1.

1 INTRODUCTION TO RETAIL IN INDIA

Retail is amongst the fastest growing sectors in the country. India ranks 1st, ahead of
Russia, in terms of emerging markets potential in retail, and is deemed a 'Priority 1'
market for international retail.

The retailing industry in India estimated at Rs 930,000 crore (2003-04) is expected to

grow at 5% p.a. The size of organized retailing market stands at RS 28,000 crore in
2004, thereby, making up a mere 3% of the total retailing market. Moving forward,
organized retailing is projected to grow at the rate of 25-30% p.a. and is estimated to
reach over an astounding Rs 100,000 crore by 2010. Its contribution to total retailing
sales is likely to rise to 9% by the end of the decade. [1]

According to Ernest & Young Report, the retail sector in India is highly fragmented
and organized retail in the country is at a very nascent stage. There are about 12
million retail outlets spread across India, earning it the epithet of a "Nation of
Shopkeepers". More than 80% of these 12 million outlets are run by small family
businesses (kirana). [2]

Organized retail in India

Today, the flood of products in the market coupled with a wealthier, more informed
Indian consumer, have created the atmosphere for the entry of organized retail to tap
into the $ 320 billion Indian retail industry. It is expected that by 2016 modern retail
industry in India will be worth US$ 175- 200 billion. It is expected that by 2010, India
may have 600 new shopping centers. In the Indian retailing industry, food is the most
dominating sector and is growing at a rate of 9% annually. The branded food industry
is trying to enter the India retail industry and convert Indian consumers to branded
food. Since at present 60% of the Indian grocery basket consists of non-branded
items. [3]

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 Growth drivers in India for retail sector

 Rising incomes and improvements in infrastructure are enlarging consumer

markets and accelerating the convergence of consumer tastes.
 Increase in spending Per capita Income.
 Advent of dual income families also helps in the growth of retail sector.
 Shift in consumer demand to foreign brands like McDonalds, Sony,
Panasonic, etc.
 Consumer preference for shopping in new environs
 The Internet revolution is making the Indian consumer more accessible to the
growing influences of domestic and foreign retail chains.
 About 47% of India's population is under the age of 20; and this will increase
to 55% by 2015. This young population, which is technology-savvy, watch
more than 50 TV satellite channels, and display the highest propensity to
spend, will immensely contribute to the growth of the retail sector in the
country. [5]

Retail value proposition: The value proposition that retail offers to a

consumer is easy availability of the desired product in the desired size at the
desired time. [1]

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 RETAIL FORMATS

Format Description Value Proposition

Exclusive showrooms either Complete range available
Branded Stores owned or franchised out by a for a given brand, Certified
manufacturer. product quality.
Focus on a specific consumer Greater choice to the
Specialty Stores
need, carry most of the brands consumer, comparison
(Multi-Brand)
available. between brands possible.
Large stores having a wide
variety of products, organized One stop shop catering to
Department
into different departments, such varied consumer needs
Stores
as clothing, house wares, toys, service as differentiator.
etc.
Extremely large self-services One stop shop catering to
Supermarkets
retail outlets. varied consumer needs.
Stores offering discounts on the
retail price through selling high
Discount Stores Low prices.
volumes and reaping the
economies of scale.
Larger than a Supermarket,
Low prices, vast choice
sometimes with a warehouse
Hyper-mart available including
appearance, generally located
services as cafeterias.
in quieter parts of city.
Convenience Small self-service formats Convenient location and
Stores located in crowded urban areas. extended operating hours.
An enclosure having different
Variety of shops available
Shopping Malls formats of in-store retailers all
close to each other.
under one roof.
Of the Top-200 Global Retailers, 21% of retailers fall in the specialty stores category,
followed by 18% in supermarket, 12% in department and 9% each in hypermarket and
discount stores. Diversification of formats in Future Group: in 2003 :- 4 and in
2008 :- more than 16. [5]

Retail opportunity slated to rise almost by US$ 200 Billion in 5years, and another
US$ 250 Billion in the next 5 [5]

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 2450
2500

2000
1705

1500
1161

860
1000 783
615
410
500 280

0
2003 2008 2013 2018

RETAIL GDP

1.2 FUTURE GROUP

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 Mr. Kishore Biyani
Founder Chairman Future Group

“Every time you buy a Big Bazaar product,

You are guaranteed quality at the lowest prices”

