Expansion of a Retailer

"Cookie Man plans to invest Rs 25 cr in 5 yrs"

I came across this news article today in Linked-in, where some retail experts had put forward their comments on where exactly Cookie Man should aim at opening its stores.

Understanding retail in India is a completely different ball game altogether, and people should be made aware of the fact that retail in India is quite different from what it is abroad. Retail had always been in our blood and soul, the only part of it that we could not understand was the nature of the large pool of customers that behaved unconventionally when exposed to the retail environments of the Americas or the European nations. An organized structure of retail is yet to be fully acknowledged and accepted by our own people, so as to portray the Indian image of retail correctly to our western counterparts. Just organizing a tie-up to expand a business line in India will not work, as India is not one country. It is a country of countries where opinion leaders vary from city to city, and state to state. Demographics change every 8 to 12 kilometers. Then, should it be a decision taken in a haste of how to expand Indian footprint by any retailer based in Australia, or otherwise?

When I saw this interesting discussion taking place in Linked-in about the best locations possible for Cookie Man, I couldn't help but put forward my views on what people think to be such a simple task, and hence commit mistakes that prove to be quite expensive in the long run. A professor here wanted to prove his point about which income class to cater to, without completely giving importance to the fact that what exactly the brand wishes to portray, and where exactly is the brand positioned in the mind of the consumer. I'm sorry, but I believe some basics of marketing may actually shed some good light on how to take a brand and its positioning (both in the mind, and in the physical space consistently) in the market. Gaining an insight into a retailer's understanding of his brand and of the market where he sees his product being displayed is grossly important before commenting on the 'Where' to find real estate space for the brand.

And hence I believe that before commenting on a particular brand's expansion plan in an Airport or a Shopping Mall (for instance), we need to understand why exactly a brand should open up a particular shop in a particular location. And here comes our age-old concept of STP (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning). If we try to understand what is the segment of the market that Cookie Man wishes to target, we will see that Cookies are something that doesn't see whether a person is going to come from a Middle-middle, or an Upper-middle, or a Lower-Upper class. Branding a commodity like cookies is actually a very bold step that Cookie man has done, and to follow it up to agree that the Indian consumer is ready for such a format, would actually need a good amount of consideration.

As currently stated, a brand like Cookie Man will not like to segment the market based on a Geographic segmentation, rather a Demographic segmentation might actually be of larger help. Understanding where exactly its customers (and consumers as well) come from, is the core idea, and a demographic profiling may actually show an image of a 20-30 year old, frequent shopper, experimenter, educated, active, enthusiastic person who likes to check out the latest product in the market, and understands what exactly is Cookie Man able to provide him what any other 'biscuit' cannot. A middle income group lady, who has to purchase her monthly grocery from a particular mall, even if she belongs to an upper-middle income group, might actually not go and buy a pack of cookies from a 'Cookie Man'.

Cookie Man, at the same time would like to associate itself with the young, and vibrant and the next generation crowd that is going to buy everything packed and ready-to-eat from the market in future. This is where Cookie Man will target its end users, as it would comprise not only the class that I am talking about, but also the one that is going to drive its sales in the future, i.e. the end consumer (the kids of tomorrow, who will get used to it in days to come). But this is going to happen only in places where the current user is fully convinced of the product, and is ready to offer it to her child. And this consumer needs to have the profile that I have tried to describe above.

Hence, here comes the prime question of where exactly to place such a brand in the market. Where exactly to open outlets that might actually lead to results, rather than simply focusing on 'High Class' people. A 'Cookie Man' finds its place in Malls where there is a ready footfall of Young crowd. Places that are close to Colleges, IT/ITES companies, etc. It should never be a part of a Food Court (No use of cookies there anyway!). It should try to be in a location centrally visible, and preferably before a Coffee Shop in the mall. People having a Cappuccino should be able to see this shop when they sit inside the Cafe. Kiosks should be preferred over Standalone formats as they give the independence of moving the stall to a better location (if needed), and give a central visibility (vis-a-vis a locked-in visibility of a fixed store). It also gives a 'Quick-service' appeal to the store, which will actually be appreciated and looked forward to by the customers.

Airports of-course are a very good location, but that is not the only place where people wait for something (Thats where you try to get a cup of coffee and cookies to kill time). Metro stations are also a very good idea. Having a space close to a Cinema hall can actually return good results. Bookshops is another alternative. Locating close to an existing Coffee shop may get quick results (would see people who would like to try something new than the conventional cookies available in their Coffee Shop). Gossip zones close to school and college campuses can be seen as a viable option (where kids of the rich frequent). These are some locations that should be seen as imperative zones for Cookie Man to be present in India, as this is where Young India goes.



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