Tuesday, March 17, 2020
21950183087900 Essays - Xiaomi, Smartphones, Economy Of China
21950183087900 Essays - Xiaomi, Smartphones, Economy Of China 21950183087900 Xiaomi's globalization strategies Location: Astana Course Code: MGMT621 Course Name: Strategic Management Professor: Stephan J. Wirtz , MA, MBA, DDA Student(s) Name(s) : Nurzhan Sikhimov INTRODUCTION The work aims to study and analyze the factors that led to the success of Xiaomi company, its current position among its competitors in the domestic and the world market. Xiaomi was founded in April 6, 2010 by serial entrepreneur Lei Jun, who is one of China's top 20 richest person with net worth US$ 9.1 billion according to Forbes. It crafted smartphone hardware, software, and internet services as well as accessories with the help of smart and talented people that it hired from Google, Kingsoft, Microsoft, Motorola, Yahoo and other successful technology companies around the globe. Xiaomi has sold more than 60 million smartphones worldwide in 2014, with more than 18 million handsets in China alone, resulting in US$ 12 billion revenue. Their presence is mainly in the Asian region such as China, Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines. Xiaomi's focus is to produce reliable, user friendly, mobile applications and affordable phones to customers. Xiaomi is currently the third largest smartphone producer in the world with over 5,000 employees worldwide. As of December 2014, Xiaomi has achieved the status of the most valuable technology start-up in the world after it successfully secured US$1.1 billion investment with a company valuation of US$ 45 billion [1] To understand reasons for the company's success, the business model canvas and SWOT analyses of the company are made. The studied scientific works and articles made it possible to consider the world smartphone industry, the place of Huawei in it, its abilities to survive in the tough struggle in the international market , present some solutions to sustainability of Huawei's competitive advantage. The business model canvas of the company KEY PARTNERS Google Youku Todou KEY ACTIVITIES Software development VALUE PROPOSITION Hig h tech affordable smartphones Customer oriented Link between hardware and software CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS Use of customer feedback for developing new products and technology Customer engagement CUSTOMER SIGMENTS Middle class customers KEY RESOURSES W ebsite and online stores I T and communications infrastructure M anufacturing facilities. Content development CHANNEL S E-commerce Few physical stores Advertisement through customers COST STRUCTURE Production RD REVENUE STREAMS Smartphone sales Other devices sales SWOT Analyses for Xiaomi S trengths One of the Largest Smartphone maker - Xiaomi is one of the largest smartphone makers in the world. It is said to be the 5th largest smartphone manufacturer as of 2017. Originating from China, the Smartphones are manufactured in huge quantities and have wide acceptance across the world. Highest selling Smartphone - The REDMI Note 4 became the highest selling smartphone in India and China and practically in 50% of the Asian market. This shows that Xiaomi is strongly rising in the smartphone market and has already beaten several giants. Huge China and Asia market available - Another benefit to Xiaomi is that the whole Asian market is their playground. As China lies within Asia and as Chinese mobile brands are highly penetrated in the Asian markets , Xiaomi still has a lot of ground to explore. Good Qualityproducts - Even at such low prices, no one can doubt the quality of Xiaomi phones. The smartphones are regularly rated high on all E-commerce portals - a further proof that Xiaomi does not compromise on quality even if lowers the price regularly. E-commerce advantage - The Flash sale model is a very popular model which has worked wonders for Xiaomi. In this model, the product is made available only in limited quantities and sold at a very low price . This model made the consumers crazy and each Xiaomi looked like a price which was hard earned. Weaknesses Offline Distribution - Xiaomi mainly sold through the flash sale but at times, it was difficult for customers to get their hands on a REDMI or MI model phone. This is because their offline distribution is not upto mark and Xiaomi phones sell mainly via E-commerce. Advertising and Marketing spends- The advertising and marketing spends of the brand is very low. The brand launches ATL campaigns only when coming up with a new product . However, the advertising is erratic at best
Sunday, March 1, 2020
Rosalynn Carter Quotes
