Ashutosh Solanki 20101008

Harshal B Manjari 20101015

Jatin Puri 20101019

Mayank Sharma 20101027

Vaishakh Nair 20101055

 CONTENTS

I. Company Profile………………………………………………………………………………. 2

II. Situational Analysis…………………………………………………………………………... 3

a) Industry…………………………………………………………………………………... 3
b) Competition ……………………………………………………………………………...10
c) Company (SWOT).………………………………………………………………………12
d) Core Competency………………………………………………………………………...13

III. Markets

a) Business Segmentation…………………………………………………………………..15
b) Consumer Segmentation(STP)...…………………………………………………………16

IV. Marketing Mix

a) Product…………………………………………………………………………………...18
b) Price……………………………………………………………………………………...19
c) Promotion………………………………………………………………………………...19
d) Place……………………………………………………………………………………...20

Questionnaire…………………………………………………………………………………….21

2
 I. COMPANY PROFILE
ZENITH MANUFACTURERS was set up with a purpose to deliver sports world with
quality products of international standard. We market our cricket bats under the
brand name of ‘LORDS” .

Vision:

‘To build aspiration for every cricketing soul’

Mission:

‘We are completely focused on cricketers who demand performance first & style
second by technology driven quality enhanced bats.’

We are manufacturing Cricket Bats in varied sizes and variety.

Our Strengths

 Good packaging and logistic facility.

 Regular quality checks on every step.
 Regular training of our team to keep them updated about product trends.
 Ability of delivering every consignment safely and in limited period.

Infrastructure
Our state-of-the-art infrastructure unit is backed with technologically advanced
tools and machineries that assist in the quality and quantity production of Cricket
Sports Goods i.e Cricket Bats. The processing unit also includes sophisticated
machines along with the traditional ones that further help in the manufacturing of
cricket accessories that meet the international standards.

Quality Assurance
Owing to the priority to serve flawless quality products, various stringent quality
tests are conducted from the very initial stage of deployment of raw materials to
final dispatch. For fuller assurance, the tests are conducted under the supervision of
our quality control executives.

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Our Struggle
With a sheer focus on offering premium quality, reasonable prices and production
techniques, we want to develop a niche for ourselves in the global markets. Setting
new benchmarks in this ever-growing industry.

II. SITUATION ANALYSIS

a. Industry
Long term demand trends

As per the primary and secondary survey it is very clear that there is an increasing
long term demand trends in the market of cricket bats.

The new trend in cricket started by IPL, ICL and T20 series has added to the
popularity of cricket.

The following data gives a percentage increase in participation of cricket as

compared to other sports in India.

Based on this survey we can say that the trend of increased participation in cricket
is going to continue for the coming years.

As the economy is also moving out of recession people are diverting back to
recreational activities like sports (cricket).

Also as per the report of Sport Authority of India (SAI) cricket generated 80-90% of
India’s total sport revenue. From this figure it is clear that Cricket has a strong hold
on the sport market in India which is going to prevail for several coming years

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Also many youngsters now have started taking cricket as a serious carrier option
and working on that direction and to facilitate them, state and many private
companies have taken the initiative to start many cricket tournaments from city to
national levels which attract many youngsters to participate which can increase our
market even more.

Nature of Relationships(buyer-seller)

For a business to be successful it is very essential to create a bond between the

company and consumers, better known as creating a healthy relationship.

Depending upon the segment one wants to explore relationship is formed.

For a company that manufactures and markets “Cricket Bats” it has to build upon
both the “Business-To-Business” and “Business-to-Consumer”

The terms B2B and B2C are short forms for Business-to-Business (B2B) and
Business-to-Consumer (B2C). Both describe the nature and selling process of goods
and services. While B2B products and services are sold from one company to
another, B2C products are sold from a company to the end user.

Business-To-Business

According to the primary market survey that we conducted and the secondary
survey we collected we have identified the need to B2B marketing.

Present Scenario: A business owner of a retail shop or a distributer goes to the

manufacturer himself places the order and brings the bat with him. While for whom
to approach the manufacturer is very difficult they prefer buying the bats from
intermediaries like whole sellers and distributes.

