A Solid Marketing Plan Begins With SWOTKathy Vass, Marketing EditorThe hardest part of developing a marketing plan is committing to a careful analysis of your business, including examination of your product and service, your markets and your position in them, and your businesss strengths and weaknesses.

Many companies use a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis to determine the best product marketing strategies. Capitalizing on your strengths while understanding your weaknesses will help you take full advantage of opportunities and minimize threats.Know YourselfA SWOT analysis begins by examining internal strengths and weaknesses in the areas of profitability, sales and marketing, quality, customer service, productivity, financial resources, financial management, operations and distribution. Involve your employees in this process - their frontline experience will be invaluable.

Take a straightforward look at your company, asking such questions as: Are you losing or gaining customers? Are you losing or gaining market share or maintaining the status quo? Are you losing or gaining sales volume? Are you experiencing cash flow problems? What is your employee turnover? Are you playing follow the market leader, letting your competitor set the pace?

Next, look at external business environments. These areas include current customers, prospects, competitors, technology, political climate, government and other regulatory organizations, and the legal and economic environments. For example, consider how desktop publishing revolutionized the typesetting and printing industries, and how the events of 9/11 and the Internet have challenged the trade show industry.

To begin your SWOT, select five strengths and opportunities, and five weaknesses and threats. Knowing these will help you identify and develop marketing strategies. For example, do you have an area of expertise worth promoting? Are you undercapitalized? Is your market growing or shrinking?

The goal is to determine which small market niches to focus on and dominate, and discover how to please customers in a better way than the competition.Know Your CompetitionThose pesky competitors are perhaps the biggest impediment to achieving your marketing goals - yours is not the only business looking to your target markets for your next sale. Start assessing the competitive environment by identifying your immediate competitors. Who are they? What do they do better than you? What do you do better than they? Are they investing in research and development, a new product line or technology? What are their target markets? What image are they trying to project? Are they heavily in debt?

You can quickly determine your position in the marketplace by identifying the unique selling proposition of your product or service. What makes your product or service stand out from the competition? Is it quality, price, convenience, style, location or professionalism? The goal is to develop an image in the marketplace that you offer something special that your competitors do not.

Remember to be thorough in assessing the competition. Start by gathering these basic facts about your five largest competitors: names and addresses of competitive companies; names and roles of key company players; number of employees; years in business; sales in both dollarsand units; market share; targeted markets; key customers; position of products and services; and distribution patterns.Supplier relationships are a good source of competitive intelligence. There is nothing sneaky or unethical about gathering and using information. Its part of being in business.

There are a number of ways to obtain information on the competition - from scanning of financial and trade publications or hiring a clipping service, to using an Internet search engine likewww.infoseek.com.

Maintaining files on the five most direct competitors can yield big dividends for a relatively small amount of time and energy. Place every bit of information you can glean in the files. Clip advertisements and articles about their products or employee promotions. Want ads can help you estimate growth and track key personnel changes. Clip anything that gives you a handle on their positioning or pricing strategies. Attend trade shows or trade association meetings, and gather brochures and other collateral material they are distributing. Visit their websites often to stay abreast of expanding lines or new product introductions.

Once a month, spend a few minutes reviewing your files to determine if patterns are developing. Track how often your competitors advertise and in which publications. Study their advertising message to determine their positioning strategies. Look at the image they are conveying to determine their target markets. Some questions to consider during competitive intelligence gathering include: Is your competitor purchasing additional property? Building a new facility, or closing one? Developing a new image? Changing its positioning or pricing strategy? Redesigning products? Conducting professional or market research? Expanding trading areas or abandoning certain markets? Increasing or reducing advertising frequency?

You can use a simple form as a quick reference on your position versus that of your competitors. This form has three columns: customers want; competitor provides; and we provide. Place the following items (and add your own for your particular market) under the customers want category - quality, low price, high price, wide product line, deep product line, product information, reliability, warranty, location, just-in-time delivery, accessories and spare parts, and well-trained technicians - then let your SWOT analysis determine how you fill in the next two columns.More Technology, Less Travel Cause Shift In Trade Shows' Unique Selling PropositionTechnology is a powerful element to consider when developing your company's marketing strategies for the future.

In the trade show industry, advances in technology, corporate consolidation and travel restrictions have chipped away at exhibitor and visitor participation, but few external elements have affected that industry like the Internet.

"You literally have the world at your fingertips," said Butler Mullins, director of the 2004 American Textile Machinery Exhibition-International (ATME-I) and a 30-year trade show veteran. "It's far more expedient and much less expensive for international show organizers to communicate with prospective exhibitors and visitors via websites and e-mail. The downside is that it is also much less expensive for buyers and sellers to do business via the Internet than with a traditional trade show."

