Big Bazaar-Marketing Assignment

K.J Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research

Big Bazaar

By:

Jainee Parekh

MMS B- 130

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Table of Content

Sr No Particulars Page No

1 Executive Summary 03

2 Situation Analysis 06

3 Marketing Plan 12

4 Big Bazaar, Mulund – An Analysis 21

6 Existing Marketing Strategies 27

7 Conclusion 29

8 Bibliography 30

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.0) About the company

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Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd, is India’s leading retail company with presence across food,
fashion, home solutions and consumer electronics, books and music, health, wellness and
beauty, general merchandise, communication products, e-tailing
Leisure&Entertainment.Headquartered in Mumbai (Bombay), the company operates through 3.5
million square feet of retail space, has over 100+ stores and 30+ cities in India and employs over
14,000 people. The company owns and manages multiple retail formats catering to a wide cross-
section of the Indian society and its width and depth of merchandise helps it capture almost the
entire consumption basket of the Indian consumer. For the financial year ended June 2006, it
had gross sales of Rs. 2,018.76crores.

Founded in 1987, Pantaloon Retail forayed into modern retail in 1997 with the opening up of a
chain of department stores, Pantaloons. In 2001, it launched Big Bazaar, a hypermarket chain,
followed by Food Bazaar, a supermarket chain. It went on to launch Central, a first of its kind,
seamless mall located in the heart of major Indian cities. Some of its other formats include,
Collection I (home improvement products), E-Zone (consumer electronics), Depot (books,
music, gifts and stationeries), aLL (fashion apparel for plus-size individuals), Shoe Factory
(footwear) and Blue Sky (fashion accessories). It has recently launched its e-tailing venture,
futurebazaar.com

Some of the group’s subsidiaries include Home Solutions Retail India Ltd, Future Bazaar (India)
Ltd and ConvergeM Retail (India) Ltd, which leads the group’s foray into home improvement,
e-tailing and communication products, respectively. Other group companies include Pantaloon
Industries Ltd, Galaxy Entertainment and Indus League Clothing. It has also entered joint
venture agreements with a number of companies including ETAM group, Gini & Jony, Liberty
Shoes and Planet Retail, a company that owns the franchisee of international brands like Marks
& Spencer, Debenhams and Guess in India.
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Future Group’s vision is to, “deliver Everything, Everywhere, Every time to Every Indian
Consumer in the most profitable manner.” One of the core values at Future Group is,
‘Indianess’ and its corporate credo is – Rewrite rules, Retain values Pantaloon is not just an
organization – it is an institution, a centre of learning & development.

They promise their customers to come enter a world where there are good days and bad days,
but never a dull moment!

1.1) About Big Bazaar-The Product

Big Bazaar is a chain of shopping malls in India currently with 29 outlets, owned by the
Pantaloon Group. It works on the same economy model as Wal-Mart and has had considerable
success in many Indian cities and small towns. The idea was pioneered by entrepreneur Kishore
Biyani, the head of Pantaloon Retail India Ltd
Big Bazaar is both big and a bazaar. It is unlike, say, a Wal-Mart or even a Food world. Big
Bazaar is almost an air-conditioned version of any Indian bazaar. It is a slightly orderly and
organized version of, say Chickpet for Bangalore guys or Dadar for Mumbaiites. There is a huge
crowd which can move in almost any direction. You can buy anything (pretty much everything is
available at Big Bazaar). It is not a place where you can browse through at leisure and pick up a
few things here and there. This is a place if you are serious about your shopping. And the worst
part is at the checkout counter; where the line can stretch as much as a line for a famous ganpati
pandal or a cricket match both are the famous events in the city of Mumbai.

But, the place ticks. In both Hyderabad and Bangalore, the outlets don’t have a place for
customers to stand especially on weekends. Sometimes customers wait outside the outlet before
it opens in the morning. Bombay is slightly better. Big Bazaar offers good prices. Really good
prices; prices that tempt. Apart from simple price chopping, there are deals (2 for the price of 1
or prices reduced on a combination etc). The perception of Big Bazaar is that it facilitates some
serious savings on grocery shopping. And it works. And make no mistake; it attracts the well
heeled as much as it attracts Raju from across the street.

