girls fashion

The story of The Bombay Store reads like the history of India. When a store has as its visionaries, the pioneers of the independence movement, then its heritage is a glorious one. Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Munmohandas Ramji conceived the Bombay Swadeshi Cooperative Stores Co Ltd, which was inaugurated by India’s grand old man Dr Dadabhoy Naoroji on December 17, 1906. The other first directors of the store were Sir Ruttonji Jamshedji Tata, Sir Dwarkadas Dharamsey, Gordhandas Khatau and Balwant Ramchandra Natu. The store opened in the present Times of India building and was called Bombay Swadeshi with branches in Pune, Rajkot, and Cochin.In 1928, it moved to a place near the Victoria Terminus station and in 1938, it finally moved to its present location on Sir Phirozeshah Mehta Road. The store displayed the beautiful crafts and products of India. Spread over 10,000 sq ft over two floors, the Dalal family took over the store in 1991 and changed the name in 1995 to The Bombay Store, giving it a facelift into a contemporary lifestyle store with the tagline ‘India in a Store’.“Since all the other stores were offering everything contemporary and lifestyle, we wanted to take India to the world, be it tourists buying from us and taking things to their country, or at some point of time, open a store in the west to endorse all things Indian there. So now, the Bombay Store is Discovering new India with merchandise which is more contemporary,” informs managing director, Asim Dalal. Walking through the Bombay Store is like going into a treasure cave. There are 60 types of teas to sample, jewellery, gift items, household linen, clothes, crockery, cutlery, and many interesting crafts of India. The store offers six different categories, which are more fusion than traditional. There is a continuous change catering to younger customers. “Earlier our target was the 30 plus. Now, it is 21 plus, which is a larger audience,” adds Dalal.Besides the flagship store at PM Road, there are stores in the Phoenix Mall, and Inorbit Mall in Malad and Vashi. There are shop-in-shops at the Mumbai international airport at Lotus House and at the 1C Mumbai domestic airport. “We are looking out for more locations in Bandra and Juhu,” informs Dalal. Pune’s store is a 5000 sq ft at MG Road and there are two more in Inorbit Mall and Market City. Goa has one, Bangalore has two and Hyderabad has two at the domestic and international airports and maybe new ones will open in Banjara and Jubilee Hills.With foreign retailers entering India, Dalal is still confident of The Bombay Store brand. “We are in a niche market and don’t see foreign or international brands setting up a store like ours. Their concentration is on food and grocery stores like Carrefour and Wal-Mart or fashion like Marks and Spencer so home décor is different. They will bring an international flavour if they do come; while we will be Indian catering to a different audience. Places like Good Earth have a lot of imported products and furniture which is not what we want to get into. We do a lot of handicrafts and gifts. We would not compare ourselves to other Indian stores.”When the Dalals took over, the turnover was Rs 50 lakhs in 1991 and now it has grown to Rs 28 crores in 2010. Franchising has not been considered but could be at a later date. The recession did not affect Bombay Store. “Since October 2009 our growth has been very good. After 26/11 we had a little slow growth but now it is 18 per cent per annum and going forward we expect a higher turnover. We are doing a lot of marketing, merchandising and promotions in-house during festivals. On January 26 we gave a 26 per cent discount on all products and saw a 60 per cent increase in sales on that one day. During December we had international promotions like a Thai fest with dancers, products in collaboration with the Thai department of promotion to give a flavour of their artisans and their culture.”The best seasons for the store are from September to February with Christmas being bigger than Diwali since it is more family oriented with the tourist inflow also at its peak.The ad budget is 3-4 per cent of the turnover with spending on print and marketing. TV has not been considered though teleshopping is on the cards. In April 2010, the store went online for sales in India and later worldwide. BenzerBenzer started in 1982, was a one storey 4000 sq ft air-conditioned store selling expensive products like garments, jewellery, accessories, toys and furniture. Experts in the business predicted it would not last. In 1989 another floor was added for menswear, and furniture was replaced by saris and jewellery and the ground floor with ready-to-wear women’s and children’s garments. Ankur Savla, the second generation is in charge now. The launch of the 1800 sq ft Boulevard Benzer, now called Benzer, in December 2003 at Santa Cruz sells womenswear and used to stock creations of Bollywood designer, Rocky