Charles Project

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

The rural market offers a big attraction to marketers. Distribution is one of the most

important variables in the marketing plans of most consumer goods manufactures. It is estimated

that there are over a million market intermediaries’ distributors, super-stockists, wholesalers,

transporters and retailers –who are involved in the distribution of a variety of consumer goods all

over the country. Marketers use this network to access nearly 5100 cities and towns and over half

a million villages. The present study aims to assess the level of satisfaction of consumers with

regard to the Fast moving consumer goods distribution system in the rural markets.

RURAL FMCG DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

Distribution channels play a pivotal role in marketing by performing a number of vital

distribution functions. Firms rely mostly on their marketing channels to generate customer

satisfaction, and to achieve differentiation over competition. The major area of concern for

companies is to make their products available in the remotest corners of the 6 lakh villages in the

country. This goal is not easy to achieve, and the major companies are incurring huge costs to

make their products to available in the 3.5 million rural outlets. The average monthly ale per

village shop is less than Rs 5,000/-, which restricts the variety and range of products stocked.

Since a significant portion of the sale is on credit, it puts most village shops in a self-limiting

sales cycle. The study done by Kashyap confirms the fact that despite the same products being

available in the village shop, 58 per cent of the villagers prefer to buy these from a Hat because

of better price, quality and variety. In a study conducted by Industrial Credit and Investment

Corporation of India , it was found that only 40 per cent of the shops in small towns have

electricity, while in feeder villages, this figure was 11 per cent. Shops in towns were located on

rented premises, while in interior villages in 88% of cases; the shops were located on owned

premises and lacked electricity. Over two-fifths of the retail outlets stocked 8-9 standard product

categories. It was found that three-fourths of the outlets that stocked 8-9 product categories kept

four items or less in each category, while one-fourth had 5-6 items in each category. The total

1

number of items stocked in retail outlets was about 50 in interior villages and 115 in feeder

villages.

RURAL CONSMER BEHAVIOUR

In the past, rural consumers purchased most of their requirements from nearby towns.

However, in recent times, a shift has been seen towards purchasing locally. This change in

consumer purchase behavior has important implications for the rural marketer. There is a need to

access retailers in towns and larger villages and promote products there, so that the products that

are purchased locally can reach smaller retail outlets in villages. Studies suggested that

promotion by the retailer supplement that effort at creating brand knowledge in rural markets. A

promotion announcing the benefits of a products or brand along with distribution efforts is

observed in rural markets in the category. Customer satisfaction is essentially the culmination of

a series of customer experiences or, the net result of the good ones minus the bad ones. It occurs

when the gap between customers’ expectations and their subsequent experience has been closed.

NEED FOR THE STUDY

Rural consumers are moving away from unbranded products to branded ones. Therefore

marketers have to promote their brands and also ensure that their brands live up to consumers

expectations. Dealers in the district towns and villages retailers play a vital role in the

movements of products to remote are therefore manufactures have to keep constant touch with

them

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The Indian rural market with its vast size and demand base offers great opportunities to

marketers. Two-thirds of countries consumers live in rural areas and almost half of the national

income is generated here. It is only natural that rural markets form an important part of the total

market of India. Our nation is classified in around 450 districts, and approximately 630000

villages which can be sorted in different parameters such as literacy levels, accessibility, income

levels, penetration, distances from nearest towns, etc.

2

The success of a brand in the Indian rural market is as unpredictable as rain. It has always been

difficult to gauge the rural market. Many brands, which should have been successful, have failed

miserably. More often than not, people attribute rural market success to luck. Therefore,

marketers need to understand the social dynamics and attitude variations within each village

though nationally it follows a consistent pattern.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES

To study the important of rural distribution effectiveness of Fast moving consumer goods

of HUL company

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

Study of distribution channel of “Hindustan Unilever Limited” in rural market

Market survey of different retailers who provided the “Hindustan Unilever Limited”

products to the end consumers in rural market

To assess the level of satisfaction of rural retailers with regard to fast moving consumers

goods distribution system

To identify the major distribution problems associated with Hindustan Unilever Limited

To find out the ways of improving the effectiveness of distribution channel

To suggest the best possible distribution channel

3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH DESIGN

“Research design is the arrangement of conditions for collection and analysis of data in a

manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose with economy in procedure”.

