This article on "Service Branding Strategies in Major Retail Chains of Consumer Electronic Goods in India" highlights the strategies of service branding of major retail chains selling consumer electronic goods in India. The players being considered are Sony World, Samsung, Dass Electricals, Plugin, and NeXT. To find out about the brand strategies of retail consumer electronic goods outlets in India, a study was conducted in which the managers of the outlets were interviewed and some customers who walked into the stores were surveyed. The purpose of the study was to find out how these retail outlets respond to a customer when he/she walks into the store, and how they build their brand image in the minds of the customers.

The Indian durable goods sector has seen the entry of a large number of foreign companies during the post-liberalization period. A greater variety of consumer electronic items and household appliances were made available to the Indian customer. Intense competition among companies to sell their brands fuels a strong impetus to the growth for retailers doing business in this sector.

"Retailing is the final step in the distribution of merchandisethe last link in the supply chain connecting the bulk producers of commodities to the final consumers." Retailing includes diverse products such as, apparel, footwear, consumer durables, financial services and leisure.

Retailers today have come a long way from the MOM and POP stores. They are now growing in size and are coming up with innovative formats in layout and design. Service branding is happening in a big way in retail chains nowadays. At one end, we see mega retailers and at the other, we see concept stores or retailers who are focused specialists. At the same time, increasing customer diversity and individualism is creating significant demand complexity. This affects the stores which are significantly undifferentiated. They are facing tremendous pressure to stay afloat as many have failed and others are still struggling to find the path back to consistent growth and success.

Advertising Express Magazine, Service Branding Strategies, Consumer Electronic Goods, Employee Service, Indian Retail Sector, Service Branding, Value Proposition, Data Warehousing, Sony Corporation, Non-Resident Indians, NRIs, Electronic Goods, Consumer Durables, Psychological Factor, Dichotomous Method, Business Strategy, Brand Equity.