A Major Project Study Report On Titled

A Study of Brand Preference towards Mens Wear

(Special Reference to Pant & Shirt) Shirt

Submitted in partial fulfillment for the Award of degree of

Master of Business Administration

Submitted to

Rajasthan Technical University, Kota (www.rtu.ac.in)

Session 2008-2010 Under the Guidance of: Nisha Jain Project Guide & Faculty Submitted By: Gaurav Kumar Tiwari MBA IVth Sem.

Vision School of Management

(Affiliated to Rajasthan Technical University & Approved by A I C T E) Udaipur Road, Chittorgarh (Raj.) E-mail: vision_mgmt@yahoo.com Website: www.visionmanagement.org

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Preface

MRP Program skills. of

is MBA

prepared

as

the of

partial Rajasthan

fulfillment Technical

for

Two-Year Kota.

degree It is

curriculum

University,

expected from an MBA to possess a good communication & effective presentation

Objectives of the project report are: To study brand preference. To study the consumer behavior.

The research provides an opportunity to a student to demonstrate application of his/her knowledge, skill and competencies required during the technical session. Research also helps the student to devote his/her skill to analyze the problem to suggest alternative solutions, to evaluate them and to provide feasible recommendations on the provided data. Although I have tried my level best to prepare this report an error free report every effort has been made to offer the most authenticate position with accuracy. This report contains a number of additional features.

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DECLARATION
This is to certify that Market Research Project Report on A A Study of Brand Preference towards Men Wear Special Reference to Pant & Shirt Shirt submitted by me in Masters of Business Administration Program from Vision School Of Management, Chittorgarh [Rajasthan technical university, Kota] is my original work and the project report has not formed the basis for the award of any diploma, degree, associate ship, fellowship or similar other titles. It embodies the original work done by me under the able guidance and supervision of Nisha Jain (Guide & Faculty) Vision School of Management, Chittorgarh.

-----------------------------Nisha Jain Project Guide Date---------------------

---------------------------Gaurav Kumar Tiwari M.B.A. IV Sem. Date-------------------

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The successful completion of a Market Research Project Report requires guidance & help from a number of people. I was fortunate to have all the support from my teachers. I therefore take this opportunity to express my profound sense of gratitude to the all those who extended their whole hearted help and support to me in completing the project study report work on A Study of Brand Preference towards Men Wear
Special Reference to Nimbahera
I also express my

deep sense of gratitude to Nisha Jain (Guide & Faculty) , who has helped

us to do our project. We also thank to other faculty of VSM & respondents for his valuable help in each stage of the project. Because of his co-operation and continuous guidance successful completion of this project study report was made possible. I am sincerely thankful to Dr. A.L. Jain
guiding me to pursue the study on proper line. I also express my deep sense of gratitude towards Mr. Mukesh Kumawat, Mr. Vibhor Paliwal, Mr. Rahul Jain, Ms. Pratibha Pagaria, Ms. Shobhika Tyagi (Faculty), P.L. Dashora (Librarian) & all faculty members. (Director, Vision School of Management) for allowing me to undertake the report and making available all facilities for the successful completion of the report besides

No Acknowledge would suffice for the support my family members, my training colleagues, classmates & friends. Lastly, I extend my thanks to all those whose name have not been mentioned way in successfully carrying out the project report. ThankingYou:

Gaurav Kumar Tiwari

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The project have to learn both the art and science of retailing by closely following how the other parts of the world are organizing, managing, and coping up with new challenges in an ever-changing marketplace. In the project use innovative retail formats to enhance shopping experience and try to understand the regional variations in consumer attitudes to branded garments. In report put the efforts in the following aspect to improve its Brand Image: 1. Advertising, promotions, and campaigns to attract customers have to bedesigned and executed to build loyalty by identifying regular shoppers and offering benefits to them. 2. Efficient management of high-value customers is vital. 3. Monitoring customer needs constantly must be done with long-term relationships in view. 4. It must improve its brand image from discounted good

Retailing sector of India can be split into two segments. They are the informal and the formal retailing sector. The informal retailing sector is comprised of small retailers. For this sector, it is very difficult to implement the tax laws. There is widespread tax evasion. It is also cumbersome to regulate the labour laws in this sector. As far as the formal retailing sector is concerned, it is comprised of large retailers. Stringent tax and labour laws are implemented in this sector. If the retail industry is divided on the basis of retail formats then it can be split into the modern format retailers and the traditional format retailers. The modern format retailers comprise of the supermarkets, Hypermarkets, Departmental Stores, Specialty Chains and company owned and operated retail stores The traditional format retailers comprise of Kiranas, Kiosks, Street Markets and the multiple brand outlets. The retail industry can also be subdivided into the organized and the unorganized sector. The organized retail sector occupies about 3% of the aggregate retail industry in India.

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Table of Content
Certificate Preface Declaration Acknowledgement Executive Summary Table of Contents I II III IV V VI

Chapter No. 1 2 3 4

TITLE Industry Introduction Company Profile & Their Products Conceptual Framework Review of Literature Research Methodology Data Analysis & Interpretation Finding & Conclusion Suggestion Bibliography Annexure

PAGE NO. 1-32 33-46 47-75 76-86 87-90 91-105 106 107 108 109-110

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Chapter No.: 01
Indian Textile Industry
The textile industry is the largest industry of modern India. It accounts for over 20 percent of industrial production and is closely linked with the agricultural and rural economy. It is the single largest employer in the industrial sector employing about 38 million people. If employment in allied sectors likes ginning, agriculture, pressing, cotton trade, jute, etc. are added then the total employment is estimated at 93 million. The net foreign exchange earnings in this sector are one of the highest and, together with carpet and handicrafts, account for over 37 percent of total export earnings at over US $ 10 billion. Textiles, alone, account for about 25 percent of Indias total for ex earnings. Indias textile industry since its beginning continues to be predominantly cotton based with about 65 percent of fabric consumption in the country being accounted for by cotton. The industry is highly localized in Ahmedabad and Bombay in the western part of the country though other centers exist including Kanpur, Calcutta, Indore, Coimbatore, and Sholapur. The structure of the textile industry is extremely complex with the modern, sophisticated and highly mechanized mill sector on the one hand and the hand spinning and hand weaving (handloom) sector on the other. Between the two falls the small-scale power loom sector. The latter two are together known as the decentralized sector. Over the years, the government has granted a whole range of concessions to the non-mill sector as a result of which the share of the decentralized sector has increased considerably in the total production. Of the two sub-sectors of the decentralized sector, the power loom sector has shown the faster rate of growth. In the production of fabrics the decentralized sector accounts for roughly 94 percent while the mill sector has a share of only 6 percent. Being an agro-based industry the production of raw material varies from year to year depending on weather and rainfall conditions. Accordingly the price fluctuates too. India's trade in textiles and its share in world trade can be categorized as follows:

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Indias Trade in Textiles (1998) Type India's Share in World Trade Yarn Fabrics Apparel Made-ups 22% 3.2% 2% 9%
Type Yarn Fabric Made-ups CAGR (1993-98) 31.79% 9.04% 15.18% 6.795%
Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of different segments

Over-all

2.8%

Garment

Global Scenario
The textile and clothing trade is governed by the Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFA) which came into force on January 1, 1974 replacing short-term and long-term arrangements of the 1960s which protected US textile producers from booming Japanese textiles exports. Later, it was extended to other developing countries like India, Korea, Hong Kong, etc. which had acquired a comparative advantage in textiles. Currently, India has bilateral arrangements under MFA with USA, Canada, Australia, countries of the European Commission, etc. Under MFA, foreign trade is subject to relatively high tariffs and export quotas restricting Indias penetration into these markets. India was interested in the early phasing out of these quotas in the Uruguay Round of Negotiations but this did not happen due to the reluctance of the developed countries like the US and EC to open up their textile markets to Third World imports because of high labour costs. With the removal of quotas, exports of textiles have now to cope with new challenges in the form of growing non-tariff / non-trade barriers such as growing regionalisation of trade between blocks of nations, child labour, anti-dumping duties, etc. Nevertheless, it must be realised that the picture is not all rosy. It is now being admitted universally and even officially that the year 2005 AD is likely to present more of a challenge than opportunity. If the industry does not pay attention to the very vital needs of modernisation, quality control, technology upgradation, etc. it is likely to be left behind.

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Already, its comparative advantage of cheap labour is being nullified by the use of outmoded machinery. With the dismantling of the MFA, it becomes imperative for the textile industry to take on competitors like China, Pakistan, etc., which enjoy lower labour costs. In fact the seriousness of the situation becomes even more apparent when it is realised that the nonquota exports have not really risen dramatically over the past few years. The continued dominance of yarn in exports of cotton, synthetics, and blends, is another cause for worry while exports of fabrics is not growing. The lack of value added products in textile exports do not augur well for India in a non-MFA world. Textile exports alone earn almost 25 percent of foreign exchange for India yet its share in global trade is dismal, having declined from 10.9 percent in 1955 to 3.23 percent in 1996. More significantly, the share of China in world trade in textiles, in 1994, was 13.24 percent, up from 4.36 percent in 1980. Hong Kong, too, improved its share from 7.06 percent to 12.65 percent over the same period. Growth rate, in US$ terms, of exports of textiles, including apparel, was over 17 percent between 1993-94 to 1995-96. It declined to 10.5 percent in 1996-97 and to 5 percent in 1997-98. Another disconcerting aspect that reflects the declining international competitiveness of Indian textile industry is the surge in imports in the last two years. Imports grew by 12 percent in dollar terms in 1997-98, against an average of 5.8 percent for all imports into India. Imports from China went up by 50 percent while those from Hong Kong jumped by 23 percent.

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Global factors influencing textile industry

The history of the textile and clothing industry has been replete with the use of various bilateral quotas, protectionist policies, discriminatory tariffs, etc. by the developed world against the developing countries. The result was a highly distorted structure, which imposed hidden costs on the export sectors of the Third World. Despite the fact that GATT was established way back in 1947, the textile industry, till 1994, remained largely out of its liberalization agreements. In fact, trade in this sector, until the Uruguay Round, evolved in the opposite direction. Consequently, since 1974 global trade in the textiles and clothing sector had been governed by the Multi-fibre agreement, which was the sequel to an increasingly pervasive quota regime that began with the Short-term arrangement on cotton products in 1962 and followed by the Long-Term arrangement. After the successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round in 1994, the MFA was replaced by the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), which had the same MFA framework in the context of an agreed, ten year phasing out of all quotas by the year 2005. The section that follows takes a brief look at the history of these protectionist regimes as also a more detailed look at the MFA and the ATC.

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MultiFibre Agreement (MFA)

On January 1st, 1974, the Arrangement Regarding the International Trade in Textiles, otherwise known as the MFA came into force. It superseded all existing arrangements that had been governing trade in cotton textiles since 1961. The MFA sought to achieve the expansion of trade, the reduction of barriers to trade and the progressive liberalisation of world trade in textile products, while at the same time ensuring the orderly and equitable development of this trade and avoidance of disruptive effects in individual markets and on individual lines of production in both importing and exporting countries. Though it was supposed to be a short-term arrangement to enable the adjustment of the industry to a free trade regime, the MFA was extended in 1974, 1982, 1986, 1991, and 1992. Because of the quotas allotted, the MFA resulted in a regular shift of production from quota restricted countries to less restricted ones as soon as the quotas began to cause problems for the traders in importing countries. The first three extensions of the MFA, instead of liberalising the trade in textiles and clothing, further intensified restrictions on imports, specifically affecting the developing country exporters of the textile and clothing products. Increased usage of several MFA measures tended to further erode the trust which developing countries had originally placed in the MFA. The MFA set the terms and conditions for governing quantitative restrictions on textile and clothing exports of developing countries either through negotiations or bilateral agreements or on a unilateral basis. The bilateral agreements negotiated between importing and exporting countrys contained provisions relating to the products traded but they differed in the details. The restraints under the MFA were often negotiated, or unilaterally imposed at relatively short intervals, practically annually. The quotas could be either by function or fibre

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Under the MFA, product coverage was extended to include textiles and clothing made of wool and man-made fibres (MMF), as well as cotton and blends thereof. With regard to applications of safeguard measures, import restrictions could be imposed unilaterally in a situation of actual market disruption in the absence of a mutually agreed situation. However, in situations involving a real risk of market disruption only bilateral restraint agreements were possible. The Textile Surveillance Body (TSB) was set up to monitor disputes regarding actions taken in response to market disruptions. The MFA permitted certain flexibility in quota restrictions for the exporters so that they could adjust to changing market conditions, export demands and their own capabilities. The MFA also provided for higher quotas and liberal growth for developing countries whose exports were already restrained. The MFA asked the participants to refrain from restraining the trade of small suppliers under normal circumstances. In general, developed countries, under MFA, chose not to impose restrictions on imports from other developed countries The TSB ensured compliance by all parties to the obligations of bilateral agreements or unilateral agreements. It called for notification of all restrictive measures. A Textiles Committee established as a management body consisting of all member countries was the final arbiter under the MFA and worked as a court of appeal for disputes that could not be resolved under TSB.

Unsatisfactory experience with several extension protocols of the MFA, retention clauses, such as good will, exceptional cases, and anti-surge and other trade related factors led the developing countries to press for the inclusion of the textile issue in the agenda of the GATT Ministerial meeting. The eventual outcome of prolonged negotiations was the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing.

Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC)

The ATC calls for a progressive phasing out of all the MFA restrictions and other discriminatory measures in a period of 10 years. In contrast to the MFA, the ATC is applicable to all members of the WTO.

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Four Steps over 10 Years Steps Percentage of products to How fast remaining be brought under quota should open up, if 1994 rate was 6% percent annually 8.70 percent GATT (including

removal of quotas) Step 1 1st Jan 1995 31st Dec 1997 Step 2 1st Jan 1998 31st Dec 2002 Step 3 1st Jan 2002 31st Dec 2004 Step 4 1st Jan 2005 Full integration into GATT and final elimination of quotas , ATC terminates 16 percent (minimum 6.96

taking 1990 imports as base) 17 percent 18 percent 49 percent (maximum)

annually 11.05 percent annually No quotas left

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Top 10 Exporters (Textile) Country Billion US$ Hong Kong China South Korea Germany Italy Taiwan USA France BelgiumLuxembourg Japan Total (Top 10) World 5.88 74.36 104.00 5.65 71.5 100.00 6.75 110.62 155.00 4.35 71.37 100.00 7.99 7.10 6.04 14.00 9.80 6.13 5.03 7.21 6.54 1990 % share 7.68 6.82 5.81 13.46 9.43 5.90 4.83 4.65 6.29 Billion US$ 14.6 13.83 13.35 13.05 12.9 12.73 9.19 5.86 7.01 1997 % share 9.42 8.92 8.61 8.42 8.32 8.21 5.93 5.64 4.52

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Top 10 Exporters (Apparel) Country 1990 1997

Billion US$ China Hong Kong Italy USA Germany Turkey 9.41 15.37 12.07 2.57 7.82 3.44

% share 9.14 14.92 11.72 2.49 7.59 3.34

Billion US$ 31.8 23.11 14.85 8.68 7.29 6.7

% share 21.06 15.30 9.83 5.75 4.83 4.44

France UK South Korea Thailand Total (top 10) World

4.65 3.08 8.11 2.86 69.38 103.00

4.51 2.99 7.87 2.78 67.36 100.00

5.34 5.28 4.19 3.77 111.01 151.00

3.54 3.50 2.77 2.50 73.52 100.00

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EU Top Ten Suppliers of MFA Clothing: Rank Price (AGR 1994-96) 1995Ranks and Average Price 1996Ranks and Average Price Rank Price CAGR 1994-96

Country

Rank in Value

Rank in Volume

Avg. Price, Ecu/Kg

Rank in Value

Rank in Volume

Avg. Price, Ecu/Kg

China Turkey Hong Kong Tunisia Morocco Poland India Bangladesh Romania Indonesia

2 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 7 6 8 5 4 10 9

9 2 6 3 5 2 7 10 4 8

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 6 7 8 5 4 10 9

8 6 5 3 4 1 9 10 2 7

3 7 9 4 2 8 10 5 1 6

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Post-MFA / ATC Scenario

It is generally believed that quota phase-out can only be beneficial for the industry. In 1993, a study of seven countries found that the price of cotton yarn per kilo, was cheapest in India at US$ 2.79, compared to US$ 3.30 in Brazil, US$ 4.19 in Japan, and US$ 3.10 in Thailand. This was because overall labour and raw material costs are cheaper in India. However, it should be realised that the opposite can also happen. Removal of quotas may open new frontiers but will also close captive markets. The EU and the US will no longer be restrained in buying as much as they want from the cheapest possible sources. Some argue that the ending of quotas will result in cut-throat competition between developing countries. Coupled with this is erosion in the growth of markets in industrial countries. Apparent consumption of textile products, in real terms, remained stagnant during the decade 1985-95. Purchases become discretionary and fashion-driven. As a result, fashion cycles got shorter and order-cycles compressed. Retailers order requirements on short-order cycle term and demand rapid responses to in-season ordering. Hence, they are compelled to secure their supplies of top-up orders from those in close vicinity. There is, therefore, a propensity towards sourcing from low-cost countries in the neighbourhood as also a growth of offshore processing by manufacturers in developed countries. Regional integration reinforces this. Further exporters in India fear that freer imports could lead to dumping of low-cost fabrics from China and other Southeast Asian countries. Thus, the industry needs restructuring on all fronts. Although the policy framework can be blamed partially for its ills, internal factors are equally important. Recent studies indicate that India is beginning to lose out to its rivals. In one survey of US textile and apparel imports, China and Hong Kong had higher market shares than India. In certain categories, other Asian low cost producers like Pakistan and Indonesia had higher market shares and had emerged as close competitors to India. Because many of these countries depend on imports, however, India can take advantage of home production. Further, formation of NAFTA means direct competition from the Latin American countries. The United States has farmed-out offshore processing work to enterprises in Mexico and the Caribbean Base Initiative countries. Similar relocation has taken place in Europe with

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manufacturers shifting base to Eastern Europe, which provides similar advantages of cheap labour and proximity. According to projections by TECS, EU imports of ready-made fabrics will double between 1994 and 2004, as a result of the elimination of quotas. US imports are expected to treble over the same period. According to another prediction, apparel output could more than double (i.e. expand by 241%) between 1995 and 2005, compared to an increase of only 114%, without the agreement on textiles and clothing. By increasing market access, the ATC will generate multiplier effects in the Indian economy, eventually feeding back into the textile industry itself. The rise in demand for exports could increase output and employment in the textile industry. This in turn will stimulate the agricultural sector to meet the rising demand for cotton. As profits rise, so will wages, which will act as further stimulus. The export boom in the textile and clothing industry will also generate considerable foreign exchange. Given Indias high quota growth rates during the phase-out period, its competitive product niches and established links with retailers and importers in developed countries, it should experience vigorous growth in the future. The World Bank predicts a growth rate of 16% per annum in the coming decade. Ultimately, the extent that India will benefit from trade liberalisation depends on its current cost competitiveness, its ability to increase productivity and upgrade quality.

