MxMIndia

Category: MARKETING

  • Promart will offer its customers an additional 10 per cent discount on purchases of Rs2,500 and above by members who log in to Snapdeal.com and pay Rs30 for this special deal

    Promart Retail ties up with Snapdeal.com

    By Sagar Malviya

     

    Promart Retail announced a strategic tie-up with e-commerce company, Snapdeal.com, to bring offers and shopping experience for consumers. Promart is a value format retail chain that offers discounts all year round.

     

    Promart will offer its customers an additional 10 per cent discount on purchases of Rs2,500 and above by members who log in to Snapdeal.com and pay Rs30 for this special deal. Those who pay this small fee will receive a unique code by SMS. When this code is shown at Promart stores, an additional 10 per cent discount would be extended.

     

    Ashish Garg, Managing Director (MD), Promart said, “Snapdeal has a great presence in India and consumers can look forward to new promotions and packages with attractive offers. Promart already gives consumers an opportunity to buy the latest merchandise at 20-60 per cent discount. Now, with this partnership, they can enjoy sweeter deals and even better discounts.”

     

    The offer will be available at all Promart stores in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot and Mumbai till June. Kunal Bahl, founder and CEO, Snapdeal.com, said: “Contribution from Tier-II and Tier-III cities is growing tremendously, and this partnership with Promart will help us in delivering great value to our customers in these cities, given their strong presence.”

     

    Launched by Provogue India, the chain was taken over by Apple Group of Companies and VEMB Lifestyle Pvt. Ltd in 2011. As part of the takeover, Apple Group and VEMB got control of the brand’s assets and intellectual property.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • To leverage this association, GCMMF has created a TVC which shows a girl made of milk performing the sports which are part of Olympics

    Amul to sponsor India at London Olympics

    By A Correspondent

     

    The year 2011 saw Amul sponsoring theNetherlandscricket team in the ICC Cricket World Cup and Switzerland-headquartered Sauber F1 team at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix. In 2012,Asia’s largest milk brand will now be sponsoring the Indian contingent at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

     

    Mr. RS Sodhi, Managing Director GCMMF said: “Amul is committed to strengthening the Olympic movement in India and encourage young generation from all corners of the country to take up Olympic sports.”

     

    Explaining the rationale of this association, he said that milk is nature’s original energy drink and plays a pivotal role in building the physical and mental strength of the athletes. Nutritious dairy diet is an important part in the diets of athletes around the world. India is the largest producer of milk in the world and Amul is not only India’s but Asia’s largest milk brand.

     

    To leverage this association, GCMMF has created a TVC which shows a girl made of milk performing the sports which are part of Olympics. Liquid simulation was extensively used for generating realistic animation of milk to form the body shape and movements of the girl.

     

    “How many people are aware that milk is actually the world’s original energy drink…. completely natural and loaded with nutrients. The commercial effectively communicates that, while making the connection between Amul and Olympics,” said Nitin Karkare, Chief Operating Officer, Mumbai, Draftfcb Ulka.

     

    The TVC is scripted by Haresh Moorjani, Group Creative Director, Draftfcb Ulka. Mr Moorjani said: “As the official sponsor of the Indian team for the 2012 Olympics, Amul’s commitment to health is best defined by its signature product – milk. The film demonstrates the potency of the world’s original energy drink by its lusciousness as it transforms into the ‘milk girl’ making milk magical and appetizing for both, kids as well as adults.”

     

    The new campaign will be aired on more than 50 television channels. It has already started getting very good feedback in social media.

     

    Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation is India’s largest food products marketing organization. It procures 4 billion litres of milk annually from 3 million milk producers in more than 16,000 villages, twice a day, and processes and markets its product range comprising butter, cheese, ice cream, fresh milk, yoghurt, milk powders, UHT milk, flavoured milk, ghee, paneer etc in 3000 cities and towns of India and 40 countries around the world. Its annual sales turnover in 2011-12 was US$ 2.4 billion.