S. While the flagship Benzer store at Breach Candy (also popularly known as India’s Rodeo Drive where labels could soar or sink) is now a larger 8500 sq ft store.As much as 90 per cent of Benzer’s turnover comes from the Breach Candy store which has gents, women’s and kids wear, luggage, handbags, makeup, jewellery and perfumes. The other household categories have been dropped. “We were the first retailers to develop and open a mall – Centre One at Vashi, so we obviously believe that malls are here to stay but the characteristic of a mall, if it is dedicated to traditional retailers will affect our business. Benzer Menswear in Centre One is a project for us where we behave as a tenant,” declares Savla thoughtfully. Another big store which is 15,000 sq ft has opened in Ahmedabad and it has the same product profile as the one on Breach Candy.The growth of the stores has been 25 per cent. “We have control over our exclusive suppliers who send us samples which are checked by our team of six graduate designers who make the necessary changes if needed,” says Savla.A decade ago, Benzer started the menswear label Panache. ”But we converted it into Via Veneto since Panache was a little difficult for a lot of people to pronounce at that point of time in 1996,” admits Savla. Now the store plans to revive Panache with Via Veneto as well as the Benzer label for menswear but will give different identities to them.Benzer was the first retailer to sell online in 2001. It was a complete website in terms of giving an extended range of product offering to customers who could not come to India. It sold everything that NRIs wanted. More than adding to the turnover the site did a lot of communication for Benzer and is one of the most preferred sites worldwide. Catalogues are printed since 1991 but for in-store use only, since online sales have increased.Benzer’s ad campaigns by photographer Rafique Eliyas have been stunners since 1985 to-date using top Indian models as well as international ones. 20 per cent of the turnover is earmarked for advertising. “Many speciality stores if they evolve will do better than largeformat stores. If the product offering is good it does not matter whether it is Indian or international. Indian customers have never had the choice. Today they are choosy as they are getting much more than before and they are smart to know brands, pricing and quality. They are also experimental – they will try a foreign brand but will come back to their roots,” observes Savla. The story of The Bombay Store reads like the history of India. When a store has as its visionaries, the pioneers of the independence movement, then its heritage is a glorious one. Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Munmohandas Ramji conceived the Bombay Swadeshi Cooperative Stores Co Ltd, which was inaugurated by India’s grand old man Dr Dadabhoy Naoroji on December 17, 1906. The other first directors of the store were Sir Ruttonji Jamshedji Tata, Sir Dwarkadas Dharamsey, Gordhandas Khatau and Balwant Ramchandra Natu. The store opened in the present Times of India building and was called Bombay Swadeshi with branches in Pune, Rajkot, and Cochin.In 1928, it moved to a place near the Victoria Terminus station and in 1938, it finally moved to its present location on Sir Phirozeshah Mehta Road. The store displayed the beautiful crafts and products of India. Spread over 10,000 sq ft over two floors, the Dalal family took over the store in 1991 and changed the name in 1995 to The Bombay Store, giving it a facelift into a contemporary lifestyle store with the tagline ‘India in a Store’.“Since all the other stores were offering everything contemporary and lifestyle, we wanted to take India to the world, be it tourists buying from us and taking things to their country, or at some point of time, open a store in the west to endorse all things Indian there. So now, the Bombay Store is Discovering new India with merchandise which is more contemporary,” informs managing director, Asim Dalal. Walking through the Bombay Store is like going into a treasure cave. There are 60 types of teas to sample, jewellery, gift items, household linen, clothes, crockery, cutlery, and many interesting crafts of India. The store offers six different categories, which are more fusion than traditional. There is a continuous change catering to younger customers. “Earlier our target was the 30 plus. Now, it is 21 plus, which is a larger audience,” adds Dalal.Besides the flagship store at PM Road, there are stores in the Phoenix Mall, and Inorbit Mall in Malad and Vashi. There are shop-in-shops at the Mumbai international airport at Lotus House and at the 1C Mumbai domestic airport. “We are looking out for more locations in Bandra and Juhu,” informs Dalal. Pune’s store is a 5000 sq ft at MG Road and there are two more in Inorbit Mall and Market City. Goa has one, Bangalore has two and Hyderabad has two at the domestic and international airports and maybe new ones will