9th Marketing & Retail Conclave – MRC 2008

India is a land of multiple formats, from the ubiquitous small unorganized retail stores to emerging organized retail formats. The retail sector in India is estimated at USD 300 Billion with the organized sector accounting for USD 9 Billion, growing at 35 – 40% annually.

MRC 2008 :Marketing and Retail Conclave (earlier known as KSA Retail Summits) have emerged as the most widely respected and well attended forum in the Indian Retail Industry. Organised annually since 1999, the conference has become a platform for the retailers and brand leaders across the country to share their expirence and concerns, as well as learn from the rich experience of International Retailers and Brand Leaders.
The summits have attracted an outstanding response from the industry- with an illustrious panel of International and Indian Speakers, Participants and Sponsors. The recently concluded 8th Retail and Marketing Conclave 2007 was attended by over 550 delegates, representing the senior management of the leading Indian and International Corporates and Retailers.
8th Marketing & Retil Conclave had 52 International and Indian Guest Speakers along with Technopak Faculty & 550 delegates representing 19 Countries and 23 Indian Cities

Register Now
Venue : 19-21 February, 2008
Hotel Taj Palace, New Delhi, INDIA

Louis Vuitton Opens New Store In Tianjin

French luxury brand Louis Vuitton has opened a specialty store in Tianjin Friendship Commercial Building.

The new Louis Vuitton store is on the first floor of Friendship Commercial Building. With an area of 345 square meters, its products mainly include suitcases, travel bags, leather products, shoes, sunglasses, ties, scarves and watches. To prepare for the entry of Louis Vuitton, Friendship Commercial Building was renovated by a French design group.

Since Louis Vuitton entered China in 1992, it has opened 19 specialty stores around the country. Louis Vuitton was founded in 1854. It is a world famous luxury brand and a symbol for fashionable culture.

Penney aims for upgrade with brand launch with Polo Ralph Lauren

NEW YORK – The U.S. economy may be stumbling, but J.C. Penney Co. Chairman and CEO Myron “Mike” Ullman III believes its biggest brand launch ever an exclusive line with Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. couldn’t happen at a better time.

“We think given this competitive climate, we are very well positioned to take market share,” Ullman said in a recent phone interview with The Associated Press.

The brand, American Living, is expected to be a billion dollar business in the next few years, accounting for 5 percent of the department store chain’s annual sales, Ullman said. It spans 40 categories, from women’s and men’s clothing to home furnishings, shoes and luggage.

The merchandise, which started arriving in stores over the past few weeks, reflects the Ralph Lauren aesthetic pink cotton polo shirts, floral bedspreads and madras shorts, for example.

“American Living will lift the overall look and feel of the store,” Ullman said. Women’s blazers under the American Living brand retail for about $160, while dresses are priced at about $100. That’s about 15 percent higher than the department store’s top tier clothing brands like Liz & Co. and Jones Wear.

“It helps diversity our business by reaching customers and new channels of distribution,” said Roger Farah, president and chief operating officer of Polo Ralph Lauren, in an address to investors Wednesday. As part of the alliance, Global Brand Concepts, a new division of Polo Ralph Lauren, owns the trademark for the brand and oversees the design, sourcing and production, while Penney’s owns the actual product and is responsible for inventory and the selling of the merchandise.

Since taking over the helm in 2004, Ullman has spearheaded a store expansion plan while developing more upscale, exclusive labels with designers like Nicole Miller and home furnishing expert Chris Madden.

Last year, the Plano, Texas-based company launched a store label lingerie brand called Ambrielle, which has been successful.

Penney’s has also scored with its Sephora cosmetics shops within its stores. Such initiatives have helped the department store steal market share away from rivals like Macy’s Inc.

In particular, J.C. Penney is aiming to lure younger, trendier customers to its stores. While Ullman noted that half of American households are Penney’s customers, its most underserved market is the 18- to 35-year-old age group.

“Penney’s has done an excellent job with their brands; they have been better than most stores,” said C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America’s Research Group.

Still, Penney’s, which caters to middle-income shoppers, saw its overall business slip starting last fall amid a deteriorating economy; it reported a drop in third-quarter profits in November. On Thursday, the company, along with other major retailers, reported weak sales in January at stores that have been open at least a year. Still, the chain’s 1.9 percent same-store sales decline in its department store business was better than the 6.3 percent drop that Wall Street estimated. Penney’s is expected to report its fourth-quarter financial results Feb. 21.

Ullman said that the weakest categories have been window treatments, furniture, jewelry and dress-up clothing. At the same time, he noted that Sephora, which is not heavily discounted and is considered “an aspirational” purchase, was one of the most successful areas this past holiday season.

