Are you ready for round two? It's a fresh battle

New year is the season for change. More so if you are in a retail environment. Add FDI and new investments chasing the consumption growth opportunity into the mix. You will now appreciate the amount of change we are looking at. The last time such large-scale expansion and investments happened was in the year 2005.

Fighting spirit: The then-existing retailers raised their sensitivity and fought-off new competition. A great zeal of energy & enthusiasm flowed from the incumbent retailers. They analyzed competition, acquired new tools, modernized their stores, upgraded their knowledge and prepared the plan of attack to conquer the market.

Result: Traditional retailers not only survived but also expanded in this scenario to fight another day. GoFrugal became one of the big beneficiaries of this heightened sense of awareness, and thus helped them take their fight to the competition. But that was way back in 2005!

This 2014, we see similar economic scenario – large multinationals & domestic houses investing big-time on creating and expanding retail operations. But, I see the fighting spirit waning in traditional, especially successful retailers. They seem to have taken success for granted.

Let’s not forget that no business earns immunity from failure, however ‘big’ it is.

On the other hand, I see 2014 presenting a level playing field to those who plan to enter retail. This time though, the environment is different. Technology adoption is a lot bigger differentiator in the current labour market and to meet the ever-growing consumer expectations.

It is all the more important to recognize that the side-effects of failure is wisdom. The side-effects of success is complacency. The challengers are coming back after a failure and this is no time for the incumbents to be complacent.

So, are you one of those with an ‘I want to fight to succeed and emerge stronger‘ attitude? I request you to share your expectations, as well as the new tools required to attack the competition. I am sure you will then find GoFrugal to be an able collaborator in your next phase of growth.

Welcome 2014 – Let’s burn our complacency