Technology Vs the Cab Driver

I just thought of sharing my recent experience of hiring a Meru Cab and the issues of technology versus human interface. As with many other experiences which I have shared earlier, this also is not one the best experiences which I have had, but...

To start with the positives of the experience, I was using the same number from which I had booked the cab earlier so I was immediately addressed as Rajesh, and asked where I want the pick-up from. I had used the service from two different locations, and once I told the location, the other details were not asked for, as it was already there in the system. The messages on the mobile followed and the cab also arrived 20 mins prior to the pick-up time. So all was fine...

Now comes the driver, during most part of journey he was busy on his mobile phone talking to some one and when he was not on the mobile, he was over speeding with the system shouting that you are exceeding the speed limit – “Please Slow Down”. This must have happened atleast 20 times during the 40 km journey. Then at the end he was very reluctant in giving the change back as if he had earned an extra tip for the experience he had provided. 

Not that I have had not had worse experiences with drivers earlier, being from Bangalore and traveled in the city auto rickshaws (only Chennai auto guys are worse). But then for me the advantage which technology had given was lost by the human interface, this was what set me thinking about how important it is to sensitize and train the human element in the chain.

Rural Retail

Mobile rural retailer in MP...

Interesting Print Ad

Saw a good print ad in the morning newspaper, thought of sharing it, looking at the limited life of the print ads...

Standard Pack Sizes : Impact on Price Points..

I was reading a newspaper article on a new regulation wherein the Government has decided to reintroduce standard pack sizes for several items of everyday household consumption. The argument is that companies have been reducing the quantity of the product without changing the price of the product, which is not in the interest of the consumer. A consumer would not check the weight of a biscuit pack every time he buys. The non-standard pack size made it easier as they would keep reducing the quantity being sold without changing the price.


But one of the main reasons why companies have been reducing the quantity (without touching the pricing) is that in many categories especially biscuits, chocolates, chips… they are trying to hold on to certain price-points which the consumers and retailers are comfortable with. Like in the biscuits business it is the Rs 5 which is very critical and the SKU at that price point tends to be the volume driver for many brands. The moment the regulation of standard sizes is introduced many of these brands will have to vacate that price slot and move higher or lower price points. The other reason reducing the quantity is to indirectly pass on the price hike to the consumer.

I feel that this regulation is not really needed for, on two accounts, one is the assumption that consumers are not smart to realize the change in the product quantity. He might get fooled once, and then he would realize & factor- in his next purchase. The second reason is that the convenience which certain price points give, both to the retailer as well as the consumer; imagine giving 7.25 for a 100 gm biscuit packet..

Too Much of Steve Jobs??

Missing out is Pepsi to Apple.....

FDI in Retail - Kirana Stores

The debate on allowing FDI in retail is something which is up for discussion, so thought I should also pitch in with my thoughts. There are many dimensions and stakeholders here, the farmer/producers, the consumers, the kirana stores and of course the international retailers who are waiting to enter the Indian market.

I will start with focusing on the kirana stores or the small mom-n-pop retailers, which I have certain familiarity because my own research work. We are known as a country of shopkeepers, because of the high retail density and the sheer number of shops. In fact in the last five years I have been observing the large number of new small kirana stores which have come up in just the 3 km stretch before my residence. ( if one were to hazard a guess based on these 3 kms the growth of kirana stores in India, it might be in the high 30s). In India setting up a retail store is considered to be the easiest way to help settle down a young guy. So the concern is that if the bigger international retailers were to come in then probably these smaller retailers would be wiped-out, estimated between 10-15 million. If that were to happen then obviously it would become a major issue. But then the percentage of organized retail even in countries where they have been for long is not 100%, infact the percentage varies in countries like Japan , Malayisia and Thailiand they are from the high sixties to 40%.

And to tell the retail in India has not evolved in the last twenty would be very wrong, our own home grown retailers Like Big Bazaar, Reliance retail, Spencers have been there for quite some time, and have we seen small retailers close shop because of them? Infact I have personally seen these Kirana store respond by upgrade their shops and increasing their service levels.

By saying that the Kirana stores would disappear would be saying that exist because of an inefficiency in the market and the moment it is removed by bringing in more efficient larger retailers, the smaller inefficient ones would disappear. The reality is that the smaller retailers exist because they provide value by providing location convenience, smaller assortments and personalized services. And yes some of them would get impacted, those who are not able to respond to the changes. Have we not seen the STD booths disappear after mobiles came in, but then the STD booths have morphed into some other kind of retail store. I firmly believe that the retail scene would evolve very rapidly and change in the form of entry of larger organized retailers is inevitable and would happen.

In my next post I will look into the other stakeholders in the retail business and how would they be impacted...

Wooden Toys & Handicrafts : Disappearing

chanpattana toys

The basic logic behind segmentation is that there is heterogeneity in demand and  there would be demand for products /services across the value spectrum. But then today in many categories we can see mass manufacturing over-weighing this logic, we can see that happening in the case of traditional handicraft products, products made from clay, wooden toys.

The list is very long , and some of these products have even disappeared and for those which are still around you have to search for them as they have been substituted by cheap Chinese products. I have nothing against cheap Chinese stuff, I do realize that they do offer a value proposition for many of us. But my issue is that many retailers and even manufactures have abandoned the little high price reasonable quality (LHPRQ) platform in the market. They have started believing that only cheap (many a times low-quality) offering is the only offering which the consumer is interested in.

I also realize that with the advent of these 'cheap' products the market for the LHPRQ products must have shrunk, but if one is willing to wait out there would be a lot of consumers who would after some time look for better quality products. And in the meanwhile you would always have your loyal followers...

Rural Distribution : The Next Game Changer

Local Mela - Photos

Price Discovery through Fevicol

The other day one of our Guest Speakers Mr Manoj Shelar shared a very interesting example on price discovery. He said that at one point in time many of the plywood stores would deliberately sell Fevicol at a much lower price because carpenters would use the pricing of fevicol as an indicator of how the shopkeeper would price other products. The shopkeeper in turn would deliberatley keep the price of Fevicol low and then make his profits from plywood and other products.

I have always felt the same strategy is used by the sweet shop people, where they price their samsoas very low....

This strategy is used by many other retailers too, also known as the loss leader strategy, where there would be some categories in which the retailers would not make any or only a little profit, but they would increase the traffic to the store. And once you have more walk-ins the overall sales would improve and the retailer would make profits.