Retail Store Project

PUNJAB TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY JALANDHAR
PROJECT REPORT ON

(MARKETING) Retailing
COTTON COUNTY APPARELS Submitted to:

Nahar Industrial Enterprises Ltd.
(In the partial fulfillment of our two year post graduate diploma in business mgmt.) MASTERS OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Supervised by: Mr. Sachin Sahni (A.V.P) Nahar Industrial Enterprises Ltd.

Submitted by:

Punjab Technical Uni. Jalandhar

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Acknowledgement
No great Endeavour in any field is possible in solitude. It needs inspiration, guidance and assistance at each and every step thus we preface our report by expressing sincere and deep gratitude to those who made it possible for us to complete our project work. I have no words to thank and appreciate to the people of Nahar Industrial Enterprise Ltd. who gave me all the required facilities and made this report possible by imparting me with a lot of vital information. I would like to express my sincere gratitude towards Mr. Sachin Sahni, A.V.P. for assigning me this live project. I also like to thank him for imparting me knowledge from his enriched experiences and assisting me to learn from it. I am also thankful to the whole Marketing Department of Nahar Industrial Enterprises Ltd. For their full-hearted support to this project. I can’t forget the efforts and precious assistance of Mr. Rakesh Gera, Sales officer and Mrs. Kavita Sharma, who provided me their sincere guidance in this live project. It is a well-established fact that behind every achievement lays an unfathomable sea of gratitude to my faculty Miss. Rupinder Kaur. who have extended their support and without this report would have never come into existence.

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PREFACE
It is well said that self knowledge is best through action and not through contemplation, so keeping this in view our institution, has referred us in a recognized organization as a compulsory & vital part of M.B.A. project report assists the students in their self-improvement & enrichment of their knowledge in professional field of management as they are going to be future managers. The basic ideology behind practical training is to bring actual environment in touch of a M.B.A. student. It is widely accepted that theory widen one’s thinking & help in innovative thinking but practice indicates the possibilities of the idea & how far the theory can be applied successfully. To emphasize this practical aspect of management education of M.B.A.,PTU JALANDHAR has included practical training in any corporate as an integral part of 2 years degree program in its curriculum. Under the survey programme, I got my survey arranged in Nahar Group of Co.’s Nahar Industrial Enterprises Ltd., Ludhiana (Punjab). In my summer training i were to study Retail Management, for which we did rigorous Market Research & made customer profile of Cotton County brand, SWOT analysis on the basis of market study & competitor’s profile made by us, finally provided company with recommendations with projections concerning its future growth in sales, to convert its weaknesses into its strengths. In the end, I would like to thank all those who have directly or indirectly contributed in completing the project report. I hope that my this report will be beneficial for the company & would help company a lot in its future growth.

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METHODOLOGY
ANALYSIS OF COTTON COUNTY’S RETAILING & MARKET RESEARCH CONCERNING ITS COMPETITORS. Objectives of study:
 To analyze COTTON COUNTY’s retailing.  To design its customer profile, SWOT analysis  To design its near competitors profile  To find the loopholes in COTTON COUNTY’s retailing  To make recommendations to COTTON COUNTY on account of loopholes.

Sources:
We used both primary & secondary sources of data for the execution of our project.

Primary source:
 Analysis table: For the purpose of drawing customer profile & gathering info on account of customers / target audience.  Questionnaire: Structured Questionnaire is prepared & duly filled by customers of COTTON COUNTY to know their opinion about our apparel products & their tastes & preferences.  Interviews: Personal interviews of customers, channel members & company’s Marketing executives have been conducted to gain an in-depth knowledge as a source of input..

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Secondary source:
 Books:  Internet: Marketing Management 12e www.retailyatra.com www.owmnahar.com www.google.com/ccpl/koutons www.dukeindia.com www.fashionindia.com KOTLER.

Statistical tools applied:
    BAR GRAPHS PIE CHARTS RANKING METHOD RATING METHOD

Limitations of study:
 RESPONDENT: Marketing officers might not have provided us enough

information which is required to complete our project and didn’t allowed us to access the actual facts & figures of COTTON COUNTY.

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CONTENTS
• • • • Profile and brief introduction to Nahar Group of Companies Plants , locations and work of Nahar Group of Companies Products manufactured , group turnover and export market Brief introduction of companies in group: 1. Nahar Industrial Enterprises Ltd. 2. Nahar Exports Ltd. 3. Nahar Sugar & Allied Industries Ltd. 4. Nahar International Ltd. • • • • • • • • • • • Indian Textile industry – an overview Changing face of Indian Textile Industry Customer profile of Cotton County Apparels Market segmentation in domestic apparel industry Organizational objectives of Nahar Industrial Enterprises Ltd. Product Life Cycle of COTTON COUNTY apparels Product wise segmentation of actual sales of COTTON COUNTY SWOT Analysis of COTTON COUNTY brand Loopholes detected in COTTON COUNTY’s retailing Suggested Recommendations Competitors complete profile 1. DUKE 2. KOUTONS • Bibliography

