Retail Store Formats

Different store formats aid differing shopping needs. A look at what they constitute....


Many corporate players have tried establishing 'convenience' or 'express' format stores that mirror the advantages of kiranas. Such stores carry limited product ranges stocking only the barest minimum offerings. To illustrate with a common example; a convenience store may carry just three brands of popular toothpaste in merely one or two sizes each - eg: a 50gm and 100gm packs. 'Spencer's express' and 'Trinethra's Quickshop' were examples of this format. '7 Eleven' is a hugely popular chain of corporate-run convenience stores in the US and many parts of the world.

Supermarkets are the big brothers of convenience stores. Extending the toothpaste example, supermarkets carry most(but not all) brands in all categories of merchandise, offering wider pack size options. They cater to food and grocery and household needs in well maintained, hygienic settings, offering a touch-and-feel advantage as their products are displayed in open racks. They are serviced by uniformed and trained attendants. They are either individual or family managed; single-store entities or are large chains owned by corporate houses and managed by professional managers. They frequently offer attractive discounts and run promotions that give consumers a price advantage. One can easily save between 3% and 5% on their usual monthly household purchases. 'Convenience stores' and 'Supermarkets' are for your daily stop-gap or 'top-up' purchases or for life's little emergencies!

If you are looking for wide range; multiple brand options; great value and huge savings - popularly known as "Value for money" - in food and grocery; household needs or apparel or just about anything that you need - then, a Hypermarket is your right destination. Indian hypermarkets at 40,000 or 50,000 sft (a third in size of their international counterparts) offer exhaustive variety and discounts throughout the year. They not only sell most products below the prescribed price (MRP-Maximum Retail Price) but also offer attractive promotions such as 'Buy One Get One Free' or added freebies on everyday products. In the toothpaste example, a hypermarket will not only carry all the innumerable brands of toothpastes in all possible sizes; but will also sell most of them below MRP. And you don't have to feel lucky to have got a bottle of jam free for buying two tubes of your favourite toothpaste!

Due to their large sizes, Hypermarkets are usually located at basements of malls or on outskirts of a city where real estate is relatively cheaper. 'Big Bazaar' is a home grown version of Hypermarkets in India. Wal-mart; Carrefour and Tesco are some of the large international chains of Hypermarkets with billions of dollars in turnover and employing several lakhs of staff. Hypermarkets are ideal shopping destinations for your family's monthly requirement or bulk buying needs.

Convenience stores, Supermarkets and Hypermarkets are predominantly food and grocery driven businesses. Hypermarkets also carry 'value for money' apparel that are either popular brands or exclusively manufactured for the stores, called 'store brands' or 'private labels'.

If you are looking for fashion or lifestyle determining accessories; you may do good to shop at either single brand stores - (EBO) or exclusive brand outlets such as such as 'Bata'; 'Peter England' or 'Arrow' or Multi-brand outlets (MBOs). EBOs are typically located either within malls or in standalone buildings on main streets in metros and towns. They usually carry the entire range of products manufactured by a particular brand. They are peopled by knowledgeable and trained staff that act as consultants, offering you tips and advice on matching clothes or accessories. They sell their products at full prices (at MRP) unless they are clearing their seasonal merchandise through a sale. MBOs are different only in that they carry more than one brand of products, such as 'Pantaloon' or 'Globus'.

Department stores (derive their name from the different departments within a single store carrying different categories of products such as clothing for men, women and children). Department stores are apparel-heavy and offer a wide assortment of brands and labels to meet the needs of an entire family. They also carry a sizeable variety of personal accessories such as belts, wallets, scarves and other lifestyle or beauty enhancing products such as cosmetics, perfumes, watches, jewellery, etc. They are situated either in malls or as independent entities on main streets and are fairly large in size (upwards of 15,000 sft) and employ hundreds of well trained, knowledgeable staff. They offer a seamless shopping experience between the different departments, with heightened visual cues in glitzy, air-conditioned stores, using attractive display of products on mannequins and in show-windows. 'Shopper's Stop'; 'Lifestyle' and 'Westside' are some of the popular chains of department stores. Sears, JC Penny and Nordstrom are some of the international chains of department stores.

Specialty stores carry complementary categories of merchandise and accessories. Thus, we have home improvement formats such as 'Home Centre' or 'Home Stop' that carry hard furniture for bedrooms, living rooms and dining rooms; soft furnishings; cutlery and crockery; lighting, carpets, art and other home decor accessories - all of which are complementary in nature.

Malls - a new but ubiquitous breed of shopping options in India - are a collection of several retailers in huge, covered premises with ample parking for cars and also offering leisure and entertainment options such as food courts; gaming zones and multiplexes. They are the evolved cousins of the 'shopping complexes' of yesteryears. Malls are meant to serve as 'Shopping Destinations' for the entire family. They house a wide assortment of retailers such as supermarkets and hypermarkets; EBOs and Department Stores. The novelty of malls in India, with their wide open walkways and attractive stores; along with food and entertainment options are increasingly becoming picnic spots drawing thousands of visitors every day.