PROJECT REPORT ON

A STUDY ON PROMO COMMUNICATION AT VALUE FORMAT RELIANCE FRESH STORES

(BHUBANESWAR) ( DURING THE PERIOD OF 10th May-30th June 2011 )

Submitted to: Mr. Sabyasachi Biswal Zonal Trainer ( East Zone ) Reliance Retail Ltd

Submitted by : Satendra Kumar Sharma Nishant Kumar Mishra Niladri Bhusan Jena MBA G H Raisoni Institute Of management and Reaserch

Institute Guide Proff. S.Akhtar Ali

DECLARATION

WE HEREBY DECLARE THAT THIS PROJECT TITLED

A STUDY ON PROMO COMMUNICATION AT VALUE FORMAT RELIANCE FRESH STORES

IS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (MBA) TO G. H. RAISONI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND REASERCH (WAGHOLI) PUNE AS A FINAL PROJECT.

Project Guide: Company Guide: Mr Prabir Jena Faculty Guide: Mr. S.Akhter Ali

By: Satendra kr Sharma Nishant kr Mishra Niladri Bhusan Jena

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Nothing concrete can be achieved with out an optimal combination of inspiration and perspiration. No work can be accomplished without taking the guidance of the experts. It is only the views and advice from ingenious intellectual that help in the transformation of a product into a quality product. We owe our sincere gratitude to Mr. Sabyasachi Biswal and Mr Prabir Jena, our honorable project guide from Reliance Retaile and Proff. S. Akhtar Ali from G. H. Raisoni Institute Of Management and Reaserch for their dedicated support and guidance during the project work. Last but not the least; we are really grateful for the cooperation of all the store employees in all the Reliance Fresh stores in Bhubaneswar.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This study is intended to help Reliance Retail decide upon the steps to be taken care for customer satisfaction so that the growth of the company keeps on improving. This study is an attempt to assess the factors responsible for customer satisfaction in Reliance Fresh in Bhubaneswar. Primary data have been used for analysis. However, secondary source have yielded preliminary information. Research conducted was descriptive in nature. Descriptive research helped me to develop the concept to clearly establish priorities, to divulge adequate information which helps me in decision making and thus essential for making the study a success. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain required information and to assess the customer satisfaction level to find the ways through which the company can come up to the expectation of customer so that the optimum satisfaction level can be achieved. We have used random sampling for my survey. Care was taken that the respondents were as diversified as possible. A sample size of 200 respondents was taken from each of the nine stores in Bhubaneswar. We collect data and analyzed them. We have critically analyzed each every question in the questionnaire and then given the managerial implication. This analyzed data was later converted into bar diagrams and pie charts for convenience. This also made it easy to draw a conclusion based research and provide a presentable format for the report. Along with this we also got lot of ideas about how a Reliance Fresh stores operates. A better strategy to satisfy customer is only the way to gain customer attention and to penetrate more in own catchments area. Strategy must be in all area like promotional offer/scheme, product pricing, Employee behavior, Billing process, product Assortment, product quality. It is found in the research that customers are price sensitive. Reliance Fresh should hive those offers which can facilitate more money saving as the customers are price sensitive. Last but not least Bhubaneswar is not as much developed as metros thinking and attitude of customers is conservative. So the concept of retail that is Touch and Feel the product would take time to be properly applied.

CONTENTS
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Student Undertaking3 Company Certificate...4 Acknowledgment.5 Executive Summary.6 Introduction 5.1. Industry overview..8 5.2. Title Introduction ..10

6. Company profile 6.1 History.........11 6.2 Retail Format in India......15 6.3 Profile of the company.17 6.4 Organizational Structure.18 6.5 List of Key Management Personnel ...19 6.6 Product Mix of the Company.. 21 6.7 Food Retail Chain ...22 6.8 Competitors of Reliaance Fresh......23 6.9 Future Plans of the company...24 6.10 Challenges for the company..25 7. Objectives.26 8. Research Methodology.............................27 8.1. Research design 8.2. Sample Size 8.3. Limitations 9. Data Analysis and findings..28 9.1. Analysis Of Questionnaire 10. Project on Mystry Shopping45 11. Recommendations.48 12. Conclusion..51 13 Appendices ..52

My training was went through different phrases which are following :

PHASE -1: In this phase an extensive training was given to us about basic terminology use in retail work is to be done in any store, which instruments, softwares they use and how they use them.

PHASE-2: The next phase was of to interact with the customer and take their feedback on that questionnaire and send the daily report to Reliance haedquater and along with on other side we were assigned one more project named as MYSTERY SHOPPING in which we went to different stores of reliance and of its competitors to find out the difference and some special observation and learning.

PHASE-3: Analysis was done on the basis of the questionnaire filled up and the suggestions made by the respondents.

