Westside - A unit of Trent Ltd (A Tata Enterprise)

High quality, latest in-style products, International shopping experience and value for money pricing-that's what you get at Trent Ltd's Westside Stores, Starting with one store at Bangalore in April'98, Westside is already a part of the city's landscape in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai. Westside is arguably the fastest growing retail chain in India. In a crowded market, Westside is one of a kind with its own brand of merchandise, which is both trendy and individualistic. Everything you find at Westside is exclusively designed for Westside. The rang is changed frequently (there are new introductions every wee). Every time you visit you are likely to find something different. Boasting of a variety of designs and styles, the merchandise at the Westside stores are an exciting mix with a range extending from stylised clothes and accessories for men, women and children to well-coordinated table linens, artefacts, home accessories and furnishings. Add to it the plush interiors, sprawling space, prime locations, a lovely coffee shop, Caf West by Taj and everhelpful personnel, and you have the ultimate in retail ambience. It is shopping experience redefined. Westside stores have the following departments - Menswear, Women's wear, Lingerie, Kidswear, Household Accessories, Cosmetics, Perfumes and other accessories. Each of Westside's departments offers a complete range. For Women there are Western casual, Western formals and very classy Ethnic wear with a look unique of Westside. In Western wear again the range has great depth spanning from basic lines to very trendy casual wear. Unlike a lot of stores, the rang at Westside caters a wide age group and takes into the account the differing tastes and requirements. The rang does not end with clothes but extends right into accessories. The store has a great range of Handbags, jewellery, scarves and other accessories. Kids also have huge range to select from. Catering to a wide age bandstarting from infants to early teens the garments sport a look that is hip, trendy and very International. In Menswear the range extends from formal to casual to sporty. Also there is a wide price range starting from value and extending into premium. The Household section is oen of the most contemporary around. Every

item here is exclusive and unique. The merchandise is well coordinated and customers can mix and match and put it together their way. The rang is extensive starting from colourful towels and bathroom sets to bed linen, table linen, and crockery down to bric a brac for the household. There is also a wonderful gift section with the trendiest of collection. The Westside stores are open on 365 days. Most of the stores offer exclusive parking. So shopping becomes that much more convenient. So the next time you want to feel really good about shopping, striking that fine balance between Style and Price, you know where to head!

Intro
Trent is the retail arm of the Tata group. Started in 1998, Trent operates Westside, one of the many growing retail chains in India based in Mumbai,Maharashtra and Landmark, a bookstore chain with Brick and mortar stores in various locations of India.[1] [edit]History In 1998 Tata sold of their 50% stake in the cosmetic products company Lakm to HLL for Rs 200 Crore (approx. 45 million US$), and created Trent from the money it made through the sale. All shareholders of Lakm were given different shares in Trent. Simone Tata, the chairperson of Lakm, went on to head Trent. The reason behind the sale was that Simone Tata saw a greater growth potential in retail, and believed that it would be much more difficult for an Indian company to release new cosmetic products in a market that had opened up to global companies. [edit]Business The company has a turnover of Rs. 357.6 crores (FY 2005-2006) and currently operates more than 60 stores in the major metros and mini metros of India.[citation needed]

The company has retail stores in 32 major Indian cities under the Westside brand. Trent also operates the hypermarket Star Bazaar in 8 Indian cities.[2]

In Aug, 2005 Trent acquired a 76% controlling stake in Landmark,[3] a Chennai-based privately owned books and music retailer and completed 100% acquisition in April 2008.[4] Landmarkcurrently has 16 stores.

Business Strategy
Before entering the Indian retailing segment, Westside conducted market research on retailing trends in the domestic and international markets. It was observed that in India, garment retailers generally stocked both store-owned brands and other brands in the ratio of 30:70, as it was easy to attract customers for the established brands. However, many major international retailers stocked only their own brands because of high returns, increased store loyalty and less restriction in terms of display, price and promotion. Stocking of only store-owned brands for Indian retailers posed certain problems, however. Though they offered high margins, retailers suffered on account of poor economies of scale (until they established many outlets) and heavy investment in brand building. While all major Indian retail chains stocked established brands, Westside decided to push its own brand...

