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CHAPTER- 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction to Service Quality Management

1.1.1 Meaning of Quality

With the increasing competition in the midst of business organizations to attract

new markets and keep hold of accessible customers in the globalized market, one of the

most vital differentiating criteria might be the Quality of services that the organization

offers. However the meaning and viewpoint of quality may differ from person to person

and from situation to situation. Additionally to being indefinable, quality means

different things to different people. A producer‟s perceptive of Quality might be

different from that of a customer. Whereas almost everybody identifies the pervasive

impact of quality, each one at the same time, look to have complexity greedy with its

many dimensions. By means of goods it is not that complicated, which by nature are

tangible and therefore explaining various dimensions of quality attributes of it is

possible; but defining quality in services is particularly not easy because of the

intangible nature of the service offering.

Cooper Procter, CEO of Procter and Gamble pointed at the three significant

issues to managers of Manufacturing and Service organizations – Productivity, Cost and

Quality. According to Cooper Procter, quality of products and services that make

customer satisfaction adds to profitability of the organization in the long run. It is

possibly in this circumstance that a vice president of United Auto Works went on to say

“No quality, no sales. No sales, no profit. No profit, no jobs.”

Defining Quality in itself is a not an easy task since it is a relational view.

Therefore quality will have no exact meaning if it is not connected to a particular

function and in relation to which it is annexed to an entity. Quality is a perceptual,

provisional and to some extent subjective attribute. One of the earliest definitions of

Quality is Goodness of the product. A study among managers of 86 companies in

United States indicated following attributes to explain Quality.

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Perfection

Consistency

Elimination of waste

Speed of delivery

Compliance with policies and procedures

Providing a good, usable product

Doing it right the first time

Delighting or pleasing customers

Total customer service and satisfaction

Most of the above attributes are included in one or the other definitions of quality

during 20th

century. Several of these definitions are given below:

Subir Chowdhury: “Quality combines people power and process power.”

Philip B. Crosby: “Conformance to requirements.”

Joseph M. Juran: “Fitness for use.”

Robert Pirsig: “The result of care.”

Genichi Taguchi, definitions of quality:

“Uniformity around a target value.”

“The loss a product imposes on society after it is shipped”.

According to American Society for Quality: “A subjective term for which each

person has his or her own definition. In scientific usage, quality can have two meanings:

The distinctiveness of a product or service that stand on its ability to satisfy

stated or implied needs

A product or service free of deficiencies.”

Peter Drucker: “Quality in a product or service is not what the supplier puts in. It

is what the customer gets out and is willing to pay for.”

Gerald M. Weinberg: “Value to some person.”

Madhavan Karthikeyan: “Quality is Common Sense”.

Quality = Tangible + Intangible

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1.2 Concept of Service and Service Quality

1.2.1 Defining Service

Services are intangible and manual labor concentrated acts. Services are actions or

benefits that one party can offer to another that are basically intangible and do not result

in ownership of anything. Service is “The one which involves all economic activities

whose productivity is not a physical product or structure, is generally consumed at the

time it is produced, and provides additional value in the firm that are fundamentally

intangible concerns of its first purchase”. Services are deeds, processes and

performances.

Service organizations offer services as their center products, but manufacturing

units offer Customer service. Customer service is the service provided in support of a

organizations core products. In one of the articles of Steve Vargo the researcher argue

that all products and physical goods are appreciated for the services they afford and not

for the product itself. This is known as Derived service. Going by this statement all

goods has service parameters. Though, if services are to be analyzed for their quality

attributes it is required to distinguish services from goods. Services are diverse from

goods because of the following reasons:

Intangibility – services are deeds, processes and performances. Services give

way to psychological experiences more than they acquiesce physical possessions

Heterogeneity – services are processes which are delivered and consumed at the

same time. The human constituent in the process frequently results in

dissimilarity in service delivery and the insight of service quality.

No Inventory – services cannot be stored as they have a characteristic of perish

ability therefore service provider and consumer are involved at the same

instance.

No transfer of ownership – According to Robert Judd services as a market

operation by an enterprise or an entrepreneur wherever the object of the market

transaction is other than the transfer of ownership of a tangible commodity.

According to Regan services correspond to either intangibles yielding satisfaction

straight (banking, transportation, insurance, hospitals), or intangibles yielding fulfillment

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together when consumed either with merchandise or with other services (credit, delivery).

Regan‟s definition suggests that there is a component of service involved to tangible

products. There are extremely few „pure services‟ plus „pure products‟. The organizations

involved in the manufacture of tangible, physical products also offer customer service.

Levitt recommended that, with nearly all tangible core physical products, and intangible

service product is connected. According to Gronroos, organizations now compete with

each other on the basis of services, rather than on the basis of physical products. The

globalised marketplace has bound every manufacturing business to change itself into a

truthfully customer-oriented, service-focused project, irrespective of the products and

services it sells. Consequently, everyone is in service. In this circumstance, it is

significant that every industry accomplish something in achieving customer satisfaction

by offering services with the quality as professed by customers.

1.2.2 Service Quality and Service Management

Service quality represents value judgments about outcome, impacts and results of

what organizations do or offers. These characters may be planned by management in the

structure of a requirement or standard, or they might be a slanted assessment by clientele

or other recipient of products and services. Subjective assessments can be obtained by

comparing the service level that customers anticipate from the organization with the

service levels that the organizations intend to deliver.

In marketing terms, service quality has been defined as the consumer‟s judgment

about a firm's overall excellence, similar in numerous conducts to the consumer's general

attitude in the direction of the firm. But customers‟ perceptions of service quality are not

at all based on a lone variable, somewhat on a multifaceted set of variables with their own

straight experiences and associations with the firm or other explanations, published

information read or heard about the firm. Investigators have captured these essentials

elements in anticipated models of service quality. In addition, customer perceptions of

service quality are moreover influenced indirectly by great broader decision-making

issues such as managerial structure, attitude, and corporate culture. Service quality is

concerned with knowing customers, and developing services to meet customers‟ needs,

and lastly administrating the service production and delivery progression to the

customers‟ satisfaction.

