NEW DELHI | WEDNESDAY, 4 DECEMBER 2019 BRANDWORLD 15. <

VINAY UMARJIAhmedabad, 3 December

The Gujarat-born brand,BalajiWafers, is taking abigleapontothenation-

al stage. With a star endorserandanewcampaign, thehomegrown wafers label thatdebutedinsideamovietheatreinRajkot (initssnackscanteen)more than threedecadesback,wants a place beside theGoliaths in thebusiness.

Experts say that this is thebest time for a small brand toaim big, but warn that Balajihas two big challenges to con-tend with. One it is to still tocrack the taste test, nationallyandsecondlyithastofindadif-ferentiator (otherthanprice) totakeonbigchipsmakers—fromPepsiCoLay’sandITCBingotoHaldiram’s and others—whohave been steadily localisingtheir product and pitch. Is itready for battle?

Jay Sachdev, marketing

manager of Balaji Wafers saysthe brand has been steadilybuilding up the arsenal. Headds, “A strong dis-tribution networkacrossthecountryisa must in order tobecome a nationalbrand.Wecurrentlyhave800strongdis-tributors and thenumber is increas-ing.Tobeacrediblechoice nationally,thebrandmustalsodeliver more thanthe expectation of the con-sumer even at the lowest pricepoint. We have both of thesethings on point. India being adiverse country also translatesto diverse taste buds.Integrating that into our prod-ucts is somethingwearework-ingon, alongsideourbrandingcampaigns.”

So far its colourful packag-ing and attractive price pointshave helped. The packaging

was revamped around a yearback, in keeping with a moreyouthful clientele the brand

seeks, and now aset of ads havebeen releasedwithpopularactorAyushmannKhurrana. All ofthis is in anticipa-tionof thebrand’snational sojourn.

Defined assavoury snacksincluding fruitsnacks, chips/

crisps, extruded snacks, tor-tilla/cornchips, popcorn,pret-zels, nuts and other sweet andsavourysnacks,theIndianmar-ket iswortharound ~38,644.25crore (2019), according toEuromonitor International. Itis led by Lays, Haldiram’s andBingo with Balaji Wafers atfourthposition.

Currently present in 10states in the West and South,Balaji will need to define its

positioningverysharplytotakeon the leaders say experts.“Balaji always comes up in ourreports despite being a region-al brand and has a high brandrecall in themarkets it is pres-ent.But still theyarea regionalbrand.TheyhavenothitoutasHaldiramhasdone.First thingthe brand has to do is to thinkdifferently,” says CEO of TRAResearchNChandramouli.

Sachdev explains that oneof the changes brought aboutis a sharp focus on youth,whereas in the past the brandidentified all ages as targetgroups. But in its currentavatar, Balaji is specifically

lookingatmillennialand post-millennialconsumers. “Hence,we have changedour packagingdesignandare intro-ducing specificproducts that targetsuch a young audi-ence.” Some of thenew products beingplanned are stack-able chips (as in

Pringles),Nachos, peanutandsesame chikkiwhich it intendsto market as 'India’s own pro-tein bar’.

A bigger product portfoliopoints in the right direction,but Chandramouli believesstockkeepingunits (SKUs)willbecritical foranational launch.“Onehastohaveveryfastmov-ingSKUinsnacks tomake it tolarge and medium retailers.Currently, this seems to bemissing.Also, theywillhave todifferentiate in this crowdedcategory,” he said. Stackedchips, for him, do not amountto thinkingdifferently.

Harish Bijoor, founderBijoor Consults thinks thebrand ought to spend moretimeover its image and identi-ty. “You could have a greatproduct but if your brandimagery doesn’t percolate intoregionswhereconsumersdon'tknow you, it may not be suc-cessful. For now, Balaji Waferssounds regional. They have toworkonrelevanceandhowthebrand will resonate across 29states. They need to keep inmind that they are not just 29states but 29 separate regionsandhence, strategieswill varyaccordingly,” addsBijoor.

