PROJECT REPORT
On
“A Study On Understanding Marketing Strategies Of
ITC Ltd. for Personal Care Category”
BY
MOHAMMAD YUSUF MAKANDAR
1NH19MBA80
Submitted to
DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES
NEW HORIZON COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING,
OUTER RING ROAD, MARATHALLI,
BENGALURU
In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of
MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
Under the guidance of
Ms. Saumi Roy
Asst. Professor
2019 - 2021
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that MOHAMMAD YUSUF MAKANDAR bearing USN 1NH19MBA80, is a
bonafide student of Master of Business Administration course of the Institute 2019-21,
autonomous program, affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum. The
project report on “A Study On Understanding Marketing Strategies Of ITC Ltd. for
Personal Care Category” is prepared by him under the guidance of Prof. Saumi Roy, in
partial fulfilment of requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Business
Administration of Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum Karnataka.
Signature of Internal Guide Signature of HOD Signature of principal
Name of the Examiners with affiliation Signature with date
1. External Examiner
2. Internal Examiner
DECLARATION
I, MOHAMMAD YUSUF MAKANDAR hereby declare that the project report on “A Study On
Understanding Marketing Strategies Of ITC Ltd. for Personal Care Category” with
reference to “ITC Ltd.” prepared by me under the guidance of Prof. Saumi Roy, faculty of M.B.A
Department, New Horizon College of Engineering.
I also declare that this project report is towards the partial fulfilment of the university
regulations for the award of the degree of Master of Business Administration by Visvesvaraya
Technological University, Belgaum.
I have undergone an industry project for a period of Eight weeks. I further declare that this
report is based on the original study undertaken by me and has not been submitted for the award
of a degree/diploma from any other University / Institution.
Signature of Student
Place:
Date:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The successful completion of the project would not have been possible without
the guidance and support of many people. I express my sincere gratitude to
Dept. Of MBA, New Horizon College Of Engineering, Bangalore for allowing
to do my project at New Horizon College Of Engineering.
I thank the staff of New Horizon College Of Engineering, Bangalore for their
support and guidance and helping me in completion of the report.
I am thankful to my internal guide Prof. Saumi Roy, for her constant support
and inspiration throughout the project and invaluable suggestions, guidance and
also for providing valuable information.
Finally, I express my gratitude towards my parents and family for their
continuous support during the study.
MOHAMMAD YUSUF MAKANDAR
1NH19MBA80
6
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SL.
NUMBER
CONTENTS
PAGE
NUMBERS
1
Executive Summary
1
2 Chapter 1- Theoretical Background of The
Study
2 – 21
3
Chapter 2- Industry Profile &
Company Profile
22 – 38
4
Chapter 3- Research Methodology
39 – 49
5
Chapter 4- Data Analysis and Interpretation
50 – 60
6
Chapter 5 - Summary of Findings,
Suggestion and Conclusion
61 – 65
7
Bibliography
66
8
Annexure
67 – 69
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A marketing strategy refers to a business's overall game plan for reaching prospective
consumers and turning them into customers of their products or services. A marketing
strategy contains the company‟s value proposition, key brand messaging, data on target
customer demographics, and other high-level elements. A clear marketing strategy should
revolve around the company's value proposition, which communicates to consumers what the
company stands for, how it operates, and why it deserves their business. This provides
marketing teams with a template that should inform their initiatives across all of the
company's products and services.
This project gives a brief introduction to the ITC Ltd. also discuss the rapidly growing
personal care sector in India, and various other points of importance. In the introduction to
the company, the vision, mission, corporate governance of the company is discussed along
with recent developments as well as its importance in India.
This project titled “Marketing Strategies of ITC Limited” had detailed study. The first
chapter I have given in this project is Introduction to the Marketing Strategies. The second
chapter includes the Introduction about the industry and company. I have given brief of the
ITC Limited vision, mission, corporate governance and all about ITC Limited. In the third
chapter I have given in this project includes the Research Methodology in which I have
covered the objective of the project, Scope of the study, significance of the study, research
design, sample methodology and limitation of the project which i have faced. In the fourth
chapter I have included the major fact and findings of the project i.e. marketing strategies
adopted by ITC Limited. Major products of the ITC, product profile and descriptions which
ITC limited deals. Fifth chapter data analysis and interpretation I have covered the
diagrammatical data and conclusions derived from them. Lastly the recommendation and
conclusion describe the researcher‟s personal conclusions of the research.
The ultimate goal of a marketing strategy is to achieve and communicate a
sustainable competitive advantage over rival companies by understanding the needs and
wants of its consumers. Whether it's a print ad design, mass customization, or a social media
campaign, a marketing asset can be judged based on how effectively it communicates a
company's core value proposition.
CHAPTER 1 : THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
At the heart of any business strategy is a marketing strategy. A marketing strategy is
something that every single business; no matter how big or small, needs to have in place.
Businesses exist to deliver products that satisfy customers. Marketing is the process of
planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods,
and services. A marketing strategy is composed of several interrelated components called the
marketing mix. The Marketing mix consists of answers to a series of product and customer
related questions.
A marketing strategy is a written plan that includes marketing topics like product
development, promotion, distribution and pricing approach. It identifies company's marketing
goals and explains how company can achieve those goals. Marketing strategies help in
identifying strengths and weaknesses of the company and that of its competitors. Marketing
strategy helps to identify the areas on which the company has to focus its marketing tactics
A strategy is a long-term plan to achieve certain objectives. A marketing strategy is
therefore a marketing plan designed to achieve marketing objectives. For example, marketing
objective may relate to becoming the market leader by delighting customers. The strategic
plan therefore is the detailed planning involving marketing research, and then developing a
marketing mix to delight customers. Every organization‟s needs to have clear marketing
objectives, and the major route to achieving organizational goals will depend on strategy.
Developing a strategy involves establishing clear aims and objectives around which the
framework for a policy is created. Having established its strategy, an organization can then
work out its day-to-day tools and tactics to meet the objectives. Marketing can thus be seen as
the process of developing and implementing a strategy to plan and coordinate ways of
identifying, anticipating and satisfying consumer demands, in such a way as to make profits.
It is this strategic planning process that lies at the heart of marketing.
A marketing strategy is a process or model to allow a company or organization to
focus limited resources on the best opportunities to increase sales and thereby achieve a
sustainable competitive advantage. Marketing strategy includes all basic and long-term
activities in the field of marketing that deal with the analysis of the strategic initial situation
of a company and the formulation, evaluation and selection of market-oriented strategies and
therefore contributes to the goals of the company and its marketing objectives.
Definitions:
1. “Strategy is a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim.” -
Oxford Dictionary
2. “Marketing Strategy is a process that can allow an organization to concentrate its resources
on the optimal opportunities with the goals of increasing sales and achieving a sustainable
competitive advantage.” - David Aaker,
The term strategy can be defined in simple words as follows:
“Strategy is a broad long-term plan designed to achieve overall objectives of the firm.”
1.1 SIGNIFICANCE OF MARKETING STRATEGY
The effective marketing strategy plays a very important role in the business working
of the firm. Some of its important benefits are discussed as follows:
1. Strategic Planning
The most important aspect of marketing strategy is that it involves strategic planning.
Strategic planning is a concept that encompasses marketing, promotion, sales, and financial
goals and is essentially about developing goals for your business. Having a strategic plan for
the business means having a plan in place to deal with both expected and unexpected
situations. For example if company knows that its mortgage will increase by 5 percent next
year, then a strategic plan will outline how company will increase sales or decrease expenses
to meet this additional outflow.
2. Establishes Effective Distribution
With the effective marketing strategy company can establish an effective distribution
network to reach its customers. Once the strategy is finalized it is very easy to locate target
customers and also the market areas where it can sell product effectively. For example
younger customers will be more likely to shop using a smart phone or on a website. Older
customers might prefer to shop at retail outlets. If the market research shows that the
company‟s product need to be in retail stores but if the company doesn‟t have a sales force,
then it can use a wholesaler or distributor.
3. Streamlines Product Development
A marketing strategy helps the company to create products and services with the best
chances for making a profit. This is because marketing strategy starts with market place
research, taking into Consideration Company‟s optimal target customer, what your
competition is doing and what trends might be on the horizon. Using this information,
company can determine the benefit customers and clients want what they‟re willing to pay
and how company can differentiate its product or service from the competition.
4. Developing Financial Goals
Marketing strategies are also important for guiding the business into the development
of financial goals. Financial goals are two-fold: They are related to sales targets and also to
expenses budget. Sales targets are initially set as part of the marketing plan but might change
over time according to changing market conditions, increases in product price, or increases or
decreases in consumer demand. Monitoring expenses is also part of financial goal
development. If business tends to spend more than it brings in, it will have a serious problem
maintaining long-term business viability. However, if the business is able to closely monitor
its outflows, only spending what it absolutely needs to, then it will be better equipped to
increase the profit margins.
5. Preparation of marketing Plan
Marketing strategies are often first brainstormed and written as part of an
organization's marketing plan. Most marketing plans include the current or expected
strategies for your products, the price points of those products, how to distribute the products,
and also the advertising and marketing tools. A marketing plan is also important for
developing a promotional strategy as it helps the business to identify its target markets and to
set measurable goals. It is vital to the success of the organization that implements a marketing
plan that aims for growth and positive change in the bottom line.
6. Assists with Marketing Communications
Market research will help to create brand, or image it wants to establish about
business. It facilitates the company to communicate to its target customer. Marketing strategy
facilities the company to determine if a particular magazine, radio station or website fits
company‟s selling plans.
7. Understanding the customers
Marketing strategies can also assist the business in understanding and connecting with
clients and customers. If the marketing plan is loosely structured, company will not have
much success at targeting products to the "right" demographics. Effective marketing strategy
enables a business firm to identify market segments that it will serve and what product offers
it will make. A well defined marketing strategy clearly describes whom to serve and whom to
exclude.
8. Facilitates optimum use of resources
There can be optimum utilization of resources in order to achieve the desired
objectives. If there are no proper strategies, then the organization may not be able to make
arrangement of proper resources. There may be arrangement of fewer resources, in which
case, the organization may not be able to undertake its activities and there may be also
arrangement of more resources that what is actually required and as such it may lead to
wastage of resources.
