Dabur Presentation

1

PROJECT REPORT ON

THE GAP ANALYSIS IN SALES AND DISTRIBUTION OF

FEM PRODUCTS RELATING TO MODERN TRADE

SUBMITTED TO

Dabur India Limited

Kaushambi, Ghaziabad – 201010

Uttar Pradesh, India

&

BIRLA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGY

GREATER NOIDA

BY

JITESH KHANNA

09DM049

2010

2

Declaration

I Jitesh Khanna, student of Birla Institute of Management Technology, Greater Noida hereby

declare that project entitled “The gap analysis in sales and distribution of FEM products

relating to Modern Trade” is original work done by me under the guidance of Mr Ankur Jain

Area Head Modern Trade (North Zone II) Dabur India Ltd. and Prof. Masilamani, Faculty,

BIMTECH. The information provided in the study is authentic to the best of my knowledge.

All care has been taken to make this report error free and I sincerely regret for any

unintended discrepancies that might have crept into this report. I shall be highly obliged if

errors (if any) be brought to my attention.

Thank You

Jitesh Khanna

PGDM – 09DM049

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

3

Acknowledgment

In Indian culture, a task is said to be incomplete without the blessings of almighty and

elders. Also acknowledging the work and help of all those who have guided me for the

completion of my research on time.

I am deeply indebted to Mr Ankur Jain Area Head Modern Trade (North Zone II) Dabur India

Ltd. and my faculty mentor Prof. R J Masilamani for not only providing me with the

opportunity for this study, but also enthusing me to work on this very meaningful subject. I

am also grateful for the cooperation and valuable support given to me by the employees of

the organization throughout my training.

Their constant encouragement was a source of strength for me in pursuing this work.

I express my deep sense of gratitude and reverence for my parents and my dear friends for

their endless love, guidance, moral support, encouragement and untiring cooperation

throughout my study and work, without which this work would never have been completed.

I express my sincere thanks to all those who helped me in my training. Still, I feel I have not

been able to express my gratitude to all of them, as no words can thank them for their

teachings and love shown towards me.

Regards

Jitesh Khanna

PGDM – 09DM049

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

4

Summer Project Certificate

This is to certify that Mr Jitesh Khanna Roll No. 049 a student of PGDM has worked on a

summer project titled “The gap analysis in sales and distribution of FEM products relating

to Modern Trade” at Dabur India Limited after Trimester-III in partial fulfilment of the

requirement for the Post Graduate Diploma in Management programme. This is his/her

original work to the best of my knowledge.

Date: ___________ Signature ________________

(_________________________)

Name of Industry Mentor

Company Seal

5

Summer Project Certificate

This is to certify that Mr Jitesh Khanna Roll No. 049 a student of PGDM has worked on a

summer project titled “The gap analysis in sales and distribution of FEM products relating

to Modern Trade” at Dabur India Limited after Trimester-III in partial fulfilment of the

requirement for the Post Graduate Diploma in Management programme. This is his/her

original work to the best of my knowledge.

Date:___________ Signature ________________

(_________________________)

Name of Faculty Mentor

BIMTECH SEAL

6

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 8

Overview of FMCG Sector in India 10

Introduction 13

Company Profile 14

Introduction to Dabur 15

Dabur Over Years 18

Corporate Philosophy 22

Location of Operations 23

Company Business Activities 25

Dabur Manufacturing facilities in India 26

Dabur worldwide 27

About FEM 28

About the Project 30

FEM Product Portfolio 34

Competitors of FEM 43

Organization Structure 49

Project Analysis 52

First Part

Distribution network of Dabur 54

Distribution process of Dabur in Modern Trade 57

Data Presentation 60

Gaps 71

Second Part

Sale Promotion 74

Sale Promotion done by competition 77

Data Presentation 78

Findings 101

Recommendation

Part 1 105

Part 2 107

7

Conclusion 109

References 110

Bibliography 111

Annexures

Annexure 1 113

Annexure 2 114

Annexure 3 115

Annexure 5 116

Annexure 5 117

Annexure 6 118

Annexure 7 119

Annexure 8 120

Annexure 9 121

Annexure 10 122

Annexure 11 123

8

Executive Summary

Dabur India is one of the leading FMCG Companies in India. The project I undertook is‘Gap

analysis of FEM products in sales & distribution across all national & regional chain modern

trade stores in Delhi, NCR (includes Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida & Ghaziabad).The study

objectives were:

Identify gaps in distribution, assortment, MBQ levels of FEM products in

these stores within the following categories a) Bleach b) Hair Removal

Cream c) Liquid Soaps

ii) Study promotion/activation mix for these categories done by

competition’ was undertaken was undertaken for duration of two months

as a part of the learning process during the summer training at Dabur

India Ltd.

The main objective of this project is to identify the loopholes that exist in the current

distribution, MBQ levels and assortment of FEM products and the various methods of sale

promotion that can result in incremental sales of FEM products in modern trade.

To study the first part, various modern trade outlets and their central distribution centers

were visited. interviews were conducted with them to know what kind of challenges are

faced by them as regards to FEM. Some of the loopholes that came forward are Fill rate

being less than 65%, retailers only prefer keeping fast moving SKUs thereby neglecting the

other SKUs. Replenishment at times takes more than the stipulated period of delivery. MBQ

levels are constant irrespective of their demand in the market. Footfall of the store is not

considered while deciding the MBQ. Dabur offers very low margins to the retailers.

To solve these problems various suggestions have been mad. For instance to handle low fill

rate, unavailability of one SKU can be substituted by making available more units of another

SKU of the same product. Special schemes should be provided to retailers on sale of slow

moving SKUs. Special norms should be created for timely supply of orders, MBQ level should

be decided as per the footfall in a particular week of a store. Motivation should be given

through various incentive schemes to the distributors, retailers and salesman to keep up the

sale of FEM.

In the second part, a survey was conducted in different modern trade outlets. In total 152

people responded to the survey. Most of them were women in the age group 18-35.

Findings from the survey were that most people think major part of the promotion is done

9

through consumer promotion schemes. People are satisfied with the pricing of FEM, since

FEM promotion is not consistent not many people have bought FEM under promotion. Most

people prefer monetary schemes over non-monetary schemes. People prefer to try a skin

care product before using it.

All the 3 categories of FEM naming Bleach, hair remover and liquid hand wash were put on

the product life cycle stage, and my observations were that while hair remover falls in the

introductory stage, bleach and liquid hand wash comes in the growth stage. Hair Remover

needs more advertising. Personal selling and trial packs should be encouraged. Bleach and

Hand Wash needs advertising, sale promotion and personal selling but above all it is

dependent on word of mouth the biggest promotion tool.

It was an excellent experience while working with Dabur India limited. I learnt about the

environment and culture of the organization, its distribution structure; which I feel will help

me in my future endeavours in life.

10

OVERVIEW OF FMCG SECTOR IN INDIA

11

The Indian FMCG sector is the fourth largest sector in the economy with a total market size

in excess of US$13.1 billion. It has a strong MNC presence and is characterised by a well-

established distribution network, intense competition between the organised and

unorganised segments and low operational cost. Availability of key raw materials, cheaper

labour costs and presence across the entire value chain gives India a competitive advantage.

The FMCG market is set to treble from US$ 11.6 billion in 2003 to US$ 33.4billion in 2015.

Penetration level as well as per capita consumption in most product categories like jams,

toothpaste, skin care, hair wash etc. In India is low indicating the untapped market

potential. Burgeoning Indian population, particularly the middle class and the rural

segments, presents an opportunity to makers of branded products to convert consumers to

branded products. Growth is also likely to come from consumer 'upgrading' in the matured

product categories. With 200 million people expected to shift to processed and packaged

food by2010, India needs around US$ 28 billion of investment in the food-processing

industry.

India is one of the largest emerging markets, with a population of over one billion. India is

one of the largest economies in the world in terms of purchasing power and has a strong

middle class base of 300 million. Around 70 per cent of the total households in India (188

million) reside in the rural areas. The total number of rural households is expected to rise

from 135 million in 2001-02 to 153 million in 2009-10. This presents the largest potential

market in the world. The annual size of the rural FMCG market was estimated at around US$

10.5 billion in 2001-02. With growing incomes at both the rural and the urban level, the

market potential is expected to expand further.

12

Rural-urban profile

Source: Statistical Outline of India (2008-09), NCAER

An average Indian spends around 40 per cent of his income on grocery and 8

per cent on personal care products. The large share of fast moving consumer

goods (FMCG) in total individual spending along with the large population base

is another factor that makes India one of the largest FMCG markets.

Urban Rural

Population 2001-02 (mn household) 53 135

Population 2009-10 (mn household) 69 153

% Distribution (2001-02) 28 72

Market (Towns/ Villages) 3768 627,000

Universe of Outlets (mn) 1 3.3

13

INTRODUCTION

14

Company Profile

Dabur India Limited came into existence over 100 years ago in 1884 in

Calcutta.

The founder of Dabur India Limited-Dr.S.K.Burman (1856-1907) was a

physician who brought Ayurvedic medicines for the masses of Bengal. His off

quoted dictum is the guiding spirit behind Dabur even today:

"What is the life worth which cannot bring comfort to others"

And the Vision of DIL is:

"Dedicated to the health and well-being of every household"

15

Introduction to Dabur

Dabur India Limited came into existence over 100 years ago in 1884 at Calcutta. The

founder, Dr.S.K.Burman, was a practicing allopathic doctor. At that time Malaria, Cholera

and Plague were the common diseases. He was a physician who brought Ayurvedic

medicines to the masses of Bengal. Initially established as a proprietary firm for the

manufacture of chemicals and Ayurvedic drugs it was later on 19th November 1930

incorporated as private limited company. Late Shri C.L.Burman, son of late Dr S.K. Burman

and his son late Shri P.C.Burman in the name of Dr S.K.Burman Pvt. Ltd. to expand the

operations by setting up production facilities at Garia and Narendrapur, West Bengal and

Daburgram, Bihar.

Dabur (Dr.S.K.Burman) Pvt. Ltd. was merged with Vidogum and Chemicals Ltd. w.e.f. 1st

July1985 and the amalgamated company was renamed DABUR INDIA LIMITED and a fresh

certificate of incorporation was issued to that effect. In 1970, the bulk of manufacturing

facilities were shifted from West Bengal to Faridabad in Haryana.

In 1975, vidogum and chemicals were incorporated in technical collaboration with Unipekin

AG (Switzerland) for the manufacture of edible grade and industrial grade Guargum powder

at Alwar in Rajasthan.

In 1977, a modern automated plant was set up in Sahibabad (U.P.) for the manufacture of

Chyawanprash, Asavrishthas, Hair oil, Tooth powders, Hajmola, and other Ayurvedic

specialties. Certification for production of toiletries and food grade products was issued on

13th October 1986 by the registrar of Delhi and Haryana to the company, Dabur Private

Limited, a closely held Public Limited Company.

It was incorporated as a Private Ltd. Company in the name of Dabur (Dr S.K.Burman) Pvt.

Ltd. From a humble beginning in 1884, a manufacture of traditional medicine in Calcutta,

Dabur has come a long way to become a multifaceted multinational, multi-product, modern

Indian corporation with a global presence. It now enjoys the distinction of being the 2nd

largest FMCG Company and is praised to become a true Indian Multinational.

The main plant was set up in Sahibabad (U.P.) in 1977 for manufacturing of Chyawanprash,

hair oil, tooth powder, Hajmola and other Ayurvedic medicines and food products etc.

