United We Stand

Earlier in the start of the current fiscal, a new idea was conceptualized which was turned into reality by eight retailers who came together to leverage each other's strengths to Unity IT Technology and the brand which is more commonly and popularly known as U&IT.

The Ideation
It was in 2013 March, these individuals decided to form this company and laid down the initial strategies in place. They decided to form a company instead of a consortium where everyone has an equal stake in this firm. This company will own the brand and this brand will be made popular across the country was the first step taken. The company has a share capital and this share capital is divided equally amongst 8 directors. This company started with an initial investment of `18 lakh of share capital.

Rakesh Shah, partner at Solutions said, "Earlier we used to consider each other as competitors but then we used to meet regularly and discuss growth and market dynamics and over time we all bonded really well. We had always thought of creating one brand under which we would do business but we were deliberating upon it for almost an year. The key concerns then was on how to execute this idea and it followed quite a few number of meetings where we used to throw ideas and discuss and finally the entire game plan evolved. But once we put this thought on the table then there was no turning back from there."
The impetus to form this organization was the fact that most of on board were owners of one to three retail outlet owners and in order to compete with LFRs and e-commerce portals, this action plan was rolled out. Adding to this, Shah said, "The market has been volatile. In recent years many small channel partners and retail outlets were closing shops around us."

When the company Unity IT Technology, it was decided all the individual companies will not be diluted and will operate as individual companies under the brand name of U&IT. Shah stated, "The road ahead is that we will also take in other franchise stores. There operations will run under the same name only while the sourcing and many other benefits will come from U&IT."

Elaborating upon the formation on this company, Shah said, "Our idea to form this brand is not merely for placing common orders but to create a new brand as a chain of stores across India which is much broader and under this brand will have a marketing team for the brand and the stores and other divisions too. Each director will look after different roles like purchasing, marketing, logistics and more."

The Operations
Deepak Chadha of Cyborg World said, "U&IT is brand for consumers and all entities that follow with this brand like marketing, sales, purchase, retail etc will be under the same umbrella."

The company has a system in place which will provide other companies detailed information on purchase pricing, orders placed and many other sections on the backend of business who intend to join the franchise model. Chadha said, "We believe in transparency and every other company joining us will be provided with the tools in the system to access to backend activities. They will be provided with their own accounts through which they can place orders and even know at what price U&IT has purchased."

The Experience
Chadha said, "We are bonding stronger day-by-day. We are also understanding the difficulties and challenges faced amongst each one also but most of it we have been able to work around easily and amicably. However, we are set back recently because of the delay coming from the government side as the paperwork are taking too long because it is a private limited company. There are lots of rules and regulations in the formation of such a company. This took the maximum time to roll out in full force."

Shah said, "From being a single brand store to a multi-brand store it was big leap. Furthermore, operating under the brand name of U&IT, there was a world of difference as the amount of recognition a brand name gives you, everything changes. Also, taking the supply chain from bottom customer level to top, the appreciation is high. If you have a common brand which geographically present across, the vendor sees it as a single point of contact and for the customers also it gives peace of mind due to coverage across regions."

Nitin Phadtare, Shriram Computers said, "This coming together has given us a bigger platform. From being a single brand outlet, now we have multi-brand outlets with wider reach. From just surviving, now we can confidently compete with larger formats like Chroma and vijay sales."

The Road Ahead
Chadha, "We had and will have a clear vision for this company and that is growth. We have a got a strong roadmap in place. The only hurdle we kind of placed was place to overcome the individual format of working but when things rolled out, it was managed efficiently by each one of us. When we see growth, it inculcates positivity and further boost our confidence."

As of today, the company has 14 stores across Maharashtra region. The company had earlier plans to set up 50 by end of this fiscal but due to delay in paperwork the company now aspires to establish slightly more than 30 stores. Chadha said, "We identified key locations across Mumbai region and in addition, many channel partners have shown keen interest in taking up the franchise."

In the first phase of expansion plan, U&IT to open up stores across Maharashtra. Following this, the firm aspires to create a strong pan-India presence. Chadha said, "We have friend across the country and they have heard about our initiative. However, even if now they intend to join us it is not possible due to the taxation and other regulations. U&IT is registered name in Maharashtra and we are yet to figure out completely the entire dynamics of across country taxation and other required laws and regulations." He further added, "Once we cover the state of Maharashtra it will give us a good idea on how to work it out in other states too.

Phadtare said, "Simultaneously, we are deve­­lo­p­ing an ecommerce portal and a mobile app which we intend to launch by Diwali. How­ever, in the initial phase, we will be only delivering in those places where our franchises are present. This will also create opportunity for local regional partner to value add and the brand will further boost his growth too."

The company has an aggregate annual sales of `150 crore in 2012-13, and retail space in Mumbai, Pune, Aurangabad, Thane, Uran, Vashi, Kalyan, Panvel, Ambar­nath, Nashik and Satara. The firm aims to touch around `225 cr by the end of the current fiscal.

With regards to competition, the company is banking on its direct connect with customers and value added services it can offer against LFRs and online portals. Shah said, "Being under one brand gives the customer a sense of security and genuinity which along with good service and support will help us grow our business and increase our reach across the country." Adding to this, Phadtare said, "We always will have better opportunity to localise our schemes and promos and as per the market formulate the strategy to gain more traction which will further drive sales for us."

Chadha indicating some big launch of add-on for custo­mers said, "For every customer who will shop at U&IT we are coming out with a big announcement which has not yet been heard off or implemented here. We will announce it once everything is in place and finalized to last detail." He further added, "We have a lot of value added services that comes along with a product only and only purchased from U&IT. Shah said, "We will be providing kind of valet service to customers with regards to support and service."
At broader scheme of things, the company is planning to go pan-India in times to come. Also, the firm aims to capture 25% market share in terms of telecom and IT in course of 3 years down the line. The company also aspires to launch its own line of products under the brand name which will be its stage 2 of growth.