Preface

The Indian Retail Industry is the largest among all the industries,
accounting for over 10 per cent of the country’s GDP and around 8 per cent
of the employment. The Retail Industry in India has come forth as one of
the most dynamic and fast paced industries with several players entering the
market.

Modern retail has entered India as seen in sprawling shopping centers,

multi- storied malls and huge complexes offer shopping, entertainment and
food all under one roof.

As the contemporary retail sector in India is reflected in sprawling

shopping centers, multiplex- malls and huge complexes offer shopping,
entertainment and food all under one roof, the concept of shopping has
altered in terms of format and consumer buying behavior, ushering in a
revolution in shopping in India.

V Mart, a leading chain of complete family lifestyle stores spread across

India. In the rapidly growing retail industry, V Mart has successfully
created a niche for itself. Ltd. operates a chain of retail stores and sells
groceries, apparel, footwear, and menswear to middle and lower-middle
segments. “Less Price Fashion” is the main motto through which V Mart
believe in providing the latest trends to the upwardly mobile Indians at
the best possible price.

V mart provides a complete range of products ranging from Clothes,

Accessories & Footwear for men, women and kids besides Cosmetics,
Luggage and Toys & Games. It also provides a wide range of food, non-
food and staple items in our Kirana Bazaar section.
 Acknowledgement

A task or project cannot be completed alone. It requires the effort of many

individuals. I take this opportunity to thank all those who helped me
complete this project.

I express my sincere gratitude to Sir Adrish Bosu for giving us the

opportunity to undergo this project. I further thank his for lending a
helping hand when it came to solving my problems related to the project.
This project would not have been possible without his valuable time and
support.

I also thank Centum Learning Centre; Ajmer affiliated to Annamalai

University, Tamilnadu for an opportunity to undertake a Soft skills
project at the start of our MBA course which helped us to understand
deeply for those topics which are untouched.

This project is an attempt to talk about the Marketing Strategies of a

Retail Chain Organization – The 3P’s (Physical Evidence, Process &
People) of V-Mart, Ajmer.

Any suggestions to improve are always welcome.

 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the Project Report titled Marketing Strategies of a Retail

Chain Organization – The 3P’s (Physical Evidence, Process & People) of V-Mart,

Ajmer submitted by Hemlata Jodhwat Enroll No: 5310801014 during Semester

Second of the MBA Program embodies original work done by her.

Signature of the Faculty Supervisor

Name (in Capitals) : Sir Abhinav Nigam

Designation : Faculty Incharge
Campus : Centum Learning Centre, Ajmer
 Contents

1 Introduction 4

2 Key Points of Indian Organised Retail Industry 6

3 Company’s Profile: V-Mart 7

1. History 7

2. Mission 9

3 Visions 9

4. Values 9

4 V-Mart –Ajmer 11

5. Profile 11

6. Segmentation 11

5 V Mart Aspire 12

6 V Mart Plus 12

7 V Mart Corporate 12

8 V Mart Values 12

9 Our Culture 15

10 Offers 16

11 Management Style 17

12 The Strategy 17

13 Marketing Strategies of A Retail Chain 18

Organisation –The 3p’s Of V Mart, Ajmer

14 Physical Evidence 20
15 Process 21
16 People 22

17 Objective 26
18 Research Methodology 27

7. Data Source 28

8. Research Instruments 29

9. Sampling Plan 30

19 Analysis and Interpretation 31

20 Findings 37

21 Recommendations 38

22 Limitations 39

23 Conclusion 40

24 Bibliography 41
 Introduction

The Indian Retail Industry is the largest among all the industries,
accounting for over 10 per cent of the country’s GDP and around 8 per cent
of the employment. The Retail Industry in India has come forth as one of
the most dynamic and fast paced industries with several players entering the
market.

Retailing in India is gradually inching its way toward becoming the

next boom industry. The whole concept of shopping has altered in terms of
format and consumer buying behavior, ushering in a revolution in shopping
in India. Modern retail has entered India as seen in sprawling shopping
centers, multi-storied malls and huge complexes offer shopping,
entertainment and food all under one roof. The Indian retailing sector is at
an inflexion point where the growth of organized retailing and growth in the
consumption by the Indian population is going to take a higher growth
trajectory. The Indian population is witnessing a significant change in its
demographics.

Retail and real estate are the two booming sectors of India in the
present times. And if industry experts are to be believed, the prospects of
both the sectors are mutually dependent on each other. Retail, one of
India’s largest industries, has presently emerged as one of the most dynamic
and fast paced industries of our times with several players entering the
market. Accounting for over 10 per cent of the country’s GDP and around
eight per cent of the employment retailing in India is gradually inching its
way toward becoming the next boom industry.

