A SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT ON

Analysis of Competition Practices in ITC Hotels

46DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the dissertation entitled Analysis of Competition Practices in Pen & Pencils and Strategy to Improve the Sales Performance. Submitted for the Degree of Master of Business Administration is my original

work and the dissertation has not formed the basis for the award of any degree,

diploma, associate ship, fellowship or similar other titles. It has not been

submitted to any other University or Institution for the award of any degree or

diploma.

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46ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am greatly indebted to Mr. Vipul Agarwal (Area Executive Incharge) for

helping me to undertake my final research project in the esteemed ITC Limited.

Without his scholarly guidance, painstaking efforts and persistent encouragement

it would not have been possible for me to complete this course of study.

My overriding debt is to Tariq Sir, H.O.D. G.I.M.T, for his valuable guidance

all through the successful completion of the project. I am extremely thankful to

him for providing me all the guidance and support. His constant encouragement

and appraisal has helped me a lot in completing the project.

I am also thankful to Mr. O.P. Mishra & Mr. Devyansh Shukla - the TSI and

Shri Hari Distributor for providing me guidance time to time.

I also acknowledge the co-operation of respondents’ i.e. the teachers, family and

friends without whose help this project would not have been a success.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE PROJECT....................... 7-8

II. INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT..................................... 9

III.  PROFILE OF ITC LTD............................................................. 10-35

IV. MY PROJECT INTRO............................................................... 36

V. CLASSMATE STATIONARY-A LOOK.................................... 37-42

VI. OBJECTIVE OF STUDY............................................................. 43

VII. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY............................................... 44-47

VIII. DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION.................................................................... 48-53

IX.  DATA DESCRIPTION............................................................... 54-56

X. ANALYSIS & DISCUSSION...................................................... 57-58

XI. CONCLUSION............................................................................. 59

XII. RECOMMENDATIONS.............................................................. 60

XIII. LIMITATIONS.............................................................................. 61

XIV. BIBLIOGRAPHY.......................................................................... 62

XV. RETAILERS’ SURVEY FORM................................................................................ 63-65

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In the world where only permanent thing is “the change”, the market for

every product is changing at a nano second pace. Markets for every product

category has become highly competitive added with the increasing

awareness of the consumer. In such scenario the importance of market

study by doing survey becomes indispensable. With this importance in

consideration I was assigned the work of market study of stationery

products.

The project is done for “ITC Ltd, Lucknow”. The main objectives of this

project are to understanding the market of ITC stationary product . ITC’s

brand Classmate and also to find out the preferences, quality, taste,

awareness, and satisfaction level of retailer for this product.

Initially, a survey to ascertain the position and availability of ITC’s brand

Classmate in the retail outlets and study about competitive brands of

Classmate in the market was conducted in Lucknow city which served as a

source of primary data. Other source like internet, company brochures were

used for the purpose of secondary data.

46Collection of maximum first hand information was the prime objective of

the various activities of data collection. The data was collected, analyzed,

represented in the form of various facts and figures. A series of informal

talks with the retailers helped to judge their perception about the

availability and distribution. It was also found that the Classmate products

did not exist in some areas, which gave an opportunity to competitors to

capitalize on classmate’s absence from these areas. Research and

methodology part includes the type of research which is used i.e., Survey

Method. It again has method of data collection through which data is

collected for this project. i.e. Primary and Secondary data. The Primary data

includes questionnaire for retailers, which is structured.

Every project has some limitations and this survey is not different from that, one

of the major limitations of this survey is the time limit for the project. It is not

possible to cover a large sample size to get the exact results.

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Analysis part includes the detailed analysis of the whole data collected

during the project. Analysis is done after considering each and every

question of the questionnaire and based on that graphs and tables are drawn

which ultimately helped to draw the final conclusion of the project.

Comparison is done between the different stationery brand with the

Classmate.

Based on the analysis of the survey, the conclusion is drawn which matches the objective of the project and based on the conclusion, the suggestions are given which is the ultimate result of the survey. The questionnaire designed for collecting the data is attached with this report and it gives the essential information required for the further research. On the basis of collected information from the retailers, it was easy to identify the problems and solutions. Time to time suggestions and their queries helped a lot to jot down the final suggestions required for ITC Company.

The essence of whole project demands on the analysis, suggestions and conclusion.

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INTRODUCTION

The project intends to decipher the satisfaction level as well as the preferences of

retailers pertaining to the various stationery brands launched by ITC. We aim to

analyse the success, marketability and future growth prospects of stationery

brands. Basically we intend to find out the most popular stationery brand in the

market from our sample.

Stationery brands as such are a very minor part of the FMCG industry because

FMCG sector is largely organized. Here we will also look into the market trends

in stationery brands. For this a survey was conducted in Lucknow where

respondents were asked to fill a questionnaire. The data was collected and

analysed to obtain conclusions. This report carries an introduction of the

company profile, detail of the methodology followed detailed data analysis and

the results so obtained with the variety of graphs along with given.

Summer training gives us an insight into the working of the real corporate world.

It gives us the practical knowledge of the working of the organizations. During

the short time within the industry, we get to learn the various aspects of an

organization like the culture followed and the functional aspects etc.

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The main objective of the summer internship is to experience the various

concepts that we learn in our first year of management course, as learning the

concepts is very different from experiencing them at a concrete level. We learn to

face the various situations by establishing relationships between real and

significant factors in a situation. We also learn that in a given situation all the

functional aspects are inter-related; one functional aspect cannot be isolated from

the organization. We learn to be more confident by judging the various situations

based on our reasoning and by the application of our knowledge in these

situations.

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ITC Limited

AT A GLANCE

History and Evolution

ITC was incorporated on August 24, 1910 under the name Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited. As the Company's ownership progressively Indianised, the name of the Company was changed from Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited to India Tobacco Company Limited in 1970 and then to I.T.C. Limited in 1974. In recognition of the Company's multi-business portfolio encompassing a wide range of businesses - Cigarettes & Tobacco, Hotels, Information Technology, Packaging, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Agri-business, Foods, Lifestyle Retailing, Education & Stationery and Personal Care - the full stops in the Company's name were removed effective September 18, 2001. The Company now stands rechristened 'ITC Limited'.

The first six decades of the Company's existence were primarily devoted to the growth and consolidation of the Cigarettes and Leaf Tobacco businesses. ITC's Packaging & Printing Business was set up in 1925 as a strategic backward integration for ITC's Cigarettes business. In 1975 the Company launched its Hotels business with the acquisition of a hotel in Chennai which was rechristened 'ITC-Welcomgroup Hotel Chola'.

In 1979, ITC entered the Paperboards business by promoting ITC Bhadrachalam Paperboards Limited, which today has become the market leader in India. In 1985, ITC set up Surya Tobacco Co. in Nepal as an Indo-Nepal and British joint venture. . In August 2002, Surya Tobacco became a subsidiary of

46ITC Limited and its name was changed to Surya Nepal Private Limited (Surya Nepal).

In 1990, leveraging its agri-sourcing competency ITC set up the Agro Business Division for export of agri-commodities. The Division is today one of India's largest exporters. ITC's unique and now widely acknowledged e-Choupal initiative began in 2000 with soya farmers in Madhya Pradesh.

