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4.1 THE GLOBAL CONCEPT

OF RETAIL AND
MARKETING

Apparel Marketing Management

Semester IV, B.Voc Fashion Design
Module 4.1.1
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The Global Concept

The expansion of global markets has not only affected the movement of consumer
goods but how businesses function & reach out to collaborators and employees.
Global marketing is essential for modern businesses. In an era where businesses
(both large and small) can sell and ship their products and services to consumers
across the globe within a matter of days, it can be easy to forget how markets
functioned before the digital age and the innovations in transportation.

What is Global Marketing?

Global marketing is basically the beginning, middle, and end of how a business
organizes, creates, positions, and advertises its products and services on a global
scale. Giant corporations have always had their hands in global marketing through
having operations, representatives, and employees in other countries.

Through social media platforms, websites, and other online tools, small businesses
can also participate in the process of global marketing.

Why is Global Marketing Important?

• It gives businesses new opportunities to create new streams of income

• Raises brand familiarity and reputation
• Its gives businesses the opportunity to gain new knowledge about their
products in order to adjust for better quality service

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What is Global Marketing Strategy?

The planning part of a business trying to grow into new markets around the world
is a global marketing strategy. When entering various international markets, a
business must be mindful of how they will approach marketing (public relations,
promotion, channels, etc.) in countries with different values, cultures, and even
languages.

Strategies for a Successful Global Marketing

Establish a popular and well-recognized brand and image

o When a business is successful and popular in their native country, curiosity

arises in other countries from foreigners willing to try out their products

Use a unified approach to marketing across borders

o Utilize a marketing strategy for your business as if there were no global

boundaries to better analyse engagement with content from country to country

Make a marketing plan

o Investigate goals/benchmarks of a business and the needs/wants of the region

within the global market, then create a marketing plan based on research
collected

Adjust your approach

o Just a because a marketing strategy was a success in a business’ native country

does not mean that it will translate well in another country with different
values, culture, and language

Personalize promotions

o Be mindful of language differences, cultural practices, and observances (i.e.

holidays and events) when advertising a product or service to a foreign
audience

Observe and know where your target audience comes from

o Using tools such as Google Analytics and Shopify to pinpoint consumers by

specific their location helps businesses create better marketing strategies that
reach their target audiences

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Tailor your products based on where they are sold

o Fast food juggernaut McDonald’s provides cultural food staples (i.e., poutine in
Canada and Crock Brie in Italy) based on the localization of every franchise
o Are your services or products in any way culturally offensive?
o Is your business following foreign government rules and regulations?
o Is your business brand/trademark unique to the country in which services are
provided?

Keeping branding in mind

o A business must ensure that anything from the company name to the logo that
they use is not similar to other business in the area, that their branding is
easily translatable in a different language, and that it is familiar

Specify your message based on location

o Different people have different wants/needs, and this is especially true for
people that live and different countries. A business must make sure that their
promotions speak to their customers, whether native or foreign

Bring an in-country marketer on your team

o As the saying goes, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” But, no one knows
Rome like an actual Roman. When tailoring your marketing strategy to foreign
countries, hiring a native from those countries ensures better communication
that translates to the people that a business is trying to reach.

Utilize the correct technology and software

o If the most popular social media platform in a foreign country is Twitter, then
it is imperative for a business to structure its global marketing strategy around
the use of that platform to reach its desired audience

Take advantage of available data

o Growth in the modern digital landscape has allowed for businesses to be more
creative in how they reach potential customers through marketing campaigns
online

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Development of Global Marketing Campaign

Product

o Is a company’s product sellable across all global markets or does it need to be

changed depending on regional traditions and tastes?

Price

o Do prices need to be changed because of competition already in the foreign

market?

Placement

o How do foreign customers choose and purchase their products?

Advertising

o Does a company’s message easy to understand across all cultures? Are there
any misunderstandings based on language, culture, and/or value differences?

What kinds of Customers does Global Marketing Reach?

Targeting and reaching out to customers on a global scale requires a business to

have various profiles instead of just one distinct profile. Every country analysed
will have different types of consumers with different types of needs. That is why
global marketing campaigns must be flexible and adjustable across all borders.

Benefits of Global Marketing

Increase the quality of a product or service

o When a business expands into a new market, they gain more knowledge. With
analytical tools, they acquire knowledge at a faster pace, which leads to a
higher quality of service or products that are available for customers.