     

    Credits:

    Agency: Draftfcb Ulka

    NCD: K. S. Chakravarthy

    Creative team: Haresh Moorjani, Mehul Patil

    Client Servicing: Nitin Karkare, Ruta Patel, Rohan Patil, Ruchi Agrawal

    Account Planning: Vidyadhar Wabgaonkar, Mubina Quraisshi

    Films Coordinator: Alpa Jobalia, Stanley Christian, Ganesh Iyer

    Production House: Famous House of Animation

    Producer & Director: Jayant Hadke

     

  • A Comms has brought to the platform Tata i-Shakti Unpolished and Little Millenium in a special brand-consumers' connect initiative with the 'Crossword Children's Fest'

    A Comms’ summer plans to catch young consumers

    By A Correspondent

     

    The annual Indian season of holidays has begun and brands across the country are actively trying to catch the attention of children and young adults. Aurora Comms, or A Comms, the country’s largest shopper marketing and retail media network, is in buzz mode as well and its latest shopper marketing campaign has connected two brands to the leading book store, Crossword.

    The ‘Crossword Children’s Fest’, a month-long event involving readings, author interactions and fun activities begins this week, and A Comms has brought to the platform Tata i-Shakti Unpolished pulses and Little Millenium in a special brand-consumers’ connect initiative.

     

    Through effective shopper marketing, A Comms has ensured the fest’s audiences are exposed to communications from the two brands.

     

    Tata i-Shakti, a range of sorted, graded and unpolished dals for a healthier you and Little Millenium, one ofIndia’s leading pre-school chains are the official sponsors for the activity.

     

    “Shopper marketing focuses on reaching out to consumers in a relevant manner. Tata i-Shakti’s communication has been planned out to reach out to healthy minds. Little Millennium’s association is to drive their messaging stronger in children-parents community,” said Samir Vithlani, Director – Key Acounts from A Comms.

     

    Mr Jagannath, National Head – Franchising operations, Educomp Schools is positive about this exposure. “At Little Millennium, our vision is to enable, energize and enhance childhood by igniting a passion to read among children from a tender age. This association with Crossword Children Festival shares our vision.”

     

    Crossword’s successful fest, which is currently active not only at metros such as Mumbai andDelhibut also tier-II cities such asBhopal,Indoreand Vijaywada, promises to take Tata  i-Shakti Pulses and Little Millenium to their target audiences over the coming month.

     

  • Kotak Mahindra, the investment banker to the deal had also approached other personal care companies such as Godrej, Dabur and Marico for a potential transaction

    Shahs to drop Anchor’s oral care portfolio; Emami close to buying toothpaste brand

    By Kala Vijayraghavan & Sagar Malviya

     

    Mumbai-based consumer products Anchor Healthcare has had several rounds of discussions with the Kolkata-headquartered Emami to sell its oral care business, top officials close to the development said.

     

    Kotak Mahindra, the investment banker to the deal had also approached other personal care companies such as Godrej, Dabur and Marico for a potential transaction, added the officials.

     

    However, interest in Anchor’s only other brand outside of oral care, Dyna soap, was lacklustre, with buyers more interested in Anchor White toothpaste, Anchor Gel as well as a toothpowder and toothbrushes. When contacted, Atul Shah, promoter of Anchor, denied any sale plans. However, a senior executive at a domestic investment bank confirmed that the company has been sounding off various buyers.

     

    In early 2011, Business Standard had reported that the Shahs had plans to sell the entire consumer products business, lock, stock and Dyna. However, a banker privy to the proceedings pointed out that valuations of the business may have deterred the promoter family from selling in single transaction.

     

    The Shahs are expecting over Rs1,000 crore for the consumer business, added the banker. The company is estimated to have closed the year ended March 2012 with sales of Rs450-500 crore, said a research analyst covering the fast-moving consumer goods sector.

     

    Emami, for its part, has created a war-chest to fund acquisitions. In 2010, the board of the cosmetics and toiletries marketer had approved plans to raise long-term resources up to Rs2,000 crore through the issue of securities as well as to double the borrowing limit to Rs3,000 crore primarily to fund potential buys.

     

    In 2008, Emami had acquired Zandu Pharmaceuticals, but subsequently hasn’t had much luck with buyout attempts. Last year it lost out to Reckitt Benckiser in the race to buy Paras’ personal care business that includes brands such as Livon, Borosoft and SetWet. Early this year, Reckitt sold some of Paras’ personal brands to Marico in a deal that Emami too was keen on.

     

    “Emami will continue to explore avenues for inorganic growth, but we do not wish to comment on any speculations,” said NH Bhansali, CEO, finance, strategy & business development, Emami.

     

    In 1997, Anchor challenged multinational giants like Colgate and Hindustan Unilever by finding a unique proposition in a tough-to-differentiate category by launching a ‘vegetarian’ toothpaste. In the initial years, Anchor managed to grab a market share of close to 10 per cent in a highly-competitive market.

