Two basketball players X and Y wanted to buy Nike shoes, X went to a Nike showroom and Y went to a Shoppers Stop. X enjoyed the Nike store’s atmosphere where he was exposed to the exhaustive range and hence bought exactly what he was looking for. Y on the other hand, got spoilt with offerings from various brands but limited variety in each. He got to weigh his options and bought an Adidas which offered more value for money. Although both identified with Nike’s brand personality, the fact that Y went to a multi brand store and was subsequently exposed to more options of different brands helped him choose Adidas. X enjoyed the extensive collection of Nike shoes which satisfied him and retained brand loyalty towards Nike.
A branded outlet carries exclusively the range of one brand and has the advantage of creating a store ambiance to convey its brand image. It gives the brand an option to choose the location, size and configuration of the store. Unique promotional sales offers may be implemented at any time. This provides the brand with greater control over its sales activities.
Multi-brand outlets put a company and its products right in the middle of the arena with its competitors. This enables new offerings to be showcased in a way in which consumers can compare and decide. The sheer volume of customers who are going to Multi-brand outlets (Shopper’s Stop achieved one million footfalls in 90 days) makes it essential that it cannot be ignored.
Traditionally, Branded outlets were employed by companies but now there are ever increasing ways of reaching one’s customers with Multi-brand outlets being the most prominent alternative. Stores like Lifestyle, Maria Luisa, Aeffe SpA, Croma etc are gaining popularity with consumers. Companies like the Future Group have gone a step further and established Multi-brand outlets differentiated on the basis of concept eg: Food Bazaar, Fashion Bazaar etc.
From the point of view of the