Implications on Indian Exports (Optimistic Scenario)

Yarn + Garment exports of Bangladesh increase leading to increase in consumption of Indian fabric and yarn + Exports of Far-East & ASEAN increase further + Rationalization in duties of MMF leading to increase in processing of fibres in India

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Fabric/Made-ups + Garmenting dereserved leading to entry of large textile players ensuring efficient sourcing and increase in the margins + Increase in investment for processing + Improvement in SAPTA trade Garments + Garmenting and Knitting de-reserved to allow the units to grow bigger to be able to service large orders and large clients + Labor laws in India become industry friendly + Garment parks come up in key regions giving a boost to exports + Successful Quota Phase-out without exports getting restricted by QRs

Fig in US $ Mn 1994 Yarn Made-ups Fabric Garments Total * Projections 590 851 1214 3713 6368 1998 1780 1498 1716 4829 9823 2002 2333 2620 2512 6510 14035 2005* 2701 4527 3530 10794 21552 2010* 3131 11266 7100 21711 43208

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Implications on Indian Exports (Pessimistic Scenario)

Yarn - Change works to the advantage for S. Korea/ASEAN/Far-East - Demand for packages increases - EEC other garment supply countries invest in back-end processes Fabric/Made-ups - Environmental Clause impacts - Investment in processing does not happen - Blends and synthetic fabrics dominate reducing advantage of Indian cotton

Garments - Social clause impact leading to ban on some categories, etc. - SSA is a reality impacting exports of garments from India to USA and EU - FTA becomes a reality - Other projectionist measures come up As opposed to the optimistic scenario, the pessimistic scenario shows a shortfall of nearly US $4000 mn of exports in year 2005 and the exports are not likely to be much higher than the present figures. It would also lead to development of textile and clothing industry in the other nations and India would lose out as a significant player in the industry. This would also stifle the domestic textile industry which would be in a very weak position to compete with imports. (These are expected to become cheaper with import duty rationalization as per international treaties and cost competitiveness of overseas players). Some of the subsidies currently extended by the Indian government to promote exports which are sector specific (TUF, 80 HHC) or region specific (EPZS, EOUS) may also need to be withdrawn.

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Fig in US $ Mn 1994 Yarn Made-ups Fabric Garments Total * Projections 590 851 1214 3713 6368 1998 1780 1498 1716 4829 9823 2002 2003 2038 1931 5435 11408 2005* 2126 2427 2050 5939 12542 2010* 2022 3098 2154 6885 14159

Conclusions
To effectively tackle the situation India needs to invest in research and development to develop new products, reduce transaction costs, reduce per unit costs, and finally, improve its raw material base. India needs to move from the lower-end markets to middle level value-formoney markets and export high value-added products of international standard. Thus the industry should diversify in design to ensure quality output and technological advancement. The weakest links in the entire chain are the power looms and the processing houses. The latter especially are very important because they are responsible for the highest value addition in the manufacturing line. A power loom co-operative structure could be evolved for pooling of common services and functions such as quality testing, marketing, short-term financing, etc. Further, because of the geographical proximity enjoyed, a cluster approach can be adopted.

The government also needs to make policy changes like dereserving the small-scale sector so that it can achieve economies of scale and adopt a synergistic approach. Handlooms by their very nature can adopt a strategy of "niche marketing. In this respect, export promotion, common credit and marketing facilities and more significantly publicity are important areas for co-operation. Here too, a co-operative structure would be useful though government agencies should be involved because of their outreach. Newer and more

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innovative forms of involvement are required where decentralisation should be a key element. India has made little attempt to forge partnerships in equity, technology and distribution in overseas markets. The newer nuances of global apparel trade demand joint control of brand positioning, distributing and quality assurance systems. The Indian textile industry has recognised the need for a cradle-to-grave approach when tackling environmental issues i.e. eco prescription should be applied right from the stage of cultivation to spinning to weaving to chemical processing to packaging. Here especially there is great scope for private -public partnerships. A great deal of work has been done by Indian trade and industry to comply with ecological and environmental regulations, and so Indian garments can adopt an appropriate label signifying a distinct quality. Efficiency and output of handloom and powerloom sectors also needs to be increased. The clothing sector needs the support of high quality and cost-effective cloth processing facilities. Modernisation of mills is a must. Human resource is another area of focus. The workforce must be trained and oriented towards high productivity.
The business environment of the future will be intensely competitive. Countries will want their own interests to be safeguarded. As tariffs tumble, non-tariff barriers will be adopted. New consumer demands and expectations coupled with new techniques in the market will add a new dimension. E-commerce will unleash new possibilities. This will demand a new mindset to eliminate wastes, delays, and avoidable transaction costs. organisations. Effective entrepreneur-friendly institutional support will need to be extended by the Government, business and umbrella

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Opportunities for Indian cotton textile firms Yarn

India is the leading supplier of cotton yarns to Mauritius, catering to almost 62% of the US$ 123 mn worth total cotton yarn imports of Mauritius in 2003. The Mauritian import market for cotton yarn has witnessed a downward trend in the last few years. Its cotton yarn imports declined by 6.2% from 1998 to 2003. While Mauritius imports of cotton yarns from India have slided during this period, imports from neighbouring countries South Africa and Zambia have risen.

Fabrics
Mauritius imports of woven fabrics have declined considerably since 1998 and were worth almost US$ 70 mn in 2003. India ranked fourth in this market in 2003, with a market share of 6%. While Chinese dominate the Mauritian import market for woven fabrics, South Africa and Hong Kong are the other major players giving close competition to India in this market. Indian exporters can focus on improving their competitiveness in exports of dyed fabrics and knitted fabrics, which are the main items of cotton fabric imports of Mauritius.

Made-ups
Contrary to imports of yarns and fabrics, Mauritius imports of made-ups have risen during the period 1998-2003. However, made-ups imports are very small in terms of value - worth US$ 2 mn in 2003. During the period 1998-2003, China emerged as the most dominant supplier of made-ups to Mauritius. China has been able to displace the erstwhile top suppliers viz. France and India and accounted for 60% market share in 2003. India ranked fourth in 2003 with a market share of 6%. If the efforts of the Mauritian Government to revive the domestic textiles industry are successful, Indian exporters might have an opportunity in this market in the medium term. In order to increase Indias market share, the following strategy could be adopted: Improve performance and presence in terms of quality, cost, delivery and after sales service. Plan strategic tie-ups with Mauritian RMG companies to supply yarn and fabrics. Strengthen logistics and supply chain management to provide competitive supply terms to Mauritian buyers. Promote Indian textiles by developing strong relationships with importers, buying agents and quality inspectors.

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Look at reducing lead times to ensure on-time delivery.

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN INDIAN RETAIL SECTOR INTRODUCTION:

The Indian economy was opened to the world in 1990s with the implementation of economic reforms necessitated by an economic ruin caused by a rigid economic policy. After that foreign capital has started flowing into the country in the form of foreign direct investments and foreign institutional investments. In spite of the fears expressed from various counters India has managed to do well and has been seeing a very respectable growth rates in its GDP over the last decade. Though Foreign Direct Investments were allowed by the Indian government in many sectors the Indian government still keeps the entry of foreign capital restricted in certain sensitive sectors like agriculture, railways, atomic energy, retail etc. Of these sectors retail sector is considered to be the most promising and profitable by the foreign investors.

THE PROBLEM AND THE OBJECTIVE

It is widely thought that it is high time that the Indian government remove the restrictions placed on the FDI in Retail sector to reap the rich benefits it is going to bring as in the case of other developing countries like China. On the other hand there are widespread fears and opposition expressed by the local players in the Indian retail sector. In this paper a detailed analysis is made on the various factors related with the introduction of foreign direct investment in Indian retail sector and its probable impact on Indian economy over short and long run. An attempt is also made to suggest the suitable mechanism for introduction of foreign capital in retail sector in the form of FDIs.

THE CURRENT SCENARIO OF THE INDIAN RETAIL SECTOR

Before discussing the matter of allowing the FDI in the Indian retail sector let us take a look at the following points that give a detailed account of the current Indian retail sector its strengths significance and contribution to the Indian economy. The volume of retail turnover is estimated at 4 lakh crore rupees a year, constituting 10% of our GDP. After agriculture, the retail sector is estimated to be the largest single sector, both in terms of turnover as well as employment.

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The share of organized retailing in India, at around 2%, is abysmally low,( In fact, only 4% of Indian retail outlets occupy an area of more than 500 sq ft.) compared to 80% in the USA, 40% in Thailand, Brazil or 20% in China, thus leaving the huge market potential largely untapped. The recent spurt in the growth of retail sector my be attributed to Mounting earning levels, education and an international exposure. Retailing all the way through non-traditional channels such as Fuel Stations, Direct Selling and Home Shopping Television is on the rise. Contemporary organized retail is petite and fragmented with cast list not being able to harvest economies of scale. However, retailing through formats such as supermarkets, hypermarkets, department stores and other forte chains are escalating. Top business houses in the country are investing in the sector. This includes Foodworld, Shoppers Stop, Crossroads, Globas, Pyramid and other such outlets. FDI in retail trading is not encouraged in any form. However, a few overseas retail names appearing in the marketplace in the nature of franchisee. In February the government has announced the entry of FDI in single brand outlets with a cap of 49% India has a hefty middle class of 350 million and sophisticated personnel to lever diverse significant functions like merchandising, sales promotion, inventory management, purchasing and marketing. India also possesses IT skills in the area of supply chain management, database management and inventory management

EXPERIENCE OF OTHER DEVELOPING NATIONS

A look at how the other developing nations of the world have dealt with the issue of FDI in retail trade will give a fair idea of the problem and the various possibilities. The sector is booming in Eastern Europe and a growing number of other emerging markets. Growth is particularly strong in the new EU members and Asia, including China, Malaysia and Viet Nam. It also extends to countries like Chile, Brazil, Turkey, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

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In many of these emerging markets, growth is fuelled by an expanding urban class with rising household incomes. While consumption patterns, income, market size and structure vary across countries, generally speaking, those with modern and globalized retail sectors are seeing more competition and concentration across the board. The benefits abound in these countries, as UNCTAD research shows. Other benefits include substantial productivity enhancements in retailing, particularly in supply chain management and in-country logistics. Brazilian producers, for example, are now part of the global supply chains of Carrefour and Wal-Mart, lower prices for food and clothing have apparently helped curb inflation. In China, the introduction of global retailers has not only stimulated demand for local goods to stock hypermarket shelves but has also provided new conduits for exports, by integrating Chinese producers into multinational supply chains. Wal-Mart alone plans to hire 150,000 employees in China over the next five years. , China's agriculture exports to the US nearly trebled from $3.86bn in 1999 to $9.96bn last year. India, on the other hand has made only a marginal progress, with its farm exports to America rising from $3.19bn in 1999 to just $4.28bn. In Viet Nam, the market presence of global retailers has helped raise the quality of goods provided by local suppliers to international standards. In Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, modern retailing has been associated with the building and operation of large shopping malls, with knock-on benefits for the local construction and security sectors. Pickn Pay, South Africas largest supermarket chain, reportedly provides training to small retailers setting up their own Pickn Pay Family Stores. It apparently helps local producers comply with quality standards and invests 7% of its net profits in corporate social responsibility In many of the developing nations Labour has been retrenched, but re-tooled and made more productive. That is what happened with development in Thailand, South Korea and now in China. The following table gives a comparative view of the three of the worlds important retail markets India , China and U.S.

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WHY FDI IN RETAIL TRADE IS NEEDED FOR INDIA

In the following section we will analyze the various factors that make the case for FDI in Indian retail sector attractive. We will also bring forth how most of the fears expressed by the Indian politicians and local players in the Indian retail market can be safely negotiated. FDI in retail trade would contribute to a multiplier impact on the economy not only in the retail sector but also in many other activities such as manufacturing, food processing, packaging and logistic services. They further point out that far from leading to an influx of imported goods, foreign companies would source most of their items domestically and would in fact, use quality Indian products to stock thousands of their outlets in foreign countries, thus giving a fillip to our manufacturing as well as export. One of the biggest fear expressed by the opponents of FDI in retail trade is the loss of employment of millions of small Indian traders. Organised retailing would generate employment, both direct and indirect, as notwithstanding the capital intensity of modern retail business, it continues to be labour intensive as well. The above point is substantiated by the figures given in the figure where by comparing the employment data of India with China and U.S. (Both the countries have a larger percentage of their labour force employed in the retail sector.) It would also lead to creation of indirect employment in support activities throughout the supply chain, starting from producers to packaging, storage, transport and other logistic services. Further modern retailers are a major source of relatively secure employment, particularly for women and low-skilled workers. Unlike the informal retail sector, many of these jobs involve regular working hours and a number of social benefits. Another argument against FDI is that the larger Multinational retailers will wipe out the small Indian retailers. However there is no empirical evidence for such a fear. India is not an

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integrated homogeneous market; it is a hierarchy of markets catering to people of many different income levels and tastes. Entry of sophisticated branded products affects the unbranded mass market only marginally in a vast poor country such as India. Moreover, in malls where the large retail chains set up their stores, typically, there will also be many small shops which will attract people. Further, the street-corner shops will have some advantages over big stores located many miles away in shopping plazas. In India, transportation and parking are big problems for people who want to visit shopping malls. For them, it is more convenient and cost-effective to purchase many of their daily requirements from the neighbourhood stores, especially as these establishments stock goods that are in particular demand in the locality. Hence, the pop-and-mom street corner shops can very well survive. A comparison between the food and beverage sector and the retail sector will show this clearly. The existence of hotels, restaurants and food malls has in no measure taken away the clientele of roadside dhabas and thelawallahs. Both continue to co-exist and flourish. Another argument that is pitted against the FDI is that the Multinational retailers will with their monopsonic powers will sqeeze out the local suppliers and farmers. But International experience has demonstrated that the only way that farmers can get better prices for their products is through improvement of the value added food chain The agricultural sector in India is characterized by poverty. If there is one segment of our society that toils to provide basic needs, and yet languishes on a pittance it is the agricultural segment. In spite of the fact that farmers are responsible for putting food on our plates the typical Indian farmer is a poor man. It is only when food processing and packaging takes off in a big way that we can hope to give the agriculturist his due. The one concerning backward linkages with the agriculture sector, efficiency in supply chain that foreign retailers can bring and the huge opportunity in farm exports. India can attain huge savings by merely improving the supply chain. Some 2040% of all fruits and vegetables grown in the country goes waste due to poor transportation, storage and handling infrastructure. Also, for every rupee that an Indian consumer spends, the farmer gets only 20-22 paise, as against 70-80 paise in developed markets. If large retailers, whether domestic or foreign, directly source through farmers, realisations will go up for the farmers, consumers will have to pay less and the retailers will get higher margins. This can be seen from the following example of the China.The global retailers taken together buy about

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$60 billion of goods each year from China for exports. Contrast this with India where less than $1 billion of exports are accounted for by global retailers (mostly metro dairy farm).

