ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The present work is an effort to throw some light on Marketing Strategy of

Nike at Nike Industries Limited. The work would not have been possible to
come to the present shape without the able guidance,supervision and help
to me by number of people. With deep sense of gratitude I acknowledge the
encouragement

and

guidance

received

..and other staff members.

by

my

organizational

guide

I convey my heartful affection to all

those people who helped and supported me during the course, for
completion of my Project Report. ..

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This marketing strategic plan has been written keeping in mind the Indian
operations of Nike Inc. the global sports shoe giant. It aims first, at
analyzing the sports shoe industry India and finding a place in it for Nike. It
then sets out to describe the target audience for the product range and
finally suggests a host of marketing strategies and activities that will help
Nike to achieve its target of becoming the #1 sports shoe brand in India.
The plan begins with a brief overview of the product category being dealt
with, namely premium quality sports shoes. It also dwells briefly on the
history of the company and its current position and activities. The project
moves on to the crux of the matter the marketing plan to be followed by
Nike in India. Firstly, the objectives behind this plan and the core strategy
are stated. Customers to be eventually targeted are described and
compared with competitors customer targets. After starting the objectives
and reasoning behind them, the actual marketing programs are described in
detail. This includes aspects such as pricing, advertising, promotion, sales,
channels, and the company website. Suggestions are made on each and
every

one

of

these

aspects;

improvements

and

innovations

are

recommended. The plan then goes on to the customer analysis section. The
customer base is identified and various segments are pointed out. Various
criteria and factors have been taken into consideration while segmenting
the market. We have also tried to ascertain why customers buy these

products, how they choose, and what factors matter most when making
their decisions.
The last few pages of this marketing plan deal with the various ways in
which the plan, once implemented, can be monitored and controlled

TABLE OF CONTENT
1) INTRODUCTION 1-13
a) Background of the problem 1
b) About The Nike Industry 3
c) Nike Maxsight 4
d) Industry Overview 5
e) Product Trend 8
2) RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 14-20
a) Research objectives 14
b) Research design 15
c) Data sources 15
i) Primary data 15

ii) Secondary data 15

d) Questionnaire design formulation 16
e) Sample design 17
f) Limitations of the research 20
3) COMPANY PROFILE 21-43
a) Nike Industries Ltd. A company profile 21
b) Recent Development 21
c) Future Plan 23
d) Risk and Concern 28
e) Literature Review 31
f) 4ps of Nike 40
g) SWOT Analysis 41
4) DATA ANALYSIS 44-63
5) CONCLUSION & FINDINGS 64-67
6) RECOMMENDATIONS 68-75
a) OTHER SUGGESTION INCLUDE 69

7) ANNEXURE 76-82
8) BIBLIOGRAPHY 83

INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM

Since the late 1980s, Business School marketing professor Itamar Simonson
has looked for ways to understand how consumers make choices. Much of
his work debunks the accepted theory that giving consumers what they
want and making a profit are the most basic principles of marketing.
Customers may not know what they want, and second-guessing them can
be expensive, says the professor who teaches MBA and PhD marketing and
consumer decision-making courses. In Simonsons words, The benefits and
costs of fitting individual customer preference are more complex and less
deterministic

than

has

been

assumed.

Thats

because

customer

preferences are often ill-defined and susceptible to various influences, and

in many cases, customers have poor insight into their preferences. In one
of his recent papers, Simonson tackles the issue of one-to-one marketing
and mass customization. Supporters of these marketing approaches have
suggested that learning what customers want and giving them exactly what
they want will create customer loyalty and an insurmountable barrier to

competition. In an example taken to the extreme in the 2002 movie

Minority Report, Tom Cruises character runs through a shopping mall past
talking billboards that recognize him by name and urge him to buy products
he had earlier expressed an interest in such as jeans and Ray-Bans, the
ultimate in personalized advertising. But Simonson has this to say: The
fact that consumer preferences are often fuzzy, unstable, and manipulatable
is unlikely to change. So, the effectiveness of methods to give customers
exactly what they (say they) want has been grossly exaggerated. His take
on the long-held assumption that individual marketing will supplant
targeted marketing is not so fast. In studies, he has learned that even
when customers have well-defined preferences and receive offers that fit
those preferences, it is far from certain that the response to such offers will
consistently be more favorable than those directed at larger market
segments. Its all psychology. Consumers with well-defined preferences
may be skeptical that a marketer could match expectations. Those who
dont know what they want may not ever see the fit with what the seller
wants them to buy. So, individualized offers depend on customers
preferences &; how the offer was extended &; and on trust. Effective
individual marketing requires not only an understanding of individual
preferences and matching offers to those preferences, but also a thorough
familiarity with the various factors that impact customers responses,
Simonson writes. This is a tall order, one that some companies have been
able to fill, at least to some extent. For example, Amazon keeps track of

customers purchases and suggests other books they might like. Dell builds
computers

from

mass-made

parts

to

customers

specifications.

But

Simonson argues some companies can take the concept too far, like the
Custom Foot chain of shoe stores that took detailed measurements and
specifications from each customer to design one-of-a-kind shoes. Custom
Foot didnt take into account that some customers were put off by the
individualized attention, Simonson says, and felt obligated to buy the shoes
because the store went to so much trouble. They often didnt come back. So
knowing only the customer preferences is not enough. It is required to
understand other aspects of customer behavior. Kipping this in mind,
present study will find out and analyze consumer behavior of Nike shoes
with reference to ladies segment.

ABOUT THE NIKE INDUSTRY

In sport, visual acuity and protection can mean the difference between
winning and losing. Light conditions have a dramatic effect on how the
human eye perceives and, subsequently how the body reacts and performs
-- in the sun glinting over the upper deck, shallow contrast on a putting
green, or quickly adjusting from shadows to light on a tennis court or
mountain bike single track. Nike knows that in athletic competition, even
small advantages are critical to performance. Nike has spent the last eight
years exploring the human eye to understand the science of vision in the

development of the new Nike MaxSight Sport-Tint Contact Lens, available

August 2005.

WHAT IT IS
Nike MaxSight, developed in partnership with Bausch & Lomb, is a tinted
soft contact lens that behaves like sunglasses, reducing glare and filtering
out 95% of UVA and UVB and more than 90% of blue light. But because the
lens rests directly on the eye, theres virtually no distortion as with standard
sunglasses. Athletes get the same clear view at all angles. Plus, Nike
MaxSight eliminates the environmental effects that plague sunglasses like
fogging, scratching, additional weight, or nosepieces and frames to obstruct
vision. Theres no obstruction from the edge of the lens, the frame or the
nosepiece, because they dont exist. And there are no pressure points and
no slippage. Max Sight also eliminates light leakage, reducing the need to
squint, allowing the eye to relax and perform more naturally.

Nike

MaxSight is, in effect, one giant visual sweet spot. Nike Maxsight

HOW THEY WORK

Nikes patented Nike MaxSight Light Architecture selectively alters specific

wavelengths of light within the visual spectrum to enhance key elements in
sport. The athlete gets crisp, clear vision without anything getting in their
way. By removing most of the blue light, contrast and clarity are enhanced
a decided advantage for any competitor. For sports not conducive to
eyewear, such as golf, tennis and soccer, athletes will see marked
improvement, even on days where the suns not at its brightest. Nike
MaxSight provides through-and-through tinting (unlike cosmetically tinted
lenses), so theres no bending or scattering of light. Plus theres limited
incidental light or peripheral flickering creeping around the sides, as with
sunglasses. Athletes tested in Nike MaxSight lenses found they squinted
less, were able to relax more, and had exceptional views of contours and
movement.

Marco Materazzi of Italys Inter Milan football club and Baltimore Orioles
second baseman Brian Roberts are among the pro athletes wearing Nike
MaxSight. It has been a lot of fun to start the season this hot, said
Roberts early in the MLB season. In fact, he became one of the first true
fans of Nike MaxSight after impressive initial results. During a spring
daytime game, Roberts said, I wore the lenses and went 2 for 4. They are
so awesome. With Nike MaxSight, theres minimal squinting in bright light,
and quicker visual definition when going from bright light to shadows.
Wearers will also discover a game-day benefit the look. It makes the eye

look distinct, the large-pupil effect, says Alan Reichow, Nike Vision
Consultant. It looks competitive.

ROLL OVER PHOTOS FOR A MAXSIGHT

LENSE SIMULATION
THE WEAR
Nike MaxSight is a 30-day lens, though most athletes will wear them
selectively and for short durations. Lenses come in six-pack packaging. Nike
MaxSight is available with or without a correction, thereby making it
accessible to athletes whether they wear contacts or not.

THE

HISTORY

Nike began exploring the Nike Max Sight technology in 1997, conducting an
initial clinical project, then subsequent research projects using collegiate
athletes. Oregons Pacific University baseball players were the first athletes
to undergo testing. Coach Greg Bradley requested that he be allowed to try
them before his players. Hed never worn contacts, says Dr. Reichow. He
took two pitches and turned around and said, Ive never seen a ball that
distinct and clear. Put them on anybody who wants them.

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
Bill Bowerman said this couple of decades ago. The guy was right. It defines
how he viewed the world, and it defines how Nike pursues its destiny. Ours

is a language of sports, a universally understood lexicon of passion and

competition. A lot has happened at Nike in the 30 years since we entered
the industry, most of it good, some of it downright embarrassing. But
through it all, we remain totally focused on creating performance
opportunities for everyone who would benefit, and offering empowering
messages for everyone who would listen.
We feel lucky to have a genuine, altruistic reason to be: the service of
human potential. That's the great benefit of sports, and we're glad to be in
the middle of it. What started with a handshake between two running geeks
in sleepy Eugene, Oregon, are now the world's most competitive sports and
Fitness Company. The World Headquarters is in Beaverton, Oregon. The
Pacific Northwest is Nike's hometown, but like so many ambitious souls, we
have expanded our horizons to every corner of the world. Nike employs
around 23,000 people, and every one of them is significant to our mission
of bringing inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. Along
the way Nike joined up with some great partner companies that help extend
our reach within and beyond sports. Cole Haan offers casual luxury footwear
and

accessories

out

of

New

York

City

and

Yarmouth,

Maine.

