A Thousand Acres vs. King Lear Essay

After watching both films, A Thousand Acres made in 2007 starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange and Jason Robards and King Lear made in 2008 starring Ian McKellen, Frances Barber and Kieran Bew, I decidedly liked A Thousand Acres much better. Mostly for it’s acting, and the modernism of the story line. (Although, a King Lear re-make is in production currently and will star Al Pacino as King Lear, so my opinion is subject to change.) There are many similarities between the two movies. Both movies have a father with three daughters, whom are trying to leave something to them. Larry Cook is deciding how to split his land amongst his daughters, where as King Lear is deciding how to split his kingdom amongst his three daughters. Larry, is Lear. Ginny is Goneral, Rose is Regan and the favourite and youngest daughters, Caroline is Cordelia. Harold Clark, a family friend of Larry, is the portrayal of the Earl of Gloucester, King Lears friend. His two sons are Edgar and Edmund, and Harold’s two son’s are Loren and Jess. Though there is a lacking of the comical aspect in A Thousand Acres, that is put in King Lear, the story lines are still very similar. The viewpoint is similar – coming from the eldest daughter Ginny(A Thousand Acres) and the eldest daughter Goneril(King Lear.) King Lear – divides his kingdom amongst his daughters based on who loves him the most, Larry gives the largest portion of his land to the most loving daughter as well. In each family and storyline, the youngest daughter rebels against their father and ends up leaving, getting nothing from their father. After each father gives up their power/land, they both go mental without it, and both end up in horrible situations that end up with their youngest (and previously most favoured) daughter coming to the rescue. Though there are many similarities, the movies differ in many, many ways. For example: Ginny brings up the fact her father molested her aswell as her sister Rose, where as Goneril feels nothing but love and admiration for her father. The love is portrayed more innocent and wholesome. Ginny shows how  you could hate her father, for the fact he molested her as a child. King Lear is told from a male perspective, Shakespeare didn’t have a female mentality especially not back in that age, not portrayed atleast in this movie. A Thousand Acres is written by a female, and this is why there is a different, more twisted perspective. A female view as well as a males, as she wrote it later on mirroring this novel, she got to put her own ‘two cents’ in. King Lear is a changed man at the end of the movie. He goes from being a horrible tyrant, to a changed man. Larry? Not so much. He remains a dispicable man, solely caring about his possessions, power and money, who’s attitudes and beliefs never change. Because of the fact that the movies are in two different perspectives, they have different themes. Though both hold a theme about the abuse of power, and a theme of abusive family relationships, as well as father daughter relationships – they differ in what the main themes are. A Thousand Acres is about living life to it’s fullest and for yourself, where as, the main theme of King Lear is family and power. Another difference is the fact the town thought that the daughters of Larry were cruel to him, where in fact they weren’t. He was respected by his town. King Lear was also a very respected ruler of his lands. However, nobody suspects King Lear’s daughter’s of being cruel to him.

General Electric Medical Systems

1. Q 1. What is the underlying logic behind the global product idea? What are the costs and the benefits that are expected? Global Products Company(GPC) strategy is based on the following underlying logical premises: a. Markets for medical equipment are systems are becoming increasingly global in nature. They are no more restricted to only the developed First and Second World countries having advanced healthcare systems. The burgeoning market is that of emerging and developing economies. Thus, there is a need to meet the growing demand for affordable medical equipment in these economies and retain its market leadership b. Needless to say that low-cost leverage is the only way to win a large chunk of this new pie and therefore GEMS has to shift to a cost-efficient strategy c. GEMS realised the potential of tapping production & sourcing centres where there was parity in output quality and labour skill-sets but overall cost was much lower. d. The GPC strategy involved sourcing quality components from the most cost-effective suppliers and establishing the manufacturing bases in most cost-effective geographies. e. As most of the GEMS manufacturing involved sourcing complicated components from across the globe to two-three manufacturing/assembling centres and then distributing across the globe from these centres, the challenging aspect of GPC was in the development of intermediaries along the supply chain to ensure un-interrupted supply & production flows. The following are some of the costs and benefits of the above mentioned strategy of globalizing production to facilitate a low cost production: Benefits: 1. As materials form 80% of the manufacturing cost, sourcing of materials from low-cost countries would enable a significant amount of saving. The key would be to develop long-term relationships with local suppliers and once that is done, it means unparalleled cost savings in future. 2. Having manufacturing centres in low-cost-labour countries would also enable a substantial cost reduction as labour formed 20% of the manufacturing cost. 3. Now, as labour and materials form almost 85% of the total variable cost, substantial reduction in both would enable GEMS to have a cost reduction to he tune of approximately 30% in the total cost. It has to be noted that the incremental fixed cost in case of GEMS was close to nil (Exhibit 7). Costs: 1. In addition to the fixed costs that had to be incurred additionally to enter into the low-cost countries, other GPC-specific costs included inventory, logistics, documentation, and import- duty costs relating to moving materials and products around the world. 2. Developing a long-standing relationship with new suppliers in these low-cost countries was another area that required considerable allocation of time and effort. . Reducing investments in developed countries, from where bulk of their demand came, meant deteriorating relationship and loss of concessions from these countries. 4. Costs related to hiring less experienced workforce in these new locations, and human toll on the workforce as a result of long trips from home for the employees from both old locations and headquarters. If we analyse GEMS’s strategy mentioned in the body above using the AAA model, we can conclude that it is primarily using the arbitrage strategy of globalization with some elements of aggregation. Q. 2 Should the global product philosophy be changed or altered to suit the China market? Please identify both sides of the argument and take a position explaining the rationale behind your stand. Does it make economic sense? The choice between continuing with the current Global Product Concept(GPC) and adopting â€Å"In China for China† for the low end products is a very difficult call for GE managers. On one hand there are several advantages of adopting â€Å"In China for China† such as: In China there is a huge growth potential for medical diagnostics and as of now it is the world's third largest market for the same. By adopting â€Å"In China for China†, GEMS can design and customize products according to local needs in China and further the GE managers believe that China being a nationalistic country, domestically produced products will have greater demand than imported ones. There are other factors like low incremental fixed cost for moving facilities to China, avoidance of duties and tariffs, availability of cheaper local labor and low transportation cost all of which would help in cost saving for GEMS. On the other hand in order to adopt â€Å"In China for China† strategy GEMS will have to break the GPC concept which may result in ecreased quality due to lack of readily available skilled labor and reduced cost cutting efficiency. Also the management will have to address the challenge of development of suppliers which may result in inefficiency. GEMS do not have good history of managing joint ventures because of the unethical practices of the partner which eventually lead GEMS a cquiring the partners. As understood from the case there are two different market segments in China namely the high end markets served which is served only through imports and the low end markets which is served through domestic production. The adoption of â€Å"In China for China† strategy will result in the company distancing itself from high end customers which will end up in losing the revenue for the business to high end customers. Considering all these factors we suggest that it is better for GEMS not to adopt â€Å"In China for China† strategy and to stay with Global Product Concept. Q3. Should GEMS be aggressively pursuing genomics and healthcare-IT related opportunities in addition to or instead of the China opportunity? What priorities would you suggest? Explain your reasoning carefully? No doubt, being third largest healthcare market with tremendous growing potential in future, China is a lucrative market that GEMS can’t easily neglect. But at the same time, with the growth of technological advancement in the field of healthcare, genomics and healthcare-IT related products and services going to have an important role in the coming decades and the companies having those expertise will bound to dominate the global healthcare market in future for sure. So we think that GEMS should take both the China opportunity and the genomics and Healthcare –IT related opportunities seriously. We believe that GEMS has the capacity to look at both the opportunities simultaneously obviating the need to sacrifice one for the other. The company’s strong financial condition along with its strong emphasis on R&D would help the organization in meeting both the objectives. China Opportunity : But in doing so GEMS should initially put more focus on the China market than the R&D on genomics and healthcare-IT projects. Because it is very important for GEMS to catch hold of the China’s market before other competitors like Siemens, Philips. Also the gestation period of genomics and healthcare related projects are too high usually 5-10 years and in such a situation to maintain a good balance sheet GEMS should have a good market share in China. The low end product accounts for 20% of the global sales and to succeed in the low end , presence is Chinese market is a must for any company. Secondly, The China opportunity requires GEMS to shift the production from the other parts of the world to China. The incremental cost associated with that shift in production process is a mere $1 million which should not be an obstacle in GEMS China policy. So GEMS can easily do that without worrying too much about the financial aspects. Genomics and healthcare-IT related opportunities Genomics and preventive health care is going to play a deciding factor in coming decades. But these projects are far more complex than what GEMS did till now. Genomics requires not only technological know-how but also expertise on biomedical science which presently GEMS lacks off. So for better output from these R&D, Tie-up with pharmaceutical companies that develop viruses and chemical reagents would help GEMS to understand and increase their expertise on bio medical science. Collaboration with leading universities around the world on researches on topics relevant to these projects would also help GEMS. Funding for these researches, Supplying machines and tools to support those researches would help GEMS in getting good responses from R&D teams around the world. So with the steps mentioned above and few modifications to the present system, GEMS can take both the opportunities

Colonial History of the United States Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Colonial History of the United States - Essay Example Each of the groups was very different from each other and came to settle here for a variety of reasons which included both religious and social aspects. They contributed ideas based on government, religion, family, gender and different occupations. Every colony had its own ‘distinct social, religious, political and economic structures’. During the period of Reconquista, both Spain and Portugal gained a lot of experience in conquests and as well as colonization. In addition to this, their skills at ship navigation served as tools to help them colonize the New World. During the 15th century, the leaders who ruled the European nations were the New Monarchs who strived hard to unify their nations. They created a strong and stable centralized government which made way for a burst of economic growth in Europe. This government brought about many good changes which included limiting the power created by the Feudal Aristocracy. Though a charter granted the rights of Englishmen to its subjects, yet they were not allowed to take an active part in their own government. A few years later, Sir Edwin Sandy brought about a radical change in the government by granting the colonists a share in its government which was ‘the first representative body in America’, (See Moreys "Genesis of a Written Constitution," Annals of American Academy, Vol. I p. 529 sq.) called the House of Burgesses. In society, gender differences were maintained. Both men and women worked alongside each other, but in their homes, women had to be subordinate to the authority exercised by their husbands following the patriarchal system of the family. The man was considered as the head of the family and he is the one who took all the major decisions where his family was concerned.  

Discuss the changes that have taken place in the British Media since Essay

Discuss the changes that have taken place in the British Media since the Second World War and comment on possible differences be - Essay Example The censorship put on the British media had the effect of crippling the assumptions of the editors, civil servants and military personnel. During the war, th e newspapers or channels which even so much as a new and improved strategy for the war was threatened to shut down or worse put through a law suit. As the war saw the British television rise as the means of mass communication, so it saw the press services plummet. Although not many areas had television in the 1947s except for London, but the 1950s saw such an increase in that number that now most of the households has a television set in them. As television became to main mode of media, newspapers had to take a sideline and become a little softer, incorporating more and more non-political news. Another impact of television going mainstream was that newspapers now had to hire more and more specialized journalists and reporters. In 1957, finally, again, the most number of newspapers were sold. After this the newspaper sale steadil y declined. Under a censorship agreement which had been undertaken during the war which banned the process from publishing any facts about the war at all. This lifted as immediately as the war was announced over. And now the press was declared free and the master of its own self. The lack of reel meant that there were no cinemas for people so people could only go to see events was to wait for the event to be played again after a few days. Anything that could help people feel normal again was welcome with open arms, be it radio, or TV, or newspaper. It was becoming uincreasingly necessary for the British public to normalize and come back to positive thinking, as everything was still dark and sad even after the war had ended. People were grieving, cities were bombed and food was scarce. Since 1925, BBC had been the prime wireless radio network for the public (www.bbc.co.uk, 2008). Britain was extremely patriotic. After the war, they issued cartoons of other nations in the daily news. They also made many war-songs to keep up the spirits of the public. Near the 1990s, the British now had emerged after long and hard years of industrial age, and a new market. Now all they had to worry about where the stock exchange an the war worries. Churchill had become prime minister and john major gave Britain a heart-attack in the form of the â€Å"Black Wednesday†, 19992. As a result the British journalism suffered from such a bad switch in the power. Now press was more involved with any form of negative statements, and moral issues. People found it easier top raise their voice against an injustice with the help of media. Consumerism was in the air, and more and more ways of selling papers were found and pondered upon. The answer to this dilemma was found in the form of fear. It was a pioneer act to sell papers and was an old one at that as the sale of The Times was nearly 278000 the day World War II broke out. Entertainment and politics were merged a little while after the scandals in the John Major era on the Tory issue. New Labor now accepted the power of media. Now the invasion into the personal lives of ‘celebrities’ is everyday news (Andrew Marr, 2005, TV) it was claimed that the need for such news involving scandals of the celebrities and the hunger bad news was always there in the media, (Stephenson, 1998). Now it was only just heightened. To really calculate the change in the British media from the 1940s to present, one need to know the part that censorship played. In World War II all photos were

