Special Product Group Project

On
BRAND LOYALTY IN RELATION TO HOME TEXTILES










Submitted by
JISHITHA.M
PRIYANKA RAJANALA



Under the supervision of
Ms.Harleen Sahni









Department of Fashion Management Studies (FMS)
National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT)
Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India
GH-0 Road, Behind Infocity
Gandhinagar382007. Gujarat
www.nift.ac.in
October,2014

DECLARATION




We declare that we have completed the Special Product Group project on the topic Brand
loyalty in relation to home textiles. We also declare that all the taken data has been
acknowledged by us. We have put in efforts to complete this Special Product Group project
successfully.

..




JISHITHA.M
PRIYANKA RAJANALA
MFM-III
2013-15
































ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We, Jishitha Mohan and Priyanka Rajanala, take this opportunity to thank our mentor
Ms.Harleen Sahni for providing us with an interesting project and guiding us throughout the
project and also for helping us to explore new things. We thank NIFT for adding this module
in our curriculum and providing us an opportunity to get hands- on experience of Home
Textiles Industry. We would also like to thank our other faculty members for their
encouragement and support for guiding us in documenting our work and knowledge gained
through this module.









































Table of Contents

INTERVIEWEE ................................................................................................................................. 5
OBJECTIVES ..................................................................................................................................... 5
INTERVIEWS .................................................................................................................................... 6
ANALYSIS OF THE INTERVIEWS ................................................................................................. 9
HOME TEXTILES FURNISHING IN INDIA .................................................................................. 9
INTRODUCTION TO THE INDUSTRY ...................................................................................... 9
Market Characteristics ...................................................................................................................... 11
Market Structure and Segmentation .................................................................................................. 11
Market Segmentation by Sector ........................................................................................................ 11
TRENDS ........................................................................................................................................... 12
Welspun India Ltd. ........................................................................................................................ 12
Bombay Dyeing ............................................................................................................................ 12
CONSUMER LOYALTY TOWARDS HOME TEXTILE INDUSTRY......................................... 13
Characteristics of Indian Consumer .................................................................................................. 14
Different Segments of Indian Consumers ......................................................................................... 14
Factors that Influence the Choices of Consumers ............................................................................. 15
VALUE CHAIN FOR HOME FURNISHING INDUSTRY ............................................................ 15
SURVEY AND ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................ 15
Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 16
Research Design ............................................................................................................................ 16
Sources of data collection ............................................................................................................. 16
Scope of the research .................................................................................................................... 16
Questionnaire along with statistical analysis ................................................................................ 16
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 19






INTERVIEWEE

Name Designation Mode of
interview
Industry Contact No.

Mr.Suneel
Mohnot

President
commercial
(welspun India
Ltd)

Telephonic
(conference
call)

Home textiles

+91-
8879685001

Ms. Shalu Zala

Brand manager
(welspun India
Ltd)

Telephonic

Home textiles

+91-
8879685001

Ms.Rajlakshmee

Design thinker
(welspun India
Ltd)

Telephonic

Home textiles

+91-
8879685001

Mr.Sunil
George

Brand Manager
Reliance
Communication

Telephonic

Telecommunications

+91-
9819232281







OBJECTIVES

I. To understand the formation and strengthening of brand loyalty
II. Study of supply chain
III. Understanding the various marketing strategies
















INTERVIEWS

Group Interview:
(1) Mr. Suneel Mohnot President (Commercial) at Welspun India
(2) Ms. Shalu Zala Brand Manager at Welspun India
(3) Ms. Rajlakshmee Design Thinker at Welspun India

1. Introduction and since how long have you been working with WELSPUN? At what
position? Job Description.

- Over all experience of 30 years in the industry. Currently president commercial and
SBU head auto textiles. Last one year working with Welspun India ltd before that I
was working with reliance industries limited - textile division for 17 years. Various
experience of variety of products right from whole value chain of textiles and handled
set up business also home furnishing, Auto textiles, fibre, yarn that is required value
chain. As Business -head, have been exposed to all the functional areas of a company/
business. As Commercial head, have handled purchases, logistics including for
imports and exports.
- An independent and thoughtful designer with an eye for detail, I am part of a
successful and growing brand. With over 5 years of experience in bringing ideas to
commercial life, I am most competent in roles that require a holistic approach to
building a logical, customer focused and sustainable brand wherein good design is not
just an outcome, but also a creative process.
- 6 years of experience in segmentation and consumer behavior, Brand Management,
Marketing communication & Brand activations (ATL & BTL), Market Research,
New store launches & PR. Handled a teams of 4-5 members. Managed projects on a
wide variety of subjects including innovation, teamwork and project management.


