Pumping up retail

ZOOMING IN

ONCE UPON A time we drove into a petrol pump, filled up our tanks and drove out. Today petrol pumps aim to sell much more than just gasoline and the best example of this is Bharat Petroleum's BP Oasis, a "destination petrol pump" near Mathura on the Delhi-Agra highway.

This six-acre outlet already has a shopping complex, restrooms, eateries, a swimming pool and "" surprise surprise "" a petrol pump. Now, the 'destination outlet' is also getting a motel and a gymnasium.

"The idea was to provide a complete experience to weary travellers," says S P Mathur, general manager, retail (north), BPCL.

Bharat Petroleum has invested Rs 3 crore on the project and is now planning similar destination pumps in other locations: one near Ludhiana, another on the Jaipur road, near Bilaspur, and a third on the Delhi-Bareilly highway.

BPCL is also pushing ahead swiftly with its plans to open 'Hariyali Kisan Bazaars'. The project, in collaboration with the DCM Group, envisages setting up agricultural supermarkets that will also educate farmers on new agricultural developments.

The first Hariyali Bazaar has been set up in Shahjahanpur on NH-4, and the company plans eight to 10 more by the year-end. Locations being targeted include Ferozpur, Kota and Ramraj in Meerut.

"These bazaars will be one-stop shops for farmers, where they can purchase all their requirements such as fertilisers, pesticides, seeds, farm implements, and chemicals," says Mathur.

"We will also have experts educating them on the latest agricultural techniques and scientific developments."

Hair-raising battles

Did someone say that the shampoo wars are over? Hindustan Lever may have decided to sheathe its price-cutting sword but its rival Procter & Gamble is still in 'take no prisoners' mode.

"Our strategy of value correction and enhancement is a dynamic one which is expanding the market, and we will continue with it," says Ashok Chhabra, executive director (health and hygiene), P&G India.

Chhabra believes that being a price warrior has helped P&G grab 22 per cent of the Rs 1,200-crore shampoo market "" that's up from 15 per cent a year ago.

What's more, he says that P&G has been cutting prices since 2000 but "It is only now that people have started to take note of it. With constant product innovation and better technology P&G is able to lower costs and pass on the benefits to the consumers."

The Rs 1,000 crore FMCG major is also considering setting up its third manufacturing plant in the country to make shampoos.

"The domestic market for shampoos has shown good volume growth in India for us so that we can consider local manufacturing," said Chhabra during the launch of a new variant of Pantene shampoo.

With an estimated growth of around 7 per cent annually, shampoo is one of the fastest growing categories amongst personal care FMCG products.

The company is currently evaluating the benefits of setting up its plant in the excise duty-free states of Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh.

"We are still in early stages of the process of evaluation and a decision will be taken in the next three to six months," he said.

Currently P&G imports all its shampoos including Head&Shoulders, Rejoice and Pantene from Thailand. It manufactures detergent brands Ariel and Tide at Mandideep near Bhopal, and Whisper and Vicks at Kundaim in Goa.

Cool concepts

It seemed like a concept that couldn't fail in India. After all, this is a hot country and a tall glass filled with fruit "" or even vegetable "" juice is the best and most refreshing way to beat the summer heat.

Surprisingly, the ambitious newcomers and marketing whizzes who leapt into the field haven't been able to make it work.

Now, Juice Zone, a Canada-based brand, is trying to alter that with an extensive selection of juices, smoothies and what they call 'juice-tales' (something like a mocktail).

Juice Zone is one of the largest of its kind in North America with 25 outlets in Canada and 25 in the US. It opened its first outlet in the Capital a few months ago and it has been setting up others at high speed.

Currently, there are five Juice Zone outlets ""four in the NCR and one in Ahmedabad. At least seven more are planned in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai in the next couple of months.

For Juice Zone's Indian franchisee Cogent In Trade this is the first venture into the hospitality segment. The company made its name in the real estate business but it's confident that juices are ready to take off.

"We started with an investment of about Rs 20 million, already all our outlets are doing very well. We get an average of 200 visits per day per location in Delhi and the NCR and 400 in a city like Ahmedabad," says Zafar Haq, President, Asia Pacific Operations, Juice Zone.

The company is planning its expansion through sub-franchising outlets and the model they've worked out is one where the sub franchisee makes all the investment, keeps the profits and makes a royalty payment to the master franchisee. "Even though the concept is virtually unknown in India, we are getting a lot of response," says Haq.

A 2003 KSA Technopak study had put 'eating out' as one of the largest growing sectors in the country and other studies have suggested that several global chains are now looking at entering the Indian restaurant business. Which means more choice if you are planning to eat or drink out.

Additional reporting with T R Vivek
and Anoothi Vishal