TN brands focus on HR to fight retail biggies

On the manpower front, regional retail brands are upping their ante. They have been investing significantly on people management, lest their growth plans lose the desired momentum. As Tamil Nadu’s retail fortress is getting ready to get dented with the impending entry of Reliance, Bharti and Walmart, top-of-the-mind retail brands like Naidu Hall, NaiHaa, GRT, RmKV, Pothys and Nallis are investing in personnel training substantially. Estimates peg Tamil Nadu’s retail requirement in the next two years to cross one lakh trained manpower. Fearing that their trained personnel would be poached by the big brands, regional retailers are strategising to minimise the blow. If customer service executives are paid a monthly compensation of Rs 6,000 by regional brands, Reliance and other biggies are luring them by offering to double and triple the wage packages. Consider this: India, rated as the world’s fifth-most attractive emerging retail market, is perceived as a potential goldmine for global and domestic players. Tamil Nadu, being a front-runner for jewellery and saree retailing, is facing an acute crunch of trained retail specialists. According to Retail Association of India CEO Gibson G Vedmani, the total retail market in the southern states is worth around $ 94 billion, of which organised retail is estimated to be $ 8.5 billion. The share of organised retail is around 9% of total retailing in South India. “Though Chennai has always been home to speciality retailing, the momentum is picking up. About 12% of Chennai’s retail market is estimated to be organised, compared to 7% in Hyderabad and 3-4 % in Kerala,” he added. HR is the focus for regional brands. A decade ago, jewellery retail major GRT, employing about 1,000 people, did not have a HR department in place. But the boom in retail and the growth prospects, has led the retail chain to professionalise and set up a full-fledged one about three years ago. “We take it very seriously and our practices are based on the lessons obtained from other industries,” its managing director G R Ananthapadmanabhan told ET. “The entry of retail giants gives us yet another opportunity to enhance our staff welfare measures,” he said adding GRT has brought in professionals to impart speciality training to its middle level and supervisory staff, who provide on the job training to other workers. Chennai-based textile specialist Pothys has engaged the Academy of Retail Management to conduct workshops to improve the productivity of its 1,500 strong workforce. Academy of Retail Management executive director, D Sugan Chinna Maran told ET that Pothys has spent close to Rs 12 lakh on its workforce for a total makeover.

Courtesy: EconomicTimes
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