Textile Business - A Marketing Perspective

As I started with a textile showroom for my marketing blog, I received amazing insights into how this business really works. The intent of this blog, I decided, would be to share the various strategies that textile businesses adopt to provide value to its customers. I look forward to do my little research on different types of textile stores –from the old established ones to much newer ones, the ones that cater to a particular segment of the market or specialize in a particular type of business model. I hope to get different perspectives in terms of growth of business, challenges faced and strategies adopted over time to adapt to consumer’s dynamically varying needs. I thus start with the success story of Madhar Sha Textile showroom in Chennai.

Madhar Sha Readymades - Background

Madhar Sha textile showroom was established in 1966. The now flamboyant, well illuminated showroom located on the busy Pursalwalkam High Road in Chennai was once a modest shop whose objective was to serve the customer with quality goods at low prices. With time, not only has the business expanded due to high influx of customers, but it has also carved such a niche for itself in the eyes of the consumer, that it is thronged by over thousands of them each day from the nook and cranny of the city, as well as from outside. What’s more, the budding competitions, had to shut shop even before they could get started! Such is the monopoly that Madhar Sha enjoys.

Inside the store

Madhar Sha started operations with a single showroom, however it was imperative for them to expand their business to a second one, due to the large volume of customers. I spent a good amount of time in both the showrooms. Though the differences were subtle, I was able to figure out in an instant the basis on which the segmentation had been done to attract only a section of the target market to each of the shops, thanks to the marketing perspective we have been endowed with during our course J

• ·        Even before I could enter the initially established showroom, I noticed two things through the glass. One – it had a good number of people inside and one had to wade his way across the showroom, and two- a water cooler was strategically placed at the entrance. People on the streets flocked to drink water, and would impulsively buy an item or two.
• ·        No sooner than I stepped in, a salesperson appeared, enquiring me about what I would like to buy. On the pretext of wanting to buy salwar kameez material I made my way through the shop.
• ·        I noticed that most of the customers’ purchases were necessity based and not that of luxury. They seemed to be buying daily-wear clothing.
• ·        The aisles were pretty narrow and there were clothes on both sides!
• ·        All goods were neatly arranged in stacks and information about the material and price were clearly displayed. The price ranged from Rs.200 to Rs.5000. Salespersons seemed to be knowledgeable and were helping customers by asking them particular questions about their purchase needs.
• ·        At the billing counter, attractive colored clothes were displayed, one of each kind – saree/shirt/salwar kameez/the traditional mundu/kids wear. Also on display were informative boards like “Lab coats available” and “Uniforms available”.  

In Shop# 2, the arrangement seemed to be similar, and yet there was a world of difference in the experience.

• ·        There was no water cooler at the entrance, neither was there a salesperson.
• ·        I was greeted by a whiff of sweet fragrances.
• ·        The aisles were wide, and I suddenly realized that there were chairs placed along the aisles too. There were posters of models in designer wear along the stairs.
• ·        A couple of information boards displayed that brochures were available for customized stitching.
• ·        The price cards ranged from Rs. 1100 to Rs.20000 here, and the clothes on display were of sober colors as opposed to the brighter ones displayed in the first store.
• ·        There were also separate sections for popular suiting brands.

From the above observations, I could clearly tell that the first store was targeted at lower middle class and middle class consumers, while the second one was more sophisticated and attracted the elite crowd.

USP

What is it that differentiates this showroom from the rest? What is it that makes a customer come back to Madhar Sha time and again considering that many smaller businesses around the area also source from the same supplier? The catch here is that the same goods are marked at a price drastically lesser than that offered by others. The owner booms with pride as he explains to me how they manage to keep a margin as less as 7% when others have it as high as 20%.

Madhar Sha aims at attracting customers from every strata of the society by empowering them to purchase the best quality of good at a price they can afford. Therefore, they slashed the cost and increased turnover instead. In order to achieve a lower profit margin, they needed to cut down on some cost – they chose to minimize their overhead cost by eliminating the middle men involved in sales, purchases and cash transactions. This way, they not only cut costs, but also make sure that there is no compromise on the quality of materials provided to them and the brand’s image is not at stake. Over time, they have also managed to buy out the property they were operating out of, which again contributed in minimizing overheads. As far as suppliers are concerned, Madhar Sha prefers not to operate on credit. The suppliers are promptly paid in cash in order to maintain the trust factor with them and for mutual benefit.

What more is in it for the consumer?
At Madhar Sha, they strongly believe that a satisfied customer is its biggest asset. Madhar Sha takes every initiative to ensure that the customer returns to them for more purchases. The staff here is knowledgeable about the goods and has also been given ample instructions on how to deal with customers and provide them with the best possible service. They have been instructed to dorn simple but neat attire and be presentable at all times, be on their feet when customers are in the shop in order to reassure them that the staff is at their disposal and are eager to help them. The staff has also been told to be disciplined and to refrain from idle talk so that there is an air of professionalism while dealing with the customers. I was amused to know that a couple of decades ago, they were told not to exhibit their religion by way of dressing or otherwise, as there existed a possibility of losing out on religiously-biased customers.

Apart from the factors of service mentioned above, the staff extends maximum support to its customers by personally instructing them on handling the purchased fabric, the dos and donts. Even in the unlikely event of damage in the sold good, the feedback is taken and the good promptly replaced – no questions asked, so that the customers do not leave with a bad taste in their mouth, and are motivated to return to the store!

How do they innovate?

Although Madhar Sha enjoys a monopoly in the market, they make an effort to continuously innovate. They have diversified by building long-term tie-ups with schools to buy uniform materials from them. They even provide an in-house tailor to the school.

Conclusion

Madhar Sha believes that a happy customer is the key to a successful business. Relationship with suppliers, staff and other stakeholders harmoniously amalgamate to provide the best service to the customer. They say they do not advertise themselves or offer discounts as their service speaks for itself. They provide value for money. The trust factor has been instilled so deeply in the minds of the customer that they continue to throng into the store through generations! 

Neena Sagar Pratap

FT13445