1) Introduction ITC is one of India's foremost private sector companies with a market capitalisation of nearly US $ 14 billion and a turnover of over US $ 5 billion.* ITC is rated among the World's Best Big Companies, Asia's 'Fab 50' and the World's Most Reputable Companies by Forbes magazine, among India's Most Respected Companies by BusinessWorld and among India's Most Valuable Companies by Business Today. ITC ranks among India's `10 Most Valuable (Company) Brands', in a study conducted by Brand Finance and published by the Economic Times. ITC also ranks among Asia's 50 best performing companies compiled by Business Week. ITC has a diversified presence in Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Packaging, Agri-Business, Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Information Technology, Branded Apparel, Personal Care, Stationery, Safety Matches and other FMCG products. While ITC is an outstanding market leader in its traditional businesses of Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards, Packaging and Agri-Exports, it is rapidly gaining market share even in its nascent businesses of
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1) Introduction
ITC is one of India's foremost private sector companies with a market capitalisation of
nearly US $ 14 billion and a turnover of over US $ 5 billion.* ITC is rated among the
World's Best Big Companies, Asia's 'Fab 50' and the World's Most Reputable Companies
by Forbes magazine, among India's Most Respected Companies by BusinessWorld and
among India's Most Valuable Companies by Business Today. ITC ranks among India's
`10 Most Valuable (Company) Brands', in a study conducted by Brand Finance and
published by the Economic Times. ITC also ranks among Asia's 50 best performing
companies compiled by Business Week.
ITC has a diversified presence in Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers,
Packaging, Agri-Business, Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Information Technology,
Branded Apparel, Personal Care, Stationery, Safety Matches and other FMCG products.
While ITC is an outstanding market leader in its traditional businesses of Cigarettes,
Hotels, Paperboards, Packaging and Agri-Exports, it is rapidly gaining market share even
in its nascent businesses of Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Branded Apparel,
Personal Care and Stationery.
As one of India's most valuable and respected corporations, ITC is widely perceived to
be dedicatedly nation-oriented. Chairman Y C Deveshwar calls this source of inspiration
"a commitment beyond the market". In his own words: "ITC believes that its aspiration
to create enduring value for the nation provides the motive force to sustain growing
shareholder value. ITC practices this philosophy by not only driving each of its
businesses towards international competitiveness but by also consciously contributing
to enhancing the competitiveness of the larger value chain of which it is a part."
ITC's diversified status originates from its corporate strategy aimed at creating multiple
drivers of growth anchored on its time-tested core competencies: unmatched
distribution reach, superior brand-building capabilities, effective supply chain
management and acknowledged service skills in hoteliering. Over time, the strategic
forays into new businesses are expected to garner a significant share of these emerging
high-growth markets in India.
ITC's Agri-Business is one of India's largest exporters of agricultural products. ITC is one
of the country's biggest foreign exchange earners (US $ 3.2 billion in the last decade).
The Company's 'e-Choupal' initiative is enabling Indian agriculture significantly enhance
its competitiveness by empowering Indian farmers through the power of the Internet.
This transformational strategy, which has already become the subject matter of a case
study at Harvard Business School, is expected to progressively create for ITC a huge
rural distribution infrastructure, significantly enhancing the Company's marketing
reach.
ITC's wholly owned Information Technology subsidiary, ITC Infotech India Limited, is
aggressively pursuing emerging opportunities in providing end-to-end IT solutions,
including e-enabled services and business process outsourcing.
ITC's production facilities and hotels have won numerous national and international
awards for quality, productivity, safety and environment management systems. ITC was
the first company in India to voluntarily seek a corporate governance rating.
ITC employs over 25,000 people at more than 60 locations across India. The Company
continuously endeavors to enhance its wealth generating capabilities in a globalising
environment to consistently reward more than 3,60,000 shareholders, fulfill the
aspirations of its stakeholders and meet societal expectations. This over-arching vision
of the company is expressively captured in its corporate positioning statement:
"Enduring Value. For the nation. For the Shareholder."
2) History
ITC was incorporated on August 24, 1910 under the name of 'Imperial Tobacco
Company of India Limited'. Its beginnings were humble. A leased office on Radha
Bazar Lane, Kolkata, was the centre of the Company's existence. The Company
celebrated its 16th birthday on August 24, 1926, by purchasing the plot of land
situated at 37, Chowringhee, (now renamed J.L. Nehru Road) Kolkata, for the sum
of Rs 310,000. This decision of the Company was historic in more ways than one. It
was to mark the beginning of a long and eventful journey into India's future. The
Company's headquarter building, 'Virginia House', which came up on that plot of
land two years later, would go on to become one of Kolkata's most venerated
landmarks. The Company's ownership progressively Indianised, and the name of
the Company was changed to I.T.C. Limited in 1974. In recognition of the
Company's multi-business portfolio encompassing a wide range of businesses -
Cigarettes & Tobacco, Hotels, Information Technology, Packaging, Paperboards &
Specialty Papers, Agri-Exports, Foods, Lifestyle Retailing and Greeting Gifting &
Stationery - the full stops in the Company's name were removed effective
September 18, 2001. The Company now stands rechristened 'ITC Limited'.
