MIN TO MAX by Don'tBeContent

CMY

From Min To MAX An ode to the teAm thAt mAde it hAppen

Contents 8

MOTIVATOR MAXIMUM

OVERVIEw: THE JOURNEY

FROM DESIGN TO PRODUCT

That’s Micky Jagtiani, Founder &

OF MAX ...Through the eyes of

Translating creative sketches into

Chairman, Landmark Group

the Business HR Head

market-ready products

SHINING THROUGH

O CAPTAIN...

THE wHERE & wHAT

The fascinating journey of

Vasanth Kumar, former

OF SOURCING

Renuka Jagtiani, Chairwoman

Executive Director, steered Max

They decide where and how

and CEO, Landmark Group

Fashion from ‘Min to Max’

every product is produced

STRIKING THE MIDDLE

ON A DESIGN HIGH

bOTTOM LINE: QUALITY

GROUND ...With Ramnathan

How the Design Department

Ensuring consumers wear

Hariharan, CEO, Max Fashion

entices customers with panache

Max to ‘look good & feel good’, every single time

OVERVIEw: bUILDING A

bUYING THEIR wAY UP

104

COMMUNITY ...From the

The buying team descends on

marketing perspective

fashion shows and trade fairs,

KEEPING THE SHIP AFLOAT

hunting for upcoming trends

The backbone of fashion, ensuring the business runs

OVERVIEw: MILESTONES

Highlights from 2007-2017

SMOOTH OPERATIONS:

THE TECHNICAL bRIDGE:

efficiently and grows manifold

114

144

MARKETING DEPARTMENT

The IT Department has a hand

bALANCE: PLANNING

IS AN ORCHESTRA ...Where

in and a solution for every

RETAIL They fathom

tuning in to the consumer

function of the company

customer needs to make

is the top priority

FINDING THE

180

them repeat visitors

152 122

Auditors take on responsibility

OILING THE wHEELS OF

TO ENAbLE, NOT CONTROL

for governance of policies and

SUPPLY ...To maximise product

...And keep an eye from top

procedures for growth

turnover and profitability

to bottom lines to achieve business objectives

128

184

AwARDS: SCALING HEIGHTS

The accolades come pouring in

NOT FOR SALE: THE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE

136

THE PILLARS OF GROwTH

THE FUNCTION OF FINANCE...

164

THROUGH TIMES

190

The why and how of

GOOD & bAD

building meaningful store

The HR Team’s impactful

Taking the baton from Vasanth,

experiences

vision for Max Fashion’s overall

Executive Director Shital Mehta

performance and success

has big plans for Max

AN EQUAL SUCCESSOR

wEAVING VISUAL MAGIC

The art of creating a well-designed shop window

172

INFORMATION THAT MATTERS: THE TECH TOUCH

198

ACKNOwLEDGEMENTS

A note of thanks

Foreword By NANdiNi MehTA, Head, Business, HR

ORGANISATIONS ARE born with a dream, sustained with

organisation that everyone wanted to work for, a team that

passion and commitment, and become legends through

everyone envied and a leader that everyone admired.

innovation and market leadership. They are made by people, for people, and with people. There are processes, products and

From a non-entity to being the fastest-growing value fashion

services to support; but people, culture and strategies clearly

retailer in India, from a single employee to a 7,000-plus

differentiate one organisation from another. In this book, we

employee count, from 1 store to 200 stores, from a negative

bring to you the story of an organisation that has travelled from

PBT to growing at 30% year on year, from an ordinary company

a struggle to success; a story of the team behind this success; a

to being among the top 50 Great Places To Work For... Max has

story of the leaders who made this journey highly engaging and

come a long way in the last 12 years of its presence in India, and

worthy of being captured here.

all this has been possible only because of the leader and his strong team, with the right strategies in place.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Min To Max... An ode to the team that made it happen.â&#x20AC;? Yes, this is exactly what the book is all about. This is the story of

This book gives a detailed story of every function and the key

a small organisation with no identity of its own, parented

strategies and activities of these functions. It takes a peep into

by Lifestyle International Pvt. Ltd., that became the talk at

the key milestones created and achieved by the team and brings

every board meeting of the competition over the years. An

to life the fulfilling journey of the team behind the success story.

This is a journey that we wish to share with everyone for

nurtured its people to deliver on organisational values.

multiple reasons. We would like to reminisce about the good

I am full of gratitude to the management for creating a

and the not-so-good times in order to capture our learnings

warm and friendly culture in which innovation and mistakes

over the years. We would like to share our learnings with all

were encouraged.

those who wish to understand how an organisation can be successful. We also want to acknowledge the teams who

I wish to thank all the functional and category heads who

created a great organisation from nothing.

helped me put this book together. I also wish to appreciate the efforts of the HR Manager who has coordinated with

As an insider, I have seen that this is the only company

internal stakeholders and agencies to ensure we complete

where people never say no to any amount of work

this on time. My gratitude to our leader who envisioned this,

given to them, and go on to complete their tasks with

and to our HR Head, who encouraged us on this project. I

enthusiasm and energy. I have never seen leaders who are

wish to thank the agency who has put so much effort into

humble and approachable with people and, at the same

creating this lovely masterpiece for us. It is the first of its

time, aggressive and highly passionate when it comes to

kind for us as an organisation and for the agency as well and,

completing work and achieving results. I share my

hence, this book is very close to our hearts. I hope you sit

sincere appreciation of the leadership team which has

back and enjoy reading it.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;When a team takes ownership of its problems, the problems get solved. It is true on the battlefield, it is true in business, and it is true in life.â&#x20AC;?

JOCKO WILLINK, American podcaster, author and retired Navy SEAL officer

Motivator MaxiMuM

The Founder and Chairman of the Landmark Group, the parent company of Max Fashion, Micky is a visionary who came up with the idea of value fashion at a time when it was unheard of in this part of the world. He followed through and, today, Max Fashion is the leader in value fashion with competitors clamouring to learn from its journey.

till today, Mukesh Jagtiani, or Micky as he is popularly known, inspires people by his own example and motivates them in entrepreneurship and excellence – the core values behind Max’s success. The way he took over retail and made it work for the business empire he has created makes it look simple. He has been known to say: “Retail is no rocket science. Whatever you do in life, you need a little bit of logic, logic

combined with speed and simplicity. And if you augment that with passion, you have

the Landmark Group!” The official responsible for managing Micky’s personal wealth, and taking care of equity requirements for the business and new investments, shares that Micky sometimes says he was lucky that he was at the right place at the right time. “But I disagree because a huge amount of hard work has gone in. Obviously, he doesn’t do that himself now but when you look at his life from the age of 30 to 60, all he did was work, work and work. When you apply yourself so much, you get more efficient and better ideas come to you.” He adds, “He is brilliant at identifying the gaps in the market. Take the example of Max. Who

would have thought that a few years ago, when the Gulf was booming, there were customers wanting to spend less on clothes? There was a start up store in London called Primark selling clothes at the budget end of the market and, I guess, Micky sensed an opportunity as nothing like it existed over here. He had the vision and Ram took it on and built a team around him. Today, Max is among

our leading concepts.” Micky often provides motivation to his

employees at Max with his messages. He says on the website, “…Our statement of purpose is ‘creating exceptional value for all lives we touch’. The cornerstone of our philosophy is listening, adapting

fashion retailers. Micky had observed

felt this concept would cannibalise the

and delivering exceptional value.”

that high street retailers were growing at

well-established businesses under the

around 5% but value retailers were

Landmark umbrella. The first Max store

Ramanathan Hariharan, or simply Ram,

growing at nearly 15%. It was felt that

in Abu Dhabi opened in May 2004 and

CEO of Max and Director at Landmark

there was an untapped niche there that

today Max is a leading concept with over

Group, recalls how Max came to be. It

they could capitalise on, one waiting to

200 stores and nearly US$ 1 billion in

was over a casual conversation with

be explored.

revenue in UAE alone. Ram attributes the success to Micky’s vision. “He could have

Ram that Micky asked him to start a value fashion concept in the Middle East.

So Was Born Max Fashion

gone along with the rest of the directors

Their inspiration being companies such

When it came to launching Max, Micky

and played it safe, but instead he recog-

as Primark in the UK, which were eating

had quite a task convincing the other

nized the potential of taking the Middle

into the market share of high street

directors to go along with it as they

East and India by storm,” he adds.

SHINING THROUGH

With a strong will and determination HR

to do whatever it takes to reach her

goals, Renuka Jagtiani, Chairwoman and CEO of Landmark Group, has

played a key role in its singular success. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how her story unfoldedâ&#x20AC;Ś

The Beginning “It is important to do what is right, not what is easy!” believes Renuka Jagtiani. This ‘never say die’ attitude is the reason why the first lady of the Landmark Group has always been someone every employee looks up to. Her journey has been exciting, full of new challenges which she has taken up and met with élan. As a young girl, Renuka developed an interest

in the languages and did a BA in German from Elphinstone College, standing first in Bombay

University. At 19, she was offered her first job as a German teacher. With her belief that teaching adults lays the foundation for bettering lives, she found a lot of satisfaction in her career. When combined with the exposure to the typical German culture of discipline, Renuka was focussed and able to constantly raise the bar for herself. Creating a ‘Splash’ In the first two years of her marriage to Micky Jagtiani, the owner of Landmark Group, her involvement was limited to accompanying him on his work-related tours. But, as their children grew older, Renuka wanted to do something on her own and thought of acquiring a franchise. She and Mickey decided that

she would start a concept on her own. So, in 1993, they took up a 14,000 sq ft space and started the high street fashion brand, Splash. This was in Sharjah—considered the Mecca of fashion in those parts. Renuka was determined that fashion needed a new mindset and a fresh approach, so they decided not to involve employees from the existing business in the new venture.

to do

what is right,

not

what is easy!

systems and concepts, as well as to expand into new regions and businesses. Renuka is truly an asset that the company has benefitted from—particularly as she is a ‘nuts and bolts’ type of person, involved with cost-benefit analysis and the details of any new business or initiative. With Micky and Renuka’s guidance and hard work, in December 2012, LandmarkShops.com was launched. Says Renuka’s sister, Desiree

was recruited from Mumbai—Raza, her first

Punwani: “Renuka was always disciplined,

store manager.

hard-working and detail-oriented. The

Renuka started with only one person who

It Is Important

support she had from her husband spurred

hands-on Action

Landmark India, too, was part of her new

With the decision taken and the wheels

responsibilities. Over the years, she has

moving, Renuka was thrown in the deep

guided the group’s corporate strategy, built

The Rewards

end and had to learn from scratch. But,

its fashion and hospitality business from

She was conferred the outstanding Asian

always independent, she took on the

the ground up, led its expansion into new

Businesswoman of the Year at the first

challenge with grace and determination.

countries, and launched its e-commerce

Asian Business Awards Middle East, held

In the first phase, she was involved in ev-

platform. She handled the group’s CSR

in Abu Dhabi in December 2007. Recently,

erything—buying, warehousing, pricing and

initiatives as well. She is grateful that her

at the 2017 World Retail Congress, Dubai,

merchandising. In less than three years, the

starting point was hands-on as it enabled

Micky Jagtiani as the founder of the

14,000 sq ft space became too small for

her to get to know every aspect of the busi-

Landmark Group was inducted into the

the rapidly growing business, but Renuka

ness and its role, and she was able to work

Retail Hall of Fame.

had many more plans. In 2004, after

in multiple departments and businesses.

her on further.”

Says the lady: “In Landmark, our focus is

12 years in the business, she handed Splash over to Raza and moved out into the

Her role in the business grew and diversi-

value. We value the lives we touch. The

franchise business, and finally, into

fied into focussing on building the company

customer is at the heart of our business and

Landmark Corporate.

for the future—to strengthen the teams,

we change and evolve with them!”

Striking the Middle Ground

Seeing an opportunity where thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s none apparent and converting it to a workable business idea is serious business! Ramnathan Hariharan, CEO, Max Fashion Global, is a pioneer in this space. Under him, Max Fashion grew to 400 stores in over 16 countries.

Seeing an opportunity

a workable buSineSS idea

the idea developS wingS & takeS flight The opportunity lay somewhere in between these two extremes. Where exactly it would be positioned had to be carefully thought through and worked out. At the time, Landmark Group already had the Lifestyle stores which had an in-house label along with various national and international

brands. So, the challenge was multiplied: there had to be a solution to fill the vacuum

in the fashion market, yet not be ‘me too’ competition for Lifestyle. Micky Jagtiani, the owner of the Landmark Dubai, 2004. A pioneering group of

Group of Companies, put his trust in the

business thinkers, led by Ramnathan

able hands of Ramnathan Hariharan to

Hariharan in the Landmark Group, conceive

crack this challenge. Ram, to his friends and

the idea of Max Fashion. In those days, there

colleagues, was to go on to become the

was a distinct divide in fashion. There were

Global CEO of the value fashion giant Max

the High Street shops and then there were

Fashion, a mono brand with its own label.

the discount shops – with nothing much in between. High Street shops were for those

It was in 2003 that Ram himself first

with big pockets and high fashion exposure.

began to research and build up understand-

Discount stores were mostly about

ing of the value fashion space, initially

yesteryear fashions or downmarket products that were not meant for the discerning or the genuinely fashion-conscious.

Micky Jagtiani, up owner, landMark gro

researching Peacocks and later Primark. Recalls Ram: “Primark, in particular, was expanding aggressively in the UK, and

Recalls Ram:

“my journey with max has been a huge learning experience. micky, the visionary behind the landmark Group, and the biggest support for our endeavour, identified the opportunity in the value fashion space and did extensive research for a few years before he decided to venture into this area.”

taking on market share from high street

prices – quality and shopping experience

retailers such as New Look, M&S and H&M.

comparable to high street brands. The

The Primark strategy at that time was

plan was to position the brand between

focussed on offering a huge range of basics

discount retailers, such as hypermarkets,

and everyday casual wear at sharp price

and other off-price retailers and high street

points. Primark then expanded their range to

brands. There was no organised

include fast fashion, competing directly with

retailer in 2003, even in Dubai, in the

the likes of H&M and Zara.”

value fashion space and this was a great opportunity for Max

Good Products, Great Price

Fashion. Within a year of

When Max was first conceptualised, the

launching the stores

strategy was to offer good products at great

in the Middle

all competition waS checked out

East, Max Fashion expanded to India

itself next to high street brands offering

since it was felt that the concept would

good products and great value and, in

resonate well with the market here. India

addition, be an aspirational retailer where it

was seen as a predominantly value market

may be positioned next to discount retailers.

and the demographics were highly favour-

It was decided to launch Max Fashion as

able. By this time, Max had seen good

a one-stop family fashion store. At that

customer response in Dubai and it was an

time, families usually had to go from store

encouraging trend.

to store to complete their shopping for different members â&#x20AC;&#x201C; especially for children

Ram saw Max Fashion straddling two

and adults. Max was to create a one-stop

worlds. He felt the company could position

shopping experience for the family.

Ram felt the company could position itself next to high street brands offering good products and great value and, in addition, be an aspirational retailer where it may be positioned next to discount retailers. It was decided to launch max Fashion as a one-stop family fashion store. at that time, families usually had to go from store to store to complete their shopping for different members â&#x20AC;&#x201C; especially for children and adults. max was to change that.

This strategy became the starting point for the decisions on where Max would position itself – physically and literally. The stores were situated at carefully scouted locations so that they would serve the purpose for which they were conceived – between discount and high street so that they could attract the aspirational shoppers

It was also decided that Max Fashion would

who saw themselves above discount wares.

become a mono label with its own products

to ensure control on quality and price points. The aspirational shopper is not one who would be deceived by sub-standard quality of products even if they look more fashionable – and this person had to be convinced to come back to Max for every fashion need of his or hers. market like the discount stores at The Family Value

the time did. So that was the vision, great

Max Fashion was to give the shopper a

in theory, but the problems were many. Max

seamless experience while shopping for the

was a recent entrant into the business with

whole family. The challenge was to create a

no equity among vendors and suppliers and

pleasant setting to ensure the customer

neither were their budgets high since

enjoyed the experience of shopping for his

it was value fashion. It was an uphill

or her whole family. Value fashion here did

climb to convince people to partner with.

not mean that the stores had to look down-

Some of this was achieved by pointing out

says Ram:

“It was important to have a simple strategy, easy to execute. Our focus is on everyday products at great value – a key driver of volume. communication we used to align the team became our strategy.”

something comparable in quality and value to high street brands, but at nearly 25-30% less. D)

Max was to focus on mainstream fashion but not on extreme fashion â&#x20AC;&#x201C; instead of focussing on

products high on trend but limited in demand, focus would be on fashion for

a wider audience. Shaping the india Story Once the strategy and execution plan was explained clearly to everyone, it was decided to launch the stores offering apparels, footwear and accessories for the whole family. Ram brought in his first pointsman â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Vasanth Kumar in early 2005 and handed over his vision to him, to take it forward in India and create the new brand. Ram has been the guiding hand not only in how the illustrious predecessor Lifestyle

had climbed the charts to achieve success. Some of the communication used internally

to align the team itself became the ABCD of the strategy at that time:

It is not about selling something cheap

making Max a success story in India but also

but about offering value.

to take the company into the Omni Channel

Product aesthetics and quality are as

or the online space where the experience of

much a key to this as great price.

shopping across offline and online channels

People would love to buy and own

has become seamless. Currently, he is

making inroads into new markets – Malaysia, Indonesia and North Africa – taking the same brand ethos to new shores. Concludes Ram, “The Max team has evolved over the years and has set many benchmarks in India in fashion retail. There is a lot of learning which we continually East. With both teams leveraging each other, we can meet any challenge. We can also continue to grow under the umbrella of the Landmark Group.” Ram finishes with a flourish: “Max Rocks!”

says Ram:

“Vasanth joining us in India was the key turning point for the start of the max journey in the country... Being a high tariff country, we had to source our products from here. This meant we had to build our full complement of buying, merchandising and design teams. Design initially rode piggyback on the team in Dubai and concentrated on adaptation. a fullfledged team for Indian ethnics was also on the cards as max was not retailing Indian ethnics in middle east market.”

exchange between India and the Middle

Building A

From building a never seen beFore value Fashion brand in india to becoming one oF the leaders in the industry, the story oF max Fashion is indeed one For the books. hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an overview From the marketing perspective.

Max Fashion’s journey in India began in 2006 with a relatively new proposition: value fashion. At the time, the Indian audience was not comfortable with the concept – the value of a product was perceived to be closely linked to its cost. This, in turn, caused the challenge of brand positioning and how to create the right value at the right price, and how to convince the target audience to buy

what the brand was selling. Value for the Family

Says the Marketing Head: “To address our position as a value fashion brand, one of the things we did was market the idea of fashion for the whole family, not just for men or women individually. Taking a few references from celebrity families, we wanted to give people a way of being fashionable as a family unit and at an affordable price. The

but also on the perspective of the industry,

Most fashion brands want to compete

price was not the anchor of communication;

stakeholders and media. Since there were

with a departmental store status or an

the key focus was fashion for the whole

no examples of such brands in India, the

EBO format because that is where most

family. In this way, our brand positioning in

reference points were H&M and Primark.

consumerism lies.” However, Max did not follow this compartmentalising.

2006 was fashion at a great price, and a base price of `599 was chosen.”

The Marketing Head recalls, “As we were trying to introduce value fashion

At that time, Pantaloons and Westside

Even today, 80% of the brand’s customer

which is very price driven, other brands

were competing with Lifestyle. Reliance

loyalty comes from families. This was based

expected us to be competing with Brand

Trends had just opened and they wanted

not only on the customers’ point of view

Factory and Mega Mart – discounted chains.

to compete with Pantaloons and Westside,

not wanting to position themselves

engagement-driven ideas because

as a family fashion brand. Becoming

the target group was clear. So, one of

a family brand was considered a sure-

the initial KPIs was customer engage-

shot recipe for disaster. One reason

ment. Marketing was not only about

why Max chose family value fashion

getting customers to the store and

was so that they could cut through the

distributing the products, it was about

clutter and establish themselves firmly

customer experience in the store

on that platform.

and engaging with them. Observes at the current context, people have

ATL was relatively nil since

now understood what value fashion

budgets were small and market-

is about, and Max is competing

ing was based on experiential and

directly with brands such as Pantaloons, FBB, Reliance Trends and Mega Mart. Despite disproportionate spending and the expansion of competition, we’re still market leaders.” Focus on Loyalty Down the years, communication dynamics changed and leveraging of strengths became significant. The marketing department initiated the Integrated Go-To Market (IGTM) plan that speaks of what is being done at the store and the communication of the brand and customers. “The IGTM is more focussed on our existing target group being proud of wearing Max

“To address our position as a value fashion brand, one of the things we did was market the idea of fashion for the whole family, not just for men or women individually. Taking a few references from celebrity families, we wanted to give people a way of being fashionable as a family unit and at an affordable price,” says the Marketing Head.

the Marketing Head: “When we look From solely a marketing perspective,

defined departments within stores. Today, customers don’t just walk into stores to buy what they want, they may talk and connect with brand custodians on various platforms. not Just sales A case in point is the Max Kid’s Festival that allows consumers to engage directly with the brand. For the past three years, this event has been recognised by Disney. The

Max Elite Model Look contest and Max Design Awards are other examples. The Elite

Model Look, aimed at the youth, has no competitors. “We are on the brink of making it bigger than before with the most media coverage ever. Max Design Awards serves the same purpose of experience engagement marketing, not just conventional forms of marketing,” says the Marketing Head. The 360° approach products rather than looking for another

ages of 18 and 24 – the highest contribution

On the digital front, the brand is now into

audience to sell to. We are also putting

among Max’s peers. In 80% of the audience,

building an Omni Channel platform – as a

in a lot of effort into strengthening our

women are the consumption decision-

private label, a lot is within the direct

loyalty program, especially its analytic and

makers. At this point, it was realised that

control of the brand and this helps

personalisation aspects,” explains the Head

the TG was comfortable with what the

smoothen functions. The Marketing Head

of Marketing. The brand mission has always

brand was providing. The TG had also

clarifies: “We still want to be brick and

been to democratise fashion. Today, most

evolved along with the brand because of

mortar, and ATL for continually building our

of the target group (TG) is between the

competition, e-commerce and clearly

brand has become very important for us.

after we began, spoke about our target group and not fashion itself. We realised that we could not own fashion but we could own our target group.” With no influence from the existing retail industry, Max succeeded with its own marketing structure and support functions. The learning was that it is not industry compliance but customer compliance that counts overall – so the more the shift to compliance with the customer, the bigger the success. “The consultants we have worked with and the type of research we have done has

Down the years, communication dynamics changed and leveraging of strengths became very significant. In keeping with this approach, the marketing department initiated the Integrated Go-To Market (IGTM) plan that speaks of what is being done at the store and the communication the brand has with customers.

been geared to a unified customer experience and a larger customer connect,” says the Marketing Head. KEA (Key Effort Areas), Maxelerate and the HR Self-Rating System are non-retail initiatives aimed to open up the thinking process in the brand. “Not everything can be 100% implemented nor 100% perfect, but it can open up your horizons instead of tying you down with what your competitors are doing.