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AN INTRODUCTUCTION TO NAHAR GROUP OF COMPANIES
• HISTORICAL BACKROUND OF THE GROUP AND ITS PROFILE_____

Nahar group of companies, a mark of credibility has been established with an objective of providing its customers and clients a standard of superior quality both via product and services at competitive prices. Oswal woolen mills ltd. Nahar Group estd. in the year 1949 as a small worsted –spinning unit with the assets of 800 spindles surges ahead to establish itself as a reputed industrial conglomerate with a wide range of portfolio comprising of spinning, knitting, fabric, hosiery, garments etc today is the flagship company of the glorious and magnanimous Oswal Empire & a proud owner of widely accepted super brands in knitwear like Monte Carlo and Canterbury also newly launched Cotton County in its woven segment. Today Nahar Group is giant textile group & leader in the northern territory of India. The company since its inceptions has grown into new horizons & has touched many landmarks under the precious hands of Mr. Jawahar Lal Oswal. Now his sons are following his footmarks in taking the group of companies to new heights. Today after celebrating its glorious golden jubilee and entering into the new millennium, those nascent days of 800-spindle start-up become a distant memory as the Nahar Group surges ahead to establish itself as a reputed industrial conglomerate with a more vast range of profile viz. cotton & woollen yarns, knit wears, winter wears, fabric processing, hosiery garments, steel, soaps, sugar, infrastructure development, IT. The thrust of the whole group is in textile field aiming mainly at exports.

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The Nahar Group’s turbo-charged journey into the highways of tomorrow however was severely tested during the early nineties with the advent of liberalization, opening the flood gates globalization. Of the enduring belief that “when the going gets tough, the tough gets going”, the group pulled back to re-focus, restructure & realign its corporate blue prints to established a new and appropriate equation with the new market forces. This reality was the essence of their positive VISION 2000 thrust. It encompassed global aspiration and onsolidated brand equity for the domestic markets. Regarding the first, the group’s aggressive & market – savvy forays have helped zoom the export Sensex, contributing to over 1/3 of the present turnover of the Group. Focusing on the second, market driven brand extensions relating to their hi-profile & top rated MONTE CARLO line have met with resounding success. Simultaneously, in tune with the market demands, the group went in forward integration for the manufacture of Greige Fabrics, setting up of a modern process house and finally into the making of garments. On the anvil is the new mantra of the day-info tech. where hot lines to excellence are being explored. The flagship company of the group i.e. Oswal Woollen Mills has recently launched domestically its new brand “COTTON COUNTY” offering finest quality of shirts, T-shirts, trousers, jackets etc. to compete its existing competitors with a motive to gain product leadership in domestic markets. However, besides and beyond there professional portfolio the group has always met its social compliance and has always been deeply entrenched in social upliftment, at every level. Its most concrete reflections are there for all to see – Jawahar Lal Oswal Public Charitable Trust which runs free dispensaries in backward and remote regions to provide free medication to financially weak people, Mohan Dai Oswal Memorial Hospital, promoted by Oswal Mills but as a Charitable institution catering to a vast cross section of society. 8

PLANT LOCATIONS & WORKS OF THE NAHAR GROUP
1) ARHAM SPINNING MILLS Vill. Udaipur / khijuriwas, Bhiwadi, Distt. Alwar (Raj.) 2) ARHAM SPINNING MILLS Vill. Jalalpur, Chandigarh-Ambala Road, Lalru, Distt. Patiala (Pb.) 3) FABRICS UNIT Vill. Jalalpur, Chandigarh-Ambala Road, Lalru, Distt. Patiala (Pb.) 4) NAHAR SUGAR Vill. Salana Jeon Singh Wala, Amloh, Distt. Fatehgarh Sahib (Pb.) 5) OSWAL FATS & OILS Vill. Jalaldiwal, Near Rajkot, Distt. Ludhiana (Pb.) 6) SPINNING UNIT Vill. Jalalpur Chandigarh-Ambala Road, Lalru, Distt. Patiala (Pb.) 7) SAMBHAV SPINNING MILLS Industrial Focal Point, Phase-VIII, Mundian Kalan, Distt. Ludhiana. 8) GARMENT UNIT Focal Point, Ludhiana. 9) NAHAR STEEL Vill. Salana Jeon Singh Wala, Amloh, Distt. Fatehgarh Sahib (Pb.) 9

PRODUCTS MANUFACTURED BY NAHAR GROUP
        FABRICS HOSIERY GARMENTS KNIT WEARS SOAP EDIBLE OILS SUGAR STEEL INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.