In this research project researcher can take Descriptive Research for collection and analysis of

Data.

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH

Descriptive research includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds. The major

purpose of descriptive research is description of the state of affairs as it exists at present. The

main characteristics of this method are that the researcher has no control over the variables; he

can only report what has happened or what is happening.

TARGET POPULATION

Target population for this study is selected rural areas of Tiruvannamalai District .The target

areas for this study includes various selected villages retail outlet of Tiruvannamalai District.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUES

Convenience sampling has been considered for drawing the sample size

CONVENIENCE SAMPLING

Convenience sampling is typically only justified if the researcher wants to study the

characteristics of people passing by the street corner at a certain point in time, for example. It can

also be used if other sampling methods are not possible. The researcher must also take caution to

not use results from a convenience sample to generalize to a wider population.

SAMPLE SIZE

The questionnaire was administered 100 respondents out of which 100 valid questionnaire were

considered as sample size for study purpose.

4

METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

Primary method of data collection with the help of structured close ended and open ended

questionnaire have used for this study.

PRIMARY DATA

The data, which is being collected for the first time and it, is the original data.

5

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Pravin Kumar Bhoyar and Asha Nagendra(2012) say that rural consumers were

highly satisfied with the availability of food items and were satisfied with toiletries and

cosmetics though the specific products/brand were not available under all categories, which just

solved their purpose without specific brand and they were least bothered about good/bad

availability products. These observations are in agreement with those of saran pant, who studied

that there are two distinct segment consumers in rural markets. One set of rural consumers who

cannot read, write and understand with ease. They have their own method of identification of

products and communication with retailers for instance ask erra sabbu (lifebuoy)

Anjan Chakravarty(2011) say that the rural market is seeing a new transition with the

development of agriculture, which is the principal occupation for the rural masses the

government’s support has led to the adoption of modern agriculture technology as a result, the

purchasing capacity of the rural people is increasing with exposure to education and various

media, rural people are changing their consumption pattern. This article presents the findings of

an empirical study regarding the consumption pattern of rural people

Bakkappa and Deepali Walavalkar(2010) say that the product width in the case of fast

moving consumer goods companies products is adequately fast moving consumer goods

companies products is adequately vast, and facilitates easy application of the joint concept brand

proliferation is high in their sector, and product differentiation is not easy. Price therefore,

becomes an important determinant of final choice from among the brands in the consideration

which are below often to influence consumer buying behavior. Where product differentiation is

resorted to, the difference is often set well above the contest

Shukla Priteskumar (2012) say that over the past few years rural India has witnessed an

increase in the buying power of consumers accompanies by their desire to upgrade their standard

of living rural India with its traditional perception has grown over the years not only in terms of

income, but also in terms of thinking sector is the fourth largest sector in the economy. This

sector touches every aspect of human life. The fast moving consumer goods company’s products

6

now realize that there is a lot of opportunities for them of enter into the rural market. It has a

strong multinational company’s presence and is characterized by a well-established distribution

network, intense competition between the organized and unorganized segments and low

operational cost. At present, urban India accounts for more than 66% of total fast moving

consumer goods companies consumption with rural India accounting for the remaining 34%

however rural India accounts for more than 40% consumption in major fast moving consumer

goods companies categories such as personal care, fabric care etc.

Selva Kumar, et al (2013) say that rural India accounts for more than two million

consumers or 70% of the Indian population and 50% of the total FMCG market. The working

rural population is approximately 400 million. Average citizen in rural India has less than half

the purchasing power of their urban counter parts. Still this market has immense potential

enticing fast moving consumer goods companies to take different steps to capture it. Hindustan

Unilever Limited is the largest player in the industry and has the widest market coverage;

television reaches 65% of the urban consumers but only 35% of rural consumers. Alternatives

like wall painting and special packaging become an expensive.

