Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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[MARKETING MANAGEMENT] December 15, 2007
Acknowledgement
Executive Summary 07
Indian Luggage Market 09
Critical View of the Luggage Industry 11
Per 1997 12
Post 1997 13
Environmental Scanning 14
1.1 Technological Environment
14
1.2 Social Environment
14
1.3 Economic Environment
14
1.4 Political Environment
15
Porters Model 16
Major Players in the Organized Sector 22
V.I.P 23
1.5 Product Portfolio 24
1.6 Objectives
28
1.7 Segmentation
29
1.10 Positioning
30
1.11 Strategy
31
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1.17 Positioning
49
1.18 Segmentation
49
1.23 Luggage
52
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Executive Summary
Brief Insight into Indian Luggage Industry
The luggage industry in India is currently undergoing a
consolidation phase. Competition in the sector is expected to
intensify with the entry of foreign players like Delsey of France.
Companies with good research and development facilities are
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The Indian luggage market is worth nearly one thousand crores. A considerable
portion of the market is unorganized. The table below gives the distribution of the
market between the branded sector and the unbranded sector.
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The market for luggage in India can be subdivided into three segments,
comprising of the premium, regular and economy segment. The current growth
rate of each of these segments shows that the premium segment is the fastest
growing one - five times as fast as the economy segment, and two and a half
times as fast as the regular segment.
Premium 25%
Regular 10%
Economy 5%
Organized Sector
Company Market
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share
VIP 70%
Aristocrat 15%
Safari 14%
Others 1%
MARKET DISTRIBUTION
UNORGANISED
SECTOR
SAFARI OTHERS
ARISTOCRAT
8% 1% VIP
9% UNORGANISE
D SECTOR
ARISTOCRAT
40%
SAFARI
VIP
42%
OTHERS
The luggage Industry can be traced into a triangle with the MNC giant Samsonite
International trying to steal the limelight, the $50 million Indian giant VIP
Industries at one of the vertices and the triangle completed with the $120 million
unorganized sector at the third end. The other small companies find place
somewhere in between. This then is the Indian moulded luggage industry in a
nutshell.
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Going back in time, the history of Rs. 10 billion Indian moulded luggage industry
can be observed in two phase’s viz., the pre-1997 phase and the post-1997.
Pre-1997
During this period, the companies were more interested in volume sales rather than
satisfaction. The Indian market was dominated by both the small and big players.
It had still to witness the onslaught of the multinationals. American Tourister,
currently the world’s second largest luggage manufacturer was there on the scenes
but, had to retreat in 1985 due to poor sales.
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Quality of the Indian luggage at that time was suited mostly for the low end mass
market and not for the premium end quality conscious customer. Innovations were
very few. People had got used to the old type of luggage which had a top, a bottom
and a lock to keep it intact. The manufacturing process concentrated more on
volumes than on quality. And surprisingly, nobody was complaining. The reason:
lack of quality awareness among the customers.
Then came the discounts war in the 90’s. Customers were availing 50-60%
discount on the maximum retail prices. Even as the sales soared companies started
to bleed. At this juncture, the aggressive Piramal group took over Universal
luggage and its brand Aristocrat. This gave a body blow to all competition. The
battlefield now comprised VIP Industries, Universal as part of the Piramal group)
and Safari to name a few until the entry of world number one the $737 million
Samsonite International, in late 1996. Till then competition was restricted to sales.
Service and customer satisfaction didn’t assume importance. In short, it was more
of selling than marketing.
Post-1997
This was the period when the industry witnessed a paradigm shift in terms of
quality and service. Liberalized baggage rules, presence of multinational and freer
import of luggage helped the Indian consumer to access international quality
luggage. In fact it ushered in a phase where even the domestic companies showed
the keenness to compete with the foreigners instead of following them. Sanjeev
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Aga, former CEO, VIP Industries says. “A few years back we were not aware of
our own strengths. We assumed that the best was Samsonite or Delsey and we
tried to come close to their standards. But now, we feel that we must do better to
outsmart them in the market.’ The company already seems to have moved in that
direction. While between 1990 and 1996 VIP had registered only eight new
designs in the next two years (1997 and 1998) the company registered 16 design
patents. The Indian consumer today has more choice than before.