In 2000, ITC forayed into the Greeting, Gifting and Stationery products business with the launch of Expressions range of greeting cards. A line of premium range of notebooks under brand “Paperkraft”was launched in 2002. To augment its offering and to reach a wider student population, the popular range of notebooks was launched under brand “Classmate” in 2003. “Classmate” over the years has grown to become India’s largest notebook brand and has also increased its portfolio to occupy a greater share of the school bag. Years 2007- 2009 saw the launch of Children Books, Slam Books, Geometry Boxes, Pens and Pencils under the “Classmate” brand. In 2008, ITC repositioned the business as the Education and Stationery Products Business and launched India's first environment friendly premium business paper under the “Paperkraft” Brand. “Paperkraft” offers a diverse portfolio in the premium executive stationery and office consumables segment. Paperkraft entered new categories in the office consumable segment with the launch of Text liners, Permanent Ink Markers and White Board Markers in 2009.

ITC also entered the Lifestyle Retailing business with the Wills Sport range of international quality relaxed wear for men and women in 2000.

The Wills Lifestyle chain of exclusive stores later expanded its range to include Wills Classic formal wear (2002) and Wills Club life evening wear (2003). ITC also initiated a foray into the popular segment with its men's wear brand, John Players, in 2002. In 2006, Wills Lifestyle became title partner of the country's most premier fashion event - Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week.

In 2000, ITC spun off its information technology business into a wholly owned subsidiary, ITC InfoTech India Limited, to more aggressively pursue emerging opportunities in this area.

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ITC's foray into the Foods business began in August 2001 with the introduction of' Kitchens of India' ready-to-eat Indian gourmet dishes. In 2002, ITC entered the confectionery and staples segments with the launch of the brands mint-o and Candy man confectionery and Aashirvaad atta (wheat flour). 2003 witnessed the introduction of Sunfeast as the Company entered the biscuits segment. ITC's entered the fast growing branded snacks category with Bingo! in 2007.

ITC in 2002 started marketing popular safety matches brands like iKno, Mangaldeep, Aim, Aim Mega and Aim Metro. ITC's foray into the marketing of Agarbattis (incense sticks) in 2003 and popular agarbattis brands include Spriha and Mangaldeep across a range of fragrances like Rose, Jasmine, Bouquet, Sandalwood, Madhur, Sambrani and Nagchampa.

ITC introduced Essenza Di Wills, an exclusive range of fine fragrances and bath & body care products for men and women in July 2005. Company launched 'Fiama Di Wills', a premium range of Shampoos, Shower Gels and Soaps in September, October and December 2007 respectively. The Company also launched the 'Superia' range of Soaps and Shampoos in the mass-market segment at select markets in October 2007 and Vivel De Wills & Vivel range of soaps in February and Vivel range of shampoos in June 2008.

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The ITC Vision & Mission

Sustain ITC's position as one of India's most valuable corporations through world class performance, creating growing value for the Indian economy and the Company’s stakeholders.

To enhance the wealth generating capability of the enterprise in a globalising environment, delivering superior and sustainable stakeholder value.

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Core Values

ITC's Core Values are aimed at developing a customer-focused, high-performance organisation which creates value for all its stakeholders:

Trusteeship

As professional managers, we are conscious that ITC has been given to us in "trust" by all our stakeholders. We will actualise stakeholder value and interest on a long term sustainable basis.

Customer Focus

We are always customer focused and will deliver what the customer needs in terms of value, quality and satisfaction.

Respect For People

We are result oriented, setting high performance standards for ourselves as individuals and teams.

We will simultaneously respect and value people and uphold humanness and human dignity.

46Excellence

We do what is right, do it well and win. We will strive for excellence in whatever we do.

Innovation

We will constantly pursue newer and better processes, products, services and management practices.

Nation Orientation

We are aware of our responsibility to generate economic value for the Nation. In pursuit of our goals, we will make no compromise in complying with applicable laws and regulations at all levels.

46 Research & Development

ITC is committed to delivering world-class products and services. This requires a clear focus on continuously striving to create a higher value to customers by achieving excellence in all Company's operations. Business excellence calls for a passionate focus on technology, products, services, processes and an operating environment firmly anchored to an impregnable foundation of Quality.

ITC's development of its Integrated Quality Management System (IQMS) is based on its strong foundation of implementing ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001, OHSAS 18001, SA 8000, HACCP (for Foods) and IQRS(performance rating and benchmarking of the quality management system).

ITC R&D Centre at Bengaluru provides systemized service to the entire range of ITC's businesses through Product Technology Cells, Common Service Modules, Advanced Research Initiatives and networking with national and international R&D centres.

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Catering to the need of ITC's Lifestyle Business is a contemporary master Design Facility at Gurgaon. It offers R&D facilities that have enabled the Company to offer internationally benchmarked fashion collection every season.

46FMCG

It is ITC's strategic intent to secure long-term growth by synergising and blending the diverse pool of competencies residing in its various businesses to exploit emerging opportunities in the FMCG sector.

The Company’s institutional strengths – deep understanding of the Indian consumer, strong trademarks, deep and wide distribution network, agri-sourcing skills, packaging know-how and cuisine expertise – continue to be effectively leveraged to rapidly grow the new FMCG businesses.

Over the last few years, ITC has rapidly scaled up presence in its newer FMCG businesses comprising Branded Packaged Foods, Lifestyle Retailing, Education and Stationery products, Personal Care products, Safety Matches and Incense Sticks (Agarbatti) with Segment Revenues growing at an impressive compound annual growth rate of 38% during the last 5 years.

The Company’s unwavering focus on quality, innovation and differentiation backed by deep consumer insights, world-class R&D and an efficient and responsive supply chain will further strengthen its leadership position in the Indian FMCG industry.

Cigarettes

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ITC is the market leader in cigarettes in India. With its wide range of invaluable brands, ITC has a leadership position in every segment of the market.

ITC’s highly popular portfolio of brands includes Insignia, India Kings, Lucky Strike, Classic, Gold Flake, Navy Cut, Players, Scissors, Capstan, Berkeley, Bristol, Flake, Silk Cut, Duke & Royal.

The Company has been able to consolidate its

leadership position with single minded focus on continuous value creation for consumers through significant investments in creating & bringing to market innovative product designs, maintaining consistent & superior quality, state-of-the-art manufacturing technology, & superior marketing and distribution.

46With consumers & consumer insights driving strategy, ITC has been able to fortify market standing in the long-term, by developing & delivering contemporary offers relevant to the changing attitudes & aspirations of the constantly evolving consumer.

ITC's pursuit of international competitiveness is reflected in its initiatives in overseas markets. In the extremely competitive US market, ITC offers high-quality, value-priced cigarettes and Roll-your-own solutions. In West Asia, ITC has become a key player in the GCC markets through its export operations.

ITC's cigarettes are manufactured in state-of-the-art factories at Bengaluru, Munger, Saharanpur, Kolkata and Pune, with cutting-edge technology & excellent work practices benchmarked to the best globally. An efficient supply-chain & distribution network reaches India's popular brands across the length & breadth of the country.

46Personal care

In line with ITC's aspiration to be India's premier FMCG company, recognised for its world-class quality and enduring consumer trust, ITC forayed into the Personal Care business in July 2005.