Can Balaji cash inits local chips?WithAyushmannKhurranaasendorserandabigadvertisingsplash,theregionalsavourybrandlooksforanationalfootprint

“You could have agreat product, butif your brandimagery doesn’tpercolate intoregions whereconsumers don'tknow you, it maynot be successful”

HARISH BIJOORFounder, Bijoor Consults

AyushmannKhurrana is the faceof thebrand in its ongoingcampaignonTVanddigitalmedia

“Balaji alwayscomes up in ourreports despitebeing a regionalbrand and hasa high brandrecall”

N CHANDRAMOULICEO, TRA Research

> FROM PAGE 1

FinMin says S&P...The investment rate in Q2 stood at 27.6per cent, the lowest in 11 quarters.Whatadded to the glut of bad news was thatfor April-October, the Centre hasbreached its fiscal deficit target for thefull year.

While the government maintainsthe economy has bottomed out andthat a recovery is expected from theOctober-December quarter, the avail-able official data so far for October isnot encouraging.

The output of the eight core sectorsof the economy witnessed historicallyhigh levels of contraction in October.This is expected to impact overallindustrial production because of theindex of industrial production, whichhad contracted by 4.3 per cent inSeptember, nosediving to an eight-year low.

Also in October, lower receipts fromprocessed petroleum exports anddepressed global conditions led tomer-chandise exports contracting for athird straight month.

Sales of vehicles in India declinedfor the seventh straight month, falling12.76 per cent.

Last month, Moody’s had cut itsoutlook for India’s credit ratings to“negative” from “stable”, citing theongoing economic slowdown, finan-cial stress among rural households,weak levels of job creation, and the liq-uidity crunch in non-banking finan-

cial companies (NBFCs).Moody’s has affirmed India’s Baa2

long-term sovereign rating, the second-lowest investment grade score, but saidthe negative outlook indicated that anupgrade was unlikely in the near term.

Corporation tax...The collection numbers are expected toworsen further once the impact of thecorporation tax rate cuts becomes vis-ible in the third advance tax collectioninstalment due on December 15. As aneconomy revival measure, FinanceMinister Nirmala Sitharaman had onSeptember 20 announced a tax rate cutfrom 25-30 per cent to 22 per cent forexisting companies which do not availof any exemptions, and 15 per cent fornew companies, besides a reduction inminimum alternate tax from 18.5 percent to 15 per cent.

“The impact of the economic slow-down alone will hit the direct tax col-lection target by at least ~1 trillion, if weassume that themop-up grows by 8 percent as against the targeted 17.3 percent growth. But even 8 per cent ishighly overestimated with our collec-tions hovering at 1-2 per cent up toNovember,” said a government official.

The impact of the corporation taxrate cuts could be in the range of~70,000 crore and ~1 trillion, accord-ing to several estimates.

“Collections are set to worsen inDecember, with the impact ofthe corporation tax rate cut toalso get reflected,” said anoth-er official.

Gross direct tax collectionstood at ~7 trillion, of which~1.5 trillion has been issued asrefunds.

The income tax depart-ment is expecting a cut in thedirect tax collection target byat least around ~1.5 trillion inthe revised estimates to makeit a realistic one.

India's gross domesticproduct growth fell to a 6-yearlow of 4.5 per cent in the sec-ond quarter ended September.

The direct tax collectiontarget was revised downwardsby ~45,000 crore in the JulyBudget, from the estimates inthe Interim Budget presentedin February.

Collection of advance tax -- corporate and personalincome -- grew 6 per centbetween April and September,as against 18 per cent in theyear-ago period. Advance taxcollection after the secondinstalment by September 15stood at ~2.2 trillion.

Tax buoyancy estimatedthis year, at 1.44, is higherthan the 1.21 achieved last

year.

Auto price...The price hike announcement at thispoint may boost sales in the short-termif buyers advance their purchase, ana-lysts believe.

Passenger vehicle sales in India havedeclined in 11 out of 12 months as pooreconomicgrowthhasweighed inonbuy-ers' sentiments. The GDP grew 4.5 percent in the secondquarter ofFY20,mark-ing the slowest expansion in six years.

The index of eight core infrastructureindustries contracted 5.8 per cent forOctober 2019, hitting a new low. Amongthe eight segments, the steel industrywitnessed a 1.6 per cent fall in October,worse than a 1.5 per cent drop inSeptember.

Led by festivals and steep discounts,passenger vehicle sales rose0.28per centin October, over a year ago period. Withthe festive fervour drying up, salesslipped again in November.