Though the first six decades of the Company's existence were primarily devoted to
the growth and consolidation of the Cigarettes and Leaf Tobacco businesses, the
Seventies witnessed the beginnings of a corporate transformation that would usher
in momentous changes in the life of the Company.
ITC's Packaging & Printing Business was set up in 1925 as a strategic backward
integration for ITC's Cigarettes business. It is today India's most sophisticated
packaging house.
In 1975 the Company launched its Hotels business with the acquisition of a hotel in
Chennai which was rechristened 'ITC-Welcomgroup Hotel Chola'. The objective of
ITC's entry into the hotels business was rooted in the concept of creating value for
and Essenza Di Wills – an exclusive range of fine fragrances and bath & body care
products and Fiama Di Wills - a range of premium shampoos and shower gels.
Wills Lifestyle has also introduced Wills Signature designer wear, designed by
the leading designers of the country.
With a distinctive presence across segments at the premium end, ITC has also
established John Players as a brand that offers a complete fashion wardrobe to
the male youth of today. The recent launch of Miss Players with its range of
trendy fashion wear for young women has been a successful addition to the
youthful offering. With its brands, ITC is committed to build a dominant presence
in the apparel market through a robust portfolio of offerings.
At Wills Lifestyle, customers can browse at leisure, and shop in a relaxed and
pleasing atmosphere. The use of space is refreshing, which is reflected even in
the spacious changing rooms. Every store offers an international retailing
ambience with the extensive use of glass, steel and granite, reflecting the most
contemporary trends in store design, thereby creating a splendid backdrop for
the premium offerings.
Wills Lifestyle was named Superbrand 2009 by the Superbrands Council of India
recently. Wills Lifestyle has been twice declared 'The Most Admired Exclusive
Brand Retail Chain of the Year' at the Images Fashion Awards in 2001 & 2003 as
well as 'Most Admired Fashion Brand of the year - Fashion Forward' in 2009.
Personal Care
In line with ITC's aspiration to be India's premier FMCG company, recognised for
its world-class quality and enduring consumer trust, ITC forayed into the
Personal Care business in July 2005. In the short period since its entry, ITC has
already launched an array of brands, each of which offers a unique and superior
value proposition to discerning consumers. Anchored on extensive consumer
research and product development, ITC's personal care portfolio brings world-
class products with clearly differentiated benefits to quality-seeking consumers.
ITC's Personal Care portfolio under the 'Essenza Di Wills', 'Fiama Di Wills', 'Vivel
Di Wills' 'Vivel UltraPro', 'Vivel' and 'Superia' brands has received encouraging
consumer response and is being progressively extended nationally.
ITC's state-of-the-art manufacturing facility meets stringent requirements of
hygiene and benchmarked manufacturing practices. Contemporary technology
and the latest manufacturing processes have combined to produce distinctly
superior products which rank high on quality and consumer appeal.
Extensive insights gained by ITC through its numerous consumer engagements
have provided the platform for its R&D and Product Development teams to
develop superior, differentiated products that meet the consumer's stated and
innate needs. The product formulations use internationally recognised safe
ingredients, subjected to the highest standards of safety and performance.
Education & Stationary products
ITC made its entry into the stationery business in the year 2002 with its premium range of notebooks, followed in the year 2003 with the more popular range to augment its offering.
Today, ITC continues to blend its core capabilities to market a growing range of education and stationery products. These capabilities include,
a. Manufacturer of India’s first Ozone treated environment friendly Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF) pulp, paper and paperboard.
b. Knowledge of image processing, printing & conversion garnered from its Packaging & Printing Business.
c. Brand Building & Trade Marketing & Distribution strengths resident in its FMCG Business.
ITC’s stationery Brands are marketed as “Classmate” and “Paperkraft”, with
Classmate addressing the needs of students and Paperkraft targeted towards
college students and executives.
Classmate - India’s truly largest National brand, reaching 65,000 outlets across
the country, has over 300 variants in its range which comprises notebooks, long
books, practical books, drawing books, scrap books, reminder pads etc.
The Classmate Fun N Learn range of children books targeting pre school
learners, comprising categories like Pre School Learner, Active Minds and Read
Aloud Tales with features like Wipe n Use again, Trace & Color and Puzzles
ensure that a child's first lessons are truly enjoyable.