2. Welspun brand stands for? (Shalu)

Welspun brand stands for delivering excellent value to the consumers. It is targeted as
higher segment for the upper class in the society

3. Are you giving products? Are you full filling the promises whatever you are making
to all these segments? (Suneel)

There are two things. One is domestic business and other is international business
In international business we deal with all the top retailers of the world you name it
and they are our customers like Wal-Mart, IKEA ...etc. We are largest supplier of
home textile that clearly conveys that we are delivering what consumer needs.

4. Which strategy do you follow? Push strategy or pull strategy with customers? (Shalu)

In domestic it is the pull and international business is bulk driven which is based on
personalised relationship with the customers because they are bulk business. We are
not into retailing in international level. At International level our customers retail
again so there it is relationship basis.

5. In domestic market, whatever purchases you get from the customers are those repeat
purchases or fresh purchases mostly? (Rajlakshmee)

There is a fair amount of brand loyalty that means repeat purchases.

6. What marketing activities do you do? (Shalu)
Everything that requires right from talking stages regularly new collections and
promoting very soon we will be doing advertising in a very big way. Actually
effective 25
th
September
You will see lot of advertisements

7. I have never seen welspun Advertisements? Why is it so? (Shalu)

Yes, because 99% was export but now there is a new touch on domestic market and
Parineeti Chopra is going to be our brand leader. From 25
th
September you can see lot
of advertisements.

8. For new advertisements campaign how much expenses have been made
approximately?

That is difficult to define it is substantial because we really want to build the brand.

9. Normally, prior to this what all advertisement strategies you use? (Suneel)

Advertisement strategies, couple of years back it went into retail with more than 100
outlets and it advertise and then it withdrew from the market .There was no need for
advertisement in the domestic market. 98 99% was the export business thats why it
was not evident except as corporate brand not like product brand


10. About Retailing in domestic market? (Rajlakshmee)

More than 100 outlets across India then pull back. Currently franchise model, Shop in
shop there will be dedicate space, display area and going to create pull for that.

11. For after sales services what you are going to do? (Rajlakshmee)
Quality related genuine complaint product will be replaced.
12. What is your pricing strategy? (Suneel)

Because we are targeting premium customers so pricing strategies is premium and
premium value, premium brand position.

13. About suppliers for raw materials? (Suneel)

We have Vertical Integrated mill which produce own yarn raw material and outsource
from reputed mills. Standardised quality products only we purchase.

14. How many production units you have? (Suneel)

There is two factories or production plants

Wel spun in vapi ,mumbai
Welspun City , a 2500 acre township set up in the heart of Anjar(Gujarat) is
the backbone of Welspun.

15. Can you tell me what all quality control test you do? (Rajlakshmee)
Quality control is all progressive which starts from refining the raw materials and getting
the material conveying them to the suppliers and it suits for any inputs which starts from
cotton, yarn, dyes and chemicals, packing materials .....Which are pre-approved then only
production starts.
Quality is completely in-house and we have a strong quality check department .They
check all the products right from raw materials to finished goods. They have the right to
reject the materials. We have a strong quality organisation we call it as TQM Total
Quality Management it is very strong and best team
16. Brief about Distribution channel (Suneel)
International business is directly sent to the customers. We have a big warehouse in USA
hired space and there we stock the goods and consumer take delivery of their goods once
or twice in a week depending upon the requirement that is one. Direct container will go
the customer that depends upon the direct relationship. In domestic market, shop in shop,
distributors and combination of all. We have some company outlets one in Vapi and other
at Anjar and there are few in couple of malls across the country.
Products are widely distributed in all major retailers and few distributors buy products
and resell it in the market. Shopper stop is one of the example.

ANALYSIS OF THE INTERVIEWS
It is evident that India is fast emerging as a major production and export centre for home
textiles. It can be said that the home textile industry is thriving in India. Welspun has
established itself as the World No. 1 supplier of home furnishings according to surveys
conducted. Welspun ensures customer loyalty by producing good quality products. The
design team works on new designs every season and thus ensures fresh designs to keep the
customers happy.
Welspun is starting its business in India as well and thus to establish itself here they are going
to start advertising on a larger scale starting this 2th September. They understand that in order
to attract domestic customers it is important to be as much visible as possible. All popular as
well as small retailers have welspun products and the company is ensuring wide range and
availability of products.
For home furnishings business in order to build brand loyalty the company has to foremost
ensure good quality of the product as well as good designs. Their target market is Upper
Middle Class and Upper Class.
HOME TEXTILES FURNISHING IN INDIA
INTRODUCTION TO THE INDUSTRY