Dabur's main line of business is in the sphere of Health care, Personal care and Beauty care.

Its strength lies in natural and herbal preparations.

Dabur's corporate philosophy has always been ahead of its time. The founder's initial

success was mainly due to his direct main campaigns- a technique that became very popular

nearly a century later. The company was one of the earlier Indian companies to have fully

equipped R & D lab as early as in 1919. Today, the company has its own mainframes and

computers are a way of life here.

16

Dabur is also an ISO 9002 certified company. The certification was obtained in 1995 by SGS

YARSLEY international services Limited U.K. Dabur's revenue today exceed Rs.800 crores

with plans to achieve Rs.2, 000 crores by year 2003. Dabur has 34,000 shareholders with

market capitalization of over Rs.1, 400 crores.

Dabur has 11 manufacturing plants in India and Nepal and a licensee in the Middle East. It

has manufacturing base in Egypt also. The company has over 4,000 employees with around

1,500 looking after sales and marketing functions.

The Indian market is being served through a transactional network of sales offices and

carrying and forwarding agents. The company has its offices in London, New York and

Moscow. Dabur products are being exported to around 50 countries. Dabur portfolio is

exceeding 500 products of FMCG and health care products.

The Board of Directors of Dabur India Limited (DIL) met on July 23, 2003 to consider the

unaudited financials of the company for the first quarter that ended on June 30, 2003.

Company has recorded a growth of 36 per cent in its net profit per cent growth in its

turnover during April-June 2003.

The turnover of DIL, during the three-month period, has increased to Rs 266 crore to Rs 300

crore while the net profit has increased 11.5 crore to Rs 16 crore during the same period.

The first quarter results should not be annualized as sales usually improve in subsequent

quarters.

17

Dabur Vision “Dedicated to the health and well-being of every household” Dabur is a company with a set of established business values, which direct it's functioning as well as all its operations. The guiding forces for Dabur are the words of its founder, Dr .S. K. Burman, "what is that life worth that cannot give comfort to others." The Company offers its customers, the products to suit their needs and give them good values for money. The company is committed to follow the ethical practices in doing business. At Dabur, nature acts as not only the source of raw materials but also an inspiration and the company is committed to product the ecological balance. The vision is intertwined with below mentioned core values of the company:- Ownership: This is our company. We accept personal responsibility, and accountability to meet business needs. Passion for Winning: We all are leaders in our area of responsibility, with a deep commitment to deliver results. We are determined to be the best at doing what matters most. People Development: People are our most important asset. We add value through result driven training, and we encourage & reward excellence. Consumer Focus: We have superior understanding of consumer needs and develop products to fulfil them better. Team Work: We work together on the principle of mutual trust & transparency in a boundary-less organization. We are intellectually honest in advocating proposals, including recognizing risks. Innovation: Continuous innovation in products & processes is the basis of our success. Integrity: We are committed to the achievement of business success with integrity. We are honest with consumers, with business partners and with each other.

18

Dabur Over The Years

More than a century ago, a young doctor started with a vision to provide innovative and

affordable health care products to Indian masses. Thus, was born an organisation today

known as Dabur India Limited. The twelve hundred crores corporate today started with a

small dispensary at Calcutta, the noble thoughts of Dr.S.K.Burman being the main source of

inspiration behind the project. From that humble beginning, the company has grown into

India’s leading manufacturer of consumer health care, personal care and food products. This

phenomenal progress has seen many milestones, some of which are mentioned below:

1884: Dr.S.K.Burman lays the foundation of what is known as Dabur India Limited.

Started from a small shop at Calcutta, he began a direct mailing system to send his

medicines to even the smallest of villages in Bengal. The brand name Dabur is

derived from the words "DA" for Daktar or doctor and "BUR" from Burman.

1896: As the demand for Dabur products grows, Dr Burman felt the need for mass

production for some of his medicines. He set up a small manufacturing plant at

Garhai near Calcutta.

Early 1900s: The next generation of Burman’s takes a conscious decision to enter the

Ayurvedic medicines market, as they believe that it is only through Ayurveda that the

healthcare needs of poor Indians can be met.

1919: The search for processes to suit mass production of Ayurvedic medicines

without compromising on basic Ayurvedic principles lead to the setting up of the first

Research and Development laboratory at Dabur. This initiates a pain staking study of

Ayurvedic medicines as mentioned in age old scriptures, their manufacturing

processes and how to utilize modern equipment to manufacture these medicines

without reducing the efficacy to manufacture these medicines without reducing the

efficacy of these drugs.

1920s: A-manufacturing facility for Ayurvedic Medicines is set up at Narendrapur and

Daburgram. Dabur expands its distribution network to Bihar and northeast.

19

1936: Dabur India (Dr S.K.Burman) Pvt. Ltd. is incorporated.

1940: Dabur diversifiers into personal care products with the launch of its Dabur

Amla Hair Oil. This perfumed hair oil catches the imagination of the common man

and film stars alike and becomes the largest hair oil brand in India.

1949: Dabur Chyawanprash is launched in a tin pack and becomes the first branded

Chyawanprash of India.

1956: Dabur buys its first computer. Accounts and stock keeping are one of the first

operations to be computerized.

1970: Dabur expands its personal care portfolio by adding oral care products. Dabur

Lal Dant Manjan is launched and captures the Indian rural market.

1972: Dabur shifts base to Delhi from Calcutta. Starts production from a hired

manufacturing facility at Faridabad.

1978: Dabur launches the Hajmola tablets. This is the first time that a classical

Ayurvedic medicine is branded from Shudhabardhak bati to Hajmola tablets.

1979: The Dabur Research Foundation (DRF), an independent company is set up to

spearhead Dabur's multi-faceted research. Commercial production starts at

Sahibabad. This is one of the largest and most modern production facilities for

Ayurvedic medicines in India at this time.

1984: The Dabur brand turns 100 but is still young enough to experiment with new

offerings in the market.

20

1986: Dabur becomes a public Limited company through reverse merger with

Vidogum Limited, and is re-christened Dabur India Limited.

1989: Hajmola Candy is launched and captures the imagination of children and

establishes a large market share.

1992: Dabur enters into a joint venture with Agrolimen of Spain far manufacturing

and marketing confectionery items such as bubble gums in India.

1993: Dabur set up the oncology formulation plant at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh.

1994: Dabur India Limited comes out with its first public issued at a premium of

Rs.85 per share. The issue is subscribed over 21 times.

1994: Dabur enters the oncology (anti-cancer) market with the launch of Intaxel

(Pacitaxel). Dabur becomes only the second company in the world to launch this

product. The Dabur Research Foundation develops the unique eco-friendly process

of extracting the drug from the leaves of the Asian Yew Tree.

1995: Dabur enters into a joint venture with Osem of Israel for food and Bongrain of

France for cheese other dairy products.

1996: Dabur launches Real fruit juices, which heralds the company's entry into the

processed food market.

1997: The foods division is created, compromising of real fruit juices and Homemade

cooking paste to form the core of this division's product portfolio.

1998: Project STARS (Strive to Achieve Record Successes) is initiated by the company

to achieve accelerated growth in the coming years. The scope of this project is

21

strategic, structural and operational changes to enables efficiencies and improves

growth rates.

1998: The Burman family hands over the reins of the company to a professional, Mr

Ninu Khanna join Dabur, as the Chief Executive Officer.

1999-2000: Dabur achieves the Rs.1000 crores turnover mark.

2001-2002: Launched Amla Light, new flavors in Real Juices-grapes, guava, apple

active, orange active, homemade pappad, Vatika- an anti-dandruff shampoo.

2002: New launches homemade coconut milk (in south), Tang, Tomato puree, Vatika

light.

2003: Dabur achieves Rs.1, 232 crores turnover mark with an increase of 6 per cent.

Turnover of FMCG reaches to Rs l048.5crores, which shows a profit of Rs. 72 crores.

Turnover of pharmaceuticals reaches to Rs 184 crores with a profit of Rs.13 crores.

22

Corporate Philosophy

Knowledge is the key to growth in today's world. Whatever be the industry, it is the

knowledge, which provides cutting edge to individual and organisations. For more

than a century nature has been a rich source of knowledge for DABUR. Nature has

not only gives it the ingredients for all its products but also has taught it how to

create a harmony within and outside the organisation. Nature has inspired DABUR in

all its acts. Ayurveda - the science of life is based on principles of nature. All

Ayurvedic preparation has their ingredients derived from nature. Dabur has

converted the healing properties of natural ingredients and the age-old knowledge of

Ayurveda into contemporary health care to eliminate health problems of its

consumers.

Dabur is committed to expand the reach of its age-old knowledge of Ayurveda and

Nature through web. Through web the aim is to overcome the physical boundaries to

take Ayurvedic way of life to global frontiers. Dabur India limited understands its

responsibility as a corporate house. It has not only set a sight on increasing turnover

and profitability of the company but also on propagating Ayurveda - The Indian

System of Medicine.

23

Locations of Operations

Head office: Sahibabad, Ghaziabad (U.P.)

Regd. Office: Asaf Ali Road, New Delhi

Corporate office: Kaushambi, Ghaziabad (U.P.)

Sales & Marketing: New Delhi

OFFICES:

Chandigarh (H.P.), New Delhi (Delhi), Jaipur (Rajasthan), Kanpur (U.P.), Patna (Bihar),

Ahmadabad (Gujarat), Indore (M.P.), Cuttack (Orissa), Mumbai (Maharashtra),

Hyderabad (A.P.), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Bangalore (Karnataka), Kochi (Kerala),

Guwahati (Assam), Kathmandu (Nepal), Russia, U.K.

FACTORY:

Baddi (H.P.), Ghaziabad (U.P.), Alwar (Rajasthan), Daburgram (Bihar), Kalyani&

Narendrapur (West Bengal), Katni (M.P), Birgunj (Nepal), Egypt.

24

Clearing & Forwarding Agent (C&Fa):

Jammu, Chandigarh (HP) Ambala (Punjab), New Delhi (Delhi), Ghaziabad (U.P.),

Dehradun (U.P.), Lucknow (UP), Ranchi, Patna (Bihar), Guwahati (Assam),

Calcutta (West Bengal), Jaipur (Rajasthan), Ahmadabad (Gujarat), Indore (M.P.)

Raipur (M.P.), Bhubaneswar (Orissa), Cuttack (Orissa), Mumbai (Maharashtra),

Hyderabad (A.P.), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Bangalore (Karnataka), Cochin

(Kerala).

25

The Companies Business Activities Comprises of; HEALTH CARE PRODUCTS: Markets a range of OTC health care: products based on Ayurveda, some of its products like Chyawanprash, Hajmola, Hajmola Candy, Pudinhara are market leaders with over 65 per cent market share in their respective categories.

PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS: It includes hair care, oral care and honey. Dabur Amla as a brand has made its mark beyond India; it is a leading hair oil brand in Middle East and Africa. Other well-known brands are Vatika, Dabur Lal Dant Manjan.

AYURVEDIC SPECIALITIES: There is a range of over 400 Ayurvedic medicines. It has vast range of classical Ayurvedic drugs and priority Ayurvedic medicines developed by own R&D.

PHARMACEUTICAL DIVISION: It includes a range of natural ethical products like Livfit, Lionitus, Legal etc., and angel of contract media and gynaecological. This division has a major presence in Anti-thrombolytic, Anti-migraine therapy and radio opaque dyes.

ONCOLOGY: The formidable range includes brands such as Intel, Docetaxel that were manufactured in India for the first time by Dabur. The company is a market leader in this category in India and plans to establish itself as a general Oncology player in selective global market.