GROUP TURNOVER: - Rs. 627 Crores (approx.) EXPORT MARKET:                       U.S.A U.K. GERMANY RUSSIA JAPAN AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND HOLLAND THAILAND HONG-KONG SINGAPORE TAIWAN SOUTH KOREA MALAYSIA MAURITIUS DUBAI BAHRAIN SOUTH AFRICA CANADA EGYPT ISRAEL BANGLADESH

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Established in 1983 under the name of OSWAL FATS & OIL The company has to divisions under its umbrella namely ,Oil change over to become Nahar LTD. it underwent a total & Soap Division and the textile division Industrial Enterprises a decade letter in 1994

The oil and soap division has two units. The fatty Acid unit is engaged in the manufacture of Fatty Acids Stearic Acid and Distilled Glycerin. The soap unit is engaged in the production of Toilet & Laundry Soap

In the textile division the company has two Spinning units and a weaving unit. The frost spinning unit, a100% EOU, is Engaged in the manufacture of cotton yarn is exporting its yarn to Europe , Hong Kong ,Singapore Taiwan ,Mauritius ,Malaysia and Australia

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The second unit ,namely Sambav Spinning Mill,is engaged in the manufacture of cotton yarn. The aggregate installed spindlage in both the units is 38000 spindels. Nahar fabric the weaving unit is equipped with 176 Picanol Air Jet Weaving Machines(Cam/Repair/Dobby)

The facilities are backed by a weaving design studio where the time tested handloom is used for product development activity in consonance with market needs

The preparatory is equipped with Benningers Warping & Sizing Machines .Inspection is equipped with automatic inspection with rolling machine from la Maccanica Italy. Nahar fabrics has already produced more then 200 different constructions in Grey Fabric for in House needs and World Markets

“Back of the future could will be the title for Nahar Exports success story a dazzling satellite of the NAHAR constellation. Starting out in 1988 as manufacturers & exporters of cotton hosiery garment knitwear the company soon realized that to move forward it had to strategically move 12 back

This it did through focused backward integration by setting up on its own spinning with an ambitious installed capacity of 25000 spindles aiming to provide premium value added and specialty yarns to the market .This move was met with resounding success with total spindelage jumping from a modest 16000 in 1992 to a whopping 72000 in 1998. Their eyes for volumes was matched with their relentless commitment to quality aptly reflected in their being honored with the prestigious National Export Award for outstanding export performance 1997 as also the Texprocil Trophy by the Textile Export promotion council for outstanding export performance in yarn amongst the leading exporters mills (1997-98).The best however was yet to come and it arrived as result of sound strategic thinking in the form of amalgamation of group company Nahars fibers with Nahar Exports in 1998

It was a conscious decision aiming to reap the benefits of a profitable merger. A proactive moves strongly indicating the company determination and confidence, to race ahead of competition by superior utilization of both man & machines. A master strokes towards opotimisting the bottom line of the company while minimizing administrative functional & legal hassles in one final swoop

Today the result of these dynamic synergy are here for all to see in the year 2003-2004 the company achieved a turnover of Rs. 4687 million and earned a profit of over Rs. 357 million. As ISO 9002 company Nahar Exports has 5 plants with a spindlage capacity of 153664 spindles manufacturing a wide range of premium specialty & value added yarns manned by a dedicated work force of 5000 exporting to enthusiastic customers in the competitive export market of Europe, Hong Kong ,Singapore, Mauritius & South East Asian Countries Nahar Exports today is a major player in the chosen area blazing new trials & spanning new horizons in its on going pursuit of ever greater excellence

Established in 1993 Nahar Spinning mills Ltd. associate companies in the assisted sector with PSIDC promoted Nahar Sugar

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Nahar Sugar represents the Groups concerted thrust towards explo9ring new need based area in tune with the larger context of customer needs & market demands

The company has a modern sugar mill powered with the latest state-of-the-art equipment at district Fategarh Sahib, Punjab for producing all types & grades of sugar and allied products. The installed capacity of mill is 2500 TCDs

An active program of cane development to ensure regular cane supply to the plant is on. Also the power co-generated at the plant is being constructively used for capitative consumption to reduce the raw material cost

Incorporated in 1970 it came under the management of the OWM group in 1980 & given its present name in 1994 Nahar International Limited has three manufacturing units. All of which are results of hard core strategic thinking in its pursuits if moving ahead

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Arham Spinning Mills Consolidating on the core strength of the group the spinning unit of the company Located at Bhiwadi ,Rajastan in engaged in the manufacture of cotton & blended yarn ,Commercial production of which commenced in 1993. The installed capacity of the unit at present in 66264 spindles

Arham Spinning Mills 100% EOU Cashing in on its familiarity Strong presence in key market of the west this spinning units of the company 100% EOU has been set up in Dist. Patiala ,Punjab for the manufacture of cotton/blended yarn with a capacity of 25200 spindles

CUSTOMER PROFILE
(For COTTON COUNTY apparels) Nahar group’s COTTON COUNTY apparel line has been commercially launched into the northern zone of India with a motive to provide its customers with a wide variety of its apparel products viz. T-shirts, shirts, trousers, cargos, jeans, Capri, etc. on competitive prices now planning to launch it across the nation. They have splendidly designed their customer profile of which the details are under mentioned:

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Demographically:

Both Male & Female 20-45 years (for T-shirts) 20 + years (for shirts) 20 + years (for trousers) 20-30years (for cargos) 20-35years (for jeans) 20 +years (for jackets) 20-25years (for Capri) 20-25years (for tops) 7-10years (for kids wear)

Geographically:

Primarily in northern zone of nation which covers: Punjab Rajasthan Gujarat Delhi Haryana U.P. M.P. (Proposed to launch its apparels across the nation)

Behaviorally:

Cotton County is taking care of both types of Its Customers & hence offering its apparels for:  Those who want a simple & descent look but desire to lead a high-class living.  Those who want a differential status and wants a different but high profiled fashion-wear.

