A WINTER INTERNSHIP PROJECT REPORT ON THE TOPIC OF PROMOTION MIX IN

VARDHMAN (HKY)

A Project Report Submitted to Ambedkar Institute of Management Studies, Visakhapatnam in Partial fulfillment for the award of

POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Submitted

By

PINAKI PATEL

Regd. no. 27136A

Under the guidance ofMr.. N. Venkatachary

Ambedkar institute of management studies

AMBEDKAR INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES.Sector-12, MVP Colony, Visakhapatnam-17.

Ph. 0891-2783946.2006-2008

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. Pinaki Patel, student of Post Graduate

Diploma in Business Management at Ambedkar Institute of Management

Studies during the year 2007-2009 has successfully completed the project

work “PROMOTION MIX” in Vardhman (HKY), Unit-1 Ludhiana, as

a partial fulfillment for the award of his post graduation under my

guidance and supervision.

N. Venkatachary Ambedkar institute of management studies

DECLARATION

I hear by declare that this project entitled “PROMOTION

MIX” Submitted by me in original to the Vardhman HKY, Sales

office, Ludhiana is a bonafide work of my own and it has not been

submitted to any other college or University and it is not published

any time before.

PLACE :

DATE : PINAKI PATEL

(signature)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

No report ever reflects the efforts of a single individual. The report owes its existence to the constant support and guidance to a number of people. I take this opportunity to express our acknowledgement and deep sense of gratitude to the individuals for rendering valuable assistance and gratitude to us . Their inputs have played a vital role in success of this project. A project work is a combination of views, ideas, suggestions & contributions of many people. Thus, one of the pleasant part of writing the report is the opportunity to thank those who have contributed towards it fulfillment. First of all I am thankful to Dr. C.Nalini, Director I/C of Ambedkar institute of management studies, Visakhapatnam, for providing an opportunity to carry out the Project.

I express my heart full gratitude to faculty guide Mr.N.Venkatachary who has helped me in this project through thick and thin.

I express our sincere thanks to Mr. Lalit Mahajan, Chief Manager, Sales office, Ludhiana for his generous support, constant direction and mentoring at all stages of training. I owe my debt to my company guide Mr.Ankush Khanna for his regular encouragement and time to time consideration at every stage. I take this opportunity to thank all Dealers, Agents and Consumers who spared their precious time to provide us with valuable inputs for project without which it would have not been possible. We owe our whole-hearted thanks to the entire staff of Vardhman Spinning & General Mills. for their kind cooperation and assistance during the course of our project. Last but not the least, I are grateful to God & my Parents for giving us physical, mental & financial assistance to complete this arduous task.

HOWEVER, I ACCEPT THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF ANY POSSIBLE ERROR OR OMISSION.

Place:

Date: Pinaki Patel

PREFACE

When everybody is providing what is expected from him/her , the person delivering the unexpected to its customers succeeds in the long run . In today’s marketplace, it is no longer enough to satisfy the customers, the manufacturer needs to delight them as well. To conquer the modern business world one needs to be one step ahead of its competitors. MBA is combination of both theoretical as well as practical aspects of business and winter training gives a good opportunity to work in a real work environment . The concept of winter training , which is there in the curriculum of business management schools , serves three important purposes: Firstly: It gives the student a fair amount of insight of problems faced by them .

Secondly: The winter training project helps business management students to get a firsthand experience of actual working condition, which otherwise is possible only when a student enters a job. Thirdly: Winter training is a learning ground , which helps us to relate the workings of the corporate world with the class room teaching. Winter training helps the students to view the real business world closely, which in turn widely influences their conceptions and perceptions . I was fortunate to pursue our training in a reputed, well established , fast growing and a professionally managed organization. This project report is the result of eight weeks training at Vardhman Spinning and General Mills, Ludhiana. It has given me a great deal of exposure and I have found practical work very different from theoretical one.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER – I

INTRODUCTION ABOUT VARDHMAN HAND KNITTING YARN NEED FOR THE STUDY OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY METHODOLOGY LIMITATIONS

CHAPTER-II

THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK PROMOTION MIX IN VARDHMAN ADVERTISING SALES PROMOTION EVENTS PUBLIC RELATION

CHAPTER-III

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

CHAPTER-IV

FINDINGS SUGGESTION CONCLUSION BIBLIOGRAPHY QUESTIONNAIRE

CHAPTER – I

INTRODUCTION

THE 8 SECRETS OF SUCCESS OF VARDHMAN:

There are hundred of business books and number of journals and magazines published every year on successful business operation. However, if put nutshell for common mans it can be distilled in 8 major secrets.

♣NOT SOLELY FOR MONEY: 1ST secret is that successful companies are not in business solely for the money. “ Henry Ford” remarked that a company which only makes money is no sort of company at all. “For successful companies money is a by- product of doing the right things”

♣ CULTURE: Strong culture, faster than other, friendly and goal oriented.

♣ CUSTOMERS: Try to understand the customers, what customers actually wants that are understand by VARDHMAN, not vague idea, need aspiration and behavior.

♣ WHAT IN BUSINESS: They know what is important and this is reflected in their impulsion of their employees.

♣ COMMUNICATION: Successful companies are president and powerful communicator. People keep information and bright idea to themselves or communicate with a select few.

♣ SIMPLICTY: Not a secret at all keep faith in simple practice and principles is the presence of the chosen few.

♣ LEARDERSHIP: Leader in sense overall activities he control ability and skill.

♣ RESULT : Make profit but make customer delight.

Total Productivity Maintenance (TPM)

What is TPM

It aims to create a corporate system that maximizes the efficiency of the production system. TPM is based on participation of all members, ranging from the top management to front line employees.

TPM policy of Vardhman Group

Maximize overall effectiveness and reliability of the plant and machinery by aiming at “ Zero Break Down”, “ Zero Accident” through nurturing team work and continuous development of all employees, following TPM road map for implementation of “ Total Preventive Maintenance” ( TPM ) in the company.

TPM mission and How Training Related

It come under the training because trainers give knowledge of TPM to employees and its mission is to maximize overall equipment effectiveness and improve flexibility through achievement of total reliability of the

plant and machines and development of human recourses by us hearing cultural change by involving all personal working in the company.

SWOT ANALYSISSTRENGTHS: -

1) Good Brand Equity

2) Good technological Base with foreign collaboration.

3) High quality standards

4) High production capacity

5) Own research and development department

6) Reliable Human Capital

7) Commitment for growth

8) Vardhman group’s Culture and philosophy

WEAKNESSES: -

1) Comparatively higher price

2) Lesser degree of promotional activities

3) Long hierarchy

OPPORTUNITIES:-

1) As quality is good and prices are comparatively high, Vardhman can

always easily liquidate stock pressure by slight reduction in prices.

2) As brand image is very good and production is too wide ,

THREATS: -

1) Smaller players in the market are using Vardhman’s prices as shield

to push their product at lower prices.

2) Hand knitting yarn trend is declining as next generation prefers

readymade sweaters.

FROM THE CHAIRMAN’S DESK

It gives me immense pleasure to share with you my perception of the textile business and some of our initiatives. The global textile trade is chugging along as envisaged in my earlier communications. A few years ago, when the world trade was less than $400 bn, we had projected the trade to grow to $600-$700 bn by 2010. According to WTO data, the world trade in textiles and clothing touched $530 bn in 2006. We expect the trade to keep growing at 5-6 percent in the coming years to reach $700 bn by 2011. My optimism flows from the fact that there has been steady build up of capacities in the major textile producing countries including India. However, the recent global economic developments, escalating cotton prices and galloping oil prices pose a formidable challenge for the textile producers.

The Indian Textile Industry has witnessed growing flow of investments during the last three years. According to statistics compiled by the Ministry of Textiles, projects worth RS.124627 crore have been sanctioned under Technology Up gradation Fund up to 31st March 2008. As a consequence, the fiber consumption in the country has increased from 5.8mn tons in 2005 to 6.5 mn tons in 2007. Although, the industry is

facing the excess supply at this juncture, I am hopeful the new capacity will lead to greater economies of scale, product diversity and consolidation in the industry, which will strengthen the competitiveness of the industry in the future.

At Vardhman Textiles Limited, the new yarn unit- Vardhman Yarns at Satlapur (MP) has expanded capacity to 1.23 lac spindles. The expansion to ultimate capacity of 2.30 lacs spindles is undergoing steady implementation. The integrated fabric project at Budhni (MP) has recently been commissioned. On achieving its full capacity, the unit will have 60,000 spindles for yarn spinning, 400 air jet looms for weaving and fabric processing capacity of 60 mn meters per annum. This will put Vardhman among the select group of companies having fabric production capacity of above 100 million meters per annum. The new capacities will enable us to serve our customers better. Both these plants are new and would face teething problems. However, with the long experience, knowledge and expertise of the Group, I am sure these plants will achieve stability and benchmark performance parameters in the near future.