Soonafter theMaruti announcement,a spokesperson at Mahindra andMahindra said the company was "con-templating a hike in early January." Adecision will be taken later this month.

The increasing transition cost alongwith the rising discounts have put pres-sure on the firms’ expenditure, therebyhitting their bottom line,Nikunj Sanghi,MD & Founder of JS 4Wheel MotorPrivate Limited, pointed out.

Toyota KirloskarMotor is among theauto firms to have decided to bite thebullet . The company’s deputymanagingdirector N Raja said the company wasreviewing two price hikes--first fromJanuary 2020 after evaluating costs dur-ing the last six months and the secondone on account of transitioning fromBSIV to BSVI. The exact quantum ofprice increase could be decided bymonth end.

At both Tata Motors and Hyundai, adecision could come soon. Butspokespersons at these companies saidthat therewas nothing yet onprice hike.

RajeshGoel, seniorvice-presidentanddirector marketing and sales at HondaCars India, said, "Honda does not have aprice increase plan from January. Goingforward, as we sequentially introduceBSVI versions of our products, the rele-vant BSVI prices will be applicable." TheongoingoffersonBSIVmodelsmightnotbe extended to BSVI models, he added.

Sanghi explained that thequantumofprice hike could bemore for companieswith a heavy diesel portfolio as com-pared to petrol. "ActuallyMaruti ismostcomfortablyplaced in termsofpricehikehitting sales as they have withdrawnfrom the segment for BS VI vehicles,"Sanghi said.

According to Mitul Shah, analyst atReliance Securities, keeping the slow-down inmind, the companies are likelyto take the hike in phases rather than atthe same time. "The real impact ondemand can be gauged only after theprice hike takes effect," said Shah.

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SOLUTION TO #2911

POSSESSION NOTICE (Under Rule 8(1))Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002

SHOP NO.12, AIR FORCE ROAD, JAWAHAR COLONY, N.I.T., FARIDABAD-121005

DATE: 29.11.2019PLACE: FARIDABAD

Authorised Officer,Bank of Baroda

Whereas, the undersigned being the Authorized Officer of the Bankof Baroda, Jawahar Colony, Faridabad Branch, under theSecuritization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets andEnforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002 (Act No.54 of 2002) andin exercise of powers conferred under section 13(12) read with rule 3of the Security Interest (Enforcement) Rules, 2002 issued a demandnotice dated 10.04.2019, calling upon the Borrowers M/S. SUMANALLOYS through its Prop. Mrs. Suman W/o. Suresh Sharma andGuarantor Mr. Suresh Sharma, to repay the amount mentioned innotice being Rs.80,53,846.82 (Rupees Eighty Lakh Fifty ThreeThousand Eight Hundred Forty Six and Paise Eighty Two Only)as on 31.03.2019, within 60 days from the date of receipt of the saidnotice with future interest and incidental charges w.e.f. 28.02.2019.The borrower having failed to repay the amount, notice is herebygiven to the borrower/guarantor and the public in general that theundersigned has taken the Possession of the property describedherein below in exercise of powers conferred on him/her undersection 13(4) of the said Act read with rule 8 of the Security Interest

th(Enforcement) Rules, 2002 on this 29 Day of November of theYear 2019. The borrower/guarantor in particular and public ingeneral is hereby cautioned not to deal with the property and anydealing with the property will be subject to charge of the Bank ofBaroda, Jawahar Colony, Faridabad Branch, for an amount ofRs.80,53,846.82 (Rupees Eighty Lakh Fifty Three ThousandEight Hundred Forty Six and Paise Eighty Two Only) as on31.03.2019 with future interest and incidental chargesw.e.f.28.02.2019.The borrower's attention is invited to provision of sub-section(8) of the section 13 of the Act, in respect of time available, toredeem the secured asset.

DESCRIPTION OF THE IMMOVABLE PROPERTIES

(1) All that part and parcel of the property situated at MustailNo.14 Kila No.5, Tatarpur Palwal Measuring 781 Sq.yards.(2) All that part and parcel of the property situated atKhavit Khata No.90/107 Mustail No.14 Kila No.8, measuring324 Sq.feet.