BULK DRUGS AND CHEMICALS: Dabur manufactures synthetic and semisynthetic bulk pharmaceutical substances, bulk natural compounds and intermediaries. Isolation of pure natural compounds and custom synthetics are focus areas.

FOODS DIVISION: One of the youngest divisions of the company markets a range of sauces, ethnic pastes and foods. Real fruit juices gave Indian consumer for the first time, fruit juices with nothing artificial, no preservatives, no colour and no flavours added. Launched two years back, the range includes Real Juices and cooking pastes under the brand name Home Made.

NATURAL GUMS: This division manufactures and process Guar gums, Gum Karaya, tamarind based gums and psyllium husk. The division produces a range of industrial and grade natural gums to meet the customer specifications.

AYURVEDIC VETERINARY: It deals exclusively in animal hea1thcare. Markets safe and non-toxic herbal veterinary products for poultry.

26

Dabur Manufacturing Facilities in India

27

Dabur World Wide

Dabur's mission of popularising a natural lifestyle transcends national

boundaries. Today there is global awareness of alternative medicine, nature-

based and holistic lifestyles and an interest in herbal products. Dabur has been

in the forefront of popularising this alternative way of life, marketing its

products in more than 50 countries all over the world.

28

About FEM

Fem is trusted brand known throughout India since 1982. The company

markets bleach, liquid soaps and hair removing creams under the ‘Fem’ brand.

In house R&D: innovative products like Oxybleach (premium cream bleach),

Fem Stratum (hair conditioner), Saka (men’s bleach) and Botanica (skin firming

& anti-wrinkle cream) introduced in the last few years. It has a range of fabric

softeners and stain removers under the brand ‘Bambi’. Markets a range of

pharmaceutical products in dermatology and other segments. Distributions

reach covering 1, 25,000 retail outlets; also covers 25,000 parlours directly.

Manufacturing facilities in Nasik and Baddi (HP); Baddi unit which was set up in

2006 enjoys both excise and IT benefits. Exporting to UAE, Yemen, Oman,

Maldives, Mauritius, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal.

Owns the brand ‘Jaquline’ which markets women care products (bleach and

hair removing creams) in US and Middle East. Highly profitable company with

gross margins of over 60%.

29

Acquisition of Controlling Stake in Fem Care Pharma Ltd by Dabur India Ltd

(DIL)

Dabur India Limited signed an agreement to acquire 72.15% stake from the existing promoters.

The transaction values FCPL at an equity value of Rs 282.4 crores. Dabur to make an open offer to acquire further 20% of the FCPL’s equity share

capital. Specialty chemicals division and some other investments will be bought over by

promoters at book value or market value whichever is higher. Acquisition to be funded through internal accruals of Dabur India Ltd.

Acquisition Rationale

Revenue Synergies Brand provides access to DIL into fast expanding skin care market at mass price points

Higher reach/penetration for FCPL portfolio through DIL’s distribution network

Potential for extending FEM brand into other related skin care categories.

Potential in International markets: FEM & Jaquline brands have presence in GCC/Middle

east markets which can be expanded.

FCPL’s parlour outreach to be leveraged for promoting Dabur’s personal care portfolio.

Cost Synergies Combined business to unlock synergies : Sales & Distribution, Marketing, Supply Chain,

Sourcing & Manufacturing

FCPL’s Baddi unit synergistic with DIL’s own skin care plans

Greater efficiencies possible in trade and distribution

Combined Adpro spends can be leveraged to reduce media costs

FCPL’s R&D knowledge in skin care to supplement domain knowledge for DIL

30

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Sahib

Sticky Note

About the Project

31

Fem Care Pharma Ltd, which has a leadership position in the fairness bleach category and a

strong market position in hair removal and liquid soap category. The other brands in its

portfolio include Oxybleach cream, SAKA men’s bleach and Bambi fabric softeners.

Acquisition of Fem Care Pharma is in line with strategy to aggressively expand Dabur’s scale

of operations and strengthen its presence in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) space.

This transaction would give Dabur an entry into the high-growth skin care market with an

established brand name ‘FEM’. Further, Dabur also has the potential to extend the brand

into newer and related skin care categories.

But since the acquisition has taken place, Dabur has not been able to concentrate much on

the distribution and promotion aspect of FEM. FCPL which continued to keep the

distribution of FEM products in OFOs and Kirana Shops while Dabur has taken over the

distribution of FEM products in Modern Trade. I was given the task of identifying loopholes

that exist in the Distribution and Promotion strategy of FEM across all national and regional

chain modern trade stores in Delhi and NCR.

Part 1 of the project First part of the project is to study the gaps in distribution, assortment and MBQ levels of

FEM product in modern trade stores within the product category naming;

Bleaches

Liquid Soaps

Hair Removal Cream

Since sales and distribution are one of the most important areas of a company, this problem

has to be seen from all the angles before coming to any conclusion. To study the problem of

MBQ levels and Assortment, I had visited some branches of modern trade retails stores and

their distribution centre. Interview was conducted with the store managers, departmental

heads and Dabur’s promoters in these chains about the problems faced related to

distribution strategies because of company or retail house.

List of Modern Trade Retail Chains where FEM products supplied are:

Big Bazaar

Big Apple

Vishal Mega mart

REI 6TEN

Surya Healthcare

Apollo Pharmacy

32

Guardian Pharmacy

Religare

Spencer

H&B Store

Home Store

Part 2 of the project Second part of the project is study of the promotion mix being done by the competitors

which will increase the sale of the above mentioned 3 FEM products without causing any

disturbance in the various channels of distribution.

Since promotion not only leads to increase in the sale of the product but also increase brand

awareness among the buyers, promotion has become a significant tool being used by the

marketers for not just survival but also leading this highly competitive market.

There are different kinds of promotional schemes used by different companies to market

their products. While some companies depend on monetary schemes other use non-

monetary schemes very significantly. To test which one of them is mostly preferred by the

consumers, I conducted a survey to see what kind of scheme makes a consumer inclined

towards buying that product.

Methodology Adopted

For 2nd part of this project, the method available was to get enough information through

personal interaction with the people visiting the stores with the aid of a questionnaire. The

collection of primary data requires considerable time. In this research, the Primary data

were obtained by actual working in the market and interacting with the buyers.

Questionnaire containing 21 questions was prepared. In total 152 people were interviewed

who visited the different stores at different locations.

33

Stores Visited for Research

1. Big Bazaar – Raja Garden

2. Big Bazaar – Vasant Kunj

3. Big Bazaar – Wazirpur

4. Big Bazaar - Noida

5. Vishal Mega Mart – Tilak Nagar

6. Religare – Dwarka

7. Big Apple – Rajouri Garden

8. Big Apple – Lajpat Nagar

People were asked questions about their preference when it comes to choosing a product

under scheme, what kind of scheme they prefer monetary or non-monetary, then what kind

of monetary or non-monetary schemes do they prefer. People were also asked if these

schemes really influence their buying behaviour. Other questions include through what

mode of communication they got to know about FEM, rate the current promotional strategy

of FEM, etc.

Scope of the Project

A Training Program of 60 days in any organization provides information to all students like.

i) Current organisation work-culture.

ii) Industry practical knowledge.

iii) Gives Professional touch.

iv) Better awareness about market competition.

v) Get chance to face different types of customers and tackle with different situation.

34

FEM Product Portfolio

35

Fairness Bleach

Fem Fairness Bleach is the undisputed leader in the bleach market in India and has

gained the trust and confidence of millions of users over last 2 decades. It doesn’t just

give fairness by oxidizing the facial hair to match with the skin tone but also helps the

skin to breathe a new life by removing dead cells & unclogging the pores. Fem Fairness

Bleach is a fast and safe way to get a fairer and healthier skin. Just 15 minutes of

application provides 15 days of radiant looking skin. It is available in consumer packs of

9g / 25g / 50g & parlour pack of 100g / 250g.

Material Description

Size

MRP

Fem Fairness Creme Bleach Apple & Peach 26.4 gram 35.00

Fem Fairness Creme Bleach Apple & Peach 52.8 gram 55.00

Fem Fairness Creme Bleach Apple & Peach 264 gram 110.00

36

Perfumed Blue Bleach

Fem Perfumed Blue Bleach is milder bleach specially formulated for those

having a sensitive skin. The advanced formulation of Perfumed Bleach liberates nascent

oxygen in a controlled manner to provide extra fairness that lasts up to 30 days. The

perfumed activator of the Blue Bleach also gives a wonderful aromatic experience to users. It is available in consumer packs of 9g / 25g / 50g & parlour pack of 100g.


Size

MRP

Fem Fairness Creme Bleach Milk, Pearl & blueberry 26.4 Gram 39.00

Fem Fairness Creme Bleach Milk, Pearl & blueberry 52.8 Gram 63.00

37

Oxybleach

Oxybleach is the healthiest bleach in the world today. Oxybleach provides you a fairer, healthier

radiance that too with many times more Oxygen. It comes with unique pre-bleach cream that forms a

protective shield for even the most sensitive skin, and gives you a safe and enhanced bleaching

experience. It is available in a 25g retail pack as well as 300g parlour pack.


Size

MRP

Oxy Bleach

25 Gram

60.00

38

Herbal Bleach

Fem Herbal Bleach Contains 16 precious herbs : Keshar, Chandan, Lodhra, Patang, Raktachandan,

Agru, Walaa, Manjistha, Jesthmadh, Temaalpatra, Padmakastha, Kamal, Kosth Kolinjan, Halad, Laakh

& Daruhalad, Which make Kumkumadi Thilam, a proven ancient Ayurvedic formulation for

fairness.Natural and Safe, Fem Herbal Bleach is a blend of nature's best. This makes it perfectly safe

for all skin types, especially sensitive skin. It is available in a 15g retail pack


Size

MRP

Fem Herbal Bleach

15 Gram

40.00

39

Saka Oxygen Bleach for Men

Fem a company with a reputation as the innovators in the skin care category has launched Saka -

Oxygen bleach for men. The skin care experts have formulated Saka to gently work wonders in just

15 minutes. It works with a three-pronged action * Bleaching to remove suntan, * Cleansing to

remove dirt, bacteria, dead cells and provide extra oxygen to the skin, and * Nourishing to unclog

pores. So you can give dull, lifeless skin a total lift, and an instant boost of life.


Size

MRP

Saka Bleach

15 Gram

30.00

40

Hair Removing Cream in Flavours

Fem Hair Removing Cream is gentle and painless way to remove unwanted

hair from arms and legs. It provides silky, smooth skin within minutes. Its unique

formulation not only removes hair from the root but also delays the re-growth of

unwanted hair. It is available in 40g of Jar pack and in 25g of Tube pack in pleasant fragrances of Lemon, Chandan, Rose, and Blossom.

Material Description MRP Size

Fem Hair Remover System Rose (Jar) 40 Gram 35.00

Fem Hair Remover System Blossom (Jar) 40 Gram 35.00

Fem Hair Remover System Lemon (Jar) 40 Gram 35.00

Fem Hair Remover System Chandan (Jar) 40 Gram 35.00

Fem Hair Remover System Rose (Tube) 40 Gram 35.00

Fem Hair Remover System Blossom (Tube) 40 Gram 35.00

Fem Hair Remover System Lemon (Tube) 40 Gram 35.00

Fem Hair Remover System Chandan (Tube) 40 Gram 35.00

Fem Hair Remover System Rose (Tube) 25 Gram 25.00

Fem Hair Remover System Blossom (Tube) 25 Gram 25.00

Fem Hair Remover System Lemon (Tube) 25 Gram 25.00

Fem Hair Remover System Chandan (Tube) 25 Gram 25.00

41

Liquid Hand Wash

Fem Soft Gentle Soap is the only liquid soap made from pure coconut oil that

leaves your hands and face soft, supple and smooth after every use. One pearly drop of

this unique liquid is enough to give you a complete cleansing experience. It is available

in five lingering fragrances of Lemon Dew, Chandan, Blossom, Bouquet and Peach. It is

available in dispenser pack of 250ml and refill packs of 1 litre and 5 litres.