INTRODUCTION TO FUTURE GROUP

Future Group, led by its founder and Group CEO, Mr. Kishore Biyani, is one of
India’s leading business houses with multiple businesses spanning across the
consumption space. While retail forms the core business activity of Future Group,
group subsidiaries are present in consumer finance, capital, insurance, leisure and
entertainment, brand development, retail real estate development, retail media and
logistics. Led by its flagship enterprise, Pantaloon Retail, the group operates over
12 million square feet of retail space in 71 cities and towns and 65 rural locations
across India. In 2008, Big Bazaar opened its 100th store, marking the fastest ever
organic expansion of a hypermarket. The first set of Big Bazaar stores opened in
2001 in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore. [8]

GROUP VISION

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 Future Group shall deliver Everything, Everywhere, Every time for Every Indian
Consumer in the most profitable manner. [8]

GROUP MISSION
We share the vision and belief that our customers and stakeholders shall be served
only by creating and executing future scenarios in the consumption space leading
to economic development. We will be the trendsetters in evolving delivery formats,
creating retail realty, making consumption affordable for all customer segments –
for classes and for masses. We shall infuse Indian brands with confidence and
renewed ambition. We shall be efficient, cost- conscious and committed to quality
in whatever we do. We shall ensure that our positive attitude, sincerity, humility
and united determination shall be the driving force to make us successful. [8]

FUTURE GROUP MANIFESTO

“Future” – the word which signifies optimism, growth, achievement, strength,
beauty, rewards and perfection. Future encourages us to explore areas yet
unexplored, write rules yet unwritten; create new opportunities and new successes.
To strive for a glorious future brings to us our strength, our ability to learn,
unlearn and re-learn our ability to evolve.

We, in Future Group, will not wait for the Future to unfold itself but create future
scenarios in the consumer space and facilitate consumption because consumption
is development. Thereby, we will effect socio-economic development for our
customers, employees, shareholders, associates and partners.

We will not just post satisfactory results, we will write success stories.

We will not just operate efficiently in the Indian economy, we will evolve it.

We will not just spot trends; we will set trends by marrying our understanding of the
Indian consumer to their needs of tomorrow.

It is this understanding that has helped us succeed. And it is this that will help us
succeed in the Future. We shall keep relearning. And in this process, do just one
thing.

Rewrite Rules. Retain Values. [8]

CORE VALUES

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 Indianness: confidence in ourselves.

Leadership: to be a leader, both in thought and business

 Respect & Humility: to respect every individual and be humble in our

conduct.
 Introspection: leading to purposeful thinking.
 Openness: to be open and receptive to new ideas, knowledge and
information.
 Valuing and Nurturing Relationships: to build long term relationships.
 Simplicity & Positivity: Simplicity and positivity in our thought, business
and action.
 Adaptability: to be flexible and adaptable, to meet challenges.
Flow: to respect and understand the universal laws of nature. [8]

AWARDS BESTOWED [8]

Indian Retail Forum Awards 2008: Best Retailer of the Year - Big Bazaar

The INDIASTAR Award 2008: Food Bazaar: Best Packaging Innovation

Coca-Cola Golden Spoon Awards 2008:

 Most Admired Food & Grocery Retailer of the Year – Supermarkets: Food
Bazaar.

 Most Admired Food & Grocery Retailer of the Year - Consumer's Choice: Big
Bazaar.

Strategic Alliances With The Best In The World

New trend in last 24 months to partner in select formats / supply chain with global
leaders in order to:
 Launch new formats
 Access to better know-how
 Leveraging back-end investments across many more retail businesses

International partners of Future Group:-

Staples, Axiom, Etam, Celio, Aeroterm Logistics [5]

1.3 INTRODUCTION TO BIG BAZAAR

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The variety of product range in Big Bazaar:
This large format store comprise of almost everything required by people from
different income groups. It varies from clothing and accessories for all genders like
men, women and children, playthings, stationary and toys, footwear, plastics, home
utility products, cosmetics, crockery, home textiles, luggage gift items, other
novelties, and also food products and grocery. The added advantage for the
customers shopping in Big Bazaar is that there are all time discounts and promotional
offers going on in the Big Bazaar on its salable products.
The significant features of Big Bazaar: Shopping in the Big Bazaar is a
great experience as one can find almost everything under the same roof. It has
different features which caters all the needs of the shoppers. Some of the significant
features of Big Bazaar are:

 The Food Bazaar or the grocery store with a department selling fruits and
vegetables
 Furniture Bazaar or a large section dealing with furniture
 Electronics Bazaar or the section concerned with electronic goods and
cellular phones
 FutureBazaar.com or the online shopping portal which makes shopping easier
as one can shop many products of Big Bazaar at the same price from home.
[9]