Kumar Pardeep (2013) say that rural marketing in India is still at infancy stages and

faces the various types of problems with respect to marketing, product designing and positioning,

pricing, distribution and promotion. Today’s corporation most understands the rural market on

different context to widen their business horizon. To expand their market and to exploiting the

opportunism available in the rural areas. The marketer must understand the growing complexities

of the rural market and makes strategy for the proper mixing of marketing mix. Hence it is

proposed that this study assess the various dimension of Indian rural markets. The main aim of

this study is to observe the potential of Indian rural markets and find out various problems being

faced by rural markets.

Sankar,Dev Narayan and Pareek(2013) say that almost all large consumers goods

companies operating in Bhutan actually operate through their Indian offices since India has a free

trade agreement with Bhutan has a unique rural market structure and the 4ps( product,place,price

and promotion) and 4As (Awareness,Availability,Affordability and Acceptability) of rural

marketing are also governed by unique regulations formulated by the government of Bhutan.

Bhutan is 69.1% rural and rural marketing becomes the most important subject for marketing in

7

Bhutan. In fact if Indian census benchmarks were applied to the Bhutan demographics, the

percentage of rural population would be beyond 90%.

Chattopadhyay,Subho Sarkar and Ak (2011) say that the rural market having

suffered due to the lack of sufficient exposure to the developmental process, remain at the lower

rung in the process of development as compared to its urban counterpart. However, a substantial

proportion of the global population resides lacking sophistication conceals in itself a tremendous

potential for growth. A prober blend of appropriate technology and pragmatic innovation in

business and marketing strategy may make this paper explores the different dimensions of

innovation of or penetration into the rural market and tries to identify a pattern of innovation that

would both enhance the futures.

Hagargi (June 2011) in this study, researcher finds that there is tremendous opportunity

for any company in rural India. But with this companies are facing many challenges in tackling

the rural markets, like to understand the requirement of rural consumers, proper distribution

channels, and effective marketing strategy to give their message across the rural consumers. By

applying some new innovative techniques for the above problem they can make good and can

have greater market share

8

PROFILE OF THE COMPANY

Introduction to Hindustan Unilever Limited

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company

with a heritage of over 80 years in India and touches the lives of two out of three Indians.

HUL works to create a better future every day and helps people feel good, look good and get

more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others.

With over 35 brands spanning 20 distinct categories such as soaps, detergents, shampoos, skin

care, toothpastes, deodorants, cosmetics, tea, coffee, packaged foods, ice cream, and water

purifiers, the Company is a part of the everyday life of millions of consumers across India. Its

portfolio includes leading household brands such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel, Fair

& Lovely, Pond’s, Vaseline, Lakmé, Dove, Clinic Plus, Sunsilk, Pepsodent, Closeup, Axe,

Brooke Bond, Bru, Knorr, Kissan, Kwality Wall’s and Pureit.

The Company has over 16,000 employees and has an annual turnover of around Rs.25,206 crores

(financial year 2012 - 2013). HUL is a subsidiary of Unilever, one of the world’s leading

suppliers of fast moving consumer goods with strong local roots in more than 100 countries

across the globe with annual sales of €51 billion in 2012. Unilever has 67.25% shareholding in

HUL.

PROJECT SHAKTI

Hindustan Unilever Limited will increase the number of Shakti entrepreneurs that they recruit,

train and employ from 45,000 in 2010 to 75,000 in 2015.

India has more than 6,30,000 villages, most of these are 'hard to reach' and offer relatively lower

business potential. Hence, reaching them through the conventional distribution system is a

challenge.

At Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), they have always believed in an approach of doing

business which we call “doing well by doing well”. Project Shakti is a rural distribution initiative

9

that targets small villages. The project benefits HUL by enhancing its direct rural reach and also

creates livelihood opportunities for underprivileged rural women.

Shakti is their initiative that combines social responsibility, sustainability, and business strategy.

