As the Business Head of the Home Division at Shoppers Stop, Mr. Vikram Chitnis is responsible for merchandising and buying for the company’s HomeStop division. Mr. Chitnis is one of the team that started the importation of home products for Shoppers Stop, and he has been involved in merchandise planning and sourcing since the beginning of the HomeStop concept. Under his direction, the retailer has launched 16 concept HomeStop stores in seven key cities in India.
Company Background
Shoppers Stop operates lifestyle department stores throughout India, featuring home and housewares specialty shops within several of its outlets called HomeStop. The retailer ranks within the top five department stores in India. Established in 1991, Shoppers Stop operates 80 stores within 38 cities in India, with annual sales of $634 million USD. Average store size is 4,450 sq. m. Shoppers Stop estimates it will open 6-7 new stores annually. Corporately, Shoppers Stop operates 247 stores in 38 cities with 5.83 million sq. ft. space across nine store formats.
The housewares percentage of total sales is 5.6%. It sells cookware, bakeware, kitchen tools, home décor, home organization and bath organization. Global brands include Corelle, Kitchen Craft, Joseph Joseph, Lekue, Norpro, Philips, Portico, Pyrex, Russell Hobbs and Trudeau. The retailer also develops its private label brands.
Although not many retailers in India have yet found success online, Shoppers Stop’s online portal is profitable while representing 2% of the total sales.
Demographics
India is the world’s leading emerging economy. Its population is 1.32 billion, or 17.8% of the global population; 38% are urban residents. As the 7th largest economy in the world, India’s GDP growth is annually over 7% and is a dynamically changing market.
Diversity
India is a large market with great diversity and unique characteristics. Religious, cultural and climatic conditions vary widely across the geographical regions. Consumer preferences vary accordingly in terms of design, price and utility.
There are 22 official languages and 1,200 dialects in India. This multi-cultural society celebrates holidays and festivals of various religions. Many states and regions have their own local festivals.
Brands, manufacturers and retailers must adapt; products must suit regional preferences in order to maximize sales
India’s Retail—A Huge Opportunity
Total retail market size is approximately USD 1,150 billion. Traditional retail is expected to double and e-tailing expected to grow 15 times.
Strategic Objective
In 2015, Shoppers Stop was considered a department store with an online presence, in 2016 as a multi-channel retailer, and in 2017, they aim to be known as an omni-channel retailer.
- 45 Crores invested in omni-channel technology in the last two years. The retailer is working towards accomplishing next phase of omni-channel journey by 2017, and they will be investing another 15 Crores in this year.
- Their target is to generate 10% revenue from digital channels in next three years.
HomeStop Profile
- HomeStop was the first-of-its-kind premium home concept store
- HomeStop is a one-stop shop for all home needs ranging from home décor to furniture, bath accessories to bedroom furnishings, mattresses to draperies, kitchen accessories to tools & gadgets, appliances to storage solutions and carpets, etc.
- Extensive choice of brands includes exclusive private label brands and renowned national and international brands.
- There are 16 HomeStop stores across 11 cities in India.
Category Insights
- Kitchen Décor Storage is 46% of business
- Kitchen leads the show with innovative products and 29% of the total. 45% is contributed by exclusive label
- Décor contribution is 12% mix and 40% from exclusive label.
- Storage contributes 6% and exclusive brand is 50%.
- Bed, Bath and Furniture Category contributes to 54% of total sales
- Bed contributes to 33.3% of sales & Private label mix is only 15%
- Bath Contributes to 11.3% of sales & private label is 18%
- Furniture contributes to 9.3% of sales
Factors driving digital growth
- By 2020, India will have 40-50% internet penetration accessed from all kinds of devices: desktops, tablets, mobiles, TV.
- The penetration of online shopping among internet users will grow from 20% (2014) to 40% (2020) thanks to improvements in digital connectivity (3G / 4G) and smartphone growth.
- More than 80% of the online population will access the internet via smartphones & tablets. Mobiles will make internet accessible to the rural masses driving online commerce.
Buying Decision Process
Shoppers Stop’s buying decisions are based upon careful research and standards to evaluate available products. After accepting a product into a line, the company analyzes a product’s performance and consumer satisfaction to assess success.
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