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MARKET SEGMENTATION
CATEGORY UNBRANDED UNBRANDED BRANDED BRANDED % HOLDING (SHARE) 70% 70% 30% 30%

BRANDED, 30%

UNBRANDED , 70%

UNBRANDED

BRANDED

INTERPRETATION:
As per the Indian apparel market is concern as we can see in the above chart that still nearly 70% of market share is held with unbranded apparels and minority of share i.e. nearly upto 30% is held with branded apparels. So company has splendidly made market strategy for their COTTON COUNTY brand, in this they have set a goal to gain direct access into branded market in Indian apparel industry with a primary motive to sweep unbranded apparel out from industry so that they could be able to strengthen their position & hold in market to compete with domestic brands primarily & multinational brands afterwards. Since at the time just after its launching it’s a bit tough to enter in branded apparel market & snatch share from competitors, due to lack of scope in branded market company is primarily making an offensive move towards unbranded market & due to bigger in size there is lot of scope for company to gain share in this sector & confirm to make a competitive move towards branded sector. As per our in-depth market analysis, COTTON COUNTY is successful so far in removing unbranded apparel from the market & successfully snatching share from branded apparels like KOUTONS, ZODAIC etc.

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Organizational objectives:  
To gain access

& to make a hold in primarily domestic branded apparel market.

To provide their customer the best value for their money. To attract customers who are currently using other brands like KOUTONS, VAN

HEUSAN, ZODAIC, NEWPORT etc.   To convert Brand Switchers into Brand Loyal. To convert customers who are using unbranded apparel into COTTON

COUNTY’s customers.

For the purpose to attain their above-mentioned objectives/goals company’s marketing strategy involves tapping the following psychology of a common person or a customer:

 

Unbranded clothes are cheap. Branded clothes are meant for high class society only.

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COTTON COUNTY’S PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

SALES & PROFIT (in Rs.)

(Current position of COTTON COUNTY) SALES PHASE-I PHASE-II INTRODUCTION GROWTH PHASE-I

MATURITY DECLINE PHASE-II PHASE-I

PROFIT

TIME

PHASE-II
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INTERPRETATION
(of the figure above-mentioned):

Cotton County’s casual launching has been done. It has been launched all over the northern zone of India including: Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Gujarat etc. Cotton County faced few problems while entering into the market, as already there are too many domestic players already existing into the market like Duke, Koutons, Live-In, Zodiac etc. but its getting toughest competition from Duke & Koutons. Duke is giving a tough competition in T-shirt segment while Koutons is giving a tough competition in Jeans & Trousers segment. That’s why we launched our apparel line on a nominal profit into the market. But now as we have seen a bit stability in our position in the apparel market with good growth, we are trying to make a competitive move into the market to out beat our competitors like Duke, Koutons etc. & to shift COTTON COUNTY from 1st phase of growth stage to the 2nd phase of growth stage to gain maximum market share. To attain this goal we are working more upon BRAND COGNIZATION by launching our advertisements in T.V. media. We are proposing to display the advertisement in national channels like. STAR PLUS, HBO, ZEE CINEMA, AXN, CNBC TV18 etc.

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SEGMENTATION OF SALES (Product wise)
PRODUCT LINE
TROUSERS T-SHIRTS SHIRTS CARGOS JEANS KIDS LADIES OTHERS SALES (100%) as a % of total sales 30% 15% 25% 8% 8% 6% 6% 2%

PRODUCT WISE SEGMENTATION OF SALES

30 25 20 15 10 5 0 TROUSER CARGO LADIES East

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INTERPRETATION
The average of all the growth rates that have been mentioned above for different products in COTTON COUNTY’s apparel product line comes around 21.53%. This is an anticipated & predicted growth rate for the COTTON COUNTY’s most potential client/channel member which is capable enough to touch the figure of 25000 (in Rs.) or more per day in case if the company would consider the recommendations which have been produced in the report.

In case if the channel member is not very much potential and is capable of doing sales between 10000 – 15000(in Rs.) only then also company could gain a growth of 10- 12.5% in their case if they would focus on their marketing objectives & make concrete retailing strategies by reconsidering the recommendations.

