Another Shot At Survival

India’s Oldest Department Store Chain Is Looking To Reinvent Itself In The Face Of Stiff Competition From Online Retailers And More High-profile Bricks-and Mortar Chains. Will It Succeed?

- Rozelle Laha

NEED A NEW COCKTAIL DRESS for your office party this week, but the thought of dealing with bumper-to-bumper traffic and jam-packed malls puts you off? No worries, you can always opt for a personal shopper instead. Your personal shopper will pick a range of options— in sleeves, embellishments, cuts, material, colour, and length—and either send you photos or show them to you over a video call before bringing the selected dresses to you to try out. You can buy the one you like without even stepping out of your home. Alternatively, you can visit a store and brief your personal shopper who will do the legwork as you work from the store’s exclusive lounge. You can then try the shortlisted outfits at a private trial room and check out without wasting any time in interminable queues at the billing counter.

That’s the new Shoppers Stop Ltd (SSL), the country’s oldest department store chain which is looking for a fresh lease of life in the face of stiff competition from online retailers and more highprofile bricks-and-mortar chains. Improving customer experience is part of managing director and CEO Rajiv Suri’s plans to reinvent the chain and increase its profitability after years of high debt and shrinking profits. Suri, the former CEO of the fashion business of Dubai-based retail giant Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), says he has five core business priorities: engage with the five million-plus First Citizen customers who account for 75% of sales, provide a delightful customer experience through the Personal Shopper service, improve the share of private labels to 17% from 10.1% in the next three years, strengthen the company’s omni-channel play, and accelerate the beauty business. “We have a strategy we would like to reinforce rather than change. We are looking at five pillars to our strategy, mainly revolving around the customer and product,” says Suri.