As the contemporary retail sector in India is reflected in sprawling

shopping centers, multiplex- malls and huge complexes offer shopping,
entertainment and food all under one roof, the concept of shopping has
altered in terms of format and consumer buying behavior, ushering in a
revolution in shopping in India. This has also contributed to large-scale
investments in the real estate sector with major national and global players
investing in developing the infrastructure and construction of the retailing
business. The trends that are driving the growth of the retail sector in India
are
 • Low share of organized retailing
• Falling real estate prices
• Increase in disposable income and customer aspiration
• Increase in expenditure for luxury items

Another credible factor in the prospects of the retail sector in India is

the increase in the young working population. In India, hefty pay
packets, nuclear families in urban areas, along with increasing working-
women population and emerging opportunities in the services sector.
These key factors have been the growth drivers of the organized retail
sector in India which now boast of retailing almost all the preferences
of life - Apparel & Accessories, Appliances, Electronics, Cosmetics and
Toiletries, Home & Office Products, Travel and Leisure and many
more. With this the retail sector in India is witnessing rejuvenation as
traditional markets make way for new formats such as departmental
stores, hypermarkets, supermarkets and specialty stores.

The retail sector is changing as new store categories have started

dominating the marketplace. Mass merchandisers (Wal-Mart, Big
Bazaar), discount clubs (V-Mart), so-called category killers (Home
Depot, Vishal chain), and specialty retailers (Time Zone, Tanishq) have
all developed a successful retail models. At the same time, the small
mom-and-pop stores and the traditional department stores, are finding
the competition intense. Small independent stores, across product
categories, is a very common retail formats they are also undertaking
large scale renovations to appeal and attract their target consumer
segments.

Key Points of Indian Organised Retail Industry

1. Potential to be the third largest economy in terms of GDP in next

few years
2. It ranks high amongst the top 10 FDI destinations of the world .
3. Fastest growing tourist market in Asia.
4. World bank states, India to be worlds second largest economy after
China by the year 2050.
5. Stable and investor friendly Central Government at the helm of
affairs.
6. Introduction of Value Added Tax or VAT and tax reforms.
7. High degree of professionalism and corporate ethics.
8. Excellent Investment opportunities in Indian retail sector and in
allied
sectors; sure and high returns on investments.
9. To invest US $130 billion for the development of infrastructure, by
year 2010.
10. Hordes of foreign investors are thronging in to invest in
Indian retail
markets.
11. Highly educated English speaking young workforce.
12. Vibrant and multi cultured cities.
13. Huge opportunity exists, especially in semi-rural and rural
areas.
 14. Till date the second largest employer after agriculture sector,
for the
huge semi-skilled Indian population.
15. Offers highest shop density in the whole world.
16. Having almost 1,20,000 shops, across the length and breadth
of the country.

Company’s Profile: V-MART

History

V mart retail ltd. was established in the year 2002. The company made its
foray into retail sector in October 2003 by opening
its maiden showroom in Ahmedabad.

Today V Mart has 53 stores across 42 cities and is

expanding at a rapid pace with a turnover of more
than 150 crores last year.

V Mart, a leading chain of complete family

lifestyle stores spread across India. In the rapidly
growing retail industry, V Mart has successfully
created a niche for itself.

V Mart is one of India’s fastest growing value-retailer promoted by Mr.

Lalit Agarwal, a first generation entrepreneur. It operates a chain of
medium sized hypermarket format retail stores (10000-12000 sq. Ft.) With
a focus on tier II and tier III cities.

V-Mart Retail Pvt., Ltd. operates a chain of retail stores and sells
groceries, apparel, footwear, and menswear to middle and lower-middle
segments. “Less Price Fashion” is the main motto through which V Mart
believe in providing the latest trends to the upwardly mobile Indians at
the best possible price.

V mart provides a complete range of products ranging from Clothes,

Accessories & Footwear for men, women and kids besides Cosmetics,
Luggage and Toys & Games. It also provides a wide range of food, non-
food and staple items in our Kirana Bazaar section.
In an extremely fashionable and price conscious market, V Mart has been
successful in maintaining the equilibrium between the quality and price.
Through its chain of stores, the company always strives to offer to the
Indian masses excellent ambience and tremendous convenience for
shopping.

During a downturn, cost reduction is paramount, and often promoters have

nary a clue on how to go about the task in an effective manner. Lalit
Agarwal, Chairman of V-Mart and also brother of Ram Chandra Agarwal,
Chairman of Vishal Retail- had big plans to take his discount retail chain
from 23 to 75 stores across India. He had a reason to dream big as he was
flush with funds receives from Aditya Birla Private Equity (ABVE)
around Rs. 60-70 crore.

Just Before Lalit Agarwal could go ahead

with the blueprint for the nationwide
launch, he had one more task to complete:
To revisit the drawing board, this time with
Bharat Banka, Managing Director & CEO ,
ABVE in tow . Banka suggested a clustered
approach of increasing store presence
within existing states instead of spreading
wings across all regions and states. That proved to be a crucial tweak in
the launch game plan. “Our over-aggressiveness was curtailed. We started
penetrating into cities within existing states rather than spreading out
everywhere”, admits Agarwal. Today, his company has managed to more
than double the number of stores to 53 but just across 10 states as against
a presence in eight states pre expansion.

Turnover was up 50 percent last fiscal over a year ago capital expenditure
was trimmed by 40 percent and saving on advertisements and manpower
costs were utilised on researching regional tastes in the states where
VMart has a presence. It also shifted three unprofitable stores and
negotiated lease rents at stores where sales were sluggish. While Agarwal
is hesitant to share actual numbers, the cost of operations due to these
consolidated efforts has come down by 20 percent since the beginning of
this year. “V Mart was an early follower of the clustered approach, and it
is reaping the benefits now ”.

