MxMIndia

Tag: Govind Shrikhande

  • XYXX is a men’s comfort wear brand

    XYXX gets Shripad Nadkarni on board as mentor and investor

    By Our Staff

     

    Backed by Sauce VV and Govind Shrikhande as mentor, XYXX,  the homegrown men’s comfortwear, has brought on board marketer Shripad Nadkarni, angel investor and co-creator of Paper Boat and Epigamia, Founder of Maverix Platforms, a cloud kitchen venture and former Vice President-Marketing of Coca Cola India.

     

    Nadkarni has worked with Johnson & Johnson and Coca Cola in the past. XYXX is the brainchild of Yogesh Kabra.

     

    Said Kabra: “Shripad is a force to reckon with in marketing and brand building so it is our honour and pleasure to have him in our corner. He is known for his fearless experiments with the brands he is affiliated with and we are excited to have him help build brand XYXX.”

     

     

    Added Nadkarni: “Yogesh and team are building a sound and scalable business and brand.  My goal is to help build a disruptive and memorable brand narrative while accelerating business growth.

     

     

  • A unique initiative to introduce denims to the everyday work wear wardrobe

    Shoppers Stop launches ‘Denim to Work’ campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading retailer Shoppers Stop has introduced the ‘Denim to Work’ campaign, aninitiative encouraging working professionals to include denims in their work wear wardrobes.

     

    Said Govind Shrikhande, Customer Care Associate & Managing Director, Shoppers Stop: “With growing awareness and an increasing affinity towards denims across age groups, we believe there is a huge untapped market for denim segment in the apparel industry. Organised retail sector, young population, online penetration of denims, growing popularity of engineered/ distressed denim, varied fabric washes and changing classification of consumer’s wardrobe are some of the key growth drivers which will further fuel the growth of this segment. Shoppers Stop aims to tap into this market growth and leverage its large offering in the denim category through the ‘Denim to Work’ campaign which has been rolled out across multimedia platforms with print, radio, outdoor and a digital film.”

     

    The digital film for the ‘Denim to Work’ campaign has been produced and directed by Mirum and the ad creatives have been created by Shoppers Stop’s ad agency Contract Advertising.

     

     

  • The attempt isintroduce denims to the everyday workwear wardrobe

    Shoppers Stop launches ‘Denim to Work’ campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Shoppers Stop has introduced the ‘Denim to Work’ campaign, an initiative encouraging working professionals to include denims in their workwear wardrobes.

     

    Commenting on the campaign, Govind Shrikhande, Customer Care Associate & Managing Director, Shoppers Stop Ltd. Said: “With growing awareness and an increasing affinity towards denims across age groups, we believe there is a huge untapped market for denim segment in the apparel industry. Organised retail sector, young population, online penetration of denims, growing popularity of engineered/ distressed denim, varied fabric washes and changing classification of consumer’s wardrobe are some of the key growth drivers which will further fuel the growth of this segment. Shoppers Stop aims to tap into this market growth and leverage its large offering in the denim category through the ‘Denim to Work’ campaign which has been rolled out across multimedia platforms with print, radio, outdoor and a digital film.”

     

    The digital film for the ‘Denim to Work’ campaign has been produced and directed by JWT’s digital arm Mirum and the ad creatives have been created by Shoppers Stop’s ad agency Contract Advertising. Conceptualised by Mirum, the digital film aims to break down the rules laid by rigid corporate culture. It inspires young professionals to flaunt their own sense of style and exude confidence at the work place with denims as a part of their work wear wardrobe.

     

    Added Vineet Mahajan, Head of Art, Contract (India): “Walking into work wearing a pair of jeans is a common sight now. But denims have never been promoted as workwear. We thought this idea was quite disruptive and we hit the sweet spot of an idea by celebrating the designations of a new age workplace. Shoppers Stop has always broken new ground in fashion retail communication and this one was no different.”

