Convenience Stores in India

The traditional family run convenience stores in India have stood their ground in spite of the huge onslaught and inroads made into their domain by the bigger Indian retail companies. These age old mom and pop stores or kirana outlets have been guarding their turf religiously and pushing them off the edge or running them out of business even by big retail companies like Reliance, Wal-Mart and the lot would be a nigh impossible task. These retail formats have evolved with time and share a unique bond with the customers that the Global Retail players would take lots of time to emulate them. A major chunk of the retail sector is occupied by the unorganized players comprising mostly of these convenience stores, sabzi mandis, kirana outlets and other mom and pop stores available in most neighborhood and localities, either urban or rural.

Most of these retail outlets are:

» Primary food based stores selling groceries, fruits, drugs, stationeries etc

» Sell items and wares generally local in nature, branded as well as unbranded

» Low cost but come with high quality personalized service

» Run both in residential as well as commercial area

Some of the primary advantages convenience stores have over other organized retailing formats are:

» Personal touch with the consumers

» Proximity to homes

» Open for longer hours, with timing favorable to the locals

» Credit facilities

» Quick home delivery services

» Saves time for women, housewives, who wish to avoid travels for very small purchases

However, the organized retail industry in India is all geared strategically to enter these markets by offering schemes and other freebies, along with multiple services and products to entice the otherwise loyal consumers and wean them away from the traditional retailers running convenience stores. The traditional family run retailers have to take stock of the rapidly changing retail trends to place themselves at a far more advantageous position when these big players challenge their dominion. They would have to improvise themselves and look into different fronts like, size, capacity and location, skilled and diligent work force with a disciplined work schedule, convenient area coverage, more variety of services and products, ensuring customer satisfaction etc. to be in the competition.