Institute of Productivity & Management, Meerut: Report On Marketing of Services of Big Bazar

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INSTITUTE OF PRODUCTIVITY & MANAGEMENT,

MEERUT

REPORT ON MARKETING OF SERVICES OF BIG BAZAR

SUBMITTED BY
SUBMITTED TO
DEEPIKA KUMARI.
RESP. PROF. SHAM SHARMA SIR
MD. EKRAMUL HAQUE.
M.A. (LUCKNOW) D.M.M. (LOMDON)
MANOGYA BHASKAR.
FACULTY, IPM MEERUT.
SUNITA KUMARI.

VIJETA BHARTI.

VIVEK RANJAN.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to show our gratitude to Resp. Prof. Mr. Sham Sharma, for
providing us with the golden opportunity to prepare an intellectual report, on
Marketing of services of “BIG BAZAR”.

We are grateful to Resp. Prof. Mr. Sham Sharma, for guiding us to


prepare an aesthetic report on Marketing of Services of “BIG BAZAAR” with
the proper information and knowledge. Without his kind support it would
have been difficult for us to complete the report, so meaningful and
interesting in a short period of time.

We thank him whole heartily for his consent encouragement, warm response
and for filling every gap in our personal development and knowledge
enlightens and valuable idea that made this assignment successful.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.........................................................................2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................3
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................3
HISTORY............................................................................................3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY................................................................3
SWOT ANALYSIS................................................................................3
4Ps OF MARKETING...........................................................................3
LIFE CYCLE OF BIG BAZAAR...............................................................3
THE RATER MODEL OF BIG BAZAR.....................................................3
MERCHANDISE...................................................................................3
HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT......................................................3
FINANCE DEPARTMENT......................................................................3
MARKETING DEPARTMENT.................................................................3
LOGISTICS.........................................................................................3
ADMINISTRATION.............................................................................3
CUSTOMER SERVICE DESK (CSD).......................................................3
SERVICE QUALITY GAP MODEL..........................................................3
INTERACTION WITH FRONT LINE EMPLOYEE....................................3
BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................................................3

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This exclusive report is based on Big Bazaar, PVS Mall, Shastri Nagar. It is
one of the best opportunities we have ever got as an assignment. This is the
first time we have done the physical survey of Big Bazaar. It was a beautiful
experience to talk with the employee of the Big Bazaar, who are very helpful
and co-operative.

In this exclusive report we have included the introduction of Big Bazaar and
history. Then we have mentioned the research methodology which is used
by us to prepare this report. Then we have done the swat analysis of Big
Bazaar. We have mentioned the 4ps of marketing, which is very important in
terms of marketing. We have mentioned the diagram of life cycle of Big
Bazaar.

Then we have mentioned the Merchandise, and then we have divided the Big
Bazaar according to their different segments. We have prepared a report of
different functional section of Big Bazaar, which is according to the survey
done by us. We have mentioned the kind of information we have got from
various executives and managers. Then we have mentioned the service
quality gap model and “RATER”, as it was asked in the assignment.

We have prepared a one page report exclusive on the interaction with front
line employees; in this section we have mentioned their experience and their
views about the services and work culture of Big Bazaar. It was very
interesting to know about different views from the different employee.

In this report we have included the promotional handouts and the customer
feedback forms, which were provided by the Big Bazaar. We were not

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allowed to take the pictures from the store, so we have downloaded few
pictures from the Internet.

INTRODUCTION

Big Bazaar is a chain of hypermarkets in India, with more than 100 stores in
operation. It is a subsidiary of Future Group Venture Ltd's, and follows the
business model of United States-based Wal-Mart.

Big Bazaar caters to every family’s needs and requirements. This retail store
is a subsidiary of Future group, Pantaloons Retail India Ltd. and is an answer
to the United States’ Wal-Mart. Big Bazaar scores over other stores is its
value for money proposition for the Indian customers. At Big Bazaar, you will
definitely get the best products at the best prices - that’s what they
guarantee. With the ever increasing array of private labels, it has opened the
doors into the world of fashion and general merchandise including home
furnishings, utensils, crockery, cutlery, sports goods and much more at
prices that will surprise you. And this is just the beginning. Big Bazaar plans
to add much more to complete their customers shopping experience.

Big Bazaar group offers more than 400 stores all over the country with an
amalgamation of Indian bazaars’ feel and touch with a convenience and
choice of the modern retail facilities. The retail format of the Big Bazaar
group includes Aadhar, Rural & Home-Town retail chain, Ezone home-
improvement chain, sportswear retailer, depot and music chain is few among
others.

They provide an inclusive environment where men and women from all
castes, creeds and classes can come and shop at the same place. The
founders of Big Bazaar were from the beginning very clear that they had to

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reflect the look and feel of Indian bazaars at their modern outlets, so that no
customer would feel intimidated with the surroundings.

HISTORY
Big Bazaar’s journey began in October 2001, when the young, first
generation entrepreneur Kishore Biyani opened the country’s first
hypermarket retail outlet in Kolkatta (then Calcutta). In the same month,
two more stores were added – one each in Hyderabad and Mumbai, thus
starting on a successful sojourn which began the chapter of organized
retailing in India.

On an occasion Mr. Kishore Biyani said, “We initially decided to name the
format as “Bazaar” because we had designed the store keeping the Indian
mandi style in mind. Since the size of the hypermarket was big than an
average mandis, the thought came to name it as “Big Bazaar”.

Though, Big Bazaar was started purely as a fashion format including apparel,
cosmetics, accessory and general merchandise, the first Food Bazaar format
was added as Shop-In-Shop within Big Bazaar in the year 2002. Today, Big
Bazaar, with its wide range of products and service offering, reflects the
aspirations of millions of Indians.

