big bazaar n easy day report

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A

Project Study Report

On

AComparative Study of Service Quality of

Big Bazaar and Easy Day

Submitted in partial fulfillment for the

Award of Degree of

Master of Business Administration

Submitted By:

Kapil Godara

MBA- 4thsemester

Engineering College Bikaner

(An Autonomous Institution of Govt. of Rajasthan)

Karni Industrial Area, Pugal Road, Bikaner


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DECLARATION

Hereby I declare that the project report entitled A Comparative Study of

Service Quality of Big Bazaar and Easy Day submitted for the degree ofmaster of business administration is my original work and the project report has

not formed the basis for the award of any diploma, degree associate ship,

fellowship or similar other titles.

It has not been submitted to any other university or institution for the award of

any degree or diploma.

Place: Kapil Godara

Date: MBA 4thSem.


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CERTIFICATE

This is certified that Mr. Kapil Godara, student of Master of Business

Administration, Fourth Semester of Engineering College,Bikaner has completed

his Project report on the topic of A comparative study of Service Quality of

Big Bazaar and Easy Day under supervision of Gaurav Bissa(Associate

Professor , DMT).

To best of my knowledge the report is original and has not been copied or

submitted anywhere else. It is an independent work done by him.

Dr. Gaurav Bissa

Associate Proffesor, DMT


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PREFACE

Theoretical study combined with practical knowledge makes the learning

meaningful and enables the individuals to develop self-confidence. Often

repeated but correctly said that one cannot learn to swim without diving in the

water and so the MBA curriculum has been designed to provide to the future

managers ample practical exposure of the business world.

The Project report is a compulsory part for the fulfillment of the MBA degree

course and helps the student to gain knowledge about various aspect of the

industry, emphasizing on the development of skills analyzing and interpreting

practical problems through application of theory concepts and techniques of

management.

This project focuses on the service quality provided by the two retail giants in

India i.e. Big Bazaar and Easy Day and it pertains to compare the quality of

service for different aspects in both the retailer chains.I took my project study of

Big Bazaar and Easy Day at Jaipur city in Rajasthan. My job during the project

was to study of the behavior and perception of customers towards the services of

Big Bazaar and Easy Day and find out which retail organization is more popular

and effective among thecustomers in Jaipur.

Now I take this opportunity to present the project report and sincerely hope that it

will be as much knowledge enhancing to the readers as it was to use during the

fieldwork and the completion of the report.


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

An individual cannot do project of this scale. I take this opportunity to express my

acknowledgement and deep sense of gratitude to the individuals for rendering

valuable assistance and gratitude to me. Their inputs have played a vital role in

success of this project.

I express my sincere thanks to my project guide Gaurav Bissa, Designation

Faculty, Department of Management Technology Engineering College, Bikaner,

for her generous support, constant direction and mentoring at all stages of

project and was a real source of help and assistance to me during the course of

project.

It gives me immense pleasure to thank all those who had helped me directly or

indirectly to complete this Dissertation Report.

Kapil Godara


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

To conduct the Comparative Study of Service Quality of Big Bazaar and Easy

Day, I used some service quality measure as the basis to analyze the data to

obtain genuine information regarding customer choice and preferences among

the services provided by both the retailers. We know that there are several retail

chainsin India but Big Bazaar and Easy Day are extensively used by people in

Jaipur city. Big Bazaar is well sustained and biggest retail chain in India, while

Easy Day is in infant stage in Indian market but due to its association with the

another giant, Bharti Retail, it generated eagerness and people looked for some

more quality services from it and this factor initiated me to choose this topic as it

seemed very interesting to compare the services of the biggest retailer and anew entrant.

We know that people expect good and satisfactory servicesandit is said that

success is the result of a good plan well executed. For a retailer, plans are

mostly formulated at corporate headquarter and executed in their stores. Service

quality can be assessed for factors that include choosing the assortment of

products to carry in each store at each point in time, setting store inventory levels

and product prices, setting staffing levels, determining how many stores to have

and where they are located and creating the physical design of stores and plan

grams that specify the location of all products within each store. Services quality

helps the customer to analyze the store.Services provided by the retail store

shows what type of retail store it is.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.NO CONTENT PAGE NO.

1. INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRY 1 - 13

2. INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIZATION 14 -37

3. REVIEW OF LITERATURE 3876

4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 7781

4.1. Title of study

4.2. Duration of the project

4.3. Objective of the project

4.4. Type of research

4.5. Sample size and method of selecting sample

4.6. Scope of the study

4.7. Limitations of the study

5. FACTS AND FINDINGS 8283

6. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 84 - 97

7. SWOT ANALYSIS 98 - 101

8. CONCLUSION 102103

9. RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 104106

10. APPENDIX 107109

11. BIBLIOGRAPHY 110 - 115


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-1-

INTRODUCTION TO THE

INDUSTRY


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INTRODUCTION TO INDIAN RETAIL INDUSTRY

History of Indian retail sector:

The Indian retail industry is divided into organized and un-organized sectors.

Organized retailing refers to trading activities undertaken by licensed retailers,

that is, those who are registered for sales tax, income tax, etc. These include the

corporate-backed hypermarkets and retail chains, and also the privately owned

large retail businesses. Unorganized retailing, on the other hand, refers to the

traditional formats of low-costretailing, for example, the local kirana shops, owner

manned general stores, shops, convenience stores, hand cart and pavement

vendors, etc.

Indias retail sector is wearing new clothes and with a three -year compounded

annual growth rate of 46.64 per cent, retail is the fastest growing sector in the

Indian economy.

Traditional markets are making way for new formats such as departmental

stores,hypermarkets, supermarkets and specialty stores. Western-style malls

have begun appearing in metros and second-rung cities alike, introducing the

Indian consumer to an unparalleled shopping experience.The Indian retail sector

is highly fragmented with 97 percent of its business being runby the unorganized

retailers like the traditional family run stores and corner stores.

The organized retail however is at a very nascent stage though attempts are

being made to increase its proportion to 9-10 per cent by the year 2011 bringing

in a huge opportunityfor prospective new players. The sector is the largest

source of employment after agriculture, and has deep penetration into rural India

generating more than 10 percent of Indias GDP.

On one hand where markets in Asian giants like China are getting saturated, the

AT Kearney's 2006 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), for the second

consecutive year Placed India the top retail investment destination among the 30

emerging markets across the world.


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Over the past few years, the retail sales in India are hovering around 33-35 per

cent of GDP as compared to around 20 per cent in the US. The table gives the

picture of Indiasretail trade as compared to the US and China.

The last few years witnessed immense growth by this sector, the key drivers

being changing consumer profile and demographics, increase in the number of

international brands available in the Indian market, economic implications of the

Government increasing urbanization, credit availability, improvement in the

infrastructure, increasinginvestments in technology and real estate building a

world class shopping environmentfor the consumers. In order to keep pace with

the increasing demand, there has been ahectic activity in terms of entry of

international labels, expansion plans, and focus ontechnology, operations and

processes.This has lead to more complex relationships involving suppliers, third

party distributorsand retailers, which can be dealt with the help of an efficient

supply chain. A propersupply chain will help meet the competition head-on,

manage stock availability; supplierrelations, new value-added services, cost

cutting and most importantly reduce thewastage levels in fresh produce.

Present scenario in Indian retail Industry:

Large Indian players like Reliance, K Rahejas, Bharti Airtel, ITC and manyothers

are making significant investments in this sector leading to emergence of

bigretailers who can bargain with suppliers to reap economies of scale. Proper

infrastructure is a pre-requisite in retailing,which would help to modernize India

and facilitate rapid economic growth. This wouldhelp in efficient delivery of goods

and value-added services to the consumer making ahigher contribution to the

GDP.

