sachin report final

7/31/2019 SACHIN Report Final .

1/70

CHAPTER 1

OBJECTIVE OF STUDY

1. To study about the competitors of Wills Lifestyle brand in the market, and what are their

various strategies such as sales strategy, product design strategy, marketing strategy, work

force strategy.

2. To find out some key strategies so that the brand can benchmark and relate so as to cope

up with the competitors.3. To formulate the ways for paving a path for forming Wills Lifestyleas the number one in

the segment especially in C.P Market.

1


2/70

1.1 INTRODUCTION

History of textile industry in India

The Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA), that had governed the extent of textile tradebetween nations since 1962, expired on 1 January, 2005. It is expected that, post-MFA, most

tariff distortions would gradually disappear and firms with robust capabilities will gain in the

global trade of textile and apparel. The prize is the $360 bn market which is expected to grow

to about $600 bn by the year 2010 barely five years after the expiry of MFA. An important

question facing Indian firms is whether their capabilities and their diverse supply chain are

aligned to benefit from the opening up of global textile market.

The history of textiles in India dates back to the use of mordant dyes and printing blocksaround 3000 BC. The diversity of fibres found in India, intricate weaving on its state-of-art

manual looms and its organic dyes attracted buyers from all over the world for centuries. The

British colonization of India and its industrial policies destroyed the innovative eco-system

and left it technologically impoverished. Independent India saw the building up

of textile capabilities, diversification of its product base, and its emergence, once again, as an

important global player. Today, the textile and apparel sector employs 35.0 mn people (and is

the 2nd largest employer), generates 1/5th of the total export earnings and contributes 4 per

cent to the GDP thereby making it the largest industrial sector of the country.

This textile economy is worth US $37 bn and its share of the global market is about 5.90 per

cent. The sector aspires to grow its revenue to US $85bn, its export value to US $50bn and

employment to 12 million by the year 2010 (Texmin 2005).

2


3/70

1.2 COMPETITIVENESS OF INDIAN TEXTILE & APPAREL INDUSTRY

India is one of the few countries that own the complete supply chain in close proximity

from diverse fibres to a large market. It is capable of delivering packaged products to

customers comprising a variety of fibres, diverse count sizes, cloths of different weight

and weave, and a panoply of finishes. This permits the supply chain to mix and match

variety in different segments to deliver new products and applications. This advantage is

further accentuated by cost based advantages and diverse traditions in textiles.

Indian strength in spinning is now well established on unit costs on ring yarn, open-ended

(OE) yarn as well as textured yarn; Indian firms are ahead of their global competitors

including China. Same is true on some woven OE yarn fabric categories (especially grey

fabrics) but is not true for other woven segments. India contributes about 23 per cent of world

spindles and 6 per cent of world rotors (second highest in the world after China). Fifty five

per cent of total investment in technology in the last decade has been made in the spinning

sector. Its share in global shuttleless loom, however, is only about 2.8 per cent of world

looms (and is ranked 9th in the world). The competitiveness in the weaving sector is adversely

affected by low penetration of shuttleless looms (i.e., 1.69 % of Indian looms), theunorganized nature of the sector (i.e., fragmented, small and, often, un-registered units, low

investment in technology & practices especially in the powerloom, processing, handloom and

knits) and higher power tariffs. There is, however, a recent trend of investment in setting up

hi-tech, stand-alone mid-size weaving companies focusing on export markets. India also has

the highest deployment of handlooms in the world (handlooms are low on productivity but

produce specialized fabric). While production and export of man-made fibre (and filament

yarn) has increased over the years, Indian industry still lags significantly behind US, China,

Europe, Taiwan etc. (Texmin, 2005.)

Indian textile industry has suffered in the past from low productivity at both ends of the

supply chain low farm yields affecting cotton production and inefficiency in garment sector

due to restriction of size and reservation. Add to this, contamination of cotton with

consequent increase in cost (as it affects quality and requires installation of additional process

3


4/70

to clean and open cotton fibres before carding operations), poor ginning (most equipment

dates back to 1940s), high average defect rates in production process (which also leads to

increase in effective labour and power costs), hank yarn requirement, etc. and its

competitiveness gets compromised severely. Similarly, processing technology is primarily

manual and small batch oriented with visual color matching and sun drying. This leads to

inconsistency in conformance quality. Lead times across the sector continue to be affected by

variability in the supply chain defect rates average over 5%, average % of orders on time is

about 80%, variance in order size across firms is high (e.g., the coefficient of variability of

average order size for spinning firms is about 2.6), and on an average, 16 days of sales as

work-in-process inventory (the highest for garment firms) and an average of 30 days of sales

in raw material inventory (the highest for spinning firms) (Chandra 2004). Some of the

hurdles (eg., reservation in the garment sectors) including tariff distortions between theorganized and unorganized sectors have now been systematically removed by policy

initiatives of Government of India and have opened avenues for firms to compete on the basis

of their capabilities.

Trade data of post-MFA performance reveals some interesting trends Indian firms registered

a 27 per cent growth in exports to US (against Chinas 52 per cent) during the Jan-April 2005

time period. Most of this growth has been in textiles while apparels show marginal gains.

Apparels & accessories constituted 78% of global exports to USA (FICCI 2005). (India is

still a relatively small yet growing player in the global apparel market.) It is expected that

India will soon replace Mexico as the second largest apparel supplier to the US.

1.2.1 Background

The Indian textile and apparel industry is one of the oldest and most significant industries in

the country and one of the largest in the world. Apart from China, no other country can match

the size, spread, depth, and competitiveness of the Indian textile and apparel industry.

Moreover, the global elimination of quotas at the end of 2004 has greatly enhanced the

opportunities for India to showcase its inherent strength and become a top sourcing and

investment destination.

Today the industry contributes around 14% to industrial production in the country, 4% to the

GDP, is estimated to directly employ approximately 35 Mn people apart from the indirect

4


5/70

employment in allied sectors, thus making it the second largest employer after agriculture. It

accounts for about 15% to the countrys exports, and is, in sum, an important economic engine

for the nation.

In part, the very diversity, scale and spread of the industry which has been its strength, has also

been its weakness. However, in the past 10 years, the industrys actions, government policies

as well as market events have begun to converge, providing several growth opportunities for

the sector domestically as well as in the global market.

Figure 1.1( source datamonitor)

1.3 Challenges facing Indian Textile and Apparel Industry

Textile supply chains compete on low cost, high quality, accurate delivery and flexibility in

variety and volume. Several challenges stand in the way of Indian firms before they can own

a larger share of the global market:

Scale: Except for spinning, all other sectors suffer from the problem of scale. Indian firms

are typically smaller than their Chinese or Thai counterparts and there are fewer large firms in

India. Some of the Chinese large firms have 1.5 times higher spinning capacity, 1.25 times

denim (and 2 times gray fabric) capacity and about 6 times more revenue in garment than

5


6/70

their counterparts in India thereby affecting the cost structure as well as ability to attract

customers with large orders. The central tendency is to add capacity once the order has been

won rather than ahead of the demand. Customers go where they see both capacity and

capabilities. Large capacity typically goes with standardized products. These firms need to

develop the managerial capabilities required to manage large work force and design an

appropriate supply chain. For the size of the Indian economy, it will have to have bigger

firms producing standard products in large volumes as well as small and mid size firms

producing large variety in small to mid size batches (the tension between the organized and

un-organized sectors will have to be addressed first, though). Then there is the need for

emergence of specialist firms that will consolidate orders, book capacities, manage

warehouses and logistics of order delivery.

Skills : Three issues must be mentioned here : (a) there is a paucity of technical manpower

there exist barely 30 programmes at graduate engineering (including diploma) levels

graduating about 1000 students this is insufficient for bringing about technological change in

the sector; (b) Indian firms invest very little in training its existing workforce and the skills

are limited to existing proceses (Chandra 1998); (c) there is an acute shortage of trained

operators and supervisors in India. It is expected that Indian firms will have to invest close to

Rs. 1400 bn by year 2010 to increase its global trade to $ 50 bn. This kind of investment

would require, by our calculations, about 70,000 supervisors and 1.05mn operators in the

textile sector and at least 112,000 supervisors and 2.8mn operators in the apparel sector

(assuming a 80:20 ratio of investment between textiles and apparel). The real bottleneck to

growth is going to be availability of skilled manpower.

