Textile Business - A Marketing Perspective

As I started with a textile showroom for my marketing blog, I received amazing insights into how this business really works. The intent of this blog, I decided, would be to share the various strategies that textile businesses adopt to provide value to its customers. I look forward to do my little research on different types of textile stores –from the old established ones to much newer ones, the ones that cater to a particular segment of the market or specialize in a particular type of business model. I hope to get different perspectives in terms of growth of business, challenges faced and strategies adopted over time to adapt to consumer’s dynamically varying needs. I thus start with the success story of Madhar Sha Textile showroom in Chennai.

Madhar Sha Readymades - Background

Madhar Sha textile showroom was established in 1966. The now flamboyant, well illuminated showroom located on the busy Pursalwalkam High Road in Chennai was once a modest shop whose objective was to serve the customer with quality goods at low prices. With time, not only has the business expanded due to high influx of customers, but it has also carved such a niche for itself in the eyes of the consumer, that it is thronged by over thousands of them each day from the nook and cranny of the city, as well as from outside. What’s more, the budding competitions, had to shut shop even before they could get started! Such is the monopoly that Madhar Sha enjoys.

Inside the store

Madhar Sha started operations with a single showroom, however it was imperative for them to expand their business to a second one, due to the large volume of customers. I spent a good amount of time in both the showrooms. Though the differences were subtle, I was able to figure out in an instant the basis on which the segmentation had been done to attract only a section of the target market to each of the shops, thanks to the marketing perspective we have been endowed with during our course J

• ·        Even before I could enter the initially established showroom, I noticed two things through the glass. One – it had a good number of people inside and one had to wade his way across the showroom, and two- a water cooler was strategically placed at the entrance. People on the streets flocked to drink water, and would impulsively buy an item or two.
• ·        No sooner than I stepped in, a salesperson appeared, enquiring me about what I would like to buy. On the pretext of wanting to buy salwar kameez material I made my way through the shop.
• ·        I noticed that most of the customers’ purchases were necessity based and not that of luxury. They seemed to be buying daily-wear clothing.
• ·        The aisles were pretty narrow and there were clothes on both sides!
• ·        All goods were neatly arranged in stacks and information about the material and price were clearly displayed. The price ranged from Rs.200 to Rs.5000. Salespersons seemed to be knowledgeable and were helping customers by asking them particular questions about their purchase needs.
• ·        At the billing counter, attractive colored clothes were displayed, one of each kind – saree/shirt/salwar kameez/the traditional mundu/kids wear. Also on display were informative boards like “Lab coats available” and “Uniforms available”.  

In Shop# 2, the arrangement seemed to be similar, and yet there was a world of difference in the experience.

• ·        There was no water cooler at the entrance, neither was there a salesperson.
• ·        I was greeted by a whiff of sweet fragrances.
• ·        The aisles were wide, and I suddenly realized that there were chairs placed along the aisles too. There were posters of models in designer wear along the stairs.
• ·        A couple of information boards displayed that brochures were available for customized stitching.
• ·        The price cards ranged from Rs. 1100 to Rs.20000 here, and the clothes on display were of sober colors as opposed to the brighter ones displayed in the first store.
• ·        There were also separate sections for popular suiting brands.

From the above observations, I could clearly tell that the first store was targeted at lower middle class and middle class consumers, while the second one was more sophisticated and attracted the elite crowd.

USP

What is it that differentiates this showroom from the rest? What is it that makes a customer come back to Madhar Sha time and again considering that many smaller businesses around the area also source from the same supplier? The catch here is that the same goods are marked at a price drastically lesser than that offered by others. The owner booms with pride as he explains to me how they manage to keep a margin as less as 7% when others have it as high as 20%.

