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bugging
revelation.
“Don’t let it go to your head.”
“Making a difference to a customer’s life gave me a charge.
flabbergasted.
One such person was Anita - a literature graduate from Ethiraj college who had joined a few months after Sriram and handled the children’s section. The other was Sudarshan Reddy, who handled vendors and accounting.
cashflows or working capital.
“I am a dreamer. I do a lot of things which people consider illogical but for me there is a very clear logic to what I do and why I do. I live by my convictions.”
scouted
how important it is to learn by walking around.
You get tremendous insight by just being on the street, t...
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“Walden was the first bookstore to stock a wide range of non-book items such as stationery, music, movies and toys.
Blue Ocean Strategy
instinctive
contagious.
intellectuals,
bureaucrats
learnt a lot through conversations with people - although I did not realise it then!”
Another little trick Sriram learnt was how to distil wisdom from the crowds.
It was impossible for him to read every book in the store but by talking to a dozen people you could get a good sense of whet...
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CRM s...
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defray
Sriram realised that the excitement was in starting up. Once a store was established, it was basically management - and that did not charge him up.
Walden’s owners had no interest in opening more stores;
collateral.”
“It is not like when you are pursuing something you love, it is a bed of roses - it is hard, hard work.”
asking the right question is more important than having the right answer.
intrigued.
The Mirchandanis were clear about two things: the biggest investment in a retail business are space and inventory.
Although they did not own equity, they had a share in the revenues/ profits. And operationally, Sriram and Anita would call the shots.
“Energy is a hallmark of anybody who wants to create anything. And you not only need to recharge yourself, you need to energise others!”
when you have ownership of a project you don’t ask for permissions or approval. You simply go ahead and do what you think is right.
rival
And it was not just about selling books, but creating an experience.
And customers would be encouraged to browse the shelves, even sit around and read books for free if they wished… All for a good reason!
compelling value proposition.
Crossword decided no fixture would be more than five feet high. “Why five feet? Because we observed an average woman is about five foot one.
“Some of the best hires at Crossword were people who simply walked in and said, ‘I love what you are doing, can I work here?’”
Thus began the tradition of free ‘readings’ on weekends, for children.
We decided to actually bring authors into the store, to launch books and do readings.
Another innovation was staying open on Sunday, when all other shops on Warden Road kept their shutter down.
The store became a destination for families to spend quality time together.
Keeping this in mind, a good 20% of space was devoted to children’s books. And 30% of ...
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Innovation is not a one time activity, it’s work-in-process.
“Goods and services once sold will be exchanged.
grumbled
Gaurav Shah and his wife Supriya were passionate about books.
skeptical.
Please do not browse for more than 15 minutes.
throbbing