The journey of Big Bazaar can be divided into two phases – one pre and the
other post January 26th, 2005, when the company rewrote the retail chapter
in India, with the introduction of a never-before sales campaign “Sasbe
Sasta Din”. In just one day, almost the whole of India descended at various
Big Bazaar stores in the country to shop at their favorite shopping
destination.

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Further, what followed was the time and again rewriting of the Indian Retail
experience, wherein understanding of the Indian consumers reflected in the
products and services offered, creating innovative deals, expanding in the
tier II and tier III towns, tying up with branded merchandise to offer
exclusive products and services to its customers.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research comprises defining and redefining problems, formulating


hypothesis or suggested solutions; collecting, organizing and evaluating
data; making deductions and reaching conclusions; and at last carefully
testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulating
hypothesis. The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions
through the application of scientific procedure. The main aim of the research
is to find out the truth which is hidden and which has not been discovered
yet. Through each research study has its own specific purpose.

RESEARCH METHODS OF THIS PROJECT

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

Descriptive research includes surveys, fact findings enquiries of different


kinds. The major purpose of this research is description of the state of
affairs, as it exists at present. The main character of this method is that the
researcher has no control over the variables; he can only report what has
happened or what is happening. It also includes attempts by researchers to
discover causes even when they cannot control the variables. The method of
research utilized in descriptive research is survey methods of all kinds
including comparative and co relational methods.

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TYPES OF DATA

In this project we have classified the data into two specific types

1. PRIMARY DATA.

2. SECONDARY DATA.

1. PRIMARY DATA: As it is known that primary data are collected


a fresh and for the first time, and thus happen to be original in
character. So, in order to collect such type of data various
methods are being used, such as:

a) OBSERVATION.
b) QUESTIONNAIRE.
c) INTERVIEW.

2. SECONDARY DATA: Secondary data are those which already


exist and which have been collected for some purpose. In this
project the vital sources for collecting secondary data are:

a) LIBRARY BOOKS.
b) NEWSPAPERS.
C) INTERNET.

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SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS

 Big Bazaar understands the customers and their needs and set the
price accordingly. They serve the customer according to their
expectation which delight the customer.

 Vast range of products under one roof helping in attracting customer


and their family to shop together and enjoy the experience.

 As Big Bazaar entertain the benefit of early entry into the retail
industry.

 Diversified business operating all over India in various retail formats.


Ability to get products from customers at discounted price due to the
scale of business.

WEAKNESSES

 High cost of operation due to large fixed costs.

 Very thin margin on the products.

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 High attrition rate of employees. After working at Big Bazaar, the
demand of an employee increases, so other retail store lure them with
slightly high pay package.

OPPORTUNITIES

 Lot of potential in the rural market. As in India there is a lot of


opportunity to diversify the business in the rural marker as the Urban
market is saturated.

 Can enter into production of various products due to its in depth


understanding of customers’ tastes and preferences.

 Can expand the business in smaller cities as there is a lot of


opportunity.

THREATS

 High business risk involved as they are spending a lot of amount to


come up with a new stores. So because of that this there is risk
involvement in that.

 Lot of competitors coming up to tap the market potential. Vishal Mega


Mart, Lifestyle, ShooperStop, Spencer’s, More are new market enter.

 Margin of business reducing all the time.

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4PS OF MARKETING

Marketing mix is a deciding factor in formulating marketing techniques for the


success of a particular brand, commodity or company. The components of
marketing mix are:

 Product
 Price
 Promotion
 Place
The survey which was conducted gives the effect of each and every component
of the 4Ps on the consumer’s mind.

PRODUCT
Big Bazaar offers the maximum variety for each category of product and this is
cited by the customers as one of the main reasons why they like shopping at
the hypermarket. The product is the same in every store in the city but the
brand options are more in Big Bazaar. Also, the quantity for each product is
not limited to large packs only. Observations also revealed that local brands of
popular commodities, like diapers, sugar, wheat flour garments etc, are very
popular in Big Bazaar stores. These products are never advertised but offer
huge margin on sales. In this way lower middle class customers are targeted
well. The commodities sold by the retail chain also includes its “own products”
which get a ready distribution network. The own products of Big Bazaar include
My World fashion magazine which is not available anywhere else. So costs are
low for such products.

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PRICE
Price is the critical point in a competitive industry. Big Bazaar works on a low
cost model. It considers its discounted price as its USP. There is an average
discount of 7-8% on all items in respect to their MRP. Prices of products are
low because it is able to secure stock directly from the manufacturer. There are
huge synergies in terms of bulk purchasing, central warehousing and
transportation. These all factors help the retailer to keep low prices. Survey
indicated that low prices were the biggest factor in customers’ mind while
coming to Big Bazaar. It has never focused on giving great services, but laid
emphasis only on low prices to attract crowd.

PROMOTION
Big Bazaar has huge promotion budgets. The biggest idea behind all
advertisements is to make people do bulk shopping. There are 2 types of
promotional strategies. One is the holistic advertisement which promotes the
brand and creates awareness among people. It is not targeted at promoting
each store but only creates an image of Big Bazaar as low-cost shopping
option. The store has advertised through TV, road shows and also started
reality show-typed promotional campaign “The Big Bazaar Challenge.”
Promotions like “Sabse Sasta Din” are a very successful strategy to get footfall.

Other type of promotion is the particular store oriented promotion which


includes speaking on the loudspeaker in nearby blocks. Leaflets are given in
local newspaper. There are promotional efforts even inside the store. During
the survey, it was noticed that Buy 2 Get 1 Free type of promotions are very
common. Original prices are cut down and new prices are shown, of which
customer takes quick notice. There are loyalty schemes which reward regular
clients. Promotion is also done through co-branded credit cards with ICICI
bank.