In the short period since its entry, ITC has already launched an array of brands, each of which offers a unique and superior value proposition to discerning consumers.

Anchored on extensive consumer research and product development, ITC's personal care portfolio brings world-class products with clearly differentiated benefits to quality-seeking consumers.

46ITC's Personal Care portfolio under the 'Essenza Di Wills', 'Fiama Di Wills', 'Vivel UltraPro', 'Vivel' and'Superia' brands has received encouraging consumer response and is being progressively extended nationally.

ITC's state-of-the-art manufacturing facility meets stringent requirements of hygiene and benchmarked manufacturing practices. Contemporary technology and the latest manufacturing processes have combined to produce distinctly superior products which rank high on quality and consumer appeal.

Extensive insights gained by ITC through its numerous consumer engagements have provided the platform for its R&D and Product Development teams to develop superior, differentiated products that meet the consumer's stated and innate needs.

The product formulations use internationally recognised safe ingredients, subjected to the highest standards of safety and performance.

 

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Lifestyle Retailing

TC's Lifestyle Retailing Business Division has established a nationwide retailing presence through itsWills Lifestyle chain of exclusive specialty stores. 

Wills Lifestyle, the fashion destination, offers a tempting choice of Wills Classic work wear, Wills Sport relaxed wear, Wills Clublife evening wear, fashion accessories and Essenza Di Wills - an exclusive range of fine fragrances and bath & body care products and Fiama Di Wills - a range of premium shampoos and shower gels. 

Wills Lifestyle has also introduced Wills Signature designer wear, designed by the leading designers of the country.

With a distinctive presence across segments at the premium end, ITC has also established John Playersas a brand that offers a complete fashion wardrobe to the male youth of today.

 With its brands, ITC is committed to build a dominant presence in the apparel market through a robust portfolio of offerings.

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Safety Matches

As part of its strategic initiative to create multiple drivers of growth in the FMCG sector, ITC commenced marketing safety matches sourced from the small-scale sector.

The Matches business leverages the core strengths of ITC in marketing and distribution, brand building, supply chain management and paperboard & packaging to offer Indian consumers high quality safety matches. ITC's range of Safety matches include popular brands like Aim, Aim Special, Aim Premium and iKno.

With differentiated product features and innovative value additions, these brands effectively address the needs of different consumer segments. ITC also exports regular and premium safety matches brands to markets such as Middle East, Africa and the USA. The successful acquisition of Wimco Ltd., a subsidiary of ITC has consolidated the market standing of the Company's Matches business through synergy benefits derived through combined portfolio of offerings, improved servicing of proximal markets and freight optimization.

Through its participation, ITC aims to enhance the competitiveness of the small and medium scale sectors through its complementary R&D based product development and marketing strengths, especially the breadth and depth of the Company's trade marketing and distribution.

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Agarbattis

As part of ITC's business strategy of creating multiple drivers of growth in the FMCG sector, the Company commenced marketing Agarbattis (Incense Sticks) sourced from small-scale and cottage units in 2003. This Business leverages the core strengths of ITC in nation-wide distribution and marketing, brand building, supply chain management, manufacture of high quality paperboards and the creation of innovative packaging solutions to offer Indian consumers high quality Agarbattis.

Mangaldeep Agarbattis are available in a wide range of fragrances like Rose, Jasmine, Bouquet, Sandalwood, Durbar, Anushri etc. New launches include Fragrance of Temple – Gold Tradition & Silver Edition; Champa, Tarangini & Malligai in an attractive pouch format.

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Fragrance of Temple is a flagship sub brand in the Mangaldeep portfolio. Superior fragrance, high quality sticks and differentiated packagings are some of the highlights of Fragrance of Temple. New launch included

Fragrance of Temple – Gold Edition & Fragrance of Temple – Silver Edition. Both packs are industry first gold/silver metalized plastic pack. Fragrance of Temple – Silver Edition has won the prestigious "IFCA Star Award 2011" which recognizes Packaging Excellency in terms of design, development, innovation and creativity.

Mangaldeep Dhoop, made with Natural Ingredients, is available in specific markets and is fast emerging as a key player in North India. Having varied consumer offers and differentiated product offerings, Mangaldeep Dhoop is fast emerging a force to reckon with. New launches include Sandal & Mogra variants as well as 3in1 offering in a singular pack.

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Paperboards and Specialty Papers

ITC's Paperboards and Specialty Papers Division is India's largest, technologically advanced and most eco-friendly, paper and paperboards business.

Having pioneered many specialty applications, ITC's Paperboards and Specialty Papers business enjoys market leadership in the value-added paperboards segment, and also has a significant share of the Indian fine papers market. It is the largest exporter of coated boards from India.

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ITC takes great pride in

The product range includes:

Packaging

Virgin Recycled

Folding Box Boards Coated Duplex Whiteback

Solid Bleached Boards Coated Duplex Greyback

Coated High Burst LinerSpecialty

Liquid packagingBarrier coated cartonboards

Food grade packaging board

Biodegradable barrier boards

Cupstock Cast coated boards

Antifungal Coated boards

Papers

Wood free fine papers Unbleached Kraft base

Absorbent Kraft Cigarette Tissues

Opaque papers Electrical insulation papers

Decor Surface, Printing &barrier papers

Pharma InsertsNiche papers Superfine Printing

Graphic

Art boards Playing card boards

46servicing a large cross-section of industry requirements - from cigarette tissues to FMCG cartons, from electrical insulation papers to PLA Coated Boards, from decorative laminate base to writing and printing papers and much more. ITC straddles the entire spectrum of paperboards - from 100% virgin, food-grade boards which are from renewable and sustainable resources to 100 % recycled boards.

Some of ITC's prominent paperboard brands are:

Folding Box Boards: Cyber XLPac, Cyber Cypak, Cyber Propac, Cyber  Premium, Pearl XL Pac

Solid Bleached Sulphate Boards: Safire Graphik, Art Maestro, Carte Persona, Carte Lumina, Safire XL Pac, Digiart

Poly coated boards: Indobev, Indobarr

PLA Coated boards: Omegabev, Omegabarr, Omegawrap

Recycled boards: Eco Blanca, Eco Natura

Fine Papers:  AlfaZap, Alfa Plus, Hi Brite, Paperkraft , Alfazine, Perma White

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Agri Commodities & Rural Services

ITC's pre-eminent position as one of India's leading corporates in the agricultural sector is based on strong and enduring farmer partnerships that has revolutionized and transformed the rural agricultural sector. A unique rural digital infrastructure network, coupled with deep understanding of agricultural practices and intensive research, has built a competitive and efficient supply chain that creates and delivers immense value across the agricultural value chain. One of the largest exporters of agri products from the country, ITC sources the finest of Indian Feed Ingredients, Food Grains, Marine Products, Processed Fruits, Coffee & Spices.

ITC's Agri Business Division is the country's second largest exporter of agri-products. It currently focuses on exports and domestic trading of:

Feed Ingredients - Soyameal

Food Grains - Rice (Basmati), Wheat

Marine Products - Shrimps and Prawns

Processed Fruits - Fruit Purees/Concentrates, IQF/Frozen Fruits, Organic Fruit Products, Fresh Fruits

Coffee & Spices - Coffee, Black Pepper, Chilly, Turmeric, Ginger, Celery and other Seed Spices

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Farmer empowerment through e-Choupals

Christened 'e-Choupal', ITC's empowerment plan for the farmer centres around providing Internet kiosks in villages. Farmers use this technology infrastructure to access on-line information from ITC's farmer-friendly website www.echoupal.com. Data accessed by the farmers relate to the weather, crop conditions, best practices in farming, ruling international prices and a host of other relevant information. e-Choupal today is the world's largest rural digital infrastructure.

