Organized retail market sector in India-Inefficiency at its peak!

Shopping for daily needs is a chore no family can afford to ignore. From time immemorial buying and selling formed an integral part of human society and the barter system of the old world changed to cash and carry during the 19th and 20th centuries after monetization in the form of coins and notes during the last two hundred years, Modern days cash purchase is disappearing in many countries and credit and debit cards rule the roost. Imagine how cumbersome was the shopping experience in the olden days, compared to what we see to day with an array of super markets and Malls ready to cater to every whim and fancy of the consumer, at least in a few developed countries. The retail space in India is more or less monopolized by the so called unorganized sector shops, estimated to be about 14 million in number, though this figure will have to be taken with a pinch of salt but it is true that they are omnipotent in India in every nook and corner.

With the advent of the policy of encouraging foreign investment in the retail sector Government of India dramatically liberalized its FDI policies a couple of years ago but the response from international giants in this field has been at best lukewarm. Probably the wide spread presence of bit players, with average vending area of just 100 s.ft, in huge number and some of the pre-conditions stipulated for FDI, very few outsiders seem to have sufficient courage to invest in this sector. The domestic retailers in the organized sector with a vending area of over 500 s.ft and registered with sales tax, income tax and regulatory authorities who ventured into this sector more than a decade ago smelling big money are all struggling now, not able to displace the traditional shopping outlets to any significant extent. Not even 5% of the $ 520 billion retail market is in the hands of these large retailers with franchising and chain stores, most of them not able to come out of the red till now. More over their presence is restricted to large metros and small towns with practically no penetration into rural areas. Some how the retail industry appears to be forgetting the reality in India where there are more than 5.5 lakh villages and about 70% of the population eking out a living in these areas. Probably they must have realized the potential logistical nightmare in extending their operations to the rural hinterlands.

Why is that in spite of all the statistics doled out on the retailing potential in the country, organized retailing has not been able to get any significant toehold in this business? There are many reasons, most important one being the gross inefficiency in management of large sized stores as a consequence of which repeat buyers are reluctant to patronize them. Added to this more than two thirds of the buyers/shoppers are teen agers and youngsters with an impatient mind, having no time to waste in a supermarket which does not measure up to their expectations and aspirations. 91 % of them own at least one smart phone with which they can make fast purchases through on-line e-commerce portals. There are one million retailers now shopping on-line through various portals and they seem to be clients shifting their loyalty from super markets to e-commerce sellers. It is amazing that in cities like Bangalore e-traders are collecting orders on-line even for perishable goods like fresh fruits, vegetables, eggs etc and delivering the orders at the door step of the customers within a matter of few hours! Who will prefer going to the supermarkets as they function now with no accountability and sensitivity to consumer's woes when they visit their outlets.

What can these unfortunate investors do to expand their market reach and get out of the present "rut". Many things, most of them being simple and common sensical. These include better designed aisles, posting of aisle attendants to help to assist the consumer, adequate aisle width that will ensure a "collision-free" walk, convenient ferrying carts that move without wobbling, child carrying provisions in the shopping carts, special arrangements for physically challenged category of buyers, adequate toilet facilities, avoiding in-house maintenance and restocking periods to clash with the prescribed shopping times, scientific display arrangements, price tagging without any confusion, multiple billing counters, avoiding "guided buying" tendency where only a particular brand is displayed giving no option to the buyers, avoiding stocking only jumbo packs to the exclusion of small sized packs, product return policy for unsatisfied customers to return the product within a specified period and ultimately making the shopping experience a hassle free and pleasant one. 

Deployment of untrained personnel, cluttered atmosphere, over crowded billing counters, undue delay at the cash counters, unresponsive shopping assistants, suspicious viewing of the customers, absence of separate dedicated billing counters for senior citizens and small buyers with a few items purchased and above all the unhealthy environment of the shopping place are order of the day as far as most supermarkets are concerned. Loyalty programs where ever exist are not at all customer friendly. Discounts offered on many products from time to time are not of a magnitude that will attract consumers to their outlets like a magnet. Many super markets selling fresh fruits and vegetables force the customers to stand in separate queues to weigh and affix price tags and often bulk buyers crowd around such counters giving little respite to regular buyers. Those supermarkets without integration of their operations with farms where fresh produce are raised will not be able to survive for long because of quality problems. 

