Retail Analysis of CROSSWORD BOOK STORE,

ICC Trade Towers, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune

HISTORY

In the late-1980 s, a college student threw caution and a destined engineering

degree to the winds and landed a job with the Landmark bookstore in Madras.

He thought he would last there for all of three months. But as the line goes

‗Life is what happens to you while you‘re busy making other plans‘ , and he

went on to build one of India‘s most successful bookstore chains. In the case

of R Sriram, the former founder CEO of Crossword, fact is stranger than the

fiction that lines the bookshelves at Crossword.

Today, the chain that he helped set up is perhaps India‘s biggest book retailer .

Before Crossword, there were well known bookshops — Higgin Bothams in

Bangalore, Strand in Mumbai, Om in Delhi to name but a few. However none

of them had a national presence.

The chain was born from the recognition of the fact that like many other

categories in those days, even this had plenty of potential. Book retailing had

served, underserved and unserved customers. There was a huge opportunity in

the underserved and unserved segments. Today that goal has been achieved

and standardisation is one of the biggest reasons for their success.

Sivaraman Balakrishnan, marketing head, Crossword points out that today a

consumer irrespective of the city that he visits will be treated to the same

shopping experience . He says, ―Across formats our brand experience of

educate, entertain and enlighten are the same.‖

Back then, though, in a scenario where books were sold through outlets that

were tiny and consumers bought them much like they bought medicines at

drugstores (going with a prescription), there was a lot of ground to be covered.

Attractive display was a far-fetched concept and the only bookstores that gave

customers room to free their arms were the ones in five star hotels.

To be successful, therefore, a national chain would have to reinvent and

remarket the very idea of a bookshop as consumers saw it. Luckily for Sriram,

he found a backer for the concept in publishers India Book House putting the

seed capital and more importantly give him real estate in the form of their

vacant first floor office space in Mumbai at Mahalaxmi.

The name was supposed to be Crosswords , because it signifies fun and

learning. However legend has it that a numerologist said that the name was

unlucky and there was talk of a name change. Sriram though intervened and

suggested the dropping of the ‗s‘ , and so the name Crossword came into being.

The store was launched on August 15 in 1992.

In many ways, right from its inception the chain broke the rules. The property

was not on the ground floor, not easily accessible, no parking space and was a

‗U‘ shaped space with many pillars. The entrepreneurs decided to look at the

advantages rather than moan about the deficiencies . It was on the same street

that housed iconic Mumbai stores like Amarsons and Benzer and hence likely

to attract upmarket shoppers. It was decided that consumers would be treated

to unique shopping experience in a shop that was trendy and hip. The

bookstore decided to appeal to mothers and children.

INTRODUCTION

In India, shopping for books has always been thought of as a book-lover's hobby. The traditional bookstores, with their dreary, dusty and browser-unfriendly atmosphere, have discouraged all but the serious book-buyers.

Crossword's Positioning

Crossword, positioned as a lifestyle bookstore, has been able to change this by designing large, spacious, well laid out stores, with bright cheerful interiors that encourage people to stay and browse. Simple innovations such as methodical classifications, clear signage, a dedicated enquiry /orders desk, electronic POS and inventory control systems and attractive displays make looking for books a much more pleasurable experience. A welcoming café, reading tables and chairs and toilets within the

store, (some of the innovations pioneered by Crossword in India) help to ensure that customers are able to browse in comfort for several hours without having to leave.

Why the name Crossword

While we do crossword puzzles for fun, they are also a learning experience. The name Crossword was therefore chosen to reflect the dual fun and learning experience of a visit to Crossword. The name embodies our vision of Crossword as a place and space for people who seek information, knowledge or just the pleasure of reading.

Products and Services

Crossword also addresses a wider audience than existing stores with its unique product mix. There is of course, the widest range of books for the young and old alike, along with magazines, CD-ROMs, music, stationery and toys. With its large children's section and its focus on making the store a friendly, safe, fun-filled place, Crossword attracts many families who normally don't think of visiting bookstores. Services like Dial-a-book, Fax-a-book and Email-a-book enable customers to shop from their homes; and when they come to the store, the unobtrusively helpful staffs assist them in finding the right book, the right CD or the right gift for the right occasion. Facilities like the Crossword Gift Vouchers, the friendly 'Return, Exchange & Refunds' policy, the Cafes within the stores and the unique store experience make it easy and enjoyable for customers to shop at Crossword. Over 1,00,000 loyal customers are rewarded through the Crossword Book Rewards Program with points, discounts, promotional offers and more. 'eWords', a monthly e-newsletter with reviews of new books, news about in store events and bestseller lists, is currently mailed to these Members.

Crossword as a center for the community

Crossword aims to be a point of cultural and social interaction where authors and poets hold court, where children are regaled, where people gravitate to be informed, to be entertained, even enlightened. There are regular readings, discussions and debates on varied subjects from literature and art to child sexual abuse, war and peace, business and management, travel, parenting and health. Among the numerous writers who have visited the store are Sir V S Naipaul, Arundhati Roy, Vikram Chandra, Vikram Seth, Kiran Nagarkar, Andrew Motion, Michele Roberts, Shashi Tharoor, Shobhaa De, Charles Handy, Ricardo Semler and Jack Canfield. Promotional events include pictionary contests, quizzes, slide shows and the annual affair with Santa and his elves. Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull came for a signing, so did Macho Man Randy Savage, the WWF champion.