42

Material Description Size MRP

Fem Hand Wash Bouquet 250 ML 59.50

Fem Hand Wash Lemon 250 ML 59.50

Fem Hand Wash Chandan 250 ML 59.50

Fem Hand Wash Peach 250 ML 59.50

Fem Hand Wash Blossom 250 ML 59.50

Fem Hand Wash Refill Pouch Blossom 200 ML 30.00

Fem Hand Wash Refill Pouch Lemon 200 ML 30.00

Fem Hand Wash Refill Pouch Peach 200 ML 30.00

Fem Hand Wash Bouquet Refill 1 Litre 149.50

Fem Hand Wash Lemon Refill 1 Litre 149.50

Fem Hand Wash Chandan Refill 1 Litre 149.50

Fem Hand Wash Peach Refill 1 Litre 149.50

Fem Hand Wash Blossom Refill 1 Litre 149.50

43

COMPETITORS OF FEM

44

FEM faces competition from various national and international brands for its product range.

Fem Care has a leadership position in the fairness bleach category and a strong market

position in hair removal and liquid soap category.

Bleach In the bleach category there are 2 major players;

Jolen

FEM

Jolene

It Camouflages facial hair, Cleans Skin. It has unique gas flushing action to cleanse skin pores. Strong

antiseptic to prevent infection. Quick & Convenient. It is suitable for all types of skin.

Available in 9g, 18g, 35g, 140g & 300g

SKU MRP

9 Gram 24.00

18 Gram 42.00

35 Gram 75.00

45

Hair Removal Cream

In hair removal categories there are 3 major players are;

Veet

FEM

Anne French

Veet

Range from Veet creams - suitable for each skin type. Now whether you have normal, dry or

sensitive skin there is a Veet especially for it. Plus with its special skincare ingredients- it will leave

the skin feeling soft and super smooth.

Available in 2 sizes: 25g and 60g at Rs 39.00 and 69.00 respectively.

Anne French

Anne French hair remover available in four different fragrances available - sandal, rose, lavender and

lemon.

Available in 2 sizes: 25g and 40g at Rs 33.00 and 39.00 respectively

SKU MRP

25 Gram 39.00

60 Gram 69.00

SKU MRP

25 Gram 33.00

40 Gram 39.00

46

Hand Wash (Liquid Soap)

In the hand wash category there is a lot of competition being built in the last few years.

Existing players in this category are;

Dettol

Lifebuoy

FEM

Palmolive

Santoor

Dettol

Dettol introduced the Liquid Hand Wash in 1994. It was known that many consumers use Dettol Soap for cleaning hands. Dettol Liquid Soap gave the consumers a soap in a more modern and convenient format for hand wash. Available in pump packs of 250ml and 135ml. Refills available in 185ml, 475ml and 900ml

SKU MRP

250ml (pump pack) 55


185ml (Refill) 40

900ml (Refill) 164

47

Lifebuoy

Positioned on a ‘protection from germs’ platform it carries the tagline of ‘have no fear’ in the Liquid

handwash segment too. Lifebuoy Hand Soaps offer hospital-strength germ protection, with a unique formulation that generates a rich lather.

Palmolive

Palmolive launched handwash in October 2003 with a premium pricing and imported stocks. While the brand is supported by promotions mainly in the modern trade, it is not active on air.

SKU MRP


180ml (Pouch Refill) 25

900ml (Refill) 125

SKU MRP



1000ml (Refill) 150

48

Santoor

As a strong player in the bar soaps market and with a high market‐share in the South, Santoor launched the Liquid Hand Wash in January 2007, along with media support

SKU MRP



1000ml (Refill) 150

49

ORGANISATION STRUCTURE

50

Structure in Sales and Marketing

Man

age

me

nt

Trai

ne

es

SBU

He

ad

He

ad o

f

Mar

keti

ng

He

ad o

f Sa

les

Cat

ego

ry

Man

age

r

Zon

al S

ale

s

Man

age

r

Sen

ior

Pro

du

ct

Man

age

r

Re

gio

nal

Sa

les

Man

age

r

Pro

du

ct M

anag

er

Are

a Sa

les

Man

age

r

Mar

keti

ng

Sale

s

51

52

PROJECT ANALYSIS

Part 1 - Identify gaps in distribution, assortment and MBQ levels of FEM products. Part 2 - Study promotion/activation mix for three categories done by competition.

53

First Part

In the first part we will be analysing various gaps that exist in the distribution, assortment

and MBQ levels of FEM products in modern trade. We will only be concentrating on the skin

care category of FEM i.e. Bleach, Liquid Soaps and Hair Removal Cream.

Modern Trade

Modern trade as opposed to traditional retail shops refers to a range of sale methods based

on marketing techniques: for instance in self-service shops you have no more sales

attendants behind the counter; now the customer can touch the articles. The more

expensive goods will be ready at hand whereas you will have to bend to reach goods with

less add value for the store. A few articles will be offered at rock bottom prices with much

publicity in order to attract as many customers as possible. The display of goods is very

important and needs an elaborate know-how.

Modern Trade Stores where FEM products supplied are:

Big Bazaar

Big Apple

Vishal Mega mart

REI 6TEN

Surya Healthcare

Apollo Pharmacy

Guardian Pharmacy

Religare

Spencer

H&B Store

Home Store

54

Distribution Network at Dabur

CONSUMERS The above diagram it shows channel of distribution of Dabur, here first the products are

manufactured and from Manufacturing plants the packed goods are supplied to Clearing

And Forwarding Agents(C&FA) and from here the goods are then further supplied to

number of Stockiest or Distributors, from here goods reaches to large number of Retailers

and it is the duty of Stockiest to take orders from retailers and then supply the goods to

them, this work is generally done by stockiest salesman through ready stock or by taking

orders first and then placing the order. From here the goods finally reaches to Customers.

Customer purchases the product from retailers.

55

This was the basic Channel of Distribution used by Dabur, now I will throw light on each channel of distribution of Dabur.

MANUFACTURING PLANT:

The manufacturing facility is at Manakpur, Post- Nalagarh, Dist. – Solan, Himachal Pradesh.

This is in a tax-free zone under Central Government Scheme. It is about 50 kms from

Chandigarh on State Highway, about 20 kms from Kalka (Haryana) Railway Station.

Manufacturing facility complying to international GMP standards are under set up to

manufacture Pharmaceutical products and Cosmetic Creams & Lotions.

Four manufacturing set ups with the capacity of 3600 kg per shift can be undertaken. There

will be a facility of jar, aluminium tube and lami tubes filling with automatic labelling and

online packing of the products. There will also be a facility for pouch filling and pillow

packing of tubes.

PROCUREMENT & TRANSPORT: Getting the raw material and packaging material requirement from the production

unit in charge.

Constant updates on the procurement of materials and transport details.

Production details and ingredient content information from the different personnel

and coordinating this activity.

CLEARING AND FORWARDING AGENTA (C&FA) From manufacturing plant the stock is transported or supplied to clearing and

forwarding agents.

Clearing and Forwarding Agents is a third party and Dabur gives contract to them, so

company has nothing to do in building the relationship with them.

Here C&FA keep or stock the goods with them.

They charge Dabur for stocking the good and even Dabur don’t mind doing so as it is

a measure of cost cutting as well as there is no need for go downs and maintenance.

For Ghaziabad, Meerut, Delhi NCR there is one C&FA whish is situated in Mohan

Nagar, here all goods which Dabur foods hare kept here.

56

STOCKIEST OR DISTRIBUTORS Stockiest store the products in their godowns, C&FA supplies the goods to them as

per their order.

Stockiest has some sales men working under him, they are known as stockiest sales

man. Their work is to place the products in the market and take order from retailers

and then supply goods to them.

Sales man either takes ready stock with them or they first take orders and then

supply goods later on.

There is a beat which is a schedule route of sales man, means sales man has to daily

cover the route as mention in the beat.

Merchandising, making products visible, pasting posters, putting banners, and seeing

that goods are properly placed in the retail outlets is also the duty of stockiest sales

man.

Companies’ sales officer keeps a check on the stockiest and monthly report is also

prepared which is further analysed by ASM & ZSM.

In Noida Dabur has 1 stockist, and in Ghaziabad 1

RETAILERS

Retailers are backbone of the company as they are the one who can take the product

on new heights or can bring it down to toes.

Stockiest supplies goods to retailers and tries Persuading retailers to give the brand

special displays (using merchandising tools) to get affective brand presence, and

arranging it in more noticeable manner.

Classification of outlets in different type of markets is different according to their

sales volume.

TYPES OF RETAILS OUTLETS

Class Average Monthly Business

A Above 10,000

B 5,000-10,000

C Upto 5,000

Margin of retailers is always higher than stockiest.

Retailers are the one who have direct contact with the customers.

57

Distribution Process or Supply Chain of Dabur in

Modern Trade

Process at Distributor Level

CFAs keep receiving goods from the Manufacturing Unit as per the production of

goods.

Manufacturing Unit produces goods according to the Sales Forecast done.

Sales Forecast for FEM is done on the basis of last 3 months sales.

Data from various modern trade chains is collected to calculate the sale of FEM

products and accordingly considering the demand and sales figure, sales forecast for

the coming 3 months is made and the manufacturing unit is asked to produce the

required quantity.

Dabur’s distributors maintain at least 15 days of inventory with them.

Clearing and Forwarding Agent sends required

order to the stockiest or distributor.

Distributor receives goods as per the order placed

and enters the same in his stock book.

58

Process at Store Level for Order regeneration

Counting of Current Stock available at the store

Raising a purchase order to the vendor by the

category (In head office and zonal office)

Purchase order generated is sent to the

distributor or the Dabur Merchandiser.

Dabur Merchandiser further sends it to the

Distributor.

Counting of the stock present in the store in done by the Dabur Promoter who are

present in the store or by the Dabur Merchandiser.

After going the through the stock available in the store. Dabur representative places

order with the Department Head in case order is placed through Centre Distribution

Centre and through store manager or the department manager when the order is

placed from the Store itself.

MBQ level are generally decided by the Centre Distribution Centre or the Store

Manager.

Purchase Order generated is send to the Dabur Distributor.

Replenishment takes place within 3 days from the dispatch of the purchase order.

Payment as regards to the Purchase order is done on credit basis.

59

Delivery of the required (negotiated) stock from

the distributor’s end to the store or ware house by

the help of transporter (at company’s expense)

Receiving of the material at the store with all the

required documents

Receiving of the material at the central ware

house (C.D.C.) Indore

Dewas naka

Document check by the security at the gate and in

ward register is maintained by following all the

rules of S.O.P.

Weighing, counting of cartoons, generation of I.R.

no. by putting information on SAP

Compare the material with the documents, stamp

the documents, write information with signature

of the security and then unload the truck

Stamp on P.O.D. copy and return to the

transporter

Transfer of the material to the store ware house Segregation of the material (M.C. wise and

category wise)

Send the stock to the floor as per the requirement Racking of the material by giving location to the

rack as well as to the box (for the maintenance of

the W.M.S. sheet)

Out warding of the material from central ware

house to the store, after receiving S.T.O. from the

store.

