There are three main ingredients for success: Persistence, Passion, and Hard work.
Let me narrate you a story of a man as an example of Persistence and who went through a journey, called “life” like a marathon.
Few credentials from his resume:
At age of 21, he saw his first business fail.
When he was 23, he ran for a political office and lost.
At age of 24, he saw his second business fail
29, he again contested for elections and lost
At 31, he again contested for elections and lost again
At 37, he contested for elections and finally won.
Looking at these credentials, will anyone from the corporate world hire such a candidate?
My answer is the same as yours i.e. in negative.
The above credentials not only shows persistence but reveals a great deal of patience.
In the end, it paid off – for he was none other than Abraham Lincoln who at the age of 51 became the sixteenth President of the United States of America.
Persistence is the key to success.
I had written an article on resilience, read it here.
Learning:
Believe in your dreams like you are running a marathon and not a sprint or 100m race.
Remember in the school of success, failures are the only lessons.
Believe in your dreams, develop your goals, and break each goal into actionable and measurable mini-milestones and then each milestone into the steps that would lead you to the accomplishment of your dream.
Remember
“If your mind can conceive something and your heart can believe it, your body can achieve it”.
I would like you all to see a video clip from the movie Pursuit of Happiness which summarizes my article and its message in its entirety. Watch the video, its very inspiring. You have my word for it.
As I write this article i.e. Management lessons that can transform you into a leader. These Management lessons are my learnings & interpretation from the book “who will cry when you die?” by Robin Sharma.
By clicking the article link, you all have decided to live your life by choice rather than by chance.
Find your purpose or Why
There is a Sanskrit saying “when you were born, you cried while the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die, the world cries while you rejoice.”
Every one of us is born with something special, may it be a particular skill or in-born talent or some kind of creative passion, may it be sports, music or literature.
It is our responsibility to identify our core strengths by introspecting ourselves and make it our Unique Selling Proposition.
Master one trick or skill that would make you stand apart.
As there is a statement in a book “Art of war”; don’t fear a boxer/fighter who tried 100 kinds of punches 10,000 times but definitely fear a boxer who had practiced one particular kind of punch, 10,000 times.
Don’t spend too much time thinking about an idea or concept but work towards converting that idea into a prototype and then finally pivot to an actual working product. Be always Action oriented.
Maintain a diary
Write about your mistakes- you made and good things in a diary daily.
Mention your learnings from each of these experiences (mistakes and successes). You will notice that over a period of time you would start making lesser mistakes and it would result in overall self-development.
Maintain a morning schedule:
Your morning decides as to how your day would go.
Start your day with positive thoughts, positive wisdom quotes and try to get into habit of waking up early. Early start of the day gives you a head start Vis a Vis your peers and fellow team members.
Be creative like a child
Focus on resources that you have rather than constraints.
Observe a child eating bread, they would eat the soft middle portion and would leave the hard side crusts. Working under constraints makes you to think harder and come up with creative solutions.
Take risks
Overcome fear of failure by taking action and avoid procrastinating on any idea. All the great inventors or geniuses were inspired to make the lives of other people more productive and enriched.
Try to do things that you always wanted to do and don’t even think of failures. Yes failures are the steps in the process of achieving success.
Remember, Failures are nothing but success delayed.
You are bound to achieve success with your persistence and hard work and resilience.
Keep Focus
I had previously written an article on developing a habit of saying No in order to stay focused, click here
To be successful, you need 3 core ingredients hard work, Persistence, and Resilience.
Take one step a day towards your goal daily.
If you want to lose weight, you join Gym, you would not lose weight by exercising 5 hours daily but you will see significant weight loss, if you exercise 30 mins daily consistently for over 6 months without any breaks or loss of momentum.
Make a mastermind alliance
Most of the successful people create a mastermind alliance with a group of like-minded people who are tied by similar values, similar philosophies. The alliance is all about mutual benefits so you must be able to give as much as you expect to receive. Discuss the challenges that you are facing and ask for the group’s input. It is what I call collaborative learning approach.
I hope my article would help aspiring entrepreneurs, corporate managers to think and invest in self-learning to realize their goals & aspirations.
