Baba Ramdev's products: Retail chains opt for loyalty points

Ramdev had been opposing discounts on the products

After a diktat from yoga guru Ramdev’s Patanjali that big retailers cannot discount its products, retail chains are going all out to woo their shoppers by offering them loyalty points.

Stores of Future Group, Reliance Retail, Trent Hypermarket, D Mart, and Spencer’s Retail, among others, have marketing tie-ups with Patanjali. And, recently publicised that they do not offer discounts on Patanjali.

On Friday, Tata’s Star Bazaar chain sent messages to its customers that they would get 10 times more Clubcard (its loyalty card) points on purchase of Patanjali at Star Bazaar in Mumbai.

It was a three-day offer.

An e-mail to the Star Bazaar spokesperson did not elicit response.

Future’s Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar stores also offer Pay Back points to customers, while Reliance Retail gives loyalty points on purchase of Patanjali products, executives at the stores of these chains said.

Future and Reliance executives were not available for comment.

Big chains such as Star Bazaar, Future Group and D Mart have set up separate shelves to sell products of Patanjali.

“Patanjali has said no to discounts and sometimes I have seen short supply of their products.

Chains are getting over this by giving loyalty points,” said Sanjay Badhe, an independent retail consultant and former chief marketing officer with Aditya Birla Retail.

Patanjali Ayurved, founded in 2007 by Ramdev, is targeting Rs 10,000-crore (Rs 100-billion) revenue in 2016-17, after sales grew 150 per cent in the previous financial year to Rs 5,000 crore (Rs 50 billion).

Patanjali has grown 10 times in revenue in five years.

The company has 4,000 distributors, 10,000 stores and 100 mega-marts.

Patanjali will invest Rs 1,150 crore (Rs 11.5 billion) in this financial year to set up six processing units and one research and development centre.

Image: Baba Ramdev. Photograph: Reuters