LAUNCH OF iROBOT ROOMBA

IN INDIA

BASED ON MARKET SURVEY CONDUCTED IN THE YEAR 2009.

LAUNCH OF iROBOT ROOMBA

IN INDIA

Based on Market Survey conducted in the year 2009.

Navi Mumbai

Prepared by

Group5

Table of contents Page no.

Executive summary…………………………………………………5

Introduction………………………………………………………….6

Company profile……………………………………………………………..6

Features of iRobot Roomba …………………………………………………6

Environmental Analysis (SLEPT Analysis)………………………….7

Socio-cultural analysis………………………………………………………...7

Legal analysis………………………………………………………………….8

Economic analysis……………………………………………………………..9

Political analysis………………………………………………………………10

Technological analysis………………………………………………………...11

R&D…………………………………………………………………...12

Competitors……………………………………………………………12

STP……………………………………………………………………..12

Segmenting……………………………………………………………………12

Targeting………………………………………………………………………12

Positioning…………………………………………………………………….13

Market Research………………………………………………………….13

Objectives………………………………………………………………………….13

Research methodology……………………………………………………………13

Findings……………………………………………………………………………13

Limitations…………………………………………………………………………14

Distribution Strategy………………………………………………………14

Sales Pitch…………………………………………………………………14

IRobot Model comparison…………………………………………………15

Accessories…………………………………………………………………15

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..16

Appendix…………………………………………………………………..17-18

Bibliography……………………………………………………………….19

Summary

Decades of research and development work on autonomous robotic intelligence finally has started paying off. By 2025, the first machines that can see, hear, move and manipulate objects at a level roughly equivalent to human beings are going to make their way from research labs into the marketplace. These robots will not be able to "think" creatively like human beings, but that will not matter. Massive AI systems have evolved rapidly and allowed machines to perform in ways that seemed very human.

Humanoid robots soon will cost less than the average car. Now the humanoid robot will be soon in India is going to be launched by robot’s Roomba which will become a commodity item, a robot to clean home and offices. Robots have begun to move in and replace humans in the workplace in a significant way. Robots will fill janitorial and housekeeping positions in hotels, motels, malls, airports, amusement parks and so on.

ref Robotic nation by Marshall Brain …..do it apa style.

iRobot robotics is now geared up to launch its products in India .iRobot Roomba is a robotic vacuum cleaner which is available in different series and price ranges for both house and commercial uses. Roomba is the first among the series to be launched. iRobot’s home robots are revolutionizing the way people clean their homes – inside and outside. The award-winning iRobot Roomba floor vacuuming robot is leading the series; more than 2 million iRobots have been sold worldwide. Roomba made experimental robots a reality for the first time and showed the world that robots are here to stay.

The Indian market is an untapped destination where there is a growing demand for innovative products like the Roomba.The changes in lifestyle patterns, increasing household disposable income ,increase in literacy rate has given momentum to the youth to accept these range of products. There has been a diffusion of innovation among this generation which would help India see a new technological advancement.

Introduction

iRobot Roomba Features

iRobot Roomba® 510

Vacuum Cleaning Robot

500 Series Cleaning System Covers up to 2 rooms on a single battery charge 1 Virtual Wall

iRobot Roomba® 560

Vacuum Cleaning Robot

500 Series Cleaning System Covers up to 4 rooms on a single battery charge On-board Scheduling Compact Self-charging Home Base® 2 Auto Virtual Walls

iRobot Roomba

400 series- $130 to $200.

500 series- $250 to $450.

Professional- $550.

Company Profile

• iRobot designs and builds robots that make a difference.

• Founded in 1990 by MIT roboticists

• iRobot’s corporate headquarters are located in Bedford, Mass. The company also has offices in Virginia, North Carolina, Michigan, California, the United Kingdom, France, China, Hong Kong. and Now in India.

• $298 Million Revenue in 2009

• iRobot is world market leader in Personal Robots

• High Market growth in Personal Robots so expected sales of 15 Million units by year 2015.