     

    Said Sanjay Mehta, Joint CEO, Mirum: “For me, this denim-to-work campaign closes the loop in a certain kind of way. For the last six years, I’ve been wearing blue denims to work every single day and have been extremely comfortable in these. Over this period, I have also seen a shift in the way denims are perceived in the corporate world. People have accepted it as a part of the whole workforce culture. Also, I’m excited about the campaign as it gives people an opportunity to see denims in a definite kind of role and setting. I’m sure that more companies will accept denims as a part of their evolving office culture after seeing this campaign.”

     

     

  • The TVC will first air in Kolkata and Bangalore, followed by the rest of the markets soon

    Shoppers Stop echoes intent to bring romance back to retail

    By A Correspondent

     

    Leading fashion retailer Shoppers Stop released a new TV commercial that celebrates the joy of shopping and echoes the company’s strong intent to ‘Bring the romance back to retail’.

     

    Conceptualised by Contract Advertising and directed by Shirsha Guha Thakurta, the 60-seconder captures the joy that comes from shopping with one’s family, friends and loved ones and the strengthening of bonds that ensues. The TVC opens with two friends who enter a Shoppers Stop store and immediately set their sights on the very same dress. However, one of them steps back and lets the other friend pick the dress – thereby cementing their closeness.

     

    Said Govind Shrikhande, Customer Care Associate & Managing Director, Shoppers Stop: “We have been in the business of fashion and creating delightful shopping experiences for the last 25 years. However, the recent changing dynamics of retail has led the industry to shift focus to a transactional mindset that is mired in deep discounting. Our aim is to bring the romance back to retail and bring the focus back to the joy of the shopping experience.“

     

    Added Vineet Mahajan, Head of Art – India, Contract Advertising: “Shoppers Stop was the first modern shopping store that I have the earliest memory of. And we wanted this campaign to be about all that is great about this iconic brand. And in this era of on-the-go screen-based shopping, we wanted to remind everyone about what makes this experience so unique… the joy of shopping together!”

     

  • Future Group, Shoppers Stop, Puma report double-digit growth in same-store sales despite online discount bonanza

    Shoppers haven’t stopped shopping at brick-and-mortar outlets

     

    By Writankar Mukherjee & Sagar Malviya

     

    Leading brick-and-mortar retailers are seeing double-digit surge in their same-store sales this Diwali season despite top online rivals’ big discount sales last month, signalling a sharp reversal from last year’s trend when physical stores reported subdued demand as ecommerce players wooed away consumers.

     

    Top retailers such as Future Group, Arvind Brands, Shoppers Stop, Vijay Sales, Puma and Max report buoyant demand over the past two weeks. Future Group founder and CEO Kishore Biyani said the country’s largest retailer is set to grow its business 25-30% this Diwali over last as sentiments look positive. “Ecommerce is still a minuscule of the entire market, except a few categories like mobile phones, so there is not any impact on business,” he said.

     

    Some other retailers attributed the rise in demand to fresh merchandise, fewer discounted merchandise of big brands on online portals, and early onset of winter chill in some parts of the country.

     

    “It (online) had a novelty factor that helped last time,” said J Suresh, chief executive at Arvind Lifestyle Brands, which sells brands such as Gap, US Polo, Wrangler and Calvin Klein. “With fewer discounts by ecommerce and new season merchandise offered by physical retailers, we are seeing same-store sales growth of 8-15%,” he said. A year ago, ecommerce giants Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal had pursued an aggressive discounting policy during the festive season to gain market share and traffic. This impacted demand in physical stores, even prompting traditional retailers to approach the government over what they said was predatory pricing.

     

    This season, while the ecommerce players got good response to their big sale events, their discounts were mostly limited to select brands such as online exclusive ones, old merchandise and their own labels as they looked to protect margins.

     

    This also signals that ecommerce players and brick-andmortar retailers can coexist in the market, without necessarily harming each other. Historically, Diwali is considered a no-discount period for physical retailers as brands try to cash in on the positive festive season sentiment and fresh merchandise. Physical retailers have not changed this strategy this year despite reporting low same-store sales growth of 5-8% in the last two quarters and their online rivals advancing their sale period.

