Reliance Fresh and Subhiksha - Retail Stores or Supermarkets in India -A ReviewReliance Fresh and Subhiksha have opened up retail supermarkets selling fruits and vegetables in major cities of India. Recently, Bharti has tied up with Wallmart to open up supermarkets in India. This post is about supermarkets in India and their long term effects.
A few days ago, I visited the local Reliance Fresh supermarket that had just opened in my Delhi neighbourhood and this is what I observed -
1. Range of Products - Regular vegetables, fruits, Reliances' own brands of packed pulses, Maggi products and Pepsi.
2. Prices - The price was marked in paisas just like at American stores. For example - Potatoes were priced at 5.90 per kg while onions were 15.90 per kg. Yeah right, what difference does 10p make?
3. Comparable Cost - The rate of vegetables like onions and potatoes were 10p less than that of local vegetable sellers. The rate of other products were however much higher than they should have been. Seems like Reliance Fresh applied the same strategy that McDonalds uses to attract customers - ice cream for Rs. 7 and Cola for Rs. 20.
4. Customer Service - The staff in red shirts were mainly checking to see if people were shoplifting and did'nt seem to know much about the products or company. The guards kept yelling at everyone to have their bags checked before leaving.
5. Checking Out - There was a long queue that moved very slowly. VAT or value added tax was added to the bill which increased the cost of the vegetables just bought.
6. Parking - Absolutely zero parking. The guard was yelling at local rickshaw pullers to move away from the entrance.
7. Customers - were middle class folk from my apartment block. They kept touching and turning around each vegetable before selecting them just like they do at the regular vegetable sellers. This looked really out of place and added to a huge crowd.
What is the future for retail supermarkets in India ?Well, Superbazaar was a government supermarket in the 1980's that closed down because of financial irregularities by employees and a lack of customers. Here's why I think Reliance Fresh and Subhiksha will go the same way -
1. Operating costs are too high - Rent for shops at prime areas, salaries of atleast 15 people at each store, refrigeration, transport, electricity, advertising and losses through shoplifting have to be accounted for. The profits earned through sales will be barely enough to recover costs.
2. Indians are too cheap and thrifty - Most customers won't take the bait of cheap potatoes. They would rather buy one kg of potatoes from Reliance and other products from whichever vegetable seller or retail store is cheaper.
3. Indians like to bargain and bully - Bargaining and getting freebies like chilli or coriander is not allowed at supermarkets like Reliance Fresh or Subhiksha.
4. Type of Products - The potatoes and onions on sale were of a small size. Some vegetables looked like they had been sprayed with something to make them shiny and attractive. People usually don't buy processed foods like jam, sauces, cheese, noodles etc. because ' yeh cheez pet main jum jaata hain'. (harmful as it is not easily digestible)
5. Vegetables are not changed everday and are refrigerated at night. People are aware that the food is not as 'fresh' as that of the local vegetable seller.
6. Most Indians like to shop in privacy, so that 'nazar' or evil eye does not fall on the goods they buy. This, I think is the main reason why a majority of the crowd at Reliance Fresh is just looking around and not buying much. (like me)
Effects of Retail Supermarkets Like Reliance Fresh- It may put small vegetable sellers and retail stores out of business. I bet even Reliance does not want this because sales of more costly Reliance products like cellphones, Vimal clothes etc. will suffer.
- Farmers are supposed to earn more as Reliance will buy directly from them instead of the mandi or wholesaler. Knowing the kind of cheats the Ambanis and Reliance are, I seriously doubt they will give the farmer a good price for their produce. Probably, just a rupee or so more so that the wholesalers lose the good vegetables.
- The government will benefit because vegetables will now be taxed.
The initial days saw a huge rush as people came to see what Reliance Fresh was all about after recieving pretty invitations and shopping card offers from the company. A few weeks later the crowd has thinned out. The companies are declaring 'huge profits' but I doubt if they can maintain the momentum in the long run.
Have you shopped at Reliance Fresh or Subhiksha ? Do you prefer the local vegetable seller ?
Eklavya - The Royal Guard - 3/10 - This movie starts off with a Rajasthani King (Boman Irani) murdering his sick queen (Sharmila Tagore) because she calls out the name of her lover Eklavya (Amitabh Bachchan) while he is reciting a poem from Shakespeare. Saif Ali Khan is the crown prince who returns from abroad for his mothers funeral. Eklavya is the royal guard who has sworn to protect the family. He is also the father of the crown prince.
Later on, I was sent on a shoot where 'top designers' like JJ Vallaya and Ritu Kumar were displaying their collection of Lehenga cholis and Saris. Ritu Kumar was a woman who was well practised in giving sound bites, JJ Vallaya, however, was quite a different story. This fat sardar, oh boy, he is a huge 1 metre in diameter - was hoity toity at its worst! Being a Punjabi and Indian, he started of by saying, "Don't ask me any questions in Hindi, its so uh..ah........(dismissive wave of hand). When I asked him on camera about expected revenues and plans for future growth, he started blabbing that, "everything is not about the money".........yeah right !
Most Indian designers just like other Indians in businesses like films, music or media lack originality when it comes to their creations. It is easier to copy outfits from fashion shows in non English speaking countries like Thailand, Brazil and Japan, add a few embellishments and pass them off as your own instead of creating them from scratch. Getting designs from student and upcoming designers is also another way to get outfits on the catwalk. However, the biggest mistake made by designers is using common fabrics and local tailors. Haphazard management of fashion events is another faux pas.
