Executive summary

 Retail Industry
 Introduction to a Retail Outlet
 Methodology used
 Address all the questions mentioned in the Course Outline
 Other Important Deta

CURRENT PANTALOON·S STATUS

Turnover -700cr Apparels
40% Revenue from Kolkata
No of stores -45 all over India (25 cities)
Highest Revenue From John Miller
Lowest Revenue fromA g ile (sports new brand)
Private Label Contribution towards sales
Men·s wear65% Women·s wear ²35 %

PR / PROMOTIONAL KITS:
 Marketing Calendar² The events are organized on the basis of occasions
which come on a yearly basis. In total there are 14 special occasions listed in a year for
e.g. Holi, Diwali, etc. The events are decided after the mark down budget has been made
in the marketing plan.
 They also conduct in house celebrations like ¶women·s week· and events like End of
season sale.

BRAND ARCHITECTURE
a) Competitive Environment
The Managing Director of Pantaloons Retail (India) Limited, Mr. Kishore Biyani,
states that the competition in the fashion segment would be Shoppers· Stop, Trent and
Lifestyle to start with.
But Pantaloons also faces competition from Globus, Westside and the stand alone
stores in shopping malls and streets

b) Greater chunk of wallet

Pantaloons has explored many new concepts.
This is in pursuit of its strategy to sell everything to everybody.
It does not, however, seek to be the Jack of all trades.
It makes efforts to rope in those with category expertise.

c) Target
Pantaloon targets the large and growing upper-middle and middle class of Indian
society.
Pantaloons, with its focus on ¶fresh look, feel and attitude· offers, trendy and hip
collections that are in sync with the hopes and aspirations of discerning young and
¶young-at-heart· consumer

d) Benefits
 The functional benefit that Pantaloon offers is an extensive and exclusive variety of
the latest fashion and trends across its product categories such as apparel, accessories,
footwear, etc.
The emotional benefit as quoted by Anil Bumb, Marketing Executive that, Pantaloons
offers is the entire retail experience and the feeling of pride with which the customer
walks out after having shopped from Pantaloons.

e) Values and Personality:

 Pantaloons is known to have a youthful persona and its own distinct sense of style that
appeals to millions.
 In accordance with the positioning paradigm of Pantaloons· mantra of Fresh Fashion
and perpetually reinventing itself with seasonal fashion wear, Pantaloons is associated
with Bobby Deol, Lara Dutta, Amrita Arora to endorse its brand.
 Pantaloons also has an association with The Femina Miss India pageant .

Floor Plan
The floor plan demarcating the different sections and their placement is made by the
concept, design and visual merchandising team at the head office and is implemented by
the zonal teams
The plan changes after each End of Season Sale (EOSS) i.e. the
Autumn-Summer ( August) and Autumn- Winter (February) sales
Changes are made according to the revenue per square foot of
each section and brand .
The Perfume section is always kept at the entrance in every
Pantaloons store
The Brands are placed according to the expected sales
¶Highpoints· aim at attracting the consumer by displaying the latest and ´inµ
merchandise
The store also has clusters at entry and exit point .

Merchandise Management
Management of a category of merchandise is a more effective tool than managing
individual brands.
The company stresses on promoting a product category, thus making brand marketing
a secondary function.
Pantaloon·s merchandising team is divided into the category management team and the
merchandise management team

VisualMerchandising

Merchandise Display :
 A light to dark color story is always followed
 The store usually also follows a color theme. For example if the color theme is pink
then the garments at the focal points, on the clusters etc. will be within the pink palette.
 Smaller, ´quick pick upµ products such as Hairbrushes, clips, toys etc are kept near
the billing counter .
Merchandise is also displayed on the mannequins (either stand alone or clusters) by
mixing clothes and accessories of different brands to put together a complete look.
There are A4 sized shelf talkers that tell the customer which product is from which
brand

Window Display :
 The windows in each store are segregated and have different themes for display.
 One of the windows is dedicated to ´Fashion Fridayµ.
 Fashion Friday is a concept by Pantaloons since they believe in fresh fashion and say
that they bring something new to the customers every week .The display always follows a
color theme. The maximum time for which a display may be put up is a month though
usually they try and change it every fortnight.
 Point of Sale
 Promotions and Signage: Various schemes are promoted in the store through
announcements Other promotional materials such as those with the brand ambassadors
etc are given to various stores by the head office.
 Shopping Bags: The bags are green in color with the
brand name and the customary leaf design.

Planning at Pantaloons
 Planning at Pantaloon is a top-down, bottom-up process. The top management
forecasts the sales for each store and category and decides the space allocation for each
category based on which targets are set for sales, gross margins, inventory turnover,
discounts, mark- ups, stock levels and net margins for each store and each category .

 The category managers take a more micro approach wherein they study the category·s
past performance and trends in the marketplace .

 The category manager here performs the twin functions of vendor development and
sampling of SKUs, which would finally go into the merchandise mix of the stores .
Merchandising Process
 First, the design team develops the design or a new pattern.

 The team is led by the visual merchandising head and has 20 designers for product
development.

 The design department depends on fashion forecast magazines, exhibitions and may
also visit leading retailers in the city to understand the latest styles.

 Designs are developed not only for the fashion and collections category but also for
the classic segment so that there is something new every season.

 The new designs are presented to the category management team, which consists of
close to 40 people handling 16-17 categories of merchandise . The category captain and
his team is given the entire year·s budget and sales target for the category based on
which he decides whether to experiment with a new design or not .

 If yes, then the category manager will first establish the total purchase quantity of that
design and the stores in which this should go .

 This is the most crucial stage where the category manager prepares the
merchandise control chart .