Madhar Sha aims at attracting customers from every strata of the society by empowering them to purchase the best quality of good at a price they can afford. Therefore, they slashed the cost and increased turnover instead. In order to achieve a lower profit margin, they needed to cut down on some cost – they chose to minimize their overhead cost by eliminating the middle men involved in sales, purchases and cash transactions. This way, they not only cut costs, but also make sure that there is no compromise on the quality of materials provided to them and the brand’s image is not at stake. Over time, they have also managed to buy out the property they were operating out of, which again contributed in minimizing overheads. As far as suppliers are concerned, Madhar Sha prefers not to operate on credit. The suppliers are promptly paid in cash in order to maintain the trust factor with them and for mutual benefit.

What more is in it for the consumer?
At Madhar Sha, they strongly believe that a satisfied customer is its biggest asset. Madhar Sha takes every initiative to ensure that the customer returns to them for more purchases. The staff here is knowledgeable about the goods and has also been given ample instructions on how to deal with customers and provide them with the best possible service. They have been instructed to dorn simple but neat attire and be presentable at all times, be on their feet when customers are in the shop in order to reassure them that the staff is at their disposal and are eager to help them. The staff has also been told to be disciplined and to refrain from idle talk so that there is an air of professionalism while dealing with the customers. I was amused to know that a couple of decades ago, they were told not to exhibit their religion by way of dressing or otherwise, as there existed a possibility of losing out on religiously-biased customers.

Apart from the factors of service mentioned above, the staff extends maximum support to its customers by personally instructing them on handling the purchased fabric, the dos and donts. Even in the unlikely event of damage in the sold good, the feedback is taken and the good promptly replaced – no questions asked, so that the customers do not leave with a bad taste in their mouth, and are motivated to return to the store!

How do they innovate?

Although Madhar Sha enjoys a monopoly in the market, they make an effort to continuously innovate. They have diversified by building long-term tie-ups with schools to buy uniform materials from them. They even provide an in-house tailor to the school.

Conclusion

Madhar Sha believes that a happy customer is the key to a successful business. Relationship with suppliers, staff and other stakeholders harmoniously amalgamate to provide the best service to the customer. They say they do not advertise themselves or offer discounts as their service speaks for itself. They provide value for money. The trust factor has been instilled so deeply in the minds of the customer that they continue to throng into the store through generations! 

Neena Sagar Pratap

FT13445

Drink Fresh!!!

The moment we were asked to write the blog, I knew it had to be on “Fruit shop On Greams Road”. There are a million vendors selling fresh fruit juices in Chennai, but Fruit Shop had managed to differentiate itself from the others. So simple, yet so unique.

I happened to visit the Fruit Shop outlet in Besant Nagar. The outlet is strategically located at the start of the theosophical road, which happens to be one of the prime localities in Chennai. The franchise had taken the apartment for rent on the ground floor and converted it to an outlet.

The ambiance was by far the best that one can experience in any of the juice shops in Chennai. It was fully air conditioned and there were portraits of famous celebrities such as Marlyn Monroe and Curt Cobain on the walls. The paintings were in black and white, in contrast to the walls that were colourful. It was obvious that they were targeting the middle and upper middle class.

The hall of the apartment was the entry to the outlet and had the billing counter and two tables. The hall led into two other rooms where they served customers. In one of the rooms, the majority of the tables were small and had only chairs in each of them. Fruit shop apparently gets a lot of their business from young couples. The flagship or the USP of this outlet is that, it has huge parking space. These days parking space plays an important role when it comes to selecting hang out places. I am sure there are malls/supermarkets/stores which you avoid, because of lack of parking space. I also saw a lot of people sitting in their cars and placing the orders. In fact majority of the orders were from drive inns. They encourage drive inns as it gives them additional capacity indoors to serve customers.

