"Trinethra" being rebranded as "More" by Aditya Birla Retail

Chennai, Dec 20: Aditya Birla Retail Limited will rebrand 'Trinethra' grocery retail supermarkets to 'More', to offer consumers a more fulfilling retail experience. Talking to newspersons here today, Aditya Birla Retail Limited CEO Sumant Sinha said the 'More' stores would offer the customers a wide range of products, including fruits, vegetables, home care and dairy products.

''The acquisition of Trinethra Super Retail has provided Aditya Birla Retail a strong retail footprint in South India, extending to 260 stores over more than half a million sqft in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala,'' he said. He said the 'More' stores were developed after an in-depth research to understand the needs and expectations of Indian consumers.

Mr Sinha said to ensure supply of fresh fruits and vegetables to the customers, the company was building direct linkage with the farmers. ''It is also investing to develop a robust supply chain, connecting households more directly with the farmers,'' he added.

Stating that the demographic movements in India over the last two decades had made organised retail a necessity, he said ''the retail industry is today valued at around US Dollar 320 billion.''

Consumer firms widen Health Food portfolio

In a bid to address the needs of health-conscious Indian consumers, FMCG majors have lined up a slew of products for launch in 2008. ITC's foods division is launching Sunfeast Benne Vita Flaxseed biscuits early next year to expand its health biscuits portfolio.

The company already has two other health offers under Sunfeast Sachin Fit Kit, Sunfeast Sachin's FitKit Vitamin and Protein enriched biscuits and Sunfeast Sachin's Fit Kit Multi-grain biscuits.

Since consumer tastes have changed towards a healthier one, we foresee a good growth in the health foods category and expect our portfolio of these products too will continue to grow in the years ahead, added Naware.

The company also offers a health pasta option Sunfeast Benne Vita pasta in four variants.

PepsiCo India's food arm, Frito-Lay India, has already cut down the use of around 5,000 tonnes of saturated fat by switching to rice bran oil for its core products. The company is now aiming to cut trans fats further by using whole grains for its snack offerings. Says a FritoLay India spokesperson,

In recognition of the fact that consumers are living smarter and constantly making lifestyle choices, we have made our core product range healthier, encouraging consumers to snack smart.

Our core product Lay's Kurkure, Uncle Chipps and Cheetos is now being cooked in rice bran oil. In the process, we have reduced saturated fats in these products by 40 per cent, while maintaining the same great taste and at the same price. This is in addition to the fact that all our products have zero-trans fats.

Homegrown FMCG company Dabur India, which has already made heath and wellness its focus area, introduced ChyawanPrakash, a sugar-free variant of Chyawanprash last month.

The product is targeted at the calorie-conscious consumers.

Says K K Chutani, general manager, marketing, Dabur India, The launch of this product comes at a time when Dabur is putting in a concerted effort at expanding the category and use of Chyawanprash. Dabur's entry into the sugar-free segment with Dabur ChyawanPrakash is yet another step in this direction.

According to industry experts, due to increasing health concerns and rising rates of chronic lifestyle diseases, consumers are today asking for products that address their health needs and with this trend growing, food companies will continue to extend their portfolio to healthier offerings.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) is believed to be in the process of introducing a range of nutritional drinks and snacks for children next year. The range is set to be launched under Amaze Brainfood, a part of HUL's parent company Unilever.

Amaze Brainfood has already been launched in Turkey and the range is said to include tasty bite-size cereal treats and milk drinks for children that contain iron, iodine and protein. __________________________________________________________________ All the major FMCG's are expanding their Foods business. Whether the move towards healthy alternatives is a consequence or a cause towards the general mindset of the consumer is going back to an age old debate. What is interesting to wait and see is the positioning ITC's Bingo would take in response to Lay's new Health statement.

Marico's Distribution Network

Marico's distribution width and penetration is acknowledged as one of the best in the industry and is a leverageable strength.
Every month, 56 million consumer packs are sold to about 1.8 million households through 1.6 million retail outlets spread across the country.
Marico's distribution network covers almost every Indian town with a population of over 20,000. The chart below depicts Marico's distribution network in the urban & rural markets:

Thus, 1 out of every 10 Indians is a Marico consumer.

Distribution Alliance:
Our distribution strength has been recognised by Indo Nissin Foods Ltd. through their association with us for the distribution of Top Ramen products on a national basis.

Rural Sales & Distribution:
Marico's parallel rural sales and distribution network ranks among the top three in the industry and contributes 24% to the company's topline.