Mission
To Be A Leading Company In “Value For Money” Segment Of Retail. To
Cross A Turnover Of 1000 Crores.

Vision
Quality products at reasonable prices in an excellent ambience to every
strata of the Indian society. To provide ‘best’ value for money’ and latest
fashion to the Indian consumer. Our slogan is – “ SABSE SASTA, SABSE
ACHCHA”

Values

• We will be four & honest.

• We respect our customers & their hard earned money

• We are socially responsible.

• We will have an environment for Innovation & Development

• We will have an atmosphere of Training / Guidance

• We will take only that which is ours.

• We will pass whatever extra benefits we get to our valued customers

• It will always be “CUSTOMER FIRST” for us

The philosophy behind ‘Sabse Sasta, Sabse Achcha’ or “Best Products

at Lowest Prices” is to fully respect the hard earned money of our
customer. The slogan signifies value for money,
because the company caters to the middle and lower-middle
segment of the society. V Mart provides the comfort of
shopping at a big retail store at affordable prices. We
strive to give you top quality products at the best possible price. To
achieve this, our merchandisers procure products from the most
competitive sources globally. Our in-house designers & Quality Control
department ensure that best quality products come out of our in-house
manufacturing units.

V-Mart –Ajmer

Profile
V mart –Ajmer was established in the year 2004 near Ajmer Museum,
Naya Bazar. It is one km from Ajmer Railway Station; this format is first
of its kind in Ajmer and it has a big and attractive building According to
V-Mart Retail Vice-President Abhishek Jetia company also starts his
outlets in Delhi, Punjab, Mumbai, Bhopal, Rajkot, Vadodara, Kohlapur
with Ajmer outlet . The aim of this outlet is primarily caters to the
burgeoning middle and lower mid-segment consumer group, which forms
an integral part of India’s growing purchasing power. It has been our
constant endeavor to reach out to masses and offer world-class shopping
experience at affordable prices.

Segmentation
V Mart’s products cater to the needs of all the segments of the society.
The product portfolio is given below.

• Casual wear for the younger segment.

• Formal wear to cater to the executives and working professionals

• Women’s apparel ranging from traditional Indian wear like to

contemporary wear and other accessories.

• Kids’ section catering to baby and kids market with clothes, school
bags, meal boxes, bottles etc.

• Home Mart that provides the daily household needs like crockery
and other general items.

• Grocery under the section Kirana Bazaar at most of its outlets with
the aim of providing all daily household needs under one roof.

With providing contemporary fashion at a reasonable price, V MART,

Ajmer has been successful in creating an identity for itself amongst the
target segment of the society. For the convenience of customers as well as
to identify the store’s stock requirements and sales pattern, V MART,
Ajmer has internally created 4 divisions/formats that are mentioned
below.

V Mart Aspire
This format caters to the young generation is to provide GEN X latest
trends in fashion. The target customers are the youth and hence the
designers study the market trend to purchase and stock the merchandise
accordingly.

V Mart Plus
V Mart, Ajmer caters to all the age groups and serves the basic needs of
customers and provides contemporary fashion as well. Since the store
serve customers of all age group and across the sections of the society
normally in an area where the target customers range from kids to senior
citizens.

V Mart Corporate
V Mart, Ajmer targeted at customers from the age group 22-25 years and
serves their contemporary fashion needs. The merchandise in this store is
specifically for office going individuals, both male and female and this
line has been internally termed by the store as Gold Line Fashion.

V Mart Values

This store cater to all age group formats focusing on basic needs keeping
in mind the economic status of the region where the store is situated. But
along with providing low cost products with good fashion, the quality of
the products is not compromised on and the store provides value for
money while manufacturing

Some types of costumes are as under:

Men’s Wear
Ladies

Infant Garments - T-Shirts, Baba Suits, Sets, Pajamas, Lowers

Infant Furnishing - Bags, Beds Sheets, Bath Sets, Carry Cots, Gadda Sets, Sleeping Bags

Infant U-Garments - Bloomers, Panties, Slips, Vests

W-Wear - Cardigans, Jackets, Pullovers, S - Tops, W - Pajamas

Infant Accessories - Bottles, Booties, Carriers, Feeders, Gift Sets, Hair Brushes, Nipples, Oral care,
Tethers
Upper - Tops, Casual Shirts, Formal Shirts, Kurtas

Lower - Trousers, Jeans, Shorts, Skirts, Capris

Ethnic - Dress Fabrics, Lachas, Salwar Suits, Sarees

Accessories - Bags, Belts, Sunglasses, Socks, Wallets

U-Garments - Slips, Bras, Panties, Swim Wears

W-Wear - Blazers, Cardigans, Coats, Jackets, W-Tops

Kid’s (Girls)
Upper - Tops, T-Shirts

Lower - Bermudas, Capris, Half Pants, Jeans, Skirts, Trousers

Ethnic - Ethnic Suits, Lachas, Salwar Suits

Accessories - Bags, Caps, Hair Bands, Purse, Socks, Wrist Watches

U-Garments - Inners, Pant

Kid’s (Boys)
Upper - Shirt, T-Shirts

Lower - Half Pants, Jamaicans Jeans, Trousers

U- Garment - Vests, Briefs

Ethnic - Kurta Pyjamas, Sherwanis, Suits

Accessories - Belts, Caps, Goggles, Socks, Wrist Watches

Infant Accessories and Garments

Upper - Shirt, T-Shirts

Lower - Half Pants, Jamaicans Jeans, Trousers

U- Garment - Vests, Briefs

Ethnic - Kurta Pyjamas, Sherwanis, Suits

Accessories - Belts, Caps, Goggles, Socks, Wrist Watches

Accessories

Bags & Luggage - College Bags, Executive Bags, File Bags, Laptop Bags, School Bags,
Strolly Bags, Travel Bags