International retailers see India as the last retailing frontier left as the Chinas

retail sectoris becoming saturated. However, the Indian Government restrictions

on the FDI arecreating ripples among the international players like Walmart,

Tesco and many otherretail giants struggling to enter Indian markets. As of now

the Government has allowedonly 51 per cent FDI in the sector to one -brand

shops like Nike, Reebok etc. However,other international players are taking


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alternative routes to enter the Indian retail marketindirectly via strategic licensing

agreement, franchisee agreement and cash and carrywholesale trading (since

100 per cent FDI is allowed in wholesale trading).

Retail Sector is the most booming sector in the Indian economy. Some of the

biggest players of the world are going to enter into the industry soon. It is on the

threshold of a big revolution after the IT sector. Although organized retail market

is not as strong as of now, but it is expected to grow manifolds by the year 2012.

The sector contributes 10% of the GDP, and is estimated to show 20% annual

growth rate by the end of the decade. CRISIL report says that the retail market is

most fragmented in India and only 2% of the entire retailing business is in the

organized sector. There are about 300 new malls, 1500 supermarkets and 325

departmental stores being built in the cities very soon.

The retail boom will face a strong competition from the 12 million mom-and-pop

stores, which are easily accessible and approachable and provide services like

free home delivery and goods at credit. But buying from Malls, Supermarkets and

Department stores gives a different feeling and the environment of pick and

choose from a variety of products. A number of retail giants are also going to

explore the market such as Reliance Retail Ltd and Wal-mart. The revolution is

driven by large expectations where both domestic and international players will

be channel through which other large stores in India are spreading themselves

across the Estimates and predictions for retail sector:

At present, the industry is estimated to be at more than US$ 400 billion.

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) estimates the retail market in India

will increase to US$608.9 billion in 2009 from US$394 billion in 2005.

KPMG Report says that the organized retail would grow at a higher rate

than the GDP in the next five years.

The retail sector would generate employment for more than 2.5 million

people by the year 2011.


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as compared to today. Current projections on construction point to a supply of

just 200,000,000 sq ft (19,000,000 m2), leaving a gap of 500,000,000 sq ft

(46,000,000 m2) that needs to be filled, at a cost of US$1518 billion.

According to the ICRIER report, the retail business in India is estimated to grow

at 13% from $322 billion in 2006-07 to $590 billion in 2012-12. The unorganized

retail sector is expected to grow at about 10% per annum with sales expected to

rise from $ 309 billion in 2006-07 to $ 496 billion in 2012-12.

The Indian Retail Market

Indian market has high complexities in terms of a wide geographic spread and

distinct consumer preferences varying by each region necessitating a need for

localization even within the geographic zones. India has highest number of

outlets per person (7 per thousand) Indian retail space per capita at 2 sq ft

(0.19 m2)/ person is lowest in the world Indian retail density of 6 percent is

highest in the world. 1.8 million households in India have an annual income of

over 45 lac (US$99,900).

Delving further into consumer buying habits, purchase decisions can be

separated into two categories: status-oriented and indulgence-oriented.CTVs/LCDs, refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers, microwave ovens

and DVD players fall in the status category. Indulgence-oriented products include

plasma TVs, state-of-the-art home theatre systems, iPods, high-end digital

cameras, camcorders, and gaming consoles. Consumers in the status category

buy because they need to maintain a position in their social group. Indulgence-

oriented buying happens with those who want to enjoy life better with products

that meet their requirements. When it comes to the festival shopping season, it is

primarily the status-oriented segment that contributes largely to the retailers

cash register.

While India presents a large market opportunity given the number and increasing

purchasing power of consumers, there are significant challenges as well given
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that over 90% of trade is conducted through independent local stores.

Challenges include: Geographically dispersed population, small ticket sizes,

complex distribution networkand little use of IT systems, limitations of mass

media and existence of counterfeit goods.

Major Indian Retailers

Indian apparel retailers are increasing their brand presence overseas, particularly

in developed markets. While most have identified a gap in countries in West Asia

andAfrica,some majors are also looking at theUS andEurope.Arvind Brands,

Madura Garments, Spykar Lifestyle and Royal Classic Polo are busy chalking out

foreign expansion plans through the distribution route and standalone stores as

well. Another denim wear brand, Spykar, which is now moving towards becominga casualwear lifestyle brand, has launched its store in Melbourne recently. It

plans to open three stores in London by 2008-end.

The low-intensity entry of the diversified Mahindra Group into retail is unique

because it plans to focus on lifestyle products. TheMahindra Group is the fourth

largest Indian business group to enter the business of retail after Reliance

Industries Ltd,theAditya Birla Group,andBharti Enterprises Ltd. The other three

groups are focusing either on perishables and groceries, or a range of products,

or both.

Next retail India Ltd (Consumer Electronics)(www.next.co.in)

PGC Retail -T-Mart India[2],Switcher , Respect India , Grand India Bazaar

REI AGRO LTD Retail-Formats:6TEN Hyper & 6TEN Super

RPG Retail-Formats: Music World, Books & Beyond, Spencers Hyper,

Spencers Super,Daily & Fresh

Pantaloon Retail-Formats: Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Pantaloons, Central,

Fashion Station, Brand Factory, Depot, aLL, E-Zone etc.

Marks & Spencer: Clothing, lifestyle products, etc.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UShttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahindra_Grouphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliance_Industries_Ltdhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliance_Industries_Ltdhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aditya_Birla_Grouphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharti_Enterpriseshttp://www.next.co.in/http://www.tmartindia.com/tmartindiahttp://www.tmartindia.com/tmartindiahttp://www.next.co.in/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharti_Enterpriseshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aditya_Birla_Grouphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliance_Industries_Ltdhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliance_Industries_Ltdhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahindra_Grouphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UShttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa


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The Tata Group-Formats: Westside, Star India Bazaar, Steeljunction,

Landmark, Titan Industries with World of Titans showrooms, Tanishq

outlets, Chroma.

K Raheja Corp Group-Formats: Shoppers Stop, Crossword, Hyper City,

Inorbit Mall.

Lifestyle International-Lifestyle, Home Centre, Max, Fun City and

International Franchise brand stores.

Pyramid Retail-Formats: Pyramid Megastore, TruMart

Nilgiris-Formats: Nilgiris supermarket chain

Subhiksha-Formats: Subhiksha supermarket pharmacy and telecom

discount chain.

Trinethra- Formats: Fabmall supermarket chain and Fabcity hypermarket

chain

Vishal Retail Group-Formats: Vishal Mega Mart

BPCL-Formats: In & Out

Reliance Retail-Formats: Reliance Fresh

Reliance ADAG Retail-Format:Reliance World

German Metro Cash & Carry

Shoprite Holdings-Formats: Shoprite Hyper

Paritala stores bazar: honey shine stores

Aditya Birla Group - more Outlets

Kapas- Cotton garment outlets

Entry of MNCs in India

The world's largest retailers by sales, Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Sunil Mittal's

Bharti Enterprises have entered into a joint venture agreement and they are

planning to open 10 to 15 cash-and-carry facilities over seven years. The first of

the stores, which will sell groceries, consumer appliances and fruits and

vegetables to retailers and small businesses, is slated to open in north India by

the end of 2008.Carrefour, the worlds second largest retailer by sales, is

planning to setup two business entities in the country one for its cash-and-carry
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business and the other a master franchisee which will lend its banner, technical

services and know how to an Indian company for direct-to-consumer retail.

The worlds fifth largest retailer by sales,Costco Wholesale Corp (Costco) known

for its warehouse club model is also interested in coming to India and waiting for

the right opportunity.

Opposition to the retailers' plans has argued that livelihoods of small scale and

rural vendors would be threatened. However, studies have found that only a

limited number of small vendors will be affected and that the benefits of market

expansion far outweigh the impact of the new stores.

Tesco plans to set up shop in India with a wholesale cash-and-carry business

and will help Indian conglomerate Tata group to grow its hypermarket business.