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Swot analysis
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STRENGTHS
 Product leadership in quality & price  Product leadership in quality && In-depth industry experience price  In-depth industry experience & insight. Insight. class creative, yet practical  World  World class creative, yet practical product designers. product designers. to the changing  Quick adaptability  Quick adaptability to the changing market conditions. marketof fabrication is done in-house  95% conditions.  95%only 5% that too of denim is from & of fabrication is done in-house &outsourcing options gives us afrom only 5% that too of denim is wide outsourcing options ourselves in this scope of adjusting gives us a wide scopethroat competition and enabled us cut of adjusting ourselves in this cut throat competition and enabled us to provide our customers with world toclass quality of apparel products on provide our customers with world class quality of apparel products on competitive prices. competitive prices. our commitment  The secret behind  The secret behind our commitment lies in the productive & dedicated lies in the productive & dedicated efforts of our highly proficient & efforts of our highly proficient & & qualified staff, & harmonization qualified staff, & harmonization & best coordination among our several best coordinationworks. our several departments & among departments & works.of human,  Optimum utilization  Optimum utilization of human, by the financial & physical resources financial &leads it towards the by the company physical resources way of company leads it towards the way of success. success.  Company has a very strong  Company hasnetwork & logistics that distribution a very strong distribution to make a competitive enabled it network & logistics that enabledover its competitors & win the move it to make a competitive move over its competitors makingthe trust of its customers by & win trust ofavailable with by making with them its customers fresh stock them available with fresh stockchoose a wide variety of products to with a from. variety of products to chose wide from.

WEAKNESSES
Less market share in the market.  Inappropriate approach to launch of sssssssssssseeeee COUNTY APPARELS COTTON concerning its consumer discounting schemes and same with the alteration in such types of schemes.  Difficulty in understanding or setting up its product’s customer profile.  Lack of stress is putted on positioning of COTTON COUNTY apparel line.  Lack of consideration given to its product & poor focus on customer preferences & tastes as per the market demand is concerned.

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Swot analysis
(In contd.)

OPPORTUNITIES
 Decreased product costs through internal economy of scale  As the expected yield of cotton crop in the coming year is estimated to be massive worldwide, there is an opportunity to reduce costs & raw material conversion period, finally widens the scope for the execution of marketing & retailing strategies.  With the implementation of VAT, all small scale units will be shut off it will make our entry easier in the domestic market.  Under its expansion plan for the textile segment, the company will add around 40,000 spindles to its present capacity of 1.2 lakh, thereby increasing the manufacturing capacity of the textiles division. The number of rotors will also be increased from the present nine to 15. This will strengthen our position before our competitors.  According to center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) textile industry is expected to continue its buoyant performance with cotton textile index growing at 10% is a very good sign for us & our future growth in textile segment.

THREATS
 Presence of too many players in the domestic market hinders it to make an easy hold over the market. Its main competitors are: o DUKE: duke is giving a tough competition to COTTON COUNTY in the T-shirt segment. o KOUTONS: Koutons is giving us a head 2 head competititon by providing a wide variety of jeans & trousers in linen, khadi, and corduroys segment. o Some of our other close competitors includes: ZODIAC, Live-In etc.  Lack of customer loyalty as there is immediate substitution in the industry.  WTO agreement is a threat as in synthetics CHINA, KOREA & TAIWAN can pose a big threat while in cotton, Pakistan & China are threats.

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Territory chart
OUTLETS IN INDIA
AHMEDABAD,-2 JAMMU ALLAHABAD AMBALA CANTT-2 AMBALA CITY AMRITSAR ANAND AZAMGARH BANSWARA BAREILLY BARNALA BASTI BATALA BHAGALPUR BHATINDA BHILWARA BHIWANI BHOPAL BIEGUSARAI BIKANER BILASPUR CHANDIGARH CHITTODGARH DEHRADUN DELHI,-2 FARIDABAD FATEHABAD FEROZPUR GANGANAGAR GAYA GORAKHPUR GURDASPUR GWALIOR HANUMANGARH HISAR HOSHIARPUR INDORE JABALPUR JAIPUR-5

JAMNAGAR JAMSHEDPUR JODHPUR KARNAL KOLKATA KOTKAPURA KURUKSHETRA LUCKNOW- 2 LUDHIANA, -4 MALERKOTLA MANIMAJRA MERRUT- 2 MOGA MOHALI MUKTSAR MUMBAI MUZAFFARNAGAR PATHANKOT PATIALA PATNA, 3 PHAGWARA RAIPUR RAJKOT RAJPURA RANCHI ROHTAK RUDRAPUR SAHARANPUR 2 SAMASTIPUR SANGRUR SHAMLI SIRSA SITAPUR SONIPAT UDAIPUR VARANASI VARODA

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LOOPHOLES:
• Company is displaying add of COTTON COUNTY Track Suits but it is still unavailable at their retail outlets, resulting in distortion of company’s goodwill. • Company is promising its female customers to provide them with a wide variety of woman wears but at retail outlets lack of variety of the same is seen. This may cause company to loose its female customers and loss on account of goodwill too. • Company is also promising to provide its customers with a wide variety of jeans wear, kurta & payjamas & Corduroys but its customers are not getting the same on its retail outlets over which our competitors are gaining advantage. • The company has altered the consumer discount scheme on a very short notice & without any pre-intimation to its customers, which creates confusion & chaos among its customers. Hence co. is loosing faith of its customers. • • The new consumer discount scheme (25+25%) is so ambiguous among its consumers. The company is not providing display with its own printed monogrammed form of discount schemes to its channel member. • • • The company is also not providing its channel member with updated displays. Poor focus on its female target audience. Company is displaying the same old advertisement of Cotton County although the scheme has been altered. • Lack of stress on market research.