9. Selection of the Right Communication Tactics
A clear understanding of the target audience and an idea of the desired goal will help
to drive the selection of appropriate media choices. For instance, if the target audience is
elderly, the Internet is not likely to represent a good communication tactic. Conversely, if the
target audience is college-age students, local newspapers are not likely to be a good choice.
The company‟s goals also provide insight into communication tactics. A goal of increasing
marketing share by 25 percent might require an extensive multi-media campaign; a goal of
adding 10 new customers might require only a news release and an ad in the local paper.
Marketers rarely benefit by over-reaching their goals and being unable to meet demand.
10. Enhances corporate image
Well defined strategies can generate corporate image of the firm. This is because
strategies when implemented properly bring good returns to the organization. The
organization is in a position to undertake its social responsibility towards customers,
employees, suppliers and others and as such the organization can earn goodwill in the market.
1.2 CONDITIONS FOR A SUCCESSFUL MARKETING STRATEGY
The strategy can be broadly classified into three levels:
1. Corporate Strategy - Defining what business the company is in Setting the overall
structure, systems and processes
2. Business Strategy - Deciding how to compete Identifying competitive advantage Selecting
key success factors
3. Functional Strategy - Coordination of company departments to business strategy
1. Corporate Strategy
Corporate level strategy occupies the highest level of strategic decision-making and
components dealing with the objective of the firm, acquisition and allocation of resources and
coordination of strategies of various SBUs for optimal performance. Top management of the
organization makes such decisions. The nature of strategic decisions tends to be value-
oriented, conceptual and less concrete than decisions at the business or functional level.
Single-business companies have the advantage of focus and rapid response but are vulnerable
to problems in their industry. Their corporate strategy must demonstrate the advantages of
remaining active in only one industry while evaluating business opportunities in areas with
complementary activities. With a goal of optimizing company operations, profitability and
growth, the corporate strategy must compare the return of a continuing investment in the
single business with the acquisition or starting up of complementary businesses.
At the corporate level, managers must coordinate the activities of multiple business
units. Attempts to develop and maintain distinctive competencies at the corporate level focus
on generating superior human, financial, and technological resources; designing effective
organization structures and processes; and seeking synergy among the firm‟s various
businesses. Synergy can provide a major competitive advantage for firms where related
businesses share R&D investments, product or production technologies, distribution
channels, a common sales force and/or promotional themes. Corporate strategy describes
company‟s overall direction in terms of its general attitude toward growth and the
management of its various businesses. The corporate strategy typically fits within the three
main categories - stability strategy, growth strategy and retrenchment strategy.
a) Stability strategy
The basic approach of stability strategy is to maintain present course and be steady as
it goes. In an effective stability strategy, companies will concentrate their resources where the
company presently has or can rapidly develop a meaningful competitive advantage in the
narrowest possible product-market scope consistent with the firm‟s resources and market
requirement's.
b) Growth strategy
Growth strategy is the means through which an organization plans to achieve its
objective to grow in turnover and volume. There are four broad growth strategies which
include; product development, diversification, market development and market penetration. It
is a style that seeks stock with future investment rates of return being great than the stocks.
A business growth strategy starts with market insights. The source of insights lies
within and across the market ecosystem. While research firms and strategic marketing
consultants can bring these insights to bear on an ad-hoc basis, companies committed to
growth will serve themselves well by developing systems and processes to ensure a
continuous flow of market insights into their business. This is a key strategy for developing
the demand side of the business.
Business growth strategies are unique in every business. However there are broad
categories of strategies for business growth: ƒ
New Product/Service Strategy Development ƒ
Market Expansion Strategy ƒ
Product Diversification Strategy ƒ
Market Opportunity Analysis ƒ
Competitive Market Analysis ƒ
Market Segmentation Strategy
c) Retrenchment strategy
A strategy used by corporations to reduce the diversity or the overall size of the
operations of the company. This strategy is often used in order to cut expenses with the goal
of becoming a more financial stable business.
Typically the strategy involves withdrawing from certain markets or the
discontinuation of selling certain products or service in order to make a beneficial turnaround.
Retrenchment is a corporate level strategy that aims to reduce the size or diversity of an
organization. Retrenchment is also reduction in expenditure to become financially stable.
Retrenchment strategy is a strategy used by corporate in order to reduce the diversity or to cut
the overall size of the operations of the company. This strategy is often used to cut down
expenses with the goal of becoming more financially stable business. Typically the strategy
involves withdrawing from certain markets or the discontinuation of selling certain products
or services in order to make a beneficial turn around.
2. Business Strategy
The business strategy of a single-business company is similar to that of a business unit
of a diversified company except that the business strategy must support corporate strategic
initiatives aimed at the single business. The business strategy sets goals for performance,
evaluates the actions of competitors and specifies actions the company must take to maintain
and improve its competitive advantages. Typical strategies are to become a lowprice leader,
to achieve differentiation in quality or other desirable features or to focus on promotion. How
a business unit competes within its industry is the critical focus of business-level strategy.
A major issue in a business strategy is that of sustainable competitive advantage.
What distinctive competencies can give the business unit a competitive advantage? And
which of those competencies best match the needs and wants of the customers in the
business‟s target segments? Another important issue a business-level strategy must address is
appropriate scope: how many and which market segments to compete in, and the overall
breadth of product offerings and marketing programs to appeal to these segments. Finally,
synergy should be sought across product-markets and across the functional departments of
the organization.
Business-level strategy is applicable in those organizations, which have different
businesses and each business is treated as strategic business unit (SBU). The fundamental
concept in SBU is to identify the discrete independent product/market segments served by an
organization. Since each product/market segment has a distinct environment, a SBU is
created for each such segment.
For example, Reliance Industries Limited operates in textile fabrics, yarns, fibers, and
a variety of petrochemical products. For each product group, the nature of market in terms of
customers, competition, and marketing channel differs. Therefore, it requires different
strategies for its different product groups. Thus, where SBU concept is applied, each SBU
sets its own strategies to make the best use of its resources (its strategic advantages) given the
environment it faces. At such a level, strategy is a comprehensive plan providing objectives
for SBUs, allocation of resources among functional areas and coordination between them for
making optimal contribution to the achievement of corporate-level objectives. Such strategies
operate within the overall strategies of the organization. The corporate strategy sets the long-
term objectives of the firm and the broad constraints and policies within which a SBU
operates. The corporate level will help the SBU define its scope of operations and also limit
or enhance the SBUs operations by the resources the corporate level assigns to it. There is a
difference between corporate-level and business-level strategies.
3. Functional Strategy
Functional strategy, as is suggested by the title, relates to a single functional operation
and the activities involved therein. Decisions at this level within the organization are often
described as tactical. Such decisions are guided and constrained by some overall strategic
considerations. Functional strategy deals with relatively restricted plan providing objectives
for specific function, allocation of resources among different operations within that functional
area and coordination between them for optimal contribution to the achievement of the SBU
and corporate level objectives. Below the functional-level strategy, there may be operations
level strategies as each function may be dividend into several sub functions. For example,
marketing strategy, a functional strategy, can be subdivided into promotion, sales,
distribution, pricing strategies with each sub function strategy contributing to functional
strategy.
a. Marketing Functional Strategy
In companies that are marketing oriented, the marketing strategy on a functional level
influences the other functions and their strategies. A typical marketing strategy is to
determine customer needs in an area where the company has a natural competitive advantage.
Such advantages might be in location, facilities, reputation or staffing.
Once the marketing strategy has identified the kind of product customers want, it
passes the information to operations to design and produce such a product at the required
cost. The advertising department must develop a promotional strategy, sales must sell the
product and customer service must support it. The marketing strategy forms the basis for the
strategies of these other departments. The primary focus of marketing strategy is to
effectively allocate and coordinate marketing resources and activities to accomplish the
firm‟s objectives within a specific product-market.
Therefore, the critical issue concerning the scope of a marketing strategy is specifying
the target market for a particular product or product line. Next, firms seek competitive
advantage and synergy through a well-integrated programme of marketing mix elements (the
4 Ps of product, price, place, promotion) tailored to the needs and wants of potential
customers in that target market.
b. Other Functional Strategies
The non-marketing functional strategies must support the marketing strategy that, in
turn, is a component of the overall business strategy. In a single-business company, those
strategies are tightly focused on one industry, but they must also deliver data that allows the
corporate strategy to examine possible diversification. Single-business companies are usually
either highly ranked in their single business or dominant in their niche. The strategies at the
functional level try to maintain such a position but also look for external danger signs. If
events outside the company's control lead to a deterioration of its position, strategic
components from a functional level must signal to the corporate level that an implementation
of alternative strategies is required.
The marketing strategy is the most important tool while framing the overall business
strategy of the organization. While designing the marketing strategy the firm has to consider
many factors like potential customers, market segmentation, unique selling proposition,
situations prevailing etc. Effective marketing strategy benefits the company in not only
knowing its customers but also delivering maximum customer satisfaction. Thus an effective
marketing strategy finally results into building corporate image of the company. The
functional strategy should be designed on the basis of business level strategy, whereas the
business level strategy should be derived from the corporate level strategy.
When a new product is being introduced in to a market, it normally undergoes a series
of step in the market; these steps are introduction growth, maturity and lastly the decline
stage. These steps follow each other chronologically and thus referred to as the product life
cycle (PLC. The PLC sequence or series is closely linked with the dynamics in the market
environment and has subsequent effects on the product marketing mix and marketing
strategies. A graph that is normally plotted of the revenue against the stages of product is
referred to as the product life cycle graph.
In the introduction stage of the PLC, the firms normally aim at creating the product
awareness in the market through the employment of the marketing mix. Initial stages involve
the establishment of quality and branding couples with the intellectual property protection
like the trade marks. The pricing strategy may be low to ease the entry into the market if there
are already established firms while it may be high if there are no competitors and this enables
fast recovery of the initial cost . Distribution is normally selective while the promotion targets
early adaptors and innovators at the growth stage of the PLC, the firms aim at increasing its
share market by offering additional features to its product quality while maintaining the
prices. Distribution is increased to meet the increased demand while the promotion aims a
bigger audience when your buyer says your brand is to be delisted; all you can hear is the
blood pulsing through your heart, and the taste of bile on your mouth…" The product can be
defined as goods, services or both; in the other words it's anything that satisfies customer
need. Each product has its own limited life, however it shares the same aspect and we define
the period that the product goes through as the "Product life cycle".