Big Bazaar uses various promotional strategies like the prices on


Wednesdays are very low compared to other retailers, this helps is bringing
in a huge number of customers they even have a concept of “BIG DAY”
which means they give huge discounts to their customers on the 26 TH of Jan
and on 15TH August. On such days they come up with promotional offers like
bring old items from your house and take huge discounts and freebies.

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They come up with offers like……………

SCHOOL JAO KHUSHI KHUSHI

a) Discounts on all school requirements like school bags, water bottles &
lunchboxes.
b) Win a pencil case with every purchase worth Rs. 500 & above.
c) Send us your experience of the “Best day that you had in school” – the
most humorous one will get a free shopping trip worth Rs 1,000/-.
d) Lucky draw – shop for Rs 1,000 & above, drop in your kids name into
our drop box – 10 lucky kids will get 30% off on an NIIT course.
e) Shop for Rs 500 & above, drop in your kids painting the best painting
will get sponsored for an art course.

 KHUSHI KI BARSAAT

a) “Discounts ki barish” – various discounts across the board.


b) Special discounts on raincoats & umbrellas.
c) Lucky Draw – On purchases worth Rs. 1000 & above – drop in your
name into our drop box & you could be one of the 3 families to enjoy
the rains in Goa.
d) Purchase goods worth Rs 500 – complete the slogan – I love the rains
in Mumbai because… & win you own customized umbrella – get your
friends & family photograph screen printed on it.

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STEAL A DEAL

Each object will have their individual price-tags. The consumer bargains on
the MRP with the counter sales girl. The counter sales girl will be given a
“lowest bargain” slip for each piece of merchandise. The consumer who is
able to match the best “low bargain” walks away with her goodies.

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY

a) Get caught shopping with your Dad on Father’s Day (20 th June) & get a
20% discount on your total bill.
b) Shop for Rs 500 & above - submit a picture if your Dad & you – the best
pair – wins a complimentary dinner at Copper Chimney.
c) Make purchases worth Rs 300 & above & fill in a line on what your Dad
means to you & win tickets to the latest blockbuster movie.

ADVERTISING

Following are the media channel used:

Newspaper: Big Bazaar uses newspaper as one of its media vehicle


because most of the population in urban areas is educated. They place their
full page and half page ads mostly in Times of India or Hindustan times.
They also give their ads in newspaper in rural areas like “Sangli” in local
language newspaper.

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Radio: Radio is another media vehicle used by Big Bazaar in urban areas
“Radio mirchi” is used and in rural areas “All India Radio” is used widely for
placing their ads.

T.V: T.V is also used as one of its media vehicle when they come up with
huge offers on the “Big DAYs” like the 26th Jan and 15th August.

PLACE
Place means the location of the business. Big Bazaar has always worked on
low-cost locations. It targets semi-urban population with its placement. Its
strategy is to find a cheap location and it never goes for hot spots in the city.
The Teghoria store was opened when it was scarcely populated. Even in
Gurgaon, Big Bazaar chose Sahara Mall instead of Metropolitan or City Centre,
which are more popular than Sahara Mall. It relied on promotional activities to
make up for unattractive locations. The channel of place is company owned
stores to have complete control. Another strategy used by Big Bazaar to
overcome location disadvantage is use of internet. It has launched a
merchandise retailing website www.futurebazaar.com which targets high-end
customers ready to use credit cards. Therefore Big Bazaar has made headway
into a potentially high-yielding sector of online trade. Internet as place has put
them in a profitable position because there is minimal expense of maintaining a
website. The promotion of this website is done through advertisement on
Google. The website is put as sponsored link.

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LIFE CYCLE OF BIG BAZAAR

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THE RATER MODEL OF BIG BAZAR

Big Bazaar implements the RATER model in their all stores by keeping a
better understanding of their customers’ needs and expectations. They keep
their customers in regular contact and make a database of their valued
opinion. But in addition to all of these, firstly they put some work into
obtaining a view of their services from their customers’ perspective. The
RATER Model can be used to do this.

The RATER model, developed by Zenithal et al (1992), defines five


dimensions that customers are believed to consider in their assessments of
service quality:

RELIABILITY: It indicates the dependability and accuracy of any service


Industry.

ASSURANCE: Through assurance, A service firm focuses on their


Employees’ knowledge and courtesy and their ability to inspire trust and
confidence.

TANGIBLES: Tangibles are those things which help us to provide the


services to a customer. It includes appearance of physical facilities,
equipment, personnel and communication materials.

EMPATHY: When a firm keeps focus on caring and individualized attention


given to customers, it is called Empathy.

RESPONSIVENESS: It indicates the willingness of any service firm to help


their customers by providing prompt service and solve problems.

These five proportions are always relevant for a wide range of organizations
and sectors, although the importance of each dimension will vary from
industry to industry. The model is used by organizations to identify and
assess customer expectations, to plan and improve services, and to measure
customer satisfaction.

Big Bazaar implements all these five dimensions while making his service
strategy. They are always eager to know about their ability to deliver to their
customer’s expectations. They do it by various means such as customer
interaction programs or by filling the feedback forms.

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If we talk about one by one, we can prepare it as such below:

RELIABILITY: Big Bazaar deliver their promised services timely and in all
conditions and also try to be stand on their customer’s expectation also.
Their service is always timely, consistent, accurate, and dependable.

ASSURANCE: Big Bazaar recruits and trains their personals with the right
knowledge and skills to deliver the promised service. They are behaved in
such a manner in store that it enhances the customer’s level of trust and
confidence towards the firm.

TANGIBLES: Big Bazaar always keeps their physical facilities, equipment,


employees, and communication materials in such a way so that it looks
attractive and appropriate.