Cycle Time : Cycle time is the key to competitiveness of a firm as it affects both price and

delivery schedule. Cycle time reduction is strongly correlated with high first pass yield, high

throughput times, low variability in process times, low WIP and consequently cost. Indian

firms have to dramatically reduce cycle times across the entire supply chain which are

currently quite high (Chandra, 2004). Customs must provide a turnaround time of day

6


7/70

for an order before Indian firms can they expect to become part of larger global supply

chains. Indian firms need a strong deployment of industrial engineering with particular

emphasis on cellular manufacturing, JIT and statistical process control to reduce lead times

on shop floors. Penetration of IT for improving productivity is particularly low in this sector.

Innovation & Technology: A review of the products imported from China to USA during

January April 2005 reveals that the top three products in terms of percentage increase in

imports were Tire Cords & Tire Fabrics (843.4% increase over the previous year), Non-

woven fabrics (284.1% increase) and Textile/Fabric Finishing Mill Products (197.2%

increase) (FICCI, 2005). None of these items, however, figure in the list of imports from

India that have gained in these early days of post-MFA. Entry into newer application domains

of industrial textiles, nano-textiles, home furnishings etc. becomes imperative if we are to

grow beyond 56% of global market share as these are areas that are projected to growsignificantly. Synthetic textiles comprise about 50 per cent of the global textile market. Indian

synthetic industry, however, is not well entrenched. The Technology Up gradation Fund of

the government is being used to stimulate investment in new processes. However, there is

little evidence that this deployment in technology has accompanied changes in the managerial

regimes a necessary condition for increasing productivity and order winning ability.

Domestic Market : The Indian domestic market for all textile and apparel products is

estimated at $26 bn and growing. While the market is very competitive at the low end of the

value chain, the mid or higher ranges are over priced (i.e., dollar pricing). Firms are not

taking advantage of the large domestic market in generating economies of scale to deliver

cost advantage in export markets. The Free Trade Agreement with Singapore and Thailand

will allow overseas producers to meet the aspirations of domestic buyers with quality and

prices that are competitive in the domestic market. Ignoring the domestic market, in the long

run, will peril the export markets for domestic producers. In addition, high retail property

prices and high channel margins in India will restrict growth of this market. Firms need to

make their supply chain leaner in order to overcome these disadvantages.

Institutional Support: Textile policy has come long ways in reducing impediments for the

industry sometimes driven by global competition and, at other times, by international trade

7


8/70

regulations. However, few areas of policy weakness stand out labour reforms (which is

hindering movement towards higher scale of operations by Indian firms), power availability

and its quality, customs clearance and shipment operations from ports, credit for large scale

investments that are needed for up gradation of technology, and development of manpower

for the industry. These are problems facing several sectors of industry in India and not by this

sector alone.

In conclusion, competitive strategies are developed by sector level firms and its their

individual and collective initiatives that secure higher market share in global trade. While one

has to be ever vigilant of non-tariff barriers in the post MFA world, the new market will be

won on the basis of capabilities across the supply chain. Policy will need to facilitate this

building of capabilities at the firm level and the flexible strategies that firms will need to

devise periodically.

C hapter 2

8


9/70

The Readymade Garment Sector.

According to a study conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and McKinsey

& Company, India is expected to witness a seven-fold increase in its exports over the next

decade. One of the sectors to be benefited is the apparel sector. The garment industry

in India is completely self-dependent; right from manufacturing of fibre to finished garments,

everything is done in the country itself.

Factors such as buyers are in town and a heavy booking season affect garment exporting

businesses in India. Buyers in town hints at the demand of the garment segment among people

and a heavy booking season implies the peak time for shopping apparels and garments. With

the early signs of recovery from the recessionary pressures, international fashion chains are

queuing up to India.

Indian garment manufacturers and exporters are adept at guessing whats in and whats out,

when it comes to garments. New sources of raw materials, designs and ideas go into the

manufacture of readymade garments that help in increasing sales and maintaining a sense of

uniqueness.

India has far to go

India has already made a name for itself as far as manufacturing of readymade garments isconcerned. There are some factors that go into the Indian garment industrys favour such as

cost-effective procurement of raw materials, inexpensive skilled labour and quick adjustment

to the kind of apparels that have potential to sell. Indian readymade garment industries rely on

the aforementioned factors for growth prospects in future.

9


10/70

However, the garment industry in India faces stiff competition from countries such

as Bangladesh, China and Vietnam. There is a pressure on the Indian garment industries to

produce finished garments at lower costs to survive the cut-throat competition. Today, around

45% of the total textile exports in India account for ready-made garments. There are various

international brands which source readymade garments from the Indian markets.

The future of the garment industry in India does not look bleak; on the contrary it is quite

promising. The Indian garment industry alone provides employment to thousands of people, a

high percentage among who are young women. Therefore, the significance of the Indian

garment industry cannot be ruled out when it comes to employment generation and foreign

exchange generation. The growth in the garment industry will boost the growth of Indianeconomy.

At present, India is being considered as the next pioneer country in the readymade garment

export business. It is noticed that foreign buyers are keen on dealing with Indian garment

exporters. In the face of such demand, Indian garment manufacturers and exporters constantly

have to maintain high quality in finished products and continuously provide variations in style

and designs to attract the attention of prospective buyers.

2.1 Indian Textile and Apparel Industry :

10


11/70

Current Size The present size of Indian textile and apparel market is US$ 62 Bn of which US$

22 Bn is exports while the rest US$ 40 Bn is the domestic market.

THE SEGMENTATION IS AS BELOW

Figure 2.1(Journal Of Economic)

From this we can see that it has been segmented in primarily three segments

1. Mens wear which is comprising of a major share ie. 42.2%

2. Womens wear which is slightly less 36.33%

3. And finally childrens wear which is 21.5%

So by this we can see that the positioning of the brands is basically done by targeting the major

chunks like mens wear and womens wear.

11


12/70

Figure 2.2

INDIAN APPAREL INDUSTRY SEGMENTATION II: % SHARE

(Journal Of Economic)

GLOBAL APPAREL INDUSTRY

12


13/70

TABLE 2.1 GLOBAL APPAREL INDUSTRY

YEAR $ BILLION EURO BILLION % GROWTH

2006 2205.5 1660.9

2007 2347.8 1768.1 6.5%2008 2446.6 1841 4.1%

2009 2465.8 1857 0.9%

2010 2597.8 1956.4 5.4%

Figure 2.3 source datamonitor

13


14/70

CHAPTER 3

COMPANY PROFILE

ITC Lifestyle Retailing Business Division made foray into the Rs. 200 billion ready to wear

apparel industry with the launch of its Wills Sport range of internationally-styled premium

relaxed wear for men & women in the year 2000. The companys first exclusive store WillsLifestyle was opened in South Extension in Delhi in July 2000.

The WLS chain of exclusive stores later expanded its range to include Wills Classic formal

wear in 2002 and Wills Clublife evening wear in 2003. Later in 2006, WLS became the title

partner of the premium fashion event India Fashion Week.

This association has helped the brand grow stronger and also make the product portfolio richer.

The lifestyle retailing business division also caters to the midsegment market through its

brands John Players and Miss Players.

Wills Lifestyle, the fashion destination, offers a tempting choice of Designer Wear, Relaxed

Wear, Evening Wear, Work Wear, Accessories and an exclusive range of fine fragrances and

bath & body care products for men and women.

Wills Lifestyle offers a tempting choice of -

Wills Classic - work wear,

Wills Sport - relaxed wear,

Wills Clublife - evening wear & fashion accessories,

Wills Signature - designer wear , created by the leading fashion

designers of the country.

Essenza Di Wills an exclusive range of fine fragrances and bath &

body care products

Fiama Di Wills a range of premium shampoos and shower gels.

14


15/70

To capture the higher grounds the company also associated with the

countrys most exclusive & prestigious fashion event WILLS INDIA

FASHION WEEK .

Apart from the wills lifestyle in the premium segment , ITC has also forayed

its presence in the youth or the popular segment with JOHN PLAYERS &

MISS PLAYERS.

John Players offers a complete and vibrant wardrobe targeting the Indian

male youth , which is now more confident & aspires for more with the

enhanced fashion awareness . Brand ambassador for john players is

Hrithik roshan

The launch of Miss Players has added to ITCs youthful portfolio. The range

which spans trendy ,funky ,smart dresses along with a whole range of cool

fashion accessories designed in appropriation with the young Indian women

mindset & the brand ambassador of this brand is Amrita rao.

CHAPTER 4

15


16/70

LITERATURE REVIEW

4.1 THE APPAREL FACTOR.

AUTHORS-Hariharan, Malini,2007

Discusses the factors that need to be considered by fiber producers to be flexible and swift in

their response to demand. Cost of the global apparel market; Exports ofready-

madegarments from China and Hong Kong; Participation of fiber companies in forming and

operating real or virtual integrated supply chains.

