ASummer Training Project Report

ON

Assessment of Distribution Channel and Opportunities for

Improvement of Sales and Promotion-SAHARA Q Bottled water

SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS SUBMITTED IN THE PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OFFOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF

“MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION”“MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION”

FromFrom

Mahamaya Technical University, NoidaMahamaya Technical University, Noida(Session 2012-2014)(Session 2012-2014)

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY

Dr. Prashant ghosh Sonu kumarDirector MBA III Sem.

Roll No.: 1207070314

IIMT Management CollegeGanga Nagar, Meerut (UP)

1

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the project report entitled (Assessment of Distribution

Channel and Opportunities for Improvement of Sales and Promotion-SAHARA Q

Bottled water Submitted in partial fulfillment of the degree of MASTER OF

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION of institute of IIMT Management college

Meerut is my original work and not submitted for the award of any other Degree,

Diploma, Fellowship or any other similar title or prize.

Date:

Place: Sonu Kumar

2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to gratefully acknowledge the contribution of all the people who took

active part and provided valuable support to me during the course of this project. To

begin with, I would like to express gratitude towards Mr. Nassir Hussain, Manager

(New Delhi ,NCR) for giving me the opportunity to do my summer training at

Sahara Q Shop and for his continues support and valuable insights for successfully

completing the project. Without his guidance, support and valuable suggestions

during the research, the project would not have been accomplished.

My heartfelt gratitude also goes to the entire Sales Team and other Executives for

their co-operation and willingness to answer all my queries, and provide valuable

assistance.

I also sincerely thank MR. Jitendra Kuamr (Faculty). my faculty mentor at IIMT

MANAGEMENT COLLEGE,MEERUT, who provided valuable suggestions,

shared his rich corporate experience, and helped me script the exact requisites.

3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report has been prepared with focus on the improvement of sales and promotion

of the Packaged Drinking Water of the recently launched SAHARA Q SHOP in Delhi

NCR and also looking into the competitors in the market and to recommend ways to

improve the market reach of SAHARA Q BOTTLED WATER

Methodology Adopted

The market was covered intensively, promoting at many retailers and potential

distributors small paanwallas to large sweet shops which had kept water with. The

questions were decided to be asked to the retailers to understand the market

perception of the product and to find out ways for improvement, and then

subsequently more than 500 retailers were interviewed in an indirect way while trying

to place the water at their outlets.

Key Findings And Recommendations:-

The research shows that there is scope in the market considering the fact that there are

many companies who are well established and many new enterents coming into the

picture every year. The market acceptability of Sahara Q Shop was 25% of the market

covered by us which included both South Delhi and West Delhi which was 40% and

20 % respectively

Furthermore..... we found out

4

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Section Page

1. List of Tables……………………...…………….........viii

2. List of Charts and Graphs………...………...

…………...................viii

3. List of Images……………...……………………...………….….ix

4. List of Excel Sheets………………...……………………...

…………..ix

5. Executive Summary…………………......................................x

6. Acknowledgement.…… ……………………..…............xi

1. INTRODUCTION ………………………….…..............1

1 LITERATURE REVIEW……….…………………………………..6

2 PROBLEM DEFINITION...…… ……………………..…….....11

2.1 Problem Background…...……………………..

…11

2.2 Objectives……………….............12

3 APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM…………………..

…………...........12

4 MARKET RESEARCH……………………………………..

………….13

5

5 RESULTS……………………...…...........................................39

6 LIMITATIONS ......................……… …………………………….43

7 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS……………………

43

7.1 Conclusion……...............................43

7.2 Recommendations…...................44

11

REFERENCES…………………………………………………………48

6

INTRODUCTION TO THE PARENT COMPANY

Sahara India Pariwar is an Indian conglomerate company headquartered in

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. Its diversified business has interest in finance,

infrastructure & housing, media & entertainment, consumer merchandise retail

venture, manufacturing and information technology.

Subrata Roy Sahara also known as Saharasri is an Indian businessman who is the

founder and chairman of the Sahara India Pariwar. He founded Sahara group in 1978.

In 2004, the group was termed by the Time magazine as ‘the second largest employer

in India' after the Indian Railways.

The company has a market capitalisation of US$25.94 billion as of March 2011. The

group is a major promoter of sports in India. It owned the New IPL team Pune

Warriors India. Sahara is the main sponsor of the Indian cricket Team. They own

42.5% stake in Formula One's Force India Formula 1 Team and also sponsors India

national field hockey team

SAHARA’S PHILOSOPHY

SAHARA INDIA PARIWAR'S PHILOSOPHY - "Collective Materialism"

In any human relationship, it becomes imperative to take into consideration the

materialistic aspect of life - we do so but by giving it second priority.

The first priority is given to emotional aspect and with perfect blending of

materialism with emotionalism results in continuous collective growth for collective

sharing and caring, that gives an impetus to our philosophy

7

" COLLECTIVE MATERIALISM ".

NO TRADE UNION

In this emotionally integrated family, nobody has ever felt the need for a trade union;

therefore, none exists.

8

LIMITATION

Poor distribution Channels

Insufficient Distribution Channel

High Penetration of Local Brand

Low Margin for Distributor

Low Production

9

BUSINESSES OF SAHARA

Sahara India Parivar has expanded its businesses in nearly every sector. It has its

presence in the following sector :-

FINANCE

Sahara has the following financial schemes:-

Sahara India Life Insurance

Sahara Mutual Fund

Sahara Housing Finance

INFRASTRUCTURE AND LEASING

Sahara Infrastructure projects comprise 33,363 acres of land. It has following

projects:-

Aamby Valley City

Sahara City Homes ( Mega Quality Township )

Sahara Grace

Sahara Swapna City

Sahara Hotels in Mumbai and London

Sahara Hospital

MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT

Sahara businesses in media and entertainment includes channels like Sahara One,

Filmy, Firangi, Sahara Motion Pictures, Sahara Samay, Aalami Sahara, Rashtriya

Sahara Newspaper and Sahara Time weekly magazine.

10

MANUFACTURING

Sahara has a jute Project known as Araria Jute project and R&D centre, developed

with the intention of providing financial rehabilitation to the people of Araria. The

Project aims to facilitate the artisans of the region who have been known traditionally

for their work of handloom and handcrafted materials of various kinds.

Sahara Global Design Studio is presently working on an ambitious

’MASTERCRAFT’ project of setting up, top of the line, high end international luxury

stores in major cities round the world. The flagship store is planned for a grand

opening in London in 2013.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Sahara Next is the Technology Arm of Sahara India Pariwar and is ISO 9001 : 2008

certified which drives and manages Corporate IT & Telecom Initiatives.