On further analyzing we found this project named A STUDY ON PROMO

COMMUNICATION AT VALUE FORMAT RELIANCE FRESH STORES

was really the worth while to understand the retail chain system.Every store is made with particular specialization and we analysed those stores are coming upto standard or not.if not then why and how we can control those deviations.

INTRODUCTION :
OVERVIEW OF RETAIL INDUSTRY :

The sale of goods or commodities in small quantities directly to consumers is known as retailing. A "retailer" buys goods or products in large quantities from manufacturers or importers either directly or through a wholeseller and then sells smaller quantities to the end user. Retail is Indias largest industry, accounting for over 10 percent of the countrys GDP and around eight percent of employment. Retail in India is at the crossroads. It has emerged as one of the most dynamic and fast paced industries with several players entering the market. That said, the heavy initial investments required make break even hard to achieve and many players have not tasted success to date. However, the future is promising; the market is growing, government policies are becoming more favourable and emerging technologies are facilitating operations.

The Indian retail industry in valued at about $300 billion and is expected to grow to $427 billion in 2010 and $637 billion in 2015. Only three percent of Indian retail is organised. Retailers of multiple brands can operate through a franchise or a cash-and-carry wholesale model.

Retailing in India is gradually inching its way to 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. Modern retail has entered India as seen in sprawling shopping centres, multi-storeyed 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 organised retail and growth in the consumption by Indians is going to adopt a higher growth trajectory. The Indian population is witnessing a significant change in its demographics. A large young working population with median age of 24 years, nuclear families in urban areas, along with increasing working-women population and emerging opportunities in the services sector are going to be the key growth drivers of the organised retail sector.

INTRODUCTION TO THE TITLE :

PROMOTION AT VALUE FORMAT RELIANCE FRESH STORE.

Reliance Retail, Ltd. operates retail outlets in India. Its retail outlets offer foods, groceries, apparel and footwear, lifestyle and home improvement products, electronic goods, and farm implements and inputs. The companys outlets also provide vegetables, fruits, and flowers. It focuses on consumer goods, consumer durables, travel services, energy, entertainment and leisure, and health and well-being products, as well as on educational products and services. The company was founded in 2006 and is based in Mumbai, India. Reliance Retail, Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, Ltd. Intention of this PROJECT is to get assistance from customer feedback for not only identify problem areas but will also demonstrate to customers that we care and are proactive in looking for ways to improve the service we provide.

The project work includes collecting data as management trainee at Reliance Value Chain.Trainees were assigned two store each.We have to be present at one store everyday.We have to interact with atleast 8/10 customers document the feedback in prescribed format.Include an open ended question at the end,asking them if they have any additional comments or suggestions to make.

INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPANY :

Reliance Fresh is the convenience store format which forms part of the retail business of Reliance Industries of India which is headed by Mukesh Ambani. Reliance plans to invest in excess of Rs 25000 crores in the next 4 years in their retail division. The company already has in excess of 560 reliance fresh outlets across the country. These stores sell fresh fruits and vegetables, staples, groceries, fresh juice bars and dairy products. A typical Reliance Fresh store is approximately 3000-4000 square. feet and caters to a catchment area of 1-2 km

HISTORY :

Post launch, in a dramatic shift in its positioning and mainly due to the circumstances prevaling in UP, West Bengal and Orissa, it was mentioned recently in news Dailies that, Reliance Retail is moving out of stocking fruits and vegetables. Reliance Retail has decided to minimise its exposure in the fruit and vegetable business and position Reliance Fresh as a pure play super market focusing on categories like food, FMCG, home, consumer durables, IT and wellness , with food accounting for the bulk of the business. The company may not stock fruit and vegetables in some states. Though Reliance Fresh is not exiting the fruit and vegetable business altogether, it has decided not to compete with local vendors partly due to political reasons, and partly due to its inability to create a robust supply chain. This is quite different from what the firm had originally planned.

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When the first Reliance Fresh store opened in Hyderabad last October, not only did the company said the stores main focus would be fresh produce like fruits and vegetables at a much lower price, but also spoke at length about its farm-to-fork theory. The idea the company spoke about was to source from farmers and sell directly to the consumer removing middlemen out of the way. Reliance Fresh, Reliance Mart, Reliance Digital, Reliance Trendz, Reliance Footprint, Reliance Wellness, Reliance Jewels, Reliance Timeout and Reliance Super are various formats that Reliance has rolled out. In addition, Reliance Retail has entered into an alliance with Apple for setting up a chain of Apple Specialty Stores branded as iStore, starting with Bangalore.

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Growth through Value Creation

With a vision to generate inclusive growth and prosperity for farmers, vendor partners, small shopkeepers and consumers, Reliance Retail Limited (RRL), a subsidiary of RIL, was set up to lead Reliance Groups foray into organized retail.

