HP to extend retail initiative to shopping malls

HP India Pvt Ltd has planned to extend its retail initiative to shopping malls to display its consumer range of products. The company has presently scaled up its exclusive retail stores to 750, which it plans to increase upto 1,000 by the end of October. Out of the 750 stores there are 111 specialized retail outlets called as Experienced Stores.

Of the 700 retail partners that HP has, 300 are exclusive IPG retailers who also sell other PC brands and 400 are exclusive PC retailers of HP.

Now these Experience Stores will extend to shopping malls. "There are multiple products displayed at shopping malls, therefore end-users spend a lot of time. The store will be of an exclusive retail partner and therefore business here will be done through the channel partner itself. HP will support the channel partner in terms of operations and support. This is a high investment, therefore HP would support the partner in terms of interiors and merchandise," revealed Sameer Mathur, Country Manager (Consumer Sales), HP India. "Presently HP is in the process of identifying malls across the country and will be set up in another six months or more. Retail presence in shopping malls would be made in 10 to 12 cities."

He added, "HP's plans to get into retail is mainly because we have made our prices so competitive compared to the assembled segment. And also our consumer business has grown eight fold over the last seven years. IT retailing in India has not reached a level where the customer walks into a store knowing what he wants to buy like other developed markets such as the US. Here we are looking at customers who have to be sold the concept. IT retailing, therefore, demands a lot of marketing activity in and around the stores, awareness creation through newspapers, magazines, and merchandizing. In the next few years, however, we see a clear and exponential growth in the retail segment."

HP also has retail partners for its mobile products called mobile moghuls, which stands at 35 today. HP's retail sales worldwide gives the company maximum sales as 30 percent of its sales happen through this network.

Nancy Sudheer