Big Bazaar in Ahmedabad

Big Bazaar :: Himalaya Mall :: Ahmedabad :: Gujarat

Big Bazaar :: Near Iscon Temple :: Ahmedabad :: Gujarat

Big Bazaar :: Ahmedabad City Mall :: Kankaria :: Ahmedabad :: Gujarat

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 Rapid Growth Of Modern Retailers (And the numbers keep
growing)

1200

1000 1000
1000

800
654
600
500

400
300
200
200
97 108

0
BIG B VISHAL MORE RELIANCE

Expanding Geographies (No of Cities)

Big Bazaar: no of cities covered- In 2003:- 5 and In 2008:- 56 (10 times

growth in 5 years). [5]

2.1 INTRODUCTION TO CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

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The Indian consumer has undergone a remarkable transformation. Just a decade or
two ago, the Indian consumer saved most of his income, purchased the bare
necessities, and rarely indulged himself. Today, armed with a higher income, credit
cards, exposure to the shopping culture of the west, and a desire to improve his
standard of living, the Indian consumer is spending like never before. Organized
retail, with its variety of products and multitude of malls and supermarkets, is fueling
his addiction. His new mentality, in turn, is fueling the growth of organized retail in
India. The process of choosing a specific store involves the matching of consumer
characteristics and purchase characteristics with store characteristics. An individual
may use different criteria to evaluate which store best meets his or her needs
depending on the type of purchase. Consumers compare retail and store options based
on how they perceive each will perform on the various criteria. [6]

Evaluative Criteria: [6]

 Location ( Distance )
 Assortment Breadth and Depth
 Price
 Advertising and Promotion
 Point Of Purchase (POP) Display
 Store Personnel
 Services
 Customer Characteristics
 Store Atmosphere

Types of buying behaviour: There are four typical types of buying behaviour
based on the type of products that intends to be purchased. Complex buying
behaviour is where the individual purchases a high value brand and seeks a lot of
information before the purchase is made. Habitual buying behaviour is where the
individual buys a product out of habit e.g. a daily newspaper, sugar or salt. Variety
seeking buying behaviour is where the individual likes to shop around and
experiment with different products. So an individual may shop around for different
breakfast cereals because he/she wants variety in the mornings! Dissonance
reducing buying behaviour is when buyer is highly involved with the purchase of
the product, because the purchase is expensive or infrequent. [7]

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 2.2 PROJECT DETAILS AND METHODOLOGY

Objectives of the project:

 To find out the reasons why consumers purchase from Food Bazaar.
 To find out consumers’ opinion about price, quality, variety and display of
products.
 To know about the effects of schemes on the buying decision of consumers.
 To know consumer satisfaction level regarding the billing system and sales
staff.
 To know about the personal profile of consumers.
 To do a comparative study of Food Bazaar and its competitors.

Type of research – Descriptive research is followed because it helps us in

determining the characteristics of population such as why people prefer food
bazaar, which products do they consume the most and why, when do they shop the
most etc. This research helps us in describing the market potential of organized
retail sector (in food segment) in Ahmedabad.

Information sources: Primary data

Sample Size: 200 Respondents

Sampling plan –
Target population: The entire population of Ahmedabad.

Sampling unit: All the people who visit Food Bazaar

Sample size: 200 respondents

Sampling method: Non-probability sampling- Convenience Sampling

Research Instrument: Questionnaire and Observation

Types of questions in questionnaire: Open ended questions and Closed

ended questions

Data Collection: Survey was conducted at:-

 Big Bazaar, S.G Highway
 Star Bazaar
 D-Mart
 Reliance Mart

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 2.3 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Survey in the “Ready-to cook and eat” , Chill” & “Frozen”

section with a sample size of 120

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1.1 Reasons for purchasing from Big Bazaar

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 20%

44% Prices and schemes

Location
Quality
Variety
20%

16%

Interpretation:
 Majority of the customers give utmost importance to variety of the
products offered.
 44% of the respondents said that they preferred shopping from Big
bazaar because they get “everything under one roof”.
 Quality of the product is not much of an issue as the customers feel
that since the products are branded, quality is standardized in the
packed food. The name “Big Bazaar” itself assures them of quality.