Challenges to Indian retail sector

To become a truly flourishing industry, retailing needs to cross the following

hurdles:

Automatic approval is not allowed for foreign investment in retail.

Regulations restricting real estate purchases, and cumbersome local laws.

Taxation, which favors small retail businesses.

Absence of developed supply chain and integrated IT management.

Lack of trained work force.

Low skill level for retailing management.

Lack of Retailing Courses and study options

Intrinsic complexity of retailing rapid price changes, constant threat of

product obsolescence and low margins.

To overcome some of the challenges faced by modern retail, the country is

developing a support infrastructure in form of specialized retail schools.
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One such skill development initiative has been taken by TKWs Group. Its TKWs

Retail School has already training over a thousand students and retail

professionals for different retail skills. TKWs Retail School is also associated with

government projects like enhancing retail experience of foreign tourists,

improving retail of handicraft and local produce, skill development of village

youth.

Current Status in retail

Indias retail industry accounts for 10 percent of its GDP and 8 percent of

theemployment to reach $17 billion by 2011.The Indian retail market is estimated

at US$ 350 billion. But organized retail is estimatedat only US$ 8 billion.

However, the opportunity is huge-by 2011, organized retail isexpected to grow at6 per cent by 2011 and touch a retail business of $ 17 billion asagainst its current

growth level of 3 per cent which at present is estimated to be $ 6billion, according

to the Study undertaken by The Associated Chambers of Commerceand Industry

of India (ASSOCHAM).

Indian retailing is clearly at a tipping point.Organized retail in India has the

potential to add over Rs. 2,000 billion (US$45 billion)business by the Year 2011

generating employment for some 2.5 million people in variousretail operations

and over 10 million additional workforce in retail support activitiesincluding

contract production & processing, supply chain & logistics, retail real

estatedevelopment & management etc.

It is estimated that it will cross the $650-billion mark by 2012, with an already

estimatedinvestment of around $421 billion slated for the next four years.

As noticed in the figure above, the Organized Retail Penetration (ORP) is the

highest infootwear with 22 per cent followed by clothing.

Though food and grocery account forlargest share of retail spend by the

consumer at about 76 per cent, only 1 per cent of thismarket is in the organized

sector.

However, it has been estimated that this segmentwould multiply five times taking

the share of the organized market to 30 percent in thecoming years.


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Indian retail sector is witnessing one of the most hectic Marketing activities of all

times. The companies are fighting to win the hearts of customer who is God said

by the business tycoons. There is always a first mover advantage in an

upcoming sector. In India, that advantage goes to BIG BAZAAR. It has brought

about many changes in the buying habits of people. It has created formats, which

provide all items under one roof at low rates, or so it claims. In this project, we

will study the in depth comparison between service quality provided by Big

Bazaar and a recent entrant Easy Day by the venture of Bharti Airtel, India and

Wal-Mart, USA .

Service quality in India:

Of all services marketing topics, service quality has gained much research

prominence in recent years. Existing research indicates that consumers satisfied

with service quality are most likely to remain loyal. Service quality is perceived as

a tool to increase value for the consumer; as a means of positioning in a

competitive environment and to ensure consumer satisfaction, retention and

patronage. With greater choice and increasing awareness, Indian consumers

are more demanding of quality service and players can no longer afford to

neglect customer service issues.

The basic difference between the services provided by Big Bazaar and Easy Day

would be beneficial for the people who want to choose the services among these

retailers and the study will also provide specific idea to the governing bodies of

this sector how to compete and increase the service quality comparing to the

other retailer.

Measuring service quality: SERVQUAL and RSQS:

SERVQUALMuch of the attention focused on the service quality construct is attributable to

the SERVQUAL, instrument developed by Parasuraman, Zeithaml& Berry in

1988 for measuring service quality. Several studies subsequently employed the

SERVQUAL to measure service quality and to assess the validity and reliability

of the scale across a wide range of industries and cultural contexts.


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Little is known about service quality perceptions in India because research focus

has primarily been on developed countries. Given the relatively mature markets

where the service quality scales have been developed, it seems unlikely that

these measures would be applicable to India without adaptation.

Experts examined the SERVQUAL in the retail banking industry and reported a

poor fit of the scale to the empirical data. Despite this, several researchers have

used the SERVQUAL scale in similar settings with no assessment of the

psychometric soundness of the scale.

RSQS:

Service quality in retailing is different from any other product/service

environment. For this reason, in 1996, Dabholkar, Thorpe and Rentz developed

the Retail Service Quality Scale (RSQS) for measuring retail service quality. The

RSQS has a five dimensional structure of which three dimensions comprise of

two sub-dimensions each.

Studies assessing the applicability of the RSQS have reported encouraging

results. These researchers replicated their own study and found all the RSQS

dimensions and sub-dimensions to be valid in the U.S. It was also found that the

RSQS five dimensional structure appropriate for measuring the service quality

perceptions of supermarket consumers in international market.

Researchers reported the RSQS a useful scale for measuring service quality of

discount stores across different cultural contexts of different countries, though

they reported empirical support for a four and not a five dimensional structure.

Reports provided highly encouraging results for the RSQS applicability in the

context of department stores, specialty stores and hypermarkets.

This study evaluates the applicability of these measuring scales for measuring

service quality in the Indian context with special reference to Big Bazar and Easy

day. If these measures found to be valid and reliable, that will be effective

instruments available to Indian retailers.


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The 5 Dimensions of SERVQUAL or RATER model:

Service providers want to know what customers care about. Service quality is a

good guess. Price, and to a minor degree product quality, also count. But for

service providers, customers care most about service quality. After extensive

research, Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Berry found five dimensions customers

use when evaluating service quality. They named their survey instrument

SERVQUAL.If providers get these dimensions right, customers will hand over the

keys to their loyalty. Because they will receive service excellence, according to

what's important to them.

The five SERVQUAL dimensions are:

TANGIBLES-Appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and

communication materials.

RELIABILITY-Ability to perform the promised service dependably and

accurately

RESPONSIVENESS-Willingness to help customers and provide prompt

service

ASSURANCE-Knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to

convey trust and confidence.

EMPATHY-Caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers.

A 6th criterion was proposed by Gronroos in 1988:RECOVERY.

It has the same effect as the junk yard strategy, which is used to support the zero

defects strategy. The customer needs to stay happy. Since there are many bad

services being delivered to the customer and according to latest researches 12

good service encounters are needed to make up a bad one, the criteria recovery

can play an important role.


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-2-

INTRODUCTION TO THE

ORGANIZATIONS


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Big Bazaarwas launched in September, 2001 with the opening of three stores in

Calcutta,Bangalore andHyderabad in 22 days. Within a span of ten years, there

are now 148 Big Bazaar stores in 80 cities and towns across India.Big Bazaar is

not just another hypermarket. It caters to every need of your family. Where Big

Bazaar scores over other stores is its value for money proposition for the Indian

customers.

At Big Bazaar, customers can definitely get the best products at the best prices -

that's what they guarantee. With the ever increasing array of private labels, it has

opened the doors into the world of fashion and general merchandise including

home furnishings, utensils, crockery, cutlery, sports goods and much more at

prices that will surprise you. And this is just the beginning. Big Bazaar plans to

add much more to complete customers shopping experience.

Big Bazaar is designed as an agglomeration of bazaars or Indian markets with

clusters offering a wide range of merchandise including fashion and apparels,

food products, general merchandise, furniture, electronics, books, fast food and

leisure and entertainment sections.