EMPATHY: Big Bazaar always emphasizes that their staffs should be of


caring, individualized attention to customers. Customers have easy to access
staff, services and information. They communicate with their customers in a
clear and appropriate manner.

RESPONSIVENESS:  Big Bazaar is always willing to help the customer,


provide prompt service, and resolve problems satisfactorily.

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MERCHANDISE
“Main objective of the store layout is to maximize the interface between
customers and merchandise” It provides easy accessibility to the customers
to view the offerings of the store. Layout of the store has been strategically
designed in order to make effective use of merchandise and passage to draw
customers’ attention on store’s offerings.

Big Bazaar has a wide range of merchandise they have both branded and
unbranded products like :

 HOME LIEN ITEMS: Like bed sheets, pillow covers, carpets to kitchen
utility items like steel utensils and crockery and other minor utility
items required in a house.

 ELECTRONIC ITEMS: like refrigerator,T.V, vacuum cleaner , music


system, vacuum cleaner, washing machine Etc.

 MOBILE ZONE: A wide range of mobile phones and accessories is


available at lowest possible price.

 FURNITURE: All kinds of furniture is available that one may require to


decorate their house.

 STAR SITARA: In this section all kinds of cosmetic items are made
available.

 OPTICIANS: In this section all brands and types fashion glasses are
available.

 MEN LADIES AND KIDS WEAR : This section includes fashion and
casual wear for men ladies and kids both branded and unbranded.

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 FOOT WEAR: In this section footwear for men women and kids is
made available.

 MUSIC: A wide collection of CDs DVDs is made available.

 TOYS: All kinds of toys for children is available.

 STATIONARY: all kind of office stationery and stationery for school


going kids is available

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STUDY OF DIFFERENT FUNCTIONAL DEPARTMENT OF BIG BAZAAR

HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT

The HR department of Big Bazaar is very dynamic. Employees are the


biggest strength and asset of any organization and the HR dept realizes this
very well. This is very evident from the way the HR department handles all
its employees. We talked to the HR-Executive Mr. Lokesh Kumar and
according to him; They take utmost care to select, train, motivate and retain
all the employees. They have continuous developmental programmes for all
the employees. Currently Big Bazaar, PVS Mall, Meerut is employing 124 full
time and 50 part time employees. There are two shifts for the employees.
The first shift employees arrive at 10AM in the morning and leave at 7.30 in
the evening, while the second shift employees report at 12.30 in the
afternoon and leave at the time of Store closing (10pm).

SOURCES OF RECRUITMENT

The following are the main sources through which Big Bazaar recruits its
employees.

a) CONSULTANCY SERVICES: For top level management, employees


are recruited through private consultants. They are usually appointed
as Departmental Managers.

b) WALK-INS: This is the main source through which Big Bazaar recruits
its employees. People seeking job usually themselves approach the HR
department for job vacancy. Employees usually selected from this
source are appointed at the entry level as team members.

c) EMPLOYEE REFERRALS: This is the other main source through which


employees are selected. Candidates who have given their previous
employer as referrals are first interviewed and from their previous
employer, opinion is taken about their behavior and performance in
the job. If they receive a positive opinion from their previous employer
they are selected.

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d) CAMPUS RECRUITMENT: Young people bring new ideas and fresh
enthusiasm. Therefore Big Bazaar visits some of the reputed
educational institutions to hire some of the most talented and
promising students as its employees.

SELECTION PROCEDURE

The following is the selection procedure that the HR department practices to


hire its employees.

a) INTERVIEW: For entry level jobs, the candidates are interviewed by a


HR person. They are asked a few basis questions about their
education, previous work experience if any, languages known etc. This
is done to evaluate the candidate’s ability to communicate freely and
also other skills.

b) PSYCHOMETRIC TESTS: For higher and top level jobs, candidates


are asked to answer a few questions which basically test their
sharpness, analytical ability, ability to handle stress, presence of mind
etc. This is done as Managers are required to work under stress all the
time and still maintain a cool head to make some vital decisions.

c) GROUP DISCUSSION: In campus recruitment students are involved


in a Group Discussion, where they will be given a topic on which the
group has to deliberate, discuss and arrive at a solution or a decision
which is accepted by the whole group. Along with the G D they are
also given a written aptitude test. Finally a formal interview will be
conducted to assess the overall skills of the student.

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INDUCTION

New employees selected will be given a 15 day induction and training


program. They will be given information about the company’s business,
different departments etc. They will be informed of their roles, duties and
responsibilities. They will also be informed about the HR policies and rules of
the company. The new employees will be on probation for a period of 6
months. After this period the HR period along with the department manager
will review the performance of the employee. If the employee’s performance
is good and encouraging, the employee’s services will be confirmed.

COMPENSATION & REWARDS

The employees are rewarded suitably with attractive pay packages. The
salary of an employee includes basic pay. HRA, special allowance, PF, ESI,
Medical etc. Annual bonus will be given at the time of Diwali. The employees
and their dependents are also entitled for medical treatment in recognized
hospitals with cashless hospitalization with whom the company has tie-ups.
If a hospital is not recognized, the amount spent by the employee will be
reimbursed. Along with these all the employees are given a card known as
‘Employee Discount card’ (EDC) through which they can buy any product at
Big Bazaar at a special discount of 20-30 %.Leaves and other rules: An
employee during his probationary period is entitled for 7 days of leave. A
confirmed employee is entitled for 30 days of leave in a year. There is only
one type of leave the employees can take which is known as All Purpose
Leave (APL).All the employees will be given identity cards which they have
to wear and also swipe while at the time of entering and leaving the Store.