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1.2) Big Bazaar Model :

No one quite liked Kishore Biyani earlier, because the man strongly believed - and said
so bluntly - that his peers in the retail business were mere copycats. "Most Indian retailers tend to
blindly copy from Western models. I am looking for a pan-Indian model of retailing," he would
say to anyone who cared to listen. His search for the ideal model also meant that he took colossal
risks - something that scared away most financiers used to dealing with more conventional
businessmen. On top of that, Biyani made no bones about the fact that he liked to run a one-man
show. "I use people as hands and legs. I prefer to do the thinking around here," he once famously
said. As a result, both professional managers and investors avoided him. And few people gave
him any chance of succeeding.

Between then and now, a lot has changed. Biyani has moved centre stage. Today he has three
highly successful retail formats: the Big Bazaar hypermarket; Food Bazaar that straddles the
food and grocery business; his property in Bangalore, a mall called Central in Bangalore and his
original Pantaloons apparel stores. By the end of next year, he expects to have 30 Food Bazaars,
22 Big Bazaars, 21 Pantaloons and four Centrals. Right now, he has 13 Food Bazaars, 9 Big
Bazaars, 13 Pantaloons and one Central. Between them, Biyani's stores occupy 1.1 million sq. ft
of retail space. By the end of next year, they will occupy 3 million sq. ft

SITUATION ANALYSIS

2.1) Competition
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The retail industry is divided into organized and unorganized sectors. Organized retailing
refers to trading activities undertaken by licensed retailers that is, those who are registered for
sales tax, income tax, etc. These include the corporate-backed hypermarkets and retail chains,
and also the privately owned large retail businesses which include large corporate houses like
Reliance Fresh recently launched in Hyderabad, Bharti -Wal-Mart, Shoppers Stop, and
Spencer’s D-mart, Life Style, Piramyd, Globus, Ebony etc
Unorganized retailing, on the other hand, refers to the traditional formats of low-cost
retailing, for example, the local kirana shops, owner manned general stores, paan/beedi shops,
convenience stores, hand cart and pavement vendors, etc. Unorganized retailing is by far the
prevalent form of trade in India – constituting 95% of total trade, while organized trade accounts
only for the remaining 5%. Estimates vary widely about the true size of the retail business in
India. Since 2004, visible changes in the Indian retail horizon have been observed. The German
retailer, Metro AG and South African retailer, Shoprite have already made their foray into India.
Both, Metro AG and Shoprite entered India through a cash and-carry format. Shoprite also has
approval to carry on business under the franchisee route. To mark its entry into India, the French
retailer, Carrefour, has established a representative office in the country

2.2) Size Of the Market and Growth

AT Kearney estimated the retail business to be Rs. 4, 55,000 crores and poised to double
by the end of 2007. Sales now account for about 45% of the total GDP and food sales account for
63% of the total retail sales, increasing to Rs.100 billion from just Rs. 38.1 billion in 1996.

2.3) Trends

For the so-called Global Retailers, the incentives lie in the growing Indian middle class,
rising “consumer expenditure per year” and the Indian government’s consideration to allow FDI
in the retail sector. However, the going will never be a smooth one. If Wal-Mart were a country,

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Wal-Mart is about half of India. What does that imply? The global giant with money power at its
disposal is likely to dictate its term which may have an impact on its pricing decisions. The
impact may be directly on the local shops and small retailers like big bazaar. Also larger amount
at the disposal of common people has been witnessed as one of the reasons why big retail giants
are aiming India as an attractive destination for foreign investment.

2.4) Marketing Strategy

The company is forking out over Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion) for this massive expansion
of the 'Big Bazaar' brand across Mumbai, Kolkata, Nagpur, Bhubaneswar and Ahmedabad.
Biyani is also offering innovations that retailers abroad don't offer. He has recently launched a
new section in his hypermarket called Gold Bazaar where jewellery is bought and sold.

And he is also setting up Victoria Memorial, a 150,000 sq ft shopping mall in Bangalore. Victoria
Memorial will experiment -- following the Selfridges model -- by displaying high-profile
readymade brands and collecting a commission on their sales.