Rural growth - Most FMCG categories are growing faster in rural as compared to
urban India. This growing importance of rural India will also mean that regional
players and categories with a strong regional franchise will influence marketing plans.
As these categories expand, they will influence the way adjacent categories and
emerging alternatives will seek to market themselves.
Innovation Imperative – Innovation is imperative in the FMCG category today.
Differentiation is the key. Product life cycles are getting shortened given the highly
competitive scenario. There is therefore a very strong thrust on innovation in the
FMCG space across various aspects ranging from brand proposition, packaging,
communication, consumer in sighting to pricing. We are constantly re-engineering our
offerings on the innovation plank with the objective of serving the evolving needs of
the consumer. Some of the examples in the innovation space include the launch of
Goodnight Advanced Activ+ and Good Knight Advanced Low Smoke Coil.
Shopper Marketing – With the growth in modern retail, the store is emerging as the
most potent medium in the marketing of brands. The Indian consumer is clearly
enjoying the modern trade shopping experience and is increasingly shopping there, as
is evident from the increased spending at modern stores. Shopper marketing has,
therefore, become an important tool for marketers driving brand choice inside the
stores.
Connecting and engaging with the Indian Digital consumer - With 50+ million
active social media users, Indians spend more time on social media than on any other
activity on the Internet, according to Nielsen. Increasingly marketers are focusing on
this medium, however what will be critical is how brands can effectively break away
from the pack in order to differentiate and improve social media engagement levels.
Some of our brand campaigns on social media including the HIT Kill Malaria‟
campaign have received an overwhelming response. We continue to be upbeat about
consumer demand in 2012. As India is one of the fastest growing economies, we will witness
significant play on innovation, leading to intensity of competition. We expect growth to be
driven on the back of new product launches and renovations of existing products. We will
invest significantly behind these launches and support our innovations
The Product life cycle consist of four stages starting from introduction stage, growth
stage, maturity stage and decline stage. At the introduction stage, the product is not popular
and can't really make a lot of profit. Its marketing cost may be high in order to test a market
and set up a distribution channel. At the growth stage, the product start making a profit, the
sales increase rapidly with some cost on marketing especially brand building. Competitors
enter the market, often in large number depending on how attractive the market is. When a
profit starts to decline, it's the sign of „Maturity stage'. At maturity stage, the sales continue to
increase but at the decreasing rate until become stable, because of price competition. The
product reaches its peak at this stage, most companies fight aggressively to maintain their
market share. The competition is very intense, unfortunately a small firms will die one by
one. During the decline stage, the profit start to drop gradually, each firm has to manage
carefully. There're not many choice to choose now; take the most out of it before exit or
expand the market by using marketing mix strategies in order to extend product life.
All products and services have certain life cycles. The life cycle refers to the period
from the product‟s first launch into the market until its final withdrawal and it is split up in
phases. Marketing and Information Systems are two different phenomena and which
individually and collaboratively influencing an organization‟s development in gaining
competitive advantage. The concept of Product Life Cycle (PLC) is very important and
playing a key role in determining the stages of the organization's products in every marketing
organizations. The theory of PLC was first introduced in the 1950s to explain the expected
Life cycle of a typical product from design to Obsolescence. Writing in Marketing Tools,
Carole Hedden observed that the Life cycle is represented by a curve that can be divided into
four phases: Introduction, growth, maturity and decline. The goal is to maximize the
product's value and profitability at each stage
1.3 Marketing Strategy Of FMCG Market Share Growth
Timely product development and cannibalization-free growth across your product
portfolio builds an impregnable defense against competitors. Sophisticated marketing strategy
management can secure fairer balance of power with channel partners.
Analysis of buyer readiness stages helps make better decisions for integrated
marketing communications strategy. In some industries IT is even capable of changing the
nature of the products and service or their production processes. According to the advocates
of Strategic weapon perspective, these unprecedented effects do not necessarily have the
relative competitive position of economic factors unchanged. Among these concepts, the
information Systems Strategic Grid (ISSG) of Mc Farlan and Me Kenney is one which stood
the test of time. The ISSG analyses the applicability of IT as a Strategic weapon on the
industry level.
This grid classifies the industries according to their present and medium range
affectedness by the Strategic impact of IT applications. During this period significant changes
are made in the way that the product is behaving into the market i.e. its reflection in respect
of sales to the company that introduced it into the market. Since an increase in profits is the
major goal of a company that introduces a product into a market, the product‟s life cycle
management is very important. Some companies use strategic planning and others follow the
basic rules of the different life cycle phase that are analyzed later. The understanding of a
product‟s life cycle, can help a company to understand and realize when it is time to
introduce and withdraw a product from a market, its position in the market compared to
competitors, and the product‟s success or failure. For a company to fully understand the
above and successfully manage a product‟s life cycle, needs to develop strategies and
methodologies.
1.4 Product Life Cycle Model Description
The product‟s life cycle - period usually consists of five major steps or phases:
Product development, Product introduction, Product growth, Product maturity and finally
Product decline. These phases exist and are applicable to all products or services from a
certain make of automobile to a multimillion-dollar lithography tool to a one-cent capacitor.
These phases can be split up into smaller ones depending on the product and must be
considered when a new product is to be introduced into a market since they dictate the
product‟s sales performance
The concept also applies to services, although the shape may be markedly different. It
can also apply to product categories and the market as a whole. It should be noted that the
product life cycle is not necessarily a good 'predictor' of product behavior. Rather it can aid
the marketer in understanding the market. For example, a product may have gone through a
period of rapid growth and sales may have begun to level off. This does not necessarily mean
that the product is maturing; it could just be a temporary slowdown that culminates in the
product sales beginning to grow rapidly. With living beings it is possible to have a very
shrewd idea of where they are in their life span, how long they are likely to live and
consequently the sort of issues that are going to occur at any given time, it is more difficult to
gain this level of understanding with products. The following chart gives an indication of
how sales will vary as a product goes through the various stages of its lifecycle.
Product Life Cycle Graph
1. Introduction
It takes time of a new product to begin selling in volume. There may be
manufacturing or logistics issues to contend with. The marketplace may be unfamiliar with
the product and creating awareness takes time. Consequently product sales show a slow
growth during the introduction phase. The FMCG adjust price, place (where the product is
sold) and promotion to meet his marketing objectives. For example, in markets that are large
with high potential competition it would make sense to invest heavily in promotion and to
start with low prices. This strategy would also apply for a product for which production cost
would decline quickly with economies of scale. Using this strategy, the FMCG penetrates
quickly before competitors has a chance to introduce competing products.
2. Growth
The growth space is characterized by a rapid increase in sales volume. This is created
by increased product demand. The FMCG and logistics issues are likely resolved and the
market is far more aware of the product. Since economies of scale have started to take effect
the marketer should be able to increase promotional activities. At the same time competition
will begin to stiffen and so the marketer should make necessary adjustments to the 4 Ps of
marketing. For example, it may be appropriate to tweak the products by adding new features.
In this way the competition may be fended off. It may also make sense to reduce prices a
little to bring in more price sensitive consumers.
3. Maturity
The maturity phase is characterized by sales volumes leveling off. At this point
competition is strong and margins may begin to suffer. Signs of getting to this stage are that
competitors may start advertising more strongly or using other promotional means to increase
sales.
4. Decline
Finally product sales begin to decrease and it is at this point that some serious
marketing decisions need to be made. It may be possible to extend the life of a product by
changing some of its product attributes, repositioning it or by packaging it with other
products. On the other hand it may make sense to delete the product from your portfolio.
1.5 Product portfolio management
The idea behind product portfolio management is that, inevitably, products will
eventually reach maturity and decline. Although it may be possible to extend their lives and
some products have an extremely long product life cycle, it makes sense to manage a
program of continually introducing new products. In this way, as some product revenues
level off or decline, other product revenues increase. This is illustrated in below figure
1.6 Product Development Phases
The FMCG Product development phase begins when a company finds and develops a
new product idea. This involves translating various pieces of information and incorporating
them into a new product. A product is usually undergoing several changes involving a lot of
money and time during development, before it is exposed to target customers via test
markets. Those products that survive the test market are then introduced into a real
marketplace and the introduction phase of the product begins. During the product
development phase, sales are zero and revenues are negative. It is the time of spending with
absolute no return.
1. INTRODUCTION PHASE
The introduction phase of a product the FMCG includes the product launch with its
requirements to getting it launch in such a way so that it will have maximum impact at the
moment of sale. A good example of such a launch is the launch of “Windows XP” by
Microsoft Corporation. This period can be described as a money sinkhole compared to the
maturity phase of a product. Large expenditure on promotion and advertising is common, and
quick but costly service requirements are introduced. The FMCG must be prepared to spend a
lot of money and get only a small proportion of that back. In this phase distribution
arrangements of FMCG are introduced. Having the product in every counter is very important
and is regarded as an impossible challenge. Some companies avoid this stress by hiring
external contractors or outsourcing the entire distribution arrangement. This has the benefit of
testing an important marketing tool such as outsourcing.
Pricing is something else for a company to consider during this phase. Product pricing
usually follows one or two well structured strategies. Early customers will pay a lot for
something new and this will help a bit to minimize that sinkhole that was mentioned earlier.
Later the pricing policy should be more aggressive so that the product can become
competitive. Another strategy is that of a pre-set price believed to be the right one to
maximize sales. This however demands a very good knowledge of the market and of what a
customer is willing to pay for a newly introduced product. A successful product introduction
phase may also result from actions taken by the company prior to the introduction of the
product to the market. These actions are included in the formulation of the marketing
strategy.
This is accomplished during product development by the use of market research.
Customer requirements on design, pricing, servicing and packaging are invaluable to the
formation of a product design. A customer can tell a company what features of the product
are appealing and what are the characteristics that should not appear on the product. He will
describe the ways of how the product will become handy and useful. So in this way a
company will know before its product is introduced to a market what to expect from the
customers and competitors. A marketing mix may also help in terms of defining the targeted
audience during promotion and advertising of the product in the introduction phase.
