Pantaloons – A Success Story in Organized Retail | AvantGarde (2024)

Retail plays a major role in increasing circulation and sales for all kinds of consumer goods and services. Countries like USA, U.K. and China are successful examples of the same. Consumer retail is the second-largest industry in the United States, both by the number of establishments and by the number of employees. Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, is also the world’s largest employer. It has become the most successful retail brand in the world due to its ability to leverage size, market segmentation, and its efficacy in assuming market dominance. Wal-Mart heads the Fortune magazine list of top 500 companies in the world.

Retail Scenario in India:

In India over 94% of the retail sector consists of traditional mom-and-pop stores and street-vendors. With no large players, infrastructure being far from adequate and a tiny part of the population being able to afford it, , Indian retail never attracted large business houses and majorly focused on niche product segments and luxury goods.. This was till they realized that retail in India is a USD $353 billion industry[BMI India Retail Report 2010] growing at a CAGR of 10% and contributing more than 25% to the country’s GDP. Today it might seem implausible that this important sector of the country’s economy had been overlooked by Corporate giants. However they cannot be squarely blamed too. Indian retail has traditionally been an unorganized sector, where retailers lacked the means as well as the will to develop or expand. Retail could also never enjoy the support of the Indian consumer, who is famous for being miserly and treated shopping as a form of leisure than a necessary evil, thus enjoying the thrill of discovering bargains and discount deals on his own.

Small gains, lack of infrastructure, an unattractive Indian consumer and absence of regulation never provided opportunities for retail giants to capitalize. Meanwhile, the Government preferred to remain silent while the unorganized retail sector provided a meager standard of living to millions in the country. Poverty plagued a majority of the population and the corporate giants preferred to spend their resources in areas like power and telecom where large-scale opportunities were abundant. Today the retail industry has witnessed a remarkable transformation.

The New Story

The country’s towering economic growth of around 8% has resulted in major shifts in the Indian economic class, with higher incomes leading to the growth of the Indian middle-class. This middle-class is aware of the standards of living in other countries, thanks to exposure through the tools of Globalization – the Media & the Internet. They have decided to thus adopt a “Spending” approach to improve their standard of living rather than the traditional “Saving” approach. The currently estimated value of organized Indian retail’s target population is larger than that of the entire United States. Voted the most attractive retail destination in the world for two years in a row, India is expected to witness 10% growth in its retail sector over the next few years (Source: “Retail in India – Getting Organized to drive growth.” CII-A.T. Kearney, Nov. 2006, Assocham Press Release). Recognizing the short-term and long-term growth of retail in India, a number of domestic business giants have entered the retail industry. We focus on the factors that have led to the success of Kishore Biyani’s Pantaloon Retail.

Pantaloons – A Success Story in Organized Retail|AvantGarde (1)

Pantaloon’s Story

Pantaloon’s success and continuous growth in the Indian organized Retail market can be attributed to a number of factors, some of which have been derived from the strategies of large retailers in the west, while others are completely tailor-made for the Indian market. What is evident at the outset is that Biyani has foreseen and understood the Indian retail roadmap better than anyone else.

Pantaloon’s major advantage over its competitors in the retail sector has been its unique understanding of the Indian organized retail market with all its quirks, shortcomings and challenges. By creating a retail business from the ground-up and expanding rapidly, Pantaloon has followed a Wal-Mart-like pattern of growth. However, unlike Wal-Mart, it decided to experiment with as many retail formats, product-mixes and brands as was possible in order to gain maximum knowledge about the uncertain Indian mindset. In fact, newer entrants in the organized retail market would learn the ways of the unique Indian organized retail sector as well as find a way to combat Pantaloon’s dominant market share in almost all forms of organized retail a daunting task.

What did it do Right ?

