Latest news with #Teckchandani
India Today
3 days ago
- Business
- India Today
Retail gets personal: How brands are fast learning what you want
Retail is transforming fast with 'phygital' and 'omnichannel' as buzzwords, allowing customers to order online, pick offline and vice versa. The trend was discussed in the panel discussion 'Brick & Mortar in a Digital World: Retail's Road Ahead' at the recent Indo-UAE Conclave 2025 in Dubai, organised by the India Today Group, where speakers analysed the strengths of physical stores and how digital is being used to augment those benefits while bringing in cost and inventory optimisation for Teckchandani, CEO of the UAE-based fashion and retail conglomerate Apparel Group, said each of the retailers today is in the world of omnichannel or what is now called connected Group today has close to 2,400 stores across 14 countries, of which roughly 1,900-plus are within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), besides a large e-commerce business, 'It's no longer digital versus physical, but about how you catch the consumer,' Teckchandani the consumer journey starts with digital. Around 75 per cent of the time, the customer has already done all the research or looked at the product online. And then, the transaction may end up at the retail store—or not. This allows the flexibility to buy online but refund or exchange at the store, or vice versa, he says. Apparel Group has also ventured into quick commerce, wherein they are offering 60-minute delivery and using their network of 1,900 retail stores as fulfilment centres for online Markose, CEO, international business, Titan Company Limited, shared how digital commerce is rising in India but offline had its own critical mass. Sharing an example, he said when they acquired CaratLane in 2016, it was an online company with about Rs 600 crore in revenue, of which 99.5 per cent came from online crossed Rs 4,000 crore last year. And from 99.5 per cent, revenue online has dropped to just 8 per cent, with in-store revenue now contributing 92 per cent. 'Today, the sweet spot is in the middle. You can't just be digital, and you can't just be a traditional physical company—you've got to be in both spaces,' said key thing is that in every category, there's a price point below which people are very comfortable buying online. So in India, for watches, it's about $40—anything below that, people are happy to buy online; anything above that, they prefer to see it in stores. In jewellery, that threshold is around $200. This varies from category to category, he leveraging technologies like AVRs or artificial intelligence, Teckchandani said brands are building 'stores of the future', which offer full experience and digital transformation for customers at the store level. For instance, they have installed smart mirrors at their Tommy Hilfiger store and have a phygital store established in Dubai Hills Mall—the first in the region. This includes mobile point of sale and frictionless checkout. Even the loyalty programme is offered through a mobile app instead of a plastic said Teckchandani, are also being used to improve backend operations. These include a lot of digital tools which are used for store transfer optimisation, markdown optimisation, price optimisation and allocation optimisation. 'All of these ensure the product is where it should be and where the consumer is—creating a positive customer journey by ensuring that you carry the best SKUs (stock keeping units) in the same store.'advertisementMarkose said the India and UAE markets have been closely linked for a long time. Commerce and trade between the Middle East and India began 2,000 to 4,000 years ago with the spice trade between the Arabs and a result, the Middle East was their first preferred destination to take the Tanishq brand outside India, due to the large Indian diaspora. But they had to adapt it to suit the retail market in the Middle East. For instance, the store formats there are much smaller than in India, some of their stores are 30,000 sq ft—that size and scale doesn't work in the UAE. Another aspect was that jewellery sales in the UAE is very transactional. The levels of customer service that Tanishq provides in India were not really the norm here. Even something as simple as seating in the stores was uncommon as consumers usually walk in, do the deal, and walk of the things Markose pointed out was that retail has moved from a time when there were limited choices to now, where there is an overwhelming abundance. 'Consumers sometimes struggle with what to pick. So, the game is shifting toward personalisation,' he said, adding that the question now is: how do I know you as an individual? How do I know what you're interested in, what you've purchased? How do I build a relationship where I can predict what you're likely to be interested in? For instance, in Tanishq, which offers around 60,000 different SKUs, how do we figure out and present the few products that you will actually like?Subscribe to India Today Magazine
Argaam
11-02-2025
- Business
- Argaam
Apparel Group plans 150 new stores in Saudi Arabia in 2025: CEO
Apparel Group plans to open 150 new stores this year, reaching 1,000 stores in Saudi Arabia by the end of next year, according to CEO Neeraj Teckchandani. Speaking to Argaam at the Retail Leaders Circle Global Forum 2025, he said the group is among the region's top five retailers, with around 750 stores in Saudi Arabia. The company signed 28 new brand agreements last year and acquired brand rights from other operators, expecting strong growth over the next three to five years. Saudi Arabia generates 35–36% of the group's Gulf revenue, a share Teckchandani expects to rise to 55–60% in three years, driven by expansion and investment in digital and logistics infrastructure. Founded in the Middle East in 1996, Apparel Group now runs over 2,300 stores in 14 countries, representing 85 global brands and employing more than 25,000 people. The company focuses on competitive pricing and plans to double its private label brand, R&B, from 50 to 100 stores this year. Higher inflation has intensified competition and squeezed profit margins but also created new opportunities in value-focused retail. Teckchandani said the group's digital platform is seeing strong growth alongside brand websites, strengthening its omnichannel strategy. The company is also investing in distribution centers and training programs to develop local talent through its Retail Academy.