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PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

The HR department conducts performance appraisal of all the employees


annually in the month of April. Based on their performance increments will
be given in their pay. In addition to this if an employee achieves or exceeds
the target given to along with their team members will be provided with
attractive cash and other incentives.

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

Future group has its own training division for all its employees, known as
‘Future Learning & Development Limited’ (FLDL).All the employees are given
training for 20 days in a year spread over different periods. ‘Gurukul’ which
is a part of FLDL gives training to all the employees on various skills like
team work, dedication discipline improving customer service etc to make
them more knowledgeable and productive.

WORK CULTURE AT BIG BAZAAR

According to the HR Executive of Big Bazaar PVS, Meerut, he said; we


believe our most valuable assets are our People. Young inspirit, adventurous
in action, with an average age of 27 years, our skilled &qualified
professionals work in an environment where change is the only constant.
Powered by the desire to create path-breaking practices and held together
by values, work in this people intensive industry is driven by softer issues. In
our world, making a difference to Customers’ lives is a Passion and
performance is the key that makes it possible. Out of the Box thinking has
become a way of life at Pantaloon Retail and living with the change, a habit.
Leadership is a value that is followed by one and all at Pantaloon Retail.
Leadership is the quality that motivates us to never stop learning, stretching
to reach the next challenge, knowing that we will be rewarded along the
way. In the quest of creating an Indian model of retailing, Pantaloon Retail
has taken initiatives to launch many retail formats that have come to serve
as a benchmark in the industry. Believing in leadership has given us the
optimism to change and be successful at it. We do not predict the future, but
create it. We believe it’s a place where you can live your dreams and pursue
a career that reflects your skills and passions.

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PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

The HR department conduct performance appraisal of the entire employee


annually in the month of April. Based on their performance increments will
be given in their pay. In addition to this if an employee achieves or exceed
the target given to along with their team member will be provided with
attractive cash and incentives.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Like every organization big bazaar has also some responsibility towards the
society. When we asked about their social responsibility, and if they have
done anything for the society, they replied pleasantly and told that, they had
done an awareness program in Meerut City, in which the employee of the Big
bazaar visited a Blind School, did and awareness program on health and
hygiene and distributed gifts and sweets among the children.

Salient features of staffs of Big Bazaar

 Well trained staff and well suited for modern retail.

 Well dressed staff improves the overall appearance of store.

 Staffs are motivated to think out – of - box, and are empowered to


take innovative steps.

 Multiple counter for payment, staff at store to keep baggage and


security guard at every gate, makes customer friendly atmosphere.

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Store Manager

Asst. Store Manager

Administration Info Sales Manager


Dept Manager HR Manager

Asst DM Visual Merchandising

Maintenance Marketing
Team Leader
Asst DM

Team Member Cashier


House Keeping

CSD Security

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FINANCE DEPARTMENT

In order to get the finance related information we talked to Mr. Shobhit


Tyagi, he is the Finance Manager of Big Bazaar, PVS MALL. According to him
Finance is the backbone of any business. He informed us that the the North
Zone Head office located at Gurgaon, performs most of the financial
functions and therefore the Finance department of Big Bazaar, PVS Mall,
Meerut performs a few basic functions, such as preparing the Store’s
‘Income and Expenditure Statement ’giving full particulars of all items. It
also prepares the budget for expenditure at various levels on different items.
This department is also responsible for deciding and giving the weekly,
monthly and yearly sales targets and the margins for all the departments
separately. The Finance department is also responsible for collecting and
depositing the cash received in the company’s bank account daily. Review of
Performance: The company crossed $1 billion turnover mark during the year
under review, having recorded a robust growth in both the top-line as well
as in bottom line.

According to Mr. Tyagi monthly turnover of Big Bazaar, PVS Mall, is 2.5
Crore and the monthly ground expenses is Rs. 20,00,000.00 which includes
electricity bill, daily wages and housekeeping. They have 174 employees; in
which 125 are Big Bazaar’s employee and rest 50 are on daily wages. They
use third party security for security purpose.

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MARKETING DEPARTMENT

For marketing related information we talked to Mr. Abhishek Chaudhary,


Marketing Manager of Big Bazaar, PVS Mall. According to him Marketing
concept is a customer orientation backed by integrated marketing aimed at
generating customer satisfaction as the key to satisfying organizational
goals. For a firm in order to implement the marketing concept it has to focus
its attention on the consumer, ascertain his/her needs, discuss and wants
before Every Brand appeals to individual customers in different ways. Good
customer service is the life blood of any business. Good customer service is
all about attending to existing and potential customers. This maintaining
good relationship with the customers is the key to business success and
hence the concept relationship marketing.

Traditionally, marketers have located their target market segments,


presented their offer, and made the sales. It's always been a single step
process. Relationship marketing looks at customers and clients over a longer
term. It takes into account the lifetime value of a customer. Many experts
think it costs anywhere from six to ten times as much, to find a new
customer, than to sell to an existing one. With those financial realities in
mind, the approach makes some sense, and some real dollars. Relationship
marketing is based on the idea that people prefer to do business with people
who they know and like. After all, it's easier to buy from a friend, than from
someone you've never heard of before. It's a matter of building trust. It's
said that people need to hear an offer at least seven times before they buy.
That concept certainly works against the single step marketing method. The
Marketing department is responsible for marketing of Big Bazaar’s products
through different media like TV, radio, newspapers, banners, placards etc.
The marketing department has to decide and identify the most effective
medium to attract the customers to Big Bazaar thereby increasing the sales.
The department has to design creative and attractive advertisements
through which the company’s products can be promoted to the customers.
The company has to visit different companies and has to enter in tie-ups for
all its advertisement campaign.