open in Banjara and Jubilee Hills.With foreign retailers entering India, Dalal is still confident of The Bombay Store brand. “We are in a niche market and don’t see foreign or international brands setting up a store like ours. Their concentration is on food and grocery stores like Carrefour and Wal-Mart or fashion like Marks and Spencer so home décor is different. They will bring an international flavour if they do come; while we will be Indian catering to a different audience. Places like Good Earth have a lot of imported products and furniture which is not what we want to get into. We do a lot of handicrafts and gifts. We would not compare ourselves to other Indian stores.”When the Dalals took over, the turnover was Rs 50 lakhs in 1991 and now it has grown to Rs 28 crores in 2010. Franchising has not been considered but could be at a later date. The recession did not affect Bombay Store. “Since October 2009 our growth has been very good. After 26/11 we had a little slow growth but now it is 18 per cent per annum and going forward we expect a higher turnover. We are doing a lot of marketing, merchandising and promotions in-house during festivals. On January 26 we gave a 26 per cent discount on all products and saw a 60 per cent increase in sales on that one day. During December we had international promotions like a Thai fest with dancers, products in collaboration with the Thai department of promotion to give a flavour of their artisans and their culture.”The best seasons for the store are from September to February with Christmas being bigger than Diwali since it is more family oriented with the tourist inflow also at its peak.The ad budget is 3-4 per cent of the turnover with spending on print and marketing. TV has not been considered though teleshopping is on the cards. In April 2010, the store went online for sales in India and later worldwide. BenzerBenzer started in 1982, was a one storey 4000 sq ft air-conditioned store selling expensive products like garments, jewellery, accessories, toys and furniture. Experts in the business predicted it would not last. In 1989 another floor was added for menswear, and furniture was replaced by saris and jewellery and the ground floor with ready-to-wear women’s and children’s garments. Ankur Savla, the second generation is in charge now. The launch of the 1800 sq ft Boulevard Benzer, now called Benzer, in December 2003 at Santa Cruz sells womenswear and used to stock creations of Bollywood designer, Rocky S. While the flagship Benzer store at Breach Candy (also popularly known as India’s Rodeo Drive where labels could soar or sink) is now a larger 8500 sq ft store.As much as 90 per cent of Benzer’s turnover comes from the Breach Candy store which has gents, women’s and kids wear, luggage, handbags, makeup, jewellery and perfumes. The other household categories have been dropped. “We were the first retailers to develop and open a mall – Centre One at Vashi, so we obviously believe that malls are here to stay but the characteristic of a mall, if it is dedicated to traditional retailers will affect our business. Benzer Menswear in Centre One is a project for us where we behave as a tenant,” declares Savla thoughtfully. Another big store which is 15,000 sq ft has opened in Ahmedabad and it has the same product profile as the one on Breach Candy.The growth of the stores has been 25 per cent. “We have control over our exclusive suppliers who send us samples which are checked by our team of six graduate designers who make the necessary changes if needed,” says Savla.A decade ago, Benzer started the menswear label Panache. ”But we converted it into Via Veneto since Panache was a little difficult for a lot of people to pronounce at that point of time in 1996,” admits Savla. Now the store plans to revive Panache with Via Veneto as well as the Benzer label for menswear but will give different identities to them.Benzer was the first retailer to sell online in 2001. It was a complete website in terms of giving an extended range of product offering to customers who could not come to India. It sold everything that NRIs wanted. More than adding to the turnover the site did a lot of communication for Benzer and is one of the most preferred sites worldwide. Catalogues are printed since 1991 but for in-store use only, since online sales have increased.Benzer’s ad campaigns by photographer Rafique Eliyas have been stunners since 1985 to-date using top Indian models as well as international ones. 20 per cent of the turnover is earmarked for advertising. “Many speciality stores if they evolve will do better than largeformat stores. If the product offering is good it does not matter whether it is Indian or international. Indian customers have never had the choice. Today they are choosy as they are getting much more than before and they are smart to know brands, pricing and quality. They are also experimental – they will try a foreign brand but will come back to their roots,” observes Savla.