News
November 30, 2015
India’s retail market is growing rapidly amidst rising competition, urbanisation and changing mindsets. The Boston Consulting Group and Retailers Association of India’s expects the retail market to reach US$ 1 trillion by 2020 from US$ 600 billion in 2015.
Contributing to that growth are many retailers like UK-based Tesco PLC, which is the third largest retailer in the world. Talking about how technology is enabling retail players, Vidya Laxman, Director-Technology at Tesco Bengaluru, underlines the need to be innovative to stay ahead of the curve. Tesco Bengaluru, the operations and technology centre for Tesco worldwide, was set up in May 2004.
In this interaction with CXOToday, Vidya talks about why she is confident brick and mortar will stay, and explains why she invests more in people, than in processes.
With digitization, how confident are you about the future of brick and mortar retailing?
Vidya: Over 50 pc of our stores’ footfall is from mobile. There is a need to recognise where digitization is taking you. In this digitized world, one needs to be ahead of times. We must understand the whole landscape of business rather than siloed into one of the package tools that we have. Already, customised analytics is being done so as to understand customer choices and behaviour. We want to recognize why people visit stores, but buy online. Now it’s mainly because of price. We can tackle that if we can give them good experience and be competitive in price.
As long as we are consumers, not robots, I really like to go to the store for the touch and feel of it. Brick and mortar will not go away. But they need to compete and think innovatively.
Conquering disruption through digitization: What does that mean for your organization?
Vidya: When we are in the technology world, the need for digitization is ubiquitos. In retail business, It means how fast we combine in-store experience with online for customers. How can we give them the same experience across all channels? How do we understand what they need? Today’s customer are quite aware. Technology has disrupted the way we think, the way we work. It is about giving customers great experiences, bringing in efficiency. It is about rebranding and reimaging. CXOs have no choice but to become brand ambassadors as they are responsible for both topline and bottomline business.
Innovation is the need of the hour. How can IT managers ensure the company adapts to change?
Vidya: Innovation is all about thinking out of the box and being disruptive. That is possible only if you are able to take risks. What I am doing in my team is to get the right set of people who have that innovative gene. When you work for long, you get siloed into doing it. In the process, the outside perspective gets lost. We are trying to give people freedom to do something creative. Hackathon gives them the perfect opportunity. They are able to think innovatively about business, not just technology. Technology keeps changing. They need to think about the outcomes and how they can give ROI to the business.
How can a leader prepare the team for change management?
Vidya: Being agile is one of the ways to stay ahead of the curve. That is the transformational journey we have taken within Tesco. Focusing on agile product development, we have an open mindset to show how we can do course correction. We fail fast so that we can do course correction. We are focusing on educating people on making people resilient to change, as change is constant. I always quote this: “People are scared to change, because they over-rate what they have and under-rate what is to come.”
I believe people are averse to change when there is volatility. They don’t know what’s going to happen. If they know that change is bound to happen, rightfully or wrongfully, they will be prepared to face it. I give more importance to people because it is the people who can make or break an organization. I like to be surrounded by good people and support them to go through transformation.
In terms of investments, I would invest 80 pc in people, and the rest in processes.
What are the prime challenges faced by you?
Vidya: The amount of data has gone up. We need to be on top of that information to process to give that experience. We need to be ahead of the curve by using intelligence of customer analytics.
One major challenge is to be constantly innovative. Second, sustain our business so as to provide good experience. Third, we have so many touchpoints and different systems, which need to be up and running always. Also, people at these touch points must be hand-held, always. So, we have the challenge of keeping people, process, systems, technology and experience together, all the time.
Profile of CXOToday
CXOToday is a leading IT portal and is a popular information resource for business leaders. With insightful and analytical coverage, the website not only offers the C-suite an opportunity to evaluate future technologies, but also efficiently drive organisational goals. New perspectives and opinions of executive leaders, who are columnists, have the ability to influence IT managers and decision makers with their opinions.