Shakti model is very strong and sustainable because it is the best way they can give it back to the

society through supporting our cause of ' empowering underprivileged rural women' along with

making business sense.

Shakti started with 17 women in one state. Today, it provides livelihood enhancing opportunities

to 48,000 women in 15 Indian states and provides access to quality products across 100,000+

villages and over 3 million households every month.

CONSUMERS

HUL is committed to providing branded products and services which consistently offer

value in terms of price and quality, and which are safe for their intended use. Products and

services will be accurately and properly labeled, advertised and communicated.

SHAREHOLDERS

HUL will conduct its operations in accordance with internationally accepted principles of

good corporate governance. They will provide timely, regular and reliable information on their

activities, structure, financial situation and performance to all shareholders.

BUSINESS PARTNERS

HUL is committed to establishing mutually beneficial relations with their suppliers,

customers and business partners. In their business dealings they expect their partners to adhere to

business principles consistent with their own.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

HUL strives to be a trusted corporate citizen and, as an integral part of society, to fulfill their

responsibilities to the societies and communities in which they operate.

10

PUBLIC ACTIVITIES

HUL companies are encouraged to promote and defend their legitimate business interests. HUL

will co-operate with governments and other organizations, both directly and through bodies such

as trade associations, in the development of proposed legislation and other regulations which

may affect legitimate business interests.HUL neither supports political parties nor contributes to

the funds of groups whose activities are calculated to promote party interests.

THE ENVIRONMENT

HUL is committed to making continuous improvements in the management of their

environmental impact and to the longer-term goal of developing a sustainable business.

HUL will work in partnership with others to promote environmental care, increase understanding

of environmental issues and disseminate good practice.

INNOVATION

In their scientific innovation to meet consumer needs they will respect the concerns of their

consumers and of society. They will work on the basis of sound science, applying rigorous

standards of product safety.

COMPETITION

HUL believes in vigorous yet fair competition and supports the development of appropriate

competition laws. Their companies and employees will conduct their operations in accordance

with the principles of fair competition and all applicable regulations.

BUSINESS INTEGRITY

HUL does not give or receive, whether directly or indirectly, bribes or other improper advantages

for business or financial gain. No employee may offer, give or receive any gift or payment which

is, or may be construed as being, a bribe. Any demand for, or offer of, a bribe must be rejected

immediately and reported to management.

11

HUL accounting records and supporting documents must accurately describe and reflect the

nature of the underlying transactions. No undisclosed or unrecorded account, fund or asset will

be established or maintained.

QUALITY POLICY:

Hindustan Lever Limited considers quality as one of the principal strategic objectives to

guarantee its growth and leadership in the markets in which it operates.

The company is committed to respond creatively and competitively to the changing needs and

aspirations of their consumers through relentless pursuit of technological excellence, innovation

and quality management across their businesses, and offer superior quality products and services

that are appropriate to the various price points in the market as well as to their commitment to

building shareholder value.

The company recognizes that its employees are the primary their of success in its operations and

is committed to training and providing them the necessary tools and techniques as well as

empowering them to ensure broad base compliance of this policy in the organization at all levels.

The company is committed to fulfill its legal and statutory obligations and international

standards of product safety and hygiene and will not knowingly sell product that is harmful to

consumers or their belongings. It will institute systems and measures to monitor compliance in

Order to meet its responsibilities to consumers. The company will maintain an open

communication channel with its consumers and customers and will carefully monitor the

feedback to continuously improve its products and services and set quality standards to fulfill

them. The company is committed to extend its quality standards to its contract manufacturers,

key suppliers and service providers and by entering into alliances with them, to jointly improve

the quality of its products and services. This policy is applicable to production from its own

facilities as well as to production that is outsourced.

The company will periodically review this quality policy for its effectiveness and consistency

with business objectives the company delegate’s authority and responsibility for dissemination

and implementation of this policy to each Business and Unit Head.