Lived experience of war, an ethnographic methodology Essay

Lived experience of war, an ethnographic methodology - Essay Example It cannot be ignored that some of the soldiers involved in the Vietnam lost their lives. However, it is inappropriate for the government to brush aside the long term effects of this war as it is seen to have caused major physiological implication on both the soldiers who survived and the families of the soldiers who dies in battle. It is under this backdrop that this paper will analyse the profound effects on the soldiers returning from the war in Vietnam and the current psychological state of the families of the soldiers who died during the war. â€Å"Research has established that participation in the military requires an individual to be psychologically prepared for anything that can happen† Kashdan et al, 2006, p.127). Over the years, this tradition has been carried through the various training programs that military men and women have to undergo training to psychologically prepare them for the task of ensuring national security. However, an important part that is ignored is the fact that such soldiers have family who begs the question, are these families physiologically prepared to what might happen to their kin in battle. Despite the fact that both nations suffered heavy casualties both in terms of human lives and destruction of property, the fact that the war was being wage din Vietnam has had profound effects on those who survived the war. In addition, the various films depicting the war and its aftermath do not help the situation either. For most U.S citizens, the Vietnam War is over but so many years later, it is as if the war happened a few years ago. According to Laufer et al. (2004, p.65) among the worst affected by the war are the war veterans who have long been forgotten after sacrificing their lives to ensure the peace and stability of the U.S nation. During and after the war, most of the soldiers who surprisingly have shortly graduated from the defence college were

Current state of the U.S banking industry Research Paper

Current state of the U.S banking industry - Research Paper Example It is also responsible for issuing the dollar (J. P. Morgan 12). Basically the US is dominated by three types of banks and these are; Commercial banks, credit unions and savings and loans associations. These institutions present a full variety of services to persons, companies and governments. Commercial banks vary in size ranging from global to local and even small society banks with ATM locations. lately, online banks which presents services by means of the internet have surfaced (J. P. Morgan 43). Are also referred to as thrift institutions, and are the next major faction of depository organizations. They were primarily established as society footed organizations to fund mortgages for the community. Eventually, the difference linking savings banks and commercial banks has vanished. Credit unions are another form of a depository organization. They are created by a group of persons who share a general interest. Loans and savings accounts are only limited to associates or members. They are not meant to make profit and they are headed by members who are elected as the board. These are government organizations dealing with numerous economic services like controlling banking business, making and applying the state’s monetary plans. They use monetary policies to encourage financial development and border inflation. During phases of slower financial activity, the Federal Reserve might augment the supply of money by buying government securities plus additional assets. It as well encourages financial enlargement by lowering interest costs for loans. It may fight inflation through sale of securities and increasing interest rates (Zhang 45). Interest from advances is the main cause of returns for the majority banks. Money loaned by banks comes mainly from customer plus company deposits. These deposits frequently make interest for the proprietor by ways such as online payments cheques. The U.S. government regulates the money in banks by

Historiographical Review Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Historiographical Review - Assignment Example This paper will provide a historiography of the way US warfare has been impacted by the use of helicopters during the Vietnam War. When the United Sates engaged Vietnam in military combat in the 60s, the former was undoubtedly the most powerful in air combat in the entire world1. However, the general idea of bombing the enemy to stone-age could not work in this case as it had worked in other wars before. This was mainly because the nature of the war was much different from those of the past. One of the major differences in this case was the fact that there was no clear definition of the enemy as one side rolled and rumbled across the skies while the other tried to garner success from the ground. The events preceding the Vietnam War include the training of South Vietnamese by the US’ Military Assistance Advisory Group according to Bradley, Jayne, and Luu. This view is also held by Wiest and Barbier. Wiest and Barbier further state that this training was conducted in the 1960s s o that the region would have the capacity to defend itself in the event of attack by its neighbors some of whom were communists. The US Air Force in a show of might presented a number of powerful planes with which their trained Vietnamese soldiers in aerial techniques and tactics. The boundary between the original objective of the US and reconnaissance however began to blur in time as the US military personnel got onboard the planes as against the Viet Cong2. Later, attacks on American planes by communist forces began prompting President Johnson to issue an order for the bombing of the communist forces. The campaign dabbed Rolling Thunder which whose operations and commands came from Washington faced serious problems as decision making and flow of command was slow. This made the Viet Cong to escape attack every so often. The use of ware planes and fighter jets became real as the war ranged in earnest. One thing however that is evoked by the mention of the Vietnam war is the sound of whirling powerful helicopter blades. Both the United States and South Vietnam used helicopters and powerful weapons in combating the enemy3. Helicopters were literally engaged in every aspect of the war according to Centennialofflight and Bradley, Jayne, and Luu. While only hoping to sell 500 units of helicopters, Bell Incorporated managed to make a big catch by selling over 15000 units of the same4. Bell’s Huey was so powerful as to be a solution to several problems including rescuing downed military personnel and cargo according to Bradley, Jayne, and Luu. Huynh. In agreement with Bradley, Jayne, and Luu, Allen further states that the Helicopters were also used for ferrying ground troops to and from the battle front. The use of helicopters proved very reliable as the mobility of ground troops increased thereby improving the efficiency of the military significantly. Apart from being used or transportation, they were also equipped with heavy armament so as to serve as gun sh ips flying over targets and destroying them with significant ease according to Heath and Everett. This kind of operation ended up being a great relief to the ground troops. In 1975, North Vietnam conquered in a couple of months South Vietnam. The US with the use of only about 70 military helicopters evacuated over 8000 individuals from Saigon in just about 18 hours5. This event has been recorded in

Naturalization Complicated for Many Immigrants by Marlena Hartz Essay

Naturalization Complicated for Many Immigrants by Marlena Hartz - Essay Example The states are still truly a place foreigner’s consider a place to achieve economic prosperity. Mexicans such as Marlena want to leave their homeland because in the United States they can earn in a day the salary that the typical worker earns in a week. To obtain a visa to enter the United States is not easy since there are so many people applying for them. According to the author of the article the US immigration offices have had a backlog of applications of over 12 years. Once a person obtains a visa the visa is given for up to 10 years, but the person is not a resident and has to renew the contract on a yearly basis after a rigorous auditing process. The person has to be a stellar citizen and comply with requisites as having a job, being in good standing with the law, and be able to write and read English. The article made a lot of relevant arguments on the subject which I agree with. Immigrants are hard workers that reach the mainland to improve their lives. The hard obstacles legal residents have to surpass are one of the reasons foreigners at times utilize other mediums such as illegal entrance into the USA. I agree with the article and the author’s points of view because the United States is a nation founded on the collective efforts hundreds of races, ethnic groups, and cultures created a rich blend of persons that founded the democratic nation of the United States of America. The second article analyzed on the topic of immigration in the US is called â€Å"A day without immigrants† by Lee Siu Hin. The article talks about the event that occurred on May, 1 2006 when over 10 million immigrants across the world went out into the US Street protesting for the civil of rights of immigrants across the nation. The article opposes the American policy on the immigrant issue which is taking right away from people living and working in the nation.

The Role of Social Medias Influence (Twitter, Facebook and YouTube) on Essay

The Role of Social Medias Influence (Twitter, Facebook and YouTube) on the Lives of Children and Young Teens Today - Essay Example Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are considered as the most popular social media networking sites among the children and young teens. These social media websites provide the young teens and children with the ability and scope to communicate with people within the society. Moreover, social media websites provide several entertainment aspects, such as fun games, comic videos, and several gaming options that effectively attract the children and young teens. The essay will discuss the influence of social media networks on the lives of young teens and children. Moreover, it will discuss several positive and negative effects of social media. Several benefits and features influence the young teens and children to access their favorite social media web sites. Undoubtedly, social media networking sites are the most fast and powerful form of media for social communication. Several social media websites, such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Whatsapp provide various entertainment aspects, other s than social communication. In this digital age of globalization and advanced technology, social networking sites allow teens and children not only to meet old friends, but also to make new friends. Moreover, they help to share videos, photos, and ideas with friends, family members, and associates. Several positive aspects of these social media networking sites influence the teens and children to become members of these social media networking sites. ... YouTube helps the young students to collect several online study materials and practical learning experiences. Social media networks have several key advantages that can help the society in many ways. For example, social media networking sites can develop opportunities for community engagement (O’Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson 1). Online fund raising activity through social media can enhance the charity programs. Volunteering and charity programs for local philanthropic events to help the people who are affected by several disasters are a great positive utilization of social media networking sites. Apart from all these aspects, social media networking sites help to foster unique social skills and individual identity of a skilled and intelligent teen and child (Deihl and Toelle 1). Several leading business organizations use Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to promote their products and services. Various organizations target young teens and children by providing attractive and emotiona l social media advertisements to develop a potential customer base and achieve a competitive advantage in the global business market. The organizations are used to provide exclusive designs along with discounted price tags that influence the young target customers to consume the product. These aspects motivate the young customers to avail these kinds of products. In spite of several advantages, these social media networking sites have several negative influences that can affect the life of children and young teens. The intensity of online world is increasingly rapid. Facebook depression is one of the negative consequences of these social media websites. It can affect the teens and children both

Business Feasibility Study†Seventh Heaven Café Essay Example for Free

Business Feasibility Study— Seventh Heaven Cafà © Essay Seventh Heaven Cafe is not only a coffee shop, or rather a place for relaxation. It sells different kinds of coffee, desserts, books and flowers. Customers bring them back or just enjoy them in my shop. Besides, I am good at dealing with problems of Organizational Behavior. I also have great expertise in human psychology and marketing. Therefore, I have the abilities to operate this shop. Seventh Heaven Cafe targets at white collar community and some companies which need flowers to decorate the site of activities. Therefore, it is located at the street corner with elegant environment near transnational commercial corporations in Suzhou. Seventh Heaven has to confront or avoid a number of threats, especially some strong competitors, such as Starbucks, UBC Coffee and DIO Cafe. However my shop has powerful competitive advantages to face the challenges. Additionally, our market-oriented mission is â€Å"make people happy and relaxed in the Seventh Heaven Cafe by provide delicious coffee, warm fragrant memories and dreams from books. † The primary finance objectives are to get first-year sales revenue of 1 million yuan, and break even early at least achieve 3 million RMB in second year. After on track, shop scale and economic benefits will increase year by year. To achieve this goal, we should make sustaining efforts on marketing strategies, such as promotion strategy and price strategy. This new combination coffee shop will be successful and this business idea is worth pursuing. Section 1: Personal Skills, Qualities and Experience I have obtained an MBA degree from the Liverpool University five years ago. After that, I have worked in a local company for four years. Then I came back to my country and planned to do pioneering work. So I have some basic abilities and work experience to operate this coffee shop. I have learned many useful skills and valuable knowledge from university. Firstly, the Organizational Behavior Study covers three levels of analysis, but intertwined, such as individual, group formation and decisions making. So it is practical for me to do the business. Secondly, I was interested in the course of Marketing when I am a student. It has huge effect on my occupational career. However, these courses just are foundation. My work experience background is a critical element for later entrepreneurial career. Nevertheless, I still need some other outside help. About initial capital, it comes from my personal savings (1. 5 million RMB) and my parents’ investment (0. 5 million RMB). In addition, recruitment and selection of good employees is vital part of success. My mother was a senior accountant before, so she could help me manage finance matters. Besides, I also need a first-class barista and a pastry cook, a waitress and a waiter with good looking, as well as a professional purchaser. Section 2: The Business Idea and Market Assessment Product and service Before making decision to start business, I used questionnaire to get and analysis customers’ demand. So Seventh Heaven Cafe is not only a coffee shop, or rather a place for relaxation. It sells different kinds of coffee, desserts, books and flowers. Customers bring them back or just enjoy them in my shop. My coffee shop called Seventh Heaven, this name represents happy, pleasure and relaxed. I want to my customers get out of the pressure and tiredness, enjoy the release of soul and physical relaxation in Seventh Heaven. Relaxation can bring comfortable feeling to you and have benefits to your health. When you come in the Seventh Heaven, you will feel the music in the air washing your spirit and smile of waiters warming your heart. The flowers tinged the air with their light fragrance. At spare time, you could read a good book alone and drink a cup of delicious coffee, or talk with your good friends with some scrumptious snacks. Owning good books, intimate friends and a serene heart, that is a perfect lifestyle. This is something I want to provide to people, enjoy life, and live in the moment. Target market and customers One of our target markets is white collar employees with middle or high income. These people pay more attention on quality of life and have a good consumption level. Another is business customers, which need flowers to decorate the site of activities, parties, events or meetings. Competition However, there are some strong competitors in this market, especially Starbucks. It is the worlds largest coffee shop chain from America. Starbucks enjoyed a higher reputation and strong brand effect in China. There are about 31 Starbucks in Suzhou alone, but some problems are observed in the course of rapid extension. For instance, single and boring of the unchangeable products and service is a big weakness. To the contrary, Seventh Heaven Cafe provides a combination service and products to customers. It is a novel and creative form to attract people. Besides, high quality service and elegant environment are our powerful points of attraction. Sales and marketing strategy To gain more customers, the price of our products is slightly below the Starbucks. Internet advertising and posters are effective for publicity. Furthermore, we use push money and allowance to motivate my employee to increase sales. Critical risk factors Despite of these, some risks still exist, for example some people are reluctant to try something new, or we make losses at early stage. All of budgets are based on the business feasibility study, but there are so many unpredictable changes in the reality, the cash flow may be not enough. Moreover, the shortage and outflow of talent in related field are hidden trouble for the business.