Receiving of the material at the store against

S.T.N.

60

DATA PRESENTATION AND DATA ANALYSIS

To study the gaps that are prevalent in the Distribution system of Dabur for FEM products, I

visited 70 Modern Trade stores and their Distribution Center (DC) of different Chains in

Delhi and NCR Region.

There I just orally asked them few questions related to the SKUs that are being kept by

them, what is the MBQ Levels of different FEM product, what are the deciding factor behind

setting up of MBQ level, how is the fill rate of FEM, how is the distribution system of FEM,

how much time it takes for replenishment, are they satisfied with the margin provided by

the company, are they satisfied with the Dabur as a company, etc.

61

Satisfaction as regards to Distribution of FEM products.

Satisfaction

Yes 45

No 25

Interpretation:-

It is quite evident from the chart that out of 70 outlets and distribution centres visited by

me, 45 of them feels that distribution system of Dabur is satisfactory while 25 of them are

not satisfied with it. Some of the reasons given were margins offered by the company, fill

rate being low, credit issues with the company etc. But at the same time Positive feedback

about Dabur was that since Dabur has taken over FEM, there has been a drastic

improvement in the distribution of FEM products.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

Yes No

45

25

Series1

62

Various fast moving and slow moving SKU’s of FEM.

Quantity sold is till 15

th of June.

Source – Vijman India

Item Name MRPSize UOM

Quantity Sold in

May and JuneFem Fairness Creme Bleach Apple & Peach 26.4 g 32 25 GM 508

Fem Fairness Creme Bleach Apple & Peach 52. 8 g 51 50 GM 777

Fem Fairness Creme Bleach Milk, Pearl & blueberry 26.4 g 39 25 GM 688

Fem Fairness Creme Bleach Milk, Pearl & blueberry 52.8 g 63 50 GM 629

Oxy Bleach 60 25 GM 1,159

Saka Bleach 30 15 GM 660

Fem Herbal Bleach 40 15 GM 1,032

Fem Hair Remover System Rose (Tube) 25 25 GM 144

Fem Hair Remover System Lemon (Tube) 25 25 GM 110

Fem Hair Remover System Blossom (Tube) 25 25 GM 4


Fem Hair Remover System Chandan (Tube) 29 25 GM 4

Fem Hair Remover System Chandan (Jar) 35 40 GM 112

Fem Hair Remover System Chandan (Jar) 37 40 GM 92

Fem Hair Remover System Rose (Jar) 35 40 GM 78

Fem Hair Remover System Lemon (Jar) 35 40 GM 108










Fem Hand Wash Bouquet 59.5 250 ML 152

Fem Hand Wash Lemon 59.5 250 ML 66

Fem Hand Wash Blossom 59.5 250 ML 238

Fem Hand Wash Refill Pouch Blossom 30 200 ML 24

Fem Hand Wash Refill Pouch Lemon 30 200 ML 102

Fem Hand Wash Refill Pouch Peach 30 200 ML 23

Fem Hand Wash Bouquet Refill 149.5 1 Ltr 24

Fem Hand Wash Lemon Refill 149.5 1 Ltr 42

Fem Hand Wash Chandan Refill 149.5 1 Ltr 30

Fem Hand Wash Peach Refill 149.5 1 Ltr 74

Fem Hand Wash Blossom Refill 149.5 1 Ltr 34

Fem Hand Wash Lemon Refill 555 5 Ltr 4

Fem Hand Wash Peach Refill 555 5 Ltr 1

Fem Hand Wash Blossom Refill 555 5 Ltr 3

63

Total SKU 39

Fast Moving 7

Slow Moving 32

Interpretation:-

As we see in the above list of FEM Products, there is a total of 39 SKUs but only 7 of them

are fast moving products rest of the SKUs are slow moving. When asked various retailers

that why they are not keeping all the SKUs, the reason given was only fast moving products

are preferred because the slow moving product does not have high sales and they only

occupy shelf space in the store.

All the bleaches of FEM are highly fast moving while Hand Wash and Hair Removal are not

at all sold in comparison to Bleach. According some of the retailers Bleach’s demand is so

high that the supply always fall short of it, whereas in case of Hand Wash and Hair Removal

it’s the opposite, stock for them is kept on the shelf for more than 25-30 days without any

sale in small modern trade stores.

That is why out of 39 SKUs registered with almost all the Modern Trade stores, most of the

Chains keep only around 20-25 SKUs. Majorly bleach of all SKUs, Hair Removal Cream of 40

gram Tubes in all variants and Hand Wash 250ml sprays.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Fast Moving Slow Moving

7

32

Series1

64

Fill Rate of FEM products ordered.

Fill Rate – Sales order processing measurement that quantifies the ability to fill orders.

There are various ways of measuring fill rate. Line fill compares the number of line items

shipped complete to the total number of lines ordered ( 95 line items shipped complete out

of 100 lines ordered would result in a 95% line fill rate). Order fill compares the number of

orders shipped complete to the total number of orders shipped.

Now to calculate fill rate, I have taken few examples of Purchase Orders and Supply against

them. For this I have collected POs of Big Apple and what has been the supply against it for

the month of May. This will not only tell us the Fill Rate of the company but also time gap

between order placed and goods replenished.

Party 1 - Express Retail Service (Modern trade chain known as Big Apple)

Party 2 – Vijman India (Distributor of Dabur India Limited)

Case 1

First Purchase Order (See Annexure 1)

Date 03.05.2010

PO No. 272/10

Net Bill Amount – Rs. 169925

Supply Bill (See Annexure 6)

Date 06.05.2010

Invoice No. A0000036

Net Amount – Rs. 92907

In this Fill Rate will be calculated value wise.

For First PO Fill Rate is 55%. Other than this of the 10 SKUs of FEM that are placed in the

order only 7 are supplied. And of those 7 as well some orders are not fully supplied. Goods

are replenished within 3 days from the date of placing of order.

65

Case 2

Second Purchase Order (See Annexure 2)

Date 10.05.2010

PO No. 330/10



Date 20.05.2010



For Second Purchase order Fill Rate is 79% (calculated value wise). Of the 7 FEM SKUs that

were ordered only 5 were supplied. Other than the fill rate issue, the order was sent on

10.05.2010 whereas the goods against them have been supplied on 20.05.2010; there was a

gap of 10 days between order and supply.

Case 3

Third Purchase Order (See Annexure 3)

Date 20.05.2010

PO No. 426/10



Date 22.05.2010



For Third order Fill Rate is 83% (calculated value wise). Out of 4 FEM SKUs that were

ordered in the PO, 3 of them were supplied. Replenishment was very good for this order;

the goods were supplied within 2 days from the placing of order.

66

Case 4

Fourth Purchase Order (See Annexure 4)

Date 27.05.2010

PO No. 490/10



Date 30.05.2010


Net Amount - Rs. 70131

For fourth order Fill Rate is 91% (calculated value wise). All the SKUs which were ordered

have been supplied as well. 2 of the SKUs are there in which the whole quantity demanded

is not supplied. In one of them 60 pieces and in other 90 pieces were ordered but 36 and 66

respectively have been supplied against them.

We discussed 4 purchase order and supply against them of the same company in the month

of May. While in the 1st PO, fill rate was too low, it kept increasing with high variation from

55% to 79% to 91%. In the second PO it was observed that with the fill rate, even

replenishment of order took too long. IN the third PO fill rate and order supply date was

fine but 0 quantity of one of the SKUs was supplied, this means that fill rate line wise was

80% in this case. There was almost nothing wrong in the fourth PO, it can be called as a

perfect purchase order and supply against it. We had 4 cases with 4 different situations.

Cases:

1. Low Fill Rate value wise

2. Too much time taken in Replenishment

3. Low Fill Rate line wise

4. Perfect order and supply.

67

Another case of Fill Rate;

Party 1 – Future Value Retail (Modern trade chain known as Big Apple)

Party 2 – Vijman India (Distributor of Dabur India Limited)

Purchase Order (See Annexure 5)

Date 02.05.2010

PO No. 4504419715



Date 05.05.2010

Invoice No. B0000273


In this case Fill Rate is 39% calculated value wise. Of the 13 SKUs of FEM which were

ordered only 5 SKUs were supplied. Replenishment date was within the time limit.

One of the other things I observed in this Purchase Order is that purchase order was

generated on 02.05.2010 which is being 1 week of the month. So while I was there in the Big

Bazaar store for Interview, I noticed that there large amount of people who come in the first

week of the month as compared to rest of the weeks. When confirming with the authorities

I got to know that footfall is 30-35% more in first week of the month as compared to rest of

the weeks. This is due to the reason that most of the service class people get their salaries in

first 10 days of the month and that is the time when the purchasing power of an individual is

the most.

Since first 10 days of the month are very crucial from the sale point of view, there should

not be any miss in the SKUs supplied in these particular days. Because unavailability of

products can result in not only losing the sale at that point of time, but the customer may

also switch to some other brand thereby we as company loose a loyal customer as well.

68

MBQ Levels

To keep a steady stock watch for the reorder of basic goods is time consuming and vital to

profits. Different stores have different criteria to compute what the MBQ level of an item

should be. The retailer can use past sale data of last month or last 3 month’s sale or in some

cases where product is seasonal or has a demand in particular season; MBQ levels are

decided season wise as well. This profit-enhancing feature uses sales history to calculate

scientifically what and when to reorder, with less paperwork and less guesswork. MBQ

(minimum base quantity) methodology has been used for efficiently handling the inventory

based on past sales track.

While interviewing the outlets and distribution centres of retail chain, when asked about

how they are deciding the MBQ level, a lot of inputs came as regards to the factors that they

consider while deciding the MBQ level of an item; the same has been put on graph to see

what are the factors that are most considered by retails chains.

MBQ level deciding factor

Past Month Sale 27

Past 3 Months Sale 11

Stock in Hand 7

Footfall 21

Season 4

69

Interpretation:-

As we see in the chart that most of the outlets or modern trade chain prefer deciding their

MBQ level on the basis of past month’s sale, they have the highest preference with 38%.

Next is footfall in a particular outlet, now this depends on various sub factors like what kind

of people are actually in and around that area where the outlet is located, the type of

income level of people in that area and various other demographics. Footfall got 30%

preference while deciding the MBQ level of a particular product. Past 3 months sale of a

product got 16% while 10% are in favour stock in hand in that particular store, this factor is

considered most by those chains whose inventory management is centrally controlled. And

the last with 6% preference is Season. According to me this got the least percentage

because of a limitation that Season factor is considered most in seasonal products and since

this question was asked keeping in mind the FEM products not many people preferred this

option.

38%

16%

10%

30%

6%

Past Month Sale

Past 3 Months Sale

Stock in Hand

Footfall

Season

70

Case Experience regarding MBQ Level

I had frequent visits in most of the Big Bazaar stores in the Delhi region in the month of May

in different weeks. There I noticed that the MBQ level are decided on the basis of past

month sale, but the MBQs of all almost all the bleach products were same irrespective of

their demand.

During 1st week of May, the demand for Oxy Bleach and Herbal Bleach was very high in all

the stores, MBQ level ordered for both the products was between 24-36 pieces in almost all

the stores. But on visiting Big Bazaar Vasant Kunj store I noticed that of 36 pieces, 31 pieces

of Oxy Bleach were sold on the very first day of the replenishment of stock, now for rest of

the week there were only 5 pieces of Oxy Bleach were left, which ultimately resulted in no

stock for next 5 days.