1.2 Consumption of frozen food

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 8%
20%

Regularly
Occassionaly
Never

72%

Interpretation:

 The ratio of consumers using frozen food regularly is almost negligible i.e.
8%
 72% of the respondents said that they never consume frozen food.
 Reasons why people don’t consume frozen food:
 Not healthy
 Unnecessary use of preservatives
 Prefer fresh products
 Freeze products at home
 Don’t like the taste
 Unsure of its nutrients content
 Unnecessary expenditure

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1.3 Opinion about prices
RCE CHILL FROZEN
Less as compared to outside rates 44 7 24
Equal as compared to outside rates 60 84 60
More as compared to outside rates 16 29 36

84
90
80
70 60 60
60
44
50 36
40 29
24
30 16
20 7 RCE
10 CHILL
0 FROZEN

Interpretation:

 Majority of the respondents felt that there is not much difference in the prices
offered by Big Bazaar and the outside rates.
 50% in RCE and frozen section and 70% of the respondents were of the
opinion that the big bazaar rates are equal as compared to outside rates.
 In RCE section, 37%of the rspondents were satisfied with the BigBazaar rates
owing to the frequent schemes offered.
 In frozen section, 30%of the respondents found the rates of frozenproducts
higher at bigh bazaar as compared to the low rates offered at star bazaar.
 13% and 24% in RCE and chill section felt that big bazaar actually does not
stand true to its tagline: “sabse sasta , sabse acha”

Interaction and observation:

 A respondent complained that she gets Mapro syrup 10 Rs. cheaper at her
nearby Kirana shop.

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1.4 Opinion about quality
RCE CHILL FROZEN
Below Average 7 7 0
Average 30 21 19
Good 57 56 54
Excellent 26 36 47

60 57 56
54

50 47

40
36
BELOW AVERAGE
30
30 AVERAGE
26
GOOD
21 EXCELLENT
20 19

10 7 7

0
0
RCE CHILL FROZEN

Interpretation:

 47% in RCE and Chill and 45% of the respondents in Frozen section felt that
the quality of products offered is good.
 22%, 30% and 39% of the respondents in RCE, Chill and Frozen section
respectively found the products of premium quality always.
 6% of the respondents in RCE section felt that the quality of the products was
in fact below average. 5% of the respondents had at least once found products
that had crossed their expiry date especially in the biscuits section.
 Not a single respondent found the quality of products in frozen section to be
below average.

Interaction and observation:

 Most of the customers are very much satisfied with the quality of the
products, though we came across various damaged or opened items especially
in dairy products.
 Open packets of curd and damaged packets of cheese spread were seen.
 Damaged or opened packets of biscuits were also reported a few times.
 There were few complaints like many times the biscuits were found broken
inside the packets which may be due to the rough handling of the stock.

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1.5 Opinion about variety
RCE CHILL
Average 30 20
Wide 40 45
Very Wide 50 55

60 55
50
50 45
40
40
30 AVERAGE
WIDE
30
VERY WIDE
20
20

10

0
RCE CHILLED

Interpretation:

 25% and 17% of the respondents in RCE and Chill section found the variety
average, whereas 33% and 38% of the respondents in RCE and Chill section
found the variety to be wide.
 In RCE, 42% and in Chill section, 46% of the respondents were very happy
with the variety provided at the Big Bazaar. They felt that products of all
brands, flavors, sizes and packaging are available.
 None of the customers felt that the variety offered is below average.

Interaction and observation:

 There were some complaints such as that at times; all flavors and brands of
juices are not available.

1.6 Variety of frozen products at Big Bazaar

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 Average
11%

Limited
29%
Satisfactory
60%

Interpretation:

 60% of the consumers were satisfied with the variety offered.

 Big bazaar had a very limited variety as far as the frozen section was
considered as it used to stock only frozen peas and corn. But 95% of the
consumers bought only peas and corn from frozen section. So variety was
never an issue for them as Big Bazaar was able to meet their demands.
 29% of the respondents found the variety limited and said that non-veg
products must also be included.

1.7 Effect of schemes on buying decision

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 RCE CHILL
A LOT 48 64
NOT MUCH 60 36
NOT AT ALL 12 20

70
64
60
60

50 48

40
36 A LOT
NOT MUCH
30 NOT AT ALL

20
20
12
10

0
RCE CHILL

Interpretation:

 50% and 30% of the respondents in RCE and Chill section respectively said
that schemes and discounts didn’t affect their buying decision much.
 10% and 17% of the respondents in RCE and Chill section were totally
indifferent to schemes. They came with a predetermined list and bought
products only as per the list- not a single thing more.
 40% of the respondents in RCE and 53% in Chill section said that they
bought more than what they had planned and at times even more than what
they required during schemes.