Many companies are funneling money slated for prospecting and lead generation to outlets other than the trade show, using e-mail campaigns, newsletters, downloadable white papers and a host of Web-based applications to find sales prospects.

Fortunately for associations and other managers of trade exhibitions, there is still a perceived value in face-to-face marketing, according to a study by the Chicago-based Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR). The study reports that 35 percent of attendees see exhibitions becoming more valuable over the next few years, while only 9 percent see them becoming less valuable; and 76 percent rate face-to-face contact with potential new vendors as "very" or "extremely" important.

In a speech to international exhibition managers last December, Douglas L. Ducate, president and CEO, CEIR, said changes in the marketplace have eroded the trade show industry's selling proposition.

New product launches were the number-one reason to exhibit, according to Ducate, but in today's economy, companies can't wait for show cycles to get their products on the market. It used to be significantly less expensive to generate sales leads through trade shows versus cold calling, but as the costs of exhibiting continue to rise, the cost differential is nearly negligible, he added.

The trade show industry needs to develop a new value proposition for exhibitors - one that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative reasons for exhibiting. To remain a viable part of the marketing mix, exhibition organizers must show value and fit. One way to do that is to raise the quality and the buying power of the audience, according to Mullins. "One thing, we believe, that kept ATME-I strong over its 35-year run in Greenville was the quality of the attendee," he said. "We were always able to attract the decision-makers, and in the long run, that is what exhibitors want."

Marketing Strategies of Garments Industry of India

Visit Site:Denim

Theready madegarmentsindustry has been chosen for various reasons. Firstly it plays an important role for its directly concerned to one of the basic needs of every citizen. The garments industry operates in a highly complex environment. Indian garments industries has been creating in a rapidly changing environment particularly since mid-seventies. It is therefore important to examine what the modern trend are being introduced by the companies in their marketing strategies and cope with the changing environment because this is a fashion age and everyone is concerned about the new fashion and wants the new test specially the young generation. Second reason to choose theready madegarments industry is that the contribution of the garments sector in the sphere of production, earning of foreign exchange and investment in the Indian economy has been quite significant. Third, the functional performance of majority of the garments sector that is in the private sector deserves a significant consideration. The profitability trends, working of garment units dependence of garments industries on imports are some of the areas which have also been touched upon and lastly the leadership role of garments sector in India as this is the second employment providing sector after agriculture. The garments industry alone provides the major employment to the Indian citizen as this sector is concerned to small scale industries sector.A marketing strategy serves as the base of a marketing plan. A marketing plan contains a list of specific actions required to successfully implement a specific marketing strategy. An example of marketing strategy is as follows: "Use a low cost product to attract consumers. Once our organization, via our low cost product, has established a relationship with consumers, our organization will sell additional, higher-margin products and services that enhance the consumer's interaction with the low-cost product or service." Without a sound marketing strategy, a marketing plan has no foundation. Marketing strategies serve as the fundamental foundation of marketing plans designed to reach marketing objectives. It is important that these objectives have measurable results.Observing how people shop, when they shop and where they purchase from is crucial for determining future marketing strategies. In 2005, only half of the American populace shopped online. By 2008, that number grew to 65 percent and continued to jump each subsequent year. This reality forced many retailers to expand their Internet presence by purchasing more online advertising and not just advertising in fashion magazines. In addition, companies were forced to improve or establish their e-stores to allow for convenient shopping. Companies increasingly partner with member-only communities and other merchants to sell product.Marketing is the process of developing and communicating value to your prospects and customers. Think about every step you take to sell service and manage your customers:Your knowledge of the market and your strategy to penetrate itThe distribution channels you use to connect with your customersYour pricing strategyThe messages you deliver to your marketThe look and feel of your marketing materialsThe experience you deliver to your market and customersThe actions of your sales and service repsAll of the planning, preparation, forecasting and measurement of your investmentsFrom the diagram, the main components of a marketing plan can be summarized as:Component of the planDescription

Mission statementA meaningful statement of the purpose and direction of the business

Corporate objectivesThe overall business objectives that shape the marketing plan

Marketing auditThe way the information for marketing planning is organised. Assesses the situation of marketing in the business the products, resources, distribution methods, market shares, competitors etc

Market analysisThe markets the business is in (and targeting) size , structure, growth etc

SWOT analysisAn assessment of the firms current position, showing the strengths & weaknesses (internal factors) and opportunities and threats (external factors)

Marketing objectives and strategiesWhat the marketing function wants to achieve (consistent with corporate objectives) and how it intends to do it (e.g. Ansoff, Porter)

Marketing budgetUsually a detailed budget for the next year and an outline budget for the next 2-3 years

Action planThe detailed implementation plan

OR

The Strategic Marketing Process organizes 29 marketing subjects into three categories:

ABSTRACT

In todays market economy, which is characterized by a very changeable environment and strong, intense competition caused mainly by enlarging globalization; it is becoming more and more difficult for an enterprise to maintain long-term success. Using techniques such as simply maintaining low costs or innovative solutions are losing their importance. That is why the significance and meaning of brands have been growing recently. The brand is a strategic resource of every firm. Possessing a brand, and knowing how to keep it and manage it well, are becoming keys to reaching success in the market, a source of competitive advantage. The dismantling of the quota regime represents both an opportunity as well as a threat. An opportunity because markets will no longer be restricted; a threat because markets will no longer be guaranteed by quotas, and even the domestic market will be open to competition. From 1st January 2005, therefore, all textile and clothing products would be traded internationally without quota-restrictions5. And this impending reality brings the issue of competitiveness to the fore for all firms in the textile and clothing sectors, including those in India. It is imperative to understand the true competitiveness of Indian textile and clothing firms in order to make an assessment of what lies ahead in 2005 and beyond. The aim of this paper is to show that a properly used brand strategy is the enterprises most valuable asset and to evaluate export-competitiveness of the Indian textile and garment exports.

INTRODUCTION

Textiles account for 14 per cent of Indias industrial production and around 27 per cent of its export earnings. From growing its own raw material (cotton, jute, silk and wool) to providing value added products to consumers (fabrics and garments), the textile industry covers a wide range of economic activities, including employment generation in both organised and unorganised sectors. Manmade fibres account for around 40 per cent share in a cotton-dominated Indian textile industry. India accounts for 15% of worlds total cotton crop production and records largest producer of silk. It is the second largest employer after the agriculture sector in both rural and urban areas. India has a large pool of skilled low-cost textile workers, experienced in technology skills. Almost all sectors of the textile industry have shown significant achievement. The sector has shown a 3.66 per cent CAGR over the last five years. Indias cotton textile industry has a high export potential. Cost competitiveness is driving the penetration of Indian basic yarns and grey fabrics in international commodity markets. Small and flexible batches of apparels can be manufactured in India and can provide a larger variety of casual wear and leisure garments at significantly lower costs. Besides natural fibres such as cotton, jute and silk, synthetic raw material products such as polyester staple fibre, polyester filament yarn, acrylic fibre and viscose fibre are produced in India.IMPORTANCE OF BRAND

The constantly changing market poses new challenges to clothing enterprises, and the clients demands are also continually rising, and so it is necessary every now and again to offer them a higher added value. This added value is a properly planned brand strategy, the so-called branding. Firms without any distinct features, without a clear vision or specific mission, or without permanent values, will sink in the mass of messages hitting the market.

A brand image is defined through its selected symbolic patterns. The most important among these are the brands name, logo, and composition of graphic elements and colours all associated with the company. It is crucial for a brand built on these elements to give a clear message to the customer about the kind of company he is dealing with, what its product is and who the clients are. All the elements comprising a brand image have to be closely related to the idea and goals of the company. This certainly helps its positive identification, and as a result a strong and distinct image is created in the customers mind. It is important that the customers mind should absorb and retain as much information about a brand as possible; some time later this is translated into the reconcilability and prestige of a brand on the market. A brand product offers a sense of safety, and guarantees quality and reliability. Brand values are features that appeal to the emotional sphere of human perception.Hence a brand is the most valuable asset of a company, and customer satisfaction is the key to a long-term success. As consumers must have a reason for selecting this given brand from among many others, each brand should have a motto apart from its distinctive usability. It is necessary to define why it is different and what its position is. A brand is not an advertisement, but rather a whole philosophy underlying a set of combined actions fixed on the companys success. It is certainly an indispensable tool allowing effective conquest of markets, retention of the market position, and international competition

BRAND MANAGEMENT

Using a brand strategy is possible in two cases. The first is when a company or a product already exists on the market; the second is when the company wants to enter the market and wishes to make it known to potential clients. The actions carried out in the first case are surely much easier. If a product or a firm already exists on the market, more or less clients have already encountered the brand and have their own concept of it. In such a case, it is only necessary to look for solutions which would enable them to gain an advantage over competitors by their action strategy, stressing the values expected by the targeted market and received positively by them. Here we deal with the strategy of enhancing the existing brand. Naturally it is necessary to analyse in detail whether or not the brand evokes any negative images, or whether or not there have been any drastic crisis situations that would suggest rebuilding the brand under a completely new name.

Although the strategy of enhancing an existing brand surely needs much less financial outlays, and requires a shorter period of time than creating a new brand, it cannot be used in every case. Most of all, the company should based its strategy on a great value added, included in the product, which leads to a high recognisability of the already existing branch.