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Our strategy: This procedure is very time consuming for the shop owner. Based
on the survey conducted by us we arrived at a conclusion that instead of calling the
business to us we will go to the business. This will not only save the time of our
client but also money. Which will reduce the overhead cost for them and in turn
they can sell our product in a more competitive price giving us an edge over our
competitor. Because we are giving them a personalised service the business owner
will continue to do business with us.

Also of we are approaching the business ourselves we would not require the role of
whole sellers and distributers in the supply chain. This will also reduce the
distribution cost for many of our clients and they can gain the same product from
us at a cheaper cost as compared to the distributers.

Also if we eliminate the role of distributors in the supply chain we can capitalise on
the market created by us in our future endeavoured of entering into B2C marketing
and selling of our product.

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This is how we plan to establish a relationship of trust between our and our
customer’s business

Business-to-Consumer

For every business the end consumer is a very important factor that helps in the
growth of the firm.

Once we have created a Brand Image in the eyes of our end consumer and have
gained enough market share, we will enter the retail market of cricket bats and will
leverage on our brand image to create a relationship with our consumers. We will
engage in strategic promotion techniques to be visible to our target customer.

To build on a strong relationship with the consumer we would give them the variety
they are looking for to satisfy their need of Variety Seeking. With our vast range of
products we would keep the curiosity of our consumer alive, as they will be
interested in trying all different types of bats to enhance their performance.

Also we will try to build a relationship on the base of Dissonance Reduction. We will
strive to provide quality product to our consumers at an affordable rate and will
satisfy their needs of getting a better product as a result create a bonding with our
consumers and create Brand Loyalty.

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Micro & Macro Factors affecting Industry

There are a number of micro & macro economic factors which have a predominant
role to play affecting the sale of cricketing gear. They are mainly governed by
factors:

Cultural: Indian culture with a wide spectrum of diversity it offers is of the most
critical factors which have led to an exponential growth of cricket.. The World Cup
Triumph of 1983 where India considered as minnows before the tournament
humbled the mighty West Indian Team with cricketing legends like Clive Lloyd, Viv
Richards gave a new glimmer of hope to the Indian who had no instances to boast
of sporting glory.
Along with the triumph, the correct positioning & marketing of the game by BCCI
(Board of Cricket Control of India) were one of crucial factors that led to
widespread popularity & eclipsed the rich sporting tradition of the national game
‘Hockey’. So along with the tremendous growth of game, it also led to flourish of
manufacturing of Cricketing gear. The main reasons can be cited as the increase in
international tournaments being organized on a pan India basis like the Hero Cup
in 1994, Wills World Cup in 1996.
In recent times the Emergence of IPL & Champions League Trophy (CL-T20)
have led to increase in growth of Sports gear in terms of volumes being purchased
which offers a great opportunity for our business development.

Social: Society shapes beliefs, values, demands, and requirements. Consumer

demand is affected by changes in:

-Population size and growth

-Demographic profile or the country (age distribution, family size, income level
etc.)

-Culture, beliefs and values of the community.

The beauty of the game of cricket is its wide acceptance by all classes of the
society. Cricket in the earlier times was played by the upper echelons of the
society but because of its immense growth in the last two decades, it is being
looked as a serious career option by all the classes of the population
demographics.
The emergence of young cricketers from rural pockets of India like Suresh Raina,
Mohd. Kaif, Irfan Pathan has raised the optimism and offered hope to the
depressed classes. The other crucial aspect for the growth is the huge involvement
of money from the corporate sector & BCCI in terms of compensation being offered
& sponsorship deals.

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These socio indicators offer a great business opportunity to venture into this
segment of market.

Economic: Consumer Buying power & Spending Patterns of are governed by

various Factors like:

 Business cycles marked by recessions & booms

 Gross domestic product (GDP)
 Real income
 Inflation

The table illustrates the huge export potential offered by the industry and thus
vindicates our decision to venture into this industry.

Other Economic Factors are:

1) Huge incentives offered by SAI (Sports Authority of India) & BCCI to budding
cricketers creating a revolution in the industry in terms of volume growth.
2) Other crucial factor is the contribution of revenue generation from the sale of
cricket goods. Presently sale of cricket goods contributes 85% of the total
revenues from sports goods with cricket bats contributing 80% to that share.