12

1) PRODUCTS OF HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED AVAILABLE IN A RETAIL OUTLET

TABLE.1

Frequency Percent Cumulative Percent

Valid Yes 100 100.0 100.0

FIGURE NO.1

yes No

Series1 100 0

10

30

50

70

90

110

Axis Title

Inference:

Out of the total respondents 100% deal with Hindustan Unilever Products.

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2) FROM WHOM DO YOU PURCHASE HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED PRODUCTS

TABLE.2


Valid

Distributor 67 67.0 67.0

Dealer/agent 7 7.0 74.0

Wholesaler 26 26.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.2

Inference:Out of total respondents 67 respondents purchase from distributors,7 respondents purchase from

dealers, 26 respondents purchase from wholesalers.

14

3) SELECTED HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED PRODUCTS AVAILABLE IN A OUTLE

TABLE.3

FIGURE NO.3

PRODUCTS Hamam Lifebuoy Lux PepsodentFair & lovely Clinic Plus Bru 3 Roses

Surf excel Rin

Available 100 97 87 92 68 96 74 57 67 45Not available 0 3 13 8 32 4 26 43 33 55Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

Hamam

Lifeb

uoyLu

x

Pepso

dent

Fair &

love

ly

Clinic P

lusBru

3 Roses

Surf

excel Rin

0

20

40

60

80

100

120100 97

87 92

68

96

74

5767

45

0 313 8

32

4

26

4333

55

Avilable Not avilable

Inference

Out of total respondents 100 of them have Hamam soap, 97 respondents have Lifebuoy, 87

respondents have Lux, 92 respondents have pepsodent, 68 respondents have Fair & lovely, 96

respondents have Clinic plus, 74 respondents have Bru, 57 respondents have 3 roses, 67

respondents have 45 Rin

15

4) WHO BEARS THE LOSS OF THE DAMAGED GOODS?

TABLE.4


Valid

Retailers 14 14.0 14.0

Distributors 80 80.0 94.0

Sales person 6 6.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.4

Retailers Distributors Sales person0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

14

80

6

Damaged goods

Inference:

Out of the respondents 14 say that the retailers are responsible for damaged goods, 80 say that

the distributors are responsible for damaged goods, 6 say that the sales person are responsible for

damaged goods

16

5) PRODUCTS REPLACEMENT TIME ON AN AVERAGE

TABLE.5


Valid

Within 1-2 days 21 21.0 21.0

Within 3-4 days 56 56.0 77.0

Within 5-6 days 15 15.0 92.0

Within 7-8 days 5 5.0 97.0

Above 8 days 3 3.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.5

Within 1-2 daysWithin 3-4 days

Within 5-6 daysWithin 7-8 days

Above 8 days

21%

56%

15%

5%3%

Replacement timeSeries1

Inference:

Out of the total respondents 21% says replacement time is within 1-2days, 56% says replacement

time is within 3-4days, 15% says replacement time is within 5-6days, 5% says replacement time

is within 7-8days and 3% says replacement time is above 8days.

17

6) HOW MANY TIMES YOU LOSE SALES IN CASE OF NON-AVAILABILITY OF GOODS IN A MONTH

TABLE.6


Valid

0 times 62 62.0 62.0

1-5 times 17 17.0 79.0

6-10 times 8 8.0 87.0

11-15 times 10 10.0 97.0

More than 15 Times 3 3.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.6

Inference:

Out of the total respondents 62 say that they loss sales in case of non availability of goods for 0

times, 17 say that they loss sales in case of non availability of goods for 1-5 times, 8 say that they

loss sales in case of non availability of goods for 6-10 times and 3 say that they loss sales in case

of non availability of goods for more than 15 times.

18

7) THE MARGIN ON THE COST PRICE THAT RETAILERS EARN ON A PRODUCT

TABLE.7


Valid

1-4% 40 40.0 40.0

5-8% 45 45.0 85.0

9-12 11 11.0 96.0

13-15% 4 4.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.7

1-4% 5-8% 9-12% 13-15%0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45% 40%

45%

11%

4%

Series1

Inference:Out of the total respondents 40% say that they earn 1-4% profit margin on a product, 45% say

that they earn 5-8% profit margin on a product, 11% say that they earn 9-12% profit margin on a

product and 4% say that they earn 13-15% profit margin on a product.