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RECOMMENDATIONS:
• Company should display advertisement of only those COTTON COUNTY products which company is capable to make available on its retail outlets. • If the company is genuinely focusing its female customers also then they should

make available a wide variety in terms of size, colors, style of women wears viz. tops, jeans, capris etc. on their retail outlets to satisfy their this segment of audience completely. • In men’s wear Company if displaying on printed advertisement, male model

wearing kurta then they must have to make kurta payjamas available on its retail outlets. As being the fact is concern that there is a peak demand of men’s jeans and corduroys pants, they should also launch a wide variety of jeans wear and corduroys pants in terms of color, style and size to out beat its competitors like KOUTONS, NEWPORT, DIESAL etc. • COTTON COUNTY if want any alteration in its consumer discount schemes then

they should give an intimation concerning this to its customers at least a week before alteration. Via. print media like local newspapers, journals etc. and on its local channels via. print media. So as to gain the faith & trust of its target audience. • Moving ahead on the path of “simplicity is the key to success” the company

should launch such type of consumer discount schemes which are simple and easily understandable to its customers but not ambiguous that they feel themselves being cheated.

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•

The company should provide its own monogrammed printed advertisements

concerning its consumer discounting schemes to its channel members to enhance their trust in company and enhancement in their performance too. • The company should provide its channel members with their latest promotion

material which is in accordance with the trend & season. • Company should give proper promotion to its channel members on their good

results in the form of honor in the form of a shield and certificate and by other means to motivate them for doing better then their best performance. • There is a high demand for round-neck designer T-Shirts in the market so

COTTON COUNTY can take advantage of this if they offer the same to its customer too. • Should advertise on national channels on prime times to gain max. acceptability

of its products across the country. • At the time of withdrawing its consumer discount schemes instead of immediate

withdrawal of scheme, they should make a competitive move, for instance: ( instead of withdrawing their buy 1 get 2 free scheme casually, they should 4 days before

withdrawal of such scheme, display or publish advertisement in local newspapers, T.V. channels in such manner that “ HURRY LAST 4 DAYS ......

YOU CAN GET THIS DEAL AT AMAZING AFFORDABLE PRICE.

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COMPETITOR’S PROFILE
As per the competitors of COTTON COUNTY is concerned we have undertaken its two major competitors which are posing big threats to our COTTON COUNTY brand. The details concerning their profile and areas in which they deal are under mentioned: • • DUKE KOUTONS

Duke Group, established in year 1984 carries a legacy of business venture since 1973. It was a humble beginning, starting in the trade of Textile mills machinery and spare parts- which is now comprising of 3 companies: Duke Garments Ltd: now a leading manufacturer and exporter of readymade garments, mainly in woven fabric. The Bay Super Textile Mills Ltd - also engaged in manufacturing and export in readymade garments with special emphasis on knit garments. Trade Focus Ltd - The mother company and a leading trading house, now handling garments buying house and agency business as well as continuing in textile mills spare parts business.

Associate Companies:
 

The Bay Super Textile Mills Ltd. (Established : 1991) Trade Focus Ltd. (Established : 1973)

Bankers: Islami Bank Bangladesh LTD., Foreign Exchange Corporate Branch, 41 Dilkusha C/A, Dhaka, Bangladesh Main product Line: T-shirts, Jackets of all types, Trousers and shorts, Knit items. . Production capacity: 60,000 Pcs per month.

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Employees: Total 564. Sources of raw materials: Bangladesh, China, Taiwan, Korea, India, Pakistan and Hong Kong.

In readymade garments, duke’s main customers are from Canada, USA and England.Jackets and sets of all types, Pants and shorts of all types (mainly in light to medium weight fabric), skirts, Polar fleece and T/C fleece tops and sets, T/C and Cotton Knitwear. We obtain our raw materials from local as well as overseas sources. We make world class garments by using Cotton, CVC, T/C, Nylon and Polyester fabric. All garments are produced under strict quality control system and we have a full fledged pattern making, sample making, designing and quality control team comprising of total 28 technical persons. Duke is now fast diversifying into many other segments. Also, the company is about to launch new productlines in Chandigarh. For the first time in India, Duke is bringing Tencel yarns in knitwear segments. The company now also has an endless range of summer collection with T-shirts, lowers, upper, Bermudas and Shorts for both men and kids. The company is already well known for its basics; now it is getting youth oriented and adding more designs to cater to the younger segment. Its recent offer of the 3-in-1 value pack has been exceedingly successful. Duke is now aiming at entering into the segments of women & kids wear too shortly.