Bauer Nike Hockey, based in Montreal, Quebec, is the world's leading

manufacturer of hockey equipment and a wholly owned subsidiary of Nike,
Inc. Nike partnered with Hurley International, a premium teen lifestyle
brand founded by 20-year industry veteran Bob Hurley based in Costa
Mesa, California. In 2003, Nike completed the acquisition of Converse, the

globally recognized footwear brand with nearly a century of sports heritage,

and home of the perennially popular Chuck Taylor All-Star and Jack Purcell
footwear. Exeter Brands Group: In August 2004, Nike created the Exeter
Brands Group, a wholly owned subsidiary, dedicated to building athletic
footwear and apparel brands for the value retail channel. This portfolio of
brands includes the Official Starter Properties LLC and Official Starter LLC
which are the sole owners and licensors of the Starter, Team Starter and
Asphalt brand names as well as master licensee of the Shaq and Dunkman
brands, a line of athletic apparel, footwear and accessory products for the
value retail channel. Separate business units within the Nike brand include
The Jordan/Jumpman 23 brand and Nike Golf. As small as we feel, the Nike
family is a fairly vast enterprise. We operate on six continents. Our
suppliers, shippers, retailers and service providers employ close to 1 million
people. The diversity inherent in such size is helping Nike evolve its role as
a global company. We see a bigger picture today than when we started, one
that includes building sustainable business with sound labor practices. We
retain the zeal of youth yet act on our responsibilities as a global corporate
citizen. If you have a body, you are an athlete. And as long as there are
athletes, there will be Nike.

PRODUCT TREND

Bovine skin was by far the most preferred leather material, followed by
goat/kid/lamb/sheep skin and crocodile skin. Respondents overwhelmingly
preferred the color black and, to a lesser extent, dark brown. For
handbags/briefcases, popular colors included light brown, white and red.
Consumer Segments with the Biggest Spending Power Male professionals,
managers and executives are the segment with the biggest spending power
for now and in the coming three years. Other major consumer segments
include male office workers; sole proprietors/business owners; female office
workers;

and

female

professionals,

managers

and

executives. The

Competitiveness of Hong Kong Brands/Suppliers of Leather Consumer

Goods. Most retailers consider Hong Kong brands to be either very
competitive or quite competitive in both high-end and mid-range segments,
but less competitive in the low-end segment. The competitiveness of Hong
Kong brands mainly rests on their product style/design and quality, with
most

respondents

picking

those

as

the

major

reasons

behind

the

attractiveness of Hong Kong brands in the high-end and mid-range

segments respectively.

PRODUCT PROFILE

Apart from delivering a pair of comfortable sports shoes Nike also provides
a number of value-added features with its products. The features that are a
part of every Nike sports shoe are as follows. High Performance Sports
Shoes: Nike has patented the Air system and has made it into a regular
feature in most of its models. Many models feature an air pocket in the shoe
that reduces the weight of the shoe and reduces pressure on the heels.
Besides the overall design and compactness of the shoes have made it a
favorite of many professional athletes around the world. Comfort: Nike
shoes are renowned all over the world for the comfort they provide. Well
padded and cushioned, they provide a tremendous level of comfort to the
wearer and reduce the strain to his feet while playing. Lightweight: This
attribute is in line with the two described above. A lightweight shoe provides
greater mobility and eases the pressure on the feet of the wearer.
Durability: People purchasing a pair of shoes at such a high price often feel
that they have made an investment. They would obviously want to see their
shoes last a long time. To prove this point we draw the example of the
authors of this marketing plan. All of us own a pair of Nikes and have been
wearing them for well over two years a symbol of the durability of Nike
shoes. Style: Nikes designs are considered to be the most stylish in the
industry and beat all others as far as looks are concerned. Attractively
packaged, it is a delight to bring a pair home. Add to this the Swoosh
the most recognizable symbol in sports and you have a product that would
give the user a definite sense of pride. Nike shoes also come with a

guarantee card that enables the owner to return it in case of manufacturing

defects. However, owing to the fact that the company implements strict
quality control measures, coming across a defective pair in a store are a
rarity. The most recent additions to their line are the Nike 6.0 and Nike SB
shoes, designed for skateboarding. Nike has recently introduced cricket
shoes, called Air Zoom Yorker, designed to be 30% lighter than their
competitors'.[ Nike positions its products in such a way as to try to appeal
to a "youthful....materialistic crowd".[5] It is positioned as a premium
performance

brand.

NIKE 6.O
NIKE SB

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research

comprise

defining

and

redefining

problems,

formulating

hypothesis or suggested solutions; collecting, organizing and evaluating

data; making deductions and reaching conclusions; and at last carefully
testing the conclusions to determine whether they fit the formulating
Hypothesis. In short, the search for Knowledge through Objective and
Systematic method of finding solutions to a problem is Research.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

To study the tastes, preferences, and buying behavior of

consumers in case of footwear of Bata.

To analyze buying

To recommend strategies to Nike to increase sales in ladies segment.

behavior

of

ladies

The main objectives of this study are:

Working of Insurance Plans

SWOT analysis of the product sold

Comparative study with the competitors

segment

of consumers.

RESEARCH DESIGN

TYPE OF RESEARCH: Descriptive research

Descriptive research includes Surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different

kinds. The main characteristic of this method is that the researcher has no
control over the variables; he can only report what has happened or what is
happening.

DATA SOURCES

There are two types of data. Source of primary data for the present study is
collected through questionnaire and answered by consumers of Nike shoes.
The secondary data is collected from journals, books and through Internet
search.

PRIMARY DATA

The data that is collected first hand by someone specifically for the purpose
of facilitating the study is known as primary data. So in this research the
data is collected from respondents through questionnaire.

SECONDARY DATA

For the company information I had used secondary data like brochures, web
site of the company etc. The Method used by me is Survey Method as the
research done is Descriptive Research.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS
Selected instrument for Data Collection for Survey is Questionnaire .

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN FORMULATION

Under this method, list of questions pertaining to the survey are prepared
for

marketing

staff

of

consumers

of

Nike

shoes.

Questionnaire has structured type questions as well as unstructured type

questions. Structured objective type questions are prepared for the
respondents with fixed response categories. Some of the questions are of
multiple-choice type. The questions have more than one alternative.
Questionnaire: - A questionnaire consists of a set of questions presented to
respondent for their answers. It can be Closed Ended or Open Ended
Open Ended: - Allows respondents to answer in their own words & are
difficult to Interpret and Tabulate. Close Ended: - Pre-specify all the possible
answers & are easy to Interpret and Tabulate.

TYPES OF QUESTION INCLUDED:

DICHOTOMOUS QUESTIONS
Which has only two answers Yes or No?

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

Where respondent is offered more than two choices.

IMPORTANCE SCALE
A scale that rates the importance of some attribute.

RATING SCALE
A scale that rates some attribute from highly satisfied to highly
unsatisfied and very inefficient to very efficient

SAMPLING UNIT: -

Who is to be surveyed? The marketing researcher must define the target

population that will be sampled. The sample Unit taken by me; General
public of different age group, different gender and different profession

EXTENT:-

Where the survey should be carried out? I have covered entire residential
area of Delhi city for the survey

TIME FRAME:-

When the survey should be conducted? I conducted my survey for 8weeks

from 10th may to 10th July

SAMPLING FRAME:The source from which the sample is drawn

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE: -

How should the respondent be chosen? In the Project sampling is done on

basis of Probability sampling. Among the probability sampling design the
sampling design chosen is stratified random sampling. Because in this
survey I had stratified the sample in different age group, different gender
and different profession.

SAMPLE SIZE
Consumers of shoes, 50 nos

STEPS FOLLOWED IN COMPLETING THE

STUDY

(i) Libraries at (a) Indian Council for Applied Economic Research

(ICAER), (b) Indian Institute of Technology, (IIT) Delhi, (c) Council
of scientific and industrial Research (CSIR) (d) PHD chamber of
commerce, are visited. Management / marketing books, journals
are consulted.
(ii) Internet sites containing information on Nike shoes & marketing
are browsed.
(iii) Sample survey was conducted.
(iv) Data was thoroughly checked for error.

DATA PROCESSING
METHODOLOGY

(i) Once the primary data have been collected, they are (I) edited
inspected, corrected and modified.
(ii) Tabulation bring similar data together and totaling them in
meaningful categories. Questionnaires are edited both in the field
and later in home. Field editing took place just often the interview.
Generally editing is required for open type of questions. Brief notes or
symbols are frequently used during the interview to initially record the
interviewers response since it was not desirable to interrupt the flow with
lengthy note taking. Then immediately after the interview, brief notes are
respondent. The responses are thoroughly checked in home for incorrect,
inconsequential or contradictions categories are developed only often the
replies has been reviewed. This review provided a feel for the pattern of
answers and thus determine what categories best represent the answers.

The collected data are placed into an order. Percentages of respondents

answered similarly are calculated and placed in a table. Then this is
interpreted. This involved drawing conclusion from the gathered data.
Interpretation changes the new information immerging from the analysis
into

information

that

is

pertinent

or

relevant

to

the

study.

CONCLUSION WAS DRAWN BASED ON

THE SURVEY FINDINGS

Finally recommendation was made to improve the sales strategy of Nike

shoes to increase the sales volume in ladies segment.

SAMPLE DESIGN
THE BASIS OF SAMPLING: Consumers of Nike shoes are chosen randomly, so that unbiased,
representative sample may be obtained.

LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH
The geographical area was very much limited to residential area & so the
results are not particularly reflection of the current behavior.

BIASES AND NON-COOPERATION OF THE

RESPONDENTS.

The collected data are placed into an order. Percentages of respondents

answered similarly are calculated and placed in a table. Then this is
interpreted. This involved drawing conclusion from the gathered data.
Interpretation changes the new information immerging from the analysis
into

information

that

is

pertinent

or

relevant

to

the

study.

Due to limited time period and constrained working hours for most of the
respondents, the answers at times were vague enough to be ignored.
Most of the people in India take their Nike Shoes in the period preceding
March & so the response to initial contacts were not all encouraging and
that has been the primary reason in the inability to quantify the results
large enough so as to deduce any relevant outcomes.