19

8) THE SUPPLY SUFFICIENT TO MEET DEMANDS IN PEAK SEASONS

TABLE 8


Valid

Yes 86 86.0 86.0

No 14 14.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.8

Yes86

No14

Supply sufficient to meet demand

InferenceOut of the total respondents 86 respondents say that the company supply sufficient to meet

demand in peak seasons and 14 respondents say that the company does not supply sufficient to

meet demand in peak seasons.

9) WHAT DOES THE COMPANY DO IN THE PEAK SEASONS

20

TABLE.9


Valid

Increase in stocks 37 37.0 37.0

More frequent supply 7 7.0 44.0

Frequent replacement 8 8.0 52.0

More discount 48 48.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.9

Inference:Out of the total respondents37 say that the company increases stock in peak season, 7 say that the

company more frequently supply stock in peak season, 8 say that the company frequently replace

stock in peak season, 48 say that the company allows more discount in peak season.

10) MODE OF PAYMENT THAT A RETAILER FOLLOWS

21

TABLE.10


Valid

Cash 9 9.0 9.0

Credit 78 78.0 87.0

Cheque 13 13.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.10

Cash Credit Cheque

Series1 9 78 13

5

15

25

35

45

55

65

75

85

Mode of payment

Axis Title

Inference:Out of the total respondents 9 say they pay through cash, 78 say they pay through credit,13 say

they pay through cheque.

11) THE COMPANY PROVIDING ANY DISCOUNT ON CASH PAYMENT

22

TABLE.11


Valid

Yes 46 46.0 46.0

No 54 54.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.11

Inference:Out of the total respondents 46 say that the company provides discount on cash payment and54

say that the company does not provide discount on cash payment.

12) CREDIT PERIOD ALLOWED BY HINDUSTAN UNILIVER LIMITED

23

TABLE.12


Valid

0 days 17 17.0 17.0

1-4 days 22 22.0 39.0

5-6 days 28 28.0 67.0

7-8 days 15 15.0 82.0

More than 8 days 18 18.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.12

Inference:Out of the total respondents 17% says that credit period is allowed for 0 days, 22% says that

credit period is allowed for 1-4 days, 28% says that credit period is allowed for 5-6days, 15%

says that credit period is allowed for 7-8 days and18% says that credit period is allowed for more

than 8 days

13) CREDIT FOLLOWED BY HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED

24

TABLE.13


Valid

Highly Satisfied 24 24.0 24.0

Satisfied 19 19.0 43.0

Neutral 19 19.0 62.0

Dissatisfied 25 25.0 87.0

Highly Dissatisfied 13 13.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.13

Highly Satis-fied

Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly Dis-satisfied

Series1 24 19 19 25 13

2.5

7.5

12.5

17.5

22.5

27.5

Credit period rating

Axis Title

Inference:

24 are highly satisfied, 19 are satisfied, 19 are neutral, 25 are dissatisfied and 13 are dissatisfied

with the credit followed by the company.

14) EXTRA BENEFIT FOR THE INCREMENT OF THE SALES GIVEN BY HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED

25

TABLE.14


Valid

Windows Display 21 21.0 21.0

Shop Signage 5 5.0 26.0

Gift Voucher 70 70.0 96.0

None of the above

4 4.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.14

Inference:Out of the respondents 21 say that they receive extra benefits through windows display, 5 say

that they receive extra benefits through shop signage, 70 say that they receive extra benefits

through gift voucher, 4 say that they don’t receive extra benefits.

15) THE AGENT REGULARLY AWARE RETAILERS ABOUT THE NEW HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LIMITED PRODUCTS

TABLE.15

26


Valid

Yes 80 80.0 80.0

No 20 20.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.15

Inference:Out of the total respondents 80 say that the agents aware the retailers of the new products

launched by the company and 20 say that the agents don’t aware the retailers of the new products

launched by the company.