In 2006-2007, more Indians discovered the value of shopping in Big Bazaar. And

with the launch of each store, we discovered more value in terms of operational

efficiency. Big Bazaar launched 27 new stores in 22 cities, covering over 1.40

million square feet. As of June 2007, there were 56 Big Bazaar stores across 43

cities. While Big Bazaar continued to expand in the large cities, it also tapped

consumption potential in smaller cities like Agra, Allahabad, Coimbatore, Surat,

Panipat, Palakkad, Kanpur andKolhapur.
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The year under review also witnessed realigning of business teams with shared

experience in category management, sourcing, front-end operations and

business planning. In addition, separate teams have been formed to look into all

aspects of new store launches and to manage mature stores. This provides more

flexibility and focus in expansion plans.The increase in SKUs in existing

categories and the introduction of new categories encouraged the opening of

larger stores or Super centers, measuring 100,000 square feet or more. There

are now 5 Big Bazaar Super Centers. Considering this scale of expansion,

technology plays a significant facilitating role. The introduction of SAP in 2005-06

and its roll out during the year positively impacted the business.

Food Bazaar, a supermarket format was incorporated within Big Bazaar in 2002and is now present within every Big Bazaar as well as in independent locations.

There are now 169 Food Bazaar outlets, including those located within Big

Bazaar.Based on the companys in-house consumer data and research, and in

cognizance with observations on customer movements and the shopping

convenience factor, Food Bazaar has initiated certain refurbishments and layout

design across all stores. The intention is to continuously change with the times

and demands of the evolving Indian consumer.

Food Bazaar also witnessed healthy expansion during the year 2006-07, making

its presence felt in nearly 26 cities and adding 40 stores during the year under

review. The total count of Food Bazaars as on 30th June 2007 stood at 86

stores. The year under review witnessed the companys private label program

gaining significant attraction. The brands have been very competitive vis--vis

the established brands in quality and price terms, and have in fact scored better

than national or international players in certain categories. The share of private

labels as a percentage of total Food Bazaar revenues has increased significantly

and comprises nearly 50 merchandise categories.

While Fresh & Pure brand entered categories like cheese slices, frozen peas,

honey, packaged drinking water and packaged tea, the Tasty Treat brand


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received a very favorable response in new categories like bhujiya and wafers. In

the home care category, Caremate launched aluminum foil and baby diapers

while Cleanmate launched detergent bars and scrubbers.

A new format BB Wholesale Club was launched and 4 such stores have been

opened so far. To be managed by Food Bazaar from the ensuing financial year,

this format sells only multi-packs and bulk packs of a select range of fast moving

categories and caters to price sensitive customers and smaller retailers. The

company has also forged tie-ups with established companies like ITC, Adanis,

DCM Group, USAID and other farm groups in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh

to source directly from them. These alliances are expected to drive efficiencies

as well as bring better products to consumers. By the end of FY 07-08, the totalnumber of Food Bazaar stores was expected to be 200.

A typical Big Bazaar is spread across around 50,000 square feet of retail space.

While the larger metropolises have Big Bazaar Familycenters measuring

between 75,000 square feet and 1,60,000 square feet, Big Bazaar Express

stores in smaller towns measure around 30,000 square feet.Most of the Big

Bazaar stores are multi-level and are located in stand-alone buildings in city

centers as well as within shopping malls. These stores offer over 200,000 SKUs

in a wide range of categories led primarily by fashion and food products.Big

Bazaar has initiated the process of Auto Replenishments Systems, thus

improving operational efficiencies and productivity. The company has also

rationalized nearly 250 vendors through better vendor management in terms of

potential to expand, and for inclusion and upgradation to the online B2B platform.

In FY 2008, the company opened the 100th Big Bazaar store which marked the

fastestever expansion by a hypermarket format.

Big Bazaar is part of Future Group and is owned through a wholly owned

subsidiary of Pantaloon Retail IndiaLimited that is listed on Indian stock

exchanges.
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Group Vision

Future Group shall deliver Everything, Everywhere, Every time for Every Indian

Consumer in the most profitable manner.

Group Mission

We share the vision and belief that our customers and stakeholders shall

be served only by creating and executing future scenarios in the

consumption space leading to economic development.

We will be the trendsetters in evolving delivery formats, creating retail

realty, making consumption affordable for all customer segments for

classes and for masses. We shall infuse Indian brands with confidence and renewed ambition.

We shall be efficient, cost- conscious and committed to quality in whatever

we do. We shall ensure that our positive attitude, sincerity, humility and

united determination shall be the driving force to make us successful.
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Core Values

Indian-ness: Confidence in ourselves.

Leadership: To be a leader, both in thought and business.

Respect & Humility: To respect every individual and be humble in our conduct.

Introspection: Leading to purposeful thinking.

Openness: To be open and receptive to new ideas, knowledge and information.

Valuing and Nurturing Relationships: To build long term relationships.

Simplicity & Positivity: In our thought, business and action.

Adaptability: To be flexible and adaptable, to meet challenges.

Flow: To respect and understand the universal laws of nature.

Future the word which signifies optimism, growth, achievement, strength,

beauty, rewards and perfection. Future encourages us to explore areas yet

unexplored, write rules yet unwritten; create new opportunities and new

successes. To strive for a glorious future brings to us our strength, our ability to

learn, unlearn and re-learn our ability to evolve.

Future Group will not wait for the Future to unfold itself but create future

scenarios in the consumer space and facilitate consumption because

consumption is development. Thereby, they will effect socio-economic

development for customers, employees, shareholders, associates and

partners.Customers will not just get what they need, but also get them where,

how and when they need.

Future Group, led by its founder and Group CEO, Mr. Kishore Biyani, is one of

Indias leading business houses with multiple businesses spanning across the

consumption space. While retail forms the core business activity of Future Group,

group subsidiaries are present in consumer finance, capital, insurance, leisure


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Pantaloon Retail is the flagship company of Future Group, a business group

catering to the entire Indian consumption space.Pantaloons is among India's

largest chains of fashion stores. Pantaloons Fresh Fashion, with its focus on

'fresh look, feel and attitude' offers, trendy and hip collections that are in sync

with the hopes and aspirations of discerning young and 'young-at-heart'

consumers.Pantaloons Retail was recently awarded the International Retailer of

the Year 2007 by the US-based National Retail Federation (NRF) and the

Emerging Market Retailer of the Year 2007 at the World Retail Congress held inBarcelona.

Over the years, the company has accelerated growth through its ability to lead

change. A number of its pioneering concepts have now emerged as industry

standards. For instance, the company integrated backwards into garment

manufacturing even as it expanded its retail presence at the front end, well

before any other Indian retail company attempted this. It was the first to introduce

the concept of the retail departmental store for the entire family through

Pantaloons in 1997. The company was the first to launch a hypermarket in India

with Big Bazaar, a large discount store that it commissioned in Kolkata in

October 2001. And the company introduced the country to the Food Bazaar, a

unique 'bazaar' within a hypermarket, which was launched in July 2002 in
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Mumbai. Embracing our leadership value, the company launched aLL in July

2005 in Mumbai, making us the first retailer in India to open a fashion store for

plus size men and women.

Today it is the fastest growing retail company in India. The number of stores is

going to increase many folds year on year along with the new formats coming up.

The way they work is distinctly "Pantaloon". The courage to dream and to turn

our dreams into reality that change peoples lives, is their biggest advantage.

Pantaloon is an invitation to join a place where there are no boundaries to what

one can achieve. It means never having to stop asking questions; it means never

having to stop raising the bar. It is an opportunity to take risks, and it is this

passion that makes our dreams a reality.

Pantaloons Fresh Fashion stands out as a fashion trendsetter, on the lines of

how fashion is followed internationally. This 'fresh fashion' destination allows

customers to shop for the latest in fashion apparel and accessories throughout

the year in an attractive and visually stimulating ambience.

Pantaloons Fresh Fashion stores have presence with stores not just in Metros

but also in smaller towns. All stores have a wide variety of categories like casualwear, ethnic wear, formalwear, party wear and sportswear for Men, Women and

Kids.

Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited, is Indias leading retailer that operates multiple

retail formats in both the value and lifestyle segment of the Indian consumer

market. Headquartered in Mumbai (Bombay), the company operates over 16

million square feet of retail space, has over 1000 stores across 73 cities in India

and employs over 30,000 people.

The companys leading formats include Pantaloons, a chain of fashion outlets,

Big Bazaar, a uniquely Indian hypermarket chain, Food Bazaar, a supermarket

chain, blends the look, touch and feel of Indian bazaarswith aspects of modern

retail like choice, convenience and quality and Central, a chain of seamless


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destination malls. Some of its other formats include Brand Factory, Blue Sky,

aLL, Top 10 and Star and Sitara.

Future Value Retail Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pantaloon Retail

(India) Limited. This entity has been created keeping in mind the growth and the

current size of the companys value retail business, led by its format

divisions, Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar.

The company operates 148 Big Bazaar stores, 169 Food Bazaar stores, among

other formats, in over 70 citiesacross the country, covering an operational retail

space of over 6 million square feet. As a focussed entity driving the growth of the

group's value retail business, Future Value Retail Limited will continue to deliver

more value to its customers, supply partners, stakeholders and communities

across the country and shape the growth of modern retail in India.

A subsidiary company, Home Solutions Retail (India) Limited, operates Home

Town, a large-format home solutions store, Collection and selling home furniture

products and e-Zone focused on catering to the consumer electronics segment.

Milestones

1987* Company incorporated as Manz Wear Private Limited. Launch of

Pantaloons trouser, Indias first formal trouser brand.

1992* Initial public offer (IPO) was made in the month of May.

1997* PantaloonsIndias family store launched in Kolkata.

2001* Big Bazaar, Is se sastaauracchakahinahin - Indias first hypermarket

chain launched.

2002* Food Bazaar, the supermarket chain is launched.

2007* Future Group crosses $1 billion turnover mark.


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Culture at Pantaloon

At Pantaloon, Empowerment is what you acquire and Freedom at Work is what

we get. They believe their people as most valuable assets. Young in spirit,

adventurous in action, with an average age of 27 years, their skilled & qualified

professionals work in an environment where change is the only

constant.Powered by the desire to create path-breaking practices and held

together by values, work in this people intensive industry is driven by softer issues.

Making a difference to Customers lives is a Passion for them and performance is

the key that makes it possible. Out of the Box thinking has become a way of life

at Pantaloon and living with the change, a habit.Leadership is a value that is

followed by one and all at Pantaloon. Leadership is the quality that motivates themto never stop learning, stretching to reach the next challenge. In the quest of

creating an Indian model of retailing, Pantaloon has taken initiatives to launch

many retail formats that have come headed for serve as a benchmark in the

industry. Believing in leadership has given them the optimism to change and be

successful at it. According to them, theydo not predict the future, but create it.

At Pantaloon one can get an opportunity to handle multiple responsibilities, and

therein, the grooming to play a larger role in the future. Work is a unique mix of

preserving our core Indian values and yet providing customers with a service, on

par with international standards.

Discovering talent diversity

The company strongly believes that its sustainable competitive advantage lies in

the values that it cherishes the culture that it imbibes and spirit of enterprise that

resides within the organization. Talent management therefore continues to be the

core focus for the company. Considering the multiple businesses and rapid

expansion expected across the business, the company saw merit in taking a

fresh guard to the way in which business would run in order to meet the next leg

of expansions.


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During the year 2006-07, the company conducted an extensive review of in-

house talent management, which involved mapping every managerial position in

the organization for their skill sets, competence and attitudinal aspects as well as

taking an inventory check of the existing talent base and addressing their

development needs. Development Centers were created with in-house

assessors, which further aided in identifying potential resources and helped chalk

out post assessment development plans.

Continuing with its policy of strategic alliances, the company is collaborating on

joint degree programs with 15 management schools, design institutes and

institutes of higher learning in areas like food business, supply chain

management, design experience management etc. This Seekho program forexternal and internal candidates has ensured a steady stream of mid-level, well

trained retail professionals every year.

The companys Gurukool program provides the front-end employees an

opportunity to imbibe the companys values and a sense of ownership to the

company. The company has also created an Employee Growth Trust Fund that

was launched during the last financial year for the senior management.

Equal Opportunity

The company believes that in order to build a sustainable business environment,

the composition of its talent base needs to reflect the diversity that exists in our

country and among its customers. Therefore the company ensures that the

proportional representation of different communities in the Indian population is

mirrored in its employee profile. The majority of employees in the company come

from socially and economically marginalized sections of the society. Close to

46% of the employees in the organization are women and the average age within

the organization is 27 years. The effectiveness of its talent management

initiatives is reflected in the fact that the annual rate of attrition is 8.12%, much

below industry levels. The company plans to strengthen its employee platform to

about 30,000 people by FY 08, from nearly 18,000 people as on FY 07.


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Human Resource Initiatives

Pantaloon Retail believes that one of its sustainable competitive advantages will

continue to be the people who are part of the organization. Being in service

industry, the Company places a lot of focus is placed on attracting, and training,

incentivizing and retaining talent. The vision is "To provide an environment that

creates happy people who have a meaningful life and add value to business and

society." With over 18000 employees at an average age of 27 years, the

Company prides itself on being a young and energetic organization, driven

through the 'The Pantaloon People Management System'. This is built on 5

pillars of people based growth, namely - Culture Building, Performance

Management through Balanced Scorecard, People Processes, ManagementProcesses and Leadership Brilliance. Training a competent Learning &

Development Team is responsible for training employees at all the levels across

the country, focusing on primary and secondary research into various aspects of

retail and assessment of training needs across Knowledge, Skills & Attitude

areas. The emphasis is on creating product and process knowledge through well-

defined programs like Praarambh and Parikrama. For the critical front line staff,

the Company's unique outbound residential training program Gurukool focuses

on integrating the mind, body and soul and brings about measurable attitudinal

and behavioral changes.

The program has covered nearly 4,500 employees. The SMILE initiative for

training of new Store Manager's has been created and disseminated to over 100

store managers by this team.

New initiatives in retail

In the financial year 2006-07, the companys retail businesses discovered new

categories across formats, new sets of consumers and fresher and contemporary

merchandise. They have been able to offer more in the established businesses

and gain favorable acceptance with new concepts. In addition, concerted

expansion plans saw retail space increase to over 5.2 million square feet at the


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Bharti retail, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. Opened its

first convenient retail store on 16thApril 2008 in Ludhiana, western Punjab under

the joint venture with worlds largest retailer Wal Mart.

Bharti-Wal Mart joint venture planned to open their retail chain by the name Easy

Day across India. The store would sell products of daily usage, ranging from

personal care products, stationery, household articles, hosiery items, daily-needgroceries including staples, processed foods, bakery, dairy products, meat,

poultry and fresh produce.

Bharti Retail had also entered into a joint venture with US retailer Wal-Mart, for

wholesale cash and carry operations by the name Best Price, a segment where

India allows 100 percent foreign direct investment.The joint venture is expected

to open 10 to 15 wholesale cash and carry facilities and employ approximately

5,000 people over the next seven years.

Each store is about 2,500 to 4,500 sft in size and is projected as one stop shop

for day-to-day family requirements such as groceries, personal care and

household products. The company is planning to setup these stores on PAN

India basis and they refused to give any further details on the project. The first 3

stores are opened in Ludhiana, the hometown of Sunil Bharti Mittal.

In its first phase of operations, Bharti Retail has opened 59 Easy Day stores in

Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and New Delhi. In addition, it also

has launched three compact hyper stores called Easy Day Market in Punjab. The

company has deliberately focused on north India in its first phase of operations in

an effort to consolidate presence in one market, before expanding to another

region.


