The Marketing Process

The Marketing Process
• Under the marketing concepts, the firm must find ways to discover unfulfilled customer needs & bring to market products that satisfy those needs.
• The process of doing so can be modeled in a sequence of steps; the situation is analyzed to identify opportunities, the strategy is formulated for a value proposition, tactical decisions are made, the plan is implemented & the results are monitored.
• Situational Analysis
• Marketing Strategy
• Marketing Mix Decisions
• Implementation & control


Situational Analysis
• A through analysis of the situation in which the firm finds it serves as the basis for identifying opportunities to satisfy unfulfilled customer needs. In addition to identifying customer needs, the firm must understand its own capabilities & the environment in which it is operating.
• The situational analysis thus can be viewed in terms an analysis of the external environment & an internal analysis of firm itself. The external environment can be described in terms of macro-environmental factors that broadly affect many firms, & macro –environmental factors closely related to the specific situation of the firm.
• The situation analysis should include past , present & future aspects. It should include a history outlining how the situation evolved to its present state , & an analysis of the trends in order to forecast where it is going. Good forecasting can reduce the chance of spending a year bringing a product to market only to find that the need no longer exists.
• If the situation analysis reveals the gap between what customer want & what is offered to them , then there may be opportunities to introduce the products to better satisfy those customers. Hence the situation analysis should yield a summary of problems & opportunities. From this ,the firm can match its capabilities with the opportunities in order to satisfy customer needs better than the competitors.
• There several framework that can be used to add structure to situation analysis:
• 5 C Analysis – company, customers, competitors collaborators, climate.
• PEST analysis – for macro-environmental, societal, political, economical and technological factors. A PEST analysis can be used as the climate portion of the 5C analysis.
• SWOT Analysis -strengths, weakness, opportunities & threats – for the internal & external situation. A SWOT analysis can be used to condense the situation analysis in to a listing of the most relevant problems & opportunities & to asses how well the firm is equipped to deal with them.

Marketing Strategy
• Once the best opportunity to satisfy unfulfilled customer need is identified, a strategic plan for perusing the opportunity can be developed. Market research will provide specific market information that will permit the firm to select the target market segment& optimally position the offering within that segment. The result is a value proposition to the target market .The marketing strategy then involves
• Segmentation,
• Targeting (target market selection)
• Positioning the product within the target market
• Value proposition to the target market.



Marketing Mix Decisions
• Detailed tactical decisions then are made for the controllable parameters of marketing mix. The action items includes
• Product development- specifying , designing & producing the first units of product.
• Pricing Decisions
• Distribution contracts
• Promotional campaign development


Implementation& control
• At this point in the process, the marketing plan has been developed & the product has been launched. Given that few environments are static, the result the marketing effort should be monitored closely.
• As the market changes the marketing mix can be adjusted to accommodate the changes. Often small changes in consumer wants can be addressed by changing the advertising message.
• As the change become more significant, a product design or an entirely new product may be needed. The marketing process does not end with implementation

– continual monitoring & adaptation is needed to fulfill customer needs consistently over the long time.


Situational Analysis
• In order to profitably satisfy customer needs , the firm must understand its external & internal situation , including customer , the market environment ,& the firm own capabilities .
• Further more it needs to forecast trends in the dynamic environment in which it operates. A useful framework for performing situation analysis is 5C analysis.

The 5C analysis is an environmental scan on five key areas applicable to marketing decisions.
• It covers the internal, micro-environmental, macro-environmental situation.

The 5C analysis is an extension of the 3C analysis (company, customers and competitors), to which some marketers add 4th C of collaborators. The further addition of a macro-environmental analysis results in a 5Canalysis, some aspect of which are outlined below –
• Company
• Product line
• Image in the market
• Technology & experience
• Culture
• Goals

Collaborators-
• Distributors
• Suppliers
• Alliance

Customers-
• Market size & growth
• Market segment
• Benefits that customer is seeking , tangible & intangible
• Motivation behind purchase, value drivers, benefits v/s costs
• Decision maker or decision making unit
• Retail channel –where does the consumer actually purchase he product ?
• Consumer information sources- where does the consumer obtain information about the product ?
• Buying process-impulse or careful comparison.
• Frequency of purchase, seasonal factors
• Quantity purchased at a time
• Trends – how consumer needs & preference change over time.

