Local brands in India have in fact been very smart in identifying select markets for their products, winning the confidence of a select consumer base with their unflinching focus. Pan-India and MNC brands with their focus areas spread slim across the nation have therefore lost out to these regional rajahs in these pockets. Take for instance Jyothi Laboratories’ Ujala fabric whitener. It was when the market leader Reckitt Benckiser’s Robin Blue was looking elsewhere that this underdog spread its wings in other parts of the country. Today, Ujala is present in the entire north-eastern part of the country, including West Bengal.
Distribution too plays an imperative role in setting a regional brand onto the national forefront. CavinKare, which owes its success to the revolutionary sachet revolution in India, set a robust distribution network first down south (primarily in Chennai), and then set its manufacturing units and distribution centers all across India. Vishal Retail, which started with a single retail outlet in Calcutta in 1980s, today has its centralised warehouses in north India from where it caters to all its 165 stores across the country.
But having the right product and acquiring distribution muscle is only half the battle won. The other half depends on the unique selling marketing proposition that a regional brand adopts. Why would a customer not go in for a pan-India brand that spends great monies on advertising and promotion, and settle for a relatively unknown regional brand? When Anchor Group (which also manufactures wires, fans and mixers) launched its eponymous toothpaste, the only USP it could think of – which was not offered by any pan Indian rival – was vegetarianism. Selling its product as a 100% vegetarian toothpaste, Anchor (which started from Rajasthan) not only challenged the might of Colgate, but confidently sauntered into markets in UP, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh and is now a preferred toothpaste in Gujarat as well, with a sales turnover of over Rs.7 billion (much higher than even the ubiquitous Colgate).
Of course, the biggest prerequisite for national roll outs of any regional proposition is a big budget facilitated largely by strong backing from an established business house. How else would one explain the conversion of a little-known Cemplus’ brand of dry cement paint from a regional brand to a national one? The fact that the brand belongs to Tata Pigments (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tata Group) made it much easier for Cemplus to go in for a national roll-out. Similarly, Mumbai’s Bhaskar Salt (owned by the Dainik Bhaskar Group) and even the Adani Group-owned Gemini Oil have got much-need support from their parent companies to help them in their national ambitions.
“Regional brands have a loyal audience, they understand consumer pulse, have a set robust distribution network and a powerful brand,” asserts Walia of Brand Talk. Perhaps this is why the big guys are actively scouting regional brands as viable take-over options. Be it Dabur, Godrej, HUL or P&G – all have been looking for viable takeover options to strengthen their stranglehold in low intensity pockets. Another logic that justifies the takeover of small regional brands by big national players as explained by Rajesh Tanwar, Director, Integrated Retail Solutions as “Competition. Take for instance Dabur’s acquisition of Balsara’s Babool and Meswak toothpaste. HUL and Colgate were reigning high in oral care category when Dabur, through these acquisitions, challenged the two behemoths head-on.” To spark more fire in this brand cauldron, even retailers these days are on the prowl to acquire regional brands and store them as private labels in their retail outlets. Earlier this year, Mukesh Ambani-onwed Reliance Retail bid for two of Henkel’s regional brands - Aramusk (male deodorant soap) and Moloy (sandalwood soap) with similar goals in sight. Sure, the story of regional brands taking on national brands is a perfect David vs. Goliath saga. But while on the one hand, big players always had great bucks to support their business intentions; it has been an uphill, windy road for local players to carve a national niche for themselves.
The next few pages give a first person account of how some more local brands are carving their national even global fortunes... Read on to discover how they became bigger than the big guys on their home turfs...
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM Related Links
Follow Arindam Chaudhuri on Twitter
IIPM B School on Twitter
Detail of all IIPM branches
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM 3-year full-time Integrated (MBA BBA) Programme
IIPM 2-year full time Programme (leading to the award of the MBA degree from IMI)
Distribution too plays an imperative role in setting a regional brand onto the national forefront. CavinKare, which owes its success to the revolutionary sachet revolution in India, set a robust distribution network first down south (primarily in Chennai), and then set its manufacturing units and distribution centers all across India. Vishal Retail, which started with a single retail outlet in Calcutta in 1980s, today has its centralised warehouses in north India from where it caters to all its 165 stores across the country.
But having the right product and acquiring distribution muscle is only half the battle won. The other half depends on the unique selling marketing proposition that a regional brand adopts. Why would a customer not go in for a pan-India brand that spends great monies on advertising and promotion, and settle for a relatively unknown regional brand? When Anchor Group (which also manufactures wires, fans and mixers) launched its eponymous toothpaste, the only USP it could think of – which was not offered by any pan Indian rival – was vegetarianism. Selling its product as a 100% vegetarian toothpaste, Anchor (which started from Rajasthan) not only challenged the might of Colgate, but confidently sauntered into markets in UP, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh and is now a preferred toothpaste in Gujarat as well, with a sales turnover of over Rs.7 billion (much higher than even the ubiquitous Colgate).
Of course, the biggest prerequisite for national roll outs of any regional proposition is a big budget facilitated largely by strong backing from an established business house. How else would one explain the conversion of a little-known Cemplus’ brand of dry cement paint from a regional brand to a national one? The fact that the brand belongs to Tata Pigments (a wholly owned subsidiary of the Tata Group) made it much easier for Cemplus to go in for a national roll-out. Similarly, Mumbai’s Bhaskar Salt (owned by the Dainik Bhaskar Group) and even the Adani Group-owned Gemini Oil have got much-need support from their parent companies to help them in their national ambitions.
“Regional brands have a loyal audience, they understand consumer pulse, have a set robust distribution network and a powerful brand,” asserts Walia of Brand Talk. Perhaps this is why the big guys are actively scouting regional brands as viable take-over options. Be it Dabur, Godrej, HUL or P&G – all have been looking for viable takeover options to strengthen their stranglehold in low intensity pockets. Another logic that justifies the takeover of small regional brands by big national players as explained by Rajesh Tanwar, Director, Integrated Retail Solutions as “Competition. Take for instance Dabur’s acquisition of Balsara’s Babool and Meswak toothpaste. HUL and Colgate were reigning high in oral care category when Dabur, through these acquisitions, challenged the two behemoths head-on.” To spark more fire in this brand cauldron, even retailers these days are on the prowl to acquire regional brands and store them as private labels in their retail outlets. Earlier this year, Mukesh Ambani-onwed Reliance Retail bid for two of Henkel’s regional brands - Aramusk (male deodorant soap) and Moloy (sandalwood soap) with similar goals in sight. Sure, the story of regional brands taking on national brands is a perfect David vs. Goliath saga. But while on the one hand, big players always had great bucks to support their business intentions; it has been an uphill, windy road for local players to carve a national niche for themselves.
The next few pages give a first person account of how some more local brands are carving their national even global fortunes... Read on to discover how they became bigger than the big guys on their home turfs...
For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM enters into media education
IIPM makes record 10,000 placements in five years
TSI exposes b school ranking scamsters Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Premchand Palety of C fore. - For Complete Sting Operation Video Click Here
Pioneer Exposes the fraud called Mahesh Sharma and Mahesh Peri of Career 360 and Barbel Schwertfeger of mba-channel.com
IIPM Related Links
Follow Arindam Chaudhuri on Twitter
IIPM B School on Twitter
Detail of all IIPM branches
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM 3-year full-time Integrated (MBA BBA) Programme
IIPM 2-year full time Programme (leading to the award of the MBA degree from IMI)