I went inside and ordered for a menu card. The menu card was simple and clear. It was a simple laminated sheet with juices on one side and milk shakes on the other. The cheapest drink was their Lime Juice/Lime Mint Cooler that was priced at Rs 25 and the most expensive juice was the Very Berry Juice priced at Rs 125.They had a wide variety of fresh juices ranging from common juices such as orange, sweet lime and grape to exotic fruits such as Kiwi and Passion Fruit. Apart from juices and shakes, the menu also listed desserts (Caramel and Custard) and ice cream sodas. The innovative names given to juices namely Jughead Special and Flosbury Flop did manage to catch my attention.

The waiters were very calm and cordial and had a good knowledge of the juices they offered. I decided to go by what the waiter considered their speciality,”The Jughead Special”. It’s a milk shake with vanilla ice as its base with bits of raisins, dates and bananas. The shake was served in a short but wide glass and topped with raisins and nuts. The way they served the juice differentiated them from the other juice vendors. The shake was rich, filling and a perfect blend of the ingredients with no taste from a particular ingredient standing out. In all it was a very enriching experience.

Narayan
FT13444

Munch away happily at Prima's

The all time favourite delicacy and dessert for every one of us are the cakes and pastries. What better dessert to have other than the yummy and creamy cakes and fudges. Prima’s bakers and confectioners in Chennai is a cake shop with all varieties of cakes, pastries, fudges, brownies ,tarts ,pies ,biscuits and also the hot puffs and samosas. This is the ideal stop for people with craving for tasty and fresh snacking and munching.

Prima’s bakery was opened as single outlet in Anna Nagar area, but soon caught the customers’ attention and retention with its fresh creamy cakes whose taste lingers in the mouth of the customers even after several hours. Initially, they started out with just making cakes for party and for eat outs but over the years they expanded their product line by making brownies, tarts, pie’s, homemade biscuits, breads, chips , samosas, puffs with some soft drinks to go along. Their trademark is the taste and freshness that they provide in all their items. This sets them aside from all their competitors in the neighbouring area. Over the years they have grown so much that they currently have a chain of 7 outlets. They hold a strong customer base and have gained customer loyalty with their unfailing customer service and dedication to provide the best products.

The simple strategies followed by Prima’s:

1.       When Prima’s started, there was not many bakeries and confectionaries that catered to the affluent population of Anna Nagar. Prima’s used this opportunity to enter the market and targeted the right consumer base – Kids, School children and youngsters alike.

2.       The positioning of the outlets are in the center of all busy areas like near the DAV and SBOA schools and the railway station in Egmore. This makes Prima’s a compulsory stop shop for a chit chat and munch for all the school kids and youngsters.

3.       Themed decorations in the bakery and special snacks and theme cakes for all the festivals that attracted very large number of customers.

4.       They placed customer satisfaction as the most important USP of their business which has made them into the most sought after bakery in the neighbourhood.

They use a very viable and successful marketing strategy to attract the customers with special items for various auspicious occasions and festivities. They make special cakes in the shape of Easter eggs for Easter, plum cakes rich in wine and walnut cakes for Christmas, special chocolate cakes and brownies for new year celebration, cakes in the shape of crackers for Diwali season and other such occasion specific delicacies. This out of box strategic thinking and execution of theirs, was a tremendous hit among the customers and the reverberations paved way to the path of success for Prima’s.

They believe that providing good quality products and ensuring a superior customer service is the key to become successful in any business.

Substitution Therapy?

Vorion, Bullet, Black Knight and Kalyani. Do these names/ words ring a bell? Well, to a large percentage of us, they do. For the ‘economically’ inclined, meaning those who closely study economics, their technical name would be ‘substitute’ brands/ products. Without digressing too much, let me inform those few who still don’t have a clue about the names I dropped in the beginning: these are beer brands and they have been moderately successful in substituting the category favourite: Kingfisher.

One of the top regrets that Great Lakers voiced after the course started had nothing to do with the college, per se. They were heartbroken (some even had ligament tears and such!) simply because they couldn’t get their hands on what is popularly referred to as ‘hard drinks.’ To add to their misery, even in the beer category the crowd favourite, Kingfisher, was scarcely available. I grabbed this opportunity to turn their misery in to a “consumer behaviour study” for my marketing management project!