Competitors-
• Actual or potential
• Direct or indirect
• Products
• Positioning
• Market share
• Strengths &weakness of competitors

Climate (or context)-
• The climate or micro environmental factors are
• Political or regulatory environment – government policies & regulations that affect the market.
• Economic environment –business cycle,inflation rate & other macroeconomic issues .
• Social / cultural environment- society’s trends & fashions
• Technological environment – new knowledge that makes possible new ways of satisfying needs; the impact of technology on the demand for existing products.
• The analysis of these four external climate factors often is referred as PEST analysis.

Information Sources-
• Customer & competitor’s information specifically oriented towards marketing decisions can be found in market research reports, which provide a market analysis for a particular industry. For foreign markets, country reports can be used as a general information source for micro- environment .
• By combining the regional & market analysis with knowledge of firm’s own capabilities & partnerships, the firm can identify & select the more favorable opportunities to provide value to the customers.


Target Market Selection
• segmentation. Target marketing contrasts with mass marketing, which offers a single product to the entire market.
• Two important factors to consider when selecting a target market segment are the attractiveness of the segment & the fit between the segment & the firm’s objectives , resources & capabilities.

Attractiveness of a market segment
The following are some examples of aspects that should be considered when evaluating the attractiveness of a market segment:
• Size of the segment (number of customers and / or number of units)
• Growth rate of the segment.
• Competition in the segment.
• Brand loyalty of existing customers in the segment.
• Attainable market share given promotional budget and competitor’s expenditure.
• Required market share to break even.
• Sales potential for the firm in the segment.
• Expected profit margins in the segment.
• Market research & analysis is instrumental in obtaining this information. For example , buyer intentions, sales force estimates, test marketing& statistical demand analysis are useful in determining the sales potential. The impact of applicable micro – environment & macro –environmental variables on the market segments should be considered.
• Note that larger segments are not necessarily the most profitable to target since they likely will have more competition. It may be more profitable to serve one or more smaller segments that have little competition. On the other hand, if the firm develops a competitive advantage, for example via patent protection, it may find it profitable to peruse larger market segment
Suitability of Market Segments to the firm
• Market segments also should be evaluated according to how they fit the firm’s objectives, resources & capabilities. Some aspects includes
• Whether the firm can offer superior value to the customer in the segment.
• The impact of the serving the segment on the firm’s image.
• Access to the distribution channels required to serve the segments.
• The firm’s resources v/s capital investments required to serve the segment.
• The better the firms fit to a market segment , & the more attractive the market segments, the greater the profitable potential to the firm.



Target Market Strategies –
• There are several different target market strategies that may be followed.

Targeting strategies usually can be categorized as one of the following-
• Single segment strategy- also known as concentrated strategy. One market segment (not the entire market) is served with one marketing mix. A single- segment approach often is strategy of choice for smaller companies with limited resources.
• Selective specialization- this is an multi segment strategy also known as differentiated strategy. Different marketing mixes are offered to different segments .The product may or may be different – in many cases only the promotional message or distribution channels vary.
• Product specialization – the firm specializes in a particular product & tailors it to different market segments.

• Market specialization – the firm specializes in serving a particular market segment & offers that segment an array of different products.
• Full market coverage – the firm attempts to serve the entire market. This coverage can be achieved by means of either market strategy a single undifferentiated marketing mix is offered to the entire market, or by a differentiated strategy in which a separate marketing mix is offered to each segment.

• Product Specialization
• Market Specialization
• Full Market Coverage

• A firm that is seeking to enter a market & grow should first target the most attractive segments that match its capabilities. Once it gains a foothold, it can expand by perusing a product specialization strategy, tailoring the product for different segments, or by a market specialization strategy & offering new products to its existing market segments.
• Another strategy whose use is increasing, in which the marketing mix is tailored on an individual basis. While in the past impractical, individual marketing is becoming more viable thanks to advances in technology.