When I visited the store after 15 days, the same scenario was experienced again.

When I asked the Dabur promoter in the store, why the same MBQ was given for oxy

bleach, the lady there said that she informed the concerned authorities about the same but

no action has been taken.

In another experience there was no supply of Oxy Bleach for one week in all the Big Bazaar

stores because of blockage of Oxy Bleach Code which resulted in unavailability of Oxy Bleach

in all the stores at the time when its demands is reaching its heights.

71

Gaps that were noticed in the distribution, assortment

and MBQ level are;

First and the foremost major gap is the Fill Rate, being on an average less than 65%

calculated value wise. Fill rate is low because of unavailability of products in required

quantity from the company and distributor. Fill rate is low not just value wise, but it’s

the same SKU wise or line wise or case wise. Approximately fill rate should be

around 85%, keeping in mind the takeover of FEM by Dabur and the type of facilities

that can be offered by the company to its this segment.

Distributors and retailers are not keen in keeping all the registered SKUs with them

in the store because of the fact that only 20% of them are fast moving, rest of them

have very slow movement which leads to occupied shelf space without any sale. Of

all SKUs, retailers prefer to keep only bleach category of FEM because it has a very

high sale as compared to Hair Removal Cream and Hand Wash.

While those categories which are put in the store, they are not kept in all the

variants which leads to unawareness among the consumers about other variants. In

another case, there is a SKU of FEM Fairness Bleach coming in the parlour pack of

100 Gram, its demand is there in all the Big Bazaar stores but the company has

stopped making 100 gram packs.

Replenishment of FEM stock takes place with rest of the Dabur order, i.e. the same

transport van is used for Dabur stock and FEM stock and if there is unavailability of

FEM products, it will have to wait for the Dabur Purchase Order to be generated and

with that supply comes the FEM supply. Other than this it has been observed that in

some cases it took way too long for supply to take place which resulted in loss of sale

and may be customer as well, since these days with so many of competitive products

in the market customer generally don’t wait for the product to arrive and therefore

fulfil his need with another brand offering same services. Unavailability ultimately

resulting in loss of loyal customer.

72

Minimum Base Quantity is set up without any standard procedure. Moreover the

same quantity is followed irrespective of the demand of that particular. Like in case

of Big Bazaar discussed earlier, in which the footfall on an average is around 2400 on

weekdays and around 3000 on weekends in first 10 days of the month which is 30%

more than the footfall for rest of the month still the same MBQ level is followed

without considering the above factor of footfall. And because of low MBQs supply

falls short of demand leading to loss of sale.

Another of the reason why Modern Trade chains avoid taking orders of all MBQs and

in large quantities because it has been observed that there is a lot of loss of money

and stock on account of theft and pilferage in these stores because of the modern

structure of self-pick of the product whichever consumer wants. Moreover these

chains concentrate more on the outlets than their warehouses which at times lead

to spoilage of products stored in these warehouses.

Purchase orders are generated on the visit of Dabur representative who comes and

write the PO on a piece of paper and then take it back to the distributor. There are

only 3-4 modern trade chain which send their orders through mail, rest is done

through writing on the piece of paper. This makes it difficult for the sales person and

can also lead to small human errors while noting down the order.

Modern Trade chains are not satisfied with the Margin been given to them, while

their expectation are around 25%, they get somewhere between 15-20%, because of

low margin, the chains are not very particular about Dabur and FEM products and

don’t give much importance to their sale.

There were credit issues with one of the Chains which led to stoppage of supply of

products to that particular chain. Relationship was spoiled between the company

and the chain. While the issue was still not resolved, both the parties already had a

loss because of this issue.

73

Lack of awareness among distributors and retailers about the SKUs being made by

the company. In a conversation with Vijay Aggarwal who is the owner of Vijman

India, he told me that he himself was not aware of the Hand Wash SKU coming in 5

litre pack and when asked the reason behind it, he said there was no communication

from the company regarding the same. Similarly while interviewing one of the

retailers; he said there was no communication regarding the schemes from the

company. This means there has been constant communication gap between the

company and the distributors and retailers.

In some cases, sale representative tried to push the product to the retails chain

because they themselves were working on target based sales. These are always

realistic goals but the stress in on an improvement over past performance. This led

to overburdening the retailer with the stock and releasing the pressure their own

shoulders.

74

Second Part

In the second part we will be analysing various promotion methods that are prevalent in the

skin care segment and which influence the buying behaviour of consumers. We will also

discuss promotional schemes which are preferred by the consumers and which lead to the

consumers buying that particular product. And on that basis we will be recommending

promotional strategy which can result in incremental sales without causing any channel

conflict.

Sale Promotion

The well-known four Ps of marketing represent the sellers’ view of the marketing tools available for influencing buyers. From a buyer’s point of view, each marketing tool is designed to deliver a customer benefit. Also the sellers’ four Ps correspond to the customers’ four Cs. Four Ps Four Cs Product Customer solutions Price Customer cost Place Convenience Promotion Communication

Promotion

Promotion is tool with which public will be informed about the availability of a particular product or service and the uses of such product. Production decides the increase in demand for a product; promotion will make the prospective buyers to know about the want, satisfying characteristics of the product, its price and place of availability. This term includes advertisement, personal selling sales promotion and other selling tools which are increasing the sales volume.

75

Sales Promotion

Sales promotion is different promotion, Sales promotion refers to those marketing activities other than personal selling, advertisement and publicity, which stimulate consumer purchasing and dealer effectiveness, such as displays, shows and expositions, demonstrations and various non-recurrent selling efforts not in the ordinary routine. Its purpose is to increase the desire of salesman, distributors and dealers to sell a certain brand and to make consumers more eager to buy that brand. This includes sales activities which supplement both personal selling and advertising.

Sales promotion is only a part of promotion. Promotion includes sales promotion, advertising, personal selling etc. Promotion helps to make all other marketing activities more effective and efficient, but sales promotion helps only to sales activity. Sales promotion may be done with the help of tools like displays, exhibitions, free sample coupons, premium etc. Sales promotion acts as a link between advertisement and personal selling.

To sum up, promotion is to make the demand inelastic, while there is change in the price. So promotion must stimulate the consumers to buy more.

Communication and promotion

Marketing communication involves, sharing of meaning, information, concepts, about the products and services by buyers and sellers. Such communications are conveyed with the help of advertisement, salesmanship and sales promotion. A communication will be treated as effective only when it is properly responded by the buyer. The communication must have identical meaning for both sender and receiver. If the communication does not properly reach the receiver or the message received is not the same as the message sent, then that will be called Break down at the message stage. In the market communication, feedback means a response, a reaction over the message sent back by a customer to the sender. In the case of effective communication feedback will be always present.

Need for Product Promotion

a) To introduce a new product in the market.

b) To influence the public with the help of new uses of the product.

c) To increase the frequency of purchase by each buyer.

d) To encourage dealers to stock more goods.

e) To withstand in the competitive field.

f) To increase the sales by imparting special training to salesmen and by window display.

76

Effects of Promotion

1. The present day market is very competitive due to the large number of rivals and

substitutes. With the help of promotion producer must create product differentiation in the

minds of consumers.

2. Promotion is very essential to communicate the use of the product and the nature of the

product to consumers and middlemen

3. Nowadays most of the consumers market their products in wider area and the consumers

are also very large in number. In such cases personal selling alone cannot be used and so all

the steps for promotion are to be followed.

4. During the periods of depression it is essential to maintain at least some minimum

market. Therefore it is very essential to use promotion.

Benefits offered by sales promotions

• It helps in securing trial and defending shelf space against competition. • Smoothens out the manufacturing capacities of firms in such a way that the peaks and the valleys are minimized. • Provides opportunities to manufacturers to reach out market segments with differing price sensitivity • Adds excitement to the in-store merchandizing of consumer goods • Motivates the trade to keep more and push more of those brands that are on promotion

Types of sales promotion

Sales promotion can be grouped into the following:

Consumer sales promotions (Pull Strategy) - Consumer sales promotion methods encourage or stimulate consumers to patronize specific retail stores or try particular products.

Trade sales promotions (Push strategy) - Trade sales promotion methods stimulate wholesalers and retailers to carry a producer’s products and to market these products more aggressively.

77

Sale Promotion done by competition in all 3 categories.

Bleach

Jolen – Having no consumer promotion scheme but works a lot through TV Advertisement, Magazines and other medium on its Brand building aspect.

Hair Removal Cream

Veet – Consumer Promotion scheme of 20% extra on 60 gram pack. Launched Katrina Kaif as

their brand ambassador. Advertisements are seen on TV channels and Magazines. Other

below the line mode of communication used is Wobblers, consumer’s leaflets, trade offers

etc.

Anne French – Consumer promotion scheme through small sachets of cleansing cream with

40 gram pack. Few days back Kareena Kapoor; famous Bollywood star is announced as the

brand ambassador of Anne French.

Liquid Hand Wash

Dettol – Consumer promotion scheme of 250 ml pouch on purchase of 250 ml spray. In

another scheme Rs. 15 off on 1 litre refill. Dettol also emphasises on its brand building

through TV Advertisement.

Lifebuoy – Consumer promotion through 180 ml pouch refill on purchase of 200 ml spray

bottle. Again a lot of promotion done through TV advertisement and Magazines.

78

DATA PRESENTATION AND DATA ANALYSIS

For the purpose of deciding on the method of Promotion to be adopted, what is the

preference of customer when it comes to choosing the schemes, awareness about FEM etc.,

we used the questionnaire method.

Questionnaire with 21 questions was prepared. Survey was done in various modern trade

stores. People interviewed were those who visited the store for shopping purpose.

Sample Size: 152

Please visited for Survey are:

Big Bazaar – Raja Garden

Big Bazaar – Vasant Kunj

Big Bazaar – Wazirpur

Big Bazaar - Noida

Vishal Mega Mart – Tilak Nagar

Religare – Dwarka

Big Apple – Rajouri Garden

Big Apple – Lajpat Nagar

Limitations of the Survey

During the project we have to trust the dealers and the customers and their perception,

actual may vary.

Consumers in hurry, hence not willing to answer the questions.

Sample size is small, hence not accurate.

The duration of time for the study was limited & hence a comprehensive & elaborate

study could not be undertaken.

79

In total 152 males and females were interviewed for this survey.

Age Group Male Female

0-18 2 5

18-25 7 21

25-35 19 39

35 + 28 31

Total 56 96

Interpretation:-

Of the total of 152, 96 were women and 56 were men. This shows that the major part of the

sample visiting the stores is female. And of them highest are in the age group of 25-35. As

compared to that in the men population highest number is taken by the men of age group

35+. The above data shows that men above 35+ are still the purchasers of the family

whereas female of 25-35 category are slowly becoming the next decision maker of the

family.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0-18 18-25 25-35 35 + Total

2 7

19

28

56

5

21

39

31

96

Male Female

80

Occupation of the people interviewed.

Interpretation:-

37% of the population interviewed was from service class, this shows that a lot of people

from the service class prefer to buy their daily household stuff from the modern trade store.

Next in the line comes the Self Employed with 26%. Student and Housewife are of almost

the same percentage in this sample of population.

