As a sophomore in college, when I read a book that elaborated on Supply Chain problems, I read a cliché ‘The Supply Chain is as strong as the weakest link’. The statement stood true to all the problems that I solved as a Supply Chain/Retail analyst at companies like Sterling Commerce, Oracle, QB Consulting and the MadOverGadgets project that I worked on. During my work at MadOverGadgets, I realized the extent to which India was a 'value for money' market.
1) Spend to save
India is aspirational; according to McKinsey - the 14 Million households that had more than $7,000 income in 2005 is now at 40 Million. The major contribution in this market came from the growth in the “Seekers” ($7,000-$17,500) category, which grew from 11 Million to 32 Million. The consumption/spend of the sections of this category were truly aspirational – but their income levels meant they couldn’t go overboard in spending. In our journey from a culture that saves a lot, to a culture that spends a lot – at every mile we cover and at every purchase that we make we questioned ourselves; 'Did I save – while I spent?' This is exactly what BigBazaar cashed in – with their slogan, “Is se sasta kahin nahi!" ("Nowhere cheaper than this!"). When the same culture spread to online buying – consumers spent most time in researching the cheapest place in airline ticketing and today theBargain.in offers exactly that.
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