Check out the video by Robin Sharma
I can be reached on riteshmohan@yahoo.com, in case any of my retail fraternity member needs my help with any of their retail issues or problems. I would be more than glad to help my fraternity members with my wisdom.
Reference book: “who would cry, when you die” by Robin Sharma.
About the author:
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. Ritesh has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development and Brand management, Retail Operations, Sales Management and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.
‘Trend-jacking’ the word sounds so scary (resembling word hijacking).
Trend-jacking is a terminology used by social media content writers or digital marketers as they try to optimize their post or article with the trending topics, or trending hashtags (#).
Last week, I was in discussion with a leading social media influencer & PR professional and she narrated this secret of hers in getting more likes and followers for her blog and articles.
Deep diving into the topic, raised my curiosity about the topic ‘Trend-jacking’.
In simple words, trend-jacking is simply the act of capitalizing on an existing trend in order to bolster one’s brand in the marketplace.
Do you want to know which are the most memorable ads from Made in India brands, click here?
How is trend-jacking impacting our digital reach?
In times wherein ROI (return of investment) is the buzzword amongst marketers, there is a huge pressure on the digital content people to deliver maximum reach for their message or post in minimum investment. Trend-jacking offers a piggyback ride to content managers and SEO specialists to drive more eyeballs onto the post or article.
Staying more visible is the need for many brands.
Brands are all vying for a pie of mind space in the consumer’s mind in order to increase their brand recall.
These days, people expect more from advertising. With brands so accessible to people through social media, audiences are responding to socially intelligent brands.
A key element to trend-jacking is playing with current trends whether socio-economical, socio-political, sports or any current affairs.
Check out the adverts using this concept.
If you see, most of the most successful brands have been using this concept of trend-jacking for ages. I would like to quote my favorite brand Amul using this concept for ages.
I would give credit to their creative agency (da Cunha & associates) for using this concept in the 1980’s itself and kept the brand alive and relevant to its consumers even today.
Check out the commercials for Amul below:
Another brand using this concept of trend-jacking very effectively is Durex.
Check out their hilarious commercials that get trolled and trended in social media.
Should your brand be using trend-jacking?
If your sole objective is to boost the views by riding the wave of the trend and spamming the feeds of the social audience then my advice is NO.
But if your objective is to customize your brand’s communication to relate to existing trending topics by making your brand’s communication more relevant towards the trend, then YES it does make sense to use it.
Watch Amazon’s Alexa advertisement during Super Bowl- Alexa lost its voice.
To end the article, I would like to reiterate that there is nothing wrong with capturing a trend and reinventing it as your own.
Just make sure doing so adds value to your Brand Promise. The key lies in knowing your brand values and (with a little luck) striking with impeccable timing.
In case any of my readers want to relook at their creative communication strategy, please feel free to write to me at riteshmohan@yahoo.com . I would be more than happy to share my insights with my fraternity members.
About the author:
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion, and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. Ritesh has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development, and Brand Management, Retail Operations, Sales Management and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.
The primary function of advertising is to influence and trigger “call to action” amongst its consumers to buy something.
Advertising is an art of persuasion.
Understanding how persuasion techniques are used in advertising is a science to reckon.
Persuasion techniques can be either rational, irrational or emotional or combination of all three.
I am inspired to write this article post my recent Diwali vacation in India, I observed a strong trend in the market i.e. “Popular Indian sweets were replaced by chocolates.”
During Diwali, I received gifts from my friends and family members and there was one common factor running through most of the gifts i.e. chocolates.
My curiosity increased as these chocolates were both Indian and international.
Chocolates like Ferrero Rocher, wrapped in golden foil resembled popular Indian sweet called Ladoo, were selling like hot cakes.
On the other hand, there was virtually no Indian mithai, amongst the Diwali gifts I received this year.
(Read my article “most memorable ads from India”, click here )
So what caused this change in consumer buying pattern and habits?
Exposure to International advertising/ products and trends:
Chocolates are no longer merely kid stuff, which used to limit their appeal terribly. Brands such as Cadbury and Snickers, Amul have re-positioned chocolates as adult snacking options, which has brought in a fresh hunger for these products.