The unique e-Choupal model creates a significant two-way multi-dimensional channel which can efficiently carry products and services into and out of rural India, while recovering the associated costs through agri-sourcing led efficiencies. This initiative now comprises about 6500 installations covering nearly 40,000 villages and serving over 4 million farmers. Currently, the 'e-Choupal' website provides information to farmers across the 10 States of Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Over the next 5 years it is ITC's Vision to create a network of 20,000 e-Choupals, thereby extending coverage to 100,000 villages representing one sixth of rural India.

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Choupal Saagar

Following the success of the e-Choupal, the Company launched Choupal Saagar, a physical infrastructure hub that comprises collection and storage facilities and a unique rural hypermarket that offers multiple services under one roof.

Choupal Fresh

Choupal Fresh, ITC's fresh food wholesale and retail initiative, leverages its extensive backward linkages with farmers and supply chain efficiencies. It focuses on stocking fresh horticulture produce like fresh fruits and vegetables. Choupal Fresh retail stores are currently operational at Hyderabad

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Choupal Pradarshan Khet

In line with its mission of improving the quality of life in rural India, ITC's Agri Business has launched a flagship extension programme called 'Choupal Pradarshan Khet' (CPK) or demonstration plots to help farmers enhance farm productivity by adopting agricultural best practices. Started in 2005-06, the crop portfolio includes soya, paddy, cotton, maize, bajra, wheat, gram, mustard, sunflower and potato. This initiative, has covered over 70,000 hectares and has a multiplier impact and reaches out to 1.6 million farmers.

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Processed Fruits

In line with its strategy of achieving a higher order of value capture, the business also focuses on the value added segment, steadily enhancing its basket of offerings with several new products. These include frozen foods, IQF (individually quick frozen) fruits, niche products like baby-food quality purees and high brix pulp and organic purees.

In Processed Fruits category, ITC exports from HACCP certified plants to Western Europe, North Africa, West Asia, Japan and North America, a wide range of Processed Fruit products made from Mango (Alphonso, Kesar & Totapuri), Guava, Papaya and Pomegranate. ITC is the leading Indian exporter of Organic Fruit Products certified to European (EC 2092/91) and US (NOP) Standards.

Marine Products

ITC has been a significant exporter of seafood from India since 1971. It exports frozen as well as cooked shrimps and other seafood products to Japan, USA and Europe. Its well-known brands include Gold Ribbon, Blue Ribbon, Aqua Kings, Aqua Bay, Aqua Feast and Peninsular.

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A Customer Centric Approach

ITC's Agri Business Division continues to use innovation as its core strategy to retain its position as the one-stop shop for sourcing agri-commodities from India. Besides setting benchmarks in quality, reliability and value-added services, ITC is a trendsetter in customer care particularly in commodity trading. Major customers include Cargill, Marubeni, Toepfer, among others, who source agriculture commodities and food products from India. Customers can log onto www.itcabd.com, and readily access information on crop production and forecast, market updates, the latest shipment status and the prevailing foreign exchange rates.

Sourcing for ITC

ITC's Agri business is progressively aligning its commodity portfolio with the sourcing needs of the Company's Foods business to generate higher order value from its agri procurement infrastructure. The business has commenced procurement of chipstock potatoes, one of the critical raw materials in the manufacture of the Company's 'Bingo!' brand of potato chips.

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ITC HOTELS

ITC Hotels, India's premier chain of luxury hotels was launched on October 18, 1975, with the opening of its first hotel - Chola Sheraton (now rechristened as My Fortune) in Chennai. Since then the ITC Hotels brand has become synonymous with Indian hospitality. With over 100 hotels in more than 90 destinations, ITC Hotels has set new standards of excellence in the hotel industry in Accommodation, Cuisine, Environment and Guest Safety.

A leader in the premium hospitality segment, ITC Hotels have had the privilege of hosting world leaders, Heads of State and discerning guests from across the world and within.

As one of India's most dynamic hospitality chains, ITC Hotels has set standards for excellence in the hotel industry by pioneering the concept of branded accommodation.

First to introduce branded cuisine, its restaurants Bukhara, Dakshin and DumPukht are renowned for their delicious and authentic Indian cuisines from the different regions of India. 

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ITC Hotels's properties are classified under four distinct brands:

ITC Hotels - Luxury Collection

In 2007, ITC Hotels entered a new phase in its collaboration with Starwood Hotels & Resorts. ITC Hotels now has an exclusive tie-up with Starwood in bringing its premium brand, the'Luxury Collection', to India. These are super deluxe and premium hotels located at strategic business and leisure locations. The ten hotels which are part of this collection are: ITC Grand Chola in Chennai, ITC Maurya in Delhi, ITC Maratha in Mumbai, ITC Sonar in Kolkata, ITC Grand Central in Mumbai, ITC Windsor & ITC Gardenia in Bengaluru, ITC Kakatiya in Hyderabad and ITC Mughal in Agra and ITC Rajputana in Jaipur.

Welcome Hotels offer five-star hospitality for the discerning business and leisure traveller. Currently there are three hotels under this brand namely, Welcome Hotel Rama International Aurangabad, WelcomHotel Vadodara and WelcomHotel Grand BayVishakhapatnam. Two other WelcomHotel Sheratons - Sheraton Park Hotel and Towers, Chennai and Sheraton New Delhi offer warm, comforting services to the global traveller and a chance to connect.

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Fortune Hotels operates mid-market to upscale properties in the first-class, full-service business hotel segment all over India, in major metros, mini metros, state capitals and business towns, promising business and leisure travelers a wide choice of destinations and accommodation. Fortune Hotels currently has hotels operating in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Gurgaon, Indore, Jaipur, Jammu, Jamshedpur, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Madurai, Navi Mumbai, Ooty, Port Blair, Pune, Tirupati, Trivandrum, Vapi, Vijayawada, Vishakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Lavasa, Noida, Manipal, Bengaluru, Mussoorie, Goa, Thane, Gandhinagar and Mysore.

WelcomHeritage brings together a chain of palaces, forts, havelis and resorts that offer a unique experience. WelcomHeritage endeavours to preserve ancient royal homes and the historical Indian grandeur and opulence for the future Indian generations. WelcomHeritage provides a fine range of hotel services inside these architectural legacies present in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana, Assam, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharastra, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Pondicherry. 

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WelcomEnviron

WelcomEnviron is ITC Hotels' vision for a green world. It's a multi-faceted programme started in order to propagate environmental causes in the cities where ITC Hotels' hotels are located. With the guiding principle of 'Reduce, Reuse and Recycle', each hotel has its own programme, encompassing local participation, creating awareness among employees and internal conservation. 