The Retail Experiment Multiple Formats, Multiple Brands

Pantaloon has experimented with every retail format possible. Most of their experiments have proven to be successful and Pantaloon continues to experiment while expanding existing ventures. However, the real reward of these experiments is the knowledge and experience gained- This was most elusive in a previously untouched and unknown organized retail sector. This is an example of Pantaloon adapting itself to the Indian market rather than attempting to copy a Wal-Mart. The experimentation process did not end with testing different store formats alone: Pantaloon is also experimenting with a variety of products. From men’s wear the company has moved on to introduce furniture, sportswear, kitchen appliances, food, electronics and children’s apparel. Again, it seems to know what works and what doesn’t in the Indian market, something that would not have been this apparent even 1 decade ago.

Pantaloon has also introduced a number of private brands. For example, it has experimented with launching clothing lines based on famous Bollywood blockbusters.. Within the brand retailing space, Pantaloon has also tied up with some of India’s most popular brands like Gini and Jony to sell them at their stores. Rather than attempt to compete with existing popular brands the company has decided to partner with them and leverage them in the ambiguous Indian market. These brands have achieved success and a loyal fan following; Pantaloon’s move has brought in more customers then they could retain.

The competitors do have the opportunity to learn from the experiences of India’s largest retailer, but the experience that comes with managing these diverse retail formats in the Indian scenario is something that new entrants will have to learn on their own. Due to the pace at which Pantaloon had moved, it has made several sectors of organized retail out of anybody’s reach.

The Right Joint Ventures at the Right Time

In accordance with its experimentation policy Pantaloon has formed key joint ventures with a number of popular names like Staples and Starbucks. With its first-mover advantage, it actively shut doors for the competition by snapping up major brands before others could get to them.

Pantaloons – A Success Story in Organized Retail|AvantGarde (2)

Versatile Retailing

Rather than expand as a menswear retailer alone, Pantaloon’s policy of comprehensive experimentation has given it an important advantage – a versatile retail presence. Consumers see Pantaloon as an exclusive brand retailer, discount retailer, specialty retailer and food retailer: all at once. One of the reasons for this versatility is that the brand name has not been forced on, or even associated with the different products and stores other than the original menswear line. Instead, each store and product has been given its own identity and presence. Pantaloon is essentially an organized retailer in the guise of a large number and variety of unorganized retailers. This again represents the company’s unique understanding of the Indian scenario – consumers often feel threatened in a monopolistic environment, and are thus allowed to choose between multiple brands, all of which essentially belong to the same parent !!

Strengthening Back End Operations: Supply-Chain

A robust Supply chain serves as the backbone of a successful retail chain in the long-run. Although the company ignored these aspects in initial phases due to the inadequacies in infrastructure, it rightly favored experimentation over organization. But to continue to grow at the pace it had acquired in the first few years, it needed to pay attention to its sourcing network, transportation system and other logistics.. What Pantaloon is and will always have to improvise on is the absence of basic infrastructure like transportation and regulation. The pace of expansion of the retail industry is likely to outstrip that of development of the country’s infrastructure. Pantaloon will have to be innovative in deciding as to how it compensates for these inadequacies while efficiently managing its supply chain.

Money: The Ultimate Differentiator

Pantaloon has the upper hand as compared to most potential foreign and domestic competitors. However the same characteristics that have made it an exclusive and versatile retailer can prove to be a disadvantage. Much of Pantaloon’s competition comes from either retail ventures of other large Indian industrial houses (Reliance Retail, Birla’s retail venture) or foreign retail giants (Wal-Mart). In other words, Pantaloon’s competition is rich, very rich. While the competition may not have made inroads into the Indian market as thoroughly as Pantaloon, it still has enough money to compensate for this shortcoming.

Summary

Through a carefully executed policy of comprehensive multi-format experimentation, Pantaloon has managed to understand and take advantage of the compressed evolution of the organized Indian retail industry (mentioned earlier) to become the dominant player. As far as industry knowledge, experience and skill are concerned, Pantaloon with its dream team is looking in good shape. Now it is facing stiff competition that is financially better-equipped. How it takes advantage of its existing resources, accesses additional capital and competes with its competitors in a race to develop an efficient supply-chain will determine the future of the company. While the task is daunting, Pantaloon has more leeway and an enormous head-start compared to anyone else.