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Quality is particularly difficult to describe, explain, calculate and consequently

manage in services. At the same time as quality and quality control procedures have

elongated existence for tangible goods, few such events have conventionally existed for

services. Basically, quality is resolute by inexact individual factors such as perceptions,

expectations and experiences of customers and providers, and, in a number of cases,

added parties such as public officials. Continuous attempts have been made by all

manufacturing and service organizations to deliver quality service to their customers.

Service companies use considerable time and possessions on measuring and

administration customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and service quality. Some

multinational companies, such as ING, KFC, etc link employee rewards to customer

satisfaction targets and achievements. Early 1980s saw the improvement of Scales to

determine customer satisfaction and service quality. The assessment of customer‟s

expectations with his perceptions of a service became a most important center of

consideration in the measurement of service quality. Buttle asserts that measuring service

quality has been adopted by many industries. Since services are intangible and more often

cannot be experimented with preceding to purchase, customers look for tangible

confirmation of what they are concerning to experience in a given service encounter.

Even when a customer has had substantial precedent experience with a service provider,

changes and contextual cues will have an effect on the consumer‟s expectations of the

instant service encounter.

Measurement of quality of service delivery involves tangible and intangible

dimensions of service delivery. Physical facilities, parking facilities, credit facilities,

cleanliness etc, have more tangible elements where as Individual customer service,

empathy, receptiveness, capability etc have more intangible elements.

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Fig. 1.1 Tangible and intangible dimensions of service delivery

Adopted: Gilmore, Audrey. Services marketing and management, SAGE Publications, pg 20.

1.3 Role of Service sector in Economy

India's services sector contributes to about 65 per cent of the nation‟s gross

domestic product, 35 per cent of employment, a quarter of the sum trade, and over half

of the foreign investment inflows. The services organizations are one of the major and

fastest- developing sectors in the international market. Its contribution to the Indian

economy is predominantly significant; with observe to employment latent and impact on

national income. This industry covers a extensive range of activities, such as transport,

communication, trading, finances, and others. The services industry offers enormous

business projection to investors. Without the sector‟s ability to make revenue, it would

be complicated for the Indian economy to obtain the vigorous place currently enjoys on

the universal platform.

Composition of Service Sector in India -

Service sector includes the following:

1. Trade, hotels and restaurants

Trade

Hotels and restaurants

2. Transport, storage and communication

Railways

Transport by other means

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Storage

Communication

3. Financing, Insurance, Real Estate and Business Services

Banking and Insurance

Real Estate, Ownership of Dwellings and Business Services

4. Community, Social and Personal services

Public Administration and defense

Other services

1.4 Evolution of Indian Retail

The retail industry is divided into two sectors

Unorganised retail - Kirana Shops, Owner manned General Stores, Paan/beedi

shops

Organised retail - Modern Retailing Format Stores, Privately owned large retail

businesses, Retail Chains

More than 90% of the Indian Retail industry is subjugated by the unorganized

sector. In India organized retail trade is only 5% of the total retail trade Unorganized

retail is anticipated to raise at 5% and attain a size of US$ 650 billion (76%), at the same

time as organized retail is anticipated to grow at 25% and attain a size of US$ 200 billion

by 2020 according to the sector profile by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce

and Industry (FICCI). The organized retail market share in India is expected to be 9% of

entire retail market by 2015 and 20% by 2020 India‟s massive growth of economic

development and demographic profile place it separately from other countries and present

a persuasive business place for international retailers trying to enter the market. The

Retail business has been on a growth route over the past decade. With the economy stable

from the past few years, retailers are implementing their development plans. Retailing

companies are implementing their development plans with the focal point on Tier II and

Tier III cities and towns. Most of the retailers are focusing on rural market as the

competition in the rural area is comparatively lesser than urban areas. It is pragmatic that

the rural areas saw consumption even at the stage of economic slowdown. Rural India

accounts for 2/5th of the total consumption in India. Therefore, most corporate players do

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not want to be left out of the rural development story and are devising plans and strategies

that are suitable particularly to the rural consumer

1.4.1 Organised Retailing in India

The Indian retail sector is one of the best growing industries in India. It has grown

at a Compounded Annual Growth Rate of 13.3% from the last few years. The Indian

retail market has shown larger acceptance for organised retail formats. Retail is primarily

a volume game. Going forward, with increasing competition and costs, retail players who

are able to provide to the wants of customers, are able to diminish costs, and face rivalry

will have a competitive advantage. The subsequent stage of growth in the retail sector

will come out from the rural markets, other than that sector too has quite a few challenges

such as lower purchasing power of the consumers, poor finance facilities, well-built local

associations with Kirana stores and complete benefits of the government schemes such as

the NREGA. Domestic retailing is growing from a huge number of unorganised family-

owned businesses to organised modern retailing. Speedy urbanisation, growth in the

economy, increasing incomes, double-income families, and changes in shopping

prototype, demographic features and practical course by the government are abetting the

speedy development of the retail sector in India, in the midst of other things. Although

organised retail is growing at a rate of about 35% year on year, it barely accounts for 6%

of the Indian retail sector, while in developed nations like the USA; the market share of

organised retail sector is about 80 percent. This indicates that the sky is the boundary

with regard to development opportunities for the organised retail players. The industry is

keenly waiting for the sanction of FDI in multi brand retail. The current players

experience that FDI will help them in financial support and expansion plans. FDI is

anticipated to bring in more competence in the supply chain activities of retailers as well.

The retail market in India provides important opportunities for retailers. This is

determined by factors such as a huge consumer base, growing incomes & job

opportunities, growing consumer awareness, etc The luxurious and E-commerce markets

are also at a budding stage in India, however they are looking to blow up as brand

awareness, size of the hopeful youth population, cash on delivery etc are increasing all

over India

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1.4.2 Retail formats in India

Shopping Malls

Malls are a future inclination in Retail market. The thought is based on

constructing air–habituated malls and renting the flooring space out to individual shops.