4.2 CHINA'S TEXTILE AND APPARELINDUSTRY AND THE GLOBAL

MARKET: FIVE COMPETITIVE FORCES.

AUTHORS-McCann, Jack,2005

The article reports on the condition of the apparel and textile industry in China in relation to

the global market. It notes that the removal of U.S. and European Union (EU) trade quotas

have not realized for the Chinese apparel and textile industry even though China has gained

market share in EU and the U.S. It mentions that China's share in the global market has

increased from 38.8 percent in 2001 to 47.1 percent in 2005. It analyzes the Chinese textile

and apparelindustry in view of the global competitive framework.

4.3 THE US AND JAPANESE APPAREL DEMAND CONDITIONS: IMPLICATIONS

FORINDUSTRY COMPETITIVENESS.

AUTHORS-JUYOUNG LEE

ELENA E. KARPOVA,march 2011

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate aggregated apparel demand in the USA

and Japan and to assess the positions ofapparelproducts manufactured in the USA and Japan

in comparison to imported apparel. Design/methodology/approach - Based on

Porter's industry competitiveness theory as a theoretical framework, the two-step demand

16


17/70

analysis, time-series market analysis and elasticity of demand using "Almost ideal demand

system" was conducted in order to reveal the overall market conditions of the USA and Japan

and the market positions of domestically manufactured and imported apparel products in both

countries. Findings - Regardless of the country of origin, US consumers were price conscious

in purchasing apparel products because they decreased purchase for not only domestically

produced products but also imported products when prices increased. However, Japanese

consumers' price concept toward apparel products was dual. They increased their purchase of

domestically made products if the price was higher, and decreased their purchase of imported

products. Originality/value - This paper provides a framework for

the apparelindustry competitiveness assessment with regard to the demand-side analysis of

Porter's competitiveness theory. Moreover, there is no research in the current literature that

assessed the US apparel demand with regard to industry competitiveness and a cross nationalview, especially compared with the Japanese apparelindustry.

4.4 NEW CHALLENGES FOR THE SOUTH AFRICAN TEXTILE

AND APPARELINDUSTRIES IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY.

AUTHORS-TRUETF, LILA J., 2005

The full integration of the textile industry into GATT, which with some exceptions occurred

on January 1, 2005, is likely to greatly impact the global textile and apparelindustries. In

particular, one prediction is that the South African industries are likely to be "decimated." The

actual effect on these industries will depend at least partly on the ability to take advantage of

economies of scale and to be internationally competitive. In an endeavor to gain more insights

into the future of these industries in South Africa, this study uses a cost function to investigate

the presence of scale economies and the nature of input interrelationships. The findings include

statistically significant economies of scale present in both industries and cross price elasticity

estimates indicating that most inputs are substitutes for one another. The first result offers an

opportunity to reduce unit costs if these industries can grow their markets. However, lower

prices on imported intermediate goods will likely decrease the demand for domestic

inputs. The cross price elasticity of demand are relatively low in some cases, consistent with

domestic input market rigidities and international trade restrictions.

4.5 APPAREL RETAIL INDUSTRY PROFILE: INDIA. May2010

17


18/70

Presents a profile of the Apparel Retail industry in India. Background on Datamonitor, a

business information company specializing in industry analysis; Executive summary of

the industry; Market overview; Market value; Market segmentation; Competitive landscape;

Leading companies in the industry; Market forecasts; Demographics; Further reading.

4.6 THE GLOBAL APPAREL VALUE CHAIN:What Prospects for Upgradingby Developing CountriesAuthor-Gary Gereffi 2007The paper uses the global value chain framework to explain the transformations in production,

trade and corporate strategies that altered the apparel industry over the past decades and

changed the conditions for innovation and learning in the industry. The apparel industry is

identified as a buyer-driven value chain that contains three types of lead firms: retailers,

marketers and branded manufacturers. With the globalization of apparel

production, competition between the leading firms in the industry has intensified as each type

of lead firm has developed extensive global sourcing capabilities. While de-verticalizing out

of production, these firms are fortifying their activities in the high value-added design and

marketing segments of the apparel chain, leading to a blurring of the boundaries

between them and a realignment of interests within the chain. Innovation in the global apparel

value chain is primarily associated with the shift from assembly to full-package production.

Full-package production changes fundamentally the relationship between buyer and suppliergiving more autonomy to the supplying firm and creating more possibilities for

Innovation and learning.

The paper distinguishes between three new models of competition in the North American

market namely the East Asian, Mexican and Caribbean Basin model. Each model presents

different perspectives and challenges for industrial innovation and learning.

4.7 IMPACT OF DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS ON CONSUMER RESPONSE TO

SALES PROMOTIONS: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY- Patel Vipul, 2010.

Sales promotion has grown enormously in recent years in India. Vast amount of money is

being spent on sales promotion. It consists of a wide variety of short term tactical promotional

tools aimed at generating a desired response from consumers. In this study, attempt is made to

study the impact of demographic factors on consumer responses to sales

18


19/70

promotions. Five demographic factors were considered to have impact on consumer responses

to sales prorhotion. These demographic factors were gender, age, income, education and

household size. 518 active mall shoppers are surveyed with the help of structured questionnaire

in shopping malls located in the four cities of Gujarat, T-test and ANOVA were applied to test

the null hypothesis. This study may provide refined insights in and understanding of the

influence of sales promotions on consumer purchase behavior. The results of this study may

help the marketing managers of retail stores to identify their target consumers and in turn, to

develop appropriate sales promotional programs to persuade those consumers to purchase

readymade garment.

4.8 x

CHAPTER 5

19


20/70

BLOCK-WISE LOCATION OF BRANDS IN THE CONNAUGHT PLACE MARKET :

The following stores were visited for conducting the research work in the Connaught place

market which a very prime location and one of the most visited place by the general customers

for shopping. This market was chosen since it is a very appropriate market to conduct the

research as all the brands which are being talked about is having a retail outlet here. Block

wise locations are given below.

Block C Van Heusen (Men)

- Lee

Block D Louis Philippe

Block E Wills Lifestyle

Van Heusen (Women)

Benetton

Allen Solly

Color Plus

A new Benetton store is scheduled to open at E-3 in the

Month of May.

Along with these there are brands like Spykar & Puma

in the same block which are coming up very well.

Block F Levis Store

20


21/70

LP Youth

Apart from this, Blocks A and B witness the highest footfall in CP due to the presence of some

famous eating joints like Wengers, Keventers and McDonalds.

Actual Competitors: Van Heusen, Louis Philippe, Allen Solly, Levis, United Colors of

Benetton, Color Plus.

Also the following Potential Competitors namely Puma, Spykar & GAS were identified

during the course of the survey as a large number of people were found to be interested in

these brands and were also seen shopping from them (number of carry bags spotted with

shoppers).

5.1 DESCRIPTION ABOUT BRANDS

5.1.1BENETTON

21


22/70

SALES STRATEGY

1.Visibility from outside Sober lighting with a creamish-yellow effect. The whole store is

visiblefrom outside at one go which works as a marketing technique in itself for the

merchandise.2. Displays Huge and catchy displays are especially visible at the first floor. The displays are

full of colors & show happy expressions on the faces of the models.

3. Size relatively small store with approximately 2100 sq. ft. of selling space.

MARKETING STRATEGY

1. Promos Assured voucher of Rs. 500 on purchases worth Rs. 3999. Started on 29th of

April.

2. Benetton has come up with its new store in inner circle, Block E.

PRICING STRATEGY

1. Casuals Rs. 299 (t-shirt) to Rs. 4999 (jacket)2. Formals Rs. 599 (shirt) to Rs. 6999 (formal suit)

3. Accessories Rs. 299 (flip-flops) to Rs. 3999 (handbags)

OBSERVATION AT STORE

22


23/70

LAYOUT

1. Mannequins A lot of display has been done through the use of mannequins. Six female

mannequins & seven male mannequins have been used.

2. Fixtures Low height rectangular tables are used to display tops and t-shirts, again with the

purpose of easier accessibility to merchandise.

3. Small and light colored wooden panels are used to stack merchandise. These wooden panels

are alternated with bars for hangs.

5.1.2 LOUIS PHILIPPE

1. Louis Philippe is a premier brand of Madura Fashion & Lifestyle.

2. Madura Fashion & Lifestyle, is a part of Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd, and is one of Indias

fastest mushrooming branded apparel companies and a elite lifestyle player in the retail

sector. After consolidating its market leadership with its own brands, it introduced

premier international labels, so because of it it let the Indian consumers to buy the most

prestigious global fashion wear and within the country.