Occupation Student 26

Self Employed 39

Service 57

House wife 27 Others 3

17%

26%

37%

18%

2%

Student

Self Employed

Service

House wife

Others

81

Awareness about FEM

Awareness

Yes 136 No 16

Interpretation:-

Out of total of 152, 89% of the population sample was aware of the FEM. This shows that

the brand awareness of FEM is pretty good. People are familiar with the brand. A lot of

credit of its brand awareness among the skin care segment goes to its Bleach Segment. In

this segment FEM is still the market leader competing with only known brand Jolen.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Yes No

136

16

No

. of

resp

on

den

ts

82

Medium through which people got to know about FEM

Interpretation:-

Most of the awareness is spread through the medium of TV Advertisement. Being the most

widely used method of advertisement, this method has become the most influential method

of advertising as well. Preity Zinta has been the brand ambassador for FEM. Recently a

couple to TV advertisement were also launched with Preity Zinta endorsing FEM in them.

21% of the people also got aware through direct visit in the store and noticing the product

there. Word of Mouth holds 3rd position with 18% as done generally through friends and

relatives. 16 people did not answer this question because they were unaware of the

product.

Medium of Awareness

TV Advertisement 68

Newspaper 7

Internet 5

Friends and Relatives 24

Store Visit 29

Other 3

50%

5% 4%

18%

21%

2%

TV Advertisment

Newspaper

Internet

Friends and Relatives

Store Visit

Other

83

No. of Users of FEM out of the Sample Population

Interpretation:-

Of the total sample population of 152, people who have used FEM is 98 in number and

people who have never used FEM is 54. When a further analysis was done, it was observed

that out of the count of 98 people who have used FEM’s product, 82 were females and the

rest 16 were males. This shows that the major user population of FEM are Females. The

reason could be since FEM has skin care products and Indian Male is still not very open to

using products like Hair Removal and Bleach. 16 Males saying yes could be because of the

growing popularity of FEM’s Men Bleach SAKA or usage of Liquid Hand Wash.

Users Male Female Total

Yes 16 82 98

No 40 14 54

Total 56 96 152

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Male Female Total

16

82

98

40

14

54

Yes No

84

Products Used

Interpretation:-

If we see in the figure, major usage is of Hand Wash and Bleach with 38% and 37%

respectively. This could be because Hand Wash market is growing Day by Day and FEM’s

Hand Wash are considered best when it comes to quality of the Liquid Soap. With bleach

FEM has already established itself as the market leader. Hair Removal is lacking behind

because the market for it is still in its growing stage and FEM’s competitor is VEET which has

established itself as a well-known Hair Removal brand in the market.

Products Used

Hand Wash 37

Bleach 36

Hair Removal Cream 25

38%

37%

25%

Hand Wash

Bleach

Hair Removal Cream

85

Unavailability of FEM in Stores

Interpretation:-

Of the total of 128, there are 34 people who have experiences Unavailability of FEM

products in stores. Whereas 66 people never experienced unavailability of FEM. 28 people

are not sure and 24 people did not answer this question because of some or the other

reason.

Availability

Yes 34

No 66

May Be 28

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

YesNo

May Be

34

66

28

86

Pricing of FEM Products

Interpretation:-

108 people are satisfied with the pricing of FEM whereas 20 people say that pricing needs to

be improved. When interviewed these people regarding why pricing is not satisfactory one

of the common replies came up was quality of FEM products does not match its pricing. Plus

similar products that come in the other brands always have some schemes with them,

whereas with FEM there is hardly any scheme. Again 24 people did not answer this

question, may be because they are ambiguous about the pricing of FEM products.

Pricing

Yes 108

No 20

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Yes

No

108

20

87

Awareness about various schemes offered by FEM

Interpretation:-

FEM has never been hard promoter of its products but after Dabur has taken over FEM,

Dabur has been able to sign up with Preity Zinta as their brand ambassador for FEM

products. Still not a large amount of money has been spent on its product promotion and

that is the reason why 57% of the people who took this survey are unaware of the

promotion that has been done by the company. Only 25% of the sample population is aware

of the promotion that has been done by FEM and 18% are not sure about it.

Awareness about Promotion

Yes 38

No 86

May Be 28

25%

57%

18%

Yes

No

May Be

88

FEM's overall sale promotion strategy

Overall Promotion strategy

Poor 10

Below Average 26

Average 82

Good 30

Excellent 4

Interpretation:-

Of the total population who took this survey, 54% says that the overall promotion strategy

of FEM is average. While 3% says it’s excellent and 6% marked it as poor. Again since FEM

has never spent large amount of money on its brand and product promotion, not many

people are actually thoroughly impressed with the promotion of FEM and this is why it got

an average rating.

6%

17%

54%

20%

3%

Poor

Below Average

Average

Good

Excellent

89

Promotion done by FEM for each of the 3 category of products.

Hand Wash

Interpretation:-

FEM being not the market leader in Liquid Hand Wash segment is expected to concentrate

on the promotional aspects because its competitors are very highly reliable on various

promotional methods. This is the reason why most people think that FEM Hand Wash

category promotion is average or below average. There is no current scheme on it. Some 4-5

years back was the last advertisement of FEM Hand Wash was shown on TV; even that

advertisement was not very impressive.

For Hand Wash

Poor 24

Below Average 44

Average 54

Good 28

Excellent 2

16%

29%

36%

18%

1%

Poor

Below Average

Average

Good

Excellent

90

Bleach

Interpretation:-

In the bleach category, a lot of people are impressed with the promotion being done by FEM

that is why they rate the promotion of bleach above average. In fact, Dabur FEM has signed

Preity Zinta as their brand ambassador for the Bleach category. There is another

advertisement being shown on TV regarding SAKA bleach as well. Other than this FEM being

the market leader does not have to do much to increase its sale in this category.

For Bleach

Poor 14

Below Average 14

Average 56

Good 58

Excellent 10

9%

9%

37%

38%

7%

Poor

Below Average

Average

Good

Excellent

91

Hair Removal Cream

Interpretation:-

In the Hair Removal category, 38% feel that the promotion is Average while 36% feel it is

above average or good. FEM has run a couple of Consumer Promotion offers in which

cleansing cream was given with the tubes. Other than these there has not been much

promotion for Hair Removal category. However, its competitors are highly dependent on

commercial methods of promotion.

For Hair Removal Cream

Poor 14

Below Average 18

Average 58

Good 54

Excellent 8

9%

12%

38%

36%

5%

Poor

Below Average

Average

Good

Excellent

92

Percentage of people who have bought FEM under promotion

Interpretation:-

Out of total of 152, if we take 96 people who have used FEM some time or other and of

those only 96 people only 22 people have purchased FEM under the promotional scheme,

which is 23% of the total population who has used FEM is still very low. This shows that the

FEM does not provide schemes to its customers on regular basis. Even when they do it is not

communicated to its customers properly which result in low purchasing even when products

sold with schemes.

FEM bought under promotional scheme

Yes 22

No 130

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Yes

No

22

130

93

Sale Promotion influencing buying behaviour

Sale Promotion Influence

Yes 78

No 24

May Be 50

Interpretation:-

Out of 152 people, 51% believe that Yes sale promotion does affect their buying behaviour

while 33% are not sure about and 16% believe it does not really matter if the product is

under promotion or not, their buying of a particular brand will be the same irrespective of

the promotional schemes with them. But since more than 50% are of the sample population

thinks that sale promotion is important, it becomes important for FEM to concentrate

individually on each of its product categories and provide schemes with each one of them.

51%

16%

33%

Yes

No

May Be

94

Method of sale promotion preferred by consumers

Interpretation:-

Most of the people who were interviewed prefer Monetary Schemes with the products

above the Non-Monetary schemes and the same is evident from the fact that out of 152

people 92 prefer Monetary Schemes while the rest of 60 people prefer Non-Monetary

schemes. One of the reasons behind this could be that major part of the Indian population is

money centric and they want to save anyhow. This is why we see sale taking variable heights

when goods are sold at low prices or with discount schemes.

Method of Promotion

Monetary 92

Non-Monetary 60

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

MonetaryNon-Monetary

92

60

95

Which of the monetary method of promotion is being preferred by

Indian consumer?

Non-Monetary Method

Gifts 54

25% Extra Scheme 50

Lucky Draws 8

Trial Packs 40

Interpretation:-

43% of the total population prefers scheme of Buy One get One free, rationale behind this

scheme is, it not increases the quantity in your shopping cart but also decreases the price of

the product which you have originally bought. Next is Discount Scheme, again decreases the

prices of the product. Discount scheme is the most commonly used method of sale promotion.

Buy 2 get 3rd

at 50% and Family Pack scheme does not have very popularity among people,

more so because Discount and Buy one Get one, has more advantage and further more

satisfaction as compared to other schemes.

35%

11%

43%

11% Discounts (Example – Rs. 10 off)

Buy 2 get 3rd at 50%

Buy one get one

Buy family pack and get25% off

96

Which of the Non-Monetary method of promotion is being

preferred by Indian consumer?

Non-Monetary Method

Gifts 54

25% Extra Scheme 50

Lucky Draws 8

Trial Packs 40

Interpretation:-

Among the Non-Monetary methods of promotion, Gifts is the most popular with 36%

preference. One of the reason behind this could that Gifts has this surprise element

attached with it and the consumer is always excited about it. Next is Extra Quantity in the

same pack scheme with 33% preference, this is preferred because it gives you more

quantity at the same price. Trial Packs get 26%, trial packs could be of the same product or

of related product. Lucky Draws are not at all popular among the Indian consumer, reason

could be it has element of luck attached with it and consumer does not want to take risk for

it.

36%

33% 5%

26%

Gifts

25% Extra Scheme

Lucky Draws

Trial Packs

97

Satisfaction after availing these schemes and recommending the

same schemes to their friends and relatives

Yes No

Satisfied after availing schemes 116 36

Would you recommend 124 28

Interpretation:-

This shows that more than 75% of the consumers who have availed these promotional

schemes were satisfied from it. It means that the marketers have been able to hit the right

spot which is evident from the satisfaction level shown in this survey. Once a consumer is

satisfied with the product and its sales promotion, he will come back and buy the same

brand or he may buy larger quantity at first instance.

124 people will recommend these schemes to their friends and relatives. This means even

though some people are themselves not satisfied, they will still recommend it. For company

a good scheme means not only promotion through that particular scheme but also through

Word of Mouth ultimately.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Yes No

116

36

124

28

Satisfied after availing schemes Would you recommend

98

How many people prefer trying skin care products before using it?

Try before buying

Yes 114

No 38

Interpretation:-

Out of population of 152, 114 people will prefer trying that particular product before buying

it. FEM can use this as promotional scheme to make skin care product buyer use their

product. Once a consumer tries and likes the quality of the product, he/she may tend to

switch the brand as well. Like this FEM will not only gain confidence of its existing customers

but will also get new customers as well.

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Yes No

114

38

99

Findings from the above study are as follows:-

Most of the people visiting modern trade outlets are in the age group of 18 to 35 and

in that as well if we see the number of females arriving is more as compared to men.

There is a growing trend of females becoming the decision maker in buying

household products.

FEM brand awareness is good. People are aware of the various products lines that

are offered by FEM. Even though FEM does not spend much on its Brand building

still, through its quality products it has been able to create good reputation in the

market.

Most part of the promotion of FEM is done through consumer schemes. FEM is not

much dependent on TV Advertisement and other commercial mediums for its

promotion, one of the reasons could be before Dabur has taken over FEM, it was not

very high capital company.

Most of the users FEM products are females because Bleach, Hair Removal are

products which are still not very commonly used among men.

