A PROJECT IN CURRENT TRENDS IN MANAGEMENT by HARISH OBERAI PRN-09020621088

Introduction to the Franchise DG Sons The franchise for Adidas India has been segmented according to various zones. The outlet surveyed for the project is located in the Phoenix Market City in Viman Nagar, Pune. Thus it falls under the South-west zone of operation of Adidas. The franchise license of the South West region has been given to D.G Sons Pvt. Ltd. Since its commencement of operations in India, D.G Sons have been the franchise partners for the South West region. The Franchise owner is Mr Mahesh Maniyal. Apart from catering to Adidas, the firm also has franchise licenses for Fast Track, Club Fox, John Player, No Code, Reebok to name a few. In connection with the company under survey, D.G Sons have 23 retail stores of Adidas in the South West region. A brief synopsis of the organization hierarchy is belowOWNER OF THE FRANCHISETAKES ALL STRATEGIC DECICIONS

AREA SALES MANAGER MANAGING STATE SALES

TEAM LEADERMANAGING 1 SALES TEAM AT A TIME

STORE MANAGERMANAGING THE CONCERNED STORE

ASSISTANT STORE MANAGERSTAFF HANDLING

STORE STAFFHANDLING STORE SALES

Consumer Decision Making

Consumer decision making forms a major part of planning and organizational direction setting of any organization. Upon surveying, it was found that there is a high awareness of the brand Adidas among consumers but very less knowledge awareness of Adidas Original. The general mindset of people when it comes to the brand is that the brand is trendy and fashionable. Due to numerous endorsements of celebrities, the younger generation is much attracted towards the brand. Previously, Adidas mostly appealed to sports enthusiasts but recent marketing efforts have built an image as a street fashion possessing hip-hop elements of style. In the process of consumer decision making the company has identified the followingFavorable elements -Casual style -Social consciousness Unfavorable elements-Non trend followers -Low brand loyalty due to competitors Celebrities, designers, models play a major role in influencing consumer decisions, info from mass media and reference group The social perception is that fashion is a sign of confidence that may prove to be attractive to the opposite sex.

Consumer decision making process (references to Adidas) Problem recognition The consumer may want to go in for a purchase of Adidas apparels, footwear or other merchandise when need arises. On surveying it was found that basically in India the major sales of Adidas takes place during festivities, discounts, store openings and reopening of colleges Information search Customers are basically informed about promotions at new store openings either through the companys existing customer data base or are reached through bulk SMS campaigns, discount corporations like Snapdeal, local media cable channels and newspaper dailies. The consumers actively take part in information search when they visit malls, retail outlets etc. Alternative evaluation Consumers search for various alternatives especially when they purchase this category of products. The main problem faced by this organization is that it has various close substitutes such as Reebok, Puma etc which are almost similar in design, pricing and employ equal or greater marketing efforts. Thus the consumers not only have to make decision according to brands but as to from where they would be making the purchase. Factors that would contribute to this

would be the proximity of stores, range of offerings, staff friendliness and relations etc. Purchase decision Finally when the consumer has made the requisite decision the consumer makes the purchase. Adidas offers the consumer to pay through cas, credit or through redemption of vouchers During festivities like Diwali selected stores offer payment of goods through 6 months 0 % installments if the purchase amount is above Rs. 7000. Post purchase behavior The stores of Adidas offer consumers with the option of a return policy of 14 days incase products purchased have manufacturing defects that existed at the time of purchase.

Market Segmentation of the Store

When the question of marketing of products arises international brand companies ( in this case Adidas) have to relate their market segmentation in terms of their target customers and geographical location. The target market of Adidas is the urban youth with brand proposition completion to lifestyle. The principle consumption centers namely the metros are also potential target market. The following details relate to the market segmentation adopted by the firm Market needs Comfort, durability, style, price, need Product Offerings Comfort, durability, looks, value for money Competence The firm has a stiff competition in the Indian market. Currently, Nike is the leading player in the industry. Multi-Brand Approach There is a natural limit a brand can achieve given the diverse tastes and expectations of a highly fragmented consumer market. Thus, a multi-brand approach will provide the firm with a major competitive advantage and significant additional commercial opportunities compared to a single brand strategy. It can leverage the power of its brands in a more precise and meaningful way, utilizing the combined strengths of each to compete for a higher percentage of the market, covering a greater number of consumer needs, price, points and demographics.

Broader distribution Close cooperation with retailers can significantly improve the in-store experience for the product. Establishing stores in strategic locations (for example the location of the store in Phoenix Market City which has already tasted success in Mumbai) is an example where the company is leading the industry. Such location can be particularly effective in markets that have become dominated by price and lack of differentiation. Cost leadership The acquisition of Reebok has created significant opportunities to reduce and optimize costs, through scale benefits, back office consolidation and combined capital expenditure planning. Market segments Geographic segmentation Density: Urban and semi-urban cities Demographic segmentation Age: 15 to 35 Income level: >Rs. 15,000 Social class: Upper middle, lower upper and upper class Gender: Male and female Behavioral segmentation Benefits sought Athletes Gym regulars Sports enthusiasts Brand freaks Psychographic segmentation Experience enthusiast Achievers Image drivers Strivers Following a differentiation strategy would help the firm in competing in a competing market place. The firm has a strong grip only in the basketball and casual wear product line. Diversification of the products athletics, cricket and hockey would enormously help the firm in competing in such a market as cricket is the most popular sport in India. This would be a tough task since Nike is the sponsor of the Indian National Cricket team.

ADIDAS Strategy in India Adidas strategy in India has been consistent over the past few years. The broad elements of the strategy are to target the brand to urban youth with brand proposition from competition to lifestyle using the authentic sports platform and build and reinforce credibility through relevant brand ambassadors and sports marketing programs. Further, it would target principal consumption centers, namely metros and build significant standalone exclusive store presence in significant locations. The strategy would be to play to their strengths, i.e. in apparel and mid to high priced footwear.

Location Strategy
Once brand marketing strategies have been decided, the next step is to establish locations for store setups. Basically here the organizations aim to set shop in locations that would appeal to the customers in terms of ease of access and convenience in terms of shopping ease. Most of Adidass stores are based in malls across cities and retail complexes that pertain to business and corporate office establishments. Prior to establishing any of its store, Adidas conducts detailed market research by surveying an area under question for its demographics, main category of people inhabiting the place, frequency of visitors in that locality and proximity to famous city landmarks. At present D.G Sons has 23 Adidas stores in the South West region under its flagship. The group is in efforts of establishing more stores in the coming five years of its operations. Its main locational target is expanding as much as possible in the huge number of malls that are set to come up in the coming years, since consumers today have become more shopping savvy and are becoming regulars to malls. Sales targets are based on the location of each store. On an average sales target are fixed around Rs 4 lacs per month for each store. Daily sales are around Rs 10,000-12,000. During Diwali the store managed to rake in sales of Rs 52000 for the day, since people flock more to shopping centers during festivities.

Merchandise Management
Firms especially in the fashion industry have to follow an efficient inventory management since goods sold by these outlets have a very high risk of turning obsolete. In addition, the stiff competition faced by these organizations requires them to keep innovating in terms of design and products offered to customers.

In case of D G Sons, all stock requirements are handled through an efficient ordering system. Each store is given stock on the basis of its scale of operation and its daily sale estimates. Whenever the stock levels approach danger levels, the store places requisition order directly to the Adidas Co. office that in turn facilitates the correct allocation of required stock to each of these stores.