SALES STRATEGIES

1. The companys brand includes product lines that has range from affordable and mass-

market to elite, high-end designs and outfits; that is targetted towards every age group,

from men and women to children and youth,.

23
http://www.madurafnl.com/http://www.madurafnl.com/http://www.madurafnl.com/http://www.madurafnl.com/


24/70

2. Madura Fashion & Lifestyle is known by its brands Louis Philippe, Van Heusen,

Allen Solly, Peter England and People that personalizes style, attitude, luxury and

comfort.

3. Madura Fashion & Lifestyle caters its vast customers through an wide and extensive

network comprising 700 exclusive franchise stores, many department chains and over

2,000 premium multi-brand trade outlets, both within and outside India.

4. The company's lifestyle store, The Collective, offers a distinct blend of global fashions,

international trends and innovative customer services, to customers in Bangalore,Mumbai and Delhi.

5. A distribution agreement with international brand Esprit has ensured that this highly

growth-oriented company bolsters its international presence.

PRODUCT DESIGN STRTEGIES

1. Louis Philippe has a presence in all the segments of the clothing market.

2. Its shirts, made from the most premium cotton fabrics sourced from the best mills in

India and abroad in fine counts of 80s going up to 120s, offer the finest dress shirts in

the country .The designs and colors are inspired by the latest trends in France and

Italy .To ensure that the fabric retains its original color and luster, Louis Philippe

specifies the use of the finest cottons in the world for its fabrics.

24


25/70

3. Louis Philippe created the super premium segment for the mens ready made garment

category in India.

4. For fabrics used in its shirts, Louis Philippe specifies the use of only Suvin, Egyptian or

Pima cotton.

5. The Louis Philippe Permapress range of shirts is the first 100% wrinkle-free shirt

made from Japanese fabrics which have a soft handle and retain the crisp, freshly

ironed look throughout the day

6. Permawhite the best white formal shirt introduced taped seams to garments in India.Taped seams ensure that the shirt is absolutely pucker free.

7. The brand has the distinction of innovating the first ever left handers shirt in India

perhaps ,in the world

8. Louis Philippe became the first brand to offer exclusive made-to-measure suits to

consumers

Marketing strategies

1. The premium readymade brands Louis Philippe and Van Heusen (under Madura

Fashion and Lifestyle of Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd) is targeting a sales turnover of Rs

1,700 crore in the current year.

2. Both these brands are also planning a major foray into tier 2 and tier 3 towns aiming to

achieve a growth rate of 30 per cent in the current year

25


26/70

3. The brands are also looking at large formats stores of 4,500 sq ft. As many as 40 stores

will be opened in the country in the current year, and of this, 20-25 will be large

format, Mr Jacob John, Brand Head, Louis Philippe and Mr Ajay Ramachandran,

Brand Head, Van Heusen told reporters.

4. They pointed out that the market for branded apparels in the organised sector in the

country is estimated between Rs 13,000-Rs 14,000 crore, of which both the brands

have 7-8 per cent market share. Mr John and Mr Ramachandran were in Kochi for the

opening of their exclusive large format stores in Kottayam.

5. According to Mr John, Louis Philippe, which used to cater to the age group above 30,

now has a wide range of choices for the youth as well. This has helped in the

aggressive growth of the brand, which is present in 100 exclusive stores in the country

besides in multi-brand outlets.

6. He said the growth is coming from smaller towns like Jaipur, Thrissur, Patna,

Dehradun, among others. In Kerala, it has opened a store in Kottayam and two more

are in the pipeline in Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram.


1. Very similar to other communication in the category

2. A lot of mood advertising

3. Showcase the range

4. The communication is aspirational urban office- goer.

5.1.3 VAN HEUSEN

26


27/70

The worlds No. 1 shirt brand, which was brought to India by Madura Fashion & Lifestyle in

1990, has diversified from catering only to men to a wider portfolio with offerings for women

and youth.

SALES STRATEGY

1. Van Heusen, a premium lifestyle brand, is expecting to end the year with net sales of

nearly Rs 500 crore as it has outpaced the apparel industrys 15 per cent growth rate

with a robust 60 per cent rise.

2. According to Ajay Ramachandran, brand head, Van Heusen (VH), the high revenues

were a result of its product strategy as consumer sentiment improved, adequatemerchandise and logistics arrangements and introductions like womens offerings and

youth apparel (V Dot). The newly launched Van Heusen Sport casual wear has seen

great response in the last 15 days.

3. As a sub-brand, it can rake in Rs 80 crore quite fast. V Dot has grown by around 75 per

cent this year. Our captive business, which includes exclusive VH stores and Planet

Fashion multi-brand stores, has seen doubling of sales if you include department store

sales. The womens apparel line has also started to show significant traction in the past

18 months, said Ramachandran, who oversees the brand in India, SAARC and West

Asia.

27


28/70

PRODUCT STRATEGIES

they had basically started as a formal shirts and trouser brand but after that they

diversified into suits and then launched a full range of youth and club wear under the

brand name V. in march, this year. As Van Huesen is for older customers, V. is for

younger customers aged 24 or so and products vary from club shirt, T-shirt to jeans,

trousers and suits. After that, we launched Van Heusens womens wear in 2007 with a

whole range of products like shirts, T-shirts, trousers suits and accessories like belts,

bags and shoes. Currently, we have everything for men, women and youth in the

apparel category.

MARKETING STRATEGIES

The company has plans to set up 30-40 additional stores in the next 10-12 months, to

add to its existing 120 stores under the Van Heusen brand. The focus is on deeper

penetration to cater to the growing demand. Van Heusen uses three store models --

Coco (company owned company operated), Cofo (company owned franchisee

operated) and Fofo (franchisee owned franchisee operated).

The first model is considered when the risk is big. But over the next few months, we

will adopt the other two models. In areas like Patna, we have one store, which has per

square foot sales far higher than those in Mumbai and Delhi. We want to reach a fair

penetration in locations where we are not well represented, said Ramachandran.

28


29/70


1. Visibility from outside a very bright looking store. Use of prominent bright yellow lights

with clean white interiors.

2. Size comparatively huge store with an area of approximately 7000 sq. ft. It has a high

ceiling with mannequins displayed at a high level.

3. Advert on window announcing the New Season Launch.

4. Mannequins 4 for the main window display along with 3 mannequins in the middle of the

store which is a very unique mannequin display as compared to the other brands.

5. Promos APRIL: Exciting offer on womens bags & shoes. Buy any item and get

accessories worth 50% of the value free.6. MAY: We Win, You Celebrate. Buy merchandise worth Rs. 3000 & get accessories

worth Rs. 1500 free.

7. New categories V (V-Dot) evening wear & party wear category from Van Heusen.

Consists of bright colored, flowery & patterned shirts for men. Also more new introductions in

casual wear T- Shirts showing an inclination to attend to the demand for casual wear in market.

5.1.4 ALLEN SOLLY

Allen Solly is probably the only brand that has truly redefined modern Indians

wardrobe. Launched in 1993, Allen Solly created ripples in the Indian market by

releasing the rules in corporate dress code. It trashed whites and greys thereby making

the corporate world a colourful and vibrant place.

29


30/70

SALES STRATEGIES

1. Allen Solly entered the market with the blockbuster concept of Friday Dressing. The

idea was not new. Globally the there was a marked trend towards relaxed workwear

and Allen Solly pioneered that concept in the Indian market.

2. Allen Solly launched office wears in colored shirts and Khaki trousers which became

an instant hit. For the first time, Indian consumers were exposed to the idea of relaxed

formals. Indian consumers took the bait and rushed to color coordinate their wardrobe

with enthusiasm.

3. Allen Solly further experimented with unconventional shades like beige and tan.

4. The brand further reinforced its cult status with the launch of wrinkle free cottons and

checked formal shirts. The young restless generation lapped up the unconventional

formals and used it as an expression of their personal freedom.

5. WORKFORCE STRATEGY

6. In 2009, the brand went for a repositioning exercise. Allen Solly found that there is a

shift in the demographics of the target segment. While the workforce of 1990s were

predominantly of the age group of 26 +, now youngsters of age 22-23 yrs have started

entering the workforce.

7. The brand wanted to be more relevant to the new young working class. Also the brand

somehow wanted to attract consumers beyond the workplace.

30


31/70

MARKETING STRATEGY

1. In 2009, the brand launched its famous " I Hate Ugly " campaign targeting the youth.

2. This in-your- face communication struck a chord with the consumers and critics and

the brand was able to break the earlier association of the brand as a formal wear.

3. Allen Solly also changed the tagline to " My World , My Way " to reflect the new

brand proposition. My World , My Way reflects the strong individualistic view of the

youngsters who own their world and create their own rules.