Promoting Westside
Westside gave a high priority to marketing in order to increase brand awareness among consumers. The company focused on two parameters - style and affordability - to communicate to potential customers.The company realized that these were the two pillars based on which it could make an impact on customers. The stores were positioned on the 'fashion at affordable pricing' platform. The store level promotions were integrated with external communication through advertising. In-store promotions were used to give the shopper a feeling of getting greater value, to offer a good shopping experience. Westside's total advertisement spending was 8 per cent of its sales. Westside did its regular brand building through advertisements in the media and also through its in-house promotions, which peaked during summer, Diwali and Christmas. During the Diwali season in 2000, Westside launched a "Festival of Delights" program which gave each shopper a scratch-and-win card...

Future Outlook
The greatest challenge for Westside is from the unorganized sector (98 per cent of India's retail garment industry operated in the unorganized sector) and to a lesser extent, from similar organized players. According to Chakrawarti, "The main job was to get people to visit organized stores such as Westside instead of buying from unorganized players." The general perception in India is that organized retailers are more expensive than unorganized ones. Westside responded to this by connecting price to quality. It had to make customers realize that they were getting the latest style at very good prices, and in a

comfortable environment. The other challenge for Westside will be to compete with other retail fashion businesses in India (both India and foreign) such as Wills Sport15, Raymond's (Be)16, Globus17, Nike18, Crocodile19, Mango20 and Marks & Spencer 21.

The Westside story: Fashioned to succeed

Better intro
Style, affordable prices, quality have contributed to Westside's success in the retail fashion stores' business

Style, affordable prices, quality these are the factors that have shaped Westsides success story in the retail fashion stores' business. Launched in 1998 in Bangalore, the Westside chain has, ever since, been setting the standards for other fashion retailers to follow. The Westside story really began in 1997, when the Tatas sold Lakme, their cosmetics business, to Hindustan Lever and acquired the Britain-based Littlewoods retail chain. A new entity called Trent Limited emerged from this move and Littlewoods was renamed Westside. Today, Westside has seven outlets, one each in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi and Kolkata. Westside stands out from the competition for a variety of reasons. One is that a majority of the brands the chain stocks and sells are its own, unlike retailers who store multiple labels. About 90 per cent of Westsides offerings are home-grown, and they cater to different customer segments. The other 10 per cent includes toys, cosmetics and lingerie. According to Himanshu Chakrawarti, general manager, Trent, this arrangement has many advantages. "Being a brand retailer, we are able to develop our style and image in a manner whereby customers can build a relationship with us," he says. "We also have the flexibility of pricing and are able to fulfil the promise of affordable style." Price is crucial in the Indian retail scenario and Westsides focus on this factor is part of the reason it increased sales in October-December 2001 by a whopping 71 per cent over the same period the previous year. Repeat customers those who keep coming back to Westside are another vital element in the chain being a winning proposition. Simone Tata, chairperson, Trent, puts that down to giving customers something to come back for: "We have something new every week." Mr Chakrawarti adds that "ultimately its the products and their quality that makes customers return again and again." Visit a Westside store and Mr Chakrawartis words are clearly confirmed. Each outlet blends products, ambience, customer service and facilities to create a standout shopping experience. The stores are spacious (10,000 to 20,000 square feet each), designed to look and feel international, and products are displayed attractively. The Westside outlets in Mumbai and Hyderabad have an additional drawing card: Taj Cafs that serve delicious pastries, sandwiches and coffee. Westside has recently expanded its range of merchandise by offering outfits from some of Indias bestknown fashion designers, among them Wendell Rodericks, Anita Dongre, Krishna Mehta and Mona Pali. This is an interesting marketing shift, since it means moving away from the chains only-our-own-brands