With a 27% share of world GDP, retail is a significant contributor to overall economic activity across the world. Of this, organized retailing contributes between 20% to 55% in various developing markets. The Indian retail industry is pegged at $ 300 billion and growing at over 13% per year. Of this, presently, organized retailing is about 5%. This is expected to grow to 10% by 2011. RRL has embarked upon an implementation plan to build state-of-the-art retail infrastructure in India, which includes a multi-format store strategy of opening neighbourhood convenience stores, hypermarkets, specialty and wholesale stores across India. RRL launched its first store in November 2006 through its convenience store format Reliance Fresh. Since then RRL has rapidly grown to operate 590 stores across 13 states at the end of FY 2007-08. RRL launched its first Reliance Digital store in April 2007 and its first and Indias largest hypermarket Reliance Mart in Ahmedabad in August 2007. This year, RRL has also launched its first few specialty stores for apparel (Reliance Trends), footwear (Reliance Footprints), jewellery (Reliance Jewels), books, music and other lifestyle products (Reliance Timeout), auto accessories and service format (Reliance Autozone) and also an initiative in the health and wellness business through Reliance Wellness. In each of these store formats, RRL is offering a unique set of products and services at a value price point that has not been available so far to the Indian consumer. Overall, RRL is well positioned to rapidly expand its existing network of 590 stores which operate in 57 cities.

During the year, RRL also focused on building strong relationships in the agri-business value chain and has commenced marketing fruits, vegetables and staples that the company sources 12

directly to wholesalers and institutional customers. RRL provides its customers with high quality produce that has better shelf life and more consistent quality than was available earlier. RRL has made significant progress in establishing state-of-the-art staples processing centres and expects to make them operational by May 2008.

Through the year, RRL also expanded its supply chain infrastructure. The Company is fully geared to meet the requirements of its rapidly growing store network in an efficient manner.

Recognizing that strategic alliances are going to be a key driver to its retail business, in FY 200708, RRL established key joint ventures with international partners in apparel, optical and office products businesses. Further, RRL will continue to seek synergistic opportunities with other international players as well. This year, RRL will continue its focus on rapid expansion of the existing and other new formats across India.

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Retailing formats in India

Malls:

The largest form of organized retailing today. Located mainly in metro cities, in proximity to urban outskirts. Ranges from 60,000 sq ft to 7,00,000 sq ft and above. They lend an ideal shopping experience with an amalgamation of product, service and entertainment; all under a common roof. Examples include Shoppers Stop, Piramyd, Pantaloon..

Specialty Stores:
Chains such as the Bangalore based Kids Kemp, the Mumbai books retailer Crossword, RPG's Music World and the Times Group's music chain Planet M, are focusing on specific market segments and have established themselves strongly in their sectors.

Discount Stores:
As the name suggests, discount stores or factory outlets, offer discounts on the MRP through selling in bulk reaching economies of scale or excess stock left over at the season. The product category can range from a variety of perishable/Non-perishable goods

Department Stores:
Large stores ranging from 20000-50000 sq. ft, catering to a variety of consumer needs. Further classified into localized departments such as clothing, toys, home, groceries, etc.

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 Hypermarts/Supermarkets:
Large self service outlets, catering to varied shopper needs are termed as Supermarkets. These are located in or near residential high streets. These stores today contribute to 30% of all food & grocery organized retail sales. Super Markets can further be classified in to mini supermarkets typically 1,000 sq ft to 2,000 sq ft and large supermarkets ranging from of 3,500 sq ft to 5,000 sq ft. having a strong focus on food & grocery and personal sales.examples Big Bazar, Reliance hypermart.

Convenience Stores:
These are relatively small stores 400-2,000 sq. feet located near residential areas. They stock a limited range of high-turnover convenience products and are usually open for extended periods during the day, seven days a week. Prices are slightly higher due to the convenience premium.

MBOs :
Multi Brand outlets, also known as Category Killers, offer several product category. These usually do well in busy market places and Metros. brands across a single

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PROFILE OF COMPANY :

Reliance Retail, Ltd. operates retail outlets in India. Its retail outlets offer foods, groceries, apparel and footwear, lifestyle and home improvement products, electronic goods, and farm implements and inputs. The companys outlets also provide vegetables, fruits, and flowers. It focuses on consumer goods, consumer durables, travel services, energy, entertainment and leisure, and health and well-being products, as well as on educational products and services. The company was founded in 2006 and is based in Mumbai, India. Reliance Retail, Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, Ltd.