Pantaloons – A Success Story in Organized Retail|AvantGarde (3)

Atul Mishra,

MBA Batch of 2012,

IIT Kanpur

Pantaloons – A Success Story in Organized Retail | AvantGarde (2024)

FAQs

What are the achievements of Pantaloons? ›

Pantaloons awarded Gold for “This Pujo You are the celebration, you are the gift (Sheros) (Sep 2021)” and Silver for “Non Stop Pujo (Sep 2022)” Campaigns for Creative Excellence in Advertising in Fashion, Jewellery & Lifestyle Category at the Exchange4Media PrimeTime Awards 2022.

What is the brand philosophy of Pantaloons? ›

Pantaloons believes in delivering an experience that is exciting, friendly and uplifting for its customers and helps them look and feel great!

Who is the target audience of Pantaloons? ›

pantaloons.com Audience Demographics

pantaloons.com's audience is 48.05% male and 51.95% female. The largest age group of visitors are 25 - 34 year olds (Desktop).

What are the strategic objectives of Pantaloons? ›

Pantaloon should focus on developing a link between its people and organizational objectives & develop trust so that employees feel valued. Strategically Pantaloon must concentrate on external environment as Human resources are in good demand in the organized retail industry.

What went wrong with pantaloons? ›

The debts came in with aggressive expansion plans and high capital cost. What also failed at their end was multi-brand FDI in retail which which PRIL was cashing in on, and that never took a flight. “The company has been incurring losses for past two years now with monthly/quarterly interest outlook of `150-200 crore.

When did pantaloons become popular? ›

Pantaloons became fashionable in early nineteenth-century England and the Regency era. The style was introduced by Beau Brummell (1778–1840) and by mid-century had supplanted breeches as fashionable street-wear.

What is Pantaloons brand personality? ›

BRAND IDENTITY: PANTALOONS

goods, Pantaloons has never forsaken the quality and comfort of its completed products. people from different cultures and generations. Personality: What is Pantaloons when it becomes a person | Aggressive yet calm, mature, confident, beautiful, well-kempt, modest, unpretentious.

What is Pantaloons motto? ›

We strive to make the Pantaloons experience exciting, friendly & uplifting.

Is Pantaloons a sustainable brand? ›

ABFRL, which owns wildly popular brands like Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, and Allen Solly, and also the Pantaloons store chain, has achieved 88% sustainable packaging in FY2021 and aims for 100% by 2025.

Who are the key competitors of Pantaloons retail? ›

Pantaloons's competitors and similar companies include Mega Perintis Group, O'STIN, Browns Fashion and Calzedonia Group. Pantaloons is a brand of clothing products operated by ABFRL (Aditya Birla Fashion Retail).

Who do you think are the key competitors of Pantaloons retail? ›

pantaloons.com's top 5 competitors in March 2023 are: lifestylestores.com, maxfashion.in, ajio.com, myntra.com, and more.

Who are Pantaloons competitors? ›

The closest competitor to the pantaloons.com is maxfashion.in that ranks 37500 worldwide, 5521 in India.

What are the future plans of pantaloons? ›

The company plans to add 250 Pantaloons stores in the next three years across 100 new towns. It is on course to increase share of private labels from 61% in FY20 to 75% in FY25. E-commerce channel scaled up 3x during FY21 and is likely to to contribute 8-10% of sales by FY25.

What are the four strategic objectives? ›

Consider all four “perspectives” when creating strategic objectives. The Balanced Scorecard has four perspectives—financial, customer, internal processes, and people (learning and growth).

What is the history of pantaloons? ›

The Company was incorporated as Peter England Fashions and Retail Limited on April 19, 2007 under the Act under CIN No. U1810MH2007PLC233901 and obtained the certificate of commencement of business on May 14, 2007. The name of the company was changed to Pantaloons Fashion & Retail Limited on April 23, 2013.