HOW SHOULD WE GO ABOUT IT

In the above discussions we have explored various aspects of introducing the foreign direct investment in the Indian retail sector. However the government should not introduce the foreign capital in the retail sector all at a sudden. There are many considerations that have to be taken into account while letting the foreign capital into the Indian retail market. India can follow the Chinese model, which took 12 years to open and provided infantindustry-protection to domestic retailers. China first allowed FDI in retail in 1992. The initial FDI cap was 26 per cent. It took China 10 years to raise the limit to 49 per cent. The 100 per cent foreign-owned retail stores were allowed only from 2004. Further the foreign chains were initially permitted to set up stores only in some select cities and local retailers were encouraged to become big by mergers so that they could compete with the international groups. India can also devise a roadmap, whereby FDI entry happens in a phased manner, whereby the process get completed in 8-10 years. The Indian government could selectively allow FDI in food, dairy and grocery segments of retail trade. In other areas such as readymade garments and various industrial consumer goods, the government should make sure that only big domestic retailers are allowed to compete with small local retailers. Even when FDI is to be allowed in retail food and grocery sectors, the government would like to put a cap on foreign ownership. Another strategy would be as follows. Foreigners if they want to enter will have to take local partners to start with. Once the local partners and other local players learn by doing, the FDI cap can be raised gradually. Foreigners can be allowed to set up 100 per cent foreignowned retail chains only after the local players are able to muster enough capital, experience and expertise to compete with established global giants. In addition to the above the Indian government and the industry should take adequate steps to weed out the following deficiencies of the retail sector and make it really attractive. o Regulations restricting real estate purchases, and cumbersome local laws. o Absence of developed supply chain and integrated IT management. o Lack of trained work force.

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o Low skill level for retailing management. o Intrinsic complexity of retailing rapid price changes, constant threat of product o Obsolescence and low margins. In this connection it is noteworthy to consider the draft ICRIER report that advocated for 49% FDI in retail and opening up of the sector in a phased manner over a period of five years. Fears about large-scale loss of jobs in the unorganized retail sector due to inflow of FDI was unfounded, said the study. Textiles have historically formed an important part of India's economy. Weaving had always been regarded as one of the major occupations, and Indias cotton and silk production were among the highest in the world. Colonization brought an end to Indias glorious past, in textiles as well as other areas. Since this report is for internal consumption, and IEPH has familiarized us all with this part of Indias textile history, Ill skim over it. The net result was that India, once one of worlds leading exporters of textiles, was now forced to become a net importer. However, by the 1850's Indian enterprise and capital using modern imported technology had set up its own mills, which by 1875 were exporting modern textiles to Lancashire. Thus the textile industry was the first in India to actually deserve the label industry. This overturning of tables also led to the side effect of the English manufacturers to demand that the newly introduced Factory Acts, to protect industrial labour in Britain, should also be adopted by India. This agitation succeeded, and with the 1881 factory act India introduced the labour laws which today are among the biggest stumbling blocks in front of the Indian industry. Post independence, in the hey day of Indian planning, the government of India provided favorable and protective taxes and other regulations to the small-scale sector, as it assumed that this sector created more employment. Limits on total capacity of mills, lists reserving certain products for the small scale sector, discriminatory price controls and taxation regimes etc all contributed to restriction of Large-scale production. However, in following this aim, the Govt. did not realize the negative impacts in terms of decreased productivity and reduced competitiveness vis--vis the global market. The liberalisation being carried in the 1990s also ushered in a new era for Indias textile industry. It led to the relaxation of many of the constraints previously imposed on the textile sector. Licensing was removed in the early 90`s by the Statement of Industrial Policy and the Textile Development and Regulation Order. In 1995, India signed the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trade bringing some of its policies

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at par with those at an international level. However, a number of limiting regulations(the differential taxation for larger mills for eg.) stayed in place till very recently, and some, like the labour laws, are still in place. At present, the single biggest factor influencing the textile industry appears to be the end of the textile quota regime of quantitative import restrictions under the multi-fibre arrangement (MFA) on 1st January, 2005 under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Textiles and Clothing. The removal of quotas, seen as an opportunity by many, including the government, is driving investment and liberalisation in the textile space. In the next section, I will discuss the problems that face the Indian textile industry in making full use of this opportunity. The industry, hamstrung by years of regulation, is sorely lacking in technological advancement, and scale of operations, both areas which are critical in bagging a large share of the world trade in textiles. Overall, there is a low level of modernisation in India in most elements of the clothing and textiles value chain, especially in weaving and in garmenting. Among powerlooms, which produce nearly 60% of the fabric output, less than 1% were shuttleless looms as few as four years back. Even among the organized mill sector, less than 6% have shuttleless looms. These levels are much below those of several developed and developing countries, which have seen a high replacement rate of old looms with modern shuttleless looms; more than 80% of looms in Taiwan, Korea and the U.S. are shuttleless. Even in Pakistan, 62% of looms are shuttleless. This has obvious implications for quality and efficiency. Also with the years of government policy favouring the small scale sector, the textile industry in India is of a very fragmented nature. With taxation regimes favouring smaller units,, Indian garment factories are nowhere close to having the kind of capacities that exist elsewhere. The larger Indian factories have only 10-20% of the number of machines found in otherwise comparable Chinese factories. In the quota days this was construed to be an advantage by some, as Indian industry could cater to niche demands. Post 2005 however, it has emerged(as expected) as one of the reasons holding Indias textile industry back. There are other problems in addition to those already pointed out. Infrastructure, a bottleneck which plagues most Indian industry today is a stumbling block for the textile industry as well. Chinese companies have the advantage of lower power costs and better power availability over Indian companies, and they also enjoy shorter lead time to the US, which is an advantage other countries like Mexico and Turkey which have more efficient port systems or more favourable locations also possess. The labour laws which prevent retrenchment of

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workers from sick units are another hurdle in the path of competitiveness. Even with all these problems, Indian textile exports have grown post the 2005 removal of quotas, but this growth has been a modest 10-11%. During the same period, textile exports from China have grown at rates in excess of 20%, and from a larger base at that. The export markets however, still present a considerable opportunity which the Indian industry should be able to tap. The Chinese threat, while very real, has been offset to some extent by recent developments. The extremely high growth of Chinese textile exports to the U.S has resulted in quotas being reinstated for Chinese goods in certain segments. The European union too has reached an agreement with china which has seen china agreeing to curtail exports. A school of thought also exists which maintains that companies in the U.S would prefer to spread out their suppliers, as placing all their eggs in the Chinese basket may be somewhat risky. The Indian government has also not been entirely blind, introducing measures such as the national technology upgradation fund and removing the differential taxation scheme which discriminated against large units. They have also allowed textile units to build and operate captive power plants, which should ease the power problem. Some companies are also making use of the SEZs to get around labour laws. The domestic market too, is projected to grow in the coming years. On the whole, indications for the textile industry are largely positive. But as is the case with every industry, only the well run companies will be able to make use of this scenario to the fullest.

Welspun India is Asia's largest terry towel manufacturer and fourth largest in the world. It supplies to leading global retailers, meeting 15 per cent of Wal-Mart's terry towel requirements, 85 per cent of Tom Hilfiger's and 100 per cent of Shopko's. It has plans to double its terry towelling capacity to 23830 TPA, enhance yarn capacity by 25000 spindles and introduce bed linen with a 35 million metres capacity and has earmarked a Rs 6 billion budget for its expansion plans. Its sales in the year 2005-06 were in the range of 630 crores, growing by around 35% compared to the last year.

Alok Industries has the largest processing capacity in India and offers fully integrated facilities for yarn texturising, weaving, knitting, processing, made-ups and garments. It has initiated plans to expand capacities across all segments by investing Rs 10 billion. It is focusing on home textiles and garments, which will contribute to nearly 50 per cent of its revenues by 2007. It has already got an impressive client list that includes brandnames such as JC Penney, Tommy Hilfiger, TARGET, Wal-Mart and

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international buying houses such as Britannica Home Fashions, Elite Home Products, etc. Their sales were in 05-06 were 1285 crores, up by 15% from last year.

Arvind Mills boasts of a wide product range in value added fabric, from fabric to garments in denim, shirting and knits. It is a supplier to brands such as GAP, Marks & Spencer, Levis, Tommy Hilfiger and Nike and is upgrading its garment capacities to 14.3 million pieces per annum. Arvind Mills dominates the Indian denim market with a 72 per cent share of the estimated 80 million metres denim market. They posted sales of 1600 crores in 05-06, and while this figure was a decline compared to the previous year, they have shown an improvement in their operating performance, leading to a higher PBT.

Gokaldas exportshas more than 40 factories spreading in 37 locations in India, manufacturing more than 2.4 million garments per month. The principle source of revenue for the Company is from export of garments and related products. Almost 95% of their revenues come from exports. Their sales too, saw a growth of 20% to end the 05-06 financial year at 860 crores

Other major players like Raymond, Siyaram silk mills, mahavir spinning mills etc. have also shown strong performance in the past two years.

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Colorful fashion trends of India

With the end of the 20th century came the end of all hype which has created a more practical and pragmatic environment and has given a more stable picture of the fashion business. In the 50s, 60s and 70s, the Indian fashion scenario wasn't exactly colorless. It was exciting, stylish and very graceful. There were no designers, models, star or fashion design labels that the country could show off. The value of a garment was judged by its style and fabric and not by who made it. It was regarded as ever so chic and fashionable to approach any unfamiliar tailor, who could make a garment for a few rupees, providing the perfect fit, finish and style. The high society lady, who wore it, was proud for getting a good bargain and for giving her name to the end result. In 60s, tight 'kurtas', 'churidars' and high coiffures were a trend among ladies. It was an era full of naughtiness and celebration in arts and music and cinema, manifested by liberation from restriction and acceptance of new types of materials such as plastic film and coated polyester fabric. The 70s witnessed an increase in the export of traditional materials outside the country as well as within. Hence, international fashion arrived in India much before the MTV culture with the bold colors, flower prints and bell-bottoms. Synthetics turned trendy and the disco culture affected the fashion scenario. It was in the early 80s when the first fashion store 'Ravissant' opened in Mumbai. At that time garments were retailed for a four-figure price tag. The '80s was the era of self consciousness and American designers like Calvin Klein became popular. In India too, silhouettes became more masculine and the 'salwar kameez' was designed with shoulder pads. With the evolution of designer stores in Mumbai, the elegant fashion design culture was a trend among Indians along with their heavy price tags. No doubt that a garment with a heavy price tag was at the bottom stage of fashion. But clients immediately transformed into the high fashion fold where they were convinced that that the word 'elegant fashion design culture' means, it had to have a higher price tag.

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Garments were sold at unbelievable prices only because the designers had decided to get themselves noticed by making showy outfits and getting associated with the right shows, celebrities and events. Later, fashion shows shifted to competitive events each attempting to out-do the other in theme, guest list and media coverage. For any newcomer, the fashion business was the number one professional art that time. In the 90's, the last decade of the millennium, a move towards the drastic pairing down returned with ethnic wears (Today, ethnic wear market in India is accounted to Rs. 9000 crore). This led to the decline and the recession, the push to sell at any cost and keep staying in the limelight. With heavy cut throat competition and sound awareness of the client, the inevitable occurred. The price tags, which had once reached at a peak, began their downside journey. At those times the downturn was not only being experienced in the price tags of the garments, but also in the business of fashion shows. More models, choreographers, make-up men, hairstylists and designers streamed down into their business. The fun and party time in the Indian fashion scenario had not ended with this, but continued. It was a point, where it reached at a certain steady level and from there, in the beginning of the 21st centaury, with new designers and models and some sensible designing; the fashion hype accelerated its speed. Indian fashion industry spreads its wings globally For the global fashion industry, India is a very big exporter of fabrics and accessories. All over the world, Indian ethnic designs and materials are considered as a significant facet for the fashion houses and garment manufacturers. In fabrics, while sourcing for fashion wear, India also plays a vital role as one of the biggest players in the international fashion arena. India's strengths not only depend on its tradition, but also on its raw materials. World over, India is the third largest producer of cotton, the second largest producer of silk and the fifth largest producer of man-made fibres. In the international market, the Indian garment and fabric industries have many fundamental aspects that are compliant, in terms of cost effectiveness to produce, raw material, quick

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adjustment for selling, and a wide ranges of preference in the designs in the garments like with sequin, beadwork, aari or chikkon embroidery etc, as well as cheaper skilled work force. India provides these fashion garments to the international fashion houses at competitive prices with shorter lead time and an effective monopoly in designs which covers elaborated hand embroidery - accepted world over. India has always been considered as a default source in the embroidered garment segment, but the changes of rupee against dollar has further decreased the prices, thereby attracting buyers. So the international fashion houses walk away with customized stuff, and in the end crafted works are sold at very cheap rates. As far as the market of fabrics is concerned, the ranges available in India can attract as well as confuse the buyer. A basic judgmental expectation in the choosing of fabrics is the present trend in the international market. Much of the production tasks take place in parts of the small town of Chapa in the Eastern state of Bihar, a name one would have never even heard of. Here fabric making is a family industry, the ranges and quality of raw silks churned out here belie the crude production methods and equipment used- tussars, matka silks, phaswas, you name it and they can design it. Surat in Gujarat, is the supplier of an amazing set of jacquards, moss crepes and georgette sheers - all fabrics utilized to make dazzling silhouettes demanded world over. Another Indian fabric design that has been specially designed for the fashion history is the "Madras check" originally utilized for the universal "Lungi" a simple lower body wrap worn in Southern India, this product has now traversed its way on to bandannas, blouses, home furnishings and almost any thing one can think of. Recently many designers have started using traditional Indian fabrics, designs and cuts to enhance their fashion collections. Ethnic Indian designs with batik cravat, tie-and-dye or vegetable block print is 'in' not just in India but all across the world. In India, folk embroidery is always associated with women. It is a way of their self expression, and they make designs that depict their native culture, their religion and their desires. Women embroider clothes for their personal use, and the people linked with the pastoral profession prepare embroidered animal decorations, decorative covers for horns and foreheads and the Rabaris of Kutch in Gujarat do some of the finest embroidery. Embroidered pieces are made during the festivals and marriages, which are appliqu work called 'Dharaniya'. One of the significant styles of Saurashtra is 'Heer' embroidery, which has

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bold geometric designs, woven on silks. The Mutwa women of the Banni area of Kutch have a fascinating embroidery where they make fine embroidery works with designed motifs and mirrors in the size of pinheads, the Gracia jats use geometric designs on the yoke of long dresses. Moreover, the finest of quilts with appliqu work are also made in Kutch. Garments embellishment with bead work is another area where it in demand in the international market. Beads are used to prepare garlands and other accessory items like belts and bags and these patterns now available for haute couture evening wear too. According to a survey, in recent times Indian women have given up their traditional sari for western wears like t-shirts and shorts, as they feel more comfortable in skirts and trousers instead of saris and salwar kameez. It's been noted that women spend just $165 million on trousers and skirts against 1.74 billion dollars spent by men on trousers. With more women coming out to work, the (combined) branded trouser and skirts market has been increasing at a whopping 27 per cent in sales terms. Women feel that Western clothing is more suitable, particularly when working or using public tran ation. Many corporate offices are also in favor of their employees wearing Western wear. In India, Western inspiration is increasing due to the influence of TV and films. Besides, shopping malls selling branded clothes have also mushroomed in India and are fascinating the youngsters. Recently, designer wear is being promoted through store chains such as Shopper's Stop, Pantaloons, Westside, etc. Companies such as Raymond and TCNS have also set up their exclusive stores for designer wear. The market of India fashion industry Recently, a report stated that the Indian fashion industry can increase from its net worth of Rs 200 crore to Rs 1,000 crore in the next five to ten years. Currently, the worldwide designer wear market is amounted at $35 billion, with a 9 per cent growth rate, with the Indian fashion industry creating hardly 0.1 per cent of the international industry's net worth. According to approximations, the total apparel market in India is calculated to be about Rs 20,000 crore. The branded apparel market's size is nearly one fourth of this or Rs 5,000 crore. Designer wear, in turn, covers nearly about 0.2 per cent of the branded apparel market.