Headquarters : Industry Type Status

Bombay Area, India : Retail

: Public Company : Operating Subsidiary

Company Size: 10,001 or more employees Founded : 2006

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Organizational structure:
ZONAL MANAGER

CLUSTER MANAGER

AREA MANAGER

STORE MANAGER

ASSISTANT STORE MANAGER

SUPERVISOR

COMMERCIAL ASSOCIATE

CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSOCIATE 17

Popular Profiles at Reliance Retail :

Madhumita Mohanty : Deputy General Manager Abhijit Sanyal : EVP & CE - Reliance Home Products Pvt Ltd Prashant Narula : General Manager Devendra Chawla : Vice - President - Business Head , Merchandising Head Prasun Bhadani : Manager - Store operations and NSO Sriram Mahadevan : Concept Head - Reliance Marts & Supers Rakesh Mehta : Commercial Head North Nageswaran c k : VP, Operations Kanwar Bhawani Singh : Business Head Reliance Wellness Stores

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PRODUCT MIX AT RELIANCE FRESH :

PRODUCT MIX PRODUCT MIX OF RELIANCE FRESH OF RELIANCE FRESH

FRUITS &VEGETABLES

STAPLE STAPLE STAPLES NON-FOOD FMCG

PF, BEVERAGE, F&V

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Food

Retail

Chain

at

Reliance

Fresh:

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COMPETITORS OF RELIANCE FRESH :

1. BIG APPLE

2. MORE

3. SABKA BAZAAR

4. FAIR PRICES

5. SUBHIKSHA

6. SPENCERS

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Future Plans :

The company's flagship chain Reliance Fresh sells staples and food items under Reliance Select Nearly 30 months ago, Reliance Industries announced an ambitious plans to invest Rs 25,000 crore (Rs 250 billion) to expand its stores in the country to take the advantage of organised retail in the country. Initially, the company was planning to open 2,000 stores by 2008, and 5,000 stores by 2010, but due to a delay in delivery of properties, economic downturn and demand slump the company had to scale back its expansion plans. Reliance Retail runs over 850 stores, which include stores for food and grocery, consumer durables, beauty and wellness, jewellery, footwear, among others. Its formats such as apparel chain Reliance Trends, beauty and wellness format Reliance Wellness, consumer durable chain Reliance Digital have private labels or are in the process of launching private labels. "The whole idea of private labels is based on pricing and retailers get enough volumes on their shelf at marginal costing. Retailers have an opportunity to sell their private labels to kirana stores. But it depends on their strategy on pricing and marketing right products," said Naimish Dave, a director with OC & C Strategy Consultants.

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Challenges facing the Indian Organized Retail sector :

The challenges facing the Indian organized retail sector are various and these are stopping the Indian retail industry from reaching its full potential.

I) Changing Consumer Purchasing Patterns: The behaviour pattern of the Indian consumer have undergone a major change. This has happened for the Indian consumer is earning more now, western influences, women working force is increasing, desire for luxury items and better quality. He now wants to eat, shop, and get entertained under the same roof. All these have lead the Indian organized retail sector to give more in order to satisfy the Indian customer.

II) Lack of Retail Space: With real estate prices escalating due to increase in demand from the Indian organized retail sector, it is posing a challenge to its growth. With Indian retailers having to shell out more for retail space it is effecting there overall profitability in retail.

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III) Shortage of Trained Man Power: The Indian retailers have difficultly in finding trained person and also have to pay more in order to retain them. This again brings down the Indian retailers profit levels.

IV) Poor Supply Chain It is the supply chain that ensures to the customer in all the various offerings that a company decide for its customers, be it cost, service, or the quickness in responding to ever changing tastes of the customer. The infrastructure in India in terms of road, rail, and air links are not sufficient. This make a poor supply chain and companies have to depend upon warehousing.

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OBJECTIVES :
1. To get a sense of how well your company is serving customers.

2. To quickly reveal customer service problems that need to be addressed.

3. To evaluate the proactiveness of management in daily problems.

4. To evaluate their sales promotions and working mechanism.

5. To find potential opportunities for serving your clients that you may be missing.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY :

SAMPLE SIZE In this research, we have to interact with customer comes in the store.On the basis of particular questionnaire.We interacted with more than 150 customers but due to un availability ob all the responses we taken into consideration the responses of 90 respondent.

PRIMARY DATAI collected primary data as I collected responses through QUESTIONNAIRE.So it was the primary source of data collection.Moreover I interacted with customer and interviewed them.So this was the primary data that I have collecte.

LIMITATION :
The main constrain was jus interaction with the people who comes to the store. I was provided with a questionnaire, so scope of some open ended reponse was limited. I was assigned just two stores,so responses and learning was limited.

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1. Was the store entrance welcoming?

ATTRACTIVE ENTRANCE
60 50 40 30 20 10 0 YES NO ATTRACTIVE ENTRANCE

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTION :

About entarance 63% people are agree that entrance is attractive and 47 % people give nagetive response.

Entrance is the area which is an essential factor affect the footfall in the store.It must be clean and litter free to attract the customers.Entrance must be like an invitation to the customer to eagously enter in the store.

In my Reliance Fresh Store, Enterance area was little unacceptable feel to the customers.Sometimes I see a lot of trollies resting there but nobody cares.Moreover, there must be some attention generating advertisements or promotion which could provoke customer to come in. 27

2. Was a shopping cart or basket readily available on entering the store?

CART/BASKETS AVAILABILITY

NO

CART/BASKETS AVAILABILITY

YES

20

40

60

80

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTION :

About baskets/carts availability, 80% gave positive response and 20 % gave negative response.