COMPANY PROFILE

NIKE INDUSTRIES LTD. A COMPANY

PROFILE

Nike India Ltd (BIL) is Indias largest footwear company. Nike first
established itself in India in 1931 and commenced manufacturing shoes in
Batanagar in 1936. The company has its Headquarters in Kolkata and
manufactures over 33 million pairs per year in five plants located in
Batanagar (West Bengal), Faridabad (Haryana), Bangalore (Karnataka),
Patna (Bihar), Hosur (Tamil Nadu). It secures its leather supply from two
tanneries in Mokamehghat (Bihar) and Batanagar (West Bengal). It has a

distribution network of over 1,500 retail stores and 27 wholesale depots

provide excellent access to consumers and wholesale customers throughout
India.
As on December 31, 2006, the Canadian parent had a 51 per cent stake
while institutional holding was about 13 per cent.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Nike India has said that its Faridabad and Mokamehghat units are being
taken over by Fashion Shoe Private Ltd and BDCL Enterprises Pvt Ltd,
respectively. The company is also enabling the buy back provision in its
Articles of association to enable buy back of shares.
The assets and liabilities of both the units will be transferred to these
companies and shares will be offered in the agreed ratio to the existing
shareholders of Nike India Ltd on a record date, which will be fixed by the
Calcutta High Court.
While retail sales have increased both in value and volume, wholesale sales
have declined due to restriction of supplies as a means to recover
customersoutstanding. General recession and sluggish market conditions in
the industry also have had a direct impact on lower sales and profitability.

Resistance of consumers to price rises in popular volume products as well as

discounts to clear slow-moving stocks and under utilization of production
capacity adversely affected the operational results. The lockout declared at
the Peenya factory on October 1, 2007 due to serious industrial relation
problems and non-compliance with the tripartite settlement has been
withdrawn. The footwear manufactured in this factory, which was shifted to
the companys other factories and associated manufacturers, will now be
gradually produced within the factory. The commencement of production
from this factory will help in re-cooping the minimal loss being suffered by
the company from this lockout.
In Simonsons words, The benefits and costs of fitting individual customer
preference are more complex and less deterministic than has been
assumed. Thats because customer preferences are often ill-defined and
susceptible to various influences, and in many cases, customers have poor
insight into their preferences. In one of his recent papers, Simonson
tackles the issue of one-to-one marketing and mass customization.
Supporters of these marketing approaches have suggested that learning
what customers want and giving them exactly what they want will create
customer loyalty and an insurmountable barrier to competition.

But Simonson has this to say: The fact that consumer preferences are
often fuzzy, unstable, and manipulatable is unlikely to change. So, the
effectiveness of methods to give customers exactly what they (say they)

want has been grossly exaggerated. His take on the long-held assumption
that individual marketing will supplant targeted marketing is not so fast.
In studies, he has learned that even when customers have well-defined
preferences and receive offers that fit those preferences, it is far from
certain that the response to such offers will consistently be more favorable
than those directed at larger market segments.

Its all psychology. Consumers with well-defined preferences may be

skeptical that a marketer could match expectations. Those who dont know
what they want may not ever see the fit with what the seller wants them to
buy. So, individualized offers depend on customers preferences &; how the
offer was extended &; and on trust. Effective individual marketing requires
not only an understanding of individual preferences and matching offers to
those preferences, but also a thorough familiarity with the various factors
that impact customers responses, Simonson writes. This is a tall order, one
that some companies have been able to fill, at least to some extent. For
example, Amazon keeps track of customers purchases and suggests other
books they might like. Dell builds computers from mass-made parts to
customers specifications. But Simonson argues some companies can take
the concept too far, like the Custom Foot chain of shoe stores that took
detailed measurements and specifications from each customer to design
one-of-a-kind shoes. Custom Foot didnt take into account that some
customers were put off by the individualized attention, Simonson says, and

felt obligated to buy the shoes because the store went to so much trouble.
They often didnt come back. So knowing only the customer preferences is
not enough. It is required to understand other aspects of customer
behavior. Kipping this in mind, present study will find out and analyze
consumer behavior of Nike shoes with reference to ladies segment.

FUTURE PLAN

The management says that it is not averse to outsourcing if it worked out

cheaper. It is also open to the idea of importing shoes - mostly from China if it works out cheaper. Nike and Reebok India Company have announced an
agreement to foray into retailing partnership for sale of Reebok and
Rockport footwear in Nike outlets. The partnership entails retailing a range
of sports shoes for walking, running, tennis and training for personal fitness
and sports ranging between Rs 900-2,500.
An attractive valuation compared to its peers is the main trigger for the
scrip. Besides, the companys aggressive focus on retailing and revamping
of business (a division into shoes and apparels) is also helping sentiment for
the scrip. Plans are afoot to start selling apparel in India made by the joint
venture North Star. Theres talk that the company is planning on a voluntary
retirement scheme (VRS) to cut costs.

For the third quarter ended 30 September 2007, Nike India reduced its
losses to Rs 5.68 crore (Rs 8.51 crore) on a 9.2% increase in net profit to
Rs 154.27 crore (Rs 141.26 crore). Despite reducing its losses for the
quarter, Nike India has, over the last few quarters, been continuously
recording weak performances as a result of an overall slowdown in the
industry due to lower consumer spending. Increasing domestic competition,
particularly from the unorganized sector, has also been eroding into the
companys market share.
The company is finding it difficult to maintain its market share in a highly
price-sensitive

Indian

market,

despite

having

strong

brand

recall.

97% of the companys revenues are from the domestic market while the
remainder is from exports. Nike India is the biggest player in the Indian
shoe market.
Nike Indias major problems include its high cost of production and low
emphasis on marketing. The company may be able to address the first
problem through outsourcing products. Batas brand image has been
restricted to that of a company that emphasizes on utilitarian products more
than trendy ones. Customers feel the company is lacking in innovation.
Hence,

their

preference

has

shifted

to

other

local

brands.

Nike India has a large marketing network with over 1,500 showrooms, 27
wholesale depots and eight retail distribution centers across the country.

Besides, there is a network of 300 exclusive wholesalers servicing 25,000

dealers all over the country. However, in spite of this and the license to sell
other brands like Nike, Hush Puppies and Lotto, Nike has not been able to
improve sales consistently. The recent rise in sales during the third quarter
ended September 2006 can be attributed to the festive season. Recently, it
also

entered

into

retailing

tie-up

for

Lee

Cooper

shoes.

Nike India has also been trying to focus on aggressive marketing of its
product. The company has been going through a period of transition for the
past one year. With the expansion of the retail industry in New Delhi and
Mumbai, the company has recently decided to shift its marketing operations
to Delhi in order to provide value shopping for its customers. However, the
manufacturing activity and the registered office will continue at Kolkata.

Nike India has plans to invest in sophisticated machinery to retain its niche
place in manufacturing. The company has put a fresh focus to its retail
business. The company has decided to cleanse its wholesale operation by
building relationships with credit-worthy buyers.
It is to the companys credit that it has lately overhauled its marketing setup into a four-tier retail structure that will be stocked with products
matching the areas customer profile. A Nike outlet in an up market place
will offer a distinctly different range of footwear from another in the
suburbs.

At the top of the four-tier structure will be international stores stocking

brands like Nike and Reebok. Next will be city stores, located in up market
areas and catering to middle and high-income groups. The company has
identified the brands Power, North Star, Bubble gummers, Marie Claire and
Hush Puppies for the top end of the market. Third in line will be family
stores at commercial locations displaying basic and mid-range footwear. At
the bottom will be bazaar stores that will basically aim at driving volume
sales at lower price points.
The management of Nike India is taking major steps in terms of improving
market penetration, focus on stores configuration, distribution logistics,
better industrial relations and overhead rationalization. Launching of new
products always remained at the center stage of the companys operations.

At the same time, with the opening up of the economy, more and more
goods will be imported from China. This may significantly affect Nike Indias
prospects unless it manages to wean away customers with a drastic cut in
costs. Alternatively, like other Indian manufacturers, even Nike may
consider relocating its manufacturing bases in China. However, it is not that
easy a task to undertake.

Nike India, the 51% subsidiary of Toronto-based Nike Shoe Organization,

remains the biggest player in the Indian shoe market, though its share in
footfalls has been decreasing over the years.
Now in a determined bid to straddle across all product and price points, Nike
India has decided to restructure its 1,300-outlet strong retail business
division along specific customer segments into Bazaar, Family, and City and
Flagship stores.
Nike India has decided to appoint brand managers for each product group in
a newfound aggression to tackle dwindling sales. Each of these managers
assisted by a dedicated team would be like a brand champion responsible
for procurement, production, advertisement, promotion and re-supply.

Nike India has roped in Ogilvy & Mother for devising its festive season
advertising, side-stepping JWT, its incumbent agency. The job involves
developing special communication directed towards the festival season
shoppers.

Nike India Ltd (BIL) is Indias largest footwear company selling over 60 Mn
pairs per year in India, USA, UK, Europe, Middle East and Far East. BIL has
a market share of 60% in leather products and 70% in canvas shoes.

The footwear industry in India is highly fragmented and dominated by the

unorganized sector. The industry size is around Rs 75 Bn and is growing at

around 10% annually. It competes with Indian players such as Liberty
Shoes, Phoenix International, Mirza Tanners, Tatas, Action Shoes and
Lakhani Shoes and global players like Adidas, Reebok and Nike. Accessories
and garments contribute footwear sales account for more than 96% of sales
while the balance. The turnover break up is as follows

Products Volume (%) Value (%)

Rubber and Canvas 50: 30

Leather 29 :57
Plastic 21: 9

GROWTH DRIVERS
The company has a very comprehensive distribution network which
comprises its own and franchise stores. It has 1500 showrooms, 25
wholesale depots and 8 distribution centers.

POPULAR BRANDS

Nike owns brands like Hush Puppies, Signor, Marie Claire Power, Sandak,
Hawai, Naughty boy and Ambassador. It also distributes other brands such
as Nike and Lotto.

Focus on middle-class and upper class Nike will continue to focus on middle
and upper class customers. It is introducing budget stores which will help
customers to identify with the brand. It is also increasing focus on rural
thrust for volume growth in the low-priced footwear segment.

RISK AND CONCERN

Lifting of quantitative restriction on import of footwear will lead to the

market being flooded by imports. Labor issues have always bothered BIL
and this resulted in disruption of manufacturing activities on numerous
occasions. Competition is hotting up in the domestic market due to popular
brands such as Gaitonde, Red Tape, Lotus Bawa and Tatas. These brands
are gaining market share especially in the premium segment and in this
segment BIL has no significant presence.