The Marketing Mix –
• Marketing decisions generally fall into the following four controllable categories
• Product
• Price
• Place (distribution)
• Promotions
• The term marketing mix became popular after Neil Borden published his article ‘the concepts of the marketing mix’ The ingredients in Borden’s marketing mix included product planning, pricing ,branding, distribution channels, personal selling, advertising , promotions ,packaging , displays ,serving, physical handling & fact finding & analysis. E. Jerome McCarthy later grouped these ingredients into the four categories that today are known as 4P’s of marketing ,


• Product
• Price
• Place
• Promotions
• These four P’s are parameters that the marketing manager can control, subject to internal & external constraints of the marketing environment. The goal is to make decisions that center the four 4P’s on the customers in the target market in order to create perceived value & generate a positive response


Product Decisions
• The term product refers to tangible, physical product, as well as services.

Here are some examples of the product decisions to be made-
• Brand name
• Function ability
• Styling
• Quality
• Safety
• Packaging
• Repairs & support
• Warranty
• Accessories & services



Price Decisions
• Some examples of pricing decisions to be made are –
• Pricing strategy( skim, penetration, etc.)
• Suggested retail price
• Volume discounts & whole price
• Cash & early payments discounts
• Seasonal pricing
• Bundling
• Price flexibility
• Price discrimination


Distribution ( place) decisions –
• Distribution is about getting the products to the customers. Some examples of distribution decisions include-
• Distribution channels
• Market coverage ( inclusive ,selective, or exclusive distribution)
• Specific channel
• Inventory management
• Warehousing
• Distribution center
• Order processing
• Transportation
• Reverse logistics


Promotions Decisions –
• In the context of marketing mix , promotions represents the various aspects of marketing communications , that is , the communication of information about the product with the goal of generating a positive customer response . Marketing communications decisions includes
• Promotional strategy (push or pull )
• Advertising
• Personal selling & sales force
• Sales promotions
• Public relations & publicity
• Marketing communications budget


Limitations of the Marketing Mix Frameworks
• The marketing mix framework was particularly useful in early days of the marketing concepts when physical product represented a larger portion of the economy.
• Today with marketing more integrated into organization & with a wider variety of products & markets some authors have attempted to extend its usefulness by proposing 5th P , such as packaging, people, ,process etc,.
• Today marketing mix mostly commonly remains based on the 4P’s. Despite its limitations & because of its simplicity, the use of this framework remains strong &

many marketing text books have been organized around it.

The Marketing Concepts

The Marketing Concepts

The marketing is the philosophy that firms should analyze the need of their customer4s and make decisions to satisfy those needs better than the competition.
To understand the marketing concepts it is worthwhile to put it in perspective by reviewing other philosophies that once were predominant.


The Production Concept
This prevailed from the time of industrial revolution. The production concept was of idea that firm should focus on those that it could produce most efficiently and that the creation of supply of low cost would and of itself create the demand for the product. The key questions that a firm should ask itself before producing the product were
Can we produce the product?
Can we produce enough of it?

At times this production concept worked well because the goods that were produced were largely those of basic necessity and there was a relatively high level of unfulfilled demand. Virtually that a could be produced was sold easily by a sales team whose job was simply t o execute the transactions at a price demanded by the cost of production.


The Sales Concept
In early 1930’s mass production became commonplace, competition had increased and there was an unfulfilled demand. Around this time firms began to practice the sales concept under which companies not only would produce the products, but also would try to convince the customers to buy them through advertising and personal selling .Before producing a product , the key questions were,
Can we sell the product?
Can we charge enough for it?

The sales concept paid little attention to whether the product actually was needed; the goal simply was to beat the competition to the sale with little regard to customer satisfaction. Marketing was the function that was performed after the product was developed and produced and many people came to associate marketing with hard selling. Even today many people use the word marketing when they really mean sales.


he Marketing Concept
After the World War II the variety of products increased and hard selling no longer could be relied upon to generate sales. With increased discretionary income, customers could afford to be selective and buy only those products that precisely met their changing needs and these needs were not immediately obvious. The key questions became
What does customer want?
Can we develop while they still want it?
How can we keep our customer happy?

