An industry visit to Westside and Landmark Storeswas organized on 28 October for PGDM Batch (2017–19). Both the stores come under the aegis of Trent, a brand which is part of the prestigious Tata Group. The visit was organized by Professor EktaRastogi and coordinated by the store head of Westside Mr. Syed Fahad Ali.
Trent operates Westside, one of the many growing retail chains in India and Landmark, a bookstore chain with brick-and-mortar stores across the country. Westside has created a niche for its brand of merchandise, following a rapidly evolving retailscenario. Currently, the company has 82stores measuring 15000–30000 square feet across 46 cities.
The objectives of the visit:
To get an understanding of visual merchandising
To assess the various parameters that influence a buyer to shop at a retail store
To understand the importance of Customer Relationship Management in the success of any business
To understand a range of conceptsincluding shrinkage, retail layout, and trading area
The visit instilled key learning among the students including:
Information about brands like Oak & Keel, Zuba, Utsa, Bombay Paisley, Studio West, LOV, and more
Permissible shrinkage: .28 % of stock
Shrinkage is always measured on cost
Retail is all about how you manage your staff
Unique selling proposition of Westside: No advertising and selling cost
Westside believes:Satisfied customer is the best advertisement
Customer relationship strategy of Westside:word of mouth and membership cards
Retail is a dynamic business
Giving of classy gifts to customers is a tradition at Westside
Landmark alone contributes to 25% of the total business
The store deals in books, toys, sports items, games, play stations, electronic gadgets, stationery, and similar items
The visit has immensely contributed in making concepts related to Retail Sales, Visual Merchandising, and Customer Relationship Management clearer to students. Overall the visit to Westside was a remarkable experience which studentswill cherish for a long time.