Specialists vs Generalists: The impending war in the Indian market

Ashish Kulshrestha | The Clear Picture

The Indian business ecosystem is witnessing a spurt in the entry of 'Generalist' brands who are taking the war up to long dominated Specialists. Specialists are considered to be those brands who are present in one particular sector only such as electronics or apparel or beverages. Brands such as Samsung, Arvind Textiles etc. preferred to expand within their own sector only. Generalists are referred to those organisations whose product portfolio encompasses across industries and has all the solutions under one roof.

The entry of Chinese lifestyle brand Miniso in India 2017 marked a drastic shift in consumer behaviour where they welcomed the brand with open arms, making it a stupendous success. This resulted in the brand opening over 100 stores across the country within a year, a feat in itself. Miniso sells eveyrthing from household goods, cosmetics to decor and electronic products.

While there's always an initial euphoria around the entry of any new brand which gradually subsides, recent entry of generalist brands such as Miniso, Uniqlo and Ximi Vogue have managed to hold on to consumers' attention.

This primarily emerged from the exotic designs, sleek finish of their products and at affordable prices, drawing demand from consumers of all income strata. Globally too, scores of consumers use beauty products from Miniso and influencers promote them across social media channels, bringing it at par with global cosmetic giants.

In business parlance, such form of diversification is called 'de-risking' so that if the demand from one category drops, others would suffice for it. India historically stuck to diversification under one sector only such as building TVs, Phones and headphones, all of which fall under the umbrella of electronics.

However, there has been a considerable amount of shift in consumer behaviour in the past few decades with rapid growth in per capita income, greater migration towards metros and greater spending capacity. These factors built a fertile land for Generalists which now has come out as a full blown successful business strategy.

Major Indian companies too are trying their hands at turning into a Generalists with e-commerce giants such as Flipkart and Amazon rolling out their private labels across categories from electronics to apparel to furniture to cater to this growing consumer base.