Even our first TVC, which came 10 years

So when we created our marketing

structure, our objective was for it to be similar to a telecom structure, which is a classic example of how every region has customisation but is still adhering to brand values,” he says. Today, the top priority is to have a customer base, a customer community – one that you have to stay relevant to in order to be successful. “That’s the core of our business. The requirements change but the core remains the same. We need to be quick enough to learn and adapt, not look at things on a linear line. We need to own the community that is at the core of our business,” concludes the Marketing Head.

Milestones 2007 - 2017

2008

Guiding Principles Max’s guiding principles were created from LMG values with the intention of instilling the spirit of the business amongst employees.

Function Mission statements In order to ensure that every function is aligned to organisational goals, we put together mission statements for each, derived from the Max Mission.

2010

36 2007

2009

single Format store Design To optimise customer experience, a single format store design was conceptulised across the country.

2011

stock turn-based store strategies: spotlight and Wannabe In 2012, we felt the need to sharply define our stores based on throughput and stock turn. Stores with high stock turn were called ‘Spotlight’ where customer experience and ambience were the focus, and 80% freshness was maintained. Stores with low stock turn were called ‘Wannabe’ and their key focus was on increasing productivity while maintaining 60% freshness.

2012

Milestone: 500 Crs At Max, the journey towards success began with setting the milestone at `500 crores. During the first ever Strategy Meet, the team set this milestone to be achieved by 2011-12.

Milestone: 1,000 Crs As our first milestone of `500 crores was nearing its goal post, we embarked on the next one of `1,000 crores, to be achieved by 2014-15. This was decided by Max’s top 100 employees representing all functions, from Corporate to Regions.

2013

M2K After achieving `1,000 crores, it was time to set a new milestone of `2,000 crores. It needed a Strategy Meet with a new approach. We worked on the Business Model Canvas (BMC) which helped take our strategies to the next level.

2015

orbit shift We embarked on the Orbit Shift journey, visiting customersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; homes and interacting with them to understand how they felt and thought about Max; and then worked on projects to improve Customer Experience.

2016

M3K The journey to `3,000 crores needed a shift in mindset. With online players creating disruption, we had to think of Omni Channel and enhancing Customer Experience. We revisited our Mission Statements and BMC.

M5K We have now embarked on the Milestone `5,000 crores journey. As we continue our steady movement towards it, we continue to work on changing and improving ourselves.

2017

2014

Business Model Canvas Every function worked on the BMC, creating Value Propositions called MVPs and projects around them. These projects were reviewed and, on completion, people were recognised too.

Max through the years

It’s been a roller coaster rIde but one WIth great hIghs and some loWs – tackled WIth confIdence and overcome. an overvIeW, seen through the eyes of the busIness hr head.

The Journey of

Max was a value fashion brand offering the latest fashion at reasonable prices to youngsters.

Vasanth KuMar, with a decade-and-ahalf of experience in the apparel industry, took over as business head of Max Fashion in India in 2005. He was the first and only employee to be drafted, and the germ of an idea that was Max was dropped into his lap to nurture and grow. Cut to a dozen years later... Max has, in 2017-18, become an empire that has grossed `2,842 crores, with 204 stores across the country – all achieved

with Vasanth still at the helm.

The story is an unusual one – with the same person who started the business seeing it through to the figure of nearly `3,000

a tagline, “Look good and Feel good” was chosen to support Max’s ethos.

to take Max from being just an idea to an empire worth `2,842 and growing.

crores, a milestone that must have looked impossible way back in 2005. It is a story that has to be told – to understand how the phenomenal growth of a formidable business empire actually came to be. the story Begins

for a few stores in Dubai. Certainly, in India,

store in Indore was launched in 2006 with a

All that he began with was an office in a

few had even heard of the brand.

bare bones team of six people.

small two bedroom apartment in Bengaluru and a vision. He had to hire candidates and

The challenge began for Vasanth with

the uphill Climb

vendors to work with him, but he had no

convincing vendors to supply, since the

There was to be no looking back. Through

legacy to show. Although Max was part of a

requirement was very small. Drafting

all the initial teething troubles, the company

bigger empire, The Landmark Group, it had

employees, too, proved an uphill task since

stood fast on its positioning in the market.

very little by way of equity by itself, except

there was nothing much to offer. The first

Max was a value fashion retail organisation

a difficult time. They tided over the

products at reasonable prices to

recession and rose to a turnover of

aspiring youngsters who could not

`183 crores by 2010 even though they

afford to spend on the existing brands.

were still running a negative Profit

A tagline was picked to support the

Before Tax (PBT). It was like a shot in

ethos: “Look Good and Feel Good”. By

the arm to a company that had tided

2007-08 they were akin to a small

through many troubles and offered the

entrepreneurial division supported by

hope that they were definitely headed

the management of Lifestyle with

in the right direction. This was also

11 stores and a turnover of 67 crores.

when it began to seem to the team at Max that a turnover of `500 crores by

When recession struck in 2008, it

2011-12 was an achievable task, not a

could not have come at a worse time.

pipe dream.

They were still a fledgling group in comparison to the umbrella company,

the Mission

the Landmark Group, with a corporate

Vasanth then decided that the journey

team of 25 employees and a turnover

would be better accomplished by

of `100 crores. But, Max did not let

sharpening focus on individual func-

go of any of their employees at such

tions and ensuring that every function is aligned to the organisation’s mission of achieving `500 crores. The group put their heads together and came up with Missions for every function which went like this: (Overleaf) retail strategy Meets Thus began the idea of creating Retail Meets which were key for creating strategies and ensuring their flawless

THE HOD, HR, SAYS:

“We had retail meets where we tried to understand the journey for Max to achieve a specific goal. And, that has been the way Vasanth has driven it from `500 crores onwards. Every milestone was defined by the goal. The operations, steps that would be taken by each function to deliver towards the goal, visual merchandising and planning departments play a critical role in putting together inputs and foresights gathered.”

offering the latest fashion and trendy

hr To make Max the most preferred workplace by selecting and nurturing the right talent and building a performance-driven culture; providing a clear career path and continuous learning opportunities.

retail Planning To ensure customer delight by providing international experience, freshness season after season by achieving increased stock turns and matching store product profile to customer needs.

sourcing Build long-term strategic business relationships with garment manufacturers and fabric mills globally; and source apparel at competitive prices, reduced lead times, new product development, offering latest fashion and value.

MissiOn

stateMent retail Operations To be the best in class retail destination delivering customer delight, with international standards and innovation for productivity, thereby creating a sustainable and profitable business growth.

Quality assurance To deliver excellence in product quality, on-time delivery and build relations with business partners through a competent and committed team.

Finance A business partner providing strategic and operational support with timely and accurate analytics, drive effective utilisation, compliance and process improvement to mitigate risks, maximise returns and protect company assets.

Buying To be the preferred fashion brand for the contemporary middle class family through faster mindto-market by strengthening vendor base.

supply Chain Management To deliver end-to-end supply chain excellence through timely, friendly and cost effective services, while maintaining stock accuracy through a competent team and best practices.

aligning individual functions to the organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission to achieve goals.

Projects Quality delivery of impactful, efficient and customer-friendly stores with structured, collaborative approach and value engineering, and provide extended maintenance support.

Visual Merchandising and Marketing Max to be the No. 1 brand for the contemporary middle class family communicating international fashion and value, facilitating international brand experience across customer touch points through season launches, brand properties, digital and the Inner Circle program.

Design Max to be the No. 1 fashion destination for the contemporary family by providing a compelling range of wardrobe solutions and latest international trends to make them look and feel the best.

execution. These meets built strong ownership and connect with the brand for every functional head and their team members. Corporate divisions were also strengthened and resourced at this time. The team, it goes without saying, was supported by the parent company, Landmark Dubai, the sister concern Lifestyle which already had a considerable presence, and Jagtiani, Ramanathan Hariharan and, of

the guidance of the leaders â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mickey course, Vasanth Kumar.

Another important performance evaluation strategy, the Balance Score Card, was introduced which focussed on four key factors: Finance, Processes, Customers and People. A 20% weightage was given to the People factor which later went up to 30%. The company not only met the target of `500 crores in 2011-12 but exceeded it at `594 crores and 72 stores. It was finally a company to be

Team-building exercises build strong ownership and connect with the brand for every employee.

reckoned with! But no resting on laurels â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the next milestone was set at `1,000 crores. The retail meets had become an important strategy to spur the team onto higher goals and set them on a course of self discovery.

The team was supported by the parent company, Landmark Dubai, and sister concern, Lifestyle.

The year 2012-13 was a new milestone when

al goal of `2,000 crores. They did a SWOT of

the company achieved its first positive PBT

their function followed by ERIC. This created

of `26 crores which projected a clear view of

a greater sense of ownership and commit-

the climb ahead to new levels.

ment as it was able to connect the dots in

This was also the year when it was realised that talent was at the core of building the company and taking it forward. The com-

pany began to reward employees for their

The retail meets had become an important strategy to spur the team onto higher goals and set them on a course of self discovery. The year 2012-13 was a new milestone – the company achieved its first positive PBT of `26 crores which projected a clear view of the climb ahead to new levels. This was also the year when it was realised that talent was at the core of building the company and taking it forward.

loyalty and contribution. There was a salary benchmarking for critical roles and a Long Term Incentive Plan was introduced for employees at certain key positions who were with the organisation for a long period. the upward swing of the hockey stick The year 2014 completed the journey of `1,000 crores. Next target: `2,000 crores. The climb ‘up the hockey stick’, which was the way the company charted their progress, was now a positive one. At this point was introduced a new strategy tool called the Business Model Canvas (BMC) which carried the company through till 2016. This strategy tool was a game changer. Every function worked on their Value Propositions by revisiting their mission statements and aligning to the organisation-

THe Dual OpeRaTing SySTem waS aDOpTeD wHeRe funcTiOnal HeaDS TOOk THe responsibiliTy of working on proJecTs derived from The business model canvas.

Business MODel CanVas

“It was determined that the final number planned has to be the destination which everybody has to drive to. The process was to create a business canvas and talk about the value propositions.”

terms of what is each individual team’s con-

ing on their KRAs but ensuring the projects

tribution to the overall organisation strategy.

taken up by them are executed well.

The Value Propositions gave rise to multiple Projects and each project, while initially led

Every project that was decided as part

by the Functional Head, was later led by a

of the BMC was closely monitored and

key team member of that function, support-

reviewed by the CEO himself. Some projects

ed by members of other functions and we

were short term and some long term. We

call this the ‘Dual Operating System’ and

managed to complete close to 43 projects

‘Guiding Coalition’ wherein the Functional

out of a total of 80-plus and many long term

Head becomes the mentor, not just deliver-

ones are still being worked upon as part of

the regular activities of the function. The

strategy which is a networking tool. This

learning from a book titled Orbit Shifting

BMC has helped the organisation to move

helped speed up the execution of projects

by Rajeev Narang, Max Fashion decided

faster towards our goal of `2,000 crores

that had been taken up as part of the Max

to evolve a business model to achieve

and it is definitely an amazing tool for any

Value Proposition exercise.

Enhanced Customer Experience. For this, there were store visits, customer data was

business strategy, if executed well.

collected, individual customers spoken

over of `2,400 crores and a store strength

to – to arrive at four keystones which were

crores came the realisation that the organ-

of 181, and it was decided that it was time to

to be the basis of upcoming projects. The

isation was growing at a rapid pace and

get on the Omni Channel route. Using the

keystones were:

creating hierarchies. Although standardi-

During 2016-17, the company was at a turnWith reorienting strategy towards `3,000

sation and good process orientation was

built in, the hierarchies could slow down the growth by a delay in decision making and

THE HOD SUMS UP:

overall delays in delivery of key projects.

“We have transitioned to start looking at larger leaps and we went into a campaign, Orbit Shifting Mechanism, where we determined that retail operations will also have to take a huge leap of faith to help Max become a billion dollar company.”

This required taking a new approach called the Dual Operating System where every functional head, apart from doing their regular KRA related activities, also took the responsibility of working on the projects derived from the Business Model Canvas. Networks were created amongst various functions depending on the need of the project. The function heads acted as mentors and guides in their respective projects. This led to better networking in the organisation. Also introduced was the ‘Base Camp’

 Focus on product

project Title

customer feedback

8/10/12 drops buying calendar to deliver freshness; Integration of micro-occasions with the calendar

Customers felt that the floor should look fresh to them every once a month, at least, and there should be enough to choose from for any occasion they have in a day. E.g.: going to pick my kid from school, going for kitty party with my friends, going out with family, going to shop, going to the gym etc.

Co-creation/Co-branding – limited edition for community building (prosumers and masses)

Through the insight journey Max figured out that most customers are part of some community, such as biker clubs, sports clubs etc.

Strengthening product range – diversified product offering to gain authority position

Customers wanted swim wear, plus sizes, maternity range; hence, there was a plan to introduce these ranges through online offerings.

Based on feedback from customers, Max brainstormed and arrived at 3 key projects.   Branding Customers in many pockets could not relate to Max as a fashion apparel brand. Hence, to out with a few projects on branding.



make the brand’s presence felt, Max came

project Title

Dedicated thematic campaign to promote maxfashion.com and app

Seasonal campaigns to promote curated looks for all micro occasions

Exclusive videos on product pitch on what is trending, looks etc.

feeding room, mobile charging points,

were busy arranging merchandise

seating for aged people and the like.

and they found it difficult to get their attention when they needed something

Processes to be re-aligned to enhance customer experience, revisit internal structure, SLAs, SOPs to enhance the

Connect stores with single view inventory

 in-store experience

ultimate moment of truth for customers

 customer feedback: Customers shared

Customers felt that while Max’s products

 customer feedback: Customers felt

feedback that many times when they

were good, they could work on overall shop-

that Max needed to have more custom-

liked something, they didn’t get the size,

ping experience. Keeping this feedback in

er-friendly policies on exchange, refund,

colour or design.

mind Max decided to work on a few projects.

billing, alterations and so on.

Re-craft the current roles and responsi-

 Customer loyalty

Providing value added services to create

bilities of store employees with renewed

During the insight expedition, Max under-

stickiness

focus towards customer experience

stood that generic communication and com-

 customer feedback: Customers looked

 customer feedback: Customers also

mon programs will not help gain customer

at small services provided such as baby

gave feedback that many times the staff

loyalty. Customers like special treatment.

project Title

Customised communication packs for communities to improve relevance.

Tiered structure of benefits for the revamped loyalty program through personalised offers.

Integrating loyalty program offline and online to increase the visit frequency of customers in a year.

Improved Max app incorporating loyalty

features. The year 2017-18 closed with the figure of `2,842 crores and 204 stores. The last retail meet was an explosion of new ideas with celebrity speakers, such as motivational speaker Guru Gaur Das and actor Ashish Vidhyarthi, being invited to speak. Every function in the company was represented by a kiosk to showcase their future plans. It was also a fitting tribute to Vasanth as he moves on to new shores and new challenges. Once again, it is time to re-evaluate and set

New milestones: `5,000 crores by 2020 and `1 billion by 2022.

a new milestone: `5,000 crores by 2020 and `1 Billion by 2022! Vasanth has meanwhile, handed over the baton to Shital Mehta, as he moves over to becoming Managing Director of Lifestyle International Pvt. Ltd.

O CAPTAIN...

For any company to crest the dynamic waters of retail in India, a dedicated, never say die crew is a must. But a ship needs a captain to work the turbulence and smoothly sail the high seas. Vasanth Kumar, Executive Director at Max Fashion till a few months ago, was the able man at the helm who steered his ship from â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Min to Maxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, paving the way for the next milestone: `5,000 CR.

Looking back at the time when he was handpicked to head the start up Max Fashion operations in India, way back in 2005, Vasanth recalls the many challenges: “The very idea of value fashion, that Max stood for, was new to the country. From zeroing in on a location to setting up the first store, to finding vendors who would agree to work with us was an uphill task!” Max Fashion had been launched just the

year before in Dubai under the umbrella of the Landmark Group.

58 In India, operations were started from a two bedroom apartment. The initial team was put together – and till date, several of the people who joined the journey then still pull the ropes. “My work philosophy has always been to be there for my people, help them out when required, show them the way, and then give them a free rein to do what they do best – that’s the way people give their best.” The first store came up in Indore in 2006. The initial four years were the biggest challenges for this 100% private label. To tackle the challenges and build scale, Vasanth focussed on the foundation. He says: “We went through an initial phase of losses... There were temptations to increase the

SayS VaSanth: “we were on a 100 day turnaround. we brought it down to 50 days and are working to pull this down further.”

price or dilute the product. We resisted and strategised better. Initially, our aim was to keep up freshness...” Another factor that Vasanth incorporated and which went a long way in defining future success was that if an odd store in Tier 3 was found to be not working, it was shut down and not allowed to bleed the company. He also spearheaded the bullish tapping of Tier 3 towns with the ‘Easy Buy’ idea which was run on a franchise format to fulfil the segment.

Soon there came another big landmark:

`1,000 crore mark by 2013 and, from

tandem to give the customer a holistic

the opening of the store on Commercial

there on, touch `3,000 in 2017. It is

experience.

Street, Bengaluru. Says Vasanth: “While

important to reset the goals every three

Indore was a success story, it was a

years provided the trajectory has an

Vasanth Kumar’s excellence in his

limited success. At Commercial Street,

upward trend.”

path was recognised – he was awarded the titles of ‘Retail Professional of the

store and we hit the `2.5 lakh sales mark

Vasanth’s sense of value fashion tied

Year’ by CMAI in 2015 and ‘Fashion

in a day!” Today it is doing 6 to 7 times

in with his idea of democratising

Retail Professional of the Year’ at the

that number.

fashion – something he was passionate

Retail Congress 2016 by Franchise

about from day one. “We provide

India. He leaves behind a legacy that’s

Over the years, under Vasanth, the

customers with global fashion blended

fired the sails and is all set to take the

brand evolved a three-pronged

with local sensibilities, and at an

company to its aim of touching `5,000

there were so many people visiting the

marketing strategy: 1) Ground level

affordable price – something that was

CR by 2020!

activity, such as visual merchandising,

missing in the country,” he explains. For

activations inside malls, local cinemas;

this leader, the customer was first and

2) Thematic brand building activity,

the brand has to be kept aspirational,

such as TV campaigns; and 3) Activities

always. Of this thought were born the

to reach out to young talent.

events Max Emerging Star, Max Design Awards and the Max Elite Model Hunt

Adds Vasanth: “The journey of Max

– taken across the country and geared

in India may be divided into three

to bring fashion career options to the

phases: first, the formative years from

participants.

2005 to 2008, wherein Max India only had 50 stores and the company was still

When the online challenge came about,

in the process of laying the foundation

Vasanth upped gears and gave his team

for the brand. The second phase was

the wherewithal and support to take up

from 2008 to 2011. The target was to

the Omni Channel route aggressively. He

cross the `2,500 crore mark. Our target

was all for the “integrated way of fash-

in the third phase was to reach the

ion retailing”. Online and offline work in

On a Design HigH

The success of a clothing label is usually in the design. The customer must be enticed with the best of designs. The Design Department at Max Fashion treads the fine line with panache.

Walk through the Design Department at Max Fashion and you’ll be fascinated. If the stores are compelling with their wares, negotiating the minefield of interesting fabrics, swatches, garments undergoing the process of completion, pattern makers hard at work and sketches being developed here takes the experience to another level! The Design Head is at her desk. There

are charts of designer garments lining the walls and the trends for the

upcoming season are splashed all around. The whirlwind of creative activity all around not withstanding, she is focussed as she talks passionately about how it all works and how design is the critical element of the business. The design department in a fashion house is the mainstay of the organisation and the star of the place, so to speak. The Design Head, who has been at the helm since Max began their operations in India, declares with pride, “Design is the ‘secret sauce’ that adds the kick and makes Max click. Design, with its intangible nature, has played a pivotal role in establishing Max as the leading value fashion brand.”

Designers in the team Do not suggest proDucts that they woulD not spenD their own money on; anD sell-through anD commerciality of Design are ingraineD in their minDs.

Value Fashion

At Max Fashion, it is an unwritten rule that

When Max began their operations in the

design is always integrated into the overall

country, there was nothing called ‘value

brand vision. Most importantly, designers in

fashion’. Designing particularly for a cus-

the team do not suggest products that they

tomer with budgeted pockets was simply

would not spend their own money on; and

unheard of. It was mostly about ‘imported

sell through and commerciality of design

goods’ shops stocking second hand clothes

are ingrained in their minds. The designers

from South East Asian countries, such as

at Max straddle the world of aspirations and

Malaysia and Bangkok, and customers were

practicality with great success to come up

forced to go with it for want of choices,

with the right products at the right time.

especially if they could not afford clothing

This contributes greatly to the success

from Western foreign designer labels or

story of Max Fashion. Being the only Value

high-end stores.

Fashion player with a 100% private label in

DESIGN HEAD: “Max has spearheaded design culture in India for affordable fashion with the belief that each customer deserves the best of global fashion. This respect for customers translates in the love that they give us back.”

a market that was otherwise dominated by either premium fashion or multibrand store formats, it was critical to gain credibility with the fashion-conscious customer. Max Fashion had to

establish to this customer that the brand truly stands for international, on trend

fashion. Hence, authenticity was built into the design philosophy at Max in all

SAYS THE DESIGN HEAD:

The Design Head attributes

“Having worked internationally, I could see the gap in what domestic brands offered and what one could buy in other countries. Indians deserved what the global citizens had access to.”

the success of Max Fashion to

The launch of Max came at a time when the Internet was opening up the possibilities of fashion in India – all the latest trends were online. While the prospect of seeing the international trends come alive virtually was a reality, the actual products were not available to the customer in the store. Globally-aware Indians badly needed an aesthetic helping hand that would give them the assurance and confidence of being a part of that fascinating global landscape.

u Strategic

clarity to make Max the

leader in value fashion business. u The

resilience of the core team,

and the leadership being calm in the face of challenges and taking decisive steps to reach the goals. u Constantly

listening to the cus-

tomers and paying heed to global shifts and adapting products and processes accordingly.

Also, the design architecture was quite distinct. It was cate-

the ranges that were developed. International trends at the Doorstep

some main factors:

THE DESIGN HEAD SAYS:

gorised thus:

“With the range building framework falling in place and with a single target group – which was the contemporary, young middle class family – being the focus of our attention, Max designs got sold off in no time across our stores and the customers came back asking for more.”

u Basics:

Fashion basics

(and not plain vanilla products) u Categories:

Value-added products

with the versatility of mix-n-match u Fashion:

Collections based on

relevant global trends The mission for the Design team was to make Max the No. 1 Fashion Destination for the contemporary family by providing compelling wardrobe solutions, and latest global trends to make them look and feel their best.

The entrepreneurial culture that the

The employees learnt from their mis-

er saw value in them. We also noticed

leadership with Vasanth at the helm

takes and by observing, derived from

internationally brands were offering

fostered in all, including the design team,

their learnings. The Design Head adds,

more of these on their floors. We started

by giving responsibility and valuing their

“When we were solely ‘collection’ based,

expanding this offering and this was the

contributions paid rich dividends. It

we started noticing that styles that

genesis of our ‘category business’ as we

made employees owners of Brand Max.

were not so high on fashion elements

know today.”

