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January 20, 2024
20 January 2024, Mumbai
Economic Times
Brand managers love a viral campaign that gives them a louder voice in the company boardroom, and leverage during appraisal conversations. An event the size and scale of the Ram Temple inauguration in Ayodhya, to be held on January 22, could be a means to get all this. Yet, brand strategists observe that major consumer brands are focusing on an on-ground presence with kiosks and hoardings around the venue-a more below-the-line (BTL) marketing approach instead of going for a mass media moment-marketing campaign that could fetch them the much-desired social media chatter and a subsequent virality badge.
Branding consultants believe there could be multiple reasons for this. For starters, January may not be a marketer’s favourite month to spend on a big campaign considering the Diwali season – when brands incur huge ad spends to drive festive consumption – concluded not too long ago.
Further, “there are various ways to stimulate consumption around religious festivals. A temple inauguration, while a good opportunity for TV brands to perhaps push people into watching the event on a big-sized television screen, is difficult for many brands to find a direct connection with,” says Ambi Parameswaran, founder of Mumbai-based brand advisory, Brand-building.com. “How does a clothing brand ask people to buy more clothes when they’re not attending the event?” he asks, adding that brands in the airline and travel aggregator sector are likely to start mainstream advertising once the temple is open to the public.
“Logistics and infrastructure brands involved in the construction of the temple will also most probably start advertising their involvement in the project in some time, to showcase it as a key part of their portfolio,” he notes.
Management consultant Devangshu Dutta says that “brands looking to get a boost from the event will still be treading cautiously,” as it is one of the most sensitive political issues pre-dating even the country’s independence. “We may see vanilla marketing, such as congratulatory or celebratory billboards from brands. But marketers will not want to hit any off note that can get hugely controversial, so they may avoid going for something clever or humorous,” he adds. Dutta is the founder of Delhi-based strategic advisory firm Third Eyesight.
Shagun Ohri, founder of Bengaluru-based branding outfit, The Satori Studio, says a client recently approached them for a major promotional activity ahead of the launch . “It was a founder-led brand keen to do something around the event as it aligns with their belief system. But they dropped the idea eventually as it would not have directly helped the brand’s sales and marketing objectives,” says Ohri.
With Ayodhya getting a full makeover, marketing consultants are keen to see the tourism trends that will emerge soon and the brand spending that will follow. “A new generation of India has gotten into religious tourism. It will be interesting to see whether popular consumer brands that are planning to set up shops around the temple area will be able to draw customers in droves,” says Ohri. “For a religious place to become a tourist spot requires a lot of work. Tirupati has taken years to create that pull.”
(Published in Economic Times)
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January 8, 2024
Yash Bhatia, Afaqs
8 January 2024
In the 10th episode of Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath’s YouTube podcast series, WTF, Aadit Palicha, co-founder, Zepto, says that consumer goods are the fastest-growing category for its quick commerce business. Initially, quick commerce brands just focussed on serving impulse grocery needs, but now they have changed their way to serve regular planned purchases too.
Major players like Zepto, Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, and BBNow are expanding their offerings in gifting, makeup, ready-to-eat, baby care, pet care, meat, poultry and more to cater to a wider range of consumer needs and preferences.
Through our interviews with brands like Bombay Shaving Company, Bevzilla and Plum, it is evident that Q-comm business contributes approximately 10-25% of online revenue for different brands.
Also, according to a report by Redseer, the Q-comm market is expected to reach almost $5.5 billion by 2025. The report highlights, that these platforms can up their game by going beyond just grocery and extend their offerings to other consumables, electronics, newspapers and more.
It shows that quick commerce players would focus on other categories to reach this milestone. But, are brands ready for it? If yes, how is their strategy different for this model?
Aditi Handa, co-founder of The Baker’s Dozen, an artisanal bakery, states, “In our category, once the customers figure out a product in the physical store, then they tend to buy again on the quick commerce platforms rather than visiting a store. It works well in our category, as there is no need to touch and feel the product.”
Baker’s Dozen makes 60-65% of its online sales on Q-comm platforms.
Devangshu Dutta, founder of Third Eyesight says that quick commerce has spread across various product categories and he believes, “It is driven more by buzz than customer needs. Unless we meet a core demand with a large consumer market, there’s no sustained road to profit.”
Deepti Karthik, fractional CMO, SuperBottoms, says, “In the diaper category, there are a lot of unplanned purchases. We target customers who’re buying other products, and eventually get trails from them.”