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The marketing department also consists of another separate department
which is known as ‘Visual Merchandising’. Visual merchandising is an art by
which a retailer makes the store talk to its customers. The colours, signage,
lights, look and feel, everything is taken into account. It is very important to
figure out what is the story, the picture, the idea that is being sold to the
customers. Another concept that was incorporated in Big Bazaar from the
beginning was that of ‘Category management’ as opposed to the brand
merchandising practice that is followed by many retailers. Category
management is based on the belief that a customer walks into a store
looking for party shirt or a formal trouser, rather than a particular brand.
Therefore the store is designed according to the categories like men’s formal
wear, women’s western wear or a casual wear, etc.

Within the organization too, teams were divided according to the categories
that they managed, rather than the brands. Big Bazaar wanted to have a
complete bouquet of products in each category at different price-points,
design, fabric, size and colour. The objective was to create ‘traffic drivers’
within the Store rather than make brands compete with each other. Focusing
on categories also helped to achieve a level of perfection within the specific
segments. This department is responsible for the attractive product
arrangement in the Store with respect to their nature. The basic function of
this department is it divides the Store into some departments based on the
nature of the product and also within the department it decides how the
products should be arranged keeping in mind the customers taste. It also
arranges the products to attract the customers and also ensure easy
availability of products.

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LOGISTICS

In order to get the information related to logistics, unfortunately we didn’t


get any specialist, however we would like to thank Mr. Shobhit Tyagi, and
Mr. Lokesh kumar to provide us with the available information on logistics.
According to them, Logistic is a very important department of Big Bazaar. It
is responsible for procuring the stock of all the products of the different
departments. The logistics department receives the goods from the
warehouse. The Warehouse of Big Bazaar for the entire North zone is located
at Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The logistics department receives the stock of
different goods and verifies the quantity and quality of the goods with the
particulars given in the ‘Goods Received Statement’ which it receives along
with the stock. Then it checks for any damage in the stock received.

According to him, if there is no damage in the stock, after recording it in the


‘Stock Inward Register’ dispatches the goods to the respective department
taking the signature of the Departmental Manager. On the other hand if
there is a damage in the goods or if the goods do not match the details
given in the Goods Received Statement, it enters in the Stock Outward
Register and sends it back to the warehouse along with a Goods Returned
Note giving full information regarding the reason for returning back the
goods and the defect or damage in the goods. The logistics department
receives two truckloads of stock every day. It is the respective departmental
Managers who place an order to the Zonal head office through e-mail for
stock of goods when they feel that the stock has to be replenished. The
logistics department works in complete coordination with all the other
departments to ensure that the stocks are received and maintained properly
continuously for the smooth functioning of Big Bazaar and avoid any
inconvenience to the customers. 5. Sales Department This department is
responsible for the collection of sales amount i.e., cash sales. There are in all
25 cash counters in the Store.

There is a Head Cashier to whom all the cahiers report and submit the total
sales amount collected throughout the day by the cashiers. In addition to
cash all leading credit and debit cards are accepted at no extra charge. Also
Big Bazaar vouchers and Sodexho coupons are also accepted. A cashier at
the time of opening his billing counter will be given an opening balance of
Rs.1000. The cashier has to ensure that all the offers applicable on
respective products are given to the customer in his/ her bill. Also if any free
items are given on some purchases, it should be informed to the customer
clearly. After the billing is done, the cashier has to pack the products neatly
in a plastic cover according to the customer’s needs. At the time of closing
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MEERUT
the billing counter, the cashier has to give a statement of cash, with all
particulars of different denominations of cash, amount collected through
credit cards, amount collected in debit cards, amount collected in Sodexho
coupons & Big Bazaar vouchers and also amount collected through Credit
Notes. Wednesday Bazaar is a very important and popular event in Big
Bazaar.

He said that every Wednesday fabulous offers and great discounts are given
on most of the products. Customers arrive in large numbers as they realise
that it is on Wednesday that products are offered at the lowest prices.
Recently Big Bazaar PVS Mall, Meerut celebrated its 3rd anniversary. Big
Bazaar celebrated this occasion by having the 3 rd anniversary sale from 12-
16th July. Good discounts and offers were provided on products to celebrate
this occasion along with the customers who were the prime reason for its
success. On Saturday and Sunday also the customer turnout is high, as it is
on the weekends that most of the customers find time for shopping. They
arrive along with their family to enjoy the shopping experience. Good
discounts and offers are also provided to attract more number of customers.
Retailing is not just about selling products —it is about selling an idea. Why
do people in shop when they are bored or depressed? It is not just because
they have the money to buy, but because they want to go through an
experience. It is very crucial in retailing to make customers relate to every
product that is being sold, as well as the Store’s environment.

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ADMINISTRATION

Mr. Sandeep Kumar is the head of administration at Big bazaar, PVS Meerut.
Unfortunately we didn’t get chance to talk to him as he was not present
there. We asked few questions to HR-Executive Mr. Lokesh Kumar, according
to him, The Store administration comes under the Store Manager. Its
functions are store maintenance, housekeeping, security etc. The store
maintenance is concerned with the proper running of the store in co-
ordination with all the departments. It also has to ensure proper back –up
power supply in times of power cuts.

The Housekeeping is concerned with keeping all the departments of the


Store clean and neat all the time. Covers and other wastes should be
properly cleaned and the floor is swept regularly to keep it clean. The
Security section is concerned with the security of the entire store. Security
department keeps a vigilant check on all the people entering and departing
at the various entry and exit points in the store. They also maintain all the
registers like employees’ attendance register, stock register, visitors’ register
etc. They check all customers’ bill before letting them out of the store. They
ensure orderliness in the store and prevent shrinkage or pilferage of goods
to minimize the loss arising out of it. The housekeeping and security are
outside agencies employed by the store on a contract basis to take care of
the respective functions.

