Shoppers' Stop to up pvt lables' share

"The company's in-house brands are a sell out. But we deliberately have set a limit of 25 per cent to give customers a wide choice on the shop floor," he added.

Shoppers' Stop has brands like Life, Kashish and Vittorio Fratini in its portfolio and plans to launch more. Retailers develop their own that is 'private' brands to improve operating gross margin. Shoppers' Stop was one of the earliest in the country to adopt the model for growth and expansion.

"Private brands are less prone to substitution and generate high levels of loyalty. Private labels contribute to retail brand differentiation, and their positioning reflects the value of the brand," said a retail consultant.

"Shoppers' Stop is to position itself as a premium lifestyle retail store and initiate a brand campaign starting November first week," said Ajit Joshi, vice-president-operations, Shoppers' Stop.

In addition to the branding exercise, the company is also to launch new initiatives like 'First Citizens', the loyalty card programme, and 'Fast Forward', the campaign to recruit five lakh loyal customers, he added.

For this Dasara-Diwali festival season, Shoppers' Stop has announced 'Down Under Fest' in collaboration with Tourism Australia, Qantas Airways, Thomas Cook, Rio Tinto Diamonds and Austrade (Australian Trade Commission).

These schemes will commence on October 7 across all Shoppers' Stop stores in India and run up to October 30.

As part of the festival, Australian merchandise like T-shirts, mugs and bags symbolising the country's culture will also be showcased.This is the fourth festival conducted by Shoppers' Stop, the earlier ones being linked to Britain, South Africa and Seven Wonders.

"By associating with Shoppers' Stop, Qantas Airways will showcase the rich flavours of Australia," said John Powell, district sales manager-north India.