     

    In 2007, the Anchor group had sold an 80 per cent stake in the business of electricals to Japan’s Matsushita Electric Works – owners of the National and Panasonic brands – for Rs2,000 crore. Personal care became the family’s focus area. Soon after the sale of Anchor Electricals, the group bought Forhans, one of the country’s oldest toothpaste brands, from John Oak Remedies. However, the Shahs didn’t make much headway with Forhans, which does not figure amongst Anchor Healthcare’s brands on its website.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • Shopping experience at par with international standards in fashion advisory and service

    Park AvenueWoman innovates retail format, modernizes collection

    By A Correspondent

     

    Park Avenue, on Thursday, announced the launch of the flagship store of its women’s range, Park Avenue Woman. Situated at Grand Galleria, Phoenix Mills, Lower Parel, Mumbai, the store is an epitome of fashion advisory, service and novel retail architecture.

     

    Inaugurated by Nawaz Singhania, renowned artist and fitness expert, the store offers innovative and stylish wardrobe solutions for women, across day, corporate, weekend and evening wear. The new contemporary store format has been designed to exude warmth and facilitate a superior shopping experience at par with international standards, providing customers with ample space to browse through the display, and easier access to specific apparel categories.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Ms Nawaz Singhania said: “Park Avenue Woman has been especially close to my heart because I believe it epitomizes the perfect look for the discerning, upwardly mobile, working woman. It is a celebration of women who are confident, independent and know what they want from life. They look for clothes that reflect style blended with comfort to sail through the long hours and the multiple roles they play. Every PAW collection has been designed and crafted keeping the special and choicest needs and tastes of this working woman.”

     

    The store format has also been designed as an ode to this woman. It promises a signature shopping experience with novel architecture, trained personnel in fashion advisory, in-house finishing/alteration services and a wide range of fabrics, shades, tailoring, fitting, accessories and trial rooms.

     

    The store currently displays the Spring Summer 2012 collection form women, providing for relaxed comfort and yet appears chic and sensuous. There is a new collection available each month with alluring names such as Apollo, Jardiner, Tube and Edit.

     

    ThePark Avenuestore has been a very early entrant in organized retailing in the country. Its spread of offerings across the men and women’s categories make it a potential key category player in the years to come. Park Avenue’s reach across the length and breadth of India, including Tier 1 and Tier 2 locations has enabled it to tap a wide spectrum of consumers.Today, everyPark Avenueoutlet epitomizes the Raymond brand values of Trust, Excellence, Quality and Leadership.

     

    Launched in 1986, Park Avenue is India’s most admired formalwear brand. It offers stylish and innovative wardrobe solutions to gentlemen for all their dressing needs, be it Business, Evening, Leisure, Travel or Heritage Wear.

     

  • Brand marketers/campaign creators to present their entries LIVE before judges and audience via a unique interactive '4-6-10' format

    APPIES 2012: 100 best marketing campaigns to be presented LIVE

    By A Correspondent

     

    Fierce competition is expected at APPIES 2012 where 100 of the top marketing campaigns from 16 countries in Asia Pacific will vie for 10 Gold Medals. An annual two-day festival of the best marketing ideas, APPIES brings together the brightest minds in the industry from across 16 countries to celebrate excellence, network and exchange knowledge. Now in its third year, APPIES 2012 brings the audience up close and personal with some of the most compelling campaigns through its unique live presentation format.

     

    APPIES 2012 enables brand marketers/campaign creators to demonstrate their stellar ‘Show, Share and Sell’ skills, thanks to the unique ‘4-6-10’ format. Each presentation will begin with a 4-minute showreel video summarising the entire campaign, followed by a live 6-minute exposition of the campaign’s key highlights by the brand’s marketers/ campaign creators. Then comes the interactive 10-minute session where each campaign will be cross-examined by the judges and audience members.

     

    Building on last year’s list of campaigns by companies and brands such as P&G, Nestle, Pepsi, McDonald’s, Fonterra, Singapore Tourism Board, Bacardi, Adidas and Vodafone, APPIES 2012 will continue to showcase the best campaigns from various industries that span across highly-diverse markets in Asia Pacific region.

     

    The 100 selected marketing campaigns will cover a broad range of six product/service categories that include Consumer Durables, Consumer Services, Food & Beverage, Non-Food FMCG, Business Services and Government, Cultural, Social & Environmental campaigns.