For ease to carry the products ,carts and baskets must be in the reach of the customers.Most of the customers complaint that almost every baskets contain some dust and litter. They must be clean on daily basis ,it is mandatory.but nobody cares.

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3. Was the shop free of odor?

STORE IS FREE OF ODORS

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 YES NO STORE IS FREE OF ODORS

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTION :

65 % respondent were agree that store in free from odor but 35 % against this point of view.

Some of the customers complained that a lot of junk of garbaze type vegetables were there.Unfresh Fruits and Vegetables be the main reason of odor in the store.A person doesnt want to even stand on that place where unusual smell comes and from here they purchase food item,u can imagine the impact of the stores reputation after this incident.

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4. Were the floors clean?

CLEAN FLOOR

NO

CLEAN FLOOR

YES

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTION :

Floor area defines the key ambience of the store. 54 % people agree that floor area was clean and 46% people deny this point of view.

Floor area is very important aspect from the point of view of ambience.A customer want to see him at a right place for shopping.if floors will be full of dust then, what is the differentiation we are creating in our stores and alocal market shop. Spot fill during the shopping hour is the main reason that a customer point out for a lot of unwanted and unsettled product on the floor.

Someway cleaning guy is also responsible for that and as well as other employees of the store. 30

5. Were the shelves & displays clean?

CLEAN SHELVES AND DISPLAY

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 YES NO CLEAN SHELVES AND DISPLAY

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTION :

61% people disagreed that shelves and display were clean and 39 % people denied this point of view.

Clean Display of product and shelves create a differentiation in a store.Most of the customers accept that shelves and the products have a layer of dust on them.Not proper dusting of the store took place on daily basis. Even Back store room got its dusting at the time of auditing by the headoffice.

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6. Were the products fresh/not expired?

FRESH PRODUCTS
70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 YES NO FRESH PRODUCTS

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTION :

30% of the total respondent agree that fresh product are available but 70% denied that. Fresh product must be available to the consumer because he is paying for that.According to our Research fresh means products must be of 15 days before the expiry date.

If it comes to fresh products, most of the consumers said they are not satisfied with the Freshness of products.In F & V Section, most of the vegetable and fruits show the lack of freshness. They dont put fresh vegetables on daily basis.

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7. Were the prices marked clearly and accurately?

PRICE MARKED CLEARLY AND ACCURATELY

80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 YES NO PRICE MARKED CLEARLY AND ACCURATELY

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTION :

62 % of the people agree with the dislay of price is quite understandable. Every customer cannt provide an employee from the company to guide them on the detail of price of each and every product.So, an effective display of [price is better option but it must be in that manners which is quite understandable to the customers.

Somewhere problems like non-display of the price happens.In reliance fresh stores, every product is provided with SEL(Shelf Edge Label) which carries price,date of that labels attachment and the ENR no of the product.

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8. Were the promotion well displayed?

PROMOTION WELL DISPLAYED

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 YES NO PROMOTION WELL DISPLAYED

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTION :

72 % of the total respondent satisfied with the promotions of the Reliance Fresh.

Promotion are the main reason a person comes in the store.Some people came just for the purchase the promotional items.

Promotion must be quite understandable,acceptable and effective.there are more spaces for the promotion.There are not much of the promotion of the products. Some promotional ways used by the store are MANGALWAR KI MANDI, MANGO MELA etc. These are effective but not proper implementation of these promotion make them fail.

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9. Were the promotion easy to understand?

PROMOTION EASY TO UNDERSTAND

NO

PROMOTION EASY TO UNDERSTAND YES

10

20

30

40

50

60

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTION :

61% of the respondent agreed on that promotion in the stores are easy to understand.

Promotion is only then beneficial if it is understandable if it is not then space and money both are waste.

There were a lot of promotion but to make them aware to the customers need employees assistance.Employees must take charge to tell the customer about the on going promotions.

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10.

Did you get all the products what you want,if not then what?

PRODUCT AVAILABILITY
49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 YES NO PRODUCT AVAILABILITY

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTION :

52% were agreed that all their needed product are available in the store. A store cannt provide each and every product to the customers but still there was a lack of different brand and packaging options in the store. Sometimes if a customer demand a particular product then, most of the times he does not find its demanded product available after his request.

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11.

Were you given a correct receipt?

CORRECT RECIEPT

NO

CORRECT RECIEPT

YES

20

40

60

80

100

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTION :

88 % of the respondent said they got correct receipt from the cashier.

Most of the time customer get correct receipt but sometimes a little mistake of CSA create big trouble.I see a lot of quarrel due to this reason.

A little change in the receipt even in some paisas create customer uncomfortable.Some customers complaint that due to the lack proper knowledge of CSA they et incorrect receipt.

