A TATA Enterprise

PROJECT TITILE:

STUDY ON BRAND PENETRATION OF VOLTAS AS COMPARED TO COMPETITORS IN RETAIL AC MARKET AND STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE IT

A TATA Enterprise

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES:

• To evaluate brand push of Voltas at retail outlet

• To evaluate the standings of Voltas vis-à-vis competitors on various Brand Penetration Indicators.

• Evaluate the customer perception of Voltas and competing brands.

A TATA Enterprise

• DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH BASED ON QUOTA SAMPLING TECHNIQUE.

• FACE TO FACE INTERVIEWS USING A STRUCTURED QUESTIONNAIRE.

• TARGET RESPONDENTS

-RETAILERS

-INTENDING CUSTOMERS

RESEARCH DESIGN

A TATA Enterprise

RESEARCH DESIGN(contd)..

• SAMPLE SIZE:– RETAILERS: 90 No’s

• ALL VOLTAS DIRECT DEALERS(28)

• VARIOUS MULTIBRANDED DEALERS(60)

– CUSTOMERS: 50 No’s• ALL INTENDING CUSTOMERS

• FIELD WORK PERIOD:

FIELD WORK WAS CONDUCTED IN THE MONTH OF MAY-JUNE 2002

A TATA Enterprise

• MOST PUSHED BRAND AT VOLTAS OUTLETS• DEALER PERCEPTION OF VOLTAS vis-à-vis

competitors on various brand penetration parameters.• Most Selling Segment.• Most Enquired Brand• Dealer prediction for next year sales• Dealer-Customer Perception Gap about VOLTAS. • Some future steps………..

WHAT THIS STUDY REVEALS?

A TATA Enterprise

China– 14 million

Japan– 9 million

USA–10 million Europe– 2.7 million

Middle East– 1.8 million

India– India– 0.7 0.7 millionmillion

AC Industry - global market sizes

Source : Francis Kanoi Marketing Research

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Source : Francis Kanoi Marketing Research

AC Industry - a snapshotProduct Category Size (2000-01

(Rs. Crore) Growth 1998-2001 (CAGR%)

Room Air-conditioners 1800 17%

Central Plant 800 17%

Ducted System 400 20%

Total 3000

• LG• Matsushita

(National)• O’ General• Samsung• Voltas

• Amtrex Hitachi• Blue Star• Carrier Aircon• Daikin Shriram• Whirlpool

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Market Scenario-FY01

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Window AC Market- 566000 units

Source: TV Veopar Journal

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Split AC Market-134000units

Source: TV Veopar Journal

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Geographical Distribution

Source: TV Veopar Journal

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DEALER STUDY……

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DEALER NETWORK• OVERALL NUMBER OF DIRECT RETAILERS: 28

VOLTAS: 3

VOLTAS:7

VOLTAS:7

VOLTAS: 6

VOLTAS: 5

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Competitors Dealer Network 

BRANDS 

LG 

SAMSUNG 

HITACHI 

CARRIER 

WHIRLPOOL

NO.OF

DEALERS

 52

 50

 46

 38

 42

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LG

HITACHI

CARRIER

SAMSUNG

WHIRLPOOL

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

LG HITACHI CARRIER SAMSUNG WHIRLPOOL

COMPETITORS PRESENCE AT VOLTAS OUTLETS

A TATA Enterprise

LG

35%

HITACHI

27%

SAMSUNG

20%

VOLTAS

4%

WHIRLPOOL

3%CARRIER

11%

LG

HITACHI

SAMSUNG

VOLTAS

WHIRLPOOL

CARRIER

MOST ENQUIRED BRAND AT VOLTAS OUTLETS

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0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

1

BRANDS

MOST SELLING BRANDS AT VOLTAS OUTLETS

LG

VOLTAS

HITACHI

SAMSUNG

CARRIER

WHIRLPOOL

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<1800018-20

20-22

22-24

24-26

>26000

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

<18000 18-20 20-22 22-24 24-26 >26000

PRICE RANGE

MOST SELLING PRICE RANGE

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IDENTIFIED BRAND PENETRATION PARAMETERS

• Stock Availability• Ease of Replacement• Services• Product Quality• Product Range• Customer Schemes

