Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

PROJECT REPORT ON
CONSUMER USAGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS PARKER PEN

Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of Requirement of Post Graduate Diploma in Management

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF: Ms. Vandana Puri Dy. Director-AIMA (CMD) SUBMITTED BY PULKIT GOGIA REGN. No. :- 420910021 Course : PGDM

SUBMITTED TO:

ALL INDIA MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION-CENTRE FOR MANAGEMENT EDUCATION (AIMA)

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

PROJECT REPORT & SYNOPSIS PERFORMA

Name Registration No. Address

: : :

Pulkit Gogia 420910021 E-91, B.K. Dutt Colony Lodhi Road, New Delhi -110003

Name of the Project Guide : Designation :

Ms. Vandana Puri Dy. Director AIMA - CMD

Title of the Project

"Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen" GM-100

Project Code

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I have prepared this study paper for the Consumer Usage and Attitude towards Parker Pen. Quite frankly, I have derived the contents and approach of this study paper through discussions with colleagues who are also the students of this course as well as with the help of various Books, Magazines and Newspapers etc.

I would like to give my sincere thanks to a host of friends and the teachers who, through their guidance, enthusiasm and counseling helped me enormously. As I think there will be always need of improvement. Apart from this, I hope this study paper would stimulate the need of thinking and discussion on the topics like this one.

Pulkit Gogia REGN. 420910021 No. :-

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ------------------------------------- 1-10 Industry overview Recent developments Text by - Bhanu Pande CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY--------------------

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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY-------------------- 12-13 Problem definition Assumptions Research design Exploratory research Target population Sampling frame Sampling technique Sample size Sample execution Collection of primary data Collection of secondary data

CHAPTER 4

LITERATURE REVIEW----------------------------- 14-64 Company Profile Linc Rolls out designer pen Hrithik signs to royalty deal with ballpen brand Flair Millennium 2000 series Pen with rubber grip arrives Flair pens introduces Sporty range More literacy promises to give good business to small pen makers Sales Pierre Cardin launches Studio pens: Schefields ties up with Kotobuki, plan JV 4

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen Customer satisfaction Strategies to keep in touch Building customer relationships Strategies to reward the loyal customers Lifetime Customer Value Organization Chart - Parker Parker Products Problems of the organization Competition Information Sheaffer SWOT Analysis

CHAPTER - 5 CHAPTER 6

DATA ANALYSIS CONCLUSIONS Limitations

CHAPTER-7

RECOMMANDATIONS Bibliography Annexure Questionnaire

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

Chapter 1 Introduction

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

INTRODUCTION
Indian Writing Instruments market was largely unorganized with regional small players occupying a niche category or a specific geographical region. The boundaries were clearly demarcated with hardly any competition. Today, the market size is Rs. 1400 crore and the competition cut-throat. Major national brands like Add, Cello, Reynolds and foreign brands such as Cross, Parker Vector and Pierre Cardin are fighting it out for a larger slice of the cake. Thanks to competition, investments in manufacturing technology as well as brand promotion and marketing exercises have gone up considerably. Brand promotion has picked up tremendously with sizeable spends - as high as 10% of their turnover being the order of the day. Heavy spends in electronic media supported by top stars like Amitabh Bachchan are invested to give that competitive edge. Newer players are forcing established ones to rethink their strategies and with good measure. The Indian pen market has three principal categories of consumers - the students accounting for 60% of sales. Corporate accounts for 20% - 25% of the off-take and the balance from other types of users. The dominance of student segment has led to the dilution in premium brands like Pierre Cardin making models affordable to them. Top line foreign brands such as the venerable Montblanc, silver pens from Episode and Frazer & Haws, Christian Dior, Cartier Parker, Waterman, and Pierre Cardin have all entered the Indian market either on their own or in collaboration with Indian manufacturers and distributors. The turning point for the industry came in 1985 when Reynolds entered the battlefield with French Collaboration and started the era of brand war in the Indian Writing Instrument Market. Slowly, the unbranded sector has shrunk and branded players have started to rule the market.