Methodology of research:

Phase 1: In the popular show, ‘The Tonight show with Jay Leno,’ there is a segment called ‘Jaywalking.’ In this segment the host Jay Leno, interviews random strangers on US roads and questions them on seemingly simple general knowledge questions. The results are usually hilarious! Here’s a sample question from the show:

Q: What do you think is the meaning of the word, “philanderer?”

A: Something or someone who does charity work! (an obvious confusion between the words ‘philanderer’ and ‘philanthropist’)

I used a similar strategy to kick start my research; a simple start up survey with only 4 questions on a sample of 34 respondents.

My survey questions were:

Q1: Are you familiar with the word teetotaler?

Q2: What brand of beer do you drink most often? Rate the following in terms of    preference: Kingfisher, Carlsberg, Tuborg, Haywards and Others (Royal Challenge, Kings etc

Q3: Are you familiar with at least two of these brands: Vorion, Bullet, Black Knight and Kalyani? If yes, were you familiar with these brands before/ after joining Great Lakes?

Q4: Under what circumstances will/ have you shifted brands?

Phase 1-findings:

In short, the findings suggest that Great Lakers have a substantial hand in popularizing (by consuming) substitute brands! 28 out of 34 respondents changed brands because of unavailability of Kingfisher and 18 of the 27 who are familiar with these brands, tried them for the first time after joining GLIM.

Interesting facts about these brands:

Miscellaneous details:

Demography: Gender- M: F= 27:7 Age (range): 24-28

Places surveyed: Rose Corner, Moonrakers (both branches) and Shore Side restaurant

References: 

The Tonight show with Jay Leno: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyA1JKg4ias

TASMAC website: http://tasmac.tn.gov.in/Mrp.htm

Project submission mode: I intend to consolidate my project findings and share them in the blog on a term-wise basis, so until the next time... Cheers!

Lathish Venugopal

FT 13435/ S4

P.S: teetotaler:One who abstains completely from alcoholic beverages; no wonder 6 out of the 34 respondents had no clue!

MAMALLA HERITAGE

The search for the individual marketing project took me to Mahabalipuram. When I reached there it reminded me of the history books where I had read about it in childhood.I started my search to identify the potential topic for my project. I saw a cluster of general stores, garment stores, some super markets and finally as I walked down the roads I saw a huge crowd heading in one direction.Out of curiosity I followed them which led me to the place for which Mahabalipuram has become famous for - the sea beach. It was a great feeling to see the beauty of nature and people all around enjoying in the sea. I too got tempted to have a dip in the water, but controlled myself as I had a task at hand. Walking down from the beach, I realized I had found my topic. Mahabalipuram is famous as a tourist spot. So what attracts the tourists here??? The beaches and the famous temple. This led me to start my search for one of the basic requirements that should be present to aid the tourists. Good accommodation facilities instantly clicked on my mind and that gave birth to my project. I wanted to study one of the hotels that stood out prominently in the entire gamut of hotels that was present. I froze MAMALLA HERITAGE for my study.

MAMALLA HERITAGE:


Mamalla Heritage is situated in the heart of Mahabalipuram, some 300 metres from the main bus stand and 5 minutes walking distance from the beach. At first sight, it looks enchanting with good outdoor advertisement techniques in the form of attractive and prominent boards utilized to attract the prospective customers. The hotel looks spacious with 3 floors and enough open space at he entrance.I make my way to the reception and am greeted by one of the personnel there, Krishnamurthy. I introduce myself to him and he is kind enough to agree to my request. The first thing that strikes me is his smile. The first question that I ask him is :"What is the specialty of this hotel?" He replies :"Friendly staff" and I couldn't agree more as he indeed was very friendly.I decided to pen his discussions in the Marketing Mix - the 4 P's of marketing as below:

PRODUCT:


The product i.e. the hotel looks good with a very soothing ambience. There are a total of 38 rooms in the hotel with rooms being available in two options : Standard and Deluxe.The difference in the two is on the basis of price and the deluxe room offers more space and better interior decoration over the standard room. They also have three restaurants to their credit and 1 coffee shop:

(a) Roof top restaurant specializing in sea food.
(b) Golden Palate offering pure vegetarian cuisine.
(c) One more restaurant that offers both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.