She points out that a lot of gifting happens in the quick commerce segment. “Gift packs can be a great solution our brand can leverage.”
She predicts that for the baby-care brand, quick commerce will contribute 3-5% of overall revenue, led by gifting as a category.
Apart from the reduced delivery time, is there a reason that customers are opting to shop on quick commerce platforms?
Handa answers that two factors work in favour of Q-comm platforms: discounts and convenience. “As these players are expanding their portfolio, customers will find more reasons to go on these apps.”
Is the quick commerce business driven by celebrations?
India is renowned for its diverse festivities. Quick commerce platforms capitalise on this by selling event-related or topical assortments. For instance, they offer flutes for Krishna Jayanti, Ganesha idols for Ganesh Chaturthi, Christmas decorations for the holiday, decorative items for Diwali, and gold and silver coins for Dhanteras.
These platforms are also curating special web and app pages for such occasions, even for regional festivals like Chauth Puja. In 2023, Blinkit curated a specific page dedicated to the wedding season.
Karthik states, “The major business of this sector is driven by consumables and FMCG products. On special occasions, e-commerce brands used to curate specific products, which Q-commerce is now doing. The market share of the other modes is now being taken by the quick commerce players on festivals. That’s why every e-commerce is looking to launch its version of Q-commerce, like Amazon Fresh by Amazon, and BBnow by Big Basket.”
Handa believes differently and states that quick commerce is not taking up the market share of any other modes. “Currently we’re buying more than what we need. Quick commerce is creating some new markets, and people are spending more money as it is easy to spend now.”
Will Q-commerce take over e-commerce?
As the country embraces digital commerce, the battle between e-commerce and Q-commerce is intensifying. While e-commerce has a well-established presence with a vast user base, Q-commerce offers unmatched speed and efficiency. As Q-commerce players foray into other categories, will they take over e-commerce?
Ritesh Ghosal, former chief of marketing at Croma believes that Q-comm will not replace e-commerce. He says that Q-commerce will only be a successful mode for urgently needed products like trimmers, headphones etc.
Handa predicts, “In our category, Q-commerce will replace e-commerce purely based on better service. The only advantage that e-commerce holds is a variety of stock keeping units (SKUs). Like, some products will have a presence in e-commerce only like English Cheddar cheese, it will not be there in Q-comm, a customer can only get it through e-commerce.”
She says that quick commerce also provides a fast way to experiment with new products.
Kartik, says e-commerce will always be at the main stage for the brand and believes Q-commerce will be an incremental business for them.
She has observed that in quick commerce if a product gets listed, it starts to sell faster and gets a quick start as compared to the e-commerce route.
Challenges
While the benefits of quick commerce are evident for customers, these players in the backend face a lot of challenges including warehousing, labour expenses, and, most importantly, the orders are low-value, therefore the margins are less.
Balasubramanian Narayanan, vice president, of Teamlease services points out that the consumer preferences and buying patterns in the quick commerce segment evolve rapidly, making data collection and analysis a crucial aspect.
“Balancing data collection with user privacy is a key challenge. The data insights can help to create personalised experiences, predict demands, and improve operational efficiency. But this can be a challenge in this mode.”
Handa says in quick commerce, the biggest challenge is the stock keeping unit (SKU) mix, SKU selection is critical.
“Brands like Amazon, and Flipkart allow a plethora of SKUs, while quick commerce just allows a limited number, due to limitation of warehouse space and delivery time. The SKU selection by the brand becomes a critical aspect.”
In the physical realm, shelf presence plays an important role in reaching customers, in the online world, optimising the online presence is crucial to get the customers’ attention. She highlights that in quick commerce, the fight is to be at the top of the search bar.
“To be at the top, the brand should generate organic sales, secondly it’s about keyword bidding. A keyword that would search customers to find the product from the brand. The brand pays quick commerce players for this.”
Ghosal also agrees with this and states, “In the Q-commerce arena, most searches are by category rather than by brand. The brands have to tick more boxes in terms of categories/searches so that customers tend to look at them.”
(With additional inputs: Ruchika Jha)
(Published in Afaqs)
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January 5, 2024
Sagar Malviya, Economic Times
January 5, 2024
Top global apparel and fast fashion brands appear to have struck a strong chord with young customers, racking up sales growth of anywhere between 40% and 60% in FY23, bucking the trend in a market where the overall demand for discretionary products slowed down.