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW
Today, there are about 10 branded players and hundreds of smaller unbranded ones. The top 10 account for almost 60% of the market of which two are listed companies- the Kolkata based Rs. 57 core Linc Pen & Plastics Ltd. & the Mumbai based Rs. 78 core Todays Writing Products Ltd. the others, including the Chennai based Rs. 130 core G.M.

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen Pens International Pvt. Ltd. (the owner of the Reynolds brand), Umbergaon based Rs. 108 crore Add Pens Ltd., the New Delhi based Rs. 100 crore Luxor Writing Instruments Pvt. Ltd. & Mumbai based Rs. 80 crore Cello Writing Instruments and Containers Pvt. Ltd. (owner of the Cello brand) are all privately held firms. The top six account for nearly 40% of the entire domestic market. Others such as Rotomac, Montex, Scheffields, and Flair & Stic account for another 15%. The market is growing at heartily clip of 15% per annum. Bitter brand was apart, the industry has also produced some outstanding and inspiring examples of entrepreneurship. Starting from a humble beginning as late as 1963 today Luxor has staff strength of 1000 people producing 1 million pens a day. Reiterates D.K. Jain, give the consumer a useful product and at uniform price. His down to earth attitude and knowing the pulse of the consumer has been the hallmark of Jain all these years. The introduction of Pilot Pens in India changed the way students approached the art of writing in schools ushering a revolution of unmeasured success for Luxor. Another entrepreneurial story of Manak Cand Jain, of Add Pens Ltd. is worth recounting. From being an employee of Linc Pens for over 10 years, he started his dream from Mumbai with a princely capital of Rs. 10,000 in 1986, to make it a Rs. 108 crore enterprise today. Jains USP of sleek looking pens took the market by storm. Pens were parked at the lower price band, and packed in plastic jars which could be used later in households. His technology tie-ups with Ohto of Japan and Donga of Korea improved his offerings in the marketplace. Introduction of gel pens was an extremely popular and paying move making Add Gel pens synonymous with gel pens in the Indian market. Success was repeated with introduction to Add Roll Gold and Add Diamond Roller models. Add Pens is aiming at a turnover of Rs. 150 crore presently. There are others who have managed successful integration of products in the pen industry. Montex for example began with nibs and pen accessories. Today has firsts- transparent ball pens, 0.5mm precision tip pens and rubber grip in ball pens. Today Montex offers a wide repertoire of pens, ranging from ball pens and gel link pens to fountain pens and roller ink pens. The latest from Montex is Hy - Tank roller ink pen- a product of the revolutionary IIS (Inbuilt Ink Stabilizer) Technology. These are over 48 countries over all five continents to which Montex pens are exported.

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen There have been significant improvisations in designs in pens. Cello Writing Instruments & Containers recently introduced the Cello Gripper pens. Over a short period of time, the gripper pens have become the companys USP. Cello Grippers come with a finelytextured rubber grip that cushions the fingers while wiring, thus making writing

comfortable and pressure-free, particularly for students. International designs-Swiss tips and German ink are the hallmark of Cello Gripper pens, setting them apart from the rest. Some others have rewritten brand promotion concepts. Kanpur-based Rotomac Pens Ltd. has been the pioneer of big budget celebrity endorsements. Their first campaign likhte likhte love ho jaye featured Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon and made the entire industry sit up and take notice. That was five years ago. Now, Amitabh Bachchan features in a Parker pen commercial. All this points to only one thing the rules of the game have changed with big budget advertising becoming the norm rather than the exception. Brand has eventually led to price wars. The famous ad line of Linc Pens for their brand Tip Top - paunch ka do pen has led the manufacturer sell 1.5 lakh pieces a day. Linc wanted to enter the rural markets where the less than Rs. 3 price category of pens usually sees the largest demand. But the category posed the problem of the price tag of Rs. 2.50 which was thought to be unacceptable to both retailers as well as consumers since it involved small change. Linc then came up with the idea of offering two pens for Rs. 5. The paanch ka do slogan was born. Linc is fighting it out with an established leader in this category- the New Delhi-based Stic Pens Ltd. With super profits vanishing and more and more players entering the low price segments, huge investments go into making cheaper but good quality products. For example, Mumbai-based Todays has lined up massive investments to set up plants with