Interaction and observation:

 Some respondents said that they try out new products during schemes.
 Some respondents said that they don’t buy anything just because there is a
scheme on that item. They bought only those products in schemes that can be
easily stored for a longer duration such as oil, staples, soaps and detergents or
their favorite brands or the products which they consume on a regular basis.
 At times the respondents said that they were not at all affected by the schemes
but we found many products that were in the scheme or offer in their trolleys
 Many respondents visited Big Bazaar especially during Wednesday to avail
the benefits of schemes

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1.8 Opinion about the display of the products
RCE CHILL
Very Clumsy 0 0
Below Average 28 31
Average 58 18
Attractive 10 25
Very Attractive 24 46

58
60

50 46

40
31 VERY CLUMSY
28 BELOW AVERAGE
30 25 AVERAGE
24
ATTRACTIVE
18 VERY ATTRACTIVE
20
10
10
0 0
0
RCE CHILL

Interpretation:

 48% and 15% of the respondents in RCE and Chill section found the
arrangement of products average whereas 20% and 38% in RCE and Chill
section found the display to be very attractive.
 First time visitors at Big Bazaar found the arrangement messy and confusing.
23% and 26% of the respondents in RCE and Chill section rated the display to
be below average.
 None of the respondents said that the arrangement is very clumsy.

Interaction and observation:

 With water room nearby, many times water was found spilled on the floor.
 Promoters stacked the trolleys with their products which at times hindered the
movement of customers.
 Most of the respondents who were satisfied with the display of the products
were regular visitors at Big Bazaar and very well knew beforehand about the
arrangement of products.
 82% of the customers were of the opinion that the biscuits should be
displayed as per the brand name and not the flavor.

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1.9 Purchasing in “International food section”

Regularly
5%
Occasionaly
25%

Never
70%

Interpretation and observation:

 70% of the customers said that they don’t consume International brands due
to the following reasons:
 Lack of awareness about foreign products.
 Vegetarians fear that international products might have eggs
or other non-veg products in them.
 Does not fit in their budget.
 Costly but not that good in quality.
 Reluctant to try new products or change their taste.
 Prefer domestic products.
 Not sure of the brands available.
 Most of the customers who bought these products generally purchased
chocolates.
 Other preferred items were mayonnaise and Hershey’s syrup.

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1.10 Competitors of Big Bazaar for RCE section

Reliance
8% Star Bazaar
16%

Kirana shops
34%

D-Mart
42%

Interpretation and observation:

 Big bazaar faces its toughest competition from D-mart due to the high
discounts and varied schemes offered there.
 No doubt the variety at D-mart is quite restricted as compared to that offered
by Big Bazaar but it offers a minimum 2% of discount on almost all its
products.
 Respondents said that they don’t find any new or extra-ordinary products at
D-mart but they get everything they need there so in a way variety at D-mart
is manageable.

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1.11 Competitors of Big Bazaar for Chilled and Frozen section

Reliance Mart
20%

Kirana shops
47%

Star Bazaar
33%

Interpretation and observation:

 47% of the respondents prefer to go to their nearby kirana shops, local stores
or dairies for buying these products.
 They said that such products cannot be stacked and hence are purchased as
and when required.
 A whopping 33% said they prefer star Bazaar also due its competitive prices
and schemes.
 Reasons why people prefer kirana shops so much:
 Located within or near the residential area makes it convenient for the
residents to shop from them.
 consumers feel that they can bargain easily with the local shopkeepers
 the consumer is familiar and friendly with the shopkeeper; this adds
the personal touch to their daily shopping experience

It is in this setup that the Indian shopping malls could be likened to the beautiful
Snow White from our childhood fairytale, who learns to live and adapt herself to the
life and surroundings of the seven dwarfs. The seven dwarfs in this context would be
the kirana stores, to whose surroundings the fancy malls of the west must come and
adapt to. [6]

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1.12 Opinion about billing system

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 30%

Speedy

Time consuming

70%

Interpretation:
 70% of the respondents found the billing system at Big Bazaar highly
time consuming.
Interaction and observation:
 At times the consumers shopped but later left their full trolleys at the
billing counter only as they found waiting in the queue very irritating
and tiring.
 They commented that they do not take as much time in shopping as
they take at billing system especially on week-ends or on scheme
days.
 The respondents were of the opinion that the staff at the billing
system needs to be more efficient and speedy.
 There were some complaints such as while packing the products, the
staff forgets to put some of the billed items in the polybags and this is
discovered by the respondents when they reach home when it is too

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 late to do anything about it. Over billing and at times even under
billing were noticed.

1.13 Opinion about Drinking Water Facility

5%

35% Yes
No
Indifferent

60%

Interpretation:
 60% of the respondents said that they never drink water at Big
Bazaar so have no idea about the drinking system.
 35% complained the water is not drinkable and this causes problem
especially during summers.