Shoppers make use of the same parking services and there is a mutual brand drag of all

outlets. Malls motivate fashion–based shopping, as different as of the need–based

shopping stimulated by super–markets and discount stores. Malls look to place

themselves as destination shopping location. Mall traditions in India and particularly in

Delhi has grown-up with an unbelievable pace, although this culture was previously

existing for the past quite a few years in additional major multinational cities. Just a few

years back, people have to make a selection among shopping, cinema or execution out on

a holiday but thanks to our malls, all these activities can be carried out at the same time,

under the same roofing and that also with a magnificent experience. And it is on the

whole the knowledge and not the purpose that counts while it comes to malls. The cause

why shopping malls are so well-liked lies in their global appeal. Examples are Mumbai‟s

Inorbit, Delhi‟s Ansal Plaza, mall of Mysore, Garuda Mall etc.

Hypermarkets

The hypermarkets combine supermarket, warehouse and discount retailing

principles. Their product collection goes beyond regularly purchased goods and includes

furnishings, large appliances, garments and many items. The fundamental approach is

mass display and minimum conduct by store personnel, with discounts accessible to

consumers who are eager to carry important appliances and furniture out of the store. Big

Bazaar is currently rising as India‟s biggest hypermarket chain. Modeled the length of

global hypermarket chains like Wal–Mart, the Big Bazaar have several manufactured

goods categories. The present estimation is that it stocks close to 2 lakh items across 20

product categories, including pharmaceuticals, electrical items, hardware, and food and

provisions etc.

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Specialty Stores

Specialty stores, as it implies, it is one that take a narrow product line with

bottomless collection within that line. Distinctive examples are jewellery stores.

According to a number of marketing thinkers, the prospect scenario belong to marvelous

specialty stores as they offer increasing opportunities for market segmentation, and

formation of brand equity. One is already observing the tendency Gaining position in the

Indian market mainly in garment and fashion goods industry.

Department Stores

A department store offers quite a few product lines, perpetually all that is

necessary by a typical family. These lines include foodstuff, clothes, appliances and other

family circle goods, home furnishings and curios. In India these stores are at the opening

stage and they are largely situated in metropolitan cities.

Supermarkets

This is a huge, low price, high quantity, self-service procedure designed to serve

up the customer‟s call for food, laundry and family preservation products. On one

occasion again one do not perceive these supermarkets in the factual sense of the word in

India.

Convenience Stores

There are normally foodstuff stores that are much minor in size than

supermarkets. They are expediently situated near housing areas and contain extended

hours of operations, throughout the weak, and carry a few lines of high revenue

convenience products. In the Indian circumstance, the old and realistic street corner

grocery store are the ones that can be called convenience stores.

1.5 Retail Service Quality Model

Service quality in retailing is different from other service environments (Finn and

Lamb, 1991; Gagliano and Hathcote, 1994). Since the retail service is unique in nature,

measuring retail service quality will have to be different from the conventional service

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quality measurement. To overcome the above mentioned constraint in service quality

model, Dabholkar, Thorpe and Rentz (1996) developed the retail service quality scale

(RSQS) for measuring service quality in the retail setup. The RSQS has a five

dimensional structure of which three dimensions comprise of two sub-dimensions each.

Dabholkar, Thorpe and Rentz (1996) replicated their own study and found all the RSQS

dimensions and sub-dimensions to be valid in the USA. The RSQS five dimensional

model is depicted in Figure 1.2.

Sl. No Dimensions Definitions

1. Physical aspects Retail store appearance and store layout

2. Reliability Retailers keep their promises and do the right things

3. Personal interaction Retail store personnel are courteous, helpful, and inspire

confidence in customers

4. Problem solving Retail store personnel are capable to handle returns and

exchanges, customers‟

problems and complaints

5. Policy Retail store‟s policy on merchandise quality, parking,

operation hours, and credit cards

Figure 1.2: Retail Service Quality Model

Retail Service Quality Model:

Good customer satisfaction has an effect on the profitability of nearly every

business. For example, when customers perceive good service, each will typically tell

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nine to ten people. It is estimated that nearly one half of American business is built upon

this informal, “word-of-mouth” communication (Gitomer, 1998). Improvement in

customer retention by even a few percentage points can increase profits by 25 percent or

more (Griffin, 1995). The University of Michigan found that for every percentage

increase in customer satisfaction, there is an average increase of 2.37% of return on

investment (Keiningham & Vavra, 2001). Most people prize the businesses that treat

them the way they like to be treated; they‟ll even pay more for this service. However, a

lack of customer satisfaction has an even larger effect on the bottom line. Customers who

receive poor service will typically relate their dissatisfaction to between fifteen and

twenty others. The average American company typically loses between 15 and 20 percent

of its customers each year (Griffin, 1995). The cost of gaining a new customer is ten

times greater than the cost of keeping a satisfied customer (Gitomer, 1998). In addition, if

the service is particularly poor, 91% of retail customers will not return to the store

(Gitomer, 1998).

1.6 Problem Statement

In the last decade, many firms have realized that anticipating, meeting and

understanding customer need is probably the most important source of competitive

advantage. To gain competitive advantage, it is paramount to focus on improving service

quality as a way of differentiation. Smaller retail store in India are seen to be offering

more personal service but with inadequate stock and facilities but large retailers are seen

as offering better merchandise choice and public amenities with standardized and non

personalized services. In the fast pace of life, people don‟t have time for shopping at all

and encounter great difficulties to shop the product that they need. In fact what people

require is that the entire product should be available under one roof. Even though there

are many organized retail store who have failed in attracting the customer towards them.

