Even a century ago, organised retail existed

29 Dec 2008

By Sarimul Islam Choudhury and Shailesh Shah

The Bombay Store, established in 1906 as part of an initiative to form a chain of co-operative stores across India, this brain-child of the then great Indian patriots and eminent businessmen like Shri Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Sir Ratanji Jamshedji Tata has successfully crossed 102 years of its journey. It was also a part of the Swadeshi Movement and has patronised the strongest manifestations of mass awakening about swadeshi products. It has carried the desi homespun tag till 1991 when the Mumbai-based Dalal family took over the company. Year 1963 brought yet another landmark after it became the first retail company to be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

However, tuning with the requirements of modern times, the Bombay Swadeshi Stores Ltd of 1963 was re-christened in 1995 as The Bombay Store in an attempt to cater to the audience with contemporary mindset. Meanwhile, the store is yet to witness another phase of development in the form of repositioning itself as a top company official says ‘modern Indian store for young Indians’.
Asim Dalal, managing director, The Bombay Store, says, “We had repositioned our brand last in December 1995, from being a very traditional kind of store to a contemporary lifestyle store, though we still had a strong ethnic products line up in our portfolio."

Why repositioning?

“If I continue with the same 1906 concept, no one will come to shop with us. We need to change with the change in time. I cannot be selling the same products over 102 years. Over a period of time, the look and feel of my store, the look and feel of my products have to change,” clarifies Dalal.

How would it be?

“We need to continue with the products which are selling well and we need to keep introducing new products in the portfolio. The idea is to try and focus more and more on the package. Repositioning does not mean that everything -- inside and outside the store-- goes for a sea change. The whole emphasis revolves around being contemporary,” says Dalal.

Dalal further speaks, "Earlier, The Bombay Store was conceived as a tourist shop or a store for a very serious kind of shopper and almost like a cottage industry selling purely handicrafts, which are basically hand made. However, with the repositioning, we will still have handmade products but with a contemporary flavour,” added Dalal.

“Our priority will be to house products that have utility with good looks. We are not currently looking at a product range or design that does not incorporate plexi-glass materials fully, but over a period of time, we can look at certain contemporary designs as well which will look good in our homes. So, the idea today is to bring in some elements or some products which will also cater to younger customers having disposable income.”

Products on offer

The Bombay Store products spread across seven verticals that include apparel, fashion and accessories, personal care, food and beverages, home accessories, soft furnishing and stationery.

While the apparel range includes men’s contemporary and men’s traditional, the range also has products with similar titles for female customers. In men’s contemporary, the store has a collection called western line, which is focused on fuss free and easy to wear clothing.