Regulatory & Legal: Sports retail requires close co-ordination with government
and federations. It is affected by government policies, not only in the retail sector
but also in sports and allied sectors like manufacturing. In this context, this section
discusses the role of the government in
sports, sports product manufacturing and retail. It also provides an analysis of
policies relating to sports, the retail sector and sports product manufacturing. It
analyses government’s international policies, how are they linked to domestic
policies and its implications for sports retail.
Under the Constitution of India, “sports” is in the state list along with entertainment

9
and amusement. Thus, the responsibility for developing sports primarily lies with
each state government. This state-level focus on sports allows the development of
sports at the grassroots level; each state/region has its specialization and this
heterogeneity can be maintained only by targeting sports at the state level. In
addition, there are autonomous institutions under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and
Sports, such as the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the Board of Control for
Cricket in India (BCCI).

The main Apex Bodies that regulate the industry are :

1) Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports
2) SAI( Sports Authority of India)
3) BCCI

Structure of Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports

Structure of BCCI

The progressive and visionary policies formed by these autonomous bodies under
the umbrella of Ministry of Youth Affairs of transforming our nation into one with
rich sporting tradition & glory presents a unique opportunity to venture into this
industry.

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Technology: Major Trends that can have long term implications for the industry
are:
(a)Accelerated Pace of Change
(b)Unlimited Opportunities for Innovation
(c) Varying R & D Budget

1) From the surveys conducted, some striking revelations were consumers gave
preference to branded bats.
2) Carbon Graphite Handles, Aluminum Cricket Bats, Multigradient grips,
Vibration Control bats, use of mechanical sensors & actuators are new
innovations that are being attempted to incorporated.
3) E Commerce (Internet) can also offer a great platform to position the brand.

These factors offer a new window of opportunity for Aspiring firms to venture
in this industry & capitalize on these aspects which can be differentiating
traits for the business

Political: Marketing in this industry is affected by:

-Government & local policies.

-Tax regime – the level & nature of taxes.
- The extent to which is the government business friendly.

Government Policies towards this industry are friendly as it employs close to 2.25
lakhs with minimum taxes levied on them. Secondly, places like Meerut, Jalandhar
& Kashmir have emerged as hubs of finished cricket manufactured goods like
bats ,balls, pads & stumps.

Hence Imbroglio & instability in these places would have long term implications in
the procurement of goods & its production.

b. COMPETITION
Competitors and Market Share

Like all firms we will also face some competition, but to reduce the risk we have
done a thorough analysis on who are our major competitors (PRODUCT), where do
they sell (PLACE), what are their prices (PRICE). Based on this study we will decide
our four P’s of Marketing and formulate a strategy of dealing with our customers
that will differentiate us from our competitors.

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The following table is a list of our competitors in a tabular form with all the relevant
information.

Based on the above study we are now aware who our competitors in the major
cities on India are and how do they position themselves in the market.

Analysing Competitive Forces in the Industry

1. Threat of intense segment rivalry – This segment is unattractive if it

contains numerous, strong, or aggressive competitors( 150 Players in the Indian
Market)

2. Threat of new entrants – This segment's attractiveness varies with the height
of its entry and exit barriers. The most attractive segment has high entry
barriers and low exit barriers.

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3. Threat of substitute products - This segment is unattractive as there are
actual or potential substitutes for the product.

4. Threat of suppliers' growing bargaining power - This segment is

unattractive as company's suppliers are able to raise prices or reduce quantity
supplied.

Three Important Variables for analyzing competitors

• Share of market - The Major competitor's share of the target market is close to
80% with major competitors being BDM,SS, SG & foreign entrants like Reebok
giving a fair picture about the current market share of our competitors.
• Share of mind - 80 % of customers named SS, BDM,SG as major companies
when they thought about this Industry which indicates the confrontational challenge
for our business to position our product in the minds of customer.
• Share of heart – 57% of customers named SG as a major company when they
were asked the question of purchase of bats indicating a major competitor for our
firm.

c. Company
SWOT Analysis
The overall analysis of a company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and
Threats is called SWOT analysis. It is a way of monitoring the external and internal
marketing environment.