English As An Additional Language

English As An Additional Language Over the past decade, there has been much discussion and research into factors affecting the performance of pupils with English as an Additional Language (EAL) in mainstream secondary schools in the United Kingdom. Recent studies in the UK have focused on the relationship between factors such as gender, ethnicity, pupil mobility, parental occupation, entitlement to free school meals and educational achievement. Nevertheless socio-economic status (SES) continues to be the most important single determinant of educational and social outcomes. The nature of the relationship between socioeconomic status and student achievement has been the point of argument for years, with the most influential arguments appearing in Equality of Educational Opportunity (Coleman, et al., 1968) and Inequality (Jencks, et al., 1973) in the United States of America, and a number of commissioned inquiries in Australia (Commission of Inquiry into Poverty, 1976; Karmel, 1973). How SES influences student achievement is not clear, and there have been many theories to explain the relationship. In one scenario, school students from low-SES homes are at a disadvantage in schools because they lack an academic home environment, which influences their academic success at school. Another scenario argues that school and neighbourhood environments influence academic success, so that low-SES schools are generally lower-performing, and that only extremely resilient young people can escape the fate of low academic achievement. How governments interpret the SES-achievement debate influences education policies designed to ameliorate educational disadvantage, so it is important to point out the contribution SES makes to achievement at both student and school level. This study seeks to find out what level of performances EAL pupils have achieved in recent years and what are the overriding factors that determine their achievement in Modern Foreign Languages (MFL). A central characteristic of provision for EAL students in mainstream classrooms in the English context is that it can best be described as patchy and varied (Bourne, 2007; Leung, 2002; Leung Franson, 2001: 155; McEachron Bhatti, 2005). Given the ever-increasing number of EAL pupils in schools, the outcomes of the study will permit me to evaluate their progress in MFL and will also aid my own professional development. The research will also aim to arm me with a wide variety of experiences outside my specialist subject area. As part of this element of the study I am required to carry out some research into any aspect of general school life, with the objective of learning through reflective practice. This study has two elements. The first aspect includes studies of how EAL pupils perform in foreign languages. This section will seek to provide interesting points of comparison between their Home Language, their English Language Acquisition and the Target Language studied. In this context, the research should also shine some insight as to whether there are other external factors such as demographics, economical or social influences that can impact on the learning of EAL learners. The second will examine the various ways in which EAL learners perform generally in English and what trends can be drawn from research over recent years. I will be looking at current concerns such as the barriers of language, the effects of schooling on children from poor families, and the kind of interventions that would make a difference adapting to a different social and school environment. The investigation will focus on the performance of pupils with EAL and I will situate this analysis within the context of a mainstream secondary school situated in London. The school in question which holds a Language College Status will be referred as School E for anonymous purposes. It is a mixed establishment which counts approximately 650 pupils between the ages of 11 -16, and where 15 % of pupils have English as an Additional Language. Ten students aged eleven to fifteen years, who are currently learning French or Spanish, agreed to take part in the study: three monolingual English speakers and seven pupils with EAL. From this sample there was one girl who was originating from Ivory Coast, one boy from Cameroon, two girls from China, two boys from Portugal, and one girl from Spain. For the most part they can be described as being relatively recent arrivals to the UK as they have arrived within the previous six months to two years with a moderate level of English, little English or no English at all. Students such as ours often have different language and social experiences than so-called mainstream or home students, but as recently settled residents they do not fit the model of foreigners learning English. In UK cities there is a good deal of movement and settlement of people from diverse backgrounds. In London schools it is not unusual to find 40% (or more) of the students from ethno linguistic minority homes (Baker Eversley, 2000). At this time there is no nationally recognised policy or strategy for EAL learners although there are individual schools and local education authorities that offer strategies, policies and expertise for these pupils. Hence the outcome of this research will decipher whether school E is adept, skilful and well resourced in EAL provision. On the first week of conducting the study, my aim was mainly to build up a good professional relationship with the pupils who took take part of the study. I also ensured finding out the correct pronunciation of each childs name and made them aware of mine. In addition, I collected their background information and use EAL levels as well as English stages to contextualise their achievement data. There is evidence to suggest that background information will ensure clarity in determining how cultural factors and linguistic experience influence progress and will also inform teachers planning. Government publications have strongly recommended the use of achievement data to target EAL learners in schools and classrooms. For example, the Assessment of pupils learning English as an additional language recommends teachers gather and use data such as gender, age, ethnicity, prior education, years of UK education, first language details including literacy, key stage test results and cognitive ab ility test scores to decide on appropriate action for individual bilingual pupils. (DfES, 2003). The research that was carried out with the EAL learners involved several weeks of informal induction that included a peer buddying arrangement to help them adjust to school routines. The emphasis for these new arrivals was on supporting English language development and promoting awareness amongst their peers and understanding of their new environment. Circle Time sessions were put in place after school to consult and involve pupils and for further developing peer support skills. As a result, students developed fantastic resources to promote a welcoming ethos around the school and classroom, by making presentations, displaying their multi-lingual posters, artwork, and booklets outlining the role of buddies. They have also consulted pupils, through written questionnaires and conducted a school assembly. I investigated MFL learning techniques using active approaches such as role play, repetition and other strategies. Simple signs with language captions were displayed around my classroom and I found that EAL students made significantly more contributions to my lessons since I was breaking instructions down and providing important teaching resources such as visual stimuli. I have used some visual support and where possible used real objects such as examples, photographs and good illustrations to facilitate learning. The majority received language support with specialist teachers and classroom assistants that took place during normal class times within the framework of the National Curriculum. Ive also implemented a club for extra languages support which was given on a one-to-one basis or in small groups during lunchtimes where conversation was taught explicitly in relevant contexts, as was vocabulary. Outside the classroom, I have used very practical methods: taking children out to local shops, walking around school and taking photographs which became meaningful to them. Hence, I intended to broaden our monolingual pupils knowledge and understanding of the wider world as I was looking for new challenges; I wanted the international dimension to become part of the school ethos, to be integral to childrens daily learning and not to be just a meaningless add-on, or a tick in the box. I strongly believe EAL pupils should be actively encouraged to value their native language. The greater the skill they possess in this, the greater the progress in the acquisition of the second. As I observed my EAL pupils partaking in English lessons I noticed that some of them were often shying away from writing, while they may have been fluent in their spoken English; their formal written assessment was much more of a challenging obstacle to overcome. I became aware that pupils ability to learn a completely new language is beneficial because it puts each student in the same boat. It also came to my attention that through learning a new language, monolingual English speakers had more empathy for those who have come into the class not speaking English. In one interview, one of my monolingual pupils was quoted as saying Its nice to have something that we can all learn together Nicola Davies, chair of the National Association for Language Development in the Curriculum, said: Language learning can be helpful as English speaking pupils encounter the kinds of problems that new arrivals face as well as promoting intercultural understanding. In addition to supporting pupils learning English as an Additional Language, School E also endeavoured to support parents. For the purpose of the study, families have been encouraged to attend normal school days with their offspring and this provided an opportunity to see parents and children engaged with others. These sessions allowed Parents who had little or no understanding of English an ideal platform to understand how schooling in the UK works. Few parents were involved in translating signs for the school and were invited into school to work alongside children and other parent helpers in the classrooms. My students and their parents were very receptive to language learning, and their experiences included several languages. For the purpose of this research I exchanged information on traditional food with a school in France and managed a live videoconference. Enthusiasm soon spread since the children were excited about learning a new language and the teaching staff motivated and inspired. This was extraordinarily motivating for our pupils and they voluntarily wrote thank you letters to the French teacher in the Target Language. Then we celebrated international events, and enriched the whole curriculum. We had themed weeks focusing on particular countries, inviting parents to lunches where pupils prepared typical dishes. One of our pupils even had a Chinese cake for his birthday! This study affirms that supporting and valuing EAL pupils previous learning is important for their development. It was also useful for the study to discover their heritage country and languages spoken in their home in order to celebrate their faith and customs. Rather than separating it into home languages, Modern Foreign Languag es and English, it was all under the umbrella of languages. Recent research has shown that there is a strong link between proficiency in the first language and the development of a second, or third. This is because the more competent EAL learners become in their home language the more competent they will become in MFL. The skills from the first language transfer across and allow the childs proficiency to grow. In accordance with all these suggestions and following on from my observations and personal experiences, I would affirm that pupils who learn a foreign language will not be detracted from learning English, rather it will support it. From my view point it is also important to allow children to use the home language in the setting if he or she wants to because if they remark that their language is recognised and valued their self esteem and identity could further develop. Language and culture are inextricably entwined and an awareness of this could assist EAL children in developing a healthy self-perception. During the study, I decided to focus on the progress of the seven EAL pupils from my sample, specifically investigating their ability in my own subject area. I had noticed that these pupils appeared to have an aptitude for learning languages, yet they were often placed in low-ability groups, so I set about gathering evidence to substantiate my theory. Furthermore, I became aware that 5 of my EAL pupils were at risk of underachieving, as they were placed in sets corresponding to their level of English rather than to their cognitive ability in MFL. I also detected that some of them were implementing knowledge of their mother tongue to facilitate the target language learning, so they could potentially obtain higher grades than native English speakers and should be given every opportunity to demonstrate these abilities. EAL is an under-researched area in the UK context, but much of the available research, including the EAL policies of School E presents similar findings. The research indicates that for EAL pupils to succeed, communication between EAL specialists and other school subject departments is vital. Researchers are unanimous in their conclusions that EAL learners should be in a set corresponding to their intellectual capabilities, regardless of their level of English, as EAL pupils make more progress and learn more quickly working alongside fluent users of English who are good language and learning role models (DfES, 2005). My two year 9 students, both from French-speaking Africa, came to the UK when they were 12 years of age and were taught French because of their background. It later transpired that French lessons were too easy for them and a decision was made to teach them Spanish instead. They were eager to learn and made incredibly good progress in Spanish, whilst also mastering English which equated to a good level of their home language. On the other hand the two girls who were from China found learning Spanish harder to grasp, this was not helped as they formed their own inner circle speaking only in their home language. The fact they arrived at School E at the same time may have played an influence to them not interacting with other students and during MFL lessons it became apparent that they were becoming withdrawn. Although multilingual family and friendship networks played key roles in supporting their day-to-day school work and future ambitions, I remarked that silence and self-study emerge as key survival strategies for these EAL students. The pupils who came from Spain and Portugal adjusted well to school life after just one year and this was reflected in their knowledge and comprehension of French. They actively participated in oral activities and became fully engaged during lessons. However they underachieved when it came down to English. A recent study at Goldsmiths College found that Portuguese students who attended mother tongue classes were five times more likely to achieve five or more A* to C grades at GCSE than those who did not attend (NALDIC, 2005), which supports the pro home culture argument. The contentious role of the mother tongue makes assessment of EAL pupils another highly complex area, for example, there has been discussion of whether all pupils should be assessed in English to preclude prejudice (Mills, 2002). Many EAL studies focus on specific ethnic groups rather than on all learners, but all investigations that I have examined emphasize the importance of valuing the mother tongue and culture of the EAL learner (Scarcella, 1990:54). Although conflicting opinions regarding treatment of EAL learners are not apparent, problems arise from attempting to put theory into practice. In 2008, OFSTED declared provision and support for EAL pupils outstanding in School E, yet I observed inconsistent adherence to the EAL policy, which appeared to place EAL learners at a disadvantage. In order to analyse the current situation, I will use my personal experience in the MFL department within the context of School E to synthesis this research. To aid research preparations, Fischer (2001) solicits, As you think about your teaching, how do you know when something really went well? What do you feel you are good at? How did you get good at it? I believe that all of these questions can be answered through teacher-pupil interaction, consideration of examination results and observance of best practice, along with learning from mistakes. For this reason, I have focused a large bulk of my research on one-to-one sessions with my EAL pupils. I carried out my research on their learning outcomes by discussing the MFL situation informally with pupils and teachers, but as this evidence will be subjective, it is not a reliable enough foundation on which to base my conclusions. My main source of evidence will be to set lists and examination results because these are totally unbiased a nd factual. The negative side of this sort of information is that it does not provide details on pupils levels of ability nor on the motivation in the subject. I will analyse the number of EAL pupils in different sets, and I predict that there will be a higher proportion of EAL pupils in low-ability sets. I will use original set lists from the beginning of the school year, before any set changes, to ensure there is no duplication of data. As this evidence is statistical, there is no potential for biased data manipulation, so I am certain that all information collected will be true and accurate. Although previous research concluded that EAL pupils should be placed in sets corresponding to their cognitive ability rather than to their level of English, prior to this I had not found any evidence that this was not happening in school E. It was perhaps presumed that schools would follow advice from professionals and heed research into the field, but this investigation has proven that in School E this is certainly not the case. Although EAL pupils in School E appear to be achieving higher MFL GCSE grades than non-EAL pupils, they are consistently placed in low-ability sets in Key Stage 3, which could have negative consequences on them gaining better MFL results. In addition to set lists, I will examine 2007 MFL GCSE results to evaluate the performance of EAL pupils. The downside is that as MFL is no longer compulsory at Key Stage 4, the GCSE group at School E was small, so I will also use 2008 mock GCSE examination results for this school. Again, this information is based on figures so there is no possibility for prejudiced conclusions. From an ethical viewpoint, it is imperative to remain objective throughout and guard the anonymity of any participants in the research. In School E, more EAL pupils were present in low-ability than high-ability sets, but the difference between top and bottom sets is significantly reduced during Key Stage 3. In Year 7, 7.4% of top set and 32.4% of bottom set are speakers of EAL a difference of 25%; in Year 8 the difference is reduced to 16.2%; and in Year 9 to just 10%. This implies that School E places EAL pupils in the bottom set until they have proven that they are capable of more, rather than giving them the opportunity to demonstrate their ability from the outset. As confirmed by the decrease in range of EAL pupils between top and bottom sets from Years 7 to 9, some EAL pupils must be proving themselves and being moved into higher-ability sets. However, previous findings that EAL pupils learn more quickly working with fluent native English speakers (DfES, 2005) are being disregarded, as in low-ability sets this is not always possible, due to the fact that non-EAL pupils are often stretching themselves to understand the work so do not have the time or ability to help EAL learners. Foreign languages are new subjects which give pupils with learning difficulties the chance to make a fresh start. However, behavioural difficulties, which are more common in lower-ability groups, also affect progress. In brief, the outcomes of previous research seem to be being overlooked, and EAL pupils are put in sets with no consideration of linguistic skills already acquired through learning English. Some manage to demonstrate a higher level of ability and move sets, but others never gain this opportunity. This further supports one of the issues highlighted by Mills (2002), that assessment of EAL pupils is extremely difficult. This study has in fact uncovered more questions than answers. At School E, although an EAL policy exists and specialist advice is available, these are often overlooked, so further research into the practicalities of the philosophy may be beneficial here. Vis-Ã  -vis GCSE results, having predicted that EAL pupils would outperform non-EAL pupils, the outcomes of this investigation show that EAL pupils may achieve higher grades in Spanish, but that French may not be affected. Further research, using a larger sample of pupils studying a variety of Modern Foreign Languages, perhaps at a language college, where all pupils must study a language to GCSE level, would be necessary to obtain a definitive conclusion. Since EAL pupils appear to perform better than non-EAL pupils at GCSE level, at least in Spanish, it would be advantageous for them to be in a high-ability set from the beginning of Year 7. From this study, it is clear that current assessment criteria for setting pupils should be modified in some way for EAL pupils, and in case of doubt, they should be placed in a higher-ability set until a more accurate recommendation can be made. What does this suggest about the experiences/expectations of EAL pupils studying MFL? This, alongside school catchment area, parental backing and degree of specialist support available in the area, is a major influencing factor that could be considered in future investigations. To discover the true national picture, research would have to be completed in a wide variety of schools across the country, as this investigation has already shown two vastly different operational approaches. The completion of this research greatly enhanced my understanding of the way in which pupils with EAL learn foreign languages, which has assisted me with developing new teaching strategies to accommodate these pupils and integrate them into lessons where they may at times be in the minority. It has also increased my awareness of the difficulties schools come up against when faced with placing EAL pupils into sets for modern languages, particularly if they arrive into the UK education system midway through their schooling, sometimes with little or no previous education in their country of origin. I am aware of the situation, in future I will always keep careful track of the progress made by EAL pupils in my classes, and at the slightest sign of underachievement, I will do my best to move them into a different set, using this research to support the case. Hopefully, however, a suitable means of assessment will be devised in the near future to test the true capabilities of EAL pupils, thus eliminating the need for such action. By making this research available to others, I hope to increase the awareness of other teachers and professionals of the actual situation of EAL pupils learning modern languages in schools today, and in doing so enable them to enhance provision for the specific needs of EAL pupils learning in our education system. In conclusion, the support setup in operation for EAL pupils at School E has been successful at identifying areas to meet the needs of EAL pupils, and it has also paved the way for further research into the domain. It has enhanced my professional development and influenced my future in teaching by making me aware of the situation and assisting me in providing evidence to substantiate what I suspected through observation of the system that EAL pupils often have an aptitude for learning other foreign languages and that their needs are different to those of non-EAL pupils, so must be met by different means. One possible way to begin meeting the needs of EAL pupils more successfully is to ensure that research findings are more extensively published, and therefore reach a wider audience.