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ITC Green Centre

The ITC Green Centre in Gurgaon, the headquarters of ITC's Hotels Business is the physical expression of this commitment to sustainability - Ecological, Social and Economic. This building is one of the world's largest green buildings with space of over 170,000 square feet and the first non-commercial complex in the country to be awarded the United States Green Building Council-Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design's (USGBC-LEED) platinum rating - the highest in the order.

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ITC InfoTech

Formed in 2000, ITC InfoTech’s customer centric go-to-market approach is organized by industry verticals. The company services industries including, Banking Financial Services & Insurance (BFSI), Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Retail, Manufacturing, Engineering Services, Media & Entertainment, Travel, Hospitality, Life Sciences and Transportation & Logistics.

ITC InfoTech provides IT solutions by addressing customer pain points through innovative solutions, optimizing their IT landscape and maximizing returns from IT investments. The company focuses on developing deep and differentiated capabilities to enhance expertise in specific industry domains, business solutions and technologies. This steadfast focus on delivering enduring value to customers has formed the bedrock of the ITC InfoTech’s growth strategy.

ITC InfoTech conforms to the highest standards in international process quality, with ISO 27001, ISO 9001, CMMi Level 3 and BS 7799 accreditations.

46

ITC InfoTech nurtures its employees through numerous training and development programmes to help them actualize their potential. The overarching objective is to ensure for each individual, a wholesome and challenging job profile, thereby constantly aligning individual aspirations to organizational needs.

The company became the first Indian IT company to receive the prestigious Social Accountability (SA) 8000:2008 certification. SA8000 is widely accepted as the most viable and comprehensive international workplace management system.

46

When you work with ITC you associate yourself with truly world-class brands such as Gold Flake, Classic, Navy Cut, Bingo, Sunfeast, Aashirvaad, Fiama Di Wills, Vivel, Wills Lifestyle, Paperkraft and Classmate amongst several others.

ITC's indigenously developed portfolio of brands showcases its deep consumer insight and superior brand building capabilities.

As an ITCian you will be exposed to ITC's deep market insights, cutting-edge technology, a pervasive culture of innovation and a commitment to achieve the highest quality standards, all resulting into the finest brands in the market today.

46

F I N A N C I A L P O S I T I O N

ITC Limited (ITC) offers various business operations. ITC offers its products and services through highly diversified business mix. It includes paperboards and specialty papers, cigarettes, branded apparel, and agri-business. Furthermore, ITC offers hotels, packaged foods and confectionery, greeting cards and other fast moving consumer good(FMCG) products. It operates its business through five segments namely FMCG, hotels, agribusiness, paperboards,

paper & packaging, and others. FMCG segment consists of cigarettes and other businesses.The following data provides a comprehensive insight into the company financial structure. The company’s strengths and weaknesses and areas of development or decline if analyzed the financial summary of 2008-2009 gives an insight into the present financial position of company. The resulting figures are benchmark for all leading FMCG companies across the globe. The assets of the company were and the total liabilities were and profits were satisfactory.

46

MY PROJECT MY TOPIC MY RESEARCH

Analysis of Competition Practices in Pen & Pencils And Strategy to Improve the Sales Performance.

I have been given this topic mentioned above for my summer internship.

I was areas where I had to collect all the necessary data required to complete my research report.

I daily travelled with two TSI to the allotted market areas for the specific day and observed the working conditions.

Every product has its own characteristic and properties by which it is sustained in the market.

Hence i have to study the competition of particular pen & pencil with the classmates stationary- itc leading product.

In the market there are only some competitors for pen and pencils.

For pen we have competition with basically 3 brands-:

1. Reynolds 2. Cello 3. Linc

For pencil we have competition with 2 brands-:1. Natraj 2. Camlin

Hence i start my project with the introduction to classmates world of stationary.

46

CLASSMATES - LEADING PRODUCT OF ITC LIMITED

Classmate is an Indian brand of student stationery products.

 ITC Limited launched its Classmate brand in 2003 with the notebooks category

Classmate is the lead provider of all student stationery needs.

ITC launched its Classmate brand in 2003 with the notebooks category.

Subsequently, Classmate added new products to its portfolio which now consists of pens, pencils, mechanical pencils and geometry boxes, erasers and sharpeners.

Classmate aspires to partner young minds in discovering, nurturing &

believing in ideas that reside inside each one of us. Have fun exploring, creating & believing in your ideas, in classrooms &

beyond.

46 Ideas that defy & change beliefs; ideas that allow you to lead rather be led;

ideas that are inside each one of us but only await self recognition & belief. Your belief makes your ideas work for you & become big; allowing you to

be all that you can. Classmate is For the BIG ideas in you.

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CATEGORIES OF CLASSMATES

At A Glance

Classmate Notebooks: Classmate is India's No. 1 Notebook brand. Its range of more than 300 variants is custom made to take care of varying needs in notebooks, long books, practical books, drawing books & reminder pads segments. These notebooks reach more than 65,000 outlets across the country.

The Classmate Notebook range builds in regional preferences and caters to the requirements of All India & State Education Boards. Every Classmate notebook carries ITC's Corporate Social Responsibility message on its back. For every four Classmate Notebooks purchased, ITC contributes Re. 1 to its social development initiative that supports, among other projects, primary education.

Classmate recently launched the Classmate Composition notebooks which are 60GSM notebooks with magenta ruling and with increased spacing for superior writing experience.

   

Classmate Pens: ITC forayed into the pen industry with the launch of Classmate pens across markets offering the consumer stylish and attractive designs.

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Classmate pens deliver unmatched comfort & neat writing experience. Classmate pens are attractive in design and superior in quality. The pens offer ergonomically grip, precision engineered tips & controlled ink flow mechanisms to keep the writing smudge free and the writing experience a pleasure!

Exciting range of pens from Classmate include B Qwick, B Neat, B Fine, B Positive, Volt, UVO, Radeon and Genghis under the Ball point pens and Gelofun, Octane, Crypton, Attila and Trojan under the Gel pens.

 

Classmate Pencils : Classmate pencils are designed to write dark and smooth, and provide the user a pleasing and effortless writing experience.

Classmate pencils have the strong advantage of lesser lead wear out, hence these pencils “Stay Sharp Longer”. There is minimal need for sharpening thus, giving fine writing for longer. Classmate Carbon black is a ‘Super Dark’ pencil offering the dual benefit of lesser lead wear out and darker writing. Classmate has recently launched the Classmate 2B Trilobe pencils that are specially designed with a “tri-grip” for a comfortable and firm hold.

     

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Classmate Mechanical Pencils:  Classmate Mechanical Pencils are high quality pencils intended for sharp, precise writing and drawing. They are smart and offer a steady and comfortable writing and drawing experience. These are especially used by those who need to make precise drawings in subjects like math’s, engineering etc.

Classmate Da Vinci mechanical pencils are well designed pencils with a 0.7mm tip. It has a high gloss translucent body fitted with a firm rubber grip for steady comfortable writing. The 0.7mm HB lead is designed so as to have increased strength and lower breakage. An eraser with cap is integrated for added convenience. These pencils are available in 2 colours – blue and green.

Classmate Fine Script Pencils are designed with a 0.7 mm tip and a self gripper which enables comfortable writing experience. Available in 5 attractive colours of Blue, Green, Red, Orange and Purple, these pencils also come with an integrated eraser.