Promoting books, writers and the reading habit

Crossword launched the Crossword Book Award in 1998 to recognise and reward the best of Indian writing. There was one cash prize of Rs 200,000 in 1998 for the best original work of fiction in English by an Indian author, and it was won by Allan Sealy for The Everest Hotel.

In 1999 they added a new category: Indian Language Fiction Translation into English and we also increased the cash prize to Rs.300,000 for each category. The 1999 prize for the best work in English Fiction went to Vikram Seth for An Equal Music. The prize for the best work in the Indian Language Fiction Translation category was won by the author M. Mukundan and the translator Gita Krishnankutty, for On the Banks of the

Mayyazhi.

The 2000 prize for the best work in English Fiction went to Jamyang Norbu for The Mandala of Sherlock Holmes. The prize for the best work in the Indian Language Fiction Translation category was won by the author Bama and the translator Lakshmi Holmstrom, for Karukku. The Hutch Crossword Book Award 2004 for the best work in English Fiction went to Amitav Ghosh for The Hungry Tide. The prize for the best work in the Indian Language Fiction Translation category was won by the author Chandrasekhar Rath and the translator Jatindra Kumar Nayak for Astride the Wheel: Yantrarudha.

The Hutch Crossword Book Award 2005 for the best work in English Fiction went to Salman Rushdie for Shalimar the Clown. The prize for the best work in the Indian Language Fiction Translation category was won by the author Krishna Sobti and the translators Reema Anand & Meenakshi Swami for The Heart has its Reasons. The prize for the best work in the English Non-Fiction category was won by the author Suketu Mehta for Maximum City: Bombay Lost & Found.

The Hutch Crossword Book Award 2006 for the best work in English Fiction went to Vikram Chandra for Sacred Games. The prize for the best work in the Indian Language Fiction Translation category was jointly won by the author C.S. Lakshmi (Ambai) and the translator Lakshmi Holmstrom for In a Forest, A Deer and the author M.Mukundan and the translator A.J. Thomas for 'Kesavan's Lamentations'. The prize for the best work in the English Non-Fiction category was won by the author Vikram Seth for Two Lives.

Recognition

Since its inception in 15th October 1992, Crossword has received wide recognition for its achievements; articles on retailing in India invariably feature Crossword. It has been featured in Advertising Age International, USA, as one of the Marketing Superstars for 1994. The Bookseller, UK, has also described it as 'being on the cutting edge of retailing' in India. Crossword won the Retailer of the Year Award - Leisure (Books, Music and Gifts Category) at the Images Retail Awards 2007 and 2005.

Crossword was ranked the 6th most admired retailer in India by Businessworld for the year 2006; it was the only book retailer in the top 10.

Crossword won the Reid & Taylor Award for Best Retailer of the year - Leisure & Specialty at the India Retail Summit 2005

Crossword received the Federation of Indian Publishers Award for excellence in Publishing for the year 2004 on 18th June 2005 at the hands of Shri Arjun Singh, Minister of Human Resource Development.

The Promoters

Crossword Bookstores Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary Company of Shopper's Stop Ltd - India's leading department store chain. The Holding Company inter-alia also acts as a Master Franchisee of the Company.

1. LOCATION ANALYSIS

1. CURRENT LOCATION OF THE STORE The Crosswords Store is located in the Business Centre .It is Showroom No. 1 in the premises of ICC Trade Tower, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune-411016. It also has other branches in Pune like in Sohrab Hall (Bund Garden Road).

2. THE SUITABILITY OF THE STORE LOCATION WITH RESPECT TO TARGET CUSTOMERS. Crossword‘s target customers consist of students, corporates, management students, movie and music lovers etc. It is located near residential areas as well as IT companies, and SIU campuses. Thus, we feel that the location is very suitable with respect to its target customers.

3. HAS THE STORE PROVIDED PARKING FACILITY?

Parking is provided at the parking lot of the business centre and it is a Pay and Park facility.

4. ANALYSIS OF COMPETITION IN THE AREA There is no book store in close vicinity which provides all features of providing books, movies, music, CD-ROM, toys, stationary and a book café – All in one. Hence Competition per-se is not there for this Crosswords store.

5. ANALYZE TRADING AREA COVERED BY THE STORE The trading area covered by the store is – ICC (International Convention Centre), Pune, MCCIA Trade Tower - A corporate hub and business centre, SIU Campuses, residential area – Senapati Bapat Road etc.

2. PRODUCT ANALYSIS

ANALYSIS OF THE PRODUCT MIX PRODUCT CATEGORIES: It has broadly the following product categories:-

1. Books and Magazines – Young Fiction, Reference, Quiz/Puzzles, Fairy tales, Comics, Workbooks, Business Management, Psychology, Books on Parenting & Childcare, Health & Fitness, Food care, Art & Design, Cinema, Indian Fiction, Fiction , Romance, Classics, Non-Fiction, Architecture, Astrology & Occult, Religion, Mythology, Travel, Animal World, Humor, Food & Drinks, Books on India.