I look forward to the continued support of all stakeholders in taking Vardhman Textiles Limited towards new milestones.

With best wishes,

(S.P. OSWAL)Chairman & Managing Director

ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION VARDHMAN GROUPAn Overview The Industrial city of Ludhiana, also known as the Manchester of India nestles the corporate Headquarters of the Vardhman group. Vardhman, a household name in Northern India, has carved out a niche for itself in the Textile Industry. The Vardhman Group was setup in 1965 by Late Lala Rattan Chand Oswal, Father of the present Chairman cum Managing Director, Shri S.P. Oswal. Since then, the group expanded manifold and is today, perhaps the, largest textile conglomerate .The Vardhman group’s five companies and 16 production units are located in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. A growth rate of almost 15% per year is reflected in the financial results of last five years of this group. Vardhman Group started in a humble way in 1965 with a spinning unit at Ludhiana, having an installed capacity 14000 spindles, the largest in India. Vardhman Group has a Rs.5000 million structured expansion programs that focuses on forward and backward and backward integration to transform the group into a composite textile manufacturer .Today, Vardhman’s products have a strong presence in some of most quality conscious markets of world due to its orientation, state of art and technology & technical tie ups with specialists worldwide. VARDHMAN Group was awarded first ISO 9002 accreditation for any textile manufacturing in India. It has also won the “Outstanding Export achievement Award” for the year 1996-1997 from the president of

India & and the “State Export award” for five successive years. This strength comes from the total effort being built around the customer by a workforce of 20,000 committed personnel. The group’s HRD philosophy is centered on the faith that people are our basic strength & resources & the total commitment towards training &Development of all the employees is a step in the direction.The BADDI Operation started in March 1991 with “Auro Spinning Mills” with a capacity of 18,000 spindles & today have three units & a production capacity of 65,000 spindles to manufacture Cotton /Acrylic/Blended Yarns.

Today the Vardhman group comprises of three listed and two unlisted companies-

Listed Companies and Plants:♣ Vardhman Holdings and Plants(Formerly known as Vardhman Spg.& Gen.Mills)♣Vardhman Textiles . (Formerly known as Mahavir Spinning Mills.)♣Vardhman Acrylics, Bharuch (Gujarat) in 1998-99

Unlisted Companies:♣VMT spinning Co. at Baddi, H.P.(in 1996-97)♣Vardhman Yarns & threads..

Units of Vardhman Textiles Limited:

1.Vardhman Spinning and General Mills.

UNIT LOCATION PRODUCT RANGE

Vardhman Spinning and

General Mills Ltd.( Unit-I &

II)

Ludhiana (Punjab) Cotton, Blended, Acrylic,

Hand Knitting, Industrial Yarn

Auro Spinning Mills Baddi (H.P) Cotton, Blended, Fiber, Dyed

Yarns

Auro Dyeing Mills Baddi (H.P) Yarns and Fiber dyeing

Auro Weaving mills Baddi (H.P) Grey Poplin, sheeting, shirting

Auro Textile Mills Baddi (H.P) Fabric Processing

VSGM

Vardhman Fabric

Baddi (H.P)

Budhni(M.P)

Cotton Yarn

Fabric

UNIT LOCATION PRODUCT RANGE

Mahavir Spinning Mills

Ltd. (Unit I)

Hoshiarpur (Punjab) Sewing Thread and

Industrial Thread

Mahavir Spinning Mills

Ltd. (Unit II)

Ludhiana (Punjab) Sewing Thread and

Industrial Thread

M.S.M.L Pendurai Sewing Thread

Gas Mercerized Unit Hoshiarpur (Punjab) Cotton yarn

Arihant Spinning Mills Malerkotla (Punjab) Cotton, Blended, Melange

Yarns

Arisht Spinning Mills Baddi (H.P) Cotton, Blended Yarns

Arisht Spinning Mills

(100% EOU)

Baddi (H.P) Cotton, Blended Yarns

Anant Spinning Mills Mandideep (M.P) Cotton, Blended Yarns

Vardhman Special Steels

Ltd.

Ludhiana (Punjab) Special Steel, Alloy Steel

Map showing manufacturing as well as distribution units of Vardhman group:

STATE WISE DISTRIBUTION OF MANUFACTURING UNITS :

♣ PUNJAB 7

♣HIMACHAL PRADESH 8

♣MADHYA PRADESH 1

♣ GUJRAT 1

HISTORY OF VARDHMAN GROUP

The Vardhman group is professionally managed multi product organization producing and marketing synthetic/cotton yarn, sewing threat and steel, meeting the need for quality products in the domestic as well as foreign markets.The Vardhman group started its corporate journey under the leadership of Late Rattan Chad Oswal with its flagship Co. VSGM in the “Manchester of India”, Ludhiana.The unit was incorporated on 27th Dec 1962 and started commercial production of yarn with 14000 spindles in No. 1965. In 1977-1978 the unit diversified into Acrylic yarn spinning by being the first Textile Mill in the country to spin Acrylic on modified cotton spindles and also to introduce “Hand Knitting Yarn” for the first time. Mahavir Spinning Mills Ltd. Was started in 1976 with a 4-tons capacity installation of manufacturing and marketing of sewing thread. Today Vardhman threads with a capacity of 19 tones are one of the largest sewing thread brads in India.The group ventured in the steel business when it started Oswal Steels, in 1973. Vardhman Steels business expanded when it purchased Mohta Steels in 1983 and recommissioned it as Vardhman Special steels producing specialized alloy steels. Vardhman has become a leading textile group in India having diversified yarns, Hand

knitting yarn, sewing threads, fibers, special alloy steel & more recently textiles.The group has 17 operational plants with the current installed capacity of 5,26,000 spindles, 216 air jet looms and about 45 tons per day dyeing capacity capable of processing variety of raw materials world wide.

Another step forward has been the entry of Vardhman into the Grey fabric and readymade garments sector. Auro weaving was commissioned in mid 1992 and is exporting 90% of its production. A fabric processing unit Auro textiles has started its commercial production of processed suiting and shirting the latest foray into the field of textiles by the Vardhman group, has been its entry into readymade garments sector with “Aspen wood” and “Berkley” suiting and shirting.

Today, through its vision about the dedicated efforts in continuously improving the business it has not only expanded its business and capacities but also established a firm footing and quiet essential values that lend the group and unassailable strengthened to face the future The group has a strong presence in the markets of Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, U.K. and EU in addition to the domestic markets. The group has been awarded the prestigious “Texprocil” award for excellence in exports regularly over the years. A true dedication to quality has resulted in Vardhman being the first textile mill in the country to obtain the coveted ISO 9002- Quality Certification.

With a sales turnover of approx. 2200 crores, consistent strong financial performance and excellent goodwill in the market, Vardhman stands to grow further on and on the road of success.

MISSION STATEMENT OF VARDHMAN

Vardhman aims to be world class textile organization producing diverse ranges of products for the globle textile market. Vardhman seeks to achieve customer delight through excellence in manufacturing and customer service based on creative combination of state-

of- art technology and human resources. Vardhman is committed to be responsible corporate citizen. The mission of vardhman group can be summed up in a single line i.e. “being world class spinners by providing high quality products with minimum cost”.

♣ Supermarket of High Quality Yarns

♣ To be Globally Recognized as a Leading supplier of Quality Fabric

Vision Statement of Vardhman group:

Vardhman aims to be world-class textile organization producing diverse range of products for the global textile market. Vardhman seeks to achieve customer delight through excellence in manufacturing and customer service based on creative combination of state-of-the-art

technology and human resources. Vardhman is committed to be responsible corporate citizen.

MARKET POSITION OF VARDHMAN GROUP:

♣Largest Spinning capacity in India - over half a million spindles.

♣Largest producer of Cotton, Synthetics and Blended yarns in the country

♣Largest Dyeing Capacity of Fibre and Yarn

♣Largest Exporter of Cotton Yarn

S P Oswal, Chairman - Vardhman Group

♣Market Leader in Hand Knitting Yarns in India

♣Largest range of Textile products

♣Second largest producer of Sewing Thread in the country

♣Collaborations with specialist worldwide

♣ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) enabled solutions for online order tracking

We export to the world!

Some of our prominent markets are -

Australia Portugal

South Africa Iran

Tunisia Morocco

Brazil Turkey

Bangladesh Russia

Belgium Saudi Arabia

China Singapore

Canada Sri Lanka

Colombia Spain

Egypt Switzerland

Germany Syria

Greece Thailand

Hongkong U.K.

Indonesia Ukraine

Israel Uruguay

Italy USA

Japan Venezuela

Korea Vietnam

Lebanon Newzealand

Malasiya Mauritius

Sri Aurobindo Socio-Economic and Management Research Institute is engaged in the promotion of education, research and publications highlighting social and economic issues facing the society. The Institute runs a Human Resource Development Centre for providing career counseling and guidance to college students in Punjab. The teams of experts also visit the colleges in the state to prepare college students for gainful employment in the industry.