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At present, the largest sales turnover within the designer wear segment is about Rs25 crore, with other well-known names having less turnovers of Rs10-15 crore. In view of the prospects of the Indian fashion industry for growth, the figures are not very hopeful. The figure of fashion industry The organized market for designer apparel is about Rs 250 crore Designer wear calculates to less than 1 per cent of the apparel market The global market for designer wear is 5 per cent of total apparel market The global market for designer wear industry is largely dependent on the small-scale sector Consumers for designer wear have a yearly household income of Rs 10 lakh-plus. There are 3 lakh such households developing at 40-45 per cent Designer wear industry is projected to increase to Rs 1,000 crore by 2015. More than 81 per cent of the population below 45 years of the age is fashion conscious. Many fashion designers and management experts foresee an average growth of about 10-12 per cent for the Indian fashion industry in the coming years. Though, the growth rate could be more than 15 per cent, if infrastructural and other logistical bottlenecks and drawbacks are over come. India needs more effort to overcome However, despite the benefits available in India there are also some disadvantages. India is not a remarkable player in the global market with reference to brands because of its inability to add value to products. This is observed by the fact that nearly 50 per cent of its exports are apparel and made-ups where value addition is essential. Likewise, 75 per cent of domestic apparel market is commoditized and unbranded and very few Indian brands do survive in the foreign markets. Evidently, the Indian market has not made a strong stand and hence it is difficult to make Indian brands that can compete with global brands in India.

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Company Profile & Products

Koutons Retail India Ltd.
Koutons Retail India Ltd. is the leading retailer of readymade and fashion wear brand in the country today. With more than 1400 outlets across India, it has a wide range of apparel designs suited for all segments including corporate, formal and casual dressings. Koutons aptly creates the conducive environment for a family outing, making family shopping the best experience at an affordable price - all at one place. Koutons was born in 1991 as Charlie Creations and are now Koutons Retail India Ltd. Koutons started primarily as a denim brand but are today manufacturing and selling complete men, women and kids wardrobe under the brand name Koutons, Les Femme and Koutons Junior respectively. Another brand from the stable of Koutons is Charlie Outlaw, which caters to the teens of the country with apparels including jeans, T- shirts, jackets etc. Koutons Brand is catering to the Upper & Upper Middle Class of Society with a vast target age group between 18-60 years. "Value for Money and High on Fashion" being their USP, Koutons has given the brand an extension delving into specific consumer segments. The garments are made keeping in view the overall need of the niche market and the basic/fashion demand of the Indian masses. Our product range also caters to the tastes of all segments. Our Brand is placed as the most dynamic brand of India.

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Products
KOUTONS MENSWEAR

KOUTO NS

The well known apparel house, Koutons Retail India Ltd. has unveiled their latest collection of menswear. This collection offers a wide range of formal and informal clothing for men for the age group of 18 years and above. Known for their comfort and durability the brand has become synonymous with 'fashion and quality' at affordable price'. The collection caters to men which includes the working

professionals. The collection includes the shirts, T-shirts, pull overs, sweat shirts ,denim and non-denim trousers, cargo and shorts for men in trendy yet formal shades the collection also offers a variety of fabrics to choose from. The basic formal shirts are available in linen and cotton fabrics. The range is also available in blended fabrics. The special product range wrinkle resistant flaunts ten to twelve colors to choose from. Using wrinkle-resistant technology the company has sought to introduce a new breed of weaved hundred percent cotton fabric and blended cotton. The latest collection of Koutons menswear is a range created for today's generation of men who wear what they like and firmly believe in themselves. The collection is for those who like to blend comfort with style.

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Peter England : Honestly Impressive

Peter England was initially positioned as an Honest Shirt. It was a very precise campaign that categorically told the TG that the brand is of good quality and honest- to goodness price. The strategy clicked and has to click because the product was very good and the price was excellent. It just fit in to ones budget. The TG for the brand was the 2428 ambitious and career oriented youth. In order to make sure that the excitement remains, Peter England came out with various ranges and varieties of shirts. The brand also extended to trousers with the same positioning. Although some of the variants like English Cottons compromised on quality , the brand still enjoys a good equity in the TGs mind. In 2002 the brand made a slight makeover. The positioning changed to Honestly Impressive. The aim is to make the brand more than just value for money proposition but also as a lifestyle brand. It has maintained its value proposition unchanged. Peter England is a brand that clearly shows a marketer that it is possible to sell... Honestly.

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Cotton County History of the Company

The parent company Cotton County Retail Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nahar Industrial Enterprises which was set up in 1949. The promoters' belief of "Where commitment leads, achievement follows" has led to tremendous growth with the company involved in spinning weaving, processing and garmenting and supplies to some of the biggest brands in the world like Marks and Spencer, GAP, Tommy Hilfiger and Armani. Nahar Industrial Enterprises Limited is an "Integrated Textiles Player". The company is engaged in manufacturing right from yarn, griege (?) fabric to processed fabric to readymade garments in the domestic market. Processed fabric is sold to companies/brands like Madura garments, Raymond's Color Plus, Allen Solly, Louis Philippe, Provogue, Pantaloon. In the export market, NIEL's clientele includes names like GAP, Oshkosh, Ann Taylor, M&S, Liz Claiborne, Timberland, Algle (?), Tommy Hilfiger etc. In NIEL.., a wholly owned subsidiary Cotton County Retail Ltd. was set up for its foray into retailing. The Brands Cotton County, Femme, Tazo etc. are retailed through Executive Brand Outlets under the name and style of Cotton County and as on... there were.600.. outlets, located across India in.425..cities and 21.states & 1 Union Territory. The retail network is largely operated through Franchisees.

Company Profile
Nahar Industrial Enterprises Limited is an Integrated Textile Player. The company is engaged in manufacturing right from yarn to griege fabric to processed fabric to readymade garments in the domestic market. Processed fabric is sold to companies/brands like Madura Garments, Raymonds Color Plus, Allen Solly, Louis Philippe, Provogue, Pantaloon. In the export market, NIELs clientele includes names like GAP, Oshkosh, Ann Taylor, M&S, Liz Claiborne, Timberland, Algle, Tommy Hilfiger etc. Nahar Industrial Enterprises has floated a wholly owned subsidiary Cotton County Retail Ltd. for its foray into retailing.

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The parent company is already involved in spinning, weaving, processing and garmenting and supplies to some of the biggest brands in the world like Marks and Spencer, GAP, Tommy Hilfiger and Armani.

Quality
Unlike many other enterprises and business organizations, Quality is not just an ordinary word with very little or no meaning. For Cotton County, Quality has a significant importance of its own which can describe the potential of the company in no time. We believe If the quality is good, there is room for Cotton County to survive in this corporate world. However, if little attention is paid on Quality, then survival for Cotton County in this competitive era will be a lot difficult. Hence, without giving any second thoughts, we have given Quality, our top priority. Today Quality is something that is evident in all the spheres of the Company even the products it sells, the work culture, and the various departments of the Company. Our Parent Company, Nahar Industrial Enterprises Limited has been awarded ISO 9002/IS 14002 Certification and Okotex Certification. For us, Quality is the ability of our products to be able to satisfy our users. And to ensure this, the garment goes through various Quality checks in order to ensure utmost customer satisfaction

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Quality can be mainly seen in 3 different spheres of the Company : 1. Customers We aim to do everything that satisfies our customer needs and expectations.
We make only those commitments that we fully understand and we believe we can meet than Also, meeting our commitments made with customers on time. .

2. Performance Driven
We confirm that all our garments meet the agreed requirements.

We constantly monitor and improve our businesss garments, services, organization and employee performance.

We

make

sure

that

we

achieve

the

goals

set

by

us

for

the

future.

We confirm that our working environment is 100% employee friendly. In short, Our Commitments are towards our customers, business and society.

Mission/Vision Mision
We aim to meet the aspirations of our customers through our offerings of contemporary fashion and international quality at affordable prices. We look at every Indian as our customer and will operate on a Pan-India basis in Metro, Tier I, Tier II and Tier III cities and towns. We will create a leadership position in this field by growing faster than competition. We will achieve our goals of customer satisfaction through product excellence and our growth objective through employee motivation and prudent financial policies for investor satisfaction.

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Vision

To be pro-active in assessing customer needs and to deliver quality products. To grow as a leader ahead of the competition through internal performance achievements.

To stand by our commitments to our Vendors, Franchisees and Employees.

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ESS AAY Fashion India Pvt. Ltd. Clothing company was founded in 2001 by Sanjay Tayal and Ajay Tayal after taking extensive training in the field of garment production, fashion and quality. There was an air of optimism in the industry and it saw the brand charly outlaw as one of the emerging new labels. Charly outlaw initially launched with formals , after indepth research and market response it gradually moved on to casuals and clubwear with stylized slim fits.

The Key Factor is that the dous at Charly outlaw are constantly re-inventing and developing new styles in a way of patters and fits. The fabrics and accessories are usually sourced from different parts across the country and are exclusively programmed for charly outlaw. The brand has a complete over block printing, screen printing and embroidery. It gives every style exclusivity. The Aim of Charly outlaw has always been to design leading edge clothing and to be able to manage their stores at a reasonable price. The Price factor is very competitive in their stores. The Brand currently has its presence in market with almost 50 stores it aims to reach out to more consumers through all stores across the major metros in maharashtra, delhi, haryana, punjab, west bengal, bihar etc.

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ESS AAY Fashion India Pvt. Ltd . Clothing company was founded in 2001 by Sanjay Tayal and Ajay Tayal after taking extensive training in the field of garment production, fashion and quality.

There was an air of optimism in the industry and it saw the brand allen cooper as one of the emerging new labels. Allen Cooper initially launched with formals , after indepth research and market response it gradually moved on to casuals and clubwear with stylized slim fits.

The Key Factor is that the dous at Allen Cooper are constantly re-inventing and developing new styles in a way of patters and fits. The fabrics and accessories are usually sourced from different parts across the country and are exclusively programmed for allen cooper. The brand has a complete over block printing, screen printing and embroidery. It gives every style exclusivity. The Aim of Allen Cooper has always been to design leading edge clothing and to be able to manage their stores at a reasonable price. The Price factor is very competitive in their stores. The Brand currently has its presence in market with almost 50 stores it aims to reach out to more consumers through all stores across the major metros in maharashtra, delhi, haryana, punjab, west bengal, bihar etc.

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Priknit Retails Limited- A Profile

OVERVIEW

Priknit is one of the leading mens wear integrated apparel manufacturing and retail companies of India. Priknit has established itself in the business of designing, manufacturing and retail of apparels under the Priknit brands through a network of 152 plus exclusive brand outlets across 141 cities in India. The Company clocked a turnover of 290 crores in financial year 2008-2009 which is a growth of over 70 % over last year sale. Priknit Retail Limited, led by its founder and Managing Director, Sh. Vijay Kumar Ghai is one of Norths leading business houses with multiple businesses spanning across the consumption space. While retail forms the core business activity of Priknit retail, company is also present in, manufacturing & trading of knitted cloths, woolen garments etc. Started in 1983 when founder Sh. Vijay Kumar Ghai set up a small hosiery unit .From the inception in 1983 Priknit was eying big and now in year 2009 it has established a manufacturing unit (having a capacity to manufacture approximately 2.5 million pieces of apparel per annum). Since then our manufacturing and finishing capacity has increased significantly. Currently the Company has in-house manufacturing/finishing units and warehouses which are spread across various locations in and around Ludhiana. Company has also entered into fabricating agreements with various manufacturing units to which we outsource stitching of certain apparels. Our manufacturing and finishing facilities are backed by adequate facilities for product testing, apparel development, design studio and sampling infrastructure to ensure high quality apparels for our customers. Brand Priknit have grown significantly in the recent past & has become a house hold name in the northern & eastern markets... The strength of brand Priknit has significantly contributed to the success of its business. Priknit brand is positioned as a brand in the middle to high fashion segment, offering a complete range of a mans wardrobe (in the age group of 18 to 45 years) ranging from semi formal to casual and party wear. Priknit is also present in women segment as a casual brand targeted at fashion conscious young women in the age group of 18 to 35 years and is positioned as a fashionable and contemporary, value for money brand. Priknit as of

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now is well positioned to capture considerable growth opportunities in Indias apparel manufacturing and retail sectors, because of our following key strengths: EXCLUSIVE BRAND OUTLETS. , Priknit operate on a model of marketing its apparels directly through a chain of exclusive brand outlets and thus are independent of external marketing pressures attributable to the national chain stores, multi brand outlets and other intermediaries. This enables it to focus its strategies and efforts towards quality maintenance and customer satisfaction without the interference of any external agency. This model also enhances the brand equity and recalls value of brand and also allows us to undertake line extensions, as the shelf space on each of the exclusive brand outlets is controlled by the company.

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MONTE CARLO
A never-seen-before range of half, rollup sleeve shirts is highlight of the Monte Carlos latest collection Spring summer 2010 that was unveiled recently. Promising a soothing sense of style and fashion, the new range comprises elegantly designed trousers, the vibrant T shirts, the striking sandos and a wide variety of tracksuits and Bermudas. For the fashion enthusiast men, the Monte Carlos S/ S 10 range is there to add both ethnicity and authenticity to men wardrobe. The range not only contains a romantic, spiritual and poetic appeal to the silhouettes but virtually offers a style therapy for the season. Spokesperson of the company says the new range has a fresh taste for fashion and is bound to cater to every need of fashion enthusiasts. While drawing this summer collection we concentrated mainly on presenting a never-seen -before collection. In T-Shirts category the latest collection comprises variety of colour, style detailing and graphics and is further subdivided into sinker and pique T -shirts, all available in solid colours, bright auto stripes. To capture the interest of both modern and classic fashion enthusiasts while slim fit crew neck range has a shade card ranging from off whites and light beiges to bright raspberry and tomato reds , the subtle duo tone stripe T-shirts with patch work are there for those wanting classic trends . The range is further supplemented by bold coloured auto stripes having woven details as well as graphic chest prints. We hope it would in any case capture everyone's style and imagination, said the spokesperson. Yet another category of collar T shirts and Polo T shirts offers a range that has been drawn after a variety of experimentation with colours. Horizontal stripes make it for the most sought after Indigo collection, the leisure or casual, moods are flows vividly in combo of Off White and Pale Plum, Raspberry and Black. Also available in latest collection are full and half placketed, round neck, V neck, contrast collared with hoods all set to take style and fashion to next level. The spokesperson said the company has sought to introduce a new article in never out of stock range available in trousers section. The men could choose from among the wrinkle free cotton linen trouser as well as denims. With our formal trouser range we aimed at

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young achievers and upscale urbanites. In addition sports lower can match their sporty mood with denim cargo shorts made up from stylish quality fabrics, she / he added. Another highlight of the summer range is tracksuits and Bermuda sets. Be it placketed, full zipped, half zipped, round neck, collared or raglan sleeve with chest prints , all is there in new range . In other words you name it and there you find it in collection. Furthermore, the collection of sandos stands out as it offers fashion icons a perfect balance of style, fashion and sensibility. For the fashion enthusiast men, the Monte Carlos S/ S 10 range is there to add both ethnicity and authenticity to men wardrobe. The range not only contains a romantic , spiritual and poetic appeal to the silhouettes but virtually offers a style therapy for the season. Latest among all the new range has sought to redefine slim denims with a new addition of purple, grey, deep red, pinks to the classics in the leg wear segment. Sequins and embellishments have been given exclusivity, prints highlighted with little touchups and satins and georgettes have been added to impart all new look to the pleated, ruffled, tuck detailed tops. This year designers have laid special emphasis on reaching perfection in detailing, finishings there by leaving no room for vagueness, said company spokesperson. Adding variety to the Alpha Collection S/S 10 Wardrobe, Indian Kurtis in block printed details enriched with brocade and laces are there to cater to men having keenness for Indianinised wardrobe designed in a variety of colours including Green, mauves, blues, deep red , refined shades of wine and pink , and all time essentials the Black and white.

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Largest trade directory of John Player Company Profile wholesale suppliers, distributors, manufacturers, importers and wholesalers in India, US, UK, China & across the world. If you are looking for verified John Player Company Profile suppliers, select from the list of companies given below & enquire.

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Chapter - 02 Conceptual Frame Work

ALL ABOUT BRANDING
The term brand means different things to the different roles of buyer and seller, with buyers generally associating brand with a product or service, and merchants associating brand with identity. Brand can also identify the company behind the specific product -- that's not just a biscuit, that's Britannia biscuit. This use of brand puts a "face" behind the name, so to speak, even if the "face" is the result of advertising copy and television commercials. This use of brand also says nothing of quality, just the buyer's exposure to the brand's PR and media hype. For the typical merchant, branding is a way of taking everything that is good about the company -- positive shopping experience, professionalism, superior service, product knowledge, whatever the company decides is important for a customer to believe about the company -- and wrapping these characteristics into a package that can be evoked by the brand as signifier.

Introduction to Branding
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as A name, term, sign, symbol or design or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group and to differentiate them to those for competitors. A brand is thus a product or service thats adds a Dimension that differentiates it in some way from other products or services designed to satisfy the same need. These differences may be functional, rational, or tangiblerelate to product performance of the brand. Branding has been around for centuries as a means to distinguish the goods of one producer to those of another. The earliest signs of branding can be traced to Europe where the medieval guilds required that craftsmen put trademarks on their product to protect themselves and producer against inferior quality substitutes. Also in fine arts branding began with artists signing their works. Brands today play a number of important roles that improve the consumers lives and enhance the financial value of firms.