12.

Did the cashier tender back exact change?

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EXACT CASH BACK

90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 YES NO EXACT CASH BACK

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTION :

83% of the respondent were agreed that they got exact cash from the counter of billing.

Most of the customer complaint that they did not get exact cash because the person on till didnt have change.So, they try to put bill in Zero figure.

13.

Did the cashier Thank You while handling the bill?

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GREETING BY CASHIER
60 50 40 30 20 10 0 YES NO GREETING BY CASHIER

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTION :

62 % of the respondent said they are not greeted by the cashies.

First person who interact with the customer at entarance is watchman who must greet to the customers which is not happening.A cashier must give vote of thanks to the customers for shopping in their store.

Greeting is an expression which is like an invitation to the customers to come again and again.

14.

Time spent waiting in the queue?

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TIME WASTED IN QUEUE

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 LESS THAN 5 LESS THAN 10 LESS THAN15 MORE THAN 15 MIN. MIN. BUT MORE MIN. BUT MORE MIN. THAN5 MIN. THAN 10 MIN. TIME WASTED IN QUEUE

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTION :

34 % of the respondent spent more than 15 minutes in the queqe waiting for their billing.

A customer just hate to be there in the queue.As every product comes under the barcode decoder for their price detection, it takes a lot of time for making a bill.

In this case,if a customer comes with a product, then he has to wait for a long time for billing.There is the function in the software in that particular situation but cashier doesnt knows that how to use that function of software.So training of employees is also a mean to solve this problem.
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15.

Did you get help from CSA when asked for?

HELP FROM CSA

60 50 40 HELP FROM CSA 30 20 10 0 YES NO

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTION :

60 % of the respondent agree that CSA provide the assistance.

A customer comes in the store to purchase a procduct or even for just enquiry about something if a CSA cant escort him but he has to provide him assistance to solve their query. Most of the customer doesnt purchase the product because of not getting assistance from any employee of the store.

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16.

Were the staff in dress code and wearing a name badge?

WELL GROOMED STAFF

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 YES NO WELL GROOMED STAFF

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTION :

31 % of the respondent agree that staff is not welk groomed.

Some customer complaint that nobody provides assistance to them in the store.Most of the customer use to indulge in the silly talk. They didnt even think what customer will think, they just talk about the defects in the stores and about the management and that create the negative impact on stores image.

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OVERALL SHOPPING EXPERIENCE WITH RELIANCE FRESH :

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 EXCELLENT GOOD AVERAGE POOR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

ANALYSIS AND SUGGESTION :

11% of the customers gave the Reliance Fresh Services Excellent Rating. 23% of the customers gave the Reliance Fresh Services Poor Rating. 35 % of the customers gave the Reliance Fresh Services Average Rating. 31 % of the customers gave the Reliance Fresh Services Good Rating.

Different type of customer convey their different experience in the store. Some feel its a good experience, some thinks its pathetic all depends on the service part of our store, only that makes the difference.
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MYSTRY SHOPPING
Every RELIANCE FRESH STORE is made with a particular vision and it works like a system.But this system is not working upto expectation and defined standard.So to check out where we are lacking behind,we were assigned one more project named as MYSTRY SHOPPING.

This was the part of our project in which we have to go in reliance fresh store and its competitors store as a consumer and find out what are the difference between the workings of these stores. We covered almost all stores of Reliance Fresh and its competitors located at Bhubaneswar .Some of them were big in size some of them were small in size.Some are located in out skirt areas and some are in crowded market. We analyse following stores in Bhubaneswar : Reliance Fresh, Nayapally. Reliance Fresh, Ruchika. Reliance Fresh, Gopobandhu square. Reiance Fresh, Unit IV. Reliance Fresh, Sahid Nagar. Reliance Fresh, Kalpna. Reliance Fresh, Lewis Road. Reliance Fresh, samanttrapur. Reliance Fresh, Bomikhal .
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It was not only about observing different store but also understanding employees feeling for a customers . In some of the store, we were provided with money also and we purchased the listed items from the stores for getting the idea about availability of product in the stores. We analyse all the Reliance Fresh Store and its competitors stores on some fix parameters and compare them to find out where we are lacking behind. Some stores found different way of selling and promotions.Some were totally on the wrong pattern and made us disappointed.

Our findings and observation were based on the following parameters :

1. Ambience of the store.

2. Different product categories in the store.

3. Prices of different products.

4. Promotional strategies.

5. Employees behaviour.

6. Additional services like home delivery or parking facilities.

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7. Reddressal system.

8. Management proactiveness.

9. Product availability.

10.Freshness of products. 11.Stores own brand popularity.

RECOMMENDATION :
Nobody will ring a bell and tell you to attention the facts that you are entering into such a transition . Its a gradual process.The characterstics of business begins to change. Only the beginning and the ends are clear. So in this situation, how a business manage this transition determine its future this phenomenon is call as inflection point.

