Why Kirana stores will & won't survive
I agree to Prof. Nirmalya Kumar when he says that 'Indian Kirana shops could do well to learn a few things from their global counterparts'. He backs this up with an example of the Ace Hardware chain in the US. Sure, this is possible but the road to this kind of an 'amalgamation' would be very difficult keeping in mind the 'scattered, fractured and disjointed' nature of Indian Kirana stores.He goes on to say that 'Indian kiranas will continue to survive because they have one of four attributes of a successful retailer — either to be the cheapest, the biggest, the best, or the nearest'. That's where I disagree. Indian kiranas are 'staying put' because they have just one of the four mentioned attributes working for them, and that is, they are the 'nearest'. For the Indian retail customer, accessing an organised retail store is not as easy as hopping into a kirana store close by, especially when he finds that he has run out of a household product. Once this 'reach' problem is 'solved' by the organised retailers, the kirana stores are on their way out.
Pic : http://www.molon.de
Comments
That kinda convenience if demanded in large numbers, would then turn into a service offered...
As of now, the 'touch n feel' requirement gets consumers into stores...
Quite honestly its only the well to do if I may call them so, who in my visitings to an organized retail outlet shop there. So I have my doubts, though time might weave a new story.
I agree, real estate is the major constraint in solving the access problem...but remember the store model can be scaled down so as to reach populated lower middle class neighbourhoods...