The Storms of Villette Essay -- Storms of Villette Essays

The Storms of Villette      Ã‚   In Charlotte Brontà «'s novel, Villette, Brontà « strategically uses the brutality and magnitude of   thunder storms to propel her narrator, Lucy Snowe, into unchartered social territories of friendship and love. In her most devious act, the fate of Lucy and M. Paul is clouded at the end of the novel by an ominous and malicious storm. By examining Brontà «'s manipulation of two earlier storms which echo the scope and foreboding of this last storm -- the storm Lucy encounters during her sickness after visiting confession and the storm which detains her at Madame Walravens' abode -- the reader is provided with a way in which to understand the vague and despairing ending.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A long vacation from school precedes the first storm and it is during this vacation, where Lucy is left predominately alone, that the reader feels the full depth and emptiness of Lucy's solitude. She says, "But all this was nothing; I too felt those autumn suns and saw those harvest moons, and I almost wished to be covered in with earth and turf, deep out of their influence; for I could not live in their light, nor make them comrades, nor yield them affection" (230). After a resulting fit of delirium and depression, Lucy attends confession at a Catholic church solely in order to receive kind words from another human being. It is at this low, after her leaving the church, that the first storm takes shape. Caught without shelter, Lucy falls victim to the storm's brute force. She remembers that she "...bent [her] head to meet it, but it beat [her] back" (236). However, though appearing destructive, this overpowering force serves to deliver he r into the hands of Dr. John and his mother, Mrs. Bretton, Lucy's godmother fro... .... We have seen 'what good' can come from a destructive tempest for Lucy and in such fashion, we can only assume that this good will come again. Lucy will be further united to her dear M. Paul and to herself. Brontà « has outlined this as the form to be followed and as readers, we must optimistically obey.    Sources Cited and Consulted:    Books:    Allott, Miriam. Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre and Villette. MacMilan, London; 1973    Brontà «, Charlotte. Villette. London: Penguin, 1985.    Nestor, Pauline. Critical Studies of Jane Eyre. St. Martin's Press, NY; 1992.    Websites:    Cody, David and Everett, Glenn et al. The Victorian Web. Brown University; 1993 http://65.107.211.206/victov.html    Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Litrix Reading Room; 1999. http://www.litrix.com/janeeyre/janee001.htm#1   

Capital Punishment Essay - The Death Penalty in Canada and the USA :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

The Death Penalty in Canada and the USA The death penalty, also referred to as capital punishment, has been abolished in Canada since 1976, but still exist in a few American States. The last execution in Canada took place in 1962. I disagree with the death penalty for several reasons. My first reason is that I find it extremely inhumane to take someone's life in order to demonstrate the power of the law. Another reason for my disapproval of the death penalty, is the amount of money that it takes to put someone to death, as it would cost the same to keep an inmate in jail for life, as it would to put that same inmate to death. My third and final reason, is the guilty conscience that is placed on everyone involved: the jury who convicted the accused to death; the witnesses to the execution; and the jail warden who must give out the execution; and the person who pulls the switch or induces the poison. Early societies were based on a simple code of law: "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". Today, now that our society has become more advanced, we do not function by this ancient code of punishment. For example, we do not rape the rapist's daughter; we do not kidnap the kidnapper's children; but if the death penalty were permitted, we would " kill the killer". So why, as educated citizens, would we want to lower ourselves to this level? Do we feel that we need to show the power of the police force by killing the killers? The death penalty is extremely barbaric and is often botched in order to let the accused suffer for several minutes. Society by now must realize that two wrongs certainly do not make a right. You do not show society anything, by killing the killers, except your ignorance for human life and well being. Some thought has been that if you do "kill the killer", it will deter others from committing such a terrible crime. However, murder rates in Canada have remained the same and there is no significant difference when comparisons are made of those States who still have the death penalty. A widely publicized execution might reduce homicides, but only for a brief period. Therefore, I do not feel that Canada should permit such a deplorable undertaking of a human life. I know they must be punished, but there is a better way. Prior to putting someone to death, the accused's lawyer will attempt

Write a film review of ‘Spirited Away’ directed by Miyazakiand write comments on the style of reporting

