IMPRESSIONS from a Cross-section

Our company came into existence in 1905 with the idea of promoting Indian handloom, Indian handicrafts and to promote Indian artisans. The great Indian patriot, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, along with eminent industrialist and businessman Sir Ratanji Jamshedji Tata revolutionized the idea of Swadeshi and evoked nation’s collective consciousness. Thus, The Bombay Swadeshi Stores Co-operative Stores Co. Ltd. came into existence and gave the people an idea of what their homeland was capable of producing.

We began in an era where there was no organized retail. However, today the industry has evolved to the organized retail. The retail scenario has transitioned from being ‘mom & pops’ stores to high-street to shopping centers and malls. These new formats benefit consumers and retailers both, giving increased choice range and more comfortable environment to work with, thus better shopping experience.

Today, price is not the only consideration. One should take note of the fact that ‘I’ conversion time has increased in the sense that today a Consumer comes, s/he looks at the product, tries to understand, checks other brands to compare, then comes back again, and then decides. Thus Consumers want to be sure that they get the best deal.

Consumers’ perception is also shifting from the “Current & Contemporary” into “Now” (Fast Fashion) and Visual Fluency. The ongoing shift from words to images is accelerating, and we are increasingly seeing innovative ways to explain and illuminate our products and services. In the view of this, we at The Bombay Store have paid great attention to visual merchandising. Therefore, our mission clearly states that we would like our customers to ‘Discover a New India’ through our innovative range of products reflective of a blend of contemporary and traditional Indian culture. 

Shopping experience too has transitioned from earlier ‘be content in what is available’, to a more convenient ‘everything is available under one roof’ format. Talking about apparels in specific, the advent of departmental stores or multi-brand outlets has definitely taken off compared to stand alone apparel stores because one can get number of brands under one roof. People have no time to wait for their clothes to get stitched, be it formal or casual, everything is available.

The attitude of Indian consumers has undergone a major transformation over the years. In current times, the consumers not only demand vast availability of products but also the best shopping experience, services, and the ambience. This has of course led to the growth of shopping malls where shopping, entertainment, facilities are all under one roof. This was one of the major reasons why The Bombay Store is looking at more and more malls for expansion. Setting up a store in the mall allows us to take advantage on the ready-made clientele and increased footfalls.  With more than 30,000 sq ft of shopping bliss and artistically-lit interiors, today The Bombay Store operates through 17 outlets in the high street markets and malls of major cities, and aims to open 4 more stores this year.

Besides, consumers are getting more fashion & brand conscious due to increasing presence of designers, fashion stores, TV channels/Cine world promoting fashion and lifestyle concepts etc. Obviously, consumers want to be fashionable and be in line with these latest trends. Apart from that the younger generation today is economically self dependent, and is now capable of making their choices on their lifestyle statements.

Talking about the market; overseas brands invasion is also increased due to this changing shopping environment in India. Earlier, we had probably a handful of brands but now myriads of brands are open for working hand in gloves. Hopefully, if the FDI goes through, I see a lot of International brands making their way into the Indian markets. With the increase in the percentage of middle class and upper middle class and their disposable incomes, India will definitely be the place to be for all the International retailers.

Gradually, India is also moving towards online shopping concept.  Facilities like cash on delivery for consumers who prefer not to give their credit card details, have totally revolutionized the Shopping experience. With new mediums coming up, “e-shops” will slowly become the talk of the town. I definitely see “Online shopping” carving its way into the Indian homes.

Considering all these changes, to summarize; I feel that the entire retail sector is positive at this point of time as organized retail business in India is poised for a major growth.

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