India is globally well-known for its wide variety and exquisite designs in home textiles &
furnishing fabrics. Within the country, with a big boom in housing and growing affordability
of Indian consumers, the demand has been growing by a healthy 30-40% per annum. Not
only India is home for some of the worlds biggest producers like Welspun (Largest global
supplier of home textile) and Dicitex (Fifth largest furnishing fabrics producer). Many Indian
brands like Indian Drape, RR Dcor, F & F, Maspar, Goldtex, ABN, Portico New York, Birla
Century, Spread, Swayam, MYCK, Zyneand Super Net are recognised nationally and are
growing constantly. Besides, a large number of international brands like Zimmer+Rhodes,
Designers Guild, Esprit Home, Harlequin, United Colour of Benetton have experienced a
20-30% annual growth in the Indian market.
The demand for home textiles & furnishing fabrics in India in terms of prices, designs and
colours is wide and varied. All kinds of products sell here depending on the market segment.
While affluent consumers prefer refined international taste in terms of quality and design,
with price no constraint, middle class and economy segment consumers offer huge volumes
for reasonably priced products. With growing awareness towards environment, safety,
hygiene and functionality, the demand for better quality home textiles with such features
(stain-resistant, flame retardant, fragrance etc.) is increasing. At HGH India 2012,
manufactures, brands & importers from Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Panipat, Karur,
Bhadohi, Kunnur, Bangalore, Raipur, Kolkata will showcase a wide range at HGH India
2012 for products like, bedsheets, bed sets, top-of-the-bed lines, towels, upholstery fabrics,
drapery, table & kitchen line and other household textiles.
The India home furnishing market derives its demand from textile industry. With the
increasing textile industry the market for home improvement has a rich history behind it.
During the years 2009-2012, India home furnishing industry has registered a slow growth of
2.9% but with the increasing disposable income and changing consumer dynamics will lead
to a growth in the furnishing market which will push the growth rate to 8% in the next five
years. The industry has positive outlook due to booming hospitality, retail sector and easy
availability of home furnishing loans.
Global home furnishing market has witnessed ups and downs in the last few years due to
2009 euro crisis and its post economic crisis. The global market has been growing at a slower
rate but with the rise in income of the consumers and changing lifestyle, the market is
expected to grow at a higher rate in future. Europe accounts for the largest market for home
furnishing followed by Unites States and Asia Pacific.
India home furnishing organized sector accounts for merely 6% of the market revenues and
94% of market is captured by unorganized companies. The organized sector comprises of big
brand companies and international companies including Bombay Dyeing, Alok Industries,
Welspun India, Kurlon, D Dcor, Vishal Mart, Home Saaz, etc. Unorganized sector consists
of small players with manufacturing varied products at a lesser price.
The domestic market for home furnishing has been increasing due to rise in disposable
income and a jump in home furnishing retail chains. The Indian market for home
improvement is dominated by unorganized sector due to more brand visibility, varieties and
low prices. Bombay Dyeing and Alok Industries are the leaders in the organized market. The
segments in home furnishing include bed and bath linen, curtains and upholstery, kitchen
linen, blankets, carpets and rugs. In the near future, the market for curtains & upholstery and
blankets & rugs will grow at a faster rate.

Market Characteristics
The Textile Industry in India is one of the largest segments of the Indian economy accounting
for over one fifth of the country's industrial production. It provides employment to around 15
million people who have helped produce one of the largest, most fascinating varieties of yarn,
fabric, home textiles, home furnishings and other textile products in the world. The Home
Furnishings Industry in India falls under the purview of the textile industry. Indian home
furnishings manufacturers and home furnishings exporters offers a spectacular range of
bedspreads, furnishing fabrics, curtains, rugs, durries, carpets, placemats, cushion covers,
table covers, linen, kitchen accessories, made-ups, bed spreads, bath linen, and other home
furnishings accessories to the world. Manufacturers of Home Furnishings from India,
whether floor coverings, kitchen linen, bath linen, cushion covers, bed spreads, curtains
etc.create a rage in the international markets.
Market Structure and Segmentation
Indian market is still in a nascent stage where market is largely unstructured. Although Indian
home textile products have been famous for their color, quality and durability since ages,
Indian industry has started becoming more organized and structured only in the past few
years.
Market Segmentation by Sector
Indian home textile products can be broadly categorized into organized and unorganized
sector. The present market size in terms of volume largely tilts towards the unorganized
sector.
Major growth in the organized sector has come about particularly after the dismantling of
Quota Regime. Many large scale players who were essentially in the export segment have
started venturing in to domestic market. This has been a significant market development and
has contributed to upgrading the quality of the products as also broadening the product-range.
The market share of the organized sector which was much lower in the 90s has significantly
escalated specially in the past 5 years. The organized sector at present, according to a cross-
section of industry experts, has increased to about 30% of the total home textile production in
India by value.