2. GROWTH PHASE
The growth phase the FMCG offers the satisfaction of seeing the product take-off in
the marketplace. This is the appropriate timing to focus on increasing the market share. If the
product has been introduced first into the market, (introduction into a “virgin” market or into
an existing market) then it is in a position to gain market share relatively easily. A new
growing market alerts the competition‟s attention. The company must show all the products
offerings and try to differentiate them from the competitor‟s ones. A frequent modification
process of the product is an effective policy to discourage competitors from gaining market
share by copying or offering similar products. Other barriers are licenses and copyrights,
product complexity and low availability of product components. Promotion and advertising
continues, but not in the extent that was in the introductory phase and it is oriented to the task
of market leadership and not in raising product awareness. A good practice is the use of
external promotional contractors.
This period is the time to develop efficiencies and improve product availability and
service. Cost efficiency and time-to-market and pricing and discount policy are major factors
in gaining customer confidence. Good coverage in all marketplaces is worthwhile goal
throughout the growth phase. Managing the growth stage is essential. Companies sometimes
are consuming much more effort into the production process, overestimating their market
position. Accurate estimations in forecasting customer needs will provide essential input into
production planning process. It is pointless to increase customer expectations and product
demand without having arranged for relative production capacity. A company must not make
the mistake of over committing. This will result into losing customers not finding the product
“on the self”.
3. MATURITY PHASE
When the market becomes saturated with variations of the basic product, and all
competitors are represented in terms of an alternative product, the maturity phase arrives. In
this phase market share growth is at the expense of someone else‟s business, rather than the
growth of the market itself. This period is the period of the highest returns from the product.
A company that has achieved its market share goal enjoys the most profitable period, while a
company that falls behind its market share goal, must reconsider its marketing positioning
into the marketplace. During this period new brands are introduced even when they compete
with the company‟s existing product and model changes are more frequent (product, brand,
and model). This is the time to extend the product‟s life.
Pricing and discount policies are often changed in relation to the competition policies
i.e. pricing moves up and down accordingly with the competitors‟ one and sales and coupons
are introduced in the case of consumer products. Promotion and advertising relocates from
the scope of getting new customers, to the scope of product differentiation in terms of quality
and reliability. The battle of distribution continues using multi distribution channels. A
successful product maturity phase is extended beyond anyone‟s timely expectations. A good
example of this is “Tide” washing powder, which has grown old, and it is still growing. The
decision for withdrawing a product seems to be a complex task and there a lot of issues to be
resolved before with decide to move it out of the market. Dilemmas such as maintenance,
spare part availability, service competitions reaction in filling the market gap are some issues
that increase the complexity of the decision process to withdraw a product from the market.
Often companies retain a high price policy for the declining products that increase the profit
margin and gradually discourage the “few” loyal remaining customers from buying it. Such
an example is telegraph submission over facsimile or email. Dr. M. Avlonitis from the
Economic University of Athens has developed a methodology, rather complex one that takes
under consideration all the attributes and the subsequences of product withdrawal process.
Sometimes it is difficult for a company to conceptualize the decline signals of a
product. Usually a product decline is accompanied with a decline of market sales. Its
recognition is sometimes hard to be realized, since marketing departments are usually too
optimistic due to big product success coming from the maturity phase. This is the time to start
withdrawing variations of the product from the market that are weak in their market position.
This must be done carefully since it is not often apparent which product variation
brings in the revenues. The prices must be kept competitive and promotion should be pulled
back at a level that will make the product presence visible and at the same time retain the
“loyal” customer. Distribution is narrowed. The basic channel is should be kept efficient but
alternative channels should be abandoned. For an example, a 0800 telephone line with
shipment by a reliable delivery company, paid by the customer is worth keeping.
1.7 Strategies of each product life cycle phase of The FMCG
Strategies that are applied as soon as the phase of product life cycle is recognized are
given in the table below.
CHAPTER 2 : INDUSTRY PROFILE AND COMPANY PROFILE
2.1 INDUSTRY PROFILE
The Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector is the 4th
largest sector of the Indian
economy. It is characterised by high turnover consumer packaged goods, i.e. goods that are
produced, distributed, marketed and consumed within a short span of time. FMCG products
that dominate the market today are detergents, toiletries, tooth cleaning products, cosmetics,
etc. The FMCG sector in India also includes pharmaceuticals, consumer electronics, soft
drinks packaged food products and chocolates. Since the sector encompasses a diverse range
of products, different companies dominate the market in various sub-sectors. However, some
of the top FMCG companies in India are- Dabur (60%), Colgate (54.7%), Hindustan Unilever
(54%).
The fast-moving-consumer-goods industry has a long history of generating reliable
growth through mass brands. But the model that fueled industry success now faces great
pressure as consumer behaviors shift and the channel landscape changes. To win in the
coming decades, FMCGs need to reduce their reliance on mass brands and offline mass
channels and embrace an agile operating model focused on brand relevance rather than
synergies.
The FMCG Value-Creation Model
This success owed much to a widely used five-part model for creating value.
Pioneered just after World War II, the model has seen little change since then. FMCG
companies did the following:
Perfected mass-market brand building and product innovation. This capability
achieved reliable growth and gross margins that are typically 25 percent above
nonbranded players
Built relationships with grocers and other mass retailers that provide advantaged
access to consumers. By partnering on innovation and in-store execution and tightly
aligning their supply chains, FMCG companies secured broad distribution as their
partners grew. Small competitors lacked such access.
Entered developing markets early and actively cultivated their categories as
consumers became wealthier. This proved a tremendous source of growth generating
75 percent of revenue growth in the sector over the past decade
Designed their operating models for consistent execution and cost reduction. Most
have increased centralization in order to continue pushing costs down. This synergy-
based model has kept general and administrative expenses at 4 to 6 percent of revenue
Used M&A to consolidate markets and create a basis for organic growth post
acquisition. After updating their portfolios with new brands and categories, these
companies applied their superior distribution and business practices to grow those
brands and categories.
In today‟s fast running world, FMCG Products are becoming the basic needs of the
human life. One can‟t even think to lead a life without the use of them. These products make
their life a little better, everyday. India has 113,000-crore FMCG market. This figure in itself
shows the potential and size of the FMCG Market India have. Now question arises What is
FMCG. WE regularly talk about things like butter, potato chips, toothpastes, razors,
household care products, packaged food and beverages, etc. They are called FMCGs. FMCG
is an acronym for “Fast Moving Consumer Goods” which refers to things that we buy from
local markets on daily basis, the things that have high turnover and are relatively easy to
purchase.
2.1.1 FMCG PRODUCT & CATEGORIES
Personal Care, Oral Care, Hair care, Skin care, Personal Wash (soaps);
Cosmetics and toiletries, deodorants, perfumes, feminine hygiene, paper products;
Household care fabric wash including laundry soaps and synthetic detergents;
2.1.2 SECTOR OUTLOOK
FMCG is the fourth largest sector in the Indian Economy with a total market size of
Rs. 60,000 crores. FMCG sector generates 5% of total factory employment in the country and
is creating employment for three million people, especially in small towns and rural India.
2.1.3 ANALYSIS OF FMCG SECTOR
Strengths
1. Low operational costs
2. Presence of established distribution networks in both urban and rural areas
3. Presence of well-known brands in FMCG sector
Weaknesses
1. Lacking in distribution channel.
2. Not stable in price policy.
Opportunities
1. Untapped rural market
2. Rising income levels, i.e. increase in purchasing power of consumers
3. Large domestic market – a population of over one billion.
4. Export potential
5. High consumer goods spending
Threats
1. Removal of import restrictions resulting in replacing of domestic brands
2. Cut throat competition in this segment.
2.1.4 INDIAN FMCG MARKET
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$ 33.4 billion
in 2015. Penetration level as well as per capita consumption in most products 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 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 by
2010, India needs around US$ 28 billion of investment in the food-processing industry.
2.1.5 FMCG INDUSTRY SET FOR 20-30% GROWTH ON INCREASED
RURAL DEMAND
The FMCG industry is set to grow 20-30 per cent in 2009-10,up from 10-20 per cent
in 2008- 09. The growth would be driven by the launch of new products and increasing rural
consumption, according to industry experts
The beverage industry in India is being estimated to grow at 17% this year according
to experts. “Food and beverages segment has not suffered despite the slowdown in the
economy. Coca Cola India Ltd, for instance, continued to report growth for an eleventh
straight quarter. E.g. Coca-cola in india reported solid first quarter 2009 results despite a
challenging economic environment, with unit case volume increasing 31 per cent with eight
quarters out of the 11 quarters delivering double-digit growth. There has not been any drop in
demand for consumer products at popular price points. However, there may have been some
narrowing in demand at the top-end of the market; in the mass market, demand continues to
be strong, both from rural and urban markets.
Company is looking at penetrating deeper into rural and semi-urban markets. New
launches and geographical extensions of various brands will add impetus to growth.
2.1.6 TOP 10 FMCG COMPANY
1. Hindustan Unilever ltd.
2. ITC India Ltd.
3. Nestlé India
4. GCMMF (AMUL)
5. Dabur India
6. Asian Paints (India)
7. Cadbury India
8. Britannia Industries
9. Procter & Gamble
10. Marico Industries
2.1.7 SCOPE OF THE SECTOR
The Indian FMCG sector with a market size of US$13.1 billion is the fourth largest
sector in the economy. A well-established distribution network, intense competition between
the organized and unorganized segment characterize the sector. FMCG sector will translate
into an annual growth of 10% over a 5-year period. It has been estimated that the FMCG
sector will rise from around Rs 56,500 crores in 2005 to Rs 92,100 crores in 2010. Hair care,
household care, male grooming, female hygiene and the chocolates and confectionary
categories are estimated to the fastest growing segments, according to HSBC report.
2.1.8 GROWTH PROSPECTS
With the presence of 12.2% of the world population in the villages of India, the Indian
rural FMCG market is something no one can overlook. Increased focus on farm sector will
boost rural incomes, hence providing better growth prospects to the FMCG companies.