This collective ownership made all proud

but just “one-ups” sold at a faster rate.

to be part of the brand, making each

These pieces were versatile and could be

tiding through the lows

give his or her best.

paired with more things and the custom-

It was not all a bed of roses, though, and there were plenty of lows that first few years were a huge chal-

could have brought them down. The lenge, especially till the brand found

its bearings. Not enough stores were opening because of a tough market, sell throughs were not being achieved, targets were not being met and the upswing of the proverbial “hockey stick” was still elusive. There was even a period of countrywide recession during those initial years, from 2007-2009, when the economy began to slip up and new businesses were among the worst hit. But, the management at Max dug in their heels in preparation for the long haul. The leadership ensured that morale was kept high, the team was kept together,

small successes were celebrated and teams constantly regrouped to keep an eye on the vision. Post-recession, growth began to register but the company was not completely ready. Expansion did begin to happen at rapid speed, but Max still had infrastructural issues, lack of team strength and small budgets – something that the competition had upped in their businesses. This ended pushing up innovation within the scope of

the budget – to keep the brand relevant in the competition.

66 In the age of the Internet The basic premise of the design team was to straddle both global trends and Indian consumer sensibility. Fortunately, the team had young and pulsating dynamics that could relate to what the new and

sets on what is the next big trend, phrase,

modern customer now demanded, along

slang, song, influencer, event or philosophy.

with a visibility of what was constantly

Our research covers international trends,

trending globally.

Indian influencers, prosumers (consumers who become involved with designing or

The Design Head speaks of how they over-

customising products for their own needs),

lapped the two – global trends and local

Instagrammers and bloggers – this is what

consumer sensibility – without losing sight

eventually shapes creative outpourings.”

of their own identity, “The digital revolution has only added to our strengths, and as

It was a test of the Department’s ability to

of now we get inputs 24/7 via our hand-

keep up as consumers began to look for a

faster turnaround in fashion. The pace

The Design Department staff visited

better than the Design Department. Be-

at which things began to move meant

international fashion events, and kept

ing one step ahead has always mattered

that Max needed to keep updating their

an eye on their competition to derive

more to this department as a prime

in-line collections to reach the market

the best from around them, turning

driver. They also forayed into Indian

faster and resonate with the customers

learnings around to their advantage and

fashion, which mainly revolves around

on trending topics. The challenge as a

shaping customer sensibilities.

the festive seasons, developing a variety of Indian wear while keeping global

brand was now to capture the shrinking attention spans of customers, and stay

Not Just keeping up with the Joneses

relevant while talking to them through

Competition is fierce in the industry and

the increasing number of mediums.

there is no one who understands that

trends in mind. the role of the leadership

SAYS THE DESIGN HEAD:

“One thing that the competition has got right is that they have benchmarked Max! On a serious note, they have indeed taken note of our strengths and have learnt quickly. We keep a close watch on them, constantly taking steps to stay ahead of the curve. And we benchmark every aspect with the best in the industry.”

devised by the leadership was in keep-

The ‘Look Good, Feel Good’ mantra ing with the ethos of Max and gave the

Design Department a goal to keep up with, while never losing sight of the customer. Vasanth played the role of the able leader with panache and the Design Head pays him rightful tribute: “This phenomenal journey of ‘Min to Max’ would have been impossible without the phenomenal leadership of Vasanth. He was the personification of calm in the eye of a storm. His integrity and clarity of vision, his confidence and trust in his team ensured that everyone was aligned to the goals. We often refer to him as the captain of the ship who steered Max through turbulent times to reach where it is today.”

If you love the way the shelves and lInes of clothIng look In the stores of Max fashIon, thank the BuyIng departMent. Before the lInes for the coMIng seasons are even conceptualIsed, the departMent personnel descend on fashIon shows and trade faIrs, even as they keep theIr eyes peeled for upcoMIng trends.

Buying Their Way Up

When you walk into the Max Fashion store, the Buying Department personnel ensure that you are sized correctly for what you are wearing, which shelves you are heading to and what your preferences of colour and cut are. All this goes into a folder in their heads which tells them exactly what you will be wearing 270 days from now – because that is where their sights are fixed. In fact, the Buying Department is already plan-

ning which way the country is going to be dressed two seasons from now!

70 The department has the power to decide what the customer will be wearing in the future – literally. But what appears to be a privileged position comes with its own risks. First, there is the need to know the customer really well to project their tastes as accurately as possible. The Buying Department personnel also have to be careful to hold

or she wears, where they are from and even

raised the first order for Max. I was also the

back on personal inclinations and the human

how many seasons ago they were bought!

first employee to complete 13 years in Max India after Vasanth. There is more – I did

tendency to impose a personal angle on to choices that are meant for the consumer.

The Head of Buying for Women’s Wear,

the first consumer profile for the company.

That’s why the Head of Buying for Wom-

who has been with the company from the

Women’s Wear (WW) was also the first to

en’s Wear (the biggest sub-section in the

time it was set up in India (she was the

raise a vendor order and the first to start

department at Max) is always observing the

second employee after Vasanth Kumar, who

the concept of ‘Fast Fashion’. In fact, it has

customer as he or she walks in. Within min-

was then President at Max Retail), recalls:

been the department that set the fashion

utes, the customer is sized on the clothes he

“There were many firsts that I was part of – I

quotient of Max – we are the leaders in value

and Tavisha. The last was re-launched

have very clear direction. Vasanth

for the ‘elevated’ consumer.” Under the

introduced the concept to us like this:

guidance of Vasanth were established

‘A consumer walks into the store and

the 3 Ps to focus on – People, Process

sees a product, likes it, turns the tag,

and Product. This resulted in growth in

and is either amazed or shocked by

all financial parameters and the Indian

the price.’ I think that definition is

Wear market share was reinstated

embedded in the way we worked in

within 18 months.

Max, and continue to do so.” Learning by emulation She also contributed to the reincar-

In those initial days, the company

nation of the Indian Wear department

piggy-backed on the success of Max

which went through a rough patch

Dubai. The India team learnt from their

between 2010 and 2014. She guided

advice and even from the mistakes of

the team to re-purpose, re-invent and

their Dubai counterparts. The Dubai

re-package the product to cater to the

experience helped the Department

evolving customer and her changing

with logistics involved in buying. Pre–

wardrobe. “We circumscribed the

meditating the demand allowed the

department into Fusion, Traditional

department to buy more stock, even when there were just two stores in the country. Normally, with just one store operational, no additional stock would be bought beyond the immediate

Fusio

requirement, but with Indian fashion

n TradiTional

being a year behind Dubai’s at the

vis

time, it proved to be a wise step. Ram, who was the man behind the concept of ‘Fast Fashion’, was an

SayS THE HEaD OF WW:

“In fact, Women’s Wear has been the department that set the fashion quotient of Max, and we are the leaders in value fashion. From the word go, the direction was clear. Vasanth introduced the concept to us like this: ‘a consumer walks into the store and sees a product, likes it, turns the tag, and is either amazed or shocked by the price.’ I think that definition is embedded in the way we have always worked here. Hence, we have stuck to the whole value proposition model even today.”

fashion. In this, we were fortunate to

early mentor. He is, till date, respected as a visionary in the company. Be it the recession or how to keep prices intact, in what phase the company should be talking about fashion, or what phase the emphasis should be on value proposition because the market sentiments were settling down – all this and more Ram addressed with accuracy. He was able to see beyond the immediate future and ensured that strategies didn’t

undergo drastic changes in the short term.

With the example of one of our competitors who had introduced Denims at `199, it was realised that such drastic measures would not be sustainable in the long run because they were not profitable. In time, Ram’s vision and thinking began to be followed by

Consumer Profiling

other players in the market.

Young, Core and Mature – this is how the consumer is viewed through the

Ram had predicted early on that the ‘9 to

‘Buying Department lens’. Additional

9 collection’, which comprises ensembles

bifurcations are: Basic and Contemporary

that take you from morning to evening just

Fashion. This helped the department map

by adding an accessory or changing the

the full skeleton of the range well.

styling, was going to be a big trend. And

Functioning never veered from the

sure enough, that’s what came to be. Even a

original framework – nor was anything

company such as Zara introduced a line that

changed drastically. It was only tweaked

transcends morning to evening. And Max too

gently. Everything was done with

has introduced a label called Timeless.

the end goal in mind.

Two years ago, Ram predicted that the ‘9 to 9 collection’, which comprises ensembles that take you from morning to evening just by adding an accessory or changing the styling, was going to be a big statement. Now, it’s a reality and even companies such as Zara are following the trend.

Men’s Wear & Buying

scious and looking for basics or core ranges;

The Head of Buying for Men’s Wear at Max,

likes to stick with a more mature silhouette.

to be recruited into the company. She is

The proposition for Men’s Wear was for it

pragmatic about the fact that Men’s Wear

to make the strongest impact on the Core

(MW) takes a back seat to WW at Max. She

and Young customer and provide the best

explains: “It would be the lady of the house

of latest fashion at a great price, which was

who would shop at Max, not only for herself

about 30% cheaper than other menswear

but for the entire family. Hence, right from

labels available in the market.

day one, it was WW and kid’s wear that anchored the store. With this thought

This pricing proposition was referred

process, MW was planned for a contribution

to as ‘WOW’! which was the reaction which

of about 24% which was further brought

the company hoped the customers would

down to 22%.”

have while shopping at Max.

Men’s Wear Consumer Profiling YOUNG – 18-21 years old; college-goer looking for affordable fashion; willing to

Architecture of MW range Men’s Wear worked on the following departments: Casuals, Denim, Sports,

experiment and go with

Smart Casuals, Formals

new trends.

and Innerwear/Sleepwear.

CORE – 22-32 years old;

Unlike Casuals, Denims

someone who has just started

were a market that was

his career or has a small fam-

far more established

ily with a child; is looking for

with many organised

modern, affordable fashion.

players in it already.

MATURE – 32-plus years old;

So, the strategy was to

is well established in a career

have a strong Casuals

or business; is brand con-

department – this was

The Head of Buying for Men’s Wear at Max was also among the first four employees to be recruited. She is pragmatic about the fact that Men’s Wear (MW) takes a back seat to WW. She defines how the benchmark was set for the company: “It would be the lady of the house who would shop at Max, not only for herself but for her entire family. Hence, it was WW and kid’s wear that would anchor the store. With this thought, MW was planned for a contribution of about 24%.”

too, was among the first four employees

Weekender, Levi’s, Pepe and Live-in jeans. This paid off and Casuals, along with Denims, went on to contribute more than 70% within MW.” In fact, Max went on to gain a strong edge over competitors in terms of the value they delivered to the customers under these heads. This was achieved through the right mix of quality, fashion and price. Smart

Casuals and Formals, despite tough competition did very well too, carving out a strong

presence on the floor, contributing between 18-19% of the MW business. Business was further strengthened with the implementation of a Chinos Zone in 2017-18. Sports Wear too has evolved strongly, contributing as much as 11% within the MW range. In fact, Sports Wear is now re-tagged as Activ, also in line with the strategy of Max Dubai. Close to 55% of the contribution within MW was planned to be in Casuals. Despite denims being a strong brand forte in the market, the Department was still keen to have their own strong line. Recalls the Head: “I had a strong background in denims from my previous associations with

THe aim of men’s weaR was To make a sTRong impacT on THe coRe and THe young cusTomeR and provide The besT of fashion – bUT aboUT 30% cheaper Than The markeT raTes.

both in MW and WW, to strengthen company presence in this category. She adds, “In 2017, we also introduced ethnic Indian wear within the MW range. Tavish is the festive-focussed premium Indian wear range. It has carved a strong place for itself during the festival seasons. Innerwear and sleepwear are the other businesses that are growing speedily.”

In 2012, there was a problem with

For the Head of Buying for Accesso-

productivity, and sell throughs were

ries, the move from Max Dubai to Max

still low and not on par with appar-

India came at a time when

el. So, it was decided to exit cate-

accessories comprised only 1% of

gories, such as Formal Wear, that

the share of the business in the

weren’t working. The same strat-

company. He recalls, “Max was con-

egy was applied to footwear and

tributing about 1% of the business in

bags. All this helped and, by 2014,

the shoe department when I joined.

the Accessories department was

Within a year, we turned it around –

contributing nearly 10% to the

business went up to 4% in the shoes

business. By 2014, there was great-

and accessories department. We

er understanding of the pattern of

brought in other products, such as

consumption for accessories – for

e-bags, toys, jewellery, wallets and

instance, apparel would sell more than

belts. Within two years, by 2010, the

footwear, because in a person’s ward-

contribution had risen to almost 8%.”

robe the ratio of apparel to footwear is in the range of one to four. So, it was decided to align the shop floors accordingly. By 2017, accessories peaked in growth, and so began experiments in how to improve growth in footwear.

Time For accessories

By 2018, the Apparel section managed to achieve 79-80% in sell throughs, but Accessories were always at 6070% of the overall target. In the next 2-5 years, the target is set to raise sell-throughs to 72%. Productivity is relatively high in apparel – every 40-45

For the Head of Buying for accessories, the move from Max Dubai to Max India came at a time when accessories comprised only 1% share of the business. Says the Head: “Within a year, we turned it around – business went up to 4% in the shoes and accessories department. We brought in other products, such as e-bags, toys, jewellery, wallets and belts. and within two years, by 2010, the contribution had risen to almost 8%.”

The Contribution of Accessories

days they have something new in their lines. But, footwear doesn’t work the same way, so the strategy needs to be different. The department faced the challenge of bringing down the time

period before new stocks arrived. They

It was decided to do away with categories that were not working. This helped and, by 2014, accessories were contributing nearly 10% to the business. By 2014, there was greater understanding of the consumption pattern for accessories. For instance, apparel would sell more than footwear because, in a person’s wardrobe, the ratio of apparel to footwear is in the range of one to four. So, it was decided to align shop floors accordingly. By 2017, accessories peaked in growth.

decided to emulate Apparel and follow the processes followed there. The Lows Seemed Relentless Overall, in Buying, the successful phases came after a long line of lows. The ‘upward swing’ of the hockey stick was nowhere in sight In the first 3-4 years of the company starting India operations. The department was buying for six stores when there was only one. They faced rough phases where they had to cancel vendor orders or postpone them because of a cash crunch. In fact, it was difficult to even find vendors who were willing to collaborate. They would ask, “What is Max? Is it part of the life insurance company?” The company had no footprint, there was no recognition. Dubai was not a country that people visited often at the time for them to know about the brand. So, employees would say that they were a sister

concern of Lifestyle and then the reply was,

retailing was a challenge. In a footwear

“So, are you Lifestyle?” There was indeed a

store, things are very different from that in

serious identity crisis at that point in time.

an accessories store. In the early days, even organisational focus was always more on apparel, making things more of an uphill

the company and orders were suddenly

task. As India head, Vasanth pitched in with

cancelled, because stores were not being

critical inputs about how the stocks could

opened as fast as planned for, it gave the

be balanced. It took a lot of trial and error

Buying Department a bad reputation. Ven-

to understand that women’s and kids’ wear

SayS THE HEaD OF MW:

dors were lost and new vendors had to be

were the hot-selling tickets. This solved the

“Max is the only retailer who has got the value fashion business model established successfully. Our success has thrown the door open for other retailers, like Trends, to jump in. FBB emerged out of Big Bazaar to enter this market which is vast and lucrative. Westside moved from this space and re-positioned itself to premium fashion. We are seen as an international brand with a strong Indian connect.”

convinced to come on board. It was the pay-

problem of smaller shop floors – because

ment policies that helped the department

they just stuck to the best-performing

When vendors did agree to collaborate with

to pull out of the morass – they settled bills

products and eliminated whatever

in 60 days which was against the industry

was not working.

norm of 90 days. The Turnaround The Chief Operations Officer at Max helped

The Bengaluru store on Commercial Street,

tide over these times. He was available

which was the third store and the first

round-the-clock. He prioritised anything to

Metro store for Max, launched in December

do with vendors. The vendor would send a

2006 and created sudden ripples in the

mail and he would reply immediately. But,

industry. A flagging economy at the time

compared to the veterans who bought 1,000

had pulled down business on this street.

pieces at a time, the buyers at Max would

Max came in with a bang and rejuvenated

buy just 64 – they were like kids trying to be

the whole place. The store was a record

a giant. Looking back, the employees recall

breaker from the beginning. It took off big

that the first five years were truly difficult.

time, upstaging other players in the vicinity, setting the tone for the brand’s glorious fu-

Particularly for footwear, understanding the

ture. The entire Max team was galvanised by

customer and the new ways of footwear

this early success. The Max store anchored

Commercial Street and got it back to life. And, the store had a big appetite! It consumed almost three to four stores of merchandise. All existing stock that had accumulated was consumed. It reminded the employees of the first store in Indore which had created such ripples that all the

h as “Max

veterans of the industry felt threatened and even visited the store to find out the

secret to its success. The success of the Commercial Street

store was such that soon people started approaching Max for franchises. It was not something even Dubai could boast of. The stores had a youthful vibe that everyone wanted to emulate. All this helped Max carve a niche and climb out of the lows much faster than would otherwise have been possible. The Buying Department heads are grateful for the company support they got in tiding through the initial phases of turbulence. Recalls the Head of Accessories: “Giving me a long leash for the first five years and trusting me to run the department is something I am grateful to Vasanth for. His inputs for aligning accesso-

l l e w the one

ding ence a r g In up g experI Ith w pin s h o p o n n ec t I n g

s r e m custoerge froM

whIle

eM oking who o l e tor the s od and go od!”

n Feeli

g go

ries to apparel were also very valuable but, at the bottom of it all, he never forced me to accept his direction but always gave me the freedom to work on my own, strategise and deliver.” Exciting times were on and it was exhilarating to be on that high for all those who had broken their backs at Max. The Accessories department was (LFL leader) for a category that was

thrilled to get the Best Growth Award earlier performing at the lowest. They

grew their ‘Like-for-Like’ stores – so if the Commercial Street store was doing a certain number, the following year’s target would go up by 20%. This way, for three continuous years from 2015 onward, footwear and accessories delivered the highest LFL growth. The last few years have been the most successful for MW, too, with the department contribution to the overall figures going up consistently. This was the period when MW contribution rose by 1.7%. It was also during this period that two more departments took a strong place on the floor – Tavish in 2016-17 and

The way ahead is tough with competition nipping at the heels. The pressure is on, not just from other brick and mortar brands but online giants who are willing to throw in their lot on the back of huge investors. It is an all out war and only those on point would survive this battle and live to tell the tale.

Chinos in 2017-18. Sports as a department has strengthened during this period and is clearly showing promise for greater achievements. The Way Ahead While they are chuffed about what they have achieved so far, there is no resting on laurels for this intrepid group. They see that the challenge is that the

industry is changing constantly. Digital

Vasanth has always emphasised that Max

and online retail chains have made

should be an international brand, but

aggressive forays, creating a huge price

also that it become the customer’s own

war in the industry while making it difficult

brand. Fortunately, this is something Max

to catch and sustain customers’ attention.

is good at compared to the competition.

Agility about what the consumer will want in

Big international brands don’t have the

the future is a tough proposition – it’s more

kind of intel required for this and so, they

and more difficult to forecast. Another very

cannot push into smaller towns the way Max does. The assessment of local sensibilities at Max

is bang on – it’s much like McDonald’s sensing the need

and introducing an aloo tikki burger for Indian customers. Says the Head of WW: “I think the expectation of any woman from fashion is a little lopsided. It depends on the accessibility she has and the knowledge about what is happening in the industry – important factor emerging is the

whether it is through social media or online

amalgamation of international tastes and

shopping. Today, the Indian consumer is

trends with Indian tastes. That is becoming

more responsive to fashion and catches

very critical because the company is now

on quicker, and that is an advantage for us

penetrating ‘B’ and ‘C’ locations. So, to bring

since it is our strong point.” The department

in global trends without customising them is

continues to try and get a better under-

not a solution.

standing of the online customer who is

SayS THE MW HEaD:

“With the Omni Channel business model, we are connecting with customers via offline and online stores. We periodically meet with online teams to understand the traction of our range and review customer feedback. We also use this medium to test new product lines and understand the response. as a retailer, it feels great that we are able to service our customers anytime and anywhere, seamlessly.”

with offline. “As buyers, we have learned to master the craft of choosing the right range, and striking the right balance of commercialism and business risks without compromising on capturing the trends. We have tried going deeper into understanding the market challenges, especially as India is a very diverse country. By customising our range to different profiles of stores, we try to be more relevant and competitive in

every market we operate.” Competing With The Best The department believes that the customer is benefitted through the price wars that keep happening. Max has never participated in discount wars in a big way. The company has always set the gold standard in the industry in sell throughs. Nobody has been able to come close. different from the one that visits their stores, and customise lines for the online shopper. The department also ensures that they provide all details of the merchandise to the online teams, and keeps stock in place for the stores as well as for online consumption. The Head of MW, too, is positive about the future trend of blending the online

THe Head of mw is posiTive abouT THe fuTuRe TRend of blending online wiTH offline. “We have masTered The crafT of choosinG The riGhT ranGe of mediUms.”

There has never been extra stock or leftovers. Never was there a need to resort to 80-90% discounts. There were no tall promises made that were difficult to live up to. Consistency was key. Whether it was product availability or quality, it was always constant. “We know our customer: who she is and what she wants!” emphasises the Head of WW.

A deCAde ago, in 2008, the market scenar-

into a meaningful and profitable category,”

correction of price grid. The average pricing

io for children’s clothes was dismal. It was

says the Head of Buying in Kids Wear.

of Kids Wear was reduced by an average of 27% across 270-odd sub classes. This sent

something of a graveyard for most kidswear brands even if they had started with a

Back to the drawing Board

the vendors off sync and 95% of the KW

bang, for e.g., Lilliput, Catmoss, People and

The challenges faced were many, includ-

vendors left because they were unwilling to

the like. Within Max, Kids Wear (KW) stood

ing very high pricing, absence of price

reduce their prices. With a dedicated team

at a mere 15% of the sales. “In fact, KW was

synchronisation across assortments, poor

of four people, the category was turned

the worst performing category at Max with

quality of product and low fashion quotient.

around from the worst to the best perform-

very low sell through season after season. It

Max worked on right colours, right fabrics,

ing in the very first season of Winter 2008.

was an absolute uphill task to turn it around

re-engineering of fashion elements and

“Normally, we buy goods for winter to trade

till mid-January. However, the changes incor-

margin in children’s clothing compared to

porated in the kids range resulted in achiev-

men’s and women’s. But at Max, KW has

ing 80% sell through target by the first week

been delivering margins at the same level

of December. No one could anticipate that,”

with the sharpest MRPs in the industry.

says the Head of Buying in Kids Wear.

