Online Open Access publishing platform for Management Research. Copyright 2010 All rights reserved Integrated Publishing association

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1 Online Open Access publishing platform for Management Research Copyright 2010 All rights reserved Integrated Publishing association Case study ISSN The opinion of the dealers of Britannia products in Tiruvarur district Ganesan.M 1, Ziaudeen.A 2 1 Research scholar, Khadir Mohideen College, Adirampattinam 2 Reader in Commerce, Khadir Mohideen College, Adirampattinam aarurganesan1982@gmail.com ABSTRACT The ultimate objective of any business firm is Maximization of profit and that can be achieved only through increasing it sales in the modern competitive world. Producers normally use a number of marketing intermediaries for taking their products to users. There fore it is necessary to sought the opinion of the dealers to identify the problems in the distribution and to take remedial measures to overcome such problems and there by to achieve the ultimate goal of the company. 43 percent of the dealers prefer Britannia product because the Britannia products are fast moving in the markets. 84 per cent of the dealers are not satisfied with the mode of supply. The product Milk Bikis occupies first rank with the support of 36 percent of traders. Marie Light, Dukes Marie and Sweet n Salt are the first 3 fast moving Biscuits from competitors. As we move into an era of plenty which will be usually an era of intense competition, it will be more and more important to pay attention to the subject of marketing in general and to the subject of dealer development in particular. Keywords: Dealers, Sub dealers, FMCG, Indian retailers. 1. Introduction Distribution means to distribute, spread out or disseminate. In the field of marketing, channels of distribution indicate routes or pathways through which goods and services flow, or move from producers to customers. The distribution channel can be defined formally as the set of marketing institutions participating in the marketing activities involved in the movement or the flow of goods or services from the primary producer to the ultimate consumer. Distribution channels play a very important role in achieving the marketing objectives of a company. Undoubtedly, value utility is created by the manufacture of product or service but distribution channels create time and place utilities. 2. Problem of the Study The ultimate objective of any business firm is Maximization of profit and that can be achieved only through increasing it sales in the modern competitive world. Now of days improving the sales is not an easy task, since there is a wide gap between producers and consumers. Producers normally use a number of marketing intermediaries for taking their products to users. Dealers, the last connecting link in the chain of Distribution channels, play a pivotal role in the successful marketing of most products, especially consumer products. There fore it is necessary to sought the opinion of the dealers to identify the problems in the distribution and to take remedial measures to overcome such problems and there by to achieve the ultimate goal of the company. Hence the problem of the study is 428

2 identifying the problems in the distribution process of Britannia India Ltd., products in the Tiruvarur District. 3. Importance of the study The study is very important from the point of view of dealers as it aims at solving their problems in the distribution process, there by increasing their sales. It is also attach importance to distributors and wholesalers in helping them to increase their sales and revenue. It is also useful to the consumers as it paves way for them to get Britannia products easily and conveniently. 4. Objectives of the Study 1. To study the distribution network system of the Britannia products in three Towns of the Tiruvarur District. 2. To identify the fast moving and slow moving items of the Britannia products. 3. To assess the market share of the Britannia products in the towns. 4. To investigate into the problems of the dealers in the distribution of Britannia products. 5. To assess the competitors strength and weakness in the towns. 4.1 Research Methodology The design of the study is analytical in nature. Under Convenience sampling method 150 sample dealers of Britannia were selected 50 each from three towns. The information required for the study were collected both from primary and secondary sources. Primary data were collected using an interview schedule prepared specially for the purpose. Secondary data were collected from various related Books, Magazines, published and unpublished Reports. The web sites related by various companies were also of great use in providing secondary data. 4.2 Limitations of the study The study is limited to Tiruvarur District only due to time and money constraints. The results of the study cannot be generalized to other Zones due demographical differences. The study is based on the opinion of the dealers only. The opinion of the wholesalers and distributors are not taken into account due to want of time and money. The dealers in the interior rural areas are not given due representation since the area covered is too wide in its length and breath. The aspect of advertisement effectiveness is not included in the survey as advertisement of the Britannia is a common phenomenon for all the dealers in the country. 4.3 Findings The results of the study are given below Table 1: Dealer s Preference ( Source: Primary data) Small Co General Super Products Petty operative Total % Merchants Markets shops Stores Britannia Products 429

