Lockdown is calling for A Change, in Business (Retailers, Traders, offline)

Kalipeeli Taxi, the most traditional and long-running Taxi service in Mumbai got all that they could have to ensure their business is not ruined and they also had Union formed. There was a time that these Taxis always took their customer granted and their meter cheating was almost a headache. There is no doubt that anyone who has traveled via Kalipeeli Taxi has one story of a nightmare about them whether related to service, charging of money and their brand statement “Nahi”. They never gave importance to the customer and their services and hence today they are out of the market and their place has been taken by Ola, Uber, and other private car services. The reasons are adamant of not thinking of the future and change in business and not accepting the fact of change in business doing.

I have my native place at Thoria-Ghata (Rajsamand) and I have a unique place for my native place as when I was small my parents used to take us to our Dada-Dadi house at Thoria-Ghata regular two months in a year and myself and my siblings used to wait for these two months as in and around the Year 1995 and for me till 2000, going to native place was almost like a dream come true. The reason I am narrating this story is to invite the attention of Entrepreneurs. To reach Thoria-Ghata we used to take Bus from Falna and then get down at Rajnagar and then take another bus for Thoria-Ghata. In Rajasthan, at that time and till date, the private vehicles are the only option to reach the place and still they have their own way of working and demands and they are so adamant that till they don’t even look for the safety of their customer and in one single jeep, around more than 18 people use to get stuffed and then the only jeep was taken forward. It is a different thing, that I used to enjoy and love but my point is of business. To return from Thoria to Udaipur, was a nightmare as Bus used to come as and when they want as that being private bus ferry and jeep not possible with so much of traveling bags. Days have passed and I was in Second Year BCom and the situation was even worse and I asked why don’t you do the business for customer and ferry more vehicles and the answer was “it is not required and whoever wants to come will come and they don’t have an option”. Now at present in the Year 2018, the situation is that no one waits for Bus or Jeep and uses private cars and at places where there is no option, still have to wait. The point here is that there was a business but it was taken for granted and hence today they have lost major customers and now though they have realized, it is now already too late to go back.

Being a Lawyer, I was and to date regular to Nasik Court for IPR and Arbitration. I used to travel by Cool Cab and I found that Cool Cab at that time in the Year 2014 did not have any common system in place. During one trip, I asked why don’t you have a system in place like Ola, the Driver seems to be the ex-member of Cool Cab association, said that there is no need as our business is good and there will no benefits in doing so. Now the present situations that even their business has been on declining stage due to online services. This shows that we don’t want to change until it is very urgent. Now, all know the bad status of Meru Cab which never thought of changing its policy and now it is almost NIL in trips.

Marwari is the most popular community doing Jewellery business in retail, wholesale and also in Manufacturing. Here I need to talk about Jewellery business in retail and wholesale. The same pattern is being gone since two-generations and till date, there is no change in their way of doing the business and now due to new laws and new big brands, the local jewellery shops are not in good shape and in fact the major business of Jewellery business in retail was and is a mortgage which is also not legally done and another being selling gold which is not a hallmark. In the Year 2021, a new law is coming to make it mandatory for all jewellers to sell the Hallmark thereby leaving them in more bad shape. The question here is that what is making them not changing and I am sure that if not done today, tomorrow they will be in miserable shape. They don’t also believe in brands, services, customer satisfaction, and hence the big brands such as Waman Hari Pete has taken a good chunk of business in Vashi, Navi Mumbai and there is no stopping and this will make even local jewellery shop closing their shop very sooner or later.

Let me also share the views on the way the APMC business market was and is working. APMC is a place at Navi Mumbai where the goods are being sold at wholesale rates and in fact all the FMCG goods at one time used to be loaded and unloaded at APMC. All the business traders had all the time in the world to upgrade themselves as they had the Union, Power, Money, Resources but to date, there is no change. From a purely business point of view, there was no ethics towards customers, bad-mouthing, cheating, etc and as the Customer never had the choice other than APMC, APMC was working. Times have changed, online delivery has come, D-Mart has come which has and is giving a very tough competition.