ADVERTISING & PROMOTION STRATEGY: Duke has used foreign models for the
purpose of its advertisement in TV media. Its advertisement are displaying world-wide on national & international channels. “Miss Switzerland and World Aerobics Champion have already been chosen as brand ambassadors in keeping with the ‘international imagery’ of the brand

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To capture more of its target audience’s attention they display their advertisements on prime time & on matinee times. They have very splendidly set a promotion strategy to display its advertisements in between the commercial breaks of ODI Cricket series being played between India & England so as to convey their advertisement messages directly & without any interruption to their target audience. Prices of Duke apparel product line: T-shirts: casual wear T-shirts Round neck T-shirts Designer T-shirts 199 – 350Rs. 399 – 499Rs. 450 – 799Rs

DUKE Fashions (India) Ltd, a major manufacturer of T-shirts, is making a foray into womenswear. It has just launched a brand called X-Cite, which now contains a range of tops for women. It will also get into kidswear later this year and plans to enter the sports shoe segment next year. From our sources we got to know about that the company will open 15 more exclusive stores by March 2006. The company now has 20 such stores in the North. It recently opened two stores in Hyderabad and Secunderabad, the first in the South. The brand is also distributed through 2,500 multi-brand outlets across the country. According to Mr. Balkar Singh, Senior Sales Manager, Duke, the company is now looking at visibility in the South through exclusive stores. Some would be company-owned and some franchises. Duke, reportedly rated by ORG-MARG as the top T-shirt maker in the country, prices its T-shirts in the Rs 199-699 range. It also makes trousers, shirts, jackets, sweaters and will begin making thermal underwear this year. T-shirts account for 60-65 per cent of the company's total revenues. Domestic sales account for 80 per cent. Its overseas buyers include Gap, Wal-Mart and Target.

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A LOOK AT DUKE’S PRODUCT PROFILE

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INCEPTION: CCPL established in 1991 by diehard professional Mr. Davinder Pal an Engineering Graduate, operates from its own state of the art fully automatic unit with imported machinery-located in Delhi India with in house stitching Laundry & Finishing facilities having the established & popular brands like Charlie Jeans & Koutons Khakis associated with them. THE Rs. 35-crore Charlie Creations Pvt Ltd, which markets the Koutons, Charlie and Adventure brands of ready-to-wear garments, is making concerted attempts to give its brands a complete makeover. Beginning August 15, the company will introduce a range of fusion garments as part of an extension exercise for the Charlie brand, comprising Indian styling on international cuts. For example, bandhini motifs on jeans and Swarovski crystal patterns embedded on western wear. In the Koutons range, the company is set to introduce fragranced shirts, in addition to scented trousers, introduced six months back. ``Koutons is the first Indian brand to market scented shirts and trousers, made possible by incorporating micro-encapsulation technology. The fragrances, ranging from musk to lavender and vanilla, will last 18-20 hand washes. TARGET AUDIENCE: 1.) Koutons, the company's flagship brand, accounts for 45 per cent of Charlie Creations' turnover and is positioned as a brand for the upper middle-class, over 21-year-olds. 2.) Charlie, which accounts for 30 per cent of the turnover, falls in the mid-priced segment and caters to 14-18-year-olds.

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While R&D and sampling exercises are being carried out on a budget of Rs. 55 lakhs, the consolidated ad budget for all three brands is Rs. 1.75 crore. Charlie Creations has projected a Rs. 50-crore turnover for next fiscal. Company officials said instead of exclusive outlets, they would concentrate on setting up shop-in-shop counters to retail their brands, currently available at 511 counters across the country. PRODUCT PROFILE: A range which takes care of all your needs. Impeccable fabrics, both Indian and imported in amazing weaves, styles and fits to suit all seasons & moods. CCPL offers Shirts, Jeans, Cargo's, T Shirts, Woolen, Jackets, and Evening Wear for Men, and Tops, Trousers, Jeans for Women Available allover the country. Company claims to be the first company in apparels to appoint distributors to provide ready stocks in every state. USP OF KOUTONS: • Wrinkle Free-light weight super combed cottons… Incorporating superb technology and innovative designing techniques, the company manufactures a vast range in a variety of colors & designs, which includes cotton/blended trousers in the range of……. • • • Poloynosics - Trousers made from a new generation fibre with greater weave flexibility. Tencel - Trouser made from a nature's luxury fiber, the natural cellulose found in trees, by using a natural non-chemical process. Musk - Koutons is the first Indian brand to market-scented trouser, by incorporating microencapsulation technology. These trousers have a light scented power on rubbing the fabric the fragrances, ranging from musk to lavender and vanilla, last about 18 to 20 hand washes.

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VISION: From a company primarily into jeans wear for the masses to one of the biggest success stories in the casual wear scenario in India CCPL has come a long way.Future certainly looks bright and prosperous for the group. CCPL products have already made its presence felt in the Middle East markets internationally. Now CCPL is planning to enter the European and American markets with an export wing that will become operational within the next few months. The initial prospective forays of CCPL at international buyer meets have been very positive.