The familiarity of brand image

o Think about why companies like McDonald’s and Starbucks are known all
around the world

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Raised knowledge about your brand

o If your business not only has ads on social media platforms but also
commercials that air all around the world (tailored from country to country)
there is an increased chance of gaining a global customer base.

Lesser costs, more savings

o By establishing a brand in other global markets, a business can acquire more

consumers and get them familiarized with the brand to a point where the
marketing does itself (recommendations, social media posts, etc.). Plus, by
taking advantage of social media, businesses use less money for promotions.

Reach a wider target audience

o Being on top of the American market is nothing to sneeze at, but thanks to
modern innovations (the internet) it is easier than ever before to connect with
the foreign market to increase a businesses’ customer base.

Gain the upper hand on your competitors

o Everyone knows that McDonald’s is a dominant global powerhouse compared

to Whataburger due to its reach in the global market, especially in China.

Gain relationships across borders

o Not only can a business form a relationship or even partnerships within their
native countries (i.e. Coca-Cola and McDonald’s), but they can also establish
alliances with foreign corporations to sharpen their edge within the global
market.

Helps form relationship outside of the “political arena”

o Certain might not be able to link up in their native countries due to conflicts of
interests, however, in another country, those constraints might not be there.

Helps to manifest good strategies faster in a more efficient way

o Thanks to digital innovations, businesses can implement global strategies with

at a faster rate than reaches more people.

Reveals the advantages of e-Marketing vs traditional marketing

o In the age of social media posts and images with the use of social media, e-
Marketing is king.

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Influence and scope

The more global impact that a company has the more cultural influence and power
that they have, which also increases the sizes of their operations.

Challenges in Global Marketing

No market, no sale

o An American burger joint might not be able to establish itself in a country like
India because cows are considered sacred animals in their culture. They would
have to adjust their menu to be more plant-based.

More financial risk

o A business trying to cross over into a global market is a risky task due to having
to adapt their marketing strategy (which costs money) to places with differing
values, cultures, and languages with could fail.

The rules are different

o Not only does a business entering into a foreign market have to deal with
language and cultural barriers, but they also have to deal with following the
rules of foreign governments.

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International Retail: Meaning and Important Concepts

International trade and commerce have existed for centuries and played a very
important part in the World History. However International Retailing has been in
existence and has gained ground in the past two to three decades. The economic
boom in several countries, coupled with globalization have given way to
Organisations looking at setting up retailing across borders. The advent of internet
and multimedia has further changed the dimensions as far as International
Retailing is concerned.

Who are the International Retailers

When you think of International Retailers the names that come to one’s mind
would be the Wal-Mart, Gucci, Ralph Lauren, Mango, GAP etc. All of these are
International Retailers. However, we can broadly classify the International
Retailers under two categories. The first category would be the global grocery
retailers and the second category belongs to the international fashion Brands.

International Grocery Retailers

The Companies namely Wal-Mart, Carrefour, Metro, Tesco and A hold etc are the
leading international grocery retailers who have multi country presence. Major
portion of their total revenue comes from foreign sales. Wal-Mart operates in over
8,500 stores in 15 countries with foreign sales contributing to 18% of its $405,046
billion net sales (2000). Carrefour, a French international retailer has presence in
32 countries with foreign sales amounting to over 48% of its net sales.

These international grocery retailers follow a multi brand and multi product
business format which includes all products like food encompassing all types of
fresh vegetables, fruits, juices, chocolates etc, fashion and clothing including bed
linen etc, grocery, all types of branded consumables, as well as liquor and many
more household goods under one roof. They generally follow a format that allows
for selling to whole sellers, retailers as well as general public at the mega stores.

Traditionally these International Grocery Retailers have operated mainly in US and

in Europe. Specifically in Europe the largest markets have been in Germany,
France and UK. With globalisation and with several countries opening their
markets to FDI in retail, these Organisations are moving into other parts of the
world and into emerging markets.

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There is yet another group of international retailers like IKEA, Lego, Toys ‘R’Us etc
who have chosen to focus and specialise in a particular segment like furniture etc.