Therefore, I am concentrating in measuring service quality for retail industry towards

customer satisfaction. It is also important to keep in mind that the customers within the

supermarket represent a very broad and unique group of people, where vastly different

cultural and social backgrounds are found. This diversity may result in a potential

mismatch between consumers‟ expectations and their actual purchase experiences.

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1.7 Objectives of the Study

1. To examine the relationship between service quality dimensions and customer

satisfaction.

2. To assess the linkage between the demographic character of customer and their

association with retail service quality satisfaction in supermarkets.

3. To examine the key determinants that affects the performance of selected

organized retailers.

4. To rank the supermarket on the basis of customer opinion.

5. To examine the relationship between attributes of supermarket and customer

satisfaction.

1.8 Hypotheses

1) Ho- There is no significance difference between service quality dimensions and

customer satisfaction.

H1- There is significance difference between service quality dimensions and

customer satisfaction.

2) Ho- There is no significant relationship between the customer demography and

their service quality satisfaction.

H1- There is significant relationship between the customer demography and their

service quality satisfaction.

3) Ho- There is no significant relationship between attributes of supermarket and

customer satisfaction.

H1- There is significant relation between attributes of supermarket and customer

satisfaction.

1.9 Scope of the Study

All research is delimitated by its scope and choice of research methods. In terms

of scope, this research will be confined to five supermarkets in Mysore city. The data for

this study will be collected from the consumers shopping in Big bazaar, More, Easy Day,

Reliance Mart and Loyal World supermarkets in Mysore City.

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1.10 Methodology

1.10.1 Research design:

A combination of exploratory and descriptive research design is used for

conducting this research. Exploratory design was used initially to get acquainted with the

problem environment to determine the general nature of problems and variables related to

it and to design an appropriate measurement instrument. The descriptive design was used

to analyze the voluminous data that was collected through primary and secondary

research methods for interpretation and conclusion.

1.10.2 Source of the Data:

Primary Data: Primary data was collected through a structured questionnaire. Full

questionnaires were developed and pre-tested in a pilot study conducted before scaling

for research. The primary data was also collected from the customers and managers of

supermarket.

Secondary Data: Considering the nature of the business and their criticalities, secondary

data was collected from sources like: libraries, journals, World Wide Web, papers,

documentary reports, books etc.

1.10.3 Sample Size:

The sample size of 250 respondents were selected (50 respondents were selected

in each supermarket). The composition of the respondents include supermarket

consumers of Big bazaar, More, Easy day, Reliance Mart and Loyal World supermarkets

in Mysore City Mysore. The sample areas are selected on the basis of convenience

sampling method and the selected respondents are interviewed with the aid of a designed

questionnaire.

1.10.4 Data Analysis Techniques:

To analyze the data collected from respondents and to test hypotheses, various

statistical tools and techniques have been applied in this study. For the purpose of

processing and analyzing the collected data, statistical tools such as tables are used in this

study. Mean and standard deviation, are used for descriptive statistics. Cronbach‟s alpha

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is used for determining the predictive validity and reliability of the variables used in the

study. The hypotheses are tested using One Sample T-test, ANOVA, Levene‟s Test for

equality of variances and Tukey‟s HSD post-hoc test. The data collected from

respondents is analyzed with the help of SPSS.

1.11 PROFILE OF SUPERMARKETS IN MYSORE

1.11.1 PANTALOON

Pantaloon Retail is the endeavour of the Future Group led by its initiator and

group CEO, Kishore Biyani.

The Future Group

The revolutionary Future Group which not only aims to be a leader in Indian retail

but shift the entire retail field in India to superior global levels declares the following in

its dynamic manifesto

Rewrite Rules, Retain Values:

“Our manifesto encourages us to discover the unknown areas and inscribe new

rules to generate new opportunities and successes. Our focus in determined for a glorious

future which gives us strength and the capability to learn, unlearn and re-learn our ability

to evolve.

Our consumers will not just obtain what they need, however also get them where,

how and when they require any product or service. We will not just place satisfactory

results, we will inscribe success stories. We will not just activate efficiently and

effectively in the Indian economy, we will develop it. We will not just spot consumer

trends, but we will set trends by understanding of the Indian consumer to their wants of

tomorrow.

1.11.2 Mission of Future Group

The Future Group has the revelation and conviction that their customers and

stakeholders will be served merely by executing potential scenarios in the consumption

space, leading to development of the economy.

i. The Future Group will be the leader in developing delivery formats, creating retail

realty, making consumption affordable for all customer segments.

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ii. The Future Group shall introduce Indian brands with confidence.

iii. The Future Group shall be resourceful, cost- aware and dedicated to superiority in

anything it does.

iv. The Future Group shall guarantee that their optimistic attitude, honesty,

humbleness and determination shall be the key factors for their success.

Core Values

i. Self-confidence.

ii. Leadership.

iii. Respect and Humility.

iv. Introspection

v. Openness.

vi. Valuing and Nurturing Relationships.

vii. Simplicity and Positivity.

viii. Adaptability.

1.11.3 Belief of Future Group’s

The Future Group is dedicated to being a optimistic change in the community,

society and industrial sectors in which they function. The group takes conceit in its

Indian ness, since this is where the prospect of retail business is. The group‟s trust in

completeness for long-term continuous development and economic affluence seeks to

evoke faith among all the stakeholders of the company.

1.11.4 Overview and History

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

retail forms the centre business movement of Future Group, group subsidiaries are present

in consumer finance, resources, insurance, vacation and entertainment, brand

development, retail real estate development etc.

Pantaloon Retail, the group operate over 12 million square feet of retail space in

71 cities and towns and 65 rural area across India. The group owns a number of important

formats such as Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Home Town etc. Pantaloon Retail

was documented as the International Retailer of the Year – 2007 by National Retail

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Federation, which is based in US, the largest retail trade association. FutureBazaar.com is

the e-commerce limb of the Future Group. Future Bazaar offers an incorporated shopping

site where customers are able to purchase products online and get home delivery of

products. Future Bazaar delivers its product and services in more than 1,500 cities and

towns in India. Future Bazaar carries authentic products and provides manufacturer's

warranty. The total supply chain at this time is completely managed by Future Group

entities.

