A Study on Paid Visibility and Trade Input on Pens Category in Hyderabad

A study on Paid visibility on pens category in Hyderabad.

A study on Paid visibility on pens category in Hyderabad.

To conduct a survey about the present pens market industry in Hyderabad. And to find out the opportunities and threats to the brand ITC.

Goutham Menda3/10/2015

Study on

Paid visibility on pens category in Hyderabad(ITC Ltd, Hyderabad)

Submitted by:Goutham MendaRegistration No:12010141030

Under the Guidance of Prof. saradhi Kumar gonela in partial fulfillment of the Course- Industry Internship Programme-IIP in Semester VI of the Bachelor of Business Management (2011-14)

Bangalore

Bachelor of Business Management

Industry Internship Programme (IIP)

Declaration This is to declare that the Report titled Study on paid visibility on pens category in Hyderabad has been made for the partial fulfillment of the Course: Industry Internship Programme (IIP) in Semester VI by me at Alliance school of business (organization) under the guidance of Dr. Saradhi Kumar Gonela .

I confirm that this Report truly represents my work undertaken as a part of my Industry Internship Programme (IIP). This work is not a replication of work done previously by any other person. I also confirm that the contents of the report and the views contained therein have been discussed and deliberated with the faculty guide.

Signature of the Student :Name of the Student (in Capital Letters) : GOUTHAM MENDARegistration No : 12010141030

Bachelor of Business Management

Certificate

This is to certify that Mr. Goutham Menda Regn. No.12010141030 has completed the report titled A study on pain visibility on pens category in Hyderabad under my guidance for the partial fulfillment of the Course: Industry Internship Programme (IIP) in Semester VI of the Bachelor of Business Management.

Signature of Faculty Guide:

Name of the Faculty Guide: Saradhi Kumar Gonela

Table of contents: S.NOContentsPage no:

1Executive summary5

2Introduction6

2.1About the industry7 - 8

2.2Company overview9 - 11

3Project profile12

3.1Objectives of the study12 - 13

3.2Methodology14 - 15

4Observations & analysis16 - 36

5Findings37

6Recommendations37 - 38

7Conclusion38

7.1Learning outcome39

7.2Annexure40

7.3References 41

1. Executive summary:

To study the impact of paid visibility and trade input on pens category in Hyderabad.

To be found out: Availability of the pens. Visibility of the pens Top industry drivers Trade input

Ways to conduct a survey:Survey limited number of stationery stores in each area and find out about the top inputs on visibility, best sellers in the market and why..? Also, about the modes of distribution. Wholesale vs. Retail Major focus.

2. Introduction: Pen industry is dominated by cello and Reynolds in Hyderabad. The intern is expected to do a detailed study on the competition landscape in Hyderabad market. There should be separate segments detailing the wholesale market and general trade market along with modes of distribution. The aim of the study is to find out the best practices that different companies have in terms of following.

1. Availability- Are competition companies stock out issues.

2. Visibility- What is the kind of visibility input that is being given by different companies during different periods of the year. Season/On-Season.

3. Top industry drivers- Why a top seller becomes a top seller? Factors affecting the purchase of the product.

4. Trade input- The different trade inputs given by different companies throughout the year. Which periods see a surge in trade inputs, what are the kinds of inputs that the company is running?

2.1 Writing Instruments IndustryINTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND Easing of Quantitative Restrictions led to rising imports from China but however they have not posed a major threat to the domestic players, as the Chinese pens are not perceived to be of high quality. Entry of Reynolds through GM Pens India in 1990 made the organized sector take note of the vast potential of the domestic market.Organised sector accounts for more than 60 per cent. Most of the recent growth also has been at the cost of the un-organised sector. GROWTH DRIVERS Export thrust TODAY`S Writing Products Limited Terms of quality of pens, India ranks amongst the best in the world, well ahead of even China. But while China exports Rs 5,000 crore worth pens every year, India barely exports pens worth Rs 200 crore. Indian manufacturers are only now beginning to focus on global market Global sourcing Writing Instruments Industry in India Another area that is opening up for Indian pen manufacturers is the trend among overseas stationary companies to outsource their pen requirements from India. Industry sources say that in the last six months, several foreign companies, including Wal-Mart, Office Depot and Staples of the US, which have so far been procuring pens from China, have visited India for outsourcing their pen requirements. While at present China has a market share of 10 per cent of the Rs 50,000-crore global writing instruments industry, India has not been able to corner any significant share of the market. Domestic Market - With growing disposable incomes, consumers are upgrading their purchases and luxury items are gradually finding their way into the shopping baskets of even upwardly mobile middle class consumers B2B Corporate Segment For gift and customized writing instruments purposes.