On- Shelf Strategies

 Pantaloon has a clear policy for each category of merchandise
 The company gets weekly reports on Tuesdays, which it called u m p. This data is
analysed to see the movement of various types of goods. The tracking is done based on
the merchandise category classic, fashion or collection
 Every month, the company identifies the good and bad sellers. According to company
policy, a bad seller is a product that stays on the shelf for more than 60 ways In case of
any slow moving goods, the company analyses the results in context of price, style,
colour and size .

 The company believes that if the style or colour is not right no amount of discount
will help sales So if the merchandise does not move during its shelf life, it is just
removed and kept at the warehouse for end of season sale. If the price appears to be a
deterrent, the company corrects it right away and marks down the price immediately .

 To its advantage, the company is present in three formats³ the Pantaloon department
store, the factory outlet and the Big Bazaar.

 A slow moving good is often moved to the factory outlet or the Big Bazaar, where it is
discounted and sold
 The factory outlet stores also hold sales to dispose off the merchandise. In each of
these cases, the company takes the approval of the vendor and often, the vendors take
part in the sales
 The company discounts the goods -- from 10-40 per cent at the factory outlet to get rid
of the stock . So if the merchandise does not move during its shelf life, it is just removed
and kept at the warehouse for end of season sale. If the price appears to be a deterrent, the
company corrects it right away and marks down the price immediately .

 To its advantage, the company is present in three formats³ the Pantaloon department
store, the factory outlet and the Big Bazaar.

 A slow moving good is often moved to the factory outlet or the Big Bazaar, where it is
discounted and sold .

 The factory outlet stores also hold sales to dispose off the merchandise. In each of
these cases, the company takes the approval of the vendor and often, the vendors take
part in the sales

 The company discounts the goods -- from 10-40 per cent at the
factory outlet to get rid of the stock

Supply chain Infrastructure

Strategies adopted by pantaloons
 In 2005, pantaloons refurbished its image .
 Junking the old positioning of 'India's family store' and is planning to target the youth
instead .
 Pantaloons now carries the `Fresh Fashion' statement across its 12 stores
 Going forward with increasing sales promotion and massive store expansion it is just
going to increase the brand value in the mind of the consumers .
 It has transformed the consumers from being a brand loyal to store loyal .
 The company has roped in Bollywood stars to promote its apparel offering .

Loyalty Programme
 Loyalty programme ² ¶Green card·
 Over 390000 card holders having exclusive privileges, rewards and benefits
 Green Card holders contribute to nearly 50 % of sales annually
 They practice a 4 ² tier (1, 3, 5, and 7- Star) approach to cater to different segments
 An integrated loyalty programme for its various formats, to have an understanding of
customer buying habits across different formats
 Pantaloons, and Jet Airways' Jet Privilege frequent flyer programme have entered into
a partnership for co-branded loyalty programmes

An Interview With An Expert

 Merchandising: The branded merchandise, is supplied either directly
to the store or to the distribution centres or warehouses located in different cities, which
is then sent to the stores, depending upon the agreement with the supplier
 The In-house or the own brands, is distributed to the stores by different DCs
(Distribution Centres ) by raising STOs (Stock Transfer Orders ), the manufacturer of the
product, supply the product to DC, after receiving PO (Purchase Order) from the category
based at HO .

 Store Layout: Once the layout is ready and handed over to the business, the assortment
plan is prepared ( brand mix of merchandise ) and plannogramming is done ( placing of
the SKUs , based on customer demand , share in the product category and paid visibility )

Store layout is decided on the basis of :-

- Total space in the store
- The concept of the store ( Hypermarket or Supermarket )
- The flow of the customer
- The number of categories present
- The business returns of the present categorie
The number of stores depend upon the different factors such as the - class of the city tier
1 or tier 2, buying power of the people in city, number of present stores in the city It can
range from minimum 1 to 22
 Location of the store depends upon , the catchment, the current business potential,
space /property availability for the store and future business prospects and competitors
and last but not the least feasibility of business
 Marketing is broken down in two activities, ATL ( Above the line ) and BTL ( Below
the line SCM & Inventory:The planning is done for 4 to 5 months in advance, depending
on the annual business targets, the stock level is planned, which are based on the
promotions, coming for that period, weekends and Wednesdays, festivals and sales
periods
 Considering the sales targets, the stocks are calculated and the backward calculation is
done, for normal days the (MBQ·s) Minimum Base Quantities are set at the store levels
and ordering is done accordingly, also we have gone live with (ARS) Auto Replenishment
System, where the PO will be generated automatically, once the stocks reaches MBQ
level
Recommendations & Conclusions
 After a visit to Store, the first thing observed was the volume of the announcements
made about the promotions of the store was very high. It needs to be reduced so as to
avoid any inconvenience to the customers
 Due to the numerous brands that Pantaloons sells, there is a lot of clutter with regards
to the display. This needs to be spaced out so that the arrangement looks pleasing to the
eye
 Research has proved the importance of music in a retail store and how it acts as a
stimulant to purchase. They should play music that is fresh so that it goes in sync with its
product offering and depending on the time of the day they should play loud or soft
music.
We recommend an area that would be made a ´Kidzoneµ. This area would have toys,
books and games so that the kids can enjoy while the parents shop .
 A café is recommended so that customers don·t have to step out of the store incase
they are hungry or thirsty. It also keeps a customer engaged for a longer time in the store
 An in-store ATM can be established by a tie up with a bank. Pantaloons would be the
first in the industry to come up with this and would thus enjoy a first mover advantage
 A common issue faced by many customers is the availability of sizes as far as denims
are concerned. The Stock keeping levels should be checked more often so as to avoid a
stock out of the products.