Figure-1.3: Pantaloon Retail Major Segments and Ventures

Pantaloon Retail India Ltd Brands across Various Retail Segments are as follows:

i. Fashion: Pantaloons, Central Big Bazaar and Fashion Station

ii. Food: Food Bazaar

iii. General Merchandise: Central Malls and Big Bazaar

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iv. Specialty Retailing: All , Blue Sky

v. Home Decor: Home Town, E-Zone, Furniture Bazaar, Electronics Bazaar, and

Mela

vi. Books and Stores: Depot

vii. Communications: M- Zone and Converge M

viii. E-tailing: Futurebazaar.Com

ix. Footwear: Show Factory

x. Leisure and Entertainment: Bowling Co, Rain, Bollywood Café, Chamosa, Fuel,

Sport Bar, Food Stop and Your Kitchen.

1.11.5 Pantaloon Retail – A Trend Setter

Pantaloon Retail, these days, is in the middle of India's largest chains of fashion

stores. Pantaloons new fashion, with its focal point on fresh look, feel and attitude offer,

fashionable and hip collections that are with the aspirations of the discriminating young

and the 'young-at-heart' customers. Pantaloons Fashion stands out as a style leader, on

the outline of how fashion is followed globally. This 'fresh fashion' purpose allows

consumers to shop for the newest in fashion clothing and garnish all the way through the

year in a beautiful and visually inspiring ambience.

Pantaloons Fashion stores have a existence not just in metro cities but also in

smaller and medium towns. All stores have a broad assortment of categories for men,

women and kids. As India‟s most important retailer, Pantaloon Retail inspire belief

through pioneering offerings, superiority in products quality and reasonably priced that

help customers attain a better quality of life every day. Pantaloon Retail serves customers

in 120 cities and 80 rural locations across the nation through over 20 million square feet

of retail space.

In the course of multiple retail formats, the Pantaloon group connects a varied and

passionate community of Indian buyers and sellers. The communal impact on commerce

and trade is astounding: Around 250 million customers saunter into the stores each year

and select products and services supplied by over 35,000 small, medium and large

entrepreneurs and manufacturers from across India.

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1.11.6 Company History and Timeline - Pantaloon Retail Legend

1987 - The company was incorporated.

1991 - The company was transformed into a public limited company

The name of the company was changed as Pantaloon Fashions (India) Limited

The company was mainly engaged in the production and marketing of readymade

clothing for men, including khakis, shirts, denims, blazers etc

The company's goods were marketed in the brand name "Pantaloon" through a

system of over 300 dealers straddling the metro and class l cities of the country.

The company was at first promoted by Kishore Biyani.

1992 - The company effectively launched the "Pantaloon" Trousers, shirts, suits

and other garments.

1994 - The company launched a new brand called `John Miller'.

1996-Pantaloons Fashions (India) Ltd launched the Yorker brand.

The name of the company was changed to Pantaloon Retail Ltd.

The corporation set up a manufacturing plant in Mumbai with a capacity of 1,200

pieces per day.

Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with

the K.J. Somaiya Institute of Management and Research Studies to offer a

specialised course in retail management

2006 -Pantaloon Retail joined hands with management schools across the country

for courses in retail management.

2008 -Pantaloon Retail inked a 50-50 joint venture pact with French apparel firm

Celio to market its garments in India.

Future Group roped in legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar to co-create Sach

Toothpaste.

2011 -Future Learning and NSDC decided to create 1.4 million entrepreneurs.

Future Innoversity started offering MBA and BBA course in retail and supply

chain management in association with IGNOU.

Future Group launched India‟s first Financial Superstore.

Big Bazaar launched exclusive edition of “World Cup 2011” products under

Brand Sach.

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1.11.8 More (Aditya Birla Retail Limited, ABRL)

Aditya Birla Group, a USD 28 billion company. The corporation entered into the

food and grocery sector of retailing in the year 2007 with the acquisition of the south-

based supermarket chain “Trinethra”. Afterwards Aditya Birla Retail Ltd extended its

company across the country under the brand "More" consisting of two formats, that is,

hypermarket and supermarket.

1.11.9 Vision statement of More’s

"To constantly provide the Indian consumer with absolute and unique shopping

experience and be amongst India's top retailers, while also delivering superior returns to

all stakeholders".

Values at More

Integrity

Commitment

Passion

Seamlessness

Speed

1.11.12 Quality Policy

More is dedicated to guarantee its customers of the quality of the goods and

services on a reliable basis. The corporation keeps the customers at the midpoint

of everything it does and is devoted to earn trust and recognition as India‟s

premier retail organization.

This dedication to quality is equipped by the core value - “Passionate about

Consumers and Committed to Quality”.

ABRL is also committed to respecting the corporate social and environmental

responsibilities.

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More ensures that commodities available at its provisions meet stringent

stipulation and regulatory and statutory needs through execution of robust quality

management systems.

More ensures that its private brands are thoroughly managed such that the finished

goods, raw materials, and labelling components supplied to them are safe and

meet ABRL specifications and requirements.

More also takes care that their vendors and third party manufacturers meet ABRL

specifications for the goods supplied.

More ensures that at its processing sites, the extensive supply chain and the built-

up practices and processes assemble the highest standards of Good Hygiene

Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices at all stage and in every operation.

More gives high significance to implement a accurate, credible and well-

organized assessment, examination, testing and certification system.

More ensures that workers are dedicated, capable, fully trained and are working in

a flawless manner to meet consumer anticipation.

More is ever determined in the direction of a well-organized customer redress

scheme where purchaser concerns are well addressed, root cause identified, and

corrective and preventative activities implemented.

