Products and services
The single product retailers have a control over their products and services. The communication and information flow is stronger and more efficient. The product changes and evolution happen faster and are far more relevant in the context of a customer and the product turnover rate is generally higher. In lifestyle product category this becomes a critical factor. The bottom-line is that single-branded retailers are able to improvise faster and have higher levels of innovations because of better information flow and a better control over product design and development. The process is more customer-centric.

Multi-branded retailers are faced with the classical marketing theory of sell whatever is produced. The control over back-end product development is not that defined. They generally get a set of options to choose from but the bottom line stays – the options are predefined and sell what the other brands can provide. The basic flexibility is in the ability to juggle around with the designs and products of many different suppliers, essentially a reactive measure and relatively lesser customer-centric and more vendor-specific approach. Factors like most influential vendor, vendor with best margins, vendor with most lenient credit terms etc. start governing the decision-making process.

Brand Value Drivers
In single-branded retail stores, there is integrity of concept, communication and product promise. When we talk about “Live-in”, the brand promise remains the same-high quality, affordability, hi-fashion and a definite youth appeal. The same brand promise is reflected in the entire set of products (shirts, trousers, shorts, skirts, Jeans, etc) and accessories (shoes, sunglasses, belts etc.). Hence there is integrity of brand promise. The most difficult aspect of any marketing riddle is to get the right segment of customers with the right set of expectations and deliver them the right product. Expectations management becomes the primary driver of success. A consistent brand promise and delivery makes the single-branded retailers more efficient in expectations management.

Moreover, at another level the communications effort is also more focused, efficient and effective. When you are communicating about the same core of the brand through your entire set of products, then every purchase leads to re-enforcement of your equity. The communication about the core brand drivers also becomes more efficient. A very clear cut positioning emerges with a defined success.
At another end the multi-branded retailers are faced with the classical problem of identity. What are their core drivers? If they are catering to a particular segment, then what requirements of the segment are they catering to? If they are restricted to a particular product / category, then how broadly or narrowly do they define this category? The problem, then, is how do they communicate this brand promise? Do all the products reflect the same brand promise? Do all the products deliver the same brand promise? Most important of all, how well are they managing expectations?

An effort is required to streamline the entire product range around a core brand promise and then continuously deliver that promise, transaction after transaction, year after year - A mammoth task at managing the core positioning.
Now to the most important aspect that drives a retailing success – The Customer Experience.

Here again, the integrity and consistency in the experience promise of a single-branded retailer makes the task easier and more achievable for him. In experience, we are talking about ambience, quality of people, quality of service, delivery and display systems on the floor and the product etc. Things are moving away from uni-dimensional brand experience to functional benefits. This three- dimensional brand experience drives the core of experience in a retail store. We are talking about every point of interaction of the customer with the brand – the communication delivery to shop floor to interaction with the sales staff to product display – depth and width of the same to time taken at the cash counter to final delivery of the product to after sales service and other value-adds. Each interaction with the customer is a moment of truth for the retailer.

Where a single-branded retailer scores over his counterpart is in the integrity and consistency of the concept and being in better control of the various aspects of experience.

Moreover, better control over their systems – from product design to delivery and customer feedback about it – gives them greater flexibility and helps them in being up-to-date with changing customer trends.

Both types of retailers might be at the same levels as far as study of customer tastes and preferences are concerned. Where they differ in is execution of this feedback. The single-branded succeed because of the control over the whole process. Moreover regional level customisation also becomes easier once we are equipped with the right knowledge and once they have a grip over the nerve of the core customers.

A pleasant experience leads to better customer retention rates and obvious increase in average spending by the customer. The perspective then changes from customer acquisition to customer ownership. Single-branded retailers have a definite edge as far as drive towards customer ownership is concerned.
Finally, as far as back-end operations are concerned, better controls means better and more efficient delivery of the right product mix. Here we are talking about getting the right styles, designs at the right prices and making them available on time.
The multi-branded retailers are faced with greater number of negative externalities like lesser control over prices (if a vendor increases prices over the board, they have to accept it), design (choose from the already available designs), delieveries (the priorities at vendor end might be different), quality control (they make commitments on the behalf of the vendors) and most importantly flexibility. These factors handicap the multi-branded retailers up to a certain extent and lead to inconsistency in their retail brand promise. Moreover innovation on the basis of customer feedback is always an issue. The process is more reactive.

All these factors provide the single-branded retailers with a definite edge over their multi-branded counterparts.

In the Indian context, the various single-branded retailers need to get their act together and convert these tactical advantages
into longer-term competitive advantages.

The Way to Go
The demands of anatomy must be obeyed just for shopping to be practical. The retail space is not for generic-sexless, ageless human being who does not exist. We need to accommodate for behavioural differences based on gender, age etc.
It’s the sensory aspect of decision making that’s most intriguing – purchases, both planned and unplanned, come as a result of the shopper seeing, touching, smelling or tasting something that promises pleasure.

The stores essentially are involved in the process of retailing judo. They use the shopper’s momentum – his internal desires and aspirations – to get her take a decision, perhaps unplanned, and often unaware. Ultimately it’s not all about getting the goods in the reach of customers – its more about making him want to reach for it.

It’s not about science – ultimately its love, which makes the world of retailing go round.