Environmental Analysis to launch iRobot in India

The new product that will be launched in the Indian market is the new cleaning robots which are available not only for households but also for hotels and corporate. In this regard, the macro-environment of the Indian market will be analyzed using the SLEPT model. SLEPT means Social, Legal, Economic, Political and Technological analysis.

Socio Cultural analysis

Consumer opinions, trends and buying patterns, the brand image of the company and ethnic or religious views are all potential social factors.

Demographics of India

Population: 1,166,079,217 (2009 est)Age structure: 0-14 years: 31.1% (male 190,075,426/female 172,799,553) (2009 est) 15-64 years: 63.6% (male 381,446,079/female 359,802,209) (2009 est) 65-over: 5.3% (male 29,364,920/female 32,591,030) (2009 est) Sex ratio: At birth: 1.12 male(s)/female (2009) Under 15: 1.10 male(s)/female (2009) 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female (2009)65-over: 0.90 male(s)/female (2009)

India’s population will continue to grow at relatively rapid pace helping to drive up total spending. India’s youthful demographic profile will further enhance this trend.

According to latest government statistics national literacy is around 64.84%.Female literacy is around 53.63%, male literacy is around 75.67%.It is estimated that rate of increase in literacy will be more in rural area than in urban.

iRobot’s unique educational outreach program is designed to inspire elementary and high school students to choose careers in the robots industry (which is not that effective in India) and become the robocists of tomorrow.

House hold product spending of Indian market is well below the international standard so there is lot of scope for the market to grow, so cleaning robots being a revolutionary product can bring some change.

Demands for vacuum cleaners are very low due to national preferences for floor tiles rather than carpets and it also need lot of manual attention, and it occupies more space, but our robot will

clean tiles as well as carpets, it don’t need that much manual support, and is very compact so there is good scope for the product.

In the social context, it seems that the company has a great opportunity since, analysis shows that the Indian target market is really in need of a new novelty items which can be used for cleaning work without manual efforts.  In addition, it also indicates that the current situation of the Indian market is that the customers are fascinated with new gadgets in line with modern technology. It can be said that the social situation of the Indian market is seen as a good target for company that would provide a new technological so as to meet the needs of the customers for a new novelty items.

Legal Analysis:From business pattern to taxes, there are many legal issues to be encountered when starting a company or launching a new product in a country, many of which can bring a promising start-up to a grinding halt if the proper steps are not taken.

Laws to be followed:

1. Consumer laws:a. Consumer Protection act 1986.

2. Direct tax law:a. Income tax act 1961.b. Wealth tax act 1957.

3. Indirect tax law:a. Central exercise act 1944.b. Customs act 1952

4. Corporate law:a. Companies act 1956b. Sale of goods act 1930c. Foreign trade act 1992

5. Environment law:a. The environment protection act 1986

6. Service and Labour act law:a. Employers liability act 1938b. Sale promotion employee act 1976

7. Intellectual property act a. Copyright act 1957 b. Trade and merchandise mark act 1958 c. Trademark act 1999

8. IT Law

a. Information technology act 2000.

All paper works should be very transparent and clear, so that the business doesn’t face any issues later

Economical Analysis:

Some important determinations of economical analysis of Indian market. Data used from McKinsey Global Institute Report (May 2007) and Marketing White book 2007-08

India’s economic growth has accelerated significantly over last two decades Real avg. household disposable income has roughly doubled since 1985. It is Rs. 113744. With rising income, household consumption has soared and new Indian middle class has

emerged Total Indian consumption capacity is 17 trillion

1. 9trillion belong to Aspirers2. 2 trillion belong to Seekers3. 1 trillion belong to Strivers

Income in thousand Category% of

population<90 Deprived 54%

90-200 Aspirers 41%200-500 Seekers 4%500-1000 Strivers 1%

Spending on discretionary items will grow faster than spending on necessities India has high national saving rates than other countries. Estimated total aggregate household disposable income in 2005 is about Rs. 23526

Billion. Share of GDP

1. Service sector: 55%2. Industry: 26%3. Agriculture: 19%

Tier1 and Tier 2 cities account for 44% of urban population and over half of urban income in 2001.

Higher income consumer segments predominant in large cities and poor in small cities. Emerging niche Tier3 cities are richer than most Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities.