They also offer complementary break fast.

They have a parking space that can accommodate close to 40 cars!! They also offer to exchange foreign currency on the house.

PRICE:


There is a differentiation in the manner in which the two rooms have been priced with the Deluxe version being offered at Rs. 2374 and the Standard room being offered at Rs. 2136. The prices have been strategically devised keeping in mind that it generally attracts foreign customers and for them the less than significant difference in the two generally makes them opt the Deluxe room.

PROMOTION:


The peak season for full occupancy is from October to March. So how do they ensure that people are aware of the hotel. They have their official site www.hotelmamallaheritage.com by which the customers can book their rooms online. Also they have tie ups with the tarvel agents for the same which ensures that the hotel is running with full capacity during the peak season.

PLACE:

  As mentioned earlier, the hotel is situated  in the heart of Mahabalipuram, some 300 metres from the main bus stand and 5 minutes walking distance from the beach which offers it a distinctive advantage over its competitors.

So what is the USP of the hotel. His eyes sparkle and he is quick to say : "there is a swimming pool on 1st floor over the coffee shop and of course the friendly staff".

It sure looks like a good bet to me. Delving further into our long discussion, I ask him about the consumer feedback process and he is quick to acknowledge that they do have it in place. So what do the consumers have to say about the hotel:

The good things:

(a) Value for money.
(b) Variety of restaurants.
(c) Ease of converting foreign currency.
(d) Location (Place)


The opportunities:


(a) Alcohol is not served and there is unavailability of bars.
(b) Check out time of 12 to 12 could be made more flexible.
(c) Restaurant closing hours of 22:30 hrs should be extended.

That leads me to the other question : So what have you done regarding this?

He answers :"Customer feedback survey is an important tool that we use to evaluate ourselves and make ourselves more customer friendly. We are looking at the prospect of leveraging on our strengths and overcome the opportunities. Significant development has been made in this regard and points on check out time and restaurant closing hours have been looked at. There will be some development in this regard. Regarding the option of bars being set up, we are looking at that prospect at all, but that is a long drawn process and it will take time. After all, we are here to serve our customers and we value their feedback."


This entire interaction made me feel as if I was attending a marketing class. The concepts taught in the class became clearer and I could see him applying those principles in practice. I shook hands with him and thanked him for his valuable time and he replied :"It was my pleasure"


I am really impressed with the hotel and it would definitely be the place where I stay when I decide to come and visit Mahabalipuram in future.

As of now, I am signing off. I hope you liked my first attempt for the blog. Thanks!!

Amit Kumar Singh
FT13404

Biscuits: The Product for all the age Group

The Supermarkets and The Modern Retail.

The advent of the Modern methods of retail has led to a totally new experience of shopping for the consumers. The modern retail stores viz. Big Bazaar, More, the Supermarkets of the vicinity offer a wide range of products and that too at a considerable discount. This is achieved by bulk purchase and getting into an agreement with the Brands. Since this is a market which is growing at a fast pace the Brands end up giving good discounts to these chains

Demand Pattern:

Unlike the local retail shop where the demand is at its peak during morning and evening, the demand for the biscuits in these stores are right through. This is so because the families usually come to buy the grocery and other stock for the entire week. The instances where customers solely come for purchasing  biscuits are very few.