2.5) SWOT Analysis

Strengths:
1) Good supply chain management
2) Variety of products available under one roof
3) Higher PROFIT margins on sold products
4) Good brands available at affordable prices
5) Cheap goods available to the consumers due to the absence of middlemen

Weakness:
1) High attrition rate
2) Employees are not well trained in handling esteemed customers
3) Sub standard Quality of goods

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4) There is no proper channel of advertising for promoting their products

Opportunities:
1) Huge potential rural market to be tapped
2) Opportunities available in the cosmetics industry

Threats:
1) Many major players are foraying in the retail sector like walmart,reliance which may hamper
their margins
2) Customers may lose their trust on the company due to the supply of substandard products and
may even switch to some other company

Michael Porter’s Model

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Threat of New Entrants:

 Economies of scale (minimum size requirements for profitable operations)

- The new entrants that are entering the retail scenario today are those which have with
them a lot of backing from the financial institutions who are willing to finance their
ventures.
- Taking for example the case of Reliance Fresh which is entering the industry with a
corpus of Rs. 25,000 crore.
- E.g. Reliance Retail, which made its debut on 3rd November, 2006, in Hyderabad with
the opening of a cluster of 11 stores and which now has 22 stores in operation in
Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Jaipur is gearing up to enter its home state Gujarat with a
big bang.

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 High initial investments and fixed costs

- The cost of initial investments is very high as the prices of real estates have started going
very high.
- The recovering the initial costs would take a long time as the initial phase will be
involved in attracting the customers and it will take time until customers will become the
regular.
- Companies coming in are not wary of the high initial costs involved as they are putting
their money in for the long term as the retail industry in India is only in its nascent stage.

 Cost advantages of existing players due to experience curve effects of operation with
fully depreciated assets
- Existing players have the first mover’s advantage in the market.
- They already have their brand value set and the customers are aware of the brand.

 Scarcity of important resources, e.g. qualified expert staff

- As the there is rapid expansion in this industry and there are more and more new players
coming in.
- The availability of skilled labor is very scarce in the current scenario.
- The existing staff is already employed by existing players.
- Due to a lot of poaching in the industry, the pay packets keep getting higher to avoid
incurring training costs.

Threat of Substitutes

 Results of an AC Nielsen study for the period 1993-99, published in 2000 showed
`independent retailers' declined by 21 per cent while `multiple retailers' increased by 18.5 per
cent.
 Indians love to chat with the shopkeeper and the purchase decision is heavily influenced by
the `expert' comments of the shopkeeper.

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 The friendly greeting and affection of your regular grocer cannot be easily replaced.

 The big retailers tend to be impersonal, there is no help around, and the sheer range of choice
can be confusing.

Competitive Rivalry between Existing Players

 There are many players of about the same size
The Shoppers Stop headed by the Raheja Group, Vishal Mart in North India, Spencer
Hypermarket Formats are the existing players who are about the same size as the Big Bazaar
and similar expansion policies.

 There is not much differentiation between players and their products

The existing players don’t have much difference in terms of the product range they are
offering to the customers. This thus results in price competition.

 Low market growth rates

The growth of a particular company is possible only at the expense of a competitor and
capitalizing on the mistakes committed by them.

 Barriers for exit are high

High investments by the players makes it very difficult for them to exit the current scenario
in the industry.

THE MARKETING PLAN OF BIG BAZAAR

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3.1) Target:
The target audience for big bazaar includes people based on the economic status. They
mainly cater to urban middle class and price sensitive customers. As a marketing strategy they
offer huge festive discounts to lure the customers as the festive season is a time when many have
plans to buy and try out new products .they also have various schemes such as 50 % discount on
the tagged price for a day. Whatever you buy is 50% less than the original price. They basically
promote their product as being the cheapest anywhere in India.

Biyani in one of his interviews says that Ahmedabad was a very difficult market. People were so
conscious. We realized that people traveled in groups of 8-10. The whole society came to shop
together. They shared the rickshaw fair. They knew the price of every product in the wholesale as
well as in the retail market. So when we launched our Ahmedabad store, it was our most
challenging market. We thought 'what more can we do for these customers'.

3.2) Positioning of Big Bazaar:

Big Bazaar is not just another hypermarket. It caters to every need of your family. Where
Big Bazaar scores over other stores is its value for money proposition for the Indian customers.

At Big Bazaar, you will definitely get the best products at the best prices -- that’s what we
guarantee. With the ever increasing array of private labels, it has opened the doors into the
world of fashion and general merchandise including home furnishings, utensils, crockery,
cutlery, sports goods and much more at prices that will surprise you. And this is just the
beginning. Big Bazaar plans to add much more to complete your shopping experience.

Isse sasta aur accha kahin nahi – This can be used for the POSITIONING strategy. Shop till
you drop!