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The Easy Day stores source fresh fruits and vegetables from Bharti-Walmart. In

an interesting HR innovation the stores plan to tap workforce from the likes of

cart vendors, housewives and retired personnel, by offering flexi-hour work

schedules. Such groups of persons will also be enrolled for structured training

modules at the Bharti Retail Academy

Product Range in Easy Day stores:

o Dairy Products

o Grains & Pulses

o Bakery products

o Food and Beverages

o Home & Personal Care

o Meat and Poultry Items

o Frozen - Vegetarian, Non-Vegetarian [Meat] and Chilled Non-Vegetarian

All the three stores are single floor stores with cash counter and bakery section

at the entrance. Each category of the product was marked separately. Products

were effectively displayed with price tags.

In Easy Day stores we found that Home & Personal Care [Toothpaste, Soap, etc]and Food & Beverages [Pepsi, Fruit Juiceand Cereals] are sold at a discount

between 1-5% only.

Great Value Private Label Brand:

The company has introduced its own private label under the brand name Great

Value. Most items are in the grains and pulses categories. With increasing

number of retailers, discount is what most consumers look for.

Each store has 12-15 employees including a store manager without any gender

of age bias. The company has also established "Bharti Academy of Retail" in

association with Global Retail School of Chandigarh for imparting training for the

retail business.


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The stores, known as 'Easy Day', would be a one-stop shop to cater to every

family's day-to-day needs, company officials said, adding that "it will bring

together a relevant and wide product range, good quality products and great-in-

experience and service-all under one roof".

The store would sell personal care products, stationary, household articles,

hosiery items, daily-need groceries like staples, processed foods, bakery and

dairy products, meat and poultry, and fresh produce.

The company had earlier announced an investment of up to 2.5 billion dollars

(Rs.10, 000crore) by 2015 in retail operations including multi-format retail outlets

across all cities in India that have population of over one million.

Bharti Retail Pvt. Ltd. is planning to open approximately 125 Easy Day

supermarkets and 13 Easy Day Market hypermarts by the end of 2011. The

company is looking to establish its presence in every city in India in another five

years and will invest approximately $2.5 billion to add about 10 million square

feet of retail space in the country.

The equal joint venture between Bharti and Wal-Mart is planning to open

approximately 15 cash-and-carry stores as well as provide work for

approximately 7,000 people over the next three years.

The retail arm of Bharti Enterprises currently has 60 Easy Day stores across

Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh and six Easy Day Market

stores across Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Additionally, the company has also entered into agreements to open stores

having between 50,000sqft and 100,000sqft in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.


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The company was founded by Sunil Bharti Mittal along with two siblings in 1976.

The company was not so famous in India by its own name; rather its brand

names like Airtel and Beetel (PSTN Phone Sets) are household names in India.

The company underwent a brand reformation process and changed its logo and

corporate Image.

Bharti Enterprises is a large Indian business conglomerate headquartered in New

Delhi, India, operating primarily across India and in some other countries like Sri

Lanka, Bangladesh, Jersey, Guernsey and Seychelles with expanding operations

across Africa in Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of

Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra

Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. It was established by Sunil Bharti Mittal.

Bharti Enterprises has businesses spanning across telecom, retail, financial

services, manufacturing and software.

Bharti Retail Ltd.

Bharti Retail Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Enterprises. Bharti

Retail operates a chain of multiple format stores. The companys neighborhood

format stores operate under the "Easyday" brand and the compact hypermarket

format under the Easyday market brand. Recently the company has become

more involved in the food economic sectors, with a joint partnership in the

agricultural company FieldFresh.

Bharti Retail Pvt, Ltd. operates retail stores. It offers food and grocery categories,

fresh fruits and vegetables, meat and poultry, dairy products, staples, FMCG and

processed foods, electronics and appliances, clothing and footwear, furniture and

furnishing, and other household articles. The company was incorporated in 2007

and is based in India. It has stores in Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, and Uttar


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Pradesh, as well as in Delhi. Bharti Retail Pvt, Ltd. operates as a subsidiary of

Bharti Enterprises Limited.

Bharti Retail Pvt Ltd. announced that the company will soon enter western India

with its first hypermarket in Mumbai. The company has signed a 60,000 sqft storein the Neptune Magnet mall of the city's Bhandup area and this is expected to

open in the first quarter of 2012.

After Mumbai, the company plans to open 20 more stores in cities such as

Mumbai, Pune and Nanded. The company is also planning to set up a mother

distribution center on the Mumbai-Pune highway.

The company also planned to open stores in the south and signed half a dozen

stores in the region.

Bharti Enterprises tied-up with Wal-Mart for opening a chain of retail stores all

over India. Though the retail chain store venture is yet to see the light, the two

companies, in August 2007, made a surprise statement that they have signed a

wholesale cash-and-carry deal. The companies would open 10 - 15 cash-and-

carry facilities over 7 years and would employ 5,000 people. Each store would

occupy 50,000-100,000 square feet.

The other retail companies of Bharti group are Bharti Retail (Holdings) Private

Limited, Bharti Retail Resources Private Limited and Cedar Support Services Ltd.

The format has been branded `Easy Day as first reported. The stores range

between 2,500 to 4,500 square feet. With the Easy Day stores, Bharti now joins

the ranks of other Indian conglomerates like Reliance Retail and Aditya Birla

Group, which have launched chains of their retail stores across the country.

Wal-Mart Inc has tied up with Bharti Enterprises for entering the Indian market.

Wal-Mart has entered into a technical agreement with Bharti for its retail stores,

where it provides assistance and technical know-how to Bharti on how to operate

and manage retail stores. Mike Duke, vice-chairman, Wal-Mart Inc, had already...

hinted that the retail store would not sport the Wal-Mart tag. He said that nearly


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three fourths of Wal-Mart internationals retail operations are under 52 different

local brands, since the company wants to be seen as a local retailer in any area

operates rather than a retail behemoth.

Their strategy is to consolidate presence in one market, before expanding toanother geographic region. They planned to have 125 easy day and 13 Easyday

Market storesby the end of 2011. The focus of roll out would be North India but

they have plans to expand operations into other parts of India. The company has

lined up an investment of $2 billion to $2.5 billion by 2015 to fuel its expansion

plans.

Retail is viewed as the next big business by Bharti and continues to receive

investment and strategic attention. They are looking at approximately 10million

square feet of retail experience across all cities in India, with a population of over

one million.

The easy day Market in Jaipur is a 35,000 sq. ft. store offering over 18,000

quality products , including trendy fashion wear such as George (international

brand) and Astitva (Indian Ethnic Wear), private label products, home ware and

furnishings, a range of electronics and electrical appliances, mobile phones,

footwear, toys, books, food etc.

Though the company plans to first cover northern India and then proceed to other

parts, whether or not the Easy Day stores will be opened in UP is still doubtful.

These stores will retail an assortment of products like personal care, stationery,

household articles, hosiery items, daily-need groceries including staples,

processed foods, bakery and dairy products, meat and poultry and fresh

produce.

The first cash-and-carry store that will be operated by the 50:50 joint venture

accompany between Wal-Mart and Bharti will be operational by the year end.

Bharti-Wal-Mart is expected to open 10-15 cash-and-carry stores in seven years.


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Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.(branded as Wal-Mart) is an Americanpublic

corporation that runs a chain of large, discount department stores. It is the

world's largest public corporation by revenue, according to the 2008 Fortune

Global 500.

The company was founded by, Sam Walton, who opened the first Wal-Mart

discount store in Rogers Arkansas back in 1962, and 47 years later, Wal-Mart

operates 8,159 units in 15 countries.

Incorporated on October 31, 1969, and listed on theNew York Stock

Exchange in 1972, Wal-Mart is the largest private employer which employs over

2.1 million people worldwide.

Wal-Mart operates in Mexico asWalmex, in the United Kingdom asAsda, inJapan asSeiyu,and in India asBest Price.