Sprung from a keen desire to set up an educational institution in Ludhiana and inspired by the writings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, the Trust has set up a college - Sri Aurobindo College of Commerce and Management (affiliated to the Punjab University) with the mission to create an institution with distinction dedicated to the ideals of creating disciplined career oriented young people ready for going for administrative and management roles in enterprises or to set up their own business as entrepreneurs.

 

  Mr. Oswal with Faculty at the College A Vardhman initiative to improve the yield of cotton in Punjab in 2001 when the State had suffered a shock of crop devastation and area under cotton cultivation was dwindling, led to the experiment to adopt villages and see whether concerted efforts in bringing knowledge to farmers could improve the yield of cotton. The experiment was successful as it improved the yield of cotton to 873 kg/hectare in 2005 in adopted villages where the average yield of cotton in the State of Punjab was 587 kg/hectare (world average - 700 kg/hectare). It found mention in the President's broadcast on Technology Day (11/05/04) as a 'technological

event, which has the potential to penetrate into our everyday lives'. The Village Adoption Programme also found mention in the President's address to the nation on the eve of India's 56th Republic day. The President of India was gracious to bless one of the participating Villages -'Gehri Buttar' (District - Bathinda) by his presence on December 10th 2005.

Vardhman is actively engaged in the activities of Nimbua Greenfield Punjab Limited (www.ngpl.co.in) formed by a consortium of Industries of Punjab for developing a common facility for storage, treatment and disposal of hazardous wastes generated by the Industry with a Government of India grant

Vardhman has one of the largest spinning capacities in India with a spindlage of more than 500,000. Vardhman Threads has emerged as second largest sewing thread brand in the country. In fabrics, the Group has already made its mark as a quality producer of grey poplin /shirting / suiting in the home market and has also entered the highly competitive export market within this short span, now exporting fairly large volume of its production. Vardhman established a modern fabric process house in 1999 with a capacity of 30 million meters per annum. This capacity has been expanded to 42 million meters per annum in FY 2005-06. Set up in technical collaboration with Marubeni and Japan Exlan of Japan, the acrylic fibre plant has an annual capacity of 16500 metric tonnes annum. The steel mill has been modernised and expanded to a capacity of 100000 metric tonnes per annum.

 

Spinning Business

Spindle Capacity

Existing 5,36,440

Post Expansion 7,76,440

Fabric Business

Fabric Production in Lac (100 thousand) Metres/Month

Auro Textiles (Existing) 42

Post Expansion 85-90

Sewing Thread Business

Production in Metric Tonnes/Day

Total 28.30

Dyeing (Yarn & Fibre) & Mercerising

Production in Metric Tonnes/Day

Total 54.5

Steel Business

Production in Metric Tonnes/Annum

SMS 100000

Rolling Mill 84000

Acrylic Fibre Business

Production in Metric Tonnes/Annum

Total 18500

LOGO OF VARDHMAN GROUP

The logo of Vardhman group has significance in each and every

part, it contains. The “flame” signifies growth i.e growth of the

company along with the growth of each and every individual

associated with it whether he/she is a worker, employee, employer,

shareholders or customers.

The “Stick” symbolizes cotton that is basic raw material of the

core product of Vardhman

The “V” stands for Vardhman group.

♣ Faith in bright future of Indian textiles and hence continued expansion in areas “which we know best”.

♣ Total customer focus in all operational areas as ensuring quick and positive response to the customer’s needs.

♣ Products to be of best available quality for premium market segments through TQM and zero defect implementation on all functional areas.

♣Global orientation targeting at-least 20-25% production for exports.

♣Integrated diversification/product range expansion.

♣World class manufacturing facilities with most modern R&D and process technology.

♣Timely delivery with consistent standards.

♣Believing that trust is foundation for a durable relationship between the employer and the employee.

♣Faith in individual potential and respect for human values.

♣Encouraging innovation for constant improvements to achieve excellence in all functional areas.

♣Accepting change as a way of organizational growth.

♣Developing relationship in mutual benefit with business partners/dealers.

♣Appreciating our role as a responsible corporate citizen.

Desktop of Vardhman

Vardhman Textiles Limited

Board of Directors –

Mr. Shri Paul Oswal - Chairman & Managing Director

Sh. Ajay Kumar Chakraborty - (Nominee Of ICICI Bank Ltd.)

Sh.Vinod Kumar Saxena - (Nominee of IDBI)

Sh.Sachit Jain - Executive Director

Sh.Suchita Jain - Executive Director

Sh Darshan Lal Sharma - President & Executive Director

Sh. Prafull Anubhai

Sh.Surinder Kumar Bansal

Sh.Subash Khanchand Bijlani

Dr.J.C.Bakshi

Vardhman Holdings Limited

Board of Directors –

Mr. Shri Paul Oswal - Chairman

Sh. Surinder Singh Bagai

Sh. Jagdish Rai Singal

Sh. Chaman Lal Jain

Sh. Ram Swarup Gupta

Sh. Bal Krishan Choudhary

Sh. Sachit Jain

Sh. Shakun Oswal

Suchita Jain

VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS OF VARDHMAN GROUP

GROUP CORPORATE OFFICE

Vardhman has a modern centrally air-conditioned multi stored

Corporate building that serves as the original place from where all

Strategies, policies, programs, rules and regulations take shape, data

Implemented, in each group company. The corporate building houses of

the top bosses including chairman cum managing director, Executive

director, corporate general manager and vice president of the Functional

areas. The other facilities include meeting room, boardroom, conference

halls etc.

FINANCE DEPARTMENT

The main functions of corporate finance department in Vardhman, is as

prescribed in a typical financial management book, is to arrange funds for

the whole group at least cost and to utilize in such a way so as to enhance

the shareholders wealth. The core activities of this dept. include arranging

short term funds and export negotiations and deploying short term and

long term funds in the best and effective way.

PERSONNEL AND HRD DEPARTMENT

Vardhman is one of the few organizations in the northern part of the

country, which has reposed its faith in professional management since the

early stages of growth. The philosophy of the org. has been to promote a

culture conductive to a professional style of decision making in business

and also to ensure that young executives having the right attitude and

facilities are suitably trained in the org. so that they are able to contribute

its success.

RAW MATERIAL AND COMMERCIAL DEPARTMENT

The two main functions of this department are procurement of raw

material and dealing with various government and non governmental

agencies for smooth functioning of the company. The department

procures raw material like raw cotton, synthetic material and other related

things from various sources within the country and from the foreign

markets. The domestic raw material market is mainly divided into three

parts viz. northern zone, central zone and southern zone. The inputs are

from various countries like Egypt, America, Australia, West Africa,

Chile, Syria etc. The commercial functions of this department mainly

comprises of:

Formulation of import / export policies of the company.

Considering benefits against imports.

Incentives from the government.

Excise and subsidies

Licensing

Foreign exchange and RBI related activities.

SECRETARIAL DEPARTMENT

The corporate secretarial houses the offices of the company secretaries of

the Vardhman Spinning And General Mills Ltd, Mahavir Spinning Mills.

It deals with the compliance of all the statutory laws under company’s

act. The filling of the return, assessment of shareholder’s wealth as well

as listing of shares in the stock exchanges is also done by the dept. The

annual general meeting and board meeting are also conducted.

MIS DEPARTMENT

This department is hub of all the information regarding all the unit of

group. It gathers information from various department and units of the

group and processes it and provides to the management for decision

making process. This department formulates the daily profitability reports

of all the units and sends them to the CMD. The role of this department

has considerably widened. Now it deals with generating reports on cost

production, manpower, development etc. It sets standard of the performance, gives

reasons deviation if any and also suggest corrective measures.

INTERNAL AUDIT DEPARTMENT

Internal audit system is an independent and impartial appraisal function to

examine and evaluate an organization’s activities and services as eyes and

ears of the management for knowing and evaluating the areas which were

weak and need strengthening. As Vardhman has grown in the size and

complexity over the two decades, the scope of internal audit function has

changed. Now the internal audit has begun to focus more and more on

such items operational appraisals, analysis of data processing system,

management cost studies etc. through this department the management

ensures that management control system is functioning properly, policies

and procedure are being reviewed constantly and that there is a

systematic program of review and appraisal.

PROJECTS DEPARTMENT

The Corporate projects and purchase departments have various sections

like:

Civil section

Planning section

Purchase Section

Insurance Section

Technical Section

The civil section deals with all the infrastructural construction like sheds

in case of mill, utilities like compressor, sub-station, boilers, Manav

Vikas Kendra etc. They also go in for negotiation with the contractor and

also do physical checking at the sight end of the material.

The planning function includes preparing reports of each project by

coordination with the civil and purchase.

The purchase section gets offer for machines does the comparison, calls

the parties that suits the requirement, the most and does the necessary

negotiation.

The insurance section looks after the group’s insurance scheme.

The technical section deals with the specification of all the machinery.

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AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS:

1989-90: State award for outstanding award in exports.

1990-91: Bronze trophy for third largest mill yarn exporter.