1.11.14 Employees

Aditya Birla Retail Limited at present has an employees of over 11,300 with

major functions being managed and controlled by professionals with enormous retail

experience in India and internationally.

1.11.15 Quality and Value through Private Labels

Aditya Birla Retail Ltd provides customers with a wide range of products in its

own labels. The purpose is to offer quality products at attractive price points to customers.

Since quality of the products is of major importance, rigorous quality norms are followed.

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Private Label Food Brands

1. Feasters

2. Kitchen's Promise

3. Best of India

Home and Personal Care Brands

1. Enriche

2. Pestex

3. Paradise

4. Germex

1.11.16 More Supermarket

With a vision to be in the middle of the most important retail players in India,

Aditya Birla Retail launched its first supermarket, More, in May, 2007. More has had an

hostile roll out, accomplishing a total count of over 600 stores across India nowadays.

More is the supermarket which takes care of consumers‟ daily household requirements

and more. extended across a wide variety of products which can be alienated into food

and non-food items, the products assortment from fruits and vegetables, staples, personal

care, dairy products etc., More is able to accomplish the consumers‟ daily shopping

requirements below one roof, at a suitable location.

More offers a world class shopping experience, with a recent form of store layout,

easy-to-shop ambience, and gracious staff to offer any assistance, computerised billing

facilities and a bright ambience. More offers branded food and grocery commodities

sourced from foremost brands all over India, together with private label brands from its

own collection - accessible in a broad selection, for all time giving the best probable value

for the consumer‟s money.

Products and Services

More is dedicated to deliver superior quality and value to its consumers and have

a variety of private label brands in addition to commercially branded products. More

hosts a series of private label brands across a variety of categories that go after severe

quality norms and are accessible at attractive prices. More‟s best products provide the

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customer the occasion to get pleasure from the quality that is equal to or superior than the

market's leading brands, at a reasonable prices.

The store offers a broad variety of over 4,000 products, ranging from food to

beverages, grocery to family care products. More‟s variety covers the whole thing, from

day-to-day requisites to usual favourites, from tasty treats, to fit alternatives. More has

built straight linkages with farmers for every day supplies of ranch produce. More stores

are constructed to make a modern and comfy ambience, with air-conditioning and

automatic cashiering to assist the consumer shop better and earlier. More also has friendly

in-store policy on swap and returns that help the customer shop with console.

Product Categories Available in More Supermarket

Bakery Products

Beauty Concepts

Beverages

Basic Apparels

Cutlery and Cookware

Fruits and Vegetables

Frozen and Dairy Products

FMCG Products

Grocery

General Merchandise

Home Care Products

Household needs

Home Decor Products

Mobile Store

Personal Care and Cosmetics

Processed Food

Pharmacy

1.11.17 Easy Day

Bharti Enterprises, one of India‟s leading business groups, believes organised retail

has the potential to greatly contribute to India‟s economic growth. Bharti Retail is

committed to make a positive impact on the lives of its customers across India, within and

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outside the store. It also aims to provide employment to thousands of youth with diverse

backgrounds. Driven by its mission to „Enable India, Live Better‟, Bharti Retail‟s goal is

to establish a pan-India footprint and become the most-preferred retailer of India.

Bharti Retail operates neighbourhood, compact hypermarket stores called Easyday.

These stores provide consumers a wide assortment of quality products at everyday low

prices.

Easyday stores are one-stop shops that cater to every family‟s day-to-day needs.

They bring together wide range of relevant goods, high quality products and great in-store

experience and service – all under one roof. The wide assortment of goods includes

personal care products, stationery, household articles, hosiery items, as well as daily-need

groceries, including staples, processed foods, bakery & dairy products, meat & poultry

and fresh produce.

Easyday Market provide customers the choice of 30,000 products across 250

categories that bring together a combination of the familiar and the innovative – all under

one roof. Items range from apparels for men, women and kids, home furnishings, home

ware, cosmetics, a wide range of kids‟ toys, small appliances, mobile phones and

stationery. These stores also have live bakery, meat, poultry and fish and offer fresh fruits

and vegetables, grocery and general merchandise.

Easyday Hyper offers customers quality products at everyday low price, a great

shopping experience and consistent availability, all under one roof. Spread over 60,000 sq

ft, this easyday Hyper store offers over 475 new items across categories such as jams &

spreads, religious needs, spices, flour, biscuits, namkeens, ethnic sweets, oils, ready to

fry, chocolate & candy, frozen mutton, frozen vegetables & pickles. In addition, a wide

assortment of 3D & LED televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, mobile phones,

laptops, tablets and cameras is also available in this format. easyday Markets and easyday

Hyper promise “Sabse Kam Daam, Har Din” or everyday low prices offer for their

extensive product mix.

1.11.18 Pan-India Footprint.

The first easyday store opened in Ludhiana and easyday market in Jalandhar in

2008. Presently, there are over 220 stores in cities across Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh,

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Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, New Delhi,

Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The stores comprise

over 190 easyday Supermarkets and about 23 easyday Market and easyday Hyper stores.

Talent Pool Creation

To provide multi-faceted career opportunities for India‟s youth, Bharti Retail plans

to employ 60,000 people by 2015. This would include ex-servicemen, women and the

differently-abled. In order to create a retail industry talent pool, the Company has

established the Bharti Academy of Retail (BAR) to provide basic retail training free of

cost. BAR is the pre-employment training-cum-hiring arm of Bharti Retail that ensures a

hiring pool for Store Associates positions, and assures consistent quality of recruitment

and provides on-time hiring to stores.

An equal-opportunity employer, Bharti Retail employs people from diverse

backgrounds with different academic qualifications, work experience, gender and age.

BAR‟s unique training curriculum with a two-day module (two days‟ Classroom Training

followed by Certification and Selection) is based on observation and experience and

designed to equip people with the knowledge and expertise required to work in Bharti

Retail Stores. BAR sources candidates across categories, trains them on basics of retailing

and recruits them for the various format of stores.