NATURE OF THE INDUSTRY Alliances - Most of the domestic players have strategic alliances with global players. The alliances can be for strategic reasons like Marketing arrangements (Luxor India Sanford group Parker, Waterman), technology transfer (Rotomac India with Mitsubishi Japan) and tapping export markets. Seasonal demand drivers - Schools and examinations, Gifting Occasions (Corporate) Pricing and Margins Traditionally, pen industry experts say that mass-based pens have a profit margin between 10 per cent to 15 per cent. The Parkers make 15 per cent, which goes up to 20 per cent in the school and college opening season

FUTURE SCENARIO Outsourcing -A striking feature of the writing instruments segment, which is now becoming the order of the day is outsourcing. For instance Linc, outsources to the extent of 30-40 per cent of its requirements. Consequently, a great deal of attention has to be devoted to vendor development, as quality is of paramount importance in the pen segment. Consolidation -Mergers and acquisitions would come into play in this business in a big way as competition would have become quite fierce. Government Policies Small-scale industry classification- The Writing Instruments Manufacturers Organisation, reserved for the small-scale industry (SSI), has appealed to the Government to increase the SSI limit for the writing instruments sector from Rs 3 crore to Rs 5 crore. If this does happen, it would lead to more investments being infused in plant and machinery and pave the way for further consolidation of the industry. Custom and Excise Duties Considering the competition in the industry and race towards free trade world, customs duties may reduced in future.

2.2 Company Overview:Our Profile

ITC is one of India's foremost multi-business enterprise with a market capitalization of US $ 45 billion and a turnover of US $ 7 billion. ITC is rated among the World's Best Big Companies, Asia's 'Fab 50' and the World's Most Reputable Companies by Forbes magazine and as 'India's Most Admired Company' in a survey conducted by Fortune India magazine and Hay Group. ITC also features as one of world's largest sustainable value creator in the consumer goods industry in a study by the Boston Consulting Group. ITC has been listed among India's Most Valuable Companies by Business Today magazine. The Company is among India's '10 Most Valuable (Company) Brands', according to a study conducted by Brand Finance and published by the Economic Times. ITC also ranks among Asia's 50 best performing companies compiled by Business Week.Multiple Drivers of GrowthITCs aspiration to create enduring value for the nation and its stakeholders is manifest in its robust portfolio of traditional and greenfield businesses encompassingFast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Packaging, Agri-Business, and Information Technology.This diversified presence in the businesses of tomorrow is powered by a strategy to pursue multiple drivers of growth based on its proven competencies, enterprise strengths and strong synergies between its businesses.The competitiveness of ITCs diverse businesses rest on the strong foundations of institutional strengths derived from itsdeep consumer insights, cutting-edge Research & Development, differentiated product development capacity, brand-building capability, world-class manufacturing infrastructure, extensive rural linkages, efficient trade marketing and distribution network and dedicated human resources. ITCs ability to leverage internal synergies residing across its diverse businesses lends a unique source of competitive advantage to its products and services.Within a relatively short span of time, ITC has established vital brands likeAashirvaad, Sunfeast, Dark Fantasy, Delishus, Bingo!, Yippee!, Candyman, mint-o, Kitchens of Indiain the Branded Foods space;EssenzaDi Wills, Fiama Di Wills, Vivel, Vivel Cell Renew, Engage and Superiain the Personal Care products segment;Classmate and Paperkraftin Education & Stationery products;Wills Lifestyle and John Playersin the Lifestyle Apparel business;Mangaldeepin Agarbattis andAimin the Safety Matches segment. This growth has been rated by a Nielsen Report to be the fastest among the consumer goods companies operating in India.