Great Customer Offer – The Economic Times
Big Data Analytics -Taking a Deeper Dive, Financial Express
“Is internal comms about to get interesting?”, PR Moments
Training Gen-Y employees to be leaders by Nick Williams, Human Capital
Madhu Menon – CFO, Tesco HSC Participates In Bloomberg India CFO Summit 2014
We are investing more in tech as digital property is the way forward: Tesco CIO, the Economic Times
Company Encourages Employees to Go Green, The New Indian Express
Business Women Get More Opportunity, DNA
In Pursuit Of Happiness_The Hindu Business Line
The Future of Big Data in Retail, Images Retail
Garden away those corporate woes – Bangalore Mirror
Hackathons Morph Into Recruiting Vehicle, The Hindu
Tesco HSC Steps to Clean Karunashraya Lake, Bangalore | CSR Vision
Is Diversity Your Company’s Most Resounding Mantra? by Anju Sethi, Head, Learning and Development, Tesco HSC | CXOtoday.com
Oh Baby! Why women can’t break the IT ceiling | Bangalore Mirror
Decade-old Tesco captive still strong, Business Standard
Glen Attewell Interviewed On NASSCOM Website’s Face 2 Face Column
IndiaCSR: Tesco HSC Launches Sustainability Initiatives For Greener Future
OUR AIM TO PLANT TREES
Plan to protect dwindling wetlands of Bengaluru
NEW LIFE TO PLANTS IN PARK: Eenadu
In Retail, Domain-specific Skills Must For Effective Customer Servicing – TimesJobs.Com
Cos Now Hire Storytellers to Mentor Staff – The Economic Times
Training The Managers, The Tesco Way – HR Katha
Every Bit Counts – Human Capital
Lay The Foundation of IT With Agile Technology – CIO Review
For Children Of Migrant Worker – Bangalore Mirror
When change is the only constant – Times Ascent
Staying power of the new workplace
From Nottingham To Whitefield, Metro Life – Deccan Herald, October 5, 2015
Tesco HSC Announces Corporate Name Change to Tesco Bengaluru
From Seeing The Dawn Of Windows To Being The Director Of Technology For Tesco, Bengaluru, Vidya Laxman’s Journey – YourStory.com
Expat’s Diary: For Tesco Bengaluru’s HR-Head, ‘Passion’ And ‘Relationship’ Hold The Key To Indian Work Culture: HR Katha
Boss’s Day: Be a leader, not a ‘boss’ – Timesjobs.com
Gender Diversity’s Good, But Where Is It? – CXO Today
5 Ways To Appreciate An Employee – The Economic Times
Technology Consulting – What Does the Future Hold? – Consultants Review
Tesco Bengaluru Partners With Lithium Urban Technologies to offer a pioneering and emission-free transportation experience for its employees
Tesco Bengaluru Partners with Lithium Urban Technologies to offer emission-free transportation employees: India CSR
Eco-friendly Cars: Samyuktha Karnataka
Emission-free Transportation : Eenadu
Tesco, Lithium Urban Joins Hands: Deccan Herald
Tesco Bengaluru opts for green transportation with Lithium: The Times of India
Need to Reassess Traditional Approaches: People Matters
Marathon Mania: The Economic Times
Women techies log on to trendy, soft wear – Bangalore Mirror
How Retail Giant Tesco Handled The e-comm Onslaught – The Hindu BusinessLine
Investment In People Makes Good Sense: CXOToday
Deck the halls – Deccan Herald
Seminar on M-commerce Held – The New Indian Express
Looking inside contemporary application architecture – Silicon India
Employee Volunteering is a key element in Tesco’s CSR efforts
Press Release: Tesco Bengaluru Wins Best Practice in Data Analysis Strategy Award
Tesco keen to work with Indian start-up ecosystem – Business Standard
TechGig: Women Achievers: It is important for women in technology to be seen, heard and leave an impact, says Tesco Bengaluru tech director Vidya Laxman
New Indian Express: Women Had a Blast
Bangalore Mirror: City Team Feeding UK’s Hungry
Economic Times: Whitefield Builds a Kingdom of Its Own
Hindustan Times: Want the job? Here’s why you should ditch the professionally-written CV
IndiaCSR: Tesco Bengaluru celebrates World Environment Day
Silicon India: Making Your Organization the Best Workplace
Company CSR: Tesco Bengaluru Supports Sankara Eye Hospital To Enable 430 Free Eye Surgeries
CSR India: Tesco Bengaluru supports Sankara Eye Hospital to enable 430 free eye surgeries
Tesco Bengaluru Plants 6500 Saplings Together with Local Communities to Increase City’s Green Cover
Prajavani: Tesco’s Tree Plantation Drive
TimesJobs.com: A Fresher’s Guide to The Technology Industry
Press Release: Tesco Bengaluru hosts Technology Day – Ignite 2016
Tesco Bengaluru bets on agile market push
Tesco Bengaluru installs e-toilets in Whitefield
Tesco Bengaluru Extends Maternity Leave to 22 Weeks
Forbes: Big Data At Tesco: Real Time Analytics At The UK Grocery Retail Giant
Human Capital: Technology At The Very Helm!
CSR Mart: Eco-friendly Transportation for Colleagues
Mint: Lithium Urban Tech paves the way for EV revolution in India’s cab market
ETRetail: Dev-ops adoption in retail in India
Human Capital: Creation of Measurable Goals
Press Release: Tesco Bengaluru renews its commitment to serving Tesco shoppers and colleagues at dedicated shared service centre
Outlook Business: Ride to rejuvenate
Be Grateful, Positive And Strong Urges Deepa Malik at 2017 IWD Event
ET CIO: Tesco Labs has up to 50 projects on the go at any one time: Tesco Bengaluru’s Priyadarsanie Ramasubramanian
Deccan Herald: Keeping a close watch
Deccan Chronicle: Corporate sector leads way in implementing new maternity bill
The Statesman: Path of progress
YourStory: Tesco’s Glen Attewell: ‘My father was a weaver, mother worked in textiles, they pushed me to succeed’
Press Release: Tesco Bengaluru appoints Sumit Mitra as CEO
ET Retail: Retail supply chain planning and optimization
Financial Express: Maternity Benefit Bill, 2016: From Anand Mahindra to TeamLease and Paypal: Will this hurt employment of more women? Here’s what they said!