4. The brand literally exited the category of relaxed formal wears which it has created.

One reason can be that category itself became irrelevant since all brands have their own

line of relaxed formal wear. Brands like Color Plus has successfully established itself in

that category .

5. In the new avatar, Allen Solly is targeting the ever- fickle young generation whose

concept of fashion changes by the day. The brand has identified a gap for a premium

fashion brand specifically targeting this segment. Although brands like Levi's have a

strong equity in the market, there is a gap for a player like Allen Solly.


1. Relaxed communication

2. Showcase the range

3. Has different stories of different products

4. Tells the same story in more than one way

5. Communicates only the working man

6. Portrays him to be a hero in his own Sphere

31


32/70

7. No. of mannequins Since the store is not a very big one, there only approximately

four to five mannequins.

8. Fixtures Low height tables are used for displaying selected styles in tops. White

wooden panels are used at the top for stacking with bars for hangs below them.

9. New categories Allen Solly Youth, which was launched around a year back is the

only new category, with new styles being introduced in it at lower & affordable price

points.

10. Price Points

o Allen Solly Youth priced at Rs. 399 to Rs. 1499.

o Formals Rs. 999 (shirts) to Rs. 2499; Suits Rs. 7995

o Accessories Rs. 109 (socks) to Rs. 2500 (handbags)

5.1.5 ARROW

1. Arrow is one of the leading premium readymade brand in India. This international

brand has a rich history dating back to 1851. Globally Arrow brand belongs to Cluett

Peabody . In India, the brand is manufactured and marketed by Arvind Brands.

SALES STRATEGY

1. In 2000, the brand clocked a turnover of Rs 55 crore fighting for the market with Louis

Philippe and Van Heusen . This premium brand thrived on the International image and

32


33/70

Arvind Co nurtured this brand by making the brand exclusive and through restricted

availability.

2. Arrow was famous for its ultra- formal shirts. Consumers liked to show off the brand

and the famous Arrow brand mark near the cuff.

MARKETING STRATEGY

1. Arrow had tried to build its brand using its American heritage. The brand had the

tagline Authentic American and used foreign (American) models to reinforce the

association.

2. In 2008 the company designed to reposition itself to target the youth. The brandadopted a new tagline " When You Know ". The target segment was identified as SEC

A male aged 25-35 years. Print campaign highlighting the new positioning were

released across the market.

3. Since there is a huge equity and awareness, these brands feel that there is no need to

promote. Zodiac , Color Plus ,Park Avenue and Louis Phillippe has been consistently

investing in brand promotions but not Arrow.

4. Arrow had established itself in the market not because of its campaigns but because of

the quality,premiumness and exclusivity. The question is whether the brand still retains

those value elements in the mind of the consumer


1. Sales and promotion communication

2. Authoritative tonality

3. Does not showcase any range

33


34/70

5.1.6 COLOR PLUS

1. Launched in 1993, ColorPlus created a niche in the ready to wear market in India with

a premium range of clothing for men. With focus on product innovation and unique use

of colors it has today come a long way since it was incepted in 1993. Today, the brand

is part of the Raymond group.

PRODUCT STRATEGY

1. ColorPlus has always used highest quality fabrics and product engineering techniques

that give the user the unique comfort and tactile feel which no other brand offers.

2. This is clubbed with the use of colors to give the sophisticate, yet colorful look that is

unique to the Brand.

3. ColorPlus has pioneered the techniques like Golf Ball Wash, Cone Dyed Casuals and

Thermo-fused buttoning.

34


35/70

4. The brand in no time has become the choice of the up market, trend-savvy,

sophisticated and discerning Indian man and changed the way he dressed.

MARKETING STRATEGY

1. In this era of celebrity endorsement , this is a brand which uses no celebrity , and

Colorplus is always the star.

2. The brand is exposed through careful media selection and you never see a TVC of this

brand. Seen only in premium publications and business magazines reveals that the

brand is clear about the target segment.

3. The copy and the layout is ever so consistent and the ads has maitained a classy look

throughout its existence.

4. As a part of the initiative to reward our premium customers, ColorPlus has launched

Spectrum, an exclusive membership to a plethora of benefits.


1. Sales and promotion communication

2. Authoritative tonality

3. Does not showcase any range

5.1.7 PARK AVENUE

35


36/70

1. Launched in 1986, Park Avenue provides stylish and innovative wardrobe solutions to

well-dressed gentlemen. Park Avenue evolved into an innovation brand offering

leading new styles to the corporate world and won the 'Most Admired Mens

Formalwear Brand ' at the Images Fashion Awards 2011.

SALES STRATEGY

1. Brands such as Park Avenue, Parx, ColorPlus, Zapp!, Manzoni and the flagship

Raymond doesnt believe price reductions alone can draw more people to its stores or

boost sales.

2. To enter small cities such as Gandhidham, Nadiad and Himmatnagar in Gujarat andsmaller markets in other states, Raymond will bank on franchisees for its Park Avenue

formal menswear and Parx casual wear, in addition to price cuts .

3. Raymond will retain its premium positioning for ColorPlus, which contributed to about

25% of the firms Rs569 crore apparel revenue in 2008-09, because of a niche, loyal

clientele for the brand.

4. Similarly, Raymond will keep intact its womens wear line, which it sells through Park

Avenue.

5. As it scales down other brands, Raymond, which runs 548 stores, wants an efficient

franchise network to keep investment in check while expanding quickly, said Joshi,

pointing to a shift in the firms thrust on high streets. The new format calls for smaller,

500 sq. ft stores costing not more than Rs2,000 per sq. ft each. Currently, the outlets are

typically larger, at 1,200-1,500 sq. ft and above.

36


37/70

MARKETING STRATEGY

1. The Raymond Group also has an expansive retail presence established through

theexclusive chain of The Raymond Shop fortheir brands.

2. Mainly focus on local market with their brand name.


1. Formal tone of display

2. Cool and calm ambience with light music

3. Spacious showrooms.

4. No major offers.

5.1.8 LEVIS

1. Levis India, which had struggled to find its feet in the price conscious Indian Denim

market, is set to achieve a sales turnover of USD 100 million plus this year. It would

make it the first international apparel brand to do so as ETreports .Besides another

brand - Benetton - is also set to achieve the same feat .

37
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/cons-products/garments-/-textiles/Levis-UCB-in-Rs-500-cr-club/articleshow/5237510.cmshttp://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/cons-products/garments-/-textiles/Levis-UCB-in-Rs-500-cr-club/articleshow/5237510.cms


38/70

2. Levis India plans to open over800 stores by 2011 and it seems that the turnover is set

to increase at a faster pace in the coming years and it plans to take a larger cake of the

existing $450 million organized denim market . However, it is to remembered that the

organized denim market in India is much smaller than the unorganized denim market .

However , with increased incomes with the youth, the organized denim market is

growing at a fast pace of around 10-12%p.a . This is prompting other

Internationaldenim brands in India like Pepe Jeans , Lee Cooper etc to expand

aggresively with Pepe Jeans itself wanting to add another 300 stores in the coming

year. The local denim brands like Spykar,Flying Machine (Arvind Mills) etc are also

creating an impact in the denim market.

SALES STRATEGY

1. How will this objective be achieved: The premium jeans wear market is completely

driven by the high income group people, which do not contribute to a large customer

base. Hence, to induce the upper middle class to buy this range of products, some

incentive needs to be given. By bringing in this strategy, Levis has shifted the one

time burden of Rs. 4000 to EMIs. Therefore, this strategy will bring in a new

customer base for its premium products.

2. 1. Lower income group and middle income group can now afford branded and

premium apparel.

2. Those customers who want to buy apparels on certain occasions such as birthdays

or other festive occasions and even those who want to buy them to gift to others, but

could not afford to do so because of tight purse strings, can now be relieved of

spending too much at one point of time.

3. This strategy will be pocket friendly. However, this may increase per capita

spending of the consumer as the payment is delayed. The strategy will simply make

these premium brands look more affordable to bring in new sets of customers.