Creating Enduring ValueToday, ITC is India's leading Fast Moving Consumer Goods company, the clear market leader in the Indian Paperboard and Packaging industry, a globally acknowledged pioneer in farmer empowerment through its wide-reaching Agri Business and runs the greenest luxury hotel chain in the world. ITC Infotech, a wholly-owned subsidiary, is one of India's fast-growing IT companies in the mid-tier segment. This portfolio of rapidly growing businesses considerably enhances ITC's capacity to generate growing value for the Indian economy.ITC's Agri-Business is one of India's largest exporters of agricultural products. The ITC Groups contribution to foreign exchange earnings over the last ten years amounted to nearly US$ 6.0 billion, of which agri exports constituted 57%. The Company's 'e-Choupal' initiative has enabled Indian agriculture significantly enhance its competitiveness by empowering Indian farmers through the power of the Internet. This transformational strategy has already become the subject matter of a case study at Harvard Business School apart from receiving widespread global acclaim.As one of India's most valuable and respected corporations,ITC is widely perceived to be dedicatedly nation-oriented.Chairman Y C Deveshwar calls this source of inspiration "a commitment beyond the market". In his own words: "ITC believes that its aspiration to create enduring value for the nation provides the motive force to sustain growing shareholder value.ITC practices this philosophy by not only driving each of its businesses towards international competitiveness but by also consciously contributing to enhancing the competitiveness of the larger value chain of which it is a part." ITC group directly employs more than 31,000 people and the Company's Businesses and value-chains generate around 6 million sustainable livelihoods many of whom live at the margin in rural India.

Global Exemplar in SustainabilityAcknowledged as a global exemplar in sustainability,ITC is the only enterprise in the world, of comparable dimensions to be carbon-positive, water-positive, and solid waste recycling positive.A testimony to its commitment to a low carbon growth path - over 38 % of the total energy requirements of ITC is met from renewable sources. All ITC's premium luxury hotels are LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certified making it the "greenest luxury hotel chain" in the world. ITC's Paperboards and Paper business is an icon of environmental stewardship.ITC's production facilities and hotels have won numerous national and international awards for quality, productivity, safety and environment management systems. ITC was the first company in India to voluntarily seek a corporate governance rating.The Company continuously endeavours to enhance its wealth generating capabilities in a globalising environment to consistently reward more than 4,89,000 shareholders, fulfill the aspirations of its stakeholders and meet societal expectations.

3. Project profile: 3.1 Objective of the study:

The final presentation is expected to have the following.

1. Competition Landscape: Top competitors, Sales volume, top variants.

2. Details on top competition: top sellers/inputs on visibility + schemes/ Availability.

3. Details on industry: Why a top seller becomes a top seller? Factors affecting the purchase of the product.4. Visibility: What impact does giving visibility input have on the sales of the products (if any)? What inputs are being given by competition for visibility?

5. Modes of distribution: Wholesale Vs. Retail Major focus on competition, way forward.

What is Paid visibility?

Making the products more visible to the customers in any store after paying a certain amount of money to the shopkeeper. Hugely used for marketing the products online. Paid visibility is not a huge practice in terms of pens that are sold in retail/wholesale outlets. The whole concept of visibility depends on the shopkeeper, as he is the one who makes the products more visible according to the flow of products in the market.

Trade inputs:The information given by the producers to the sellers to educate them with information such as, Schemes available in the brand, ways to make their products visible in the stores and the best way to sell the products and increase the sales volume in any certain way. As such.

3.2 Methodology:

A REPORT MADE AFTER CONDUCTING A SURVEY ON SOME WHOLESALE AND RETAIL OUTLETS.