Types Citiespercentage of Households

Income in thousand per Household

Total Disposable income percentage

Tier1 8 29% 186 39%Tier2 26 15% 129 14%Tier3 33 9% 136 9%Tier4 5094 47% 114 39%

Per household consumption in rural India will reach today’s urban level by 2017 Consumption on account of Housing and utilities is approximately 2000Billion INR India’s share of wallet of housing utilities and products is low by international standard

and estimated to fall further Deprived and Aspirers will become small in personal and household service spends but

remain key in rural India. Strivers and Seekers form middle class. Out of aggregate, 57% consumption is in rural areas and it is Expected grow at 3.6%

where as 43% consumption is in urban area and it is Expected growth is 5.8% So, middle class growth will spread beyond Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities.

Conclusions:

1. Our Products will attract middle class and premium customers.2. As middle class is spread across Tier1 , Tier2 and Tier3 cities , Product will also

be channelized accordingly.3. Share of Household products and utilities is less as compared to aggregate

consumption share so there is always a scope to grow this market.4. National Savings of Indian consumers is also maximum. This information can

also be used tactfully.

Political analysis

India has an open economy system, at the present state; the government is stable, which has opened a very good market for FII’s and FDI’s.

Government has fair tax policies, labor law, environmental law, trade restrictions, and tariffs.

The present budget supports new and innovative product for the development of country, which helps us to start a new robot market in here.

According to a published report, India ranks as one of the slowest countries in terms of time taken to set up a new business. It takes 89 days in India to set a new business as compared to 5 days in U.S. delays are mostly due to beauracratic red tape or babus.

Communist parties in India are against globalization, which will probably create some impact on us, while starting a robot revolution in India

Technological Analysis

The complexities of achieving business success through increased efficiency, effectiveness and competitiveness, combined with innovative applications of modern technology, has heightened the awareness of both the industry and a foreign country to ensure quality products and service(1993). Since, the Indian market is aware of the existence of different technologically based gadgets and tools, the new product that will be launched can be assured of its marketability not only as an office tool but also as a household tool.Latest technologies applied in our product; following are some of the functions of Roomba and Scooba.* Automatically cleans your floor without any hand labor while you enjoy life.* Its compact size enables it to reach under furniture and other hard-to-reach places.* Stair Avoidance Detector assures the unit won't drop from the stairs and table.* The cleaner will escape automatically by itself when it was stuck by the furniture bottom.* Non-collision Bumper protects your furniture and wall surface. * Virtual Wall Detector makes sure the cleaner work at the confirmed area which you want to clean.* Wall Following Sensor makes sure this unit can clean most ground surface along the wall.* It keeps your floor clean between periodic deep vacuuming,* Self-adjusting cleaning head automatically traverses uneven floor transitions as it cleans carpet, hardwood, linoleum, and tile.* Easily slide out the removable particle bin to discard the dirt that it picked up.* Three clean modes for different cleaning needs.* Remote controlled. (Remote Control Style & Self-Recharging Style）* Setting timing mode on intelligent charging base plate to automatically clean at the presetting time of everyday, besides, the unit can be preset to automatically start to work when the recharge is finished.* Automatically search the intelligent charging base plate to recharge by itself when the power is short.* The cleaner can detect the dirty area and increase the clean times during the cleaning process.* UV light sterilization kills most bacteria and viruses of the floor.* The walking speed can be adjusted as you like.* A mop can be installed on it to improve the cleaning efficiency .

R & D Department

With high time working members of R & D iRobot is committed to provide platforms for innovation and discovery, developing key partnerships to foster technological exploration and building robots that improves the standard of living and safety worldwide.They continually developed state of art robots by:-Pursuing R&D opportunities with leading academic research institutions, businesses and other technology innovators.-Leveraging experience as a systems integrator to put together best in class teams of partners from a wide range of technology areas.-Providing a direct path to commercialization for innovations resulting from research initiatives.