Environmental Scanning
Political Environment:
Government has placed the raw materials required for the industry under OGL
(Open general license). Raw materials can be freely imported. There is no
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restriction on the export of finished product and very little barriers were there for
foreign firms to enter into Indian market.
Excise duty, Import duty, Custom duty, Sales tax have a substantial bearing on the
cost structure of the final product. International prices of raw materials are highly
flexible. There is no policy to control the burgeoning grey market.
Social Environment:
Luggage sales show a peak during the marriage season. This season witnesses a
spate of purchases of luggage.
Brands are promoted as status for consumers & tourists.
Economic Environment:
The luggage industry’s growth rate is dependent on the level of business & leisure
activity in the country. The positive signal in the growth of the economy works
well for the luggage industry. The growth in the tourism industry affects the
performances of the luggage industry which shows peak sales during the months of
September-January. The potential market growth @ 8-10% is making India a base
for the Multinational Companies.
Technological Environment: -
The luggage industry has graduated from the tin trunks; plywood suitcases to the
newly developed technologically superior plastic moulded suitcases with a lot of
features added on to cater the requirements of the customers. The luggage now is
developed for aesthetics, comfort & convenience in use. Technology is also
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PORTERS MODEL
Threat of Entry:
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1) Barriers To Entry:-
a) Economies of Scale:-
Existing distribution channels.
Brand awareness of existing players.
b) Product Differentiation:-
The existing players in the industry have managed to
differentiate their product from each other depending on the
segments they are in.
c) Capital Requirements:-
Total project cost=25 cr.
Payback period is 3-5 yr.
Access to Distribution Channel:-
Existing competitors have tie ups with wholesalers & retailers
for marketing their products based on the long term
relationship, high quality services or exclusive relationship. A
new entrant will have to invest heavily to develop a distribution
channel.
2) Expected Retaliation:-
Expanding of the distribution network by the existing player.
Accessibility of product.
Price cuts & discount.
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5) Suppliers:-
Raw materials used for moulded luggage are mainly
Polypropylene & HDPE Acrylonitrile Butadine Styrene (ABS).
These are by products of petroleum.
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The raw material forms 50% of the total cost of the product.
There is no restrictive sale policy by the government as
regards to the raw materials. Hence buyers can have resource
to the international market. The raw materials are under the
open general license which can import freely.
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Standard
Popular
Premium
In each segment there are 2-3 competitors. VIP is the leader
overall but in each segment there is intense competition as
each company tries to maximize its market share.
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• V.I.P.
• Samsonite
• Aristocrat
• Safari
• Giordano
• Delsey
• American Tourister
• Rimowa
• Kipling
• Jansport
• Jang
• Fiorelli
• Others
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V.I.P.
VIP Industries Ltd. is the flagship company of the DG Piramal
Group. Established in 1971, it is a leading luggage manufacturing
company, which manufactures strollys, suitcases, executive
cases, backpacks and other hard and soft-sided luggage. It owns
reputed brands such as VIP, Alfa, Footloose and Buddy. It has two
manufacturing units in India and various subcontract operations
in China and Indonesia. Currently, it has a workforce of nearly
2000 people.
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Product Portfolio
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Ltd. has renowned brands like VIP, Alfa, Footloose, and Buddy
covering the entire spectrum of travel products. VIP Industries
Ltd. has a license and markets Delsey products in India and
SAARC countries.
These products reach over 8000 retail outlets across the country.
Outside India, we have a network of over 1300 retailers across 27
countries. Our range includes injection moulded PP cases;
vacuum formed ABS cases as well as soft-side luggage in nylon,
polyester and EVA material.
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Skybags 10 35
Alfa 40 3
VIP range 35 10
Odyssey 15 30
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Segmentation
Distribution Network
Product Differentiation
VIP has made a dent into the unorganized sector as the only
branded product present in the standard segment.
Premium Segment :-
Popular Segment:-
Standard Segment:-
Positioning
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Strategy
Then VIP faced the problem faced by most of the giants: the
brand becoming generic to the category and local brands eating
into the share of the company.