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Brands identify the source or maker of the product and allow consumers-either individual or organizations- to assign responsibility to a particular manufacturer or distributor. Consumers may evaluate the identical product differently depending how it is branded. Consumers lean about the brand with its past experience and the marketing program. As consumers lives becomes more complicated, time starved the ability of brand to simplify decision making is invaluable. Brands also perform valuable functions for the firm. First they simplify the product handling and tracing. Brands help to organize inventory and accounting records. The brand name can be protected registered trademarks. The intellectual property rights ensure that the firm can safely invest in the brand and can reap the benefits over a long period of time. Brands can signal a certain level of quality so that satisfied buyers can easily choose the product again. Brand loyalty provides predictability and security of demand for the firm and creates barriers to entry that makes it difficult for other firms to enter the market. This brand loyalty can translate into willingness to pay higher price. In this sense branding can be seen as powerful means to secure a competitive advantage. Brands represent enormously valuable pieces of legal property that can influence consumers behavior. Strong brand results in better earnings and profit performance for firms, which in turn, creates greater value for shareholders. How do you BRAND a product? Although firms provide the impetus to brand creation through marketing programs and other activities, ultimately a brand is something that resides in the mind of the consumers. A brand is a perpetual identity that is rooted in reality but reflects the perceptions and perhaps even the ultimate choice of the consumers. Branding is endowing products and services with the power of brands. To brand a product, it is necessary to teach the consumers who the product-by giving a name. Branding involves creating mental structures and helping consumers organize their knowledge about products and services in a way that clarifies their decision making and in process provides value to the firm. Branding can be applied virtually anywhere a consumer has a choice. It is possible to brand: A physical good (Nestle soup, Pantene shampoo or Maruti Swift), A service (Kingfisher Airlines, TATA AIG medical insurance),

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A store (Big Bazaar, BATA stores,etc), A place (The state of Kerala, Pushkar Mela), A person (Shahrukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar), An organization (UNICEF or BCCI),

Brand is the proprietary visual, emotional, rational, and cultural image that you associate with the company or a product. When you think of Volvo, you think of safety. When you think of Nike, you think of Michael Jordon or Just Do It. When you think of IBM, you think of Big Blue. The fact that you remember the brand name and have positive associations with that brand makes your product selection easier and enhances the value and satisfaction you get from product. While Brand X cola or even Pepsi-Cola may win blind taste tests over Coca-Cola, the fact is that more people buy Coke than any other Cola. The fond memories of childhood and refreshment that people have when they drink Coke is often more important than a little bit better cola taste. It I this emotional relationship with brands that make them so powerful.

Purpose of Branding
The purpose of branding is to create a powerful and lasting emotional connection with customers and other audiences. A brand is a set of elements or brand assets that in combination create a unique, memorable, unmistakable, and valuable relationship between an organization and its customers. The brand is carried by a set of compelling visual, written and vocal tools to represent the business plan and intentions of an organization. Branding is the voice and image that represents your business plan to the outside world. What your company, products and services stand for should all be captured in your branding strategy, and represented consistently throughout all your brand assets and in your daily marketing activities The brand image that carries this emotional connection consists of the many manageable elements of branding system, including both visual image assets and language assets. The process of managing the brand to the business plan is important not only in big change situation where the brand redefinition is required, but also in the management of routine marketing variables and tactics. This does not have to be a ground-up situation where there are wholesale changes to the business. Rather it is more common that specific changes to the changes to the business plan are incremental and the work of the brand strategist

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and designer is to interpret these changes and revise the branding strategy and resulting brand assets and define their use in the full range of marketing variables.

Brand Identity
Brand Identity includes brand names, logos, positioning, brand associations, and brand personality, brand toons etc. A good brand name gives a good first impression and evokes positive associations with the brand. A positioning statement tells what business the company is in, what benefits it provides and why it is better than the completion? Brand personality adds emotion, culture and myth to brand identity by the use of a famous spokesperson (Bill Cosby-Jello), a character (Pink Panther), an animal (the Merrill lynch bull) etc. Brand associations are the attributes that costumer thinks of when they hear or see the brand name. McDonalds television are a series of one brand association after another, starting in yellow arches in the low right corner of the screen and following with associations of Big Mac, Ronald MacDonald, kids, happy meal, food quality etc. The first step in creating a brand for your company is branding workshop.

How do we determine our Brand Identity?

Brand has been called the most powerful idea in commercial world, yet few companies create a brand identity. Do you want your companys brand identity created for you by competitors and unhappy customers? Of course not. Our advice to executives is to research their customers and find the top ranked reasons that the customers buy their product rather than their competitors. Then, pound that message in every ad, in every news release, in communications with employees and in every sales call or media interview. By continuous repetition of messages customer will think of your product and then buy it.

Tools for Building Brand Identity

Brand builders use a set of tools to strengthen and project the brand image; Strong brands typically exhibit an owned word, a slogan, a color, a symbol, and set of stories.

Owned Word
A strong brand name should trigger another word, a favorable one. Here is the list of brands that own a word:

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Slogan
Many companies successfully added a slogan or tagline to their brand name which is repeated in every ad they use. Here are some well-known brands slogans, which people on the street may easily recall or recognize:
COMPANY British Airways Ford LIC SLOGAN The worlds favorite airline Quality is our number one job Jeevan ke saath bhi jeevan ke baad bhi

Colors
It helps for a company or a brand to use a consistent set of color to and in the brand recognition. Caterpillar paints all its construction equipments yellow. Yellow is the color of Kodak film. IBM uses blue in its publications, and IBM is called Big Blues.

Symbols and Logos

Companies would be wise to adapt a symbol or logo to use in their communications. Many companies hire a well-known spokesperson, hoping that his or her quality transfer to the brand. Nike uses Michael Jordon who has worldwide recognition and likableness, to advertise its shoes. Sporting goods manufacturers sign contracts with top athletes to serve as their symbols, even naming the product after them.

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Cartoons and Animations

A less expensive approach is to develop a character, animated, to etch the brands image into customers mind. The advertising agency Leo Burnett has successfully created a number of memorable animated characters. Here are some well known brand cartoons which people may recognize:
Company ICICI Prudential Amul Butter McDonalds All Out mosquito Repellent Pillsbury 7 Up Cartoon or Animation Chintamani Utterly Butterly Girl Ronald Louis Doughboy Fido Dido

Objects
Still another approach is to choose an object to represent a company or brand. The travelers insurance company uses an umbrella, suggesting that buying insurance is equivalent to having an umbrella available when it rains. The prudential insurance company features the rock of Gibraltar, suggesting that buying an insurance is equivalent to owing a peace of rock which is of course, solid ad dependable. Companies have developed many logos or abstracts, which are easily remembered by people. Even the way the brand name is written makes a brand recognizable and memorable.

Brand Effectiveness
With an increase in global competition, branding has become a source of competitive advantage. In rapidly evolving market for consumer, and industrial products and services, the source of next generation competency will be branding. In this briefing we demonstrate how to calculate the brand strength, the price premium associated with the products categories, and type of customers attracted to the Premium Products. Marketers who match their brand with customers needs will have a sustainable competitive advantage.

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Measuring Brand Effectiveness

There are many metrics to measure the potential of and actual effectiveness of brands. The simplest way is to apply the concept of what we call the 4 Ds of Branding; differentiation, distinctiveness, defendable, digit-able. Distinctiveness: your brand should be distinct when compared to your competitors and to all spoken and visual communications to which your target audiences will be exposed. The more unique and distinct your communications, the wider the filed of effective competitive strength it will have. There are simple means to apply to test the distinctiveness of your brand. Differentiation: the brand strategy and brand assets must set youre offering apart and clearly articulate the specific positioning intent of your offering. Defendable: you will be investing in creating your brand assets and in all cases your brand must have proprietary strength to keep others from using close approximations. This applies to your trade names and other proprietary words as well as to your logos, symbols and other visual assets. Digit-able: in most businesses there is strong and growing element of electronic communications and commerce that dictate all brand assets be leveraged effectively in tactile and electronics form. This goes for all brand assets. Much of the brand managers work is to build a brand image. But its job doesnt stop there. The rand manager needs to make sure that brand experience matches the brand image. Much can go wrong. A fine brand of canned soup described in a full page color ad may be found in dented and dusty condition in the bottom shelf of a supermarket. The ad describing a gracious hotel chain is belied by the behavior of a surly concierge. Building brand therefore calls for more than brand image building. It calls for managing every brand contact that customer might have with brand. Since all the employees, distributors and dealers can affect brand experience.

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Brand and Reputation

A brand exists in the mind, or not at all. The mind it exists in may be that of a customer, a potential customer, an interested observer, a disinterested observer... or almost anybody. Awareness of a brand may be irrelevant to any purchasing decision that an individual may make. People are aware of the Mercedes car brand, but cannot envisage any circumstance under which they would (could!) buy a Mercedes. They are aware of Marlboro (and scores of other cigarette brands) but as a non-smoker they will never convert their awareness into purchase. Male with no children are not targeted by Pampers or Huggies but still are aware of the brands. People wear many hats. But are or not a potential customer. People may be an employee, an investor, a citizen, a husband and so on. They hate McDonalds hamburgers but might love their stock market record and therefore be a potential customer for their stock. They will never buy a Boeing 777 but might be impressed by the aircraft and favor an airline that flies them. They have no idea what an Intel chip is, but might be persuaded that it is a good thing to have in my PC and therefore buy a computer from a company that uses them. Brand Aware argues that there is no difference between "Brand" and "Reputation". Some conventional wisdoms state that customers buy brands, but that investors buy reputations. Those potential employees join companies because of their reputation, that the media and other "stakeholders" judge a company on its reputation in some way as a distinct concept from its brand. This part argues that such distinctions are fallacious for all companies, but especially for single brand companies such as a McDonalds, a Coca-Cola, a Compaq or a Shell. These companies reputations are part and parcel of their brand. Their brands are their reputation.

The Brand
To any individual a brand (in his mind) is a complex combination of experiences, beliefs, perceptions and associations that have grown up over time. For example Coca-Cola is a company brand, a product brand, a service brand and a brand with a long history. It is a brand which may represent (to any one individual) diversity, internationality, technical excellence, financial strength etc. etc. It may also mean insensitivity, environmental pollution, abuse of power and other negative perceptions.

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Perceiving the brand:

An individual builds up his perceptions of a brand via a wide range of communications channels. They are as follows:

Experience: The most powerful influence is experiential. This is when the individual actually has a "Brand experience". The most obvious are: -

He visits a McDonalds restaurant or a Shell petrol station. He buys a Coca-Cola branded product or service. He views a Coca-Cola bottler's facility. He visits a corporate website. He attends an interview at the company. He contacts the company office for information. He meets an employee of the company. He buys a share in the company, etc.

Advertising: Over time an individual who lives in a country in which the company/brand is active, or travels to one on business or vacation, will be exposed to their advertising. This advertising may be in a wide range of media:

TV commercials for products and services Recruitment ads inviting employment applications "Corporate" TV commercials promoting the company's "reputation" Web based advertising An ad for the companys branded products or services in a wide variety of print media. Billboards on highways Radio Point of sale etc.

Media reports and stories: Individuals will be exposed to a wide variety of reports about companies in the media (print and broadcast) where the editorial content is only partly influence able by the company (in some cases) or not at

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all (in most cases). These stories will come from a variety of primary and secondary sources: Press releases Press conferences Reporting of "events" Investigative journalism Stories passed to the media by third parties (Non governmental organizations etc.)

Professional/business

interest:

For

some

individuals

to

interface

professionally, or from a specific business need, with famous companies (or to observe them) is part of their job. They will usually procure their information from a variety of sources and via a variety of channels of communication. These individuals have a special interest in the companies and they include: Financial analysts and journalists with an interest in share performance Existing or potential suppliers of products and services Existing or potential industrial/commercial customers

Building the Brand

The art of marketing is largely art of brand building. When something is not a brand, it will probably be viewed as a commodity. Then price is the thing that counts. When price is the only thing that counts then the low cost producer wins. But just having a brand is not enough. What does the brand name mean? What associations, performances and expectations does it evoke? What degree of preferences does it create?

Choosing a Brand Name

A brand name first must be chosen then its various meanings and promises must be built up through brand identity work. In choosing a brand name, it must be consistent with the value positioning of the brand. In naming a product or service the company may face many possibilities: it could choose name of the person (Honda, Calvin Klein), location (American airlines), quality (Safety stores, Healthy choice), or an artificial name (Exxon, Kodak).

Among the desirable qualities of a brand name. Some are:

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It should suggest something about the product benefits. It should suggest product qualities such action or color It should be easy to pronounce, recognize and remember; short names help a lot to recognize the product to the customers. It should be distinctive. It should not carry poor meanings in other countries and languages etc.

Building Positive Associations

The best known brand names carry associations. For example, here is a list of words that people say they associate with McDonalds: Kids Fun Happy Meal Ronald Mc. Donald Quality Toys

In trying to build a rich set of positive associations for a brand, the brand builder should consider five dimensions that can communicate meaning: Attributes: A strong brand should trigger in buyers mind certain attributes. Thus a Mercedes automobile attributes a picture of well-engineered car that is durable, rugged and expensive. If a car brand does not trigger any attribute, then it would be a weak brand. Benefits: A strong brand should suggest benefits, not just features. Thus Mercedes triggers the idea of well performing car that is enjoyable to drive and prestigious to own. Company Values: A strong brand should connote values that the company holds. Thus Mercedes is proud of its engineers and engineering innovations and is very organized and efficient in its operations. The fact that it is a German company adds more pictures in the mind of the buyers about the character and the culture of the brand.

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Personality: A strong brand should exhibit some personality traits. Thus if Mercedes were a person we would think of someone who is middle age, serious, well-organized and somewhat authoritarian. If Mercedes were an animal we might think of lion or its implied personality.

Users: A strong brand should suggest the type of people who buy the brand. Thus we would expect Mercedes to draw buyers who are older, affluent and professional.

In summary, brands when their very name connotes positive attributes, benefits, company values, personality and users in the buyers mind. The brand builders job is to create a brand identity that builds on those dimensions.

Choosing Brand Elements

Brand elements are those trademarks devices that serve to identify and differentiate the brand. Most strong brands employ multiple brand elements. Nike has distinctive swoosh logo, the empowering Just Do It slogan and the mythological Nike name based on the winged goddess of victory. Brand element can be chosen to build as much as brand equity as possible. The test of the brand building ability of these elements is what consumers think or feel about the product if they only knew about the brand element. A brand element provides positive contribution to brand equity.

Brand Element Choice Criteria

There are six criteria in choosing brand element. The first three can be characterized by brand building in terms of how brand equity can be build through judicious choice of brand element. The latter three are more defensive and are concerned with how the brand equity contained in the brand element can be leveraged and preserved in the face of various opportunities and constraints. Memorable: How easily is the brand element recalled? How easily recognized? Is this true at both purchase and consumption? Short brand name like tide, Nike can help.

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Meaningful: To what extent is brand element credible and suggestive of the corresponding category? Does it suggest something about a product ingredient or a type of person who might use the brand?

Likeability: How aesthetically appealing does consumers find the brand element? Is it inherently likeable visually, verbally, and in other ways? Concrete brand names such as Wheel, Sunsilk etc evoke much imagery.

Transferable: Can a brand element be used to introduce new products in the same or different categories? To what extent does the brand element add to brand equity across geographic boundaries and market segments?

Adaptable: How adaptable and updatable is the brand element? Betty corker received 8 makeovers through the years-although she is 75 yrs old, she doesnt look a day over 35.

Protectable: How legally protectable is the brand element? How competitively protectable? Can it be easily copied? It is important that names that become synonymous with product categories such as Kleenex, Xerox, Jell-O, etc retain their trademarks rights and not become generic.

Brand elements can play a number of roles. If consumers do not examine much information in making their product decisions, brand elements should be easily recognized and recalled and inherently descriptive and persuasive. Memorable or meaningful brand elements can reduce the burden on marketing communications to build awareness and link brand associations. The different associations that arise from likeability and appeal of the brand elements may also play a critical role in the equity of brand.

What is Brand Equity?

There is no universally accepted definition of brand equity. The term means different things for different companies and products. However, there are several common characteristics of the many definitions that are used today. From the following examples it is clear that brand equity is multi-dimensional. There are several stakeholders concerned with brand equity, including the firm, the consumer, the channel, and some would even argue the financial markets. But ultimately, it is the consumer that is the most critical component in defining brand equity. Some researchers in the field of marketing have defined brand equity as follows:

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Lance Leuthesser, et al (1995) writes that " brand equity represents the value (to a consumer) of a product, above that which would result for an otherwise identical product without the brand's name. In other words, brand equity represents the degree to which a brand's name alone contributes value to the offering (again, from the perspective of the consumer)."

The Marketing Science Institute (1988) defines brand equity as, "The set of associations and behaviors on the part of the brand's customers, channel members, and parent corporations that permit the brand to earn greater volume or greater margins than it could without the brand name and that gives the brand a strong, sustainable, and differentiated advantage over competitors."