Total number of stores surveyed: Retail: 168Wholesale: 21

City in which the survey is conducted: Hyderabad

Total duration of the project work: 8 weeks

Questionnaire prepared for the survey: Since Im dealing with local stores in Hyderabad, Telugu language should mostly be preferred for questioning anyone from the city.Language plays a major role while conducting a survey.

1) Easy step: You deal with pens..?

2) Easy step 2: How many colors/color variants do you deal with..?

3) Step 3: Which is the most sold brand in terms of sales volume and profit making?

4) Who prefers these pens: Students OR Working professionals OR Normal users (Rare use)?

5) Estimated sales figures and schemes that brand is offering (Elaborated properly).

6) What are the Rival brands for this brand..?

7) Why is this brand a leader? What is so special about it and what is lagging in others..? (Keeping in mind that we're questioning just about that particular store).

8) What kind of distribution channel does this brand use? Traditional or One level channel..?

9) Looking at the display of Products, Question if there's Paid visibility taking place and ask if this affects the sales of that particular brand.4. Observations and Analysis:

Week 1: 10 retail outlets

Shiva sai stationery book depot and plastics Rakshita stationery and gift articles Shirdi sai stationery & store Vaishnavi book stall Ganesh stationery textiles & Xerox Pawan stationery Dinesh stationery Lucky stationery & gift Roshini stationery & general store & Xerox Sri balaji stationery

Leading Brand: Cello followed by Reynolds, montex and flair.Total sale value of the pens: 65000/- rupees.

Top variants: Cello technotip, Cello pinpoint, cello papersoft.Factors affecting: Smooth flow, Easy availability, worth the price.

Distribution model: Traditional and 1 step model both.Producer>>Retailer>>consumerProducer>>Wholesale>>Retailer>>Consumer


Balaji book depot B.N. Reddy stationery Sri vaishnavi stationery & Xerox Om sri sai ram stationery Sri nav Computers Sri sai Computer & stationery Dhana shree book point & stationery Sri vani stationery Meghna books, stationery & Xerox Pratibha stationery

Leading Brand: Cello followed by montex and Reynolds.Total sale value of pens: 67000/- rupees.

Top variants: Cello pinpoint Xs, Cello faster, Cello maxriter XsFactors affecting: Same factors as before.


Week 3: 11 Retail outlets Mahadev book & stationery Sri sai ram stationery New pens N padz Sri shiva sai Xerox & stationery Chandra stationery & general Rama stationary & general stores Ram laxman stationery Anu enterprises Sri uday book stationery Sri Krishna electronics & APSRTC reservation counter


Top variants: Cello pinpoint, Cello technotip, Cello maxriterFactors affecting: Same factors as before.



Saraswathi book centre Seshadri stationery Amma sri durga bhavani stationery & Xerox Tirumala sai stationery & pen house Sri sai stationery & book depot V.J. Stores books & stationery S.s. stationery Xerox & general stores Sri santosh book point Raja rajeshwari stationers Om sri sairam book point

Leading Brand: Cello followed by Reynolds, flair and montexTotal sale value of pens: 90000/- rupees.

Top variants: Cello pinpoint, Cello technotip, Reynolds liquiflo, 045 Reynolds, Reynolds jetter, Reynolds trimaxFactors affecting: Same factors as before.


Week 5: 11 Retail outlets Sri srinivasa stores Sree knowledge Xerox & stationery Ganesh sai stationery & Xerox Maheshwari Xerox & stationery Srinath stationery & general Srinivas book stall & stationery Rangoli stationery & generals Maruthi book depot S.V. traders S.V. Book world wholesale & retail Siddivinayaka book stall, stationery & Xerox


Top variants: Cello pinpoint, Cello technotip, montex megatop, Reynolds jetter, Reynolds trimax.Factors affecting: Same factors as before.