BAR follows the Hub-and-Spoke model, wherein a permanent BAR setup at a

specified location caters to hiring requirements of the hub location and nearby smaller

locations, categorized as spoke locations. A temporary BAR setup is operational only for

the period of hiring and uses the services of the staff at the Hub location for counseling

and training.

Easyday aims at making the everyday life of the homemaker a lot easier in many

small ways and enabling her to save money on an everyday basis. The easyday stores are

intended to be the most trusted neighbourhood stores and to cater primarily to the daily

and weekly Food and Grocery needs of their customers. The assortment also includes

personal care products, stationery, household articles and dairy and meat products. With

the right assortment, warm and caring service, „always in-stock‟ status and assured

savings, easyday stores are aimed at becoming a one-stop shop for everyday needs and

empowering customers and their families to live a better life. Currently, the easyday

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stores cater to over 60,000 customers daily through over 190 stores across Punjab,

Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, New

Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka.

1.11.19 Easyday Hyper

Currently, the first of the easyday Hyper has opened in Mumbai. Easyday Hyper

stores offer a destination shopping experience that caters to all household needs of every

family. They bring together a wide range of goods, high quality products and great in-

store experience & service - all under one roof. The product assortment includes jams &

spreads, religious needs, spices, flour, biscuits, namkeens, ethnic sweets, oils, ready to

fry, chocolate & candy, frozen mutton, frozen vegetables & pickles. Additionally, the

store offers a wide assortment of 3D & LED televisions, refrigerators, washing machines,

mobile phones, laptops, tablets and cameras.

1.11.20 Reliance Mart

Reliance Mart, a Reliance undertaking, is a subsidiary and associate of the

Reliance retail section. This store trades in all kinds of consumer products & durables and

is located in B. N road, Mysore. Reliance Mart has, unlike any other company, made life

much easier for the Indian consumers, in terms of approaching one single store for all

their durables and product purchases.

Reliance ltd, the mother of this group, has rapidly multiplied its chain of retail

outlets in no time. This giant company which has its empire spread across all sectors

realizes the importance and the vitality of FMCG goods and consumer durables in the

lives of middle class families. Keeping this in mind, the umbrella brand has come up with

this mart-cum-store, in order to make the purchasing patterns of the consumers much

easier, in terms of affordability and quality.

It‟s time for the Reliance Retail juggernaut to unleash three more specialty

formats on unsuspecting masses. They‟ll all be under the Home umbrella-and the venture

could even be called Reliance Home-with separate for-mats for furniture, furnishing and

kitchen equipment. That will be yet another launch of yet another specialty format from

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RRL, in yet another category. Consider the rollout-which Ronak would rather term a

“cloudburst,”-so far: Hypermarkets, Reliance Town Centers, supermarkets, convenience

stores, specialty stores (digital, health and wellness, apparel, etc.), rural business hubs; in

categories like food & grocery, consumer durables & electronics, auto care and lifestyle.

The big bang of course has been in foods & grocery, where RRL has 572 Reliance Fresh

stores across 59 cities. And there‟s the biggest store in India, the hyper mart that‟s

branded Reliance Mart (there are three of them so far), in Ahmedabad, spread over

165,000 sq. ft. That it still has ample empty spaces is another matter, but the quest for size

scale is typical of the Ambani strategy of creating capacities not based on today‟s demand

conditions but what will play out in future.

Ronak hasn‟t had much time to breathe easy-the 30 minutes he spent with this

writer at the Bombay Gymkhana may have been the only moments of respite in a

longtime, sandwiched as he is between meetings of the various teams (of the Footprint

Stores, the Digital Stores, Wellness Stores). Over the past five weeks, and the coming

seven, Ronak has had, and will have, his hands full putting in place some more hyper

marts. By the July the hyper marts will be spread over 1 million sq. ft. Currently, RRL is

spread over 3.5 million sq. ft (105 million sq. ft being hogged by the 572 Reliance Fresh

Stores selling fruits & vegetables)-all done over the past 17 months, which has company

officials boasting that this is the fastest rollout n such a scale in the world. “In categories

like garments and lifestyle, and to a certain extent consumer durables, (organized retail)

has made significant progress. But in foods and grocery, the biggest market, the action

has yet to play out,” says Ronak, who is also on the board of RRL.

At the Reliance group, the various heads of the retail ventures function as stand-

alone entrepreneurs, who‟ve crafted their own business plans, got the ventures financed

by the group, and who now have to deliver results. The common thread running through

these various forays is a burning desire to provide quality products and services at the

best prices, and in the most convenient setting. For this purpose, Reliance is also

attempting to create an efficient global supply chain in an effort to add more value. “We

have seen significant progress at the shop-keeping end of organized retail. But the

competitive edge will lie with those who are successful in creating an efficient supply

chain. The big lacuna today is in logistics and distribution, which also makes it a

significant opportunity,”

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1.11.21 Launching of Reliance Mart

Aug 15, Reliance Retail Ltd (RRL) launched its first Hypermarket named

'RelianceMart' at Iscon Mega Mall (biggest mall in Gujarat) in Ahmedabad. Reliance

Mart, 3-storey Mart spread over 1,65,000 sq ft will have on its shelves over 95,000

products ranging from fresh produce, food and grocery, home care and health products,

apparel and accessories, non-food FMCG products, consumer durables and IT,

automotive accessories, lifestyle products. This Hypermart is being opened in less than a

year of Reliance's entry into the 300-billion-dollar booming organised retail business.

Last November, it had set up a cluster of Reliance Fresh stores in Hyderabad. According

to Raghu Pillai, President and CEO (operations and strategy), Reliance Industries Limited

(RIL), each of the hypermarket "will be better than the best in the market."

Services

It offers some unique services to the shoppers like tailoring, shoe repair, watch

repair, a photo shop, gifting services and laundry services all within the store under one

roof and also it has its own bakery shop. The launch of Reliance Mart is a step forward by

Reliance Retail towards providing an international shopping experience to the customers

at unmatched affordability, guaranteed quality and choice of products and services.