11

INTRODUCTION - SAHARA Q SHOP

SAHARA Q SHOP

Q= Quality = Our Mission

Sahara Q Shop is the brand name of Sahara India’s mega Quality Consumer

Merchandise Retail Venture.

Sahara Q Shop offers completely adulteration-free, 100% quality consumer

merchandise products in various categories, such as staples, processed foods, personal

care products, home care products, general merchandise and lifestyle products, at

most competitive prices. You can receive these 100% quality household items every

month in the comfort of your home.

Quality is a fundamental value offered at Sahara Q Shop. It has adopted an integrated

approach towards the same by setting up a ‘Sahara Quality Management System’

(SQMS), comprising ‘Quality Control’ and ‘Quality Assurance’ departments to

achieve end-to-end quality control – from raw material procurement to manufacturing

to packaging to delivery at the doorstep of the esteemed customer.

Sahara Q Shop’s unbeatable advantages –

1. 100% commitment to quality

2. Most competitive price

3. Door-step delivery of products under strict supervision

4. Right weight/quantity

12

5. 100% disclosure policy across all products

6. Convenience of phone shopping

7. State-of-the-art Quality Control labs in New Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Nagpur,

Hyderabad, Kolkata and Patna

8. Pan-India quality team of 800 people, comprising Scientist Associates, Senior

Quality Controllers, Quality Assurance Managers and Quality Assurance Executives

9. One crore - plus sq. ft. space in warehousing

Each product of Sahara Q Shop is put through stringent quality tests and standards, be

it vendor selection, sourcing, manufacturing or packaging, thereby completing the Q

value chain.

13

Sahara Q Shop Products:

leanin

14

Sahara Q Shop Product Profile

Home Care Q water Personal Care General Merchandiser

CDITFood Products

Pulses

Spices

Rice

Flours

Oil & Ghee

Sugar & Salt

Dry Fruits

Beverages

Noodles

Wash Powder

Detergent

Toilet Cleaner

Dish wash lqw

Glass Cleaner

Floor Cleaner

Mosquito coil

Oil

Shampoo

Skin Cream

Toothpaste

Talc

Soap

Hand wash

PDW

NMW

Soda

Energy Drinks

Nimbooz

Coconut Water

Utensils

Apparels

Clening items

Mixer

Iron

Toaster

Home Theatre

DVD player

COMMITMENT:

WE CHASE QUALITY, QUANTITY CHASES US

Core Commitments - Our Strength

Emotion

Emotion is in Performance of genuine duties towards the loved ones primarily in their

benefit, from their point of view. EMOTION is THE KEY that generates the required

energy and enthusiasm for desired quality performance.

Discipline

The enthusiastic obedience of laws and orders, which are given by the rightful

authority.

Duty

The enthusiastic obedience of laws and orders, which are given by our

CONSCIENCE.

No Discrimination

Never should we discriminate in any of our actions, reactions, attitudes, decisions,

conclusions, in any of our expressions while caring for the six healths of other human

beings, namely physical, material, mental, emotional, social and professional healths.

Quality

Results from honoring Rules, Regulations, Commitments, Values, Fairness,

Performance of Duties by honestly balancing one's own and others' reasonable point

of view in the matters of Material & Emotional aspects.

15

Give Respect

To definitely make others feel important and respected by giving sincere regard to

others' feelings, reasonable wishes & thoughts with an open and receptive mind.

Self-Respect

To develop a sense of respect for oneself in others' mind, i.e. to generate genuine &

warm feelings for oneself among others on a continuous basis.

Truth

Means total transparency in action, reaction, attitude and all other expressions and the

conviction to follow the right course.

Collective Materialism

Means to progress and prosper together for collective sharing and caring and not

individually or for a select group.

Religion

There is a religion higher than religion itself - it is NATIONALITY. We may

practice our religion in the confines of our homes, but outside, we should be Indians

and only Indians. Nationality is thus above religion but HUMANKIND is above

Nationality.

Absolute Honesty

People generally manipulate and deceive for achieving their unreasonable desires and

greed if others do not or cannot see, hear or understand. But we firmly believe that our

16

mind inside knows the truth and we should be absolutely honest to our mind inside

and accordingly our actions, reactions, directions, decisions and all our expressions

should be present in all human dealings.

17

LIST OF IMPORTANT PERSONS IN THE COMPANY

CHAIN OF HIERARCHY:

SAHARA INDIA PARIWAR

Shri Subrata Roy (chairman)

18

Chandrakant kamdar

(MD) Finance

Shri.Joy Broto Roy

(MD) Housing

and Infrastructure

Mr. Vivek Kumar

(CEO) Tourism and Hospitality

Shri. Brijendra Sahay

(MD) Media and Entertainment

Shri. Rommie Dutta

(CEO) Consumable and manufacturing

Shri. D.J Bagchi

(CEO) Services and Trading

Mr. Nasir Hussain

(Manager- Sales)

Delhi Region

ABOUT THE INDUSTRY

Corporate control over water and water distribution in India is growing

rapidly: the packaged water business is worth Rs 1,000 crore, and it's growing

at a huge 35-40% annually.

Around 3652 BIS approved and 22 NMW approved bottling plants and 100

brands of packaged water across the country are battling over the market,

overdrawing groundwater, and robbing local communities of their water

resources and livelihoods Bottled water, one of India's fastest-growing

industries, is a business built on the foundation of bad governance, inequity

and blatant exploitation.

Hard to believe, but the evidence is becoming clearer.

According to UNDP estimates, around 1.2 billion people worldwide lack

access to clean drinking water.

Today, there are more people in the world's hospitals suffering from

waterborne diseases than any other ailment.

Some 6,000 children die of such diseases every day. Providing safe drinking

water is the responsibility of the state.

That they are failing miserably is evident from the fact that over 1,600 Indians

reportedly die every day because of waterborne diseases.

Despite these astounding figures, the Indian state has literally washed its hands

of the responsibility of providing clean drinking water to its citizens.

When one in six people globally lives without access to clean drinking water,

does the answer lie in high-tech water purifiers and bottled water that's out of

reach for a majority of the Indian population?

19

Multinational corporations would have us believe so. And the reason is not

hard to find: along with imported water treatment technology like activated

carbon and ultra violet (UV) disinfection (Aqua guard), reverse osmosis

(Reviva) and resins (Zero-B), the water treatment market is estimated to be

worth around Rs 700 crore. The bottled water industry is estimated to be a

whopping Rs 1,000 crore business. It has grown at a rate of 35-40% annually

over the past four years or so.

Corporate control over water and water distribution in India is rapidly

growing. As globalization opens up opportunities for private players, investing

in water and/or manipulating water scarcity makes increasingly good business

sense for corporations.

Over 100 brands are battling over the bottled water market, hard-selling their

products in every way possible -- better margins to dealers, aggressive

advertising, and catchy slogans.

The real boost to bottled water came in the early- to mid-1980s with the

growth of PVC packaging and, later, PET bottles.

20

- Reasons for growing demand of safe packaged drinking water

Three main players in packaged bottled water in India distribution chart.

40%

25%

10%

25%

BisleriKinleyAquafinaOthers

Major National players

21

Scarcity of Safe Drinking water

Increaing disposable income

The rising health awareness among

citizens

The increasing trend of GO culture

Easy availability of packaged bottled

drinking water

Bisleri – 40%

Kinley – 25%

Aquafina – 10%

Others – 25%

22

Sahara Q SHOP

High Quality is the USP of every product launched by Sahara Q SHOP

Sahara Q SHOP is the brand name of Sahara India’s mega consumer merchandise

retail venture. Sahara Q SHOP offers adulteration free consumer merchandise

products, such as cereals, ready-made food (processed), personal and home care

products, general merchandise and life-style products at very competitive prices.

Sahara Q SHOP has taken an integrated approach towards quality by setting up

Sahara Quality management System (SQMS), comprising ‘Quality Control’ and

‘Quality Assurance’ departments to achieve end-to-end quality control from raw

material procurement to manufacturing to delivery at the very doorstep of final

customer. Q in the Sahara Q Shop stands for quality Control and Quality Assurance

and it promises to provide unadulterated and pure products at home.

23

Sahara Q Shop offers a complete range of products in total 73 categories numbering

as high as 1700 which are distributed through direct-to-home mode. For this purpose

convenience stores will be opened across the country in numerous cities and in first

phase covering states like Rajasthan, UP, Bihar, Uttrakhand and Jharkhand. The

initial allocation for this purpose has been done by Sahara itself totaling an amount of

3000 crore and there are provisions of further investments whenever it is required. For

this purpose more than 300 warehouses are being opened across the country which

will perform as distribution centers and to deliver products to Sahara Q Shop

convenience stores and to the final customers at their home. For shopping at Sahara Q

Shop customers need membership cards, it is expected that there will be no delay in

demand of these membership cards as Sahara India already has a large customer base.

Those customers who have membership cards can directly place orders at various

designated call centers after which they can get their order delivered at their doorstep

through the home delivery system or they can also shop directly from the nearby

Sahara retail outlets.

To make this dream of Sahara Q Shop a reality Sahara India Pariwar is launching a

Consumer Merchandise Retail Venture on a large scale all across India under the

brand name of “Sahara Q Shop”. For this purpose the company is setting for the first

time the largest distribution network spanning across 285 cities of India. Through

Sahara Q Shop company will be selling its own branded products like FMCG,

consumer durables, general merchandise and lifestyle products etc.

For this purpose the company will establish more than 4000 branch offices from

which its workers will take orders from its prospective customers from their houses

every month on a printed order form.

24

Sahara Q Shop will offer unadulterated quality products, and for this purpose 7

Quality labs has been established across India and for this purpose a team of

Scientists, Quality Advisers and Quality Assurance Executives have been put in place.

All the above arrangements eliminate the possibility of any malpractices.

25

Sahara Q Shop Products:

leanin

26

Sahara Q Shop Product Profile

Home Care Q water Personal Care General Merchandiser

CDITFood Products

Pulses

Spices

Rice

Flours

Oil & Ghee

Sugar & Salt

Dry Fruits

Beverages

Noodles

Wash Powder

Detergent

Toilet Cleaner

Dish wash lqw

Glass Cleaner

Floor Cleaner

Mosquito coil

Oil

Shampoo

Skin Cream

Toothpaste

Talc

Soap

Hand wash

PDW

NMW

Soda

Energy Drinks

Nimbooz

Coconut Water

Utensils

Apparels

Cleaning items

Mixer

Iron

Toaster

Home Theatre

DVD player

COMPETITORS AND OTHER PLAYERS:-

INDIA:-

Alfa Blue

Atlas Premium

Avian

Bailey

Bisleri

Cool valley

Dew drops

Dislaren

Golden eagle

Golden valley

Hello

Himalayan

Kenbar

Kinley

Maqua-2000

Nashotah

Nestle’ pure life

Palm spring mineral water

Pristine

Pure life are

Raindrops

Silver spring aqua

27

Sindhu safe water

Spaa aqua

Sprint up

The bottled water industry effectively competes with both the water-purifiers as well

as the soft drinks industry. The water purifier industry (primarily the Aqua Guard

brand of the Eureka Forbes) is credited to have done the spadework for creating the

safety and health consciousness in water consumption, and is a serious competitor in

the household and institutional consumption market, whereas the soft drinks industry

is a strong competitor in the retail consumption market.

Coca-Cola

The company had entered the business in May 2000 through its extending its soda

water brand, Kinley. The company has tied up with Kothari Beverages, of Yes brand

of mineral water, for manufacturing Kinley bottled water at Yes' facilities. The brand

is available in pack sizes of 500 ml, 1-litre, 1.5-litre, 2-litre, 5-litre, 20-litre and 25-

litre. While the Kinley 500-ml bottle is priced at Rs 6, the 2-litre bottle is available for

Rs 17. With the growing market, Coca-Cola is planning to scale up its bottling

capacity, up from the 15 existing plants. Coca Cola has identified 10 to 15 sites for

28

additional plants for setting up a combination of company-owned plants, franchisee

operations and contract packers.

Pepsi Co

The company entered the bottled water business in September 1999 under the

Aquafina brand. The company began by targeting its product towards the youth with a

750-ml pack. It now retails in conventional retail pack sizes of 500-ml and 1-litre

bottles.

The brand has the strong backing of a distribution channel of 60,000 outlet and the

refrigerators at Pepsi’s retail Outlets, which stock its cold drinks. Though the

company is present only in selected market as of now, it has plans of increasing share

in the market by expanding its

SKUs portfolio as well as its distribution reach. Sources say PepsiCo India has

been investing in additional capacity at its plants in

Bangalore and Chennai for the bulk water foray.

29

BISLERI

Bisleri is a brand of mineral water. It is available in 8 pack sizes: 250ml cups, 250ml

bottles, 500ml, 1L, 1.5L, 2L, 5L, and 20L.

Its headquarters are in Mumbai, India. Their operation run throughout the

subcontinent of India and is one of the leading Mineral Water supplying companies in

India. Currently Bisleri has 8 plants & 11 franchisees all over India. (As of 2007).

The Indian consumer today enjoys the sweet and pure taste of Bisleri mineral water.

However in an effort to offer something special to our loyal consumers we have

recently introduced Bisleri Natural Mountain Water - water brought to you from the

foothills of the mountains situated in Himachal Pradesh. This newly launched offering

has widened our product range to two variants: Bisleri with added minerals and

Bisleri Mountain Water.

Bailley

The brand is a product of Parle Agro, the company that launched Frooti (mango drink

in tetra packs).

30

Bailley is credited with creating a new segment of 330ml SKU (the right quantity

to quench the thirst of an adult!) in the market.

Nestle

Multinational Nestle has already started making forays into the bottled water industry

with its brand Pure Life. Nestle is a big player in the mineral water market

internationally, with brands like Perrier and San Pellegrino in its stable. Nestle has

set-up two bottling plants in Mumbai and New Delhi, to service the markets in these

regions. It plans initially to tap only the huge market for bottled water in large cities

and towns.

Others :

Britannia at present distributes Evian and will launch its own branded water very

soon. The National Dairy Development Board also plans to launch Dhara through its

distribution chain.

New entrants Atco with Brilliant water and DS Foods with Catch spring

water are positioned on the mineral water plank. Another player with technical

expertise is Thermax, in a joint Venture with US-based Culligan Water

Technologies. Largely into industrial water purification, Thermax Culligan

recently announced its entry into the household segment with the launch of 20-litre

packs of drinking water, branded Good Water, at Rs 60 a pack. Apart from these

are the small players, which, according to industry sources, cater to nearly as big a

market as the big players. Among these the prominent ones are : Indian Railways’

Rail Neer, Godrej’s “G”. Kothari Foods’ Yes and T-Series’ Ganga in the North and

SM Dyechem’s Peppy in the West.

31

Sahara Q Water

Under the mega retail merchandise venture Sahara Q Shop a complete range of

packaged bottled water has been launched.

Q Water Range

Packaged Drinking Water

Natural Mineral Water

Soda (Pet and Can)

Energy Drink

Enriched Drinking Water

Swiss International Natural Mineral Water

Sparkling Natural Mineral Water From Himalayas

Sparkling Natural Mineral Water From Alps

Coconut Water

Fruit Juices

At present only Natural Mineral Water and Packaged Drinking Water are sold through

various outlets, the remaining variants will be launched in a phased manner.

32

Q Packaged drinking water (PDW)

Q Packaged drinking water is aimed at providing pure and safe drinking water to the

consumer, which will contribute towards eliminating the spread of water borne

diseases. The expertise in water chemistry, state-of-the-art water plants and aseptic

bottling technologies find expression in the 100% quality product.

PDW is treated through 7 steps of purification process comprising of Chlorination,

Sand Filtration, Carbon Filtration, Reverse Osmosis, Ozonisation and UV Treatment.

PDW have 71 Co-packer across the country and parameters for all the plant remain

same.

SKU’s

1Ltr

500 ML

250 ML

2 Litre

20 Litres. Jar

33

Q Natural mineral water (NMW)

Q Natural mineral water has a distinctly sweet taste due to its fine balance of minerals

of virgin origin. The heavenly climes of Himalayan foothills, its valleys and the rich

flora impart a characteristically fresh sweetness to the water. Spouting from Mother

Earth’s lap in the valley, this water is bottled at the same source after micro-filtration

with no further chemical treatment. The fine balance of dissolved salts and minerals

in Q Natural is unique to the geology of the Himalayan foothills.

SKU’s

1Ltr

500 ML

250 ML

34

Q Water in Delhi

Q water was introduced in Delhi in October, 2012. The company has 18 executives

for getting order and 12 distributors for delivering them. Q water has around 2 Super

Stockist (SS) who supply to the various distributors and as well do the Modern trade

for the company.

Process takes place as follows:

Placing order

The major stock of the company stays with the super stockist. In order to place an

order a SS is needed to submit a cheque, after the clearing of the cheque the goods are

dispatched. Company has bottling plant in Ludhiana which caters to Delhi market.

Delivery of stock to the depot

Company has their own delivery trucks which deliver to the SS. The delivery trucks

have the capacity of 1200-1500 cases

Storage of good

SS is selected on the basis of the storage capacity that should be of around 1500 cases.

Kidwai nagar and Nangli jalib are the two Depots.

Allocation of the stock

The stock which is received is allocated to the distributor on FIFO basis.

35

Dispatch

The stock is delivered by the SS to the distributor. And the same channel of command

follows. An invoice is sent along with the order.

Q Domestic Strategy

In such a competitive market one would expect a clear differentiation among the

water brands in terms of both pricing and positioning. While Q touts itself as “'pure

and safe,” brands like Bailey, Yes, and Hello are trying to ride the mineral water

wave. Evian, launched by French transnational Danone sells as “water from the

French Alps” competing with premium soft drinks. The fact however remains that

almost all players in this category are positioning themselves on the purity and

hygiene platforms, since the basis of success of bottled drinking water is the poor

quality of public tap water in India. It has therefore, become increasingly difficult to

differentiate Q and Q’s ability to lead the market is under question.

Packaging

Almost 76% of consumption of bottled drinking water happens during transit. Market

research conducted by Q revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is

the tampering of the seal and the reuse of bottles. Cases of bottles being refilled at

railway stations with tap water have been reported. So when a consumer buys bottled

water, he would like to be assured that the water has not been tampered with. Sahara

has differential.

Q by its unique, breakaway seal as an assurance of purity. Currently, Sahara Q is

pursuing a multi-pack and multi-price strategy. Today Q offers 7 packaging options; a

250-ml cup and bottles in 500 ml, 1-litre, 2-litre, 5-litre, 10-litre and 20-litre packs.

36

The 1-litre bottle accounts for nearly 50 per cent of the sales, with the 2-litre bottle

taking up 20 per cent of the sales. The 500-ml pack priced at Rs 5, and the 250-ml

cups priced at Rs 3, have spearheaded Q’s growth in the recent years. Sahara believes

that “real growth can only come from the home segment and if we can rake the home

segment we think we’ll have hit”.

37

Segmentation

Not only does Sahara plan to make the basic pack-sizes available all over the country,

it has also decided to create greater variety in packaging. Q has a 5 litre pack targeting

homes while the 20 litre pack is being targeted at offices and commercial outfits.

To strengthen its presence here, Q is investing heavily on vans, since distribution is a

key factor in the business, especially when competing with firms like Coca Cola and

Pepsi, who would leverage their distribution and retail networks established for their

soft drinks business.

A replica of a simple house with a concrete roof, chimney, doors and other

paraphernalia associated with a normal house, these trucks were taken door-to-door in

some select localities.

The home segment was targeted with a pack size of 5 litres aggressively priced at Rs

25. The idea was to have high visibility in the home segment and enter the

housewife's minds.

It was also estimated that four years down the line, almost 75% of the sales would

come from bulk packs of 5 to 20 litres.

The two accounted for less than 20% of sales, in 2010 and close to 40% of packaged

drinking water consumption happened on premises, which includes eateries, homes,

restaurants etc.

Large shops and commercial complexes are fast emerging as strong potential for

packaged drinking water marketers and Q wants to establish itself here.

38

Advertising

Q is promoted by an aggressive print-and-TV backed by hoardings and point-of-sale

material. Since two of the biggest concerns of a consumer while purchasing bottled

water are safety aspect of bottled water and spurious brands, the safety and hard-to-

duplicate factors are highlighted in every Q advertisement.

Every interface with the consumer is being used as an opportunity to reinforce the

message.

39

PRODUCT SUMMARY- Sahara Q Water

Water is one of the basic necessities for human life to survive on this planet & today

getting pure water is not an easy task with so much harmful chemical being disposed

into the water by various industries is making the water harmful for drinking.

71% of the earth is made of water out of which only 1% of water can be used

by living beings. Among this 1% of water 50% of water is polluted.

Under the mega retail merchandise venture Sahara Q Shop a complete range of

packaged bottled water has been launched.

Q Water Range

Packaged Drinking Water

Natural Mineral Water

Soda (Pet and Can)

Energy Drink

40

Enriched Drinking Water

Swiss International Natural Mineral Water

Sparkling Natural Mineral Water From

Himalayas

Sparkling Natural Mineral Water From Alps

Coconut Water

Fruit Juices

At present only Natural Mineral Water and Packaged Drinking

Water are sold through various outlets, the remaining variants

will be launched in a phased manner.

Q Packaged drinking water (PDW)

Q Packaged drinking water is aimed at providing pure and safe

drinking water to the consumer, which will contribute towards

eliminating the spread of water borne diseases. The expertise in water chemistry,

state-of-the-art water plants and aseptic bottling technologies find expression in the

100% quality product.

PDW is treated through 7 steps of purification process comprising of Chlorination,

Sand Filtration, Carbon Filtration, Reverse Osmosis, Ozonisation and UV Treatment.

PDW have 71 Co-packer across the country and parameters for all the plant remain

same.

SKU’s

41

1Ltr

500 ML

250 ML

2 Litre

20 Litres. Jar

Q Natural mineral water (NMW)

Q Natural mineral water has a distinctly sweet taste due to its fine balance of minerals

of virgin origin. The heavenly climes of Himalayan foothills, its valleys and the rich

flora impart a characteristically fresh sweetness to the water. Spouting from Mother

Earth’s lap in the valley, this water is bottled at the same source after micro-filtration

with no further chemical treatment. The fine balance of dissolved salts and minerals

in Q Natural is unique to the geology of the Himalayan foothills.

SKU’s

1Ltr

500 ML

250 ML

42

43

LITERATURE REVIEW

Bottled Water Industry

India is among the fastest growing economies of the world. It is also among the top

ten largest economies of the world. We have seen exponential growth in the past two

decades and it was just for a brief period of global recession that the market went a bit

slow but its fast catching up in India and worldwide. Due increased growth we find a

substantial chunk of disposable with common Indian which is a good news for the

India Growth Story.

The domestic market in India is split between few set of players-national brands with

a pan India presence and which are at present worth Rs 4000 crore, many local brands

manufactured by registered companies but which are limited to limited regions in

different states and have a combined turnover of Rs 2400 crore, local brands are

estimated to be at Rs 1600 crore. It is estimated that there are about 2500 brands in

this category (unorganised), out of these about three-fourths are local players. While

India ranks in top 10 packaged bottled water consumers in the world, its per capita per

annum consumption is 5 litres which is way below the global average of 24 litres.

From 1999 to 2004 the consumption of packaged bottled water in India more than

tripled from 1.5 billion litres to 5 billion litres. While the top players in this Industry

are Parle’s Bisleri and international giants like Coca-Cola and Pepsi, there is a

noticeable presence of other national brands like, Bonaqua, Kingfisher, Himalaya

(Tata) and Rail Neer (Indian Railways).

We see a considerable increase in the supply provided by local food processing and

packaging machinery manufacturers, while there is a high demand for machineries

44

featuring state-of-the-art technology. For the manufacturers of food processing and

packaging machinery, India has become a very important market in Asia with strong

growth potential. In the last five years the Indian imports of food processing and

packaging machinery increased by 200 percent which amounted to 550 US $ million

in 2008. With a market share of 23 percent Germany is the most important supplying

country for the Indian food and beverage industry.

The carbonated soft drinks industry in India comprises over 100 plants providing

direct and indirect employment for over 125.000 employees and has attracted one of

the highest foreign direct investments in the country amounting to around 1049 US $

million.

Soft drinks constitute the third largest packaged food segment in India after packaged

tea and packaged biscuits. But the penetration level of carbonated soft drinks in India

is still low compared with other developing markets, an indication for further

potential for rapid growth.

The market size for the bottled water in India was estimated at 570 US $ million in

2008. With an annual growth rate of 14.5 percent volume sales of bottled water will

increase rapidly within the next five years. The market size for juice will grow also

dynamically within the next years with an annual growth rate of almost 15 percent.

45

Sales volume of non alcoholic drinks in India

Litres mn 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Annual

growth

rate

2009-

2013

Bottled water 3.290 3.885 4.515 5.169 5.825 14,5 %

Carbonated

soft drinks1.323 1.430 1.536

1.6391.738 6,7 %

Juice

(fruit/vegetable)456 538 623 709 796 14,9 %

The packaged bottled water industry in India is one of the fastest growing industries

in India. The packaged bottled water in India is expected to touch Rs 10000 crore

mark in the financial year 2012-2013, and currently it is growing at a healthy

compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19%, moreover it is expected that it will

cross the limit of Rs 15000 crore by the year 2015. Currently Bisleri is the leading

brand in the bottled water industry with 36% share in the market among the national

players. Coca-Cola’s Kinley is at second position with 25% market share, followed by

Aquafina at 15%. Other brands which are present at the national level are Parle

Agro’s Bailey, Kingfisher and McDowells No. 1. The global packaged bottled water

industry figure stands at US$ 85-90 billion and is growing at a rate of 40-45 percent

for the last five years. There are many reasons due to which the packaged bottled

water industry has taken the shape of just another consumer item and its consumption

is growing day by day due to the following reasons:

46

the Indian government has not been able to provide safe drinking water to its

citizens

rising health awareness among citizens

the growing number of cases of water-borne diseases due to increasing water

pollution and increasing urbanisation

Scarcity of potable and safe drinking water at railway stations and tourist

places

As per an UN study conducted in 122 countries to measure water quality,

India has been ranked a dismal 120

Rising disposable income in India

47

Packaged Bottled Water Industry Statistics:

Consumption (India)

Urban Market – 84%

Rural Market – 16%

Different geographical regions

South India– 50%

West India – 40%

East India – 10%

Due to increased demand in home and institutional segments the trend of bulk water

consumption is rising

Non-traditional category (bulk-packs) – 40%

Traditional Category (below 5 litres) – 60%

There are three kinds of players in India

National players – 4000 thousand crore

Local brands (registered) – 2400 crore

Local brands (unorganised) – 1600 crore

48

Major National players

Parle’s Bisleri – 40%

Coca-Cola’s Kinley – 25%

PepsiCo’s Aquafina – 10%

49

SWOT ANALYSIS OF SAHARA Q SHOP:-

Strength:

Brand name of Sahara gives an edge to Sahara Q shop, because it’s a

renowned brand and the trust vote is in favour of it.

In order to target big market, Q water has a wide product range starting from

Package Drinking water to Natural mineral and Sparkling water.

Due to sponsoring of different sports it has a positive image in the minds of

customers.

Weakness:

Limited market share due to high competition in the market.

Q water lack on the front of promotion, till date no help of media has been

taken in order to promote the product.

Distributor lack on the front of supply, delay in supply is not tolerated in the

water market.

50

Opportunity:

Should concentrate on HORECA more that is to make tie-ups with hotels,

restaurants and bars.

The consumption of packaged drinking water is still low.

Increasing trend of drinking natural mineral water and sparkling water.

Threats:

Local players and surrogate advertisers are playing the price game, which

harms company’s interest.

The larger number of consumers still prefers low price water.

Company lack on the front of offers and benefits

51

PROJECT

“To study the challenges faced by a water company in order to penetrate a

market”

A new water bottle in a market is similar to a new dish served. Not everyone is

willing to taste it. Dal Bukhara a speciality of ITC Maurya was not accepted in the

starting but now it is in the 50 most exotic cuisines in the world. There are challenges

obstacles which a new product faces in the market. As per this product, there are

many of them.

Established players like Bisleri, Kinley and Aquafina enjoys a healthy market

share because of their market value and wide acceptance

Not well established but well known brands like Catch and bailey play the

price game. And try to woo the buyers through offers.

Local players like Oras, More, H2GO, Bonaqua and Hello runs on the concept

of cheap price. They provide the product at a very cheap price for example: -

80 a case. This is 40 cheaper than Sahara Q water and around 60 cheaper₹ ₹ ₹

than big players.

In order to do surrogate advertising companies like Foster, Kingfisher, Mc

Dowels, Bagpiper, and Hayward’s launch their water bottle. The problem is

that they are well known brands; they provide offers which are irresistible and

prices as lower as the local players. It’s hard to compete them.

Water is not a product it’s a service. If you have a good distribution network,

market will surely start accepting your product. Q water suffers with a poor

distribution network

52

Advertising plays a vital role in order to establish a brand. Sahara q has 750

products and 210 products are yet to come. It’s next to impossible to advertise

all of them. And it leads to non acceptance of the product in some markets.

The harm to the brand Sahara which has happened in past one year because of

frauds and corruption charges is another challenge for the product. Cause with

a bad name you cannot survive in the market

The look of the bottle is not appealing. People tend to relate the looks of the

bottle with a local brand.

53

APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM

In order to aid the problem the researcher have done a keen study of the market which

tends to describe the type of the buyer, the region of the sales, the figure of the sales

and the deviation in sale which occurs due to different factors. Some of them are

unavoidable which cannot be cured and some comes with answer attach to them.

The approach is to study the daily sales report of different regions containing the sales

figures and the outlet description. In order to formulate graphs .This can easily

describe the problem and highlight the loop holes which are needed to be filled.

After understanding the problems researcher can recommend optimum solution for

the same.

Market

Water as a product can be sold anywhere from a pan shop to a pantry, from a chemist

to a confectionery store or from a street hawker to a bakery. You require water in

Clubs, pubs, discos, hotels etc. There are three types of buyer small, medium and

large, which a company tries to cater. They needs are different, the orders are

different and they way buyers do the business is different.

Small Buyers

A pan shop, a tea shop or a street hawker are some names for small buyers. They are

people who have a very limited amount of earning. They don’t ask for banners or

samples from the company. All they want is regular and on time service, that is before

10 am. Their order stays between 1 to 4 cases a day. And they are very frequent in

54

placing order, mainly daily supply is necessary. The major volume of sales comes

from these shops, because they are high on numbers. One problem with some street

hawkers are their place is not fixed. In a market they can be anywhere. When the

distribution van comes distributor faces problem in order to find them. The only

benefit is they have cell phones.

Medium Buyers

Mainly confectionery stores and food stores comes in this slot. Shop keepers don’t

bargain much. But they do ask for hoardings, banners and samples. It’s not easy to

bind them for a product but if they get committed they help in brand promotion, brand

establishment and sales. The order is under 10 cases. And weekly delivery is required.

Shops like this have a large customer intake, every day around 150-300 customer visit

them. For a new product this is the best place for seeking attention of the customer.

Large Buyers

Hotels, discos, bars and pubs are the bulk buyers. The order stays between 30 to 200

cases. Order is on a weekly basis. Payment is bill to bill. Owners will bargain for

every penny. Some time the company gives them the price they are giving to the

distributor. They don’t require any promotional activity but still company tries to

convince them for putting their banners. Some time company gives them fridge for

mainly promotion. The product gets noticed here by the consumers and attains high

brand value. They give a large amount of sales to the company

55

ANALYSIS

Different market shows different attitude towards the product. Some easily accepts the

product but some markets are hard nuts to crack. They are nightmares for sales

person. In Delhi markets like Defence Colony, Khan Market, Kailash coloney and

Greter kailash are some of the markets where the product didn’t even have a double

sales figure. The shopkeepers over there were arrogant and were not interested in the

product. The sales volumes that they were giving to other competitive brands were

quite high.

Product got acceptance in the market like Lajpat nagar, Rajouri garden, Rohni and

Netaji subhash place. The customer accepted the product in the primary visits only.

Company started getting trust votes from the buyer in the first month of the business.

When asked for the reason behind the difference, Mr. Nasir Husain said “it is because

of the gentry that market receives. Product is needed to be well known, if seeking

entry in posh markets. Because the people are brand conscious over there. And if the

product is not well known it should be appealing for the customer.”

56

Objective of Study

To Know the awareness of Q Water among customer

To know the Distribution channel of Q Water

To know the different aspect of Q Water according to consumer

To know the different companies which are involved in mineral water industry

57

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research in common parlance refers to a search for knowledge. One can also define

research as a scientific and systematic search for pertinent information on a specific

topic. In fact, research is an art of scientific investigation. The Advanced Learner’s

Dictionary of Current English lays down the meaning of research as “a careful

investigation or inquiry especially through search for new facts in any branch of

knowledge.” Some people consider research as a movement from the known to the

unknown. It is actually a voyage of discovery. We all possess the vital instinct of

inquisitiveness for, when the unknown confronts us, we wonder and our

inquisitiveness makes us probe and attain full and fuller understanding of the

unknown. This inquisitiveness is the mother of all knowledge and the method, which

man employs for obtaining the knowledge of whatever the unknown, can be termed as

research.

Research is, thus, an original contribution to the existing stock of knowledge making

for its advancement. It is the pursuit of truth with the help of study, observation,

comparison and experiment. In short, the search for knowledge through objective and

systematic method of finding solution to a problem is research.

Research methods used are systematic and it follows a series of steps and a rigid

standard protocol. These rules are broadly similar but may vary slightly between the

different fields of science.

58

RESEARCH DESIGN

Descriptive or Survey Research Design attempts to describe and explain conditions

of the present by using many subjects and questionnaires to fully describe a

phenomenon. It is one of the most popular for dissertation research. Survey research

uses questionnaires and interviews to collect information about people’s attitudes,

beliefs, feelings, behaviors, and lifestyles. Cross-sectional survey designs survey a

single group of respondents, whereas a successive independent samples survey design

surveys different samples at two or more points in time. A panel or longitudinal

survey design surveys a single sample of respondents on more than one occasion.

Since the retailers and the company executives had to be interviewed personally, a

mix of independent samples survey design and panel survey design was used.The

basic objective was to understand their perception and take on the market as a whole,

so as to help develop a holistic strategy.

DATA COLLECTION

The research was carried out by personally visiting the 110 stores retail stores with the

sample

Complete data for this project is based on primary research carried out through

regular field visits.

59

QUESTIONNAIRE DEVELOPMENT AND PRETESTING

The questionnaires were developed after a meticulous market study. A basic

understanding of the project related concepts was developed on initial visits through

observation and general discussions. Based on these findings, it was felt that a total of

2 questionnaires need to be developed in order to carry out an in-depth analysis for

benchmarking and strategy formulation. They were

Retailer Survey

This was designed to get the view-points of the retailers, since they form a crucial link

in the supply chain and are the first touch point with the consumers. Hence their take

on Dabur and its competitors became essential in order to draw a valid comparison.

Concepts such as promotions, schemes, visibility, service levels and sales were

covered. It comprised of basic figures-obtaining, opinion based, multiple choice and

open-ended questions.

Pretesting of the questionnaires was done through discussions with the Industry

mentor and general interactions with the retailers. This was done to correct any

unknown mistakes and increase the effectiveness and accuracy of the surveys. The

valuable inputs received from their experience helped in making the surveys crisp and

effective for the customers.

Tools for analysing data

The tools used for analysing the results or the data gathered from the various surveys

were,

60

Pie Charts : These are useful to compare different parts of a whole amount. A

pie chart is a circular chart in which the circle is divided into sectors

Bar Graphs : A bar chart or bar graph is a chart with rectangular bars with

lengths proportional to the values that they represent. The bars can be plotted

vertically or horizontally. Bar charts are used for marking clear data which has

discrete values.

61

Data Analysis

1. Which all brands of Packaged Drinking Water (PWD) do you store?

-Bisl

eri

-kinley

-Aquafina

Bonaqua

Baileys

Kingfisher

MacD

owell’sH2GO

More

Orus

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Series1

Nearly all of the retailers had Bisleri bottled water with them, since it has

become a generic brand name. Kinley was the other most wanted brand. These

two brands enjoy trust of masses when it comes to water, especially in the

harsh summer seasons. The other brands which enjoy the trust are Bonaqua ,

Baileys, and Aquafina. This season we also noticed great market acceptability

of More and Orus which was basically due to two major reasons, one, they

provided very good margins and second, they had attractive packaging as well.

62

63

Q-2 Reasons for not stocking Sahara Q PDW?

78

69

65

52

44

37

25

there is very less demand of SaharaQ PDWMargins are not competitive/good enough.did not liked the Bottle DesignDistribution is not regular.there is less brand awareness of the SaharaQ ShopNo special entry schemes/bene-fits were given.there is less demand of the PDW

Majority of the retailers did not stored Sahara Q Water. We asked them the reason for

it which gave us insight about the reasons for non availability of our water. The major

findings were that customers did not preferred the Sahara Q Water along with it

retailers considered margins not be competitive enough. They even did not liked the

bottle design and mentioned that the bottle did not looked like that of the premium

segment as it was priced at. Since there had been a storming of all the markets

covered and a few were followed up, we were not able to follow up. Retailers wanted

a local distribution and a continuous supply. Along with that the low advertisements,

no special schemes like free samples was a demand from a limited number of

retailers.

64

Q3- What helps other brands in selling?

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Series1

The market leaders enjoy the brand image has already been established and there is

pull from the market as customers ask for these brands and may or may not consider

other brands, only if the main brands are not present at the retailer.

The reason for keeping local brands is that they offer the best margins and can be sold

cheaper than the MRP n still give good returns, which excites the retailers and prompt

them to sell the proactively.

Most of the big players have a properly established distribution channel in place,

which ensures proper delivery of the water in normal days and also in case sudden

demand arises.

Very few complaints come up against these brands, which is also a good for their

reputation.

65

Q- 4. In which price range do you have PDW products?

-10 to 15 -15 to 18 -18 to 20. - Above 200

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Series1

A large portion of Indian market is captured by water pouches covering an entirely

different segment. Most of the brands had maintained their MRP between Rs.15 and

18 for most of the markets with exception of South Delhi where the price were

maintained at Rs.20 per bottle.

66

Q- 5. What are the margin various brands giving you (in a carton of 12

bottles)?

bisleri Kinley Aquafina local brands Sahara0

50

100

150

200

250

Series1

With exception of Aquafina and local brands which offered huge margins other

brands offered nearly same margin. Aquafina gave free carton of water along with its

coldrinks.

67

Q-6- What do customers ask for when they come to buy PDW?

- A particular brand.- Any bottled water.

Majority of the customers asked for Bisleri and Kinley instead of asking for bottled

water as these brands have very high market acceptability.

68

Q-7-What do you recommend the SaharaQ PDW product should make changes

about?

-free samples

more advertisements

reduce prices

- Bottle Design n looks

-local distributor

More margin

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Series1

On being asked about the reasons for not placing the product or for

changes/recommendations they want were that they were unhappy about the low

margin along with low advertisements.

They also wanted the appearance of the product to be changed along with reduced

MRP as they considered it would help in improving the selling.

69

Conclusion

For product design :-

We have an example of Kinley which changed the market scenario from being

a laggard to a competitor to a well establish brand Bisleri. Other established

brands too have good design. They also have either translucent label or wrap-

around label which is attractive too.

There is a great scope for improvement as we can improve upon the bottle

design and its label.

For MRP:-

MRP was changed during the research process itself depending upon the

market we were entering into. For South Delhi the MRP was fixed at Rs.20

and Rs.18 for East Delhi. When confronted with the dilemma of reducing the

price below Rs.18 in East Delhi our industry mentor cautioned about the brand

image which once gone down will be difficult to built up, citing examples of

MacDowell’s and Kingfisher.

For margins for the retailers:- Currently the market leader bisleri gives least

margin of Rs.76/carton while giving more to the distributors. Then comes

Kinley with Rs.86/carton. Local brands like More and Orus can afford to give

a huge margin of Rs.151. Aquafina gives away a carton with each pack of its 2

litre cold drinks. Our cost of one carton comes to be around Rs.105/carton.

Considering the fact that Q Shop has support of parent Sahara Company, we

can afford to increase the margin, below the cost for a season or two. From

then on we can sell at competitive prices

70

For distribution:- we can have two to three Super stockists who have

experience in the field and can manage atleast10 distributors under them.

Freebies: - Occasional freebies like ice-boxes, refrigerators can be provided to

retailers with large quantity of sale.

For market presence:-

71

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. The company should pay more attention to its distribution channel and services.

2. The brand is losing its image due to duplicity, so proper and strict action must be

taken to eliminate this problem.

3. The numbers of small dealer should be increased to make proper and easy

availability of water.

4. The production capacity of the plant should be increased or new bottling unit might

be set up to fulfill the increasing demand of the market.

5. The new offers and packages should be launched time to time in order to attract

new customers.

6. The old and dirty jars should be replaced frequently so as to give more satisfaction

to the consumers.

7. The company should introduce some free gift coupons or vouchers to reward its

existing and loyal customers. It will help in maintaining good relationship with

customers and even attract new customers.

8. There is intense competition in the market so more advertisement should be done to

have an edge in the market.

72

9. More exclusive depot and company owned outlets should be introduced, so that

customers get original water at reasonable price.

10. The number of distributors should be increased so that each concentrates on its

specified areas, this will result in better service and customer satisfaction.

11. The company should reward its best performing distributors in terms of incentives

or some worthy gifts, so to encourage others to perform well.

12. The company should held monthly meeting with the distributors so as to know the

market, competitor’s activities, problems etc and find out the best solution of each.

13. The company should help and encourage its distributors in promotional activities.

73

ANNEXURE

Questionnaire to study retailers’ perception of Campus brand vis-à-vis

competition

1. Name of the shop?

------------------------------

2. Area/location of the shop?

-----------------------------------

3. Which all brands of Packaged Drinking Water (PWD) do you store?

-Bisleri

-Kinley

-Aquafina

-Bonaqua

-Baileys

-Kingfisher

-MacDowell’s

-H2GO

-More

74

-Orus

-Others -_________

4. Do Sahara Q Shop Water distribution representatives come to your shop often?

-Yes

-No

5. Do you stock SaharaQ PWD?

-Yes

-No

6. If no, then why not?

-Margins are not competitive/good enough.

-there is less demand of the PDW

-there is very less demand of SaharaQ PDW

-there is less brand awareness of the SaharaQ PDW.

-Distributors are not coming in regularly.

-No special entry schemes/benefits were given.

7. What makes you sell other brands?

-Customer demand.

75

-getting better profit margin from others.

-brand image.

-proper distribution channel.

- less complaints.

8. You have PDW items in which price range? (Ignoring Water Pouches which

capture a large )

-10 to 15

-15 to 18

-18 to 20.

- Above 20

9. How many distributors are dealing with you?

- Only 1

- 1-2

- 2 to 3

- 4 to 5

- More than 5

76

10. What are the margin various brands giving you?

-bisleri-__________

-Kinley-__________

-Aquafina-________

-Others-__________

11. What do customers ask for when they come to buy PDW?

- A particular brand.

- Any bottled water.

- Water pouches.

12. Do you sell PDW at

-MRP

- More than MRP

-less than MRP

13. Who is the major competitor of SaharaQ Shop?

-_____________________

77

14. What do you recommend the SaharaQ PDW product should make changes about?

-Adjustment of margins

- Bottle Design n looks

-price range

-advertisements (promotion)

-local distributor

-free samples

78

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Websites:

http://www.indiastat.com/default.aspx http://www.euromonitor.com/india www.sahara.in/qshop.html http://www.saharaqshop.com www.google.com www.mineralwaters.org www.rediffnews.com www.wikipedia.com

BOOKS:-

MARKETING MANAGEMENT BY PHILIP KOTLAR.

ADVERTISING SALES AND PROMOTION MANAGEMENT BY S.A. CHUNAWALIA.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY BY C.R. KOTHARI.

79