     

    Govind Shrikhande, managing director at the country’s largest department store chain Shoppers Stop, said the “huge gap” between end of season sales in August and Diwali has also helped the surge in demand. “There was a pentup demand which is reflecting in a higher double-digit growth since last month after a dull September,” he said. “We aren’t seeing a huge surge in footfalls which indicates higher billing size or better conversion at stores,” Shrikhande added.

     

    A survey by global research firm Ipsos suggested that nearly 81% consumers would buy from offline stores during festive season and not from online companies even as they were holding up purchases in anticipation of discounts.

    The festive season peaks between Durga Puja and Diwali with Karva Chauth and Bhai Dhuj coming in between. The period — which is also when the salaried get their bonuses — traditionally marks an upsurge in consumer spending, accounting for at least a third of sales for big brands. “Money is never an issue for consumers during Diwali,” said Nilesh Gupta, MD at electronics retail chain Vijay Sales. “Our sense is either there is a revival in consumer sentiment or they are hopeful that things could get positive soon at the macro level.” Vijay Sales, he said, is seeing a growth of over 20% this season, its highest in the last three years.

    Industry insiders said big marketers such as LG, Apple and Panasonic started their festive promotions much earlier than usual this year to ensure the offline trade is not hit hard by online discounts. K Krishna Pawan, executive director at cellphone retail chains BigC Mobiles and Lot Mobile, said sales in their 225-odd stores have not been impacted by online discount sales because there was hardly any online deals on mainline smartphone brands and current models.

    Puma India managing director Abhishek Ganguly said the sports shoes and activity wear brand has so far grown samestore growth by 13% this Diwali season over last, with sales in East India during Durga Puja growing 25%, with winter apparel driving growth.

    Meanwhile, ecommerce majors have started consolidating their business, having significantly increased the number of vendors and product categories on their platforms and with more and more people taking to online shopping through mobile apps, which has helped expand the overall market.

    Max Retail executive director Vasanth Kumar said consumers’ wallet size may be getting thinner due to some shopping online, but it is getting compensated by newer customers and a positive sentiment all around. Max has grown same-store sales by 15% over the last festive season and its average billing value has increased 10% over last Diwali. Industry estimates suggest that ecommerce companies will spend Rs 2,000 crore this year on marketing and offering discounts to consumers during the festive season.

     

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2015, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • BCCL will license 'Femina Flaunt' to Shoppers Stop, to design, develop, and retail the brand, exclusively across Shoppers Stop stores

    Femina flaunts partnership with Shoppers Stop

    By A Correspondent

     

    Pardon the forced use of the word flaunt. But the occasion demanded it. Shoppers Stop and Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL) announced a strategic partnership to extend Femina, one of BCCL’s flagship brands, into the consumer products space. As part of this unique ‘co-create and co-own’ partnership, BCCL will license ‘Femina Flaunt’ to Shoppers Stop, to design, develop, and retail the brand, exclusively across Shoppers Stop stores, in the core fashion categories – apparel, footwear, accessories and bags. Flaunt is the retail identity developed by BCCL for Femina.

     

    Vineet Jain

    Commenting on the partnership, Vineet Jain, Managing Director – BCCL, said, “This is in line with our brand extension strategy to partner with the best-in-class players to unlock immense hidden value in many of our marquee brands. As a group, we’ve always been ahead on the innovation curve, and this partnership is another such example.”

    Govind Shrikhande, Customer Care Associate & Managing Director, Shoppers Stop Ltd. added “In line with our brand philosophy of ‘Start Something New’, we have embarked on a new partnership with the BCCL group to launch ‘Femina Flaunt’ in our stores.  The premium positioning of this brand fits seamlessly into our diverse portfolio of premium brands. We are positive that ‘Femina Flaunt’ will be a huge success with our discerning customers.”

    The ‘Femina Flaunt’ range will be retailed exclusively through 300-400 sq feet of dedicated shop-in-shop space, within Shoppers Stop stores. The range will be launched in the Fall-Winter season this year, and will be available across 20 Shoppers Stop stores to begin with, and going upto 50 stores by year-3.

     

    ‘Femina Flaunt’ range is being developed for the premium space, targeting today’s urban, independent, progressive and discerning woman, who is 25-35 yrs old, working and residing in the top 25 cities.