Fashion Jewellary - Anklets, Bangles, Earrings, Cluctchers

Office Stationery - Cd Holders, Mouse Pads, Staplers, Folders

School Stationery - Pens, Crayons, Pencil Boxes, Sketch Pens, Stationery Sets

Accessories - Belts, Caps, Goggles, Socks, Wrist Watches

Home mart

Crockery - Coffee Mugs, Cup & Saucers,Glass Sets, Dinner Sets, Soup Sets

Electrical Appliances - Irons, Microwaves, Sandwich Makers, Vacuum Cleaners

Home Furnishing - Mats, Pillow Covers, Curtains, Bed Sheets

Footwear Mart

Ladies - Chappals, Slippers, Sandle, Sneakers

Mens - Chappals, Floaters, Nagras, Sandles, Shoes, Slippers, Sneakers

Girls - Chappals, Slippers, Sandles, Shoes, Sneakers

Boys - Chappals, Floaters, Nagras, Sandles, Shoes, Slippers, Sneakers

Infant - Chappals, Sandles, Shoes

Our culture

At V Mart,Ajmer, Empowerment is what you acquire and Freedom at Work

is what you get. We believe our most valuable assets are our People.
Young in spirit, adventurous in action, with an average age of 27 years,
 our skilled & qualified professionals work in an environment where
change is the only constant.

Powered by the desire to create path-breaking practices and held together

by values, work in this people intensive industry is driven by softer
issues. In our world, making a difference to Customers’ lives is a Passion
and performance is the key that makes it possible. Out of the Box thinking
has become a way of life at V Mart and living with the change, a habit.
Leadership is a value that is followed by one and all at V Mart.
Leadership is the quality that motivates us to never stop learning,
stretching to reach the next challenge, knowing that we will be rewarded
along the way. In the quest of creating an Indian model of retailing, V
Mart has taken initiatives to launch many retail formats that have come
headed for serve as a benchmark in the industry. Believing in leadership
has given us the optimism to change and be successful at it. We do not
predict the future, but create it.

At V Mart you will get an opportunity to handle multiple responsibilities,

and therein, the grooming to play a larger role in the future. Work is a
unique mix of preserving our core Indian values and yet providing
customers with a service, on par with international standards.

At V Mart you will work with some of the brightest people from different
spheres of industry. We believe it’s a place where you can live your
dreams and pursue a career that reflects your skills and passions.

OFFERS
V MART provides many offers to the customers this also a strategy to promote sale and

prove’s company’s logo “SABSE SASTA SABSE ACHCHA”

S S S
P P P
E E E
C C C
I I I
A A A
L L L
O O O
F F F
F F F
E E E
R R R

SPECIAL OFFER
S S
P P
E E
C C
I I
A A
L L
O O
F F
F F
E E
R R
S
P
E
C
I
A
L
O
F
F
E
R

Management Style

The organization structure for V Mart is flat in nature. For V Mart, the
divisions are apparel, non apparel and the new business division, which
includes garments, footwear and the shopping-shops. For Food Mart, a
separate teem has been created which again works independently.
About 1,800 people work for directly. Support and ancillary services
comprise another 400 people. A new trainee is put through a basic three
day training program before going on the shop floor. Evaluation is done
every six months.
 The Strategy

Saving is a key to the Indian middle class consumer. The store, which
would be created, had to offer value to the consumer. Keeping this in
mind, the concept of V Mart was created.
In India, when a customer needs some thing for the home, a typical
thought is to seek it from the bazaar. A bazaar is a place where a complete
range of products is always available to the consumer. This is true across
India. As the store would offer a large mix of products at a discounted
price, the name V Mart was finalized. The idea was to re-create a
complete bazaar, with a large product offering (at times modified to suit
local needs) and to offer a good depth and width in terms of range. The
mind to market for the first store was just six months.
Price was the basic value proposition at V Mart. The V Mart, Ajmer
strategy was to sell variety of products at prices, which were 5 to 60
percent lower than the market price. The line “Sabse Sasta Sabse
Achcha” emphasized this

Marketing Strategies of a Retail Chain Organisation –The 3P’s of V

Mart, Ajmer

RETAIL MIX.

The retail mix is the combination of factors retail used to satisfied

customer needs and influences their purchase decision. Its include the
type of merchandise and services offered, merchandise pricing,
advertising, promotional programs store design merchandise display,
assistance to customer provided by salespeople, and convenience of the
store’s location.
Retail mix is the term used to describe the various elements and methods
required to formulate and execute retail marketing strategy.

• Retail managers must determine the optimum mix of retailing

activities and coordinate the elements of the mix.