On the other hand, if we are just introducing a brand onto the market, we must propose some unique solutions, as potential clients should be given the idea of the need which our company can fulfil, something they need subconsciously, and which is different from everything on the market offered so far. Usually, to build a new brand, a company is motivated by the following factors: growth of competition in the market where the company is active the need to differ from its competitors; the entry of known, strong foreign brands on the market; unused financial resources, thanks to which a new brand can be built; lack of brands in the enterprise, allowing for a strategy of enhancementBuilding a new brand is time-consuming, and needs great financial outlays, with no guarantee that the enterprise will be successful. That is why it is important to create the action plan properly. In order to ensure that the results meet our intentions, it is important to establish some stages which we must go through before we are able to say that the new brand has been created. The stages are shown in Figure 1.

SWOT ANALYSIS IN BRAND BUILDING

Opportunities

Indian apparels accounted for a tiny fraction of less than 3 per cent of overall world export of apparel, suggesting an opportunity for considerable growth. There is a very large domestic market for Indian apparel manufactures. As per McKinsey study, the market size is of Rs 20,000 crore, out of which only Rs 4,000 crore is catered to by branded apparel. So there is still a Rs 16,000 crore market, which is catered by the unorganised small size units. The developed nations, which are the destinations for Indian textile products, use textiles in the form of apparel. Therefore, in order to improve the presence in these markets and capture larger values of the chain the focus needs to be shifted towards the effective performance of the textile-apparel supply chain network, rather than looking at textile industry in isolation.

Threats

Various regulatory, technological and marketing changes were expected to affect Indias textile industry over the next few years. For a product line characterised by unpredictable demand pattern and seasonality on one end and highly labour intensive on other, it is necessary to have flexibility to balance the labour force employment from time to time. There are few factors such as infrastructure and government policies that have caused wide gap in the economic development between India and other nations for textile industry in particular, in spite of enjoying the benefits of abundant cheap labour, low manufacturing cost, available raw materials and a large domestic market.

Strengths

The Indian textile industry is globally more competitive than other industries in the country on relative terms. Most of the inputs required for this sector being available from domestic sources and there are very little requirements of imports and precious foreign exchange. From middle of 1990s, manufacturing units of larger capacity with upgraded technology, mostly in collaboration with a joint venture partner were established. During the same period, Indian consumers could see availability of international brands in domestic market, which were made by Indian garment manufacturers. This had raised the expectation level of discerning consumers and apparel industry faced the challenge to improve its performance from this set of demanding consumers. Importers of Indian apparels were generally satisfied with price and enthusiastic about the ability to source small production quantities. With the entry of international garment companies into India, they bring in new designs, new craftsmanship, modern scientific management and also the marketing strategies. These all can strengthen the competition mechanism so that the industry will gain more resources for developing new products, new brand names, technology development and staff training in order to increase the market competitiveness.

Weaknesses

The small manufacturing units lacked sophisticated planning and information system and failed to offer scale economy. The present labour policy in a way discourages Indian apparel units to set up large size manufacturing set up and achieve economies of scale. A large size unit, by Indian standard, could well be the smallest in size in the competing countries like China, Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.One major area of concern for the Indian apparel exporters is the declining average unit value realization, which has dropped from $ 4.44 in 1994 to $ 3.70 in 2000. This clearly reflects the Indian exporters inability to move up the value chain and the threats of being branded as supplier of low end products in the international apparel market. This leads to the question of whether it makes sense to promote the brand image that exists at present or improve all on the weaknesses substantially before we think of further promotion.

Buyers were frustrated by delivery and production lead times, the absence of large capacity garment manufacturers, and difficulties associated with freight handling. The long and uncertain lead times seem to be the most serious problem, faced by the buyers of finished textile products and apparels. At times, products are delayed by three months, missing a season totally. In such situation, buyers normally ask for discounts, sharing of airfreight burden or full payment of the airfreight, and in worst case cancel the order.

TEXTILE EXPORT

The textile products continue to play an important role in the total export basket of the country. The data about export targets for 2004-05 and the latest status of exports is given at Table 1.

Indias textile exports is expected to grow from the current levels to US$ 50 bn by 2010, consequent to the quota removal. Apparel is expected to be the key export driver, and is expected to reach US$ 25 bn by 2010

(Source: New Textile Policy,, 2000, Government of India).COMPETITIVENESS

Competitiveness is about productivity, which in turn is a function of factors related to cost of products, as well as those related to non-price factors such as delivery schedules, reliability of producers, and such intangible factors like image of the country/company and brand equity. Together, they define the competitive sinews of a product to compete under conditions of free market.

COMPETITIVENESS OF INDIAN TEXTILE INDUSTRY

India is one of the few countries that own the complete supply chain in close proximity from diverse fibres to a large market. It is capable of delivering packaged products to customers comprising a variety of fibres, diverse count sizes, cloths of different weight and weave, and panoply of finishes. This permits the supply chain to mix and match variety in different segments to deliver new products and applications. This advantage is further accentuated by cost based advantages and diverse traditions in textiles.