The Administration department also has a separate section known as


‘Information Technology’. This department is responsible for the
maintenance of all the systems of the Store; all billing machines their
functioning networking with the master machine etc. If there is any problem
with the machine in any department in the store, then this department
comes into function. This dept integrates all the systems in the store and
properly maintains all of them.

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CUSTOMER SERVICE DESK (CSD)

At Big Bazaar PVS, Meerut, we had great opportunity to talk to the


customer service representative Mis. Komal Thapa. She told that at Big
Bazaar PVS there are three customer service representatives and one team
leader, and team leader reports to Department Manager. It is the separate
dept which mainly focuses on customer services such as, attaining customer
complaints regarding product and bill, helping customers to get the product
which they want.

There is also an Exchange Counter where if a customer is dissatisfied or


wants to exchange the product he/ she has purchased for any reason , the
customers can exchange them within 7 days of their purchase. When a
customer brings a product for exchange, the product is first received and
checked if it is used or deliberately damaged or tampered with. If it is in an
acceptable condition, then the customer is issued a Credit Note for that
amount (product’s price). The customer can then purchase any product for
that amount or just take back the money by encashing the credit note at a
cash counter. If the customer buys a product less than the amount in the
credit note, the difference amount will be returned to the customer and on
the other hand if a customer buys a product more than the amount in the
credit note, the customer will be asked to pay the difference amount.

This department is also responsible for announcing all the offers running in
the store on different products throughout the day. This dept also does gift
wrapping for any product if the customer wants it at free of cost. The dept
also collects customers’ opinion / feedback for continuous improvement in
their service. The ultimate aim of this department is to help and satisfy the
customer in every possible manner and makes the customers’ experience
memorable.

When we asked about one or two customer service examples she cited an
incident, in which customer purchased a product, while billing system
showed a different price. Price was more than displayed price at the product,
so she told that these kind of mistakes hardly happen but at that point in
time it is very hard to convince the customer. For another example she told
that one customer found a bee in the jam, so when he came to return the
product we apologized and gave him the new bottle of different brand and
suddenly stopped the selling of the brand in which bee was found.

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SERVICE QUALITY GAP MODEL

The Service Quality Gap Model helps to recognize the different types of gaps
between the service qualities that a consumer expects to receive from
service provider and the perception of consumer about service that actually
he received. The Service Quality Gap Model identify the five different types
of gaps such as knowledge gap, standard gap, delivery gap, communication
gap and service gap. The first four gaps are considered as company gap and
last gap is

SERVICE MARKETING

considered as customer gap because it is perceived by the customers. These


gaps emphasize on various phase which are engross in service delivery
process started from the consumer expectation to delivery of goods and
service. So for any service oriented organization it is essential to understand
the service gap and how to minimize these gaps. If these gaps are high then
it will result customer dissatisfaction and decrease in profit.

THE KNOWLEDGE GAP

The Knowledge Gap occurs when an organization failed to accurately


recognize the expectation of customers. It is considered as Knowledge Gap.
One of the major objectives of an organization is to create the demand
among new customers and to fulfill the customers demand. So, basically
before introduce any new service or product most of the companies do the
market research and try to find out that is there any need of that product in
the market, if there is a need then what are the customer’s expectation from
this product or service then according to that companies design their service
and products. But sometimes companies design its service and products
without doing any market research and they perceive that this service or
product will fulfill the consumers need. Therefore, there is high probability
that management of the company will not understand that what features can
connote good quality to customers, what attributes a service or product
should have to meet consumer’s expectation and what level of performance
is essential to deliver high quality service so it is considered as the
Knowledge Gap. Specifically it is the difference between management’s
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perception of customers expectation and the actual expectation of
consumers. Some factors which increase the Knowledge Gap and how to
overcome from them:

1.) LACK OF MARKET RESEARCH: Sometime without any market research


companies design its services and products therefore it results to increase
the Knowledge Gap. Every company should do market research such as
collecting the samples, doing customer survey and so on which will help the
management to find out the expectation of the customers. There should be
direct interaction between manager and customers.

2.) UP WARD COMMUNICATION AND LEVEL OF MANAGEMENT: There


should be fewer layers of management between customer contact personnel
and management. If there are many layers then it could be a barrier
because it will consume more time and it will work as noise between sender
and receiver.

STANDARD GAP OR DESIGN GAP

The second gap is referred as Standard Gap. It occurs when there is vary
between managements perception toward consumers expectation and the
actual service specification design by the management. This variation took
place because of complexity faced by the management to integrate
customer’s expectation into authentic service delivery process. Management
of a service providing organization often faces the difficulty to match with
customer’s expectation. If a company set the benchmark for service quality
then it would be easy to measure the result in quantities method such as
Pizza Hut has done to set the benchmark of their service in quantities
method to deliver the pizza in 30 minutes. If the gap is more, then it would
result as poor quality standard and delivery, customer dissatisfaction, less
control on quality and standardization in delivery process. The length or
extant of this gap is depend on management’s belief. If they are considered
more on other goals rather than service quality then there would be more
gaps. There are many factors which can increase or decrease the quality or
standard gap:

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1.) GOAL SETTING: An organization should more emphasize on set ting the
goal to deliver high. Standard quality rather than cost reduction or making
profit. To set the quality goal will not only help to improve company’s
performance but also it will increase the overall Control of company on
quality standard such as McDonald and Pizza Hut has done.

2.) TASK STANDARDIZATION: A company should improve their work


method and it should standardize the specific rules and task and then they
should work according to it. Every company should clarify the job or working
task to its employees and according to the performance of employees, they
should be given regular feedback.

