The Hindu Business Line : Tata's Croma looks for NRI expertise in durables retailing

Lack of talent in consumer durable retailing is making the Tata's Croma brand of stores target professionally qualified Indians returning from the West Asia.

Instead of hiring expatriates like in the rest of the retailing sectors, the company is planning to hire those Indians returning home having completed their contracts in the West Asian markets. Speaking to Business Line, Mr Ajit Joshi, CEO, Croma, said: "We are looking at Indian professionals returning from West Asia, who have got an electronics background. These would be people who have already finished their contracts in these markets."

Besides, the consumer electronics chain is planning to recruit qualified staff from training institutes with technical degrees. Adds Mr Joshi: "In this area it is not possible to get people by simply poaching from the other retailers. We are looking for people who can be qualified supervisors for the consumer durable category. In fact, there are very few good people in this market."

Setting benchmarks in consumer retailing in the country, Tata's Croma chain of stores is expected to raise the bar for recruitment for this sector.

"The major challenge for us in this category is understanding the changing technology in categories such as mobile phones and transferring this knowledge to our staff," says Mr Joshi, who was Vice-President, Operations, at Shoppers' Stop earlier.

A relatively new segment in retailing, consumer electronics and durables has lacked the presence of a national player in the past. With the Tatas making a foray with a back end sourcing arrangement with Australian major Woolworth, it now has the onus of building this category in the country.

The Tatas have plans of launching 30 Croma stores this year and are targeting a total of hundred stores by 2010. It has decided that all the stores will be company-owned.

"We are not adopting the franchise route and are happy with our current model," says Mr Joshi.

Besides, Croma would also be in a position to help the group's other retail venture, Trent, in case it decides to make a formal foray into the segment in the future. Mr Joshi says: "We are always open to helping our group companies and are open to tapping into each other's strengths."

Having resorted to a study on the potential of consumer durable retailing in the country done by the Tata Strategic Management Group two years ago, Croma is now poised to understand and grow the category with the help of its Australian partner.

More Stories on : Retailing | NRIs | Human Resources | Consumer Electronics

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