GORKHA DEPARTMENT STORE

Gorkha Department Store is located in Itahari, Sunsari. Department stores carry a wider variety
of merchandise than most stores but offer these items in separate departments within the store.
These usually include ready-to-wear apparel and accessories for adults and children, yard goods
and household textiles, small household wares, kitchen wares, electrical appliances and
accessories, foods and many more. Gorkha Department is now one of the most trending store
with large number of customers in Eastern parts of Nepal.

Gorkha Department Store (GDS) has been operating since 2nd of Ashad, 2056 BS. Located at
the heart of Itahari, it has gained almost all centralized controls of its regular customers in
comparison to other local markets. GDS serves us with 5 different branches situated differently
within eastern Nepal. i.e.: Itahari, Damak, Pathari, Biratchowk and recently in Dharan. GDS is a
store that claims to offer everything you could ever want.

Gorkha Department Store, one of the oldest and popular stores in Ithari even sells vegetables
produced by the store itself. The growth in customers preferring to shop at department stores has
encouraged new players to make their foray in the market. There are 60 small and big
department stores currently operating in the eastern region. Bal Ram Acharya, owner of Gorkha
Department Store, said that more than 90,000 customers visit such stores daily. An estimated
Rs19.20 billion has already been invested in department stores. Investment ranges from Rs4
million to Rs2 billion. Department stores house goods like beverages, beauty products, electronic
items, readymade clothes, shoes, expensive jewelleries, kitchen wares, and many more

Area: Itahari > Province No 1 > sunsari

Our Address: Koshi Rajmarg, Itahari
Telephone: 025-583254
Email: gorakhaonline@gmail.com
Web: http://www.gorakhadepartmentstores.com/
Social Link:    
https://kaha6.com/company/gorkha-department-store/

https://kathmandupost.com/money/2018/01/20/as-traditional-retail-shops-flounder-department-
stores-thrives-in-east
https://kathmandupost.com/money/2018/01/20/as-traditional-retail-shops-flounder-department-
stores-thrives-in-east

BHAT-BHATENI SUPER MARKET(BBSM)

Bhat-Bhateni Super Market was established in 1984 by Mr. Min Bahadur Gurung, the
company’s Owner and Chairman, as a ‘single shutter’ 120 sq. ft. cold store. Since then, Mr.
Gurung, who gave up a lucrative career in banking to dedicate himself to the store, has overseen
the company as it has grown from its humble beginnings to becoming a household name in the
country. Today, Bhat-Bhateni has a combined 1,000,000 sq. ft. sales area across its 18 locations
and employs 4,500 full-time employees 95 percent of who are women. With daily sales
exceeding NRs. 5.5 Crore (USD 550,000.00), Bhat-Bhateni is also the largest taxpayer in the
retail sector in Nepal.

Today, Bhat-Bhateni is Nepal’s leading supermarket and departmental store chain, spread out in
Kathmandu the capital city and economic hub, and in all major cities around the country. Bhat-
Bhatenis one of Nepal’s most trusted brands and sees a daily footfall of over 100,000 patrons.

As Nepal’s largest retail chain, Bhat-Bhateni offers a range of 150,000 products from 1,000 local
and international suppliers. Ranging from groceries and fresh produce; cosmetics and toiletries; a
broad range of international liquor; to an extensive choice of kitchenware, clothing, sporting
goods, toys, and electronics, Bhat-Bhateni is committed to providing products of the highest
quality, for the best prices.

Having seen meteoric growth over the past 35 years, Bhat-Bhateni remains committed to
improving the shopping experience for its patrons and expanding its store locations in the
country. To that end, Bhat-Bhateni will be unveiling 4 new supermarkets in 2019. Bhat-Bhateni
also maintains the long-term goal of establishing farmer co-operatives in Nepal to source its
fresh produce which will give employment to 50,000 people and likely position Bhat-Bhateni as
the largest corporate taxpayer in the country.

Bhat-Bhateni continues to be a leader in corporate responsibility and employment opportunities.