• Management Support• Product Awareness• Dealer Gifts• Price Range• Advertisements• Dealer Margin

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32

22

15

1011

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

1

ATTRIBUTES

REASONS FOR PUSHING A BRAND

ADVERTISEMENTS MANAGEMENT SUPPORT MARGIN QUALITY SERVICES

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PERCEPTUAL MAPPING

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CUSTOMER CONSIDERATIONS

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

1

ATTRIBUTE

BRAND

PRICE

COOLING

QUALTIY

POWER CONSUMPTION

FEATURES

NOISE LEVEL

DISCOUNTS

FINANCE

AESTHETICS

AFTER SALES SERVICE

PAST EXPERIENCE

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0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

LG CARRIER WHIRLPOOL SAMSUNG HITACHI VOLTAS

BRANDS

SALES PREDICTION BY DEALERS

INCREASE

DECREASE

NO CHANGE

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S-W ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS• A TATA Enterprise• Quality & Technology.• Prices.• Management Support.• Product Proliferation.

WEAKNESSES• Services• Lack of customer focus

in advertisements.• Replacement policies• Perceived as ME-TOO

product.• Few Number of dealers

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CUSTOMER STUDY….

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TOP OF MIND BRAND RECALL

LG52%

HITACHI20%

SAMSUNG10%

VOLTAS4%

CARRIER12%

WHIRLPOOL2%

LG

HITACHI

SAMSUNG

VOLTAS

WHIRLPOOL

CARRIER

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• LG seems to be doing a household segment feat here too. LG strongest with respect to advertising saliency and cut through. Total awareness is also the highest

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PURCHASE DRIVERS….

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

FAM

ILY

ADVE

RTI

SEM

ENT SE

LF

DEA

LER

BRAN

D

PRIC

E

FEAT

UR

ES

AEST

HET

ICS

CO

OLI

NG

SPEC

IAL

OFF

ERS

AFTE

R S

ALES

SER

VIC

EDECISION INFLUENCERS

DEGR

EE O

F IN

FLUE

NCE

DEGREE OF INFLUENCE

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• Product features are the prime motivators for purchase, followed by Product Benefit related features.

• Ability to cool quickly and Power consumption are the most important features

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Dealer-Customer Perception Gap………

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Dealers Perception

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Customer Perception

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Recommendations…..

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Emphasis TATA

• TATA stands for Reliability

• Being a TATA company is the biggest positive point of Voltas.

• So TATA should be highlighted.

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Improve Awareness and Advertising Saliency.

• Awareness, and Company Image seem to the biggest barrier for non purchase of Voltas.

• Amongst Intending purchasers, LG has the highest saliency, Voltas features down the line. There is a definite cause of worry as it is losing out to LG as the brand the consumer would intend to buy.

• Drivers like being Environmentally Friendly and reputation for offering Better Quality Products can be looked at as another possible alternative positioning

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Me-Too Image Needs Change• Voltas is currently differentiated on aspects that are category

drivers, but the problem lies in the fact that other brands are also differentiated on them.

• This is probably resulting in Voltas being less prominent than it should be even on the imagery where it is differentiated.

• Voltas can try and increase its prominence on these drivers by emphasizing these in its communication.

• Comparison charts can be provided to the dealers so that these differentials can be highlighted to the customers.

A TATA Enterprise

Replacement Policies

• Company replacement policies needs to be given a thought as this is one of the major factors effecting the Brand Penetration

• The Replacement Cycle should be “Quick ‘n’ Fast”

• This may also be considered as a plus point for pushing Voltas by Dealer

A TATA Enterprise

Crystal Care Needs Improvement

• Services is one of the Biggest Fear among the Dealers and so to the Customers.

• LG and Samsung seem to be doing well on this service Criteria

• Services should be Improved

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Consumer pull ,not Dealer Push

• Voltas should encourage the consumer Pull with highly differentiated products and unique branding exercises rather then emphasizing on dealer push.

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Introducing Attractive Customer Schemes

Point of Purchase schemes have always affected the final sale of the product this fact is very well utilized by LG and it is able to sell the maximum number of AC’s .On these lines HSBC scheme was great as it also helped a lot in Brand Promotion.

A TATA Enterprise

Thank You……..