Indian strength in spinning is now well established on unit costs on ring yarn, open-ended (OE) yarn as well as textured yarn, Indian firms are ahead of their global competitors including China. Same is true on some woven OE yarn fabric categories (especially grey fabrics) but is not true for other woven segments. India contributes about 23 per cent of world spindles and 6 per cent of world rotors (second highest in the world after China). Fifty five per cent of total investment in technology in the last decade has been made in the spinning sector. Its share in global shuttleless loom, however, is only about 2.8 per cent of world looms (and is ranked 9th in the world). The competitiveness in the weaving sector is adversely affected by low penetration of shuttleless looms (i.e., 1.69 % of Indian looms), the unorganized nature of the sector (i.e., fragmented, small and, often, un-registered units, low investment in technology & practices especially in the powerloom, processing, handloom and knits) and higher power tariffs. There is, however, a recent trend of investment in setting up hi-tech, stand-alone mid-size weaving companies focusing on export markets. India also has the highest deployment of handlooms in the world (handlooms are low on productivity but produce specialized fabric). While production and export of man-made fibre (and filament yarn) has increased over the years, Indian industry still lags significantly behind US, China, Europe, Taiwan etc. (Texmin, 2005.)Indian textile industry has suffered in the past from low productivity at both ends of the supply chain low farm yields affecting cotton production and inefficiency in garment sector due to restriction of size and reservation. Add to this, contamination of cotton with consequent increase in cost (as it affects quality and requires installation of additional process to clean and open cotton fibres before carding operations), poor ginning (most equipment dates back to 1940s), high average defect rates in production process (which also leads to increase in effective labour and power costs), hank yarn requirement, etc. and its competitiveness gets compromised severely. Similarly, processing technology is primarily manual and small batch oriented with visual colour matching and sun drying. This leads to inconsistency in conformance quality. Lead times across the sector continue to be affected by variability in the supply chain defect rates average over 5%, average % of orders on time is about 80%, variance in order size across firms is high (e.g., the coefficient of variability of average order size for spinning firms is about 2.6), and on an average, 16 days of sales as work-in-process inventory (the highest for garment firms) and an average of 30 days of sales in raw material inventory (the highest for spinning firms) (Chandra 2004). Some of the hurdles (eg., reservation in the garment sectors) including tariff distortions between the organized and unorganized sectors have now been systematically removed by policy initiatives of Government of India and have opened avenues for firms to compete on the basis of their capabilities.

CHALLENGES FACED BY INDIAN TEXTILE INDUSTRY

Textile supply chains compete on low cost, high quality, accurate delivery and flexibility in variety and volume. Several challenges stand in the way of Indian firms before they can own a larger share of the global market:

Scale:Except for spinning, all other sectors suffer from the problem of scale. Indian firms are typically smaller than their Chinese or Thai counterparts and there are fewer large firms in India. Some of the Chinese large firms have 1.5 times higher spinning capacity, 1.25 times denim (and 2 times gray fabric) capacity and about 6 times more revenue in garment than their counterparts in India thereby affecting the cost structure as well as ability to attract customers with large orders. The central tendency is to add capacity once the order has been won rather than ahead of the demand. Customers go where they see both capacity and capabilities. Large capacity typically goes with standardized products. These firms need to develop the managerial capabilities required to manage large work force and design an appropriate supply chain. For the size of the Indian economy, it will have to have bigger firms producing standard products in large volumes as well as small and mid size firms producing large variety in small to mid size batches (the tension between the organized and un-organized sectors will have to be addressed first, though). Then there is the need for emergence of specialist firms that will consolidate orders, book capacities, manage warehouses and logistics of order delivery.

Skills :Three issues must be mentioned here : (a) there is a paucity of technical manpower there exist barely 30 programmes at graduate engineering (including diploma) levels graduating about 1000 students this is insufficient for bringing about technological change in the sector; (b) Indian firms invest very little in training its existing workforce and the skills are limited to existing processes (Chandra 1998); (c) there is an acute shortage of trained operators and supervisors in India. It is expected that Indian firms will have to invest close to Rs. 1400 bn by year 2010 to increase its global trade to $ 50 bn. This kind of investment would require, by our calculations, about 70,000 supervisors and 1.05mn operators in the textile sector and at least 112,000 supervisors and 2.8mn operators in the apparel sector (assuming 80:20 ratio of investment between textiles and apparel). The real bottleneck to growth is going to be availability of skilled manpower.

Cycle Time :Cycle time is the key to competitiveness of a firm as it affects both price and delivery schedule. Cycle time reduction is strongly correlated with high first pass yield, high throughput times, and low variability in process times, low WIP and consequently cost. Indian firms have to dramatically reduce cycle times across the entire supply chains which are currently quite high (Chandra, 2004). Customs must provide a turnaround time of day for an order before Indian firms can they expect to become part of larger global supply chains. Indian firms need a strong deployment of industrial engineering with particular emphasis on cellular manufacturing, JIT and statistical process control to reduce lead times on shop floors. Penetration of IT for improving productivity is particularly low in this sector.