International Fashion Retailing

Names like Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Zara, Hugo Boss, JC Penny, Benetton, Jimmy
Choo, Swarovski, Dolce & Gabbana etc belong to the second category of
International Fashion Retailers. Originally these Companies catered to domestic
markets in the countries of their origin. Fashion and Luxury brands have always
been known by their label and brand value across countries, through word of
mouth and sought after by the rich and famous from all over. Over the years,
these companies have realised the opportunity in expanding their product mix and
promoting their brands internationally. Thus, we see the emergence of
international fashion brands, luxury product brands dealing exclusively with
branded clothing including sportswear, casual and formal wear, party wear, foot
ware and accessories, luxury items including watches, perfumes, jewellery and
many more items of personal use.

In the earlier times, the nova rich and the business class were the main customers
who sourced these branded products from abroad. However, in the recent times
we see the educated and economically empowered youth demanding fashion and
going in for branded items. International brands have thus established a niche for
themselves in domestic markets aided by the increasing demand for branded
fashion products. International grocery retailers have expanded their business in
emerging markets by virtue of their investments and procurement strategies.

Definition of International Retailing

Ever since International Retailing started getting recognition in the industry,

several academicians as well as Industry experts have tried to come up with exact
definition.

The attempt to define International Retailing raised a legitimate question as to

what exactly the retailers were internationalizing. Unless the correct fact was
established, there could be no right definition. Some asked if the Companies
internationalised their management systems, management expertise or the
brands.

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The famous International Business researchers Johnson and Wiedersheim-Paul

who had studied the growth of Swedish Companies suggested that the term
‘International’ can be attributed to the Business orientation, the management style
and orientation. They further elaborated that in the first instance the Companies
began exporting products to other countries and further growth of business
entailed setting up manufacturing facilities in the foreign countries. Though this
might have been the trend seen in manufacturing organisations, the same has not
been totally accepted in the retail sector.

Experts have questioned the validity of the concept with reference to the services
sector. They argue that the manufacturing or the product sector can go
international in a phased manner but the same is not the case with service sector.
The nature of service sector being intangible and instantaneous, calls for full-
fledged operations of international standard to be setup at the time of opening up
business in a foreign country.

Studying the nature of transactions and growth of internationalisation of other

industries as well, the academicians have tried to see if the international business
trends in terms of mergers and acquisitions, technology transfers as well as
transfer of marketing and management skills and training etc are required to be
included in the proposed definition of International Retailing.

When one refers to International Retailing, there are several dimensions

of the trade that needs to be considered before attempting to come up
with an apt description of the business.

First and foremost is the invisible aspect of financial investments. Companies get
into joint ventures and invest in the foreign retail company with or without
management control. Secondly, we must look at the areas where the retail
company is transferring knowledge or processes to the new set up.

In retail sector there can be many aspects of retail business, the knowhow of
which are transferred to the new establishment. The business model, the
management and operational policies and processes, financial accounting
systems, supply chain model as well as the retail store design and layout concepts,
merchandising processes and more importantly the systems and processes that
are used to manage multi retail stores and outlets can be transferred by the parent
company to ensure an identical setup at the new location.

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Marketing, brand promotions and customer management policies too will be

shared to ensure standardisation of processes in all areas across countries. Most
companies would insist on ensuring that the new foreign outlets follow the same
operational, costing and accounting as well as reporting and measurement models
as that of the parent company. The most important area that can be actually
internationalised would be the sourcing function. Central Sourcing and vendor
management from multiple countries for multiple countries is the strong feature
that characterises the International Retailers.

International Retailing - Features and Challenges

International Retailing and branding have been one of the sectors that is seeing
exponential growth. With increase in standard of living and disposable income,
people in developing countries are getting exposed to international brands.

Rise of internet and multi-media has further provided impetus to the dream of
people to aspire for branded consumer goods. Along with the rising awareness
and aspirations of the people, the opening up of economies and foreign direct
investment opportunities have fuelled the growth of international retailing
business.

International Retail business consists of two groups of businesses. The biggest

value and volume business happens to be the International Multi brand grocery
Retailers like Wal-Mart, Tesco, Metro and Carrefour etc. The second group of
international retail business refers to the fashion brands mainly in fashion, luxury
brands and personal product category of businesses.

In this topic we aim to explain some of the characteristic features and challenges
of the second group of international retail business dealing with fashion and
brands. Brands such as Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss, GAP, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci,
Escada, Armani, Versace, Louis Vuitton and many more are known all over the
world and are available at exclusive showrooms in various countries.