However this lucrative offer may simply increase total spending, as it now looks

38
http://www.fashiongen.com/story/459/Escalating-Denim-Jeans-Market.htmlhttp://www.denimsandjeans.com/denim-brands/http://www.denimsandjeans.com/latest-denim-reports/denim-data-figures/levis-india-to-touch-100-million-sales-turnover/www.pepejeans.comhttp://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&ved=0CAcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spykar.com%2F&ei=2DECS-KeDND-kAXsh9W-AQ&usg=AFQjCNEh8lCSApWwwSGQorheES34_Mrs6A&sig2=cE1iejSEWkaydyfh42LLpQhttp://www.flyingmachine.co.in/http://www.flyingmachine.co.in/http://www.fashiongen.com/story/459/Escalating-Denim-Jeans-Market.htmlhttp://www.denimsandjeans.com/denim-brands/http://www.denimsandjeans.com/latest-denim-reports/denim-data-figures/levis-india-to-touch-100-million-sales-turnover/www.pepejeans.comhttp://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&ved=0CAcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spykar.com%2F&ei=2DECS-KeDND-kAXsh9W-AQ&usg=AFQjCNEh8lCSApWwwSGQorheES34_Mrs6A&sig2=cE1iejSEWkaydyfh42LLpQhttp://www.flyingmachine.co.in/http://www.flyingmachine.co.in/


39/70

affordable.

4. These sets of consumers may no longer feel Levis is a premium brand as it will

now be affordable to all the income groups and they may not like to be associated

with Levis anymore. This strategy may back fire on Levis as it may lose its upper

middle class and upper class consumers.

MARKETING STRATEGY

1. Two types of customers have been identified by the apparel brands which are toughnuts to crack. First being those for whom purchase of jeans and other apparels depends

on impulse. By providing EMI on jeans, Levis will ensure that there is an added reason

by which these impulses can be generated by the company rather than waiting for the

consumers to activate and act upon their impulse. The second set of customers is not

customers per se but is termed as window shoppers. Even for this set of customers,

Levis (through EMI) will make its jeans more lucrative and at the same time will not

be a big cut on their pockets.

2. 1. It will pressurize other premium apparel brands to contemplate a me too strategy.

2. It will provide direct competition to unbranded jeans wears companies. Those

consumers who want to wear branded clothes but cannot afford spending Rs. 1500- Rs.

4000 at a time will now have better options in hand.


1. Levis has cool ambience and the entire store depicted the brand personality- Rebel

extremly well

2. The campaign was well targeted towards Youth

39


40/70

3. celebrity endorser

4. Sale and product communication

5. Bold communication

6. Consistent visual grammer

40


41/70

CHAPTER 6

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Poor firms ignore their competitors; Average firms copy their competitors; Winning firms

lead their competitors.

Competition can be defined as A market in which rival sellers are trying to gain extra business

at one another's expense and thus are forced both to be as efficient as possible and to

hold their prices down as much as possible.

Competitors, on the other hand are, those firms or individuals who seek to satisfy the same

customers or customer needs and offer similar products or services, close

substitutes or brands to them. CP inner circle mainly consists of international brands like

United Colors of Benetton, Van Heusen, Levis, Louis Philippe,LP Youth, etc. which majorly

cater to the same target segment as WLS and thus count as competitors for the brand. Since

Wills is a complete wardrobe solution with its brand Wills Sport, casual wear brands

Benetton and Levis also form competition. Along with the presence of all these international

brands, there are Indian brands like Raymonds, Prax, and many more which also compete for

the customers share of wallet.

6.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

Market definition

Ready made garment industry consists of the sale of all menswear, womens wear and children

wear. The menswear market includes mens active wear, casual wear, essentials, formalwear,

formalwear-occasion and outerwear. The womens wear market includes women's active wear,casual wear, essentials, formalwear, formalwear-occasion and outerwear. The childrens wear

market includes baby clothing, boys active wear, boys casual wear, boys essentials, boys

formalwear, boys formalwear-occasion, boys outerwear, girls active wear, girls casual wear,

girls essentials, girls formalwear-occasion, girls outerwear and toddler clothing. The industry

value is calculated at retail selling price (RSP), and includes all taxes and levies. All currency

41


42/70

conversions used in this report have been calculated at constant 2009 annual average exchange

rates.

For the purposes of this report, Asia-Pacific comprises Australia, China, India, Japan,

Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan.

6.2 RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

The Indian apparel retail industry had total revenue of $28,102.6 million in 2009, representing

a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.9% for the period spanning 2005-2009.

Sales of menswear proved the most lucrative for the Indian apparel retail industry in 2009, with

total revenues of $11,864.4 million, equivalent to 42.2% of the market's overall value.

The performance of the industry is forecast to decelerate, with an anticipated CAGR of 7.6%for the fiveyear period 2009-2014, which is expected to drive the industry to a value of

$40,586.9 million by the end of 2014.

6.3 MARKET ANALYSIS

The apparel retail industry consists of all menswear, womens wear and childrens wear. The

apparel retail industry in India has grown rapidly in recent years and although the growth rates

are forecast to decelerate, will remain very strong.

The Indian apparel retail industry had total revenue of $28,102.6 million in 2009, representing

a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.9% for the period spanning 2005-2009. In

comparison, the Chinese industry increased with a CAGR of 7.9%, and the Japanese industry

declined with a compound annual rate of change (CARC) of -0.8%, over the same period, to

reach respective values of $102,291.5 million and $96,589.5 million in 2009.

Sales of menswear proved the most lucrative for the Indian apparel retail industry in 2009, with

total revenues of $11,864.4 million, equivalent to 42.2% of the market's overall value. In

comparison, sales of womenswear generated revenues of $10,202.4 million in 2009, equating

to 36.3% of the industrys aggregate revenues.

The performance of the industry is forecast to decelerate, with an anticipated CAGR of 7.6%

for the fiveyear period 2009-2014, which is expected to drive the industry to a value of

42


43/70

$40,586.9 million by the end of 2014. Comparatively, the Chinese industry will increase with a

CAGR of 5.4%, and the Japanese industry will decline with a CARC of -0.9%, over the same

period, to reach respective values of $132,911.1 million and $92,413 million in 2014.

6.4 LIMITATIONS

1. The study conducted for the brand has been undertaken in the Connaught Place Market.

All the surveys conducted as well as the showrooms of the competing brands visited

were limited to this market.

2. The survey method takes into account the responses of customers. These responses may

be incomplete and sometimes biased.

3. Confidentiality.

4. Paucity of data related to competitors is another limitation which might lead to

insufficient knowledge about the competitor.

6.5 METHODOLOGY

43


44/70

For the purpose of conducting a comparative study, two methods were adopted Questionnaire

Method and Self Observation. For the research we used descriptive type of research.

A questionnairewas prepared & administered to the shoppers in CP market. The target

segment was people shopping from the brands which are competitors to WLS as well as

customers of the brand itself. The sample size taken is 100. Most of the people surveyed were

shoppers in blocks D, E and F since these are the blocks which have the maximum no. of

competitors stores. The questionnaire is provided in the annexure for reference.

6.6 Target Segment People shopping from Wills Lifestyle, Van Heusen (both VH Men & VH

Women), Allen Solly, Puma, Spykar, Levis, Benetton, Louis Philippe, LP Youth & a few

general shoppers.

6.7 Blocks Covered for Survey B, C, D, E, & F

6.8 Sample Size 100, out of which 91 are usable.

In the self observation method, a personal visit to all the stores was made to collect first

hand information about the brands. The various aspects of the stores were taken note of.

SOFTWARE USED- SPSS is used along with MICROSOFT EXCEL.

CHAPTER 7

44


45/70

ANALYSIS FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRE FILLED

Q1. WHAT IS THE OVERALL BRAND IMAGE OF THE FOLLOWING BRANDS?

Figure 7.1 overall brand image

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

w ills lifes ty le lp benetton allen s olly van heus en levis

Series1

This table as we can see tells that out of the survey conducted the brand image of Benetton,

levis, wills lifestyle and allen solly are the ones whose brand image is good as compared with

the other brands.

In this table also we can see the same trend which is coming from the earlier pie chart which

says:-

1. Benetton at top

2. levis at second

3. wills and allen solly are somewhat at same level.

45


46/70

Q2. WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE THE BUYING THE

BRANDS?

7.1 TABLE SHOWING THE FACTORS WHICH CREATES DEMAND

creation of demand by brand ambassadors

from where do you often buy from * What does influence/inspire you to buy new apparel? [BRAND

AMBASSADORS] Cross tabulation

Count

What does influence/inspire you to buy new apparel?

[BRAND AMBASSADORS]

Total

STRONGLY

AGREE AGREE CANT SAY

from where do you often buy

from

benetton 15 13 0 28

wills 13 12 10 35

levi's 4 3 0 7

vh 0 9 1 10

Lp 1 7 3 11

Total 33 44 14 91

This table tells us that other than Van Heusen and louis philippe the brands like levis, Benetton

and wills lifestyle customers are indifferent in choice regarding Brand Ambassadors.