Almost all International brands like Lindt, Godiva, are now available in Indian cities. The economic and cultural growth also contributed in changing the trends, today middle income group has more money at their disposal than what they used to have 10-15 years back.
Indian youth today loves to experiment with products and are readily embracing western trends. They may look Indian but from their heart, they are very westernized and open in their thoughts.
Fake or spurious ingredients used in excess in traditional sweets
Despite strict food regulations, small-town traders & sweet shops use spurious ingredients in the production of traditional sweets which causes various health complications on consumption.
Tapping of Emotions by advertisers
Mithai or sweets are synonymous with Happiness or special occasions.
Festivals, celebrations, traditional occasions like (childbirth, success in exams etc) are never in short supply in India.
Brands like Cadbury capitalized on this trend and change in consumption patterns and came up with a masterstroke communication strategy called “ Kuch metha ho jaaye”.
Endorsed by film actors and superstars, advertising helped the brand Cadbury to enter every Indian household, every festival, every occasion of happiness.
Tapping your hunger by providing you indulging snack on the go.
Brand Snickers recently emphasized this through its “Who are you when you’re hungry” campaign, based on the insight that hunger is relevant for everyone, regardless of age or mindset.
Communicating Health benefits of chocolates – More than symbol of love and affection
It is proven scientific fact that indulging in chocolate especially dark chocolates has some health benefits.
I am not promoting any chocolate brand nor its consumption but my intention is to drive a fact that how advertising when coupled with consumer’s insights (thanks to consumer research) not only create a demand for a category but also changes its consumer’s behavior and provide them with alternative product to become a part of their festivities and happy occasions.
Successful companies aim to build strong relationships with consumers so they can retain those consumers as long-term customers and maximize revenue opportunities.
I cannot end this article without showing this funny commercial of a chocolate brand which uses humor/ fun as an engagement hook.
It is the power of advertising that makes a western dominated category like chocolate to shed their western layers and become an integral part of Indian festivities and households.
I hope my experience and learning about how advertising influences behaviors would help and guide my fellow marketers who are on their way to carving a niche for their brands.
In case if any of my readers, need my help or inputs to carve out a communication strategy for their brands then I can be reached on riteshmohan@yahoo.com.
It would be my pleasure to help my marketing fraternity in growing the overall industry.
References: Book “storm the norm” by Anisha Motwani; Cadbury’s commercials on youtube, economic times.
About the author:
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 19 years in the retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development, Brand management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, Business Management & Empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
One common question that everyone keeps posting at me is “What are upcoming retail trends and brands to watch out in 2019?” . So here I am penning down my views on retail trends in 2019.
(I am taking a global perspective since there is a lot that the Middle Eastern retailers & mall owners could learn from our western counterparts).
I had earlier written about the store trends that are coming in future, in case you have missed reading that article then click here
Retail Trends
Reverse trend of online traffic diverting into the Physical store
According to Google, 75% of shoppers are more likely to visit Brick & mortar stores if they find helpful local retail information in online search results.
In fact, some of the biggest players in the industry are spending billions of dollars to remodel their existing shops, hoping to lure customers inside with more modern fixtures, easier checkout options, and online order pickup kiosks.
Today, If you ask any big brick & mortar Retailer as to who is their biggest competitor, the answer would be undoubted “Amazon.com”.
The real fact is actually that, Amazon.com is itself investing heavily in its own real estate and opening stores ranging from its cashier-less “Go” convenience shops, novelty “4 Star” locations and bookstores.
It’s also shaking up the grocery industry with its acquisition of Whole Foods, pushing companies like Kroger to think outside the box.
Those of you don’t know about retail brand Kroger then let me enlighten you by saying that Kroger is the biggest supermarket chain by revenue in the United States of America.
Customer Delight through more Immersive experience
Stores of the future will be much smaller in size and lesser in its footprints but the stores would be more Impactful and powerful with limited assortments and would provide an online experience which would carry the entire merchandise mix.
In a recent news, brands like Ikea, Target, Kohl’s and Macy’s — are shrinking their existing full-size stores or experimenting with opening up smaller-format locations in densely populated markets such as Manhattan, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Ikea is experimenting with his new concept called “Planning studio” wherein shoppers can pick out items they want to be delivered to their homes. It will offer lower-priced shipping and delivery for city dwellers, in addition to assembly services, help with financing and a buy online & pick up in store option.