1991-92: Bronze trophy for third largest mill yarn exporter.

1993-94: Gold trophy for largest merchant exporter of yarn. Golden trophy for largest Merchant of yarn to non-quota markets. Bronze trophy for third largest merchant of grey woven fabrics. 1994-95: Gold trophy for largest merchant exporter of yarn . Bronze trophy for third largest merchant of grey woven fabrics .Government of India award for outstanding Exports Performance.

1995-96: Outstanding export performance in exports .

1996-97: Silver trophy outstanding performance in exports .

1997-98: Texprocil bronze trophy for third highest export in 100% EOU.

1998-99: Texprocil silver trophy for second highest export in EOU.Texprocil silver Trophy for second highest export of yarn to non-quota market.Bronze trophy for third largest mill yarn exporter .

2002-03: Texprocil Gold trophy,Shri S.P.Oswal,CMD Vardhman Gropup received from Honourable Union Minister of Textile,Government of India.

2003-04: Mr. Sachin Jain ,Executive Director,Vardhman received Gold trophy for export of cotton yarn 2003-04,from Honourable Minister,Mr.Shankar Singh Vaghela.

2003-04: Madam Suchita Jain,Executive director,Vardhman received bronze trophy in mill exporter’s category.

BUSINESS OF THE GROUP YARN:

The group is the largest spinning group of the country spindliest of about 7 lakh spindles. The group has nineteen production plants located in the states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh. In many of the market segments Vardhman holds the position of market leader, besides being large and reliable supplier in the country. Vardhman is also the largest exporter of yarn form India. The group yarn exports amount to over USD 100 million covering the most quality conscious markets in the world. Vardhman possesses state-of art technology from Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Korea, and Italy. Vardhman offers a wide range specialized grey and dyed yarn in cotton, polyester, acrylic and a variety of blends. Quality consciousness both in products and services has made Vardhman a standard for others to follow. 1965 was a humble beginning. Three decades of hard work, commitment and constant innovation have resulted in well earned trust and goodwill of our customers across the globe.

At Vardhman, we move with the notion that Customer service is a way of life. We strive to provide our customers a delight with 3P services - Prompt , Polite and Personalised. We today have a capacity of over half a million spindles along with two dyeing plants bearing a capacity of more than 27 tons Yarn and 22 ton Fiber per day. Our goal therefore calls for serving our customers with a multiple range of products meeting the most diverse of requirements. This, in fact has positioned Vardhman as a “Supermarket of High Quality Yarns”

 Grey Yarn    

Cotton Hosiery, Weaving, Open End & Tyrecord Yarn

      Acrylic Yarn (Bulk & Regular)

   

   Polyester Cotton Yarn      Special Blended Yarns

(Cotton - Wool, Cotton - Acrylic, Cotton - Viscose,Polyester - Acrylic - Viscose, Lycra - Blended)

      Compact Yarn

  Dyed Yarns

  Crayons (Package Dyed Cotton Yarn)

     Rainbow (100% Fibre Dyed Cotton Yarn)

     Rangoli (100% Cotton Melange Yarn)

     Gassed Mercerised Cotton Yarn

     Paragon (Fibre Dyed Polyester Cotton Yarn)

     Harmony (Fibre Dyed Polyester Cotton Melange Yarn)

     Padam (Superior Tow Dyed Acrylic Bulked Yarn)

     Daffodil (Tow Dyed Acrylic Bulked Yarn)

     Yarn Dyed Acrylic

     Hand Knitting Yarn

     Speciality Yarns

     Hank Dyed Cotton Yarn.

YARNS - Production Capacity

VARDHMAN GROUP (TEXTILE UNITS)Distribution of Installed Spindlage Capacity

Vardhman group has an Installed capacity of more than half a million spindles and out of it about one lac seventy four thousands spindles are fully dedicated to exports only. Having build up giant capacity in term of more than half million spindle spanned over 15 units out of 4 units are dedicated to exports only (EOU), state-of-the-art technology. Dextrose hands capable of playing rhythm with machines sourced from best available around the world has made Vardhman a gallery of variety of world class Yarns.

*EOU -100% dedicated to Exports only* NON EOU - Produce for domestic as well as for export market

Sewing Thread and Industrial Thread:

Vardhman entered the Sewing thread business in 1982 as a forward integration to its yarn business. The group had to struggle for survival being pitted against a large multinational organization. Today, Vardhman threads in all their OURriad forms have becomes a household name all over India. With a capacity of around 28.5 metric tons per day in its plant at Hoshiarpur. Ludhiana and Baddi it is one of the largest selling brands in India. Vardhman threads have emerged as the second largest seller of sewing thread brand in the country, next to Madura Coats Ltd. It caters to industries as diverse as garments, leather, hosiery etc. It also manufactures high quality “specialty threads” as its unit in Baddi.

Fabric:

Vardhman’s recent entry into grey fabric weaving at Baddi (H.P) commissioned in mid 2007 with a capacity of 40 mn meters per annum. It has already made its mark as a quality producer of grey poplin/suiting/shirting in the home market and also entered the highly competitive export market within a short span, now exporting 90% of the production of Auro Weaving. The weaving unit at Baddi.

Fibre:

Vardhman ventured into the manufacture of acrylic fibre in 1999. The joint venture, VAL, was set up together with two leading Japanese business house namely Japan Exlan Company Ltd., a part of Toyobo group of Japan & Marubeni Corporation, Japan. It has manufacturing capacity of 50 tons per day at Jhagadia, Gujarat in Western India. The products are marketed under the brand name VARLAN. ‘Varlan’ fibre has acquired Indian Market for its use in a wide variety of applications such as Hand Knitting Yarn; Machine knitting yarn for blankets, jerseys, sweaters, saris, dress material, upholstery, furnishing fabrics, velvets, Carpets etc. The group is one of the largest consumers of Acrylic Staple Fibre in India.

Steel:

The steel business was set up in 1973 as diversification with a capacity of 35000 mt per annum. Later on group acquired a steel plant from Mohta Group of industries (now known as Vardhman Special Steel) in 1986 and

converted this loss making unit into a profitable business in first year of operation with the group. Subsequently the steel mill has been modernized and expanded to a capacity of 1 lacs mt per annum. Catering to high technology quality conscious alloy steel segment, the unit has a reputation of being a dependable source of supply of special and alloy steel to Indian/International standards.

(SHARE OF EACH BUSINESS IN GROUP TURNOVER)

History and culture of Knitting yarn :

One of the earliest known examples of knitting was finally decorated cotton socks found in Egypt in the end of the first knitting trade guild was started in Paris in 1527. With the invention of the knitting machine, however, knitting “by hand” became a useful but non-essential craft. Similar to quilting, spinning, and needlepoint, knitting became a social activity.

Hand knitting has gone into and out of fashion many times in the last two centuries, and at the turn of the 21st century it is enjoying a revival. According to the industry group Craft Yarn council of America, the number of woman knitters in the United States age 25-35 increased 150% in the two years between 2002 & 2004. While some may say knitting has never really gone away, this latest reincarnation is less about the make do ad mend of the 1940”s and 1950”s and more about making a statement about individually as well as developing an innate sense of community. Additionally, many contemporary knitters have an interest in about their knitting, patterns, and techniques.

There are now numerous groups that are not only growing individually, but also forming international communities. Communities also exist alone, with blogs being very popular, alongside online group and social networking through mediums such as Yahoo! Group, where people can share tips and techniques, run competitors, and share their pattern. More people are finding knitting a recreation ad enjoying the hobby with their family. Knitting parties also are becoming popular in small and large communities around the U.S. and Canada.

Knitting:

Knitting is a craft by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth. Similar to crochet, knitting consists of loops called stitches pulled through each other. Knitting differs from crochet in that multiple stitches are’ Active’, or in use, at he same time, and crochet uses a single tool, a crochet hook, instead of a minimum of two knitting needles. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can be passed through then with a second needle.

Knitting may be done by hand or may by machine. By hand there are numerous styles and methods. Some of these produce an entirely different end-product, some produce very similar results. Flat knitting, which is done on two straight needles, produces a length of cloth, while circular knitting, which is done on circular or double- pointed needles, produces a seamless tube.

Different yarns and knitting needles may be used to achieve different end products, by giving the final piece different colours, texture, weight, or integrity.

TYPES OF KNITTING

♣ Weft knitting♣ Flat knitting♣ Circular knitting

Weft kitting: A weft kitting fabric consists of horizontal, parallel courses of yarn and requires only a single yarn. Weft kitting may be doe by machine or hand. Knitting machines use a different mechanical system to produce results nearly identical to those produced by hand-knitting.

Flat knitting: Flat knitting, on the other hand. Is used, in its most basic form, to make flat, rectangular pieces of cloth. It is done with two straight knitting needles and is worked in rows, horizontal lines of stitches. Flat knitting is usually used to knit flat pieces like scarves, blankets. And the backs and fronts of sweaters.