Big Bazaar has democratized shopping in India and is so much more than a hypermarket. Here,
you will find over 170,000 products under one roof that cater to every need of a family, making
Big Bazaar India’s favourite shopping destination. At Big Bazaar, you will get the best products
at the best prices -- this is our guarantee. From apparel to general merchandise like plastics,

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home furnishings, utensils, crockery, cutlery, sports goods, car accessories, books and music,
computer accessories and many, many more. Big Bazaar is the destination where you get
products available at prices lower than the MRP, setting a new level of standard in price,
convenience and quality.

If you are a fashion conscious buyer who wants great clothes at great prices, Big Bazaar is the
place to be. Leveraging on the company’s inherent strength of fashion, Big Bazaar has created a
strong value-for-money proposition for its customers. This highlights the uniqueness of Big
Bazaar as compared to traditional hypermarkets, which principally revolve around food,
groceries and general merchandise. Boasting of an impressive array of private labels, Big
Bazaar is continually striving to provide customers with a ‘complete’ look. So be it men’s wear,
women’s wear, kids wear, sportswear or party wear, Big Bazaar fashions has it all!

3.3) Pricing of Product:

As it were, Biyani's new strategy for Big Bazaar also centre’s on fashion, but with a
volumes orientation. It will retail what Biyani calls commoditized fashion - blue jeans, white
shirts. Biyani is planning to buy these in very large numbers, drive prices down, and sell. Take
denim. Recalls Singh: "Pantaloons has jeans from Bare at Rs 695 and above. Newport, priced at
Rs 599, was the cheapest pair of jeans in the market. So, we contacted Arvind Mills and asked if
they could give us jeans at Rs 299 if we were willing to take 100,000 units a month." That is
where Ruf-n-Tuf came in. The brand had been discontinued when Pantaloon first contacted
Arvind. From now on, it will be available only through Big Bazaar. There is a similar deal for T-
shirts.

3.4) Pricing strategy

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The recent stampedes at Big Bazaar stores have triggered a debate around the much
desired discount game and varying strategies adopted by organized retailers to show their mettle.
Well, a mad rush at Kishore Biyani’s Pantaloon stores may be a compliment for his success, but
for Technopak Advisors COO Harminder Sahni it conveys nothing.
In India, one sees a stampede everywhere, which is a result of huge demand and less supply. Big
Bazaar’s stampede exemplifies the same. In a city of 12 million people, there is one store that is
trying to position itself as a discount destination. Even if only 1% of the city dwellers visit the
store, it adds up to 1, 20,000 people. Such a huge lot in a store that can handle not more than
15,000 people will indeed lead to a stampede. However, he adds that the discount war is a
rediscovering exercise undertaken by the first generation retailers who, perhaps inspired by
international retailers, are trying to understand the requirements of customers and thus fill the
gaps at their end. So, if Wal-Mart has the discount principle, why not our own Big Bazaar?
Discount and several other developments in and around the organized retail trade (the 3% of the
total retail trade) indicate the changing dynamics of the sector and the way the business will take
shape in the years to come.

BIG BAZAAR is concentrating on buying in volumes through cash purchase which give us an
edge. Ultimately, the convenience, value and variety given to customers will make a difference.
Be it managing a supply chain, grappling with hundreds of suppliers or handling store inventory
— the modern retail industry is a big affair. Then follow other aspects like positioning of the
brand with apt pricing, packaging and retail experience, understanding the customers, dealing
with partners such as suppliers, mall developers and franchisees. However, the biggest challenge
is saving bucks either through margins or rentals, so that there is profit even after the discounts.
Though it reads as a complete win-win situation, it is surely a tough target to be achieved.

3.5) Advantage

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Huge marketing space at their disposal a good brand image to compliment that and a
trained and efficient sales force all adds to their advantage to serve customers better. They also
have the advantage of having their outlets in selected prime locations in the city (phoenix mills –
Mumbai).An exhaustive research is conducted before finalizing location for the shop. A loyal
customer base following also adds to the advantage as its help in positioning their product
accordingly.