In response to the se discerning customers, firms began to adopt the marketing concepts which involve
Focusing on customer needs before developing a product.
Aligning all functions of the company to focus on theses needs.
Realizing a profit by successfully satisfying the customer needs over the long term.

When firm first began to adopt the marketing concept, they typically set up a seprate marketing department whose objective was to satisfy the customer’s needs. Often these departments were sales department5s with expanded responsible; ities. Since the entire organization exist to satisfy the customer needs, nobody can neglect the customer issue by declaring it a marketing problem – every body must be concerned with customer satisfaction.

The marketing concept relies upon the marketing research to define market segments, their size, and their needs. To satisfy those needs, the marketing teame makes a decision about the controllable parameters of marketing mix.


The role of marketing in business
Marketing collects and analyses data on markets and consumers / customers, and then uses this information to guide business decisions as to which products they should produce and the best methods to promote them.


Differing Approaches to Marketing
In practice companies they differ greatly in their understanding of what marketing is, and this is evidenced in their approach to marketing. Here we will consider the four most commonly adopted approaches taken by businesses in conducting their marketing activities.

• Production Orientated
• Product Orientated
• Sales Orientated
• Market Orientated business

The Production Orientated Business
Within the Production Orientated Business the assumption is that consumers will prefer products that are both readily available and affordable. Management in such businesses therefore focus on production efficiency and distribution. Henry Ford, with his Model T pioneered the mass production of a car which was both affordable and at that time far more available than his competitors. The problem with such an approach is that the customer wants more than just availability and affordability, compare Henry Fords famous quote ' a car of any colour as long as it's black' , with the range of Ford car colour combinations now available


The Product Orientated Business
Within the Product Orientated Business the assumption is that consumers will prefer products / services which offer the most quality, performance, and range of features. Most famously one Ralph Waldo Emerson advise us, 'If a man ... makes a better mousetrap ... the world will beat a path to his door'. In short if your product is the best, then people will buy it. Management in such businesses therefore focus on Research and Development of product improvements.
Such companies believe that technical superiority is the key to business success, but this obsession with technological advancement can prove too blinkered. For example people need to be informed about your product, before they will be willing to pay what may well be a higher price for your better product.


The Sales Orientated Business
Within the Sale Orientated business here the assumption is that consumers will not buy enough of the product unless they sell and promote the product, no matter how affordable, available and superior it is. The focus of management is therefore on making the sale, and not on whether the customer is satisfied afterwards. Here the customer is sold the product, whether it satisfies their real needs or not.
This can prove to be a poor assumption, as it has been claimed that dissatisfied customers don't buy again, and therefore repeat sales are lost. Whilst it has also been reported that whilst the average satisfied customer tells 3 people about their positive experience of a product, the average dissatisfied customer tells 10.


The Market Orientated Business
Within the Market Orientated business there is a belief that its success depends on identifying and satisfying the needs of its customers now and in the future. Management start therefore by researching their market in order to define customer needs, and invest in developing products which will satisfy those needs effectively and efficiently.
Once this has been achieved, the whole process must begin again in order to finely tune their products to the changing needs of its existing and potential customers.
The truly market orientated business does not rest on past success. Many companies claim to adopt a marketing orientated approach, in that they have a Marketing Department, Marketing Plans, Research & Development, but that this in no way means they are completely customer focused.


Nature and role of marketing
All modern organizations engage in marketing so as to be able to please and win the loyal support of their customers. Gillette engages in marketing to find out about the needs and requirements of shavers, banks engage in marketing research to find out about its customers financial services requirements

'Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying consumer requirements profitably.'

Identifying - This will involve answering questions such as 'How do we find out what the consumer's requirements are?' and 'How do we keep in touch with their thoughts and feelings and perceptions about our good or service. This is a key purpose of market research.

Anticipating - Consumer requirements change all the time. For example, as people become richer they may seek a greater variety of goods and services. Anticipation involves looking at the future as well as at the present. What will be the Next Best Thing (NBT) that people will require tomorrow.