3 Competitor products Total From table 1, it is clear that 68 percent of the dealers prefer Britannia products to competitor s products and only 32 per cent of the dealers prefer competitor s products to Britannia products. Reasons Small Petty shops Table 2: Reason for Preference General Merchants Super Markets Cooperative Stores Total % High Margin Fast Moving Easy supply Other Reasons Total As shown in table 2, 43 percent of the dealers prefer Britannia product because the Britannia products are fast moving in the markets. Another 29 per cent of the dealers prefer Britannia products, because of the high margin of profits, it gives. Hence dealers prefer fast moving to high margin of profit. In other words dealers prefer to sell more quantity thereby they want to earn more profit instead of selling less with high margin. Table 3: Satisfaction about mode of Supply Opinion No. of Respondents % Satisfied Not satisfied As shown in table 3, only 16 per cent of the dealers are satisfied with the mode of supply. The remaining 84 per cent of the dealers are not satisfied with the mode of supply as they are supplied with the products as and when supplied by the Britannia distributors instead as and when required by them. Table 4: Fast moving Britannia Biscuits Biscuits No. of Respondents % Rank Milk Bikis Marigold Good Day Fifty fifty Treat Nice Time As is shown in table 4, Milk Bikis occupies first rank with the support of 36 percent of traders leaving second and third positions to Marigold and Good Day with a support of 25 percent and 16 percent traders. 430

4 Table 5: Fast moving Competitors Biscuits Biscuits No.of Respondents % Rank Marie Light Dukes Marie Sweet n Salt True Marie Parle G Milky Magic Source : Primary Data As table 5 discloses, Marie Light, Dukes Marie and Sweet n Salt are the first 3 fast moving Biscuits from competitors with 33, 24 and 14 per cent support from the dealers. Milky Magic is the slow moving item with only 5 percent support. Table 6: Fast Moving Cream Items Britannia Cream items No. of Respondents % Rank Bourbon cream Elaichi cream Pineapple cream Mango cream As is shown in table 6, Bourbon cream is the fast moving item with 57 per cent support. Mango cream is the slow moving item with only 6 percent support from dealers. Table 7: Fast moving Cream items Competitor s Cream items No.of Respondents % Rank Sun feast Bourbon Sun feast Pineapple Parle Orange Cream Table 7 shows that Sun feast Bourbon stands first with 53 percent support allowing Sun feast Pineapple to occupy second place with 33 percent support leaving Parle Orange Cream with only 17 percent support of the dealers. There fore Sun feast Bourbon is the fast moving item and the Parle Orange Cream is the slow moving item. 5. Conclusion The role of dealers in distribution is well established. In the developed countries where technological and economic advances had already brought in an era of plenty, the importance of the dealer is very well recognised. Products and policies are not only tailored with the consumer in mind, but also with the dealer in mind. As we move into an era of plenty which will be usually an era of intense competition, it will be more and more important to pay attention to the subject of marketing in general and to the subject of dealer development in particular. Acknowledgement 431

5 Authors wish to acknowledge their respective supervisors and all those who had supported this work, authors had taken account of every detail to provide information properly to the reader. All the data obtained and produced in this research is of original work done by the concerned authors and they are responsible for the data collected, interpreted and published. if readers of this article found any data, details to be misguiding, misinterpreted, wrongly judged the same may be brought to the notice of the authors. Proper and necessary reference is given to all the works referred by authors and if any work is neglected it is non voluntary and can be added if brought to notice of the author. 6. References 1. Deshashis Pati (2002), Branding Concepts and Process, Maxmillan India Ltd. 2. Dr. C.B. Memoria and R.L. Joshi (2003), Principle and Practice of Marketing in India, Kitab Mahal, Allahabad. 3. Kathiresan and Radha (2000), Marketing Management, Prasanna Publishers, Chennai. 4. Lalitha Ramakrishnan (2003), Rural Marketing Pearson Education (Singapore) Private Ltd. India 5. Memoria C.B. and Joshi R.L (1978), Principles and Practice of Marketing in India, Kitan Mahal, Allahabad. 6. Philip Kotler (1998), Marketing Management, Prentice Hass of India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. 7. Pillai and Bagavathi. R.S.N (1988), Marketing, Sultan Chand & Company limited, Ramnagar, New Delhi. 8. Rajan Nair (1988), Marketing, Sulthan Chand & Sons, New Delhi. 9. R.S.N. Pillai and Bagavathi (2006), Marketing management, S. Chand & Compamy Ltd., New Delhi. 10. S.A. Sherlekar (2004), Modern marketing, Himalaya publishing House, Bombay. 11. S.J. Bedekar (2007), Marketing concepts and strategies, Oxford University Press, Bombay. 12. S. Ramesh Kumar (2005), Managing Indian Brands: Marketing Concepts and Strategies, Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd. 13. Suja R. Nair (1999), Consumer Behaviour (Text and Cases) Himalaya Publishing House, Mumbai. 14. Varma. M.M & Agarwal. R.K (1988), Marketing Management forward Book Dept, Delhi. 432

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