“Bounce rate” to make its entry in the Physical store
As an online retail terminology, wherein its digital marketer’s nightmare to reduce the bounce rate of their website, the same trend is seen coming into physical retail wherein brands want to engage its customers and want them to increase their dwelling times in-stores. Hence you would see the concept of cafes, lounges, and co-working spaces entering into the physical department stores.
Brands to watch out in 2019.
Walmart.
It’s my personal favorite as well.
I had written a case study in my previous article on Walmart and Innovation which forms its core DNA. Click here in case you want to know more about Walmart.
Walmart is remodeling its 500 odd stores with self-checkout kiosks, better assortment keeping the promise alive i.e. every day low prices.
The retailer has recently rolled out a new app, called “Dotcom Store,” that gives its employees the ability to order items on the spot for shoppers when they can’t find something on shelves.
That’s what I call innovation in providing its customer a reason to shop at Walmart.
Ikea
Experimenting its new concept of Omni retailing with “ Planning studios” would be an interesting thing to watch out.
The retailer is already creating waving reviews with the introduction of AI-based machine learning systems and providing a user-friendly Augmented reality app for its consumers.
Aldi
In the midst of the so-called grocery wars, discount retailer Aldi is spending $5.3 billion in the U.S. over the course of five years to build roughly 800 new stores, remodel older ones and stock shelves with new items.
By 2022 and with 2,500 locations by then, Aldi is expected to hold the title of the third-largest grocer in the country by store count, trailing only Walmart and Kroger.
Aldi’s goal is to increase fresh food in stores, selling more organic options.
Primark
I had written a case study on Primark earlier, click here to learn more.
With 161 UK-based stores, value-oriented fashion retailer Primark is driving its international store network across America and Europe, as well as investing in its customer experience and service.
I would like to end my article with a wonderful quote which is so apt in its wordings…
“The Past cannot be changed. The Future is yet in your power.”
I would like to thank all my readers’ compliments of the season and Merry Christmas.
About the author:
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development, and Brand management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
If these credentials are not enough to open your eyes…
let me tell you 7 things that the Middle Eastern retailers and Mall owners/landlords could learn from Walmart.
1) Size does not matter
Being a huge organization with millions of employees’ does not deter Walmart to take swift actions which result in Innovation and brings out innovative approaches to their retail offerings.
2) Collaborative Approach: Delivering growth
The Walmart team looked around and asked what else do their customers need?
How can Walmart enhance Customer Delight?
How can they embrace new technology and channels of distribution (e-commerce) to enhance their customer’s experience?
Can they attract more footfalls into their hypermarkets or malls if they change?
The deep-diving into these questions gave Walmart a completely new dimension to their business.
The answer was “Give people a place to gather, share, be entertained and feel good about Walmart”.
The result is the birth of “Walmart Reimagined”.
What is “Walmart Reimagined”?
Walmart Reimagined is a unique concept that follows the core principle of Walmart i.e. “Everyday low prices” i.e. finding cost-effective solutions to harsh realities.
Walmart innovated the utilization of their existing assets i.e. malls/shopping centers and its surrounding lands by converting their centers as town centers for the local communities.
The Town Center concept is part of an overarching strategy to bind Walmart deeper into the fabric of the nearly 5,000 U.S. communities it serves.
Walmart Re-imagined
3) Becoming part of the community
They converted the ample empty parking lots as a place for community Get-togethers, play areas, areas for community events, play areas for family and kids, including skate parks, and walking and biking paths.
In addition “mobility hubs” are planned for bike rental, bus, taxi, and ride-share services.
Healthy food is also planned with spaces for local farmers’ markets, food trucks, food halls, and food chains.
walmart re-imagined
4) Increasing focus on e-commerce
Since the purchase of online shopping giant Jet last year, Walmart has acquired other digital retailers like Mod cloth, Shoe Buy, Bonobos, and most recently Flipkart in India.
learn more about the business model of food delivery apps, click here.
5) Innovation:
Apart from the Innovative concept “Walmart Reimagined”, the retailer further capitalized on e-commerce by building a proprietary app that matches online delivery addresses
with employees’ driving routes home. Employees are incentivized to deliver online orders on their back home.
