Forget simplicity, how about a big dose of chaos?

When it comes to design and innovation, the overwhelming consensus amongst practitioners is that "simplicity" is better than "complexity." When Apple designed the iPod, simplicity of design and operation was a foremost consideration. When retailer Staples came up with its "That was Easy" promotional campaign, it marked a radical departure from its previous "Yeah, we've got that" mindset. And when Philips launched its Sense and Simplicity campaign, it was all about making everyday consumer experiences easier and more intuitive. So, from an innovation perspective: Is it ever better to be complex and chaotic rather than simple?

The answer (as you might have guessed from the title) is yes. Yesterday, there was a fascinating page A1 story in the Wall Street Journal, highlighting the efforts of one Indian retailer (Pantaloon Retail) to re-create the confusion, chaos and, yes, grimy mess of the outdoor bazaar within the structure of a big-box supermarket. According to the head of Pantaloon Retail, Indian consumers prefer to shop in dusty, crowded, dirty, clogged markets and he's trying to foster exactly those kinds of conditions at his Food Bazaar stores around India:

"On a tour of one of his supermarkets, Kishore Biyani notes that shopping carts are getting stuck in the narrow aisles, wheat and lentils have spilled onto the floor, black spots cover the onions and it's difficult to hear above the constant in-store announcements. He grins and congratulates the store manager. Mr. Biyani, 45 years old, has built a large business and a family fortune on the simple premise that, in India, chaos sells.

Americans and Europeans might like to shop in pristine and quiet stores where products are carefully arranged. But when Mr. Biyani tried that in Western-style supermarkets he opened in India six years ago, too many customers walked down the wide aisles, past neatly stocked shelves and out the door without buying.

Mr. Biyani says he soon figured out what he was doing wrong. Shopping in such a sterile environment didn't appeal to the lower middle-class shoppers he was targeting. They were more comfortable in the tiny, cramped stores -- often filled with haggling customers -- that typify Indian shopping. Most Indians buy their fresh produce from vendors who keep vegetables under burlap sacks.

So Mr. Biyani redesigned his stores to make them messier, noisier and more cramped. "The shouting, the untidiness, the chaos is part of the design," he says, as he surveys his Mumbai store where he just spent around $50,000 to replace long, wide aisles with narrow, crooked ones: "Making it chaotic is not easy."

That's an interesting takeaway lesson for any Western company thinking about setting up operations in an emerging market. Anyway, as someone who lived for awhile in an emerging market (Russia), I can appreciate the various ways that Western companies "over-shoot" a market when they enter, expecting that the same Western tastes and preferences can be imported into a country, the same way that products are imported. While I found the Wall Street Journal article to be a bit condescending toward Indian consumers, the article does do a great job of explaining the cultural and anthropological obstacles to doing business in India.

[image: Indian Retail Chaos]

Comments

[cba123]

I think that his previous business model didn't attract the lower middle class customers because the customers perceived the cleanliness, organization, and neatness of the supermarket would need a lot of costs to maintain it. Thus, they will have to pay it for in the price, even though that the prices might be lower here than in the other supermarkets.

[Dominic]

I agree that cleanliness and organization may be a way to 'signal' how expensive a product is. When I lived in Russia, I started off shopping in the big Western supermarkets, but eventually shifted over to Russian stores and, finally, to the outdoor markets. In fact, shopping at the outdoor markets turned out to be a really fun, informative experience and a great way to save money. The food was fresher, too, and it was fun to hang out, meeting traders and sellers from all over Russia, who brought in their wares daily to Moscow. Haggling in a foreign language, too, was somehow very satisfying... In New York, I think that's why the various farmer's markets (like the ones in Union Square and Prospect Park in Brooklyn) are so successful. People like the "freshness" of food brought straight in from a farm, and they like hearing the stories behind the food and seeing the people who actually brought the product to market. (Plus, you can get all kinds of free samples! Try that at a big supermarket)

[Anthony Kuhn]

Interesting how a one-size-fits-all solution doesn't! I really like the solution, which is eminently simple but so very effective. Just give people what they want. I cross-linked to this post, with some additional commentary at http://www.innovators-network.org which is a non-profit dedicated to bringing technology to startups, small businesses, innovators, intellectual property experts and venture capitalists. Please visit us and help our community grow.

Regards and continued success,

Anthony Kuhn

[maz]

As Anthony wrote the solution is a simple one again: "Just give people what they want."
So to my mind the process to find innovation opportunities and ideas should have chaotic elements but the result of this process often prospers because it's "small and simple"!