Because of the low per capita consumption for almost all the products in the country, FMCG
companies have immense possibilities for growth. And if the companies are able to change
the mindset of the consumers, i.e. if they are able to take the consumers to branded products
and offer new generation products, they would be able to generate higher growth in the near
future. However, the demand in urban areas would be the key growth driver over the long
term. Also, increase in the urban population, along with increase in income levels and the
availability of new categories, would help the urban areas maintain their position in terms of
consumption. At present, urban India accounts for 66% of total FMCG consumption, with
rural India accounting for the remaining 34%.
2.1.9 INDIAN COMPETITIVENESS AND COMPARISON WITH THE
WORLD MARKETS
The following factors make India a competitive player in FMCG sector:
Availability of raw materials
Presence across value chain
For example Amul supplies milk as well as dairy products like cheese, butter, etc.
Labour cost comparison – India‟s labour cost is amongst the lowest in the world, after
China & Indonesia. Low labour costs give the advantage of low cost of production.
2.1.10 INDIAN CONSUMER CLASS
India has a population of over 1 billion and 4 climatic zones, several religious and
personal beliefs, 15 official languages; different social custom and foods habits characterize
Indian consumer class. Besides, India is also different in culture as compared to the other
countries. Therefore, India has high distinctiveness in demand and the companies in India can
get a lot of market opportunities for the various classes of consumers. Consumer goods
marketer experience that dealing India is like dealing with many small markets at the same
time. Indian consumer goods markets is expected to reach $400 billion by the 2010. India has
the youngest population; there are lots of young people with different income category.
Consumer goods marketers are often faced with a dilemma regarding the choice of
appropriate market segment. But in India they do not have to face this dilemma largely
because rapid urbanization, increase in demand, presence of large number of young
population, any number of opportunities is available. The bottom line is that Indian market is
changing rapidly and is showing unprecedented consumer business opportunity.
Indian consumer class can be classified according to the following criteria:
1. Income
2. Socio-Economic status.
3. Age demographics
4. Geographical dispersion
With the liberalization and growth of the Indian economy since the early 1990s, the
Indian customer witnessed an increasing exposure to new domestic and foreign products
through different media, such as television and the Internet. Apart from this, social changes
such as increase in the number of nuclear families and the growing number of working
couples resulting in increased spending power also contributed to the increase in the Indian
consumer‟s personal consumption. As a whole, these changes have the positive impact,
leading to rapid growth in the retailing industry, and created a huge potential for the FMCG
markets.
2.2 COMPANY PROFILE
ITC Limited Type : Public (BSE: 500875)
Industry : Conglomerate
Founded : 24 August 1910
Headquarters : Kolkata, India
Key people : Yogesh Chander Deveshwar, Chairman
K. Vaidyanath, Director,
Kurush Grant, Director,
Rajiv Tandon (CFO)
Products : Cigarettes, Hotels, Apparel, Tobacco, Foods, Stationery, Personal Care,
Paperboard and specialty papers, Printing and packaging, Matches and Agarbattis, Infotech
Revenue : US$6 billion (2009)
Employees : 26,000 (2009)
Website : ITCportal.com
“ITC believes that large corporations which employ a vast quantum of societal
resources should ensure that these resources are utilised in a manner that meets stakeholders‟
aspirations and societal expectations. This belief is reflected in the Company‟s deep
commitment to contribute to the “triple bottom line”, namely the development, nurture and
regeneration of the nation‟s economic, social and environmental capital.”
ITC Ltd is one of India's premier private sector companies with diversified presence
in businesses such as Cigarettes, Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Packaging,
AgriBusiness, Packaged Foods & Confectionery ,Stationery, Information Technology,
Branded Apparel, Greeting Cards, Safety Matches and other FMCG products. Presently, ITC
has a market capitalization of nearly US $ 15 billion and a turnover of over US $ 6 billion. It
employs over 25,000 people at more than 60 locations across India. ITC has been rated
among the World's Best Big Companies, Asia's 'Forbes 50' and the World's Most Reputable
Companies by Forbes magazine, among India's Most Respected Companies by Business
World and among India's Most Valuable Companies by Business Today
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."
2.2.1 VISION AND MISSION OF THE COMPANY
VISION
Sustain ITC's position as one of India's most valuable corporations through world
class performance, creating growing value for the Indian economy and the Company‟s
stakeholders.
MISSION
To enhance the wealth generating capability of the enterprise in a globalising
environment, delivering superior and sustainable stakeholder value.
2.2.2 ITC’s CORE VALUES
ITC's Core Values are aimed at developing a customer-focused, high-performance
organisation which creates value for all its stakeholders:
1. Trusteeship
As professional managers, we are conscious that ITC has been given to us in "trust" by all
their stakeholders. ITC actualise stakeholder value and interest on a long-term sustainable
basis.
2. Customer Focus
ITC is always customer focused and will deliver what the customer needs in terms of
value, quality and satisfaction.
3. Respect For People
ITC is result oriented, setting high performance standards as individuals and teams. ITC
simultaneously respect and value people and uphold humanness and human dignity. ITC
acknowledge every individual brings different perspectives and capabilities to the team and
that a strong team is founded on a variety of perspectives. ITC want individuals to dream,
value differences, create and experiment in pursuit of opportunities and achieve leadership
through teamwork.
4. Excellence
ITC does what is right, do it well and win. ITC will strive for excellence in whatever they
do.
5. Innovation
ITC will constantly pursue newer and better processes, products, services and
management practices.
6. Nation Orientation
ITC is aware of their responsibility to generate economic value for the Nation. In pursuit
of their goals, ITC will make no compromise in complying with applicable laws and
regulations at all levels.
2.2.3 THE ITC WAY
ITC is a board-managed professional company, committed to creating enduring value
for the shareholder and for the nation. It has a rich organizational culture rooted in its core
values of respect for people and belief in empowerment. Its philosophy of all-round value
creation is backed by strong corporate governance policies and systems.
ITC‟s corporate strategies are :
Create multiple drivers of growth by developing a portfolio of world class businesses
that best matches organizational capability with opportunities in domestic and export
markets
Continue to focus on the chosen portfolio of FMCG, Hotels, Paper, Paperboards &
Packaging, Agro Business and Information Technology
Benchmark the health of each business comprehensively across the criteria of Market
Standing, Profitability and Internal Vitality
Ensure that each of its businesses is world class and internationally competitive.
Enhance the competitive power of the portfolio through synergies derived by blending
the diverse skills and capabilities residing in ITC‟s various businesses
Create distributed leadership within the organisation by nurturing talented and
focused top management teams for each of the businesses.
Continuously strengthen and refine Corporate Governance processes and systems to
catalyse the entrepreneurial energies of management by striking the golden balance
between executive freedom and the need for effective control and accountability.
2.2.4 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Preamble
Over the years, ITC has evolved from a single product company to a multi-business
corporation. Its businesses are spread over a wide spectrum, ranging from cigarettes and
tobacco to hotels, packaging, paper and paperboards and international commodities trading.
Each of these businesses is vastly different from the others in its type, the state of its
evolution and the basic nature of its activity, all of which influence the choice of the form of
governance.
The challenge of governance for ITC therefore lies in fashioning a model that
addresses the uniqueness of each of its businesses and yet strengthens the unity of purpose of
the Company as a whole
Since the commencement of the liberalisation process, India's economic scenario has
begun to alter radically. Globalisation will not only significantly heighten business risks, but
will also compel Indian companies to adopt international norms of transparency and good
governance. Equally, in the resultant competitive context, freedom of executive management
and its ability to respond to the dynamics of a fast changing business environment will be the
new success factors. ITC's governance policy recognises the challenge of this new business
reality in India.
Definition and Purpose
ITC defines Corporate Governance as a systemic process by which companies are
directed and controlled to enhance their wealth generating capacity. Since large corporations
employ vast quantum of societal resources, we believe that the governance process should
ensure that these companies are managed in a manner that meets stakeholder‟s aspirations
and societal expectations.
Core Principles
ITC's Corporate Governance initiative is based on two core principles. These are:
i. Management must have the executive freedom to drive the enterprise forward without
undue restraints; and
ii. This freedom of management should be exercised within a framework of effective
accountability.
ITC believes that any meaningful policy on Corporate Governance must provide
empowerment to the executive management of the Company, and simultaneously create a
mechanism of checks and balances which ensures that the decision making powers vested in
the executive management is not only not misused, but is used with care and responsibility to
meet stakeholder aspirations and societal expectations.
Cornerstones
From the above definition and core principles of Corporate Governance emerge the
cornerstones of ITC's governance philosophy, namely trusteeship, transparency,
empowerment and accountability, control and ethical corporate citizenship. ITC believes that
the practice of each of these leads to the creation of the right corporate culture in which the
company is managed in a manner that fulfils the purpose of Corporate Governance.
Trusteeship
ITC believes that large corporations like itself have both a social and economic
purpose. They represent a coalition of interests, namely those of the shareholders, other
providers of capital, business associates and employees. This belief therefore casts a
responsibility of trusteeship on the Company's Board of Directors. They are to act as trustees
to protect and enhance shareholder value, as well as to ensure that the Company fulfills its
obligations and responsibilities to its other stakeholders. Inherent in the concept of trusteeship
is the responsibility to ensure equity, namely, that the rights of all shareholders, large or
small, are protected.
Transparency
ITC believes that transparency means explaining Company's policies and actions to
those to whom it has responsibilities. Therefore transparency must lead to maximum
appropriate disclosures without jeopardizing the Company's strategic interests. Internally,
transparency means openness in Company's relationship with its employees, as well as the
conduct of its business in a manner that will bear scrutiny. We believe transparency enhances
accountability.
Empowerment and Accountability
Empowerment is an essential concomitant of ITC's first core principle of governance
that management must have the freedom to drive the enterprise forward. ITC believes that
empowerment is a process of actualizing the potential of its employees. Empowerment
unleashes creativity and innovation throughout the organization by truly vesting decision-
making powers at the most appropriate levels in the organizational hierarchy
ITC believes that the Board of Directors are accountable to the shareholders, and the
management is accountable to the Board of Directors. We believe that empowerment,
combined with accountability, provides an impetus to performance and improves
effectiveness, thereby enhancing shareholder value.