Wal-Mart is currently the worlds largest retailer with a total annual sale of

405,607 million (2009). Even in the midst of a recession its estimated that Wal -

Mart stores retail market share has risenmarkedly and they were seeing sales

gains for 2009.

As Wal Mart emerged as the worlds largest retailer in a short span of time, critics

are worried about its impact on local communities, particularly on mom and pop

shops for their survival. There have been several studies on the economic

impact of Wal-Mart on small towns and local businesses, jobs, and taxpayers.
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Products of wal mart:

Discount stores:

Sam Walton opened his first Wal-Mart discount store in 1962. Today,

there are 810 stores offering a pleasant and convenient shopping

experience across the United States. The size of an average store is

107,000 square feet. Each store employs about 225 associates.

Stores feature wide, clean, brightly-lit aisles and shelves stocked with a

variety of quality, value-priced general merchandise, including family

apparel ,Automotive products, Health and beauty aids, Home furnishings,

Electronics, Hardware ,Toys, Sporting goods, Lawn and garden items, Pet

supplies, Jewelry, House wares.

Supercenters:

Supercenters were developed in 1988 to meet the growing demand for

convenient, one-stop family shopping featuring our famous Every Day Low

Prices. It saves time and money by combining a full grocery and our

general merchandise under one roof. There are 2,737 Supercenters

nationwide, and most are open 24 hours in US. Supercenters average

187,000 square feet and employ about 350 or more associates.

Supercenter groceries features include bakery goods, daily foods, meat

and dairy products, frozen foods, fresh produced, Canned and packaged

goods, dry goods and staples, condiments and spices beverages,

household supplies etc.

Neighborhood markets:

Neighborhood Markets offer a quick and convenient shopping experience

for customers who need groceries, pharmaceuticals, and general

merchandise all at our famous Every Day Low Prices. First opened in

1998, there are now 151 Neighborhood Markets, each employing about


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95associates. A typical store is about 42,000 square feet. Neighborhood

Markets feature a wide variety of products like health and beauty aids, pet

supplies, stationery and paper goods, household supplies etc.

Supermercado de Wal-Mart:

Wal-Mart opened "Supermercado de Wal-Mart" locations to appeal to

Hispanic communities in the United States.

Sam's Club:

Sam's Club is a chain ofwarehouse clubs which sell grocery and general

merchandise in large quantities. Sam's Club stores are "membership"

stores and most customers buy annual memberships. However, non-members can make purchases either by buying a one-day membership or

paying a surcharge based on the price of the purchase.[51]Some locations

also sellgasoline.[46]The first Sam's Club opened in 1983 inMidwest City,

Oklahoma[51]under the name "Sam's Wholesale Club".

WalMart in India:

In November 2006, the company announced a joint venture with Bharti

Enterprises to open retail stores in India. As foreign corporations are not allowedto directly enter the retail sector in India, Walmart will operate through franchises

and handle the wholesale end. The partnership will involve two joint ventures;

Bharti will manage the front end involving opening of retail outlets, while Walmart

will take care of the back end, such as cold chains and logistics.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warehouse_clubhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart#cite_note-aboutsamsclub-50http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart#cite_note-aboutsamsclub-50http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart#cite_note-aboutsamsclub-50http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasolinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart#cite_note-CSNews_WMGas-45http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart#cite_note-CSNews_WMGas-45http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart#cite_note-CSNews_WMGas-45http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwest_City,_Oklahomahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwest_City,_Oklahomahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart#cite_note-aboutsamsclub-50http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart#cite_note-aboutsamsclub-50http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart#cite_note-aboutsamsclub-50http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart#cite_note-aboutsamsclub-50http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwest_City,_Oklahomahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midwest_City,_Oklahomahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart#cite_note-CSNews_WMGas-45http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasolinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-Mart#cite_note-aboutsamsclub-50http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warehouse_club


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-3-

REVIEW OF

LITERATURE


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REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Retailing is the most dominant business in India. Various types of retail formats

have existed in our country. The quality of services provided by retailers can be

assessed by the pioneering work done by the experts in retail marketing.One among the experts, Parasuraman et al, (1988), published one of the earliest

articles to measure the service quality of the retailers. In this study the service

quality of the retailers was scrutinized and the conclusion reached that, it will lead

to understand the service quality of retailers in our country.

Merrilees, Bill, et al, (March 2007), Retail Development and activity in transition

economies is the core theme. It focuses on retail marketing strategy. Retail

service quality, pricing and location, personal services to retain the customer are

the major focus of this publication.

Tam Jackie L .M, (September 2007), the study examines the relationships

among customer satisfaction, service quality and perceived value. This research

focuses on the examination of the variables simultaneously and their

relationships with post purchase behavior.

Soyoung Kim, et al., (2001), This article gives a structural view regarding the

ability of Retail Service Quality Scale to influence the retail shoppers perceptions

of service quality in discount stores in the U.S. and South Korea.

Sirohi, Niren, et al, (Summer 1998), focus on store loyalty intentions of current

customers of a food and grocery retailer to understand the effectiveness of

activities designed to retain customers. It also examines the quality perception,

variables associated with the value for money and competitor attractiveness.

The work of Boshoff, Christo, et al, (December 97) is a replication study which

gives an overview about SERVQUAL, the quality of customer service in the area

of retail in South Africa.


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Fullerton, Gordon, et al., (June 2005), examine the extent to which affective and

continuous commitment serve as mediators of brand satisfaction and loyalty

intentions relationship.

The study of Terblanche, N.S, et al, (December 2004) focuses on the In-storeShopping Experience (ISE) that offers retailers an alternative means of

differentiation. It is achievable by providing superior store shopping experience.

Subhash Mehta C., et al, (2000) explore the usefulness of SERVPERF, the

perceptions component of SERVQUAL in measuring the service quality of

electronic goods retailers.

SubashiniKaul, (October 2005) examines the (RSQS) retail service quality scale

developed in U.S. for applicability in Indian retailing. The data was collected from

adult shoppers from large formats apparel stores in the city of Bangalore for

tracking the overall service quality levels over a period of time.

Nor Khalidah Abu, (2004) in his paper produces the service quality dimensions

on various sized grocery retailers in Malaysia. This research is based on the

RSQS. It takes into account the retail setting.

Mehmet Arda, (September 2006) highlights the significance of world food

retailing and the significant impact of supermarkets and grocery procedures.

M.Dhurup in his paper presents the results of a study done on super markets.

The paper focuses on the measurement of customer perceptions of super market

service quality by using a national super market in South Africa.

Quality basically maintains equilibrium between the internal and external

environment of an education institution. A system that fulfils the requirement of

the external forces such as customers and at the same time applies to the

internal forces to accommodate them is the true winner (Koslowski, 2006;

Abdullah, 2006; Eagle and Brennan, 2007; Russell, 2005; Hill, 1995; Houston,

2008). Thus fulfilling the requirement of the customer in a creative manner is

quality (Voon, 2006; Samat, et al., 2006; Awan, et al., 2008; Azmi, et al., 2008).


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The most recent development on the quality is in the service sector. When it

comes to providing service the customer plays the major role (Reeves and

Bednar, 1994; Eagle and Brennan, 2007; Awan, et al., 2008; Rowley, 1997).

Koslowski (2006) has narrowed down the types of quality and applied them

specifically to the higher education industry.

According to researcher the types of quality refer to some part of the system. As

stated by Koslowski (2006, p.282-283) the Transcendent quality is achieved

through specialized programs offered to the faculty in institution, Manufacturing

based quality is when the structure of degree is perfectly aligned to the

requirement of the customer, Product based quality is focused on the addition of

courses in a specialized degree, Value based quality is achieved by providing

the appropriate outcome to the customer and User based quality is gained by

fulfilling the requirements of the customer.