     

    APPIES 2012 will also host special keynote sessions and panel discussions on The Future of Industry. Marit Kievit, Global Brand Director (Lux) at Unilever and Chris ter Steege, Director (Digital Integration), Integrated Marketing & Communications at Philips Asia Pacific have been announced as keynote speakers at APPIES 2012. With advisory and assessor panels comprising top marketers in the region, APPIES 2012 is designed to offer excellent networking and knowledge sharing opportunities for industry professionals.

     

    Marit Kievit is the Global Brand Director for Lux (Unilever). The multi-cultural team led by Marit has developed breakthrough and award-winning integrated campaigns. She was also a permanent member of Axe’s global brand team, setting the global innovation agenda for one of Unilever’s most successful brands. Most recently Marit joined the global leadership team for Lux as a global brand director, based out of Singapore.

     

    Chris Ter Steege is a communication professional with an obsession for innovation and creativity in marketing, brand communication, digital and social media, and leading the creation of impactful experiences through integrated communication strategies and tactics. With 10 years experience, Global to Local, B2B and B2C, at Philips, Chris now leads regional cross-sector digital programs in Asia Pacific, co-leads the region brand campaign, works with sector marketers to deliver award-winning campaigns, and manages the digital team in one of the most diverse and fastest growing regions in the world.

     

    Leanne Cutts is Vice President, Marketing for Kraft Foods Asia Pacific Region, based in Singapore. She is responsible for driving the growth of the gum, candy, and powdered beverages categories as well as leading consumer insights & analytics and driving marketing excellence in the region.

     

    The Institute of Advertising Singapore (IAS) was founded in 1990 with the aim to position Singapore as an internationally recognised “centre of excellence” with world class advertising professionals, international best practices and industry leading creative output. The IAS has several highly successful business platforms for the advertising and marketing communities to meet, collaborate and raise the standards of the industry as well as encourage continuous education. The IAS has also organised the Singapore International Advertising Congress since 1998.

     

  • Of late, it has taken a beating globally, trounced by the iPhone on the one hand and a gamut of Android powered devices on the other

    What’s ailing RIM’s Blackberry drive globally & in India?

    By Ravi Balakrishnan

     

    Don’t let the kid on the next seat in the train, furiously typing away on his or her BlackBerry fool you. Despite the fact that Indian youth have bonded over BBM, the performance of the parent RIM and maybe even the launch of its latest product in India have revealed a number of holes in the phone maker’s strategy. BE asks what’s troubling BlackBerry, boys?

     

    Minutes before Research In Motion, the makers of BlackBerry, made an announcement at a press conference in Delhi, there was a definite vibe of anticipation. Tech hacks idly wondered just what was going to be unveiled, given that BlackBerry has a fairly conservative release schedule.

     

    The more optimistic were holding out for a glimpse of BlackBerry’s OS 10 rumoured among the brand’s faithful to be a potential Android-slaying, iOS-wrecking killer operating system; one that would propel BlackBerry back to the top of its game. But instead, BlackBerry amid much fanfare and celebrity preening unveiled the Curve 9220.

     

    At the Q&A and after, the questions flew thick and fast: why only a 2MP camera? Why no 3G? And why such a stiff price tag for a phone that lacked these two features?

     

    The device was launched at Rs10,990; inexpensive for brand BlackBerry, but a tad pricey compared to other mobiles, even smartphones if one considers budget Android models from Samsung, LG, Spice and Lava among others.

     

    The Curve offered unique features like a quick access BB messenger button and, critically, long battery life, something of a rarity in the smartphone category.

     

    FM radio, a feature that’s bog standard even for phones that are sold at a tenth of the cost, made its way to Blackberry Curve. But to an audience weaned on revolution, having to settle for evolution was a disappointment. It was a dangerous reaction for any company to deal with; especially a tech firm that’s been gradually losing its reputation as a pioneer.

     

    As one of the first smartphones, BlackBerry had a dream run starting with the enterprise segment and slowly making inroads into the consumer space. ‘Sent from my BlackBerry’ soon became a ubiquitous signature; first for emails from globetrotting CEOs and later among the rank and file as well. Except of late, it has taken a beating globally, trounced by the iPhone on the one hand and a gamut of Android powered devices on the other.