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 1.14 Opinion about sales staff

Non co-operative
10% Co-operative
20%

Indifferent
70%

Interpretation:
 70% of the respondents said the staff was indifferent to consumer
needs. The sales personnel never approach the customers. They
merely respond to the queries asked by the respondents.
 10% of the respondents said that the staff was highly non co-
operative and rude and definitely require further training.
 Only 20% of the respondents said that the staff is courteous and
customer-friendly.

Interaction and observation:

 At times it was also noticed that the respondents who seemingly

looked like belonging to the lower strata were not attended much by
the sales staff.
 When respondents asked about some schemes, they were given
replies like: “It’s written there. Read on your own”.

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1.15 Gender of respondents

24%

Males Females

76%

1.16 Income distribution of consumers

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 60
52
50

40
36

30

20
20
12
10

0
<20000 20000-49999 50000-100000 >100000

Interpretation:

 Majority of the customers had monthly family income below 50000. Hence,
they are very price conscious and seek value for money desperately. They are
not brand loyal and would easily switch to places that offer them better prices
and schemes. This is the reason why D-mart is the biggest competitor.

Star Bazaar, the hypermarket format retail chain of Trent Ltd, one of the two
retailing arms of Tata group. Westside’ lifestyle retail chain and ‘Landmark’ books
and leisure retail chain are two other retail formats owned and operated by the
company. Trent was founded in 1998 by Ms. Simone Tata, mother of its present
Managing Director Noel Tata. Trent has found selling garments, staples, or other
categories under private labels to be profitable for the company. “Our own labels are
doing well which I think is mainly because we are able to customize to our
audience’s needs. Going forward, we will look at increasing the mix in our in-house
labels,” said Neeti Chopra, Marketing Head, Trent.

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 The first hypermarket store “Star Bazaar,” which believes in providing an ample
assortment of products at the lowest prices, exemplifying its ‘Chota Budget, Lambi
Shopping’ motto, was set up in Ahmedabad in 2004.

3.1 Survey conducted outside Star Bazaar with a sample

size of 30 units

Most preferred venue for grocery shopping

5%
10%

10%
Star Bazaar
50% Big Bazaar
Kirana shops
10% Star Bazaar and D mart
Star Bazaar and Big Bazaar
Star Bazaar and Kirana shops
15%

Interpretation:

 50% of the consumers were loyal towards Star Bazaar. They said that they
never go for shopping anywhere except Star Bazaar whereas 15% of the
consumers of Star Bazaar said that they generally purchase from Big Bazaar.

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  Along with Star Bazaar, respondents also visited Big Bazaar, D-mart and
kirana shops.

Reason for shopping from Star Bazaar

20%
30%

5%
Variety
Quality
Location
Prices
20%
Prices and Quality

25%

Interpretation:

 Variety acts as the core competency of Star Bazaar. It wide assortment of

products especially in the fruits and vegetables section lures and maintains the
consumers.

Income distribution of consumers

60

50 48

40

30
24

20

10
5
3
0
<20000 20000-49999 50000-100000 >100000

Interpretation:

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  Unlike Big Bazaar where majority of the consumers belonged to 20000-49999
category, in Star Bazaar, majority of the consumers fell into the category of
50000-100000.

3.2 Survey conducted outside D-mart with a sample size of

30 units

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Most preferred venue for grocery shopping

Big Bazaar and Kirana shops

10%

D-mart and Kirana shops

15%

Big Bazaar
5%

D- mart
70%

Interpretation:

 Consumers at D-mart showed amazing brand loyalty. 70% of the consumers

said that they preferred to shop from D-mart only where Big Bazaar accounted
for a measly 5 %

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Reason for buying from D-mart

Location
15%

Prices
50%

Schemes
35%

Interpretation:

 50 % of the consumers said that they preferred to shop from D-mart due to its
reasonable prices.
 35% of the consumers were attracted due to its schemes and discounts.

Income distribution of consumers

70

60
60

50

40

30

20
15 15
10
10

0
<20000 20000-49999 50000-100000 >100000

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Interpretation:

 60% of the consumers belong to the category of having a monthly family income
of 20000-49999. This class is very price conscious and hence is attracted towards
the competitive schemes offered at D-mart.