During the initial years, budget and resources were limited. One of the things Max did very successfully was to drastically reduce prices to the level of customers’ perception. The strategy was to catch the attention of customers looking for an affordable option for their children who outgrow garments within a few months, and also to kill competition through very sharp pricing. Pricing was brought down by 50-60%.

team started travelling overseas for sample

of the customer. Still, there were battles

buying and capturing international trends.

ahead. The first three years were focussed

Therefore, they could focus immensely on

completely on fundamentals of product and

improving the product fashion quotient and

pricing. This combination of providing ex-

the dividends came pouring in: from 2011

ceptional value to customers through afford-

to 2015, Kids Wear grew at double the Max

In the second phase, from 2011 onward, the Kids Wear had finally captured the attention

able fashion resulted in impulsive shopping

concept growth for four consecutive years

and higher ACM.

back to back. Max grew at an average of 12.5% LFL and Kids Wear grew 25% on an

average during these four years. This took

KW contribution from 15% in 2007-08 to almost 25% in 2014-15. It was around this time that the department caught the attention of other brands in the market. Competitors such as Reliance, Pantaloons and others began adopting Max pricing and product strategies. Says the Head of Buying in Kids Wear:

“In the third phase after 2015, we started consolidating the best performing product

groups and created new categories which are easier to rotate faster, and capture trends in the same season. Today, we have multi-million-dollar categories in boys and girls in multiple product groups.” The highs and Lows Kids Wear Buying’s most successful phase began in 2008 when the category was turned around to the best performing

to target even higher. Another important

that every complicated problem has a sim-

one. Max Global CEO Mr. Ramanathan

motivation came from the feedback of

pler solution available.

came down from Dubai to applaud the

customers about the value being provided

phenomenal turnaround. Nobody had

at Max Kids.

The department saw the sense in collaborating with other teams because it is easier

earlier sold out an entire season’s goods a month-and-a-half in advance. This

The Wisdom of the Team

to leverage resources. Kids Wear is a most

acknowledgment and appreciation by

As a team, Buying believes in the principle

complex category with a combination of

Mr. Ramanathan motivated the whole team

of keeping things simple and stupid, and

multiple departments. For instance, the in-

fant boys’ line is separate from the girls’

The Future and the Competition

Today, the company has gone online and

line. In fact, every age group has a differ-

Children’s clothing is often more casual

Kids Wear is contributing 25% of the

ent line for boys and girls. Collaboration

than adult clothing – fit for play and

online sales, and expected to grow fur-

between departments was important for

rest. Recently, however, a lot of chil-

ther. Considering that foreign brands are

the transfer of knowledge and skills, and

dren wear is heavily influenced by adult

doing 12% online sales, Max Kids Wear

to leverage resources optimally.

fashion trends. Due to the rise in social

too hopes to grow their online share.

Vasanth, the Head of Max Fashion

bloggers have been using their accounts

Says the Head of Buying in Kids Wear:

at that time, allowed his teams the

to post pictures of their children wearing

“We focussed on providing exceptional

freedom and ownership to visualise

luxury ‘street style’ clothing inspired

value and quality to customers with our

and execute plans in their own way. He

by young fashion. This makes parents

fashion products. When customers know

trusted them in this. Says the Head of

dress their children as they would dress

their children will outgrow apparel in

media platforms, celebrities and fashion

Buying in Kids Wear: “In those days, this

themselves. Good quality, well-designed

six months, they won’t pay `1,000 for a

kind of empowerment to employees was

garments influenced by global fashion

shirt if they can pay `400 for the same

unheard of and gave us a strong sense

trends is now a priority for a growing

quality and with a good fashion element

of ownership.”

number of parents in India.

to it – as Max provides. The competition tried to follow our pricing strategy and got prices down. They also tried to

Today, the company has gone online and Kids Wear is contributing 25% of the online sales, and expected to grow further. Foreign brands are doing 12% online sales and Max Kids Wear also hopes to grow their online share.

follow our product strategy, but it is not easy to provide the right amalgamation of fashion, quality and sharp pricing. They can meet our pricing but not the product value!” Max is a market leader in Kids apparel today, and shall be maintaining this leadership position through constant innovation, adaptation and understanding of customer behaviour and preferences.

From Design to ProDuct What really happens While developing a product? What does the process of creating a vision from a detailed creative sketch to a finished product entail? for the person responsible for overseeing the process, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the technical translation that also matters.

The Technical Bridge

Not maNy outside of the fashion industry know this, but when a designer comes up with elaborate sketches envisaging a beautiful product, a team of elves steps in and translates the vision to reality. Also known as the technical design team, this team bridges the gap between design conception and the actual product. The Head of Technical Design and Product

Development and her team of 20-plus elves, take pride in bridging this gap.

88 It is one thing to create elaborate designs and quite another to execute it to perfection. When the tech design team is handed over a garment design, it creates a plan to translate the design to the final product as envisaged by designers. Each garment gets tagged into a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;tech packâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

members, who have mostly learnt their skills

does the job of making continuous

on the job, come with great empirical

changes to the product by identifying

knowledge of the garment trade.

the latest fabric trends, benchmarking competition and standardising the right

that comes with specifications for measure-

specifications.

ments, sewing instructions, types of threads

Recently, with the help of the HR learning

and the know-how to package the product

and development team, they undertook a

so that it is ready for the store. This calls for

formal academic training of the technical

detailed attention. Tech design is crucial,

aspects. This has charged them to take on

When there is a lot of dynamism in the

adding science to the art created by

newer challenges and contribute to the

air, there is a general tendency to sway

designers. So, the team needs to be

enhancement of the product. Product

completely towards the change. What Max

technically very conversant. The team

development, a fairly new department,

did right was to stick to the successful

the Success Story of max

processes while the leaders, with their

omni Channel

farsightedness, kept up with the changes.

When the online war triggered the fusion of brick and mortar with online viz the Omni

The very setting up of the product

Channel, Max did not just join the

development department is a testimony of

bandwagon.

the head of technical design and product development saYs:

“While we can see category leadership in competition, max has a judicious mix of fashion and category. When buyers and designers explore international markets for fashion, it is nothing short of a marathon. it is aweinspiring to see the passion of the team while they hop store to store to identify relevant products.”

volatile future. This

Customers old and

department is aligned

young alike across three

with the current

cities were interviewed

processes without

to understand their

derailing them and is

needs. Processes were

aimed at bringing about

evolved likewise, which

the preparedness for the

the required changes in

gave birth to two Omni

the product.

Channel concepts that are prevalent in stores

Vasanth has set

today, ‘click and

the wheels of change

collect’ and ‘return

gradually so that

to store’.

the company can take the momentum without

What Next?

upsetting the apple cart.

With such an enviable success formula, where one has almost touched the pinnacle,

Max is clearly a fashion leader in the value

re-discovering and re-inventing becomes

format: on one side, it leaves no stone

inevitable for the company.

unturned in exploring the latest international trends and, on the other, it has strong

This can be done successfully only when

control on the threshold of costs, the aim

the strongest wisdom of each individual

being to always stay cost competitive and

team becomes the collective wisdom of the

price effective.

entire organisation.

Walking into a shop full of clothes to select that one piece to buy is confusing. Imagine the task of the person who has to choose how and where all those options are going to be produced! The Head of Sourcing at Max Fashion is the man for the job.

WHERE & WHAT OF SOURCING

When you want to provide the best fashion to your customer but also have budgets to limit you, there are crucial decisions to be made at every step. Buy the fabric or get it manufactured? What specifications? Which colours and patterns, weaves and thread counts? Where to get it manufactured? From deciding whether to source the trimmings, buttons, zips and other accessories, or get them customised,

to choosing where to get the embroidery or stitching done, there are hundreds of

decisions to be made – each one equally important. And all this has to fit a certain budget for each garment! Explains the Head of Sourcing, “What goes into making the garment that someone buys at a Max store is, first of all, the raw material. The fabric is the main raw material but then there are things such as zippers, lace, trimmings, buttons, and so on. Even our label,

He adds, “After the raw materials are

stitching, manufacture and logistics. We

that we stitch on to the garment, is raw

sorted – both primary (fabric) and

arrive at a price with the vendor based on

material. If the product has to sell well and

secondary (trim fabric etc) – you need a

the final sale price of the garment.”

get appreciated by the customer, we have to

good garment factory to make the products.

be able to sell at an attractive price. But, at

Basically, the two things we handle are raw

The buying department gives the Sourcing

the same time, if the product quality is bad

materials and the costing methodology. Our

team the specifications – the product range,

then they will not come back to the shop

decisions are based on the fabric and

quantity, colours and sale price. They then

again. Therein lies our balancing act.”

accessory components, and the cost of

get down to business: find a mill, identify

international agencies. They also need to

the right garment factory, and then work

have strong working processes and quality

with the Buying department to finalise the

systems in manufacturing to maintain a level

orders/begin production.

of excellence in output.

Sustainability and Quality

The Head of Sourcing points out, “If you

Max now looks for international mills which

take women’s wear, there are several prod-

can give best-in-quality fabrics; and the

ucts, from lingerie to formal trousers, casual

best large-scale factories that are ethically

trousers, shoes and more. When we meet

compliant and work for international labels.

with buyers, we try to understand what the

The costs have to be in line with the pricing

product gap is. For instance, in ladies’

formulas and this is where the

Max now looks for international mills who can give best-in-quality fabrics; and the best large scale factories that are ethically compliant and work for international labels. The costs have to be in line with the pricing formulas and this is where the sourcing department comes in – they interact closely with the buyers to figure out the requirement. The department then identifies garment factories – ones that have the capacity to meet requirements.

the raw materials, find/allocate material to

sourcing department comes

in – they interact closely with the buyers to figure out the requirement. The department then identifies garment factories – ones that have the capacity to tackle the requirements of a company such as Max which works to very large numbers. The requirement for ethical compliance means the factories must have specific audit systems and certifications given by

tency in product and price. We work on a parallel level with the garment factories and give them costs based on fabrics.” At Max, the sourcing department has established sustainable medium and large scale vendors, and provided consistent availability of merchandise in stores. They also have a good number of vendors who work on design-to-delivery capabilities. The

most consistent focus is on fabric benchmarking, so the tie-ups are with most of the

reputed Indian and international composite fabric mills. The Head of Sourcing says, “We source indirectly through fabric nomination and thereby provide the best in class end product to the customer. In order to keep pace with the growth plans of our division, we have already expanded our sourcing operation beyond jackets, there isn’t a big enough vendor

Data helps them decide the gaps and what

India, and now we source from Bangladesh,

base to meet our needs. Currently, the ven-

the future is looking like. “But,” explains the

China, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Indonesia.

dors we are working with are not able to

Sourcing Head, “with fashion products that

We have inducted many large-scale global

execute on time, therefore the availability of

have smaller volumes, I cannot negotiate

vendors to address scale and latest fashion

merchandise is not to requirement. So, that

with the vendor as much as I’d like to. For

apparels. Besides this, we work directly with

is the project we have taken up and are

the high-volume products, we standardise

a good number of Chinese fabric mills and

working on for the last two years. Women’s

the fabrics and work with the mills that give

thereby get special fabric qualities which are

jackets are the gap we see on the graph.”

us consistency. There needs to be consis-

scarce in India.”

Group’s value system. Every function’s goals

The last five years have been very import-

are aligned to the organisation’s goals. We

The head, sourcing explains:

ant for Max. There has been a consistent

share experiences and knowledge and have

growth of business, which has come with

healthy discussions between functions to

lots of challenges and pressure. But the

achieve results more effectively as a team.”

“Within a short time, we learnt from the online challenge, worked hard and started our own online business. Today, we operate the omni channel way, which a typical online retailer can’t. in this whole process, we had lots of inventory at the warehouse and we had to work this out with our vendors.”

teams also come with a lot of energy and experience, and the management has always

The entry of e-commerce giants into the

supported them, so were able to reach their

industry was a big challenge. The online

targets and grow as per plan. Says the Head

players offered huge discounts and spoiled

of Sourcing, “The best part is that we are

the market. Festival seasons, which were

one family, even though there are multiple

always good at Max, were affected badly.

functions. Each one of us, within and across

There was a period of struggle to get things

functions, follow and practice the Landmark

right, but eventually it was all sorted with a few smart moves. “We were down but never out,” says the Head of Sourcing. “Within a short time, we

to work this out with our vendor partners.

learnt from the online

We had to win their confidence and ensure

challenge, worked

there were no disturbances in terms of

hard and started our

merchandise availability.”

own online business. Today, we operate the

Business is growing at a faster pace now, so

Omni Channel way,

supply bases outside the country are being

which a typical online

strengthened. There are collaborations

retailer can’t. In this

with the Middle East sourcing team to work

whole process, we had

on joint sourcing programmes to improve

lots of inventory at the

speed and cost benefits, besides providing

warehouse and we had

the latest fashion to their customers.

highs and Lows

BoTToM line

Quality Consumers generally prefer branded products and shop with some sort of pre-approval from peers. Any slip in the performance of the product from a trusted brand or store may shatter their faith and make them switch to other brands. The Quality Assurance team at Max Fashion ensures that consumers not just wear Max apparel with pride, but ‘look good and feel good’ every time they do so, and the switchover to others brands doesn’t happen.

quality merchandise and putting the consumer affinity at stake. We need to guard against this.” The industry measures quality standards by Acceptable Quality Levels (AQL). There are AQL such as 6.0, 4.0, 2.5, 1.5 and so on, with norms becoming stringent in that order. Three years ago, Max started gathering customer concerns and changed norms to from AQL 4.0 to AQL 2.5, thus tightening HR

quality control. are delivered to

consumers. But product quality is top priority to prevent switch of brand loyalty. Max has never allowed that to happen and that’s why the company remains the leader in this segment.

Points out the HOD: “According to the high growth business model that drives Max, we need consistency of product performance to keep the consumers addicted to Max. To ensure this, there is a sustained effort to assure and monitor quality by evolving continuously in terms of processes and protocols.”

Says the Head of the Quality Assurance

The high end brands can adopt best

Quality is in the details. At Max, from the

department: “Max being a value fashion

practices, standardise the processes and

fabric and making of the garment to the

brand, there is no less impetus to ensure the

consolidate the vendor base to maintain

last button that goes on it, everything must

quality of a product. If we want a profitable

product consistency. However, for the

be of a certain standard. In the business of

business across the supply chain, there is

value fashion business, this remains an

value fashion, product positioning, price and

a possibility of vendors compromising on

opportunity always. So to maintain

shopping experiences are key things that

certain standards, thereby shipping poor

product consistency at Max, even the simple

processes are rendered more robust to

of the brands. They do not understand the

make monitoring more rigorous, ensuring

correlation between price and performance.

that the product is good even at the low-

A t-shirt from a high end brand is sold at

price points.

`2,500, we price our t-shirts at say `600. Yet, for the consumer, both should perform equally well. In such a scenario, how do we

department for several years, points out:

make sure that the factory maintains the

“Getting merchandise manufactured in the

same quality levels for us?” Here lies the

POINTS OUT THE HOD:

same factories as other high end brands

challenge and the biggest opportunity for

“The high end brands can easily adopt best practices, standardise the processes and consolidate the vendor base to maintain consistency of their products. However, for the value fashion business, this remains an opportunity, always. So, in order to maintain product consistency, at Max, even the simple processes are rendered more robust to make monitoring more rigorous, ensuring that the product is good even at the low price points.”

is a challenge since the manufacturers

Max – wherein the pricing of the product

make more profit while working for other

is ‘value for money’, and the company still

brands. On the other hand, consumers buy

ensures that the product should provide the

An earlier HOD, who anchored the

the merchandise and expect the product

same satisfaction level to the consumer as

performance to be comparable to the best

any other brand in the market.

it’s the quality that counts above all details

finish

Vendor Management The Landmark Group has always treated vendor relationship as prime in the retail ecosystem. Adds the former head: “At Max Fashion India, we are working with close to 400 manufacturing vendors at any given point of time, with many of them working for other retailers too. We nurture the vendor association and transform it to partnership, which further adds value to the

critical path of merchandise sourcing. We believe in keeping things simple and agile so

100

that the vendor partners work with us with high efficiency, thereby keeping the business association with us profitable for them too.” The Head adds: “The untiring efforts towards nurturing vendors have resulted in on-time merchandise delivery performance touching an all time high of 90%. Few years back, it used to be in the range of 60% to

SayS THE HOD:

another focus at QA. Career paths are

70%. With vendors understanding the part-

“The untiring efforts towards nurturing vendors has resulted in on time merchandise delivery performance touching an all time high of 90%.”

charted for all; there is an all-round effort to

nership well, we are now targeting 95% on time delivery which will be a new benchmark for the industry.” People Focus While core objectives are delivered consistently, team engagement too is

maintain work-life balance so that everyone remains passionate and committed towards the self and achieving organisation goals. The periodic training programs keep everyone motivated, which reduces attrition, resulting in higher levels of employee loyalty, which in turn delivers consumer affinity

in the long run. With emphasis on team

everyone is doing their jobs to the optimum

empowerment, delegation of authority and

and this has facilitated a good trajectory of

de-centralisation, each team member has

growth for the company.

the potential to evolve and become a leader. Points out the Head: “Each team here understands their deliverables and where

Explains the former HOD: “We have the

this company is headed – the objectives

pre-production department which ensures

and, most importantly, how to achieve our

that whether it is the fit checking on the

missions. We know there is a certain culture

dress forms or lab-testing, the process is

in this company and we are all driven by

kept simple but stringent, speedy but free of

those values – that is something that helps

compromises. We ensure that there are no

Work Harmony

“We have the preproduction department, which ensures that whether it is the fit checking on the dress forms or lab testing, the process is kept simple but stringent, speedy but free of compromises. We ensure that there are no wasteful activities in the whole value chain.”

wasteful activities in the whole value chain.

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We keep it to a minimum – zero if possible. Speed and agility is an everevolving aspect with no finishing line. When I joined, we were clocking about `400 crores and today we are clocking `3,700 crores – almost 10 times more. The count of stores has increased six times. There is no room for any lag anywhere in the value chain.” The department as a whole feels that they have learnt from experience, and have been able to build connects with internal and external stakeholders. They believe in building a good rapport with all, which has helped them smoothly execute their duties. All the members of the team also know that

us drive our teams. So, when we talk about

the Era of technology

The Wisdom of Teams, we always keep in

Technology has brought in transformation.

mind the culture and values.”

The QA team has been able to set up a vendor portal to communicate with the

The group ideology has been, ‘let’s keep

vendor partners. The tech support now

it quite entrepreneurial’. It’s not just about

ensures that the team can avoid working

brandishing words but about genuinely

through different media and be on a single

inculcating that spirit in everyone so that

digital platform. The vendors have enhanced

everyone starts taking ownership. Adds the

their efficiency to deliver.

former HOD: “If the wisdom exists E-Commerce

and you take ownership, then that combination is the

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best. You know what

The group ideology has been, ‘let’s keep it quite entrepreneurial’. It’s not just about brandishing words but about genuinely inculcating that spirit in everyone so that everyone starts taking ownership. adds the former HOD: “If the wisdom exists and you take ownership, then that combination is the best.”

Says the former HOD: “With the advent of e-commerce

you’re doing and you’re

and the technology

capable of doing it.

companies getting into

A few people joined

e-tailing, Amazon, Flipkart

and left. That’s part

and other players have

and parcel, but largely,

brought in some disruption in the ecosystem. In fact,

the team stayed on

e-tailing has opened the

together and we all took

opportunity to reach the target

ownership of whatever we were doing and, at the same time,

consumers without having a

delivering those things despite the

brick and mortar store in some locations.

conflicts and contradictions. We created

Max started e-tailing in 2014 – this is just

very healthy, yet competitive, zones.

another channel of touch-point with the

Everybody holds their respective flag high,

consumer and we are doing it in our own

but then there’s one collective Max vision,

way, keeping a retail perspective instead

which we have a clear view of and that

of a technology or disruptive perspective

keeps us moving”.

in mind.”

transparency and Openness

The former HOD corroborates: “The back-

Explains the HOD: “There are some vendors

end, the entire supply chain, the vendors

who started with us with 50 machines and

and suppliers, vouch for us and how simple

now they have 500 to 900 machines. People

it is to work with the group. That’s been one

have grown; they have trust and that trust is

of our strengths. No layers and no bureau-

the biggest plus point for Max. Today, there

cracy. Our positioning has always been right,

is a stronger connect with us. The vendors

keeping us ahead in terms of the mind space

feel free to come and discuss their plans

among our target consumers. The variety,

with our top management and, as a result,

price and the consistent positioning has kept

they grow faster. Our competitors don’t

us in the lead. The market will always be

have this equation with vendors.”

competitive but that’s the retail ecosystem!”

“There are some vendors who started with us with 50 machines and now they have 500 to 900 machines. People have grown; they have trust and that trust is the biggest plus point for us at Max. Today, there is a stronger connect with us. There is more openness. The vendors feel free to come and discuss their plans with our top management and, as a result, they grow faster. Our competitors don’t have this equation with vendors.”

ExPlaINS THE HOD:

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104

Smooth Operations: HR

Keeping the ship afloat

The fashion industry seems to be all glitz and glamour Âą a buzzing space that is the coming together of creative talents. But behind the scenes, it requires the shrewd mind of an able Operations Head to run things efficiently. Operations may seem unglamorous but is it the backbone of fashion Âą it gets the business to run and grow. The Chief Operations Officer is the iron hand in velvet glove at Max Fashion, keeping a tight hold on all operations.

105

A business cannot run in isolation. While the end product is most seen and celebrated, running a retail fashion business involves bringing together a lot of varied components. Pulling everything together requires the flair of a music conductor bringing together his orchestra, so that what comes out in the end is not uncoordinated noise but harmonious music.

