About tamil nadu of india

1.0 The Market

1.1 The Market in which the Product is to be sold

1.1.1 Geographic Regions and Climate

Although India is a vast country, we have selected a particular state to go ahead with marketing our product which is Tamil Nadu. The details of the particular state are given below. Being the 11th largest state in India, Tamil Nadu has an area of 130,058 sq kms. The state has been divided in to 5 major physiographic divisions. It is the fourth largest metropolitan city of the country (Maps of World). The state of Tamil Nadu is known to be an emerging market for most multi-national companies.

The climate in this part of the world in generally tropical and just like most other parts in the world the temperature expected to vary during summer and winter. And during summer the temperature could be very high and it reaches to around 40 º C marks in April – June which makes it really hot in comparison with some of the other parts in the region (India). This makes it a positive note for our product. Generally the capital Chennai is hot and uncomfortably warm and the cool breeze in the evenings makes the city much more comfortable. Further, the climate is more or similar to Sri Lanka during most parts of the year.

1.1.2 Forms of Transportation and Communication available in India

Chennai has the necessary transportation system to back the business. Starting off with the Airport, it operates both domestic and international flights and it is the busiest airport in the country. Train transportation plays a key role through the central and Egmore railway stations. The bus service has enough transportation to the major cities around. Five major national highways link the city with other cities. The port which is the main concern in terms of business is one of the largest artificial ports and the Ennore Port handle the state’s trade and is very close to Colombo (Maps of World).

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1.1.3 Consumer Buying Habits

1.1.3.1 Product-Use Patterns

1.1.3.2 Product Feature Preferences

1.1.3.3 Shopping habits

1.1.4 Distribution of the product

The Indian retail market is currently facing a lot of issues with unemployment and economic instability rising due to factors such as over-population, recession and inflation. However, the main method of product distribution in India is through the retailers.

1.1.4.1 Typical Retail Outlets

Unlike in Sri Lanka, where only two major retail outlets are present which are Keells and Cargills, there are many retail outlets in Tamil Nadu itself. However, the following are the main retail outlets in the State of Tamil Nadu.

• Big Bazaar Food World Anka Mall
• Subhiksha Tesco

1.1.5 Advertising and Promotion

Advertising and promotion has to be done in a large scale in Tamil Nadu since there are many competitors in ice cream. Product proliferation is an issue which we have to encounter as well. Unlike in the Western countries, there are no such parameters when it comes to advertising in India. In fact, advertising is one of the major factors to influence the purchasing of your product in India. Hence, it is important to understand the mentality of the Indians and the advertising and the promotional methods which they would prefer in order to successfully capture the market.

1.1.5.1 Advertising Media usually used to reach the Target Market in India

Indians are very much similar to Sri Lankans in terms of how they approach a new brand and what methods drive them into purchasing that product. Therefore, Indians give a lot of focus to print media. Unlike in most other countries, there is no such special colour in the packaging which the Indians prefer when deciding what product to purchase.

1.1.5.2 Sales Promotions Customarily Used

It is important to emphasis on both, pull strategy and the push strategy specially in a country like India since consumers tend to switch brands very rapidly and there would also be a number of competitors.

The Push Strategy

A push strategy tries to encourage resellers to buy the product from the manufacturer on the opinion that they could make a profit and push the product to its customers (George & Belch, 2004). Trade oriented promotional methods could be classified as methods used under this.

The Pull Strategy

A pull strategy is all the advertising and sales promotional methods used, directly aiming the final consumer of the product (George & Belch, 2004). This strategy would be implemented in instances where the retailers would be reluctant to distribute a product. Trust and loyalty are two essentials any organization would need to gain from its customers to grow in the market, build excellent customer relationships and be ahead of its competitors.

1.1.6 Pricing Strategy

In Chennai, ice cream is considered to be a fast moving consumer good. Hence, consumers will be price sensitive when they are purchasing such a product. Therefore, it is important to use pricing strategies effectively in order to cater to the purchasing power of the customers.

1.1.6.1 Customary mark-up

There is a standard mark up for imported products in India. These mark ups could be termed as “import taxes” or “tariffs” as well. However, since India promotes its local products more than the imported products, a mark up would be added to any imported product. Hence, any organization would have to closely look at the price structure considering all these factors before we decide on the final selling price.

1.1.6.2 Types of Discounts Available

It is hard to survive in the Indian market without offering discounts to consumers and retailers since the number of competitors are high. This situation in India is quite similar to the situation in Sri Lanka as well. Therefore, the types of discounts which Elephant House will implement in its operations in Tamil Nadu will be explained in detail under the Marketing Plan.

1.4 Government Participation in the Marketplace

The government of India has imposed certain regulations and policies for imported goods to India in order protect its local industries. Some of the types of import taxes which would be levied on imported products would be as follows.

• CESS Social responsibility tax
• Customs duty Surcharge
• Port and Air-Port tax

Apart from the above, quality standards have to be maintained by importers especially for food products before the goods enter the Indian market. Since India is a vastly populated country, the Indian government would take extra precautions to ensure that unsuitable goods do not enter into the Indian market.

Non- Tariff Barriers to Market Access

Registration, Documentation & SPS Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT

Market Access

Transportation and Transit Investment & International Trade Rules

Formalities Financial matters

Source: IFSRSS/RM-JG-RIS-HYD

The above diagram shows how various non-tariff barriers affect the access to the Indian market. The above barriers would not directly impose a tax onto imported products. However, it will indirectly affect the price of the product.

1.4.1 Agencies and Financial Institutes

The following mentioned International Banks are available in Chennai, India which assist organizations in financial terms.

• ABN Amro Bank Bank of America
• Bank of Tokyo- Mitsubishi American Express bank
• Centurion bank Deutsche bank
• Standard Chartered Bank HSBC

1.4.2 Rules and Regulations for Product Standards

India is growing up to an important place for most multi national companies to market its products, the main Government agency dealing with product standards in the domestic market is the Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs. A noticeable difference in India is that although the above mentioned agency controls the entire systems in the area of weights and measures, the state governments too has their own regulation of how standards are met (Institutional and Legal Framework of Food Safety Regulations in India , 2008).

1.4.3 Import Regulations which needs to be followed

Import Policies

All goods which are imported to India should carry the declarations which are mentioned below.

• Name and address of the importer
• Familiar name of the imported good
• Net weight of the product
• Date at which the good was manufactured and its expiry date
• The maximum retail price (Import policies in Tamil Nadu).

Packaging

As opposed to most of the Western countries, Indians do not have a standard packaging system for imported goods. Hence, we would be exporting our products to India using the same packaging used in Sri Lanka and the same packaging which is exported to Maldives.