In the market there are some potential customer also giving a punch like FAIR PRICE.Infrastructure and ambiance are not at par but their location is just in front of Reliance Fresh store,Their prices are much lesser, So that is a potential competitor.

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Things if happen or something has changed ,then business need to respond on that.

INFLECTION POINT

NEW HEIGHTS

DECLINE

RELIANCE FRESH is at its inflection point.

An inflection point occurs when the old strategic picture diddolved and gives way to new heights.we need to navigate our business.

An inflection point comes when we doubt on ourself that where we are going arent we lost?

Where growing dissonance between corporate statement and operational action.That hints more than normal chaos. Mis allingment between what your company think it is doing and what is actually happening inside the box of organization.

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So, timing is everything, if you undertake these changes while your company is still healthy in which you can experiment with new ways of doing business so that you can save much more of your companys strength , your employee and your strategic position.

When any business got into Inflection point, what is most important that is our judgment .Your judgment got you in tough position but it can also get you out. Its just a question of training your instinct to pick up a different set of signals. The Inflection Point is a time to wake up and listen.

We need to find out the possibilities that what our business is doing can be done in some different way .That different way we have to find. Its like we need a new paint on the business of same colour but little shiny.

Conclusion
Finally we can conclude the overall response of customers towards Reliance Fresh is Satisfactory. But Reliance Fresh must striving hard to work in its weaknesses to attract more customers and also to keep its existing customersin this highly competitive and challenging market .

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APPENDICES :

RELIANCE RETAIL CUSTOMER SERVICE 1. ENTRANCE :

Front Signage-Reliance Fresh Was the store entrance welcoming?(free of dust,not and if visit is after 6PM,lights working.)

2. CARTS/BASKET :
Was a shopping cart or basket readily available on entering the store?

3. STORE-CLEANLINESS :
Was the shop free of odor? Were the floors clean? Were the shelves & displays clean?

4. PRODUCTS :
Were the products fresh/not expired? Were the prices marked clearly and accurately?

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Were the promotion well displayed? Were the promotion easy to understand? Did you get all the productswhat you want,if not then what?

5. CHECKOUT:
Were you given a correct receipt? Did the cashier tender back exact change? Did the cashier Thank You while handling the bill? Time spent waiting in the queue..(specify time in minutes.)

6. SERVICE:
Did you get help from CSA when asked for? Were the staff in dress code and wearing a name badge?

ANY SPECIFIC OBSERVATION/SUGGESTION YOU LIKE TO SHARE : -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------YOUR OVERALL SHOPPING EXPERIENCE WITH RELIANCE FRESH-(Tick whichever is applicable) A) Excellent B) Good C) Average D) Poor

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Name and Signature of Customer : _______________________ Contact No. :_________________________________________

PROJECT- Mystery Shopping

Store Code: Date: Note: Pls put comment in case of 'NO'. Store Ambience Is store entrance area clean and free of litter? ( Front premise & immediate approach road.) Was the signage properly lit in the evening? Was entrance to the store easy to access? (No obstruction near the entrance.) Was the baggage area clean? ( Include a prop, e.g. white bag and deposit it at baggage counter to check the cleanliness of baggage area.) Were the trolleys and baskets clean? ( Run your finger through 2 baskets and 2 trolleys.) Was the store free of bad odor? (If 'NO' specify which area/section of store had foul smell.) Was the floor clean of any liquid spillage? Did you find any unattended items/cartons on the floor? Were the shelves / display clean and dust free? ( Run your finger on 3 shelves.) Was AC working? (Did you feel comfortable after 5mins of entering store)
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Store Name: Time: COMMENTS Y(1) N(0)

Is Home Delivery number clearly displayed at Store? Did you get drinking water on request? Did you get access to washroom on request? Store Ambience Total Score

Section: F&V Product Availability Were desired product available? (100% of F&V shopping basket.) Did the shelves look full? Were the products easy to access? (With reference to shopping basket.) Were products of same group placed together? ( Leafies, beans and all varieties of apple.) Were F&V bags on roll/ F&V plastic bowls available? Did someone attend to you at the weighing station within reasonable period of time (say 1 min)? Product Availability Total Score Product Quality/ Freshness Were the products of good quality( not rotten, not broken, free of worms)? Were all the products that you picked up have balance shelf life (pick up any 3 F&V cut SKU packs & check for expiry)? Product Quality/ Freshness Total Score Price ( display and clarity) Were the appropriate SELs in place ( for shopping basket)?
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Y(1)

N(0)

Y(1)

N(0)

Y(1)

N(0)

Was the price marked clearly on SELs (for shopping basket)? If cut vegetables are stocked in store, do the packets have relevant price tags? Price ( display and clarity) Total Score Promotions Were the promotions well displayed? Was the promotion easy to understand? Promotions Total Score Staff Were you greeted by an employee of the section? Was the employee well groomed? Was the staff courteous and helpful? (In case of query/ assistance sought) Did he/she proactively inform you of on-going promotions and offers? Did he/she have knowledge about variety of mangoes? Did he/she make suggestions to cross-sell/upsell? Staff Total Score Employee name and description:not have ID Y(1) N(0) Y(1) N(0)