Circular knitting: Circular knitting (also celled “knitting in the round”) is a form of knitting that creates a seamless tube. Knitting is worked in rounds ( the equivalent of rows in flat kitting) in a spiral. Circular knitting was done using a set of four or five double-pointed knitting needles. Later, circular needles were invented. A circular needle resembles two short knitting needles connected by a cable between them.

Properties of kitted fabrics:

The topology of a knitted fabric is relatively complex. Unlike woven fabrics, where strands usually run straight horizontally and vertically, yarn that has been knitted follows a loopy path along its row, as with the red strand in the diagram at left, in which the loops of one row have all been pulled through the loops of the row below it.

Because there is no single straight line of yarn anywhere I the pattern, a knitted piece can stretch in all directions. This elasticity is unavailable from woven fabrics, which only stretch along the bias. Many modern stretchy garments, even as they rely on the elastic synthetic materials for some stretch, also achieve at least some of their stretch through knitted patterns.

Stockinette Stitch

Reserve Stockinette Stitch

The basic knitted fabric has a definite “ right side” ad “ wrong side”. On the right side, the visible portion of the loops are the verticals connecting two rows, arranged in a grid of V shapes. On the wrong side, the ends of the loops are visible, both the tops and bottom, creating a much more bumpy texture sometimes called Reserve Stockinet. Because the yarn holding rows together is all on the front, and the yarn holding side-by-side stitches together is all on the back, stockinette fabric has a strong

tendency to curl toward the front on the top ad bottom, and toward the back on the left and right side.

Stitches can be worked from either side, and various patterns are created by mixing regular knit stitches with the “ wrong side” stitches, known as purl stitches, either in columns (ribbing), rows ( garter, welting), or more complex patterns. Each such fabric has different properties; a garter stitch has more vertical stretch, while ribbing stretches much more horizontally. Because of their front-back symmetry, these two fabrics have little curl, making them popular as edging, even when their stretch properties are not desired.

Different combinations of knit and purl stitches, along with more advanced techniques, generate fabrics of considerably variable consistency, form gauzy to very dense, from highly stretchy to relatively stiff, from flat to tighly curled, and so on.

Process:

A piece of knitting begins with the process of casting on ( also known as” biding on”), which involves the initial creation of the stitches on the needle. Different methods of casting on are used for different effects; one may be stretchy enough foe lace, while another provides a decorative edging- Provision/ cast-ones are used when the knitting will continue in both directions from the cast-on. There are various method employed to “cast-on,” such as the “ thumb method” ( also known as “slingshot” or “log-tail” cast-ons), where the stitches are created by a series of loops that will, when knitted, give a very loose edge ideal for “picking up stitches” ad knitting a border; the “double needle method” ( also known as “ knit-on” or “cable cast-on”),whereby each loop placed on the needle is the “ knitted-on,” which produces a firmer edge idealon its own as a border, and many more. The number of active stitches remains the same as when cast on unless stitches are added ( an increase) or removed ( a decrease).

Most western-style knitters follow either the English style ( in which the yarn is held in the right hand) or the continental style ( in which the yarn is held in the left hand). A third but less common method, called combination knitting, may also be used.

Once the kitted piece is finished, the remaining live stitches are “cast off.” Casting ( or “binding”) off loops the stitches across each other so

they can be removed from the needle without unravelling the items. Although the machines are different from casting o, there is a similar variety of methods.

In knitting certain articles of clothing, especially larger ones like sweaters, the final knitted garment will be made of several knitted pieces, with individual sections of the garment knit separately and then sewn together. Seamless kitting, where a whole garment is knit as a single piece, is also possible. Elizabeth Zimmermann is probably the best-known proponent of seamless or circular kitting techniques. Smaller items, such as socks and hats, are usually knit in oe piece o double-pointed needles or circular needles

KNITTING MATERIALS

Yarn:

A selection of yarn for knitting

Yarn for hand-knitting is usually sold as balls or skeins (hanks),although it may also be wound on spools or cones. Skeins and balls are generally sold with a yarn-band, a label that describes the yarn’s weight, length, dye lot,fiber content ,washing instructions, suggested needle size, likely gauge,etc. It is common practice to save the yarn band for future reference, especially if additional skeins must be purchased. Knitters generally ensure that the yarn for a project comes from a single dye lot. The dye lot specifies a group of skeins that were dyed together and thus have precisely the same colour; skeins from different dye-lots, even if very similar in colour, are usually slightly different and may produce a visible stripe when knitted together. If a knitter buys insufficient yarn of a single dye lot to complete a project, additional skeins of the same dye lot can sometimes be obtained from other yarn stores or online.

The thickness of the yarn is a significant factor in determining the gauge, i.e, how many stitches and rows are required to cover a given area for a given stitch pattern. Thicker yarns generally require thicker needles, whereas thinner yarns may be knit with thick or thin needles. Hence, thicker yarns generally require fewer stitches, and therefore less time to knit up a given garment. Patterns and motifs are coarser with thicker yarns; thicker yarns produce bold visual effects, whereas thinner yarns are best for refined patterns. Yarns are grouped by thickness into six categories: superfine, fine, light, medium, bulky and super bulky; quantitatively, thickness is measured by the number of wraps per inch(WPI). The related weight per unit length is usually measured in tex or dernier.

Before knitting, the knitter will typically transform a hank into a ball where the yarn emerges from the center of the ball ; this making the knitting easier by preventing the yarn from becoming easily tangled. This transformation may be done by hand, or with a device known as a ball winder. When knitting, some knitters enclose their balls in jars to keep them clean and untangled with other yarn passes through a small hole in the jar-lid.

Knitting Tools:

Knitting needles

Bamboo knitting needles The process of knitting has three basic tasks. The active (unsecured) stitches must be held so they don’t drop. These stitches must be released after they are secured; and new bights of yarn must be passed through the fabric, usually through active stitches, thus securing them. In very simple cases, knitting ca be done without tools, using only the fingers to do these tasks; however, knitting is usually carried out using tools such as knitting needles, knitting machines or rigid frames. Depending o their size and shape, the rigid frames are called knitting boards, knitting rings (also called knitting looms) or kitting spools (also known as knitting knobblies, knitting fancies, or corkers).Other tools are used to prepare yarn for knitting, to measure and design knitted garments, or to make knitting easier or more comfortable.

There are three basic types of knitting needles (also called “knitting pins”). The first and most common type consists of two slender, strength sticks tapered to point at one end, and with a knob at the other end to

prevent stitches from slipping off. Such needles are usually 10-16 inches long but, due to the compressibility of knitted fabrics, may be used to knit pieces significantly wider. The most important property of needles is their diameter, which rages from below 2mm to 25mm (roughly 1 inch). The diameter affects the size of stitches, which affects the gauge of the knitting and the elasticity of the fabric. Thus, a simple way to change gauge is to use different needles, which is the basis of uneven knitting. Although knitting needle diameter is often measured in millimetres, there are several different size systems, particularly those specific to the United States, United Kingdom ad Japan; a conversion table is given at knitting needle. Such knitting needles may be made out of any materials, but the most common materials are metals, wood, bamboo are less prone to dropping stitches. The knitting of new stitches occurs only at the tapered ends, and needles with lighted tips have been sold to allow to knit in the dark.

The second type of knitting needles are straight, double- pointed knitting needles ( also called “dpns”). Doubles-pointed needles are tapered at both ends, which allows them to be knit from either end. Dpns are typically used for circular kitting. Especially smaller tube-shaped pieces such as sleeves, collars, and socks; usually one needle while the others hold at active stitches. Dpns are somewhat shorter (typically 7 inches) and are usually sold in sets of four or five.

Cable needles are a special case of dpns, although the usually are not straight. But dimpled in the middle. Cable needles are typically very short ( a few inches), ad are used to hold stitches temporarily while others are being knitted. Cable patterns are made by permuting the order of stitches; although one or two stitches may be held by had or knit out of order, cables of three or more generally require a cable needle.

The Third needle type consists of circular needles, which are log. Flexible double-pointed needles. The two tapered ends (typically 5 inches long) are rigid and straight, allowing for easy knitting; however, the two ends are connected by a flexible strand (usually nylon) that allows the two ends to be brought together. Circular needles are typically 24-60 inches long, and are usually used singly or in pairs; again, the width of the knitted piece may be significantly longer than the length of the circular needle. Special kits are available that allow circular needles of various length and diameters to be made as needed ; rigid ends of various diameters may be screwed into strands of various length. The ability to work from either end of one needle is convenient in several types of

knitting, such as slip-stitch versions of double knitting. Circular needles may be used for flat or circular knitting.