The result, an online grocery delivery that rivals Amazon and Whole Foods from more than 900 stores.
Check the video of 50 years of innovation by Walmart
6) Using data analytics to drive Customer’s delight:
Analytical expertise is the name of the retail game.
Data, when combined with intelligent technology, helps organizations create connected experiences in a fragmented environment.
Wal-Mart is equipped with its own powerful architecture that collects, analyzes, and integrates data to create a personalized, full customer view.
Wal-Mart’s goal is to bridge the gap between what customers do in-store and online to establish one seamless experience.
learn about lipstick as an economic indicator, click here.
7) Keep marketing simple
Get all messaging directly to the point and deliver accordingly.
The newly improved slogan says “Save Money. Live Better.” shoppers know that purchasing from them guarantees lower prices for better products.
Sam Walton once said while replying to a question from Press reporter:
“To succeed in this world, you have to change all the time.”
My personal learning from this quote, while change is never easy, those companies that adapt quickly have the best chance of survival.
I would like to end my article by asking the Middle Eastern Retail fraternity and Mall owners a simple question,
“Are you driving innovative growth to your existing projects/ malls/ shopping centers?”
If your answer is NO, (which I presume) then feel free to reach out to me for free advice.
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion, and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. Ritesh has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development, and Brand Management, Retail Operations, Sales Management and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.
Entrepreneurship is a wonderful journey into “unknown” territory and only support entrepreneurs have is their IDEA.
The first task for any entrepreneur is to develop a Business Plan.
Believe me, the word “Business plan” scares a lot of entrepreneurs in taking a leap into the faith of their idea and most of them tend to drop out from this journey even before trying out.
(Want to know as to how to stay focused in your business by saying NO, then click here)
Recently, I attended a unique event organized in Sharjah called Sharjah entrepreneurship festival (#sharjahef) wherein I was exposed to wonderful concepts of tech startups and met with a couple of budding entrepreneurs.
Post chatting to them, I realized that one of the biggest hurdles for any “wannabe” entrepreneur is lack of financial knowledge or fear of developing a Business Plan.
How to develop a Business Plan?
This article is my attempt to simplify myths of complicated Business Plans by providing my readers and budding entrepreneurs the easiest way to develop their own Business Plan.
Most of the finance wizards or so-called “consultants/advisors” talk about sustainable business plans which according to me only help them since by prolonging the duration of the business plan or making it more complex, they create wealth for themselves and that’s what advisors mean by sustainable.
It is sustainable for them.
The world is full of over-educated nuts, who devote a majority of their lives in making things complicated.
First and foremost thing that any entrepreneur should keep in his mind is SIMPLICITY.
Simplicity in Idea
Simplicity in Business concept
Remember More Clear you are in your thoughts or ideation, the SIMPLER would be your business model.
Clearer thoughts require a deep understanding of your business model or Business idea.
Once you can tell another person what your business is and why it’s special, without their eyes glazing over, you are on the road to success.
Ask these questions & develop your own business plan
Who needs this (product/service)?
How do they meet that need now?
Why would they buy this instead?
How many people could buy it?
How would I reach them?
How many of them would buy it?
How much would they pay for it?
How often will they buy?
How much will it cost to make or fetch each one?
How many people would I need to do that?
These questions are nothing but Business Plan simplified.
The answers to these questions would lead you to Business plan development.
Don’t worry it is not as scary as it sounds.
The answers would tell what has to happen for your idea to become successful.
It is a process driven roadmap simplified for upcoming entrepreneurs.
I would like to end my article by a wonderful quote from George Elliot (Novelist) which says
“The strongest Principle of Growth lies in Human choice”
If any of my readers want any help or assistance in their entrepreneurial venture, then feel free to email me on riteshmohan@yahoo.com. I would be more than glad to help budding entrepreneurs as I strongly believe that the future of the economy would be driven by entrepreneurs and tech startups.
Watch this video which demystifies the myths associated with entrepreneurship.
For my Bollywood fans, I would like them to view one of favorite dialogue which gives the real sense of “Business”. Watch it and enjoy.
