Rajeev Thakkar on Indian consumer market at Financial Opportunities Forum (FoF) dated January 29, 2015.
The Indian consumer market is very diverse and regional on account of cultural differences, community, religion and geography. For a new entrant or on existing FMCG business, its important to understand the nuances of each micro market in India and then focus on the product characteristics and price points.
To be successful in India, high volume and low margin with the right price point has worked in favor of MNC FMCG companies and domestic companies as well. Take for example Kurkure by Pespico or Fair and lovely by HUL. Companies which attempted to apply outright American strategies such as Pepsico and Coca Cola did not succeed until they brought in a diverse set of products to suit the Indian consumer.
The book “we are like that” captures the nuances of the Indian consumer market. The author Bijapurkar has drawn many examples of how companies have been successful. Trends in consumer durables show a relatively low number per household for refrigerators, automobiles and two wheelers as a percentage. However, in absolute no it is a fairly big market.
In conclusion, its important to know the target audience and the 5 Ps’ of marketing have to be applied to different regional markets and micro-market to capture the growth in India.
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