The COO’s clarity and hold on operations makes him the able conductor. “The first five

106

years can be called the foundation phase, where the economy was not so good. This actually helped a new brand such as Max to penetrate in India (being a value player) as the customer sentiments were shad-

gradually moved to ‘Look Good, Feel Good’,

The COO adds, “In the second phase, we

owed by the slump around the world. The

increasing the footprint of Max stores to

introduced brand properties such as ‘Max

South, where people are explorative and

over 20 cities, mainly metros and state

Fashion Icon’ and ‘Max Kids Festival’, and

always welcome new concepts, is where we

capitals. Max also worked on increasing

expanded our network. From the 6th to the

decided to position ourselves,” he shares.

value by becoming indigenised and

10th year, we saw growth in the number of

adaptable to Indian needs.

stores, retail space and number of cities; and the concept broke even and started earning

Thereafter, the IT industry boom helped bring in youngsters with good starting

The advantage was the brand presence in

returns. This helped us to re-deploy cash

salaries. They found that Max was the right

Dubai. Insights were shared with the Indian

earnings to further expand our network. Our

brand for them because of their unique

team which then reworked the styles to Indi-

business multiplied from `67 crore to

pricing formula while offering trendy

an sensibilities, keeping international trends

`3,000 crore over a 10-year period.”

fashion. During this phase, Max started

in mind. Max didn’t spend much on

Beginning with a skeletal staff and in-house

with the tagline ‘Fashion under 599’ and

advertising but focussed on expansion.

systems, slowly, by 2012, the company

moved onto the Oracle platform, the Retail

for trading periods ranging to 120 days, but

Merchandising System (RMS) and the

they decided to change that to 60-90 days

Warehouse Management System (WMS).

across different segments of products (Basic and Collections). This was done so that limited money would help multiple rotations

financial management during my tenure

and reduce working capital pressure for the

as Head of Finance is that the division has

vendors. This change helped to improve

the cOO elabOrates:

become debt-free with zero working capital,

sell-throughs. Whatever was bought was to

“the first five years can be called the foundation phase, where the economy was not so good. Interestingly, this actually helped a new brand such as Max to penetrate in India (being a value player) as the customer sentiments were shadowed by the slump around the world. the south, where the people are explorative in nature and always welcome new concepts, is where we decided to position ourselves. thereafter, the It industry boom helped bring in youngsters with good starting salaries.”

and multiplying CAGR both in sales and

be sold within a fixed period of time. Earlier,

profitability. The operating profit growth was

the leftover stock had to be discounted. This

ahead of the sales growth.” shares the COO.

move resulted in lower discount and better realisation. This approach was adopted

“I am proud that the biggest success in

Tightening the Margins

in select merchandise categories to start

107

During the initial years, Max used to buy

with – the process took a year to spread

across product divisions. To begin with, the system was tried out in one division for one product. In a few months, how it worked was assessed. Soon, the entire department adopted this cycle for basics and other departments joined in. The COO explains: “It became our mantra with the stock cover becoming 80-90 days with peaks during festival seasons – basic

products for 60 days and fashion products for 100 days. The number of days of the

108

end of season discounts should be shorter; no fresh buy is done for the discount period and we sell whatever is left over. The whole equation changed over a few seasons. In this process, we were able to bring in new season products even when markets continued on discount sale. We leveraged our sharp prices across product categories, more or less equivalent to the older seasons – discounted by other brands. Customers also found our stores fresh with new season merchandise. In this process, our average discount comes to 7-8% – this improved our bottom line.” The other focus was cost optimisation. Max stores were 15,000 to 20,000 sq. ft. in size with low sales per day, so internal productivity was

During the initial years, Max used to buy for longer trading periods, ranging to 120 days, but they decided to change that to 60-90 days across different segments of products (basic & collections). this was a step forward.

a challenge. The COO began to look at bringing down the new stores to around 10,000 sq. ft. and started right-sizing the existing store areas. He decided not to go beyond 15,000 sq. ft. in key malls and cities. It was determined that 10,000-12,000 sq. ft. is the ideal size for stores. Today, the brand has a good mix of store sizes. After this exercise, the stores’ performances went up

in terms of productivity and costs. Says

that they could earn higher margin than the

the COO: “I then turned to figure out how

A and B stores, so store productivity would

to minimise the non-performing assets such

increase, returns would also increase and

as shop fixtures and lighting. We used to

break even could be achieved. The COO

buy 5% extra as a contingency factor; we

recalls: “Next, we classified the stores into

corrected this in 2013-14 and could re-

two types – ‘wannabe stores’ (for improving

deploy `6-7 crores of non-performing

profit) and ‘spotlight stores’ (to improve the

assets lying around in our warehouses.”

bottomline and topline). We created our business based on these stores – differential structure with different marketing initiatives

Cut to the 2012 retail meet. Max then

handled by two senior retail operations man-

had about 60 stores. The company

store Classification for better Productivity

Max stores were 15,000 to 20,000 sq. ft. in size with low sales per day, so internal productivity was a challenge. right-sizing the stores was the first focus area to be taken up after a careful study. the cOO began to look at bringing down the new stores to around 10,000 sq. ft.

was getting closer to break even at the

109

corporate level. The next step was to make money in the stores. So the stores were compartmentalised into three brackets: ‘A’ comprised the profit-making stores; ‘B’ were self-reliant stores; the ‘C’ stores were dying – they were not productive or profitable. In the last case, it was decided to find out what the problem was—location, city, product or establishment cost. Stores under Category A were to always have fresh stock. Category B stores would have to be taken up in terms of productivity and Category C would have to minimise losses. It was decided that A would get 90% fresh stock and 10% old stock; B would get 85% new and 15% old, and C, 60% new and 40% old with discounts. This meant

110

Unlike other brands, Max made sure they didn’t spend too much on advertisements and marketing. Instead, they increased brand signage in stores for visibility and, over a period, the stores became the brand by themselves. creating properties such as ‘Max Fashion Icon’ supported the brand stature.

agers from the corporate team would focus

with Elle in the metro cities. We kept things

on these two streams of stores.”

simple and focused on ways to connect with the customer.”

By 2015-16, wannabe stores were almost at par with spotlight stores. Says the COO: “We

Another strategy was the Blue Ocean

added another categorisation, the

Theory, where past experiences are

‘Maharatna stores’ – stores that generate

rehearsed to determine what can be done

more than `8-9 lakh business per day.

better – basically with a SWOT analysis.

We had 8-9 such stores. For this, we had

Says the COO, “Each function came up

special initiatives and programmes; we changed the look and feel of the stores, and brought in fast fashion.

with a canvas covering key stakeholders and key resources, with the customer as the end. The value propositions and mission statements for each

Today, we have nearly 30 stores with the

function were defined.”

‘Maharatna’ status!’

MVP (Max Value Propo-

“Unlike other brands,

These initiatives helped

sition) projects followed. at Max, we made sure we didn’t spend too much on advertisements and marketing. Instead, we increased brand signage in stores for visibility so the

improve customer affinity to the brand and grow the topline and bottomline. These brought in a positive vibe which led to Max being awarded the ‘Great Place to Work’ award.

stores became the brand by themselves. Creating properties such as ‘Max Fashion

Highs and Lows

Icon’ supported the brand stature and

Reaching break even within five years in a

established the customer connect, attracting

highly competitive market profitability is

youth in secondary towns. Then, the ‘Max

hard, especially in the value fashion industry

Elite Look’ property took off in association

– and making the concept debt-free and

gain operating profit is in itself a great

Everything had a KPI (key performance

achievement! The year 2012 was the year of

indicator) to the enhance results and

break even and, since then, it has been all

increase productivity. This helped all func-

about profits.

tions to aim higher and perform better.

The most critical factor at Max was that cost

Attention was also paid to people

optimisation was done in such a way that the

engagement. The COO even put himself

burden did not fall on people – the focus was

through personal coaching for a period of

avoiding wastage. So we kept improving the

eight months to help him improve his own

benchmarks, whether it was sell-through,

performance! During the recession in 2009,

discounts or inventory holdings.

pink slips were doing the rounds in various

the cOO has played the right hand man to Vasanth, helping the latter marshal his troops and work on the milestones and bottom lines. referring to Vasanth’s methodologies, he says: “the milestones he created have kindled interest levels. he managed the aspiration and passions of a young and dynamic team with a good balance between task and relationship, and instilled confidence across the team. Vasanth believes in empowerment and I supported him. We had to keep people motivated and ensure there is control so that we don’t waver from the path. he built the block brick by brick, and told us the path to take and set the mission and targets. there was an ecosystem where we could work freely towards the mission with control coming through structured reviews.”

111

industries but Max ensured that the middle

buy new clothes since our country has many

and retail staff were protected, and even

festivals through the year. We reinforced

provided with annual increments. Senior

the brand’s power first in the minds of the

people supported the situation with no

employees and then the customers. There

increments or cut in emoluments for at least

was no going back. We pushed through the

a year without any fuss.

year that saw 100% growth on the top line.”

The COO recalls, “This was beautifully driven

The COO explains that this may be

by HR and Vasanth, by ensuring that it’s just

looked at in three ways. “First, that the

a passing cloud. Rightly said and driven, we

fashion industry is like a stock market –

believed, that an adverse economic senti-

unpredictable! So we have always kept

ment can be used to attract customers with

about 60-70% of the product as the core

112

our sweet pricing. We got customers who

range matched to current trends and the

didn’t want to spend high but still needed to

basic product is protected. Second, we go for honest pricing rather than attracting the customer with offers or discounts. The consumers are clever – they are willing to wait for two months for the sales so they can pay less. Lastly, 7-8 years ago we started on inventory rotation, which improved year on year – now our ‘season launches’ happen four times a year.” With new merchandise every two months at affordable pricing, Max today gets more return

everything had a KPI (Key Performance Indicator) to enhance results and increase productivity. this helped all functions aim higher and perform better. People engagement and people’s happiness were also paid attention to. activities such as team outings, outbound learning and enhancement of skills were undertaken regularly.

her preference, the customer may

customers. The idea is to make the customer

North. On the product side, the attempt is

feel that ‘one can be fashionable every day’.

to try to strengthen brand identity. With

place an order on the in-store kiosk and

Expands the COO: “It’s ‘Fashion for real

online sales kicking in, it is a buyers’ mar-

it will be delivered to her. She can also

people at a real price’.”

ket and the challenges are manifold. The

return or exchange her purchases in any

brand has gone the Omni Channel way to

of our stores. Our challenge will be to keep

Going Forward…

strengthen brick and mortar stores along

the operating cost at bay with no wastages.

We are already on point for our next

with the e-commerce platform, and aim to

We have just kickstarted the Project ‘WOW’

milestone – reaching `5,000 crores and

service the customer to enhance customer

or War On Wastage!”

we are contemplating the target of one

loyalty. The COO adds: “Stores will also be

billion. The challenge now is to penetrate

digitally friendly – if someone likes a style

Meanwhile, Max continues to ‘wow’ its

the Tier 2 towns, especially in the East and

but the store doesn’t have it in the colour of

consumer in more ways than one!

DuRing tHe Recession in 2009, pink slips weRe Doing tHe RounDs in vaRious inDustRies but the company ensured that the middle and retail staff were protected and even provided with annual hiKes.

113

114

Finding the balance

Planning retail 115

Winning a customerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s loyalty is not easy. Between quality and quantity, style and trend, you need to hit on that formula that brings people back into your stores again and again. The customer is always king â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and the one who understands the needs of the king, the winner. The Head of Retail Planning at Max Fashions runs the department that understands the customer well!

116

There’s science behind every shelf you

competition is doing and propose what

see in a Max store. The most efficient use

we should do. That’s the starting point

of space as well as what to display on each

of planning at Max. Based on that, we

shelf are crucial decisions in retail. What you

discuss the performance and we do our total

place where will directly affect sales and

numbers.” When they get the numbers from

customer loyalty. It is the formula that every

the finance and operations teams, the team

retailer wants to crack, the formula that

looks at what did well, where to invest more

makes businesses thrive or shut down.

and where to reduce. This strategy is related

SayS the head of retail planning:

Says the Head of Retail

“the outside world looks at planning as being purely numbers driven on the quantity or volume i want to buy. at Max, planning is different – it’s merchandise planning. traditional planning can only tell you the numbers but at Max we start with product rating. So if i have to plan the next season, we first start with last season’s product rating.”

world looks at planning

Planning, “The outside as being purely numbers driven on the quantity or volume I want to buy. At Max, planning is different – it’s merchandise planning. Traditional planning can only tell you the numbers, but at Max we start with product rating.” He explains, “Let’s say I have to plan the

what the customer wants but the catch here

next season. We first start with last season’s

is that, often, what the customer will actually

product rating, which is done by the

demand is difficult to predict.

planning team with the help of the buying and design teams and then presented to

The Dos and Don’ts

them, to identify the products that failed

Explains the Head of Retail Planning: “There

in the market. We also identify what the

are three different segmentations. ‘Core’

comprises entry-level products, which are the basics, then there is the ‘one-up fashion’ category and finally, ‘fashion’ collection which is fashion. Based on this, we present a strategy file including the budget, and how much to buy within that budget, keeping in mind the pressure of liquidating old stocks. Planning is a business-driven unit. When I am buying something, I am also responsible for selling that. If I demand 100 pieces and I can’t sell them, I will be questioned by the HR

management on my decisions and choices.”

117 He adds, “To give you specifics, in the last four years, we have not increased our MRP more than 2%, which is the best in class for value fashion. This credit goes to buying, but somebody has to have a checkpoint. That checkpoint is planning. If I can’t tell you what product is at what price, then the buyer of stock can’t give feedback on the product’s price and whether to increase the MRP. Those checkpoints have to start at planning because my value is directly linked

Retail Planning has to take calls on whether

the faster there’s more money from the

to my top-line target. I can always increase

the product is selling well or not and basis

system and more buying can happen. Even

my MRP but the quantity to be displayed

that decide whether to increase, decrease or

though the Retail Planning department gives

is interlinked. It’s based on the MRP, that

stop the supply. Inventory is directly related

the strategy file well before the season

the buyer decides whether to buy the

to profitability – the higher the inventory,

launch, this is not set in stone and is

product, or not.”

the lower the profits. The faster it is rotated,

modified as required.

THIS DEPARTMENT MAKES THE DEcISIoNS foR EAcH PRoDucT,

where it has to go and how much sell through has to happen. if the stock is not selling in one store, then resolVe it through inter-store consultations

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The next responsibility of the department

for replenishment. The department also

or take. Whichever size is selling will be

is to think about which products should be

watches the sizes that sell more and sends

replaced quickly. This happens each season.

placed in which store. This is done with

for higher production of those.

After 30-40 days, there is the pressure of top-line planning and the sell-through

automated technology because there

because everybody has KRAs.”

are 300 stores to think about. Some

The Head of Retail Planning points out,

fundamental guidelines have been

“Another critical part of work that we usually

formulated so the format of existing stores

do is to decide how much Initial Allocation

He adds, “We are the people making

may be mapped to any new store for

(IA) is required for the stores based on the

decisions for each product, where

allocations. Typically, a part of the stock

store’s capacity, available features, how

it has to go and how much sell through

is given to stores and the rest held back

much can be displayed with 10% extra, give

has to happen. If the stock is not

selling in one store, you have to do

A minimum time frame of about 15 days

inter-store consolidation and for any

is kept to liquidate the old stock and buy

product not selling or selling slowly, we give

fresh stock.

product discounts. Pressures and challenges The pressure on the planning department

inventory and how to manage the discounts,

is to correctly predict the amount of stock

which is also controlled

that will move within the season.

by planning. If I want

If they manage this well, they

1,00,000 pieces and if

can exit the season with 85%

my target is 85% after

sell-through. It is equivalent to

the season is over, I have

handling the profit and loss

to give discounts and

of the company and that is

liquidate it. Then, there’s

a huge responsibility for the

also a carrying cost. All

department.

these factors affect my total top line and my

Says the Head of Retail

margins.”

Planning, “The culture at Max is such that the department

Before every new season launch, the department

head is solely responsible for delivery of these things.

gets into action: how much they want to

That’s another motivating factor for me,

sell and for what value, the discounts on a

to try new things and, if I delivered 40%

monthly basis, and the final outcome of the

margins this time, how would I increase it to

total margins. Finance and planning chip in.

45% – it’s constant churning. I keep trying

Based on this, the department gives end-of-

and I know that only two things can increase

month discounts. Max doesn’t believe in the

margins, either you increase the product’s

end-of-season discounts because the prices

MRP and rotate stocks or decrease dis-

are kept at half of most other brands.

counts. Factors such as these are under the

SayS the head of retail planning:

“the culture at Max is such that the department head is solely responsible for delivery. that’s another motivating factor for me to try new things. if i delivered 40% margins this time, how would i increase it to 45% – it’s constant churning. i’il keep trying and i know that only two things can increase margins, either you increase the product’s Mrp and rotate stocks or decrease discounts.”

Another critical point is how to manage

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planning team’s control and are managed

price point – along with a 30% growth per

teams in all their retail centers, including the

and delivered by them. That is the total end-

year – is where Max was at when I started

B-towns and smaller regions. It is a hard task

to-end process of planning.” He adds, “The

working!” he smiles.

for those untrained in aesthetics to understand why some products are selling and

best part of Max is that the company sticks to what it promises, which is the leadership

Fashion is fully dependent on custom-

others are not – the planning personnel are

promise... It is very difficult to bring a private

er demand. It cannot be one person’s

generally more adept at talking numbers.

label up to `3,000 crores. That’s the biggest

decision or even the collective decision of

challenge and, secondly, the price point is

a team. It also keeps changing based on

The Head of Retail Planning says, “Where I

another factor since we are value fashion.

the customer’s whim. At Max, the system is

am looking to improve the team’s capability,

The two factors – the turnover and the

to rely on the feedback from the planning

I get them to look into the product and give

their feedback on the product and why it is not selling. That way they come to increase

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their knowledge and widen their horizons. My prime concerns are the speed and availability of stock for the customer. These two things I make sure of, apart from inventory management. I have to know how quickly to get rid of the inventory, to give discounts or consolidate it with other stores where it is selling.” The Head of Retail Planning is proud of the fact that his team is not made up of people who are from top management schools, and yet they do their job with exemplary efficiency and innovation. “The driving force comes from top leadership, especially Vasanth – everyone reacts to that. If the path is clear – where to run, where to finish

in turn, gives results and better productivity. Emphasises the Head of Retail Planning, “Machines help you be more productive, sure, but with the work we’re doing, human intelligence is required. I can’t put all the logic into the system and let it run. If I buy 2 lakh pieces instead of 50,000 pieces, then I’m in a soup! A machine can’t help me out.”

one is copying Max in everything they

The buzz in the industry is that everydo. The staff in other retail chains have

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been known to admit this freely. This means that they too would go on to do better and provide Max with healthy competition. There is a lot of pressure

and at what speed – then all personnel, if they follow through, are able to deliver phenomenal numbers,” he says. staying Ahead The company has invested in new planning software that’s sure to give an edge to functions. It also allows employees the breathing space and time to strike a better work-life balance which,

the buzz in the industry is that everyone is copying Max in everything they do. the staff in other retail chains have been known to admit this freely. this means that they too would go on to do better and provide Max with healthy competition. and that galvanises all at Max to push harder!

for the staff at Max to keep ahead of the game, but this is welcome pressure! Says the Head of Retail Planning, “If we talk about buying, there is the issue of missing a product at a steady price continuously. All departments are doing their bit to protect us. There are improvements to be made, of course, but we’ll be in this number one position for the next five years even if we continue doing what we have been all these years! Naturally, we’re just going to work better,” he says.

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Oiling the

WHeels HR

Of Supply

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The fashion indusTry is dynamic and synonymous wiTh rapid change. iT is marked by fickle consumer behaviour ThaT can creaTe a volaTile markeT. in such a scenario, supply chain managemenT is imporTanT To The efficiency of producTion, beTTer Turnover of producT and increased profiTabiliTy.

Today, supply chains have to be flexible to customer needs, and scale up or down depending on demand. It is no longer a question of just mass production, it’s about understanding the dynamics of demand and supply. The customer is the king and the success of a line is usually determined on the shop floor. A responsive supply chain should be flexible to incorporate changing

customer tastes. In the early days, business was on an upward

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trajectory and operations had to be doubled up. Employees were struggling to comprehend growth. But it was soon realised that it was not possible to get results by increasing the number of people working here. “You need smart operations, systems and operators at the back end,” says the Head of Supply Chain Management who comes with nearly two decades of experience with

to come along on our journey. I was given

70,000 pieces because their effectiveness

international brands.

the mandate by Vasanth to change the

was only around 80%! The supply chain cost

entire experience,” recalls the Head, Supply

was three-and-a-half percent of the sales

The challenge was two-fold – how to build

Chain Management. At that time, they were

and, what’s more, manual labour was still

scalability for the next 3-5 years and how

a below-average performing function in

being used in the warehouses.

to unlearn manual processes. There was too

terms of effectiveness, cost of operations

much duplication and they had to ensure

and reliability. Such was the situation that

The department’s overall ability to pro-

people were not repeating the same thing.

if there was a need for 50,000 pieces, the

vide timely services was a big question

“We had to let go of people who didn’t want

department would be given an order for

and it suffered due to misunderstand-

ings with vendors. The workplace was also becoming unpleasant because accountability was not fixed. There was mistrust between service providers involved in the transport of supplies to warehouses and the workforce at the warehouse. Valuable time was spent in conflict management rather than working

say the head, supply chain management:

Bonding and Bonhomie

“misunderstandings with vendors and other problems led us to rebuild the entire foundation. much valuable time was spent in conflict management. We had to build up solid back-end operations by restructuring people, processes, infrastructure and systems. i was given the freedom to use my global expertise to work on the problems from scratch.”

there are village women working there – they

Today, if you walk into the Hoskote warehouse, have been with Max for the last 6-7 years. Some started as helpers and went on to become managers. Max has also upgraded the infrastructure with smart automation and metal-holding mechanisms. And, takes pride in being a totally paperless warehousing system. There are stateof-the-art systems for managing inventory and movement of inventory within the warehouse. Max Fashion supply chain cost is the best in the industry today. The department operated at 1.7% of the cost for the last three years – very difficult to achieve! Max also has the least cost per piece in the industry and 0.1% shrinkage – a level which no one else has achieved. The department is at the highest in the industry in terms of productivity per

a lot of women are employed in the department because the company wants to encourage women’s empowerment. in rural areas, 60-70% of the workforce comprises women. the company looks after them through welfare measures. the department shares a good rapport with suppliers as well, and often helps them out in different ways. there is a supply chain portal online which is a vendor portal that connects their operations to max operations in a real time system.

towards overall brand goals.

125

person. The company may also take credit for the best people-management achieved by creating a bond among the warehouse personnel. All festivals are celebrated at the warehouse together. The staff is also proud of the way Max bonds with on roll and third party employees, and minimum wage workers. One of the success factors behind Max in

the last 12 years is the fact that the supply chain and logistics operations has been its

126

backbone. Efficiency and productivity are high, and services are provided error-free. says the head of supply chain management:

The successful phases The brand’s success is attributed to three phases: the initial evolution where everyone worked through the challenges with the consistency of Vasanth as he marshaled his ‘troops’ without deviating from his belief in a strong fashion mantra. Second

best. The third phase was where the brand

was the growth phase where he collated a

had to stay on top after making it there. All

team of people who could support him in

employees had to unlearn old things and

this journey across functions. He allowed

learn new ways. They needed to maintain

people to do their jobs, encouraging them

stability, keep up their lead and not fall

to do what they needed to by giving them

into side traps. Vasanth integrated the

total freedom. He gave function heads the

planning and supply chain functions to

strength and motivation to deliver their

global retail standards.

“i handle planning and supply chain functions – this allows a seamless flow of merchandise from source to shelf. Vasanth also taught us how to thrive in competition. coaching and interventions helped maintain leadership at the optimum maturity level. We learned how to survive in this competitive environment.”

The lows Supply chain is always challenged when seasonality or customer demand spikes, and market fluctuations cause upheavals. The department is called upon to provide support. No way was the brand to be allowed to cut a sorry figure by running out of stock when there was demand. digital and omni and that was both good and bad. Big giants

The market also went the e-commerce way, entered the market with a lot of money and

127

spoilt the customer for choice. This created a big flux in the market and Max had to

order a product that is in Bengaluru – that’s

re-sync and upgrade quickly in order to

the power of Max’s digital presence.

the head, supply chain management, points out:

then moved into Omni Retail realising that

Max has been a front-runner for a long

going digital was mandatory. Max also

time now, but with constant pressure to

worked on many back-end tools, such as

maintain their lead. They have invested

vendor portals for suppliers and kiosks for

in Artificial Intelligence-based learning

customers, to up their game.

to get ahead in the game while also

“if one size is selling, i need six pieces of that size in the store. We believe in demand sensing. excess inventory is a problem too. We are not a discount brand, we offer value for money. so, i would rather give incentive to my staff to sell a product rather than discount it.”

prevent this wave from felling them. They

adopting digitisation. Product evolution Today, Max has digitised many of their

and improvisation is still an ongoing

processes. Vasanth was the one to

process. So is keeping in tune with trends

commission it, making back end responsive

and fabrics while bringing more agility into

to the digital world. He introduced many

processes. The brand has also invested in a

revolutionary technologies. The result is that

smarter inventory management system and

today, a customer sitting in Guwahati can

automated their warehouses.

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The shopping experience!

Not oN

When a customer walks into the store, browses shelves, tries clothes, talks to the shop assistant and makes a purchase â&#x20AC;&#x201C; every experience she has had is managed by the Retail Operations Team. The Senior Vice President of Retail Operations and the Territory Heads of all the regions are the men who work to make every experience on the floor a meaningful one.

