K Venkataraman
CEO
Mahindra Retail Pvt. Ltd.
My biggest learning is that the only constant is change and that you continue to learn.
Mahindra Retail is entirely different from the other businesses of the giant, US $15.9 billion Mahindra Group. And from the looks of it, it has still has a long way to go. What do you suppose? What are your expansion plans?
Mahindra Retail is the venture from Mahindra Group to establish a significant and value added business in the robust retail sector of the country. The company intends focusing on specialty retail. The mother and child space and related categories in Toys & Games are the present formats, under Mom & Me and Beanstalk respectively. We have over 110 stores of the former and 30 stores of the latter.
What is your idea of an ideal franchise? Do you think that franchisees can do justice to the extent that you do to your products?
An ideal franchisee for us is one who believes in the mother and child/kids space as rewarding both as business and as work. Many of our franchisees are young moms or dads. Of course, the local expertise franchisee can bring and entrepreneurship in providing business acumen are also important factors in franchising. We work closely with franchisees to ensure that the values of the group and the brand are maintained and the customers do not see a difference between company owned or franchised stores.
It has been heard that you have collaborated with 'Destination Maternity' to open 'Mom and Me' stores in India. You are also planning to associate with 'Benetton' and 'Gini and Jony'. Do you believe that foreign brand names will increase your chances in the Indian market than making your own brands?
We work with many brands, both international and Indian, in our endeavor to offer the best selection of brands in the retail formats that we operate in. The aim is to bring the world’s best to the country. As such, we are exclusive partners with many international brands like Destination Maternity, Disney, Mattel, Graco, NUK, Summer Infants etc. However, where it is important to provide local choice and better value, we do offer our own brands which are private labels like Lil Wanderers, Baby Pure, Playnation etc. Our own brands are almost half of our business.
Why did you choose to start with maternity clothing and children’s wear? Don’t you suppose that these sections are still at an emerging stage in the country?
Our space is mother and child and we want to be a retail format offering everything for the life stage of -9 months to +9 years under one roof. As such, we have 10 departments of which some are in the nascent growth stage (like maternity wear, travel) and others are reasonably established (like personal products, apparel).
Why do you think are specialty clothes necessary for expectant mothers instead of loose fitted clothes?
Maternity wear is relatively small in the country not because expecting mothers do not need them, but because they have not been made available. Our endeavor is to introduce this category and the same is needed by customers because of the fundamental need to look good and feel good even when the body is changing substantially during pregnancy. Most women work today and they require relevant clothes during pregnancy to continue working. The rising disposable incomes and lower birth rate in urban areas are also driving the need for mother’s (and dad’s) to enjoy the experience of pregnancy and parenthood. This provides the opportunity for products that make the experience exclusive. Maternity wear is one such category.
You have an impressive educational background. You have worked with several big names in the corporate world. What is the lesson that you have learnt in all these years of your career?
My biggest learning is that the only constant is change and that you continue to learn.
Do you have any plans to open online retail stores? Do you think that it will add to your profit? Why do you think so?
We have started our online business recently and we believe this channel will become very important and profitable over the next few years.
What makes your kids wear better than the rest in the market? Can you tell us a bit about your kids wear section in the store?
Our Infant and Kids wear is essentially a private label in our stores. We design in-house based on our assessment of market and consumer trends and use a manufacturing base that produces for very reputed international houses. We give utmost care to the quality of our Infant wear and conform to the highest international standards for product quality. These standards include the fabric, the stitching, the trims, labels and all processes to provide a safe and quality garment. Of course, the designs also are fashionable to make the parent’s experience of clothing their young ones much more rewarding.
Where do you see Mahindra Retail ten years down the line? Is there any aim that you are chasing on behalf of the company?
Mahindra Retail will continue to expand its presence in Mom & Me and Beanstalk over the next few years as India offers a huge potential for organized retail. We would also be looking at other specialty retail formats. In addition, presently, a lot of work is happening to grow the channels of E-commerce, Franchising & Distribution Business.
From the looks of it, you are not majorly into advertising and promotional activities. Is it really so? Can you explain?
We do a lot of advertising and promotions with our core target group who are mothers and fathers of young children. Further, we are a very young brand with just about 3-4 years of existence and have reached the scale for any major advertising spends only recently.
Published on: 13/06/2013
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
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