     

    Its most recent financial results reveal a loss of $125 million. And shipments of 11.1 million, down 21 per cent from the previous quarter. Reviews for its Torch series have been unenthusiastic and the game changing OS10 is expected to show only in the latter half of 2012. An industry insider said: “They decided to step back and relax and that cost them. The engine has stopped innovating for some time.”

     

    In some countries like India though, BlackBerry still counts among the contenders. According to Frost & Sullivan, it’s at the third place in the Indian smartphone market with a share of 15 per cent, trailing behind Nokia’s 35 per cent and Samsung’s 40 per cent. It’s attracted a strong app developer network of 30,000 in India up from 4,000 two years ago, according to a company source.

     

    More importantly, for a product that’s worldwide reputation veers towards the stodgy, it has a strong traction with the youth. Abhishek Chauhan, senior consultant, ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan, South Asia & Middle East observed: “In India, they’ve been taking segmentation seriously, targeting the youth. I don’t feel India will be a danger space for them if they launch affordable devices and data plans for their consumers here.”

     

    The youth connect has been built in part on the back of initiatives like the BlackBerry Boys campaign; a co-branded effort with Vodafone, currently in its second year. On the distribution front too, BlackBerry was quick to realise there was a world beyond the metros. It is currently present across 250 cities and according to RIM India’s managing director, Sunil Dutt, it continues to expand.

     

    However, BlackBerry India has not remained unaffected by the pressures facing its parent. The pricing strategy has changed: the jury is out on just why this is happening and what it will lead to. Of late, there have been price cuts across its portfolio.

     

    Coupled with the relatively ‘inexpensive’ tag on the new phone, it indicates either a thawing on part of the company or an act of desperation depending on who you ask. Mr Dutt explains the price cuts: “Sometimes when you reach economies of scale, they allow you to pass on benefits to customers.” This becomes important as the phone reaches towns and cities that want the device but find the price tags forbidding.

     

    Mr Dutt has a different take on discounts. He believes they are not an indication of a brand in trouble but an invitation to consumers to be a part of an ecosystem and experience. “We want to reach more consumers. A lot of them want an affordable solution and we provide just that,” he said.

     

    Marketing consultant Shripad Nadkarni of MarketGate however cautioned that the strategy could well be a double edged sword: “It helps garner short term sales, but the brands future depends on how they keep in synch with innovations of the competition. They can reduce the price of existing products but need to buffer up the offering to be a serious player.”

     

    There seem to be several options and suggestions available to BlackBerry, many offered gratis by various tech columnists. Part of the problem according to industry pundits is that the brand strayed too far away from its enterprise roots and ran the risk of being “everything to everybody.”

     

    The industry insider said: “It is still a high stable platform that gets jobs done in least number of steps. They need to recognise what’s driving them as a company and drive it even harder. BlackBerry 10 could change the way people think about the  company. The question is whether it will be too little too late.”

     

    For the longest time, BlackBerry believed the experience its products offered was good enough for it to command a premium. Even as rivals ramped up the megapixels on cameras, and made their phones more music, game and leisure friendly, BlackBerry’s phones remained on a pound for pound basis, a tad underpowered.

     

    But with the competition evolving at a furious pace and throwing in more for less with each generation of phone, it may be a matter of time before even the BlackBerry boys begin to wonder if the experience is worth the price.

     

    Source: The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • With the overall economy looking weak, customers are tightening their purse strings amid low increments

    Big retailers offer discounts as growth slows

    By Dipti Jain

     

    Just like an unusual April in Delhi when temperatures remained below 40 degress, retailers are dishing out discounts and special offers to attract buyers in early summer. From Future Group’s Big Bazaar to Lifestyle and Marks & Spencer, almost all retailers are courting buyers through special offers as growth remained muted in March and April. With the overall economy looking weak, customers are tightening their purse strings amid low increments.

     

    Big Bazaar just concluded its first-ever public holiday sales, while Marks & Spencer is offering 30 per cent discount to liquidate stocks. Ditto for FMCG major Godrej that has announced offers for its furniture brand. Woodland says it has intensified its promotional activities, Lifestyle Retail is offering discounts and freebies and Shoppers Stop is offering higher rewards.

     

    Although retailers are choosing not to talk at the moment, numbers point to slower offtake. For instance, Shoppers Stop, which reported an 87 per cent decline in fourth quarter net profit, has seen a 3 per cent rise in transaction size, despite the average selling price going up 9 per cent. Even conversion rate is down 5 per cent despite footfalls rising 29 per cent during the fourth quarter.