    

Precision instrumen ts : Classmate Invento & Classmate Victor are part of the range of Geometry Boxes. Both products offer unmatched precision through their die-cast metallic instruments hence ensuring great accuracy. While "Invento" is a more premium product carrying interesting trivia and other useful information about the subject, "Victor" provides tinted plastic instruments that make it easier for beginners. Classmate math instrument

46portfolio also offers Invento compass and the Invento Exam Kit which includes all essential high precision instruments.

     

Erasers & Sharpeners: Classmate offers a range of erasers and sharpeners in its portfolio. Classmate sharpeners come in various attractive designs namely, Whistle, Aeroplane, Shuttle and Snail shapes. The Whistle sharpener has an attractive design with an inbuilt eraser while the Aeroplane

sharpener has an adjustable switch to vary the pointedness of the pencil lead. It also has the regular and long-point sharpeners which provide a comfortable grip and have long lasting nickel-plated blades. Erasers from Classmate are non-toxic and phthalate-free making it completely safe for use by children.

In Detail(some products)

MktCode Catg. Type Size Cover Ruling

2000193 Classmate Drawing book 297×210 Soft Unruled

2000198 Classmate Sketch book 420×297 Soft Unruled

2000199 classmate Longbook 297×210 Soft Single line

2000200 Classmate Longbook 297×210 Hard Single line

2000205 Classmate Notebook 190×155 Soft Single line

462000227 Classmate Notebook 190×155 Hard Single line

2000239 Classmate Notebook 190×155 Hard Four lines with gap

2000240 Classmate Notebook 190×155 Hard Double line

2000241 classmate Notebook 190×155 Hard Square

2000247 Classmate Graph book 190×160 Soft Square

2000276 Classmate Pr. Bio 280×220 Hard Single line

2000277 Classmate Pr. Chem. 280×220 Hard Single line

2000281 Classmate Pr. Phy 280×220 Hard Single line

2000321 Classmate Reminder pad 105×74 Soft Single line

2000322 Classmate Pocket memo 100×82 Soft Single line

2000324 Classmate Scrap book 280×220 soft Unruled

2000596 Classmate Notebook 190×155 Hard Maths ruled

2000949 Classmate Pr. N.B. 265×215 Hard S.line2000957 Classmate Drw Book 275×347 Soft Unruled20001032 Classmate Notebook 240×180 Soft SL

interleaf20001040 Classmate Notebook 240×180 Soft Broad rule

20001078 Classmate Scr book 280×220 Soft Plain+ruled pgs

20001095 Classmate Pr. Comp. 265×215 Hard s. line

20001107 Classmate Project paper 280×220 Plastic wrap

One side ruled

20001137 Classmate Mathslab 280×220 Hard S. line

20001675 Classmate Notebook 240×180 Soft 4 line with gap in

20001676 Classmate Notebook 240×180 Soft 5 lines with gap

02000972 Classmate Notebook 240×180 Soft 3in1

462100104 CMpremium Notebook 190×155 Hard S. line

2250001 Papercraft 1subject 220×280 Soft s. line

2250008 Papercraft 5subjects 197×243 Soft Square

2250024 Papercraft Notebook 243×182 Soft S line

2250033 Papercraft Refill notebook 297×210 Soft S line

2250042 Papercraft Conference pad 210×150 Soft S line

2250046 Papercraft Impression 1 sub 176×250 Soft S line

2250050 Papercraft Impression 5 sub 148×216 Soft Square

2255001 Copier paper

75GSMA4500sheet 210×297 NA NA

2255002 Copier paper

75GSMA4500sheet 210×297 NA NA

4010001 SP Geo box- Invento Medium NA NA

4010008 SP Geo box-victor Mass NA NA

4010025 SP Exam kit Invento NA NA

4020003 SP Pencil Regular2B Normal 2B

4020004 SP Pencil Da Vinci Normal Mechanic pencil

4020012 SP Pencil HB std HB

4020013 SP Pencil HBjetblack HB

4010026 Scale 15cm Slim

4010027 Scale 30cm slim

4040001 Markers Whiteboardmarker Std Bk/Bl

4040009 Markers Permanent marker Std Green

4040012 Highliters Textliner Std orange

4040032 Markerink Markerink Blue

464050001 Col crew Waxcrayons Regular Cartonbox 12

4051001 Col crew Col pencils Half Cartonbox 12

4052001 Col crew Sketch pen 12

4010011 Erasers Erasers Regular Pouch NA

4010013 Erasers Erasers Jumbo Cartonbox NA

4010018 Sharpeners Sharpeners Long point Jar Mix

4010022 Sharpeners Sharpeners Whistle Blister Mix

4030001 WI Pen Gelo fun Gel Blue

4030081 WI Pen Gelowiz gel Blue

4030010 WI Pen Octane Gel Blue

4030028 WI Pen Attila Gel Blue

4030054 WI Pen Deimos Gel Blue

4030060 WI Pen Galactic Gel Blue

4030031 WI Pen Trozan Retractable gel

Blue

4030072 WI Pen Chopin Roller Blue

4030069 WI Pen Archimedes Stick Blue

4030063 WI Pen Mozart Stick Blue

4030017 WI Pen B positive Stick Blue

4030051 WI Pen Crypton Stick Blue

4030045 WI Pen B neat Stick Blue

4030019 WI Pen B qwick Retractable ball

Blue

4030078 WI Pen B first Stick Blue

4030025 WI Pen Radeon Retractable ball

Blue

4604030005BF WI Pen B fine Stick Blue

4030057 WI Pen Genghis Stick Blue

4030066 WI Pen Beethovan Stick Blue

4030022 WI Pen Volt Stick Blue

4039007 WI Pen refills octane Gel Blue

4039028 WI Pen refills Attila Gel Blue

4039016 WI Pen refills B positive Stick Blue

Introduction To Problem

I have been given to analyse the competition of pen and pencil with other major brands in the market.

Today’s word is changing rapidly either economically, technologically or politically due to the globalization. It’s become difficult for any type of company to sustain in the market, face the challenges, fulfill the needs and wants of the customer and at the same time increase the market share.

Classmate had foot marked in the field of notebooks but still to make its name in the field of stationary.

Hence this is to be studied and solve that how to penetrate in the market as pen and pencils.

Objective

The primary objective of this study is to systematically explore the determinants responsible for the competitive advantage of ITC Limited and how ITC developed new product lines in its stationary business drawing on its competencies in brand-building, R&D, packaging, and distribution.

1) To verify the physical location of the outlets.

2) To find out availability of stationery product of ITC in the retail outlet.

3) To find out the competitors.

4) To study about the competitor brands in study segments.

465) To find out trade margin for stationery product.

6) To find the problem of retailers with the distributor or the company.

7) To suggest majors for improving the availability of stationery product of

ITC in the retail outlet.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

It covers the market survey with the help of which market potential

is carried out.

It compares the major players of the stationery products on various

aspects such as price, quality, durability, brand image.

Analyzing the gap among the various competitors in the market.

It is also useful for finding out actual expectations of the existing

customer.

Research Methodology

Research:

Market research is defined as a systematic gathering, recording and analysis of

the data concern with an objective. This whole activity is divided into various

parts & after compilation of that we reach at certain findings, which enable us to

46take marketing decisions. It involves the diagnosis of information needed and the

selection of relevant and interrelated variables.

