Some will win, some will lose

War games are commonly used by military to evaluate strategies, explore scenarios and reveal unexpected weakness. Some countries are always in war games in one or other part of the world. But checking the casualty numbers in Iraq's war, I don't think the war games truly test the soldiers.

Similarly in the war of retails, the war is yet to see it casualty. In India, the retailers go by their own strategies and never try to study the enemy. Buddhist saying is that "Your enemy is your best teacher". But for our retailers still the enemy is not so strong to teach !


In retail, as in war, outcome depends on what others do , as well as one's own action. For now the companies are busy with their own marketing strategies. Each is doing its best to create its own image in the society. They are wooing the customers in an unique way and that is good. Take the example of Subhiksha, it is targeting India's core population i.e. the middle class. With discounts on common commodities, the great Indian middle class rush to Subhiksha stores in large numbers.


These are the early days of war. Lot more has to be done to create a brand like WAL-MART or TESCO. In one way its good that India's investment policy keeps such big brands at bay from our volatile consumer market. But these barbarians at the gates are sometimes wiser than the gatekeepers. And this is proved from WAL-MART's partnership with Bharti. And how did they do it - continuous talks with our commerce minister. Interaction, not algebra, is the best way to win support for a new strategy and partnership. But at this given moment ,nothing can be predicted. Every group is spending in it's own way. As always, big spenders are risked of becoming "intoxicated with comfort" and sinking "into depravity". So the war may prove fatal for them. It may be that the simplest maxim works best. The small players can hit the dart . But nothing can be said of them as well. As a line in TIME by Pink Floyd goes "You run and you run , catch up with the sun as its sinking, racing home to come up behind you again". The small players of the war may try to follow the bigger ones and may soon die out. But as some Buddhists say change is an illusion ,no less than fixity : "By stating that there is neither motion nor rest , we follow the path of middle."So some in this war will win and some will not see the light again.

The simple Roman maxim - "if you want peace, prepare for war"- beholds the future of Indian retail war . Long live shopper's stop, reliance, birla, tata , subhiksha and vishal megamart !

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