Rosalynn Carter Quotes Rosalynn Carter, US First Lady 1977-1981, was an active campaigner for her husband, and an advisor and consultant to him. She managed the family business during much of his political career. Her focus as First Lady was mental health reform. Selected Rosalynn Carter Quotations Do what you can to show you care about other people, and you will make our world a better place. If you doubt you can accomplish something, then you cant accomplish it. You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through. A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they dont necessarily want to go, but ought to be. Times of upheaval require not just more leadership but more leaders. People at all organizational levels, whether anointed or self-appointed, must be empowered to share leadership responsibilities. There is clearly much left to be done, and whatever else we are going to do, we had better get on with it. I think I am the person closest to the President of the United States, and if I can help him understand the countries of the world, then thats what I intend to do. I had already learned from more than a decade of political life that I was going to be criticized no matter what I did, so I might as well be criticized for something I wanted to do. Jimmy will let me assume as much responsibility as I will.... Jimmy has always said that we the children and myself can do anything. Jimmys sister Ruth was my best friend and she had a picture of him on the wall in her bedroom. I just thought he was the most handsome young man Id ever seen. One day I confessed to her that I wished she let me take that photograph home. Because I just thought I had fallen in love with Jimmy Carter. (About her husbands naval service when he was away at sea) I learned to be very independent. I could take care of myself and the baby and do things that I never dreamed I would be able to do alone. (About her role in the familys peanut and warehouse business) He asked me to come and keep the office. And I had a friend who had taught an accounting course in the vocational technical school and she gave me a set of accounting books. I began to study accounting. I began to keep the books. And it was not too long before I knew actually as much or more about the business on paper than he did. There was no way I could understand our defeat. I had to grieve over our loss before I could look to the future. Where could our lives possibly be as meaningful as they might have been in the White House? If we have not achieved our early dreams, we must either find new ones or see what we can salvage from the old. If we have accomplished what we set out to do in our youth, we need not weep like Alexander the Great that we have no more worlds to conquer. You must accept that you might fail; then, if you do your best and still dont win, at least you can be satisfied that youve tried. If you dont accept failure as a possibility, you dont set high goals, and you dont branch out, you dont try you dont take the risk. Dont worry about polls, but if you do, dont admit it. Informed journalists can have a significant impact on public understanding of mental health issues, as they shape debate and trends with the words and pictures they convey.... They influence their peers and stimulate discussion among the general public, and an informed public can reduce stigma and discrimination. There is nothing more important than a good, safe, secure home. (President Jimmy Carter about Rosalynn Carter) Theres very seldom a decision that I make that I dont discuss with either to tell her after the fact what Ive done, or, very frequently, to tell her my options and seek her advice.
Thursday, February 13, 2020
The topic of this paper should explain your ethical stand on Research
The topic of this should explain your ethical stand on environmental issues, in keeping with the focus of this course - Research Paper Example Environmental conservation dictates that the gas must be subjected to treatment before being released into the atmosphere in order to reduce the pollution of the environmental through hazardous gaseous compounds contained in the gas. Despite, getting rid of the waste materials, incineration process generates a lot of heat, which is often used for production of electricity, which on the other side is very useful in a variety of ways. The processes involved in the incineration of waste materials have undergone through evolutionary stages with better and more improved mechanisms being adopted to address the issues of shortcomings of the process at large. Among other issues that have faced great attention in improving the processes involved in incineration are the cleaning and treatment of the gasses emitted as well as safe combustion control methods to ensure the safety of the human beings that are involved in the process. This has therefore led to adoption of favorable precautionary me asures being designed and adopted both for the sake of operations at the incineration plant as well as for the sake of environmental concerns. Environmental ethics as used and applied within the sphere of human interactions regards with esteem the sovereignty of all life. Ethics refer to such activities that expose human beings and other living organisms such as animals and plants to hazardous conditions as unfavorable and this necessitates the design and adoption of other mechanisms of managing waste products, which would ensure the safety of all