It is not just selling but winning customers
Talk about fruits and vegetables, and he can dwell at length about the different varieties, where these will be available and when. Pazhamudir Nilayam, started by N. Chinnaswamy and his brothers four decades ago, has grown into a household name and has spread its presence from here to several other cities in the South. Mr. Chinnaswamy shares his views with M. Soundariya Preetha on what makes enterprises successful.
In the 1960s fruits were mostly sold in baskets on roadsides, in pushcarts or small shops. It was at this time that Pazhamudir Nilayam came up at Peelamedu as a small shop selling only fruits. Since then, the focus on fair price, accurate weighing, quality, and personal involvement of its owners has made Pazhamudir Nilayam what it is now. And, along with business expansion came in new other facilities - the juice section and self-service. In order to ensure correct billing and measurement of quantity, computerised billing and electronic weighing machines were introduced.
Talking about retailing of perishable commodities, Mr. Chinnaswamy explains the importance of grading. "We buy fruits and vegetables from wholesalers and agents. And, they do the grading. Again these are sorted at the shop. The shops do not sell anything old, or rotten. When we buy from the dealers, they are familiar with a number of farms, availability of the products in each farm every season and they do the grading. As such, even when the vegetables get into the shop they are all fresh."
However, this needs a lot of personal involvement. Even in the case of shops run by partners they are involved in it completely. Thus, it helps in taking quick decisions, attending to customer needs, and ensuring constant supply. "There is no other secret in it," he says. Every facility is added or modified to give the best service possible to the customers.Customers need to select the vegetable or fruit they want. They should also have the freedom to buy the quantity they need. And what they need should be available constantly. That is one reason why they prefer the self-service method.