The media after being treated to a five star lunch and complimentary gifts may write stuff about 'foreign buyers' visiting and India being the newest fashion destination. These are just words and I've done it too ! Any juvenile can see that the clothes are just decorated 'potato sacks' - they are not measured, pinned and cut like those at top European fashion houses. Also, the fabric is not something new and different. The only foreign markets Indian designers can possibly cater too are the gullible socialites and NRI market. After all, non resident Indians and Pakistanis do need traditional outfits for weddings and other social occassions.
Here is the umpire in a mustard sweatshirt, black pants and a sun hat.
Here is the Irish captain Trent Johnston modelling the green cricket jersey of Ireland. The uniform has dark green trim.
This is the Zimbabwean cricket kit. It is red with green and white trim. Here is Prosper Utseya the captain of Zimbabwe and the youngest captain at the world cup in the official colours of the Zimbabwe team.
Here is the New Zealand world cup jersey. It is black with grey trim. The New Zealand uniform has the a fern leaf printed on the front of their shirt.
This is Liam Plunkett of England celebrating after he got a wicket. The England world cup jersey is blue, with one red sleeve, red trim and white piping. The Bermuda team jersey resembles it a bit when it comes to the colours.
South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs looks mighty pleased after hitting 6 sixes in a row. The South African team jersey is green with yellow trim. The cricket shirt has a picture of a lotus printed on the front.
Billy Sterling of the Netherlands celebrates after getting a wicket on the second ball on the match against South Africa. The Netherlands cricket jersey is bright orange with navy blue and white trim.
Sachin Tendulkar of India sporting the Indian Jersey. The Indian cricket shirt is a lighter shade of blue than usual with the tricolor along the left side of the shirt. It has white trim on the sleeves and collar.
Here is Mushfiqur Rahim of Bangladesh in their green world cup jersey. The Bangladesh cricket shirt has red trim on the collar and sleeves and yellow trim on the seams of the jersey and pants.
The West Indies world cup jersey is maroonish - pink with green and yellow trim. The West Indies played the first match of the 2007 world cup against Pakistan. They are hosting the matches over 9 Caribbean Islands.
The Pakistan cricket team uniform is dark green with light green and mango yellow trim. This one seems to look the coolest. Here is one of the new Pakistan bowlers - Iftikhar Anjum in the Pakistani world cup jersey.
The Australian team kit is yellow and green. The front design reminds me a bit of some of their older world cup uniforms. Glen McGraw looks cool as he models the jersey for Australia.
Scotland has a navy blue world cup jersey with white crosses on the shoulder. Scotland lost the opening match to Australia by 203 runs.
The Canadian cricket jersey is bright red with black sleeves and white trim. Here is Ian Bilcliff wearing the cricket official shirt of Canada.
The cricket uniform for Kenya is light green with red and black edgings.
Here is Sri Lanka's Chaminda Vaas modeling their blue jersey with yellow trim. The Sri Lankan national symbol of a lion holding a sword is on the front of the cricket uniform.
Bermuda is playing the world cup for the first time. Here is Saleem Mukaddam of Bermuda. The Bermuda cricket uniform is bright blue with half red sleeves and white borders. It reminds me a bit of the jerseys England wore to India during their 2006 tour.
I had always been skeptical of promotional contests thinking that they most probably give the prizes to friends or relatives....... until .........the day my 6 year old brother won a bike from Cheetos. Today, I know its possible to win stuff if you are lucky. The thought of winning a Caribbean cruise seems so unbelievable......wonder which lucky person will strike the jackpot ?
Guru - 4/10 - starring Mithun Chakraborty, Vidya Balan, Madhavan, Aish and Abhishek. Guru is based on the life of Dhirubhai Ambani - an unscrupulous industrialist. The movie is set in the 1960's and the characters age through the movie. The script is average. As for acting - Abhishek 'loser' Bachchan overeacts, Aishwarya Rai is her wide eyed self, Madhavan is average, Vidya Balan passes in her small role while Mithun Chakravorty is excellent as the publisher of a newspaper.
Black Friday - 2/10 - Is a confusing movie about the 1993 Bombay Blasts and Hindu Muslim riots. I couldn't figure out who the characters were supposed to be. Packed with blood, gore and scary scenes, I quickly flipped channels.
'Alpha' - Alex Beaujour
'Cotton Fields' - Alix Baeujour
'Dancers' - Alix Beaujour
Well, the festival of Holi is on Sunday, so this Thursday's episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati had a Holi theme. Just like the Valentines Day episode where Shah Rukh Khan brought in long term boyfriend Karan Johar, this time he brought in two other friends - Rani ' sore throat' Mukherjee and Preity Zinta. Here is a pic of Shah Rukh Khan with gulal all over his face.
Shah Rukh Khan revealed on KBC that Preity Zinta has only one dimple. Oooh...I did not know that. This makes her a kind of freak. Now to think of it, she is always photographed from the right side. Her left side is always hidden with hair. Shah Rukh Khan also talked about how he was a Pathan and the fact that his family is originally from Peshawar in Pakistan.
Dry Whiskas - Rs.80 for 200 gms