In the past two to three decades all these brands have grown to become Global
brands, and this has been made possible by their strategic branding, multi-product
range expansion and innovative merchandising methods.

Though International Retail Companies are Global businesses, the business and
products are hugely influenced by the multi-cultural and pan country specific

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product requirements. The product categories largely comprise of fashion clothes,

food, gadgets as well as personal and luxury products.

Each country and each market are characterised by different fashion trends and
consumer behaviour. While the products are fast moving and have very short shelf
life, the local culture and outlook has a large part to play in the localisation of the
international brands in domestic markets. These global companies therefore are
forced to work on global branding as well as local brand promotion and have
international as well as domestic-country specific customer reach programs and
marketing as well as promotional methods.

International Retail Companies have several inherent challenges

that they face in their line of business.

Product innovation and product mix happen to be the biggest challenges for these
companies both at global as well as country specific domestic levels. The survival
and growth of the brand is directly dependent upon these challenges.

The global retailers have to be tuned in to the international as well as domestic

specific fashion in each of the countries and get their product mix right for each
of the markets. Service quality and merchandising methods too, play an important
role in the brand visibility and reputation.

Pricing of products is yet another challenge faced by the brands. Developing and
emerging markets are highly price sensitive. When the international brands are
trying to make an entry into the new markets, they have got to have an entry
strategy that takes into account the price sensitivity and profitability as well.

Procurement and Supplier reliability as well as quality marks one of the challenges
that these companies face as they happen to source materials and products from
several countries.

Quality and reliability as well as in time supplies and logistics is always a challenge
that can make or break the business which is highly seasonal in each country.

In the recent years we have seen the emergence of ethical practices playing a
vital role in the procurement policies of these international companies. The
companies have got to ensure that their sourcing partners do not employ child
labour or employ unethical methods in manufacturing the products and as
principal buyers these companies are held responsible. Ethical buying has gained

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global visibility and these companies have had to be watchful to ensure compliance
or risk unwanted publicity and public outcry.

International retailing business is high volume business. To be a successful

international brand, the Companies have got to adapt the right strategies, be
aware of the local cultural as well as political environment in the market and more
importantly manage the brand promotion and supply chain perfectly. The
challenges faced by the business are several but so are the business opportunities.

Emergence of International Retailing

The growth of international retailing business has been a field of study by the
academic researchers for the past four decades. Various academicians like
Alexander and Kacker have been trying to understand the factors that led to the
development of internationalisation of retail business since 1990s. By international
retailing we are referring to both the two major categories of international grocery
retailing as well as fashion retailing segments.

One school of thought has established the factors that have encouraged the
companies to look at foreign shores for expansion of their business. The factors
identified include Unique Ownership advantages where in proven brand, specific
and unique style as well as factors like trademark ownership on fashion design
and brands etc can push the Company to make use of the situation and extend its
business into new markets {in the absence of new and increased opportunities in
domestic market} and thereby gain from increased business activity.
Alternatively, location specific advantages in terms of attractiveness of the foreign
markets as well as supplier base is said to induce the retailers to consider setting
up international operations.

Yet another group has studied the development of international retail wherein
European Companies made their entry into American markets and built successful
businesses. Accordingly, it has been said that a host of pull and push factors have
led to the internationalisation of retailing. The lack of growth in the domestic
market and the new opportunities in growing markets abroad pushed the
European especially British firms establishing operations in American markets. The
domestic market in Europe being under Government control and regulation did
not provide sufficient opportunity for growth while the American socio-economic
climate was conducive for phenomenal growth in the retail sector.

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Despite several viewpoints being put forth by the researchers, the growth of the
major international retailers like Wal-Mart, Carrefour, A hold and Tesco seem to
point out to the fact that the internationalisation of business was a part of strategic
initiatives taken by the Companies and not necessarily a turn of events that
pushed them to look abroad for their business survival.

Internationalisation of retailing business is not as easy to set up when compared

to the other kinds of businesses. Internationalisation of operations which is the
most important aspect of the business is faced with several challenges in terms of
local socio-economic environment coupled with political and lifestyle as well as
cultural environments in the foreign markets. The international retailers have had
to understand the local dynamics and respond to the challenges in a bid to be
successful. Therefore, it may also be said that internationalisation of retailing grew
with experience and the process of internationalisation evolved over a few
decades.