Redman and More defined research as a “systematized effort to gain new

knowledge.” The purpose of research is to discover answers to questions through

the application of scientific procedures. The main aim of research is to find out

the truth which is hidden and has not been discovered as yet.

Significance Of Research

Research inculcates scientific and inductive thinking and it promotes the

development of logical habit of thinking and organization. Research provides the

basis for nearly all Govt. policies on our economic system. Research has its

special significance in solving various operational and planning problems of

business and industry.

Research Design

Survey method has been used for the data collection with the help of

questionnaire as the research instrument . It was a field research method where

consumers visit were made to gather the information needed for the market

survey. The source for the information was the consumers of the desired product.

Type of Research

Market research is being used to measure the characteristics of market, to obtain

information needed for forecasting to evaluate new product ideas and improve

46existing product . There are number of decisions or alternatives in the market,

one course of action is to be selected from them.

Method of Research

The study falls under the category of Descriptive research and uses survey

method. Descriptive research includes survey and fact finding enquiries of

different kinds. It is description of state of affairs, as it exists at present. Main

characteristics of this method are that, the researcher has no control over the

variables. He can only report what is happening. The method of research used in

this research was Survey method.Research methodology is the process which

helps in selecting the tools to achieve the objectives.

General Methodology:

The methodology adopted for this project was completely base on primary

information. The location of the study was in Lucknow dist. The first stage

included gathering information about the stationery product of the Lucknow

market. That was, to find out which are the major players, what is general

distribution pattern, what is the buying behaviour of customers. The second stage

46comprised determining the objective of the study and drafting the questionnaire.

The questionnaire was designed keeping in mind the objective of the study. It

was designed with due guidance of the company guide. It was assured that the

questionnaire prepared Keeping in mind the education level of the respondents

who were mainly retailers the questionnaire was kept simple and precise.

The methodology consists of :

Need and objective of research

Collecting the facts/data

Analysis of the data.

Conclusion and solution

1) Sampling design:

A definite plan developed to obtain a sample from a given population is called

sampling plan.

Designing the sample Based on two decisions. First, who is to be surveyed?

Second, how many people in the sample are chosen?

Sample unit: Retailers of stationery product in Lucknow dist. Of Uttar Pradesh.

46Sample size: The larger the size, the more accurate the result would be. But

practically, it’s not feasible to survey the entire target outlets. The sample size of

the survey done by me was 130 outlets.

Sampling Procedure

I try to find out most of the retailers in the market.

Contact Method

I personally visited most of the retailers. Few shopkeepers due to their busy

schedule or loyalty for their brand refused to respond at all.

2) Sources of data collection:

Primary data:

Data obtained from the first hand by the researcher is called the primary

data.Here the main source of primary data collection was interviews, discussion

and interaction with customers by using the Questionnaire.

Secondary data:

Secondary data refers to the data available in some form or another and may

include the result of the previously performed research or the available materials

such as newspaper, reports may be from the internet. Various sources of

secondary data used in this research are:

46 Internet

Interaction with the dealers.

Questionnaire as an instrument of data collections:

Questionnaires were used as an instrument for data collection for primary data

collection.

P. V. Young has classified the questionnaire in two groups ,

1) Structured questionnaire

2) Non- structured questionnaire

Structured questionnaire contain definite, concrete questions with additional

questions limited to those necessary to classify inadequate answers or to elicit a

more detailed response. Structured questionnaire can be of two types, namely

“disguised” and “non-disguised”. This classification is based on whether the

object or purpose of study is revealed or undisclosed to the respondent. Thus a

structured non-disguised questionnaire is one where the listing of questions is in

a pre-arranged order and object of the study is revealed to the respondent. In a

structured disguised questionnaire, researcher doesn’t disclose the object of the

study.

46 Non-structured questionnaire, often known as interview guide is used for

focused, depth and non directive interviews. It contains definite subject matter

areas, the coverage which is required during the interview, but the interviewer is

largely free to arrange the form and timing of enquiry.

Types of questions:

Open-end questions:

Close-end questions:

An open-ended or simply ‘open’ or ‘free answer’ question gives the

respondent complete freedom to decide the form, length and detail of

answers. Open questions are preferred when the researcher is interested in

knowing what is uppermost in the mind of the respondent. Close end

questions has only two answers in the form ‘yes’ or ‘no’, ‘true’ or ‘false’ or

‘do not use’ etc.

3) Analytical tools: The data, which was collected, was summarized and

tabulated on MS-excel for further analysis. The analysis performed was

46mainly comparative analysis using statistical analytical tools. The tool that

have been used are as follows:

Pie Chart

DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

In order to extract the meaningful information from the data collected an

analysis of data is done using pie charts, bar graphs etc.

1. Do the ITC distributer visit your outlet?

a) Yes b) No

Table - Retail outlets visited by the distributer

Yes No

67 63

Graph -Retail outlets visited by the distributer

46

Interpretation:

From above graph it is clear that out of 130 outlets only 67 (52%)

outlet visited by distributers and 63(48%) not visited by distributers.

2. If No, Is Distributor visited your outlet earlier?

Table- Retail outlets covered by the distributer earlier

Yes No

5 58

Graph- Retail outlets covered by the distributer earlier

46

Interpretation:

Out of 63 outlets which were not visited by the distributors, 5 outlets

were covered by the distributors earlier. From the total outlets which

were not visited by the distributor, 10% outlets were visited by the

distributor earlier.

463. Which of the following stationery products do you keep in your

outlet?

Table-Stationery products available in outlets

Graph- Stationery products available in outlets

Interpretation:

CATEGORIES NO. OF OUTLETS

Note Book 124Long Book 123Graph Book 110Drawing Book 113Reminder Pad 98Pocket Memo 97Scrap Book 95Pencil 119Geometry Box 102Copier Paper 91

46Out of 130 sample size, 124 outlets keep note books,123 outlets keep

long books, 110 outlets keep graph books,113 outlets keep drawing

books,98 outlets keep reminder pad,97 outlets keep pocket memo,95

outlets keep scrap book,119 outlets keep pencils,102 outlets keep

geometry box,91 outlets keep copier paper.

4. Which stationery items of ITC do you keep in your outlet?

Table- Stationery products of ITC available in outlets

Graph -Stationery products of ITC available in outlets

CATEGORIES NO. OF OUTLETS

Note Book 73Long Book 80Graph Book 50Drawing Book 54Reminder Pad 45Pocket Memo 43Scrap Book 40Pencil 42Geometry Box 45Copier Paper 15

46

Interpretation:

Out of 130 sample size, 73 outlets keep classmate note books, 80

outlets keep classmate long books, 50 outlets keep classmate graph

books, 54 outlets keep classmate drawing books, 45 outlets keep

classmate reminder pad, 43 outlets keep classmate pocket memo, 40

outlets keep classmate scrap book, 42 outlets keep classmate pencils,

45 outlets keep classmate geometry box, 15 outlets keep paperkraft

(copier paper of ITC).

5. Are you satisfied with the margin given by ITC?

Table-satisfaction level with respect to margin

Yes NO Total8% 92% 100%

46

Graph- satisfaction level with respect to margin

Interpretation:

According to above graph, 92% retailers are not satisfied with the

margins offered to them by the company. While only 8 % retailers

are satisfied with margins.

