Pantaloon Archives - Third Eyesight

Retailers vs Brands

Devangshu Dutta — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:03:05 +0000

In early-June Big Bazaar (part of Future Group) was reported to have broken off its relationship with Cadbury’s. About 2-3 weeks later the two were reportedly back together. The relationship between brands and large retailers is truly one of the “love-hate” kind. And this case is no different from many other such relationships in various markets around the world.
There is no doubt that brands love the scale that large retailers provide them, with the quick access to a large footprint in the market, and the high visibility. On the other hand, as a vendor, they hate the negotiating edge that this scale gives the large retailer. On the other side, retailers love brands for the footfall they bring. However, what retailers don’t like is the fact that brands will generally charge a premium of 10-50% over a comparable generic product. In some cases the premium may be so high that the brand product’s price itself is multiples of a generic product’s price.

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Is Marketing 101 Dead?

Devangshu Dutta — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:02:01 +0000

A couple of reality checks. One is that most retailers and consumer goods companies in the current stage of the market’s growth want to grab the maximum possible market share in the minimum possible time. Two, if you want to get the attention of a lot of customers very quickly, shouting out a great price offer is one of the easiest ways to do it. But the question is, when does it stop being a good tactic and just becomes lazy marketing? And once it’s in that territory, when does it become dangerously weak even as a sustained tactic? It may be time for us to dust off the notes from the Marketing 101 class, and re-examine what we do.

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Celebrating Entrepreneurship

Devangshu Dutta — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 10:16:30 +0000

Creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem is absolutely critical to a healthy and vigorous society and economy. Creating a “democratic” entrepreneurial ecosystem is even more critical to sustaining that health. A democratic entrepreneurial system is like all other democracies – inclusive and widespread – and vital to improving the baseline quality of life. As we’ve pointed out […]

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