She has puffy cheeks and downcast expression and can be seen as having an awkward personality – angry and miserable, and unwilling to do anything out of the ordinary. However in the course of the film, she matures and finds the things she truly values – though not in the usual obvious manner of similar stories. As with all of Miyazaki's films, Spirited Away is an experience in which along with Chihiro, we discover the weird and magnificent world in which she finds herself: a wonderland of bizarre and fantastic creatures, which are so real you can almost reach out and touch them. The movie begins with a downhearted 10-year-old Chihiro sitting in the back seat of her parents' car when soon enough, a shortcut down a forgotten woodland road, leads Chihiro and her family to a decrepit old temple with a strangely beckoning tunnel entrance. Chihiro, partly out of intuition and partly out of fear, suspects danger ahead. Against her bidding, the parents walk on investigating, discovering what they take to be a theme park. Along the empty streets, they are strangely drawn towards a delicious scent of food at an unattended kiosk and Chihiro's parental units begin to help themselves to the abundant food. Chihiro rejects the feast, wanders off and a boy of about her age appears mysteriously and angrily bids her to leave at once. The sky suddenly falls dark and rushing back to her parents, Chihiro is horrified to discover that the indignant spirits that inhabit the place transformed her parents, leaving her on her own, trapped in a bizarre world of spirits. All around her ghosts begin to appear. Chihiro initially thinks she in a nightmare but shortly the spirits notice her and her life is in danger. She gets some help while running for her life – namely, from the young boy named Haku who seems to know her from another time and place. It is Haku who tells Chihiro what she must do in order to rescue her imprisoned parents and return to her normal life: she must find work at the bathhouse that overlooks the landscape. Amazing imaginative creatures inhabit the bathhouse: gods and spirits, leisurely spending their time there, and a busy staff of servants who attend them. Gaining employment at the bathhouse forces Chihiro to sign a binding contract with Yu-baaba and relinquish her original name. Named â€Å"Sen† by the malicious witch, her servitude life is exhausting and unappreciated, but if she would like to save her parents, it's her only option and she has got to change – she'll have to face her deepest fears and attempt to remember her own identity and find a way to break her parents' spell, which is the only escape from the firm control of the spirits. Sen discovers an inner strength she never suspected she had which enables her to carry on in the realm of the spirits. What follows is a fantastic journey into a wondrously imagined world and lucky for us, we get the opportunity to follow her through her struggle to the other side and hopefully back. Not knowing how the story will turn out means that you go on the same journey as Chihiro, and all the wonders of the realm she walks into will be new and surprising. This course is what can distinguish between the film being good to the film being great. But Sen's adventures are just beginning! The film is filled with characters that are absolutely new to our expectations – no wicked characters like we're used to see, but instead: flying Yu-baaba with an overgrown head and her gigantic baby locked away in a room stuffed with toys. There are spirits that drift in and out, gigantic figures and tiny soot-balls – there are boys who transform themselves into flying wolf-faced serpents, and tiny pieces of paper that fly around and hurt people. Visually, the film is a feast for the eyes. The animation quality is excellent. The colours are richer than anything found in any American animated film. The magnificent animation is cleanly simple yet loaded with a level of detail truly astounding, intricately rendered in Studio Ghibli. There is a limited use of CG animation, but they are never prominent. While it provides a breathtaking illusion of Chihiro pushing through a blossoming flower garden, the electronic imagery blends skilfully with the beautiful hand-drawn characters and backgrounds in a vibrant manner. In many cases, characters convey emotions with subtle changes of expression rather than dialogue. Everything is perfectly calculated to the mood of the scene, even scenes that have no music at all add to the effect. The music is as good as any Studio Ghibli film — that is to say, excellent. Likewise, the voice acting fits the characters perfectly. A superb job is done by the English-language cast in reinterpreting Miyazaki's original dialogue where individual lines are contended with to synchronize with the existing animation. In the Japanese version, Rumi Hiiragi voices Chihiro, and Daveigh Chase being her English counterpart, both skilfully communicate Chihiro's determination and bright outlook. Spirited Away draws loosely on Japanese mythology and a never-ending imagination to create a small yet elaborate universe inhabited by all types of creatures. It's a fantastic fable like that of Alice in Wonderland. In fact, in Alice in Wonderland there are several references to characters eating things that transform them. Also, the movie shares all the peculiar characters of the fable, as well as featuring the journey of a character into a strange world. Spirited Away is absolutely more cheerful and entertaining which only adds to the fascination of the film. When Spirited Away won the 2002 Academy Award Winner for Best Animated Feature, the film continued to enjoy an impressive collection of honours, including best animated film success from the New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics Awards, and the National Board Of Review, not to mention the Golden Bear Best Picture Award from the Berlin Film Festival and the Best Film prize from the Japanese Academy Awards. To date, Hayao Miyazaki's distinctive fairy tale Spirited Away has acquired more than twenty awards at film festivals around the globe, made the Japanese box office and resolutely secured its place in the chronicles of film history. Spirited Away will appeal to older children as well as adults. While both parents and children can enjoy the absolutely breathtaking animation, the adults will appreciate the story while their kids will most likely be left a little confused. It's not that the plot is complex, but it is the film's characters and world that are complicated. The film is elaborate on an emotional level, something that probably most of its audience will not be expecting. But for all its layered aspects, the film is driven by a wonderful innocence that makes it quite appealing and ultimately very satisfying. There is nothing overly frightening in the film (maybe the masked-face monster may be intense for very young children, but it's nothing too frightening for kids six and up), so parents should not have a problem taking their kids to see this. Viewers in search of an excellent story will not be disappointed. What distinguishes Miyazaki's work from his sources of inspiration is a lighter mood and a true understanding of childish wonder. â€Å"I would like to make it a film in which 10 year old girls can find their true wishes†, Hayao Miyasaki declares. This remarkable drama about a girl who continuously challenges herself and matures significantly over the course of a few days makes Chihiro a heroine. She is a heroine, because she fulfils and builds around her a naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve world due to her matchless heart. She gets trained, learns about friendship and loyalty, and survives by using her wisdom because she gained the power to live. It is the main theme of this film to describe such a world clearly in the form of a fantasy. Hayao Miyazaki is one of the greatest animators and directors in Japan. The amusing plots, believable characters and astounding animation in his films have earned him international recognition from critics as well as public gratitude within Japan. Miyazaki has outdone himself as this film has all the wonder and brilliance of the other Miyazaki films and is in some ways one of his most compelling. Since it is better than Totoro, it may also be the greatest family film of all time. Both the artwork and animation quality are absolutely magnificent and actually surpass the heights seen in Princess Mononoke. Like some of Miyazaki's previous work, there are no definite ‘good' or ‘evil' characters. This is a rare thing to find in most animated films. The characters are out for their own self-interests. Yu-baaba is not a villain, she is a profiteer. She wants to get the money from the spirits who come to the bathhouse to relax. The masked-face monster is a lonely soul, who, when over stimulated becomes an fanatical eater of anything or anyone that gets in it's way. I found this to be a revitalizing use of character; especially considering how many films we see where the typical villain is nothing more than being bad for the sake of being bad. Now this masterpiece from acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli is available on DVD edition distributed by Walt Disney Studios. The two-disc set combines attractive presentation with a remarkable collection of bonus features. The film is presented in wide screen format with very sharp colours. Gladly, both English and the original Japanese soundtracks are available in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. Spirited Away is an unquestionable masterpiece, a work of breathtaking beauty and strong emotional quality. Chihiro's journey into the unknown will undoubtedly entertain you as much now as it will ten years from today. With Chihiro, the audience too journeys along, awed and grateful for the chance to be part in an imagination so rich. This movie must be seen as an allegory of how devotion, friendship, and love can conquer greed and liberate one's spirit. From the way the film looks to the way the story develops, even to the way it sounds – Spirited Away is the best and most exceptionally rewarding film so far. This review was intended for a magazine because: o Magazines usually tend to go deeper and wider than a newspaper feature, since generally there is more space available. Because of this, the various topics could be expanded more. o In a magazine familiar words are preferred over the unfamiliar, therefore the style could easily be combined with the magazine style. The Title: o The title chosen reminds us immediately in the fable of Alice in Wonderland. In fact only the girl's name is changed in the title. o Both Alice in Wonderland and Spirited Away have parallels between them. These parallels are also referred to later in the body. o To make clear the use of the word ‘Wonderland' in the title, the reason for its usage is given straight away in the introduction: â€Å"a wonderland of bizarre and fantastic creatures† The Introduction (Lead): o Its purpose is to continue the work of the title by holding the readers' attention. o It teases the readers to guess what is coming so as to awaken their curiosity and persuade them to continue reading. o The first line starts off with a description of the movie's main character so that the readers are made familiar her instantly. It also arouses curiosity as ‘She' is still mysterious and her name is not yet revealed. This urges further reading. o A contrast between words is used to imply and describe the realm of the spirits: â€Å"weird and magnificent†; â€Å"bizarre and fantastic†. The reader might be perplexed and so reads on to answer the question aroused in his / her mind. The body: o Unity – the main theme is threaded through the article and has a flow throughout. o Coherence – all material used is shown to be related to the theme, especially by linking techniques and orderly arrangement. The narration of the story has continual interest so as to sweep the readers along. o Emphasis – the main purpose of the article is identifiable throughout. o Order – straightforwardly chronological; the descriptive parts are used to heighten the drama. o As a review it is short and concise, objective and impartial. It was kept in mind so as not to give the ending of the movie away! The Ending: o It tries to be fulfilling and satisfying to the reader in some way. o It is a summing up of the review and ends with an emotional atmosphere. Narration technique: o Suspense was used a lot, especially in the narration of the story of the film so as to make the reader constantly ask of what will happen to the protagonist. This was achieved through a lot of link words (e.g.: and, which, what fallows, this is, while, in fact, likewise), which are useful in helping to keep the thread of narration running. o There is often a fair amount of description mingled in, so that the reader can clearly understand what is happening and become interested in the protagonist. Style: o The style makes readers feel at ease in the writer's company, makes them listen attentively. Most words used are very flowing, objective with a sufficient pace to keep the reader hooked.

