Value Retailing: Are brands losing their luster?

Growth and success of value retailing is not a recession resulted occurrence, but a novel trend.

Consumers of today are seeking for options to reduce their apparel purchase expenditures. They are a value seeking entity. There is a noticeable shift in their shopping preferences, with more importance given to product pricing. Customers today have become more demanding expecting good quality, along with inexpensive pricing. To combat with this situation, retailers set aside a fresh investment budget for concept stores. This gave way for the progress of a new trend called value retailing.

Value retailing is a big format store concept, where branded products and fashion accessories are sold under best deals. This concept is mainly planned mainly for II and III tier cities with the promotion of mega savings offer. These cities have good potential providing as aspiration to the consumers to buy products at best deals. Value retail stores offer products with an inexpensive price tag. Also their promotions take the guise of price-cuts, added freebies, off-labels, added discounts on big bill-sizes and many more.


Earlier, the strong blow of recession also caused a noticeable shift in consumers preferences causing a sloth in the retail growth. Consumers restricted their shopping budgets, and opted to buy goods at discount sales, and during promotional offers. But, even after the world has recovered from recession, the consumers who were used to buying products on discounts and offers continue to seek the same. They prefer to buy quality items at prices that are comparatively less than branded ones. This helped the value retailers to reap solid gains, and larger format value retail concept stores were started. The concept of large format stores gave way for more return on investments comparatively over small format stores.


Growth of value Retailers:


A decade before, a product that was sold in the market at a discounted rate would arouse suspicions in the consumers minds regarding its worth. More often, these kinds of products comprised of seconds, and rejected items. But, this phenomenon took a complete turn with the emergence of value retailing concept. Customers prefer to make the most of what these stores are offering them. These products prove to be defect free and also provided a shopping experience to customers that were similar to the high streets.


Value retailing remains on a high priority in the consumers shopping list increasing sales for factory outlets, closeout stores, and off-price products. H&M, Primark (UK), New Look, The buckle, Aeropostale, and Fast retailing are a few of the successful value retailers to name. They provide quality goods at inexpensive prices; products that are neither seconds, nor rejected. While their main stores hold stock of new merchandise matching with the current seasons, the surplus stock gives way to this new retail concept. Merchandise are sold at these stores with round the year discounts ranging anywhere from 20-80%.

Despite all the appealing discounts they get, the consumers need not have to compromise in terms of the ambience offered along with the quality customer service. The interior of the store initiates the shoppers to have an aspiration to own a brand, and also provide the ability to buy it. The only limitations of these stores being, that they relay on surplus stock, and sell merchandise that is a season old, but most of the shoppers do not have any complaints regarding the same.