     

  • With the downturn having affected the retail sector as anticipated, it has been a steeper uphill task to recover and surge ahead. Govind Shrikhande tells MxMIndia how Shopper's Stop is tackling the challenges of today and the future.

    Focus on increasing number of formats: Govind Shrikhande, Shopper’s Stop

    As was predicted of the sector, retail did take a beating at the hands of slowdown, especially the second half of FY 2011-12 where growth was difficult to come by. But the downturn is not as bad as it seems and good tidings are being predicted for the medium for 2012-13. Much will depend on how the large players will be geared to tackle this difficult phase including undertaking risky yet calculative decisions that will either see them in the red or see them walk away with pots of money.

     

    Govind Shrikhande, Customer Care Associate & Managing Director, Shopper’s Stop Ltd is all set to take his company to new heights and feels that expanding its product offerings across the country could work in favour of the company as there are always new markets and consumers who are waiting to savour variety. Mr Shrikhande opened up to Johnson Napier of MxM India on the sidelines of Mindshare-Brand Equity Compass 2012 on how his company is geared to tackle the challenges of the future and what the retail industry needs to do to overcome the downfall scare that’s had everyone on tenterhooks.

     

    Q: It’s been a shaky 2011-12 for the retail industry in India. How is Shopper’s Stop handling the slowdown conundrum?

    2011 has been a mixed year for us – the first half went pretty well, but Q3 which is the biggest quarter for the retail sector witnessed a slowdown. We expect some recovery to take place in the second half of 2012-13 while the first half of 2012-13 will be a little slow.

     

    Q: How have you grown organically across the multiple formats that you are present in?

    We have grown very fast in the last one year. We added around 13 stores in the main format; overall we added more than 20 stores in all the big formats that we have. So it’s been a very fast-paced expansion drive for us. Going ahead, we plan to add atleast eight stores every year. I’d like to state here that the opportunity for retail community in the future is big, so it’s important that you expand today. Though there could be some short-term difficulties of sales growth not being as high as one expected it would be but if one prepares oneself so well that the model is good, the consumer traction is strong and the assortment is very good then one can be in a good position to perform well and really be ready to face challenges of the future.

     

    Q: Are you contemplating expanding your product offerings apart from the staple departmental and hypercity formats that you currently cater to?

    We have enough formats today like Shopper’s Stop in the department store format, Hyper-City in the hyper-market format, Crossword in the books store format…so we have enough formats currently by which we can expand and we are doing that.

     

    Q: What do you derive from the changing FDI stance between the government and the retail industry?

    I think FDI is getting a new meaning every season now. The Indian government did announce FDI in multi-brand retail and took it back. Also, the concept of cash-and-carry has been around for some time but now it’s getting into a different kind of a situation. I think the industry as such is waiting for the government to come up with some concrete plans around FDI but yes, once it does come in it will definitely help the whole retail industry to expand faster than what it has been able to do right now.

     

    Q: What is the impact that digital will cast on the retail sector? A lot of brands are taking the e-tailing route to increase product traction…

    Digital will help drive growth of retail because it is has been found that globally, a lot of consumers first check details on the internet and then go to a shop to buy stuff. It plays a support role where shopping is concerned. The fact is that almost 30-40 per cent of shopping that happens in a physical store has already been researched about before by people on the digital platform. So I do not see it posing any competition or threat; it would be self-supporting.

     

    We too have started our own websites for Shopper’s Stop and Crossword which will further ensure that a customer will get a multi-channel delivery whether through physical store or a digital store.

     

    Q: Apart from talent, what is the other big challenge facing the retail industry as of today?

    Apart from people, the other big challenge for the retail sector is the availability of quality space and rental. This in fact is a bigger challenge than people. As for the people challenge that we face, we are trying to overcome that by building new programs like Fashion Associates, which should help us to face this crisis in a much bigger way. But availability of quality retail space at reasonable rent is still a big challenge.

     

    Q: As you move forward, what would be your main objective for 2012?

    We have enough happening in the company right now. The key driver would be expanding into more cities and growing the total number of formats rather than getting into new formats.