Reference book: David Gilbertson’s The Wine Bar Theory.
About the author:
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development and Brand management, Retail Operations, Sales Management and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Brainstorming is a situation where a group of people meets to generate new ideas and solutions around a specific domain of interest by removing inhibitions.
People are able to think more freely and they suggest many spontaneous new ideas as possible. All the ideas are noted down and are not criticized and after brainstorming session the ideas are evaluated.
How to make Brainstorming more effective?
There are no titles only brains: Always try to leave your titles outside the room while participating in a brainstorming session.
If you want unbiased opinions and views of the participants, drop or leave your designation outside.
2. The correct size of participants: 5 to 7 is the ideal number of participants in any brainstorming session. More the number, the meeting would end without any action steps or without any great idea. Use maximum post-it notes to write the ideas generated by participants. (paste it on walls or on the board)
3. Try to get unbiased, fresh perspective to a problem: that the core objective of any brainstorming session. Fill the room with people who are not from your trade or line of business. You shall get fresh point of views and perspectives to solve your core issues.
4. No pop-up quizzes: Set clear agenda prior to setting up the brainstorming session. You can offer the opt-out option in order to maintain the ideal participation. Give people the problem or issues prior to meeting.
Remember, problems are solved by sub-conscious mind.
5. Set the mood of the brainstorming session: Find some creative exercise or teamwork, bring-in an element of fun in the session.
6. Appreciate the person and the given Idea: Remember every idea is workable, so always give a big thumbs up when an idea is given and appreciate the person.
7. Always document or record the session so that you can re-live the moment wherein the spark of a great idea was born and use it to inspire the other team members.
When managed well, brainstorming can help you generate radical solutions to problems. It can also encourage people to commit to solutions because they have provided input and played a role in developing them.
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 19 years in the retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region.
He specializes in Retail management, Product development, Brand management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, Business Management & Empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Off lately, I have been observing an upswing trend in Men’s grooming category in the Middle Eastern beauty retail sector. There has been an introduction of various men grooming brands (right from hypermarkets to gas stations). Brands like Beardo (Indian originated endorsed by Bollywood actor Suneil Shetty), the art of shaving, Biotherm for Homme (L’Oréal), Clinique for Men, Nivea men, Neutrogena -men; all have made their foray into the retail sector and are doing well.
So how big is the men’s grooming products market?
As my curiosity increased in deep diving this category, I researched and found some astonishing figures
According to TechSci Research, the men’s grooming market in MEA was worth USD 3.58 billion in 2016 and expected to touch USD 4.32 billion by 2022.
What is fueling this growth in Men’s Grooming category?
Trends:
Men’s grooming routines have moved far beyond just a quick shave. Today, many men have elaborate routines for making sure they look presentable, if not fashionable before they face their day. These consumers are buying more grooming products, and retailers that keep up with the current trends in beard care, hair care, and skincare can succeed in this growing category.
Focus on styling & looks & taking care of “Me” psychology:
The next generation of men is looking to brands and retailers to fulfill a need to express their personal style, including their grooming products and rituals. The inner need to make their presence felt & feel successful.
New Innovative channels of distribution:
Today’s Millennials and Gen Z are internet savvy and have computing powers in their palms i.e. mobile phones. They know what to buy at a click of a button.
There has been an upsurge in the subscription model for men’s grooming products across (especially in the Indian subcontinent). Companies like Dollar shave club, Indian grooming club, The Tie bar, Birchbox, and Raw nature are all trying to woo the new age Men.
How are retailers adapting to this change in consumer trends?
International Retailers have responded to the growing demand for male grooming products with store designs matching men’s needs.
For example, some department stores have created dedicated sections for male grooming products. Macy’s opened a “men’s grooming zone” at its downtown Philadelphia store, featuring face wash, moisturizer, and other male skincare products.
Nordstrommade a similar move by relocating the men’s grooming counter inside the men’s furnishings area.
Kiehl’s, an upmarket skincare brand owned by L’Oréal, has a significant male customer base. According to the company, it estimates that 30% of its customers are men.
The brand has over 300 stand-alone shops in over 40 countries.
