Retail: A Tale of Retail

If all the newsprints featuring the retail vertical in the

recent past were stacked on top of each other, they would surely fill up a

decent sized Wal-Mart warehouse. That's how 'hot' this vertical has been

of late. Not a day passes without some sort of announcement or news. The booming

Indian economy has finally got a poster boy after IT, and he goes by the name of

retail. Only, the former seems to act as a catalyst for the latter.

Big Story



According to a New York Times report, the Indian retail industry is expected
to grow from $300 bn to $637 bn by 2015. Currently, the organized retail segment

accounts for only 3-4% of the total market, but things could change as this

segment (organized) is expected to touch 18% in the next few years.

The game has become so big that the world's second

highest-grossing corporation, Wal-Mart, has decided to open "hundreds of

retail stores" in conjunction with Bharti. So have the Tescos and

Carrefours of the world. With the arrival of these deep-pocketed international

players, there is a fear that the local ones will be lame sitting ducks. After

all who can match the technological and IT infrastructure of a Wal-Mart?

The answer to that is an unequivocal NO. Indian players are not

only matching, but even excelling in the game of IT. Every single CIO that we

spoke to underscored the importance of IT for his company's prospects.

"IT can no longer be termed as only important, now it is critical for a

retail business," emphasize Ranjan Sharma, CIO, Vishal Retail (Megamart).

While IT helps retailers manage their supply chain, inventory,

etc in an efficient manner, the single largest improvement is brought in terms

of customer satisfaction. "With IT we are able to run complex promotions,

which otherwise would not have been possible in a manual system thereby giving

good value for money for the users," says KVS Seshasai, head (IT &

Corporate Quality), Trent (Westside).

Local Flavor



Yet, IT is not the panacea of all ills. "Using technology for the sake
of technology is not the best of the idea, one needs to evaluate the business

case," says Unni Krishnan TM, CTO, Shoppers' Stop.

Also, one cannot fully depend on the off-the-shelf-solutions

available in the marketplace, as Indian consumers offer unique challenges. One

needs a system that lends itself to customization and localization.

In the world of billions and million sq feet, the small kirana

(grocery) storekeeper seems to be out of place. While everyone is harping on how

IT can and has helped big players, what about the small ones? Where do they go?

What should they do? Rakhee Nagpal, managing director, DVS, a retail solution

provider, seems to have an answer. "I strongly believe that 12 mn or so

small retailers can also benefit from the boom. After all even in the West, the

mom and pop stores have held their ground in front of large retailers. They can

also use IT to their advantage in their own small ways. There is huge

opportunities and it is open to everyone, big or small," she says.

In the Days to Come



Finally, what are the emerging trends in the vertical? Currently, there is a

lot of talk about BI and data warehousing. RFID is another technology that has

been talked a lot about. But most of the CIOs contend that there needs to be a

ecosystem before the technology is fully adopted, and currently, the ecosystem

is not ubiquitous.

Summing up, Indian retailers do not seem to be in any way

lacking in terms of technology adoption vis-à-vis their foreign counterparts.

Maybe it's the foreign players that need to get wary and not the other way

round.

We have selected three unique case studies to show how the

industry is shaping up. While Shoppers' Stop is unique in terms of

technological breakthroughs, Pantaloons is a story of mammoth proportions.

Timex, on the other hand, underlines the maxim 'necessity is the mother of

invention'.

Shashwat Chaturvedi



maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in