Satisfying - Consumers want their requirements to be met. They seek particular benefits. They want the right goods, at the right price, at the right time in the right place.

Profitability- Marketing also involves making a margin of profit. An organization that fails to make a profit will have nothing to plough back into the future. Without the resources to put into ongoing marketing activities, it will not be able to identify, anticipate or satisfy consumer requirements.

Marketing Management

Marketing Management

* Marketing management is a business discipline focused on the practical application of marketing techniques and the management of a firm's marketing resources and activities.
* Marketing managers are often responsible for influencing the level, timing, and composition of customer demand in a manner that will achieve the company's objectives.
* Marketing is one of the most important functions in business.

* It is the discipline required to understand customers' needs and the benefits they seek.
* In nutshell it consists of the social and managerial processes by which products (goods or services) and value are exchanged in order to fulfill the needs and wants of individuals or groups.



What is Marketing?
• In general, marketing activities are all those associated with identifying the particular wants and needs of a target market of customers, and then going about satisfying those customers better than the competitors.
• This involves doing market research on customers, analyzing their needs, and then making strategic decisions about product design, pricing, promotion and distribution.


Definition:
• Marketing is the process of interesting potential customers and clients in your products and/or services.
• The key word in this marketing definition is "process"; marketing involves researching, promoting, selling, and distributing your products or services.

* Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying consumers' requirements profitably.

• This puts even more emphasis on identifying the needs of the clients, and on providing a service or product which is of the required quality.
• It also brings the well-being of society into the equation, and leaves out the profit motive (in order to include not-for-profit organizations).
• However, if an organization has profitability as one of its objectives, then that will be an important factor when marketing objectives are being drawn up.
• A phrase which often comes up is 'exchange relationships'. Exchange, in this context, means the provision or transfer of goods, services or ideas, in return for something of value.



The Marketing Cycle
• The marketing process is cyclical:
• Formulate a MISSION for your information service / library (where do we want to be?)
• Review your current position (where are we now?), and identify opportunities, using techniques such as SWOT and PEST
• Formulate marketing objectives
• Undertake MARKET RESEARCH
• Modify marketing objectives
• Formulate marketing strategies (how do we get there?), balancing various components of the MARKETING MIX.
• Implement Marketing strategies.
• Monitor success (how do we find out whether we got there?)
• Review strategies - and objectives and mission if necessary (starting again from the top)


Marketing Mission
• A mission statement should embody the vision and values of an organization and ensure that everyone knows what they're aiming for.
• It is important that the staff of an organization identify with and 'own' the mission.
• If they do not, the mission is unlikely to be achieved, particularly if you are offering services (which depend on the commitment of staff).
• The other stakeholders (customers, funding bodies etc.) should also be able to fit the mission to their idea of what the organization is about.
• If there is too much of a mismatch (e.g. if you were running a small college library and had as your mission 'to be the best library in the world'), people are very skeptical about the stated mission.
• A mission statement is a formal description of the mission of a business.
• The mission statement might be published in several places (e.g. at the front of an annual report and accounts, on promotional material, in the board room and on the factory floor).
There is no standard format for a mission statement. However, an effective mission statement should contain the following characteristics:
• Brief – it should be easy to understand and remember
• Flexible – it should be able to accommodate change
• Distinctive – it should make the business stand out


Mission Statements of Well Known Enterprises
3M:
"To solve unsolved problems innovatively"
Merck:
"To preserve and improve human life."
Wal-Mart:
"To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same thing as rich people."
Walt Disney:
"To make people happy."


Reviewing your position
• Before you can decide where you want your business to go and how you are going to get there, you need to find out where you are now.
• SWOT and PEST analyses are techniques that can be used to help determine your position in your market.
SWOT stands for
• Strengths
• Weaknesses,
• Opportunities; and
• Threats
• The idea is that you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your service, pinpoint opportunities and note threats. It is important to be as objective as possible:
• For example, you may think that a 'large collection of books' is a strength, but it may be more important to the users that the books should be up-to-date - they would be happier with a smaller collection if it were more current.
• Therefore it is a good idea to take a brainstorming approach, and consider undertaking market research, to test your hypotheses about strengths and weaknesses. Some factors (e.g. the internet) can be seen as both threats and opportunities.