Charlie creation’s KOUTONS is well equipped with fully automated state-of-art plants with
German, Japanese and Italian machinery. Where all aspects of production, right from fabric sourcing to finishing of products are handled by specialized machines. All fabrics are tested inhouse for the right performance parameters before they are considered for merchandising. The product development cell comes up with the latest fabric washes & surface developments, textures etc. The classic cuts are styled to contour to the physical attributes of the human body to maximize the comfort of the wearer, and at the same time provide a distinct smartness to the garments. Each garment is customized with hand-finished details with great precision.

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OPERATIONAL SKILLS:

Led by a team of young designers from NIFT the merchandising deptt.

After intense research and study comes up with the story for the season in terms of fabrics, fits, finishes and colors. The P. D. Cell co-ordinates on these styles to fine tune them for the final launch. The season planning are months in advance and the production takes over after the projections have been charted down. All tests are conducted before the final garments leave the factory. The retail wing works back to back with the merchandising & prodn. They have a complete update of the styles for the season & their deliveries and they co-ordinate with the prodn. for proactive changes as per mkt reqmts. This is backed by custom made MIS software "WIZAPP" that includes logistics as well.

PRODUCTION CAPACITY: With a production capacity of 3000 jeans or 2200 trousers and about 1000 shirts per day, the company today boasts of highest production efficiency in the industry. Backed by a dedicated and skilled work force. Charlie garments are combinations of quality fabrics and styling that meets the international quality standards. Very soon the factory is expanding its base with a vertically integrated unit at Gurgaon to cope up with the excessive demand in the domestic as well as international. QUALITY CONTROL: At Charlie Creations quality is not a goal but a way of life. Constant Quality control checks are performed right from inspection of the fabric to production, packaging and tagging that conform to (AQL of 2.0) quality standards. From cutting of the Fabric to its finishing dual checking system is incorporated in order to ensure absolute accuracy. The manufacturing units are monitored by most latest quality checking computerized machines that ensure wearing comfort, durability and elegance of each garments. Above all the company is geared for speed, real time response and just-in-time deliveries.

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TECHNOLOGY ADOPTED: Today, it is one of the few productions houses in India, which can easily do both jeans and Trousers on the same production line. The products like Jeans, Cotton/Blended Trousers, Casual Shirts for Men Ladies and Kids been manufactured under one single roof we are producing 3000 pieces of Jeans and 2200 pieces of Trousers in a single day. The production system followed is not exactly the assembly line system but a judicious mix of team work system where in the lines are built as per the panels of the garment rather than the whole garment it self.

Equipped with the most ultra modern machinery: 1) Auto Back Pocket Setter #805 from Durkopp Adler 2) Auto Belt Loop Setter #1650 from Singer Italia 3) Auto Waist Banding Unit #302 From Singer Italia 4) Jean Leg Hemming #591 from Singer Italia 5) Pocket Binding Unit from Singer Italia 6) Electronic Bar tacks #569 from Singer Italia 38

7) Safety Stitch #1892 from Singer Italia 8) Auto Pocket Welting LW-2000 from AMF Reece 9) Electronic Eyelet B/HOLE XL-21 from AMF Reece 10) Garment Reversing Unit from MACPI 11) Auto Trouser Topper #319 from MACPI 12) Auto Trouser Topper from VEIT 13) X-Y AXIS Single Thread Embroidery Unit #210C from JUKI 14) Fiblon conveyor belt fusing The company has kept itself abreast of the latest developments in garment engineering and new work systems.

ADVERTISEMENT & PROMOTION:

Charlie creation’s KOUTONS is being currently advertised all over through Print media like Newspapers, Magazines etc. & in T.V. Media currently it’s being displayed all over national commercial channels like STAR PLUS, SONY ENTERTAINMENT etc. the have splendidly decided their T.V. advertisement & displaying its ad. on matinee time & on prime times to target its target audience more effectively. In addition to existing print advertising, the company is planning an electronic campaign for Koutons. Besides, fresh print advertising is being planned for the Charlie brand, which has hitherto been promoted more through promotional exercises.

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PRICING:

• • • •

The company's economy brand, Adventure, is priced between Rs. 495 and Rs. 595. T-SHIRTS are priced between range: Rs. 350 – 699/Shirts are priced between range: Rs. 450 – 800+ Rs. Trousers & jeans are priced between range: Rs. 899 – 1299/-

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A LOOK AT CCLP’S KOUTONS & CHARLIE’S PRODUCT PROFILE

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Bibliography:
    brochures: Nahar Group Newspaper: Corporate strategies (supplement of business standard). Books: Marketing Management 12e KOTLER. Internet: www.retailyatra.com www.owmnahar.com www.google.com/ccpl/koutons www.dukeindia.com www.fashionindia.com

Annexure:
 Analysis table.  Sample of questionnaires filled by customers.

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