Brand Elements

STUDY ON THE IMPORTANCE,ROLE,CONSUMER IMPACT & BUDGET OF VISUAL MERCHANDISING Dissertation Submitted to the Padmashree Dr. D. Y. Patil University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of MASTERS IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Submitted by: DIVYA. P. KUMAR (Roll No. MBA-RET-0801010) Research Guide: PROF. KRISHNA SHETTY Department of Business Management Padmashree Dr. D. Y. Patil University CBD Belapur, Navi Mumbai. March 2010 1 INDEX TOPICPAGE NO 1Declaration4 2Certificate5 3Acknowledgement6 Objective of the project7 5Definition of the problem8 6Literature Review10 7Executive Summary15 INTRODUCTION TO VISUAL MERCHANDISING 8Introduction to Retailing17 9Introduction to Visual Merchandising63 10Role Of Visual Merchandising87 11Effect of the colour, line etc on Visual Merchandising152 12Impact Of Visual Merchandising on Consumer Behaviour167 13Budget in Visual Merchandising175 14Questionnaire185 15Data Analysis187 16Research Methodology191 17Recommendations192 18Limitations of study193 2 19Conclusion194 20Bibliography198 3 DECLARATION:I Divya P Kumar hereby declare that the dissertation, VISUAL MERCHANDISING – Importance, Role, Impact on Consumer & Budget submitted for the degree of Masters of Business Administration at Padmashree Dr. D. Y. Patil University’s Department Of Business management is my original work and the dissertation has not formed the basis for the award of any degree, associate ship, fellowship or any other similar titles Place: Navi MumbaiSignature of the student: Date: 4 CERTIFICATEThis is a certify that the dissertation titled Visual Merchandising is the bonafide research work carried out by Ms. Divya P Kumar of M. B. A at Padmashree Dr. D. Y. Patil University’s, Department Of Business Management during the year 2008-2010, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of degree of Master In Business Administration and that the dissertation has not formed the basis for the award previous ly of any degree, diploma, associate ship, Fellowship or any other similar title.Place: Navi MumbaiSignature of the Guide Date: 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I express my sincere gratitude to Prof. Krishna Shetty for providing me valuable guidance for the project on ? Visual Merchandising?. I also express my deep sense of gratitude to all the staff members for providing valuable guidance, information and facilities required for my project work. Last but not the least I am thankful to DR. D. Y. PATIL UNIVERSITY’S DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT for giving me this wonderful opportunity of final project. Dr. R. Gopal Director, Department of Business Mgt,Padmashree Dr. D. Y. Patil University. 6 OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT: 1. To know the fundamentals and factors effecting visual merchandising. 2. To understand the problems of visual merchandising in retail industry. 3. To know the budgeting constraints of visual merchandising 4. To suggest solutions to problems of visual merchandising. 7 DEF INITION OF PROBLEM: Visual Merchandising (VM) is the art of presentation, which puts the merchandise in focus and in perspective too. It educates the customers, creates desire and finally augments the selling process.This is a nascent area of the Indian retail industry. Visual Merchandising achieves the following: †¢ Educates the customers about the products and services offered creatively and effectively. †¢ Enables a successful selling process, from browsing to buying. †¢ Establishes a creative medium to present merchandise in a lifelike 3-D environment, thus creating a strong impact and recall value. †¢ Sets the context of the merchandise. †¢ Establishes the linkage between fashions, product design and marketing by keeping the focus on the product. Draws the attention of the customers and help them match their needs with the visually merchandised product. 8 Every company in India keeps a specific amount apart for visual merchandising as it has a great imp act on its sales. The budget set up by most of the companies are very low thereby proving to set up a challenge for the visual merchandiser to utilize all the concepts and tools of visual merchandising to profit the company. The visual merchandiser has to come up with plans to make the maximum utilization of the money provided. It is his/her creativity that comes into play at this time. Literature Review 1. ) Retail Management(Text & Cases) – Second Edition Author – Swapna Pradhan This book seeks to expand the coverage in important topical areas of merchandise management, customer service retail marketing communicant and financial planning among others. The focus of this book has been on explaining the concepts n practices in retail mngt, particularly in the Indian/Asian setting. The author has taken a practical approach to make the treatment sound and interesting. Consequently the book is dotted with ? retail snapshots? which are boxed exhibits that illustrate a parti cular retail activity or situation-and 8 case studies including those on start bucks, shoppers stop, gili, big bazaar and titan. 2. )Retail Management – An Introduction Edited by V. V Gopal This book is based on relevant authoritative and thought provoking articles written by experts and published in leading professional magazines and research journals. The articles are organized in a sequential and logical way that makes reading cont and helps the reader acquire a holistic view of the subject.This helps in strengthening the understanding of the subject better and also enables the reader stretch their thoughts beyond the content of the book. The series is designed to meet the requirements of executive, research scholars, academicians and students of professional programs. 10 3. ) Visual Merchandising Advertisement Express—Magazine, Dec 2008 IFAI University Press In this issue v have articles listed fewer than 5 sections and a case study . The cover story of the issue i s visual merchandising. Marketers adopt various promotional strategies for the purpose of increasing sales volume.Visual merchandising is to organize the retail store such that the visual impact thus created is capable of attracting customers and making their shopping experience a real pleasure. The article discusses some aspects of visual merchandising in the current competitive scenario. The retail section has 1 article, ? consumer relation mngt in retail sector.? The descriptive article investigates the relationship mngt issues and the policies formulated for the same in the retail industry. 4. ) Marketing Master mind -Magazine Feb 2010Visual Merchandising – A silent salesman of retailers. Modern retailing formats in particular r making increased and innovative use of visual merchandising for promoting sales. With the growing presence of organized retailing in India, the use of visual merchandising concepts and tools is on the upswing. The cover story of the issue outlines the importance of visual merchandising and its role in today‘s scenario in the Indian retail industry. A special feature of this issue is the conclusions of an interview section .We have an interview with Obopay, A company that provides a solution for effective payments through mobile phones, A novel service which is now on offer in India too. 11 This issue also carries articles on other interesting topics such as consumer behaviour, tourism marketing and customer relationship mngt. 5. ) Retail Management Dunne Lusch-India Editioon This edition of retail mngt gives u gr8 insight into all aspects of retailing in a well thought out methodical approach that is sensitive to the constant changes within the industry.Professors Dunne & Lusch have continued the highest level of research to stay current with the industry and this enables the reader to engage in a well rounded dialogue about the retail industry. This book covers all major disciplines for retailing including human resou rces, operations , marketing ,multichannel retailing, finance & other areas as well, which will help u gain the best possible understanding about the retail industry. 6. ) Retailing Mngt 6th Edition 2007 Michael Levy& Barton A WeitzKnown for its strategic look at retailing and current coverage , this 6th edition cont,. to be orgaised around a model of strategic decision making. One of the major advantages of Levy/ Weits approach is the text readability, Organisation ,and its emphasis on how students can come to grips with real retailing issues and be able to solve problems . The text logical organization around a decision making process allows readers to learn about the process of strategic decision first b4 moving onto decision implementation.The implementation decisions are broken down into merchandise mngt decisions and store mngt decisions just as they would be in a real retailing sector. 12 The text provides a balanced treatment of strategic, ? how to ? and conceptual material ,in a highly readable and interesting format. The 6th edition cont. its cutting edge coverage on the latest topics and developments in retailing including globalization ,customer relationship mngt program , multichannel retailing,scm and the use of internet to improve operating efficiencies and customer service. 7. Fashion Retailing Author – Priyanka Ramgopal Well written, great photography & illustration. The text is approached logically with clear explanation of practical, real information that can be applied immediately. A must have for anyone entering the fashion retailing field or for retailers needing to up their game or train staff. Gave me a good understanding of how the fashion merchandising fiel is structured, who does what, how to merchandise a retail availability correctly and guidelines and approaches for creating effective displays. 8. ) India retail report 2009By Image Group A guest introduction for retail students, this book offer a user-friendly references gu ide to all aspects of fashion, merchandising and covers both images, dressing and in-store areas. Using examples from a range of store from fashion emporia to supermarkets, the book offers practical advice on the subject, supported by hints and tips from established fashion merchandiser. It reveals the secrets of their tool kit, and information on the use of mannequins, the latest technology, how to construct and source props and explains the psychology behind shopping and buyer. 13 9. VMSD: Visual Merchandising Magazine: If you are looking for the primary magazine used by visual communicators, store display artists, and retail desigers, then VMSD is the answer. Since 1922,VMSD has been the prominent publication that reports on visual merchandising news and events, the latest in retail display, visual design, merchandising strategies, and new products. 10. ) Visual Merchandising Author – Tony Morgan A guest introduction for retail students, this book offer a user-friendly ref erences guide to all aspects of visual merchandising and covers both window dressing and in-store areas.Using examples from a range of store from fashion emporia to supermarkets, the book offers practical advice on the subject, supported by hints and tips from established visual merchandiser. It reveals the secrets of their tool kit, and information on the use of mannequins, the latest technology, how to construct and source props and explains the psychology behind shopping and buyer 14 Executive Summary Indian Retail Industry is ranked among the ten largest retail markets in the world.The attitudinal shift of the Indian consumer in terms of â€Å"Choice Preference†, â€Å"Value for Money† and the emergence of organized retail formats have transformed the face of Retailing in India. The Indian retail industry is currently estimated to be a US$ 200 billion industry and organized Retailing comprises of 3 per cent (or) US$6. 4 Billion of the retail industry. With a growth over 20 percent per annum over the last 5 years, organized retailing is projected to reach US$ 32 Billion by 2014.The Indian retail industry though predominantly fragmented through the owner -run † Mom and Pop outlets† has been witnessing the emergence of a few medium sized Indian Retail chains, namely Pantaloon Retail, RPG Retail, Shoppers Stop, Westside (Tata Group) and Lifestyle International. In the last few years, Indians have gone through a dramatic transformation in lifestyle by moving from traditional spending on food, groceries and clothing to lifestyle categories that deliver better quality and taste.Modern retailing satisfies rising demand for such goods and services with many players entering the bandwagon in an attempt to tap greater opportunities. According to the report of American Management Consulting Firm A. T. Kearney's 2006 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI), India is on the first position , continuing for two years (2005 and 2006), among 30 coun tries as the 15 world's most attractive market for mass merchant and food retailers seeking overseas growth.On the other hand, China is losing its attractiveness and making the way to India GRDI helps retailers to prioritize their global development strategies by ranking emerging countries based on a set of 25 variables including economic and political risk, retail market alternatives, retail saturation level, and the difference between gross domestic product growth and retail growth. The study quotes : â€Å"The Indian retail market is gradually but surely opening up, while China's market becomes increasingly saturated. visually merchandised product. Visual Merchandising is the art of displaying merchandise in a manner that is appealing to the eyes of the customer. It sets the context of the merchandise in an aesthetically pleasing fashion, presenting them in a way that would convert the window shoppers into prospects and ultimately buyers of the product. A creative and talented r etailer can use this upcoming art to breathe in new life into his store products. Passion for design and creativity are essential to be a good visual merchandiserA perfect design process and the ability to create ideas that are different are required. Awareness of happenings in fashion world is needed so as to keep up-to-date with the dynamics of the market constantly. Visual merchandising includes window displays, signs, interior displays, cosmetic promotions and any other special sales promotions taking place. 16 Introduction to Retailing 17 The Global Retail Industry Retail has played a major role world over in increasing productivity across a wide range of consumer goods and services.The impact can be best seen in countries like U. S. A. , U. K. , Mexico, Thailand and more recently China. Economies of countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and Dubai are also heavily assisted by the retail sector. Retail is the second-largest industry in the United States both i n number of establishments and number of employees. It is also one of the largest worldwide. The retail industry employs more than 22 million Americans and generates more than $3 trillion in retail sale annually. Retailing is a U. S. $7 trillion sector.Wal-Mart is the world‘s largest retailer. Already the world‘s largest employer with over 1million associates, Wal-Mart displaced oil giant Exxon Mobil as the world‘s largest company when it posted $219 billion in sales for fiscal 2001. Wal-Mart has become the most successful retail brand in the world due its ability to leverage size, market clout, and efficiency to create market dominance. 18 Wal-Mart heads Fortune magazine list of top 500 companies in the world. Forbes Annual List of Billionaires has the largest number (45/497) from the retail business.Top Retailers Worldwide 1 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. U. S. A. 2 Carrefour Group France 3 The Kroger Co. U. S. A. 4 The Home Depot, Inc. U. S. A. 5 Metro Germany Retail Sce nario in India: Touching Meteoric Scales As the corporates – the Piramals, the Tatas, the Rahejas, ITC, S. Kumar‘s, RPG Enterprises, and mega retailers- Crosswords, Shopper‘s Stop, and Pantaloons race to revolutionize the retailing sector, retail as an industry in India is coming alive. Retail sales in India amounted to about Rs. 400 billion in 2002, expanded at an average annual rate of 7% during 1999-2002. With the upturn in economic growth during 2003, retail sales are also expected to expand at a higher pace of nearly 10%. Across the country, retail sales in real terms are predicted to rise more rapidly than consumer expenditure during 2003-08. 19 The forecast growth in real retail sales during 2003- 2008 is 8. 3% per year, compared with 7. 1% for consumer expenditure. Modernization of the Indian retail sector will be reflected in rapid growth in sales of supermarkets, departmental stores and hyper marts.Sales from these large-format stores are to expand at gr owth rates ranging from 24% to 49% per year during 2003-2008, according to a latest report by Euro monitor International, a leading provider of global consumer-market intelligence. A. T. Kearney Inc. places India 6th on a global retail development index. The country has the highest per capita outlets in the world – 5. 5 outlets per 1000 population. Around 7% of the population in India is engaged in retailing, as compared to 20% in the USA.In a developing country like India, a large chunk of consumer expenditure is on basic necessities, especially food-related items. Hence, it is not surprising that food, beverages and tobacco accounted for as much as 71% of retail sales in 2002. The share of food related items had, however, declined over the review period, down from 73% in 1999. This is not unexpected, because with income growth, Indians, like consumers elsewhere, have started spending more on non-food items compared with food products. 20 Sales through supermarkets and depar tment stores are small compared with overall retail sales.Nevertheless, their sales have grown much more rapidly, at almost a triple rate (about 30% per year during the review period). This high acceleration in sales through modern retail formats is expected to continue during the next few years, with the rapid growth in numbers of such outlets due to consumer demand and business potential. The factors responsible for the development of the retail sector in India can be broadly summarized as follows: †¢ Rising incomes and improvements in infrastructure are enlarging consumer markets and accelerating the convergence of consumer tastes.Looking at income classification, the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) classified approximately 50% of the Indian population as low income in 1994-95; this is expected to decline to 17. 