Brand equity can be defined as three distinct elements:

The total value of a brand as a separable asset -- when it is sold or included on a balance sheet. A measure of the strength of consumers' attachment to a brand. A description of the associations and beliefs the consumer has about the brand.

Of those three concepts, the first can be classified as "brand valuation," the second "brand loyalty," and the third "brand description." Brand loyalty will be a factor that affects the overall brand value, and brand description will usually affect or explain some of the brand loyalty. Because of the importance of each of these elements of brand equity, they will each be briefly explained.

Brand Equity as Brand Value.

Brand value involves actually placing a dollar or rupee value on a brand name. The reasons for doing this are usually to set a price when the brand is sold and also to include the brand as an intangible asset on a balance sheet (a practice which is not used in some countries). While there are many methods for making this measurement, some of which will be described shortly, it is important to note that there is a significant difference between an "objective" valuation created for balance sheet purposes, and the actual price that a brand may get when sold? A brand is likely to have a much greater value to one purchaser than another depending on the synergy that exists. For acquisitions, the value of a brand to a certain purchaser is often

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estimated through scenario planning. This involves determining what future cash flows the company could achieve if it owned and took advantage of the brand. What this means is that there is no such thing as an absolute value for a brand, and brand value needs to be considered as only one component of the overall equity of a brand.

Brand Equity as Brand Loyalty

Loyalty is a core dimension of brand equity and is a way to gauge the strength of a brand. It represents a barrier to entry, a basis for a price premium, and time to respond to competitive innovations. The variety of measures used for brand loyalty usually is a combination of one or more of the following: Price/demand measures--focus on a brand's ability to command a higher price or make consumers less sensitive to price increases than price increases for competing brands. Behavioral measures--focus on consumers' behavior. Attitudinal measures--focus on general evaluative measures such as 'liking' or 'disliking.' Awareness measures--focus on identifying a brand as being associated with a product category. Brand Loyalty and Equity refer to the notion that some brands are "stronger" or better than others.

An example of this sort of belief is:

If the businesses were split up, I would take the brands, trademarks and goodwill, and you could have all the bricks and mortar - and I would fare better than you. The optimism for the concept can be stated on the fact that when one would say as a predictor of future financial performance, brand equity, if reported, would be valuable for capital marketers and shareholders. Brand equity has the potential to become the set of measures of business performance that matter most. The motivation for brand equity comes from the observation that many marketing efforts "realize" benefits; such as sales or profit and these are accounted for in the firms profit and

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loss figures. However, there is the possibility that management might choose between taking realized benefits and "storing" them future. One of the most common times this argument is used is when discussing the role of advertising versus sales promotion. You could spend lots of money on advertising, see no immediate effects, but you could save your job by saying that you had "built the brand". At least one advertising agency offers to partner companies in this sort of activity. So marketing strategies could be putting money into (or out of) the brand equity bank account. But the question is as always how do we know? That is are we actually building the brand with all our advertising (or other brand building 4 ps decisions e.g., limited / premium distribution rights, high price, fancy packing, after sales service, extended warranties).So, hopefully you have got the idea - theories about brand loyalty and equity are used to represent aspects of brand strength. This "strength" can take a number of forms, e.g., consumers predominantly buying your brand, which might be represented by a high share of category requirements, or high proportion of sole-buyers. Consumers saying good things about your brand, e.g., having a positive brand Attitude, it might be the ability to charge a price premium. It might be the ability to not be substituted when out of stock. Future strength might be in terms of some sort of long-term competitive advantage or the ability to sustain brand extensions. One of the things is that as with many concepts in marketing, is that there are many different definitions and viewpoints on what exactly brand equity is and how to measure it. So that is a problem. We need to be clear just what people mean when they talk about brand equity or brand loyalty, or building brands.

Brand loyalty / Equity advocates

One of the ruses used by proponents of brand equity or loyalty is to claim that these measures do not capture all the important aspects of brands strength. But this is an evasion. We want to be able to detect that our efforts are doing something to the brand, and so we need to know ways that this might show up in.

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Brand Equity as Brand Description

Brand description, the final component of brand equity, concerns the actual attributes of the brand. These attributes or associations are major creators of brand loyalty. A wide variety of techniques exist for matching consumer associations with perceptions of a brand. These techniques can be both qualitative and quantitative. They work by getting the respondent to link each brand with pictures or words. These attributes then can be measured with multidimensional scaling to position the attributes relative to one another.

Qualitative Measures of Brand Equity

The Brand Equity Ten are ten sets of measures grouped into five categories, which attempt to gauge the strength of a brand. The first four categories represent customer perceptions of the brand along the four dimensions of brand equity- loyalty, perceived quality, associations and awareness. The fifth includes two sets of market behavior measures.

Loyalty
Price Premium: A basic indicator of loyalty is the amount a customer will pay for a product in comparison to other comparable products. A price premium can be determined by simply asking consumers how much more they would be willing to pay for the brand. Customer Satisfaction: A direct measure of customer satisfaction can be applied to existing customers. The focus can be the last use experience or simply the use experience from the customer's view.

Perceived Quality and Leadership Measures

Perceived Quality is one of the key dimensions of brand equity and has been shown to be associated with price premiums, price elasticities, brand usage and stock return. It can be calculated by asking consumers to directly compare similar brands. Leadership/Popularity has three dimensions. First, if enough consumers are buying into the brand concept it must have merit. Second, leadership often taps innovation within a product class. Third, leadership taps the dynamics of consumer acceptance. Namely, people are uneasy swimming against the tide are a likely to buy a popular product. This can be measured by asking consumers about the product's leadership position, its popularity and its innovative qualities.

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 Associations/ Differentiation Measures

Perceived Value: This dimension simply involves determining whether the product provides good value for the money and whether there are reasons to buy this brand over competitive brands. Brand Personality: This element is based on the brand-as-person perspective. For some brands, the brand personality can provide links to the brands emotional and selfexpressive benefits. Organizational Associations: This dimension considers the type of organization that lies behind the brand.

Awareness Measures
Brand awareness reflects the salience of the product in the consumer's mind and involves various levels including recognition, recall, brand dominance, and brand knowledge and brand opinion.

Market Behavior Measures

Market Share: The performance of a brand as measured by market share often provides a valid and dynamic reflection of the brand's standing with customers. Price and Distribution indices: Market share can prove deceptive when it increases as a result of reduced prices or promotions. Calculating market price and distribution coverage can provide or more accurate picture of the product's true strength. Relative market price can be calculated by dividing the average price at which the product was sold during the month by the average price at which all the brands were sold.

Managing Brand Equity

Consistency is the key to successfully building and managing brand equity. Having a longterm outlook and projecting a consistent image of your brand to the customer will maximize the results of building brand equity. It is critical for managers to realize that brand equity can have positive as well as negative effects on a product or company. In the end, it is the customer that truly defines what brand equity means. If management feels it is necessary to change the direction of a brand or change a product it must be careful not to change too quickly. There are many examples of companies that have

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changed a product or brand too much or too quickly. On these occasions, consumers met changes with adverse reactions. The most famous example is Coca-Cola. They changed the formula of their flagship product Coke, and consumers reacted so poorly to the new product that the old formula was reintroduced and the new formula eventually was discontinued. The consumer through the product experiences brand equity. The product has certain attributes or characteristics that deliver the equity to the consumer. If any of these attributes are changed or eliminated, the equity delivered to the consumer is also changed. Managing brand equity is a continual process with long-term implications. Unfortunately, many brand managers are forced to focus on short-term goals such as market share and profits. Many programs that are implemented to boost short-term sales or market share may be detrimental to the long-term viability of the brand. For example, Proctor & Gamble has started to test market a program to move away from using coupons to a system of every day low prices. This is, in part, because consumers may become loyal to the coupon or promotion and not to the product itself. Constant promotional programs erode margins and eventually brand loyalty. Ultimately, brand equity is damaged.

In 1988, Graham Phillips, Chairman of Ogilvy and Mather Worldwide, said, "I doubt that many would welcome a commodity marketplace in which one competed solely on price, promotion and trade deals, all of which can be easily duplicated by competition. This would lead to ever decreasing profits, decay, and eventual bankruptcy. About the only aspect of the marketing mix that cannot be duplicated is a strong brand image." This quote clearly demonstrates the importance of managing brand equity. In many categories, brand equity is the only point of differentiation between products. Many people may think that building and maintaining brand equity is solely the responsibility of brand managers, but it is actually a cross-functional team effort. Financial managers are important because they can fully analyze the costs of maintaining and building brand equity. For example, launching a new brand is extremely consuming in terms of money and time. It may be more cost effective to extend a current brand than introduce a new brand. Marketing research is critical for many obvious reasons. It develops most, if not all, of the research and data that companies will use for deciding strategic issues. Marketing research can also help determine how brand equity is actually measured. Once a definition of brand equity is established, the responsibility of tracking.

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The World Strongest Brand Share 10 Attributes

The brand excels at delivering the benefits consumers truly desire. The brand stays relevant. The pricing strategy is based on consumer perceptions of value. The brand is properly positioned. The brand is consistent. The brand portfolio and hierarchy makes sense. The brand makes use of and co-ordinates a full repertoire of marketing activities to build equity. The brand is given proper, sustained support. The brands manager understands what the brand means to customers. The company monitors source of brand equity.

Branding benefits buyers as well as sellers in the following manner

To Buyer: Help buyers identify the product that they like/dislike. Identify marketer Helps reduce the time needed for purchase. Helps buyers evaluate quality of products especially if unable to judge products characteristics. Helps reduce buyers perceived risk of purchase. Buyer may derive a psychological reward from owning the brand, i.e., Rolex or Mercedes.

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To Seller: Differentiate product offering from competitors Helps segment market by creating tailored images, i.e., Contact lenses Brand identifies the companies products making repeat purchases easier for customers. Reduce price comparisons Brand helps firm introduce a new product that carries the name of one or more of its existing products...half as much as using a new brand, lower co. designs, advertising and promotional costs. Example, BPL telephones. Easier cooperation with intermediaries with well known brands Facilitates promotional efforts. Helps foster brand loyalty helping to stabilize market share. Firms may be able to charge a premium for the brand.

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Consumer is a broad label that refers to any individuals or households that use goods and services generated within the economy What is Consumer Buying Behavior? Introduction to Consumer Behaviors
The study of Consumer Behaviors is quite complex, because of many variables involved and their tendency to interact with & influence each other. These variables are divided into three major sections that have been identified as the most important general influences on Consumer Behaviors. Imagine three concentric circles, one at the outer most, one in the middle & one at the inner most, and they represent the following: External Environmental Variables Influencing Behaviour : These are the factors controlled by external environments like the following form the basis of external influences over the mind of a customer (outer circle) : 1. 2. 3. 4. Culture, and Sub-culture, Social Class, and Social Group, Family, and Inter-Personal Influences, Other Influences (which are not categorized by any of the above six, like geographical, political, economical, religious environment, etc.). Individual Determinants of Behavior: Major individual determinants of Consumer Behavior are portrayed in the middle ring. These are the human mind and its attributes. These variables are personal in nature and they are influenced by the above set of external factors and in turn influence the way consumers proceed thro a decision making process regarding products & services. They are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Personality & Self-concept, Motivation & Involvement, Perception & Information Processing, Learning & Memory, Attitudes. The Consumer Decision Making Process: The buying decision comes as a product of the complex interaction of the external factors and the personal attributes. The inner

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most circle denotes the consumer decision making process regarding products & services, whose major steps are : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Problem Recognition, Information Search, Evaluation of Application, Purchase Decision, Post-Purchase Behavior. Marketers are frequently uncertain about the variables that are at play influencing & affecting consumers. Sometimes this occurs because they dont clearly understand the extent of variables that might be having an influence. The details of all external, internal, environmental, economical etc. are discussed above. Sometimes some variables are not directly observable. Other times variables are known to the marketers but their exact nature & relative strength of influence is not apparent. In these circumstances, it is useful to understand the above mentioned concepts and how the consumers behave, so that their decision making process can be predicted to a reasonable extent. The human mind being as complex as it is, the understanding of the buying behavior of the consumers becomes a continuous activity of application of various theories & concepts by the marketers.

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 The Consumer Behaviors Theory An understanding of how the theory of consumer behavior and its application tools evolved over the years will enable us to appreciate the validity of the theory and give us a guidance in its practical application. Consumer behavior, like all human behavior is very complex. But the consumer behavior theory, like all theories is a simplified & abstract representation of reality. The more simplified picture of consumers provided by the theory helps us enormously to understand the consumers. It not only helps us to think about consumers, but also provides us with a language to talk about them. This language is very useful, because to be effective in an organization for profit or non-profit one has to persuade others to accept his ideas. And in fact, lack of this language has been one of the greatest drawback of the modern marketers. Market Research or Marketing Research (MR) has been developing since MARKETING which brings together all customer elements, grew out of the concept of SALES in the early fifties. The theory of consumer behavior draws heavily upon the famous psychologist Sigmund Freud, particularly with respect to the emotional, psychological, mental, subjective or non-utilitarian aspects of buying decision or behavior of a consumer. The theory represents the hidden order in this very complex activity, which we call consumer behavior. On the surface, this highly complex & varied display of behavior by consumers seems essentially unexplained. But slowly as the theory develops. Now, what is the magic stuff called consumer behavior theory that does all these wonderful things. Its not just a theory, as explained earlier, but more than that. It helps us to make better marketing decisions for profit & non-profit organizations. Thus we can examine the characteristics of a theory that enables us to do so. Researchers G Zaltman and M Wallendorf have came out with the most important attributes of a good & sound theory, after very close and careful thought. These are the following : A theory which does both: explains how consumers buy & predicts what consumers will buy. It unifies previously unrelated areas of knowledge, for example, it relates to information that consumers get from advertising so as to decide what brands they buy.

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 The theory is simple. If not, it can be so complex that we cant understand well enough to apply it to our practical problems. It is testable so that we can verify whether the theory is valid and therefore dependable. Implied in the previous characteristic, it is supported by the facts. This means, to lay the theory up against data describing how consumers buy in the market and thereby determine if the facts confirm the theory. If they dont, then either the theory should be modified till the facts do verify it or abandon the theory. The theory is general, which means that it can be applied to a wide range of products & services. If it is not, then it wont be very useful. It has heuristic value, meaning that it poses new questions for us that had not been previously asked. While trying to answer these questions, new knowledge is created and that becomes the part of the theory. It is internally consistent. This means that the theory is internally free from logical in congruencies or else the prediction will be doubtful & flawed. Lack of this quality will make the theory a dangerous tool. It is original. If not, it adds little to the existing knowledge. It is plausible. If not, it cant be seen by others as making any sense, and hence, they will not likely to accept the theory and so it wont be useful.

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Definitions: Consumer Behavior (or Buyer Behavior) is broadly defined by various scholars & researchers as: Its the behavior displayed by the consumers during the acquisition, consumption and disposition of products, services, time and ideas by decision making units. It is the body of knowledge which studies various aspects of purchase and consumption of products and services by individuals with various social and psychological variables at play. The behavior that the consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs. The process and activities people engage in when searching for, selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services so as to satisfy their needs and desires. The activities directly involved in obtaining, consuming, and disposing of products and services, including the decision processes that precede and follow these actions. The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines consumer behavior as The dynamic interaction of cognition, behavior & environmental events by which human beings conduct the exchange aspect of their lives. The study of consumer behavior involves search, evaluation, purchase, consumption and post purchase behavior of the consumers and includes the disposal of purchased products keeping environment and personal characteristics in mind.

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Definition of Buying Behavior: Buying Behavior is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using products. Need to understand: Why consumers make the purchases that they make? What factors influence consumer purchases? The changing factors in our society. needs to analyze buying behavior for: Buyers reactions to a firms marketing strategy has a great impact on the firms success. The marketing concept stresses that a firm should create a Marketing Mix (MM) that satisfies (gives utility to) customers, therefore need to analyze the what, where, when and how consumers buy. Marketers can better predict how consumers will respond to marketing strategies. Factors influencing consumer behavior

Consumer Buying Behavior refers to the buying behavior of the ultimate consumer. A firm

Consumer purchases are influenced strongly by or there are four factors. 01. Cultural Factor 02. Social Factor 03. Personal Factor 04. Psychological Factor. 01. Cultural Factor: Cultural factor divided into three sub factors (i) Culture (ii) Sub Culture (iii) Social Class

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 Culture: The set of basic values perceptions, wants, and behaviors learned by a member of society from family and other important institutions. Culture is the most basic cause of a persons wants and behavior. Every group or society has a culture, and cultural influences on buying behavior may vary greatly from country to country. Sub Culture : A group of people with shared value systems based on common life experiences and situations. Each culture contains smaller sub cultures a group of people with shared value system based on common life experiences and situations. Sub culture includes nationalities, religions, racial group and geographic regions. Many sub culture make up important market segments and marketers often design products. Social Class:- A Almost every society has some form of social structure; social classes are societys relatively permanent and ordered divisions whose members share similar values, interests and behavior. Social Factors: A consumers behavior also is influenced by social factors, such as the (i) Groups (ii) Family (iii) Roles and status Groups : Two or more people who interact to accomplish individual or mutual goals. A persons behaviors are influenced by many small groups. Groups that have a direct influence and to which a person belongs are called membership groups. Some are primary groups includes family, friends, neighbors and coworkers. Some are secondary groups, which are more formal and have less regular interaction. These include organizations like religious groups, professional association and trade unions.