living organisms including the human beings (Brennan and Lo, 2008). Among notable improvements in the modern day incineration processes is the inclusion of separation stage, which had not been included in the traditional processes. The failure to remove the hazardous materials in the traditional practices exposed the workers to health risks as well as exposing the public to environmental risks. Moreover, the traditional practices failed to utilize the resultant heat for such uses as in generation of electricity. The methods were thus criticized of neglecting ethical concerns, which has great implication to entire life at large. Burning the trash has been advocated for in the methods used in waste-to-energy procedures of waste management practices. It has been used as one of the most effective method of producing renewable energy. It is a method that has been used in converting the residential, hazardous and commercial wastes into more friendly forms, which would be effective in conserving the environment as well as improving human life by reducing the hazards created by the waste materials. Waste food scraps, papers and plastics are among other wastes that are treated through incineration. The combustion of these products produces a lot of heat, which is used within many countries to produce electricity. However, it is worth noting that not all incineration plants adopted worldwide are used for electricity production . Among other benefits cited by the supporters of incineration as a method off addressing wastes are creation of employment, reducing the health risks that are associated with the organic waste materials, environmental conservation and the production of the electricity that can be used for other uses (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, 2012). Incineration process involves a relatively higher number of people who
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Religion and Food Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Religion and Food - Essay Example 382). Good examples are New York Jews who consume Chinese food, though according to Judaism, â€Å"Chinese food is un-kosher, and therefore, non-Jewish†(Tuchman and Levine, p. 385). In this way, one cultural tradition oppresses another. Another way, when some cultural traditions historically make a so solid connection, that one is inconceivable from another. Such kind of connection has African Americans and European Americans within American nation. According to Doris Witt, a history of these relationships can be studied within food. â€Å"Food is simply central issue for African Americans†, and Africans were constantly associated with food (especially, women) because of a racial question (Witt, p. 8). Another undeniable thing is a modern world wide, not only peculiar for America. It’s a general desacralization of food. Consumption of different cuisines seems okay exactly because of this tendency: when eating we no longer associate food with something spiritual. Singer describes Krishna’s eating tradition and particularly, prasadam when food is firstly proposed to a godhood and then eaten with blessing (p. 197). However, the most visual example is desacralization of food in Christian tradition. For example, nowadays not many of us keep up fasting and feasting, yet it’s â€Å"at the very heart of Christian tradition†(Bynum, p. 2). Could it be, that while losing each individual cultural identity among variety of different others we instead form something global and common? When having same issues and values, will there be more understanding? Can food reconcile the world? Singer, A. E. â€Å"Conversion Through Foodways Enculturation: The Meaning of Eating in an American Hindu Sect†in Brown, L. K. and Mussell, K. (Eds.) Ethnic and Regional Foodways in the United Stated: The Performance of Group Identity. Univ. of Tennessee Press,
Friday, January 24, 2020
Salvador sausage business plan Essay example -- essays research papers
1.0 Executive Summary †¢ By focusing on its heritage and the strength it brings into the products, their quality, and uniqueness, Salvador's will increase its sales to more than $2 million by the turn of the century, while improving the gross margin on sales cash management and working capital. †¢ This business plan leads the way. It renews our vision and strategic focus on the quality and value we put in our products and the market segment originally targeted. Our vision has been broadened by the success we have found in the marketplace, to the extent of adding new products and current plans on additional items and services. It has given us a step-by-step plan to meet and exceed our goals for increased sales, gross margin, and profitability. †¢ This plan includes this summary, and chapters on the company, products and services, market focus, action plans and forecasts, management team, and financial plan. 1.1 Objectives 1. Increase sales to more than $1 million over the next three years. 2. Move gross margin to above 55% over the current product line and maintain that level. 