8% by 2006-07. †¢ Liberalization of the Indian economy which has led to the opening up of the market for consumer goods has helped the MNC brands like Kellogg‘s, Unilever, Nestle, etc. 21 To make significant inroads into the vast consumer market by offering a wide range of choices to the Indian consumers. †¢ Shift in consumer demand to foreign brands like McDonalds, Sony, Panasonic, etc. The internet revolution is making the Indian consumer more accessible to the growing influences of domestic and foreign retail chains Reach of satellite T. V. channels is helping in creating awareness about global products for local markets. About 47% of India‘s population is under the age of 20; and this will increase to 55% by 2015. This young population, which is technology-savvy, watch more than 50 TV satellite channels, and display the highest propensity to spend, will immensely contribute to the growth of the retail sector in the country.As India continues to get strongly integrated with the world economy riding the waves of globalization, the retail sector is bound to take big leaps in the years to come. The In dian retail sector is estimated to have a market size of about $ 180 billion; but the organised sector represents only 2% share of this market. 22 Most of the organised retailing in the country has just started recently, and has been concentrated mainly in the metro cities. India is the last large Asian economy to liberalize its retail sector.In Thailand, more than 40% of all consumer goods are sold through the super markets and departmental stores. A similar phenomenon has swept through all other Asian countries. Organised retailing in India has a huge scope because of the vast market and the growing consciousness of the consumer about product quality and services. A study conducted by Fitch, expects the organized retail industry to continue to grow rapidly, especially through increased levels of penetration in larger towns and metros and also as it begins to spread to smaller cities and B class towns.Fuelling this growth is the growth in development of the retail-specific properti es and malls. According to the estimates available with Fitch, close to 25mn sq. ft. of retail space is being developed and will be available for occupation over the next 36- 48 months. Fitch expects organized retail to capture 15%-20% market share by 2010. A McKinsey report on India says organised retailing would increase the efficiency and productivity of entire gamut of economic activities, and would help in achieving higher GDP growth.At 6%, the share of employment of retail in India is low, even when compared to Brazil (14%), and Poland (12%). 23 PRESENT INDIAN SCENARIO * Unorganized market: Rs. 583,000 crores * Organized market: Rs. 5, 000 crores * 5X growth in organized retailing between 2000-2005 * Over 4,000 new modern Outlets in the last 3 years * Over 5,000,000 sq. ft. of mall space under development * The top 3 modern retailers control over 750,000 sq. ft. of retail space * Over 400,000 shoppers walk through their doors every week * Growth in organized retailing on par w ith expectations and projections of the last 5 Years: on course to touch Rs. 5,000 crores (US$ 7 Billion) or more by 2005-06 TRADITIONAL RETAIL SCENE IN INDIA India is the country having the most unorganized retail market. Traditionally the retail business is run by Mom & Pop having Shop in the front & house at the back. More than 99% retailers function in less than 500Sq. Ft of area. All the merchandise was purchased as per the test & vim and fancies of the proprietor also the pricing was done on ad hock basis or by seeing at the face of customer. Generally the accounts of trading & home are not maintained separately.Profits were accumulated in slow moving & non-moving stocks which were to become redundant or consumed in-house. Thus profits were vanished without their knowledge. 24 The Manufactures were to distribute goods through C & F agents to Distributors & Wholesalers. Retailers happen to source the merchandise from Wholesalers & reach to end-users. The merchandise price used to get inflated to a great extent till it reaches from Manufacturer to End-user. Selling prices were largely not controlled by Manufacturers. Branding was not an issue for majority of customers.More than 99% customers are price sensitive & not quality or Brand Sensitive at the same time they are Brand conscious also. Weekly Bazaar in many small tows was held & almost all the commodities were on the scene including livestock. Bargaining was the unwritten law of market. Educational qualification level of these retailers was always low. Hence market was controlled by handful of distributors &/or Wholesalers. Virtually there was only one format of retailing & that was mass retail. Retailer to consumer ratio was very low, for all the categories without exception.Varity in terms of quality, Styles were on regional basis, community based & truly very low range was available at any given single place. Almost all the purchases / (buying) by mass population was need oriented & next turn may b e on festivals, Marriages, Birthdays & some specific occasions. 25 Impulsive buying or consumption is restricted to food or vegetables etc. Having extra pair of trousers or Shirts or Casuals & Formals & leisure wear & sports wear & different pair of shoes for occasions is till date is a luxury for majority population except for those living in Metros.Purchasing power of Indian urban consumer is very low and that of Branded merchandise in categories like Apparels, Cosmetics, Shoes, Watches, Beverages, Food, Jewellery, are slowly seeping into the lifeline of Indian City folks. However electronic & electrical home appliances do hold appropriate image into the minds of consumers. Brand name does matter in these white goods categories. In the coming times also majority of organized retailers will find it difficult to keep balance with rest of the unbranded retail market which is very huge.Different Forms of Retailing : Emergence of new formats of retailing in India Popular Formats †¢ Hyper marts 26 †¢ Supermarkets †¢ Departmental Stores †¢ Speciality Stores 27 †¢ Discount/shopping list grocer †¢ Traditional retailers trying to reinvent by introducing self- service formats as well as value- added services such as credit, free home delivery etc. RetailerOriginal formats RPG Retail Supermarket (Food world)Piramal'sDepartment Store (Pyramid Megastore) Pantaloon Small format outlets (Shoppe) RetailDepartment Store (Pantaloon) K RahejaDepartment Store (shopper's Groupstop) Specialty Store (Crossword) Tata/ Trent Department Store (Westside) Landmark Department Store (Lifestyle) Group Later Formats Hypermarket (Spencer's)Specialty Store (Health and Glow) Discount Store (TruMart) Supermarket (Food Bazaar) Hypermarket (Big Bazaar) Mall (Central) Supermarket (TBA) Hypermarket (TBA) Hypermarket (Star India Bazaar) Hypermarket (TBA) Others Discount Store (Subhiksha, Margin Free, Apna Bazaar), Supermarket Nilgiri's), Specialty Electronics 28 Plans o f Large Retailers * Reliance Retail: investing Rs. 30,000 crore ($6. 67 billion) in setting up multiple retail formats with expected sales of Rs. 90,000 crore plus ($20 billion) by 2009-10. * Pantaloon Retail: Will occupy 10 mn sq. ft retail space and achieve Rs. 9,000 crore-plus ($2 bn) sales by 2008. * RPG: Planning IPO will have 450-plus Music World, 50-plus Spencer's Hyper covering 4 mn sq. ft by 2010. * LIFESTYLE: Investing Rs. 400 crore-plus ($90 mn) in next five years on Max Hypermarkets & value retail stores, home and lifestyle centres. Rahejas: Operates Shoppers' Stop, Crossword, Inorbit Mall, and ‘Home Stop' formats. Will operate 55 â€Å"Hyper city† hypermarkets with US$100 million sales across India by 2015. * Pyramids Retail: Aiming to occupy 1. 75 million sq. ft retail spaces through 150 stores in next five years. * TATA (Trent Ltd. ): Trent to open 27 more stores across its retail formats adding 1 mn sq. ft of space in the next 12 DLF malls. Titan industr ies to add 50-plus Titan and Tanishq stores in 2006. 29 Small is big for Indian retail: It's raining malls in small-town India.Whether it's Kanpur, Ahmadabad, Indore, Agra, Baroda or Surat, the mall and multiplex culture has caught on in the country's smaller cities, powered by the burgeoning purchasing power of India's middle-class. From a handful of malls in the mid '90s, India today has nearly 200 malls spread across large and small cities. And 700 new malls are coming up all over India40% of them concentrated in the smaller cities. Small-town India is the next big thing in the retail business. Consider these numbers: in 2005, the contribution of smaller cities to total organized retailing sales was 15%.By the end of this year, that proportion is expected to grow to 25%. Organized retailing in small-town India is growing at a staggering 50-60% a year compared to 35%-40% in the large cities. The striking point is that it is the big names in the organized retail business that are e yeing these new opportunities. The Kishore Biyani-owned Future Group, India's largest retailer, plans to invest Rs 3,600 crore in 100 stores in 30 cities, increasing its retail space from 3. 5 million square feet to 30 million sq feet. The RPG group plans to open malls in all cities with a population of over 8 lakh.Similarly, Wills Lifestyle, the garments and accessories retailing division of ITC Ltd, plans to increase its footprint by doubling the number of stores from 50 to around 100 in the next two to three years, mostly in smaller cities. 30 Even Sunil Mittal's Bharti group has announced plans to get into food and farm products retailing. All these plans, however, are dwarfed by Mukesh Ambani's ambitions to do a Wal-Mart in India by investing $5. 60 billion (Rs 25,000 crore) and covering 1,500 cities and towns. The small-town retail boom could be considered a show-case of India's freemarket prosperity.It is being powered by healthy economic growth that is making more Indians mo re prosperous. Organized retailers have understood this and are hoping to ride the wave, exploit the first-mover advantage and establish strong brand loyalties in these relatively under-served markets. Indeed, this is probably the most compelling example of the trickle-down impact of liberalization in India. Looking ahead, retail analysts suggest that the sustained success of the IT and industries in small towns is expected to create more jobs and enhance spending power.Typically, small cities offer a 15% to 30% cost advantage over larger cities, not just in terms of employee costs but real estate costs as well, not to speak of the gains that accrue from reduced staff attrition rates. This gap is expected to widen over the next few years, creating a pull for smaller towns that will, in turn, power the small-town retail revolution. At present, real estate costs present a major incentive for India's organized retailers. Average rental values for ground-floor space are Rs 50-60 per squ are foot a month, against Rs 100-120 per sq foot a month in the bigger cities. 1 However, a strong demand for retail space has more than doubled rentals in cities like Jaipur, Chandigarh, Surat and Lucknow. While in the metros, retailers are filling gaps by increasing more stores, in small towns, these malls are way beyond the expectations of the consumers. These cities are untapped markets and retailers find it important to establish their brands there. Smaller cities are seeing plenty of action. For instance, Ludhiana can already boast worldwide restaurant chains like KFC, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza, Ruby Tuesday and Subway.A new world-class, 25-acre commercial centre and some seven new shopping malls-cum-entertainment centres are under construction. The Indian retail market is estimated at $350 billion. But organized retail is estimated at only $8 billion. However, the opportunity is huge—by 2010, organized retail is expected to grow to $22 billion. With the gro wth of organized retailing estimated at 40% (CAGR) over the next few years, Indian retailing is clearly at a tipping point. India is currently the ninth largest retail market in the world. It is names like Dehradun, Vijayawada, Lucknow and Nasik that will power India up the rankings soon.The Indian retail sector can be broadly classified into: a) FOOD RETAILERS There are large number and variety of retailers in the food-retailing sector. 32 Traditional types of retailers, who operate small single-outlet businesses mainly using family labour, dominate this sector. In comparison, super markets account for a small proportion of food sales in India. However the growth rate of super market sales has being significant in recent years because greater numbers of higher income. Indians prefer to shop at super markets due to higher standards of hygiene and attractive ambience. b) HEALTH & BEAUTY PRODUCTSWith growth in income levels, Indians have started spending more on health and beauty Prod ucts Here also small, single- outlet retailers dominate the market. However in recent years, a few retail chains specializing in these products have come into the market. Although these retail chains account for only a small share of the total market , their business is expected to grow significantly in the future due to the growing quality consciousness of buyers for these products . 33 c) CLOTHING & FOOTWEAR Numerous clothing and footwear shops in shopping centres and markets operate all over India.Traditional outlets stock a limited range of cheap and popular items; in contrast, modern clothing and footwear stores have modern products and attractive displays to lure customers. However, with rapid urbanization, and changing patterns of consumer tastes and preferences, it is unlikely that the traditional outlets will survive the test of time. d) HOME FURNITURE & HOUSEHOLD GOODS Small retailers again dominate this sector. Despite the large size of this market, very few large and mod ern retailers have established specialized stores for these products.However there is considerable potential for the entry or expansion of specialized retail chains in the country. e) DURABLE GOODS 34 The Indian durable goods sector has seen the entry of a large number of foreign companies during the post liberalization period. A greater variety of consumer electronic items and household appliances became available to the Indian customer. Intense competition among companies to sell their brands provided a strong impetus to the growth for retailers doing business in this sector. f) LEISURE & PERSONAL GOODS Increasing household incomes due to better economic opportunities have ncouraged consumer expenditure on leisure and personal goods in the country. There are specialized retailers for each category of products (books, music products, etc. ) in this sector. Another prominent feature of this sector is popularity of franchising agreements between established manufacturers and retailer s. 35 INDIAN RETAIL IS MOVING INTO SECOND GEAR 1) FIRST GEAR: (Create awareness) * New retailers driving awareness * High degree of fragmentation * Real estate groups starting retail chains * Consumer expecting ‘value for money' as core value 2) SECOND GEAR: (Meet customer expectations) Consumer-driven * Emergence of pure retailers * Retailers getting multi-location and multi-format * Global retailers evincing interest in India 3) THIRD GEAR: (Back end management) * Category management * Vendor partnership * Stock turns * Channel synchronization * Consumer acquisition * Customer relation's management 4) FOURTH GEAR: (Consolidation) * Aggressive rollout 36 * Organized retail acquitting significant share * Beginning of cross-border movement * Mergers and acquisitions For a start, these retailers need to invest much more in capturing more specific market.Intelligence as well as almost real-time customer purchase behaviour information. The retailers also need to make substantial i nvestment in understanding/acquiring some advanced expertise in developing more accurate and scientific demand forecasting models. Re-engineering of product sourcing philosophies-aligned more towards collaborative planning and replenishment should then be next on their agenda. The message, therefore for the existing small and medium independent retailers is to closely examine what changes are taking place in their immediate vicinity, and analyze.Whether their current market offers a potential redevelopment of the area into a more modern multi-option destination. If it does, and most commercial areas in India do have this potential, it would be very useful to form a consortium of other such small retailers in that vicinity and take a pro-active approach to pool in resources and improve the overall infrastructure. 37 The next effort should be to encourage retailers to make some investments in improving the interiors of their respective establishments to make shopping an enjoyable expe rience for the customer.As the retail marketplace changes shape and competition increases, the potential for improving retail productivity and cutting costs is likely to decrease. Therefore, it will become important for retailers to secure a distinctive position in the marketplace based on value, relationships or experience. Finally, it is important to note that these strategies are not strictly independent of each other; value is function of not just price, quality and service but can also be enhanced by Personalization and offering a memorable experience.In fact, building relationships with customers can by itself increase the quality of overall customer experience and thus the perceived value. But most importantly for winning in this intensely competitive marketplace, it is critical to understand the target customer's definition of value and make an offer, which not only delights the customers but also is also difficult for competitors to replicate. Challenges of Retailing in Ind ia Retailing as an industry in India has still a long way to go. To become a truly flourishing industry, retailing needs to cross the following hurdles: Automatic approval is not allowed for foreign investment in retail. †¢ Regulations restricting real estate purchases, and cumbersome local laws. †¢ Taxation, which favours small retail businesses. †¢ Absence of developed supply chain and integrated IT management. 