The Hindu Business Line : Swadeshi and beyond

Founded by Bal Gangadhar Tilak on December 17, 1906, The Bombay Swadeshi Store was the bricks and mortar manifestation of the Swadeshi movement. Today The Bombay Store - `Swadeshi' was dropped from its name in 1995 - is planning to go global.

"One area we are very seriously looking at is tying up or having franchises outside the country," Managing Director Asim Dalal said. "We feel that The Bombay Store is a brand that, given the kinds of products that we sell, we can easily set up a store internationally."

Why not set up a store outside the country himself?

"I would rather set up stores in my own country where I understand the market better, where I can see the potential and where I can see the growth of retail happening," Dalal said.

"My strengths are sourcing and the brand name," he added. "If I provide these two with the expertise of running the day-to-day operations, and tie up with someone willing to put up the money and willing to run the show, then that would be a better marriage."

Dalal's sights are set on the West, from Europe to South Africa to West Asia. His target market is primarily the citizens of those countries. Yet he is in no particular hurry to set up shop, preferring to wait for the right model, product mix and strategy.

When it comes to India, however, Dalal is more bullish.

"In India, we really need to open more outlets and be visible," he said.

The Bombay Store currently has six outlets. There is the signature store, which was originally set up in The Times of India building on Dr. D.N. Road, then moved to Cruikshank Road near Victoria Terminus for a decade, before it put down roots in its current location on Sir Pherozeshah Mehta road in 1938. In addition, the Bombay Store has an outlet in the Mumbai Airport (1997), one in Pune (1997), one in Bangalore (2000), and two in Hyderabad (2005 and 2006). The second Hyderabad store is located in the Novotel (an Accor property), making it The Bombay Store's first foray into hotels.

According to Dalal, the plan is to open another 28-30 stores over the next three to five years. The stores could be stand-alone stores or they could be embedded in airports, hotels or malls.

"It doesn't have to be a 10,000 sq. ft. store [that we open], Dalal said. "It could be a smaller store only doing gifts and artefacts, or a signature store. The sizes will differ."

Dalal has already identified two locations within the Greater Mumbai area where he would like to build new stores. Vashi is one. The other is the western suburbs where he is looking at a location between Bandra and Malad.

He is also open to the idea of setting up a store within another department store, but it isn't a bandwagon he is planning to jump on, despite the impending retail boom.

"The thing is that there is always going to be the question of whether we are going to dilute our brand," he points out. "We are not closed to the idea but our first priority is to set up our own stores. Our brand stands out on its own and needs to be on its own. Plus as a shop-in-shop you are dependant on how many walk-ins that shop is able to generate. But we are open to anything that makes good commercial sense and doesn't super-dilute our brands."

At the same time Dalal is quick to emphasise that he is not the in the game of numbers.

"This is not a mass brand. Although we are not a luxury brand, we are not a mass brand. We are a niche retailer, a speciality store and therefore we have to be very careful and particular about which cities we choose, and when I talk about cities, I am talking about metros. We do not feel that because an X or a Y company is growing at 50 or 100 per cent that we have to do that," he explains.

Dalal estimates the expansion to cost between Rs 30 crore and Rs 35 crore, which he would like to raise through private equity. The Bombay Swadeshi Store became the first retail outlet to be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange in 1963. The Dalal family is the majority shareholder and the store posted revenues of Rs 24 crore last year. Given the store's expansion plans, Dalal wants to at least double that figure going forward.

"The way we are moving forward, we would have to double our turnover," he says. "If you are talking of that many outlets, that itself is going to increase turnover. The 24 should become 48 or 50."

The family took over the store in 1991, and Asim Dalal took over as managing director in 1994. The name change in 1995 was made to attract a younger audience.

"In 1995 we re-christened the store as The Bombay Store keeping in mind globalisation, Dalal says. "Swadeshi had lost its meaning. The idea was to make it simple and let youngsters start associating themselves with the store. And that happened when we started marketing to a younger audience."

While Dalal was determined to revitalise the store, he was equally determined to keep intact its defining characteristic.

"What was Bombay Swadeshi step up for? To promote Swadeshi products, Dalal explained. "What are Swadeshi products? Made-in-India products. What was the theme when we re-launched the Bombay Store? We said we want to be "India in a store." It means the same thing. That hasn't changed," he says.

The Bombay store offers shoppers a choice of four categories: home furnishing, home accessories, fashion accessories and fashion. The overall theme of the store is gift and home and Dalal has no desire to venture into segments like furniture or white goods.

As part of the store's 100-year celebrations, the management has decided to adopt 100 girl children and sponsor their education through Nanhi Kali, a project of the K.C. Mahindra Trust which allows an individual or group to sponsor the education of a girl child for Rs. 1,800 per annum.

"I think the two things India needs most is education and health," Dalal said. "Obviously we are not big enough to do it all so we decided to tackle education first, and girl children tend to get neglected."

"At the end of it all though, now that we are 100 years old, or I should say 100 years young, we would like to put our energies into setting up new stores," he added. "That should be our focus."