It is at the heart of our commitment to creating opportunities and bringing value to customers and
communities around Nepal. Our commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) could
become a key driver for the company’s success.
Facilities Overview

Bhat-Bhateni offers a convenient shopping experience where customers can save time, save
money. Bhat-Bhateni stores offer a unique shopping experience for customers in Nepal
following the international ‘hypermarket’ format. The ground floor offers a wide range of fresh
food and vegetables and a broad range of leading international Liquor, Toiletries, and Cosmetics
brands. The remaining floors offer a wealth of choice including Kitchenware, Clothing, Sports &
Toys, and Electricals, with convenient escalators and air-conditioning on all floors. Each store
includes a shirting & suiting service and a promotional area to display carefully selected
promotions. In addition, furniture & fixtures is a new exciting offering being introduced in 2009
in both stores. Furthermore, Bhat-Bhateni Furniture and More (A sister concern of Bhat-Bhateni
Super Market) also introduced on the 4th Floor of Krishna Galli, Patan Store in August 2014.

Bhat-Bhateni and Maharajgung premises benefit from the co-location of excellent value jewelry
stores that offer a wide range of gold and silver items in both traditional and modern ornaments.

Parking arrangements are available free on the premises and a secure locker system available to
keep personal belongings. Restaurants, bank & cash machines, and dry cleaning services in the
vicinity make Bhat-Bhateni a one-stop shopping destination. If you end up buying more than you
can carry, Bhat-Bhateni offers a free home delivery service. The 7-day return policy ensures a
convenient shopping experience.
 Bhat-Bhateni Super Market

Native name भाट-भटे नी सु पर मार्के ट

Type Retail

Founded 11 October 1984; 37 years

ago

Founder Min Bahadur Gurung

Headquarters Nepal

Number of locations 19

Number of 4500+
employees

Website www.bbsm.com.np

https://www.bbsm.com.np/bhat-bhateni-itahari/

Appropriate strategies for Gorkha Department store to gain competitive advantage against
Bhat-Bhateni Super Market

In present scenario, bhatbhateni is newly established and currently leading and capturing the
market. Currently, bhatbhateni is leading way far so, to retain or to get back the postion gorkha
Department store holds in the past. Following marketing and promotional strategies Gorkha
Department need to adopt:

1. OFFER ADDITIONAL FACILITIES TO CUSTOMERS IN A DEPARTMENTAL

STORE

Generally, every store offers more or less, the same list of products. But to attract the customers
to a departmental store, the retailer has to perform better than his competitors. He has to provide
a different experience and or a strong reason to visit his store again. This is often done by
offering additional facilities to customers in departmental stores.
Keep reading to find a list of additional facilities offered to customers in departmental stores.
Many stores have now come up with the idea of making their goods available online and also
getting a mobile app made to engage with customers. We have talked more about online
promotions in the coming points. Through this method, they can enhance their service by
providing a delivery system, easy returns, online payments, discount and coupon facility etc.
Being abreast with technology is very important to attract a wide range of customers to a
departmental store.

Here is a list of distinctive additional facilities offered to customers in a gorkhadepartmental

store, which you can provide to increase sales:

1. Offering free discount coupons, sourced from different brands

2. Providing free carry bags and goodies for kids
3. Free or chargeable porter to carry the shopping carts for elderly people, pregnant women
and people with kids
4. Giving away customer loyalty discount coupons for their next purchase (This really helps
in bringing back the customers)
5. A waiting lounge for members accompanying the shoppers
6. Opening up a kids play area
7. Maintaining neat and clean surroundings
8. Keeping sufficient staff to attend to the customers needs
9. Showcasing a welcome message as soon as the customers enter the departmental stores
10. Providing some kind of entertainment, while customers are standing in the billing queue
11. Having proper parking facility with assistance
12. Developing a speedy payment process
13. Offering greetings on entry and exit, by the guard standing on the door
14. Deploying a personal shopping manager/ guide for the customers during the off-peak
hours (Such guides can help the customers with their shopping needs. the customers will feel
more satisfied and the guard could even help bring in more sales)

2. SPECIAL SALES PROMOTION TACTICS LIKE COUPONS AND DISCOUNTS

Customers want the best services, at a reasonable price. Why not give them some special sales
promotion offers to increase the sales of the departmental store? Experts suggest that providing
incentives, attracts a lot of crowd. The biggest challenge here is marketing! A good marketing
and advertising policy, coupled with some attractive offers will give a boost to the sales. Good
advertising agencies like ours are apt at creating cost effective campaigns to derive the desired
ROI.
Some basic offers to attract customers to a departmental store are listed below:

 Buy one get one free offer

 Free gift hampers on purchase above a certain amount
 Extra reward points on purchase
 Stock clearance sales
 Discount on next purchase
 Offering a free product
There will be an increase in the sales of gorkha departmental stores, if customers are lured by
attractive offers. Irresistible customer incentives always work and will certainly result in a surge
in the sales figures.