     

    Spencer’s Retail says its same store sales growth has moderated from 12-13 per cent during 2011 to around 8 per cent during January-March 2012. Same store sales is a measure used to gauge how sales have been in stores that were operational in the previous year.

     

    While brands are aiming to revive buying sentiments, for some the offers are intended to make up for the backlog from the last season. A store manager at a Pantaloon Retail outlet in Delhi said while it had increased prices by 12 per cent last year, in some cases the company has been forced to slash prices by around 20 per cent to boost sales.

     

    “Buyers are waiting for the sale period to make purchases as things have become more expensive. We have to offer some incentives to retain customers even though our profit margins have reduced,” said the Pantaloon store manager.

     

    “It has become more challenging for a retailer to keep his customers engaged. Buyers are now more demanding and are always looking for offers and discounts,” said Harkirat Singh, MD, Woodland.

     

    Godrej Interio associate VP Subodh Mehta said offers tend to get customers to purchase. With sales growth around 25 per cent, compared to the 30 per cent target, the company is not just offering discounts of up to 20 per cent on furniture but is jacking up ad spend by close to 20 per cent. Godrejs’ same store sales grew 15 per cent (3 per cent below target).

     

    “Buying sentiments will remain choppy due to the uncertain economic scenario. Customers need to get back disposable income to start spending again,” said Ankur Bisen, associate director (retail) at Technopak.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • 64 per cent of Indians lose their temper with a customer service executive, far higher in comparison to an average of 48 per cent

    Indian consumers highly impatient with customer service execs: Study

    By Sagar Malviya & Maulik Vyas

     

    If you have been using foul language on the customer service associate, threatening to switch to competition, you aren’t the only one to do so. In fact, 64 per cent of Indians lose their temper with a customer service executive, far higher in comparison to an average of 48 per cent in other markets, says a survey that highlights the rising importance of customer service in the country.

     

    Nearly two in five Indians threatened to switch to a competitor while a third of them hung up the phone on customer care executives.

     

    While around 61 per cent insisted on speaking to a supervisor, 12 per cent of Indians use profanities or abusive language as against an average of 7 per cent globally, according to the survey by American Express and global research firm ‘echo’.

     

    “Great customer service is great business and positions a brand with staying power,” said Pradeep Kapur, Senior Vice President, World Service India & Process Excellence, American Express said.

     

    The American Express Global Customer Service Barometer – an annual survey of attitudes and preferences towards customer service in India and ten other countries -was done online among shoppers above 18 years of age.

     

    Over than a quarter of the survey participants said the whole ‘customer service experience’ that marketers talk about missed their expectations completely.

     

    “We are very relationship-oriented country and we love to know the name of the person and see the face of an individual who caters to us at other side of the phone call,” said Harish Bijoor, brand consultant and CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. “Moreover, Indians are very new to remote complain and data services, hence their aspirations will obliviously higher compare to other mature markets such as the US.”

     

    Indian consumers discuss good customer service more than any other nationals; 97 per cent of the participants talk about ‘after-sales service’. Indians are becoming quite vocal about poor quality service too as each one tells approximately 47 people about their bad experience. One out of every five consumers feels businesses pay less attention to providing good customer service. And four out of five believe that smaller businesses give more importance to customer service than large ones.

     

    “When customers know that a company is listening to them and addressing their needs quickly and responsively, they will not only spend more – they will spread the word to others as well,” added Mr Kapur of Amex.

     

    As per the survey, seven in ten consumers intended to conduct a business transaction or make a purchase, but decided against it due to poor service experience. This particularly applies to service sectors such as hospitality, healthcare, finance, telecom, airlines and retail that contribute around 60 per cent of the country’s GDP.

     

    Source: The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • The centre at Hindustan Unilever's headquarter at Andheri will be used by several group companies in developing and emerging markets to understand how people shop

    Hindustan Unilever to study how we shop

    By Sagar Malviya

     

    World’s third-largest consumer goods firm Unilever has set up a Customer Insight and Innovation Centre in Mumbai to study how consumers shop FMCG products – its first such hub in India and seventh in the world.

     

    The centre at Hindustan Unilever’s headquarter at Andheri will be used by several group companies in developing and emerging markets to understand how people shop in both neighbourhood stores as well as modern trade. This is the first such centre that provides shopper insight for both general stores as well as retail chains.