Ancillary tools:

Various tools have been developed to make hand knitting easier. Tools for measuring needle diameter and yarn properties have been discussed above, as well as the yarn swift, ball winder and “yarntainers”. Crochet hooks and a darning needle are often useful in binding off or in joining two knitted pieces edge-to-edge. The darning needle is used in duplicate stitch ( also known as Swiss darning), while the crochet hook is also essential for repairing dropped stitches ad some specialty stitches such as tufting. Other tools are used to prepare specific ornaments include the pompom tree for making pompoms conveniently. For large or complex patterns, it is sometimes difficult to keep track of which stitch should be knit in an particular way; therefore, several tools have been developed to identify the number of a row or stitch, including circular stitch markers, hanging markers, extra yarn and counters. A second potential difficulty is that the knitted piece will side off the tapered end of the needles when unattended; “ point protectors” that cap the tapered ends prevent this. Another problem is that too much knitting may lead to hand and wrist troubles; for this, special stress-relieving gloves are available. Finally, there are sundry bags and containers for holding knitting, yarn and needles.

Hand Knitting Yarn (H.K.Y.) is one of the major and most profitable products of Vardhman Group. Hand knitting yarn is further divided into two types:

♣ Plain yarn ♣ Fancy yarn

Fancy hand knitting yarn is also called feather yarn. Major types of Fancy Hand knitting Yarn ( H.K.Y.) in Vardhman are:

♣ Feather glow

♣ Feather shine♣ Fun feather♣ Luster♣ Dazzle feather♣ Sonata feather♣ Sargam♣ Crazy♣ Wonder fur♣ Sensation♣ Lavish feather ball♣ Snow flake♣ Exotica♣ Royal feather♣ Smart feather♣ Rainbow feather♣ Fashion feather♣ Smart feather

Packaging forms in case of Hand Knitting Yarn

Hand knitting yarn is packed into three forms:

♣ Hanks ♣ Balls♣ Lachchi

HANKS:It is the most basic loose form of yarn which is supplied in bundles of 3kgs each. The retailers sell it as customer requirement.

HANKS PRODUCTS

♣ Millennium ♣ Melody Fine♣ 3/16 Diamond ♣ Shine Star♣ 4/16 Deluxe ♣ Melody♣ 4/16 Brilon ♣ Jasmine♣ Mehak ♣ Fiesta♣ Rabbit excel ♣ Crystal♣ Indica ♣ Dazzle Feather♣ Khushboo ♣ Brycral♣ Shin star ♣ Madonna/Madonna Slim

♣Snowflake ♣ Butterfly♣ Royal feather ♣ Exotica♣ Feather shine ♣ Rainbow feather♣ Unique ♣ Britney♣ Rubel NEW PRODUCT♣ Sargam ♣Cherry ♣ Ultma ♣ Elegant♣ Ginni ♣ Fortune♣Wonder fur ♣ Double Knit♣ Crystal ♣ Metallica♣ Fashion feather ♣ Crazy♣ Brilon ♣ Dew Drops♣ Sensation

BALLS: Convenient form which is available in various shapes of 25gms ad 50gms. It comes in two types of packing i.e. in box and in jar.

Ball PKG.

Alpine Plus Box

Baby Smart Jar

Baby Soft Jar

Blossom Box

Caliber Plus Box

Little Angle Jar

Lamb Hair Box

Glamorous Box

Cozy Care Box

Christina Prem. Box

Charlie Box

Fairy Angle Box

Passion Box

Feather Fresh Box

X-Press Box

Smart Feather Box

Soft N Smart Box

NEW PRODUCTS

Snowflakes Box

Salsa Box

Polka Box

Pearl Jar

LACHCHI: It is sorted in 200gms polypack of yarn, which has a branded level.It is projected as economic packing because the price of these packing is lower than ball packing due to lesser usage of packing material.

LACHHI PKG.

Eliza 20 Packets

Micro Shine 20 Packets

Pretty Baby 20 Packets

Prim Rose 20 Packets

Twinkle 10 Packets

Major causes of appraisal of the product:

♣ Looks of the product

♣ Feel of the product♣ Brand name♣ Perceive value♣ Reliability of the product

Major selling products of various companies:

Vardhman Oswal Malwa Local companies

Rabbit excel Venus Juhi Supreme

Feather glow Marina M. Glow DCL

Brilon Rainbow Brilon Langowalia

Millenium Majeet M.Millennium Dhown woolens mela

Soft n smart Eros Rose petal

Little angel Babylon Young spirit

Globalization

Vardhman ventured in to the global market in 1986 with

an export value of one core to reach an outstanding

440crores(92 million Dollars) in 2002.

Little wonder then, that Vardhman, today, exports 40%

of its yarn production to more than 25 countries and has

a strong presence in markets like the EEC, USA, Canada,

China, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Brazil and Mauritius,

Middle East. Vardhman has a share of more than 6% in

total Yarn exports from India.

Its trusted, tested and reliable workforce, coupled with

the latest technology, quality consciousness, customer

oriented services and strong logistics has given

Vardhman an edge over its competitors and in the world’s

most quality conscious and price sensitive markets.

Thereby making Vardhman a truly international

organisation in terms of sourcing from and catering to

the world .

NEED OF THE STUDY

This study focuses on the Promotion mix strategy (advertising, sales promotion, events & public relation) of Vardhman hand knitting yarn and the brand image. Modern marketing calls for more than developing a good product , pricing it attractively & making it accesible to target customers. The study is based on how Vardhman communicate with present & potential stake holders and with general public.

OBJECTIVES

To study about the Promotion mix strategy of Vardhman hand knitting yarn.

To know about how it has been successful in using marketing communication tools integratedly.

To gain knowledge about how it has emerged as a strong brand in hand knitting yarn market.

To examine what are the key factors, which has helped to sustain growth & be the market leader.

METHODOLOGY

Research Methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. The Research Methodology includes the various methods and techniques for conducting a research. “Marketing Research” is the systematic design, collection analysis and reporting of data and finding relevant solution to a specific marketing situation or problem. “D. Slazenger and M. manipulation of things, concept or symbols for the purpose of generalizing to extend, correct or verify knowledge, weather that knowledge aid n construction of theory and practice of an art.Research is thus an original contribution to the existing stock of knowledge making for its advancement. The purpose of research is to discover the answers to the question through the application of scientific procedures.

Defining the Research Problem and Objectives: It is said,” A problem well defined is half solved” The first step in research methodology is to define the problem and deciding the research objective. The objective of the study is to know the market position of Vardhman group in Ludhiana against its competitors.

Research Design: Research Design is a blueprint or framework for conducting the marketing research project. It specifies the details of the procedures necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure and solve marketing research problem. The research design used in the study is descriptive and comparative research.

Descriptive Research: It is that type of research which can explain what had happened and what are happenings, but we cannot change the variables.

Sampling Design: Sampling can be defined as the section of some part of an aggregate or totality on the basis of which judgement or an inference about aggregate or totality is made. The steps involved in sampling design are as follows.

Universe: Universe refers to the total of the units in field of inquiry. The study is restricted to Ludhiana city only.

Sampling unit: Sampling frame is the representation of the elements of the target population. Sampling unit of the study are dealers of hand knitting.

Sampling Size: Sampling size is the total no. of units which we covered in our study. The sample size is 20.

Sampling Technique: Sampling Technique used in the study is Non-Probabilistic convenient sampling.

Convenient Sampling: It is that type of sampling where the researcher selects the sampling according to his or her convenience.

Data collection and Analysis: Data can be collected in two waysPrimary Data: primary data are those, which are collected a fresh and for the first time, and thus happen to be original in character. It is the backbone of any study.

Secondary Data: Secondary data are those which have already been collected by someone else and which have already been passed through the statistical process. In this case one is not confronted with the problems that are usually associated with the collection of original data. Secondary data either be published data or unpublished data.

Source of Data: Source of the research is both primary and secondary data. Primary data is obtained from respondents with the help of widely used and well-known method of survey, through a well-structured questionnaire. And the secondary data is collected from the internet, magazines, journals, and news papers.

Research instrument: Research instrument is that with the help of which we collect the data from respondents. he questionnaire of the research consists of open ended, close ended and ranking questions.

Tools of Analysis: We have used pie charts, graph and percentage to analyse the collected data.

LIMITATIONS

♣ The time period assigned for the training that is six weeks is too short conduct the research thoroughly.

♣ As research is limited to Ludhiana city only there are not enough dealers for the collection of data.

♣ Due to time and resource constraints the survey was conducted within Punjab therefore such study might not present a true picture of respondent’s perception towards brand image of Vardhman HKY.

♣ We were not able to survey some of the agents as our training was conducted in the peak season of HKY sale..♣ It was really difficult to conduct market surveys due to the cold weather and foggy conditions.

♣ Language was also a barrier upto some extent as Punjabi is a regional language here and we were not so very familiar with it.

♣ Visiting go down on a daily basis to check the stock was a barrier upto some extent due to the peak season of sale.

CHAPTER – II

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

A successful product or service means nothing unless the benefit of such a service can be communicated clearly to the target market. An organizations promotional strategy can consist of:

Advertising:  Is any non-personal paid form of communication using any form of mass media.

Public relations: Involves developing positive relationships with the organization media public. The art of good public relations is not only to obtain favorable publicity within the media, but it is also involves being able to handle successfully negative attention.

