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Marketing Management
Case Study (20Marks)
Kaggi’s Food Co (KFC) is a large producer & seller of edible oils, flour, pulses, spices & some other food items. Over past ten years KFC could establish itself well with popular brand names for its produce. Oil brand “Sunrise” from KFC is very popular as low fat, healthy cooking medium. KFC has three mills, one each in Meerut, Dehradun & Lucknow. To avail tax benefit only spices are procured from small manufacturers who carry out their operations under strict supervision of KFC quality team. All other items are manufactured in company’s own mills. SO far entire produce of KFC is sold easily in northern region of seven states through loyal set of distributors & retailers. For past three years KFC has started feeling the pressure of competition, more in oil & flour brands. Apart from bundling free soap, detergent, pet jar etc., competitors have increased distributor & retailer margins on volume off take. The young and professional management team of KFC is confident of achieving targets and enjoying the scene. KFC mills are not very modern ; nevertheless, they are maintained well. Breakdowns and production stoppages are very rare. KFC has recently bought a large salt manufacturing facility in a coastal town. This mill produces good quality common salt on contract basis for two different brands. The previous owner found this arrangement very neat with assured and quick turn over even though the profit margin is low. KFC did not wish to change the arrangement immediately, but thought building own brand for salt will not be difficult. It will increase profit margin also. Added attraction is that branded salt can easily be sold through existing channel. Market for branded salt is already over crowed. There are many national and local brands. The leading brand TATA is there for over 30years. There are other big national brands with deep pockets for promotion such as Nirma, Tseries, Dandi, Catch etc. Each brand is trying to take a particular but different position. While common planks are crystal clear, white & free flow, the special positions are iodized, triple refined, from the house of TATA etc. Prices & packing are almost same. Only Dandi & Catch are costlier. Catch sells in dispensable container of 400 gms also
Answer the following question.
Q1. What core product is Kaggi’s Food selling when it sells edible oils?
Q2. Carry out a SWOT analysis for Kaggi’s Food
Q3. Suggest some differentiators to build up competitive advantages for KFC’s brand of salt
Q4. What will you suggest to ensure trial & feedback from customers of salt during launch?
Case Study (20 Marks)
Sunshine Lumieres was established in 1992 in Bangalore, India to manufacture lamps mainly for household use. The company was established by Dr. Srinath Kashyap who had extensive experience in the lamp industry with the major multinational manufacturers in India and overseas. Sunshine was involved till now in manufacturing and supplying lamps for consumer and household use under various brands for the leading lamp companies. Dr. Kashyap was involved in looking after the manufacturing and marketing functions while his wife looked after the Finances and the HR functions. The Company had a total of 50 employees and grossed revenue of Rs.9 crores in 2005. The market in India was large and growing due to the increasing affluence and the massive rural electrification programmes of the Government. Post liberalization in 1992; the market dynamics slowly started changing due to increased competition from leading brands looking to capture larger market shares. Dr Kashyap felt it was time to diversify this business and get into newer product segments. The lamp industry can be classified into various segments like: Consumer household Lamps Industrial & Commercial lamps Specialty lamps like high intensity lamps used in Medical & Office Equipment Automotive lamps Miniature lamps Energy efficient lamps like CFL lamps, LED lamps etc. While the large MNCs were present in all segments, most local manufacturers were involved in the consumer and household lighting. Typically, household lamps sold at around US$0.25 per piece at the retail level while the Industrial and commercial lamps sold at prices upwards of US$25 per piece retail. Sunshine lumeries hired Dr. Mohan Das, a bright Engineer from IIT and MBA from a leading Business school. After working in some leading companies, Mohan felt it was time for him to exploit his innovative skills and create world class products. In a very short span of time after joining Sunshine, Dr. Das was able to produce some very interesting and technologically advanced products. Dr. Kashyap felt that over time , in low value products like lamps, the large MNC’s would be forced to give way to players from developing countries like China and India, who would over time establish the products under their own brands. Establishing the Sunshine brand over time was therefore vital for the future. Meanwhile, Mohan had designed a slew of new and innovative products – comparable with the best in their class in the world, in the energy efficient and Industrial lamp categories. Given suitable financial investments, these could take the company’s revenues to over Rs.100 crores by 2008 between the domestic and export markets. As he looked out of his office window, enjoying the light drizzle and cool breeze of Bangalore, Dr. Kashyap’s realized that he was at a point of inflexion. If the current opportunities were exploited fully, it could lead to great fortunes for himself and his family. He could even take the company public and unlock the value of his holdings. However, it would also mean that Sunshine would have to evolve into a professionally managed company and have a larger number of employees. He wondered how he should go about structuring his Sales and Distribution organization so as to grow manifold both domestically and overseas within the next three years before taking the company public. Dr. Kashyap was convinced that he needed to seek professional advice. He invited Dr. Vasant Rao, an old friend and leading Management expert in Bangalore to visit his office for a discussion on a broad game plan
Answer the following question.
