INTERVIEW WITH RAMESH, POTHYS

www.chennaibest.com spoke to Ramesh of Pothys on Pothy's and on the retail scene in Chennai.

Pothys is the only place in the city where you can find specialisation in alltypes of clothing.  There are others like Nalli or Globus who either specialize only in one product or cater to only one target group.  They may give high quality but with a very expensive price tag attached to it.  At Pothys you can find specializations in all items from A – Z across all categories and price ranges and most importantly at affordable prices.

Well you will not have word of mouth publicity if all the other factors like branding, price, quality and ambience are not there.  I feel that basically price, quality and ambience count more than the brand name.  Especially the middle class consumers value these three factors than a brand name.

Who does Pothys target as its customer?

We cater to all sections of the society.  Out main target group is the middle class people.  Both the higher income group as well as the lower income group can find their requirements at Pothys.

Very conservative.  When compared to all the other metros like Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata, Chennai is very conservative.  Chennai customers are unique in the sense that they want value for money.  They want the best quality at the most reasonable price. Quality with Affordability is their slogan.

What is the strategy that you are using at Pothys that makes it a winner?

As I was saying earlier it is understanding the psyche of the Chennai shopper that has made Pothys a winner.  We provide what they ask for - Quality at Affordable prices.

I can very confidently say that 80% of the customers every day are repeat customers.  The reason most of the give for their loyalty towards Pothys is that Pothys offers ‘variety’ under one roof not only in terms of product range but also price range.

Which seasons do you have sales peaking?

Deepavali is the season where sales peaks and I don’t think there is any other season to beat it.  But other festivals like  Ramzan, Christmas, New Year and the month of ‘Aadi’ when we have a one month reduction sale are also times when the sales peaks.

Yes, certainly.  Taste and preferences of customers are changing.  The awareness about the latest fashion trends is also increasing.  We have to cope up with their kind of liking and have it stocked.  We have to anticipate their demands, which also change quickly.  The changing preferences of customers are most obvious when it comes to western wear.

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