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Family:- Family members can strongly influence buyer behavior. The family is the most important consumer buying organization society and it has been researched extensively. Marketers are interested in the roles, and influence of the husband, wife and children on the purchase of different products and services.

Roles and Status : A person belongs to many groups, family, clubs, and organizations. The persons position in each group can be defined in terms of both role and status. o For example. M & X plays the role of father, in his family he plays the role of husband, in his company, he plays the role of manager, etc. A Role consists of the activities people are expected to perform according to the persons around them. Personal Factors: It includes i) ii) iii) iv) v) Age and life cycle stage Occupation Economic situation Life Style Personality and self concept.

Psychological Factors: i) ii) iii) It includes these Factors. Motivation Perception Learning

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Chapter - 03
Review of Literature
Brand Preference
Customers buying products are buying utility, function, and performance as much as image and status (Terpstra and Sarathy, 1997, p. 375). Actually, Customer merchandise has implications more than their utilitarian, functional, and commercial significance (Czikszentmihalyi and Rochberg-Halton, 1981; Ericksen, 1996; Leigh and Gabel, 1992; Levy, 1959; Mick, 1986). Consumers do not consume products for their material utilities but consume the symbolic meaning of those products as portrayed in their images (Elliot, 1997, p. 286). Therefore, the acquired goods are not only bundles of attributes that yield particular benefits (Holt, 1995, p. 1) but also indications of symbolic meanings to the public. Consumers are more likely to use brands to express how they are either similar to or different from people of their in-group (Markus and Kitayama, 1991). Bhat and Reddy (1998) also reported that brands have practical and emblematic importance for consumers. The emblematic importance, which is attached to brands, is often broadcasted via the use and consumption of brands (Gottdeiner, 1985; McCracken, 1986). Consequently, there seems to be a noteworthy relationship between brand images, consistent with the emblematic importance of brands, and consumers self images (Zinkham and Hong, 1991). Individuals are more likely to buy brands whose personalities intimately match their own self images (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2000). Similarly, consumers express themselves by selecting brands whose personalities are recognized to be consistent with their own personalities (Aaker, 1999; Kassarjian, 1971; Sirgy, 1982). In many circumstances, consumers self image influences his/her purchase decisions (Zinkham and Hong, 1991) In other words, consumers use products to illustrate, maintain, and reinforce their self concepts to themselves (Sirgy, 1982; Wallendorf and Arnould, 1988; Zinkham and Hong, 1991). Therefore, purchase and consumption are good vehicles for selfexpression (Jamal and Goode, 2001, p. 483). Previous research indicated that self image/self expression affect consumers product preferences and their purchase intentions (Ericksen, 1996; Mehta, 1999). For example,

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Ericksen (1996) found a significant relationship between self image and intention to buy an American automobile (Ford Escort). Based on this finding, it might be inferred that individuals prefer brands that have images compatible with their perceptions of self (Jamal and Goode, 2001, p. 483; Belk, et. al., 1982; Ericksen, 1996; Solomon, 1983; Zinkham and Hong, 1991). Moreover, this self image consistency strengthen positive attitude toward products and brands (Ericksen, 1996; Sirgy, 1982, 1985, 1991; Sirgy, et. al., 1997). Specifically, the more similar a consumers self-image is to the brands image, the more favorable their evaluations of that brand should be (Graeff, 1996, p. 5).

Brand Personality
Contrary to product-related attributes, which refer to be performance-oriented for customers, brand personality seems to be representative/self-expressive oriented (Keller, 1993). Brand personality refers to the set of human characteristics associated with a brand (Aaker, 1997, p. 347). Moreover, researchers found that brand personality facilitates a consumer to articulate his/her self (Belk, 1988), an ideal self (Malhotra, 1988), or exact aspects of the self (Kleine, Kleine, and Kerman, 1993) via the use of a brand. Additionally, this concept was the essential determinant of consumer preference and usage (Biel, 1993). Brand personality can be shaped and influenced by any direct/indirect contact that the consumer has with the brand (Plummer, 1985). The direct influences included the brands user imagery, which is defined as the set of human characteristics associated with the typical user of a brand (Aaker, 1997, p. 348); the firms workers and/or boss; and the brands endorsers. On the other hand, the indirect influences contained product-related features, product category relationships, brand name, mark or emblem, and other marketing mix elements (Batra, Lehmann, and Singh, 1993). Moreover, according to Levy (1959, p. 12), brand personality consisted of demographic characteristics such as gender (Usually it is hard to evade thinking of inanimate things as male or female), age (Just as most, people usually recognize whether something is addressed to them as a man or a woman, so are they sensitive to symbols of age), and class (The possession of mink is hardly a matter of winter warmth alone). Some examples are provided as follows. First, in the tobacco industry, Virginia Slims tends to be thought of feminine, whereas Marlboro tends to perceived as masculine (Aaker, 1997, p. 348). Second, in the pc business, Apple is considered to be young, and IBM is considered to

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be older (Aaker, 1997, p. 348). Third, based on the various pricing policies in relation to different department stores, Saks Fifth Avenue is perceived as upper class, whereas K-mart is perceived as blue collar (Aaker, 1997, p. 348).

Customer Perceived Value

Value has been recognized as the fundamental basis for all marketing activity (Halbrook, 1994, p. 22). Value has also been stated as a cognitive-based construct which captures any benefit-sacrifice discrepancy in much the same way disconfirmation does for variations between expectations and perceived performance (Patterson and Spreng, 1997, p. 421). Therefore, it is the outcome of a cognitive assessment procedure. Moreover, it is an affective evaluative reaction (Oliver, 1996). Customer perceived value in commerce marketplace was defined as the trade-off between the multiple benefits and sacrifices of a suppliers offering, as perceived by key decision-makers in the customers organization, and taking into consideration the available alternative suppliers offerings in a specific use situation (Eggert and Ulaga, 2002, p. 110). That is, there existed three elements in this definition: (1) the multiple components of value, (2) the subjectivity of value perceptions and (3) the importance of competition (Eggert and Ulaga, 2002, p. 109). First of all, the multiple benefits refer to a mixture of product/service attributes and/or technological support available related to a specific use condition (Monroe, 1990). The multiple sacrifices were occasionally illustrated in monetary forms (Anderson, et al., 1993). Secondly, customers perceived value is subjective, not objective (Kortge and Okonkwo, 1993). In other words, different customers might have a variety of perceived values for consuming the same product/service. Thirdly, customers perceived value is associated with competition on the market. Competitors generate sustainable competitive advantage by means of bringing a better trade-off between utilities and sacrifice in a merchandise/service. Alternatively, customer perceived value was consisted of a take factor- the benefits a purchaser obtained from the vendors contribution- and a give factor- the buyers costs (financial and/or non-monetary) of receiving the offering (Dodds, 1991; Zeithmal, 1988). Even much of the precedent studies have emphasized product quality as the primary take factor and price as the give factor (Grewal et al., 1998; Lichtenstein, Netemeyer, and Burton, 1990; Zeithmal, 1988). But, service is also a logical driver of perceived value

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(Parasuraman and Grewal, 2000, p. 169). For the reason that outstanding before/after sale services provided by the seller really increase the benefits obtained (the take factor) and also decrease the buyers non-monetary costs, such as time, effort, and mental stress (the give factor) (Parasuraman and Grewal, 2000, p. 169). Consequently, customer perceived value was composed of service quality, product quality, and price (Parasuraman and Grewal, 2000, p. 169).

1. Service quality
Perceived service quality was defined as the discrepancy between expected quality and experienced quality (Gronroos, 2000, p. 67). Expected quality refers to the expectations of the customer; experienced quality is the outcome of a series of internal decisions and activities (Gronroos, 2000, p. 101). In other words, customers subjectivity has a significant influence on perceived service. Based on a concrete background of empirical and conceptual research, Gronroos (2000, p. 81) provided a list of The Seven Criteria of Good Perceived Service Quality: professionalism and skills (i.e., service providers have required knowledge to offer skills in order to solve customers problems in a professional way), attitudes and behavior (i.e., service providers are considerate of/friendly to customers), accessibility and flexibility (i.e., service providers are easy and adaptive for customers to reach), reliability and trustworthiness (i.e., service providers are dependable and honorable), service recovery (i.e., service providers are willing to correct mistakes as soon as they can), serviscape (i.e., customers feel comfortable in the environment related to the service process), reputation and credibility (i.e., service providers can be trusted by customers).

2. Product quality
Generally speaking, people buy products to satisfy needs and wants. That is, consumers would like to obtain a mixture of utilities when they procure items for consumption, and different customers seem to acquire a variety of benefits from the same kind of goods. In order to supply the benefits for consumers, marketers need to successfully incorporate the components that constitute a product. These components include product features (quality, design, branding, and packaging) and customer service (purchase services and usage services) (Bearden, Ingram, and LaForge, 2001, p. 185). Product quality refers to how well a product does what it is supposed to do as defined by the customer (Bearden, Ingram, and LaForge, 2001, p. 186).

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3. Price
The price of a product/service can be analyzed associated with customers quality expectations and/or their past experiences. If the price is judged too expensive, consumers might not purchase. A low price policy causes poor positioning and neglected opportunities. However, price appears to be a standard for quality in some circumstances. A higher price level equals a better quality in the minds of customers, especially when the service is highly intangible (Gronroos, 2000, p. 80).

Conduct a Review of the Branding Literature relating to brand image Brand Image Introduction
The concept of brand image has been very significant to consumer behaviour from post 1950s. As Aaker and Keller confirmed in Hsiehs study that, brand image has been considered a vital part of a firms marketing program, not only because it serves as a foundation for tactical marketing mix issues but also because it plays an integral role in building long term brand-equity (1990).

Definition
Earlier definitions of brand image are presented in broad terms by Dobni (1990) who put forward the following writers understanding of brand image. Newman stated it as everything the people associate with the brand (1957). Reynolds (1965) confirms that an image was centred on drawing a few key beliefs from a vast variety of sources, thus creating your own impression based on the brand. Herzogs concurs that brand image was the sum of the total impressions. (1973). Indeed, such definitions all concur together; echoed by the words of Levy who stated that a brand image is a constellation of pictures and ideas in peoples minds that sum up their knowledge of the brand and their main attitudes towards it (1978). A more recent insight into brand image was added by Woodside who defined image as the degree of positive or negative affect associated with psychological object (Reid, 2001). From these definitions a clear trend is appearing with regard to the perception of brand image with key figures around the mid-nineteen hundreds, supporting a collective view that an

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individual takes in a collaboration of ideas that the company puts forward as a representation of themselves. This allows them to draw a clear conclusion of a company from a few certain points which strike a cord with the individuals.

Theory behind brand image

According to Tyler (1957), there are three approaches to brand image: Subjective, Objective and Literal. The first type, is a subjective image, this is when a potential customer hears or sees the brand name/logo and feel obliged to purchase the product or service, despite a lack of understanding as to why this is the case. The case simply relates to how the brand is perceived as significant to an individuals self-consciousness. The second type of brand image is the objective form which is the attempt to generate an emotional need for the product, leaving you with the feeling that you need to purchase the product so as to satisfy this need. The third is literal image, i.e. a logo which represents a company. This implies that upon seeing this picture/logo, the name of the company does not need to be uttered as the picture tells the consumer the whole story e.g. Nike with the tick or McDonalds with the golden arches. Evidently, the approach used to obtain and sustain a brand image will vary upon several factors as reflected by the analysis presented by Tyler. Oxenfeldt and Swanns idea was that the brand image should allow the company to establish its position within its market segment, protecting it from competition, thus allowing them to build upon this with market share growth (Park et al, 1986). Moreover Park et al (1986) put forward in Bhats article that the importance of establishing a brand image relevant to its market segment in which it is based, is significant so as to ascertain a strong brand position, help create a barrier to entry for potential competitors: thus raise the brands performance in the market. Further, Meenaghan stated that at the product/brand level the components of identity are in effect the elements of the marketing mix, which combine to form the image of the brand in the mind of the consumer (1995). From this, it is clear that to gain a strong brand image, one needs to exploit all areas of the marketing mix to achieve what Oxenfeldt and Swann stressed

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and that brand image is the key component in establishing market dominance. Also, Krishman (1996) in Faircloths assessment with the aid of the Landor survey discovered that there is a strong correlation between brand equity and brand image. The stronger the brand equity, the stronger the brand image and vice versa. Reids (2001) understanding of brand image concerns the product of interaction involving the consumers specific experience with a certain brand, helped by advertising which reveals how the brand is to be understood and used, predominantly for brands that contend at parity. Another contemporary understanding of brand image was put forward by Hsieh (2002), who felt that building a brand image based on the identified benefit-based image dimensions consisted of a set of benefit brand associations. This helped consumers understand with clarity what a brand can do for them-symbolically, economically, sensorial or as a utility. White and Hsieh (2002) seem to recognise the key importance that advertising plays in promoting the elements of a brand image thus differentiating the brand from rival brands, giving them a competitive advantage. To summarise, it is plain to see that these academics are in complete agreement that one of the key attributes of a company, if not the key attribute, is the brand image. It is evident that there is a clear link between brand image and market share, as depicted by Krishmans research. In addition, establishing a strong brand image is indeed a powerful way of developing market power, which consequently helps to create a tight control over its position within the market. Due to barriers to entry, a rounded marketing plan focussing on all aspects of the marketing mix; this also helps to retain a consistent consumer interest.

Brand image: practical example

In this section we will relate how brand image is encompassed in modern organisations and how they use this as a comparative advantage over there rivals to ensure that they keep there competitive edge.

Manchester United
In the Brand Strategy journal, the players were seen to be key to any clubs brand image. The actions of players and the perception by supporters is hence key to brand image. For example, ex-Man Utd David Beckham opened the Manchester Commonwealth Games wearing an Adidas sweatshirt. These images were then broadcast across the globe and this

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was much more powerful then his endorsement through advertising. (Brand Strategy briefing: Saving face of sponsorship).

These sort of images enable organisations such as Man Utd to develop into icons which according to Douglas B. Holt is one step further than brand image, as they succeed because they forge a deep connection with the culture. In essence, they compete for culture share. This can clearly be applied to industries, like, the football industries, as many fans have a strong link between them and their club i.e. it is part of their culture.

Analysis of Manchester Uniteds Brand

Introduction
Manchester United has excelled in the modern game of Football and its activities away from the pitch. It has existed for over a century now and has grown during this period from a small club into a global phenomenon. The strategy of Manchester United in building and sustaining its brand image has been achieved by focusing on the premier football team, which sits at the centre of the business. Indeed, it is crucial that all areas of the marketing mix are exploited to help establish strong market dominance and a sustainable brand image, hence this marketing principle will be central to the analysis of Manchester Uniteds brand image. Manchester Uniteds brand image will be critically assessed, paying particular attention to the way in which they have utilised various marketing communications to sustain their image. Moreover, by presenting a timeline of Manchester Uniteds marketing practices will allow to discriminate as to whether they have been successful or not.

Marketing Mix Promotion:

Manchester United has established a range of global, commercial partnerships with certain blue chip firms such as Vodafone and Nike. Indeed this has helped put Manchester United on the global scene. Nike has launched their new Cool Motion double layer kit, promoted by many of the players such as Scholes and Ferdinand, wearing Nike Boots, which have helped connect the famous market leader with this Premier Football team. Further, legends such as Cantona have helped create this maverick image for Manchester United, but also having such

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a combination of powerful sponsors has brought the team a reputable image. (ManUtd.com, 2004a).
The extent of success related to brand image will now be explored.

Nike
Worldwide sports giant Nike have become the shirt sponsors of Man United since 2002. The deal is unique in terms of its value (300 million), length (13 years) and structure. The literal image of the Nike tick presented to customers on the Man United replica shirts has helped boost shirt sales over the last four years. The relationship between the two companies, centres on combining the core activity of Football and the strength of Uniteds global fan base with Nikes expertise in sports product and integrated marketing campaigns. Chairman Sir Roy Gardener feels that this partnership with Nike will undoubtedly increase the brand equity of Manchester United and thus enhance the brand image of the club globally.(ManUtd.com, 2004b). By associating itself with companies who are perceived as leaders in their respective markets has allowed an increase in brand awareness as well as a boost in brand equity. As referred by Krishman (1996) who cited the strong correlation between brand equity and brand image. Nike however have been criticised for a lack of human rights in many of its factories in South East Asia. In particular, Oxfam in March 2000 alleged that Nike had not conformed to a code of conduct in their subcontracted Par Garment factory in Thailand. Although Nike denies accusations, ignoring cases and not realising the crisis of poverty and underpaid children; the result has been a bad outlook for Nike. Consequently, such negativity has damaged the relationship with Manchester United and their relationship with their customers. Moreover, in October 2000, Paul Kenyon reported in the BBC that two girls were found in a factory in Cambodia under the legal working age of 15. Despite recent attempts in October 2003 to organise unionisation in Sri Lanka, Nike are still under the spotlight which could tarnish the prosperity of their influential brand image with Manchester United.

