Apollo Hospitals to acquire pharmacy stores of Hetero Med Solution

apollo pharmacy chainApollo Hospitals Enterprise has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hetero Med Solutions (HMSL) for acquisition of its retail pharmacy stores currently operated in states of Telengana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

The acquisition would be in the form of purchase of the business undertaking, on a slump sale basis and comprises of 320 pharmacy stores, at an overall consideration not exceeding Rs 146 crore. The transaction would be subject to completion of due diligence and (more…)

Bata Gearing to Get a Bigger Foot in Organized Footwear + eCommerce Initiatives

BataBets on eCommerce and Store ExpansionIn the 60% Unorganized Footwear Retail Market in India, Market Leader BATA is making the right investments in advertising, brand building and store expansion as it plans to add 100 stores on net basis going forward, much higher than the 30 stores added in CY13. It is also evaluating opening of exclusive Hush Puppies stores and Foot In stores in Tier 2 and 3 markets.

Bata operates stores under 2 formats namely – City stores which are based in metros, Tier 2 and malls and operates in (more…)

How eCommerce is Innovating & Leading Growth of Retail Business Globally ?

eCommerce Versus Store RetailingOur analysts keep perusing through dozens of reports and in an e-mail thread have harnessed interesting insights about eCommerce Vs Old brick & Motor Retailers Globally. We’d like to present those snippets for our ever enthusiastic readers.

In the USA, e-commerce still accounts for only 6% of retail sales. However, Amazon and e-bay had US$222 bn of sales in 2014 (up from US$73 bn in 2004) while Walmart moved to US$244 bn from US$229 bn in the same period. Look at the Growth e-Retailers had (more…)

Trent’s WestSide & StarBazaar Well Placed Growth + eCommerce Threat Acknowledged

Trent StarBazaar IndiaKey takeaways from the Management Meet of Trent Ltd are as follows,

On WestSide Department Store Retailing
78 of the 80 stores (10 opened in FY14) are beyond break even, reemphasizing the impact refreshed offering and store renovation have had in the format attaining market leading Like to Like (LTL) growth in a tough environment. The company will open 7‐10 stores annually including in tier 2 and 3 cities.

The company has invested in supply (more…)

5 Secrets For Effective Visual Merchandizing

Visual MerchandizingThe visual presentation in the store has always been the major customer motivation accounting for the a majority of retail purchase. Your window display has the potential to attract the customer, reel them in and ultimately lead to purchase. However, there are a few key points every merchandizer should keep in mind.

1. Show less, Focus more The human mind has a limited attention and focus span and therefore it is advisable to keep the display simple and uncluttered. Leave a lot of space around. The most common mistake is trying to show too much at the (more…)

Speciality Restaurants Chain Margins Weak

Mainland China PerformanceFood Retail Chain Speciality Restaurants running popular chains such as Mainland China, Sigree / Sigree Global Grill, Oh! Calcutta,Cafe Mezzuna, Sweet Bengal and Hoppipola reported less than expected results on the back of Weak Quarter.

Revenue (excluding other operating income) growth was healthy at 21% yoy. However, a sharp 500 bps yoy dip in EBITDA margins and adverse operating leverage (more…)

Changing Trends – Convergence of Online & Offline Shopping

India Shopping Trends 2015Internet sector is going through a significant shift wherein the lines between online and offline commerce are blurring. It is expected that India is set to become the third largest nation of internet users after U.S. and China in the next two years with a large chunk of youngsters eager to adopt new technologies with rapidly changing lifestyles. According to ASSOCHAM, online retailing in India is likely to be worth Rs75 Bn by end of 2014. One of the primary benefits of online vs. offline shopping is the ease of finding and researching products as well as the ability to perform price comparisons.

Flipkart founded in Oct 2007 and began by selling (more…)