Ullman noted a “precipitous change in consumer sentiment” last fall. And he believes that certain parts of the country like Florida and the Nevada, both of which have been among the hardest hit by a housing slump, are in a recession. To prepare for the slowdown, Penney’s is becoming more cautious about its inventory and scaling back store expansion. The company will open about 10 fewer stores out of the 50 planned for each of 2008 and 2009.

Still, Ullman emphasized that the economic slowdown is a time to come out with exciting new merchandise. With the American Living brand, Penney’s plans to add new categories like women’s outerwear and infant clothing for fall and will unveil large and petite sizes for spring of 2009. The merchandise will be available online at jcp.com on Feb. 19.

“When people find something they like, they respond to it,” Ullman said. Even in tough times, “it’s a reason to come to the stores,” he said.

Spanish dry-cleaners chain store Pressto in India

Pressto, the express dry-cleaning chain from Spain, will announce its India entry by opening four shops in Mumbai by March 2008.“We plan to establish a few company-owned stores before expanding through the franchisee route. India could be our biggest market. We would love to expand rapidly but real estate lease costs are very high here,” Esther Lennaerts, executive chairperson, Pressto, said in a statement. Announcing the future plans, Lennaerts informed that the company will soon launch a network of stores that will offer dry-clean, laundry and other specialised services in New Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. At present, Pressto operates around 600 shops in 15 countries. Citing reasons for choosing India as their new ground of operations, Lennaerts said, “India has an amazing range of textiles, but these do not have wash and care instructions. This results in damaged garments. We want to change the way this business is done in India.” With an initial investment of Rs 23 crore, Pressto plans to offer Indian customers the choice of pickup or home delivery services. It also plans to set up outlets in malls and crowded neighbourhoods. The company also plans to train people in this trade and is already in the process of recruiting and training people to treat garments peculiar to the Indian market.

Authorised retail outlets from Coir Board on the anvil

To make coir and coir products easily accessible to the Indian consumer, Coir Board has launched a scheme to open authorised retail outlets (AROs) in the country.

“This scheme, which is a part domestic market development initiative of the board, will make quality coir products available for sale through the AROs,” A C Jose, chairman, Coir Board, said while introducing the scheme.

Initially, the board plans to open a few outlets in Kerala and expand across the country in a phased manner.

According to Jose, apart from promoting export market for coir and coir products from India, the board is also emphasising on development of the domestic market.

Coir products intended for sale through the AROs would be bought from small-scale producers and distributed to selected outlets by the Board.

The initiative is expected to boost domestic market for coir products and enable small-scale producers to get a steady market.

Surat, city of diamonds finds rose exports profitable for Valenrtines day

SURAT: Long-stemmed red roses and sparkling diamonds – the most-wanted commodity of romance – have found a sturdy supply chain south of Gujarat. The traditional diamond-exporting area of Surat has found it’s calling in roses. The diamond district together with its neighbour Navsari is not only polishing diamonds for the world, but also producing roses to complete the romance.

Red roses are already on their way to Europe, and will be gifted to blushing Valentines in Germany, Italy and the UK. Some in Mumbai, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, and New Delhi will also be celebrating the St Valentine’s Day with roses and diamonds from Surat.

The men behind the Rs 50,000-crore Surat diamond industry see a 25% profit margin in the trade, which has lower risks and lesser working capital. A diamond exporter, who did not want to be named, is planning to diversify into roses next year. As many as 45 green houses in Surat, have started production and have been sending trial produce to domestic markets as far as New Delhi.

Others are most likely to harvest their roses within this year. Says DZ Patel, deputy director horticulture, Surat: “About 35 lakh roses were exported, of which more than 10 lakh were for Valentines. The production and exports will double next year. The quality is better than what is grown in Bangalore, and we expect the region to become the rose hub in a few years.”
Of the 10 lakh roses to be supplied overseas for Valentines from the region, 70% will be red in colour. The number is likely to go up significantly when other rose-growing green houses start production by this year-end.
“Germany and Italy are Valentine-specific markets,” says Best Roses Biotech promoter Dipak Patel. “Japan is hot throughout the year and that is where the bulk orders come from. The demand doubles during Valentine’s Day. So we have to plan the harvest accordingly.”

Mr Patel was a diamond exporter for 30 years before becoming a rose grower and exporter five years ago. About 85 others have followed suit and have set up rose farming units. The area’s moist and comparatively cooler climate (when compared to other regions of Gujarat) provides the right kind of atmosphere for the rose boom, says Barot joint-director agriculture, Gujarat.

“Given the kind of units that are coming up here, South Gujarat could become the rose hub of India,” says DZ Patel, who counts about 85 units listed as rose-producers by the Government of Gujarat. Diamonds will remain Surat’s first preference (and most of the prospective Valentine’s too), but roses have proved to be as joyful. For Mr Patel, the switchover from diamonds to roses has also brought him better health and peace of mind.