• The aim of such coordination is for each store to have a distinct

retail image in consumers’ mind.

• The mix may vary greatly according to the type of the retailer is in,
and the type of product/services.

While many elements may make up a firm’s retail mix, the essential
elements may include:

• Store location,
• merchandise assortments
• Store ambience,
• customer service,
• price,
• Communication with customer
• Personal selling
• Store image
• Store design
• Sales incentives
• People
• Process
• Physical evidence

Composition of retail mix

· Place

· Product
· Price

· Promotion

· People

· Process

· Physical Evidence

For study of our project report we have laid emphasis on the 3 important
P’s which are termed as Extended Marketing Mix :

• Physical Evidence

• Process

• People

Physical Evidence
Where is the service being delivered? Physical Evidence is the element of
the service mix which allows the consumer again to make judgments on
the organisation. If you walk into a restaurant your expectations are of a
clean, friendly environment. On an aircraft if you travel first class you
expect enough room to be able to lie down!
Physical evidence is an essential ingredient of the service mix; consumers
will make perceptions based on their sight of the service provision which
will have an impact on the organisations perceptual plan of the service.

Physical evidence is the material part of a service. Strictly speaking there

are no physical attributes to a service, so a consumer tends to rely on
material cues. There are many examples of physical evidence, including
some of the following:

 Packing
 Internet web pages
 Paperwork (such as invoices, tickets and dispatch notes)
 Brochures
 Furnishing
 Signage (such as those on aircraft and vehicles)
 Uniforms
 Business cards
 The building itself (such as prestigious offices or scenic headquarter)
 Mailboxes and many other.

Organizations depend heavily upon physical evidence as a means of

marketing communications, for example A sporting event is packed full of
physical evidence. Your tickets have your team's logos printed on them,
and players are wearing uniforms. The stadium itself could be impressive
and have an electrifying atmosphere. You travelled there and parked
quickly nearby, and your seats are comfortable and close to restrooms and
store. All you need now is for your team to win!

Process
Refers to the systems used to assist the organisation in delivering the
service. Imagine you walk into Burger King and you order a Whopper
Meal and you get it delivered within 2 minutes. What was the process that
allowed you to obtain an efficient service delivery? Banks that send out
Credit Cards automatically when their customer’s old one has expired
again require an efficient process to identify expiry dates and renewal. An
efficient service that replaces old credit cards will foster consumer loyalty
and confidence in the company.

Process is another element of the extended marketing mix, or 3P's.There

are a number of perceptions of the concept of process within the business
and marketing literature. Some see processes as a means to achieve an
outcome, for example - to achieve a 30% market share a company
implements a marketing planning process. Another view is that marketing
has a number of processes that integrate together to create an overall
marketing process, for example - telemarketing and Internet marketing can
be integrated. A further view is that marketing processes are used to
control the marketing mix, i.e. processes that measure the achievement
marketing objectives. All views are understandable, but not particularly
customer focused.

For the purposes of the marketing mix, process is an element of service

that sees the customer experiencing an organisation's offering. It's best
viewed as something that your customer participates in at different points
in time. Here are some examples to help your build a picture of marketing
process, from the customer's point of view.

Going on a cruise - from the moment that you arrive at the dockside, you
are greeted; your baggage is taken to your room. You have two weeks of
services from restaurants and evening entertainment, to casinos and
shopping. Finally, you arrive at your destination, and your baggage is
delivered to you. This is a highly focused marketing process.
 People

An essential ingredient to any service provision is the use of appropriate

staff and people. Recruiting the right staff and training them appropriately
in the delivery of their service is essential if the organisation wants to
obtain a form of competitive advantage. Consumers make judgments and
deliver perceptions of the service based on the employees they interact
with. Staff should have the appropriate interpersonal skills, aptititude, and
service knowledge to provide the service that consumers are paying for.
Many organisations aim to apply for the Investors In People accreditation,
which tells consumers that staff are taken care off by the company and
they are trained to certain standards.

People are the most important element of any service or experience.

Services tend to be produced and consumed at the same moment, and
aspects of the customer experience are altered to meet the 'individual
needs' of the person consuming it. Most of us can think of a situation
where the personal service offered by individuals has made or tainted a
tour, vacation or restaurant meal. Remember, people buy from people that
they like, so the attitude, skills and appearance of all staff need to be first
class. Here are some ways in which people add value to an experience, as
part of the marketing mix - training, personal selling and customer
service.

The final P of the marketing mix is people. Develop the habit of thinking
in terms of the people inside and outside of your business who are
responsible for every element of your sales and marketing strategy and
activities.
It's amazing how many entrepreneurs and businesspeople will work
extremely hard to think through every element of the marketing strategy
and the marketing mix, and then pay little attention to the fact that every
single decision and policy has to be carried out by a specific person, in a
specific way. Your ability to select, recruit, hire and retain the proper
people, with the skills and abilities to do the job you need to have done, is
more important than everything else put together.
In his best-selling book, Good to Great , Jim Collins discovered the most
important factor applied by the best companies was that they first of all
"got the right people on the bus, and the wrong people off the bus." Once
these companies had hired the right people, the second step was to "get
the right people in the right seats on the bus."
To be successful in business, you must develop the habit of thinking in
terms of exactly who is going to carry out each task and responsibility. In
many cases, it's not possible to move forward until you can attract and put
the right person into the right position. Many of the best business plans
ever developed sit on shelves today because the [people who created
them] could not find the key people who could execute those plans.