Week 6: 8 wholesale outlets Jain paper & stationers Runicha stationery Rajshree stationery Durga sports Manish stationery mart Priyank enterprises Renuka enterprises Ramdev stationery

Total sale value of pens: 16, 50,000/- rupeesBrands with more flow: Flair, Cello, Add, Reynolds, Montex, Local playersTop variants: Flair Writometer, Flair velocity, Cello technotip, Cello pinpoint, Montex megatop, Add gel, Reynolds jetter, Reynolds liquiflo, Reynolds trimax.Factors affecting: Depends on the demand at retail market.

Distribution model: Traditional Producer>>Wholesale>>retailer>>consumer

Week 6: 30 retail outlets Pragathi enterprises S S enterprises Vishakha Enterprises Stationery one Sundaram stationery & Xerox Yash computer and office stationery Mayur enterprises Sri sai sneha stationery Apsara enterprises Bhagwan stationers Staples future office product Pruthvi enterprise & stationery Krishna stationers Sri vani stationers Sri satyanarayana book house Sri rama binding works Hasti stationery Bharathi book centre L.P book house Office mart stationers Bhavani stationery Apsara enterprises Vushal book stationery Divya stationers Delhi stationery Ramdev stationery Saraswati stationery mart Prakash book centre Jovita stationers toys & gifts

Leading Brand: Cello followed by montex and Reynolds.Total sale value of pens: 2,44,000/- rupees.

Top variants: Cello pinpoint, Cello technotip, montex megatop, Reynolds jetter, Reynolds trimax.Factors affecting: Same factors as before.


Week 7: 12 Wholesale outlets Raja stationery Mahadev stationery Rahul stationers Talapat stationery Rajkamal enterprises Rajkamal stationery Prakash stationery Ratan stationery Narender stationery Manish enterprises N. Priya stationery Bhagwan stationery

Total sale value of pens: 32, 50,000/- rupeesBrands with more flow: Cello, Reynolds, Montex, Flair, Local players

Top variants: Flair velocity, Cello technotip, Cello pinpoint, Montex megatop, Reynolds jetter, Reynolds liquiflo, Reynolds trimax.Factors affecting: Depends on the demand at retail market.

Distribution model: Traditional Producer>>Wholesale>>retailer>>consumer

Week 8: 87 outlets ( DAY 1 20 outlets) Orange book depot & bakery Office world Jyoti & co Shiva book stationery Akash stationery Sri balaji enterprises Balaji enterprises Renuka offset printers Sri balaji enterprises Excel stationeries Ltd Sri timumala corporation Smart choice Sai balaji books & stationery Manga stores Saptagiri enterprises Bhagawati stationery Madina book centre stationery Alfalaah general store Orion office supplies ABS pre ink stampsLeading Brand: Cello followed by Reynolds and flairTotal sale value of pens: 1, 30,000/- rupees.

Top variants: Cello pinpoint, Cello technotip, Reynolds jetter, Reynolds trimax, Flair writometer, Flair velocity etcFactors affecting: Same factors as before.


Week 8: DAY 2 : 35 outlets Madhu stationers Gupta trading co Ramesh marketing Sunil paper mart Sri ayyappa stationery Sharma associates Ajay n Ajays Rajendra paper & stationery Sai leela book point R R services Bhoomika stationery Sheil enterprises Saptagiri enterprises Sri padmavathi stationery & gifts Anand agencies Chirag communication Aditya enterprises S S arts & stationery R K & sons book depo Sai Krishna graphics Bhagavathi stationery Amar sariya and sons Sri tirumal computers and stationery Royal stationery & Xerox Prem stationery and sports Padmas passion street Caribou stationery Bhagwan agencies Sri vigneshwara stationers Sripal balaji packaging Sri venkateshwara enterprises Sri gayathri book cntre Gazala shopping centre Chanchal stationery & communication Sanjay enterprises

Leading Brand: Cello followed by Reynolds and LincTotal sale value of pens: 2,67 ,000/- rupees.

Top variants: Cello pinpoint, Cello technotip, Reynolds jetter, Reynolds trimax, Linc uniball, Linc ocean gel..etc.Factors affecting: Same factors as before.