3. TARGET THE ONLINE CUSTOMERS

Everybody talks about digital marketing these days. So whats new and different in this strategy?
You might be wondering why we have listed this point here for innovative departmental store
marketing. The answer lies in how we use the online marketing method. To discuss this in detail,
let’s have a look at some statistics first.

Talking of modern times, 9 out of 10 people use Facebook. Around, 80% of these users visit
departmental stores on a regular basis. These statistics give enough reason to tap the social
media. Using multiple channels to attract customer to a departmental store, is an old trick. Now
that the reach of social media has expanded, exploiting its services is the best way to retain
customers and one of the best marketing strategies for departmental stores.

The trick here, lies in ensuring the following points:

 Combining online marketing efforts with the other traditional marketing means that your
departmental store might be using.
 Involving the customers in the digital marketing of your store. You can ask customers to
leave a review on your social channels, or simply tag your departmental store page on their
profiles, along with a photo of a product purchased from your store.
 Targeting a specific audience, who live within the vicinity of your departmental store.
This is probably one of the most important uses of digital marketing. We have talked about
this in detail in the coming points.
 Using re-marketing. Many times, the customers visit a store (or its website), but return
without purchasing any items. Here comes the role of effective re-marketing. Giving
advertisements in the customer’s social media pages about the store, would induce him to
return to the store to make an purchase.
By making use of the internet, the retailer can target his customers more effectively, which will
result in the increase in the sales of the gorkha departmental store. Making a strategy that uses
the combination local SEO, search engine marketing and social media can be very effective for
your departmental store. Using bulk SMS and bulk e-mail strategy can also come in handy, if
your departmental store maintains a list of its old customers. We have list below the links of
some important resources, using which you can execute a strong online marketing strategy for
your departmental store:

4. ENGAGE WITH THE CUSTOMERS OF GORKHA DEPARTMENTAL STORE

Today’s market is customer oriented. Customers prefer those sellers who can connect with them
and make them feel valued. There are a plenty of businesses running with the same motive and
target. To have a big share of the market, it is important to make the customers feel privileged
after visiting the departmental store.

Here are some ways to engage with the customers and make them feel special apart from
offering additional facilities offered to customers in a departmental store:

 Build an emotional connection

 Treat the customer as a part of the team
 Host events and contests
 Raise personalized communications to the customers
These strategies will encourage people to visit a particular store. This will attract customers to
the departmental store, because at the end of the day all they want is to be treated with respect.

5. MAKE THE FACILITIES PROVIDED TO THE CUSTOMERS SMOOTHER

Handling a departmental store is not an easy task. It requires manpower to set a perfect store for
the customers. But it is human nature to make mistakes. But in departmental store marketing, it
is a tough task to correct those mistakes. So to overcome these errors, why not take the help of
technology.

Here are two important software, required to develop departmental marketing system:

 Receipt printer: Say bye-bye to paper receipts and adopt the new technology of
computerized receipt printers. Using computerized system will reduce the chances of errors
and will also complete the work faster.
 Digital inventory tracker: Handling a departmental store means shouldering a lot of
responsibilities. In this cumbersome process, the person in charge might forget to check the
inventory of the store. So to keep a regular record about the inventory, departmental stores
should invest in the technology of digital inventory tracker. This tracker will give updates
about the stock on a daily basis.
6. LOCATION-BASED ADVERTISEMENT

In departmental stores, there exists a lot of competition. Sales and advertising go hand in hand,
the person in business must take the advertisement factor very seriously for a sustainable growth
of the departmental store. Strong advertising capability is required to trap the customers. The
best medium for advertising is the local/ regional newspapers. Hoardings and banners also invite
the attention of the people. It is one of the best marketing strategies for departmental stores.
Know more about sales strategies by reading our blog: ‘Best types of sales strategies used today’.