129

smaller towns is often set in stone. “It was in the early part of the decade that we started understanding that there is a huge potential

to grow at a much faster pace. The idea at that point was to double the pace of growth

130

every two years. The objective was also to try and look at possibilities of expanding beyond the core threshold of the six metro cities,” he shares. It helped that they had a rock solid team that had cut their teeth in the early days, and learned the tricks of the trade. He recalls, “There was a huge amount of value in terms of how the team had fought its The gospel truth for every person who

all speak to the consumer! And, of

way up from the start, through some rough

has ever managed retail operations is this: It

course, a happy customer is most likely

patches, understood and learned from it,

is as much the experience as the goods on

a repeat customer. The Senior Vice

and finally arrived at the overall market

display that makes for a satisfied customer.

President of Retail Operations is a thorough

needs across the country. Though our

The ambiance, the display style, the music,

man who has done his homework well. He

dominance was in the South, we were

the way the aisles are organised, the body

understands that big cities may have fickle

starting to become significant in North

language and manner of the shop assistant…

shoppers but the loyalty of shoppers in

and West for the first time. The biggest

difference we wanted to bring on that

were streamlined. All this allowed for some

end was the continued availability

major changes – the company could grow

of products.”

and nurture internal resources to a higher level. The main aim of ensuring that every

Building processes

function be sensitised to process and build-

It was decided to structure the basic

ing core tools to help retail operations was in

merchandise and

“We had retail meets where we tried to understand the journey to achieve a specific goal. every milestone was defined by the steps taken to deliver it. the final number planned for has to be the destination for all to drive towards. the process was first to create a business canvas and talk about it. We now look at larger leaps and went into a campaign called the orbit shifting Mechanism where we determined that retail operations will have to take a huge leap of faith to help Max become a billiondollar company.”

the non-basic merchandise under two different leaders. The Operations team upped the focus on the

observes the senior vice president of retail operations:

delivery of core KPIs.

131

This included building a team structure of not only good business leaders leading the different regions but also creating secondin-line team members. Tried and tested quality area managers were hired to become the

sight always. All were given the opportunity

connecting link between the storefront and

to add technology to their operations.

the area cluster teams. This helped to drive smaller pockets of business in the regions.

Riding the e-commerce Wave

There were two people looking after a

Soon, the markets around the country

region, so the focus was robust. Responsibil-

began to change. E-commerce exploded

ities of area managers and cluster managers

on the scene and kicked everyone around

This movement brought about a greater understanding of how consumer behaviour in the North, South and East was different. It also helped to share expectations with the merchandise buying teams to bring about some differential thought in how they would handle merchandise requirements for each

zone. This pushed up the focus on being more customer-centric in the real sense

132

of the word. The Senior Vice President of Retail Operations remembers the initial days of transition. “We also started understanding how to live in an Omni Channel world. Retail operations also had to understand – hard. This is when Max changed its

beckoned. Adapting to the sensibilities of

that there was a 360-degree opportunity

gears and began to push bullishly on their

the new markets was the forte of the Retail

for a customer to buy anything he wanted.

processes. The customer was different,

Operations department. They had learned

If he wanted an international product, he

more knowledgeable and had a wider

their lessons well from their movement

could just click online. If he wants a

canvas; even people from far flung areas

around the metros – which were diverse

discount today, he can find one. He does not

had become open to fashion. Aspiration-

by themselves. The new initiative was to

need to have a cycle determined by brick

al India was becoming a reality. Max now

explore the smaller markets and establish

and mortar. Our teams were clued

had the opportunity to enter markets that

Max as a strong player there. The final push

in on how to work in this evolving situation.

were unthinkable a few years ago. There

was towards East and Central India, which

There were challenges, no doubt. We have

were, for instance, the Tier 2 markets which

were hitherto unexplored.

had tough times – especially I think, in 2016,

buzzword in the market space which took about two years to take shape and stabilise. The baby steps Max had taken a couple of years ago have helped grow a huge e-commerce business. The Retail Operations department have their eyes on what the competition is doing. These are organisations with deep pockets, piggy-backing on big businesses. Their footprints are increasing – and the Adds the Senior Vice President of Retail

department has to be aware of that. Operations: “Our core focus has always

133

been to ensure that we are a sustainable, profitable business. Our success rate of hitting new store openings and delivering numbers from the first year-end is about

when the onslaught started becoming very big. We had to work very hard to pilot new initiatives to keep our head above water.” That was the time when Max realised that there was a need to create a layer to meet future training needs. Retail Operations, with the help of Vasanth, began to talk the language of the Omni Channel. It was the

Max is today a click-andcollect-and-return-to-store format. it is the only fully rolled out, single-day business. credit goes to the tech and adaptation teams, along with the retail team, who were able to embrace this change and bring it alive on a single day in 147 stores across the country.

97-98 percent – which is miles above the competition. Their scale of operations could be bigger, but our productivity at the ground level on the floors is at least one-and-a-half times stronger than the nearest competition.” The department has spearheaded pilots, especially in Bengaluru, where the appetite for new technology is very high. The effort is on to create an ‘endless’ aisle in some of their stores to understand consumer

retail management

says the senior vice president of retail operations:

134

mobile. His needs

behaviour.

are very differ-

The customer continues to browse

ent. The shopper has

on the kiosk which is

already researched what

placed strategically even if she is not satisfied with any of the merchandise in the shop. This is

he wants – and the in-store services need to offer something more. Max has now begun a process of

a different way to attract the customers

training the store personnel to respond to

and hold their attention. When the challenge

the ‘new’ customer. As a result, Retail Opera-

of converting the brick and mortar business

tions today encompass the digital world as

into an Omni Channel entity was discussed,

well as the physical.

Vasanth had already envisaged the scenario. The findings jump up: the customer today

The Fly Wheel Functionality

is digitally savvy and will browse on the

The brand was constantly hitting close to

“competition is true and real. it is also quite big but so is the country! everybody has space and may grow at their chosen pace. We are expanding in a conscious but effective way to ensure that we take to the right markets, drive home the right sales and try to make sure that the stores are successful.”

The Senior Vice President of Retail

vacillating retail fashion world. It was a

Operations takes pride in the success

result of a well-oiled machine. Vasanth, who

achieved on the floor: “We have a pace

often mentions ‘Fly Wheel Functionality’

where we have to start only churning

for the momentum gained by implementing

better so that the ‘flywheel’ impact is seen.

good processes, points out that they have

Every year our department improves on

achieved Flywheel Functionality now.

target delivery to increase stock turns.

That indicates how many times we are able

80% in sell throughs – a rare figure in the

to turn the same merchandise. In the last

135

few years, we have increased it by one turn annually – a huge benefit to productivity.” Max has created one flagship store in Phoenix Market City in Bengaluru and is building another one at Express Avenue in Chennai. These stores have departed from their original formats. They are more open and classy. Although their core remains value fashion, they are trying to create a differentiation to show that they identify with the young and new customer. Concludes the Senior Vice President of Retail Operations: “Competition is real and big but so is the country! Everybody may grow at their chosen pace.”

Weaving Visual Magic

Anyone who is a shopper â&#x20AC;&#x201C; which is just about every person on this planet â&#x20AC;&#x201C; knows the power of a well-designed shop window! When you gaze at that mannequin wearing the latest fashions set off by the muted light, it is like the call of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. You are enticed into the shop and, when the door opens, the heat of the street vanishes in the soothing puff of cool air that welcomes you in. Here is how Max Fashion creates such enchantments, every time.

137

138

Creating the right atmosphere for the

shopping inside the store is what

The Head of Visual Merchandising, who is a

shopper has transcended clever window

determines how long you stay inside

comparatively recent entrant into the com-

displays and moved on to the realm of

and how much you buy.

pany at just under five years, brought in a breath of fresh air. He remembers watching

telling a story. It is akin to a virtuoso weaving the captivating spell of a brilliant

Visual merchandising also directs you in

Max closely as a competitor and wanting

performance that leaves you yearning for

logical ways through the aisles to give you a

to join the company. Once he was part of

more. The total, all-round experience of your

seamless shopping experience.

Max, he hired people from art and fashion

schools, experienced industry hands, and

company had realised the youth were the

young and eager talent to infuse new blood

top consumers and had to be their focus.

into the function. “These were people who

This was a new milestone.

knew how to handle communication on their own, without my intervention at every step,”

The Visual Merchandising team worked with

he points out.

the Marketing Department to switch from free to paid music because they felt their

challenge was that all the Max

music was outdated. “It was more about enhancing the customer experience – it

stores looked alike. He worked at

was no longer just visual merchan-

changing that to provide a new

dising. People are now experi-

customer experience. The aim

ence-driven. We have to reach the

was to get the shopper excited

customers’ eyes and ears to create

by the merchandise, the music

a complete experience for them,”

playing in the stores and interesting

says the Head, Visual Merchandising.

mannequin displays.

Their second experimental store was in Phoenix Market City in Bengal-

enhancing Customer experience It was decided to create new retail

uru which was a smart-connected store – free WiFi, seating, trial room

identities – basic, experimental

assistance, kids’ zone – the works.

and premium. Based on these

All this came under a column

new identities, the stores were

called ‘Delight’.

configured to look and feel different, keeping in mind the likes of the shopper they were intended to attract. The first store in the experimental format was launched in VR Mall in Bengaluru

Customer experience was moved to another level. Small TVs were replaced by smart TV sets across stores. Initially, the content played was in-house

in 2015 – it was a youth store,

matter and not very well edited. This

spread across 8,000 sq. ft. The

was dropped in favour of scaling up

The head, visual merchandising, says:

“as per industrial norm, everyone fills their store once and tries to replenish twice or thrice. We fill our stores seven times. We service some stores twice in a day. it’s paid off. at times, we actually have to tell customers it’s time to close up at 9.30-10 pm! We are a fast fashion brand with new trends every season. and now we are moving from seasonal clothing to noseason clothing because everything needs to be fashion-driven rather than season-driven.”

When he started here, the

139

There’s re-thinking happening in terms of strategy across all functions. The department now grades stores. earlier, every store was getting the same stock but, now, there are stores with varied fashion quotient. every function is thinking next season’s strategy so that the company is ahead of the game. 140

is a specialist role. We hired a visualiser and worked with vendors for data scheduling. Now, while sitting in Bengaluru, I can change any display I feel needs changing!” The company at this point had a challenge – how to make Max have an impact on people’s minds so that they came back to the brand. and on-boarding external help to make the

may remember how we sat on the floor

“We often wonder whether the customer

brand content more professional, and then

and had food with the store manager and

is even thinking about the brand Max when

scheduling it on the Cloud.

his wife!) to modernised. In this journey, we

they want to buy clothes. We term the buy-

realised relevant software and technology

ing experiences ‘Moments of Truth’. The first

Explains the Head, Visual Merchandising,

could help make the shift more efficient. We

moment of truth is what happens in store

“We went from localised (old-time buyers

got into cloud management of data, which

– the customer experience and what he’s

buying. The second moment of truth is when

all working in different ways to enhance the

he or she is back home and how he/she feels

customer experience – they were not unified

about the product. The ultimate moment of

in their approach, something also pointed

truth depends on how the customer liked the

out by the experts consulted. So started

overall experience and will he/she come back

the Orbit Shifting style of working, and the

to the store. I remember, we had challenges

business moved from the traditional brick

in terms of lighting – we were yellow and dull.

and mortar to Omni Channel. A dedicated

So, we changed the lighting,” says the Head,

brand website, mobile experience, in-store

Visual Merchandising. The departments were

tablets and other such aspects followed.

says the head, visual merchandising: “now, we have a hundred cloudcontrol locations, starter cash, video walls, kiosks, led columns, dual screen, photographic projector (a first in india) and much more. We also learn new things by travelling to leading countries. We are exposed to the latest technologies outside and experiment with what we learn there. We are always reaching out to move up.”

proach at the stores – unify the commu-

The brand wanted to simplify the apnication, as it were, to speak in one voice.

141

The intent was to ensure the customer was not confused. So the stores were redesigned to convey the brand positioning strongly. Visual merchandising, sales and experiences at the store were to all point towards the philosophy of value fashion, but with a smoother approach. initiatives and new technology “These are the days of what is known as phygital (physical and digital) – what is in the store can also be found on the website,” points out the Head, Visual Merchandising. Their next move was to come up with the concept of the Smart Shop where there is seamless inventory of all products in

explains The head, visual merchandising:

142

how the teams come together to deliver. “We don’t have the constant meeting culture that takes chunks of your time off the work you should be doing. We have an open door policy where we talk directly to each other. We never look at who is doing what but always at what we can do best. We weren’t pushed to do something that was in the market; and every function was given an opportunity to do what they thought best and then collaborate to help each other.”

Bengaluru. This is piloted in six to seven

paved the way to scale up to the next level.

stores with the tagline “EASY, WE CALL IT

Now, they have a hundred cloud-control lo-

SMART SHOP”. It enables the consumer to

cations, starter cash, video walls, kiosks, LED

be in one location and shop for something

columns, dual screen, photographic projector

that’s at another location. Planning and IT are

(a first in India) and the like. “We learn new

involved – this is a part of the Phygital strate-

things by travelling to leading countries. We

gy. The initiative is driven through a consul-

are exposed to the latest technologies and

tant with their design and buying teams. This

experiment with what we learn there. We are

The Highs and Lows Hitherto, we have been doing the best in Karnataka but the markets have not been that great of late here. This could be the result of saturation and competition since the state is fashion forward and has responded well to e-commerce. The brand had to rethink all strategies. This is where the team channelled the web to come up with better strategies. Customers were given the option of service even post the store visit if they did not find what

With the competition nipping at the heels, max has worked hard to keep ahead. says the head, visual merchandising: “The people who joined the competition returned because of the culture. We are people-oriented. That has helped us reach where we are today. We don’t splurge but we still pull a good crowd to work.”

they wanted.

143

Aisles were upgraded to feature ‘looks’. Entire ensembles for travel, weekend and so on were showcased, growing fast and always looking up at the next in class and trying to reach where they

instead of individual clothing on mannequins, display boards or screens.

are,” explains the Head, Visual Merchandising. The Head, Visual Merchandising travels Guided by Vasanth, the department is con-

a lot, going to premium retail fairs interna-

tinuously coming up with new strategies. The

tionally to see what innovations are taking

driver is his philosophy of investing today in

place in retail. Max also tries to work with

what is needed tomorrow. This foresight and

vendors who are already in the international

thinking brought much success and going on

market to ensure good delivery of what they

the Omni Channel is one of the best phases.

need. All efforts are put in to hire the right

Creating new experiences to delight the

talent to get things going. All in all, it’s a

customer was the consistent goal.

win-win approach!

144

“The Marketing Department is like an orchestra!” 145

“The consumer is not a moron, she is your wife!” goes the popular saying by David Ogilvy. The Marketing Head at Max Fashion believes the top business of his department is to tune in to the consumer.

ImagIne two runners on a stretch of road in two different brands of active-wear. They sprint across and in that three-second stretch that it takes for them to run past you, what registers in your brain is a tick mark on one of the shirts. If the shirts on both runners were equally well designed, there would still be a clear winner – one that you remembered just because of the tick mark, the signature sign of the brand. This

significant fact ties in with what the marketing department essentially does.

146 At Max Fashion, the marketing department had its work cut out when it was decided to go with a ‘mono label’. It was decided to come up with a single attractive strategy keeping in mind the value fashion proposition of the brand – ‘All under `599’.

conventional way of promoting entry

It was a surefire tactic that would bring

level, `129 onwards, which everyone else

youngsters to the store – at least for a look.

did. The Max advertisement also portrayed

The rest would be taken care of by quality and design. It worked and how!

‘Fashion for the Contemporary Young Family’ through a single communication which broke through the clutter. In one

For starters, this was a radically different approach wherein Max chose to own the price ceiling of `599 rather than the going the

shot, the company hit the bullseye in connecting with the aspiring Value Fashion Family segment, who neither want the cheapest nor are willing to pay premium for their apparel needs.

One OF THe Main

challenges

was THe market dynamics OF HOw THe

competition

kept changing every cOuple OF years

One of their main challenges was the market

for marketing to solve problems and

dynamics of how the competition kept

look at future goals. In the initial phase,

changing every couple of years. During

marketing plans were structured under

the initial phases, Max was competing

three key pillars – Brand Experience, Brand

against brands such as Reliance Trends and

Communication and Customer Relationship

Westside. Next Pantaloons re-positioned

Management – with the aim of ensuring Max

themselves and FBB entered the market

was built up as a cluster-level brand; while

while Westside moved upwards to compete

simultaneously ensuring store profitability.

with more expensive brands. There seemed

“While establishing that the brand was about value – good products at great prices – the `599 price point was important. it was the starting point of all the marketing communication. marketing in max was about engagement and connecting with the core tg. We focussed more on owning the ‘max family’ than the product, and created iPs in marketing initiatives to reinforce the same.”

to be a constant shuffle.

The second phase saw Max tagging stores on the basis of the consumption pattern:

During all this competition movement

stores were bifurcated under family and

in the market, Max was always

147

clear about its target audience: The Young Contemporary Family. This provided a clear marketing strategy which was aimed more towards the audience and less at the competition. Since then, the journey has

Brand ExpEriEncE

continued forward. Brand ion communicat

the Strategy Initially, the focus was on creating a structure that was geared towards a larger business. The company was keen on building an ecosystem

SayS the marketing head:

customEr rElationsh managEmEnip t

fashion stores. This helped the communication become sharper through on-target store windows, and a more engaging activation inside a mall or store. For instance, the strategy was to host a painting competition for children in a ‘family store’; and selfie activation in a ‘youth store’. These would ensure that the right target audience was engaged and more lasting connects were created

with the consumer. In the third phase, with 100 Max stores

148

across 50 cities, the focus shifted to building Max as a city-level brand. Zones comprised fashion-forward cities such as Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai; and fashion-value cities including Chennai and Indore. Bengaluru was backed by strong distribution; Hyderabad was doing fairly well and Chennai had just been launched. They built up the brand in these cities with initiatives target audience. The goal was to create and

thoritative in tone. At the stores, there would

emphasise that Max wished to democratise

be events a family would like to participate

Since a brand experience is about designing

fashion, and that it was a peer and

in, such as ‘Max Fashion Family’ or ‘Max Su-

a sensory connect that brings a person into

facilitating brand. It was planned to create

perstar’. There was no celebrity involvement

a lasting and meaningful relationship with

platforms, events and engagements to

and activities were interactive in nature.

a brand, the marketing department was

facilitate customers to follow their dreams

keen to work on an experiential marketing

and interests. It was decided that the Max

Knowing the Customer

strategy to imprint Max in the minds of their

Fashion brand would be facilitative, not au-

Explains the Marketing Head: “Taking this

such as the ‘Miss Bangalore’ contest.

Look. It is among the most sought

‘Brand IPs’ focussed on building

after and prestigious contests in

engagement for the brand. The Max

the Indian modelling scene. It is a

Kids Festival hosted across stores

once in a lifetime opportunity for

helps build a connect with little

thousands of boys and girls to

ones. Instead of just an offer, we

become the next international su-

created a theme. Over the last few years,

permodel. This IP has completed four years

we have associated with POGO and Disney,

in India, and with last year’s India winners

and the events have included activities such

walking fashion runways around the world

as the ‘Jungle Book’ storytelling capsules

and working with Gucci at the Milan Fashion

hosted across stores. Children walking in

Week, it’s proving to be a great platform for

SayS the marketing head:

could listen to the stories and take selfies

aspiring youngsters.

“We created ‘Brand iPs’ that were focussed on building engagement for the brand. For instance, the max kids Festival hosted across stores helps build a strong connect with little ones – instead of just an offer we made a theme that focussed on engagement. Over the last few years, we have associated with POgO and disney. the event included ‘Jungle Book’ storytelling activity happening in max stores. Children walking in could listen to the stories.”

with the characters. The customers enjoyed themselves while the brand took centre

The third IP is the Max Design Awards

stage, but subtly.” Another important IP

where Max partners with Elle and Grazia.

targeting the youth is the Max Elite Model

This property creates a platform to

forward, we moved to create

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facilitate aspiring fashion designers to jump start their careers. The brand provides a platform for young designers to showcase their designs to top fashion designers such as Rina Dhaka, Rahul Mishra and Ashish Soni.

The winners in 2017 got a chance to work

150

SayS the marketing head:

with renowned fashion designer Rahul Mishra.

“the marketing department is like an orchestra – we play the piano when required, compose music and, based on the situation, not play the music and force everyone to listen! Brands are usually built like this – you have a product, you communicate it to the tg for consumption, then you keep launching new products and continue to communicate with them. max Fashion went the reverse way – the company got the tg right first. Brand loyalty, brand convergence, brand affinity are not just about saliency.”

Max thereby created an ecosystem which was about being relevant in the fashion space. This was co-created with stakeholders

– the

youth, media, family, models, influencers and designers. The idea is to convey that Max Fashion is a not a salience-driven brand but one that is built around communities and the right product communication. In this, Max

the marketing head ShareS:

“We work with passion and excitement with everyone who is associated with us to build stronger bonds. in max Fashion, the important thing has been building relationships. Whether it is the editor of ‘Cosmopolitan’ magazine or the Publisher of ‘elle’ magazine – we have created long-lasting relationships throughout all our journeys.”

became facilitators rather than instructors. the High notes The most exciting phase of marketing was when it was decided that the brand has to be on television. It was to be about the ‘Max Family’. The idea was to tap into the emotional high ground and to use humour as a route to communicate the brand to the TG. A creative director helped Max develop three ad films. Says the Marketing Head about the people the brand collaborates with: “This community created around us understands, learns and

When the competition gets tough, the tough get going. max has been a step ahead of competition. Says the marketing head: “Our advantage is they are in the race of salience, we are in the journey of building a brand. We’re not raising the bar on what we can’t sustain. We know our strengths and we play to them.”

evolves with the brand. We never keep things the same. This is our strength. We have seen the business delivering for the last 10-12 years and industry recognition has come in through awards the brand has won.” the Lows Every business has its lows and this one is no exception. When each phase saturated, Max had to re-strategise. There were periods of recession when the company HR

had low budgets and had to pull out of the crashes with clever approaches. Max Fashion has always changed strategy

–

not for competition but for the customer. There were value additions coming from every level and this was key to keeping the company buoyed through difficulty. Says the Marketing Head: “We identified sections that required standardising

– this helped us to be

creative. We were sometimes hard pressed to get equally passionate people, but we paid attention to quality and it’s always paid off.” the new approach The marketing department understood that today’s consumers are changing, as are their sensibilities. Today’s generation wants meaningful contact with the brands they

151 SayS the marketing head:

associate with. It is necessary to create new

“We realise it’s not about creating offline and posting online because that would never work. the sensibilities of the digital consumer are different. they cannot touch and experience the product, so we have to create products that transcend this barrier. therefore, we have a mandate that about 70% of the content should be created for digital use only.”

experiences that blend analog and digital environments. This is the basis of the Omni Channel – to combine the physical and the online worlds in a seamless manner. “Our CRM has been delivering strong business results

– it just needs to get a

little sharper. We are changing gears with initiatives such as Research Online Purchase Offline (ROPO) from Google. Larger initiatives that go through all touch points are to be relevant globally and glocally (global and local)

– so today we are creating content in

regional languages such as Tamil and Bengali,” concludes the Marketing Head.