economies of scale just to make sure their gel pens are prices below Rs. 10. This has made some industry experts feel that investment on brand building through insertions in the electronic and print media as a waste of precious money. The logic with consumers only interested in cheaper products, they do not bother so much about the quality and hence these investments do no pay. But not everyone agrees with that view. Repositioning global brands for Indian market was one of feats achieved by the industry. Consider for example, the 110-year old Boston-headquartered Parker pens Luxor, Parkers Indian partner did a market survey only to find that most respondents associated

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen Parker with reliability, class but also steep prices. And students felt that it was daddys pen. They needed to be convinced that it was their pen too, since no company can afford to overlook the dominant student segment in sales. Luxor finally launched a Parker brand called Beta later last year. For Parker Pens, this was the first brand that was born in a location other than Boston. Beta roller pen, ball pen and fountain pen were priced at the range from R. 50 to Rs. 100. This appears to have worked. Beta notched up huge sales. The name may work in rural areas too, since the name also can be said to mean son in Hindi. Parker was going steady in the Vector brand, prices in the range between Rs. 100 to Rs. 350 range. Now Beta has overtaken Vector in sales. Luxor has sold more Beta in four months than what it has sold in the Vector range in a whole year. Another innovative product from Luxor-Family Hungama Pack containing a bounty of pens for the entire needs of the family for an attractive Rs. 500/- is another idea from D.K. Jains stable of pens. Its sure winner for the days to come. Overall, the pen industry continues to be a low-value, high volume business where price, and to a certain extent branding, determine the winner. But new players are writing new paradigms. Players who were confident of super profits have been watching their margins getting squeezed. Ultimately, the winners will be those who will be able to convince consumers that their products are value for money, whatever be the price tags.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Organized players struggle against a huge small scale sector to brand the writing instrument market. Can they pull it off? Text by - Bhanu Pande Rubber 'comfort' cushions, fashion accessories, endorsements by Bollywood's hottest stars . . . The humble ball point pen has never had it so high profile. But it's a battlefield that could well end with the write-off of many players. Ranged on one side are the premium and "super premium" players who are shelling out huge sums of money to try and impose an indelible signature on this crowded, Rs. 1000 crore market. They are the players that have accelerated the growth of this market to 12 per cent over the past decade. 10

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen At the other end are the small scale entrepreneurs who flood the market with cheap, unbranded products. It is the latter that could prove the biggest obstacle to the crowds of larger, branded players that are crowding into a market where writing habits are changing. The writing instruments industry is reserved for the small scale sector. That leaves two options before large players, including multinationals. One is to subcontract manufacturing to the small scale sector, but that often raises quality problems. The second is to import. But at a 40 per cent duty, imports mean that large manufacturers have little room to maneuver in this price-sensitive market. On the other hand, there are no barriers to entry for local entrepreneurs in this lowinvestment business. A large number of entrepreneurs pick up cheap dyes and moulds from Taiwan and Korea and quickly copy what large players would pay huge sums for. The production process also allows manufacturers to make a wide range of models with fairly small runs. At the lower end of the market, low overheads and therefore hefty margins make it highly attractive for smaller players to simply produce and sell without investing in brand building. These faceless producers of ball point pens thrive on amazing pricing and reach that are well outside the spread of the larger, branded manufactures. For them it's a wholesaledriven business. For low-end pens (priced at less than Rs. 6) margins are as high as 60 per cent and allow manufacturers to pass on 25-30 per cent to retailers. All this has forced the larger players like Luxor, Reynolds and Ritter to focus on the premium segment. And here the opportunities are huge. Figures are hard to come by since no market research agency covers this as a product category in volume terms, are writing instruments industry is estimated to sell 2200 million units a year, with the unorganized sector being responsible for more than half. Premium and super premium account for less than 15 per cent of the Indian writing instrument market. But it is the last segment that has helped accelerate market growth after being priced open by global giants like Parker and Mont Blanc. From Rs. 700 crore in 1997-98, writing 11