7. GUERRILLA MARKETING

Guerrilla Marketing is one of the most cost effective and impactful marketing strategies for
departmental stores. It involves the use of promotional activities, through unorthodox strategies
and platforms to create good branding for your store. There are many times in which you have to
do cost cutting and cannot spend aggressively on conventional advertising. At such times,
Guerrilla Marketing strategies come in handy. Guerrilla Marketing is a result-producing
marketing strategy, that is sure-shot to attract customers, if executed in the right manner.
Guerrilla Marketing strategy has been used right since the ancient times and is often very
successful in brand wars. To use this for promoting your departmental store, make a list of all the
hot spots in the area near by your departmental store. Then, focus on conducting activities in
these areas, which generate indirect attention for your departmental store. Creating a sense of
curiosity in the minds of the customer regarding a new attraction available in your departmental
store, can be a good idea.

8. GETTING LOCAL PR DONE FOR PROMOTING THE DEPARTMENTAL STORE

Public Relation strategies often come in handy to promote departmental stores. There are many
departmental stores in the world, which rely on effective PR activities to keep their store running
and grow further. The PR activities for a departmental store should be based on actual data. The
departmental store should come up with new attractions to lure the customers and create a buzz.
Such attraction, when promoted in the right way using PR tactics, can increase the footfall
instantly for your departmental store. Examples of such attractions would include creating a baby
zone for toddlers and their mothers, where they could get free playful sessions; creating a fun
zone for kids, where they could win prizes by winning competitive games, etc.

These days PR can be done both online and also by using the traditional means. An ideal PR
strategy for a departmental store should combine both. Read our blog on 

9 . Leverage New Technology

Another way to stand out in your space is to use new technology that nobody else is using.

Take live chat, for example. According to Econsultancy , “79% of customers  say that they prefer
live chat because of the immediacy it provides,” yet live chat adoption has been uneven across
industries.
Adding technologies like this  to your digital repertoire gives customers a great reason to shop
with you rather than your competitor.

10. Delight Your Customers

Everyone wants to work with a company dedicated to delighting them.

Take the example of real estate agent Naomi Hattaway , who gives kids a “let’s go look for
houses” goodie bag to keep them occupied while their parents are looking at homes.
It’s a simple, inexpensive option, but it’s one that’s sure to delight the families she works with,
leading to more satisfied customers and more future referrals.

Make customer delight your competitive advantage with a similar approach by giving out (or
mailing out, if your customers are remote) swag in recognition of major client milestones—the
way FreshBooks sent giant cookies to those celebrating 10 years of account usag

11. Invest in Deeper Customer Relationships

Advocacy marketing is a hot topic these days, yet so many advocacy programs stop at auto-
generating referral codes to top spenders.
What if you took things one or two steps further? What if you invested time and energy into
forming real relationships with your best customers—maybe by grabbing a beer together or
renting a suite at a local sports stadium for a small gathering?

The business world is impersonal enough already. Real relationships stand out and create a
powerful competitive edge.

Conclusion
To restate all the marketing and promotional strategies, we can conclude that, these will gonna
help Gorkha Department Store to get back in form as they were in back years and to gain
competitive edge over Bhatbhateni super market. Currently Bhatbhateni super market is leading
the race because they embrace the new technology, invested the huge capital, doing the proper
marketing,made heavy and attractive infrastructure and add the cinema hall as well. But the
Gorkha Department store is also trying their best to sustain and capture the market position in the
best possible ways. The best and the most effective advantage of Gorkha Department over
Bhatbhateni is Gorkha Department has located in better location or we can say that located in the
heart of the itahari. And to compete with the competitors the Gorkha Department stores need to
adopt and follow up all the mentioned strategies to win competitive advantage.

References

https://kaha6.com/company/gorkha-department-store/

https://kathmandupost.com/money/2018/01/20/as-traditional-retail-shops-flounder-department-
stores-thrives-in-east

https://www.bbsm.com.np/bhat-bhateni-itahari/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhat-Bhateni_Supermarket

https://www.freshbooks.com/blog/9-strategies-competitive-edge?
fbclid=IwAR0a8Big79YtV4idk1bWXxMYOdWsAiow2czrgXy_UJb5FiFOP5s2n3lNV2o

https://blog.unisquareconcepts.com/marketing/6-best-marketing-strategies-for-departmental-
stores/?
fbclid=IwAR3F2LAowfHdPcTlC3PHhC2dTvdVFW4KNMJujFrDqeMbg4qO6B9AE4Vd_Ig