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| A typical Indian Neighborhood Grocer |
Kamal Desai is the 2nd generation grocery
retailer based out of Andheri West, in Mumbai. He took over day-to-day management
and operations of his family-owned grocery store about 9 years ago.
The 9 years of running his store 1st hand and
assisting his father since early childhood enables Kamal to reflect on changing
trends in Indian retail and its opportunities and challenges over the last 4
decades with a level of expertise.
The changes have been happening over the years, but the last
7 to 8 years have been the most exciting and challenging. Based on what he saw
around, he started off by doing minor modifications to the store layout since
he took over – starting with creating self-service isles, better product
displays and accessibility, in-store lighting and then going on to
air-condition the store.
While the neighborhood that Kamal services has seen a steady
population growth and income levels, it has also seen a change in consumers’
tastes – prompting Kamal to move away from commodities to brands. And while
Kamal has a strong one on one relationship with a lot of consumers and almost a
legendary service level efficiency for loyal consumers – he is facing an
increasing challenge with the changing lifestyle of a number of his consumers
and of course from the increasing competition from the modern trade outlets.