     

    “The learning will go typically in developing and emerging markets where traditional trade is big,” said Punit Misra, vice-president, customer development, at Hindustan Unilever. “We have been doing consumer marketing forever where the basic premise is consumers are truly the same,” he added.

     

    The insight centre will simulate the retail environment of any supermarket or neighbourhood store and then invite consumers to shop the virtual store. A device will scan their retina to track the movement of the eye, and then a map will display the spot that catches the consumers’ attention.

     

    Simply put, the centre will help the Anglo-Saxon consumer goods maker advice grocers on how category growth, profit per sq ft and availability can be improved using virtual reality tools.

     

    The company will use the data and insights from the centre to plan packaging design for future products. It will also test new product through virtual reality platform and use the facility for their promotions. So far, the company has engaged grocer outlets with promotions, display materials and margins. The development is seen as a part of Hindustan Unilever’s efforts to increase its sales and widen lead over rivals such as Procter & Gamble, ITC and Godrej Consumer.

     

    Analysts say the company wants to connect more with the trade at a time when millions of kirana stores it sells products to are being increasingly covered by its rivals too. While Hindustan Unilever still enjoys the country’s largest retail network of over 7.2 million outlets as per Nielsen estimates, its closest rival Procter & Gamble now reaches around 5.6 million outlets.

     

    “This means the company wants to come as close to the customer as it can get,” said Anand Mour, senior FMCG analyst at brokerage Ambit Capital. “It will not only increase the category but also help in getting more sales of its products since HUL is present in most FMCG categories,” he added.

     

    But getting millions of kirana stores to sport a look that HUL advises is a challenge. Mr Misra knows that, and feels that the company is ready to overcome that problem. “Modern trade is simpler. General trade is a bit tricky on how do you disseminate a repeatable model to five lakh family grocers,” said Mr Misra. “So we do the creation, the testing, the learning and the models, and then our execution teams on the field convert them into ready-to-use kits which they can take to the retailers,” he added.

     

    The maker of Lux soaps and Pond’s cream has been taking several initiatives to increase its sales and consumer base in the country. One of the recent such projects was Mission Bushfire – an employee-led market execution and customer interaction exercise initiated in 2010 to get the home and personal care giant to connect with the market place in order to increase product visibility.

     

    Bush Fire resulted in over 40 per cent spike in sales in store wherever the initiative were implemented, according to internal company estimates. Recently, a company official on condition of anonymity told ET that Hindustan Unilever has set a target to more than double its turnover to Rs50,000 crore by 2015 in a plan christened ’50 by 15′.

     

     

    Source: The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • Modern retail shoppers seem to be less impacted by economic factors like inflation, high interest rates and slower growth, says Nielsen's April report

    Shoppers at retail chains buy premium items

    By Sarah Jacob & Writankar Mukherjee

     

    Shoppers at food and grocery retail chains appear disconnected from the overall weak consumer sentiment in the country as they upgrade to premium products and buy bulk packs, helping big retailers and consumer goods firms boost average realisation per sale.

     

    Daily use products like hair oil, refined edible oil and toothpaste, and impulse-driven categories such as biscuits, beverages, salty snacks, instant noodles and chocolates are growing much faster in sales value than the number of units sold in modern trade, a report by market tracker The Nielsen Company says.

     

    Modern or organised retail within food and groceries refers to convenience stores, supermarkets and destination outlets called hypermarkets. This is opposed to the traditional kiranas or neighbourhood stores.

     

    Modern retail shoppers seem to be less impacted by economic factors like inflation, high interest rates and slower growth, says Nielsen’s April report.

     

    Industry officials say this trend also has to do with consumer’s shopping motivations. “Consumers are purchasing larger packs, and more value-added products in modern retail since they are showing a tendency to complete their monthly shopping in such stores. They are topping up with smaller purchases from kiranas,” said Dabur India CEO Sunil Duggal. Value growth of one-litre Real juice pack is almost double in modern retail than kiranas.

     

    Manish Tiwary, executive director-sales and customer development at the country’s largest consumer goods company Hindustan Unilever, said modern retail consumers are comparatively better off. “The profile of shoppers in modern trade clearly reflects a higher living standard measure. This is one of the main reasons for the slightly more premium portfolio (in big chains),” he said. HUL’s largest brands within the personal wash category in modern trade are Dove and Pears, while Lux and Lifebuoy rule the roost overall.