Classmate Invento Geometry Boxes, launched for school students comprise a
world-class precision compass and high quality plastic instruments coupled with
interesting trivia and useful information, to make geometry more fascinating for
students.
Aesthetically designed, Classmate pens offer the consumer a smoother and more
comfortable writing experience through use of ergonomic design, reducing the
effort required for writing. The initial launch comprises ball pens - Classmate
Safari and Classmate Ilet - and gel pens - Classmate Glider and Classmate
Octane.
A new entry to the Classmate portfolio is its range of HB Jet Black pencils.
Designed attractively for school kids, the pencils offer a unique advantage of
lesser lead wear out and thus, “Stay Sharper for Longer”.
The Classmate Notebook range builds in regional preferences and caters to the
requirements of All India & State Education Boards. Every Classmate notebook
carries ITC's Corporate Social Responsibility message on its back. For every four
Classmate Notebooks, ITC contributes Re. 1 to its rural development initiative
that supports, among other projects, primary education in villages.
Classmate has successfully run the “Classmate Young Author & Artist Contest”
for 5 years. The contest is a national level event going across 34 cities and getting
participation from 5000 schools.
The Paperkraft range consists of premium stationery with a wide variety for
executives to choose from. The assortment consists of notepads & multi subject
notebooks in hard, soft covers & multiple binding formats including spirals, wiros
etc.
The Paperkraft brand recently launched premium business paper – an
environment friendly multipurpose paper for office and home use. The paper has
been crafted by ITC’s Bhadrachalam unit using a pioneering technology, called
“Ozone Treated Elemental Chlorine Free technology”. Paperkraft business paper
is the whitest and brightest 75 & 70 GSM papers manufactured in India and
provides consumers an opportunity to “Go Green”.
Safety Matches As part of its strategic initiative to create multiple drivers of growth in the FMCG
sector, ITC commenced marketing safety matches sourced from the small-scale
sector. The Matches business leverages the core strengths of ITC in marketing
and distribution, brand building, supply chain management and paperboard &
packaging to offer Indian consumers high quality safety matches.
ITC’s range of Safety matches include popular brands like i Kno, Mangaldeep,
Aim, Aim Mega and Aim Metro. With differentiated product features and
innovative value additions, these brands effectively address the needs of
different consumer segments. The Aim brand is the largest selling brand of Safety
Matches in India. ITC also exports regular and premium safety matches brands to
markets such as Middle East, Africa and the USA. The successful acquisition of
Wimco Ltd. by Russell Credit Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of ITC has
consolidated the market standing of the Company's Matches business through
synergy benefits derived through combined portfolio of offerings, improved
servicing of proximal markets and freight optimization. Through its participation,
ITC aims to enhance the competitiveness of the small and medium scale sectors
through its complementary R&D based product development and marketing
strengths, especially the breadth and depth of the Company's trade marketing
and distribution.
Agarbattis
As part of ITC's business strategy of creating multiple drivers of growth in the
FMCG sector, the Company commenced marketing Agarbattis (incense sticks)
sourced from small-scale and cottage units in 2003. This business leverages the
core strengths of ITC in nation-wide distribution and marketing, brand building,
supply chain management, manufacture of high quality paperboards and the
creation of innovative packaging solutions to offer Indian consumers high quality
Agarbattis. With its participation in the business, ITC aims to enhance the
competitiveness of the small and medium scale sectors through its
complementary R&D based product development and strengths in trade
marketing and distribution.
Mangaldeep Agarbattis are available in a wide range of fragrances like Rose,
Jasmine, Bouquet, Sandalwood, Madhur, Durbar, Tarangini, Anushri, Ananth and
Mogra.
Mangaldeep Yantra is a special offering from ITC and this specially created
fragrance evokes the ambience of a temple. The premium range from ITC,
Mangaldeep Spriha has two offerings, Pratiti and Sarvatra and are specially
hand rolled by Cottage Industries, Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Puducherry. Cottage
Industries, Puducherry, has recently been accredited with IFAT certification,
which is an internationally recognized benchmark for fair trade practices.
Mangaldeep is also available in 3-in-1 and 5-in-1 packs giving the consumer a
choice of multiple fragrances in a single pack. Mangaldeep appeals to a cross-
section of consumers with offerings at various price points. These agarbattis are
available in innovative 'Fragrance-Locked' packaging. 'Fragrance locking' is a
unique concept of packaging which retains the fragrance for a longer period and
helps in "Completing the Purity of Prayer". Mangaldeep is fast emerging as the
only national brand in an industry dominated by multiple local brands.