152

Finance to enable,

not control Hard heads with both financial planning and genius are as much a part of the success of a fashion label as its design side. At Max Fashion, the Head of Finance keeps an unwavering eye from the top to the bottom line to ensure that business objectives are achieved. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye view of the department and its activities.

The Function of

153

The Finance department has to support the business without losing control on compliances and budget. They need to make the business perform better by concentrating on the analytical inputs of the Management Information System (MIS) reports. They must understand what went right or wrong and what could be corrected, as well as what the future looks like. Their

function is to enable, not to control. Says the Finance Head who has been at

154

the helm for several years: “When I joined Max in 2007-8, we had just seven to eight stores, a handful of people and no proper SOPs on various processes. We started by focussing on how to bring in certain basic SOPs for different processes, including cash management at the stores, petty cash expenditure management, capital expenditure, approvals, processes and expenditure

huge profits. Improving top line and

was to bring in new products during the

proposals. A recession followed. We decided

margins is what does the trick. A call had

discount period because the Max products

to look at two aspects: how to capitalize on

to be taken on how to make the working

were priced lower than the competition’s

the market sentiment – as a value brand - to

capital rotate better. It was realized that

discounted old-season stock. It was win-win

enable us to continue expanding on stores;

buying had to happen in parts – rather than

for the customer – he or she could buy fresh

and how to optimize expenditure.”

throughout the cycle. The decision taken

apparel rather than the higher priced old

was to buy as much as was getting sold

stock of competitors on discount.

Strategising the Right Way

since price margins were low and it was

Controlling expenditure does not bring

difficult to discount further. The strategy

Max worked with vendors to stagger their

from top down – managers set the

per season. This helped the vendors

tone for others to follow. There was a

working with a financial crunch on

cut on all frivolous expenditure – and

their venture capital. The cost of

this happened before IT. These moves

fabric made up 65% of the cost for the

helped build credentials with the

vendor. So, they bought the 60% in the

vendor community and internal

first hit during the fresh launch of the

performance improved – the company

product and the rest in the next ‘hit’ in

was able to come out of recession

30-45 days.

without too many scratches.

The second area of concern for the

The Finance Head explains, “The most

company was how to reduce the

important factor in our business is

leftover stock so that the discount out-

the trading and keeping the vendor

flow came down and margins went up.

happy. If you don’t get the product on

On the cost front, the company looked

time, you will not be able to sell and

to finding ways to cut down wastage.

earn the margin to meet expenses.

A policy of austerity was adopted

We involved vendor partners and kept them posted about bills that were due. We ensured payments went as per timelines and gave them bill discounting facility. This helped us negotiate better rates. We also got non-banking funding limits from them and started extending this to the priority vendors who mattered the most to us. The top 30 to 40% of our vendors supply more than 60 to 70% of our products and we had to give them our dependable discounting to ease their cash flow.

the financial head says:

“the most important factor in our business is the trading: keeping the vendor happy. if you don’t get the product on time, you will not be able to sell and earn the margin to meet expenses. We involved vendor partners and kept them posted about bills that were due. We ensured payments went as per timelines and gave them bill discounting facility. this helped us negotiate better rates. We also got non-banking funding limits from them and started extending this to the priority vendors.”

products into ‘two hits’ instead of one

155

so, it was decided that the cashiers who did the highest billing would be incentivised. Since the last point of interface for the customer was the cashier, they left the most lasting impression on the customer. Cashiers were told that they were the last brand ambassadors of the organization. They were given products to up-sell at their desk and this brought in a big positive change.

Another area of concern was movable fixtures, such as light fittings, store fixtures,

156

mannequins and such. Inventories were taken and it was realized that large quantities of stock were lying unutilised in warehouses. Since the fixtures came from Dubai, excess buffers were created which had to be housed in huge warehouses for which there were payouts in rents. A new utilization plan was worked out which squared the excess and helped saved millions.

This also improved our arrival cycle, and adequate stocks were available at the time

says the finance head:

of season launch.â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;the top 30-40% of our vendors supply more than 60-70% of our products and we had to give them our dependable discounting.â&#x20AC;?

The company also faced issues in customer interfacing. It was felt that there was a need to sweeten the experience for the customer when he or she came in for shopping or exchanges. This mainly involved billing, and

eyeing the Bottom Line The sourcing teams at Max were also asked to tie up for fabric with mills directly to ensure better product quality. Soon, the manufacturing vendors began sourcing products from the mills directly. But the mills were skeptical about dealing with vendors. Max

decided to sign an informal agreement of understanding with them to make good any vendor delinquencies that may arise. This would be taken out of the garment finishers’ payments. This enabled them to work with more vendors and get better prices. Product price tags are another critical area because under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, if there is any problem with the bar

as well. How was this to be tackled? This is where the barcode automisation helped. We then started doing cycle count, which is the perpetual inventory cycle count; and the global count to help us increase efficiency.” He pointed out that the inventory accuracy improving from 59% to 83% over a period of three to four years was a dedicated concentrated effort. “When the same shirt comes in three colours and five sizes, there would be so

Max began to generate barcodes and labels

code, the company can face a stiff penalty.

“there could be mistakes that happen at the time of production and at the time of dispatch. how was this to be tackled? this is where the barcode automisation helped. We then started doing cycle count and the global count to help us increase efficiency.”

in the office and send it to the vendors for

157

production, with cost built into the product pricing. The company also began to make RTGS payments to vendors in order to avoid the seven-day-long layoff between issuing checks and vendors receiving the payments from the banks. This helped build more trust with the vendors. The Finance Head goes on to explain: “During this particular period we looked into inventory accuracy as one of the most important areas. Inventory accuracy comes from two approaches: what is getting billed and whether it is being done right. There could be mistakes that happen at the time of production and at the time of dispatch

many SKU codes and a small mismatch could

problems with local authorities were be sort-

cost us big time. We started providing style

ed before the store went live. These were on

code numbers as part of product stitching to

a checklist and the legal department helped

avoid confusion. This also helped in checking

to sort out approvals, licenses and registra-

arrival and receiving time, and understanding

tions. This began to be built into the group

which sizes moved faster in which store and

software, and now there are automated

which city. Now, buying is in line with market

alerts for renewals and such.

expectations. This also helped us reduce

explains the finance head:

158

“today, the division is debt free and the working capital is zero. the cash conversion cycle is 52 days – we get an average of about 45 days credit from vendors, and we are able to convert the product and get the cash back into the system within 52 days. so, practically speaking, there is no working capital. this has helped the company to become more profitable, and we were growing by 30-32% on caGR. so, this is another area where the finance team has worked well.”

pilferages. It used to be around 1.5%, today it

iT Shows the Way

has reduced to under 0.1%.”

The Finance department has helped the business team by adopting new analytics

Store compliances, clearances and taxation

tools which generate reports for compar-

ative analysis of different seasons, trend analysis and so on. This gives a complete correlation between investment and returns. The Finance team needed to ensure that the stores were profitable, so they analysed store-level profitability and categorized them into A, B and C categories. A stores were the ones which were performing well and contributing to the bottom line, B stores and C stores were the suffering ones. They

were breaking even or making small profits, analysed the business on top-line, margin

159

and expenditure analysis. Finance worked with the project team and figured out how to enhance efficiency, cost control and energy, and what were the cor-

The Finance Head says, “Today, the division

well. The cost optimization continues and

rections required. In standalone stores, for

is debt free and the working capital is zero.

we have gone a level up and started con-

instance, there could be an optimisation of

The cash conversion cycle is 52 days – we

verging at the group level.”

natural light during the day. They made a list

get an average of about 45 days credit

of about 16 guidelines for stores to adopt.

from vendors, and we are able to convert

He adds, “The optimisation continued to

Alerts were put in for switching off air-con-

the product and get cash back into the

the next level where we started leverag-

ditioners and other machines, as well as for

system within 52 days. Which means that,

ing group level negotiations. Wherever

alternate lighting. All these helped push up

practically speaking, there is no working

we were able to go for bulk purchase at

store profitability. In the journey so far, of the

capital. This has helped the company be-

group level, we started leveraging that,

240 or so stores opened, the company had

come more profitable and we were growing

and exchanging the cost that we have

to close down only three – a high success

by 30-32% on CAGR. So, this is another

incurred to make it a platform that will

rate by industry standards.

area where the Finance team has worked

be sustainable and transparent. We used

a special course because they realized that even within the Finance department, there were people doing a particular job for a really long time and they would not know the role of the person working next to them or how to bridge the gap. The program was called FACT – Financial, Accounting, Commercial and Taxation orientation. The program identified about 33 people from corporate departments and various regions.

They conducted sessions – with focus on significant cases in the Max journey – and

160

oriented them towards various concepts of finance control and business analytics. This helped to reinforce the thinking process and refreshed how they could deliver better. Based on that success, the Finance department did the same exercise with Functional heads – Operations, HR, marketing and a reverse auction program so the entire

Training is important

planning – and it took them through an

consolidated requirement is thrown open

In time, the Finance department began to

understanding of Finance. They taught

to various dedicated vendors, and the

conduct various sessions explaining the

them the basics of how to read a balance

vendors give an open costing and bid on

business fundamentals from a financial

sheet and PL sheet, how to do business

the internet. Based on that, the L1, L2 and

perspective to people in the organisation,

projection and financial projection. They

L3 vendors are categorised, and the final

to make them understand what were the

also learnt how to interpret numbers and

negotiations happen. We invested about

various parameters that indicate health and

understand the concepts of break-even,

25 lakhs on the package and within nine

what may be concern areas. To do this, over

cost-control and brand understanding of

months, we got around 1.75 crores.”

the last year, the Finance team formulated

the Indian taxation system.

The Finance Head says, “We have always felt

and worked very closely with our partners

The highs and the Lows

that it’s better to disseminate our learning

to work the system and the changeover that

Year on year, Max has been able to add

and financial parameters into the minds of

needed to be done. I’m proud to say that

to the business top-line which is growing

people so they understand it’s the numbers

when the whole country was struggling to

at 25-30%. Finance is looked upon as a

that make the profit. So, every value chain can

cope with the new GST regime, not a single

partner in the business. The testing time for

either add value to the product or service, or

store in the Landmark Group suffered. We

the department is the budgeting period.

it can be a cost addition. Max has always been

started directly with GST invoices on 1st July

Every year they get a lot of pushback and

the front runner in IT and new processes.

without any hiccups across 200+ locations,

need to do multiple versions of budgets. It

As the GST transition was happening in the

with least customer dissatisfaction and, within

is a time for number crunching and a huge

country, I was part of the steering committee

the third day, inventory movements started.”

number of line items have to be looked into. mated so the work is done on Excel-based

Budgeting tools have not yet been autoprograms. This is an area of concern for

161

Max since they have more than 250 locations, 60 cost-line items and 60-65 product groups across 12 months. The Finance Head says, “Basically, a lot of things are interrelated and if you try to change one parameter, it will have an effect on something else across multiple piles and tables, and frequent changes put the person in trouble. In the number game, we always have to be accurate. So, we were given a special tool to work on and it has helped us to some extent. To get the output of the monthly financial statements, we were able to automate 50-60% of the task. But the budgeting phase is still tough.”

It was decided that when stock taking was

stock taking. We used to buy keeping a tab

happening in one department, transactions

on the old stock and as per requirement

would be allowed in another. Stocks to

basis and physical verifications of need

bin were released in batches so that stock

conducted across multiple stores and ware-

could be moved but not in bulk. The recent

houses. The warehouses always are a big

stock-taking exercise that took place in

challenge because lakhs and lakhs of pieces

Bengaluru was in a 1,75,000 sq. ft. warehouse

have to be scanned and identified and it’s a

and it held around 3 million products. The

continuous process. To do that, for a period

entire process was completed within two

of three days, the warehouse shouldn’t have

working days and, on the third day, the ma-

any kind of business operations. This puts

terial was released to move their business.

He adds, “The other area is the annual

huge pressure on the logistics, business and

162

finance teams. So, to ensure we don’t lose

Keeping above the competition

business, we implemented the new way.”

Today, Max finds itself in tough competition with other brands. The company is yet to penetrate Tier 2 and 3 cities. The other brands which have pushed their way in have deep pockets and powerful media reach. Says the Finance Head: “We have to establish ourselves in Tier 2 and 3 cities – that’s our challenge. The second thing is brand positioning – other brands spend mindlessly on marketing and we don’t believe in that. We always

it was decided that when stock taking was happening in one department, transactions would be allowed in another. stocks to bin were released in batches so that stock could be moved but not in bulk. the recent stocktaking exercise that took place in Bengaluru was in a 1,75,000 sq. ft. warehouse and it held around 3 million products. the entire process was completed within two working days.

The difference between the MRP, buying price and exit margin is the discount passed on to the consumer. The company margins are 5-6% higher than the average industry level, helping expansion come from earnings. Max reached the break-even stage by 201213. The company did not need to draw any capital from the promoters, nor borrow from banks. All the expansion has come internally from Max. Lastly employee productivity: the company

tHe diffeRence between tHe mRp, buying pRice and exit maRgin is tHe discount pAssed on to tHe custoMer. tHe coMpAny MArgins Are 5-6% HigHer tHAn tHe AverAge industry level.

has invested in its people. They have avoid-

163

ed wastage and reduced unnecessary work. Max also tries to make use of system-based communications and reports so that they don’t splurge on wasteful expenditure.

believe that we offer quality products with

been very well grounded. We will multiply

the right pricing. So, the customer may

the stores and the stores themselves will

There is cost optimization in terms of capital

go temporarily to the competition but

become our brand communication. We do

expenditure. They have established clear

will come back to us because they will be

not take very big spaces, and we do not

norms methodically and periodically. The

able to understand our value proposition.

take the spaces on the ground floor and

employees understand the value of money,

Maintaining brand resilience has been a

pay double the rental. In retail, people talk

profitability and productivity. They work

pressure point from the business perspec-

about sales performance based on the sales

collaboratively in multiple functions toward

tive. We have been slow in these areas and

per sq. ft. per day – SSPD or SPF – that is

a common goal and share knowledge.

we need to catch up.”

how much business you get in a day per sq. ft. of the floor space. We are at least 35%

This is the company’s strong point. “This

He adds: “What helps is that our business

higher in terms of productivity compared

is what makes Max Fashion what it is,”

core philosophies and principles have

to the competition.”

concludes the Finance Head.

164

Good Bad

The story of Max is no ordinary one. It is an amazing hockey stick journey that happened because of an incredible team working together. The HR leaders of Max, led by a charismatic Group Head HR, walk us through the vision of the HR team, and how it has impacted the overall performance and ultimate success of Max.

Through Times

165

The success of an organisation is dependent on many contributing factors and each department has a key role to play

in driving the goals of the organisation. At Max, HR has played a critical role in creating

166

a thriving atmosphere for employees, one that is conducive not only to carrying out their individual jobs but also empowering them and making them feel proud of being part of the Max family, as we call it. The mission of HR is: “To make Max the most preferred workplace by selecting and nurturing the right talent and

functional leaders, have been able to achieve

building a performance-driven culture;

this and much more.

transformation of core HR, but also of partnering with business and contributing

providing a clear career path and continuous learning opportunities.”

We share the true story of not just a

“We moved from a transactional to a

to the business growth.

transformational function step by step, It has not been an easy mission while

putting many things in place over the years,”

Any shift from manual, routine, transactional

working in a dynamic retail environment.

says the Group President HR of Landmark

work happens through automation and this

However, the HR leaders, with a strong team

Group, India. This change in the HR mindset

is where the journey of HR began. The entire

and equally strong support from all the

has been a difficult but very satiating climb.

payroll, which was manual, was automated

with the attendance management system

Max wanted a clear focus on the front end

getting synced with the payroll.

as 80% of the employees are there and the interventions required for them are different from that of the Corporate. He

the culture. “We wanted to drive a

decided to have two HR Heads for Max: one

performance-driven culture with open and

for Corporate and one for Business, and this

transparent communication for which we

has worked really well. To work with a performancedriven culture, Max has strengthened its Performance Management

The HR at Max Fashion moved from a transactional to a transformational function step by step, putting many things in place over the years. This change in HR mindset has been a difficult but very satiating climb. The department shares the true story of not just a transformation of core HR but also of partnering with business and contributing to the business growth. Any shift from manual, routine, transactional work happened through automation.

The next big change was brought in

System over the years,

167

introducing a structured Balanced Score Card approach with clear JDs, KRAs, KPIs and a formal goal-setting, mid-year review and final appraisal process. At the front end, they have a ‘Career Passport’ that tracks the progress of an employee have crafted many initiatives in HR, Training

with regard to his/her performance and

and Organization Development,” says the

learning as well as progression. Over the last

Business HR Head of Max.

few years, they have further strengthened this process for senior and middle manage-

One of the major differences between Max

ment through a system called ‘Maxelerate’.

and other organizations has been the HR

“In any organization, success is achieved

strategy. The Business Head and CEO of

when people at various levels at the top own

At the Stores, all promotions are done based on employees clearing assessments at various levels apart from scoring high in their appraisals. In fact, development and assessment centres have become a part of the Max DNA, to identify training needs and key talent at Stores, Regions and Corporate. They have introduced a 30, 60 and 90-day feedback for new joinees to ensure their induction into

the organisation is comfortable. HR has been a key partner in driving the

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Business Strategy of Max over the years. The partnering included setting the guiding principles, creating functional mission statements, setting various business milestones year after year (from 500 crores in 2009 to 3,000 crores in 2016, to 1 billion an activity and its result jointly. Maxelerate as an appraisal system has brought in the concept of Joint Accountability and this is measured for all those functional heads who are accountable for a particular result. It has also helped in crafting clear definitions of the rating scale for each KPI, thereby making the system more objective,â&#x20AC;? says the Corporate HR Head of Max.

The HR team at Max has always worked to create a culture of openness and transparency among its employees to drive employee engagement and empowerment.

USD by 2022), categorising and creating store strategies on each and every one of the categories, Omni Channel strategy, the orbit-shift strategy for customer insight expedition through National Confluence (involving close to 100 top and middle-level employees started in 2009), Synovate (involving the CEO minus one and minus two leaders, started in 2015) and Regional Confluences (involving the Regional teams,

started in 2015) that take place once a

House, People Pulse Engagement

year. Every function works on various in-

Survey, Maxicon quarterly Magazine, HR

terventions to achieve the set milestones

Help Line and Whistle Blower.

and these interventions are reviewed by the business head of Max every month.

To ensure that they select and nurture and continue to work on many key

communication, they opened up various

initiatives. Max has built a competency

communication channels and forums

framework at all levels, from organiza-

such as Connect Over Coffee, Open

tion to leadership, taking it right down to Stores. The competency framework has been used to create robust selection processes with structured tools such as Aptitude Tests, Situation Analyses, Behavioural and Functional rounds of interviews and psychometric tests. They also use the framework for the assessment and development centers to identify the right talent and nurture them with various training interventions. At the senior level, they use the framework to do a 360-degree feedback based on which coaching interventions are done. Max has a robust Internal Job Posting process whereby employees can apply across various functions, locations and business units. This has again been an instrumental tool in retaining talent.

Many different business strategies have been implemented at Max to set the principles of what the organisationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision was and how they expected to go about achieving these goals. HR has also helped in picking and nurturing the right talent with behavioural frameworks that they have set in place to help get the most productivity from their employees and build trusting relationships with them.

the right talent, they have worked on To strengthen open and transparent

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talent within the organization. Max has a strong culture of engagement, part of that is a regular monthly engagement calendar that includes birthday celebrations, festival celebrations and team bonding activities. They also have driven the house concept at the Regions and Stores which was later adapted by Landmark at the group level, where the

Max Has a Range of RewaRds and Recognitions foR eveRy depaRtMent. this helps keep employees engaged and motivated to keep giving their best daily.

170

entire organisation is divided into four houses having a mentor, captain, vice captain and team members. Regular competitions and activities are conducted and points are accumulated by the house and the winners at the end of the year get a trophy. Max has quarterly engagement activities such as Maxtravaganza, Max Premier League, Retail Employeesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Day Celebrations, and the Store and Regional office outings at the stores and regional offices. At Corporate, there are Family Fiestas, Rendezvous, and

An organization that has been growing at

topping the Retail Chart for the last six

activities driven through the group house

such a fast pace as Max needs to ensure

years. They have also been among the Top

concept both monthly and quarterly, festival

that its employees are highly motivated

50 across industries four out of the six years,

celebrations and team outings.

and committed to the brand, and that it is

where they have managed to be in the Top

able to attract good talent from outside.

10 once and among the Top 25 once.

They also have a strong Rewards and Recognition program which includes the People

Max has invested a lot in employer brand building through participation in the Great

This has helped them not only to attract top

Icon Awards where, through a structured

Place to Work Survey. They have been

talent from the market but also to retain top

nomination and evaluation process, individ-

uals and departments are recognized

At the Stores, there is an attractive

at Corporate. There is also a structured

incentive plan called â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Max Your Earningsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

monthly, quarterly and annual Rewards

crafted by the HR team that has created

& Recognition program for Stores

a lot of excitement among employees

and Regional offices that culminates

along with the drive to achieve the

into the Regional People Icon Awards.

sales numbers.

They have cheque leaves and Make a Difference cards at Corporate, Regions

Training has been very well structured

and Stores that drive the culture of

both at the Corporate and Stores,

instant recognition.

thereby providing a strong learning atmosphere for the employees. Their induction called New Employee Orienta-

Change is the only thing that is constant and with competition growing, e-commerce eating into the brick and mortar business and a growing millennial population, Max continuously works towards improvising processes and policies.

tion (NEO) and New Employee Manager

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Orientation (NEMO) at Corporate and Regions and Parichay at the Stores is very structured. They also have various processes and product trainings for the front end and many behavioural trainings for employees across the organisation. All these initiatives and interventions have helped Max increase engagement levels of employees and bring down attrition. It has also made Max the most sought after retail organization in India. The key discussion point at all meetings of competition brands is Max People and Max Strategy. The journey still continues.

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Information That Matters: 173

You may wonder what Information Technology has to do with a fashion house but, in fact, IT has become the backbone of almost every business in the world â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and fashion is no exception. Indeed, the Head of IT at Max Fashion and his department have a hand in every function of the company.

174

System changes in various areas, such as movement of products from the warehouse, required many things to be worked out. Several systems and processes had to be readjusted from the IT perspective. The Head of IT recalls how Vasanth literally pushed them till the end to make systems smoother with IT as a facilitator. He knew the benefits of paving the way for IT to push business.

No iNdividual department can survive

to be able to deliver according to customer

without the IT department’s magic touch:

expectations, and IT is the way to get there

from managing software for supply chains,

and keep pace with the ever-volatile retail

dealing with inventory systems, designing of

environment.

new clothes, processes involved with approvals, to payments and e-commerce, IT

The Head of IT explains how IT changed the

is involved in every aspect of Max’s working.

way they worked: “When the Max journey

It is essential for a company such as Max to

started in the initial years, the requirements

remain agile and respond to changing trends

were very specific. We used to handle single

units in our warehouses and stores, but

are involved in the overall journey so this

of working to make use of the platform.

Max is a value retailer and we needed a

was a very important platform.