TRENDS

Furniture and Furnishings and various other industries, such as Real Estate and Hospitality,
are inter-dependent. Thus, a boom in any of these industries would in turn accelerate the
growth of the Furniture and Furnishing industry. Economic factors such as national economy
and disposable income of end- customers also contribute in the growth of industries such as
Furniture and Furnishing. With the advent of brand awareness among end-consumers, players
in the Furniture and Furnishing industry are resorting to brand building and brand
enhancement activities that enable them to gain a competitive edge over other players.
Welspun India Ltd.

Welspun India Ltd. (WIL) is a fully integrated home textile manufacturer. It is one of the
largest global home textile players, with world class manufacturing facilities in India.
Besides, the company was ranked 1st in the Top 15 Supplier Giants (USA) by Home Textiles
Today Magazine, January 2013.
Today, WIL holds an undoubted global leader position owing to its' willingness to embrace
new technologies and develop innovative products. With a network across 32 countries, the
company offers the entire range of home textile products to consumers from almost every
corner of the world and are one of the trusted suppliers to many of the top retailers in the US
and Europe. Welspun India also owns leading brands like Christy, Hygro Comfort and others.
It has modern manufacturing facilities at Anjar and Vapi in Gujarat, India where it produces
the entire range of home textiles for bed & bath category. Welspun India Ltd. also owns the
following home textile brands.




Bombay Dyeing

Bombay Dyeing is one of India's largest producers of textiles. The daily production at
Bombay Dyeing exceeds 300,000 meters of fabrics and it has a distribution chain consisting
of 600 plus exclusive shops spread all over the country. Bombay Dyeing, exports to advanced
countries such as USA, countries in European Union, Australia and New Zealand, and its
sales turnover is more or less equally divided between National and International markets.
Apart from the textiles, Bombay Dyeing also deals in the chemicals. Bombay Dyeing is part
of the Wadia Group, which is more than 250 years old. Wadia Group initially ventured into
the area of ship building, and more than 355 ships were designed and built by the Group. As
the industrialization grew in the 19th century, so did the trading, and new opportunities for
business. In the late 19th century, Bombay was one of the major cotton ports of the world.
Nowrosjee Wadia sensed an opportunity in India's mushrooming textile industry and on
August 23, 1879, Bombay Dyeing was founded in a humble redbrick shed. Since then,
Bombay Dyeing has grown into one of India's largest producer of textiles. The company also
diversified and pioneered the manufacturing of various chemicals.

CONSUMER LOYALTY TOWARDS HOME TEXTILE INDUSTRY



The Loyalty is generally assumed as the behavioral aspect of the customer related with the
repeat buying. But if the customer is attached with you because she has no better alternative,
will it still be called loyalty? Loyalty can be understood with the help of its two components
i.e. attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty.

