| The inside story of who gains the most from sale season |
27th Jul 2013
|
 | 
People shopping at the Sector 17 market in Chandigarh
hopping behaviour ranges from impulsive buying, to need-generated, to forced. Out of these, one pattern which is easily encountered is buying during sales. Indeed a marketing manoeuvre, 'sale seasons' help companies clear stock as well as increase revenue. However, for customers it offers a good opportunity to stock-up their wardrobe with 'in-style' apparels and accessories at affordable rates. But do these sales really matter, and if they do, who benefits more?
Harkirat Singh, MD, Woodland tells Guardian20, "With more than 400 exclusive woodland outlets throughout the country, the annual turnover from these company-owned stores is about 600 crores and out of this, some 25 per cent revenue is earned during the season-end sale periods. People do benefit a lot during sales as they keep visiting the store and are aware of pre-sale prices as well. This practice eventually helps them in spending money intelligently. The percentage of rebate offered varies from product to product. Hypothetically, if a company launches 100 new products every year, out of these, some will be slow movers and some fast movers. So how much discount is to be offered depends on the demand of that particular product. With the change of season we want our customers to buy the best at lesser prices, and this practice, is a two-way requirement."
Akshay Kapoor, CEO, Krome, multi-brand store, believes, "Sales add approximately 25-40 per cent of the revenue of a retail outlet because during the season, trade definitely shoots up. Krome offers almost 48-54 brands under one roof and during a season's sale there are different offers on different brands. It varies from individual to individual how to benefit from these offers."
An IIM Ahmedabad study on the retail sector, recently highlighted by a leading newspaper, conducted in a leading mall comprising organised retail stores in the city, concluded that most of the attractive offers on discount signage are misleading. The survey also revealed that around 66% of the promotions regarding huge discounts in organised retail stores were deceptive. Prof Dheeraj Sharma chairperson, marketing area, and faculty, marketing and organisational behaviour, IIMA, led the team. It was also reported that consumers are still not aware of their rights and are being misled and similar studies will be conducted in Delhi and a few other cities too.
Toeing the same line, Arvind Jain, General Secretary, All India Federation of Cloth Retailers Association says, "The concept of sale is nothing but a fraud to cheat the consumer. There was a time when retailers used to benefit from sales. A margin of more than 400-500 per cent was achieved but this has now shrunk drastically. These so-called brands cheat people by putting a 1000-rupee tag on a 100-rupee item and then sell it at 70% discount. But the irony is that there's no check on the percentage of rebate as it solely depends on the retailer." While retailers differ in their views, consumers are still driven to make the best of the sale season.
"Sales do attract me but it's never impetuous. I visit the shop and look for quality products with reasonable prices that fit my pocket. I plan my purchase on four parameters precisely — quality, brand, affordability and last but not the least, utility. Sometimes I do buy stuff which I do not require immediately as I may use it later as gifts," says Harkamal Kaur, an HR professional.
Youngsters these days end up saving money specially for shopping during sale season. Mansi Gupta, an image management consultant says, "For me 'sale' is a festival as it is for any other shopper. On one hand, we do not buy what we do not need and on the other we generate need for what we have bought. Thanks to the 'sale culture' we buy many things which, otherwise are out of reach. Yes, I wait for this season and plan my shopping accordingly. After all, who would not like to look trendy without breaking our piggy banks?"
|
No comments:
Post a Comment