Week 8: DAY 3: 32outlets Wisdom suppliers Sri sai enterprises Geetha enterprises V K traders Scholar stationery AK stationery Swastik stationery AL kareem stationers Sri sai krupa enterprises Madina stationery Student needs stationery A K stationery communications Kunal book point Delight stationery & book depot Sai pavan enterprises Evergreen stationery Hussaini and sonstoys stationery Padmapriya stationery Reliance stationery & book seller Printers plaza Royal stationery mart MM book point Rathod computer stationery Shiva sai stationery Sri bajrang enterprises Premier board pads Teja enterprises Venkata sai stationery Pravallika printers Unique stores stationery Swamy sons Ramdev book and stationery

Leading Brand: Cello followed by Reynolds and montexTotal sale value of pens: 2,49 ,000/- rupees.

Top variants: Cello pinpoint, Cello technotip, Reynolds jetter, Reynolds trimax, montex megatop, Montex young, Montex galaxy. Etc.Factors affecting: Same factors as before.


ANALYSIS

COMPETITION LANDSCAPE:Top competitors: Cello, Reynolds, Flair, Linc etc...Top variants (Cello): Cello technotip, Cello pinpoint, cello pinpoint xs, Cello butterflow, Cello faster, Cello papersoft.

Top Variants (Reynolds):Reynolds fusion, Reynolds 045, Reynolds liquiflo, Reynolds racer gel, Reynolds jetter, Reynolds trimax.Top variants (Flair):Flair writometer, Flair sunny, Flair magic, flair elite, Flair swift.

Top variants (Linc):Linc smart gel, Linc smart plus, Linc miler, Linc soffy, Linc siren.

Top variants (Add):Add gel cat, Add gel achiever, Add rex, Add gel pro tech.DETAILS ON TOP COMPETITION: Brands with more flow will be more visible. Most profit making brands and the pens with attractive packing will be more visible.

Availability: (Cello)

Products with more flow are more available. The reason is to prevent themselves from stock out issues. Ordered in huge quantities at a time.

DETAILS ON INDUSTRY: (Cello) More satisfied customers Correct pricing since Indian market is a price Sensitive market. Good brand recall due to the way they perceive cello brand.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE PURCHASE OF THE PRODUCT: (Cello)1. Easy availability2. Impact proof tip3. Smooth writing4. Firm grip for stress free writing5. Smudge free writing with water proof ink

VISIBILITY: Visibility makes an impact in the form of attractive packaging. From the observation, most visible products are the products with huge flow in the market. This is the situation where paid visibility arises because the brand which are trying to compete against the leader will try to make their products more visible.

Based on the observation, ITC pens have a lot of potential in the current market. In terms of package design. This will help in attracting a lot of new customers since packaging is strength in our current situation. With the help of some product innovation and improved market strategies ITC brand will gain the market share.

SWOT analysis of cello brand: Strengths: i. Strong customer trustii. Easily available in any storeiii. Cost efficient pens mostly

Weaknesses: None (Based on the observations in Hyderabad market)

Opportunities:To increase the range of products from a cost efficient category to a premium category for a larger share in the market.

Threats: Competition from brands such as Reynolds, montex, Flair because even they are equally trusted in the market like cello.

SWOT analysis of Reynolds brand:Strengths: i. Second biggest in the market in terms of sales volume.ii. Easily available like celloiii. Wide variety of pensWeaknesses:Unable to make the customers perceive that Reynolds is a good brand when compared to cello (In their own terms).

Opportunities:To increase the market share as well as their sales volume at the outlets by implementing new strategies. (Decrease in price for a small period of time, complementary goods etc.)

Threats: Heavy competition from cello because the customers and the sellers are used to cello and since its a bit difficult to change the perception about cello and Reynolds.