Control
ITC believes that control is a necessary concomitant of its second core principle of
governance that the freedom of management should be exercised within a framework of
appropriate checks and balances. Control should prevent misuse of power, facilitate timely
management response to change, and ensure that business risks are pre-emotively and
effectively managed
Ethical Corporate Citizenship
ITC believes that corporations like itself have a responsibility to set exemplary standards of
ethical behavior, both internally within the organization, as well as in their external
relationships. We believe that unethical behavior corrupts organizational culture and
undermines stakeholder value.
2.2.5 PRODUCTS OF ITC LTD.
Personal care products are generally used for personal health and hygiene. It includes
products like body talc, body scrub, tooth paste, tooth brush, tongue cleaner, tooth powder,
bathing salts, bathing gel, essential oils, moisturizer, skin creams, face wash, hair oil, hair
shampoo, hair conditioner, soap, nail and cuticle care products. The personal care product
market was a success on all counts in 2005- 2006 with good performances from each of the
Big 5 markets. In recent years, consumer health awareness has slowly been increasing and
this has led people trying to take better care of themselves.
The major demand is for the products that are of basic need for the consumers like
soap, shampoo, hair oil etc. The personal care products industry consists of four major sub-
sectors manufacturing a range of products. These sub-sectors and their products are
highlighted below
1. Face Care Products
Face is the reflection of an individual‟s physical appearance. Generally,
the beauty beauty of a person is described described by the look of one‟s face. Thus, to
enhance the beauty of the face people use face care products whose market is growing at
double digits. The industry manufactures products like astringent, face cream, face scrub,
face toner, moisturizer, cleanser, etc. Some of these products are used for clarification and
purification of the facial skin from dust and harmful rays of the sun while others are used for
toning.
2. Hand and Foot Care Products
As the name suggest these products are used to enhance the beauty of hands and feet.
The hand and foot care product market segment, grew 5.9% in 2005 to a total of 338.2
million dollars, and included many successful product introductions. These included herbal
and organic products, as well as products for youthful skin. Men are also starting to take
better care of themselves, resulting in growth in the men‟s foot care products market
segment. Hand and foot care products can be broadly categorised into cuticle care products,
foot scrub, hand and foot cream, nail care products etc. The diagram below shows the various
market segments
3. Hair Care Products
Hair care was the largest market segment, both in 2004 and in 2005 with sales
reaching 350 million dollars. The price war has had its impact on the shampoo and styling
categories. Sales in hair coloring products has stabilized while hair conditioners and hair
repair products, showed significant growth. Consumers are willing to buy special, more
costly, products because these products are used for many purposes like hair cleansing, hair
conditioning and hair coloring.
Some important hair care products are mentioned below:
Hair Shampoo
Hair Conditioner
Hair Oil
Hair Styling Gel
Hair Glaze
Hair Spray
Hair Colors
4. Cosmetics
The global cosmetics market continues to benefit from a combination of strong
macroeconomic trends creating opportunities for new product niches. The strongest growth in
the global cosmetics market in 2005 was derived from developing regions such as Eastern
Europe and Latin America and key markets in Asia-Pacific, with expansion linked to large
populations, rising disposable incomes, modernizing retail and distribution networks and
increased industry awareness amongst consumers. Cosmetics are items to enhance or protect
the appearance or odor of the human body.
The products included in this category are,
Eye makeup products
Face makeup products
Lip makeup products
Personal Care industry witnessed 23 per cent rise in TV advertising during 2007 compared to
2006 in India
CHAPTER 3 : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Literature Survey
“A Study on Impact of Marketing Strategies on Consumer Behaviour
towards FMCG sector with reference to ITC Ltd.”, S Moses, C Ambrose -
Sumedha Journal of Management, 2020
Innovation always drives people and intrigues an individual in the choices of
consumer products they use; we live in a competitive world where FMCG brands come up
with different marketing strategies in order to satisfy customers, and, make them relate better
with regard to their products. Marketing strategies play a vital role in the consumers' decision
making process, as the strategies are designed particularly in achieving the organisational
goals. Different companies follow different strategies to meet their objectives, and the
strategies which companies implement have a greater impact on consumer behaviour towards
the product. The organisations forecast the future while implementing the marketing
strategies, and, also analyse the areas in which they need to improve, and the changes which
have to be taken into consideration. The organisation cannot enjoy success unless they come
up with strategies which will help them in meeting their objectives. FMCG companies mainly
concentrate on product innovation, and use strategies like Multi brand strategy, new product
development etc. This paper studies the marketing strategies used by Nestle India Ltd &
Britannia Industries Ltd, furthermore examines the impact of these strategies on consumer
behaviour and suggests the measures to be taken to improve their marketing strategies.
“New Rural Marketing Strategies of FMCG Companies in India:
a study of selected rural Markets”, JS Arora, P Arora - CHIEF
PATRON CHIEF PATRON, 2019
As we know that there is wave to cut down the cost in this era of global pressure.
Companies are looking to increase their sales through different marketing strategies in
existing markets. But the companies are continuously facing huge crises in changing the
overall functioning as per urban markets now in this scenario there is an urgent need of the
companies to look for New Pastures (markets) to grow. This is where the role of rural
markets comes. With household in middle and higher group in the Rural areas are going
overtake become double in few years there is an utmost requirement of the FMCG companies
to capture this market and survive. But the during last 10-15 years it has been experienced by
no. of companies that it is not so easy to tap this market. The Reach, Requirement, Resources,
Re-strategies, Re-branding, Re-pricing is what is in demand. This paper attempts to uncover
the strategies of those companies which have done fairly well in Rural markets and also an
attempt to give the companies the strategies to focus before entering the Rural markets in
India.
“Branding strategies of FMCG companies:A case study”, M Afreen -
Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews, 2018
The study on review of literatures show that, many studies have been concentrated on
the Branding Strategies pertaining to Non-durable goods, very few studies have concentrated
on FMCG companies in general and no study has been specifically concentrated on bating
soap segment in FMCG Companies. Despite the scenario that, very less relevant studies have
focused on marketing and branding strategies of bathing soaps, the present study fulfills the
research gap pertaining to studies on branding strategies. Further, the study focuses on the top
3 selling FMCG brands pertaining to bating soaps in India. The study will help the companies
to understand the ground realties on efficiency of branding strategies adopted by the FMCG
companies. Further, the study will also make an attempt to undertake critical dimensions in
branding strategies such as Brand Association, Brand Loyalty, perceptions of Marketers
towards select FMCG brands.
“Factors influencing purchase of FMCG by rural consumers in South
India: an empirical study”, MA Ali, VRR Thumiki, NA Khan -Journal
of Business Research, 2019
With more than six hundred thousand villages and more than 70% of the population,
rural India has become a massive consumer goods market. FMCG has emerged as a major
product category in rural consumption. Companies marketing FMCG to rural consumers
cannot merely extend their general marketing strategies to rural markets. Instead, they need to
devise rural specific strategies. In this process, they need to understand crucial issues relating
to rural consumer behavior and more specifically relating to different geographic regions of
the country. This paper focuses on understanding factors that affect the rural purchase of
FMCG in South India. Empirical study was conducted in 8 districts of South India to identify
the key influencing variables. Factor analysis was used to form 24 key variables into five
groups (influencing factors). Influence of retailers‟ recommendations has emerged as the
most significant variable in the trust factor. According to the study, rural consumers in South
India consider that usage of FMCG contributes to their lifestyle.
“Product strategies of companies in the FMCG industry: A Review of
the Literature”, B Acikgöz - Open Journal of Business and
Management, 2020
Deciding on the right products to offer to the target market is a demanding and crucial
task that requires understanding and insight into the customer‟s needs, wants and demands.
Therefore, the continuous development of new product strategies can be an important
determinant of sustained company performance. Product strategies involve - apart from
product mix decisions - product life-cycle strategies and market introduction of new-product
developments (NPD). Since product strategies are an essential part of companies‟ marketing
mix, there has been undertaken a lot of conceptual and empirical research to identify the
proper product strategies for critical success of industrial products. This paper reviews the
findings of empirical work into the strategies developed for and by industrial FMCG
companies for their products. It is the prime objective of this work to summarize the most
important findings in a compact and structured way and also to provide theoretical insight as
to how these product strategies are planned, implemented and controlled.
“Theory of Constraints for Managing Downstream Supply Chain in
Indian FMCG Sector: A Literature Review”, K Singh, S Misra - Journal of
Supply Chain Management Systems, 2018
Many firms have benefited from Theory of constraints implementation helping them in
achieving ambitious goals. Theory of constraints uses inherent potential in supply to
turnaround businesses. This paper uses case study approach to explore the existing
implementation model of Theory of constraints especially in downstream supply chain and
uncovers the associated challenges involved in the implementation. As a novel contribution
to the already existing body of knowledge of Theory of constraints, a robust new model of
implementation of Theory of constraints is presented, which can be of great help for supply
chains of consumer products companies in performing sustainably.
“Exploring branding strategies of FMCG, services and durables brands:
evidence from India”, KB Saji, BJS Mann, M Kaur - Journal of Product
& Brand , 2017
Based on the literature review, a more comprehensive list of branding strategies is
proposed. A content analysis of 600 randomly selected brands, 200 from each sector, is
performed. The branding strategies used in the three sectors are explained and MANOVA is
conducted to test the hypotheses about differences in the branding strategies across the three
sectors. The results reveal that the branding strategies vary across the three sectors. Single
corporate brand strategy is predominantly used for durables and credence services. On the
other hand, in case of FMCG and experience services, individual brand type endorsed by the
corporate brand type is the most frequently used branding strategy. Thus, there is a trend
towards corporate branding as corporate brand type is popular in all the sectors. Also, other
than the single corporate brand strategy, as in case of durables and credence services, single
brand type strategy is rarely used. For FMCG brands and experience services brands,
companies are trying to leverage brand equity of two or more brand types.
