EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Launched in 1998 in Bangalore, the Westside chain has, ever since,

been setting the standards for other fashion retailers to follow.
The Westside story really began in 1997, when the Tatas sold Lakme,
their cosmetics business, to Hindustan Lever and acquired the
Britain-based Littlewoods retail chain. A new entity called Trent
Limited emerged from this move and Littlewoods was renamed
Westside. Today, Westside has seven outlets, one each in Bangalore,
Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi and Kolkata.
Westside stands out from the competition for a variety of reasons.
One is that a majority of the brands the chain stocks and sells are its
own, unlike retailers who store multiple labels. About 90 per cent of
Westsides offerings are home-grown, and they cater to different
customer segments. The other 10 per cent includes toys, cosmetics
and lingerie.
According to Himanshu Chakrawarti, general manager, Trent, this
arrangement has many advantages. "Being a brand retailer, we are
able to develop our style and image in a manner whereby customers
can build a relationship with us," he says. "We also have the
flexibility of pricing and are able to fulfil the promise of affordable
style." Price is crucial in the Indian retail scenario and Westsides
focus on this factor is part of the reason it increased sales in
October-December 2001 by a whopping 71 per cent over the same
period the previous year.

Facing the challenge

The greatest challenge for Westside in its quest for a place in
the retail sun is not the competition from similar organised
players, but from the unorganised sector (98 per cent of
Indias retail garment industry operates in the unorganised
sector). According to Mr Chakrawarti, the task at hand is to get
people who usually shop with unorganised players to visit
organised stores such as Westside.
The general perception in India is that organised retailers are
far more expensive than unorganised ones. Westsides
response to this dogmatic view has been to connect price to

quality. "We had to get customers to realise that they were

getting the latest style at very good prices, and in a
comfortable environment," says Mr Chakrawarti.
The other challenge for Westside is that the retail fashion
business in the country is becoming increasingly crowded with
new players, Indian and foreign. Among the new entrants have
been Wills Sport, Raymonds (Be), Globus, Nike, Crocodile,
Mango and, the latest, Marks & Spencer. But this does not
perturb Mr Chakrawarti, who says its ironic that while Marks &
Spencer is actually a value-for-money brand abroad, it has
positioned itself in India as a high-style clothier, selling at
prices way above that of its competitors.
Customers are what everyone is after, and it is they that
Westside is concentrating on. Continuing research and surveys
have helped the chain build on customer loyalty. "Weve
learned enormously through the years," says Mrs Tata. "It is
absolutely essential to listen to customers what they want in
terms of style and price, and to understand the demographics
of it all. Its continuous learning."
An example of this commitment to customers is in the small
matter of Westside tailoring its products to suit particular
regions. The chain learnt that customers in south India tend to
be smaller in size than their counterparts in the north, and in
some cities women rarely wear sleeveless dresses. Knowing
these facts has helped Westside get the right balance in terms
of products and the people they are intended for.
An assured return-and-exchange policy reinforces customer
confidence in the chain. No questions are asked and a bill is
not necessary. "We can do this only because it is our own
merchandise," says Mr Chakrawarti. "Many-brand stores are
governed by the exchange-and-return policy of the various
labels they sell."
Another winning Westside idea is Club West, a customer
loyalty programme launched in May 2001. The 30,000-plus
members of this club get rebates at restaurants and on holiday
packages from the Taj Group of Hotels, home delivery of
alterations, and best of all, special shopping hours on the first

day of any discount sales event organised by the chain.

While Westside does its regular brand building through
advertisements in the media, more important are its in-house
promotions, which peak during the three main festive seasons:
summer, Diwali and Christmas. The promotions are mostly
theme based, with decorations to match, live bands and other
attractions. So last years Westside show had a Hawaiian
theme and this year the chain has gone the Wild West way.
Expansion is high on the Westside agenda. The chain is
planning to open more outlets in cities where it is already
present Mumbai and New Delhi will have a second store
soon and in some of the mini metros. The big handicap here
is the lack of readily available retail spreads. "To find space for
a large-format store is becoming increasingly difficult," says
Mrs Tata. "Either the rates are too high or space is just not
available."
That deterrent should not be more than a blimp in Westsides
upward trajectory. The chain being onto a good thing has
resulted in Trents retail business making a profit for the first
time (in the third quarter of 2001), and Mrs Tata is optimistic
about doubling turnover in the next two years. The company is
now looking to get into food retailing, but the plans on this
front are still under wraps.

INTRODUCTION
Trent is the retail arm of the Tata group. Started in 1998, Trent
operates Westside, one of the many growing retail chains in
India based in Mumbai, Maharashtra and Landmark, a
bookstore chain with Brick and mortar stores in various
locations of India.[1]
History[edit]
In 1998 Tata sold off their 50% stake in the cosmetic products
company Lakm to HLL for Rs 200 Crore (approx. 45 million
US$), and created Trent from the money it made through the

sale. All shareholders of Lakm were given different shares in

Trent. Simone Tata, the chairperson of Lakm, went on to head
Trent. The reason behind the sale was that Simone Tata saw a
greater growth potential in retail, and believed that it would
be much more difficult for an Indian company to release new
cosmetic products in a market that had opened up to global
companies