3. Add products and services to meet market demand, again at 55% margin or above. 4. Sell $2 million of salsa and related Hispanic food items and service by 2000. 5. Improve inventory turnover, reduce the cost of goods sold while maintaining the high quality of the products. 6. To provide jobs to the Hispanic community that are rewarding and fulfilling. 1.2 Mission Salvador's was built on offering the highest quality and value in its authentic hot salsa, filled with the history of the Hispanic community. Time honored family recipes have been passed down through the generations, rich with ethnic heritage. Knowledgeable consumers were looking for authentic products, filled with the best ingredients. The consumer was crying out for a change! They wanted real down home Hispanic salsa. Salvador's answered this call, first with its hot salsa, then adding mild and extra hot salsa, followed by yellow and blue corn chips. Constantly striving to supply what the consumer is asking for, we continually review what is available in the marketplace, and what isn't. Improving on what is available and providing new products and services to the areas of need will assure our success in a market driven by consumer demand. 1.3 Keys to Success 1. Delivering high quality products that set ... ...itional Ratios     1996     1997     1998     RMA Assets to Sales     0.22     0.30     0.34     0 Debt/Assets     35%     -12%     -24%     0 Current Debt/Total Assets     55%     25%     14%     0 Acid Test      0.58     2.46     5.43     0 Asset Turnover     4.59     3.29     2.91     0 Sales/Net Worth     7.08     2.95     2.34     0 Dividend Payout     $1     0.00     0.00     0
Thursday, January 16, 2020
The Changing Role and Status of women in Britain since 1900 – source related study
1. Source A is useful as it shows how united the Suffragettes were in 1908. It says in the caption beneath the photograph, that there was said to have been 200000 people who attended. They look like they are determined to get what they want. Some of the women are holding banners, flowers and flags. There is a policeman in the corner of the picture. This shows that the police thought that the protest might become violent. The Suffragettes were known for heckling at meetings, deliberately trying to get arrested and get sent to prison, and in 1908 they began to attack properties. The Suffragettes believed that peaceful campaigns were getting them nowhere. In 1908, women had already achieved many improvements in their education, legal rights and job opportunities. However they still wanted to earn the right to be able to vote in General Elections. This may be what the protest was for. The Suffragettes had a lot of support, particularly in London. There were thirty-four branches of the WSPU in London alone and fifty-four branches in the rest of the country. Source A shows that the Suffragettes are like a big team and family. They all look determined to get what they want. The WSPU's motto was ‘Deeds not Words,' this meant that they believed that actions were stronger than words. Emmeline Pankhurst is leading the protest. In the Suffragettes first public demonstration in 1905 Emmeline said, â€Å"Then amid uproar and shouting, the women were seized and flung out of the hall.†In conclusion this source shows that the Suffragettes were a strong group of women who had strong opinions and views. This source shows that the Suffragette movement was a strong force to be reckoned with thus affecting people's attitudes. There would be those people in full support, with many women openly and many offering passive support. Men's attitudes would be very different. Up until now the women's place was in the home. The police's attitude was one of recognition of their considerable power and they feared the implications of this, thus the police presence in Source A suggests the need for containment and prevention of violence. 2. Source D and E are both extremely useful in showing us what peoples views about the Suffragettes were in 1910. Source D is taken from a British newspaper, and is obviously written by a man. It is reliable to show the some peoples opinions of what the Suffragettes were doing at the time. Source E is also useful as it is a postcard that was issued by the Suffragettes. It shows the suffragettes opinion. The postcard would be used to persuade people to become one of them. It shows what women could be a mayor or a nurse, and can't vote however men could be lunatics or drunkards and they can vote. This is biased as it has been created by the suffragettes, and is very one sided. However Source D is also biased as it doesn't show the views of the suffragettes, only the writers view about what went on. In Source D the writer uses phrases such as ‘shameful recklessness' and ‘desperate women' to show how the country should be ashamed of the way the suffragettes have acted. This newspaper article does not once say why the suffragettes were doing what they were doing. I'm sure many people agreed with what was written however I am also sure a lot of people were