Archive for November, 2007

Future of eCommerce and Retail in India – The Perfect Storm

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketThe online retail environment in India is eerily quiet. The overall online pie is still very small. Broadly speaking, Indian consumers aren’t shopping online. The distributors or local vendors still look at the online channel as a drop in the bucket. New online retailers are slowly emerging – however Indian ecommerce just can’t seem to hit its stride. What does this all mean? Is online retailing not for the Indian market? Are the cultural preferences of Indian customers so unique that ecommerce will never achieve a mainstream status? Although the current state paints a very somber image for eCommerce in India, it reminds me of the time when we went on a vacation to Florida, only to find out that the area was about to be hit by a category 3 hurricane. Standing in balcony of the hotel room, I could feel an uneasy quiet. Wind was calm however I could feel something big was about to happen. Two years later, I find myself standing on the verge of another perfect storm – a storm that will change the face of online shopping in India.

It is not a mystery anymore that the retail industry is going through a significant organization in India. Some would argue that this opens up more exciting options for consumers to shop in a physical store, which would further impact the adoption of online shopping in a negative way. Fair argument, however, I would like to share some specific reasons why I strongly believe that a reverse phenomenon is inevitable – organization in physical retail will fuel an explosive growth of online ecommerce in India.

Why has eCommerce adoption been slow in India?

Before we look at the factors that will drive an explosive growth in eCommerce, it is important to look at why eCommerce hasn’t taken off so far in India. Although there have been several debates on this topic, to me the most basic reason is that most Indian consumers still don’t see enough value proposition in shopping online. They can’t be blamed because over the past few years, they have heard a lot of horror stories about not receiving the right products, not receiving products in time, notwithstanding the issues related to cumbersome returns and cancellation processes when shopping online. On the other hand, we can’t fully blame the online retailers because they have to rely on third party vendors, logistics partners who still haven’t achieved enough scale and the level of technology automation to consistently meet the desired service levels. These issues really point to the lack of a mature eco system across the eCommerce value chain. The organization in retail will give a significant boost to this eco system, which will help build trust with consumers so that they can feel comfortable in shopping online.

Organization in Retail will catalyze eCommerce eco-system (more…)

European Fashion Retailers Adapt Strategic Moves To Evolve

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H&M: Strategize to add 100 Stores per year

Hennes & Mauritz (well known as H&M) has always worked hard to provide invincible value to the customers via adjoining quality, fashion with competitive price. Today, it exists in 14 countries through 730 stores. The company is planning to expand further, with an average of 100 stores a year.

The expansion will be executed in untouched countries also. The major reasons behind the success can be assigned to the capability of internal designers, examples of piggy-backer style, and ability to quickly identify trends and introducing elegant and exclusive designs at lower price bands.

The development of product is at the centre of evolvement, and worldwide suppliers are greatly involved in order to fulfill increasing amount of product assortment with newly added stores. The focus of the company is balancing both, product development and expansion, to meet the demands of huge customer-base.

Marks & Spencer: Registers come-back with enhanced product assortments Marks & Spencer has registered its come-back since last year, when the profits were sagging, through its latest ad campaign, which concentrates on adding value to its product assortments. Marks & Spencer has noted increase in profit since its suppliers were directed to raise the discounts to 10% from 5%.

The company registered climb in yearly profits before tax. It said that the profit before tax without exceptional items was GBP 751.4mn ($1.41bn). The company is communicating directly to the suppliers to overwhelm product and cost. Marks & Spencer initiates to have long-term partnerships in supply chain to cater consumer’s demands on fashion at more competitive prices.

In a move to expand further, Marks & Spencer plans to launch its first store in Latvia in the current year, and next store in the Baltic States, following the success of the trial store. The new store in the capital of Latvia, Riga will add 930sqm to its total sales area. This expansion will be result of the agreement with Czech company Coms.

Mango: On a move to expand and brand promotion

Leading women clothing retailer, Mango is planned out well-structured promotion of brands and expansion. The concept of MANGO is a perfect blend of quality product to produce latest fashion trends at affordable prices. In recent years the company has been considerably engaged in franchising its operations. MANGO is planning lucid approach to the media strategies. In a move to expand further the company is looking to enter into brand oriented markets, such as Australia, Italy and also China. The company has already executed expansion plans, opening stores in cities like Paris, London and Vienna.

The product assortments were always been made at the best quality level, and now the company is looking to allure high-end consumers for its exclusive goods. MANGO is endorsing well-known celebrities to add value to its brand. The company is directing its vendors to work with other companies in order to meet the requirements in product assortment. (more…)

Fashion Terms Defined For Online Shopping Success

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Any champion online shopper will tell you the key to a successful day of fashion surfing is understanding precisely what you’re buying. Successful internet retailers are providing candid and often entertaining descriptions of their wares, interjecting industry terms used to describe specific styles, cuts and colors. If you conjure images of the Ottoman upon hearing the term Empire, the following guide will help navigate the often verbose world of colorful garment descriptions.

Bustier: A garment similar to a corset that is a combination waist cincher and bra. It ends at the waist or extends to the top of the hip. Formerly an undergarment “and now not for the timid” it is now worn as a woman’s top, is usually strapless, and may be made from highly ornamental fabric.

Bias/Bias Cut: Bias is the diagonal direction of a woven fabric. Unless woven from stretch yarns, fabrics stretch more in the bias direction than in the length or width. A garment “cut on the bias” flows softly away from the body in a gentle, slight triangle shape.

Princess Seam: A garment style in which the sections of the garment are cut in one from shoulder to hem, with no waistline seam. Close body fit is achieved by cutting the pieces so that the seams create the shape and by adding darts where necessary. The origin of the style is attributed to Charles Worth, the fashion designer who made clothing for the Empress (princess) Eugenie of France in the mid-1800s.

Empire Waist: Location of the waistline just under the bust line. The name of this style comes from the high-waisted styles popular during the reign of the French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1804-1814). (more…)

Sexy Business Women And More Great Business Keywords

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Creating a website for your business is easy but bringing visitors to the site is difficult. Too many business owners try too hard to get their site listed in search results for highly competitive keywords such as “business.” Sure, over 1 million people search that word every month but there are over 1 billion websites that compete for that keyword. Sometimes it is just better to focus on a few dozen sets of keywords that have relatively little competition than to make a splash with one big keyword.

So here is a sample list of 25 keywords that receive hundreds of searches each month but have relatively little competition. Getting these onto page one of search results with Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL, and Ask Jeeves should take less work than the more popular keywords.

Here is my sample list of keywords, in no particular order:

1. Sexy business woman: If this works for your site, great! Many men use the internet to search for pictures of women. Variations of this could include “nude business girls” or “naked business women.” But be careful in drawing the wrong audience to your site.

2. Corporate sales lead: Great for sales prospecting companies that provide services such as sales lists or marketing lists.

3. Marquee widget: A widget is a hypothetical manufactured article but people still search for these. (more…)

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