New Products:

Brush-o-matic:

Mirc Electronics Ltd has launched a washing machine equipped with an ‘in-built brush'. The Onida Sparkle Range of Washing Machines is claimed to give clothes a hand brush wash with the ease of a machine. Additionally the Sparkle claims to reduce water consumption by 35 per cent. The Onida Sparkle 65X is a 6.5kg fully-automatic washing machine which comes with the Moving Digital Display which, apart from providing a clear view of each function, keeps consumers updated with the wash cycle time and its various washing stages. The Hexodrum Design allows the machine to create a barrier of water between the drum and the clothes, thus preventing wear and tear. The machine's Hexafin Pulsator creates a turbulence during the wash cycle forcing the water and the clothes to move in opposite directions, thus enhancing the quality of the wash. The washing machine comes at an MRP of Rs 18,990. It is available across four more models — a 6.5 kg model with an in-built brush and other models in 6.2 kg capacity.

Smooth ride:

TVS Motor Company has launched TVS TRU4 Premium, a semi-synthetic 4T Engine Oil, certified by the Japanese Automotive Standards Organisation — JASO MA2 — and the American Petroleum Institute — API SL. The engine oil is supposed to improve fuel economy, enhance engine life and lower emission levels. The product is supposed to be blended with highly purified water-white, high viscosity index base oils. It uses an advanced formulation technology for extreme thermal conditions to establish superior thermal stability both at high and low temperatures. The product is available in 1 litre and 900 ml packs and is priced Rs 235 per litre.

Resplendent you:

Pond's Gold Radiance is claimed to capture the power of gold and anti-ageing ingredients to re-energise the lost radiance of ageing skin cells. The Gold Radiance Range includes Youthful Glow Day Cream SPF 15 PA ++ with Real Gold Microparticles (50 ml and 25ml), priced Rs 799 for 50 ml. It is reportedly clinically proven to lift away the skin's dullness and reveal your skin's youthful radiance. Precious Youth Serum with Real Gold Microparticles, priced Rs 899 for 30 ml, is supposed to contain Vitamin B3, proven to reduce age spots.

Winter gloss:

Avon has launched moisturising Perfect Wear Extralasting Lip Gloss. The lip gloss has an easy, full colour application and is available in eight shades from Infinite Berry to Continuous Copper and is priced at Rs 329 for 3 ml. The product is available exclusively through Avon Representatives.

Sugar control:

M V Hospital for Diabetes and Diabetes Research Center, Royapuram (Chennai), has launched a ‘Diabetes Self Care Kit' to improve monitoring and management of diabetes. The kit contains: a blood glucose monitoring meter; body fat analyser; BP apparatus; Pedometer; measuring cups; measuring tape; diabetic manuals; monofilament; foot care kit; temple socks; measuring tape. The self care kit is expected to help patients monitor their glucose levels. The kit would be available in the Royapuram and Mylapore branches of the centre at Rs 2,900.

Spencer's Retail Ltd.

Spencer's Retail plans hypermarket expansion drive:

“Spencer's is planning a major expansion drive, which will mean doubling of the total floor space of the stores from one million sq.ft to 2 million sq. feet by 2012. This will entail an investment of about Rs 150 crore.”

Spencer's Retail Ltd, a multi-format retail chain, today announced the revamp of the first hypermarket of the country launched 10 years ago in Hyderabad, and plans to follow this up with other older stores too changing them based on customer feedback.

Part of the Rs 16,000-crore RPG Group, Spencer's is planning a major expansion drive, which will mean doubling of the total floor space of the stores from one million sq.ft to 2 million square feet by 2012. This will entail an investment of about Rs 150 crore.

Apart from bringing about changes in the store format itself, its layout, we have added a wide range of products in some new categories. These include a nursery too, food courts and wider range of bakery products.

More hypermarkets:

Spencer's currently has 200 retail stores, including 20 hypermarkets across the country. now planning to set up 20 more hypermarkets by next year and are scouting for right locations.Also looking at having new stores in some of the cities where we are already present, like Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

the company closed last year with revenues of Rs 950 crore and expects revenues of Rs 1,100 crore this fiscal. The company's business plan is to become a Rs 3,000 crore turnover company by 2012. 