Competition: India• Euroclean robocleanz by Eureka Forbes• Indirect competition from various vacuum cleaner manufacturers available in India• Hand vacuum cleaners• Large vacuum cleaners• Human efforts : Maid

STP

Segmentation

Geographic-

Metros

Tier-1 , Tier-2, Tier-3

Demographic-

Age - 0-24 years, 25-64 years, Above 65 years

Life-cycle - Adult, Married, Senior Citizen

Social-Class - Upper, Upper-Middle, Middle, Lower Class

Targeting

Primary Target-

o Upper Class

o Metro Cities

Working Class People

Secondary Target-

o Upper Middle, Middle Class

o Tier-1 Cities, Senior Citizens.

Positioning

First Robot Vacuum cleaner

Product And Its features

Market Research

Objective

Brand Awareness

Product Awareness

Prelaunch Reaction

Consumer Behavior

Research Methodology

Exploratory Research

Open Interviews (refer appendix 1.1)

Convenient Sampling

Sample Size 135 (130 consumers 5 retailers)

Findings (refer appendix 1.2)

Huge Opportunity for the product.

People not aware about the product but are ready to buy.

Positive reaction by consumers as well as Retailers

Consumers are comfortable with the price range

Limitations

Sample Size as per convenience

Qualitative research through open interviews

Biasness towards the product

Area covered

Distribution Strategy

Metros

As found in our Market Research, Retailers in Metro cities are more than happy to display iRobot in there Shops

Retail channels + Direct Marketing

Disposable income

360 degree Marketing

Demo after buying or Registration for free trial to visitors

Tier1 Cities

Not go through Retail channel

Direct Marketing

360 degree Marketing

Emphasize on asking for free Demo through ads

Differentiating Genuine customers from the rest

Sales Pitch

• Helps to keep your Home clean without making your hands dirty

• It helps nuclear families from hassle of cleaning home and tension of maid

• It Helps elderly people as negligible manual operations

• It provides customized solution even when you are not at home

• Virtual Wall® to keep Roomba cleaning where you want it.

• Virtual Wall® Lighthouses™

• Dirt Detect™

• Home Base®

• Advantage of iRobot’s award-winning customer service

Roomba Models Comparison

MODEL

PRICE in RS

ROOMCOVERAGE

SCHEDULING

AUTOCHARGE

ROOM TO ROOM

HIGHCAPACITYBIN

410 7000 1-2 NA NA NA Optional

510 8890 1-2 NA Available NA Optional

560 13600 Up to 4 Available Available NA Optional

570 16500 3-4 Available Available Available

Included

Accessories

• 1 or 2 Virtual Walls / Lighthouses

• 1 Compact self charging Home base

• 1 Extra rechargeable Power supply battery set

• 2 Brush cleaning tools

• 1 Extra set of Brushes

• 2 Extra Filters

• 1 Vacuuming debris bin

• 1 Accessories storage case

Conclusion

Thus,the launch of iRobot Roomba in India would be successful considering the market conditions and customer behavior towards a robotic vacuum cleaner. The socio-economic analysis reveals that there is a huge market for house cleaning novel devices in India.The Indian population is around 1.8 million with 61% people in the age group below 35 yrs.Also the disposable household income income has increased in both rural and urban areas which has given momentum to the demand and need for innovative technological products.The market research conducted implies that the Indian market is unaware of robotic vacuum cleaners but is willing to purchase such products.Also at the distributior and retailer level there is a great response and willingness to accept and help launch the product.

Appendix

1.1 Questionaire1)Name2)age3)sex4)How do you clean your house?5)Do you have a vacuum cleaner? Yes/No6)Have you heard about robotic vacuum cleaner? Yes/No7)Will you such a product if offered to you? Yes/No8)How much would you pay for it? Yes/No9)Family annual income10)Occupation

1.2- Responses collected from consumers in tier 1 and tier 2 cities.

Bibliography

www.irobot.com

store.irobot.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId.net

www.dailymotion.com

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roomba

www.techgadgets.in/.../irobot-roomba-530-560-and-570-auto-vacuum-robots-released/

www.robotshop.ca

Prepared by Group 5

Manali Gupta RMM1

Prashant Balel RMM2

Mukesh Singh RMM13

Swapnesh Jain RMM14

Deepika Thapar RMM 24

Devprayag Mohanty RMM55