So that is the reason Wills Should focus on other factors because it is already creating its

demand. But this can also be that so as to climb the ladder to the top it should try various

marketing strategies such as:-1. Advertisements during occasions and clearance sale.

2. more and more brand promotion in the off seasons.

Q3. WHAT IS THE AGE WISE BUYING PATTERN OF THE BRANDS?

46


47/70

7.2 TABLE SHOWING AGE WISE PREFFFERENCES

from where do you often buy from * age Crosstabulation

Count

Age

Total15-20 20-25 25-30 30-35

from where do you often buy

from

benetton 3 18 2 5 28

Wills 0 11 23 1 35

levi's 0 3 4 0 7

Vh 0 0 2 8 10

Lp 1 2 7 1 11

Total 4 34 38 15 91

From this above table it is evident that age group between 20-25 years prefers Benetton andwills is more favorite brand of the age group 25-30 years, which is proving that its market

positioning is more towards this particular working class people.

Like Van Heusen is most preffered as a formal wear in the 30-35 age group or working

executives.

So Wills Lifestyle should concentrate on enhancing its customer base in wide age groups by

offering the blend of classy, casual, formal and affordable.

Q4. WHICH ARE THE WORDS THAT RELATES TO THE BRAND NAME?

47


48/70

Figure 7.2 words which shows the brand image of Benetton

c o o l a n d c o l o r f

c l a s s y a n d f a s

fo r m a l a n d s u i t

From the above pie chart we can see that Benetton is more famous towards young group and

the word truly Depicts its name UNITED COLORS OF BENETTON.

48


49/70

Figure 7.3 word showing brand image of wills lifestyle

cool and colorful

classy and fashionable

denim and jeans

formals and classy

In this pir chart it is evident that wills has aptly positioned its brand into the minds of the

customer and we can see that majority of them has said that it is classy and fashionable.

So in this area it is a strong brand as it has successfully captured the share of the market and

thus we can say that its marketing strategies is very good the reasons may be

1. Youth Icon is its Brand ambassador ie. Ranbir Kapoor

2. its classy showrooms

3. Superb ambience and good and classy range.

4. ITC ltds Brand value and Marketing strategies.

Figure 7.4

49


50/70

The above table shows that when customers think of levis they instantly identify it with denims

and jeans which it is famous for.

So their marketing strategy has completely been towards advertising new style jeans and

denims,

Since it wants to be looked as an aggressive and youthful brand they have taken Akshay

Kumar as their Brand ambassador.

Implications of the perception of these brands

50


51/70

Benetton people wanting a cool & vibrant kind of look would choose Benetton as their

shopping

destination. E.g I want to buy something nice & colorful today! would lead a person to

choosing Benetton.

Wills Lifestyle would be preferred by fashion conscious people & shoppers for evening or

party wear.Also assurance of quality to customers comes from this brand.

Levis for comfort wear or simply the one stop shop for denims.

Van Heusen a person looking for well fitted & elegant formals would certainly choose to

purchase from a Van Heusen store.

Louis Philippe again, for people looking for official wear.

Allen Solly it offers quality formals at affordable prices to people.

51


52/70

Q5. WHAT ARE THE BUYING HABITS OF CUSTOMERS WITH RESPECT TO

VARIOUS APPARELS?

Table 7.3 consumer buying habits

how often do you shop from wills lifestyle * where do you buy the following items

[formal] Crosstabulation

Count

where do you buy the following

items [formal]

TotalMALLS

EXCLUSIVE

SHOPS

how often do you shop from

wills lifestyle

Always 2 12 14

very often 3 30 33

Often 19 15 34

sometimes 0 5 5

Rarely 2 3 5

Total 26 65 91

So from the above we can say that most of the shopping in formal line of clothing are sought

from the exclusive shops and thus wills lifestyle are going the right way in increasing the chain

of their shops every year and are less focusing on marketing through Malls.

Thus it should try to focus on exclusivity of the brand.

52


53/70

Q6 WHICH ARE THE VARIOUS TYPES OF SHOPS WHICH THE CUSTOMER PREFERS

TO BUY THEIR DESIGNER OUTFITS, HIGH END APPARELS?

Table 7.4 types of apparels wanted by customers

from where do you often buy from * If your income bracket goes up, then what do you aspire to buy?

Crosstabulation

Count

If your income bracket goes up, then what do you aspire

to buy?

Total

HIGH END

BRAND

APPARELS

FASHION

DESIGNER

WEAR I DONT ASPIRE

From where do you often buy

from

Benetton 12 16 0 28

levis 20 5 10 35

wills 0 7 0 7

vh 1 8 1 10

lp 2 9 0 11

Total 35 45 11 91

So this table tells us that most of the people will go for high end brand apparels if their income

goes up.

So by this we can interpret that as Indias economy is growing at a fast rate, the demand for

high end apparels is going to increase so it can be an opportunity to tap the market by getting

the first mover advantage.

53


54/70

Q7. WHAT IS THE SATISFACTION LEVEL OF CUSTOMERS IN PRICE FACTOR FOR

WILLS LIFESTYLE?

Figure 7.5 satisfaction in context of price in wills lifestyle

0

5

1 0

1 5

2 0

2 5

3 0

3 5

4 0

4 5

h i g h l y s a t i s f i e ds a t i s f i e d c a n t s a y s o m e w h a t

u n s a t i s f i e d

h i g h l y u n s a t i s f i e d

S e r i e

In the above table we can see that most of the customers are highly unsatisfied from the brand

because of its high prices.

This is the reason it should also focus on its other affordable brand called JOHN PLAYERS.

It can overcome this situation by promotinf the John Players brand thus capturing a large

customer base. Thereby increasing its overall market share and sales.

54


55/70

Q8. WHICH AGE GROUPS PREFERS BUYING FROM THE GIVEN OUTLETS?

Table 7.5 Age wise choice of shopping area

age * where do you buy the following items [casual]

Crosstabulation

Count

where do you buy the following

items [casual]

TotalMALLS

EXCLUSIVE

SHOPS

Age 15-20 3 1 4

20-25 23 11 34

25-30 23 15 38

30-35 0 15 15

Total 49 42 91

In this table we can see that most of the age group in 20-25 and 25-30 are preferring Malls as

their destination of their choice in buying casuals. So from this we can interpret that Wills

should also focus on the malls also since these age groups are highly energetic and fun loving

so thats why they prefer malls because of large choices available. Since nowadays malls are

coming up really very fast so this area should be explored and in the coming future this will

prove more profitable than exclusive shops.

55


56/70

Q9 WHAT IS THE FREQUENCY OF SHOPPING OF CUSTOMERS?

Table 7.6 frequency of shopping

How frequently do you go to buy apparel in 3 months? * from where do you often buy from Crosstabulation

Count

from where do you often buy from

Totalbenetton levis wills Vh lp

How frequently do you go to

buy apparel in 3 months?

LESS THAN 2 TIMES 9 2 0 0 8 19

2-4 TIMES 17 14 7 1 1 40

5-6TIMES 2 19 0 9 2 32

Total 28 35 7 10 11 91

From the above table we can say that Wills lifestyle is not a very much soughed brand unlike

Benetton and levis. The reasons may be:-

1. price

2. lack of awareness due to low advertisements.

3. dominance of other brands.

56


57/70

10. WHICH OF THE BRAND CAN BE RELATED AS A GLOBAL BRAND?

Figure 7.6 global brand image

benetton

wills lifestyle

levi's

van heusen

From this above pie chart we can see that Levis is leading the list in the category of globalbrand image. This may be a factor which leads to its high brand image and overall leadingtrend. Since customers are buying and having a satisfaction level in areas of quality, price,image.

57


58/70

Q11. WHAT IS THE OVERALL RANKING OF THE BRAND?

Figure 7.7 overall brand image.

b e n e t t

l e v i s

w i l l s

vhl p

So from this pie chart it is evident and we get an Idea that Benetton and Levis are dominatingthe target market and wills lifestyle is following it as the third most wanted brand which the

customer prefers.

So wills have to enhance its presence by various marketing strategies so as to have a higher

position in the market.

Currently it is offering various discounts which is very much going to help to clear the stocks

as well as the new launches in classy segments.

Q12. DERIVE THE PERCEPTUAL MAPPING OF THE FILLED QUESTIONNAIRE?