Training

All customer facing personnel need to be trained and developed to

maintain a high quality of personal service. Training should begin as soon
as the individual starts working for an organization during an induction.
The induction will involve the person in the organization's culture for the
first time, as well as briefing him or her on day-to-day policies and
procedures. At this very early stage the training needs of the individual
are identified. A training and development plan is constructed for the
individual which sets out personal goals that can be linked into future
appraisals. In practice most training is either 'on-the-job' or 'off-the-job.'
On-the-job training involves training whilst the job is being performed
e.g. training of bar staff. Off-the-job training sees learning taking place at
a college, training centre or conference facility. Attention needs to be
paid to Continuing Professional Development (CPD) where employees see
their professional learning as a lifelong process of training and
development.

Personal Selling

There are different kinds of salesperson. There is the product delivery

salesperson. His or her main task is to deliver the product, and selling is
of less importance e.g. fast food, or mail. The second type is the order
taker, and these may be either 'internal' or 'external.' The internal sales
person would take an order by telephone, e-mail or over a counter. The
external sales person would be working in the field. In both cases little
selling is done. The next sort of sales person is the missionary. Here, as
with those missionaries that promote faith, the salesperson builds
goodwill with customers with the longer-term aim of generating orders.
Again, actually closing the sale is not of great importance at this early
stage. The forth type is the technical salesperson, e.g. a technical sales
engineer. Their in-depth knowledge supports them as they advise
customers on the best purchase for their needs. Finally, there are creative
sellers. Creative sellers work to persuade buyers to give them an order.
This is tough selling, and tends to offer the biggest incentives. The skill is
identifying the needs of a customer and persuading them that they need to
satisfy their previously unidentified need by giving an order.

Customer Service

Many products, services and experiences are supported by customer

services teams. Customer services provided expertise (e.g. on the
selection of financial services), technical support(e.g. offering advice on
IT and software) and coordinate the customer interface (e.g. controlling
service engineers, or communicating with a salesman). The disposition
and attitude of such people is vitally important to a companyThe way in
which a complaint is handled can mean the difference between retaining
or losing a customer, or improving or ruining a company's reputation.
Today, customer service can be face-to-face, over the telephone or using
the Internet. People tend to buy from people that they like, and so
effective customer service is vital Customer services can add value by
offering customers technical support and expertise and advice.

OBJECTIVE

• To understand the different marketing strategies being followed by V Mart,

Ajmer.
• To learn their marketing mix.

Marketing help to define the business for the customer's interests, not
your own. It is the process of learning what customers want or need and
determining how to satisfy those wants or needs. It is also used to confirm
whether the customer reacted to a marketing program as expected. The
benefits of market research include:
  Learning who your customers are and what they want.
 Learning how to reach your customers and how frequently you
should try to communicate with them.
 Learning which advertising appeals are most effective and which
ones get no response.
 Learning the relative success of different marketing strategies, thus
improving return on investment.
 Learning how not to repeat your mistakes.

V Mart has been the pioneer of retail revolution. Its first fight was against
local ‘Kirana’ stores. The task was to change the mindset of consumer to
bring about changes in their shopping patterns. It wanted people to do
bulk shopping for their monthly ration instead of going to the shop each
week.

For the betterment of this Project I also set some objectives in front
of me, this proved very helpful in this Project. I have performed work
according these objectives. The objectives, which we have selected, are as
below.

1. To identify and understand the significance of retailing in the

current business environment
2. To develop guidelines to build a retailing business
3. To identify the paradigm shifts in retailing business with increasing
scope of technology / e-business and develop strategies accordingly

4. To understand the benefits to customers from Retail sector.

5. To know about V-Mart.

6. To know about its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities & threats.

7. To earn practical knowledge.

8. To analyze problems which I am facing while working on field.

9. Last but not least to know about marketing strategies- physical

evidence, process and people.

Research Methodology

Research Plan obtain pioneer place while working on any

project. So we go through the research plan.

The research plan is as follows:-

While working on our Project report, the participation of

manager, sales manager, marketing manager, auditor, employees, etc. &
our professors enlighten the use of theoretical concepts in actual business
world. Their views & suggestions proved very useful in the successful
completion of our Management Project.
We developed the research plan into various components:-

A] Data sources

B] Research instruments

C] Sampling methods

A] Data Sources

1) Primary data:-

Primary data is collected from the locality of the coverage

area. We have taken in to consideration the views of manager, sales
manager, marketing manager, auditor, employees, etc. & our professors
about the relevant subject & also pay attention towards their suggestions.
Their suggestions are incorporated in the report. This data prepared the
basis for the Project Report.

Beside of all this, some data is also collected by we

ourselves.

2) Secondary data:-
 Same as above some data is collected from the media also.

i) Newspapers

ii) Magazines

iii) Books on Management

iv) Text books

v) Internet

B] Research Instruments

To collect the primary data for the Project Report, we have selected some
questions in concern with the organization i.e. V-Mart in Ajmer. We used
these questions as a research instruments for knowing the facts.