The country's organised retail is still at the nascent stage and accounts for about 5 per cent of total retail business.

E-TAILING INDIA:

E-tailing Sector in India:

Definition: e-tailing, or e-commerce can be described as transactions that are conducted over an electronic network, where the buyer and merchant are not at the same physical location.

Internet users in India: The country’s total number of internet users grew to 71 million last year, according to an annual survey by market research agency IMRB and Internet and Mobile Association of India.

POPULARITY:

Reasons for e-tailing becoming a hot opening can be attributed to many factors viz.

• No real estate costs
• Easy and comfortably
• Better interaction with the customers
• Mass Media

The hurdles:

Most of the e-tailing ventures have not been as profitable as they were expected to be, the reasons being: -

• One estimate is that India has a mere 4 million Internet users, mostly are from metros. According to web analysts many areas of retailing, Internet is unlikely gather a sizable slice of market. And that could be several years to come. , Especially in businesses where margins are thin.
•  Despite a higher Internet penetration, cities like Mumbai or New Delhi might not be a haven for an e-tailer. Reason: for things like grocery, there is a shop out there at every nook and corner. All that an individual has to do is just make a phone call and the goods are delivered at his doorstep. Thrown in along with free home delivery is a month's credit.
•  Cheap labour Thanks to easy availability of domestics at an affordable wage bill, quite a few of the rich customers hire them for doing domestic chores, which include shopping. The usual Indian aversion to use credit cards. Thanks to low penetration of credit cards and the lack of popularity of debit cards, e-tailing might find it an uphill task to catch on. 
• Mounting competitive pressures
  The market for online buying is still at a nascent stage. The turnover of the sector is relatively small and many players have already entered into it. Thus many e-tailers are eyeing a small market, exerting more pressure on operating margins. 
• Shopping is still a touch--feel--hear experience
  Unlike the Americans, Indians do not suffer from 'time-poverty' and shopping is still considered to be a family outing. Hence this type of an environment creates a problem of customer retention.
  
  
  In e-tail, customer retention by 5% leads to increase in profits by 25%. Most people buying on the net do it out of curiosity and a repeat purchase is unlikely. 
• Inadequate information provided when the customers discerns it certain products like clothes, cosmetics etc. involve higher customer involvement. Most customers are comfortable buying books and music on the Internet because the information required making a purchase decision is simple.
  
  
  But not so when a customer has to buy, say a blue Trouser. Here the customer wants to know: Which shade of blue is it? How does it feel on skin? How easily does it crease? This problem does not crop up in traditional retailing. In cyber space, on the other hand, the buyer is normally starved of crucial information. Only the seller knows about the true quality of trouser. This is a clear case of " information asymmetry".

What Next?

What kind of retailing model is going to deliver the goods in the Indian scenario?

• For an answer, consider the following. The most important cost advantage of     e-tailing comes from whittled down shop front costs and elimination of intermediaries and economical distribution. For example, book e-tailing means giving out with big shops replete with slow-moving stock. Consider the case of Amazon.Com, where the orders go straight to the wholesaler. That means the working capital costs are cut down drastically. Not just that, an e-tailer is paid before he pays his distributor. The implication: need for lower working capital.
  
• Collaborative commerce ( e-commerce)
  An e-tailer may collaborate with some manufacturers and suppliers. Something that Easybuymusic.com has done. It has hooked up with warehouses of music companies and their distributors. So every time an order is placed with easybuymusic.com, it scans the warehouse closest to the customer. In most cases the distribution costs are substantially lower since fulfillment is done locally
• Create economic value
  E-tailers should create economic value for the customer rather than a curiosity value. They should find out reasons, as to why customers should buy from a web site rather than a brick and mortar store and try to communicate this reason effectively. 
• According to the KSA annual consumer outlook, the consumers are more comfortable buying certain items. An illustrative list with a percentage of the consumers are: books and music 47 per cent, home furnishing 29 per cent, sports apparel 25 per cent, casual clothes 21 per cent, shoes 14 per cent, groceries 9 per cent and tailored clothes 9 per cent.

*e-tailing in India can be a success if the e-tailers change their business models and understand their customers more.