Media
Indeed, the annual report (Man Utd Annual PLC Report, 2003) included that the business of Manchester United is built on three strong foundations of football, fans, and media. Football is the core activity; the fans are the greatest asset and the media the most effective means of

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bringing the two together. This comment is an indication of the paramount importance the media has played in building and sustaining the Manchester United brand. In 2003, the media contributed 37% towards total revenue (Man United Annual Report, 2003). However, if Manchester Uniteds partnerships with the likes of Nike are in controversy, this can determinately affect the image Manchester United want to sustain.

Product Merchandise
In the early nineties, the extent of the United range was very narrow (consisting of goods such as scarves, mugs and hats), but now the product line is inexhaustible, including everything possible from wallpaper in childrens bedrooms to cuddly toys, soft drinks and underwear. As the popularity of the Internet has come to prominence, this has acted as a further opportunity of extending the brand image around the globe, providing new found supporters in East-Asia and America with the opportunity to purchase their goods. Manchester United have proposed tactics to sell their brand image in countries where popularity is however limited, such as America and the Far-East.

Place
Old Trafford Club Stadium
The club recognised at an early stage in the brands development, the potential earning power of the clubs home ground, Old Trafford with 68,000 supporters walking through the gates on any given match day. Currently shown in Manchester United financial data is that 36% of the clubs revenue is generated from match days. (ManUtd.com, 2004c). Reid (2001) stressed that the brand has to be experienced, therefore by providing a well equipped stadium, this helps attract a greater influx of foreign visitors.

Price
The use of price can be viewed as the sole negative factor of Manchester United brand image. Exploitation is evident in the form of the fans that pay outrageous prices for gate admissions (34) and replica shirts (45) and via their business partners, the exploitation of children in the sweatshops of Asia as exposed by the BBCs current affairs flagship Panorama. While the clubs players such as Ferdinand, Giggs and Keane are paid so handsomely to wear the

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products of leading sports manufacturers the workers in the sweatshops of Indonesia and other Asian countries are earning 72 pence for 24 hours of work. (Skynews.com, 2002). The enormous difference between what the goods cost to manufacture and their price is the reason behind the clubs huge profits and enormous transfer kitty. It is clear that there is a large disparity between with the wealth of Manchester United and the workers who make the products so crucial to the global spread of the brand image.

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Chapter - 04
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
Research refers to a search for knowledge. It is a systematic method of collecting and recording the facts in the form of numerical data relevant to the formulated problem and arriving at certain conclusions over the problem based on collected data. Thus formulation of the problem is the first and foremost step in the research process followed by the collection, recording, tabulation and analysis and drawing the conclusions. The problem formulation starts with defining the problem or number of problems in the functional area. To detect the functional area and locate the exact problem is most important part of any research as the whole research is based on the problem. According to Clifford Woody research comprises defining and redefining problems, formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions: collecting, organizing and evaluating data: making deductions and reaching conclusions: and at last carefully testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulating hypothesis. Research can be defined as the manipulation of things, concepts or symbols for the purpose of generalizing to extend, correct or verify knowledge, whether that knowledge aids in construction of theory or in the practice of an art In short, the search for knowledge through objective and systematic method of finding solution to a problem is research.

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DRAFTING QUESTIONNAIRE
The questionnaire is considered as the most important thing in a survey operation. Hence it should be carefully constructed. Structured questionnaire consist of only fixed alternative questions. Such type of questionnaire is inexpensive to analysis and easy to administer. All questions are closed ended.

S. No. 1.

Particulars Project Title

Description

A Study of Brand Preference towards Men Wear Special Reference to Nimbahera

2. 3.

Sample Size Sample Unit

50 Shopkeeper, Service men, students, transporter etc.

4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. SAMPLING

Area Covered Sampling Procedure Research Design Data Collection Method Research Instrument Type of Questionnaire Type of Questions Method of Survey Type of Sampling

Nimbahera Random Sampling Exploratory Survey Questionnaire Structured Close Ended, Open Ended Questions Sample Survey Judgement Sampling

It was divided into following parts: Sampling universe All the employees are the sampling universe for the research. Sampling technique Judgmental sampling Sample was taken on judgmental basis. The advantage of sampling are that it is much less costly, quicker and analysis will become easier. Sample size taken was 100 employees.

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DATA COLLECTION The task of data collection begins after the research problem has been defined and research design chalked out. While deciding the method of data collection to be used for the study, the researcher should keep in mind two types of data viz. Primary and secondary data. Primary Data The primary data are those, which are collected afresh and for the first time and thus happen to be original in character. The primary data were collected through welldesigned and structured questionnaires based on the objectives. Secondary Data: The secondary data are those, which have already been collected by someone else and passed through statistical process. The secondary data required of the research was collected through various newspapers, and Internet etc.

Importance of research work:

The purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of demographic Factors and footwear benefits sought on consumer purchasing outcomes in the urban market. Research results show that age, household size, education, occupation and income significantly affect amount of money spent, pairs of footwear purchased and purchase plans, but not average price paid. Gender and residence of respondent were not significantly related to purchasing outcomes. The study identified two groups of shoppers seeking significantly different benefits in purchasing footwear products: the functional shoppers and the alpha shoppers. As compared to the functional shoppers, alpha shoppers purchased more pairs of footwear, paid higher price for footwear and spent larger HRK1 amount on footwear. The results are indicative for the segmentation strategy in the footwear market. The research also helps footwear manufacturers and retailers to better target their consumer segments

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
The research study tends to follow and achieve specific objectives.

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The objectives of this particular study are:

To know the personal views of Nimbahera people regarding choices among various branded wear. To study which branded wear is mostly preferred by people as per their choices. Comparison between various branded wear.. Find out factor influencing the people at the time of purchasing Branded cloth. QUALITY, DURABILITY, VARIETY, PRICE.

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Data Analysis & Interpretation

1. Do you buy branded Pant & Shirts?

SR.NO. PARTICULARS 1 Yes 3 5

NO. OF RESPONDENTS 48 2 50

PERCENTAGE 96% 4% 100%

No Total

INTERPRETATION: The above table indicates that, 96% people wearing branded cloth & 4% people not choose branded cloths.

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1. Classification of users based on Annual Income. SR.NO. 1 3 5 PARTICULARS

Less than Rs. 1Lac Rs. 1 3 Lac

NO. OF RESPONDENTS 15 35 50

PERCENTAGE 30% 70% 100%

Total

INTERPRETATION: The above table indicates that, 30% people earn in a year 1 lacs rupee and 70% people are earn 1 to 3 lacs per annum.

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2. Type of mens clothing is likely to be purchased. SR.NO. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 PARTICULARS

Shirt Pant T-Shirt Trouser Jeans Cargo Jeans Nero Jeans

NO. OF RESPONDENTS 14 12 5 8 8 2 1 50

PERCENTAGE 28% 24% 10% 16% 16% 4% 2% 100%

Total

INTERPRETATION: The above table indicates that, 24% people purchase Pant, 28% purchase shirt, 16% purchase Jeans, 16% purchase Trouser, 4% Purchase Cargo Jeans & 2% purchase Nero Jenas.

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3. Brand you would prefer.

SR.NO. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

PARTICULARS KOUTONS PETER ENGLAND ALLEN COOPER CHARLY OUTLOW JOHN PLAYER PRIKNIT COTTON COUNTY MONTE CARLO Total

NO. OF RESPONDENTS 17 12 6 7 3 2 1 2 50

PERCENTAGE 34% 24% 12% 14% 6% 4% 2% 4% 100%

INTERPRETATION: The above table indicates that, 35% people prefer KOUTONS, 25% prefer PETER ENGLAND, 13% prefer ALLEN COOPER, 15% prefer CHARLY OUTLOW, 6% prefer JOHN PLAYERS.

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4. How long have you been using this brand?

SR.NO. 1 2 3 4 5 6 PARTICULARS 0 1 Yrs.
1 2 Yrs. 2 3 Yrs. 3 4 Yrs. Above 4 Yrs

NO. OF RESPONDENTS 8
11 27 3
1

PERCENTAGE 16% 22% 54% 6% 2% 100%

Total

50

INTERPRETATION: The above table indicates that, 54% people use the brand 2-3 yrs., 22% use 1-2 yrs., 16% use 0-1 yrs., 6% use 3-4 yrs., 2% use above 4 yrs.

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5. Price range, you shop in this brand.

SR.NO. 1 2 3 4 5 6

PARTICULARS Below 1000 1000-2000 2000-3000 3000 4000 Above 4000 Total

NO. OF RESPONDENTS 4 18 16 8 4 50

PERCENTAGE 8% 36% 32% 16% 8% 100%

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INTERPRETATION: The above table indicates that, the different price rang which are purchased by customer like below 1000 purchase 8%, 1000-2000 purchase 36%, 2000-3000 purchase 32%, 3000-4000 purchase 16% and above 4000 purchase 8% of the price.

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6. Brand Preference and Top of the Mind Awareness for cloth brand.
SR.NO. 1 2 3 4 5 6 PARTICULARS Extremely Satisfied Satisfied Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Extremely Dissatisfied Total NO. OF RESPONDENTS 8 33 5 3 1 50 PERCENTAGE 16% 66% 10% 6% 2% 100%

INTERPRETATION: The above table indicates that, 66% people satisfied with brand,16% people extremely satisfied, 10% people neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, 6% people dissatisfied & 2% people extremely dissatisfied.

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7. Factors influencing brand preference.

SR.NO. 1 2 3 4 5 PARTICULARS Advertisement Services Quality Good words of Mouths Total NO. OF RESPONDENTS 9 17 21 3 50 PERCENTAGE 18% 34% 42% 6% 100%

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INTERPRETATION: The above table indicates that, 34% people influencing through services, 18% through advertisement, 42% through quality & 6% people influencing through good words of mouths.

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8. You feel about the product quality.

SR.NO. 1 2 3 4 5

PARTICULARS Very Good

Very Poor Poor Can be improved

NO. OF RESPONDENTS 29 1 2 18 50

PERCENTAGE 58% 2% 4% 36% 100%

Total

INTERPRETATION: The above table indicates that, 58% people feel that product is very good, 4% feel poor, 2% feel very poor, 36% feel that can be improvement in product.

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9. How often do you change the brand preference?

SR.NO. 1 2 3 4 5 PARTICULARS Very Often
Occasionally Rarely Never

NO. OF RESPONDENTS 0 27 6 17 50

PERCENTAGE 0% 54% 12% 34% 100%

Total

INTERPRETATION: The above table indicates that, 54% people change the brand occasionally, 34% people never change, 12% people may rarely change the product.

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10. Importance of buying a name brand.

SR.NO. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 PARTICULARS Quality Attractive Reliable Advertisement Services Various Offers Total NO. OF RESPONDENTS 13 7 12 2 15 1 50 PERCENTAGE 26% 14% 24% 4% 30% 2% 100%

INTERPRETATION: The above table indicates that, 26% people buying through product quality, 24% through product reliable, 4% through company advertisement, 30% through services of company & 2% through various offers.

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11. Consumer intention towards replacing their existing brand of Cloth.

SR.NO. 1 2 3 PARTICULARS To replace Not to replace Total NO. OF RESPONDENTS 42 8 50 PERCENTAGE 84% 16% 100%

INTERPRETATION: The above table indicates that, 84% people want to replace the current product line & 16% people not to replace.

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12. Which brand would be your First choice?

SR.NO. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 PARTICULARS KOUTONS PETER ENGLAND ALLEN COOPER CHARLY OUTLOW JOHN PLAYER PRIKNIT COTTON COUNTY MONTE CARLO Total NO. OF RESPONDENTS 22 9 6 4 3 2 3 1 50 PERCENTAGE 44% 18% 12% 8% 6% 4% 6% 2% 100%

INTERPRETATION: The above table indicates that, 44% peoples prefer to Koutons, 18% to peter England, 4% priknit, 8% charly outlaw, 6% john player, 6% cotton county.

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13. You choose above brand.

SR.NO. 1 2 3 4 9

PARTICULARS Cloth Feting Cloth Quality Good Stitching Washing Machine Washable Total

NO. OF RESPONDENTS 14 28 8 0 50

PERCENTAGE 28% 56% 16% 0% 100%

INTERPRETATION:

The above table indicates that, 28% choose through cloth feting, 56% through cloth quality, 16% through good stitching.

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14. I would recommend above brand to others.

SR.NO. 1 2 3 4 5 6 PARTICULARS Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly disagree Total NO. OF RESPONDENTS 6 15 28 1 0 50 PERCENTAGE 12% 30% 56% 2% 0% 100%

INTERPRETATION: The above table indicates that, 56% people neither agrees not disagree to recommend to other, 30% agree with above statement, 12% strongly agree & 2% people disagree.

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Finding & Conclusion

KOUTONS has a good brand image in the existing market. Low sales as compared to market potential,. Peter England, Allen Cooper, Cotton County have maximum market shares viz. Less advertisement of the product as compared to other company. Lack of self enthusiasm Customer Satisfactions. Many facilities are available to customer. There is a need of a proper information, encouragement & motivation related to customer. There is a complaint from the side of retailers is that dealers deal customer directly and sell wears on lower price, due to this customer does not go to retailers and purchase from dealers.

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Suggestion
The product quality must be improved Company must reform its marketing strategies. Company may go for reposition its brand image. In research we found that all the costumer are accepting the repositioning of kouton to family store All above company must increase its range of products All company should put effort in creating brand image by stopping the offer like buy 1 and get 4. All company must change its image from discounted good to superior goods. Company must makes strategies for rural market.

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Bibliography
Books Referred:
Kothari C. R. (2005) RESEARCH METHODOLOGY New Age International Limited, Fifth Edition Kotler Philip & Keller Kevin. MARKETING MANAGEMENT: Pearson Prentice Hall, New Delhi, 2006 Parry, Mark E., STRATEGIC MARKETING MANAGEMENT: Means-End Approach, New Delhi, McGraw-Hill, 2002 Saxena Rajan, MARKETING MANAGEMENT: Tata Mcgraw, New Delhi, 2006 Kotler Philip, KOTLER ON MARKETING: Free Press, New York

Websites:www.koutons.com www.peterengland.com www.scribd.com www.allencooper.net www.johnplayer.com www.cottoncounty.com

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Annexure
1. Do you buy branded Pant & Shirts? Yes No Less than Rs. 1Lac Rs. 1 3 Lac Shirt Trouser Nero Jeans KOUTONS ALLEN COOPER JOHN PLAYER [ [ [ ] ] ] [ [ [ ] ] ] ] 12 34 PETER ENGLAND CHARLY OUTLOW PRIKNIT MONTE CARLO Yrs Yrs [ [ ] ] [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] [ [ [ [ Pant Jeans ] ] ] ] [ [ ] ] T-Shirt Cargo Jeans [ [ ] ]

2. Classification of users based on Annual Income.

3. What type of mens clothing is likely to be purchased?

4. Which brand you would prefer?

COTTON COUNTY [ 01 23 Yrs Yrs [ [ [ ] ] ]

5. How long have you been using this brand?

Above 4 Yrs

6. What is the price range, you shop in this brand? Below 1000 [ ] 1000 2000 [ 2000 3000 Above 4000 [ [ ] ] 3000 4000 [

] ]

7. Brand Preference and Top of the Mind Awareness for cloth brand? Extremely Satisfied [ ] Satisfied Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied Dissatisfied Extremely Dissatisfied [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ]

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8. Factors influencing brand preference? Advertisement Quality Very Good Very Poor Very Often Rarely Quality Reliable Services To replace KOUTONS ALLEN COOPER JOHN PLAYER [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Poor Can be improved Occasionally Never Attractive Advertisement Various Offers Not to replace PETER ENGLAND CHARLY OUTLOW PRIKNIT MONTE CARLO [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] Services Good words of Mouths [ [ [ [ [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] [ [ [ [ ] ] ] ] [ ] [ ]

9. What do you feel about the product quality?

10. How often do you change the brand preference?

11. What is Importance of buying a name brand?

12. Consumer intention towards replacing their existing brand of Cloth? 13. Which brand would be your First choice?

COTTON COUNTY [ 14. Why you choose above brand? Cloth Feting Cloth Quality Good Stitching

Washing Machine Washable Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree Strongly disagree

15. I would recommend above brand to others.

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