Arab News
05-02-2025
- Business
- Arab News
Apparel Group boosting its presence in fast-growing Saudi retail sector: CEO
RIYADH: UAE-based Apparel Group is strengthening its presence in Saudi Arabia's retail sector through strategic partnerships and expansion as the Kingdom experiences a surge in new mall developments. Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the Retail Leaders Circle Global Forum in Riyadh, the CEO of the group, Neeraj Teckchandani, highlighted the company's commitment to growth in the Saudi market. 'There are a lot of the landlords over here and partners with whom we work. So we signed a MoU yesterday with Point, the new mall from the Red Sea Mall group, which is coming in the sea region where we have taken a significant position. And, there is another one which we are signing this afternoon at Mall Of Dhahran,' Teckchandani said. He highlighted the company's strategy of expanding through partnerships with mall developers. 'These are all strategic partnerships which we work with these landlords. And whenever there is a new mall coming, we will take a larger position over there. And those are the MoUs we have signed. So we have signed two of them, Mall Of Dhahran as well as Point.' The Kingdom's retail sector is undergoing a transformation, with significant investments in mall developments. 'There are about 30 malls which are coming in Saudi over the next five years. I don't think that any other Gulf country has got that number of malls coming up or even combined.' The CEO added: 'Saudi is evolving, we have avenues in Riyadh coming. We have a lot of malls coming from Cenomi Centers and so on. So, for us, the growth potential is huge in Saudi. Last year, of the 250 stores that we opened in the Gulf, nearly 150 were in Saudi Arabia.' The company is increasingly expanding its brand portfolio and footprint in the Kingdom. 'So in terms of the investments, there is a lot. We signed about 28 new brands last year. We took over from other operators like Cenomi Retail or Alyasra or AlMalki or Landmark Group Saudi Arabia branch, some across the region, some Saudi specific. So, we did that for eight of the brands. So we have a lot of expansion that way,' Teckchandani said. The top official added that Apparel Group is set to open close to 300 stores in the region, and Saudi Arabia would be home to around 180 to 200 of them. 'So big expansion plans, and we are also putting a lot of the investments into the hard infrastructure. So we are building a new distribution center in Dubai, and a new one in Qatar. And we have just finished the one in Saudi.' He also underlined the importance of preparing for future retail demands. 'We have so much expansion coming in the next three to five years in Saudi Arabia. So we are investing a lot in terms of infrastructure, hard, whether it is a distribution center or device or the soft, we're putting the retail academy, upskilling the talent and so on for the growth that we're in charge of over the next couple of years.' According to Teckchandani, the evolution of the retail sector in the Kingdom presents numerous possibilities: 'I think a lot of opportunities that way, as I mentioned, over 30 malls coming in the region gives huge opportunities.' He added: 'Saudi lacks mega malls like a Dubai mall or an Avenues Kuwait. So we will see the first one with Avenues Riyadh coming up that will lift the level of retail to the next level.' While the retail sector faces some challenges, Teckchandani does not see major threats apart from geopolitical factors. Apparel Group is also focusing on omnichannel integration to enhance customer experience. 'Today, for all the major retailers, it's an omni channel, and so all of them are offline and online as well.' The CEO added: 'All of our 2,000-plus stores, our 14 and 61 marketplaces are seamlessly connected. I have a single view of inventory and this is available everywhere.' As part of its expansion, the company has signed multiple brands across fashion, beauty, home, and food and beverage, including Koton, Sur La Table, Estée Lauder, and Allo Beirut. 'So, in every segment, we have signed new brands. Some have already opened in Saudi Arabia, while others are in the phase of opening.' Understanding and adapting to consumer trends is key to long-term success in the retail industry, according to Teckchandani: 'I think you always have to see the relevance and you always have to remain relevant for your customer because you have to understand what the customer wants.' He added: 'You can get the initial hype because of the brand power, but if you don't remain relevant or don't hear your customer's voice, you will be left out. I mean, the customer will move on and we have seen this with so many brands who left the region.' Looking ahead, Teckchandani sees experiential retail as the next major trend shaping the sector. 'Whether it's retail or F&B, it has to be more experiential, you cannot be just transactional or selling a commodity. Gone are the days when you were just selling a piece of gummy or a footwear.' The top official emphasized that digital elements and an omnichannel experience at the store are necessary. While an initial public offering is on Apparel Group's horizon, it is not an immediate priority. 'Early days for us, I would say, definitely there are plans in the medium term, but not in the near term. We will be looking at something in the range of three to five years from today,' the CEO said.