SWOT analysis of ITC brand:Strengths:Appealing packaging of their products and this helps in changing the purchase decisions some times. In case of new customers who look for new products.Weaknesses: i. No customer loyaltyii. Very thin market shareiii. Availability is another problem because not every pen required will be available at the outlets.(Because of less demand)

Opportunities:i. To make the products more visible than actual. ii. Develop the smooth flow of ink like any other pens.iii. Use mass marketing with appealing ads to boost up the sales.Threats:Every opportunity for the other competing brands is a threat to this brand.At first: Not just dealing with all the segments of the market. There are a large variety of pens that were manufactures by ITC. So, better concentrate on a certain segment first and then increasing their market would be a best idea to compete against Cello or Reynolds in Hyderabad.

Considering 200 as the total number of pens sold and the number of pens sold in each brand is shown below. (Approx. figures)

5. Findings:

I found that the pens produced by ITC Ltd. Will have a huge advantage over others in terms of attractive packing. In terms of more number of pens sold: Cello leads the market. Reasons for this lead: More availability, Affordable pens, Smooth flow of ink etc. In the wholesale market when the shops were surveyed, Flair and Reynolds pens seemed to have a more flow compared to classmate and cello. Theres no Paid visibility in any of the stores where the survey was conducted. But there definitely is an affect about visibility that is shown in the form of Very good packing, Displaying the products in a way that theyll be very visible.

6. Recommendations:

Since Classmate pens has an advantage in terms of appeal and everything, they should try on improving on strategies and they should try and remove the perception in the minds of their customers about this brand in the field of stationery products.

I recommend to look after the availability of classmate pens in every retail store since, I found the availability the major problem in many stores.

Based on the observation, ITC pens have a lot of potential in the current market. (In terms of package design.)

This will help in attracting a lot of new customers since packaging is strength in our current situation.

With the help of some product innovation and improved market strategies ITC brand will gain the market share.

7. Conclusion: Summary of the presentation:

Cello is a market definitely with more number of pens sold.

Reynolds comes behind cello as the customer lacks perception in case of Reynolds.

ITC pens have attractive packaging compared to all others and have a lot of potential to attract new customers.

There is an affect due to visibility due to many reasons. More flowing pens. Attractive packing. Most perceived products.

7.1 Learning outcome:

I, as a student i had learnt how to manage time given to me to conduct a survey i.e., 8 weeks and the sample size I was asked to cover is approximately 1% of the total outlets served by ITC Ltd, Hyderabad i.e., 200 outlets out of the total 2000 stores in Hyderabad.

I came to know how the retail market runs in case of stationery industry and the way they predict demand for the products based on their previous sales. Sometimes, predictions will be based on the seasons. If theres an off season the sales will be less and at times the flow of pens is more i.e. at the time of exams and interviews.

7.2 Annexure:Questionnaire prepared for the survey: Since Im dealing with local stores in Hyderabad, Telugu language should mostly be preferred for questioning anyone from the city.Language plays a major role while conducting a survey.

1) Easy step: You deal with pens..?

2) Easy step 2: How many colors/color variants do you deal with..?

3) Step 3: Which is the most sold brand in terms of sales volume and profit making?

4) Who prefers these pens: Students OR Working professionals OR Normal users (Rare use)?

5) Estimated sales figures and schemes that brand is offering (Elaborated properly).

6) What are the Rival brands for this brand..?

7) Why is this brand a leader? What is so special about it and what is lagging in others..? (Keeping in mind that we're questioning just about that particular store).

8) What kind of distribution channel does this brand use? Traditional or One level channel..?

9) Looking at the display of Products, Question if there's Paid visibility taking place and ask if this affects the sales of that particular brand. 7.3 References:

http://www.itcportal.com/businesses/fmcg/education-and-stationery-products/classmate.aspx

Dessenceconsulting.com

http://www.itcportal.com/about-itc/profile/index.aspx

www.wikipedia.org

http://classmatestationery.com/products/?category=pens&gclid=Cj0KEQjwifWnBRCB5PT57KSVw-kBEiQASV7aRLazC09xE4Gmj4u4kFbBYSIpIdgHQalQRfnA3j-ud6UaAtu08P8HAQ

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A Study on Paid Visibility and Trade Input on Pens Category in Hyderabad