PEST stands for the
• Political factors and legal factors
• Economic factors
• Social factors; and
• Technological factors
which will effect your service in the future.

• Political factors: include legal aspects (eg copyright), the general political ethos;
• Economic factors: include the effect of the economy (eg in recession) on individuals, and on organizations;
• Social factors: include demographic change (eg changes in proportion of age groups), changes in social habits (where people go to shop, leisure expectations), educational changes.
• There are obviously a wide range of technological factors affecting libraries and information centers (e.g. the Internet, telecommunications, the media in which people expect to find information).



Formulate marketing objectives
• Marketing success can be measured on several non-financial market metrics.
• These measure are important since these often shed light on underlying conditions and circumstances facing the company that are not easily seen within financial measures.
• For instance, a company may report strong sales for a product but market share information may suggest the product is losing ground to competitors.
• The marketing objectives will indicate targets to be achieved across several marketing decision areas.
• Target market objectives
• Market share
– total
– by segments
– by channel
• Customers
– total
– number/percentage new
– number/percentage retained
• Purchases
– rate of purchases
– size/volume of purchases

• Promotional objectives
• Level of brand/company awareness
• Traffic building
– (e.g., store traffic, website traffic)
• Product trials
– (e.g. sales promotions, product demonstrations)
• Sales force
– (e.g. cycle time, cost per call, closing rate, customer visits, etc.)

• Channel objectives
• Dealers
– total
– number/percentage new
– number/percentage retained
• Order processing and delivery
– on-time rate
– shrinkage rate
– correct order rate


Market research objectives
• studies initiated
• studies completed
R&D objectives
• product development
Other objectives
• partnerships developed



Undertake MARKET RESEARCH
• Marketing Research is the function that links the consumer, customer, and public to the marketer through information--information used to identify and define marketing opportunities and problems; generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor marketing performance; and improve understanding of marketing as a process.
• Marketing research specifies the information required to address these issues, designs the method for collecting information, manages and implements the data collection process, analyzes the results, and communicates the findings and their implications
• Market research is supposed to be a systematic activity - orderly and impartial.
The cycle for market research normally involves:
• Defining the problem (eg 'Department X scarcely ever asks me for information')
• Developing a hypothesis (eg 'They don't realise how much relevant information I could access')
• Deciding how to test it (using either secondary data, or primary data - see below)
• Information gathering
• Collation and interpretation
• Decision making

Retail project5 (Observations at Pantaloons)

Pantaloon Retail Outlet at Milan Mall Santacruz West

Pantaloons :: Santacruz :: Mumbai
Address : Milan Mall, Opp. Gamdevi Mandir, Near S.V. Road Junction Signal, Milan Subway, Santacruz (W), Mumbai Pin code : 400054 State : Maharashtra Phone : 022 - 6714 4350

We visited the retail outlet of pantaloon on 15 August at 7.30 p.m. On that day there was sale going on in Big Bazaar, therefore the pantaloon shop also has many footfalls in the outlet. On normal days the foot falls are in between 400 to 500 approximately and on holidays it increase to 600 to 700. But during the sale in Big Bazaar the footfall of Pantaloon outlet has increased to 800 to 1000 this information was given to us by the sales man at retail outlet.

We also visited Pantaloons Outlets at Borivali West and City Centre at Mumbai Central

These are the findings of our group

Before entrance the instructions were given for the customers with the pictures. The instructions were given like this

· Pet Dogs are not allowed inside the outlet

· Though you will find some things very attractive photographs are not allowed

· Smoking not allowed for keeping the environment clean

· Eatables not allowed

There was also advertisement of UTV business news channel which was displayed before the entrance with the slogan that: MONEY IS NEVER OUT OF FASHION.

Another advertisement of pantaloon was displayed

1*6=7, i.e. purchase any 6 trousers and get one free.

