Month: February 2015

The Detail of Retail

Gurpreet Singh Tikku Leave a comment

 

Spending My Day with a Client this Wednesday…We hopped 12 Malls in Quick Succession…….And got some Learning’s about evolving Retail and Mall Scenario.

Thought of sharing with you…….Not that you would not know…..But Still listening from some one else helps us in believing a bit more in the same.

 

Revelations

  • Weekend is Good, But Weekday sales are not Bad either.
  • Some Kiosks (Counters in the aisle) make more money in the Mall, than your neighborhood’s best retailer.
  • Some Kiosks pay more rent than some of the Shops on Second Floor in the same mall.
  • After School….We used to go to Home, Have lunch and Rush for Tuition. Now you would find Teenagers in their School Dresses in Food Courts, Restaurants & Movies.
  • Few Years Back….When DLF Emporio (The Super Luxury Mall with Brands like LV, Cartier, Tarun Tahilani and Ilk) Opened, It was questioned. “Is it Required”.  Now, the mood is……One is not enough, We want more.

 

Future

  • Customisation is the key or you would be thrown out. Ed Hardy….is Popular for it’s Skull Designed and embellished T-shirts …But in India……rarely people want to adorn that Rockstar look and moreover wearing Clothes with assumedly unholy/Scary Symbols is a taboo…..If not for the wearer, atleast for the parent. And hence I saw that it’s Select City Walk Mall Store and Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj Store was closed too.
  • If as a retailer you think, you can buy routine Stuff from outside and sell it at a higher price inside a Mall….You couldn’t be more mistaken, The Customer is more intelligent than you are.
  • Birthday parties are happening in every Mall on every day, at every restaurant.
  • Return Gifts are getting Flashier and more innovative.
  • Everybody is evolving with a Premium Version of their Models. Yo China, now has a Yo China Café, PVR(Rs 325) now has a Directors Cut(Rs 950). Niche Market, But Highly Paying Market.
  • Kuch Chale na Chale……Food will Reign Supreme in India. On a Wednesday afternoon…..we could find most of the Food Courts full. I wonder what would have been the scenario a day before…..2nd October, which was a National holiday.
  • Routine is out, Innovation is In.

 

 

New Customers

 

  • 5 Years back….. Affluent Housewife were the Biggest Spenders….Today, her Teen daughter is fast catching up.

  • Teen Guys as earlier are the same albeit in a different way…..They Spend on Gadgets, Girls, Games, Garments, Grooming in similar order. The 5G.

 

Entertainment

  • People are dying for entertainment. They want options. Sadly…We don’t have many. The only one we have in huge Supply is Movies. The Indian Customer is no longer interested in Amusement Park as it is in outdoors and hence is always open to the Extreme Heat, Rains and the Chilly Winters. Hence, people are shifting towards Indoor Sports……Such as Ice Skating, Bowling, Gaming Zones, Sports Bars. There is where the future lies 

Concerns

  • The only Stores we found Empty were the Book Stores. Now, if those Customers have shifted to Online Purchases or Online Versions…Then Good…Otherwise, it is not a Good Indicator.

 

  • Apart from spending time on “”FaceBook””     We need to “”Face A Book”” Too

On the Whole…..We Indian Shoppers have started dictating Terms to the Retailers/Restaurants/Family Entertainment Centres/Cinemas and Malls. And they better Listen or Loose us.

Would be great if you would share your Observations and Views too on the same.

 All Images have been Sourced from Google.com

 

 

Was Initially published here http://therodinhoods.com/forum/topics/the-detail-of-retail with lots of more insights in the comments :-)

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Poets of the Past-Delhi

Gurpreet Singh Tikku Leave a comment

Delhi has always been a City where Poets got  there due. Or was it Delhi that created Poets??

2014-11-16 10.46.16

Gurpreet Singh Tikku taking a Selfie with Mirza Ghalib at his Haveli in Gali Qasim Jaan

Delhi had so much Charm, So much of Character that some one who came to Delhi, never felt like going back.

Be it Momin who Came from Kashmir, or Mir Taqi “Mir” who originally hailed from Agra or even Ghalib who was also called Naushe (Damaad/ Son-in-Law) Miyan as his wife hailed from Delhi. Once he came to Delhi, he never went back and his final resting place is near the Dargah of Hazrat Khwaja Sayed Nizamuddin Auliya.

I was inspired to pen down a short verse after being inspired by reading The 5 Dead Poets of India
by a Writer and Poetess par excellence Ms. Saumya Kulshrestha.

Ghalib

Mirza Ghalib

Here it is

Dilli ki galiyon mein aaj bhi ek alag si leh sunayi deti hai,
MOMIN ki aur SAUDA ki rooh dikhayi deti hai,

Dilli chahe kuch senkrro baras Purani ho, magar aaj bhi lagti hai nayi Naveli,

Chahe woh Badshah ZAFAR ka ho Qila, Chahe ho Noshe Miyan MIRZA GHALIB ki haveli…

Aur aaj bhi chal jaate hai kayi Dil par teer, Jab Parra jaata hai Mir Taqi MIR

 

Shukriya :-)

 

mir taki mir

Mir Taki “Mir”

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Be Kind to Your Clients, Be Kinder to your Vendors!

Gurpreet Singh Tikku Leave a comment

 

This Valentine day, I’m reminded of an instance in 2010 when I was in a sticky position with a vendor.

I was working with “Swiss Junction” as a Marketing Manager and for Valentine’s Day promotion, we had ordered some Vinyl Stickers to pasted on the Store (Great India Place, NOIDA)  front mentioning “Valentine Gifts”.

Also ordered were 3 Pairs of Hearts Shaped Stickers to be placed on each side.

When the Stickers were being pasted, I realised that valentine has been misspelled as Velentine. :-)

And on pointing the mistake, the vendor apologized profusely and pleaded that he will change it by late Night or Early morning. Now this was a weeklong promotion, so the Sticker was not to be used for more than 7 days, but at the same time, it made no sense to let it remain as it is.

Standing in front of the shop an Idea struck & I asked the vendor to fix the Smallest of HEART on the misspelled E. And that did the Trick.

 

DSC03029

The problem was not rectified but the complete sticker looked better with the Heart in Valentine.

And yes, the Smile on the face of the Vendor was priceless :-)

Mentioned below are a few lessons that I learnt from this incident.

client vendor hand on hand

Act frugal: Try to find a solution. In most cases its simple logic and Common Sense, not Rocket Science

Find Solutions: Rather than looking at the problem for too long. Start thinking what would be the best solution to the given problem. Running away from the problem only creates more problems.

Don’t Waste Money: You may be an Entrepreneur spending from your own pocket or a Company Executive who would have a certain Marketing Budget to spend. In both the cases, it is your responsibility to ensure that every penny you spend is utilized to the fullest.

Don’t act Pricey because you are a Client: Around the same time as this incident, A Very Senior Corporate executive who was trying to shift jobs told me “Gurpreet, I’ve learnt a big lesson. “Never to Ill treat your vendors”. It is commonly thought that since one is a client he can delay payments, Reject Work, Shout at vendors and Create problems. And he did exactly the same. But now when he was looking to change his Job, he is finding none. Nobody is willing to refer him and even if somehow he is about to get the job, the word spreads around of his cruelty and he is refused the Job. Being Strict for quality is Right, but being heartless is not.

 

And do remember to share it with your Vendor, So that they can expect to be treated well from you and also with Clients, so that they can get an indication that you too want to be treated well 😉

If you have something to ADD, Compliment, or Criticize? Please do :-)

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