against what was written. In the headline it says ‘ DISGRACEFUL SCENES Reckless Women Charge Headlong into Cordon of Police.' The word ‘disgraceful' suggests that the country should be ashamed of the actions of the Suffragettes. Men expected women to be quiet and obedient so when women started to rebel against this stereotype, the campaign for women's votes was important news, especially with the papers. The Suffragettes began to create posters, which got them some sympathy from people in the public. In Source E it says ‘What a woman may be and yet not have the Vote.' Underneath, it has pictures of women being a mayor, a nurse, a doctor, teacher and a factory hand. It also says ‘what a man may have been and yet not lose the vote.' Underneath, it has pictures of men being a convict, a lunatic, an owner of white slaves, being unfit for service and a drunkard. Of course, women could also be all of the things the males are, and the males are able to have all of the livings the females have however in this postcard the women have only been shown as being good things, whereas the men have been shown as being bad. This would have got the suffragettes some more support. In conclusion I believe that both sources are equally reliable. They both are biased and they both show different opinions of different people at the time. 3. When the First World War began so many men had gone away to fight, that women were needed to do their jobs. This meant that the number of women working in industry increased massively. The war made it acceptable for women to work in shipyards, collieries and brickyards. Some of them worked as highly skilled engineers and carpenters. In some of these jobs, women were welcomed, however in others they were resented because they had little or no training for jobs, which had previously needed very skilled people. If there was an election during the war most soldiers wouldn't be able to vote. Women soon realised that this could be their chance to pressurize the government to let them vote. There were no demonstrations, however there were many meetings between women's leaders and politicians and telegrams and letters were sent to MPs. In 1918 Parliament passed a new law, which allowed women over the age of 30 to be able to vote. From my knowledge of what happened, I believe that the war was a big part of Parliament passing a law allowing women to vote. As there may not of been enough males in the country at the time of the war, to vote if there was an election, they needed females. I also think that because most men were away during the war, the women proved themselves to be useful, as they started doing work in factories and so on. Men had never seen females do this before so it may have been a shock to them to see that women could do things just as good as them. In Source J, Herbert Asquith says, â€Å"I will find it impossible to withhold from women the power and the right of making their voices heard.†This proves that women proved themselves by working while the men were away at war. They even convinced an ex prime minister that they were worthy of having a say about what goes on in there life. The war didn't help the French Suffragette women gain the vote. In conclusion I do agree with the statement: â€Å"Without the First World War British women would not have gained the right to vote in 1918.†I also believe that women would not have received as much respect from men as they do today if the war hadn't of happened. Women had a chance to prove to people that they were able to do things just as well as men in this period of time.
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Consumer Good Industry
Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2577 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Unfortunately the so-called Fast Moving Consumer Good industry, no more seems to be moving fast. In the 1990s, the industry witnessed an unprecedented boom due to liberalisation, urbanisation, increase in disposable income and altered lifestyles. The boom was also fuelled by other factors like onslaught of satellite television, reduction of excise duties and de-reservation from the small-scale sector. The boom however started fizzling in the second half of 2000. As can be seen from Exhibit 1, the quarterly retail sales growth for the industry has been in the negative territory since the third quarter of 2001. In the current year after showing signs of recovery in the month of June and July, the retail sales again slipped to 1.6% in Aug 02. Out of top 20 categories, 14 have recorded negative volume growth ranging from 2% to 15% in Aug 02. Volume sales growth in large categories like soaps, tea, detergents and toothpaste remained negative. However, some other categories like chocolate, biscuit and shampoos showed good growth. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Consumer Good Industry | Economics Dissertations" essay for you Create order India has a huge population of over 1 bn. However, it would be misleading to judge the size of the Indian market for FMCG products by just looking at the population size. A closer look at the age, geographical, occupational and income profile will help us get a better picture of the Indian consumer market. Indian Consumer Market Indias age distribution of population is skewed towards younger age group, which augurs well for the countrys burgeoning consumer market. Around 54% of Indias population are below 24 years. Though this percentage is expected to reduce in future, it is still estimated to remain at a high of 47% by 2013. Though the age group is skewed in favour of the consumer good market, the purchasing power of the average Indian population is quite low. Indias per capita income is around US$ 460, which compares very poorly not only with developed countries but also with other developing countries. China has a per capita income of US$ 840, while countries like Thailand and Malaysia have even better per capita income of US$ 2,010 and US$ 3,380 respectively. With around 65% of the countrys total workforce dependent on agriculture, the occupational profile of the country is skewed. This explains the high dependence of the FMCG sector on rural sales. Around 40% sales of the FMCG sector comes from the rural area. As the agriculture sector in India is highly dependent on monsoon, the FMCG sector also gets indirectly exposed to the vagaries of nature. The high dependence of the FMCG sector on agriculture also exposes it to the other structural problems facing the latter, like poor rural infrastructure, small landholdings, long chain of intermediaries etc. Though the country has been witnessing increasing urbanisation, with the percentage of urban to total population going up to 33.4% in 2001 from 25.7% in 1991. The percentage of rural population is still very high. Moreover, even in the rural area, around 81% of the rural population are concentrated in villages having population below 5000. Hence one can say that the geographical profile of the country poses distribution challenge for the consumer good industry. Characteristics of the Industry Few FMCG categories have reached saturation level The 1990s boom in FMCG industry was mainly led by rapid growth in rural penetration of low priced products. The spread of satellite television coupled by companies like Nirma and HLLs rural penetration drive led to a marked improvement in rural penetration of the FMCG products. However, the rural penetration seems to have stagnated in the past couple of years, especially in the case of necessity product categories. In fact, categories such as toilet soaps, detergents, tea have reached high penetration levels in both rural as well as urban areas and it would be difficult to increase the penetration further (Exhibit 2). Exhibit 2 Dealer Penetration (%) Urban Rural Segments 1997 1999 2001e 1997 1999 2001e Necessity 90 95 97 97 97 97 Emerging 88 95 97 79 88 92 Lifestyle 66 74 80 25 32 40 Source: ORG-MARG; Industry Estimates Another point that emerges from the penetration numbers is that while the FMCG companies have successfully tapped the high-income group, they now need to target the lower income group (Exhibit 3). For a category like shampoo, in urban India the penetration level is at a high of 88% for the top 4% of the income group, while it is 23% for the lowest 10% of the Income group. Similar penetration level gap is witnessed in the rural areas also. Exhibit 3 Penetration Levels by Income Groups Urban India Shampoo Toothpaste Top 4% 88 86 Next 4% 82 86 Next 13% 76 93 Next 22% 63 86 Next 22% 50 74 Next 25% 37 54 Lowest 10% 23 32 All Income Groups 54 72 Rural India Shampoo Toothpaste Top 1% 71 86 Next 3% 60 80 Next 9% 48 67 Next 15% 34 50 Next 38% 22 31 Lowest 34% 14 17 All Income Groups 25 34 Source: ORG-MARG Whatever the penetration level, the Indian consumers still offer tremendous growth potential because of their low per capita consumption (Exhibit 4). For a category like toothpaste, the per capita consumption in India is 40 ml as against 299 ml in USA and 358 ml in Brazil. Exhibit 4 Per Capita Consumption India Brazil USA Personal Wash (kg) 0.5 1.1 2 Fabric Wash (Kg) 2.6 7.2 13 Toothpaste (ml) 40 358 299 Shampoo (ml) 16 444 1018 Source: Industry Rise of lifestyle and convenience products While the necessity product categories have matured and are facing challenges on the growth front, lifestyle and convenience products offer tremendous growth potential to the Indian consumer goods industry. The food segment, which is still at a very nascent stage in India, is a good example of rising consumer demand for convenience products because of changing life style. Industry data shows that categories like noodles, jam, ketchup, fruit juice and other packaged ready to eat food are growing with leaps and bounds. Cosmetics, women-healthcare, mosquito repellent, scourers are some of the other categories in the FMCG industry, which are showing good growth potential. Freebies have become a constant feature Increasing competition in the industry has restricted the ability of the players to raise price frequently. For instance, late