At the entrance the board of pantaloon was there which has green background and white names written in English and Hindi language. Inside the outlet first there was baggage room where you have to keep your luggage or baggage’s because they are not allowed inside if any customer is carrying laptop then the chain of laptop bag is sealed with plastic lock and then he is allowed to take the laptop inside the outlet. Next to the baggage room the information about the merchandise was given in index form so the customer can have a view what kind of merchandise which is available in the outlet. The information regarding the index was given in this way.

· Men’s Occasion wear

· Men’s Ethnic Wear

· Men’s Party Wear

· Men’s Casual Wear

· Men’s Formal Wear

· Men’s Young Fashion

· Men’s Active Wear

· Women’s Occasion Wear

· Women’s Ethnic Wear

· Women’s Casual Wear

· Women’s Young Fashion

· Women’s Party Wear

· Women’s Nightwear and Lingerie

· Kids Wear

· Foot Wear for Men, Women and Kids

· Help desk

· Pay Counter

Then at the entrance and also inside the outlet the boards were suspended which gave the directions regarding each section e.g. left for kids wear, right for men’s wear etc.

The walls of outlet were coloured in white and also the flooring which has granites were white in colour on enquiring to one of the sales man regarding the use of white colour we were told that the white colour gives better visibility to merchandise which are displayed . The outlet was in L shape and approximately 3500 square feet of area.

The outlet was divided in different sections such as men’s wear, women’s wear, kids’ wear, shoes section, jewellery section, perfume section, Sunglasses etc. All the sections were given different names. The sections included in-house as well as other branded merchandise.

In-house brands were as follows

· All

· F. Factor

· Akruti

· Bare Denim/Leisure

· Chalk (Kids Wear)

· JM Sports

· Honey

Other Branded Merchandise were as follows

· John Miller

· Killer

· Lee

· Lee cooper

· Indigo Nation

· Urbana

· Lombard

· Rig

· Provogue

· Puma

· Adidas

· Gini & Jony

· Zapp

· Agile

· Fast Track Sun Glasses

· Calvin Klein

The interiors of the retail outlet

There were three plasma television of LG which were communicating about the merchandise and other goods inside the outlet.

Four Counters for making payment. The payment was accepted in cash, debit cards and credit cards. At the cash counter the cashier were enquiring regarding the green card and parking bills.

Green Cards were given to those customers who have done purchase of Rs.2000 or more and if the purchase is made of Rs.6000 or more than the customers were given discount of 5 %.

Parking Bills were asked because if any customer has paid for parking charges then he/she gets the parking charges deducted from his purchase amount.

They had centralised air conditioning of blue star and it was written on board that “now you know why this is such a cool place”

The outlet was having racks for displaying merchandise which were made of steel and wood of approximately 4 meters height and was divided into two parts

There were hangers on the wall for displaying sample merchandise.

Mercury light was used for focussing on the merchandise for highlighting the merchandise which was important.

The Packed shirts were kept on fibre plate which was fitted on the wall.

The Shoes section had combination of wood, fibre and steel furniture which was fitted on the wall for the displaying of shoes.

The jewellery section was made of glass and fibre for displaying jewellery

The Perfume section was also made of glass which was fitted on the wall for displaying perfume bottles

There were inbuilt speakers on ceiling.

Fibres Board were suspended on the ceiling for information and direction

Sunglasses were displayed on fibre and glass furniture

Posters of some brands were stuck on the walls for advertising e.g. Bare Denim (Keeping it real)

Sections of Outlet

· Bare Denim : - Jeans, Turtle Neck T-shirts for Men

· Bare Leisure : - 2 Ply Plaid Full Sleeve Shirt (18 Options Available Rs.649/-)

§ 2 Ply Plaid Shirt (9 Options Available Rs.599/-)

§ : - Full Sleeves Twill Shirt (Available in 12 Colours Rs.649/-)

§ : - Half Sleeves Twill Shirt (Available in 12 Colours Rs.599/-)

· John Miller : - FIL-A-FIL (12 Classic Shades Rs.649/-)

§ : - Full Sleeves Easy Care Shirt (Available in 10 Colours Rs.499/-)

§ : - 2 Double Matt Trouser (Available in 5 Colours Rs.699/-)