Q1. How Dr. Kashyap should go about professionalizing & restructuring his organization?
Q2. Should the sales be organized on geographic or product basis?
Q3. Should be distribution be common for all products?
Q4. Should he have his own Sales and Distribution organizations in some countries?
Case (20 Marks)
A Case Study on Classic Airlines: Classic Airlines is facing an organizational issue. External and internal marketing programs have not been able to satisfy the needs and wants of the stakeholders. Target customers are looking at the services offered by other airlines to satisfy their wants and needs. This has resulted in poor sales and reduced profits for the company. The marketing plan of a firm “helps the firm connect with its customers” (Kerin et al., 2006). Therefore, Classic Airlines wants to develop an effective plan of action that will not only help attract and retain customers, but also boost sales and profits. The Situation Issue and Opportunity Identification Classic Airlines is a 25 year old company that commands a fleet of more than 375 jets that serve 240 cities with more than 2300 daily flights. The company is facing numerous challenges because of rising costs and lack of innovation. Customers are not satisfied with the service they are receiving and management cannot agree on how to correct the issues. A manager at Classic Airlines expresses, “Your challenge is going to be rising above our competition without discounting airfare” (Case Study, 2008). The company will have to figure out strategies to overcome the challenges. Challenges Identification Classic Airlines must address the challenges the company is facing. The company is experiencing a decrease in stock prices. Employee morale is low because of finger pointing and lack of unity. The case study states that “loyal customers were jumping ship and the ones still aboard seemed to be flying less frequently” (Case Study, 2008). The senior vice president of customer service explains that “customers have no voice” which is a major challenge for the company. Classic Airlines and many of its rivals expanded too quickly (Case Study
2008). The case study mentions that the CEO and CFO focus on numbers and less on marketing. Membership in classic rewards is down nearly 20% and the average number of flights per member is down more than 20%. The company recently mandated a 15% across the board cost reduction over the next 18 months which is also a major challenge for all departments. “Changes in the marketing environment are a source of opportunities and threats to be managed. The process of continually acquiring information on events occurring outside the organization toidentify and interpret potential trends is called environmental scanning” (Kerin et al., 2006).Environmental scanning will help the company progress A technique for marketing research is to utilize the 5step marketing research approach which encompasses the following steps: Define the problem Develop the research plan Collect relevant information by specifying Develop findings Take marketing actions The final objective of the company is to become the largest airline provider. A SWOT analysis identified several opportunities
Answer the following question.
Q1. Discuss different opportunity for Classic Airlines
Q2. When deciding the optimum solution, Classic Airlines must understand what their goals are, what their end state vision is, and also what challenges they have faced with product development. Discuss
Case Study (20 Marks)
When HLL introduced Lifebuoy in the Indian market in 1895 (110 years ago) it was positioned as the soap that would destroy germs and keep the body healthy. The brand found the going tough especially in rural markets where most people were accustomed to without any soap. HLL then decided to project lifebuoy as soap for hand wash. The approach seemed is pay off. By 1900 Lifebuoy had established itself as soap for hand wash. At this stage, the brand’s inherent properties were expanded and lifebuoy was repositioned as bath soap. Health remained the benefit proposition. “Where there is lifebuoy, there is health”, become a popular jingle in rural India. The brand was also projected on the plank of economy. Much later, in 1964, the brand was relaunched with a change in shape and wrapper design. Lifebuoy started associated with sports. The health and body fitness dimension got reinforced HLL had many requirements to meet. It had to tap same of the emergency market needs. It had to play down the image of lifebuoy as villagers soap and it had to embrace to earnings from lifebuoy brand in the long term. HLL decided to meet these needs through line extensions such as: Lifebuoy personal, Lifebuoy plus, Lifebuoy gold, liquid lifebuoy and lifebuoy active.
Answer the following question.
Q1. How did HLL Position lifebuoy in the beginning?
Q2. What was the geographical focus and why?
Q3. Explain why the brand was going tough in the market?
Q4. What are your views about HLL’s building line extensions?
Assignment Solutions, Case study Answer sheets
Project Report and Thesis contact
ARAVIND – 09901366442 – 09902787224
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