Value fashion had smaller margins and tighter budgets, so IT and technical support

quick turnaround time. For this to happen,

helped bring down the cost of processes.

there was need for something called a ‘Pack-

Excess inventory is a common problem

item’ which is a bundle or a pack of, say 8

faced by the managers, which further results

or 16 pieces. Instead of moving one piece,

in poor sales, low price, less demand – and

Bringing Costs down

moving a pack of 16 pieces brings speed to

all these finally leads to customer

Explains the Head of IT: “IT had a huge role

the operations.”

dissatisfaction. This is where IT makes a big

to play in bringing down costs. We rediscov-

difference. The supply chain is perfectly

ered ourselves in the process of adjust-

coordinated through the IT portal.

ing our work to what the brand needed.

There was another very important process

We brought the ‘value’ to value fashion. I

Since Max is a private label, there was need

Vasanth was keen to make this happen but

think it was a good journey for us too – to

to work towards: the Supply Chain Portal. for information about how products were

change management is always a difficult

scale up from `500 to `2,000 crores, the

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coming from the vendors’ factories to brand

thing. Many people had to adjust their ways

company needed a lot of IT intervention.”

locations. The portal, which is a very important part of that process, helped the company carry out inspections at vendor locations to be able to reject faulty products before they were shipped out to the company locations. This portal provided a proper system and visibility to all stakeholders – starting from buyers to the people who are finally responsible for sale of the product at the store. This included the supply chain team, which is involved in the movement of products, and the quality assurance team involved in doing the actual inspection. Multiple stakeholders

Thereafter was introduced a system called Kanvas – a cloud-based system where buyers, designers, planners and everyone they deal with are linked together. This particular tool links the visual product with the actual data so that when there is a bestseller product, everyone on the tool can see what the product looks like rather than trying to visualise it.

This provided hard data with information, quite literally, on fingertips. It was not an

176

individual’s subjective opinion about some products selling better than the others – whether it was blue shirts or a particular type of pattern, this tool allowed department heads to form informed opinions through proper evaluation, and helped decision-making based on facts rather than instincts. Explains the Head of IT, “This software helped a lot in readjusting for future buys. For example, you have bought something and you understood that few styles are not doing well, or some particular styles were doing well but within certain parameters. Maybe they are long sleeves or a certain print. Some patterns will emerge from that

Kanvas is a cloud-based system where buyers, designers, planners and everyone they deal with are linKed together. “The Tool Is supposed To do all The ThInkIng for TheM. In The end, The IT journey aT Max Is a bIT of a rollercoasTer really, wITh soMe people TakIng well To The new sysTeMs and soMe who are yeT To use IT!” says The IT head.

information, which will lead to us eventually

longer. But here, we lose no time and that is

avoiding things which are not selling well

an important cultural aspect, the standards

and help us buy more of what is doing well.”

of which were set by the leadership. In value fashion, this speed is required and that is

The IT department also trains all the Max

how it is built into the system.”

their vendors in to do initial training and

The ‘Wisdom of Teams’ has been a

then provide the teams with audio support.

mantra from the beginning. Many from the

Slowly, IT has become one of the main-

team came in early, many came with much

stays of the work that happens at Max. The

industry experience and maturity which

SayS THe Head of IT:

department is aligned to support every

helped them to have a clear vision of where

function to achieve optimal best in

they were going and how every function

productivity and help the company reach

would run. There were clear directions on

the goal of achieving `5,000 crores.

how each function would align with the goal.

Wisdom of Teams

Elaborates the Head of IT, “It is a

The culture at Max is open and responsive.

collaborative way of doing things, but the

Whenever there are concerns, the issue

accountability is set so clearly that there

is escalated and addressed quickly. This

is no ambiguity of what needs to be done

gives enough time to take decisive actions.

and how the collaboration should happen.

Vasanth, as the head, has often moved in

Nobody waits for another person to do their

himself to give required directions and show

work, everyone knows what they need to

every function the right path.

do. Collective wisdom always plays out well

“Vasanth has really helped with his vision and continuous articulation of what needs to be done or changed. We meet at retail or other meets and it gets reinforced regularly. all function heads are present at these meetings. When we meet one-on-one, that kind of alignment may not happen, but he creates enough occasions for all teams to get together and present expectations and visions.”

when all functions have the right capability. Points out the IT Head, “There is no

The focus is always on the alignment of

ambiguity in our work, so this is a good

the functions to the overall direction of the

workplace where things move fast. In other

company and this is because Vasanth was

places, bureaucracy creeps in and takes up

involved at a regular frequency. The clarity is

all the time, making the journey that much

so good that the alignment is very natural.”

personnel to use these platforms. They call

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Highs and lows

mid-way and took about two-and-a-half

facilitate with IT intervention to that of an

A problematic phase happened during ER

years to finally finish it.

enabler. We are going to bring in IT governance to help the business move

or Enterprise Reporting. The department

from `3,000 crores to `5,000 crores.”

tried to build a separate data warehousing

The IT Head recalls, “The IT department was

programme to address all the information

in everyone’s bad books then, but Vasanth

needs of the group. It was necessary for the

helped us tide over and gave us the extra

Servicing the ‘King’

big picture so that end users could take their

time to finish the platform. Now we are

Information Technology has a big role to

calls on the business. The department was

able to run with the business and

play in the digital age. They were

given a year to work on it but it somehow

whatever its needs are. We are trying to

instrumental in setting up the Omni Channel

dragged on. They had to change vendors

change our position from where we

experience to benefit the end customer. The aim is to try to seamlessly integrate online and offline. The department even started a

178

Previously, it was the ‘pull mechanism’ with the business, as it were, coming back to share concerns and ask how IT could help solve problems. Now, IT is joining in the journey to build together something formidable because now the brand is on an accelerated path. Costs are going to escalate and IT will need to help with cost reduction as well.

self check out system which is something that had never been done in apparel. Efforts are on to try to have that happen across all Max stores. The department is today focussed on observing customer reaction – if it works out well, they plan to extend it to other stores. They are also working towards unique experiences, such as a video wall, talking shelves and other interesting and powerful elements, which draw customers to stores. “One thing in the online space that is very powerful is the convenience that the customer has; and second is the amount of information that has been given to the end customer before she makes her decision.

the stiff competition that big players are bringing in, the department is working at the group level to bring down internal costs. When they work on IT initiatives, they do it with the approval and consent of all functions, after intense discussions, in order not to waste resources and keep their spending under control. Says the IT Head, “Being a value player, by putting the right products, at the right

we wanted to optimise our supply chain places and at the right time to improve

179

our sell through. We need to minimise lost opportunity and enhance freshness so that the customers buy more.”

When she comes to the store there is no information – only the product in front of her and she has to make her choice basis just that. We want to merge the online and offline experiences and ensure the best possible deal for the end customer where she can feel the product and also get the required information about the product,” says the IT Head. To keep up with

When the customer is browsing on the web, her profile is already known. Using this knowledge, Max now wants her to have the same experience that she would have in-store, through a mechanism where she scans a bar code to understand the product and gets its information.

He concludes: “Let us say, if in a year a customer buys for `100 from the store, then next year she should buy for `120. For this, something special needs to happen at the store. Instead of increasing the price, we should sell more quantity, either to the same customer or more customers, or else compel the same customer to return. This can happen if we have the right product in the right place, instead of it being in the warehouse.” And of course IT facilitates it all!

180

The

Pillars Growth The auditing department was one of the drivers behind Max Fashion reaching the goal of `3,000 crores. The Head of Audit at the Landmark Group was behind his teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s effort, under the leadership of Vasanth, to achieve governance processes across all operational, financial and compliance activities. The Head of Audit takes us through his teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s journey.

181

Max Fashion’s internal audit operates on

Governance

three pillars: governance, compliance and risk management. Says the Head of Audit: “A strong governance operating model has been put in place at Max. Internal Audit, through its independent review of processes and controls, provides an opinion on its effectiveness. Also, Max IA team constantly challenges the status quo and provides feedback on improvement opportunities,

so that processes remain agile enough to adapt to evolving market situations.” The

182

auditing department’s relationship with the

compliance

ris manaGekm

ent

business is always a partnership – the team periodically reviews processes and controls critical for the survival of business to keep the gaps identified through this mechanism.

processes are not followed correctly

“We train the people involved in the

and consistently, there is a high probability

audit Functioning

associated risks, controls and benefits

that the business will not meet its objectives.

Explains the Head of Audit: “The audit

incurred. Once they understand why every

He adds, “We have made sure that gover-

team’s primary responsibility is to make

function requires these, consistency and

nance and compliance standards are strong-

sure that governance mechanisms, internal

effectiveness are generally achieved.”

ly embedded in all processes at Max. If these

surprises to a minimum.

standards are compromised, there will likely

and external, are practised consistently.” Periodic, independant feedback is taken

The highs and Lows

be a problem in achieving the projected

from each store, warehouse and functional

Addressing the successes and failures of his

business objectives.”

team member executing these controls to

department, he states, “In internal auditing,

ensure better understanding of operating

you don’t consider success or failure. It’s

While driving growth in Tier 2 and 3 cities,

them and the associated risks. Internal Audit

about whether the business control environ-

Max faced the challenges of hiring the right

holds trainings and workshops to address

ment functions as intended or not.” If the

people, and making sure they understand

the company’s standards and

pectations and experiences remain the

and also their weaknesses. This allows

governance processes. Internal Audit

focus. Customer interactions are now

us to challenge and improve our own

addressed the situation by providing

not limited to phone or email – they can

procedures. We also constantly evaluate

constant training to all store staff at

happen anytime, anywhere on a device

our strengths to ensure these remain as

frequent intervals.

convenient to the customer. Max accord-

differentiators. Continuous evaluation

ingly adjusts its communication channels

helps us get an edge over our competi-

to provide a quality experience.”

tion: the key is understanding the needs

a Digital Take

of customers and other stakeholders.”

picture, Max faced a shift in gear. The

Paving the Way for the Future

Head of Audit says, “To effectively meet

The Head of Audit observes, “We always

Currently, Max is auditing 170+ stores.

this challenge, Max has initiated a num-

evaluate and monitor our competitors

The plan for F19 is to have an audit

With digital marketing coming into the

ber of steps to ensure that customer ex-

in the areas where they are doing well

coverage for 230+ stores. Says the Head

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of Audit: “We’ve streamlined internal processes and are now using data analytics to project control exceptions

To meeT THe cHallenge of max’s Rapid gRowTH, “we ensuRe THaT ouR processes Are sTrenGTHened And TiMeLy FeedbAck is GiVen,” sAys THe HeAd oF AudiT.

without physically visiting the stores, and engage process owners proactively to address issues.” Control self-assessments are being implemented at each store for an audit self-evaluation. He says, “The stores can self-certify. After six months, the auditors will evaluate if these certifications are correct and bring their own efficiency to the process.” With reins in such capable hands, Max Fashion is sure to travel the auditing path smoothly!

184

Accolades Galore 2014 - 2018

Max Fashion India has always believed in striving for excellence. So, when the efforts are rewarded and recognised not just by way of large volume in sales but by awards decided by peers and the best in the industry it is especially rewarding!

185

Awards: Scaling Heights Check out the details of the bouquets that came pouring in from all over for different aspects of our excellence!

2014

Gold and Silver awards at

Image Retail Awards. Also, the

the 3rd Asian Customer

jury award for ‘Most admired

Engagement Forum Integrated

fashion retailer of the year’ for

Marketing awards. The Gold

marketing and promotions.

was bagged in the ‘Integrated marketing campaign’ category

The ‘Asia’s most promising

and the Silver in the ‘Brand

brand’ award in Bangkok,

building’ category.

presented by WCRC - World Consulting and Research

The ‘Value fashion retailer

Corporation.

of the year’ at the Star Retailer Awards for

The ‘Brand excellence in the

excellence in retailing.

retail sector’ award and the ‘Marketing campaign of the

2015

The ‘Most admired fashion

year’ award at the 6th CMO

retailer of the year’ award for

Asia awards.

large format store chain at the

2016

The ‘Retailer of the year -

The ‘Images most admired retailer

fashion & lifestyle’ and ‘Retail

of the year – fashion & lifestyle’

marketing campaign of the year’

award at the Images Retail Awards.

awards at the Retail Excellence Awards. Also, awards for

The ‘Best in-house magazine’

customer loyalty program,

award of the year at The Middle

effective retail through supply

East Branding & Marketing

chain, impactful retail design &

Leadership Awards held in Dubai.

visual merchandising, and the best employer of the year.

The ‘Fashion retailer of the year’ award at the Star Retailer

The ‘Marketing campaign of

Awards held in Delhi.

the year’ for the Kids Festival at the 7th CMO Asia Awards,

The ‘Marketing campaign of

for excellence in branding and

the year’ award at the Global

marketing, held in Singapore.

Excellence Awards held in Mumbai.

lifestyle” award at the Images Retail Awards. The ‘Best Loyalty program’ award at the Images Retail Awards, 2017.

2017

The ‘Fashion retailer of the year’

The ‘Retailer of the year –

award at the Star Group-Super

fashion & lifestyle’ at the CMO

The ‘Fashion retailer of the

Achievers event, Mumbai.

Asia Presents Retail Excellence

year’ award at the Franchisee

Awards held in Singapore.

India Star Retailer awards

The ‘Images most admired

held in Delhi.

retailer of the year – fashion &

The ‘Best Retail Licensing

lifestyle’ at the Images Retail

Brand’ award at the INDIA

The ‘HR impact award’

Awards. This was the 3rd year in

LICENSING AWARDS, Mumbai.

for the Swabhimaan initiative

a row that Max Fashion won this award.

by the Retailers Association The ‘Images most admired retailer of the year – fashion &

of India.

2018

The ‘Best HR initiative of the

The ‘Most admired

year 2018’ award at the TRRAIN

fashion retailer of the year’

retail awards. The award

award within the National

recognises people who have

Large Format Store Chain

gone beyond the call of duty

Category at the Images

to facilitate excellence in

Retail Awards

customer service The global award for retail The ‘Large Format Retailer of

excellence – digital marketing

the year’ award by Franchise

campaign of the year for the

India in Delhi

campaign ‘Endless Ways’ from ET Now The global awards for retail excellence – ‘Retailer of the year (Fashion & Lifestyle)’ award from ET Now

AN EQUAL SUCCESSOR

191

192

Taking on the baton from the much-loved Vasanth, who helped Max Fashion India grow from scratch to a `3,000-crore company, Executive Director Shital Mehta is proving to be an equal successor. In the few months that he has been at the helm, he has taken several steps in sync with current trends to reinforce the brand and help it grow further. Shital has big plans for Max, including taking the `3,000-crore brand to 1 billion by 2022, with clear strategies in place for achieving these targets.

193

says shital:

194

“With the exposure of international brands and e-commerce, among other things, the role of a store and the experience customers expect at the store need to be given equal priority. so, we now face the challenge of how to make sure our store experience gets elevated with a contemporary looking space through VM, retail identity and also digital touch points; and how it gets intertwined with the store experience and customer journey inside and outside the store.”

SayS Shital: “I think Vasanth, through his

well known. He adds that Max has, in addi-

personal leadership, has created a culture

tion, provided tremendous value to all stake-

where humility and empowerment lead to

holders as well – be it employees, suppliers,

ownership at every functional level. Having

franchisees, mall developers, customers,

spent two decades in another organisation,

vendors or partners. “Every life which we

this struck me right away. It is his personal

have touched, we have made a difference,

humility which has impacted the organi-

and I think that’s what Max stands for. We

sation deeply. Today, it’s not just a private

have to make it a mantra to carry forward

organisation, there is ownership at various

and never forget it!”

levels. I see this as a huge strength of Max and an aspect we need to nurture.”

Of Challenges and Opportunities The ambition of hitting `1 billion by 2022

As analytical as he is gracious, Shital makes

provides a new challenge. Market conditions

some astute observations. “The business model of value fashion which has been created, the simplicity of it and the unwavering focus with which it has been executed are laudable! In the first 4-5 years, it seemed that the business model was not working and was faltering. There was the razor sharp focus, notwithstanding; and no wavering from the value fashion model – and it succeeded!” Shital has always been an admirer of brand Max. He feels the fact that the company has provided exceptional value to customers is

says shital: “there is ownership at various levels. i see this as a huge strength of max and an aspect we need to nurture”

a contemporary looking

have changed from when Max began its journey. In ad-

space through VM, retail

dition, there is stiff compe-

identity and also digital

tition from several quarters.

touch points; and how

Shital, however, sees this

it gets intertwined with the store experience and

current environment with

customer journey inside

exposure to fashion increas-

and outside the store. The

as an opportunity. “In the

ing and deepening, fashion

customer is no longer a brick

195

and mortar or online custom-

consumption is happening in

er. He may be searching online

hundreds of towns. The popula-

and visiting the store, or buying

tion, which is young and connected,

online and returning to the store.”

is a lot more fashion conscious. The combination of youth, fashion consciousness, and the coming up of Tier 2, 3 and

The Indian market, of course, holds

4 cities, all add to the opportunity to

out the challenge of heterogeneity. For instance, when the season starts in

expand reach and penetration.” e-commerce, among other things, the

Kerala during Onam, half the industry

Shital feels the biggest challenge that

role of a store and the experience cus-

in the rest of the country is busy with

Max faces is about customer experience.

tomers expect at the store need to be

end of season sales. Keeping pace with

For Max Fashion, the last decade was

given equal priority. You can no longer

seasonal changes, consumer profile and

about creating exceptional products

afford to have an average-looking store

diversity requires effort. “What people

and unbelievable pricing, and this

and expect to sell fashion. So, we now

eat and wear is so different. If you go

helped the company grow. “With the

face the challenge of how to make sure

to the North-east, you’ll find it to be ex-

exposure of international brands and

our store experience gets elevated with

tremely fashion conscious and driven by

engine which produces thousands of latest trends every season; strong brand equity in the value fashion space which the brand pioneered; and experienced leadership – any functional head in Max has been there for 5-12 years, many from the inception. Adds Shital: “Everything else others may copy, but no one will be able to copy the strength of our people and their experience.”

Real, authentic and Exceptional, always One of the most important focus areas

196

for Max is understanding the customer. Sagacious and prudent, Shital has it all worked out. “Globally, there is a rise of the value-conscious consumer who is more aware and digitally connected with reality through product reviews; the customer is clear about what is right and what is wrong. So, we’ve got to be real, authentic and offer Western styles to a large extent; while West

a brand like ours can actually operate. But

exceptional value – not just in terms of

Bengal is all about high value-consciousness.

being able to respond to diverse customer

price but also in experience, latest trends,

So even within a region, there are many

needs is a big challenge.”

good quality and customer service. It’s a full package and the people who are able to

regions. Brands need to be customer-centric and agile enough to ensure all the oppor-

the Strength of loyalty

offer that are rising. That’s why the largest

tunities are converted into reality in a very

Shital understands the strength of the

retailers around the world, including H&M,

heterogeneous market,” says Shital. Where

brand and is determined not to dilute it. In

Primark and Zara, in their own segment,

Max will work also needs to be analysed,

his book, the top strengths of Max Fashion

have created exceptional value vis-a-vis

says Shital. “You have top 200 cities where

India include an exceptionally good product

other branded players,” he says.

leading the Way, With Foresight Out of his many jobs, Shital believes that

Declare ‘war on wastage’ to weed out wastage of time, resources and efforts, to build a culture of agility, frugality and customer centricity.

able to create and execute ideas with

Expand brand presence in the top 200 cities, ensure 24x7 accessibility.

Make sure that in an era where consumers are increasingly becoming digitally savvy, the online connect is strong.

few who have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create that legacy and heritage which we can leave behind. We must be very grateful and, to reiterate, sharpen the focus on customer

a FivE-pOint

centricity, agility, frugality and war on

agEnda

far-reaching effect. “We are the chosen

Shital sees five simple points for Max employees to keep in mind to help the brand become India’s first ever billion-dollar fashion brand.

wastage. It’s extremely energising to be in

a leader has to visualise the future to be

this position, and I am sure the next three

197

years are going to be an exhilarating

Elevate the store experience to be in line with the trendy contemporary product line.

experience.” He calls upon his colleagues to be a part of this journey, play their part and help the brand reach its mega goal. But during the process of achieving the billion-dollar goal, Shital emphasises that employees must work to create and nurture the right environment.

“In an organisation, being healthy,

Think like a brand apart from being a store. Max has a unique brand DNA – very different from the large-format stores that are multi-brand.

happy and successful – all are equally important,” he says. When the dynamic head of Max Fashion India has such clarity of thought and vision, clearly, the billion-dollar mark is just one of many more milestones to come!

Acknowledgements A heart felt thanks to all who made Max Fashion India an incredible success story since its inception in 2006; and to all the leaders in the Max family who took time out of their busy schedules and contributed generously to help make this book a reality. With appreciation to the following:

◆

Micky Jagtiani, Founder Chairman - Landmark Group

◆

Renuka Jagtiani, Chairwoman and CEO -

Landmark Group ◆

Ramanathan Hariharan, Group Director and Board Member - Landmark Group

◆

Vasanth Kumar, Managing Director – Lifestyle

International Pvt Ltd. ◆

Shital Mehta, Executive Director – Max Retail

◆

Vinod Menon, Director Finance

◆

Venkataramana B, Group President HR

◆

Raghu Rajagopalan, President and COO

◆

Kamakshi Kaul, Head Design – Womens Wear

◆

Sandeep Khapra, Head Design – Mens Wear

◆

Pooja Maheshwari, Head Buying – Western & Ethnic Wear

◆

Neeraja S, Head Buying – Mens Wear

◆

Piyush Sharma, Territory Head

◆

Rohit Jain, Head Buying – Kids Wear

◆

Harish Kumar A, Territory Head

◆

Naveen Vij, Head Buying – Footwear

◆

Rajib Mukherjee, Territory Head

◆

Wicrant Gambhir, Head Business Excellence

◆

Prashant Paul, Territory Head

◆

KT Gore, Head Quality Assurance

◆

Harshendra Maheshwari, Head Visual Merchandise

◆

Krishnamoorthy S, Head Sourcing

◆

Jiten Ramesh Mahendra, Head Marketing

◆

Sujatha R Nandan, Head Product Development

◆

Ganesh Babu, Head Finance

◆

Anil Chinnabhandar, Head SCM and Planning

◆

Venu Madhav, Head IT

◆

Ramyaraj Rath, Head Merchandise Planning

◆

Manoj Kumar Mishra, Head Internal Audit

◆

Sandeep Narain, Head Retail Operations

◆

Alex Mathew Samuel, Head Corporate HR

◆

Vivek Sharma, Territory Head

◆

Nandini Mehta, Head Business, HR

◆

Peddiraju Anand Ram, Territory Head

◆

Saurabh Garg, Territory Head

(The book has been coordinated, designed, edited and anchored by content company Don’t Be Content.)

PRojEcT coNcEPTUaLISaTIoN Nandini Mehta (Max Fashion) PRojEcT MaNagER anish Karthik (Max Fashion)

coNcEPT, coNTENT & STRaTEgY Shveta Sahu, Manjira Dutta DESIgN & aRT DIREcTIoN Vipin gupta EDIToRIaL Ria Dutta, Poornima Makaram, Neharika Mathur, Poonam Kashib, Ruman ali and garima gupta

PRINTERS Vishwakala Printers, No 28, 2nd Stage, Industrial Suburb, Yeshwantpur, Bangalore

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