What is the new name of Pantaloon retail? ›

In 2013, Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited (ABNL) took over Pantaloons.

What is the rank of pantaloons in world? ›

In the Fashion market in India, pantaloons.com is ranked #11 with > US$30m in 2021.

Why is it called pantaloons? ›

When trousers of a similar style became popular during the Restoration in England, they became known as pantaloons, Pantaloon being an Anglicization of Pantalone.

Why do people wear pantaloons? ›

Pantaloons were recommended for men whose legs were both slim and muscular. The idea was to show off a good leg.

Why did people wear pantaloons? ›

Some women, particularly wealthy ladies who wore the very sheer garments of the Empire dress period, adopted men's drawers (sometimes known as pantaloons) for modesty purposes. These were close-fitting and crafted of flesh coloured material to create an illusion of nudity under the dress.

Who is the main owner of pantaloons? ›

Kishore Biyani is an Indian businessman who is the Founder & CEO of Future Group, one of India's biggest brick-and-mortar retailers. He is also the founder of retail businesses such as Pantaloon Retail and Big Bazaar.

How big is Pantaloon store? ›

A Pantaloons store typically on an average occupies 20,000 sq ft and entails an investment of Rs 2,500 per sq ft. The group operates 26 stores across the nation.

What is the example of pantaloon? ›

Pantaloon Sentence Examples

He raised what looked like a pantaloon. It would be easier for them to hobble to town with a broken leg than with a broken pantaloon. Not for him ' the lean and slippered pantaloon ' . The pantaloon's little daughter was my mother's goddaughter, and my thoughts were full of her.

What does pantaloons mean in slang? ›

(in the modern pantomime) a foolish, vicious old man, the butt and accomplice of the clown.

What is another name for pantaloons? ›

On this page you'll find 42 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to pantaloons, such as: knickers, shorts, slacks, trousers, underpants, and bermudas.

What is the original name of pantaloons? ›

-The Company has changed its name from Peter England Fashions and Retail Ltd. to Pantaloons Fashion & Retail Ltd.

What is the most sustainable brand? ›

Siemens is ranked as the most sustainable company in its industry by The Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) published in November 2021.

Are Pantaloons and pants the same thing? ›

Pantaloons is the anglicised version of pantalone. As fashion continued to change the term Pantaloons carried on being used for the various types of trousers. So in the 19th century our friends over the pond in America abbreviated the word. Pantaloons became its current form of 'pants'.

What is the distribution channel of Pantaloons? ›

Pantaloons Place & Distribution Strategy:

Pantaloons offers sales through omni channel.

Who is the new owner of Pantaloons? ›

Pantaloons Fashion & Retail, which was acquired by Aditya Birla Nuvo, announced change in its name to 'Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd'. NEW DELHI: Pantaloons Fashion & Retail, which was acquired by Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (ABNL), today announced change in its name to 'Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd'.

Who acquired Pantaloons? ›

The Board of Directors of Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd. (ABNL) has approved the proposed acquisition of a controlling stake in Future Group's Pantaloons Format business post its demerger from Pantaloons Retail (India) Ltd.

Who is the head of marketing Pantaloons? ›

Suneet Singh - Marketing Head - Pantaloon Retail India Ltd | LinkedIn.

What is the name of the world's largest apparel Retail industry? ›

Inditex was founded in A Coruña, Spain 34 years ago in 1985, the company is now the largest fashion group in the world operating in over 93 markets, with over 7292 stores worldwide.

Who are fast retailing biggest competitors? ›

Fast Retailing's main international competitors—Hennes & Mauritz ab, the parent company of h&m, and Inditex, the parent of Zara—are based in Sweden and Spain respectively.

Where are the Pantaloons based? ›

The Pantaloons
The Pantaloons logo
Formation2004
Purposecomedy, open air, Shakespeare
LocationUnited Kingdom
Artistic director(s)Steve Purcell, Caitlin Storey, Mark Hayward
3 more rows

Are bloomers and Pantaloons the same thing? ›

Pantaloons were men's pants, pantalettes were underwear from the 1820s, bloomers were outerwear, and knickers were a lesser used name.