These questions are as follows:-

1) Questions related to their marketing management.

2) Questions related to their advertise expenditure.

3) Questions related to their interpersonal relations with Customers

4) Questions related to their organizational structure.

5) Questions related to training & development of employers

 6) Questions related to motivation.

7) Questions related to role of personal manager in the

organization.

C] Sampling Plan

A sampling plan is most important to do Project Report successfully.

The points considered in the sampling plan are as following:-

I) Sampling Unit:-

The staff of the organization including the managers of

different departments and the employees was targeted for the Management
Project.

II) Sampling Quantity:-

 The sampling quantity was 24 & all are related with V-Mart.
Apart from this we also considered some customers of V-Mart in Ajmer.

iii) Coverage:-

The coverage of the survey was whole organization i.e. V-

Mart, Ajmer.

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Q1. In a month how many times you visit V Mart, Ajmer?

a) Once 7
b) Twice 23
c) Thrice 8
d) More than thrice 25
e) As per requirement 37

INTERPRETATION:

Out of 100 respondent, 37% people visit the store when they have some requirement and
25% are visited more than thrice, 23% visited two times in month and 7% & 8% people
visited one and three times in a month respectively. Most of them regularly visit V Mart,
Ajmer.

Maximum number of people visited store frequently.

Q2. Your shopping experience in V Mart, Ajmer is always!

a) Outstanding 1
b) Excellent 21
c) Good 43
d) Average 32
e) Bad 3

INTERPRETATION:

Out of 100 respondent, 43% people has good shopping experience in V Mart, Ajmer,32%
has average and 21% people has excellent. But 1% has outstanding shopping experience
and 3% has bad shopping experience.

Maximum numbers of people has a better experience of shopping in V Mart,Ajmer .

Q3. Brands and products availability in V Mart, Ajmer is!

a) Outstanding 3
b) Excellent 28
c) Good 44
d) Average 22
e) Bad 3

INTERPRETATION:

Out of 100 respondents, over all 31% customer are satisfied by the availability of brand
and products in V Mart, Ajmer, 66% customer product availability is average rest said it
is bad. Some people think there is no good brands and products availability in V Mart,
Ajmer . Especially in apparels.

Q4. Ambience & atmosphere inside the store is!

a) Outstanding 5
b) Excellent 27
c) Good 41
d) Average 21
e) Bad 6
INTERPRETATION:

Out of 100 respondents, Ambience & atmosphere inside the store is good feel by 41%
customers, 27% feel it is excellent and only 3% feel outstanding. But 27% customers are
not satisfied by the ambience & atmosphere inside the store of V Mart, Ajmer.

Due to much noisy and unpleasant environment some of the customer irritates.
Atmosphere is really good.

Q5. Discounts and offers served in V Mart, Ajmer is!

a) Outstanding 7
b) Excellent 32
c) Good 36
d) Average 23
e) Bad 2

INTERPRETATION:

Out of 100 respondents, Discounts and offers served in V Mart, Ajmer is good said by
36% customers, 32% feel it is excellent and only 7% feel outstanding. But 25%
customers are not satisfied by Discounts and offers served in the V Mart, Ajmer.

 Maximum Customers are satisfied by Discounts and offers served in the.

Q6. Location 0f V Mart, Ajmer in your city is!

a) Outstanding 29
b) Excellent 32
c) Good 22
d) Average 13
e) Bad 4

INTERPRETATION:

Out of 100 respondents, 61% is highly satisfied with location of V Mart, Ajmer in city,
22% is satisfied and only 17% is not satisfied.
Location of V Mart, Ajmer is outstanding. It is situated central business district
(CBD).

Q7. In offer days the shopping experience in the store is!

a) Outstanding 3
b) Excellent 29
c) Good 39
d) Average 25
e) Bad 4
INTERPRETATION:

Out of 100 respondent, 39% people has good shopping experience in V Mart, Ajmer,
25% has average and 29% people has excellent. But 3% has outstanding shopping
experience and 4% has bad shopping experience.

Maximum numbers of people has a better experience of shopping in offer days.

Some customer do not enter in store due to heavy rush.

Q8. How do you feel about sales persons and promoters?

a) Outstanding 4
b) Excellent 21
c) Good 49
d) Average 23
e) Bad 3

INTERPRETATION:

74% of the respondents are satisfied by the sales persons and promoters in the store rest
26% respondents are not satisfied by the sales persons and promoters in the store.

Sales persons and promoters behave well with customer.

Q9.The parking facility in V Mart, Ajmer is!

a) outstanding 0
b) Excellent 05
c) Good 09
d) Average 12
e) Bad 74

INTERPRETATION:

74% of the respondents are not satisfied by the parking facility in V Mart, Ajmer, rest
26% respondents are satisfied by the parking facility in V Mart, Ajmer.

Maximum customer are not satisfied with the parking facility in V Mart, Ajmer.

Q10. The quality of the product served by V Mart, Ajmer is!

a) Outstanding 3
b) Excellent 19
c) Good 47
d) Average 26
e) Bad 5

INTERPRETATION:

21% of the respondents are highly satisfied with the quality of the products at V Mart,
Ajmer, rest 74% are said the quality of the products in V Mart, Ajmer is averaged, only
5% said its not good.