Latest Results Sales for Q3 FY2000 increased by 5.5% yoy to Rs1.7bn.

profits dropped by 90% yoy to Rs3.8 Mn due to lower operating margins
and higher depreciation and interest. Depreciation increased by 6.3% yoy to
Rs 37 Mn while interest cost increased by 9.3% yoy to Rs 23.4 Mn.
Operating margins dropped by 3.3% due to increase in input cost. The
Peenya plant has not commenced operations despite lifting up of the lock
out since July 3, 2007

VALUATION

BILs long-term success is dependent on the how labour issue is tackled and the flexibility, which it can
adopt to meet threat of imports and competition from local footwear companies. Long term investors with a
two-year investment horizon can accumulate the stock at current levels. It is also increasing focus on rural
thrust

for

volume

growth

in

the

low-priced

footwear

segment.

Lifting of quantitative restriction on import of footwear will lead to the market being flooded by imports.
Labor issues have always bothered BIL and this resulted in disruption of manufacturing activities on
numerous occasions.

Competition is hotting up in the domestic market due to popular brands such as Gaitonde, Red Tape, Lotus
Bawa and Tatas. These brands are gaining market share especially in the premium segment and in this
segment BIL has no significant presence.

Sales for Q1 CY2001 decreased marginally by 0.6% yoy to Rs 1590.7 mn. There was a net loss of Rs 30.2
mn as against a profit of Rs 39.6 mn in the corresponding period of the previous year. The loss is due to
lower operating margins and higher interest.

BILs long-term success is dependent on the labor issue and the flexibility, which it can adopt to meet
threat of imports and competition from local footwear companies. Long term investors with a two-year
investment horizon can accumulate the stock at current levels.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

(In Rs Million) 200012 (12) 199912 (12) 199812 (12) Q1200103

Q1200003
Sales 7,315.70 7,103.90 6,353.20 1590.7 1600.9

% Growth 2.98 11.82 (0.6)

Net Profit 304.60 242.60 166.30 (30.2) 39.6

% Growth 25.56 45.88 (176)
EPS(Rs) 5.90 4.70 3.20 3.08
% Growth 25.53 46.88

Ratios 200012 (12) 199912 (12) 199812 (12) Q300009 Q399909

OPM(%) 9.77 9.08 7.16 1.09 6.9
NPM(%) 4.16 3.42 2.62 2.5
ROE(%) 8.95 7.44 5.31
Nike understated 9 month losses Brief Financials (in Rs. Mn.)Detailed Quarterly
Period ending (months)30-Sep-2007 (9)31-Dec-2006
(12)31-Dec-2006 (12)
Net sales 4980.206461.177172.91
Other Income42.1063.6165.21
Total Income5022.306524.777238.12
Cost of goods sold4974.706471.797051.76
OPBDIT47.6052.98186.36
PAT-117.20-74.1039.80
Gross Block-2191.072062.26
Equity capital-514.22514.22

EPS (Rs.)--1.440.77
DPS (Rs.)-0.000.75
BV (Rs.)-37.2738.71
P/E range (x)-0.0 - 0.00.0 - 0.0
Debt / Equity (x)-0.320.26
Operating margin (% of OI) 0.90.82.6
Net margin (% of OI)-2.3-1.10.5
As on 30 June 2007, the public, institutions and foreign bodies held
31.23%, 13.91% and 0.16% stake in the company, respectively

LITERATURE REVIEW

The study of consumer behavior has evolved since the Information

Processing Model (Bettman, 1979) assumed that the individual is logical in
his/her buying process. This model was criticized because it failed to treat
different

consumption

phenomena

motivated

by

symbolic

meanings

(Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982). Individuals are not always looking for
efficiency and economy, but also for distraction, aesthetic, expression, etc.
(Boyd and Levy, 1963). Calling for a broadening of theoretical frameworks
of consumer behavior, many authors pleaded in favor of the study of all
consumption forms (Holbrook, 1986), being inspired by European semi logy

and American semiotic (Levy, 1959, 1963, 1981; Hirschman, 1980; KehretWard,

Johnson

and

Louie,

1985;

Mick,

1986;

Holbrook,

1986;

OShaughnessy and Holbrook, 1988; Nth, 1988; Stern, 1988; GraftonSmall and Linstead, 1989). These are the study of signs, meanings and
production

of

symbols.

Fantasy,

emotion

and

pleasant

aspects

of

consumption were then tackled from an experiential point of view. The

Experiential

View

is

phenomenological

perspective

that

perceives

consumption as a primary state of consciousness having a variety of

symbolic

meanings,

responses

and

hedonist

criteria

(Holbrook

and

Hirschman, 1982; Olshavsky and Granbois, 1979). The basis of the

traditional Information Processing Model is the optimization of the utility of
a product under the basis of a utilitarian evaluation of its tangible
characteristics. Nevertheless, it neglects emotional aspects. On the other
hand, the Experiential View leaves out different factors such as economic
conditions, expectations, some elements of the marketing mix (price,
distribution), perceived risk and conflicts, but mostly the social influence of
the consumers reference groups (Holbrook and Hirschman, 1982; Business
Central Europe, 1994) which is the aim of the Symbolic Interactionism
Perspective. Acquisition, possession and consumption are activities taking
place in a process of impressions creation or identity management which is,
according to Belk (1978), an interactive process concerning both the image
of goods consumed and that of the individuals consuming them. The
Symbolic Interactionism Perspective deals with the relationship between

consumers and the products they consume, and suggests that a significant
proportion of consumption behaviors consist of social behaviors, and vice
versa (Solomon, 1983). This leads us to consider the importance of
socialization processes (family, reference groups) through which individuals
learn the meanings of symbols and those of consumption. With the
aforementioned meanings being negotiated and built through interactions
with others, consumption is not only an individual activity, but also a social
process of goods definition (Gallant and Kleinman, 1983). Since individuals
are often motivated to acquire products according to what they mean to
them and to members of their social reference groups (Leigh and Gabel,
1992), their behavior is subject to the pressures of cultural norms and the
expectations of socialization institutions rules such as those coming from
family and other reference groups (Faber, OGuinn and McCarthy, 1987;
Engel,

Blackwell

and

Miniard,

1993).

Thus,

Symbolic

Interactionism

Perspective considers the human spirit as fundamentally social, and

dependent on shared symbols. The symbols being generated at a global
level (Geertz, 1973; Solomon, 1983; McCracken, 1986, 1988; Leigh and
Gabel, 1992), the Symbolic Interactionism Perspective accepts as precept
the fact that society and its culture precede every individual action, and that
a

cultural

negotiation

consensus

results

between

from

social

interactions,
actors

communication,
(Charon,

and

1989).

If, at a conceptual level, the consumption good becomes an instrument of

communication, at an operational level, image variables may be regarded as

the intangible attributes of the product that carry cultural and social
meanings. According to Erickson, Johansson and Chao (1984), an image
variable is defined as some aspect of the product that is distinct from its
physical characteristics but that is nevertheless identified with the product.
The image variables emerge from four cognitive representations individuals
have of their environment: the symbolism of advertising, the celebrity
endorsement, the brand, and the country of origin of the product.

The made-in is considered by Dichter (1962) as the fifth element of the

marketing mix, and is defined as the country where are located the
corporate headquarters of the organization doing the marketing of the
product or the brand (Johansson, Douglas and Nonaka, 1985). The country
of origin carries a rhetoric that influences consumers preconceptions
towards the products of a country. Its meaning can be conceived as an
indication serving as a basis of evaluation (Bilkey and Nes, 1982), when one
considers a product as a bundle of information. Consequently, according to
Kaynak and Cavusgil (1983), the images of a foreign country that are
formed by consumers are made of cognitive, affective and behavioral
components. The first one represents the perceived characteristics of the
country. The second one concerns the appreciation or not of those
characteristics, and the third one corresponds to the actions about the
country that the consumer feels are appropriate. A tendency to evaluate

positively the local production compared to imported production, and biases

in favor of industrialized countries have been found in previous studies
(Bilkey and Nes, 1982; Cordell, 1992). This does not mean the consumer
will not buy the product, but rather that he is not inclined to do so
(Schooler, 1971). When entering foreign markets, sellers often face quotas,
tariffs, and non-tariff barriers. In addition, they may face an intangible
barrier in the form of consumer bias on the basis of product origin
(Schooler, 1971).
The informational value of the country of origin was also found to vary
according to the level of involvement of the consumer in purchasing the
product and the presence of other cues such as brand name, guarantee and
price (Ahmed and dAstous, 1993). In a recently published meta-analysis of
country-of-origin effects, Peterson and Jolibert (1995) conclude that the
average effect size is lower (0.19) for purchase intention, higher (0.30) for
quality/reliability perceptions and context dependent. More specifically, they
found that the characteristics of the study (research design, type of
respondents, study cues, sample size, stimulus context etc.) influence the
relative effect of country-of-origin to a lesser degree for quality/reliability
perceptions than for purchase intention. However, the type of respondents
(students,

consumers

or

quality/reliability perceptions.

businesspeople)

had

no

influence

on

Stanford GSB marketing professor Itamar Simonson and Ran Kivetz, an

assistant professor at Columbia University, asked a group of 195 Columbia
students to do; eat a lot of sushi.Participants were offered a "frequent
diner" program that would reward them for their patronage at various
university dining locations and given a card that would track their
purchases. They were randomly assigned to one of two groups those in the
"low" requirement group were told they would have to purchase 12
sandwiches to get two free movie tickets, whereas those in the "high"
requirement group were told they would have to purchase 12 sandwiches
and 12 orders of sushi to get two free movie tickets. So, the second group
had to do much more to receive the same reward. Kivetz and Simonson also
asked participants how much they liked sushi relative to the typical student.
The result? Students who liked sushi were much more likely to join the
"frequent diner" program that required them to purchase both 12
sandwiches and 12 orders of sushi. "It shows a common mistake that
consumers make & if they see an offer that seems to fit them better than
other consumers, for example, a program that requires sushi-lovers to eat
sushi that fit completely colors their assessment of how attractive the offer
is," Simonson says. "As a result, by creating what appears like personal fit,
marketers can attract consumers to frequency programs and many other
promotional

offers."