Strengths
Our product aims at providing superior customer value by offering features
( Weight of bat, blade size, Blade Curvature, Stroke quality, quality of willow),
packaging(multi gradient grip & base protective cover), Varieties( Willow variety,
carbon/graphite handles) at competitive prices.
Quality & Technology Innovations like Carbon Graphite Handles, Aluminium Cricket
Bats, Multigradient grips, Vibration Control bats, use of mechanical sensors &
actuators at competitive prices would be our USP( Unique Selling Proposition).
Strong Dealerships Network focusing on strong Customer Relationship
Management (CRM ) reducing information asymmetry, creating transparency in
price mechanism & educating our customers & dealers about our unique features
would help us to create customer equity & brand loyalty with our customers.

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Weaknesses
Establishing Firm Value Chain & Value Delivery process as per the strategic plan of
the firm would be one of the weaknesses to tackle. Firm Value Chain can be
classified as:
1) Primary Activities involve creation of Outbound & Inbound Logistics,
Operations, Marketing & service as serious challenges to be confronted.
2) Secondary Activities involve establishing Strong Supplier Network for
procurement of raw materials, Technology development, Firm Infrastructure,
Human Resource Management are obstacles to be tackled.

Opportunities
The existing framework of this sector is highly disorganized with respect to
procurement of raw materials, manufacturers, dealers (wholesale & Retail). So it
presents a unique opportunity for our firm to integrate the existing system thus
eliminating information asymmetry & price discrepancy.
Another critical aspect of this industry is that it has never undertaken a strategy of
large scale endorsement of its merchandise. Hence Celebrity endorsements,
creating other channels of advertising like organizing road shows, stall based
advertisements & having strategic tie ups with cricket academies, Corporate
Organizations, Institutions( Schools & Colleges) are unexplored & thus present
opportunities to capitalize.
The current industry has tremendous potential to venture into new markets like
Bangladesh, England, Australia & New Zealand as the industry is not governed by
geographic boundaries.
Thus it presents a great opportunity to increase the market share with increased
product range.

Threats
The Sports Manufacturing Industry being such a vast & diverse industry has more
than 125 players catering to their own set of consumers. The presence of
established market players like SS, BDM, KG and other companies present a
diverse set of threats to our firm with their huge market share, deep penetration in
all segments of the market.

Other Significant Challenge would be the positioning of our brand in the minds of
the prospective consumers & grapple with the existing & established firms.

Other aspects like creating customer loyalty, brand equity are steep challenges to
be dealt by our firm.

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d) Core Competency

Core Competency refers to areas of special technical and production expertise,

whereas distinctive capability describes excellence in broader business processes.
Market-driven organizations generally excel in three distinctive capabilities:

Market sensing
Market Sensing is one of the key parameters to forecast demand of the product as
per seasonal cycles. Cycles can be classified as:
 Pre IPL Season: The sale of bats increases by 50 % in this season as more &
more customers are encouraged to procure sports merchandise. Hence
increasing the production cycle would be one of the key objectives of our firm.
 Pre World Cup Season: The sale of bats appreciably increases in the global
market (All major cricketing Nations) by 26% which offers a unique opportunity
for our firm to cater to this segment. Hence increase in production cycles,
incorporating proper distribution channels to facilitate the end users would be
adopted by the firm.
 Normal Season: The sales of bats have normal trends as per industry trends &
economy surge. Thus efficient distribution channels, proper inventory stock &
appropriate pricing are key drivers for growth.

Customer linking
For customer linking, B2B & B2C are to be given special emphasis. Creating
effective customer relationships through Customer Relationship Management
(CRM) would be one of the exercise employed to create brand equity.
To penetrate into the local markets, large scale organizing of Tournaments of Gully
cricket would nurture relationship with customers & create customer loyalty.
Networking with Sporting bodies like SAI, Coaching Academies like MRF Pace
Foundation, NCA at the National level & local cricket academies would enable our
firm to establish our brand through mass marketing strategies. This would strong
brand equity & value creation.