“To study talent acquisition strategies in fmcg industry with respect to
itc, dabur india ltd. And mother dairy”, B Garg, RC Khandelwal -
globusjournal.com-2019
Talent Acquisition involves all the sub-processes around finding, attracting and engaging
highly talented individuals into your organization. FMCG industry alternatively called as
CPG (Consumer packaged goods) industry primarily deals with the production, distribution
and marketing of consumer-packaged goods. The Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) is
those consumables, which are normally consumed by the consumers at a regular interval.
Some of the prime activities of FMCG industry are selling, marketing, financing, purchasing,
etc. The industry also engaged in operations, supply chain, production and general
management. Researcher aim to study the present Talent Acquisition Strategies being
operational in FMCG Industry with special reference to DS Group, Mother Dairy and Dabur
India Ltd. Researcher has collected various facts and figures and tries to correlate and
develop relationship between the various variables and the strategies adopted by FMCG
Industry.
“A content analysis study of ITC's marketing strategy adopted in
India”, KPI JIMS- 2016
The fast moving consumer goods industry is moving forward. Products are changing
drastically. FMCG industry is able to beat recession which means these products will always
be needed by the consumers. The urban and rural population has a huge potential to FMCG
products. One of the leading FMCG companies. Their strategies are based on the fact that the
company lays strong emphasis in developing markets like India with the motive of
strengthening its core market business, build strong innovations through technology and go
for cost reducing and improvement in productivity. ITC makes sure that the products
developed by it are available in everywhere in the country. This helps in increasing the
customer touch points. They are known for their diverse brand portfolio, consumer centric
marketing approach. Distribution is their critical mission. The purpose of this paper is to
explore the marketing strategies of ITC. This is a conceptual paper and secondary source of
data has been used. The paper reveals the marketing strategies and the problem which
company has faced and how they have overcome from it.
“Marketing Strategies of FMCG Companies-A Study on Factors
Influencing Buying Food, Health and Personal Care products”, C
Somashekar, A Kaboor - International Journal of Engineering and
Management, 2017
Business organization reaches to the customers through their goods or services. To sell
the products to the customers a number of activities are being performed. This is called
marketing and it is an important function. Marketing is the performance of business activities
that directs the flow of goods and services from producer to the customer. It is the activity
that directs to satisfy the human needs through exchange process. Marketing starts with the
identification of a specific need of customers and ends with satisfaction of that need. The
customer is found in the beginning and end of marketing process. In marketing a large
number of activities are performed. For easy understanding these activities are divided in 4
groups for products and 7 groups for services. These elements are product, price promotion,
placement for products and three additional elements for services are process, people and
physical evidence. These are called elements of marketing mix. India is a growing nation
with 125 crore population with wide opportunities for business and FMCG service sector has
many leading player in the market for all segments. The present study reviews the marketing
aspects of FMCG in indiaand analyses the factors influencing buying of food, health and
beverages in mysore District.
“A Study on Marketing Strategies Adopted by ITC Ltd.”, S
Shenoy - Andrean Research Journal- 2020
The Indian retail sector is going through a transformation and this emerging market is
witnessing a significant change in its growth and investment pattern. In contemporary
society, marketing and advertising has become an inseparable part of the everyday lives of
millions of people all over the world. It is strongly believed by marketers that it has an
immense manipulative power, influencing consumer beliefs, attitudes, decisions and actions
through different types of media. The objective of this research paper is to find out how ITC
has adopted various and aggressive marketing strategies to make consumers loyal to their
brand. ITC considered this point as an opportunity and thought of playing with consumer‟s
psychology in order to increase their profits. Also it is observed from past 4 years as to how
ITC are patient and slowly and has steadily started having strong distribution network and
excellent supply chain Management team and continuously like a vicious circle, implemented
excellent sales promotion techniques and various marketing strategies to push their sales and
enhance their market share and goodwill parallel.
“Marketing Mix Strategies for FMCG Companies in India”, S
Sharma, P Sharma - Journal of Commerce and Management, 2019
Marketing strategy is outlined by David Aaker as a method that may enable a
company to concentrate its resources on the optimum opportunities with the goals of
accelerating sales and achieving a property competitive advantage. Promoting methods
includes all basic and long-run activities within the field of selling that subsume the analysis
of the strategic initial scenario of a corporation and also the formulation, analysis and choice
of market-oriented methods and thus contribute to the goals of the corporate and its
promoting objectives. Whereas ways could is a tool to achieve the goals set beneath strategy.
Now, a lot of aggressive mode of selling methods is utilized by all the FMCG corporations in
India, particularly in country because it remains an untapped marketplace for all the
businesses in India. This analysis is additionally supported the promoting methods of ITC and
HUL. This paper is that the outcome of a secondary knowledge and investigator observation
on FMCG corporations with special respect to ITC and HUL. To complete this, annual
reports, numerous books, journals and periodicals are consulted, many reports on this specific
space are thought-about, and net looking has additionally been done.
“Digital marketing strategies of companies in FMCG market”, T Denis
- 2018
Main goal of this thesis is to analyze the utilization of digital marketing tools in FMCG
companies in contemporary market. In order to achieve this goal, secondary data analysis and
case studies analysis (sample of 50 cases) were conducted. The results showed which digital
marketing tools are effective, what success factors of those digital tools and the comparison
of top companies in FMCG market was conducted. Thus, this thesis shall prove to be usefull
for practicioners in FMCG market. Main aim of this paper is to find out different approaches
and methods towards digital marketing and to evaluate which of them prove to be the most
efficient. Also, there will be different cases from real practices, where it shall be analyzed
why one digital marketing strategy might be efficient, while the other one might not.
“Corporate social responsibility and sustainable development for
creating value for FMCG sector enterprises”, K Liczmańska-
Kopcewicz, K Mizera, P Pypłacz - Sustainability, 2019
In recent years, attention has been increasingly paid to social-, environmental-, and
ecology-related issues in the areas of diverse business operations. The concept of sustainable
development of enterprises is an attempt to integrate a diverse set of requirements for the
development of companies in the long-term future. The concept, which is set in a
contradictory context of economic, social, and environmental aspects, is an attempt to
balance fundamentally divergent requirements and aspirations. Sustainable enterprise
development can be a source of competitiveness, provided the opportunities related to it are
identified and implemented in a proper way. The research objective of this study is to
diagnose the relationship between the company‟s orientation towards the implementation of
sustainability assumptions, the degree of implementation of the objectives of the corporate
social responsibility (CSR) strategy, as well as the creation of value in a sustainable
enterprise. The survey was conducted on a sample of 165 FMCG (fast-moving consumer
goods) sector enterprises. The results indicate the existence of a positive correlation between
the variables analysed in the surveyed enterprises. Entrepreneurs guided by sustainable
development pursue economic and non-economic values and have a more comprehensive set
of appropriate measures necessary to create value in a sustainable enterprise, which consists
of achieving economic, ecological, and social goals.
“A focused review of literature on fmcg marketing in rural and urban
markets”, RA Shaikh - viirj.org-2017
FMCG sector always remain a vibrant, bubbling and a live-wire candidate when it comes
to research in marketing. Researchers from academia and from the industry are curious to
find out what is the new that is happening in FMCG marketing. With features like stiff
competition and all, FMCG marketing requires a solid theoretical and conceptual update.
This paper presents a focused review of literature on FMCG marketing in the context of rural
and urban markets. The concept thus is FMCG marketing while the context is rural and urban
markets. The research gap is quite evident in that in recent times no such study on FMCG
sector with reference to both urban and rural markets is on record. A study that will not only
present a comparative perspective between the two types of markets but will also factor in
views of supply chain partners to generate robust and practical piece of knowledge that will
be useful for both academicians and marketers
.
3.2 Objectives Of the Study
The main objectives of the study are as follows :-
Objective One: To analyze the marketing strategies of ITC Limited used to market their
personal care products in extremely competitive environment of industry.
Objective Two: To study and analyse the factors influencing a customer to buy personal
care products in competitive environment of industry.
Objective Three: To identify the customer perception with respect to features required in
their personal care products.
3.3 Scope Of the Study
The study will be limited to ITC personal care product, marketing strategy and also
consumer survey about the personal care products. The survey was limited to the
geographical area of Bangalore. The sample size was limited to 50 respondents.
3.4 Significance of the Study
(i) Significance of the Industry
The study can benchmark the factors behind the success of ITC Limited in the Indian
FMCG market. This will help them achieve sales volume and higher market share in the
Indian personal care products
(ii) Significance of the Researcher
I have gained lot of experience while doing this project. The project had helped me
to study the marketing strategies of the ITC Limited and to interact with the Managers and
Executive of the ITC Limited. To interact with the customers of the different religions while
filling questionnaire for my study. This will help me in my future career.
3.5 Research Design
The research was probability based exploratory research.
Primary Data
Internal data from companies offices and employees
Interviews of Marketing Managers
Secondary Data
Organization Website
Internet Data Collection Tools
Data Collection Tools
Questionnaires (Open-ended and Close-ended)
Personal Interviews
3.6 SAMPLING METHODOLOGY
(i) Sampling Unit: Customers and Employees of ITC Limited
(ii) Sampling Technique: Random Sampling
(iii) Sampling Area: Bangalore
(iv) Sample Size: 50 Customers
3.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The sample size was limited to 50 customers
The survey was limited to Bangalore
Biased opinions of the customers are limiting factors for the research.
CHAPTER 4 : DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
Data Analysis and Interpretation is the process of assigning meaning to the collected
information and determining the conclusions, significance, and implications of the findings.
In this study, the collected data is analyzed using Graphs and the Interpretation is
done from the obtained results
Sample Size: 50 Respondents
Sex
Male Female
8 42
Findings,
Out of the 50 respondents taken 84% are female and rest 16% are male.
Age Group
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 Above 55
27 13 7 2 1
Findings,
Out of the 50 respondents maximum 54% are from the age group of 18- 25 followed
by 26% 26-35, 14% 36-45, 4% 44-55 and only 2% above 55.
Occupation
Working Non- Working
47 3
Findings,
Out of the 50 respondents maximum 94% respondents are working while 6% are not
working.
Income Group
10,000 – 15,000 15,001-20,000 20,001-25,000 Above 25,000
8 9 15 18
Findings,
Out of the 50 respondents 36% respondents are from above 25,000 income group
followed by 30% 20,001-25,000, 18% 15,001-20,000 and 16% 10,000-15,000.
