Imagine a men’s apparel store… where no stock is available! A Hyderabad-based retailer began Zerostock early this year, a concept which centralises the inventory process. This is how you shop – you go into any of their stores, try out the sample clothing on display and select one – and later, the apparel is dispatched to the customer within a specified time from their centralised warehouse.
The USP, will be in the cutting of cost of maintaining inventories for each store, of sourcing products on demand – all to keep overheads low. Cornerstone, is the brand of men’s wear they sell and the plan is to open 300 stores across the country by year end. The customer’s benefit through the prices, that will be significantly lower, without overheads and real estate costs.
Some cost cutting, eh? But will it work? Isn't shopping an impulsive decision (many times)? Would you like to wait for a shirt or a trouser you saw 1 or 2 days ago? How much of the cost saved due to zero inventory would be passed on to the consumer? All these questions need to be answered before it enters the big league. I also heard that they offer clothes in 11 sizes -- right from 29 to 46 (with odd sizes like 33/35 as well)! The concept looks good to me. Let's see if it works.
(Story source: The Hindu)
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