Kivetz

and

Simonson

replicated

these

findings

regarding influences on participation in frequency, or loyalty, programs in

studies with travelers interviewed at domestic airports.The sushi study is

among a number of studies Simonson has been conducting since the late
1980s about how consumers make choices. Much of his work debunks the
accepted theory that giving consumers what they want and making a profit
are the most basic principles of marketing.
The theme that pervades Simonson's work is that customers may not know
what they want and second-guessing them can be expensive. In his words,
The benefits and costs of fitting individual customer preference are more
complex and less deterministic than has been assumed." That's because,
Simonson says, "customer preferences are often ill-defined and susceptible
to various influences, and in many cases, customers have poor insight into
their preferences."
In another recent paper, Simonson tackles the issue of one-to-one
marketing

and

mass

customization.

Supporters

of

these

marketing

approaches have suggested that learning what customers want and giving
them exactly what they want will create customer loyalty and an
insurmountable barrier to competition. In an example taken to the extreme
in the 2007 movie Minority Report, Tom Cruise's character Anderson runs
through a shopping mall past talking billboards that recognize him by name
and urge him to buy products he has expressed interest in such as jeans
and Ray-Bans; the ultimate in personalized advertising. But Simonson has
this to say: "The fact that consumer preferences are often fuzzy, unstable,
and manipulatable is unlikely to change. So, the effectiveness of methods to

give customers exactly what they (say they) want has been grossly
exaggerated." His take on the long-held assumption that individual
marketing will supplant targeted marketing is "not so fast." That's because
consumers are very difficult to figure out, science fiction and technology
notwithstanding. "Furthermore, even when customers have well-defined
preferences and receive offers that fit those preferences, it is far from
certain that the response to such offers will consistently be more favorable
than those directed at larger market segments."
It's all psychology. Consumers with well-defined preferences may be
skeptical that a marketer could match expectations. Those who don't know
what they want may not ever see the fit with what the seller wants them to
buy. So, individualized offers depend on customers' preferences; how the
offer was extended & and on trust. "Effective individual marketing requires
not only an understanding of individual preferences and matching offers to
those preferences, but also a thorough familiarity with the various factors
that impact customers' responses," he writes.
This is a tall order, one that some companies have been able to fill at least
to some extent. For example, Amazon keeps track of customers purchases
and suggests other books they might like. Dell builds computers from massmade parts to customers' specifications. But Simonson argues some
companies can take the concept too far, like the Custom Foot chain of shoe
stores that took detailed measurements and specifications from each

customer to design one-of-a-kind shoes. Simonson argues that Custom Foot

didn't take into account that some customers were put off by the
individualized attention and felt obligated to buy the shoes because the
store went to so much trouble. They often didn't come back. Indeed, an
Internet search produces no Website.
Simonson, who has received many prestigious awards for his research on
consumer behavior and marketing, teaches MBA and Ph.D. marketing and
consumer decision-making courses. The loyalty program article is slated for
publication
Online

in

the

customization

Journal
gives

of

Marketing

consumers

the

Research
opportunity

this
to

year.
choose

characteristics they want in a product when they shop for it online. Many
companies are looking at online customization as the future of online
business

Janis

Crow,

Kansas

State

University

marketing

instructor,

researched how people make choices on the Internet. She recently studied
consumers in an online environment and their ability to customize several
products - pizza, shoes, and electronic devices.
Crow said that her study posed two questions for respondents: first, how
difficult is it to customize a product, and secondly, how likely is the person
to purchase the product he or she has customized?
All participants in the study chose to customize products. In terms of
customers likelihood to purchase, a greater number of customers made

purchase decisions when there are more options to choose, she said.
However, it was slightly more difficult when more features were offered.
She created a website where people could customize products to their
individual preferences and needs. Crow selected three generic products:
pizza, shoes, and a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). Thirty-one college
students took part in the study.
"Students could customize the three products, and I provided a drop-down
box on the site with attributes to choose from," she explained. Consumers
could click on a drop-down box to customize a product they would want to
purchase, she said. She found that more people relied on the default
choices rather than selecting other choices that were offered. She said,
some research suggests that many people do not want to put a lot of effort
into purchase decisions. "A lot of times, people may not have preferences
already in mind," she said. When consumers have the chance to create
preferences, the question is whether they rely on previous preferences or if
they develop new ones, she said. In the future, Crow says she will be
studying strategies that consumers go through during purchase decisions. "I
will be studying decision processes to develop computer aids that could help
the consumer reach their purchase decision," she said.
Although her current project involves analyzing the consumer behavior of
college students in an online environment, in future projects she plans to
analyze other demographic groups. Customization will be a key business

opportunity in the future for businesses online or in more typical shopping

environments," Crow said.
She hopes her research will help consumers in making purchase decisions
and help businesses determine products to offer and how to offer them.

Hong Kong companies, including leather consumer goods suppliers, have

shown a growing interest in tapping the mainland consumer market after
China's accession to the World Trade Organization and gradual opening of
its domestic market. For Hong Kong companies targeting this vast market, a
good understanding of the behavior of mainland consumers is necessary in
order

to

formulate

an

effective

and

suitable

market

strategy.

In view of this, the HKTDC conducted a survey study in four major mainland
cities in February 2007. The study was composed of two interlocking
surveys. The first survey (survey on shoppers) successfully interviewed a
total of 1,000 shoppers of leather consumer goods in four major cities,
namely Beijing (BJ), Chengdu (CD), Guangzhou (GZ) and Shanghai (SH).
The second survey (survey on retailers) interviewed managers/officers-incharge

of

major

department

stores

in

these

four

cities.

The survey study analyses leather consumer goods in terms of consumer

behavior, the competitiveness of Hong Kong brands and the consumer
segments with the greatest biggest spending power. The main survey
findings are as follows:

CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Shopping locations, Department stores were the most preferred type of

retailers, followed by outlets in shopping malls and chain stores. Product
variety, guaranteed quality, brand choice, price, services and store
environment were cited as the major reasons for visiting a leather
consumer goods store.

SHOPPING TIME

Thirty-eight percent of respondents visited leather consumer goods shops at

least once a month. Shopping during weekends is common. Other popular
shopping occasions include National Day (1st October), Chinese New Year
(January/February), New Year's Day (January) and Labour Day (1st May).

MARKETING CHANNELS

Promotional activities in shopping malls and department stores are the most
popular

promotional

reduction,

TV

and

sales

commercials,

activities,

discount

followed

coupons,

by

discount/price

promotional

stands,

exhibitions, buy-one- (or more) gets-one-free.

PURCHASING POWER

On average, respondents owned 4.2 pairs of shoes, 1.2 pieces of wallets,

1.3 pieces of belts and 1.3 pieces of handbags/briefcases. Over the past 12
months, an average respondent's spending on leather consumer goods was
as follows:
- Shoes: RMB 597 (total) RMB 328 (per pair)
- Wallet: RMB 226 (total) and RMB 193 (per piece)
- Belt: RMB 220 (total) and RMB 194 (per piece)
- Handbag/briefcase: RMB 476 (total) and RMB 359 (per piece)

SELECTION CRITERIA

When choosing leather consumer goods, product quality stood out as the
principal consideration for respondents, followed by product material,
craftsmanship, style/design, price and brand.

POPULAR BRANDS

Most respondents considered brands important. 4PS OF NIKE Nikes 4Ps

comprised of the following approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising
and promotion, and customer service: Pricing: Nikes pricing is designed to
be competitive to the other fashion shoe retailers. The pricing is based on
the basis of premium segment as target customers. Nike as a brand
commands high premium.
Place: Nike shoes are distributed to Multi Brand store front and the
exclusive Nike stores across countries. While this necessitates a second trip
for the customer to come and pick up the shoes, it allows Nike to offer a
much

wider

selection

than

any

of

the

competition.

Promotion: Location, targeted advertising in the newspaper and strategic

alliances serves as the foundation of Nike advertising and promotion effort.
The athletes and other famous sports personalities are always taken as
brand ambassadors. They form the prime building blocks of their portion

strategy.
Product: The product range of Nike comprise of shoes, sports wear, watches
etc. Its product history began with long distance running shoes in 1963.
(Past 17 years: Air Jordan basketball shoes). Wide range of shoes, apparel
and equipment. For example:
Nike Oregon Digital Super Watch
Nike Presto Cee Digital Medium Watch
Nike Presto Cee Digital Small Watch
Nike Ron Analog Watch
Nike Triax 10 Regular Watch
Nike Triax Armored II Analog Super Watch
Nike Women's Imara Fit Digital Watch

SWOT ANALYSIS

SWOT ANALYSIS NIKE, INC.

STRENGTHS

Nike is a very competitive organization. Phil Knight (Founder and CEO) is

often quoted as saying that 'Business is war without bullets.' Nike has a
healthy dislike of is competitors. At the Atlanta Olympics, Reebok went to
the expense of sponsoring the games. Nike did not. However Nike
sponsored

the

top

athletes

and

gained

valuable

coverage.

Nike has no factories. It does not tie up cash in buildings and

manufacturing workers. This makes a very lean organization. Nike is strong
at research and development, as is evidenced by its evolving and innovative
product range. They then manufacture wherever they can produce high
quality product at the lowest possible price. If prices rise, and products can
be made more cheaply elsewhere (to the same or better specification), Nike
will

move

production.

Nike is a global brand. It is the number one sports brand in the World. Its
famous 'Swoosh' is instantly recognizable, and Phil Knight even has it
tattooed on his ankle.

WEAKNESSES

The organization does have a diversified range of sports products.

However, the income of the business is still heavily dependent upon its
share of the footwear market. This may leave it vulnerable if for any reason
its market share erodes.
The retail sector is very price sensitive. Nike does have its own retailer in
Nike Town. However, most of its income is derived from selling into
retailers. Retailers tend to offer a very similar experience to the consumer.
Can you tell one sports retailer from another? So margins tend to get
squeezed as retailers try to pass some of the low price competition pressure
onto Nike.