So company should rethink over trade margin policy.

46

6. Do you have any problem with the distributor Or Company?

Table-Problems of   retailers with the distributer

Yes NO Total

54% 46% 100%

Graph no-Problems of retailers with the distributer

Interpretation:

According to above chart, almost more than half i.e.54% respondents

have problem with company or the service of distributer. 46%

respondents are satisfied.

46

Data Description

The data necessary for the study are collected through market survey.

Data for pens-:

1. REYNOLDS

NAME TYPE PRICE TO REAILER

PRICE TO CUSTOMER

Techpoint Roller 20.8 25Mera gel Gel 3.70 5Trimax Roller 25 35Eterno gel Gel 11.42 15Force gel Gel 7.70 10Racer gel Gel 7.70 10045 Ball 3.80 7Jetter Ball 15 20Maxink Gel 15 20

46Cello

NAME TYPE PRICE TO REAILER

PRICE TO CUSTOMER

Butterflow Ball 8 12Genius power fine

Ball 25 35

Aviator Gel 15 25Gripper Ball 3.8 7Jet set Ball 30 45

Linc  

NAME TYPE PRICE TO REAILER

PRICE TO CUSTOMER

Smart gel Gel 3.7 5Glacier Ball 3.8 6CEO Ball 7.7 10Saffron Gel 7.6 10Executive Gel 7.7 10Star Ball 1.8 3

Classmates 

NAME TYPE PRICE TO REAILER

PRICE TO CUSTOMER

Octane Gel 7.8 10Gelo fun Gel 3.8 5Gelo wiz Gel 3.8 5B neat Ball 3.8 5B first Ball 3.8 5

46

Data for pencils

Natraj 

NAME TYPE PRICE TO RETAILER

PRICE TO CUSTOMER

LOOSE

621 REGULAR 22 28 3APSARA EXTRA

DARK28 38 4

APSARA BEAUTY 28 38 4

CAMLIN

NAME TYPE PRICE TO RETAILER

PRICE TO CUSTOMER

LOOSE

EXAM REGULAR 28 38 4FLORA NORMAL 28 38 4BLACK BLACK 12 20 2

CLASSMATE

NAME TYPE PRICE TO PRICE TO LOOSE

46RETAILER CUSTOMER

2 B trilobe REGULAR 24 28 3Jet black EXTRA

DARK32 38 4

Analysis & Discussion

After the complete market study of all the competitors and their products, a better idea of the competition can be revealed and is reflected easily by the above tables.

After the thorough study of the market it is clear that there are few brands which had footprint in market in the field of stationary.

If we talk about pen market then there are brands which have made place in minds of both retailer and consumer.

Better can be understood by a pie chart-:

Suppose total coverage percentage is 100, then, Reynolds covers the maximum

46Whereas the home brand i.e. the classmate is covering the minimum area.

The pen of the competitor brands which are sold mostly and which give direct competition to classmate are being marked green in the above tables.

The same goes with the classmate pencil also as there are some brands that have made their name in the market from past several years.

If we go for the competitors then Natraj and Camlin give the toughest competition to classmate stationary in pencils field.

By seeing this pie chart it can be inferred out that Natraj is the king in the field of pencil and this is continued from the past several years say more than a decade.

Hence according to my analysis taking some effective measures in improving the quality of the products better sales can be obtained.

46 Also it is very necessary to keep patience as the whole market can’t be

change in a day as it will take time as we should see that to increase the market atleast some pen and pencils should be sold daily or alternately which will slowly increase the market.

Conclusion

A survey of the people has been conducted to know the liking pattern of the

ITC Stationery products . It is observed that overall retailers like to buy

Stationery products of other companies because of the margins given by

them.

It is concluded that mostly people preferred Classmate of ITC due to its

high quality and image . Some people often like to have good Quality at

lower price that’s why they prefer other brands. Due to quality and brand

image the ITC have they are able to attract the customers.

It is thus concluded from the facts collected most of the market covered by

the ITC but the concentration on advertisement & promotional activities

will help them to become a market leader in stationery products.

46

Recommendation

There can be various methods to improve the sales performance of classmates pen and pencil in the market.

1) Pen should be gripped as it is one of the major demand.

2) The sale of mechanical pencil is low because of 0.7, demand is of 0.5.

3) According to consumer, the Look should be improved as a pen costing Rs. 3 is more good looking than our Rs 5 pen.

4) Many of them are not aware of classmate pen hence Launching of the pen should be proper.

5) Better advertise.

6) Display on the back cover of copies as notebooks are more in demand.

7) To get a hold in a market and to penetrate in the market better prices should be opted.

8) Beginning losses brings better profits for future.

9) Pen and pencil should be given as a gift with the copies according to their prices.

10) Quality of pencils should be improved as complain is found of being its weak in nature.

46

11) Product should be more visible at the shops.

12) There should be at least two colours of all the pens (black and blue) and some pens should be in red also.

13) Retailers are the one who make the product to survive in the market so better prices should be offered.

14) Natraj and Reynolds have footprint in the market for stationary so some time will be needed to cover the market so patience is a must.

15) We have to make some place for our products in the market say a 5% place every month or week.

46

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:

Exact data collection is not possible by sub-dealer.

Response error, interview error and based answers in some cases were the

other limitation of study.

Due to unavailability of time and reluctance on the part of the interviewee

there may be some minor problem.

The major problem of the survey was that most of the respondents being

very loyal to their brands didn’t give exact answers .like they didn’t talk

much about what problems they are facing, what are the different

marketing schemes of the brand in which they deal etc.

46

Bibliography

Book:

C.R. Kothari (2006), Research methodology, 3rd Edition, Vishwa

Prakashan, New Delhi.

Kotler Philip (2007), Marketing Management- A South Asian

Perspective, 13TH Edition, Prentice Hall of India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi.

Websites:

http://www.itcportal.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITC_Ltd.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classmate_Stationery

http://www.itcportal.com/itc-business/fmcg/education-and-stationery-products/classmate.aspx

http://www.zopnow.com/itc-classmate-hb-pencils-v-1-pc-p.php

46

ITC Ltd.

Retailer survey form

Name Of the Outlet :-

_______________________________________________

Address:-_________________________________________________________

Contact no:-________________________

1) Which stationery items do you keep in your outlet?

1)__________ 2)___________ 3)____________ 4)____________

5)___________

2) Which leading brands do you have?

1)__________ 2)___________ 3)____________ 4)____________

5)___________

3) Which is the leading brands or competitors?

a) For Notebooks & related items.

1) ITC 2) Navneet

b) For Pencil.

461) ITC 2) Natraj

c) For Geometry box.

1) ITC 2) Camlin

d) For Copier.

1) ITC 2) Bilt

e) For Pen

1) ITC

2) Reynolds

4) Is Distributor visited your outlet?

Yes No

5) If No, Is Distributor visited your outlet earlier?

Yes No

46

6) If Yes , Which stationery items of ITC do you keep in your outlet?

1)__________ 2)___________ 3)____________ 4)____________

5)___________

7) Are you satisfied with the margin given by ITC?

Yes No

468) Do you have any problem with the distributor Or Company?

Yes No

If Yes, What are the

problems__________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_

9) Any suggestions

__________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

__