Innovation & Technology:A review of the products imported from China to USA during JanuaryApril 2005 reveals that the top three products in terms of percentage increase in imports were Tire Cords & Tire Fabrics (843.4% increase over the previous year), Non-woven fabrics (284.1% increase) and Textile/Fabric Finishing Mill Products (197.2% increase) (FICCI, 2005). None of these items, however, figure in the list of imports from India that have gained in these early days of post-MFA. Entry into newer application domains of industrial textiles, nano-textiles, home furnishings etc. becomes imperative if we are to grow beyond 56% of global market share as these are areas that are projected to grow significantly. Synthetic textiles comprise about 50 per cent of the global textile market. Indian synthetic industry, however, is not well entrenched. The Technology Upgradation Fund of the government is being used to stimulate investment in new processes. However, there is little evidence that this deployment in technology has accompanied changes in the managerial regimes a necessary condition for increasing productivity and order winning ability. Domestic Market :The Indian domestic market for all textile and apparel products is estimated at $26 bn and growing. While the market is very competitive at the low end of the value chain, the mid or higher ranges are over priced (i.e., dollar pricing). Firms are not taking advantage of the large domestic market in generating economies of scale to deliver cost advantage in export markets. The Free Trade Agreement with Singapore and Thailand will allow overseas producers to meet the aspirations of domestic buyers with quality and prices that are competitive in the domestic market. Ignoring the domestic market, in the long run, will peril the export markets for domestic producers. In addition, high retail property prices and high channel margins in India will restrict growth of this market. Firms need to make their supply chain leaner in order to overcome these disadvantages.

Institutional Support :Textile policy has come long ways in reducing impediments for the industry sometimes driven by global competition and, at other times, by international trade regulations. However, few areas of policy weakness stand out labour reforms (which is hindering movement towards higher scale of operations by Indian firms), power availability and its quality, customs clearance and shipment operations from ports, credit for large scale investments that are needed for up gradation of technology, and development of manpower for the industry. These are problems facing several sectors of industry in India and not by this sector alone.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion enterprises can use various marketing instruments in their actions. Obviously, managing a brand needs much talent and skill, but most of all some experience. In order to fully exploit the opportunities given by the brand strategy, it needs constant work on the brand, investment in its development and expansion of its capital. Therefore it is worth finding out precisely all the possible aspects of brand managing, if we wish to achieve a position of the leader in a given sector. On the other hand competitive strategies are developed by sector level firms and its their individual and collective initiatives that secure higher market share in global trade. While one has to be ever vigilant of non-tariff barriers in the post MFA world, the new market will be won on the basis of capabilities across the supply chain. Policy will need to facilitate this building of capabilities at the firm level and the flexible strategies that firms will need to devise periodically.

REFERENCE Branding - Optymalizacja strategii marki w kontekcie celw przedsibiorstwa, www.cobra.pl Budzanowska M., Marketing w praktyce, p. 10. J.B., Pokaza si w unikatowy sposb, Rzeczpospolita, 03.06.1998, p. 48. Aaker D.A., Managing Brand Equity - Capitalizing on the Value of a Brand name, The Free Press, New York, 1991. Chandra, P., Competitiveness of Indian Textiles & Garment Industry: Some Perspectives, a presentation, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, December 2004. Chandra, P., Technology, Practices, and Competitiveness: The Primary Textiles Industry in Canada, China, and India, ed. P. Chandra, Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai, 1998. FICCI, Trends Analysis of India & Chinas Textiles and Apparel Exports to USA Post MFA, FICCI, New Delhi, July 2005. Texmin, Official website of Ministry of Textiles, Government of Indian,http://texmin.nic.in, 2005. OTC, Compendium of Textile Statistics, Office of Textile Commissioner, Minsitry of Textiles, Government of India, Mumbai, 2004.

SCHEMES ON HANDICRAFTS DEVELOPMENTDuring the period 1.1.2013 to 31.3.2014, the Government of India implemented seven Central Sector Schemes for holistic growth and development of handicrafts sector in the country. Brief highlights of the schemes are as under:Brand Image Promotion Programme at Santiago, Chile 12 November 2013136 M i n i s t r y o f T e x t i l e s

