Hi @Midhunjoe
You are right, any retail company worth its salt will have this kind of secondary sales visibility across its channel. The more important question is – Are the traditional “branded” hosiery players worth their salt when it comes to secondary sales visibility, retailer mapping, retailer incentivization, usage of loyalty programs etc? If you do some channel checks and speak to a few employees/distributors, the answer you will receive is a clear and emphatic no. One current employee from this cohort at a Regional Manager level told us that while Rupa/Lux/Dollar are classified as organised players, they barely qualify for that tag given how age old their distribution setups and mindsets are.
Having worked in a building materials company with a legacy distribution network and supply chain, I can tell you how difficult and risky it is to attempt to change the core of a traditional, legacy sales supply chain. The sales team often has a very old and traditional mindset and isn’t up to speed with modern retail and supply chain SOPs and nuances. You often have large distributors with huge territory whose families for several generations have been in the same business and they may even have direct links with promoter family who can leapfrog a sales leader and reach out directly to senior levels. This creates huge resistance to change. Its not at all easy to break through this.
It needs tremendous promoter will and focus and the right hiring and the right technology enablement to be brought in. It shows massive foresightedness on part of promoters IMO. So yes, while if you compare this with an FMCG supply chain, you will feel that this change is nothing out of the ordinary but the right comparison is with its peer set.
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