MARKET PENETRATION OF COCA-COLA IN TASMAC AND BUS STAND OUTLETS - WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE T IRUPPUR CITY

INTRODUCTION

Market penetration is a measure of brand or category popularity. It is defined as the number of people who buy a specific brand or a category of goods at least once in a given period, divided by the size of the relevant market population. Market penetration is one of the four growth strategies of the Product-Market Growth Matri as defined by !nsoff. Market penetration occurs when a company penetrates a market in which current or similar products already e ist. "he best way to achieve this is by gaining competitors# customers $part of their market share%. &ther ways include attracting non-users of your product or convincing current clients to use more of your product'service $by advertising, etc.%. !nsoff developed the Product-Market Growth Matri to help firms recognize if there was any advantage to entering a market. "he other three growth strategies in the Product-Market Growth Matri are Product development, Market development and (iversification. "his particular study is intended to find out the market penetration of )oca-cola in "!*M!) and +us stand outlets. "!*M!) and +us stand outlets are considered as some of the ma,or sources of high volume sales but as of now, the reach of )oca-)ola is not fruitful in these outlets. "he study is also aimed at determining the market share of )oca-cola and its competitors. "he antecedents that affect the market share and market penetration level in these types of outlets are also carefully analyzed in the study. )ensus survey was carried out in order to collect the data for reaching conclusions. )ensus survey was undertaken since the total number of "!*M!) and +us stand outlets in "iruppur city will only comes around -./ outlets. "he study was also a live e perience of how can the competitors outlets be convinced to promote the )oca-cola products also. 0ven though )ocacola is one of the most successful brands in the world, earlier studies prove that the market share of )oca-cola in the Indian market is very much less than that of its competitors. "he study focuses on further e ploring the market penetration level of )oca-cola in "!*M!) and +us stand outlets in "iruppur city. "his particular study was also an effort to make a progressive increase in sales by convincing the retailers to promote )oke products more.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

"he ma,or problem that )oca cola is facing is declining sales and market share. "he study aims at identifying the market penetration level of )oca-cola in "!*M!) and +us stand outlets in "iruppur city. "he schemes, offers, discounts etc. provided by the company and the strategy being adopted by the company to attract the retailers are studied and is compared with that of the competitors. Moreover, the study analyses how effective the management system in implementing each activity to achieve the prescribed target.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Primary ob !"#i$! %

1 "o study the market penetration of )oca-)ola in "!*M!) and +us stand outlets

S!"o&'ary ob !"#i$!( %

1 "o understand the market share of )oca-cola 1 "o understand the factors affecting the sales of )oca-cola brands 1 "o understand the retailers and consumers perception about coca-cola brands 1 "o compare the effectiveness of distribution of )oca-cola with its competitors SCOPE OF THE STUDY
"he study has been conducted in the *ales and (istribution division of )oca-)ola, "iruppur. "he scope of the study was limited to the sales and distribution department which was relevant to the pro,ect. Market survey was inevitable to know the market position of soft drinks and customer preference among the available brands. "he study is intended at analyzing the market penetration level of )oca-)ola and the factors underlying the decline in sales.