Q1. Do you use Personal Care Products?
Yes No
50 0
Findings,
Above chart depict maximum 100% respondents are using Personal Care Products
Q.2 When you think of Personal Care Products, which brands come to your mind?
HLL P&G J&J Reckitt B ITC L‟Oreal Any Other
18 8 4 2 8 4 6
Findings,
36% respondents had ticked on HLL while they think of Personal Care Products
followed by 16% each P&G and ITC, Johnson & Johnson and L‟oreal ticked 8% and any
other ticked 12%
Q.3 Do you use personal care product according to your skin type?
Yes No
35 15
Findings,
Most of the respondents 70% does not use personal care product according to their
skin type
Q.4 Are you a brand loyal customer?
Yes No
18 32
Findings,
Most of the respondents 64% are not brand loyal customers. But 36% respondent said
they are very brand loyal.
Q.5 If not, then which out of following factors fluctuates you to other brands.
Discounted Price Promotional
Schemes
Strong
Advertisement
Any other
13 15 4 0
Findings,
Most of the respondents 46% fluctuates to other brands because of good promotional
schemes offered by other company and 41% said good discounted price can change their
view 13% said strong advertisement can change their view point.
Q.6 Are you aware of personal care products by ITC?
Yes No
42 8
Findings,
Above chart depict that most of the respondents 84% are aware of personal care
products by ITC.
Q.7 Have you used ITC personal care products?
Yes No
32 28
Findings,
Above chart depict that 53% respondents have used ITC personal care products and
rest 47% have not yet used the ITC products.
Q.8 Which of the following personal care product you have been used of ITC?
A B C D E
Essenza Di
Wills Perfumes
Inizio Femme
(for women)
Essenza Di
Wills Perfumes
Inizio Homme
(for men)
Essenza Di
Wills Perfumes
Aqua Homme
(for men After-
Shave Lotion, a
Deodorant, a
Hair & Body
Shampoo and a
Bathing Bar)
Fiama Di Wills
(Shampoos,
Conditioner,
Shower Gels &
Soap)
Vivel Di Wills
(Shampoos and
Soap)
4 3 5 12 9
Findings,
Above chart depict that majority of the respondents 37% have used Fiama Di Wills
(Shampoos, Conditioner, Shower Gels & Soap) followed by 27% used Vivel Di Vivel Di
Wills (Shampoos and Wills (Shampoos and Soap), 15% have Soap), 15% have used Essenza
Di Wills Essenza Di Wills Perfumes Perfumes Aqua Homme (for men After-Shave Lotion, a
Deodorant, a Hair & Body Shampoo and a Bathing Bar), 12% are using Essenza Di Wills
Perfumes Inizio Femme (for women) and 9% using Essenza Di Wills Perfumes Inizio
Homme (for men) of ITC Personal Care Product.
Q.9 Are you satisfied with the personal care product of ITC you are using / used?
Yes No
39 11
Findings,
Above chart depict that most of the respondents 79% are satisfied with the personal
care product of ITC they are using rest 21% are not satisfied.
Q.10 What motivates you to buy ITC personal care product?
Advertisement Celebrities Quality & Packing Any Other
26 12 9 3
Findings,
52% respondents are motivate to buy ITC personal care product through advertisement
24% celebrity endorsement, 18% Quality & Packaging of the product and 6% ticked over any
other reason.
Q.11 Will you recommend the ITC Product to your friends and family members?
Yes No
50 0
Findings,
100% respondents said they will recommend the ITC Product to their friend and family
members.
5.1 FINDINGS
MARKETING STRATEGIES OF ITC LIMITED
Marketing has been defined in various ways, but it can be defined as: A social and
managerial process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through
Creating, Offering, Exchanging Products of value with others. There are certain elements on
which marketing and this particular definition of marketing rests. They are linked to each
other and they are complimentary one giving rise to the other. Their relationship is shown in
a diagrammatic form below.
Marketing is indeed an ancient art; it has been practiced in one form or the other.
Marketing is considered to be most important of all management functions in any business.
The basic task of marketing is the delivery of a total offer to the consumer in such a manner
that:-
a) The other fulfills the needs of the consumer.
b) The terms and attributes of the offer are acceptable.
c) All the organizational goals, including profits, are achieved in the process.
Firstly, place, it chooses the product that would meet the identified needs of the
chosen consumer/consumer group. Secondly, it performs various distribution functions like
transportation, warehousing, channel management, etc. so that the product can conveniently
reach the consumer. Thirdly, the firm carries out a number of promotion measures like
personal selling, advertising and sales promotional programmes with a view to
communicating with the consumer and promoting the product. Lastly, the firm uses the
pricing mechanism to achieve the consummation of the marketing process, striking the level
of price that is acceptable to the firm as wall as to the consumer. All activities and
programmes which a business firm designs and carries out in its effort towards winning
customers, relate to one or the other of the four elements -product, distribution, pricing and
promotion. These four elements constitute the Marketing Mix of the firm.
5.2 SUGGESTIONS
On the basis of above findings, a few recommendations can be put forward:
1. It is necessary to have a high level of advertisement during the phase when a
consumer actually purchases a personal care product. For instance during the last
week of the month, just before purchase of monthly quota of their personal care
products in most houses. Such a pulsed advertisement would be sufficient.
2. In order to attract a consumer through advertisements, it is benefits that have to be
highlighted in the advertisements. This is necessary because consumers do not go
through an extensive evaluation process for personal care products.
3. Any promotional scheme is to be displayed at the point of purchase prominently
rather than through advertisements
5.3 CONCLUSION
In today‟s dynamic and competitive business environment, marketers should
understand the changing perceptions and needs of consumers. These perceptions keep on
changing with time. As the competition is so tough that marketers keeps on increasing
customer expectations by providing them better quality products. Once consumer experience
a particular set of level, he/she does not want to move below that level.
The personal care product market has low involvement purchase decision. The
consumers are not brand loyal. They keep on changing their brands frequently. So it is
important for a marketer to keep his product alive in the market, otherwise the company will
be kicked out of the market. We can take the example of the Camay, which could not catch
the market pulse, and today it is out of the market.
The following attributes are essential for the personal product segment:
Fragrance and freshness are two most important attributes for the soap. So the
manufactures should lay their main emphasis on these two attributes. Some soap is
not doing well because they don‟t possess these qualities in their soaps. We can take
the example of Denim, which is unsuccessful soap, as it does not fulfill these two
essentialities.
Price is another important attribute as the market looks for the value for money.
People are price conscious. Not much people go for the premium range.
The consumers also consider foam and deodorant. Consumers have a psychology
towards foam. The foam gives a feeling of cleaning the body well. Lot of people
doesn‟t like lifebuoy, because it doesn‟t generate foam. Now a day‟s people are also
looking for deodorant in the soap. The flow of lot of deodorant sprays has also
encouraged the peoples to look for deodorant in the soaps.
Apart from these attributes we find that promotional schemes are very important in
catching the attention of consumers. That is why we are seeing that lots of companies coming
with new promotional schemes. In survey also lot of people have said that promotional
schemes tends to fluctuate from one brand to other brand. It has been revealed during the
survey that advertisement plays an important role in positioning of personal care products. It
helps in creating brand awareness among the consumers. This is advertisement, which makes
consumers aware of free offers and discounted price.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
- Marketing Management, Philips Kotler, The Millennium Edition, Prentice Hall of India
Private Limited, New Delhi.
- Sales and Distribution Management, T.K. Panda, Sunil Sahadev, Oxford University Press,
New Delhi, 2005.
Magazines
- India Today
- The Week
- Business Today
Newspapers
- Economics Times
- Times of India
- Financial Express
Websites
- www.google.com
- www.itcportal.com
- www.fashionproducts.com/personal-care-overview.html
- www.indiantelevision.com
ANNEXURE
QUESTIONNAIRE
Personal Details:
Name : ____________________________________
Sex:
o Male
o Female
Age group:
o 18-25
o 26-35
o 36-45
o 46-55
o Above 55
Occupation:
o Working
o Non-Working
Income Group:
o 10,000-15,000
o 15,001-20,000
o 20,001-25,000
o Above 25,000
Q1. Do you use Personal Care Products?
o Yes
o No
Q.2 When you think of Personal Care Products, which brands come to your mind?
o HLL
o P&G
o Johnson & Johnson
o Reckitt Benckiser
o ITC Ltd.
o L‟Oreal
o Any Other, Plz. Specify _________________
Q.3 Do you use personal care product according to your skin type?
o Yes
o No
Q.4 Are you a brand loyal customer?
o Yes
o No
Q.5 If not, then which out of following factors fluctuates you to other brands
o Discounted Price
o Promotional Schemes
o Strong Advertisement
o Any Other, Plz. Specify ______________
Q.6 Are you aware of personal care products by ITC?
o Yes
o No
Q.7 Have you used ITC personal care products?
o Yes
o No
Q.8 Which of the following personal care product you have been u have been used of ITC?
o Essenza Di Wills Perfumes Inizio Femme (for women)
o Essenza Di Wills Perfumes Inizio Homme (for men)
o Essenza Di Wills Perfumes Aqua Homme (for men After-Shave Lotion, a Deodorant, a
Hair & Body Shampoo and a Bathing Bar)
o Fiama Di Wills (Shampoos, Conditioner, Shower Gels & Soap)
o
Q.9 Are you satisfied with the personal care product of ITC you are using / used?
o Yes
o No
Q.10 What motivates you to buy ITC personal care product?
o Advertisement
o Celebrities
o Quality & Packing
o Any Other, Plz. Specify ____________________________
Q.11 Will you recommend the ITC Product to your friend and family members?
o Yes
o No
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A Study on Understanding Marketing Strategies Of ITC Ltd. forPersonal Care CategoryORIGINALITY REPORT
PRIMARY SOURCES
Md. Naimul Islam Suvon, Riasat Khan,Mehebuba Ferdous. "Real Time BanglaNumber Plate Recognition using ComputerVision and Convolutional Neural Network",2020 IEEE 2nd International Conference onArtificial Intelligence in Engineering andTechnology (IICAIET), 2020Publication