     

    Nielsen says stronger purchasing power of modern trade consumers and wider product assortment at such chains encourages impulse purchases and deal-based large-pack buys. “This mix of affluence and experimentation is an invaluable asset for all stakeholders. This can be useful in times of uncertainty like 2011 since the sharp increases in value growth indicates resilience amongst them,” said Adrian Terron, Nielsen Company’s executive director (retailer and shopper).

     

    He said refined edible oil and instant coffee are examples of categories where value growth outpaced volume growth by 2-3 times. Of course, product prices have increased 2-8 per cent over past year, but Nielsen says the effect has more to do with shopping behaviour.

     

    Spencer’s Retail chief (operations and merchandising) Mohit Kampani said nearly 30 per cent of growth that Spencer’s Retail posted across its 189 outlets was from consumers upgrading purchases last year. “This is also because the price points of products being stocked have widened considerably. A year ago, skincare brands would have been priced between 10 and 800 while today it is between 10 and 2,200,” he said.

     

    Devendra Chawla, president (Food Bazaar category) of India’s largest retailer Future Group, said value-added categories are incubated at modern trade outlets: “A lot more cookies, cream and health biscuits have been launched in the past 18 months than mass biscuits, which makes value contribution higher, although the category is growing double digits by volume.”

     

    Even in personal care, anti-ageing and performance creams are growing much faster than general-purpose creams.

     

    HUL’s Tiwary said it sometimes launch certain pack sizes in modern trade first and then in other channels. Future Group’s Chawla said launch of international foods is also contributing to this trend. This includes packaged cheese, international pasta and brands like Choco Pie among biscuits and Ferrero Rocher in chocolates that are resulting in faster value growth than volume. Overall, modern trade is proving more profitable for marketers because profit margin is higher on premium products and large packets.

     

    Meanwhile, mobile phone and durable makers too report higher sale realisation in large chains due to rising demand for premium products. Research in Motion (RIM), makers of the BlackBerry smartphones, said Indian consumers are upgrading from feature mobile phones to smartphones. “This is boosting the average selling price of the handset market, even though overall demand is yet to pick up,” RIM India Managing Director Sunil Dutt said. He estimates that the smartphones market is growing 60-70 per cent a year in the country, while feature phones at 10-15 per cent.

     

    Panasonic India Managing Director Manish Sharma said: “Consumers are increasingly going for large screen televisions, which is pushing up value sales.” The average selling price of the company’s flat panel TV business has gone up by more than 5 per cent in six months.

     

    Korean brand Samsung too says sales of its high-end split ACs, frost-free refrigerators and smartphones are growing faster than lower-end products.

     

    Source: The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

     

  • Mission Bush Fire' is an employee-led market execution and customer interaction exercise to get the home & personal care giant to connect with the market place

    HUL to launch Mission Bushfire in 8 cities

    By A Correspondent

     

    Consumer goods major, HUL is launching Mission Bushfire 2012 this week to cover about 40,000 outlets (including general and modern trade) spread across 8 cities in India- Mumbai, Pune , Delhi ,Gurgaon, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Hyderabad.

     

    Mission Bush Fire’ is an employee-led market execution and customer interaction exercise initiated in 2010 to get the home & personal care giant to connect with the market place.

     

    This year the emphasis will be on the launch of skin care brand, the New Fair and Lovely. HUL employees from across functions will be participating in Mission Bushfire 2012 which will be held for the third successive year.

     

    HUL CEO Nitin Paranjpe and every member of the company’s management committee participates in this project to get direct feedback on how HUL brands are faring.

     

    In 2010, over 4000  HUL employees had participated in this mission to interact with the trade and consumers covering 14,000 outlets.

     

    Bush Fire has resulted in a 40 per cent spike in sales in store wherever the initiative has been implemented, according to internal company estimates. Mission Bushfire is an HUL employee led initiative that aims to create ‘Perfect Stores.’

     

    A research by HUL shows that 70 per cent of the brand purchase decisions are made

    at point of purchase. Perfect store programme is an initiative started in 2010 with objective of bringing the HUL brands from consideration set to the purchase basket of the shopper. The project is being driven through two initiatives called IQ and Better Stores.

     

    Project IQ has been instrumental in increasing the assortment and driving placement of new products through strong analytics and customization of tasks at an outlet level.

     

    Better Stores Project drives the visibility of the brands at the point of purchase through the right visibility mix, focus on plannograming (share of shelf) and advanced merchandising process using hand-held terminal (HHT) technology.

     

    Source: The Economic Times
    Copyright © 2012, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved