Leather Products Marketing

7/30/2019 Leather Products Marketing

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Marketing Management > Leather Marketing project

-By Meheer Thakare .

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_____ Our Team (Grp no.2) _____

Roll Name Sign 10 10 10 10 Total

101 Sourabh Bagree102 Sharan Bhalla

103 Altaf Bhayani

110 Vikram Rajput

114 Rohit Salesha

115 Sanjay Sadanand

120 Ankit Shah


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7) Deciding the Advertising and Promotion Strategy andjustifying it.

8) Studying our product and comparing it withcompetitors. How can we differentiate our product?

9) Deciding the Distribution network and justifying thesame.

10) Deciding and justifying the geographic location. Which

geographiclocation will we target more? Why?

11) What time of the year will we introduce the product inthe market?

Justifying the same.

Overview:

Leather Industry in India, occupies a place of prominence inthe Indian economy, in view of its massive potential for

employment, growth and exports.

There are a large number and variety of leather productsavailable and sold in India. First and foremost this includesfootwear, which constitutes the majority of the leather market.There after there is leather furniture, garments, fashionjewellery, Men and Women Leather Accessories etc


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Features of Leather Sector in India:

Employs nearly 2.5 million persons.

A large part (nearly 60-65%) of the production is in theSmall/Cottage Sector. Annual export value is about to touch about 2 billion US

dollars. Amongst top 8 export earners for India. Endowed with 10% of the world raw material and export

constitutes about 2% of the world trade. Has enormous potential for future growth.

There are also numerous types of leather available in India.But the ones most commonly used and preferred in Indian

climate are Dry Mill, Cow Softy, Sheep Napa and Buff Calf.

The process of making leather is as follows. The raw animalhide is sent to the tanneries, where it is cleaned, processed,dyed, dried and polished, after which it is available and readyfor further use. Various Leather product companies buy leatherin bulk from these tanneries and then use them in theirrespective products.

About our product range:

We are marketing a range of exquisite Leather accessories formen. To start with this range would include premium qualityleather belts, leather wallets, Portfolios (Mens Office Bags)and leather key chains. Finer details of our product range are

explained in the following pages.

1) Scanning the Environment:


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1] There are a number of products available in the leatheraccessories range. For e.g. Leather bags, purses, wallets,belts, goggle cases, business organizers, passport covers,credit card holders, key holders and key chains, jewelleryboxes, picture frames, brief cases, back packs and desk

accessories to name a few.

2] The highest selling products in the mens accessories rangein the descending order are leather belts, wallets, portfoliosand key chains etc

3] There are many players in the mens leather accessories inthe market and there is stiff competition among them.Following is a summary of major players in each productsegment along with their price range.

Belts:

Sr.no

Brand Name Starting Price(Rs.)

1 Allen Solly 599.002 Van Heusen 599.003 Bullchee 395.00

4 Marco Ricci 495.005 State Express 450.006 Leather Plus 175.007 Le Buck 250.00

Wallets:


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Sr.no


1 Wenz 200.002 Bullchee 350.003 Hidesign 445.00

4 Easun 395.005 State Express 400.006 La Salle 425.007 Remo 399.00

Portfolios:

Sr.no


1 Samsonite 3700.002 Hidesign 4295.00

3 La Salle 3000.004 Unbranded 2750.00

Key Chains:

Sr.no


1 Unbranded 50.00

4] These leather products are available in all differentOrganized Retail Merchandise Store chains like Shoppers Stop,Life Style, and Pantaloons etc. These stores have separatecorner for leather accessories. Apart from these stores, leatheraccessories are available in leather boutiques and gift shops.


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2) Product Range & Variety:

1] As briefed earlier, our product range would include:

a} Leather Belts

b} Leather Wallets

c} Leather Portfolios

d} Leather Key Chains

2] We chose these products out of the entire leatheraccessories range because they are the highest selling

products in the order. Although, the ladies purse segment alsomakes very high sales, if we were to survive in this segment,we would have to keep a very large variety and mix of designs,which is not possible for us as a new entrant in the market.Hence we have kept limited variations and designs to startwith.

3] Before giving the variations, we shall explain the features ofmost commonly used leathers.

Sr.No

Leather Type Features

1 Dry Mill Strong, Sturdy, Soft, Granular2 Cow Softy Strong, Very Soft, Plain3 Buff Calf Very Strong, Sturdy, Thick, Hard


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4 Sheep Napa Delicate, Very Soft, Thin

4] Depending on the feature of the product and leather we

have decided to keep the following product variety:

Belts:

VarietyNo.