16) RESPONSE OF EMERGENCY ORDERS

TABLE.16

27


Valid



Neutral 17 17.0 47.0


Highly Dissatisfied 22 22.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.16

Highly Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly Dissatis-fied

Series1 18 12 17 31 22

2.5

7.5

12.5

17.5

22.5

27.5

32.5

Emergency orders

Axis Title

Inference:


with the response of emergency by the company.

17) DISTRIBUTOR RELATIONSHIP

TABLE.17

28


Valid



Neutral 17 17.0 84.0


Highly Dissatisfied

5 5.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.17

Inference:


with the distributor relationship with the retailers.

18) SERVICE FREQUENCY

TABLE.18

29


Valid



Neutral 16 16.0 84.0


Highly Dissatisfied

6 6.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.18

Highly Satis-fied

Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Highly Dissat-isfied

Series1 38 30 16 10 6

2.57.5

12.517.522.527.532.537.5

Service frequency

Axis Title

Inference:


with the service frequency of the company.

19) SALESMAN’S APPROACH

TABLE.19

30


Valid



Neutral 8 8.0 95.0


Highly Dissatisfied

2 2.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.19

Inference:67 are highly satisfied, 20 are satisfied, 8 are neutral, 3 are dissatisfied and 2 are dissatisfied with

the salesman approach of the company.

20) COMPANY PERSON’S VISIT

TABLE.20

31


Valid



Neutral 9 9.0 77.0


Highly Dissatisfied

10 10.0 100.0

Total 100 100.0

FIGURE NO.20

Highly Satisfied46%

Satisfied22%

Neutral9%

Dissatisfied13%

Highly Dissatisfied10%

Company person's visit

Inference:

46% are highly satisfied, 22% are satisfied, 9% are neutral, 13% are dissatisfied and 10% are

dissatisfied with the credit followed by the company.

CHAPTER V

FINDINGS & SUGGESTIONS

32

FINDINGS

100% of the retailers deal with Hindustan Unilever Products.

67 of the respondents purchase goods from the distributors

80% of the respondents say that the distributors are responsible for the damaged goods

during delivery.

56 respondents say that the replacement time is within 3-4 days only 3 respondents say

that the replacement time is above 8 days.

62 respondents say that they don’t lose sales in case of non availability of goods in a

month only 3 say that they lose sales in case of non availability of goods in a month.

Only 4% say that they get the profit margin of 13-15% on a product the remaining

receive less than 12%.

86 respondents say that the company supplies sufficient to meet demand at peak seasons.

48 respondents say that the company gives more discount at the time of peak season to

increase the sales

78 respondents say that the company allows credit for payment of bills.

54 respondents say that the company does not provide much discount on cash payment.

Most of the respondents are dissatisfied with the credit period followed by Hindustan

Unilever Limited

Most of the respondents say that they receive gift vouchers as extra benefits for the

increment of the sales given by the company.

80% say that the agents give awareness of the new products introduced by the company.

Most of the respondents are dissatisfied with the response to emergency orders by the

company.

44% are highly satisfied with the distributor relationship of the company.

38% are highly satisfied with the service frequency of the company.

67%are highly satisfied with the salesman approach of the company.

46% are highly satisfied with the companies person visit per retail outlet only 10% are

highly dissatisfied.

SUGGESTIONS

33

The company should allow more credit period to the retailer to satisfy the retailers as in

rural areas the retailers might not be able to pay the amount in huge volume.

The company should give more shop signage’s to in order to increase the sales of a

product rather than giving gift vouchers to the retailers because visibility is more

important in rural areas as the customers may not be aware of the products in a retail

outlet.

The company should try to improve its response towards emergency orders in order to

sustain with its competitors.

Sales agent who is in rural market should be experience person because they are easily

made relationship with her retailers.

Hindustan Unilever Limited can provide a various new schemes to his retailers for

making potential retailers.