Among the usage of products, Bleach and Hand Wash takes the market. In fact, FEM

is the market leader in Bleach category. Hand Wash being not so popular still tops

the survey. I am not really sure how this thing happened because when I was on

store visits I noticed that not many people actually preferred FEM Hand Wash.

There is no change required in the pricing of FEM since most people are seem to be

satisfied with the current pricing of FEM products. Pricing matches the kind of

quality that is being offered by the company.

100

Not many people are aware of various promotional methods adopted by FEM.

Reasons could be that FEM has never spent large chunk of money on its promotional

activities. Whatever has been done, it’s all on a very small scale.

A lot of people think FEM’s overall promotional strategy is average as compared to

some of its competitors who spend a lot of money on its promotion.

People who were interviewed think that while promotion for Hand Wash is below

average, for other 2 categories; Bleach and Hair Removal its average or above

average.

Because FEM’s overall promotional strategy is not very consistent and it does not

offer schemes on regular basis, not many people have bought its products under

consumer promotion offer.

Sale promotion affects buying behaviour of a lot of people. If offered good scheme

consumer tends to move from its current brand to another brand which is offered

with the valuable scheme for consumer.

Most of people prefer monetary schemes over non-monetary schemes, because

having conventional thinking people in India wants to save money in the end.

Among the consumers Buy one get one free scheme is very famous as it doubles the

quantity at the same price. Next is discount scheme which again saves money of the

buyer.

In the non-monetary category 25% extra and gift pack schemes are very famous.

Next is the trial packs. People prefer these above other schemes.

101

If a person likes the scheme, he does tend to recommend it to his friends and

relatives, which bring in more consumers and thereby increase volume of sale.

Product Life-Cycle Stage

3 categories of FEM fall under one of the stages of product life cycle.

Hair Removal Cream – According to me, FEM’s hair removal cream is in its Introduction or

Infancy stage. Reasons could be, it has not been very long since the time it has been

launched and moreover India is still new to the concept of Hair Removal Cream.

Liquid Hand Wash – FEM’s Hand Wash is in its Growth stage. Because hand wash does exist

in India since long, still a lot of people prefer to use normal soap bricks in the Indian

household because it stays for a long time and wastage is also very nominal.

Bleach – FEM’s bleach is also in it Growth stage. Bleaches do exist in the Indian market but

its usage is on a rise since last few years.

102

RECOMMENDATIONS

103

Recommendations

Part 1

To counter the problem of Fill Rate what we can do is, in the purchase order if a

particular product is not available we can send the higher quantity of the different

size of same product. Example if there is order of 100 units of fem pink bleach in 25

gram and 50 gram each. Now if the 50 gram is not available we can send 50 extra

units of 25 gram. By doing this we will not lose the sale and customer since we are

substituting his demand to small unit of same product. Other than this, we can also

make the forecasting process more accurate so that company is not short of goods.

While retailers concentrate more on the sale Bleach, as it is highest selling product of

FEM, they should not avoid other SKUs. We can give them more margins on the sale

of Hand Wash and Hair Removal Category. Special retail schemes can also be

introduced like, on purchase of 500 units of Hand Wash 100 units free. This will not

only motivate the retailer to sale slow moving products but will also increase the sale

for the company. Giving special discount schemes and high margins to retailers will

also improve relationship between the company and the retail chain.

Regular survey should be done in these retail chains to see, what kind of variant of

the product and size of the pack is preferred by the consumers. Feedback and

suggestions can be taken through online surveys.

A special dedicated small van should be taken for transport of FEM products to

various stores so that FEM order does not have to wait for Dabur supply. Special

norms should be laid down and regarding the same contract should be signed with

the distributor for supply of products within the time limit.

104

Minimum Base Quantity should not be the same throughout the month. Since there

is an increase in the footfall of consumers in the first 10 days of the month as

compared to the rest of the month. MBQ should be setup in such a way that the

supply does not fall short of demand. Example if there are 24 units of bleach

ordered, then it should be increased to 36 units. Buffer should also kept in case of

sudden increase in demand.

Company should make sure that the distributor is maintaining good hygienic

conditions in the warehouse so that spoilage of products can be avoided. Regular

check from the company representative should be done to see of the standards are

maintained or not.

Purchase order should be send through mail so that the retailer does not have to

wait for the company representative to come and collect the order. Sales person can

be provided with palmtops so that they can take order quickly and with ease.

Margin should be setup keeping in view the competitive scenario. Low margins can

demotivate the retailer. Healthy margins keep the retailers on their toes and it also

motivates them to sell product since that gives them higher margin and higher

revenue.

Credit issues should be avoided. Retailer, distributors and company should follow

the contract, any conflict should not affect the sale the products.

A notification should be sent to all the distributors and retailers in case company

introduces any new product or SKU. Promotional schemes should also be

communicated to the retailers through email. Any kind of communication gap should

be avoided.

Salesman should not push the product. Special incentives should be given to the

salesman on achieving their targets. This will keep the salesman motivated, and

those who are unable to achieve targets can be given training to teach them special

selling techniques to improve their productivity.

105

Recommendations

Part 2

Since major part of the FEM consumers is in the age group of 18 to 35 and in that

most of them are females. FEM’s brand and consumer promotion should be done

keeping in my mind segment of Females aging within 18-35.

While this is primary target segment, men of same age group can also targeted

because there is a growing trend of use Bleach and Hair Removal Cream among men.

If promotion regarding the same can be done, FEM products can be made equally

famous among men as well.

FEM’s should concentrate more on the promotion of Hand Wash and Hair Removal

since its sale is still very low as compared to the sale of Bleach.

FEM also needs to keep its promotional activity consistent throughout the year, to

make a mark in the mind of the consumers. Once people buy a product under a

scheme and if like the quality of the product, then customer’s loyalty towards that

brand increases.

Since people prefer more of Monetary scheme over Non-Monetary scheme, our

strategy should be such that it includes more of monetary scheme and less of Non-

Monetary. Company should not concentrate of either of the two but on both of

them. Strategy should be made to make use of both the techniques of promotion

efficiently.

106

According to the Analysis done above related to product life cycle stage of different

categories of FEM product. Different promotional methods can be recommended.

FEM’s hair removal cream is in its Introductory or Infancy stage. Products

coming under this stage need more of advertising and publicity.

Encouraging personal selling and providing trial of hair removal cream can

be of highest cost effectiveness. I would recommend schemes like:

1. Buy Hair Removal Jar/Tube 40 gram, get Rs. 7 off

2. Buy 3 packs of Hair Removal and get discount on this month’s

FEMINA magazine

3. Buy Hair Removal and get sachet cleansing cream free.

FEM’s liquid hand wash category falls under Growth stage. In this

advertising, sale promotion and personal selling all grow more important

but above all of them is the power of word of mouth which takes all the

momentum of demand. For liquid hand wash I would recommend

schemes like;

4. Buy Hand Wash 1liter and get Rs. 20 off

5. Buy Hand Wash 250 ml and get 200 ml pouch free

6. Buy Hand Wash 250 ml and hair remover sachet free

FEM’s bleach category also falls under Growth stage. But since it’s a

market leader and the competition is not that strong. Any kind of

Consumer promotion will work for this category

7. Buy Bleach and get cold cream sachet free

8. Buy Bleach and get mud pack free

9. Buy Parlour pack and get Rs 20 off

107

CONCLUSION

The Gap analysis in distribution, assortment and MBQ levels and designing the promotion

mix strategy were successfully developed and analysed for FEM products naming; Bleach,

Liquid Hand Wash and Hair Removal Cream. Certain gaps in the distribution should be given

serious consideration by the company. Analysis done on promotion can be helpful in

determining the schemes that are preferred by the buyers the most.

Detailed recommendations on both the parts of the projects have been given. Information

on improving the various loopholes that exist in the distribution structure has been listed in

the report. Some limitations were faced during the collection of data from various sources.

But the same has been overcome with the help of Dabur Management and Distributors of

Dabur. Various promotional schemes have been provided in the recommendations and the

data to validate it as well.

The project was carried out in a good manner and has met the expectations of the

organization and the institute satisfactorily, though it still has quite some scope for

improvements which could be incorporated subsequently.

108

REFRENCES

1. www.google.com

2. www.wikipedia.com

3. http://www.dabur.com

4. http://www.femcareworld.com

5. http://www.supplychainmetric.com

6. http://retail.about.com

7. http://www.citesales.com

8. http://www.bizmove.com/general/m6h5.htm

9. www.docshare.com

10. http://www.indiaprwire.com

http://www.wikipedia.com/

http://www.dabur.com/

http://www.femcareworld.com/

http://www.supplychainmetric.com/

http://retail.about.com/

http://www.citesales.com/

http://www.bizmove.com/general/m6h5.htm

http://www.docshare.com/

http://www.indiaprwire.com/

109

BIBLOGRAPHY

1. Tapan K. Panda; Sunil Sahadev; (2009) Sales and Distribution Management, Oxford

University Press.

2. Tony Yeshin; (2006) Sale Promotion, Thompson Learning

3. Havaldar, Cavale Krishna, Vasant; Sales and Distribution Management, Tata McGraw-

Hill.

4. Don E. Schultz; William A. Robinson; Lisa A. Petrison; (1998) Sale Promotion

Essential, The McGraw-Hill Companies.

5. Chris Brown (1993), The sales promotion handbook, Kogan Page

http://www.google.co.in/search?tbs=bks:1&tbo=p&q=+inauthor:%22Chris+Brown%22&source=gbs_metadata_r&cad=5

110

Annexure

111

Annexure 1

112

Annexure 2

113

Annexure 3

114

Annexure 4

115

Annexure 5

116

Annexure 6

117

Annexure 7

118

Annexure 8

119

Annexure 9

120

Annexure 10

121

Annexure 11

FEM Questionnaire

Q1. Are you aware of FEM as a brand?*

Yes No

Q2. How did you come to know about FEM?

TV Advertisement Newspaper Internet Friends and Relatives Store Visit Other

Q3. Have you ever used FEM Products?*

Yes No

Q4. Which of these FEM products have you used?

Hand Wash Bleach Hair removal cream

Q5. Did you ever experience unavailability of FEM product in general stores?

Yes No May Be

Q6. Are you satisfied with the pricing of FEM Products?

Yes No

Q7. Are you aware of the Sale Promotion being done by FEM?*

Yes No May Be

122

Q8. How do you think is FEM's overall sale promotion strategy?*

Poor Below Average Average Good Excellent

Q9. Rate the promotion done by FEM for each of the below mentioned products*

Liquid Hand Wash


Bleach


Hair Removal Cream


Q10. Have ever bought a FEM product under promotion scheme, if yes? Which product?*

Yes No If Yes ___________

Q11. Does Sale Promotion really influence your buying behaviour while purchasing any product?*

Yes No May Be

Q12. Which method of Promotion do you prefer?*

Monetary Non-Monetary

Q13. What kind of monetary scheme do you prefer?* Discount (Ex. – Rs. 10 off) Buy 2 get 3rd at 50% Buy one get one Buy family pack and get 25% off

123

Q14. What kind of Non-Monetary scheme do you prefer?*

Gifts 25% extra scheme Lucky draws Trial Packs

Q15. Were you satisfied after availing these Promotional Schemes?*

Yes No

Q16. Do you recommend your friends and relatives to avail these promotional schemes?*

Yes No

Q17. If not, please specify why?

Q18. Do you prefer to try skin care product before buying them?*

Yes No

Q19. Gender*

Male Female

Q20. Occupation*

Student Self Employed Service House Wife Other

Q21. Age*

<18

18-25

25-35

35 and above

Documents

Dabur Presentation