For instance, Swedish fashion retailer H&M and rival Zara reported a 40% increase in its topline while Japanese brand Uniqlo saw a 60% jump in sales. American denim maker Levi Strauss and British brand Marks & Spencer posted a 54% increase, latest filings with the Registrar of Companies showed. Dubai-based department store Lifestyle International, too, saw a 46% jump in revenues on a large base. These brands garnered combined annual revenues of nearly $2.6 billion, more than double compared to FY21 when it was $1.1 billion all put together.
“With consumers getting brand conscious, global brands have a natural advantage. There is a distinct aspirational momentum for international brands that carries them through. Also they can sustain having unsold inventory and discounting better than smaller peers,” said Devangshu Dutta, founder of Third Eyesight, a strategy consulting firm. “Also, these brands have not yet reached saturation point in terms of network and hence can invest further to widen their reach.”
The revenue surge was also led by brands’ shifting focus on ecommerce, which now accounts for more than a quarter of their sales, even as they face intensify competition from both local and global rivals in an increasingly crowded market where web-commerce firms continue to offer steep discounts. Over the past two years, sales growth for most retailers have been price-led, reversing the historic trend when volumes or actual demand drove a bulk of the sales.
The fashion retail segment has been struggling with a demand slowdown since January last year due to inflationary headwinds. The overall retail growth slowed down to 6% in both March and April, increasing marginally to 9% in August and September before falling slightly to 7% in October and November, according to the Retailers Association of India.
“Spends are shifting to experience, holidays and big ticket purchases such as cars. Stronger retailers which had the right product to price proposition works for consumers who are not necessarily looking at brands from global and local lens. What helped our sales was product rationalisation, renovation of stores as well as our value proposition,” said Manish Kapoor, managing director at Pepe Jeans that clocked 54% growth to Rs560 crore in FY23. “The current fiscal has been muted and we expect election spending and improved sentiment to drive recovery next fiscal.
As the world’s second most-populated country, India is an attractive market for aspirational apparel brands as rising disposable incomes cause the consuming base of the pyramid to broaden further. “The Indian economy is on course to be among the top economies in the world. The key factors driving the India consumption story include a large proportion of young population, rising urbanization, growing affluence, increasing discretionary spending and deeper penetration of digital,” said Levi Strauss in its latest annual report.
Last year Levi’s said India is now the largest market for them within Asia and sixth largest globally while M&S said it is opening a store every month in India, already its largest international market outside home in terms of store network.
(Published in Economic Times)
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December 12, 2023
Akshit Pushkarna, Afaqs
12 December 2023
The season for Indian weddings, usually spanning October to December, experienced an unusual twist due to Hindu calendar nuances this year, resulting in a shorter duration. The unexpected shift has upended the conventional decrease in marriage ceremonies, resulting in a condensed surge of weddings.
A report by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) anticipates Rs 4.74 lakh crore in business earnings from the 38 lakh marriages expected this wedding season, marking a historic high. In comparison, the corresponding period last year witnessed around 32 lakh weddings with total expenses amounting to Rs 3.75 lakh crore.
This presents brands involved in the wedding business with an ample opportunity to capitalise and drive forth their business revenues for the year to come. Three key brands associated with wedding business are steering their strategies to align with the evolving preferences of Indian consumers in the lucrative wedding market.
A more region-specific focus for Shaadi.com’s marketing communication
In a conversation with afaqs!, Adhish Zaveri, VP-marketing, Shaadi.com, a prominent online matrimonial and matchmaking service, speaks about how digital media is more relevant for brand building for wedding-oriented businesses now, eclipsing the relevance of traditional TV and out-of-home advertising. He sees mass media serving only reminders to prompt registrations, while the primary focus shifts towards digital platforms.
This change involves a robust regional focus within our marketing playbook, recognising the dynamic shifts in matrimonial behavior across diverse geographies
Adhish Zaveri, VP-marketing, Shaadi.com
“This season, we have incorporated a paradigm shift in our marketing strategy, driven not only by the upswing in weddings but also by observing how Indians approach finding life partners, with nuances varying across regions. This change involves a robust regional focus within our marketing playbook, recognising the dynamic shifts in matrimonial behaviour across diverse geographies,” he says.