DELIVERY GAP

Delivery Gap is the difference between actual service which is being


delivered to customers and service standard specification. It is also
considered as Service Performance Gap. The extant of this gap is depends
on service providers. This gap occurs when service provider’s don’t perform
at that level which is expected by the top level management and employees
are not able or unwilling to perform at desire level of the top level
management. Since it is performed by an individual employee therefore the
quality can be affected by skill level of employees, team work, conflict
between employees and training and experience in that field. Once the
service quality is specified by the management then it is the responsibility of
employees to deliver the service at same specified quality. If there is any
gap between actual delivered and service quality specification is called
Delivery or Service Performance Gap.

There are many factors which can be reason between differences in service
standard specification and actual service delivered:

1.) TEAMWORK: If all employees work as a team, they feel personally


committed and Involved in work then the actual service delivery can achieve
the service standard

2.) EMPLOYEE JOB FIT AND ROLE CONFLICT: To reduce the role conflict
among employees management should clear the role of every employees
and they should be given only that job where they feel most suitable.

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3.) TRAINING: Every company should provide training to its employees to
improve their Productivity so they can help to achieve the economics of
scale.

COMMUNICATION GAP

Communication mean to interact with customers at short times, keeping


them informed in a language which is easily understandable for consumers
and create awareness among customers about service and product through
advertising, sale promotion, personal selling and word of mouth. It also
includes listening to customers. There are numerous types of
Communication Gap such as one is when an organization overpromise to
customers but they don’t complete what they promise. Second when a
company stops to interact with customers or get fail to stay in touch with
customers and another one is when the message which a company wants to
convey is not understandable due to language problem or any other reasons.
One of the main reasons to Increase the communication gap is when
company is listening but not replying. To reduce the communication error
and to make it more effective a company should use:

HORIZONTAL COMMUNICATION

There should be continuously communication between sale and operation


department which help them to aware about the new trend of the market,
need and expectation of the customers. There should be direct interaction
with customers after a specific time so they should be updated about the
new service and products which are being offered Message should be in
regional language so it will be easy to communicate with customers. There
should be separate department such as customer care who help customers
in term of solving their problems, inform them about the status of their
order.

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SERVICE GAP

Service Gap is considered as all gaps from Standard Gap to Communication


Gap which is considered as consumer oriented gap because this gap is from
customer’s side. It is the difference between customer perception and
expected value from the service which is actually delivered to customers.
This gap can lead the customer dissatisfaction, negative word of mouth and
so on. To overpass this gap an organization should focus on good customer
service, expected role of management and service providers should be in
place. Main Finding and Conclusion: After completing this report have found
that delivering constantly good service to consumers is difficult but at last it
profitable for every organization.

An organization can reduce these gaps by improve its service quality,


communicate with customers at set level of time and deliver the service or
products at right time which help to increase the customer satisfaction.
Customer access service quality by comparing what they want or expect and
actually what they got or perceive what they are getting. So an organization
should include these quality when they feed customers such as tangibility
where there should some physical evidence of service, responsiveness where
consumer get response at short time, reliability where the ability to perform
service should be independent and consistently and assurance where
employee should have good knowledge, courtesy and ability to convey the
message in proper manner.

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INTERACTION WITH FRONT LINE EMPLOYEE

In this survey we talked to various front line employees who were taking
care of different segments in Big Bazaar, PVS Mall, Meerut. 1 st we talked to
Ms. Komal Thapa, the customer service representative, at customer service
department. Her experience with Big bazaar is very good, she likes working
her and she told that the behavior of the supervisor is very good with their
subordinates, they co-operated with then always. She likes her job as it is
related to solving customer’s problem.

Then we moved to Tara Sitara counter, there we talked to Mr. Navin Singh,
Tara Sitara counter is the private counter and he would have to report to the
owner of the private counter. We moved to stationery department, there we
met with the front line executive, Ms. Neha Shakya, she told that this
stationery department is called Depot section, and it includes all the
stationery item such as notebooks, pen, pencil, eraser, diary etc. When we
asked her about the behavior of their seniors she replied positively and told
that they always get positive motivation from their seniors, according to her
seniors are very co-operative and always helpful.

Then we talked to one lady who works there on part time basis, she has to
work only four hour in a day, Ms. Deepa Sharma, she told us that she is
married and it is very difficult for her to work full time. She is happy with Big
Bazaar as it takes care of her. She was employed in the sarees segment.

We moved to Kids Wear and Talked to Mr. Abhishek Chaudhary, he told that
in kids there are three segment one in Infant, in which they have cloths of
age group 0-2 years, and in next segment they have cloths of boys and girls
of age group 2 to 16 years.

In toys section we talked to Mr. Sonu Yadav, and we asked about the kind
of consumer profile who come there to purchase the toy, he told that every
kind of customers come there to purchase the toy as Big Bazaar has verity
of toys with different prices and it includes the discount also. When we asked
what attracts the customer more in this segment, he replied the teddy bear,
which attracts the customer more as in local market generally the price of
teddy bear is high in comparison to Big Bazaar.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOK

It happened in India By Mr. Kishore Biyani.

Marketing Management by Philip Kotler.

Service Marketing by M.K.Rampal & S.L. Gupta.

INTERNET

http://www.sharetermpapers.com/retail/retail-marketing-strategy-of-
bigbazaar/

http://www.scribd.com/doc/904659/Big-Bazaar

http://www.future-group.com/main.php

http://www.bigbazaronline.com/

http://ekikrat.in/Big-Bazaar

http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/sikanderkush-170707-big-
bazaar-marketing-strategy

http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/marketing-
management/98109-marketing-strategy-big-bazaar.html

http://www.scribd.com/doc/29172327/Inventory-problem-of-big-bazaar

www.livemint.com/2010/08/.

http://www.fileguru.com/apps/big_bazaar_inventory

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