Leather Type Colour

1 Italian Formal Black / Brown

2 Italian Formal Black / Cherry3 Buff Calf Casual Black4 Buff Calf Casual Brown

Within these 4 types there would 3 different types of buckles

Wallets:

VarietyNo.

Leather Colour

1 Dry Mill Black2 Dry Mill Brown3 Cow Softy Black


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4 Cow Softy Brown5 Sheep Napa Black6 Sheep Napa Brown7 Buff Calf Black8 Buff Calf Brown

Portfolios:

Variety No. Leather Design Colour1 Buff Calf 1 Black2 Buff Calf 1 Brown3 Buff Calf 2 Black

4 Buff Calf 2 Brown5 Cow Softy 1 Black6 Cow Softy 1 Brown7 Cow Softy 2 Black8 Cow Softy 2 Brown

Key Chains:

Variety No. Leather Design Colour1 Cow Softy 1 Black2 Cow Softy 1 Brown3 Cow Softy 2 Black4 Cow Softy 2 Brown5 Buff Calf Double Photo Black6 Buff Calf Double Photo Brown7 Buff Calf Double Photo Cherry

3) Brand Name: Klasse


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the belt because it is permanent, has good visibility and isseen every time the customer wears and removes it. Alsobecause it is at his tail, it is not seen when the person iswearing it.

Wallets: On wallets we would be doing blank embossing on theinner left side of the wallet, so that every time the personopens his wallet to take out money, he sees the brand name. Itis permanent, visible and at the same time not striking to theeyes, as most people do not like printing done on the wallet.

Port Folios: On port folios which have zip openings we wouldbe doing silver metal labeling (which have the brand nameencrypted on them) on the bottom right corner and one thosewhich have opening flaps, on top of the lock. Such labelingwould be ideal for the bags, as such small metal accessories

look good on the body, it adds value, makes it look rich, and atthe same has permanent visibility to the user and others aswell. It is a constant reminder of the brand.

Key Chain: On key chains we would be doing blank embossingon the centre of the reverse side. If we do it on the front side,it spoils the elegance of the product. The labeling here wouldbe permanent although silent.

5) Packaging:

Packaging of a product plays a vital role in determining itssales. It has to be attractive, so that it catches the eyes of thecustomer. Also at the same time, it has to be strong and sturdybecause it has to travel long distances. Mostly in case ofleather goods, when the products are on display they are notkept with their packaging, but naked. This is because a personwants to feel, check the product again and again before buyingit. However when the customer buys it, it is given to him


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packed in a worthy box or appropriate packing. A person mightbuy a leather product for him self or to gift some one. If hebuys for himself, the packaging is not of much use to him but ifhe has to gift it to someone he definitely opts for a one whichhas a good packing. Keeping in mind the above points, we

have decided the packaging of our various products as follows.

Belts:

Belts would be coiled vertically and packed in thin hard boardboxes with the front side upper half having a transparentplastic window, from where we can see the product. The lowerhalf of the front side would have a white label stuck on whichthe following details would be printed: code number, stylenumber, Colour, size, M.R.P. The two sides would have theBrand name and the photographs of our other products printed

on the box. This would be a good medium for advertising, asthe one who buys or receives it also becomes aware of ourentire product range. The back side would have our companydetails such as the name and address printed. The base colourof the box would be gold.

Wallets:

The Wallets would be packed in hardboard boxes. The bottomand the sliding cover would be separate. The bottom wouldhave case / groove in which the wallet would fit. The cover

which slides in would be made of thick transparent plasticthrough which we can see the actual wallet. The Back of thebox would contain the Brand name, product details and thephotographs of our other products. The base colour of the boxwould be gold.


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Port Folios:

Portfolios would have a comparatively simple packaging asthey are too huge and bulky to be packed in boxes. They wouldbe packed comfortably in cream coloured soft cotton bags of

the appropriate size. The brand name would be printed in boldletters on the bag. We would not print the photos on thesebags as photo printing on cloth becomes quite expensive. Thisbag can afterwards be used for any other purpose. No bodywould throw a cotton bag and thus it would be a permanentreminder of the brand name.

Key Chains:

Key chains would be packed in small boxes of appropriate sizessimilar to the wallet. The sliding boxes would have atransparent cover on the top and the details printed on theback. Here we would not be providing the photos on the backof the box as the space available is too less.