Under the Indian conditions it is not going to be easy for large buyers to establish as viable players unless some of the drawbacks and inadequacies as cataloged above are addressed with some seriousness. When a consumer walks into a supermarket his biggest expectation is that the materials sold are of superior quality compared to that offered by others. Then comes his desire to get his requirements at a price he considers reasonable. Supermarkets will have to offer attractive discounts to attract repeat buyers. They have a big advantage in that the ambiance, vast strolling space and wide range of products they can offer are some thing their competitors viz the small traders can never counter!  In contrast the legendary "mom and pop" stores have the singular strength in the form of "personalized" service which contributes to establishing some sort of  "kinship" between them. Considering all these imponderable factors, only very efficient super markets can survive in India.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com  

NON-STICKY JACK FRUIT-EXCITING DEVELOPMENT

Jack fruit has a lot of history behind it and no one is sure as to when it was cultivated first. If to day's experience is any guide the fruit tree must have been growing wildly though humans were quick to discover its value as a food. No wonder Brazil had to launch a massive program of felling thousands of these trees during 2002-2005 because of its uncontrollable spread in some regions. The tree grows in abundance in South and South East Asia where the it is well liked. Its heavy aromatic odor puts off many people and the slow metabolism in the human body leads to excretion for a longer time through perspiration and urine. The very same quality appeals to millions of people in India and other countries.

Does Jack fruit mean it is jack of all fruits as being claimed by some of the ardent fans? Many may not agree. Similarly some western thinkers hold the view that Jack fruit was discovered by one William Jack though there are recorded documents about its existence hundreds of years before this person. Most probably the name must have been derived from the Kerala name "Chakka" which the Portugese colonialists adapted as Jaca in their language. Though it is the largest tree borne fruit in the world with individual fruits weighing as much as 40 kg, 90 cm long and 50 cm diameter, very little scientific research had gone into the agricultural or technological aspects of this fruit. It is considered rich in vitamins A and C and potassium mineral and traditionally many believe it has some medicinal value too.

Sporadic research has indicated the amenability of ripe jack fruit to cold storage at around 11-12C for about 6 weeks and products like canned pulp, dried bulbs, fruit bar, preserves based on sugar or jaggery are made in a small way on cottage scale level. One of the major reasons for this fruit not being able to become a commercially useful raw material is the presence of sticky latex inside the fruit making it difficult to handle. With 25-40% yield of edible pulp, jack fruit could have become a serious competitor to Mango but for the presence of the latex inside the fruit. Very little information is available on the chemical nature of this latex though pre-1950 research suggested it was alpha-artostenone in its enol-wax ester form. Horticulture scientists ought to have done some thing to evolve a variety that does not have the sticky latex long ago but it was left to some enterprising jack fruit growers in coastal Karnataka to come out with a non-sticky variety that raises the potential of jack fruit as a commercial proposition.

According to the spokesman of Kerala Agri Varsity millions of grafts of non-sticky jack fruit have been planted in Karnataka and Kerala by many farmers. The fruit bulbs in these fruits are reported to be very crisp, tasty and keeps well for long. The mother tree of this non-sticky jackfruit seems to have originated from one Menezes family in Mangalore in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka and efforts were made to propagate this unique tree with the help of some grafting specialists. Except for a few drops of latex in the core portion, the fruitlets of this variety appear to be non-sticky. It is claimed that this non-sticky fruit has relatively less fiber though it is less sweet than traditional ones. Unlike the normal jack fruit trees the new variety bears smaller fruits with weights not exceeding 10 kg and with relatively thinner rind, ripe fruits pose logistical problems in long distance transport.

if some of the protagonists of the new non-sticky variety are to be believed the fruit bulbs stay well for more than a weak at ambient temperatures with its crispiness not being affected at all. Similarly fried chips made from raw fruit of this variety are claimed to "keep well" for 3 months. Despite these credentials marketing of non-sticky jack fruits poses intractable logistical problems and many new growers are finding to their chagrin the economic uncertainties in maintaining the trees. Their argument that some of the super markets in the country should come forward to market the fruit through branding deserves some attention and the state horticultural agency, HOPCOM and National Horticulture Board must take more interest in promoting this fruit in a big way. Similarly lot of technical improvements can still be brought about through the intervention of horticulture and food scientists. The SOS from the new breed of growers of non-sticky jack fruit must strike a favorable chord amongst the planners and the scientists.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com