OPPORTUNITIES

Product development offers Nike many opportunities. The brand is

fiercely defended by its owners whom truly believe that Nike is not a fashion
brand. However, like it or not, consumers that wear Nike product do not

always buy it to participate in sport. Some would argue that in youth culture
especially, Nike is a fashion brand. This creates its own opportunities, since
product could become unfashionable before it wears out i.e. consumers
need to replace shoes.
There is also the opportunity to develop products such as sport wear,
sunglasses and jewellery. Such high value items do tend to have associated
with them, high profits.
The business could also be developed internationally, building upon its
strong global brand recognition. There are many markets that have the
disposable income to spend on high value sports goods. For example,
emerging markets such as China and India have a new richer generation of
consumers. There are also global marketing events that can be utilized to
support the brand such as the World Cup (soccer) and The Olympics.

THREATS

Nike is exposed to the international nature of trade. It buys and sells in

different currencies and so costs and margins are not stable over long
periods of time. Such an exposure could mean that Nike may be
manufacturing and/or selling at a loss. This is an issue that faces all global
brands.

 The market for sports shoes and garments is very competitive. The
model developed by Phil Knight in his Stamford Business School days (high
value branded product manufactured at a low cost) is now commonly used
and to an extent is no longer a basis for sustainable competitive advantage.
Competitors are developing alternative brands to take away Nike's market
share.

As discussed above in weaknesses, the retail sector is becoming price

competitive. This ultimately means that consumers are shopping around for
a better deal. So if one store charges a price for a pair of sports shoes, the
consumer could go to the store along the street to compare prices for the
exactly the same item, and buy the cheaper of the two. Such consumer
price

sensitivity

is

potential

external

DATA ANALYSIS

1.

Demography of respondents

threat

to

Nike.

ANALYSIS:
2. It was observed that the majority of the respondents consist of
professional from various fields like engineers, software professionals,
working executive etc. who effective form 38% of our database. While
36% were students from various fields. Others constitute designers
and athletes etc. the further study is carried on the buying behavior of
the above mentioned categories of consumer, which shows that our
consumer is well educated and is very well informed about the
product.

2. Consumers income level and spending capacity on shoes

ANALYSIS:
In the survey conducted a direct relation between the income level
and the spending capacity was observed. Also it was found that
students were spending in the range of Rs 1000 Rs 3000 as
compared to the working class professionals who were ready to spend
between Rs 3000 Rs 6000, since they have higher spending power
because of higher income levels.

SHOPPING SEASON
ANALYSIS:

Amongst the student and the professional it was found the consumer
buying BEHAVIOR does not change with respect to the seasons and
occasion as most of the consumer would like to buy their shoes as
and when need arises, whereas the businessman generally do their
shoes

shopping

during

traveling

or

on

special

occasions.

BRAND RECOLLECTION:
ANALYSIS:

When asked about reconciling a sports shoes brand about 70% of the
respondent were able to recall REEBOK or ADDIDAS were as rest were
able to remember NIKE and FILA brands. This was due to the fact that
REEBOK has brand ambassador like RAHUL DRAVID and YUVRAJ
SINGH.

FACTOR INFLUENCING THE BUYING

PROCESS:

ANALYSIS:
Among the various factors like social, psychological, personal and
cultural factors it was observed that the consumer give more
preference to his personal choice and psychological factors like 50%
of the people consider comfort and they generally do not consider
durability as an important aspect because they believe that it comes
along with the brand. Also the social factor like style was second most
important factor behind the consumer buying motives.

(B) COMPARISON WITH OTHER

BRANDS
ANALYSIS:
In response to the question about giving, out of 100 point to the
various factors affecting their buying BEHAVIOR between NIKE and
OTHERS following was observed:
OTHERS NIKE
a. Style ____20____ ___30_____
b. Price ____10____ ___10_____
c. Comfort _____30___ ___30_____
d. Brand ____10____ ___20_____
e. Durability _____30___ ___10____

this further shows that the consumer look for style in the NIKE more
in comparison to the other brand hence, gave their 30 points to it
whereas 20 in case of other brands it was seen that the comfort
remains at equal place even while choosing a competitive brand.

BUYING FORCES
ANALYSIS:
It was observed that consumer is forced by no factors like peer
pressure, family and friends and some time people would like to buy a
product because it is being endorsed by their favorite celebrity. It was
observed that the beside that personal choice of the respondent, the
pressure from the friends plays an important buying force for the
students, while the peer and college in case of the professional and
the least pursuing factor is family which was seen in case of the
respondents belonging to age group 35 years and above.

NO OF PEOPLE BUYING NIKESHOES &

REEBOK SHOES:
ANALYSIS:
This question was asked to know the market capture by the REEBOK
and the time period of association of the customers with REEBOK. It
was deduced that more than 75% of the respondents were using the
REEBOK shoes and were mainly associated with it for a period of 1
year or more. While the remaining respondents were using either the
NIKE or ADDIDAS brand shoes.

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION:
ANALYSIS:
Because of the quality product offered by the REEBOK about 60% of
the respondents were either very satisfied or satisfied, while 10% did
not gave any response as they were not using the REEBOK shoes.
3. Do you ask for a specific brand by name?
90% people say yes to this. and the remaining 10% say no.
4. Which brand do you generally use?
People in India prefer Nike the most as we can see that 24% %
people prefer Nike sports wear. Then comes Adidas and Reebok.

5. Has any sports shoes ad (seen on TV/in a magazine) made an

impact on you?
YES NO IF YES, THEN WHY
NIKE 43 57
ADIDAS 63 37
REEBOK 45 55
ACTION 30 70
Most of the people are influenced with Adidass ad, then with Reebok
and then Nike. The most un-influential is that of action.
6. What according to you is the relative importance of the following?
V. Imp Imp. Not so Imp. Doesnt matter
PRICE 50 28 12 10
DURABILITY 55 45 0 0
BRAND IMAGE 40 20 15 15
COMFORTABLE 54 36 10 0
LOOKS 40 40 15 5
By this we infer that the consumer wants the shoe to be durable that
is of primary importance for them. Then the price is also very
important for them. The shoe should be comfortable. Along with that
looks and the brand image is also important.
7. What features of Nike do you like the most?
The most liked feature of Nike is the light weight shoe. Then it is the
enhanced toe support. From here we can infer that most important
aspect for the consumers is the comfort they get from the shoes.
8. What range you prefer?
Larger number of people goes in for shoes that come under the range
of Rs. 1500-3500. A s we know that Nike is a premium brand 27% of
the buy shoes that falls under the range of Rs. 3500-7500 and lesser
no. of people buy shoes ranging in between 3500 and 5500.
9. How often you buy Nike?

62% of the consumers buy Nike only once a year. Here we notice one
thing that some dont buy Nike.
10. Are you satisfied buying Nike?
The people who buy Nike are fully satisfied buying it, their percentage
is 64%. Only 15 % are not satisfied buying it.
11. Do you think Nike serves the purpose of being a good brand, for
Sports wear?
56% of the people agree that Nike serves its purpose for being a
sport

brand.

Only

27%

people

dont

agree

with

it.

12. Will you prefer Nike launching a new range which can serve the
purpose of service class?
67% say yes to the idea of launching a new range for the service
class.

36

dont

have

any

idea

of

this.

CONCLUSION & FINDINGS

The specific brand objective of Nike India would be to build up its
brand reputation, image and equity. A brand is not simply a collection
of products and benefits, but also a storehouse of value stemming
from awareness, loyalty, and association of quality and brand
personality. A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or design or a
combination of them intended to identify the goods or services of one
seller or group of sellers and to differentiate from those of
competitors. In essence, a brand identifies the seller or maker. It can

convey up to six levels of meaning: Attributes, Benefits, Values,

Culture, Personality and User. If a company treats a brand only as a
name it misses the point. The branding challenge is to develop a deep
set of positive associations for the brand.
Although these six meanings are noticeable in the Nike brand in the
west and other parts of the world, they are yet to be cultivated in
India. Nike has to ensure that their brand is built up on these pillars in
India.
The secondary brand objective of Nike India would be to ensure that
they match the market share and sales volumes of its competitors.
After all, a company is in business to make profits and stay ahead of
its competitors. A company, product or brand may have a very good
reputation and image, but if it is not profitable, it does serve its
purpose. At the same time sales figures and data can be misleading.
Hence market share has also to be paid attention to.
Nike despite being one of the most popular brands in the world has
not really caught on in India. Yet, there is reason to believe that
Batas Power and Liberty would be ahead of Nike in terms opopularity.
We also notice that Nike is at par with Reebok. This again does not
reflect too well on the brand, considering that Nike outsells Reebok
everywhere else in the world. Hence it is reasonable to state that
Nikes popularity level in India could do with a boost. The best way to
achieve this would be some serious brand building. The image of the
brand has to be improved and people must be made aware of its

presence. Thus, the rationale behind choosing improvement of brand

image and reputation as the companys primary objective is quite
clear.
Nikes

distinctive

competency

lies

in

the

area

of

marketing,

particularity in the area of consumer brand awareness and brand

power. On the global scale this key distinctive competency towers
over the competitors. As a result, Nikes market share is number-one
in the athletic footwear industry in most places around the world.
Catch phrases like, "Just Do It," and symbols like the Nike "Swoosh,"
couple with sports icons to serve as instant reminders of the Nike
Empire. It is about time that this competency is leveraged on to India.
Two key attributes of a distinctive competency are its inability to be
easily replicated and the value or benefit it offers to consumers. Few
companies have such a recognizable image and the resources to
promote it. This ultimately translates into added value for consumers.
The public benefits from the strength of Nikes image at the point of
purchase. For decades, consumers have come to associate the Nike
image with quality products. By associating star athletes and
motivational slogans like, "Just Do It," with marketing campaigns that
emphasize

fitness,

competition,

and

sportsmanship,

consumers

identify their purchases with the prospect of achieving greatness.

Younger consumers especially benefit from this positive influence. This
image is something that competing companies can not easily

duplicate by simply enhancing the physical characteristics of their

products.
Nikes vision is to remain the leader in the industry. The company will
continue to produce the quality products that have been provided in
the past. Most importantly, Nike will continue to meet the everchanging needs of the customers, through product innovation. In the
past, the company has utilized product differentiation as the main
competitive strategy. As Nikes reputation dictates, it will continue to
place emphasis in this area. Nike has built its business on providing
products that rise above all others and this has made it the worldwide
success that it is today.
Nike is known for its technologically advanced products and is the
leader in this area. This allows Nikes products to stand out from the
rest. The companys focus also allows it to maintain a somewhat
narrow niche that enables it to effectively capture the needs and
wants of the consumers. An example of Nikes superior and innovative
technology is its new range of shoes called Air Presto. Termed as the
first T-shirt for the feet, these shoes can take the shape and size of
the wearers feet. Unlike regular shoes it comes are sizes like XL, L,
M, S and XS. Each of these sizes can accommodate three conventional
foot sizes. Nike will continue to produce such path-breaking products
in

the

future

and

stay

step

ahead

of

its

competitors.