Their infrastructure comprises 882 direct distributors, 153 super distributors, catering to 2393 small stockists and 4523 van markets. A dedicated team of Territory Sales Executives and Pilot Sales Representatives distribute Marico's as well as alliance brands through this vibrant network.

Sales Capacity:
They have made significant progress in the areas that enhance sales capacity. Quality of our distributors Quality and number of the distributor field force Upgradation in the role of the company's front-line sales force.

Technology (IT) in Sales:
Marico has been making investments in IT to ensure:
Supply Chain efficiencies
Availability of the SKU at the right distributor point,
at the right time in right quantities
Timely availability and reliability of Sales
MIS, which help in taking prudent decisions on a real time basis.

In order to reap maximum benefits from its sales and distribution network, Marico embarked on an internet-enabled application - MI-Net - to establish a network between Marico and its distributors through a web interface. This project is aimed at providing real time information on the status of various business operations between Marico and its distributors. This initiative is expected to provide business benefits in the form of increased penetration by the sales force, reduced communication costs, reduced working capital requirements, etc. The project went live on April 1, 2002 with connectivity to 330 urban distributors, who together account for about 3/4th of Marico's domestic turnover. The business benefits are expected to accrue over a period of time.

Sales Promotions

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Essar to invest Rs 1,200 cr in telecom retail expansion

Essar Telecom Retail has entered into an agreement with the UK-based Virgin Group for brand licensing, technical and consultancy services for its mobile phone retail chain.

Virgin will provide its expertise in branding, customer care, store operations and staff training, and will also get royalty for use of its name.

The logo `Powered by Essar & Virgin' will accompany the store name of `The MobileStore'.

Telecom retail, it seems, is the latest buzzword in India, with Essar Telecom Retail, a unit of Essar Group, planning to increase the number of its stores from 250 at present to 2,500 by 2010. The company will invest Rs 1,200 crore over the next three years in its multi-brand telecom retail stores that operate under the brand name of MobileStore.

The company will also increase its headcount from 1,500 to 10,000 by 2010 and expects to close the fiscal with a revenue of Rs 1,000 crore. With this, it joins players like HotSpot, RPG Cellucom, Pantaloon and Subhiksha, who have announced big-ticket investments to tap the Rs 35,000-crore mobile market.

“Essar Telecom will also sell mobile phone connections, accessories, new connections and provide after sales support, repairs and other services. With these offerings, we are eyeing a 10% share in the next three years,” Essar Telecom Retail CEO Rajiv Agarwal told FE.

Currently, Essar has about 1.5% market share in the country and 4% market share in the 22 cities where it operates. In Delhi it enjoys a market share of about 8%. The company wants to focus only on telecom and related products to garner this pie and denies venturing into other retail formats.

Buoyed by sales of Rs 5 crore on August 15, the company has decided to continue with its scratch and win scheme, where its promises customers a gift worth Rs 5,000 on every purchase.

“Earlier we wanted to run the scheme only for a week, but after getting a positive response, we have decided to continue it till the competition does that,” said Agarwal. The scheme helped Essar sell 1 lakh phones in a single day.

Lee bets big on ‘concept’ stores

Denim brand Lee is betting big on ‘concept’ stores to create brand stickiness.

(Concept stores essentially are built around a theme and convey a certain brand ethos, thereby, enhancing the shopping experience.)

Lee recently opened a boutique store in Greater Kailash, Delhi – in an upmarket shopping area frequented by women. This store conveys an uppity attitude and “celebrates snobbery” – right from its diamond studded signage to store interiors with modern minimalist furniture, vanity mirrors, plasma screens and foot massagers.

While the Lee store in Bangalore is all about the “vintage meets contemporary”, its Pune store addresses the youth primarily. Lee is all set to open up a ‘Buddy Lee’ café in its store in Ahmedabad (Buddy Lee is the brand’s advertising icon). The café is aimed at being yet another “point of connection with the youth.”

“Concept stores give consumers a complete brand experience and convey the values and ‘lifestyle’ imagery of the brand,” says Mr Chakor Jain, Business Head, Lee.

“While a multi-brand outlet stacks our merchandise like just another product, large concept stores try to bring about all the images of the brand. After all, the store is an extension of the brand,” says Mr Jain. Lee is looking to take the concept story forward by setting up more such stores in various cities.

VF Arvind Brands will have 90 exclusive Lee outlets in place by December.

Source: Business Line Similar concept stores are also running on a pilot basis for Reebok simultaneously with their existing showrooms. The Franchise needs to be flexible enough to adopt an innovative model which will be running on a pilot basis. The entire store is extremely colorful and targets women and the metrosexual male in particular.