India's first Reliance Mart has been launched in Ahmedabad on 15th August 2007.
After the successful launch of the supermarket format ”Reliance Fresh” and the
consumer electronics concept mega store “Reliance Digital”, the hypermarket is the
third retail format launched by Reliance Retail. The hypermarket also launched a host
of Reliance’s own brands in select categories with superior quality and affordable
prices. Reliance Mart will continue to offer all its customers Reliance One, a common

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membership and loyalty program across all its formats, which follows the philosophy
of ‘Earn Anywhere, Spend Anywhere’

3.3 Survey conducted outside Reliance-mart with a sample

size of 20 units

Most preferred venue for grocery shopping

10%

D-mart
20%
Star Bazaar
50% Big Bazaar
Reliance Mart
Kirana shops
10%

10%

Interpretation:

 50% of the consumers at Reliance mart said that they prefer shopping from
kirana stores. They just come to Reliance to have the “mall experience” but
they find the products way too expensive to be bought for daily use.
 Reliance mart, D-mart and Big Bazaar had an equal preference of 10% each
with Star Bazaar leading with a 20% share.

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Reason for buying from Reliance-mart

Quality
16%

Location
35%

Schemes
19%

Prices
30%

Interpretation:

 People who bought products from Reliance mart said that they give utmost
importance to location. They usually come for shopping at Gallops or Iscon
mall and on their way back from shopping they buy their daily needs from
reliance mart.
 Very few respondents said that they come to Reliance specifically for
shopping grocery items.

Income distribution of consumers

70

60
60

50

40

30
30

20

10 7
3
0
<20000 20000-49999 50000-100000 >100000

Interpretation:

 60% of the respondents at Reliance mart were having a monthly family

income of below 20000.

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 Hence price mattered tremendously to them. This was one of the major reason
why majority of the respondents shopped from kirana stores.

4.0 FACTS AND FINDINGS

 All the respondents who come to Food Bazaar purchase grocery items. No one
comes to Food Bazaar to purchase only staples or fruits and vegetables.
 The major reason of respondents coming to Food Bazaar is its huge variety in
merchandise. Big Bazaar holds more variety in its “RCE” and “Chill” as
compared to its competitors.
 The rates at Big Bazaar are equal as compared to outside rates.
 Majority of Ahmedabad household (72%) does not consume frozen food and
those who consume buy mostly peas and corn.
 Generally people more during schemes but only those products that they
generally consume. During schemes they prefer to buy those products that can
be stored for a longer duration such as oil and staples.
 Many people come to Big Bazaar only on Wednesday to avail benefit of the
schemes.
 Most of the people in Ahmedabad (70%) never consume products of
international brands.

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 Major competitors of Big Bazaar for “RCE” section are D-mart and kirana
shops and for “Chill” and “Frozen” section are Star Bazaar and kirana shops.
 The billing system at Big Bazaar is very time consuming.
 Sales staff at Big Bazaar lack proper training, courtesy and enthusiasm to help
the customers.
 In spite of having very limited variety, D-Mart is able to retain its customers
through its highly competitive prices and very attractive schemes which give
D-Mart a competitive edge over Big Bazaar.
 The customers of Star Bazaar are quite loyal towards it.

5.0 CONSUMER COMPLAINTS

 Physical arrangement is messy.

 Expired or near to expiry products are at times found on the shelf especially in
“Hungry Kya?” and “Chef Zone”
 Discounts & offers are generally for close to expired products (they do not
keep good variety during these discounts).
 Prices should be more reasonable.
 Luggage of very inferior quality
 Lack of proper seating arrangement
 Insist a lot on plastic bags.
 Staff is not efficient and cooperative. They wait for the customers to ask
queries instead of approaching them first. They are particularly indifferent to
the customers who seem to belong to lower income strata.

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 6.0 RECOMMENDATIONS

 More competitive discounts and schemes

 Staff should be more trained and cooperative
 Keep the air-conditioning on- keeping it off not only irritates the customers
but also spoils the quality of fruits and vegetables and other products.
 Keep the lifts functioning for customers
 Keep all the billing counters operating and appoint 2 sales staff for every
counter
 Provide for hygienic and clean drinking water.
 Cleanliness should be more focused upon especially in the fruits and vegetable
section.
 The arrangement of products should be more orderly so that it becomes to
move the trolleys.
 Signets should be bigger in size and should be written in English as well.

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  A permanent proper display of the entire Big Bazaar layout should be
displayed at the entrance so that it becomes easy for the customers to locate
their required sections.
 Due care should be taken to ensure that the products are maintained at their
Minimum Base Quantity, especially the fast moving products or the items that
contribute a lot towards the sales figure.

7.0 EXPOSURE AND LEARNING OUTCOMES AT BIG BAZAAR

 Big Bazaar has been able to enhance our inter personnel skills and develop a
sense of confidence to easily undertake a discussion with complete strangers
and make them share their opinions with us and voice their views.