58


59/70

Table 7.7 spss data (functions)

Standardized Canonical Discriminant Function Coefficients

1 2

brand image .315 .547

look of thestore

-.559 .238

product quality .614 .498

customerservice

.411 -.726

price -.527 .272

styles/variability .011 -.183

wills lifestyle -.157 -.226

louis philippe .115 -.066

levi's .153 .229

benetton .107 -.242

allen solly -.457 .050

van heusen .238 .055

Figure 7.8 perceptual mapping

59


60/70

-.800

-.600

-.400

-.200

.000

.200

.400

.600

.800

-.800 -.600 -.400 -.200 .000 .200 .400 .600 .800

.315

-.559

.614

.411

-.527

.011

-.157

.115

.153

.107

-.457

.238

B2

B1

B3

B4B5

B6

A1 A2

A3

A4

A5

A6

B2

A1- Brand image B1- Levis

A2- product quality B2- Van Heusen

A3- customer service B3- Louis Philippe

A4- Styles Variety B4- Benetton

A5- Look of the store B5- Wills LifestyleA6- Price

To know the various factors which influences various brands a perceptual mapping was done.

A perceptual mapping was done for the brands that are:-

1. Wills lifestyle

2. Louis philippe

3. Van heusen

4. Arrow

5. Allen solly

6. Levis

With respect to the various attributes such as:-

1. Brand Image

60


61/70

2. Look of the store

3. Product Quality

4. Customer Service

5. Price

6. Styles/ availability

The results showed that in 1st quadrant in respect of brand image and product quality levis and

Van Heusen are the most favorites by the customers, and also levis is slightly above Van

Heusen. Since from the questionnaire we also got to know that levis is also considered to be

global brand so this might be the reason for this.

And from second quadrant we can see that Allen Solly is considered to be a brand which

comes in mind of the customers when it thinks of the price factor and also the look of the storefactor. Since also it is considered to be the brand as affordable and quality brand so they are

able to establish themselves as the brand in the manner they wanted.

From the third quadrant we can infer that the brand Wills Lifestyle lacks clarity since no factor

can be related with the brand and thus it creates a confusion in the minds of the customers

which acts as a lacunae in the way of achieving the top position, it can also be said that

strategies implemented are not very efficient and clear cut goals should be established.

From the fourth quadrant we can say that Louis Philippe and Benetton are the most sorted out

brand when customer thinks of styles and variety and also we can see in the quadrant that

customer service is also the quite factor which creates the customers for the brands.

7.1 INITIATIVES & CONTRIBUTIONS

1. A contribution of approximately Rs. 2,65,000 has been made to the company, through

sales, during the period of the internship, with the highest invoice value of Rs 35,000.

2. A micro marketing activity was initiated to take care of the decreasing footfalls. Different

restaurants, bars and stores like that of watch companies or camera companies, which were

also in proximity to the store, were targeted. The following places were visited for this

61


62/70

purpose Indian Coffee Home, Spirit Restaurant & Bar, World of Titan, Canon and

Oriflame. The deal with Spirit Restaurant & Bar has been successfully converted. A two

way tie up has been finalized. 100 Gift Vouchers of denominations of Rs. 500 of Wills

Lifestyle will be given on a bill of Rs. 3000 at Spirit. Similarly, a discount of 15% at Spirit

will be applicable on an invoice of Rs. 3000 at Wills Lifestyle.

3. An opportunity was received to interview candidates for the post of customer associate

for the store. The interviews were held on the 11th of March within the store itself.

4. An initiative was taken to make the store presentable at all times. Visual Merchandising

exercises were taken up regularly with a change in the Window Displays every 10 to 15

days.

7.2 LEARNING FROM THE ABOVE

From the above analysis there are many things that we can see is important they are:-

1. Since Indian market consists of various dimensions and which is very much dynamic in

nature so our strategies should be to be at a same frequency and pace with the ever

changing time by various kind such as :- a) Innovation b) fast and consistent growth c)

constant vigil on the market changes d) customer need identification and fulfillment.

2. Since we know that ITC Wills lifestyle is a very huge brand but then also it is not at thetop of the league. It can be increased only by positioning the brand into the minds of

the customer.

62


63/70

3. Innovative advertisements like what LEVIS always gives, recently it came with a

huge collection of denim range called CURVE ID for women and its a huge hit, so

these kind of innovation is always profitable for the company.

4. we also can see that offers play a very major role in creating sales, in this all the

companies try to give many offers but only some are proved to be profitable, levis

came with a very innovative add in which there is a EMI system and we can buy

expensive denims by taking it on installments.

5. since overall image is build by the synergy effect of the various attributes such as A)

price factor B) quality C) look of the store D) styles. If all of these are taken care of

then the brand image can be increased hence increasing the market share.

6. Ground level staffs are the ones who are in a direct contact with the customers so they

should be properly trained by the Human Resource Department of the concernedcompany.

7.3 Devising Promotional Strategies based on Customer Profiling

In accordance with the study conducted outside the store, to measure the effectiveness of the

brand it was also important to note the trends occurring inside the store. Therefore a small

project was taken up towards the end of May to do an in-store study of the buying patterns of

customers as well as the sub-brand performance (Sport, Classic, Clublife, and Signature).

In this project basically a customer profiling was done. It aimed at observing the trends or

buying patterns of the customers based on their age, gender, and the hour at which they visit &

purchase from the store. A record of 840 transactions has been made, which includes the trend

for the period of one month.

63


64/70

7.3.1 Limitations:

The mapping for the age of the shopper is done on the basis of assumption.

The tracking is done from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. only On the basis of the above observations the

following promotional strategy has been devised.

PROMOTION NAME: Fashion by Wills

PROMO OPTION 1: Buy Wills Signature collection worth Rs. 2500 (or above) & get Gift

Vouchers worth Rs. 500. (Gift vouchers applicable on accessories & Essenza Di Wills)

PROMO OPTION 2: Buy Wills Signature collection worth Rs. 2500 (or above) & Pick Fiama

Di Wills worth Rs. 250.

TIMINGS (during which promo is applicable): Applicable between 1 p.m. & 4 p.m. on

weekdays.

64


65/70

CHAPTER 8

SUGGESTIONS

From the study of the other brands along with the experience of working at the store, a few

points were identified which are mentioned here. An attempt has been made to come up with

a few suggestions which would help in increasing the effectiveness of the store as well as the

brand.

1. The sub brands Wills Classic, Wills Sport, Wills Clublife, and Wills Signature can be

advertised separately to increase the awareness these brands. This can be done by putting

up separate, easily movable (to facilitate regular change in VM), signage for each brandshowing their respective logos, within the store.

2. CARRY BAGS Carry bags are a great means of advertising. The new season launch

should be advertised through carry bags also.

3. TRIAL ROOMS The trial rooms dont look like that of a premium brand. It doesnt

match up to the facilities provided at the South extension and Ambi store as well as other

stores like Levis.

4. Centralized cooling is required.

5. Sofas required for comfort (like that at other Wills stores).

6. Sizes Waiting for sizes becomes a turn-off for the customer if it takes too much time. It

sometimes results in the customer walking out of the store.

7. The stocks in the back room should be kept size-wise as well as brand-wise (classic, sport,

etc) and the racks can be tagged with stickers indicating the sizes it contains.

8. Training house-keeping staff for faster service & quicker replenishments throughout the

day.

9. In order to build a dominant presence in the apparel market it should go for a robust

portfolio of offerings.

10. It should have clearly differentiated product presentation, and more product range.

65


66/70

11. It is also seen that customers hesitate to come to store when the salesman there is

constantly hovering around them, so in order to have more footfall in the store it should

take care of the comfort area of their customers.

12. Since it is more focusing on the exclusive shops thus they should increase their number of

shops so that more target segments are covered.

13. Since it has international look and feel it should take advantage of this stage and should

know what the elite class exactly wants since they are the main buyers.

14. John players should also be promoted so that it is recalled into the minds of the customers

when they go for shopping.

15. During research it was also found that most of them think that it is very expensive, so this

perception should be changed by justifying the price charged with the various value

attached to it.16. During the research it was also found that advertising is also very helpful in developing the

market share of the brands, since levis and park avenue is very much into the advertising

and Benetton is giving ads in the print media which is also helping them with brand

recalling into the minds of the customers which wills lifestyle is not doing.

17. Relating towards a particular age group is very important or relating towards a particular

department gives a clear cut idea about the brands. Like levis and Benetton is targeting

towards denims and youth and also there price range is large.

18. An exercise was done by changing the pattern of the store located at the C.P market in

every 5-6 days and showcasing the latest designs caused an increase of footfalls and

purchases. In fact the layout inside the store was also changed by changing the

mannequins and racks into different places also caused a favorable factor in increasing

sales.

19. Wills Lifestyle should also focus on entering into the formal or business suit segment

which is dominated by various brands such as Giovanni, Blackberry, Park Avenue and

other players. Since it has the potential and a market image of a classy brand it wo

sachin report final

Documents