In line with ITC's Triple Bottom Line philosophy of every business contributing to
the nation's economic, environmental and social capital, Mangaldeep agarbattis
are manufactured by small scale and cottage units, providing livelihood
opportunities for more than 5000 people. Seven out of 10 Mangaldeep Agarbatti
manufacturing units are ISO 9000 certified. Mangaldeep ASHA (Assistance in
Social Habilitation through Agarbattis) is an ITC initiative to improve the quality
of raw agarbatti production and provide better value realization for women
rollers. Under the project, ITC has extended support to NGOs in states and like
Bihar, Tripura, Tamil Nadu, who are setting up agarbatti units, training village
women in rolling agarbattis and employing them in these units.
Expressions Aromatic Candles
o Leveraging its deep consumer insight, ITC's Agarbatti business recently
launched "Expressions" Premium Range of Aromatic Candles in India
through Wills Lifestyle Stores. Research on usage and attitude reveals a
strong linkage of candles to attributes like Romance, Decoration and
Wellness (Aromatherapy).
o The Expressions range of Aromatic candles comprises Amour - the
Romance Series, Adora - the Decor Series and Nirvana - the Spa Series.
The basis of segmentation is colour and fragrance - Red for romance,
Purple for décor and Green for wellness. The fragrance of the candles have
been specially selected are made from the finest perfumes and oils. Each
candle's fragrance, shape and design are carefully chosen with a distinct
sensation and ambience in mind. Ideal for gifting, Expressions Aromatic
Candles promise to soothe, uplift and transform.
Hotels
ITC entered the hotels business in 1975 with the acquisition of a hotel in
Chennai, which was then rechristened ITC Chola. Since then the ITC-
Welcomgroup brand has become synonymous with Indian hospitality. With over
100 hotels in more than 80 destinations, ITC-Welcomgroup has set new
standards of excellence in the hotel industry in Accommodation, Cuisine,
Environment and Guest Safety. ITC's Hotels business is one of India's finest and
fastest growing hospitality chains. ITC Hotels' commitment to delivering globally
benchmarked services, embedded in a culture deeply rooted in India's rich
tradition of hospitality, gives it a unique and distinct identity.
A leader in the premium hospitality segment, ITC Hotels have had the privilege of
hosting world leaders, Heads of State and discerning guests from across the
world and within.
ITC-Welcomgroup pioneered the holistic concept of 'branded accommodation' in
the hospitality industry. It was the first to launch the idea of a 'Hotel within a
Hotel' by segmenting, customizing and branding hotel services like 'ITC One',
'Towers' and the 'Executive Club'. Each of these caters to specialized needs of the
global business traveller with unmatched quality and a range of custom-made
services.
ITC-Welcomgroup was the first to introduce branded
cuisine. Its restaurants Bukhara, Dakshin and DumPukht are
today powerful cuisine brands. ITC-Welcomgroup also
showcases international cuisine in its specialty restaurants West View and Pan
Asian.
ITC has strategically customized its hotels and appropriately categorized them to
fulfill the service and budgetary needs of travellers. ITC-Welcomgroup has an
exclusive tie-up with global partner Starwood for its top of the line premium
brand, the 'Luxury Collection'. ITC Hotels was also instrumental in bringing the
'Sheraton' brand to India, with which it enjoyed a three-decade exclusive
partnership.
ITC-Welcomgroup's properties are classified under four distinct brands:
ITC Hotels - Luxury Collection
In 2007, ITC-Welcomgroup entered a new phase in
its collaboration with Starwood Hotels & Resorts.
ITC-Welcomgroup now has an exclusive tie-up with
Starwood in bringing its premium brand, the
'Luxury Collection', to India. These are super
deluxe and premium hotels located at strategic
business and leisure locations. The seven hotels which are part of this collection
are: ITC Maurya in Delhi, ITC Maratha in Mumbai, ITC Sonar in Kolkata, ITC Grand
Central in Mumbai, ITC Windsor in Bengaluru, ITC Kakatiya in Hyderabad and ITC
Mughal in Agra.
WelcomHotels offer five-star hospitality for the
discerning business and leisure traveller. Currently
there are three hotels under this brand namely,
WelcomHotel Rama International Aurangabad,
WelcomHotel Vadodara and WelcomHotel Grand
Bay Vishakhapatnam. Four other ITC-Welcomgroup Sheraton Hotels – Sheraton
Rajputana Hotel Jaipur, Sheraton Chola Hotel Chennai and Sheraton New Delhi
offer warm, comforting services to the global traveller and a chance to connect.
Fortune Hotels offer full service properties all over
India, including smaller towns and cities, ideal for
the budget traveller. Fortune Hotels have a strong