Service based industries are leading many nations. Service is basically the

creation of value for the buyer that attracts the buyer to try it and it cannot be

commented until tested (Guo, 2002; Awan, et al., 2008; Ham, et al., 2003; Wang,

et al., 2008). Thus to maintain standard in this era of global competition the

leaders are adopting Services Quality management strategies (Abdullah, 2005;

Samat, et al., 2006; Guo, 2002; La and Kandampully, 2004; Farrell, 2008;

Sakthivel and Raju, 2006; Wang, et al., 2008). There are many types of services

that are concerned with the fulfilment of needs of the customer. According to Guo

(2002, p.1157) the three main forms of Service provided are People Processing

Service (health care), Possession Processing Service (perfume) and Information-

Based Services (banking). Maintaining Service Quality has been considered as

an edge for many organizations.

Therefore Service Quality has been used as an aggressive strategy to overcome

the external pressure (Slater and Narver, 1994; La and Kandampully, 2004;

Azmi, et al., 2008; Legcevic and Strossmayer, 2008).

The main purpose for this review of literature is to configure the importance of

maintaining Service quality in Higher Education industry. The paper would

explore the development of the concept of Service Quality. It would also explain


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the developmentof Service Quality Measurement Models with respect to the

literature as well astheir application in various industries and especially the

higher education industry.

Thus the review paper provides a clear insight on the development of Service

QualityMeasurement Models. Although a lot of research has been done on the

ServiceQuality; yet the struggle to rightly unfold the concept is still under

progress. Thispaper talks about the development of Service Quality

Measurement Models, the entireprocess from the reason to development of the

concept and findings have beendiscussed. It is a chronological study, starting

from year 1988 to 2008 focusing on theresearch done on development and

improvements of service quality measurementmodels have been explored. From

1988 to 2008, eight Service Quality MeasurementModels have been developed.

In 1988, the first service quality measurement modelwas developed by

Parasuraman, et al. It was introduced by the name of ServiceQuality

(SERVQUAL). This model was empirically tested on the validity of ServiceQuality

Measurement Variable with respect to the multi-industries.

EventuallyParasuraman, et al. (1988, p.23) developed five dimensions which

were showingsignificance to the measurement of service quality, namely:

(a) Tangibles (physicalfacilities and equipment),

(b) Reliability (performing the promised service),

(c)Responsiveness (willingness to help customers),

(d) Assurance (courtesy ofemployees to convey trust) and

(e) Empathy (individualized attention provided tocustomers).

SERVQUAL has been highly recognized in the literature and since 1988 till now it

has been used by various researchers in a variety of industries. Then in 1992,

Cronin and Taylor developed another version of Service Quality MeasurementModel on Service Performance (SERVPERF). The main emphasis of the Cronin

and Taylor was on the performance based evaluation of the company. The core

elements were customer satisfaction and their purchase intentions. This

measurement model has also been highly acceptable by the researchers and

also applied to manyindustries.


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In 1993, Teas developed two models for measuring service quality. Teas was not

convinced with the entire concept of measuring the customer perceived quality

with the gap of perception and expectation as in SERVQUAL. The major

emphasis of the researcher was on the conceptual understanding of Expectation,

since the expectation associated to the services could exceed the actual level of

performance of the company. Therefore the researcher developed Evaluated

Performance model (EP) in order to measures the gap between perceived

performance and ideal amount of a performance to gain consumer satisfaction.

Further catering to the expectation, the researcher concentrated on the prospect

created after the experience of the consumer. Teas (1993) perceived Excellence

norm as a result of positive experience of the customer, this led to the creation of

Normed Quality model. NQ measures the Quality gap between excellence norm

and ideal amount of expectations of the consumer. Both the measurement

models are applicable to various industries.

However the EP and NQ measurement model were not applied by other

researchers in the literature.

In 2006, Voon created Service Market Orientation measurement model

(SERVMO). Voon believed thatfulfilling the need of the students is the main

reason of the existence of an institution.

After the review of literature on development of Service Quality Measurement

Models from 1988 to 2008, the comparison of measurement models have been

done on the basis of acceptance and usage in the literature. Since the

development of SERVQUAL and SERVPERF in 1988 and 1992, these

measurement models have been extensively used by many researcher in their

relevant industry, thus the comparison of SERVQUAL with SERVPERF has been

done in order to check which model is better than the other. Considering the

developed Performance Based Measurement Models two of the models have

been created on the basis of Performance, thus for that reason SERVPERF and

SERVQUAL have been compared.

Since SERVPERF is already accepted by many researchers, thus the main

purposeis to configure the suitability of both the models and also the


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development of a modified version of HEdPERF model has been shown.

SERVQUAL has been a widely accepted method for Measuring Service Quality

in various industries. From 1988 to 2008 it has still been used by many

researchers to measure the service quality in their industry of interest. However

in 2008, SERVCESS was created by selecting one dimension of the SERVQUAL

i.e. Tangible (Physical facilities and equipment). The role of equipment in

measuring service quality refers to the changes made in the up gradation of the

equipment (computers, projectors, multimedia), which has not been emphasized

in the SERVQUAL. Thus by comparing SERVQUAL and SERVCESS the

effectiveness of the SERVQUAL model is checked with respect to the importance

of Information system.

Considering the trend in development of Service Quality Measurement Models, it

has come into consideration that since 1996 to 2008 the researchers have

developed Service Quality Measurement Models.

Quality basically maintains equilibrium between the internal and external

environment of an institution. Thus researchers have been trying to create an

instrument that fits the requirement of the education industry.

A.Parsurama, Leonard L.Berry, and valarie A. Zeithmal,(1988) in their study

described about development of 22 item instrument in the assessment of the

service quality perception of the customers in the service and retail firms, which

was called as SERVQUAL. According to them service quality include

competence, courtesy, credibility, security, tangibles, reliability, responsiveness,

communication, and understanding the customer. Authors also proposed that

SERVQUAL scale can help a vast range of services and retail firms to assess

the customer expectation and perception of services quality as it had a variety of

potential application.

In their study the service quality of the retailers was scrutinized and the

conclusion reached that, it will lead to understand the service quality of retailers

in our country. Empirical results examining relationships from the model

concerning customers' behavioral intentions show strong evidence of their being

influenced by service quality. One interesting proposition they make is that "The


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quality that a consumer perceives in a service is a function of the magnitude and

direction of the gap between expected service and perceived service".

Parasuraman have defined service quality as the ability of the organization to

meet or exceed customer expectations. It is the difference between customer

expectations of service and perceived service.

Service Quality was operationally concluded by Brady and Cronin (2001) when

they find through qualitative and empirical research that the service quality

construct conforms to the structure of a third-order factor model that ties service

quality perceptions to distinct and actionable dimensions: outcome, interaction,

and environmental quality. Each dimension has three sub-dimensions that define

the basis of service quality perceptions. For each of these sub-dimensions to

contribute to improved service quality perceptions, the quality received by

consumers must be perceived to be reliable, responsive, and empathetic.

Li, Tan and Xie (2003) suggest that a company's ability to achieve excellent

service quality depends on the choice of service attributes, their desired levels,

and the prioritization of service attributes. They investigate the asymmetric and

nonlinear nature of the relationship between service quality gaps and overall

service quality (quality that is worse than expected hurts more than quality that is

better than expected helps), and develop a model that applies utility theory to the

prioritization of service attributes.

In 1993, Teas developed two models for measuring service quality. Teas was not

convinced with the entire concept of measuring the customer perceived quality

with the gap of perception and expectation as in SERVQUAL. The major

emphasis of the researcher was on the conceptual understanding of Expectation,

since the expectation associated to the services could exceed the actual level of

performance of the company. Therefore the researcher developed Evaluated

Performance model (EP) in order to measures the gap between perceived

performance and ideal amount of a performance to gain consumer satisfaction.

Further catering to the expectation, the researcher concentrated on the prospect

created after the experience of the consumer. Teas (1993) perceived Excellence

norm as a result of positive experience of the customer, this led to the creation of

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