· JM Sports : - JM Sport Striper Tees (Available in 20 options in various designs

and colours Rs.399/-)

· ALL : - Fashion apparels for plus size people

· F. Factor : - Party Wear Shirts

· Akruti : - Traditional Wears e.g. Sherwani, Shirts, T-Shirts etc

· Chalk : - Kids Wear (Clothes for Age group 2-14 years)

· Bare 7214 : - Kids Wear (Age group 2-14 years)

· John Miller : - Formal Shirts, Trousers and Ties’

· Killer : - Jeans and Jackets

· Lee : - Jeans and T-Shirts

· Lee cooper : - Shoes, Jeans and T-Shirts

· Indigo Nation : - Formal Shirts and Trousers

· Urbana : - Formal Shirts and Trousers

· Lombard : - Shirts, Trouser, Ties and Handkerchief

· Rig : - Casual Shirts and T-Shirts

· Provogue : - Formal Shirts & Trousers, T-Shirts, Jeans and Shoes

· Puma : - Shoes

· Adidas : - Shoes

· Calvin Klein : - Perfumes

· Sun Glasses : - Fast Track

· Gini & Jony : - Kids Wear (Age group 2-5 years)

· Zapp : - Kids Wear (Age group 3-14 years)

Ladies Section: -

· Umm : - Ladies Jeans and Tops

· Biba : - Punjabi Suits and Kurtas

· Lee Cooper : - Ladies Jeans and Tops

· Honey : - Short Shirt and T-Shirts

· Dare Denim : - Jeans

· Agile : - Shorts and Tops

· Remanika : - Suits

There was also section where the designer clothes of Bachana Ye Haseeno were displayed at premium rates.

Quotes was written on the Ladies Section that “my cloth should be like diya not doona”

- Calvin or Georgio

Offers

Discount was given of 20% to 50% on most of the merchandise e.g. Gini & Jony 40 % Off

Lee Cooper Ladies Jeans 30 % off & New Arrivals 10 % off)

Buy two T-shirts and get one free (Price Rs.499/-)

Announcement & Music

Remix Music is played of Hindi & English Songs.

Their is announcement made in between the music for offers and discounts for particular section of merchandise i.e. clothes or jewellery items.

Trial Rooms

There were separate trial rooms for gents and female for trying apparels.

The trial room for men was made of tent which was not having any door and there was security guard outside the trial room.

Trial room for women was made of plywood and female security guard was waiting out of the trial room.

On the doors of trial room was written that not more than three apparels allowed inside

Human Resource

Total Employees : 103

Dress Code : Purple T-Shirt for Ladies and Black Trouser

Green Shirt and Black Trouser

ID : All employees were wearing Identity Card with their Name and Designation

Behaviour : Friendly and Helpful

Toilet

There was toilet inside the outlet which was only for ladies .

Pantaloon at Santacruz

Pantaloon at Borivili

Only security guard is standing outside trial room . There were a particular sequence followed in outlet regarding the section. At entry there was perfume & deodorant section then women’s apparel section later on kids section then men’s apparel section and Jewellery section for women.

There are three floor for display They have display in house brand as well as many outhouse well-known apparel brands are there. In third floor Lee has given a separate corner for display. Lee is also giving the discount as well gift coupon on then purchase of above Rs3400. In a separate corner they display the combination of different brand like Nike ,Adidas ,Puma etc.ar In Pantaloon it is written that ‘this place is cool by Blue star AC. But the fact is that AC was not working even escalator is also not working. A small board of HDFC bank was at sealing. Here changing room has permanent lock system so no need for security guard as per security concern. Outside trail room it was written that you are allowed to carry only three cloths inside the trial room.

RECOMMENDATION

¡ Trial rooms were made of tent for gents so we recommend that they should have better trial rooms made of wooden furniture and good lock system

¡ At Milan Mall Pantaloon Outlet there were only three counters for collection of payment because of which people were standing in long queue so there should be more counters for making payment

¡ At Milan Mall Pantaloon Outlet there was only ladies washroom no washroom for men. So we recommend that they should also have one for men

¡ At some places lighting was not effective because of which the merchandise was not highlighted properly.