Sales promotion: Commonly used to obtain an increase in sales short term. Could involve using money off coupons or special offers.

Communication Model - AIDA

AIDA is a communication model, which can be used by firms to aid them in selling their product or services. AIDA is an Acronym for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.. When a product is launched the first goal is to grab attention. Think, how can an organization use it skills to do this? Use well-known personalities to sell products? Once you grab attention how can you hold Interest, through promoting features, clearly stating the benefit the product has to offer? The third stage is desire, how can you make the product desirable to the consumer? By demonstrating it? The final stage is the purchase action, if the company has been successful with its strategy then the target customer should purchase the product. Promotion through the Product life cycle- At this stage with increased competition the organization take persuasive tactics to encourage the consumers to purchase their product over their rivals. Any differential advantage will be clearly communicated to the target audience to inform of their benefit over their competitors.

Product lifecycle. -

As products move through the four stages of the product lifecycle different promotional strategies should be employed at these stages to ensure the healthy success and life of the product .Stages and promotion strategies employed.IntroductionWhen a product is new the organizations objective will be to inform the target audience of its entry. Television, radio, magazine, coupons etc may be used to push the product through the introduction stage of the lifecycle. Push and Pull Strategies will be used at this crucial stage.Growth

As the product becomes accepted by the target market the organization at this stage of the lifecycle the organization works on the strategy of further increasing brand awareness to encourage loyalty. MaturityA slow down in sales growth because the product has achieved acceptance by most potential buyers. Profit stabilize or decrease of increased competition.DeclineAs the product reaches the decline stage the organization will use the strategy of reminding people of the product to slow the inevitable. 

 

When it comes to any business there are thousands of ways to promote it. The best thing to keep in mind, however, is your target demographic and investment requirements. Are you trying to interest kids in your product? Do you want to cater to the 40-50 year old crowd who visit retail stores? Much of your promotion will be based on who exactly you are selling.  We want to help you find the best promotion strategies for your business.   Promotion decisions are related to selling to and communicating with the consumers you are targeting. You must be very cost-efficient when making these decisions because they can be huge in proportion to the actual price of your product. You must know what each customer will cost you and decide from there how many customers you can take on at a single time without losing your shirt.   These promotion strategies will include advertising, different forms of media, public relations and more. The best promotion will include both long-term and short-term strategies for attracting the customers you want while making the most available profit. This

will include the typical marketing system of the 4 P's. These are Promotion, Product, Price, and Placement - especially in retail stores.  

The Marketing Communications (Promotion) Mix

Every marketing plan is executed by using the tactical elements of the Marketing Communications, or Promotions Mix.

The elements of the marketing communications mix

The Marketing Communications Mix is the specific mix of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, and direct marketing a company uses to pursue its advertising and marketing objectives.

Definitions:

Advertising - Any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor.

Personal selling - Personal presentation by the firm’s sales force for the purpose of making sales and building customer relationships.

Sales promotion - Short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service.

Public relations - Building good relationships with the company’s various publics by obtaining favorable publicity, building up a good "corporate image", and handling or heading off unfavorable rumors, stories, and events.

Direct marketing - Direct communications with carefully targeted individual consumers to obtain an immediate response and cultivate lasting customer relationships.

Setting the Promotion Mix

When deciding how to properly utilize the marketing communications mix to meet your marketing objectives, it is important to consider the relative strengths and weaknesses of each component of the mix. Further, you must always define your total budget first (generally defined in the Marketing and/or Business Plan) and then decide upon the best way to leverage the different elements of the mix to maximize the return on your investment. You will balance the various parts of the mix to not only create an integrated approach to your marketing communications but you must also devote enough resources for each component to be successful.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

Advertising - Reaches large, geographically dispersed audiences, often with high frequency; Low cost per exposure, though overall costs are high; Consumers perceive advertised goods as more legitimate; Dramatizes company/brand; Builds brand image; may stimulate short-term sales; Impersonal, one-way communication; Expensive

Sales promotion - May be targeted at the trade or ultimate consumer; Makes use of a variety of formats: premiums, coupons, contests, etc.; Attracts attention, offers strong purchase incentives, dramatizes offers, boosts sagging sales; Stimulates quick response; Short-lived; Not effective at building long-term brand preferences

Public relation - Highly credible; Very believable; Many forms: news stories, news features, events and sponsorships, etc.; Reaches many prospects missed via other forms of promotion; Dramatizes company or product; Often the most under used element in the promotional mix; Relatively inexpensive (certainly not 'free' as many people think--there are costs involved)

When deciding upon your unique marketing communications mix, you should also consider the Product Life Cycle. Here are some general guideline as to how and when to emphasize different parts of the mix according to the stages of a typical product life cycle:

PROMOTION MIX IN

VARDHMAN Modern marketing calls for more than developing a good product pricing it attractively & making it accessible to target customers. Companies must also communicate with present & potential stake holders & with the general public.

Marketing communications are the means by which firms attempt to inform, persuade and remind consumers – directly or indirectly- about the products and brands that they sell. In a sense marketing communications represent the ‘voice’ of the brand and are a means by which it can establish a dialogue and build a relationship with consumers. In vardhman the promotion mix perform several functions for consumers. It has implemented micro-model of communication process to draw consumer response.

Vardhman is a strong brand in hand knitting yarn market which has large market share in organized hand knitting yarn market. Its brand image communicates to its customer that it delivers the quality.

All these are a outcome of combine and effective use of promotional tools. It is using Advertisement, sales promotion, Events, Public relation to get favorable customer response. Each of these promotional tools have their own significance to create stronger consumer response in a way which can open up a path to success.

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The current ad campaign of Vardhman is a kind of informative ad. It has endorsed soap-opera artist Shweta Tiwari as its brand ambassador. The opening of ad shows a family and the brand ambassador Shweta Tiwari plays the role of a housewife and make the audience aware of to see the the tag of Vardhman while purchasing hand knitting yarn. In one hand mostly housewives are engaged in the knitting of sweaters and other winter garments for there family members. This ad campaign aims towards housewives as its target audience. On the other hand

housewives watch TV serials as their favorite pastime. Shweta Tiwari being a actor can influence the target customers. So the ad campaign is carried out by her. Though Vardhman is a established brand in hand knitting yarn market, it is using campaigns to reinforce the brand equity. The popular slogans of vardhman are

Sachha pyar Vardhman Jo bune pyar se wo chune dimag

se.

SALES PROMOTION Vardhman offers a variety of incentives through its sales promotion schemes. It spend huge amount in sales contests, lotteries , specialty advertising, discounted sales etc. The sale promotion of Vardhman are done through schemes. Each year schemes keep changing.

Currently Vardhman is endorsed one sales contest named ‘Laksya mein hai jeet’ & one lottery scheme ‘Kiska sitara chamkega’.

LAKSHYA MEIN HAI JEET – In this sales contest scheme targets are given to whole sellers. On achievement of the sale target prizes are distributed by the company.

KISKA SITARA CHAMKEGA – In this lottery scheme only dealers take part.They are instructed to tear the leaf from the bundle card on which ‘Kisaka sitara chamkega’ is written and return it to the company along with their stamp & mobile no. on it. The name of the winner is declared every month15th & 30th .

Vardhman also provide sales promotion materials to its dealers. Promotion material carry certain prices -:

Booklets – 7/- RsKnitting bag – 1/- RsShopping bag – 5/- & 6/- RsH.M bag – 2/- RsPremium bag – 6/- RsLaminated posters – freePosters – free Calendars – free

EVENTS

Vardhman sponsor for two events ‘Aao bune’ & ‘Aawa’.

Aao bune - It is a school level knitting competition between class 6 th to 12th. This event is organized by Zoom India. The objective is to create knitters for the next generation. Trophies, certificates, banners, momentos, booklets, posters are provided by the company. ‘Aao bune’ is conducted once in a year. This event facilitate and encourage good knitters through prizes. In the competition 80gms of ball(each 40gms) & two knitting needle are provided to the participants. Different colours like yellow, blue, red, orange, sea green, cream, black etc are used.

AAWA – ‘Aawa’ is another event sponsored by Vardhman to strengthen its brand image. This event is organized by Hemkunt(Ludhiana). This even is also a knitting competition among military wives. Vardhamn aims at creating professional knitters and make military housewives self-dependent. These two events really work wonder for Vardhman in generating goodwill & building a strong brand ever.

PUBLIC RELATION

To cement the relation among public the company has taken long-term measure which has resulted in building a strong brand like Vardhman. It is publishing a quarterly magazine “We” which carry the ethical values of the company. This magazine is full of good articles & tips for better life. From the years of its establishment till today it has been able to design a path for itself to journey long distance carrying goodwill for years. It has also a college named Arvind college of commerce & management. Te name that depicts quality is not just a single day work. The employees of Vardhman are also responsible for making it reach to a respectable position. Their contribution is also remarkable. All these communication tools designed by the experts has paid a huge return on investments. Certainly the marketing communication strategy used altogether benefited for Vardhman in various aspects.