6) Pricing Strategy:

To survive and carve a niche in a competitive market it is veryimportant that the pricing strategy is rightly decided. In ourcase we have made a close study of the prices prevailing in themarket. We want a brand image to be built hence we do notwant the prices to be very low at the same time we want the

customers to buy out product without thinking much about theprice, so we have kept the prices quite moderate. In case ofany brand, until and unless it is from a recognized corporatehouse, which is launching its products for the first time in themarket, the prices have to be kept moderate, especially whenthe target market consists of middle class. It is only when thebrand is recognized and develops a strong image, that it can


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command a price. Keeping these things in mind we havedecided to keep our prices as follows:

Sr.no Product Price Range (Rs.)1 Belts 350 to 450

2 Wallets 230 to 3503 Portfolios 2750 to 32504 Key Chains 50 to 80

These would be the suggestive MRPs of our products.However the rates would drastically differ in case ourcorporate marketing (which is discussed in details in thefollowing page).

7) Advertising & Promotion Strategy:

1] The leather products which we are marketing have ademand not only in the retail market but also in demand by bigcorporate houses for gifting purposes.

2] We would have a separate corporate marketing cell, withinthe company along with the retail marketing force. We wouldgive equal importance to both the divisions as in one, we getthe price and in the other we get the quantity.

3] We would be retailing our products through OrganizedRetail Merchandise Store chains like Shoppers Stop, Life Style,Pantaloons etc. and also through leather boutiques and giftshops. We would also be doing corporate marketing of ourproducts in companies from different sectors likePharmaceuticals, IT, Cement, Engineering, Auto, Oil &

Petrochemicals, Lubricants, Banks, Paints and Publicationhouses. As companies in these sectors have continuous andhuge requirement of gifts, where leather products fit ideally.

4] For our retail promotion, we would:


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a} Give exciting trade schemes to our stores and distributors,so that they give us more display space and place our productsat the right and prominent place in their stores.

b} Put up signages in the form of translites displaying our

product photographs and brand name in exclusive stores andput up stylish boards displaying our brand name in gift shopsand boutiques to create a brand awareness. As Jagdeep Kapoorhas rightly said, Jo Dikhta Hai, Woh Bikta Hai

c} Carry out desk promotions in huge stores where in for aninaugural period, we would be giving free gifts with ourproducts. For e.g. we would gift a leather wallet free with aPort Folio, or an elegant watch in which our branding is done,free with the portfolio. A key chain free with a wallet or a belt.An elegant pen free with a key chain.

d} Tie up with other renowned brands of perfumes or clothing,

to give our products free with their products. For e.g. a walletfree with YSL Mens perfume or a belt free with an Allen Sollytrouser.

e} Take part in National Consumer Exhibitions like TimesUtsav, MITF, Indian Consumer Exhibition etc. which take placeduring festive seasons and attract huge audiences. Theparticipants make very good sales in such fairs.

5] For our Corporate Promotion, we would:

a} Take part in Trade Fairs such as Giftex and Gifts India,which basically attracts all gift traders, gift shop owners, andcompanies which have huge gifting requirement. These are avery good platform for the exposure of our products in thecorporate gifting world. Here we would come in direct contactwith people who are interested in buying our products


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(Company representatives and Gift shop owners) and alsothose who are interested in selling our products (Traders),because it is not practical for us to reach to all prospectivebuyers in different parts of India.

b} Send our companys marketing representatives to variousafore-mentioned companies for a presentation of our productsby prior appointment with the concerned person and do therequired follow up. These companies buy gifts in bulk and theirquantities range from 500 to 15,000 pcs. Although it isimpossible to get the rate which we get in the retail market,the quantity compensates for more than that.

c} Send our product catalogue as mailer to differentcompanies where we cannot reach directly. This would givethem an idea of our products and in case they have arequirement, they can contact us for the same.

8) Studying our product, comparing and differentiating it withcompetitors product:

Our products have many salient features which differentiatesthem from the rest. They are as follows:

1] Quality:

Quality would be our winning point. When a person buys a leatherproduct, he definitely looks for quality and long lastingness.Quality also includes finishing, stitching, lining and accessories.

Let us explain each of them separately:

a} Lining: Lining means the cloth which is used behind theleather. We would use the best quality cloth which is attractive atthe same time sober, which gives rich look to the product.Generally many of our competitors do not give much importanceto the lining as they feel only the visible outside of the productshould be of good quality.


