2013

QMR Assignment Single and Ambitious

TUSHAR GUPTA
2012PGP410

Contents
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 2 RESEARCH P ROBLEM ................................................................................................................................. 2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................ 2 METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN ............................................................................................... 2 QUALITATIVE TECHNIQUES ...................................................................................................................... 3 P ROFILE OF RESPONDENTS ....................................................................................................................... 3 DETAILED GUIDE FOR RELEVANT QUESTIONS ...................................................................................... 3 P LAN FOR CARRYING OUT ANALYSIS OF DATA ....................................................................................... 4 EXPECTATIONS FROM STUDY ................................................................................................................... 4

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INTRODUCTION
The article presents the stories of several small retailers who have expanded dramatically. Some of them have started their business and have grown drastically while others have spearheaded their family business. The article tells how those stores started, what partnerships they formed, how they extended their portfolio and what their present footprint is. Small retailers attract less attention than their big, multi-brand peers, but about half a dozen single-brand retailers are working on big plans to create a larger footprint. When the government cleared 51 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail and 100 per cent in single-brand retail in 2012, it opened up a world of opportunities. Small family-owned retail business houses could now tie up with any foreign retailer or private equity business and expand to newer markets. They could also take their brands abroad through a jointventure partner. Indian retail business to be worth $500 billion, of which only about 7 per cent, or $35 billion, is the share of the organized segment. And, of this, organized apparel retailing is a $15-billion market, while food is another $10 billion; other products make up the rest. Will FDI really change the dynamics of retailing in this country is a big question yet to be answered. Moreover Retail is a capital-intensive business and one needs at least 30 percent EBITA in apparel retailing to make profits. Most of upcoming retailers take too much debt and are not able to survive in long run. The article highlights these things along with successful businesses like Bliss Chocolates, Manyavar and Biba who have shown their ambition and desire to become leading retailers in their specific domain.

RESEARCH PROBLEM
The main aim of this research is to find out how the small family owned retailers are able to grow their business from a single small outlet to several outlets across India in a short span and what are the challenges they have to face.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
To find out the factors involved in driving these small retailers into growing their business from single store to multiple stores throughout India To find out the approach of these retailers in terms of partnerships To determine the role of environment in the decision making process To find out what are the challenges faced in brand building in retail industry and risks associated with it To understand what role will FDI play in terms of retail opportunities for them

METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN

From the article given to me, I have been able to narrow it down to a specific objective. But since the topic needs more clarity we will go ahead with the descriptive research as in we are aware of the problem but it is not defined clearly. The research will be carried out by going to these individual retailers and interviewing them. The entire research is based on qualitative output since we want insights from these people. For FGD we will be calling them at a common place and then will be going ahead with our research.
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QUALITATIVE TECHNIQUES
For the purpose of this research we propose to perform the following qualitative research: In-depth interview This technique is useful in understanding the respondents better. Oneon-One discussion will provide significant insights which we are looking for. Since the research objectives are very subjective in nature, this technique will provide the best results when it comes to knowing the story of a particular retailer. The respondents are also divided in two groups: first group consists of first generation entrepreneurs while the second group consists of respondents who are rebranding and taking their family business forward. It is important to have discussions with both kinds of retailers since both of them will have different perspectives which will provide a holistic view to our research. Focused Group Discussion In this an FGD of 6-8 retailers per Group Discussion will be conducted where they will share their stories and how they were able to form partnerships. Questions regarding the market dynamics and environmental scanning will be best answered through the participation of many people. These Group Discussions have to be done in several part of cities since different people across various cities will bring several dimensions to the discussion based on the market scenario in their particular city.

PROFILE OF RESPONDENTS
For the purpose of this research, I have decided to study two types of respondents: Ambitious young people in age group of 25-35, started their own business or spearheading their family businesses Family retailers who have been in business for quite sometime

DETAILED GUIDE FOR RELEVANT QUESTIONS

1. When did you start your business? 2. What does your current business comprise of? 3. What is the total revenue generated now and what was it in the beginning? 4. What is the cost structure of your business now? 5. How many stores have you expanded to and across which geographies? 6. Describe your business in terms of scale 7. How is the market evolving in the retail industry? 8. What are the factors which influence your decision to expand? 9. What are the challenges that you face in expansion? 10. What are the different kind of risks that you have faced and how did you overcome it? 11. What parameters do you look for when entering into strategic alliance with others? 12. From where do you get investment for your business? 13. Which model are you currently using and what is your future plan of expansion? 14. How important is it to be customer centric in todays cut throat environment? 15. How have you been able to build your brand over years? 16. What changes will FDI bring to your business?

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PLAN FOR CARRYING OUT ANALYSIS OF DATA

For analysis part we will gather all the data collected through in-depth discussions and focused group discussions notes, guides and documented evidence. We will go through the notes in detail and try to infer from them. For this purpose we will proceed in the following manner. Five categories or stages of analysis include: Narrative These techniques include suggested actions that are preparatory to coding process or which help us to derive meaning through narrative approaches Coding Organizing and reorganizing the data into categories that enable us to identify relationships between and among categories Interpretation These techniques enable the researcher to make meaning from the narrative and coding activities and facilitate our understanding of conceptual framework generated through coding process Confirmation These techniques will enable us to be confident that the interpretations we have derived are from the data and not from our own construction Presentation We will use this to present the findings in a cogent manner and which serves as a tool for further analysis The purpose of analysis is to interpret and convert the data into a story that describes the participants views.

EXPECTATIONS FROM STUDY

The entire process involves collecting data that would inform the study, breaking down the data into various categories and making connections between these categories in terms of relationships among them and then displaying the interpretation. After data collection and analysis, I expect to be able to provide answers to the research problem. What are the triggers that have driven small family retailers to expand their business throughout India, what kind of approach did they use in order to align with other partners, the role of branding and external environment in retail industry, cost incurred in this capital intensive industry, what change will FDI bring in their business etc. A detailed report will be prepared which will consist of the approach to the problem, all the findings, the tools used for analysis, the results obtained, interpretations, and conclusions.

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