With organised retail in India pegged at Rs 25,000 crore (Rs 250 billion) -- out of a total of Rs 800,000 crore (Rs 8,000 billion -- and a double digit growth rate, marketing companies are setting up shops to provide differentiated services to clients.
One such company to have spotted the opportunity is Spar-Solutions, a joint venture between New York-based Spar Group Inc and Delhi-based Solutions Integrated Marketing Services Ltd. The new company claims to provide total retail services to marketers and advertisers.
"Till now sales people were the link between the retailer and the producer. But sales personnel are busy selling a product and do not have a fair idea of what retailing is about. Our focus is to prioritise retail. That is, not only to sell a product to a consumer but to get the consumer to interact with the product," says Srikant Sastri, managing director, Solutions.
Sandeep Verma, CEO, Spar-Solutions adds: "Gone are the days when retailing meant mere availability of a product. With competition becoming stiffer companies are looking at 'experiential' marketing. Also the lack of proper metrics to measure marketing spends is a serious issue."
Spar-Solutions hopes to provide retail solutions ranging from media strategy, merchandising services, designing, fabrication, installation and maintenance of merchandise.
"We're also looking at conceptualising and implementing retail promotions, audits and marketing programmes," adds Sastri.
According to him the Spar Group will help in training the merchandisers and will also provide the technology to install the software that will be able to handle lakhs of retailers.
On its part, Solutions Integrated Marketing Services will bring in the local expertise that will help in adapting the programme to Indian conditions.
"Our system will be a 24X7 Internet-based one where clients can have real-time information on their products," says Sastri.
In other words it means that a manufacturer will have up-to-date information on how his products are displayed at various point of sales, consumer feedback and related data.
The Nasdaq-listed Spar Group is an international retail marketing services company with operations in the US, Canada, Japan, Turkey and South Africa.
Solutions Integrated Marketing Services with six offices in India has been in the business of direct marketing, events and promotions, and sales management. At an initial investment of Rs 40 lakh (Rs 4 million), Spar-Solutions hopes to do business worth Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million) in its first year of operations.
Besides Solution Integrated Marketing Services clients such as Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, Siemens, Sony, Philips, ESPN, NIIT and Nerolac, the joint venture is also pitching for durable companies as prospective clients.