3.6) Distribution

Since big bazaar is mainly targeted towards middle class consumers as a distribution
strategy they manufacture few products themselves which enables them to earn better margin
profits and stay ahead of competition. For fruits and vegetables they have a ware house in vashi
from which they order their supplies. The suppliers have to fill in a tender, from which the firm
quoting the lowest price is selected for the supplies. In the same way for clothing and accessories
they have their own designers (Rocky S –Pantaloons) who design their line of products and later
big bazaar sells them in the open market. For branded electronic items like mobile phone and
cameras they order them directly from the company. Their distribution strategy is simply,
purchasing in bulk from the suppliers and then sell it to the end user at a cheaper price.

Even the warehousing strategy has been fine-tuned so that costs are kept to a minimum. In
Mumbai, for instance, the three stores will be served by a single warehouse. It hopes to put
together a similar strategy in Delhi where it wants to open a second store. Keeping costs down is
clearly the cornerstone of policy at both chains. Pantaloon chief Biyani ensures cheaper prices by
keeping watch at every step. Says Biyani: "We do three things -- buy directly from the
manufacturers so that the middle man is eliminated. We buy in cash and get a cash discount, and
manage our stocks turns so that we don't have money stuck up. The benefits are passed on to the
customers."

So, for instance, as many as 60 per cent of Big Bazaar's products are bought directly from the
manufacturers and the saving could be anywhere between 6 per cent and 40 per cent. Cash
discounts (for buying goods upfront in cash) on the other hand could range from 2 per cent to 10

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per cent. And the company pushes for a stock turn of 40-50 times a year for its food items, and
once a month for ready to wear.

Big Bazaar Wholesale Club

The Big Bazaar Wholesale Club brings to you an opportunity to save in bulk as you buy
in bulk. In line with the Big Bazaar tradition of providing best deals at best prices, the Big
Bazaar Wholesale Club provides you bulk deals at wholesale prices. An extension of Big Bazaar,
the Big Bazaar Wholesale Club offers multi-packs and bulk packs of a select range of
merchandise at wholesale prices. The merchandise categories range from Food & FMCG to
Home Linen and many more. You will not find any merchandise being sold loose/single unit
(except fresh) at a Big Bazaar Wholesale Club.

The Big Bazaar Wholesale Club is located adjacent to a Big Bazaar in the form of a separate
section. Taking care of your savings, the Big Bazaar Wholesale Club will ensure that the more
you buy, the more you save. If you enjoy shopping at wholesale markets for your entire family or
you have a huge circle of friends who would like to get together for their monthly shopping
needs or if you are a retailer looking for wholesale offers then the Big Bazaar Wholesale Club is
the place to shop at.

To shop at the Big Bazaar Wholesale Club, you just need to enroll yourself as a member of the
club. If you possess an Anmol card or an ICICI-Big Bazaar card then you are automatically
enrolled as a member of the Big Bazaar Wholesale Club.

Marketing Strategies

- Discount Slots

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Offering Discounts in first week of every month or allowing customers to pay credit in first week
as that is when the salary comes in for the salaried class which is the target audience for the BB

- Creating Strategies targeted at Teens and Tweens

Children between the ages of 8 and 14 – Tweens and young teens – are a powerful demographic
group. They control billions in purchasing power and make up 60% of Internet users under age
18, and as Tweens become teens, their online activities change dramatically.

They may be small in stature, but they have a huge influence.”Teens ages 12 to 14 go online
more frequently than children who are 8 to 11, spend more time online and engage in a variety of
online social and communication activities, such as instant messaging and social networking, that
kids slightly younger have yet to grasp.”

No marketer should make the mistake of thinking that there is no difference between tweens and
teens. The transition from childhood to adolescence is a big turning point — socially, mentally,
physically and emotionally. Just ask any parent with children between the ages of 8 and 14.

“It also marks a turning point in online behavior,” says Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior
analyst and the author of the new report, Tweens and Teens Online: From Mario to MySpace.

- Travel Bookings

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The retail stores can diversify even further by providing facilties for booking of train and
airplane reservations in a manner which is similar to what they are doing in apparel n others.

- Opticians Outlet

An optician’s outlet can be opened which provides services at lower rates than the branded ones
like Gangar. Also free eye checking can be introduced.

- Fun Zone and Baby Sitting

Big Bazaar can also provide the adults a carefree and tension free shopping experience to the
shoppers today as most of the family believes in shopping together which is the case observed in
Gujarat. The parents can enjoy a carefree shopping experience while their kids are looked after
by the caring baby sitters.

- Seating Arrangement while waiting in queues

There is lack of seating arrangement as brought out in the customer reviews of Big Bazaar.
Hence we recommend something like below for the same.