International retailers in the initial stages have chosen to expand and set up
business in the foreign markets which are geographically closer and in the
neighbourhood. Over the period of a few years, they have understood the market
dynamics and the challenges and accordingly developed market intelligence as
well as the processes and operational methods suited for foreign operations. These
then have been internalised and helped the Companies develop an international
operations strategy and understanding that enabled them to make entries into
culturally diverse and geographically distant markets. With time and experience
the Companies gained experience and expertise which gave them the confidence
to explore unchartered territories and set up business operations. Another point
to be noted is that the internationalisation of retailing turned out to be the long
term and strategic direction that these companies chose to take. Internationalising
therefore became a part of the engine that fuelled future direction and growth of
business for most of the successful international retailers.

International Retailer Classification

In today’s world if internet and communication boundary has erased geographical

boundaries, international retailing has brought the world market to the local store
near you. Any international brand of fashion or product that you desire can be
easily found in the city in your country. The rapid urbanisation, globalisation
coupled with economic freedom enjoyed by the youth has helped fuel their
ambition and dreams to live a lifestyle that is global and stylish. Thus the

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international brands and retailers are in for a good time expanding their operations
in international markets all over the world.

When one refers to International Retailing, the term denotes a variety of fashion
retailers as well as luxury brand retails and general grocery and merchandise
retailers as well. Going into the details of what constitutes international fashion
Retailing provides us with the following categories of fashion retailing:

Product Fashion Retailers

The retailers who focus on a narrow product range and cater to a particular
customer group are categorised into Product fashion retailers. The brands like
Nike, Reebok, Puma who cater to Sports Shoes or Jockey who cater to Men’s inner
garments etc fall under this category. The customer group may be specific to
children’s garments, men’s shoes, women’s lingerie or such specific sectors.

Fashion Design Retailers

Fashion firms that promote their brand or label and merchandise the exclusive
creations of designers who sell by their name through Company owned exclusive
boutiques come under this category of international retailers. Such fashion
designers normally take part in the fashion shows and unveil their creations at
such industry marked events. Gucci, Channel, Prada, Giorgio Armani, Diesel etc
are the well-known designer owned brands under this group.

Merchandise Retailers

The department stores that engage in fashion retailing as well as general

merchandise retailing of different brands and multi products are covered under
this category. Departmental stores like Marks & Spenser as well as Dunnes store
etc that sell general merchandise and assorted products along with fashion and
accessories can be grouped under Merchandise retailers.

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General fashion retailers

This group is categorised by the international fashion brands that sell a variety of
products under the brand and have extended their product variety under the
brand. GAP, Mango, Hugo Boss and JC Penny are some of the fashion labels who
have strong brand identity as well as product mix aimed at particular customer
segment.

With opening up of new markets as well as globalisation, the complexities faced

by the international retailers in terms of the standardisation, quality and new
fashion trends as well as new product mix is increasing. Brand promotion and
positioning too is undergoing a lot of changes in the face of technology and media
being the change agents. The trends in the markets as far as the perception of
style and fashion is fast changing. In keeping up with business realities and
confronted with need for expansion, new International Retail formats can be
expected to emerge pushing the fashion boundaries further and to new frontiers.

Trends in International Fashion Retailing

International Retailing especially the fashion retailing industry has undergone

tremendous changes in the last two decades and these changes have
characterised by various factors. The most significant and far-reaching change has
been that the time between the fashion design creations to the retail market has
shrunk rapidly. Earlier on the designs used to be unveiled or announced in premier
fashion shows and through upcoming events designed for showcasing the designer
trends for the next season. Once unveiled the designs would be available to the
market only in the following season. Besides the fashion designs were highly
seasonal including Spring & Summer as well as winter collections. But now the
fashion retailers have adapted a new trend known as fast fashion.

With the new trend of fast fashion, the international retailers have begun to catch
in on the new trends in the market as well as begun to change the fashion trends
keeping in line with the new youthful culture. Few changes and evolutions in the
fashion industry have contributed to the emergence of fast fashion. Typically, fast
fashion now enables companies to design, produce as well as reach it to the stores
within a matter of 4 weeks while it used to take over six to twelve months earlier.