concept. What was the idea behind the move? According to Mrs Tata, it is Westsides response to the increasing demand in India for designer lines. She says: "Designer wear is really an aspiration product, and it is highly priced. We wanted to offer an affordable selection for weddings and parties, but since this is still a very small segment we felt it was better to bring in established designers rather than do it ourselves." The designers create collections exclusively for the store, and the prices for these are hardly eye-popping (the Wendell Rodericks range starts at Rs600). Westside has managed to obtain this exclusivity at a lower price because it has multiple outlets. "Designer wear for us is really, to use the phrase, the cherry on the cake," adds Mrs Tata. Facing the challenge The greatest challenge for Westside in its quest for a place in the retail sun is not the competition from similar organised players, but from the unorganised sector (98 per cent of Indias retail garment industry operates in the unorganised sector). According to Mr Chakrawarti, the task at hand is to get people who usually shop with unorganised players to visit organised stores such as Westside. The general perception in India is that organised retailers are far more expensive than unorganised ones. Westsides response to this dogmatic view has been to connect price to quality. "We had to get customers to realise that they were getting the latest style at very good prices, and in a comfortable environment," says Mr Chakrawarti. The other challenge for Westside is that the retail fashion business in the country is becoming increasingly crowded with new players, Indian and foreign. Among the new entrants have been Wills Sport, Raymonds (Be), Globus, Nike, Crocodile, Mango and, the latest, Marks & Spencer. But this does not perturb Mr Chakrawarti, who says its ironic that while Marks & Spencer is actually a value-for-money brand abroad, it has positioned itself in India as a high-style clothier, selling at prices way above that of its competitors. Customers are what everyone is after, and it is they that Westside is concentrating on. Continuing research and surveys have helped the chain build on customer loyalty. "Weve learned enormously through the years," says Mrs Tata. "It is absolutely essential to listen to customers what they want in terms of style and price, and to understand the demographics of it all. Its continuous learning." An example of this commitment to customers is in the small matter of Westside tailoring its products to suit particular regions. The chain learnt that customers in south India tend to be smaller in size than their counterparts in the north, and in some cities women rarely wear sleeveless dresses. Knowing these facts has helped Westside get the right balance in terms of products and the people they are intended for. An assured return-and-exchange policy reinforces customer confidence in the chain. No questions are asked and a bill is not necessary. "We can do this only because it is our own merchandise," says Mr Chakrawarti. "Many-brand stores are governed by the exchange-and-return policy of the various labels

they sell." Another winning Westside idea is Club West, a customer loyalty programme launched in May 2001. The 30,000-plus members of this club get rebates at restaurants and on holiday packages from the Taj Group of Hotels, home delivery of alterations, and best of all, special shopping hours on the first day of any discount sales event organised by the chain. While Westside does its regular brand building through advertisements in the media, more important are its in-house promotions, which peak during the three main festive seasons: summer, Diwali and Christmas. The promotions are mostly theme based, with decorations to match, live bands and other attractions. So last years Westside show had a Hawaiian theme and this year the chain has gone the Wild West way. Expansion is high on the Westside agenda. The chain is planning to open more outlets in cities where it is already present Mumbai and New Delhi will have a second store soon and in some of the mini metros. The big handicap here is the lack of readily available retail spreads. "To find space for a largeformat store is becoming increasingly difficult," says Mrs Tata. "Either the rates are too high or space is just not available." That deterrent should not be more than a blimp in Westsides upward trajectory. The chain being onto a good thing has resulted in Trents retail business making a profit for the first time (in the third quarter of 2001), and Mrs Tata is optimistic about doubling turnover in the next two years. The company is now looking to get into food retailing, but the plans on this front are still under wraps. Fashion and food the fusion promises to bring wholesale success to Trent as it consolidates its position in the retailing business.