Flow Relationship to show Value Creation & Delivery Sequence

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Channel bonding

Channel Bonding can be differentiated as:

 Personal Differentiation
Strong Dealership Networks to reduce price asymmetry & price discrepancy
are one of key strengths of our business. To nurture strong relationships with
our dealers by offering good margins & educating our dealers about our
product features would create long lasting relationship with our dealers.

 Channel Differentiation
Long Term Strategic implications would be to create our own Distribution
centers & thus vertically integrate all the aspects of the business like
manufacturing of bats, Dealership network & efficient delivery mechanism.

III. MARKETS
a. Business Segmentation:

Sports Goods Industry

Macro-level

Sport equipment
manufacture

Cricketing Gears
Micro Level

Cricket Bats

The business would be present in the sports goods manufacturing industry. Its
focus is on the mainstream sports equipment manufacturing not on apparel,
footwear or accessories. The business would be confined to only cricket and the
cricket bats are the only product catering to this sport. The business target market
is actually the most attractive one because of the growing interest which can be
illustrated by the percentage interest by participation in India.

The market potential of the product is ever expanding as there are a lot of factors
which might generate greater demand.

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 1) Growth of sports awareness: The shift of the Indian society mindset from
a education-oriented to a sports-oriented would be beneficial. Playing sports
would be treated as a career opportunity rather than just a leisure activity or
entertainment.
2) Growth of recreational sports: Indians spending more on the sports goods
as playing sports is looked as the best way to stay fit for the health-
conscious public.
3) Participation of private sectors in organizing, sponsoring and conducting
sporting events leading to commercialization of sports and creation of various
governing bodies have helped in increasing the demand for sporting goods.

b) Consumer Market:

The consumer market for cricket bats can be identified as sports enthusiasts from
kids (5-15yrs) and teenagers (15-19) and adults who play for both leisure, semi-
formal and professional formats.

Segmentation:

We can actually segment the consumer group from above mentioned age groups
as frequent player of cricket and of other sports. Our market segment consists
of consumers ranging from nursery level kids who pick up cricket bats at an
early age to the professional cricketers. The primary survey was targeted to all
age groups and the secondary research on the cricket goods demand at different
geographical areas was identified.

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Targeting:

These segments can be further divided into behavioural segmentation units such as
leisure/hobbies and professional level segments. One segment comprises of
consumers who care about price & durability (School Kids, College Players, and
Gully Players). Other segment comprises of customers who care about quality &
value enhanced products (National & International Players)

Evaluating and Selecting Marketing Segment

Factors affecting the buying behaviour of the customer

Features
Quality
Usage
Friends
Coach
Brands
Celeb

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

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Differentiation and Positioning:

Our product aims at providing superior customer value by offering features

( Weight of bat, blade size, Blade Curvature, Stroke quality, quality of willow),
packaging(multi gradient grip & base protective cover), Varieties( Willow variety,
carbon/graphite handles) at competitive prices. Our product offers the following
features which would enable us to position in the minds of our consumers:

 Informative and feature differentiated product

 Brand Image and value for money
 Superior Value Positioning of our product

Additional features expected by the customer from primary survey

pre-seasoned

base guard

multi grade

carbon graphite

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

IV. MARKETING MIX

a. Product:
The product we have chosen to market is Cricket bat. We manufacture and sell a
wide range of Cricket bats. The variety comes from newer technology and
convenience (weight, blade width etc) for customers but all adhering to global
standards. We provide 4 basic variants of cricket blades i.e. Grade 1, 2, 3 & 4 all
based on varied customer needs or wants. We provide customers with bats of
different varieties of wood such as English & Kashmir willow but our main
emphasis lies on educating the consumer about the product and what is best for
them. We have evolved in terms of technology and variety with the changing
needs of consumer.

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We provide following features :

 Willow variety (English, Kashmir etc.)

 Weight variety(feather-weight, moderate or heavy)
 Width variety(wide blade, sleek blade, high-flesh blade)
 Size variety(professional/standard, mongoose, age-wise)
 Ball play/turf variety(season play, tennis play etc)
 Graphite handles(strong & lightweight),ribbed grips
 Fish cover,Australian cover, ploy-D cover(waterproof)
 Seasoned and unseasoned(with or without oil treatment)

As we know there is huge amount of people who play cricket and buy bats but
with current awareness levels, we can witness a lot of information asymmetry.
There is a mismatch between what people want in a bat and what they exactly
buy.