Technology has played a very important role affecting the industry. Design and
sample production to bulk manufacturing has now become a very fast and efficient
process thanks to software technology and electronic communications cutting

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across time and distances. Data transfer as well as sharing of information instantly
across all parties involved in the entire process has dramatically reduced the time
taken in design development and manufacturing. New suppliers in emerging
economies with highly skilled labour and production facilities capable of churning
out bulk garments faster and the new sourcing strategies and new markets have
made it possible for the retailers to procure bulk products in very short time.
Countries like China and India have adopted modern technology in both design
development studios combined with manufacturing facilities aiming to provide one
stop shop deliveries for bulk fashion garment industry. Deliveries from the
manufacturer to the showroom are highly dependent upon supply chain and
logistics. While sea freight delivery times have shrunk, retailers do not hesitate to
airlift the finished goods to the market thus cutting down on the delivery times.

The fast fashion trends have not only helped cut down the order to delivery times,
but changed the entire concept of retail fashion. Fashion retailers are able to
design and order products for individual markets and cater to specific local market
requirements. With fast fashion, they are able to take a lead in providing the latest
trends in the markets enabling these brands to score over the domestic retailers
and thus establish their leadership in the markets.

Fast fashion has changed the way that international retail industry functions
especially in terms of its marketing as well as sourcing strategies are concerned.
Establishing and expanding business in the foreign markets is not easy. The
international retailers are required to be sensitive to the market trends and adapt
to the changes very quickly. Lead-time for adapting to new trends is not a luxury
that the international retail industry has. Therefore, the industry is always looking
out for innovative ways and means to grow their business in international markets.

Evolution of International Retailing

One of the significant features that is inherent and defines the International
Retailing is the aspect of time spanning across all the activities and processes
especially with reference to the markets. The time taken from design to the
market, the time taken to serve the customer and the time taken to react to the
trends in the fashion market and industry determines the success of International
Retailing. The ongoing challenge faced by the International Retailers always is to
manage the aspect of time with changing styles and seasons in the market.

It is this concept of time that plays an important role in the decision of the
company in arriving at their strategy to ‘Make’ or ‘Buy’. The Companies have

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developed efficient Supply Chain Management Strategies as a trade-off to be able

to gain competitive advantage in the market by establishing offshore procurement
supplier bases and co-ordinating the extensive processes of consolidating and
managing multi-level supplies, finding economies of scale and using faster and
more expensive mode of international transportation to be able to reach the goods
and service the customers at the right time.

The International Retailers in Europe as well as US began the trend of reviewing

their manufacturing and procurement processes two decades ago and found the
need to overhaul the entire system to be able to create increased efficiencies. At
the same time several developments in the external environment were found to
be conducive for adapting new supply chain strategies and moving away from the
traditional mode of operations. One of the significant factors was the emergence
of Supplier bases and networks in South Asian countries and in China. Malaysia,
Thailand, China, India and Hong Kong which emerged as strong supplier bases
equipped with modern technology, skilled and cheaper labour and sufficient
capacity. Secondly, the availability of IT Solutions in terms of EDI, Scanning and
data transfer capabilities made it possible for the Companies to co-ordinate and
work with the offshore suppliers on real time basis. Data sharing, multi-media
communication capability coupled with CAD design software etc changed the way
the Fashion Retailing manufacturing and procurement processes worked and
reduced the elaborate lead times that were hereto required.

The International Retailers realised that the only way to remain competitive in
future was to concentrate on offshore procurement and regularly review supply
chain solutions. The development of stable supply chains involved identifying
competent and reliable as well as professional suppliers, working with them to
setup and improve their processes as well as Quality Management and other
aspects of production. Besides they also realised the importance of getting
involved in building the multi-level supplier chains and creating two tier supplier
networks. The outlook of the Companies and the relationship between the Buyer
and Seller changed to that of being partners and working to achieve common
objectives. The International Retailers realised the importance of being closely
involved with and controlling the entire process of production including raw
material supplies and quality. Collaborative working styles began to emerge with
the Companies that made foray in the offshore buying.

The emergence of new strategy and outlook towards supplier networks lead to
rationalisation of Suppliers. Companies began to evaluate their supplier and
sourcing models that lead to rationalisation of supplier base where the Companies

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began to shrink the number of suppliers that they were working with and chose
to concentrate on and work with fewer suppliers in a collaborative manner.
Investing in Supplier relationship, identifying key suppliers and growing fruitful
partnership as well as taking interest in augmenting supplier capabilities were the
important lessons learnt by the International Retailers that shapes their
procurement strategy even in the current times.

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