Section: Staples Product Availability Were desired product available? (100% of Staples shopping basket.) Did the shelves look full? Did you get a choice of brands? (With reference to Staples shopping basket)
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Y(1)

N(0)

Did you get more than one choice of pack size? Product Availability Total Score Product Quality Did the products have sufficient shelf life > 15 days? (100% of Staples shopping basket) Were the product free of insects? Was the product visible from the package? (In case of private label) Product Quality Total Score Price ( display and clarity) Were the appropriate SELs in place ( for shopping basket)? Was the price marked clearly on SELs (for shopping basket)? Price ( display and clarity) Total Score Promotions Were the promotions well displayed? Was the promotion easy to understand? Were the promotional SKUs available? (100% of shopping basket) Promotions Total Score Staff Were you greeted by an employee of the section? Was the employee well groomed? Was the staff courteous and helpful? (In case of query/ assistance sought) Did he/she have knowledge about defferient varieties of rice?
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Y(1)

N(0)

Y(1)

N(0)

Y(1)

N(0)

Y(1)

N(0)

Did he/she proactively inform you of on-going promotions and offers? Staff Total Score

Section: PF, Bev.,Confec.,Dairy, F&B Product Availability Were desired product available? (100% of Section shopping basket.) Did the shelves look full? Did you get a choice of brands? (With reference to Section shopping basket) Did you get more than one choice of pack size? Product Availability Total Score Product Quality/ Freshness Did the products have sufficient shelf life > 15 days? (100% of shopping basket) Product Quality/ Freshness Total Score Price ( display and clarity) Were the appropriate SELs in place ( for shopping basket)? Was the price marked clearly on SELs (for shopping basket)? Price ( display and clarity) Total Score Promotions Were the promotions well displayed? Was the promotion easy to understand? ( Atleast 2 promotions to be evaluated) Were the promotional SKUs available? Promotions Total Score
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Y(1)

N(0)

Y(1)

N(0)

Y(1)

N(0)

Y(1)

N(0)

Staff Were you greeted by an employee of the section? Was the employee well groomed? Was the staff courteous and helpful? (In case of query/ assistance sought) Did he/she proactively inform you of on-going promotions and offers? Staff Total Score

Y(1)

N(0)

Section: Non Food FMCG Product Availability Were desired product available? ( 100% of shopping basket) Did the shelves look full? Did you get a choice of brands? (With reference to FMCG shopping basket) Did you get more than one choice of pack sizes? Product Availability Total Score: Price ( display and clarity) Were the appropriate SELs in place ( for shopping basket)? Was the price marked clearly on SELs (for shopping basket)? Price ( display and clarity) Total Score: Promotions Were the promotions well displayed? Was the promotion easy to understand? (atleast 2 promotion to be evaluated.)
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Y(1)

N(0)

Y(1)

N(0)

Y(1)

N(0)

Promotions Total Score: Staff Were you greeted by an employee of the section? Was the employee well groomed? Was the staff courteous and helpful? (In case of query/ assistance sought) Did he/she proactively inform you of on-going promotions and offers? Staff Total Score: Announcements Was the announcement clear and easy to understand? Announcements Total Score Washrooms Was the washrooms clean, odor free? Was soap and water available? Washrooms Total Score Check-out experience How many customers were there in queue before you? Please mention time spent in queue. How many total tills were there? How many tills were operational? Was cashier friendly and courteous? Did the cashier ask you for R1card? (If you did not produce it proactively) Y(1) N(0) Y(1) N(0) Y(1) N(0) Y(1)

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Situation1: Ask the cashier to void 2 items. Situation 2: Ask the cashier to use SODEXO for Non-Food items. Situation 3: Hand over two notes of Rs 500( if the bill is above Rs 500/-). Situation 4: Ask the cashier for Home delivery of items within 2hr.( But finally cancel this request) Was the cashier able to handle the situation pleasantly? (for situation 1, 2, 3, 4 ) Did the cashier have loose change? (for situation 3) Were you given a correct receipt? Was the promotion running at POS? (100% adherence) Were your items bagged properly? Was exact change returned to you? Did cashier smile and thank you for shopping? Did security person stamp your bill at the exit? Check-out experience Total Score

Overall Score: Name of Mystery Shopper :

SPECIAL OBSERVATION--

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS: Retail Management Chetan Bajaj, Nidhi Srivastava Te Art Of Retailing A.J.Lamba Principles Of Management Philip Kotler, Gary Armstrong Scientific Social Surveys Pauline V. Young

WEBSITES: www.wikipedia.com www.ril.com www.scribd.com www.answer.com

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