 As a fresher it has given us a proper corporate training whereby we have

been able to follow the mannerism and the practices of the company as well
as the industry.

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  It provided us a working environment where by one can be free to approach
anyone in the office; which has helped us by getting an exposure to various
people in the office and getting valuable inputs from their experience.

 Within one and a half month of training, we have been able to take a
practical glance at the retail industry and a deeper perspective in terms of
consumer behaviour.

 How and what all is involved in order to undertake aggressive sales have
been one of the most important learning at Big Bazaar.

 Most important of all, it taught us our first lessons in marketing which

included conducting surveys, analyzing and interpreting the data collected
and duly presenting our findings. It gave us the opportunity of exploring
Ahmedabad and its households.

8.0 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Electronic data:

1. blogs.siliconindia.com,In_the_era_of_Globlization_Indial_Retail_Industry-bid, Aditya
Kumar Sharma
2. www.ey.com/Publication,Retail_Press_Release, Ranjan Biswas partner , Ernst and
Young India
3. www.business.mapsofindia.com/india-retail-industry
4. www.managementparadise.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-42292.html
5. www.indiaretailforum.in,indian-retail_story, Arvind Singhal,Technopak

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6. www.indianjournals.com, Kiranization of Indian Malls , Rajan johree, Ruhbani
Singh and Karan Makhania
7. www.learnmarketing.co.uk/consumer.htm
8. www.futuregroup.in
9. www.pantaloon.com

9.0 ANNEXURE

1. Do you purchase from Big Bazaar?

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 a. Yes b. No

2. Why do you shop from Bug Bazaar?

a. Prices & Schemes b. Quality

c. Location d. Variety

e. Others

3. Do you purchase the most from RCE & Chill section?

a. Yes b. No

4. Do you consume Frozen food?

a. Regularly b. Occasionally

c. Never

Reason_______________________________________________________

5. What do you think about Prices?

RCE CHILL FROZEN

Less than outside rates
Equal to outside rates
Greater than outside rates

6. What do you think about Quality?

RCE CHILL FROZEN

Below Average
Average
Wide
Very Wide

7. Do schemes effect your buying decision?

RCE CHILL FROZEN

A Lot
Not much

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 Not at all

8. How do you find the Physical arrangement out here?

a. RCE 1--2--3--4--5

b. Chill 1--2--3--4--5

9. How would you prefer the arrangement of the Biscuits?

a. According to the Brand

b. According to the flavor

10. Do you purchase from “International food section”?

a. Regularly b. Occasionally

c. Never

Reason___________________________________________________

11. Where else do you shop for grocery?

a. Star Bazaar b. Reliance

c. D-mart d. Vishal mart

e. 6 to 10 f. Kirana shops

g. Others

12. Where do you go to buy Chilled stuff other than Big Bazaar?

a. Star Bazaar b. Reliance

c. D-mart d. Vishal mart

e. 6 to 10 f. Kirana shops

g. Others

13. What do you think about billing system?

a. Speedy b. Time consuming

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 14. Are you satisfied with the drinking water facility?

a. Yes b. No

c. Indifferent

15. What do you think about the sales staff?

a. Co-operative b. Non co-operative

c. Indifferent

PERSONAL DETAILS

1. Name : _______________
2. Gender : M______F_______
3. Age : ________________
4. Occupation : ________________
5. Monthly family income : ________________
6. Residence : ________________

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

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STAR BAZAAR, D-MART &R-MART

1. Where do you generally shop from?

a. Star Bazaar b. Big Bazaar

c. Kirana shops d. V-mart

e. Vishal mart f. D-mart

2. Do you buy your food items from here?

a. Yes b. No

3. Do you purchase Ready –to-cook &Ready-to-eat stuff also from here?

a. Yes b. No

4. Reason for shopping from Star Bazaar/D-mart/R-mart

a. Variety b. Quality

c. Price d. Location

e. Price &Quality f. Schemes&discounts

5. Do you consume Frozen food?

a. Yes b. No

Reason______________________________________________________________
_

6. If yes, then is everything needed by you available here?

a. Yes b. No

7. Are you satisfied with the

a. Quality b. Variety

8. Do you find prices reasonable?

a. Yes b. No

9. How do you think this mart is better than other marts?

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PERSONAL DETAILS

1. Name : _______________
2. Gender : M______F______
3. Age : _______________
4. Occupation : _______________
5. Monthly family income : ________________
6. Residence : ________________

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