The campaign is driven by the company’s commitment to assure individuals of finding a match within a specified timeframe. The pledge to successfully matchmake within 30 days, with a refund guarantee, serves as the crux of their messaging this season. “Tailoring our approach to each market, we’ve executed this promise uniquely.”
This approach sees the company partner with people of influence across markets to drive better visibility. For the Hindi market, they’ve forged a strategic partnership with Jasleen Royal, the acclaimed singer behind popular wedding songs like Din Shagna Da and Hiriye. Leveraging her association, Zaveri says they have orchestrated a robust social media engagement strategy.
“In the Tamil market, we’ve employed celebrities who recently tied the knot as our ‘matchmakers.’ Adapting a viral reel from this region, featuring the celebrity couple, became a cornerstone of our campaign. While regional focus has always been part of our strategy, this time we’ve approached it through a celebrity lens, creating bespoke strategies for each South Indian market. Although distinct, each strategy is unified by a celebrity-centric approach. From featuring Supriya and Sachin Pilgaonkar for Marathi audiences to enlisting Jasleen Royal for the North, and partnering with Ashok Selvan and Keerthi Pandian for the South – we’ve delved deeper into regional dynamics,” he adds.
Zaveri believes the success of the approach is evident, particularly in the South, where the company’s market presence has increased dramatically post-campaign, providing them an opportunity to further invest in the region.
A focus on the Wedding planning business for Vikaas Gutgutia’s Ferns N Petals
In the backdrop of a season that signals prosperity, Vikaas Gutgutia, founder and managing director, Ferns N Petals (FnP), reflects on the trajectory of its business, navigating through the challenges of a pandemic-induced wedding lull.
He says FnP strategically sustained its business in 2022, aligning with the resumption of the wedding business. With the focus shifting to a year poised for business takeoff, the company plans on exploring the wedding planning business with their new business line Shaadi Central.
“With a legacy in the wedding industry, FnP has historically undertaken various wedding-related tasks, albeit not comprehensively under one roof or in an organised manner. This year marks a strategic shift as the company introduced ‘Shaadi Central,’ a luxury wedding company offering a one-stop solution for all wedding needs.”
“This holistic approach aims to streamline and elevate the wedding planning experience, allowing partners and their families to focus on the approaching wedding date with ease. The innovation and consolidation under ‘Shaadi Central’ have sparked notable interest and engagement in the new business venture. Having weathered a less-than-ideal summer season and traditionally subdued winter numbers, we anticipate a robust revenue surge, making the current season particularly promising,” he asserts.”
The business setup was sparked by Gutgutia’s assertion that, with the evolving landscape of wedding planning, which has made destination weddings and grandeur now necessary for some, the role of wedding planners has become significantly prominent. The launch’s alignment with the business boom anticipated with the wedding season of 2023, Gutgutia underscores the importance of timing in business.
The innovation and consolidation under ‘Shaadi Central’ have sparked notable interest and engagement in the new business venture.
Vikaas Gutgutia, founder and managing director, Ferns N Petals (FnP)
Delving into the marketing approach for this new business vertical, he explains, “The momentum generated by word of mouth for the growth of its wedding planning vertical. Each wedding becomes a nexus of potential customers, and social media plays a pivotal role in amplifying references. With clear and specific messaging in the realm of social media, we have successfully driven business, recognising the platform as the primary point of reference in shaping preferences.”
Looking ahead, FnP anticipates a substantial increase in business revenue across all its verticals. The wedding services vertical, in particular, is expected to bring in significant growth in revenue for the company. The belief stems from the observation that the wedding planning sector remains largely unorganised, and he believes that FnP stands out as a formidable player in terms of size and brand image. As the business charts its course forward, the wedding services vertical emerges as a key focus, poised for substantial expansion.
Senco Gold & Diamonds leveraging virtual try-ons for delivering business growth
Joita Sen, director- marketing and design, Senco Gold & Diamonds, says that the company, with a legacy of 80 years, is uniquely equipped to understand the evolving landscape of bridal desires.
Sen elaborates that the company started the year fresh after initiating their Rajwada Collection, a campaign with which the brand aims to weave together traditional designs infused with modern touches and patterns in their offerings. These offerings, thus, can resonate with the essence of the contemporary woman.
The move also sees the brand shifting its focus towards diverse designs, moving away from region-specific choices. Herein lies a unique selling proposition (USP) for the brand—fulfilling a diverse range of needs while ensuring accessibility across various price points. From high-end designs to more budget-friendly options, the brand aims to leave every customer content upon leaving the store.
