BIG BAZAAR – SERVING THE CLASSES

The caselet examines how Big Bazaar, a hypermarket from Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd., emerged as a success story in the Indian retail scenario. Big Bazaar came out with innovative marketing schemes which attracted the middle class consumers to the retail store. The caselet details how Big Bazaar went into tie-ups with some of the manufacturers, which helped the company offer goods at low prices to its customers.
Issues:
How organized retail can cater to the needs of lower middle class consumers
How organized retail can offer lower prices to consumers for the Merchandise
The effectiveness of promotions undertaken by hypermarkets
Introduction

Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd. (PRIL), started out in 1987 as Manz Wear Pvt. Ltd., dealing primarily, in menswear. In 1993-94, the company launched Pantaloon Shoppe as complete menswear stores. In 1997-98, PRIL introduced Pantaloon stores, targeting middle class families. The company was the first among the retail players in India, to turn public in 1991 to fuel its growth…

Questions for Discussion:
“We are not in the business of selling ambience, but in the business of giving the best possible deals to our consumers,” said Kishore Biyani, Managing Director, PRIL. How did Big Bazaar offer the ‘best possible deals,’ and discounted prices to its consumers?
Biyani opined that Biz Bazaar was focused on giving the best possible deals to its customers, rather than focusing on the ambience of the store. Is ambience irrelevant for discount stores?