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- Maternity care category

This can be introduced as a new section catering to new mothers or pregnant women.
Here apparels and products catering to this specific audience can be made available.

- Increase the number of Cash counters

To counter the rush at BB during peak hours, the number of counters can be increased so as to
reduce queue time.

- Increase no of sales attendants

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To counter shop lifting and the rush of customers and also with the view to increase customer
satisfaction, the number of sales attendants can be increased.

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BIG BAZAAR, MULUND – AN ANALYSIS

SIZE OF THE STORE

The store at Mulund is a huge outlet with approximately 60000 sq ft of retail space divided
between two floors – Ground and First.

TYPE OF RETAIL FORMAT

Big Bazaar is a hypermarket - a superstore which combines a supermarket and a department
store. The result is a gigantic retail facility which carries an enormous range of products under
one roof, including full lines of groceries and general merchandise. A consumer can ideally
satisfy all of his or her routine weekly shopping needs in one trip to the Big Bazaar. The store’s
business models focuses on high-volume, low-margin sales.

LOCATION
Big Bazaar is strategically located on one of the busiest streets of Mulund having heavy
vehicular as well as pedestrian traffic. It is situated on the ground and the first floor of the R-Mall
which is at a 5 minute distance from the Mulund station and a throw away distance from
checknaka.

TRADING AREA
Trading Area is a geographical area containing the customers of a particular firm for specific
goods and services. For Big Bazaar, the primary trading area initially was the residents of
Mulund as well as Thane. However, after a store was opened even in Thane, only thaneites near
the checknaka prefer the Mulund Big Bazaar.

THE LAYOUT
The store is divided into two floors; ground and the first. The ground floor houses all categories
of products like apparels, bed and linen, furniture, gifts & artifacts, etc. The first floor is the food
bazaar where one can find grocery, fruits, vegetables, ready to eat packs, etc.

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AVERAGE FOOTFALLS
On weekdays, the store receives average footfalls of approximately 3000. On weekends and
during festive periods the average footfalls often shoot up to approximately 8000-10000.

TARGET CONSUMERS
Big Bazaar is a value store. It offers products at the lowest possible price and has rightly targeted
the middle class consumers who is highly price conscious and seeks value in the purchase made.

PRODUCT CATEGORIES
The store houses a long list of product categories. An indicative list is given below:
 Men’s & Women’s Apparels
 Kids Wear
 Footwear
 Bed and Bath
 Gifts and Artifacts
 Utensils & Plastic items
 Appliances
 Grocery

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SOME OF THE PRODUCT CATEGORIES AT BIG BAZAAR

Men’s and Women’s Apparels

Food
Bazaar – Fruits Section

Furniture Section Bed and Linen Section

PRODUCT VARIETY

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As seen from the product categories, the product width at Big Bazaar is quite large. The store
also has a good product depth i.e. the variety available in each of the product categories. This
variety is a combination of manufacturer’s brands and private labels majority being private
labels.

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
The total employee strength at Big Bazaar is 220 inclusive of the category managers and the
sales staff. The average educational qualification of the sales staff is 12th standard.

SOURCING POLICY
Big Bazaar sources its products either directly from the manufacturers or they outsource the
production. The proportion of products outsourced to that sourced from manufacturers is 85:15.
Hence we can see large number of in-house labels at the store.

 The private labels under the men’s apparels category include:

 Knighthood
 Shatranj
 Denim Jeans & Cool Casuals (DJ&C)
 Ruf & Tuf

 Private labels under the Female’s category include:

 Denim Jeans & Cool Casuals (DJ&C)
 Shaila
 Shristi

 For the kids, their private label is known as Pink-n-Blue.

In case of appliances like CTV, refrigerators, Cell Phones, etc, the store directly purchases them
from the respective manufacturers.

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Thus, eliminating the intermediaries and thus their hefty commissions.

SOME OF THE PROMOTIONS AT BIG BAZAAR

 ‘The Great Exchange Offer’ by Big Bazaar drew more than 200,000 customers to avail of the
scheme. The store offered a way to dispose of old household items and receive a price 4-8
times higher than what the local kabari-wala can give. The months of February and March
are usually dull for consumer buying and the scheme was a means to boost sales during the
slack period.
 Big Bazaar has recently announced a customer relationship building initiative to reach out to
middle-class women customers. A brand new woman's English magazine, `My World' will be
circulated on a complementary basis amongst all the 210,000 Big Bazaar-ICICI Bank co-
branded credit card holders. My World will provide fashion and shopping-related
information.