Nike will also focus on making a strong effort in price leadership.

Nikes products in the past have been concentrated in the higher end
of the pricing category. An entrance will now be made into lower price
categories with these quality products. This will enable Nike to capture
an

even

greater

hold

on

market

share.

Presently, the only form of customer relationship management

activity that Nike has adopted in India is product warranty. Nike shoes
come with a six-month warranty. If the shoe is found to be defective
or wears out within six months due to no fault of the wearer, Nike
replaces the product. This is only the first step and more needs to be
dome in this area.
Being a company that always strives towards excellence, Nike needs
to know exactly what its customers think about their products. A good
way of assessing this would be to have the customer fill in a form at
the point of purchase. The form will ask the customer his / her
opinion on the product as well as the showroom. Suggestions and
comments would be welcome. However, care must be taken to ensure
that these forms are not too cumbersome and do not take up too
much of the customers time. Surveys have indicated that normally
people dont mind filling in forms as long as they are not too long.
Another good method would be to introduce a system of customer
points. Every time a customer makes a purchase, he would earn
himself a certain number of points, depending on the price of the
product. After he crosses a certain point level, he would be entitled to
a gift from the company or choose a product of a certain value from

the range. This would be helpful in building customer loyalty and give
them an incentive to make repeat purchases. A most valued customer
database could be created from her e and various forms of direct
marketing could be directed at them. This would help the company to
retain its existing customers.
A third way to improve customer relationship would be to issue gift
coupons and vouchers. People would have the facility to buy these
vouchers and present them to their dear ones. This would be a good
way to reach out towards newer customers through existing ones.

RECOMMENDATIONS
To explore the mainland market, Hong Kong companies should
position themselves in areas in which they are strong. From the
viewpoint of mainland consumers, Hong Kong's leather consumer
goods are considered competitive in the high-end and mid-range.
Mainland consumers are brand conscious, and it is vital to promote
own brands which have clear image.
This survey also shows that Hong Kong products are preferred for
their design/style and quality. Bearing these in mind, Hong Kong
companies should never compromise on quality, and they should
allocate more resources to product design, selection of material and
craftsmanship.

OTHER SUGGESTION INCLUDE

Department stores are the prime sales and marketing channel for
leather consumer goods. In addition, store decorations and product
displays should be designed to create a strong first impression.
Seasonal

promotion

campaigns,

like

special

discounts

and

advertisements, could be employed. New lines of collections should be

introduced for festivals.
In addition to promotional activities in shopping malls and department
stores, discounts and TV commercials are considered effective
channels for promotion. It is advisable to pay attention to the
affordability of customers in different cities, while setting price points
for different product categories. Meanwhile, leather shoes offer better
growth potential.
Popular materials used for leather consumer goods include bovine
skin, goat/kid/lamb/sheep skin and crocodile skin. Regarding colors,
black is by far most sought-after with dark brown in second place.
Due to their growing spending power, the rising middle class should
be the target of Hong Kong's sellers of leather consumer goods. Hong
Kong companies should put more emphasis on products for business
use. In addition, it is useful to introduce appropriate designs that
cater for the tastes of the middles class.
Double Click 2006 Consumer Email Study October 2006, the fourth of
Double-Click annual consumer email studies points to an increasing
sophistication in consumer usage of email functionality and a

corresponding complexity of purchasing behavior. The Spam crisis

continues to affect consumer behavior online but does not necessarily
cloud

consumer

receptiveness

to

legitimate

marketers:

an

overwhelming majority of online consumers receive offers by email

and have made a purchase online or offline as a result. Consumers
are using available tools to limit spam and are employing operate
email accounts for purchasing, all in attempts to increase control and
improve their email experience. Working with Beyond Interactive and
the

NFO//net source panel of 900,000

US consumers,

polled

1,000consumers via email from July 30 - August5, 2007. All

respondents recruited use email/internet 1+ times per week, which
reflects the usage of the larger online population (94% of the 18+
online population according to Nielsen, 2006).There was an equal
segmentation of men and women and the average age was 42.7.This
is the fourth of an annual series of consumer research studies and
trending information was derived using the data from previous years.
The sample mirrored previous studies and is reflective of the online
population as a whole.
Key Findings The majority of consumers receive some kind of
marketing email with special offers from retailers most common
Sender recognition most impacts operates, while content relevance
increases likeliness to purchase Frequency ascertain category, are
very specific to the category of email but vary greatly from one

consumer to the next; frequency of permission based email is clearly

a great concern to consumers and has an impact on what they
consider to be Spam. Email drives multi-channel purchases and has
an immediate as well as a latent Nearly 64% of consumers cite the
line as the most important factor in opening an email.2006 Consumer
Email Study impact. It drives consumers most often to the online
channel but also results in retail and catalog sales. Consumers have
become sophisticated in their use of ISP-supplied tools to limits Pam
and in their usage of various email addresses to manage their varied
email activities Home and free email addresses are most often used
for purchasing, within email address specifically designated for that
usage. Men and women have radically different ideas of what spam is
and different purchasing behavior related to Spam. Women are more
receptive to promotions and discounts and correspondingly more
interested

in

and

tolerant

of

marketing

emails

than

men.

Receptiveness to Marketer Emails. The vast majority (91%) of

consumers receive some form of permission-based email with 57.2%
receiving special offers from online merchants, 55.4% receiving them
from traditional retailers, and 48.5%receiving them from catalogers.
Other

popular

types

of

marketing

emails

included

account

statements/online bill payment information (received by 49.8% of

respondents), travel emails (43.3%), coupons for groceries (40.0%),
health

(41.1%)

and

household

tips/recipes/crafts

(42.1%).

Of

categories in which consumers do not currently receive e-mails,

respondents are most interested in receiving grocery coupons (cited
by

22.1%)

categories

and

of

household

strong

interest

tips/recipes/crafts
were

electronics

(13.6%).Other
and

computer

software/hardware, 13.8% and apparel/shoes at12.3%. Permissionbased email also continues to be the preferred method of contact
from the favorite retailer regarding new products, services or
promotions (preferred by 59% of consumers), while only 32.1%
preferred direct mail. Sender Recognition, Content Relevance Most
Impacts Purchasing consideration behavior, the line continues to be
the most compelling reason to open permission-based email, cited by
63.3% of all respondents, an increase from 59.9% in2005. This
speaks to the growing significance of user recognition of sender and
the power of brands even more important in an era of spam. Of
all types of subject lines, discount offers are the primary motivational
factor for opening permission based email (increased to59.5% of all
respondents from 56.7% in 2007), while compelling news and
information

fell

from

57.6%

of

all

respondents

to

48.6%

in

2006.Special offers from retailers/catalogers received by at least 50%

of respondents When asked what most compelled them to take action
on a permission-based email, product I needed at the time, a
reflection of the relevancy of the offer, was noted by37.8% of all
respondents, outranking the next most common choice, special offer

or discount, cited by 35.0% of respondents. Likeliness to respond

could be increased if an email contains relevant information (noted by
67.3% of respondents) and contains information based on interests
specified to that company. Consumers found recommendations based
on past purchasing behavior less appealing (noted by only 28.1% of
all respondents).Consumers clearly want a degree of control over
what marketers send them and would like their specified interests
taken into account. Consumers are also very specific in their
frequency preferences, with news and weather most often preferred
daily, special offers from retailers, online merchants and catalogers
most often preferred weekly, and account statements/bill payment
communications monthly. However, therere significant numbers of
consumers who vary in these preferences, with just over20% of those
who receive special offers and discounts from retailers, online
merchants and catalogers preferring the communications to come
monthly. In accordance with specified frequency statements, when
asked what concerned them about their inboxes, frequency of
permission-based email was second only to Spam, cited by 42% of
respondents. This danger is even more pronounced considering only
28% noted frequency of permission-based email as a concern in2006.
Clearly marketers need to test for optimal frequency and solicit
customer preferences. Email Drives Multi-Channel Purchases But at
the Expense of Offline Retail Permission-based emails clearly drives

purchases. Sixty-seven percent of respondents received an email offer

from a Consumers take action on emails corresponding to product
need Relevant content, information specified by user increases
likeliness to respond 2007 Consumer Email Study, Cataloger or online
merchant that resulted in a purchase. Top purchasing categories
were:

apparel/shoes

at

83.4%making

purchase,

computer

software/hardware at 81.4%, gifts/flower sat 77.6%, travel at 77.2%,

electronics at77.1% and food at 71.7%. The only under performing
category was financial products and services at 41.5%, which could
relate to the high consideration necessary for these products, the
incidence of spam in this category or lack of interest due to the
economy. The channel purchased in as a result of permission-based
email is highly specific to the category of product: travel had the
highest incidence of online purchase at70% with only 13% purchasing
by catalog/phone/mail, while apparel/shoes had a relatively high
incidence of online purchase, 58% with 41% purchasing via offline
retail and 23% via catalog, and over the counter and prescription
drugs had equal levels of online and retail purchase at 32%.Email
marketing promotes use of the online channel. In comparing the
typical channel purchase behavior of respondents in a variety of
categories to where they were most likely to purchase after receiving
permission based email, the results show that respondents are more
likely than usual to use the online channel for purchasing after

receiving a permission based email; this is true in all categories

except financial services. In apparel/shoes, where 31% would
typically buy online, a permission-based email resulted in an increase
of online channel usage to 58%, gifts/flowers saw online channel lift
from 45%to 61%, and electronics from 45% to 60%.For consumers
who receive email offers from retailers in the apparel/shoes category,
email marketing does increase use of the catalog channel. Of those
who receive emails from catalogers, 16% reported that they typically
bought via catalogs. This number rose to 23% saying they had
purchased though a catalog after receiving permission based email.
This example illustrates the direct connection between catalog drops
with effectively sequenced email marketing used as a purchase driver.
The Latent Impact of Email Marketing Most action taken in response
to email marketing does not result immediately from the click. While
27% clicked through and made a purchase during that same online
session, an even greater number, 33.6%, clicked through to find out
more information, then purchased online at a later date. An additional
12.2% clicked through to find more information and then purchase
offline through catalog or retail. Permission-based offers generate
sales.