Visibility

These Modern Retailers give the brand a better visibility in terms of shelf space. As can be seen that the arrangement in the supermarket is much organised than that seen in the local retail store. Unlike the local retail store where the arrangement was done by the Brand, in the Modern Retail this is done by the retailers themselves. Also the people shopping at these places are mostly middle class and upper middle class , the entire range of the products is available. The high end biscuit products live the diabetic friendly biscuits, high fibre biscuits are seen in good numbers in these stores.

FT13413

Arun Thakur.

BATA: Product Differentiation

FT13431

My last week’s visit to the nearest Bata store was fruitful in understanding some of the concepts that I came across in the marketing class. The showroom is located near the Velachery main bus terminus and thus it’s very visible so that a lot of customers enter the store (though they may not buy).

At the entry point, one is welcomed by the ‘NewArrival’ section. That has products from different categories such as ladies hand bag, sports shoes, back packs etc. The sales person says that every 2 weeks new items are displayed in the section so that frequent visitors get interested to buy when they see new models and designs.

Bata’s Sub-brands:

There are various sub-brands under the gent’s formal shoes category. ‘Mocassino’ is mostly preferred by people above 50 years and the starting price is Rs.1200 and is made of pure leather.

‘Hush puppies’ brand is considered luxurious with a starting price of Rs.2800. This is also made of pure leather.

The ‘Comfit’ brand comes with extra cushioning. Both formal and semi-formal wear are available and preferred by all age groups.  It is made of pure leather with a starting price of Rs.2000.

The ‘Ambassador’ brand of formal shoes is made of pure leather with a starting price of Rs.2500.

‘Power’ is a sports wear brand. There are shoes as well as floaters. An observation that made me inquisitive was the presence of ‘Reebok’ shoes in the shelf. The sales person explained to me that they are being kept in the store for the customers to perceive the competitive pricing and design of ‘Power’ products. For instance, ‘light weight’ shoes in ‘Power’ cost Rs.1300 whereas they cost above Rs.2000 in ‘Reebok’.

The other casual wear brands are ‘North-star’, ‘Weinbrenner’, that has shoes made of fur leather and office bags.

‘Bubble Gummers’ is the brand of kids’ casual wear shoes and bags.

‘Marie-Claire’ is the ladies hand bag brand that has bags from Rs.600.

The Store Layout

The layout of the shop is different for different seasons. In summer, when there is more demand for sports shoes and shoes made of leather, canvas, leather shoes are displayed in the frontal side of the shop. Similarly, during rainy season plastic and moulded shoes sell more and hence they are displayed in the frontal side of the store.

During school reopening season (May, June) school shoes are displayed in the front. During Christmas, leather shoes have high demand and hence get the front display portion.

The showroom layout is prepared by Bata’s ‘Marketing team’taking past sales data into account and then communicated to the showroom. The Regional Manager also visits the showroom and suggests any correction in the layout that may be required.

Product Line Extension

In the past two years, Bata has launched new product categories such as ladies hand bag and formal leather belts. The ladies hand bag with the brand name ‘Marie Claire’ has received good response. The bag that was initially sold for price starting from Rs.700 is now available for price of up to Rs.2000.

Bata also regularly gets feedback from its customers the following things:

1)      Store is easy to locate

2)      Ambience and interiors comfortable

3)      Found the required size

4)      Product range is trendy

5)      Satisfied with the price

6)      Staff was helpful, courteous and understanding

The customer will either have to ‘Agree’, ‘somewhat agree’ or ‘Disagree’ for the above statements.

A disturbing trend that I observed in Bata was that the permanent ‘sales force’ is being replaced by contracted sales personnel (who work on temporary assignments). As a result, establishing personal relationships with the frequently visiting customers has become difficult.

Though, Bata has been doing well on ‘Product differentiation’ especially in terms of durability, style etc. the company at the moment seems to lose out on ‘Personnel differentiation’ and 'Market orientation'. Bata will have to sit back and fine-tune it's strategy with respect to 'Market orientation'.