in the mind", How true!! Planograming using the technique of mind mapping re-enforced the statement .To sum up the session in few words is as difficult as retail, yet as fun and challenging as the same. It proved to be a highly informative and down-to-earth session.

Contributed by Binoj, Kunaal & Ramya of Retail Varsity CBS-Main Campus