last year, HLL had increased the prices of shampoos significantly higher than competition. As a result, by the second half of the current year, the company had lost 450 basis point of market share in this segment. In fact with increasing competition, many categories like detergents and toilet soaps have started to follow commodity economies. As a result the industry players are resorting to freebies and discounts to garner larger market share. Another method being adopted by players to increase sales is the introduction of smaller size units at lower price points. Following the tremendous success of shampoos in sachet packs, now we have many other products like chocolates, hair oil, and detergent in smaller packs. Imports not a major threat for the industry India removed the quantitative restriction on 714 items in 2000 and the remaining 715 items in 2001. With the removal of quantitative restrictions, imported consumer good products are now easily available in cities like Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. However, the percentage of imports is still very low and does not pose an immediate threat to the industry. Reduction in Indirect Taxes In the past 10 years, the excise duty rates in India have declined from the level of 40-50% to 16% for most categories. The decrease in consumer good prices as a result of reduction in excise duties was one of the factors responsible for the rapid growth witnessed by the industry in 1990s. The total indirect rates on FMCG goods in India now range between 25-35%, which is similar to or higher than most countries in Europe and the US. Though, reduction in indirect taxes will help raise growth rates, the chances of further dramatic reduction in excise duties are low. Problems facing the industry Economic Slowdown The FMCG industry has been hit by the slowdown in the economy in the recent past. Slowdown in the economy not only dents the purchasing power of the consumers, it also influences the consumer sentiments leading to lower spending. The consumer sentiments have also been affected by the current global slowdown. The economic numbers released in the current fiscal, be it GDP, exports, IIP, credit offtake, are definitely showing signs of revival in the Indian economy. However, the extent of recovery cannot be ascertained completely as the impact of drought is still to be reflected in the economic numbers being released. Downtrading Another problem facing the FMCG industry is downtrading by consumers. Premium brands are losing out to the mass-market brands as consumers are showing preference for value for money products. For example, in 2001, HLLs premium soap brand Lux showed a yoy dip of 12.3%, while its mass-market brand Breeze showed a healthy growth of 12.4%. Downtrading is most evident in categories like soaps, detergents and toothpaste. Spurious Products Counterfeit products masquerading as some of the countrys top selling products is significantly eating into the revenues of the industry. Popular brands across product categories are losing between 10% to 30% of their business to fakes. An AC Neilson survey estimated the annual loss to the FMCG industry from spurious products, at Rs 26 bn and to the Government (in the form of unpaid taxes) at Rs 9 bn. An ORG survey of 12,500 retail stores completed in Jan 02 found the counterfeit market to be 5-15% of the annual sales of Rs 600 bn for the FMCG industry. Thats between Rs 30 bn and Rs 90 bn a year. Change in urban consumption pattern The FMCG industry has also been affected by changing urban consumption pattern in favour of consumer-durables vis--vis non-durables. The increasing expenditure on consumer-durables could be attributed to the easy financing facilities available. Moreover, with changing lifestyle and increasing aspirations, the proportion of spending on healthcare, education, transportation and communication is increasing, which is also eating into the share of consumer non-durables. High Advertising Budget The competitive pressure in the industry has hiked the advertising budget. However, with the increase in the number of television channels, the money spent on advertising by the FMCG companies does not go as far as it used to earlier. Brand loyalty has been wavering with increasing options being available to the consumers. Segment wise growth Personal Wash The personal wash segment valued at around Rs 40 bn has not been performing well. The segment witnessed a yoy dip of around 12% in Aug 02. The poor performance of the category can be attributed to high penetration level leading to lower scope of increasing growth through further increase in penetration. The category is also witnessing increasing downtrading, with the popular segment eating into the share of the premium segment. However, industry players are trying to capture the niche consumers by introducing value-added products like shower gels, etc. HLL, with brands like Lux, Lifebuoy, Breeze, and Rexona leads the market with a share of around 60%. Some of the other players in the market are Nirma, Godrej