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On April 24, 2008, one of India's oldest
retail chains Shopper's Stop Ltd. (Shopper's Stop) unveiled its
new logo as a part of its rebranding strategy. The chain
undertook the rebranding exercise in a bid to reposition itself
as a 'bridge to luxury' store as opposed to its earlier image of
a premium retailer. Commenting on the change, B.S. Nagesh,
Customer Care Associate and Managing Director, Shopper's Stop,
said, "Change is essential. Our consumers are changing, their
preferences are constantly evolving. They are getting younger.
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And so, we have to change
along with them. The change in identity is just the beginning of a wave
of strategic movements being made in people, practices, introduction of
new ways of shopping, technology investment in customer relationship
management, and analytics."
Shopper's Stop was founded by K Raheja Corp. in October 1991 with its
first store in Mumbai. From being a men's ready to wear store it soon
evolved into a complete family lifestyle store. As of 2008, Shopper's
Stop had 1.3 million sq. feet. of retail space spread across 24 stores
in 11 cities in India with a retail turnover of over Rs. 12.07 billion.
According to analysts, in the mid-2000s, Shopper's Stop started to lose
its market value as it failed to keep pace with changing customer
preferences. It faced competition from several retailers such as Globus,
Westside, Lifestyle, etc., who were catering to the same segment of
customers.
Changing consumer behaviour and the growing demand from youngsters for
trendy products made Shopper's Stop consider the option of rebranding
itself. It conducted a series of workshops called 'Trial Room' , to
understand the preferences of consumers.
The workshops revealed that what was needed was a change in the look and
feel of the brand. For Shopper's Stop, rebranding meant not just a
change of logo but the execution of new business strategies, with the
core principles remaining intact.
According to Ravi Deshpande, Chief Creative Officer, Contract
Advertising which designed the new campaign for Shopper's Stop, "The
retailer needed its brand idea to change to connect to younger people.
The purpose was also to cut the age of the brand as fresh ideas do help
in people looking differently at the brand."
As a part of the rebranding efforts, Shopper's Stop introduced a new
rectangular logo designed by Ray+Keshavan. Though the logo was changed,
the black & white color scheme was retained.
Govind Shrikhande, Customer Care Associate and CEO, Shopper's Stop,
said, "It is more classical, rich, and authoritative - something
Shopper's customers connect with. Black and white gives us a strong
brand recall value." 7
The tagline was also changed from 'Shopping. And Beyond' to 'Start
Something New' which implied that customers should try out something new
and different, and upgrade themselves according to the demands of the
changing world.
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1] Tanvi Shukla, "New-look Shoppers' Stop Still Black & White," www.dnindia.com, April 24, 2008
2] K Raheja Corp.is one of India's largest real estate companies.
3] "If it Ain't Broke, Why Fix it?" www.in.news.yahoo.com, May 06, 2008
4] In the 'Trial Room' the customers' opinions were taken into account regarding the look and feel of the brand.
5] "Mission Youthful," www.thehindubusinessline.com, May 08, 2008.
6] Ray + Keshavan is a Bangalore-based brand identity and design consultant
7] Tanvi Shukla, "New-look Shopper's Stop Still Black & White," www.dnindia.com, April 24, 2008 |
