72 RETAILER November 2015 November 2015 RETAILER 73

www.indianretailer.comRetail Enabler bS Nagesh

Regarded as the man behind the success of the country’s first successful departmental store- Shoppers Stop, BS Nagesh, is currently the founder of TRRAIN- Trust

for Retailers and Retail Associates of India. Also, he serves as Non-executive Vice-Chairman, at Shoppers Stop. In an exclusive conversation, Nagesh speaks his mind and reveals many

trends related to retail and consumer sentiments.

business comes from First Citizen members.

How sustainable is eCommerce?Online is sustainable business 100 per cent. The way the online businesses are doing, all the players may not be sustainable. So if there are thousands, tens of them would be very successful and there will be hundreds of them who are going to flop because they are not being built on real business models-if they feel, there is money everything will happen-that is not going to be the case.

Is there threat from these players to the brick-mortar retail players?Absolutely! There is huge threat but not from the eCommerce payers but from the changing

consumers that we are not able to adapt. So brick and mortar and online –all these are channels. If you love your kirana like you love your child or husband no online can lure you. So if you are saying I’m going to pay 60 per cent to Kirana and 40 per cent to Grofers, things going to happen soon. I think we are not accepting the reality and this is happening within family. Everybody is seeing that his /her child is going online, but when it comes to their consumers-they say, it will take time. So first thing the retailer has to do it-evaluate who is the consumer? Then you align your businesses and if you say I will do everything for everyone that’s not possible anymore.

What about the global fashion brands making inroads into the Interviewed by: Sharmila Das

“Next 5 yearS will be TRAnsfoRmATIonAL In RETAIL”

country? How can they form competition or risk?There is threat to the local brands if they don’t live up to the expectation of the consumers. India is such a large market, where Zara and H & M can have 500 stores and that is not going to dent the Rs 40,000 cr domestic market but it is making an impact. To me, it’s a wakeup call and I believe the next five years is so critical that if everything goes right with the Modi Govt even if they have to perform they will need to perform within three years time and with this changes there will be dramatic change all across. Number two-the millennial themselves are becoming parent so today a 25 thousand perambulator will be sold.

You had started your journey in 1991. Since then what changes you have observed in the retail industry?The biggest change that has happened in the industry is the consumer and everything has changed around consumers only. Three big changes happened during that time. First change had happened in 1991 to 2000, when Shoppers Stop came as first departmental store in the country, and by 1996, 97 98 Westside, Pantaloons all have come and the change happened because of the Govt’s liberalisation policy. Second change that has happened was the whole communication of the media was opening up. Because at the end of the day you might have the best of supply and lot of consumers to consume but if you are not able to communicate the supply to the consumers, there will be no demand happening. And the third change that has happened in the last ten years is the millennial that got the power in the hands of their mobiles and that has taken away the un-equality that we have in our social system. So one stroke of mobile, technology and communication have revolutionised and have reached to all strata of society. With these three thick changes what has happened now is demand side has got hugely advanced, the power has gone to the hands of the consumer and we are not able to make our own people knowledgeable as per the consumers. And the biggest challenge is going to be in the

next five years. Next five years will be transformational and the transformation is not going to be exactly the way that have happened in other parts of the world as India is going to jump few stages in retail.

How retailers can bridge the gap? How he can grab the attention of today’s empowered consumers?There are two parts of it. One thing is that retailers have to accept the fact that consumers have changed and he is changing. 60-70 per cent Indian retailers don’t accept this-nothing will happen is their attitude. Second thing is that in a country like India you need to build capacity. If someone feel that by adding more stores and getting technology, s/he is building capacity, it will be wrong assumption and they forget that it is not capacity that build businesses rather it is capability which will do. So we don’t build capability. People believe that we have investors and if I get money from the investors and buy technology I’m ready to scale up. NO. Have you invested in yourself, have you invested in your employees? So if you don’t groom them-how will you scale up? And because of technology people believe that you don’t need ten years to scale up, which is wrong. For example, look up at your show at the 13th edition and look back ten years from now at the first edition. From there till now the journey is so much more, and I’m sure that Gaurav and Sachin

have put so many of you to join hands so capability building stand something like this. Technology and financial resources have become very easy these days. If you have a great idea you will get PE funding. So capability building is the key-also you need to focus on the organisational culture-what culture and value you are building up in the organisation.

What retailers can offer on consumer experience? There are two aspects, if your consumer is technology led you can’t help but have to go omnichannel and second is that how would you ensure that 24X7 you are connected with the consumers not only physical but online.

So what’s the secret behind Shopper’s Stop success?Last five years I’m not directly involved with them although I’m still at the board as Vice Chairman but I would say it is the very long term view of the promoters of Shoppers Stop. Second is consistency, third is perseverance, number four is looking at the all three what is being left-looking at the technological resources, financial resources, people resources and I think as a company we have been looking at these aspects from a very very long time vision –that’s on the capability side. On the capacity side, I would say the relationship with the consumer is the single most important factor, even today I think 75 per cent Shoppers Stop

BS Nagesh, Founder of TRRAIN- Trust

for Retailers and Retail Associates of India