Grocery Stores in Hyderabad

Uniform-clad sales personnel merchandizing neatly-packed food stuff in spotless urban bazaars isn’t a rare phenomenon these days. Thanks to the ever-increasing slug-fest, better service, new products, greater convenience and pleasant ambience are a given in the retail industry. If figures are to be believed, the retail sector is expected to touch a whopping $427 billion mark by 2010 from the current level of $300 billion. And to ensure a share in the growing pie, retailers are ferreting out new methods to ensure unalloyed pleasure for the discerning shopper.

Hyderabad as a city has had its share of retail buzz as well. The conventional marketplace which included the ubiquitous stores and the disheveled sabzi mandis has taken a backseat with the entry of the swanky departmental stores, hypermarkets and super markets.

Customers on their part are not complaining either. As Dr. Padmaja Shaw, a Hyderabadi, who has been abroad for some time points out, "It's like a dream come true. Today, you don't have to spend time and effort negotiating prices for fruits and vegetables in messy markets. All these stores of today remind me of the super markets in the US. Shopping today is hassle-free and a pleasant experience rather than a chore."

Competition among the retail players is, however, hotting up in the city. While mega-conglomerate Reliance decided to start its retail venture – Reliance Fresh - from Hyderabad, the domestically-acclaimed Heritage Foods has also announced plans with regard to entering the fray with Fresh@.

In such a scenario, retailers are dishing out new methods to woo the potential customer. For instance, Food World has come out with a special offer - Buy one and get one for Rs. 9 – which, according to the store manager, Mrs Roseline, has evinced keen interest from the city’s denizens. She adds, “Today's customers demand discounts on the maximum retail price apart from free gifts. They look for great quality at lesser prices. To gratify these needs, we keep introducing numerous timely offers. We need to use this tactic to lure customers to our stores."

Another method being used by retailers is stocking shelves with imported products. The variety being offered includes apples from Washington, grapes from Australia, pears from China and even dried apricots from Turkey. Apart from fruits and vegetables, fruit spreads from France, energy drinks from Taiwan and Austria, German pickles, pizza sauce from New York and pasta sauce from Australia have also started occupying shelf space today.

According to a store manager of a Reliance Fresh outlet, "Imported apples are the favorites of our customers. Earlier only the conventionally rich people were our target customers for imported stuff but now the upper middle class populace does not hesitate to shell out big bucks either.” However, Mrs Roseline from Food World thinks otherwise. She says, "Indians don't ask for imported stuff because of the high costs. Just about 5-10 per cent of such fruits are bought by the locals. It’s basically the expatriates who opt for these." Nevertheless, both continue to offer imported stuff so as to meet the needs of all kinds of customers.

Retailers today are even refurbishing their interiors. The nearby kiranawala who would have happily continued selling groceries from a dinky old room seems to have woken up to the growing competition. He isn't shying away from spending money to ensure his survival in the retail battle. The outcome of this battle may change the rules that operate the retail industry. It seems that the customer, however, will continue to remain the unvanquished winner.