Maximum number of people is not satisfied with quality of the product.

Q11. The cleanliness and hygiene maintained in the store is!

a) Outstanding 13
b) Excellent 41
c) Good 28
d) Average 13
e) Bad 5

INTERPRETATION:

According to maximum number of respondent i.e. 82% feels that cleanliness and hygiene
maintained in the store is up to the mark rest 18% feel it is not up to the mark.

Cleanliness and hygiene maintained in the store is up to the mark.

Q12. Are you satisfied with the billing facility at the store?

a) YES 72
b) NO 28

INTERPRETATION:

72% of the respondents are satisfied by the billing facility in the store, rest 28 % are not
satisfied. Some customer are not satisfied by billing facility (Especially in offer day and
rush hours ).

Q13. Is it easy to move with the trolley in the store?

a) YES 74
b) NO 26

INTERPRETATION:

According to 74% of the respondents it is easy to move in the store with trolley only 26%
said it is not.

The space management in the store is up to mark.

Q14. Do you feel that shopping in V Mart, Ajmer has made you a more
knowledgeable conscious and aware customer?

a) YES 63
b) NO 37

INTERPRETATION:

According to 63% of the respondents they feel that shopping in V Mart, Ajmer has made
more knowledgeable conscious and aware customer, and 37% they are already
knowledgeable conscious and aware customer.

“V Mart, Ajmer has made customer a more knowledgeable conscious and aware
customer”

Q15.Do you feel that V Mart, Ajmer provide you value for money?

a) YES 85
b) NO 15
INTERPRETATION:

Out of 100 respondent, 85% of the respondents feel that V Mart, Ajmer provide you
value for money, 15% feel not.

FINDINGS

✔ Store performing well in attracting the customers.

✔ V Mart, Ajmer provides better shopping experience.

✔ Brands and products availability in V Mart, Ajmer is not up to the mark. Especially in
apparels.

✔ Noisy and unpleasant environment is irritates customer. Air conditioning is really

good.

✔ Discounts and offers doing well in the store.

✔ In offer days the store management is good.

✔ Home delivery services are not used by customer.

✔ Quality in products is not up to the mark.

✔ Location of V Mart, Ajmer is outstanding. It is situated near Ajmer Museum

✔ Parking facility in V Mart, Ajmer is not good.

✔ Cleanliness and hygiene maintained in the store is up to the mark

RECOMMENDATIONS

➢ Create awareness & manage home delivery services properly.

➢ There should be proper assortment of various product categories.
➢ Proper signage should be there so that customer can locate the products
easily.
➢ Cleanliness and hygiene should be maintained regularly.
➢ Proper training should be provided to sales person so that they can deal
with the customer efficiently.
➢ Various schemes and offers can be provided to them and attract new
customers (Use pull strategy).
➢ No. of cash counter needs to be increased keeping in view customer
traffic intensity.
➢ Quality in products should be increased up to mark
 LIMITATIONS

Collection of data related to marketing strategy of V-Mart, Ajmer is

a difficult task because this information is very rarely available with
secondary resources therefore it requires more time and lot of efforts. The
main limitations as experienced are as under :

1. Time limit is the major constraint.

2. Some respondents refuse to co-operate.

3. Some respondents replied half heartedly.

4. Some respondents gave incomplete information.

5. The survey was conducted in very general way as no other variable such as their

education level, occupation and sex.

Complaints: -

The following complaints have come to our notice :

1. Low variety of product available and customization of products is

not there.
2. Air conditioners are not properly working
3. Prices are not mentioned at all places and at all products.
4. Prices are not competitive as they are assumed to be higher when
consumers are visiting other retail outlets.
5. Grocery items are not sufficient and they are not at all available at
many stores.
6. Clothing items of women are priced unreasonably
7. Lack of space in the store while shopping and moving within a
store.

Conclusion

In spite of several good steps taken by V Mart, Ajmer it has not is able to
get the desired results. After due consideration I have come to the
conclusion that V Mart, Ajmer should take the following suggested steps
at the earliest in case it is aimed to get the best results:

Suggestions:-

1. Include more trained sales person to help customers in the store

while shopping.
2. Improve quality of the products especially clothes.
3. Play good songs or soothing music in the store rather than cheap
filmy songs.
4. Customer care service can be introduced
 5. More branded products can be displayed in the store as people still
prefer branded clothes than offered by local venders.
6. Constant reminder of discounts through pamphlets, speakers inside
the store for inducing consumers for impulse buying.
7. Add more cosmetic products as its having a huge market of
consumers attached to it.
8. Display of product should be improved so that the product is easily
visible to the consumers.
9. Proper advertisement in press and outdoor to make V Mart should
be visible in the eyes of consumers.
10. Should have parking spaces in front of every store.
11. Hire more salesgirls as in ladies section its very difficult for
both the consumers and salesman to interact with each other.
12. Regular training to sales person to improve there overall
performance.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOK REFERRED

 Research methodology (C.R. Kothari)

 Retailing Management (Levy & Weitz)

Magazines, Newspaper, pamphlets

 Business Times, Economic Times and Local Newspapers of Ajmer

 Marketing textbook
 Retail Management textbook
Websites

 www.google.com
 www.vmart.co.in
 www.business.com