First we would like to educate consumers about the varieties we offer and
identify what they want then subsequently find a match.

b. Price:
The pricing would arrive by extensive primary survey and relative secondary
survey. Bats would be priced in the range of existing contemporary varieties of
competitors with enhanced features.

 Pricing Objective - Maximize market share

 Pricing Method – Going-Rate Pricing

We may start with initiating price cuts or product bundling to impart value for
money. This can be attained by geographical pricing i.e. In states of high cricket
enthusiasm but lower affordability (like UP, Bihar), we may consider
compromising our margins thus boosting up net sales in lieu of attaining pricing
objective of increased market share. And vice versa with states like Gujarat.

c. Promotion:
This would cover wide range and would systematically update/evolve along
product life cycle. We would start with
 Small and effective advertisements like
 Small vignettes in leading dailies
 Advertisements in sports magazines like Sportstar etc.
 Distribution of pamphlets outside schools, colleges and other institutions

20
 Use of hoardings and large boards in public with special emphasis to
consumer proximity, sports complexes and sports shops. This provides
greater visibility to the product.

 Promotion and announcements on local cable network to gain better

penetration of the product among masses of all types. This will help the
product reach out to maximum population.

 Sponsoring cricketing events at community, schools, colleges, universities

and domestic levels. Giving discount coupons to winners. Vending stalls at
such events would also prove to be useful.

 Arranging promotional and awareness drives at coaching camps and other

sporting events. This is because we want people to learn about bats, their
types and features to better choose from the wide variety that is available for
sale. The customer can also gain information at retail stores which have
salesperson trained by us.

d. Place
Placing the product strategically is of great importance. Initially one zonal
warehouse would be setup for non-sales purposes. This warehouse will directly
supply goods to sports retailers and other avenues eventually cutting the share
of middlemen and wholesalers. Our basic motive of placing the product would be
to provide high level of convenience and availability for customers.

The various channels for sale of bats would be :

 Traditional retail Stores

 Conducting workshops at cricket training institutes
 Opening Stalls at sporting good conventions
 Retail stores near schools, playgrounds & sports university
 Tie up with sporting bodies
 later we plan on opening our own exclusive brand stores
depending on the success of the brand

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 Questionnaire

Market Survey

Please Fill the Survey on Cricket Bats

For choosing the options please follow the path Insert Shapes Select lines.
Please mark then as illustrated.

1) How often do you play cricket?

a) Daily b) Twice in a week c) Once in 2 weeks d) Once in a month

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------

1) Age
a) < 15 b)15-20 c) 20-25 d) 25-30 e) > 30
2) How often do you play cricket?
a) Daily b) Twice in a week c) Once in 2 weeks d) Once in a
month
3) Which make of bat have you played with till now?
a) BDM b) SG c) SS d) Kookaburra e) RNS f) Others
4) How many bats have you bought till now?
a) 1 b) 2 c) 3 d) More than four
5) Which type of bat have you bought till now?
a) Tennis Ball Bat b) English willow c) Kashmir Willow
6) What is the degree of influence each of these aspects on your buying a
Cricket Bat?

(5 to 1, 5- being the most influencing & 1 being the least influencing)(Fill in

the Numbers)

Preference
Rating
Brand
Features
Quality
Celebrity
Endorsement
Coach
Recommendation
Friends
Recommendation
Prior Usage

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7) Have you taken any form of cricket coaching ever?
a) YES b) NO
8) Which make of bat did the coach insist on you buying?
a) BDM b) SG c) SS d) Kookaburra e) RNS f) Others
9) Which place of buying would you prefer to buy a bat?
a) Sports good shop b) Exhibition Stalls at Sports Complex c) Order over
Internet
10) What type of extra features would you like to have the most if given a
choice?
(Scale of 1-3, 1- being most preferred & 3 – Being least Preferred)

Preference Rating
Base Guard
Multi Gradient
Grip
Carbon Graphite
Handle
Pre-
seasoned( Ready
To Play Bats)

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