1. BABA SAHEB AMBEDKAR HASTSHILP VIKAS YOJANA This scheme aims to promote Indian handicrafts by developing artisans clusters into professionally managed and self-reliant community enterprise on the principles of effective member participation and mutual cooperation. The thrust of the scheme is on a project based, need based integrated approach for sustainable development of handicrafts through participation of craftspersons. The components of the scheme are as under: A. Social interventionsi. Diagnostic Survey and formulation of Project Planii. Community empowerment for mobilization of artisans into Self Help Groupsiii. Issuance of Identity cards to the artisans(Departmental activity)B. Technological interventionsi. Development and supply of improved modern toolsii. Design and Technical Development Workshopsiii. Integrated Design and Technical Development workshops. iv. Training of artisansv. Organizing Seminars & Symposiums. vi. Technological status and need based study and research provision.C. Marketing interventionsi. Organizing Exhibitionsii. Publicity through printing and electronic mode and brand building campaigniii. Setting up of Handicrafts emporia in own/rented/outright purchase of building and renovationiv. Market assessment, product assessment study and Study cum exposure tours for artisans and other stake holders tourv. Establishment of warehousing cum Common work shed vi. Entrepreneurship Development Programme.D. Financial interventionsi. Margin Money supportii. Wage compensation to cluster manager iii. Service charges for Implementing Agenciesiv. Engagement of experts/ consultants/institutions, etc., for providing need based assistance including guiding and monitoring.v. Credit Guarantee (Departmental activity)E. Cluster specific infrastructure related interventions.i. Establishment of Resource Centre for major craftsii. Establishment of E-kiosksiii. Creation of Raw Material Banks iv. Setting up of Common Facility Centre. v. Technological assistance by setting up of Facility Centres by Exporters/Entrepreneurs, etc.Under Baba Saheb Ambedkar Hastshilp Vikas Yojana Scheme, an amount of 137 Annual Report 2013-14 Rs. 7.11 Crore has been sanctioned for 117 clusters during the period 1.1.2013 to 31.3.2014 for ongoing projects and reimbursement cases. 2. DESIGN & TECHNICAL UP-GRADATIONThe scheme aims to upgrade artisans skills through development of innovative designs and prototype products for overseas market, revival of languishing crafts and preservation of heritage etc. The scheme has the following components:I. Skill up-gradation.a) Departmental activities of Regional Design & Tec. Dev. Centres.b) Assistance for training the trainers.c) Assistance to Shilp Gurus.(heritage masters) II. Assistance for Design and Technology Upgradation.a) Design & Technology Development Workshop.b) Integrated Design and Technology Development Project.III. Documentation Preservation and revival of rare and Languishing crafts.IV. National Award for outstanding contribution in Handicrafts Sector.V. Financial Assistance to Central Govt. sponsored Institutions.VI. Product Development programme for exporters.Under Design & Technical Upgardation Scheme an amount of Rs. 35.02 crore has been sanctioned during the period 1.1.2013 to 31.3.2014 for the 330 different activities viz Design Workshops/projects/Assistance to Shilp persons etc. 3. MARKETING SUPPORT AND SERVICES SCHEMES The scheme has following three broad components:i) Domestic Marketing Marketing Events covering Crafts Bazaar/Gandhi Shilp Bazar ; Exhibitions ;Sourcing Shows & Travel & transportation assistance. Marketing Infrastructure covering ;Urban Haat ;Emporia ;Marketing Hub in Metros ;Sourcing Hub in major clusters & Ware-housing facilities Marketing Services covering Workshops/Seminars & Marketing Studies within the country.ii) International Marketing Marketing Events covering Cultural Exchange Programmes; Fairs & Exhibitions ; Thematic Shows; Reverse Buyer Seller Meet & Participation of Entrepreneurs/ SHGs Federations/National Awardees. Social and Welfare Measures covering Initiatives to counter problems arising out of National/International laws,iii) Publicity Publicity through print and electronic media. Publicity through maps, folders, brochures catalogues and pamphlets, etc. Publicity through Website, CD ROMs etc. To create Brand image for Indian Handicrafts.138 M i n i s t r y o f T e x t i l e s Under Plan scheme of Marketing & Support Services Scheme an amount of Rs. 33.59 crore has been sanctioned during the period 1.1.2013 to 31.3.2014 for 475 Marketing activities like Gandhi Shilp Bazaar, Craft Bazaars, Exhibitions, sourcing shows including activities undertaken under International marketing component, hiring of Stalls by various regions, participation in International events and various advertisement.4. HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT SCHEMEThe Human Resource Development Scheme has been formulated to provide qualified and trained workforce for establishing a strong production base coupled with improvement in quality and use of appropriate techniques, processes and innovative design to meet present day market requirement.(i) Training Through Established Institutions.(ii) Training in Innovative Designs for the persons involved in Pattern making/Talim writing/Plaster/Rubber Moulds/Block making etc.(iii) Training of Artisans/SHG leaders/NGO in capacity building.Under Plan scheme of Human Resource Development Scheme an amount of Rs. 12.00 Crore have been sanctioned during the period 1.1.2013 to 31.3.2014 for 414 ongoing projects and reimbursement cases. 5. RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT SCHEMEResearch and Development scheme was introduced to conduct surveys and studies of important crafts and make in-depth analysis of specific aspects and problems of Handicrafts in order to generate useful inputs to aid policy planning and fine tune the ongoing initiatives; and to have independent evaluation of the schemes implemented by this office. The scheme has been continued for implementation during the Twelveth five year plan. Following activities are being undertaken.1. Survey & Studies on different topics :i. Survey/Studies of specific crafts for which adequate information is not available.ii. Problem relating to availability of raw material, technology, design, common facilities, etc.iii. Living and working conditions of artisans in specific areas of crafts.iv. Market evaluation studies of specific crafts for either domestic or overseas markets.v. Techno-economic feasibility studies and post evaluation of the various promotional projects programmes under taken in the handicrafts sector.vi. Areas requiring special study for uplift of the weaker sections viz. scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.2. Financial Assistance for preparation of legal, para legal, standards, audits and other documentation leading to labeling/certification.3. Financial assistance to organization for evolving, developing a mechanism for protecting crafts including languishing crafts, design, heritage, historical knowledge base, research and implementation of the same 139 Annual Report 2013-14 enabling the sector/segment to face challenges. 4. Conducting Census of handicraft artisans of the country.5. Registration of Crafts under Geographical Indication Act & necessary follow up implementation.6. Assisting handicrafts exporters in adoption of GSI global standards and for bar coding, including handicrafts mark for generic products.7. Financial Assistance for taking up problems/issues relating to brand building and promotion of Indian handicrafts.8. Conducting of workshops/seminars on issues of specific nature relating to handicrafts sector.Under Research & Development Scheme an amount of Rs. 7.35 crore has been sanctioned from 1.1.2013 to 31.3.2014 for 150 ongoing studies/workshops and reimbursement cases like studies, Seminar-cum-workshops & number of registration under GIA/Logo Mark under IPR ACT. Census of Handicrafts Artisans in the whole country is under operation. 6. HANDICRAFTS ARTISANS COMPREHENSIVE WELFARE SCHEME.The scheme has been included in the 12th Five Year Plan as one of the major schemes with the following two main components, aimed at Insurance Cover and Health Care of Handicrafts Artisan and his family:A. Rajiv Gandhi Shilpi Swasthya Bima Yojana.Rajiv Gandhi Shilpi Swasthya Bima Yojana aims at financially enabling the artisans community to access to the best of healthcare facilities in the country. This scheme covers not only the artisans but also any four members out of spouse, dependent parents and children.B. Bima Yojana for Handicrafts Artisans.The objective of Bima Yojana For Handicrafts Artisans is to provide life insurance protection to the Handicrafts Artisans, whether male or female, between the age group of 18-60 years.Under Plan scheme of Handicrafts Artisans Comprehensive Welfare Scheme an amount of Rs. 26.41 crore has been sanctioned during the period 1.1.2013 to 31.3.2014 for coverage of 1.86 lakhs Handicrafts artisans (including NER) under Bima yojana and no coverage could be undertaken under Rajiv Gandhi Shilpi Swasthya Bima Yojana due to non approval of the Scheme in time.7. INFRASTRUCTURE AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT SCHEME (NEW SCHEME)The scheme aims at the development of world class infrastructure in the country to support handicraft production, and enhance the product quality and cost to enable it to compete in the world market. The objectives of the scheme are as follows:1. To develop infrastructure in an equitable manner to support handicraft industry in the country2. To ensure availability required technology, product diversification, design development, raw material banks, and marketing & promotion facilities in nearest vicinity possible 3. To enhance the competitiveness of the products in terms of increased market share and ensuring increased 140 M i n i s t r y o f T e x t i l e s

productivity by higher unit value realization of the products4. To improve the resource pool of skilled persons in the country by developing high class institutes that provide certified courses and degrees in Handicraft field enhancing skill development in the country Scheme components: The scheme will comprise of following components. 1. Establishment of craft based resource centre2. Urban Haat3. Setting up of Raw Material Bank4. Setting up of Common Facility Centre5. Handicraft Museum6. Setting up of Design Bank.7. Emporia 8. Setting up of marketing hubs in Urban areas 9. Setting up of testing laboratories10. Mini Urban Haat11. Technological Upgradation Assistance to exporters/entrepreneurs.12. Integrated Handicraft park13. Craft and design schools14. Craft Village15. Restructuring of DC (H)field formations including Regional Design and Technical Dev. Centres and any other infrastructure to be created departmentally16. Looms for J&K artisans Under the scheme an amount of Rs. 9.79 crore has been sanctioned during the period 1.1.2013 to 31.3.2014 for construction of International craft Complex, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi, construction of Regional Design & Technical Development Centre, Okhla, Construction of Crafts Museum and M&SEC, Jaipur, Urban haat, at Eluru (A.P.)