CHAPTER – III

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONResults :

1) Showing the companies from where the dealers purchase their H.K.Y.

Companies Responses Percentage %Vardhman 14 70Oswal 3 15Malwa 2 10Other 1 5Total 20 100

Interpretation: The above table shows that 70% of the dealers procure their H.K.Y from Vardhman, About 15% procure it Oswal & Other 10% Procure it from Malwa & local market it constitutes nearly 5%.

2) Showing the experience of the dealers in the H.K.Y. business

Years No. of respondents Percentage %0-2 Years 0 02-4 Years 0 0

4-6 years 0 0More than 6 20 100Total 20 100

Interpretation: the above table shows that about 100% of the dealers are selling the H.K.Y. for more than six years.

3) Showing the ranking of the various factors which the dealers consider while procuring the H.K.Y. from the manufacturers

Factors Rank Mean scoreBrand 3 114Quality 1 150Price 2 146Shade card 4 84Services 5 72

Interpretation: From the above table we can conclude that dealers consider quality as the most important factor while procuring the H.K.Y. The second most important factor is price followed by brand, shade range & then services.

4) Showing the reach of audience through advertisement .

Response NO.of respondents Percentage %Yes 14 70No 6 30

Total 20 100

Interpretation: The above table shows that 70% of the respondents have seen the ads of Vardhman in TV, while 30% of the respondents are not aware of advertisements.

5) Showing the quantity sale per year of H.K.Y .

Sales per year in kg No. of respondents Percentage500 1 5500-1500 0 01500-2500 0 02500-3500 0 0>5000 19 95Total 20 100

Interpretation: The above table shows that 95% of the dealers are sells per year more than 5000kg.

6) Showing type of colors selling most in H.K.Y.

Type of color NO.of respondents Percentage %Single color 19 95Multi color 1 5Total 20 100

Interpretation: The above table shows that 95% of the dealers are selling single colour.

7) Showing the products of H.K.Y. sold maximum.

Product NO.of respondents Percentage %Hanks 15 75Balls 3 15Lachhi 2 10Total 20 100

Interpretation: From the above table shows that Hanks is the largest selling product of Vardhman which is 75% & ball and lachhi 15% & 10% respectively.

8) Showing the responses about readymade sweater affecting sale of hand knitting sweater.

Responses Respondent Percentage %Yes 6 30No 14 70Total 20 100

Interpretation: 70% of the respondents are of the opinion that readymade sweaters does not affect the sale of hand knitting sweater & 30% of them believe readymade sweater affect the sale of hand knitting sweater.

9) Showing the ranking of the major manufactures of H.K.Y. on certain parameters.

Companies Price Quality Variety RanksMalwa 1 3 3Oswal 2 2 2Vardhman 3 1 1

Interpretation: The above table shows that the H.K.Y. of Vardhman is the most expensive but is of best quality. Oswal H.K.Y.stands at the second place in terms of quality followed by Malwa.

10) Respondents believe “Aao buney can create knitters for future.

Responses Respondents Percentage %Yes 16 80No 4 20Total 20 100

Interpretation: 80% of the respondents are of the opinion that Aao buney can create knitters for future & rest 20% are of opinion that it does not have effects.

11) Showing the various steps, which the companies should take to boost the sales of H.K.Y.

Steps Responses Percentage %Increase variety 4 10Reduce price 4 30Discount 1 5Encourage advertising 9 55Total 20 100

Interpretation: From the above table we can conclude that about 55% of respondents are of the opinion that encouraging advertising can boost the sale and 30% spoke that reducing price can boost sale and 10% told increase can help in boosting the sale, 5% said discounts can help it out.

12) Showing the most preferred brand of hand knitting yarn.

Brand Responses Percentage %Malwa 1 5Vardhman 15 75Oswal 4 20Total 20 100

Interpretation: It has been shows that 75% of the dealers are saying that Vardhman is the most preferred brand followed by oswal and malwa.

13) Showing the sales promotion schemes influencing the sales of company-:

Scheme influencing the sales of the company

Responses Percentage %

Yes 14 70No 6 30Total 20 100

Interpretation: It has been shown in the table that 70% of dealers are of the opinion that various schemes offered by the companies will help in increasing the sales of the company.

CHAPTER – IV

FINDINGS

Finding of the study:

♣ Most of the dealers procure their Hand knitting Yarn from Vardhman.

♣ Nearly all the dealers of hand knitting yarn are in this business for more than six years.

♣ Plain hand knitting yarn is sold more than Fancy yarn.

♣ Quantity of sale per year of hand knitting yarn of each dealer is more than 5000kg.

♣ Single colour is in trend than multi colour.

♣ Hanks is the largest selling product and Balls and Lachhi come respectively.

♣ Most important aspect for the appraisal of the product is quality.

♣ Advertisement is the major source for boosting the sales.

♣ Various schemes offered by the companies like ‘ kiska sitara chamkega’, ‘lakshya mein hai jeet’ , quantity discounts, cash discounts also boost the sales of the company.

♣ The most preferred brand of dealers of hand knitting yarn is Vardhman.

♣The staff of Vardhman Spinning & General Mills was extremely cooperative. Each & every member provided us guidance wherever needed.

♣ We found that no customer had any complaints regarding the staff & quality of vardhman.

SUGGESTIONS

Company should open up its own factory outlets in different regions. Company should use trade promotion tools like price-off, free goods etc. Company should enter into readymade sweaters to meet the customer preference.It should create a niche market for hand knitted sweaters & the designs should match the lifestyle of customer.

As the hand knitting yarn trend is declining due to modernization therefore it should be introduced as a subject in the schools. Advertisement is encouraged so that people get aware about the various benefits of hand knitting yarn. Schemes should be periodically introduced to increase the sales like ‘Aao Buney’ contest of Vardhman. Advertisements are made to avoid the duplicacy of the products by introducing hologram so that customers are aware of the product.Vardhman should pay due considerations to individual needs of their dealers . Vardhman should be in a position to meet up the requirements of their dealers on time in terms of shade range availability.Vardhman should pay attention towards advertisements.Vardhman should find out reasons for decrease in sales of their parties. Hand-knitting should be taken as a separate business. Important is that it can create employment and provide job opportunities to women. Not only women , men can also be trained. Wages & pays should be given to hand knitters who knit on order for their business . But before starting it as a business proper promotional activities should be conducted. It can be a milestone in such businesses. Company should increase its production units as demand of hand-knitting yarn is more and supply is less.Price of company booklets should be reduced so that it can be affordable for all customers. Catalogues, brochures, booklets consisting different designs should be made widely available in the market in the various stores where young generation visit, so that it can attract their attention.

CONCLUSION

Most of the dealers deal in HKY and general store materials.

Majority of Vardhman dealers are into retail business.

Majority of respondents considers Vardhman as their most preferable

brand.

Majority of dealers are having an opinion that Hanks category of HKY

of Vardhman and its competitors generates maximum sales.

Almost every customer of HKY asks for Vardhman other than any

brand.

Quality is the main reason for customer demanding for Vardhman

products.

Majority of dealers deals on cash basis with Vardhman.

Transparent packaging will help in making product more attractive.

Majority of parties are having a good dealing with Vardhman in terms of

payment clearance.

Promotional activities like Kiska sitara chamkega and Lakshya mein hai

jeet motivates the dealers and the wholesellers to sell more as they get

many attractive gifts on achieving their sales target.

Bibliography

www.vardhman.com

www.google.com

www.indiantextile.com

Marketing Management (Philip Kotler)

QUESTIONNAIRE

1. From whom do you purchase Hand knitting yarn? a. Vardhman b. Oswal c. Malwa d. Others

2. How much experience do you have?a. 0-2yrsb. 2-4yrsc. 4-6yrsd. more than 6yrs

3. Which factor you consider while purchasing hand knitting yarn from manufacturer?

a. brandb. qualityc. priced. shade cardse. service

4. Have you seen any ads of Vardhman in TV?a. Yesb. No

5. How much quantity you sell per year? a.500 kg. b.500-1500 kg. c.1500-2500 kg. d.2500-3500 kg. e.5000 kg. 6.Which type of color is more in demand?

a. Single colorb. Multi colored

7. Which product of HKY are sold large in number –

a. Hanksb. Ballsc. Lachhi

8. Does readymade sweaters affect the sale offhand knitted sweaters?a. Yesb. No

9. Which manufacturer is offering best quality, variety & attractive price respectively?

a. Malwab. Oswalc. Vardhman

10. Do you believe the event Aao buney can create knitters for future?a. Yesb. No

11. What steps should company take to boost the sale of hand knitting yarn?

a. Increase in varietyb. Reduce pricec. Discountsd. Encourage advertising

12. Which is the most preferred brand of hand knitting yarn?a. Malwab. Vardhmanc. Oswal

13. Does sales promotion schemes influence the sale of hand knitting yarn?

a. Yesb. No