Reliance Mart will also provide easy and attractive finance options, including zero per

cent financing for the purchases on select products. Reliance Mart will continue to offer

all its customers RelianceOne, a common membership and loyalty programme across all

its formats, which follows the philosophy of 'Earn Anywhere, Spend Anywhere'.

The next two hypermarkets are to be opened in Jamnagar in Gujarat and in the NCR by

next month with plans to open 30 such marts by the year. Raghu Pillai, President and

CEO (operations and strategy), Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) said the company is

planning to set up 500 hypermarkets.

Reliance Retail is building a robust and state-of-the-art supply chain infrastructure

spanning the entire country, besides setting up its own cold storage chain. It is expected to

generate direct employment for half-a-million people and indirect employment to two

million.

Reliance hypermarket CEO K. Radhakrishnan said six malls under the RelianceMart

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brand would come up in the national capital region (NCR), five each in Punjab and

AndhraPradesh.

Strategy

The hypermarket would be selling the products on EDLP (every day low price)

basis at prices 15 20 percent lower than market prices. In order to grow faster and better

in local markets with higher margins, it has focused largely on local brands instead of

national brands or private labels. Local brands include Induben Khakrawalas Namkeens,

Lijjat Papad, Wagh Bakri and Madhur (spices brand). This is in addition to 100 private

labels that Reliance plans to display. Companys Sources says that the share of regional

brands in the Hypermarts would be over 10%.

Strengths

Keeping local brands at the outlets is more profitable and also makes the supply

chain more efficient. Being a bulk purchaser, Reliance Mart can offer products at very

low prices. Also taking into consideration the local brands, the products at the outlets

would be easily acceptable by the customers.

Weaknesses

In some cases, few regional brands strongly liked by the consumers offer lower

margins than that offered by the national brands. It has to face a tough competition by big

shopping malls ie. Big Bazaar, Spencer Hyper, Vishal Mega Mart nad the upcoming Wall

Mart

1.11.22 Loyal World

Traders who ventured into Burma, Ceylon and the Middle East from the southern

tip of India kick started business stream into the family from way back in 1918. The first

generation came back from these cross land expeditions and settled down in Tamilnadu

post second world war days. Since then the nation and the group has seen a lot of changes

in the path of political and economic development.

Built on the strong democratic values of the nation, the group grew gradually with

the successive generations, with a strong presence in southern India and the Middle East.

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Growth and challenges faced by these growth have always kept the top management on

the toes, various diversified fields the group is into is the proof for this. Primary amongst

the lot being Retail and Wholesale under the flag ship brand LOYAL WORLD Stores.

Company ventured into food processing in 1990 under the brand AROMA

Confectioners. Groups wing which is into realty and construction is under the

brand LOYAL WORLD Infrastructure. LOYAL WORLD Hospitality division takes care

of the modern day needs of the cities of India in terms of business and leisure hotels and

restaurants. One of the prime ventures the group entered into in the new millennium

is LOYAL WORLD TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS PVT LTD catering to one of the spine

necessaries of the economy in the present scenario.

The closest a business can get to its end user is in retail and hence the most

challenging in the modern era of consumer dominant market. Loyal World group

privileged to be the first movers into modern format self serviced retail business in the

city of Mysore cherishes this edge even till date, with over 15 years of expertise.

Knowing the retail pulse and pattern of a city along with the emotional quotient

attached to it from the consumer's end is indeed what engraves the fate of a retailer. A

place does not become a town, city and then a metropolitan just by itself or on the general

boost the overall economy is enjoying. Every great city in this world is great because of

the aspirations the citizens of that city hold to go that extra yard to be unique and

distinctive. Loyal World has always taken potentially huge risks in the city of Mysore to

bring in great revolutions in the retail format. Their flagship store on Temple street, V V

Mohalla Mysore is one such examples with product ranges, quality and pricing

astonishing and at the same time providing international ambience and facilities. Loyal

world outlet at the prestigious Infosys campus also upholds these policies and values

mentioned above.

Serving the city of Mysore with the best in class and at the most affordable price has

always been in the forefront of their motives. With this Loyal World is strategically

located in various locations in Mysore. Loyal World Agencies is the wholesale wing

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1.11.22 Loyal World Corporate Inc

As we see a new urgency and vibrancy in the city of Mysore, which is bringing in

continuous growth in the retail sector, increasing footfalls and business in a big

proportion, Loyal World have decided to stream line their big buyers into a different

division as it's the increase in number and size of these businesses that has changed the

face of the city. Loyal World is proud to announce the launch of its new division for

Companies, Corporates, Institutions, Showrooms and other business related buyers.

Loyal World Corporate Inc. caters professionally to the customized requirements

of various companies and institutions present in the city of Mysore. Providing a very

comprehensive and efficient channel for all their purchase requirements in connection

with a retail store at the most competitive pricing at their door steps without any delay

and red tapism are the end plan. To enable this they will be using the aid of latest in

technology and supply chain management modules.

1.12 Presentation of the Study

The entire study is presented in the following form. It has been divided into 5 different

chapters.

Chapter 1 is introductory in nature and provides a brief introduction about the Indian

retail market; definition of the problem, the hypothesis framed relating to the study,

methodology adopted to collect the data required for the study, scope of the study, and

about the manner in which the study has been presented.

Chapter 2 provides the necessary brief literature review relating to the present study that

have been conducted in relation to the service quality in supermarkets and retail formats.

Chapter 3 deals with data analysis and interpretation of the study. The data analysis of the

individual supermarket is taken up. Firstly, it is Big Bazaar, followed by More, then Easy

day, next Loyal World and lastly Reliance Mart.

Chapter 4 deals with the summary of the overall findings of the research.

Chapter 5 deals with conclusions and suggestions pertaining to the study undertaken.