Customers positive attitude towards your brand i.e. brand preference, belief, commitment and
intention to buy and Customers positive behavior such as how frequently customer buys your
product, recently when she has bought, how much is the monetary value of purchases.
Loyalty Programs are the schemes offered to customer as reward for their cumulative
patronage with the brand. It can be immediate or future incremental benefits to customer.
Loyalty Program can be offered:-
a. As Loyalty schemes (cards) such as membership card with point accumulation for
desired awards or special discounts
b. Customer clubs such as Sams Club by Wal-Mart, Harley ownership club. Not very
much prevalent in India
c. Sales promotion such as free premium for continuous purchase, rebate or cash back.
Characteristics of Indian Consumer
The Indian consumers are noted for the high degree of value orientation. Such orientation to
value has labeled Indians as one of the most discerning consumers in the world. Even, luxury
brands have to design a unique pricing strategy in order to get a foothold in the Indian
market. Indian consumers have a high degree of family orientation. This orientation in fact,
extends to the extended family and friends as well. Brands with identities that support family
values tend to be popular and are accepted easily in the Indian market. Indian consumers are
also associated with values of nurturing, care and affection. These values are far more
dominant than values of ambition and achievement. Products, which communicate feelings
and emotions gel with the Indian consumers.
Different Segments of Indian Consumers
Socialites: Socialites belong to the upper class. They prefer to shop in specialty stores, go to
clubs on weekends, and spend a good amount on luxury goods. They are always looking for
something different. They are the darlings of exclusive establishments. They go for high
value, exclusive products. Socialites are also very brand conscious and would go only for the
best known in themarket.The Conservatives: The Conservatives belong to the middle class.
The conservative segment is the reflection of the true Indian culture. They are traditional in
their outlook, cautious in their approach towards purchases; spend more time with family
than in partying and focus more on savings than spending. Slow in decision making, they
seek a lot of information before making any purchase. They look for durability and
functionality but at the same time is also image conscious.
They prefer high value consumer products, but often have to settle for the more affordable
one.
These habits in turn affect their purchasing habits where they are trying to go for the middle
and upper middle level priced products.
The Working Women: The working womens segment is the one, which has seen a
tremendous growth in the late nineties. This segment has opened the floodgates for the Indian
retailers. The Indian women have grown out of their long-standing image of being
homemakers. Working women have their own mind in decision to purchase the products that
appeal to them.
The Rich: India has over 1 million rich households (income greater than Euro 8,000 per
annum). These people are upwardly mobile. Some of them in this category are Double
Income No Kids (DINK)households. They spend more on leisure and entertainment-activities
than on future looking investments.
Indian consumers are also associated with values of nurturing, care and affection. These
values are far more dominant that values of ambition and achievement. Product which
communicate feelings and emotions gel with the Indian consumers. Apart from psychology
and economics, the role of history and tradition in shaping the Indian consumer behavior is
quite unique.
Factors that Influence the Choices of Consumers
The consumers put major emphasis on product quality. Price is another important
consideration attracting customers to a particular shop/brand/product. Pre and post sales
services, parking facilities and ambience of the store or mall are the other major factors that
attract local customers.In the selection of products, the consumers do not give automatic
precedence to local brands over national or foreign brands. Value for money has become the
over-riding consideration. Fabric, texture and color followed by proper fits and sizing weigh
more importance to the local consumers rather than just easy availability of local brands on
account of proximity.
Local consumers of apparels in each region are also guided by:
Window POS Displays
Roadside Hoardings
Gift Vouchers
Fresh arrivals
Event Sponsorships
Discount Offers
Celebrity Endorsements
Advertisements / Features in Magazines
Advertisements on TV/ Electronic Media

VALUE CHAIN FOR HOME FURNISHING INDUSTRY



Furnishing fabrics include home textiles such as floor coverings, carpets, cushions and
covers, and curtains. The various raw materials used to manufacture home furnishing include
cotton, polyester, nylon, and silk. These raw materials are processed in spinning mills and
later woven or knitted to form fabric or cloth, which in turn is processed to provide the
preferred quality of home furnishing material.

SURVEY AND ANALYSIS

Methodology
The research includes both secondary and primary research. The primary research has been done
internally with the help of branding and other involved department. The research has been conducted
within a period of 2 months.
Research Design
The data has been collected using both secondary and primary data collection methods.
Both quantitative data (numbers and statistics) & qualitative data (usually words or text) has
been collected to complete the study.
The research methodology is exploratory in nature
Sources of data collection
Secondary Data Research- Secondary data has been collected to find out the best practices
of the industry and other companies. Secondary Research includes projects that have been
done in the past, newspapers, magazines, companys official websites and other websites, etc.
Primary Data Research-For the research to be completed successfully secondary research
was not enough so to analyse the actual problem, primary data was also collected. Primary
research was mainly collected by consumer survey and observations

Scope of the research
Since, the research was limited to home furnishings only; therefore there is a scope to cover
other product categories as well for the better understanding of the home dcor industry.
Questionnaire along with statistical analysis
1. Gender



2. Age
40
60
Men Women


3. Marrital Status

4. Frequency of purchase
4
24
48
24
0 - 15 16 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 50
72
28
Married Unmarried

5. What do they purchase mostly

6. Brand Preference
44
56
1 - 2 times in a year 3 - 4 times in a year
22
39
21
18
Furniture Bed Sheets Curtains Home Dcor

7. Reason of preference

REFERENCES

http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/2485684/india_home_furnishing_market_foreca
st_and
http://www.businessvibes.com/content/furniture-and-furnishings-overview
http://www.crisil.com/research/customised-research-industries-textile.html

48
28
18
6
Bombay Dyeing Portico Wellspun Others
30
22
10
38
Quality Designs Colours Brand Name