38 †¢ Lack of trained work force. †¢ Low skill level for retailing management. †¢ Intrinsic complexity of retailing – rapid price changes, constant threat of product obsolescence and low margins. The retailers in India have to learn both the art and science of retailing by closely following how retailers in other parts of the world are organizing, anaging, and coping up with new challenges in an ever-changing marketplace. Indian retailers must use innovative retail formats to enhance shopping experience, and try to understand the regiona l variations in consumer attitudes to retailing. Retail marketing efforts have to improve in the country – advertising, promotions, and campaigns to attract customers; building loyalty by identifying regular shoppers and offering benefits to them; efficiently managing high-value customers and monitoring customer needs constantly, are some of the aspects which Indian retailers need to focus upon on a more pro-active basis.Despite the presence of the basic ingredients required for growth of the retail industry in India, it still faces substantial hurdles that will retard and inhibit its growth in the future. One of the key impediments is the lack of FDI status. This has largely limited capital investments in supply chain infrastructure, which is a key for development and growth of food retailing and has also constrained access to world-class retail practices. 39 Multiplicity and complexity of taxes, lack of proper infrastructure and relatively high cost of real estate are the o ther impediments to the growth of retailing.While the industry and the government are trying to remove many of these hurdles, some of the roadblocks will remain and will continue to affect the smooth growth of this industry. Fitch believes that while the market share of organised retail will grow and become significant in the next decade, this growth would, however, not be at the same rapid pace as in other emerging markets. Organised retailing in India is gaining wider acceptance. The development of the organised retail sector, during the last decade, has begun to change the face of retailing, especially, in the major metros of the country.Experiences in the developed and developing countries prove that performance of organised retail is strongly linked to the performance of the economy as a whole. This is mainly on account of the reach and penetration of this business and its scientific approach in dealing with customers and their needs. In spite of the positive prospects of this industry, Indian retailing faces some major hurdles (see Table 1), which have stymied its growth. Early signs of organized retail were visible even in the 1970s when Nilgiris food), Viveks (consumer durables) and Nallis (sarees) started their operations. 40 However, as a result of the roadblocks (mentioned in Table 1), the industry remained in a rudimentary stage. While these retailers gave the necessary ambience to customers, little effort was made to introduce world-class customer care practices and improve operating efficiencies. Moreover, most of these modern developments were restricted to south India, which is still regarded as a ? Mecca of Indian Retail‘ KEY CHALLENGES: 1) LOCATION: â€Å"Right Place, Right choice†Location is the most important ingredient for any business that relies on customers, and is typically the prime consideration in a customers store choice. Locations decisions are harder to change because retailers have to either make sustainable investm ents to buy and develop real estate or commit to long term lease with developers. When formulating decision about where to locate, the retailer must refer to the strategic plan: * Investigate alternative trading areas. * Determine the type of desirable store location * Evaluate alternative specific store sites 2) MERCHANDISE:The primary goal of the most retailers is to sell the right kind of merchandise and nothing is more central to the strategic thrust of the retailing firm. 41 Merchandising consists of activities involved in acquiring particular goods and services and making them available at a place, time and quantity that enable the retailer to reach its goals. Merchandising is perhaps, the most important function for any retail organization, as it decides what finally goes on shelf of the store. 3) PRICING: Pricing is a crucial strategic variable due to its direct relationship with a firm's goal and its interaction with other retailing elements.The importance of pricing decisi ons is growing because today's customers are looking for good value when they buy merchandise and services. Price is the easiest and quickest variable to change. 4) TARGET AUDIENCE: â€Å"Consumer the prime mover† â€Å"Consumer Pull†, however, seems to be the most important driving factor behind the sustenance of the industry. The purchasing power of the customers has increased to a great extent, with the influencing the retail industry to a great extent, a variety of other factors also seem to fuel the retailing boom. 5) SCALE OF OPERATIONS:Scale of operations includes all the supply chain activities, which are carried out in the business. It is one of the challenges that the Indian retailers are facing. The cost of business operations is very high in India. 42 FactorsDescriptionImplications Barriers to FDIFDI not permitted in pureAbsence of global retailingplayers Franchisee arrangementLimited exposure to best allowedpractices Lack of IndustryGovernment does notRest ricted availability of Statusrecognize the industryfinance Restricts growth and scaling up StructuralLack of urbanizationLack of awareness of ImpedimentsPoor transportation nfrastructure Consumer habit of buying fresh foods Administered pricing Indian consumers Restricted retail growth Growth of small, one- store formats, with unmatchable cost structure Wastage of almost 20%- 25% of farm produce High Cost of RealPro-tenant rent laws EstateNon-availability of government land, zoning restrictions Lack of clear ownership titles, high stamp duty (10%) Supply ChainSeveral segments like food Bottlenecksand apparel reserved for Difficult to find good real estate in terms of location and size High land cost owing to constrained supply Disorganized nature of transactionsLimited product range Makes scaling up 43 SSIs Distribution, logistics constraints – restrictions of purchase and movement of food grains, absence of cold chain infrastructure Long intermediation chain difficult High c ost and complexity of sourcing & planning Lack of value addition and increase in costs by almost 15% Complex TaxationDifferential sales tax ratesAdded cost and Systemacross statescomplexity of Multi-point octroidistribution Sales tax avoidance byCost advantage for smaller storessmaller stores through ax evasion Multiple Legislations Stringent labour law governing hours of work, minimum wage payments Multiple licenses/clearances required CustomerLocal consumption habits PreferencesNeed for variety Cultural issues Limits flexibility in operations Irritant value in establishing chain operations; adds to overall costs Leads to product proliferation Need to stock larger number of SKUs at store level Increases complexity in sourcing & planning Increases the cost of 44 store management Availability of Talent Highly educated class does not consider retailing a rofession of choice Lack of proper training ManufacturersNo increase in margins Backlash Lack of trained personnel Higher trial and error in managing retail operations Increase in personnel costs Manufacturers refuse to dis-intermediate and pass on intermediary margins to retailers ORGANISED RETAILING IN INDIA: Organized retailing is spreading and making its presence felt in different parts of the country. The trend in grocery retailing, however, has been slightly different with a growth concentration in the South. However, the Mecca of retailing is undoubtedly Chennai.What was considered a `traditional', conservative' and `cost-conscious' market, proved to be the home ground for most of the successful retail names – Food World, Music World, Health and Glow, Titan, Big Bazaar and Tanishq -to name a few. 45 The choice of Chennai as the `retail capital' has surprised many, but a variety of factors acted in its favour. Chennai, in spite of being a rapidly growing metropolis offers reasonable real estate prices, one of the most critical elements for the industry. Chennai has been witnessing a high industrial growth and ncreasing presence of the MNCs, both in the IT sector as well as outside it. The industrial boom has led to the emergence of new residential areas with aggregation of professionals as well as a rapid increase in the number of `double-income' households and growth of the nouveau riche/upper middle class with increased purchasing power. These have been combined with the increasing need for touch and feel shopping (especially for the large migrant population). All the factors have acted favourably in nurturing the industry. Consumer- the prime mover: A variety of factors seem to influence the growth in the retailing industry. Consumer Pull', however, seems to be the most important driving factor behind the sustenance of the industry. In this context, A. F. Ferguson & Co. had carried out a brief survey among consumers across income segments to understand their spending pattern. An analysis of the `monthly purchase basket of the consumers surveyed indicated that the average mo nthly household spends on food and grocery related items varied across income segments. 46 For instance, in the case of upper income households, the average spend was around Rs 4,200 per month.As against this, the average spend in the case of a middle income household was around Rs. 2,850 and lower income households Rs. 1,250 per month. (This is computed from a sample of 100 customers having an average family size of four. ) Based on the distribution of the more than 15 lakh households in Chennai across income segments and the average spend, a conservative estimate of the grocery retailing potential at Chennai will be around Rs. 300 crores. Besides increasing purchasing power, a variety of other factors also seem to fuel the retailing boom.With increase in double-income households and working women, there is an increasing pressure on time with very little time being available for leisure. In this scenario, consumers are seeking the convenience of one-stop shopping, whereby they coul d have better utility of time. They are also seeking speed and efficiency in processing, as a result. 4 Being more aware, consumers are on the look-out for more information, better quality and hygiene as well as increased customer service. These changes in consumer behaviour also augur well for the retailing industry.However, in India there are no uniform trends with respect to consumer buying behaviour. There are visible differences in the shopping pattern of consumers across income segments as shown in the table. Organized retailing has definitely made headway in the upper class. However, even in this segment, items such as milk, fruits, vegetables and a significant portion of `through-the-month' purchases seem to be done at traditional outlets. The middle income class prefers shopping for processed food and personal care in supermarkets and fall back on traditional outlets for bulk shopping.Organized retail outlets seem to be associated with branded items/special purchases. Organ ized retailing does not seem to have made an impact on the lower class, except for `curiosity' shopping. The biggest question before organized retailers therefore, is whether this really means a huge untapped potential for the organized retailers and whether the conversion in mindset going to be easy. Emerging trends: 48 The single most important evolution that took place along with the retailing revolution was the rise and fall of the dotcom companies.A sudden concept of `non-store' shopping emerged, which threatened to take away the potential of the store. More importantly, the very nature of the customer segment being addressed was almost the same. The computer-savvy individual was also a sub-segment of the `store' frequenting traffic. Internationally, the concept of net shopping is yet to be proven. And the poor financial performance of most of the companies offering virtual shopping has resulted in store-based retailing regaining the upper hand. Other forms of non-store shoppin g including various formats such as catalogue/mail order shopping, direct elling, and so on are growing rapidly However, the size of the direct market industry is too limited to deter the retailers. For all the convenes. Once that it offers, electronic retailing does not suit products where `look and see' attributes are of importance, as in apparel, or where the value is very high, such as jewellery, or where the performance has to be tested, as of consumer durables. 49 The most critical issue in electronic retailing, especially in a country such as ours, relates to payments and the various security issues involved.Retail management skills: It is a fact that the retailing industry is in its starting phase in our country. The benefits of organized retailing will only be felt once an equitable scale is achieved. This to a large extent depends on the store size, the walkthroughs, and bills per customer per year, average bill size and the revenue earned per sq. ft. But besides resources and bottom line, a variety of other aspects need to be in place for tasting success. The need for qualified and trained manpower is of utmost importance.The need for specialized skills is increasingly felt in the areas of: Strategic management – strategizing, targeting and positioning, marketing and site selection, among others Merchandise management – Vendor selection, inventory management, pricing and so on Store management – Layout, display, customer relationship, inventory management, etc. Administrative Management – Human resources, finance, marketing and so on 50 With the need for specialized skill set, retailing has become a specialized area of knowledge and training.The RPG School of Retailing and the introduction of specialized retailing courses at various business schools, including the IIMs, stand testimony to this. Technology impact: The other important aspect of retailing relates to technology. It is widely felt that the key differentiator b etween the successful and not so successful retailers is primarily in the area of technology. Simultaneously, it will be technology that will help the organized retailer score over the unorganized players, giving both cost and service advantages. Retailing is a `technology-intensive' industry.It is quoted that everyday at least 500 gigabytes of data are transmitted via satellite from the 1,200 point-of-sales counters of JC Penney to its corporate headquarters. Successful retailers today work closely with their vendors to predict consumer demand, shorten lead times, reduce inventory holding and thereby, save cost. Wal-Mart pioneered the concept of building a competitive advantage through distribution and information systems in the retailing industry. They introduced two innovative logistics techniques – cross-docking and electronic data interchange.Today, online systems link point-of-sales terminals to the main office where detailed analyses on sales by item, classification, s tores or vendor are carried out online. 51 Besides vendors, the focus of the retailing sector is to develop the link with the consumer. `Data Warehousing' is an established concept in the advanced nations. With the help of `database retailing', information on existing and potential customers is tracked. Besides knowing what was purchased and by whom, information on softer issues such as demographics and psychographics is captured.Retailing, as discussed before, is at a nascent stage in our country. Most organized players have managed to put the front ends in place, but these are relatively easy to copy. The relatively complicated information systems and underlying technologies are in the process of being established. Most grocery retailers such as Food World have started tracking consumer purchases through CRM. The lifestyle retailers through their `affinity clubs' and `reward clubs' are establishing their processes.The traditional retailers will always continue to exist but organiz ed retailers are working towards revamping their business to obtain strategic advantages at various levels – market, cost, knowledge and customer. 52 With differentiating strategies – value for money, shopping experience, variety, quality, discounts and advanced systems and technology in the back-end, change in the equilibrium with manufacturers and a thorough understanding of the consumer behaviour, the ground is all set for the organized retailers.The bottom line could look brighter, after all! It would be important to note, however, that the retailing industry in India is still a `protected industry'. It is one of the few sectors which still have restrictions on FDI. Given the current trend in liberalization, it will not be long before the retailing sector is also thrown open to international competition. This will see a further segregation of the international retailing brands and the domestic retailers, thereby injecting much greater dynamism into the market. That will be when the real action will begin.In the second article on retailing, we uncover a model for retailers to handle the emerging scenario. India's retail sector is going to transform and with a three-year compounded annual growth rate of 46. 64 per cent, retail sector is the fastest growing sector in the Indian economy. Traditional markets are transforming themselves in new formats such as departmental stores, hypermarkets, supermarkets and specialty stores. Western-style malls have begun appearing in metros and near metro cities, introducing the Indian consumer to a new shopping experience.