2. Movies – VCD‘s and DVD‘s of Hindi, English movies as well as regional movies 3. Music – Music CD‘s of English, Hindi and Regional languages 4. CD-ROM – PC Games 5. Toys – Soft toys, Games 6. Stationary – Wrapping paper, Writing instruments, Gift Bags, Gifts, 7. Book café – Brio at level-1 providing movie, music and cafe facilities.

3. PRICING ANALYSIS The pricing strategy followed by the store is in sync with the product range and variety it offers. Books, magazines, stationary, toys, music, movie DVD‘s/VCD‘s etc were priced as per the price printed on the cover. As a sale was going on during the survey, the prices of some selected products were much less than the printed price. But the items offered at the Brio café are a little overpriced and are not even extremely delicious to account for such a pricing. Therefore, most customers are disinclined to buy more than a cup of coffee there.

4. PROMOTION ANALYSIS

As we enter the Crosswords Store, the first thing that catches the eye is the display of Books of the month on the immediate right of the entry. This is a sales promotion and advertising strategy for the books. Indoor advertising & sales promotion – It is an internal office decision and consists of following current offers : 1. Buy 2, get 1 free DVD 2. Buy 1, get 2 free VCD 3. Buy 2, get 1 free books 4. Buy 1, get 1 free DVD/VCD 5. 50% off and 60% on some books. Outdoor Advertising & Sales promotion: There is a big advertisement outside the crosswords store which displays a photograph of a girl reading a book inside crosswords store and has a tagline written below displaying: books, movies, music, CD-ROM, toys, stationary and a book café..

5. STORE ATMOSPHERICS LAYOUT OF THE STORE :

There is only a single entry on the front side in the centre.

There are 2 Floors – a large ground floor & a smaller upper floor. Ground Floor

As soon as you enter the store , on the right hand side is the baggage counter where you can keep your bags & other outside material.

On the left hand side , there is the STATIONERY column.

On the right hand side (beyond the baggage counter) there is the BOOKS section which contains various types of books.

On the extreme right there is the MAGAZINE section.

In the centre there is the ENQUIRY & BILLING COUNTER. Upper Floor

The staircase goes from behind the billing & enquiry counter on the ground floor.

Here you have the BRIO CAFÉ, which serves the following :

There is a very well maintained LOUNGE for sitting comfortably & reading.

AMBIENCE OF THE STORE :

Marble flooring

Bright yellow light

Smooth wooden racks

Cream colored distempered walls

Light instrumental music in low volume

Centrally air conditioned

DISPLAY OF THE PRODUCTS :

STATIONERY CONTENTS : o Files & folders o Pens & pencils o Crayons, sketch pens & pencil colors o Gift items o Painting colors & canvas o Notepads o Laptop bags & accessories o CDs & DVDs

All are meticulously arranged in wooden racks

Good visibility of all products

Well categorized

MAGAZINES : o Filmfare o Stardust o Femina o Health o Maxim o Vogue o Cosmopolitan o News magazines like India Today & Frontline o Business standard o Business world o Autocar o Overdrive

All meticulously arranged in wooden racks

Good visibility of all products

Well categorized

BOOKS CATEGORIES : o Management o Fiction o Astrology o Science o Religious o History

A separate section for CROSSWORD RECOMMENDED books.

All meticulously arranged in wooden racks

Good visibility of all products

Well categorized

MODE OF PROVIDING INFORMATION :

Complete information is provided by the central billing & enquiry counter on the ground floor.

Excellent & relevant signages & boards regarding categories.

6. EMPLOYEE ANALYSIS The employees are in uniform, neatly dressed and courteous. Uniform – Jeans and a black T-shirt which has ―crosswords‖ written in the left side. Two Enquiry centers have been provided for more assistance and suggestions. The employees are very friendly & cooperative. SUGGESTIONS: Customer‘s complaint is that the staff is not well versed with good authors or USP‘s of books. Hence, employees should be trained to attend to the customers and help them in making purchases by giving them full knowledge of the product.

7. CUSTOMER SERVICE ANALYSIS

THE VARIOUS VALUE ADDED SERVICES PROVIDED BY THE STORE.

Dial-a-book

Fax-a-book

Email-a-book

Book Rewards

Book Reading Sessions ( CROSSWORD Events)

Home delivery of products

Buy and present gift vouchers

Offer value added services to corporate customers, educational institutions, clubs etc. and offer attractive discounts for bulk purchases.

Café Brio – at level 1

The billing counter experience is mostly hassle free and one does not have to wait too much. Even when there is a great demand for the books .eg. the last edition of the Harry Potter books, there was a very organized system where coupons were issued according to the buying date and time and customers could collect the books without any hassle. Mostly, customers feel that the level of knowledge of the staff about the authors should increase so as to address specific demands but other than that, the handling of enquiries is performed smoothly.