“The evolution of groom preferences and competitive pricing have further shaped our approach. A significant aspect of our marketing strategy here revolves around social media, leveraging its targeted reach compared to traditional approaches like billboards and footfall. 50 percent of the marketing budget is allocated to digital channels, where advancements have allowed for more precise consumer outreach.”
50 percent of the marketing budget is allocated to digital channels, where advancements have allowed for more precise consumer outreach.
Joita Sen, director- marketing and design, Senco Gold & Diamonds
However, the digital realm poses a challenge in providing a comprehensive array of options compared to the immersive experience offered in showrooms. To address this, Sen acknowledges the importance of virtual try-ons.
“While currently available for select products, we are actively working on expanding our offerings in virtual try-ons. This approach proves instrumental in effectively communicating the design, look, and feel of the jewellery to consumers, bridging the gap between the digital and physical shopping experiences.
According to Devangshu Dutta, CEO, Third Eyesight, the ongoing mega-season of weddings presents a favourable outlook for formalwear and traditional wear brands across various categories. This surge in weddings is not limited to the upper-income segment but extends across the income spectrum, reaching the middle class and towns of all sizes.
Thus, to effectively capitalise on the wedding season, brands must establish a strong position in customers’ minds well in advance, he believes.
“Products and brands associated with brides, grooms, and close family members, as well as those intended for gifting to the extended family, are inherently perceived as “premium” within their respective consumer segments. This holds true regardless of the targeted population segment. Success as a “wedding brand” requires a long-term perspective, with continuous investments in product development, service enhancement, and marketing expenditure to ensure that the brand stands out prominently amid competition,” he says.
”In the current market landscape, achieving visibility demands a multi-modal approach, encompassing both offline and traditional channels, along with tactical online advertising.”
Devangshu Dutta, CEO, Third Eyesight
In the short term, however, he opines that the visibility and availability of products just before the wedding season play a crucial role in influencing specific performance during that period.
”In the current market landscape, achieving visibility demands a multi-modal approach, encompassing both offline and traditional channels, along with tactical online advertising.”
(Published in Afaqs)
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December 7, 2023
Sharleen Dsouza, Business Standard
Mumbai, 6 December 2023
Godrej Consumer Products is test marketing its liquid detergent under the brand name ‘Fab’ in South India. While this is not the company’s first move in detergents, the launch is expected to give it a bigger play in the category, especially with a competitive price point of Rs 99 a litre. The company already has Godrej Ezee for winter wear wash.
Some other fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are also entering new categories which are allied to their current businesses. Companies are chasing low-penetrated categories which offer high growth both in terms of revenue and margins, according to analysts.
For instance, Parle Products, known as a biscuits manufacturer, has re-entered the wheat flour (atta) market. Earlier in 1996, it had launched packaged wheat flour but exited the segment as the demand failed to pick up. “Now, the demand is much higher for packaged wheat flour,” Mayank Shah, senior category head at Parle Products, told Business Standard while explaining the re-entry into the category. The company already procures wheat flour in bulk for biscuits and therefore packaging and selling it also makes sense for us, Shah pointed out.
Known for its snacks and namkeens, Bikano Bikanervala Foods has entered the Indian spices category under the sub-brand ‘Swad Anusar’. It came as a natural progression for the company.
“The top masala companies have either established or expanded their position in the sector over the past year, which is believed to account for up to 36 per cent of India’s entire Rs 70,000 crore spice industry,’’ Manish Aggarwal, director, Bikano, Bikanervala Foods, said. The remaining 64 per cent of the market is disorganised. ‘’We believe it’s the right time to invest in the spices category and foresee growth in this dynamic segment,” Aggarwal added.
The brand is already established in people’s mind and these companies already have distribution in place, according to Rajat Wahi, partner at Deloitte India.
“As long as these are adjacent categories, the company can easily leverage the existing distribution and also target new customers. These categories are typically low penetrated categories which offer high growth and are fragmented due to regional brands being present, thus giving them a better opportunity to enter these categories,” Wahi said.
Brand expert Devangshu Dutta, founder at Third Eyesight, also believes that companies can easily use their existing distribution strength while expanding into related categories. “There has been a broad-based consumer growth over the years in these categories. Also, large companies find it difficult to grow after a point when present only in a certain categories,’’ Dutta said while explaining the significance of group synergies in launching new products.
(Published in Business Standard)
