The present study is aimed to determine the customers' preference towards exclusive and multi-brand retail outlet of men's readymade garments and to find out the factors that determine the satisfaction level of the customers. A descriptive study was conducted to achieve the objectives. Judgmental sampling method was followed. The study was conducted on 195 respondents. A survey was carried out in Bhiwani, Rohtak and Hisar districts of Haryana in India. The well-structured questionnaire had a list of 16 statements pertaining to products, services and facilities provided by the retail outlets. The data collected through questionnaires were coded and tabulated keeping in context with the objective of the study. The data were further suitably analyzed by calculating percentages, frequencies, and factor and discriminant analysis methods. ANOVA and F-test were used to test the hypotheses. Factor analysis reveals that the five factors which influence the satisfaction level of customers' are - Responsiveness, Discounts and Physical Evidence, Core Services, Tangibility, and Promotional Activity. Discriminant analysis shows that tangibility is the dominating factor among all others. Hypotheses testing results show that there is a significant relation between the family income and preference of retail formats. Readymade garment retailers especially in smaller cities and towns should focus on providing multi-brand variety at economical prices. Moreover, readymade garment retailers should present the merchandise with good looking equipments and mannequins at convenient location.

Retailing in India has been witnessing a revolution. Overseas retailers have come sniffing around, sensing the opportunity, given India's customer base, with 52% of the total population being under 25. The current share of the organized retail sector of 3% is expected to have a three-fold rise and grow to 10% in the next five years (Biyani, 2007). Conceptually, retail is a strategic industry. It's the point where supply and demand converge. Anyone who controls this point, even in any significant way, can become a decisive force in the economy. But the bigger reason why companies are so interested in organized retail is the sheer size of the opportunity. By most estimates, India has 12 million unorganized kirana outlets. In comparison, big retail makes just 4% of $336 bn retail market (Rai and Bisaria, 2007). The size of organized and modern retailing industry put together is $29 bn. According to AT Kearney 2006 report the organized retail market is poised to grow at 35% Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for next few years. India's retail progress is so rapid that it has been ranked for the second year in 2006 in Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) as the most attractive market for global retailers to enter (Vedamani, 2007). Indian consumers, unlike people elsewhere, demand ideas and solutions that are uniquely Indian. The diversity and heterogeneity of the nation do not allow the luxury of developing a standardized solution. Textile and clothing retailing is one of the biggest segments of organized retailing in India. In the year 2000, size of organized retailing of textile and clothing was around Rs. 4,050 cr (Memon, 2006).

In these turbulent times, delivering customer satisfaction competitively has become the main focus of marketing practices. It is recognized that satisfied customers will turn into loyal customers and any retail outlet's competitive strength depends upon such loyalty. The present study has been conducted to analyze the customer's (men's readymade garments) preferences and satisfaction level towards different kinds of retail formats in small towns. There are various kinds of retail formats in Indian garment retailing sector especially in metros like exclusive brand stores, hypermarkets, and shopping malls. But there are mainly two types of retail formats especially for men's readymade garments in smaller towns i.e., exclusive brand stores and multi-brand stores.