In which year was Pantaloons voted as India's No 1 trusted apparel retailer? ›

It was voted as 'India's Most Trusted Apparel Retail Brand' in 2015.

Who are the major competitors of Allen Solly? ›

The other five competitors in the top 10 list are ajio.com (29.4M visits in February 2023), pantaloons.com (880.3K visits in February 2023), lifestylestores.com (1.7M visits in February 2023), planetfashion.in (91.5K visits in February 2023), and jackjones.in (829.6K visits in February 2023).

Does Pantaloons return money back? ›

Pantaloons provides refunds in 2 different forms: Credit Card/Debit Card/UPI/Net Banking: For Orders placed with Credit Card, Debit Cards, UPI or Net Banking, the refunds will be done through payment gateway to the account / card / wallet from which the original payment was made.

What are the 4 P's of strategic planning? ›

Creating a competitive advantage in business requires strategy, which can be broken down into four Ps: Plan, Pattern, Position, and Perspective. Once you have those parameters down, you also have a road map to accomplishing your business goals.

What are the 3 main goals of a business? ›

When building a business, you should concentrate on a different hierarchy: Survive. Sustain. Profit.

What is a good strategy statement? ›

The statement consists of three components: objective, scope and competitive advantage. All three components must be expressed as clearly as possible. A well-written strategy statement will help employees and the organization to understand their roles when executing the company's strategy.

What are the achievements of pantaloons? ›

Pantaloons awarded Gold for “This Pujo You are the celebration, you are the gift (Sheros) (Sep 2021)” and Silver for “Non Stop Pujo (Sep 2022)” Campaigns for Creative Excellence in Advertising in Fashion, Jewellery & Lifestyle Category at the Exchange4Media PrimeTime Awards 2022.

What is the short form of pantaloons? ›

As time went on, the word pantaloon was shortened in the United States to pants.

Who is the brand ambassador of pantaloons? ›

Fashion retailer Pantaloons has roped in Lara Dutta and Bobby Deol as brand ambassadors. They will henceforth feature in all the new print advertisem*nts and television commercials for Pantaloons.

What are pantaloons in history of fashion? ›

Pantaloons (also referred to as pantalettes) are loose, pants-like undergarments that covered women's lower halves in the late 18th and early 19th century.

What are the competitive brands of pantaloons? ›

pantaloons.com's top 5 competitors in March 2023 are: lifestylestores.com, maxfashion.in, ajio.com, myntra.com, and more.

Who is the main owner of Pantaloons? ›

Kishore Biyani is an Indian businessman who is the Founder & CEO of Future Group, one of India's biggest brick-and-mortar retailers. He is also the founder of retail businesses such as Pantaloon Retail and Big Bazaar.

Why is it called Pantaloons? ›

When trousers of a similar style became popular during the Restoration in England, they became known as pantaloons, Pantaloon being an Anglicization of Pantalone.

How many brands have pantaloons? ›

Among the 100 most trusted brands in India!

​We offer a versatile collection & retail over 100 licensed and international brands, including our exclusive in-house brands. We strive to make the Pantaloons experience exciting, friendly & uplifting.

What is a synonym for pantaloon? ›

On this page you'll find 42 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to pantaloons, such as: knickers, shorts, slacks, trousers, underpants, and bermudas.

What is the modern English of pantaloons? ›

noun. pantaloons, a man's close-fitting garment for the hips and legs, worn especially in the 19th century, but varying in form from period to period; trousers.

What were pants called in the 1800s? ›

Breeches continued to be worn for very formal evening occasions until the 1820s when trousers replaced breeches for full dress. Breeches also continued to be a requirement of gentlemen's court dress throughout the 19th century.

What came after pantalettes? ›

Knickers were much roomier (wider in the leg and seat) and shorter in length. Moving away from heavier cottons, these garments were made from batiste or a fine lawn fabric. Over the pantalettes would be a chemise, as you see in the photographs to the left.

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