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b} Accessories: This includes the zips, metal plates for branding,and buckles for belts. The accessories would be of the bestquality. They would be rust proof. The buckles would be importedin complete lotts so that our competitors cannot imitate ourbuckles. These are not given much attention by our competitors

and they start wearing off after some time.

c} Leather Quality: The quality of leather determines, the lookand the life of the product. We would be doing no compromise

with the same. Some of our competitors make some adulterationin the leather by mixing it with leatherite. This reduces the life ofthe product.

d} Stitching: Stitching is a very vital part of a leather product. Itcan either make it look very rich or sub standard. The neatness ofstitching, colour of the thread would be taken proper care of.Some competitors use all materials of good quality but are unableto stitch the product properly. It is here that they lose theircustomer.

2] Pricing:

Our pricing is nor too expensive nor very reasonable. It is verymoderate. Most of our heavy competitors are much moreexpensive than us, in case of all products. Few low quality onesare also cheaper than us. They are expensive because they verywell established brands and have very high overheads. We beinga new entrant in the market do not have many over heads tostart with. Thus if we are giving good quality products atmoderate prices, people should definitely like and buy them.

3] Availability:

Our products would be made available to all top departmentaland Mens Wear stores, leather boutiques and gift shops. Most ofour competitors do not have such a wide reach to the market.Either they are only limited to big showrooms or the less knownbrands are only limited to small shops.


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4] Packaging:

The packaging provided by us especially for the port folios andkey chains is very unique; no other competitor provides suchpackaging.

Also a very unique thing about our packaging is that, where ever

possible, we have given the photographs of our other products onthe box of the product. This is a very good medium of displayingand advertising for our products. None of our competitors havetried this with their packaging till now.

5] Advertising and Promotion:

The advertising and promotion techniques used by us (asdiscussed earlier) are very unique and have not been used by anyof our competitors in the past. This is where we prove to be morecreative and hopefully more successful in a short span of time.

9) Deciding the distribution network and justifying it:

Our distribution network would be very simple. There would notby many intermediaries. We are basically targeting Metros andSecond Metros as our target Market.


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We would be supplying directly to stores like Shoppers Stop, LifeStyle, Pantaloons, D-Mart, Big Bazaar, Cross Roads, Archies, HallMark, because these stores have centralized purchase system. Sothere is no point in having any intermediary here. Also the storeswant to procure directly from the manufacturer.

Also in case of corporate marketing, we would be supplyingdirectly to the companies which are accessible to us.

However, it is not practical to reach to all possible clients. Forthis reason, we would be tying up with traders, who go to theclients, where we cannot.

Now to reach out to small gift shops, Exclusive Mens wear stores,and leather boutiques in different cities, it is not possible tosupply to them individually. Hence, we would be having onedistributor in each city who would be supplying further to thesmall stores. This distributor would stock our material and wouldcater to the small and regular requirements of these stores.

As far as the terms of sale are concerned, we would be selling tothe big stores which have centralized buying, on consignmentbasis. This is because; none of the stores in India buy outright, asthey do not want to take the risk on them selves. However, thedistributors in various cities would be given material on outrightbasis. It is their look out to sell the material, they buy from us.We would recommend them the stores in which they can supplyas per our knowledge and data base. However, the discretion tosell the material is entirely on the distributor.

10)Which geographic location will we target more? Why?

The products we are manufacturing and marketing are actuallylife style products. These products are not necessities. Theysymbolize the class, taste and style of a person. Also ourtarget audience is Urban Males in the age group of 16 to 60


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years. Most of these people would be office going and wouldbe from a middle or upper middle class back ground.

It is quite obvious that people of such characteristics cannotbe found in rural areas. Thus marketing our products in ruralareas is out of question. However such people can be found inlarge numbers in metro and second metro cities, where there

is a huge office work force, who have the willingness to useand ability to pay for our products.

To begin with we would start our operations in the following 14cities:

New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkatta, Chennai, Chandigarh, Jaipur,Ahmedabad, Pune, Nagpur, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Indore,Raipur, Lucknow.

11)What time of the year will we introduce the product inthe market? Why?

We would introduce our product range before Diwali i.e.somewhere in September when people usually start theirpurchasing for the festive season. This is the season whenpeople generally buy new clothes and accessories forthemselves and also for gifting to others. This season is

followed by Christmas and New Year which is also a greattime for buying gifts for near and dear ones. Also the rainyseason ends by September, during which the sales aredown. So, the product range gets entire 8 months beforethe next rainy season to establish it self in the market. Thuswe feel September would be the right time to introduce ourproduct range in the market.


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Leather Products Marketing