As was demonstrated by the great interesting discounts and special

offers, email usage for composing is on the rise and as offline thus

latent impact as well. Seventy two percent of respondents reported

having used coupons or offer codes (an increase of 57% over the
46%who reported using them in 2007). Fifty-eight percent of
respondents used the coupon or offer code at an offline store. All of
this latent activity resulting from email marketing demands that
marketers increase their own cross-channel sophistication in data
capture: unless theyre measuring both online and offline purchase
activity, immediate and latent impact, they are not capturing the full
effect of their email performance. Consumers Become More Selective
in their Practices, Increasingly Use Tools to Limit SPAME mail volume
as reported by consumers was up but not markedly so (264 emails
per week vs. 254 in 2007). Spam remained the number-one concern
about their email box, noted by 89% of respondents (consistent with
last year).The percent of email received that was Spam 56% was also
consistent with2007. What have changed are their opening practices:
Only 27% opened 90% of their permission based email, while about a
third (30%) did so in 2007. In regards to what they are most likely to
do with Spam, an increasing number are deleting without reading
(65% as compared to60% in 2007) and only 4% are reading to
determine whether it is of interest (as compared to 5% in 2007 and
18% in2006). The likeliness of unsubscribe has declined markedly
(from 33% in2006 to 24% in 2007).

Perhaps consumers have gotten fed up or decided the activity was

futile. When asked what specifically they were doing to eliminate or
limit spam, a vocal minority, 36.1% reported using a Spam function of
their email program, 15.9%downloaded spam filtering software
and13.7% created a secondary email addressor making online
purchases. A key finding of the 2005 study had been the usage of on
average 2.6 email addresses per respondent. This year, respondents
have clearly become tired of the complexity of managing those
accounts: this year, only 34% reported having more than two
addresses while44% reported having that many in 2007.Respondents
seem to be consolidating, with an average number of accounts at2.3
in 2007.Latent impact: nearly 46% purchase online or offline some
time after clicking through an email With more than one in-box, what
do consumers consider the primary address? Perhaps in relation to
the amount of job instability and the desire of having a more
permanent address, the home address was considered the primary
one. Of those with multiple addresses, 74% had a specific email
address that they used for online purchasing, with either the home
address (cited by 48.3%) and a free address (cited by 39.7%) as this
purchasing address. Retail-oriented email marketers clearly need to
make special efforts at improving deliverability among the major
home ISPs and free email providers as this clearly will impact overall
performance. Mars & Venus: Men Really Are Different from Women in

Respect to Email Marketing Two very specific areas stand out in how
men vs. women react to email marketing: men have a much broader
definition of Spam, while women are much more likely to be active
purchasers as a result of permission-based email. More men than
women consider spam to fall into these very broad definitions: 65%
cited an email from a company that I have done business with but
comes too often while only 56% of women did so, 61% of men cited
an email that may have been permission based but comes too
frequently while only 55% of women did so and 36% cited any email
that tries to sell me a product or service while 32% of women did so.
Correspondingly, women are more sensitive to emails of offensive
subject matter (94% women vs. 91% men) .Active purchasers, those
who purchased in multiple product categories or from various types of
companies (multi-channel shoppers) after receiving an email, are
more likely to be women than men. Aloof these data points add up to
online behavior that mirrors offline.
Women remain the primary household purchasers, 2007 Consumer
Email Study Respondents with multiple accounts likely to use a free
one for online purchases Women more likely to be active purchasers,
multi-channel purchasers.
The fourth of Double-Click annual consumer email studies points to an
increasing sophistication in consumer usage of email functionality and
a corresponding complexity of purchasing behavior. The Spam crisis
continues to affect consumer behavior online but does not necessarily

cloud

consumer

receptiveness

to

legitimate

marketers:

an

overwhelming majority of online consumers receive offers by email

and have made a purchase online or offline as a result. Consumers
are using available tools to limit spam and are employing separate
email accounts for purchasing, all in attempts to increase control and
improve their email experience. Objectives/Methodology Double-Click,
working with Beyond Interactive and the NFO//net source panel of
900,000 US consumers, polled 1,000consumers via email from July
30 - August5, 2007. All respondents recruited use email/internet 1+
times per week, which reflects the usage of the larger online
population (94% of the 18+ online population according to Nielsen,
2007).There was an equal segmentation of men and women and the
average age was 42.7.This is the fourth of an annual series of
consumer research studies and trending information was derived
using the data from previous years. The sample mirrored previous
studies and is reflective of the online population as a whole. Key
Findings The majority of consumers receive some kind of marketing
email with special offers from retailers, online merchants and
catalogers most common Two to one consumers prefer to be
contacted by their favorite retailer regarding new products, services
or promotions via email rather than direct mail. Sender recognition
most impacts operates, while content relevance increases likeliness to
purchase Frequency preferences, or how often respondents prefer to

receive emails of ascertain category, are very specific to the category

of email but vary greatly from one Consumers prefer to be contacted
by their favorite retailer via email.

ANNEXURE

QUESTIONNAIRE
1 I buy my own shoes
Very
frequently
sometimes
never
2 I find buying shoes a pleasurable event.
Very frequently
frequently
sometimes
never
3. I buy costly shoes
Very frequently
frequently
sometimes
never
4 for purchasing shoes, I can travel long distance
Very frequently
frequently
sometimes
never
5 I buy shoes which are liked by my family
Strongly agree
Agree
Indifferent

frequently

 Disagree
Strongly disagree
6 I buy shoes which are advertised attractitively
Strongly agree
Agree
Indifferent
Disagree
Strongly disagree
7 I buy shoes which are advertised and endorsed by celebrity.
8 I like to buy shoes which are imported from Paris or Italy.
Strongly agree
Agree
Indifferent
Disagree
Strongly disagree
9. I like to buy shoes which are designed in Paris or Italy.
10. I like to buy shoes which are very stylish & of latest design.
Strongly agree
Agree
Indifferent
Disagree
Strongly disagree
11. I like to buy shoes which are less expensive but very stylish & of
latest design.
Strongly agree 30.00

Agree 50.00
Indifferent 14.00

Disagree 4.00
Strongly disagree 2.00
12. I Like to buy shoes which are not very stylish but comfortable

(%.of Respondents)
Strongly agree 10.00
Agree 30.00
Indifferent 18.00
Disagree 32.00
Strongly disagree 10.00

13. I Like to buy shoes which are not stylish but comfortable and long
lasting
Strongly agree
Agree
Indifferent
Disagree
Strongly disagree

14 I Like to buy shoes which are expensive & stylish but comfortable
strongly agree
Agree
Indifferent

 Disagree
Strongly disagree

15 I like to buy Nike shoes which are expensive & stylish but
comfortable
Strongly agree 8.00
Agree 24.00
Indifferent 4.00
Disagree 2.00
Strongly disagree 2.00

16 I like to buy Nike shoes which are not very stylish but comfortable
Strongly agree 12.00
Agree 16.00
Indifferent 2.00
Disagree 8.00
Strongly disagree 2.00

17 I like to buy Nikeshoes which are not stylish but comfortable and
long lasting
Strongly agree 8.00
Agree 16.00
Indifferent 2.00
Disagree 12.00
Strongly disagree 2.00

18 I like to buy Nikeshoes which are not very stylish but comfortable
Strongly agree 14.00
Agree 16.00
Indifferent
Disagree
Strongly disagree

19 I like to buy Nikeshoes which are less expensive but very stylish &
of latest design.
Strongly agree 4.00
Agree 10.00
Indifferent 4.00
Disagree 14.00
Strongly disagree 4.00

20 I like to buy Nikeshoes which are very stylish & of latest design.
Strongly agree 2.00
Agree 6.00
Indifferent 8.00
Disagree 22.00
Strongly

disagree

2.00

21 I like to buy Tailor made shoes which are very stylish & of latest
design.

 Strongly agree 10.00

Agree 38.00
Indifferent 24.00
Disagree 16.00
Strongly disagree 12.00

22 I will certainly buy shoes if high quality matching imitation jewelry

given

free.

Strongly agree 36.00

Agree 56.00
Indifferent 4.0
Disagree 4.00
Strongly disagree 0.00

23 I will certainly buy shoes if high quality imported scent given free.
Strongly agree 38.00
Agree 60.00
Indifferent 2.00

 Disagree 2.00
Strongly disagree 0.00

24 My expectation is fulfilled by my shoe supplier.

Strongly agree 6.00
Agree 24.00
Indifferent 42.00
Disagree 8.00
Strongly disagree 0.00
25 Shoe companies should survey customer preferences.
Strongly agree 24.00
Agree 56.00
Indifferent 16.00
Disagree 2.00
Strongly disagree 2.00

26 Shoe companies should suggest shoe design using celebrity.

Strongly agree 32.00

 Agree 52.00
Indifferent 14.00
Disagree 2.00
Strongly disagree 0.00

27 I know exactly what I want in my shoes.

Strongly agree 8.00
Agree 26.00
Indifferent 24.00
Disagree 22.00
Strongly disagree 20.00

28 I dont want to spend too much time on deciding my shoes.

Strongly agree 28.00
Agree 58.00
Indifferent 8.00
Disagree 6.00
Strongly disagree 0.00

29 Stores display is the best form of advertisement

Strongly agree 24.00
Agree 48.00
Indifferent 10.00
Disagree 4.00
Strongly disagree 0.00

30 T.V advertisement is the best form of advertisement

Strongly agree 16.00
Agree 52.00
Indifferent 4.00
Disagree 16.00
Strongly disagree 12.00

31 Buying customized shoe by internet is very attractive.

Strongly agree 24.00
Agree 52.00
Indifferent 4.00

 Disagree 16.00
Strongly disagree 4.00

32 Buying customized shoe by internet is very attractive. But no spam

mail.
Strongly agree 16.00
Agree 28.00
Indifferent 2.00
Disagree 10.00
Strongly disagree 44.00

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

Marketing Management - Philip Kotler

Consumer Behavior, 6th Edition, by Hawkins, Best ad Coney.

WEBSITES

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