The Future Outlook for Men’s Grooming sector:
The region’s increasingly youthful population is also seen as a market opportunity as manufacturers look to target the young modern & fashion-conscious male. The region’s modern male is perceived to be more ambitious, better connected and networked, and has more spending power than ever before.
There is a huge opportunity for local manufacturers and companies to tap into the category either using their retail store formats or by the online channels.
You may also read my article on the digitization of Beauty retail here… click here
Case study: Dollar shave club
Men’s grooming subscription
Founded in 2011. It offers a monthly membership service for razor blades home delivery for a fee as little as $3 a month. It also offers other grooming categories such as post-shave moisturizer and hair styling products.
As the startup sells solely online, its marketing efforts are targeted at the internet-savvy millennials. They create content on social media which is authentic, direct and with a touch of humor.
In 2015, Unilever acquired it for whooping USD 1 billion, thus making it one of the Unicorns within Men’s grooming sector.
In case any of my readers want to know more about this category or innovative distribution channels then you know who your Go-to person is.
About the author:
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. Ritesh has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development, and Brand Management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.
This article is a continuation to my previous article on franchise model wherein I gave few tips in form of questions that every franchisee and franchisor need to ask prior to moving ahead with their franchising plans.
I was overwhelmed by the response from my connections & few of them wrote to me asking me to clarify and write another article highlighting the model in terms of margins. My article is my attempt to answer these queries pertaining to margin structure.
The most critical element for any franchise manager is to play a balancing act between both franchisor and franchisee. He/ she has to think like an entrepreneur all the time taking care of both franchisors & franchisee’s interests.
Franchising model encompasses & provides independence to the franchisee to run & operate his business but at the same time provides protocols & systems that comes by having brand affiliations or along with franchise agreements.
It is the main KPI (key performance indicator) for any franchise manager to manage interests & expectations of both parties so that the model becomes profitable.
How to play a balancing act?
Franchise managers need to spend their efforts on creating systems and process flows:
Robust franchise agreements
Detailed training manuals and its implementation with internal audit checks.
Comprehensive operating manuals, guidelines, brand guidelines etc.
Strong policies and procedures – try using automated tools here in case you have merchandise/products to handle.
From my practical experience of franchising fashion apparels and beauty brands, it is advisable to ensure that your franchise partner uses your Point Of Sales systems so that you can monitor his sales and stock levels closely and implement PUSH merchandise replenishment strategy from time to time.
It would result in faster replenishments and stock rotations thus resulting in more sales and faster break even for the franchisees.
Types of franchise models:
There are multiple ways of creating franchise models & put to test. Most common practices are:
Collection of franchise fees for territory allocation (master franchisee) on sign up and then X amount per location added in that territory, coupled with royalty i.e. % of sales on per annum basis.
Some franchisors work on X% of your gross profits.
Some franchisors sell their products to the franchisee on % discount and advise them on their selling retail prices, thus ensuring that product is sold at uniform base pricing globally.
Some franchisors help franchisee build their first store by providing them with shop fittings and furniture at subsidized rates and with longer pay-back periods.
Basically, there are multiple ways you can make your franchise model customized and suited to your requirements.
Foremost point to remember, “Always think from franchisee’s perspective and ask yourself, will you buy this franchise yourself with these commercials?”. If the answer is yes, then you are on right track.
Profitability varies from business to business, and industry to industry. How well a business is managed by the owner will have a significant impact on how profitable it ultimately is.
I’ve seen 1 million dirhams businesses that don’t generate any profits – or worse, are losing money.
I’ve also seen smaller businesses that generate only Dhs100,000 to Dhs 200,000 in gross sales, yet turn a net profit of 40 percent.
The key is to not let big top line numbers blur your judgment. The bottom line of a business is much more important.
Work out your COGS (cost of goods sold) ratio or % so that it gives enough space to your franchisee to sell and make some decent net profit post incurring all the expenses (rent, salaries, equipment, taxes, depreciation, operating costs etc).
Remember: Your franchisee’s success would determine your success as a franchisor.
Case study: Wow momo by Sagar daryani
This video would give you some inspiration to start up your business and for your information, wow momo is one of the fastest growing franchise in India.
About the author:
Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region.
He specializes in Retail management, Product development, and Brand Management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