In 1997 came a formidable threat to VIP – Samsonite. With in
short time Samsonite established its presence in the luxury
segment of the market. While VIP was very dominant in the mid-
segment, it had no presence in the luxury segment. Samsonite
posed a major threat to VIP and garnered a market share of about
35% in the luggage market within a short period of time. This
forced VIP to seriously reconsider its marketing strategy. To
counter the threat of Samsonite, VIP launched Elanza range of
premium luggages. Samsonite meanwhile also wanted to enter
the popular segment (800- 2000 range). It launched the brand
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bags for the youth, Buddy: school bags and Alfa: value for money
segment.
VIP is a market leader that is trying hard to retain its leadership
position. It had failed to create barriers for competition by
keeping many categories open for competition to enter. Now also
leather bag category is now seeing lot of action with big players
like Hidesign taking the lead. VIP does not have a presence in this
segment. But with its strong brand equity and ability to change
with the consumer trends will help VIP in its future battles.
Advertising Strategy
Pricing Strategy
Market Segmentation
Segme Price Market
nt range share
(Rs) (%)
Premiu 1500+ 15
m
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Popula 700- 30
r 1500
Standa 300-700 55
rd
The premium segment is at the top of the rung in India. It is
followed by the popular segment which is slightly larger than the
premium segment but smaller than the premium segment, the
latter segment is the largest and contributes to maximum sales in
developing countries. In contrast, the standard segment in the
developed countries is very small.
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fancy in the last few years. Even though the soft luggage
segment forms just 15-20% of the total industry. It is growing at
the rate of 25% which is much higher than the moulded luggage
segment growth.
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SWOT Analysis
1. Strengths:-
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2. Weakness:-
3. Opportunities:-
• Economy is reviving.
4. Threats:-
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The Moves:
But, early this year, VIP Industries launched Elanza, a slick brand
of premium moulded luggage targeted at the top end of the
premium market. Elanza boasts of two patents, for its bumper
and fabric lining. The 79-cm Elanza was priced at Rs. 3750, while
the 69-cm one sells for Rs. 3250 in India. Moreover, Elanza has
been made available through select dealers only, in order to
maintain its premium image. At present, VIP plans to export 90%
of its production of Elanzas.
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SAMSONITE
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BRAND PORTFOLIO
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• SAMSONITE
• SAMSONITE BLACK LABEL
• AMERICAN TOURISTER
• LAMBERTSON TRUEX
• LARK
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• Suitcases
• Carry-ons
• Garment bags
• Backpacks/Duffels
• Kids Luggage
• Business/Computer Bags
BASED ON SMALL MEDIUM LARGE
SIZE
(TOTAL 6 (TOTAL 20 (TOTAL 21
PRODUCTS) PRODUCTS) PRODUCTS)
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• Accessories
SUITCASES
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DISTRIBUTION NETWORK
Samsonite is present in 150 items with 450 outlets. They are not
interested in mass appeal & would like to concentrate on the top
23 cities. Samsonite is distributed primarily through:
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Positioning:
High Quality / High Price
Segmentation:
The top premium segment i.e. Rs. 1500-7500 is the main area
of attention of Samsonite where it already has 60% of the
market share.
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Product Differentiation:
The main differentiation factors based on the target consumer
that wish to cherish exclusivity are:
• Reliability
• Perceived Value of the Product
• International Quality
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Weakness:-
Opportunity:-
Threats:-
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SAFARI
Products & Pricing
Packs:-
1. Original Packs
Prices: Rs.1950-3150
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2. Heavy Packs
3. Child packs
Luggage
• Premium Bags
• Standard bags
• Trolley Bags
Prices: Rs.1300
2. Sportsman Luggage
Rs. 2000-3500
3. Leather Luggage
Business Gear
1. Briefcases
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2. Laptop Cases
Shoulder Bags
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1. Leather Bags
2. Shell Bags
• Deluxe Bags
• Standard Bags
• Classic Bags
Tote Bags
• Key Fob
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• Notepad holder
• PDA case
PUSH Strategy:
References
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• http://www.la411.com/company-V.I.P.%20Travel
%20Values&lid-3600517.htm
• www.vipbags.com
• www.vipmoderna.com
• www.bags-luggage.com
• www.google.co.in
• www.yahoosearch.com
• www.wikipedia.com
• www.travelequipments.com
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