IILM Placement Week 2014 – IILM Gurgaon

Industrial Visit to Vaango

Excitement and enthusiasm soared high amongst the PGDM Batches of 2013-15 and 2014-16 on the 4^th day of the Placement Week. It was a step away from the class room sessions, which gave an insight into the practical reality of a QSR chain – Vaango.

The Food Services Market is currently divided into six formats, viz. Frozen dessert (including Ice Cream and frozen yogurt), Café (including Bakery), QSR (quick service restaurants), CDR (casual dine restaurants), FDR (fine dine restaurants) and PBCL (pub, bar, club, and lounge) and is projected to grow to INR 408,040 Crore by 2018. Thus to expose the students to the latest upsurge in this sector, an Industrial Visit was conducted at ‘Vaango’  – a South Indian QSR chain, home brand of the well-known Devyani International Ltd. (DIL is a leading franchisee holder of popular QSR’s such as KFC, Pizza Hut and Costa Coffee). Established in 2010, the restaurant has blended a contemporary look to the outlet with elements to highlight the grandeur of the traditional South Indian cuisine. A noteworthy aspect is that while the international players focus on a single cuisine,  the Indian menu focuses on multiple cuisines and is skewed towards vegetarian food. Hence the DIL group requires attention to the international brands of KFC, Pizza Hut and Costa Coffee and need to adopt a separate approach towards their own, all vegetarian brand, Vaango.

The students were taken to the largest outlet of Vaango in Sector 29, Gurgaon which gave them a chance to witness the action at a retail store. The visit began with a session presided over by Ms. Malabika Gupta, Brand and Marketing Manager at DIL. The session provided an insight into the Retail industry with special reference to the challenges and opportunities for QSR’s in India. Ms. Gupta further delved on some of the key verticals that the group operates under including Customer Relationship Management at Vaango, the advertising strategies adopted and the profiles that they look for when hiring under each vertical. The ‘8 Step Customer Touch Point Journey of a Brand’ provided some wonderful tips for a fresher looking for a career in service marketing.

Harping on the importance of social media, the students were required to come up with a suitable strategy for the brand ‘Vaango’. The best ideas would be rewarded with certificates of appreciation by the company.

It was interesting to note the feedback received from the students themselves:

“Though the reporting time was very early in the morning, none of us were late at all. Such was the level of excitement among us. The visit to Vaango raised our expectations for the final day of the placement week” – Abhishek Sarkar (PGDM Batch of 2014-16)

“Being present at the outlet provided the best learning possible. The vibrant environment of the restaurant clearly depicted the communication of the brand values” – Juhi Bajaj (PGDM Batch of 2014-16)

The visit familiarized the students to the secrets of a marketer’s success, the need to distinguish themselves and stand out in the corporate world and opened their minds to the job opportunities available in the Retail sphere.