CHAPTER VI

CONCLUSION

34

From the details collected Hindustan Unilever Limited is in a satisfactory manner

towards the perception of the rural retailers. Yet the company has to improve in certain areas in

order to sustain in the market with its competitors. My study is visualizing the distribution

channel of the Hindustan Unilever Limited in rural areas and they say that retailers liked.

CHAPTER VII

35

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bhoyar Kumar Pravin and Nagendra Asha (2012) “Effectiveness of Fast Consumers

Goods distribution channel’’,Indian journal of marketing, pp.17-22.

Chakravarty Anjan (2011), “Consumer research’’,marketing mastermind,pp.53-56.

Bakkapa .B and Walavalkar Deepali (2010), “Consumer Behaviour’’,marketing

mastermind, pp.19-21.

Shukla Priteskumar (2013). “Research paper’’,Indian journal of research,vol:II

No.2,pp.49-52.

Selvakumar.M, Maria Jansi and Jegatheesan.K (2013), “Market Survey’’,Facts for

you:pp.10-13

Kumar and Pardeep (2013), “challenges and opportunities of Indian rural

market’’,International journal of marketing studies,pp.161-173

Sankar,Dev Narayan,Pareek and Gagan (2013), “IUP journal of management

research’’pp.7-28

Chattopadhyay,Subho and Sarkar(2011), “IUP journal of business

strategy’’Vol:III,PP.42-52

Internet reference:

www.hul.com

APPENDIX

36

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR HINDUSTAN UNILIVER LIMITED RETAILERS

A STUDY ON DISTRIBUTION EFFECTIVENESS OF HUL PRODUCTS IN RURAL MARKETS WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO THIRUVANNAMALAI DISTRICT.

Demographics

Retailer Name

Outlet Name

Outlet type

Location

1. A) Do you keep products of Hindustan Unilever Limited in your outlet/shop?

a) Yes b) No

1. B) State the reason for not stocking Hindustan Unilever Limited products in your shop?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2) From whom do you purchase your product?

a). Distributor b) Dealer/Agent c) Wholesaler

3) Which Hindustan Unilever Limited product you have in the outlet?

a)Hamam b)Lifebuoy c)Lux d)Pepsodent e)Clinic plus f)Bru g)3roses h)Surf excel i)Rin

4).Who bears the loss of the damaged goods?

a) Retailers b) Distributors c) Sales person

5) What is the replacement time on an average?

37

a) Within 1-2 days b) Within 3-4 c) 5-6 days d)within 7-8 days e) Above 8 days

6) How many times you lose sales in case of non-availability in a month?

a) 0 times b) 1-5 times c) 6-10 times d) 11-15 times e) more than 15 times

7) What is the margin on the cost price that you earn on a product?

a) 1-4% b) 5-8% c) 9-12% d) 13-15% e) more than 15%

8) Is the supply sufficient to meet demands in peak season?

a) Yes b) No

9). what does the company do in the peak seasons?

a) Increase in stocks b) More frequent supply c) Frequent replacement

d) More discount e) None of the above

10) Which mode of payment do you follow?

a) Cash b) Credit c) Cheque

11) Is the company providing you any discount on cash payment?

a) Yes b) No

12) What is the Credit period allowed by the company?

a) 0 days b) 1-4 days c) 5-6 days d) 7-8 days e) more than 8 days

13) Rate the credit followed by Hindustan Unilever Limited

a) Highly Satisfied b) Satisfied c) Neutral d) Dissatisfied e) Highly Dissatisfied

14) Do you get any extra benefit for the increment of the sales given by the company?

a) Windows Display b) Shop signage c) Gift voucher d) Dealer discount e) None of the above

15) Do the agent regularly aware you about the new Hindustan Unilever Limited products?

a) Yes b) No

Rate the following on the basis of the give certain factors

38

Q.NO PARTICULARSHighly Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied

Highly Dissatisfied

16 Response for Emergency Order

17 Distributor Relationship

18 Service Frequency

19 Salesman’s approach

20 Company Person’s visit

39

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