 Big Bazaar also had a four-day `Freedom Weekend' offer valid at all the Big Bazaar outlets,
functional from August 12-15. “Freedom Weekend” ensured never before offers and rock
bottom prices on all household and consumer goods

 The store also plans to set up beauty parlours for men as well as women with services being
offered at a `discount' compared to the existing market rates, in line with the Big Bazaar's
concept of a discount store.

ADVERTISING
Big Bazaar has been using several media’s to reach its consumers. The media used includes:
 Television
 Print
 Radio

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THE PRINT CAMPAIGNS

This ad communicates the fact that Big Bazaar offers you products at rates which you can afford
and that fashion is not just confined to a few but within everyone’s reach. The other ad tried to
communicate the special offers the store had on Women’s Day.

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EXISTING MARKETING STRATEGIES

Hullabol team
In the two tier cities like Nagpur, Nasik etc, they have a “ Hullabol team” which makes
announcements of the discounts in Big Bazaar through “Nautankis”. This is their strategy to get
more footfall in the outlet.

Visual Merchandise
The format used by Big Bazaar for in-store marketing is usage of signages and navigators which
is basically visual merchandise. The Layout of Big Bazaar is such that the first floor is for the
food bazaar which provides the basic necessity to customers. Thus they lure the customers to
enter the outlet and then with the help of announcements of discounts to the first and second
floor that is the apparel and consumer durables section.

Advertising
Advertising is done through full page newspaper ads and radio. In the full page newspaper ads,
models used are middleclass average looking men and women and kids to portray a middleclass
family.

Ambience
The entire ambience of Big Bazaar like the tiles and ceilings are specially designed to portray a
economical outlook so that the customers can relate it to the positioning tagline “Is se sasta aur
accha kahin nahi”

Market Research
They study consumer behaviour and do market research to supply products to the population of
that region. For example in Gujrat people prefer cotton more than any other material and hence
they have more of cotton apparels in Gujrat Big bazaar.

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Mahasaving Day
Big Bazaar has the “Wednesday bazaar” wherein a straight 40% discount is given on the price of
products. In addition to this, weekends are the peak periods for shopping. In Gujrat for example
Monday is a holiday. So as a marketing strategy discounts are introduced on that day specifically.

Marketing Gimmick
They have offers like “buy one and get one free”. However they do have their margins like 40%
in apparels and consumer durables and 20% in food. Their revenue is from apparels and
consumer durables from their local brands.

They have a tieup with ICICI for credit card for women only for shopping. They also have
loyalty cards for regular customers.
They arrange magic shows and mehendi and tattoo counters for customers who have purchased
above a certain level. These customers get coupons which can be redeemed by using these
counter facilitites.

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CONCLUSION

To ensure that all its stores are full, Big Bazaar is taking care to see that regional
preferences are catered to. Says Rajan Malhotra, head, Big Bazaar, "At least 20-25 per cent of
the range has to cater to local tastes, especially in apparel where the choice of colours varies
from region to region. We do a catchment study to design our product range." Star India has gone
to the extent of selling "oiled dal" in Ahmedabad, which is the way the locals like it. And to keep
the cash counters ringing, it has introduced store credit cards. Explains Neeti Chopra, marketing
head, "The idea is to give customers credit for a month like the kiranas do. Also, it has
empowered the women, many of whom would otherwise have not been eligible for a credit card.
Consequently, we're seeing more spending." And that's exactly what retailers are betting on.
They're convinced that the Indian consumer's changing lifestyle and attitude will drive him to
spend more. After all, at an estimated $230 billion, the size of the entire Indian retail sector today
is less than Wal-Mart's turnover- $285 billion. Of this, the organised sector accounts for just 3 per
cent, or $7 billion. That's expected to grow by over 400 per cent to $30 billion by 2010,
according to Ernst & Young. As Levermore says, "Given the potential size of the market, there's
plenty of room for more players." That may be true but even early birds cannot afford to take it
easy!

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

 www.bigbazaar.com
 It Happened in India- Kishore Biyani

 www.ibef.org

 www.google.co.in

 www.economictimes.com

 futurebazaar.com

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