Consumers and Reckitt Colman. Fabric Wash With increasing competition, the fabric was category valued at Rs 45 bn has started to behave like a commodity. The popular segment account for around 85% of the total detergent market. Nirma is the leader in the popular segment, while HLL (Surf, Wheel) is the leader in the premium segment. Some of the other players in the market are PG (Ariel, Gain, Tide) and Henkel Spic (Henko). Oral Care The sales volume in the oral care category continued to fall, with Aug 02 recording a yoy dip of around 8%. However, the segment valued at Rs 20 bn has tremendous potential to grow because of the low per capita consumption of this category. In India the per capita consumption of toothpaste is 40 ml as against 299 ml in US and even higher 358 ml in Brazil. Colgate is the leader in the segment, with roughly 50% share of the market, followed by HLL with a share of around 36%. The players in the segment have very little pricing power because of limited scope of product differentiation Skin Care This category has products like cream, talcum powder, moisturisers and lotions under its umbrella. Fairness Cream valued at around Rs 9.3 bn is the largest product in this category. HLL dominates the segment with 53% share in fairness cream and 65.2% share in talcum powder. In contrast to some of the other FMCG categories like soaps, detergents and oral care, brand loyalty is quite strong in the skin care category. Household Care The category with products like mosquito repellent, scourers and floor cleaners is valued at around Rs 18 bn. Mosquito repellent valued at roughly Rs 6 bn is among the fastest growing product in this category. Godrej Sara Lee with brand Goodnight is the leader in the mosquito repellent segment, while HLLs Vim in the major player in the dishwasher segment. In the floor cleaner segment, phenol with attractive pricing is much ahead of branded products like Lisol of Reckitt Colman and Domex of HLL. Food Products The food products industry currently has low penetration. However, the industry promises very good growth potential because of the changing lifestyle in urban India. The category includes sub-categories like processed fruits and vegetables, dairy, branded staples, bakery, ready to eat packaged food etc. India is among the worlds largest producers of many food items, however, only about 1.8-2% of the countrys fruits and vegetables are processed compared to 60-70% in countries like the US and UK. This is because of poor storage, refrigeration, and transportation facilities in the country. As far as the branded staple market is concerned, it is currently dominated by the unorganized sector. However, it also has the presence of FMCG giant, HLL. The price sensitive nature of the Indian markets makes most of the mass market basic staples food category business a low margin business, however high volumes are expected to make up for the low margins. The Indian Dairy industry is dominated by the co-operative sector, with National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), a clear market leader. NDDBs major brand, Amul is the market leader in the branded cheese, butter and margarine segments. Some of the other players in the segment are Britannia and Nestle. As the bakery industry was reserved for small-scale sector till last year, the unorganised sector contributes around 60% to the total sales. The biscuit segment has been showing good performance, with a yoy growth of around 17% in Aug 02 as against a dip of around 4% in Aug 01. Britannia and Parle are the two main players in the category. Chocolate Confectionery The chocolate market is showing significant improvement in sales trend. The segment has grown by 18% (yoy) in Aug 02 as against a negative growth in Aug 01. The healthy performance of the category could be partially attributed to lower exposure to the rural slowdown. The strategy of the two main players, Cadbury and Nestle of introducing products in smaller packs to propel growth has been very successful. However, the confectionery market, which is around eight times the size of the chocolate market in terms of volume has not been doing well. This is because of the hike in excise duty from 8% to 16%, which has made it difficult for companies to promote their products economically as most of these are sold at fixed price points of Re 1 and 50 paise. Tea Indian tea industry is currently going through a phase of recession. The players in the category are facing margin squeeze as well as realisation lower than the marginal cost. The main factors responsible for the poor show are lower auction prices, increasing wage cost and consumer downtrading. Export is also being hit by lower focus on quality and increasing competition from countries like Sri Lanka and Kenya. Packaged tea contributes only around 35% to the total tea market, while the rest comes from loose tea. HLL is the leader in the packaged tea category with a share of 35.3% followed by Tata Tea that has a share of around 18.8%.
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