World HR Dairy: Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill, 2016 increases paid Maternity Leave to 26 weeks in India | Major Highlights and Industry Reaction
TheDrum: Apple, Google, Lego, Tesco and BMW top UK’s most loved brands on social media
Economic Times: Bye-bye corner office: It’s one team, one space
Press Release: Tesco Bengaluru reinforces commitment to sustainable practices through World Environment Day activities
Business World: We Go Beyond The Mandated 2% For CSR: Aniisu Verghese, Tesco
Economic Times: Here is how companies are learning from millennials’ mistakes
Deccan Herald: Rise of AI redefining retail
Financial Express: Tesco Bengaluru CEO Sumit Mitra: We believe in driving a culture of innovation
Economic Times: 5 ways to delegate decision making
The Economic Times: To bridge gender gap, companies going big on innovation
Dr. Sumit Mitra wins ‘CEO of the Year’ at the Future Leaders Summit and Award 2018
Tesco in Bengaluru collaborates with Indian Institute of Science for a technology fellowship programme
Tesco Leaders at NASSCOM Product Conclave 2018
Securing mobile apps – Preventing MiM attack
Bengaluru goes from technology capital to talent hub as e-tailers hunt for IT skills
Tesco establishes a Business Services Centre in Budapest to serve its Central European operations
How to make an organisation an awesome place to work
We are a Great Place To Work® certified organisation.
Applied data scientists – A natural evolution for software engineers?
Tesco Business Services – UK Receives Process Improvement Award at the Engage 19
Tesco collaborates with NASSCOM Foundation to set up its first Nook in Bengaluru
Tesco, Nasscom to improve employability
My First Job: Sumit Mitra,CEO, Tesco Global Business Services
Read interview of Sumit Mitra; he is CEO of TESCO Global Business Services
Shiva Chinnasamy of Tesco on the evolving role of a technology leader
Top 5 Key Skills A Good Data Scientist Should Have
Bengaluru is central to how we run Tesco, says CEO Dave Lewis
Dr. Sumit Mitra – CEO, Tesco Business Services & Tesco Bengaluru is now on Confederation of British Industry (CBI) advisory board for India
NASSCOM Leader Talk: Interview with Dr. Sumit Mitra, CEO – Tesco Business Services & Tesco Bengaluru
Business Today: Tesco Bengaluru Helps Over 320 Underprivileged Youth Stand Tall Through Life Skills and Vocational Training and Job Placements.
TimesJobs.com: Leader’s talk: Sumit Mitra, CEO, Tesco Business Services
Economic Times: Develop The Habit of Collaboration
Entrepreneur India: Make Your Employees Feel Like the Founder
Tesco announces launch of community-based clean water programme in rural Bengaluru
Entrepreneur.com: Why Innovation in Hiring Has Become the Need of the Hour
Tesco Bengaluru appoints Sumit Mitra as CEO
Tesco Bengaluru reinforces commitment to sustainable practices through World Environment Day activities
Tesco Bengaluru renews its commitment to serving Tesco shoppers and colleagues at dedicated shared service centre
Tesco Bengaluru hosts Technology Day – Ignite 2016
Tesco Bengaluru Wins Best Practice in Data Analysis Strategy Award
Economic Times: Companies go liberal in giving time off to new dads
Analytics India: How Tesco Bengaluru Is Working On Using AI, VR And 3D Modelling In Retail Industry
Tesco Bengaluru Participates in Women – Only Hackathon
Tesco Bengaluru inaugurates first community career development Centre in partnerhsip with NASSCOM Foundation
Delivering The Most Compelling Offer For Customers
Tesco Business Services is recognised as one of the top 20 Most Admired Shared Services Organisations in the World by SSON
Waste food to Plant Wealth: Tesco helps farmers with compost
Sustainability Practices at Tesco
Business services of the future: More digital, more intelligent
How Bengaluru kept UK’s Tesco retail ops going during Covid-19
Vidya Laxman, Director, Tesco Technology: A bag full of opportunities will soon overflow with AI
Refuelling India’s Tech Economy
Top skills companies will look for in the post COVID era
How Analytics Is Shaping The Retail Industry In India
BCP PlayBook: Tesco put people at the heart of its COVID-19 resilience plan
Tesco Business Services receives four awards at the ‘Impact Annual Awards Asia 2020’ organized by Shared Services & Outsourcing Network (SSON)
Tesco Bengaluru appoints Ramamoorthy Rajagopal as Finance Director
Tesco Bengaluru Appoints Nimmi Sebastian as Head of Communication & CSR
Despite Covid, Bangalore helps Tesco engineer a success story: An Economic Times Coverage
How analytics helped Tesco improve its customer satisfaction amid Covid: An Economic Times Coverage
Three years in a row, Tesco Business Services recognised as one of the Top 20 Most Admired Shared Services Organizations in the World by SSON