Above examples is being shared just to show as to how Traditional business had their way of doing the business and they thought of upgrading themselves even with having a good majority and now they are lesser than minorities and for sure they will be an “extinct” in future. The reasons are many but to state in one line their not investing in knowing the future trend and changes and this shall be taken as a case study. There may be views of they being unorganized but having money, union power, etc they instead of getting their business in shape got more interest in else and this is the result today for old business. The business idea has not changed but the way of doing business has changed and also the importance of customer service has been changed. The same driver who used to drive Kalipeeli Taxi not had the mannerism and ethics but suddenly adopted to mannerism and ethics while driving Ola, Uber, etc, why, there is reasons behind it and the reasons that the Business Owners knew the current situation and importance of service. 

The same thing is being seen in offline retail medical shops which is now demanding restriction on online medical selling but is sure nothing will stop them and in fact, the brands like Pharmeasy, Netmed, are doing well and this is the future so there is no way one can stop them. Instead of asking for help from the Government at the time when the situation is out of control, time is still there to upgrade and ensure about their business safety in the future. Offline Medical shops do not give any discounts but online 20% and if so, then for sure customers will buy from online, and not even any law can stop them as it is the right of the customer to get the best price for products.

There is also no doubt that now most of the work is done by Technology and already Artificial Intelligence has started to create a big concern in major industries and this Artificial Intelligence will cover each and every industry in future and hence the time is now to ensure that the Traditional way of doing the business be changed and the way of doing the business be changed in order to adopt the good robust set-up to give the best competition to business who has the Tech-money in the same field. Here, I feel that the Association has to do the very innovative way of making their business set-up and ensure that they are in a position to adopt all that the customers are looking for. Association is always better placed to ensure their business traders are in sync with the latest changes but this is not being seen sadly.

Traditional business entities have been raising the slogan “Use Local Products, Swadeshi Products” but this will not have any impact as the Market is Global in nature and with the fast-changing Technology there is no way that this slogan will be used and or have any impact on foreign goods and hence, the time is now to make each Traditional Business owners skilled in Tech aspect and teach them of being update with Technology. The Government of India has been doing its best and in all aspects by bringing new laws such as MSME wherein there are many skilled programs are being held but the Traditional Business entities do not give any importance to the same. Traditional Business entities have to understand that the Government cannot come in between making any rules to make foreign companies not entering in the market as this sends the wrong signal in the Global market and International Countries.

The term coin “Make in India” does not mean that buy only Swadeshi goods but this is being made to ensure that we Indians come with the products and services at par with MNC and the day Indian Business Entities are successful then only the dream of Make in India will come true.

There are many Traditional Business entities that have still not understood the importance of Intellectual Property Rights. It is important to note that for every industry, their Intellectual Property which propels or augments their business will become Protectable Asset. If you are in the industry of discovering new things, every innovation adds value to your business. In the current trend of expanding global business through the internet and other communication modes, Intellectual property gains advantage not only in terms of protecting your intellectual assets but also help to steer your business away from hostile legal suits from the allegation of infringement.

If you are a business owner who still survives on the traditional marketing approach, you are really limiting your chances for a bigger expansion and highlight. The internet has made buying and selling easy and has put them together under the command of your fingertips. We do not see many people physically visiting a store to buy something like they did a few years before the internet took over. No one stands in a line anymore for buying tickets, groceries, or for paying any bills. The virtual store is much more visited by customers than any of the physical stores. The business scenario has gone completely digital and at present conventional marketing has just become a myth that has just a few strings attached before being completely shut down.

There is no surprise news that the new Tech Startups have already disrupted and are disrupting the following seven Traditional Businesses in India:

? Shopping- from everything from clothes to mobile phones (According to a research conducted by Google India, approximately 8 million Indians shopped online in 2012 and the online shopping industry in India is growing rapidly and will continue to see exponential growth)

? Travel agents (The convenience of booking airline, train and bus tickets in a couple of clicks and easy payment options have well neigh made the “Travel agent” redundant)

? Hotels

? Real Estate Brokers

? Food Delivery Chains

? Local Cabs

? Grocery Shopping

Time is now to upgrade ourselves and let’s be ready to fight with new Tech companies and be alert and ready with your best consultants and advisor to guide you in all aspects.

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*Content of this post is a Copyright work and is owned by Adv. Lalit K Jain (THE LEGAL DESK)