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen instruments market is estimated to be over Rs. 1000 crore today growing at the rate of about 20 per cent in value terms. But this is also the toughest segment to develop. Like confectionery, pens continue to be a low-involvement, impulse purchase where price and availability play a bigger role than brand. Players higher up the price ladder are trying to change this essentially commodity business. Last year, the writing instruments industry spent over Rs. 75 crore on advertising, up from Rs. 65 crore the previous year. Larger players like Luxor, Reynolds Rotomac, Add Gel and Today were some of the big spenders. But most of this advertisement failed to make any strong and concrete proposition. That is primarily due to the absence of meaningful product differentiation. Low-end pens form an extremely low involvement segment with no brand consciousness and loyalty among consumers. A new feature by any player is quickly matched by rivals. Against this backdrop, players like Rotomac did try to carve an emotional differentiator trying to connect the youth through Rotomac Glasse and Fighter campaign. Similarly, Today has relied on the celebrity endorsement route, starting with Salman Khan, Sachin Tendulkar and now believed to have signed Hritihik Roshan. Premium and super-premium payers have focused on imagery and direct marketing. At the top end, writing instruments go beyond functional utility. They serve as fashion accessories or status symbols. Marketers expect such developments to trickle down to low-end segments, and they're mainly betting on a change in user habits. Over the last few years, consumes have largely switched to the disposable mode. Instead of stocking refills, people tend to use pens and then throw them away. That has given a fillip to sales. Another large constituency for writing instruments is school children. Earlier schools didn't allow students to use ball point pens. The common reason was that ball points distorted handwriting. That has changed. More school students use ball points today and most students like to own more than one pen. All this has spurred the effort towards branding and differentiation. If the hyper-activity during the last one year is any indication, the writing instruments industry is poised to see

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen a qualitative improvement and turn pens into a high-involvement category. But all this is also bound to push writing instruments higher on the price curve. Luxor, a joint venture with Gillette, brought in Paper Mate, a low end brand of pens from the multinationals global portfolio. Priced at Rs. 20 (for the standard model), Paper Mate falls within the mid range under the existing market segmentation. Then, Rotomac set up a joint venture with Flair Pens, Indo Japan Pens and launched Pentel writing instruments with plastic nibs priced between Rs. 15-115 in four styles. Bangalore-based Today's Pens introduced the "Stepney" model with extra-built in refill for longer usage. A Rs. 7.50 a piece, Stepney offers the benefit of two pens at a price of one. Mumbai-based, Flair pens launched the Millennium 2000 series of pens in the market.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

Chapter 2 Objectives of The Study

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Research Objective
To carry out Usage and Attitude Study of Parker Pen in Delhi city. To get a clear understanding of the Writing Instrument Industry.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

Chapter 3 Research Methodology

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Problem Definition
The very purpose doing a project on "Consumer Usage and Attitude towards Parker Pen" was to have a clear understanding of the writing instrument industry. The problem that was confronted during the course of the study was to come out with some concrete results regarding the Consumer Usage and Attitude towards Parker Pen. So, the research problem was formulated by keeping in mind the problem definition that: Allows the researcher to obtain all the information that was needed to address the management decision problem. Guide the researcher in proceeding with the project.

Assumptions
A sample of 200 respondents was interviewed to get a consumer angle to the project which was under the study. It is also assumed that the sample which was taken by the way of probability sampling technique gives a true representation of the population. It is also assumed that there is a small variation of the sample between the sample that has been selected and the population.

Research Design
Research Design is a framework of blue print for conducting the marketing research project. It specifies the details of the procedures necessary for obtaining the information needed to structure and /or solve marketing research problems. Research design is of two type i.e. exploratory research and conclusive research.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

Exploratory Research
Objective Characteristics : : To provide insights and understanding Information loosely Research process is flexible and needed is defined only

unstructured Findings Outcome : : Sample is small and non-representative Analysis of primary data is qualitative

Tentative Generally followed by further exploratory or conclusive research

Conclusive Research
Objective : To test specific hypothesis and examine relationship Characteristics : Information needed is clearly defined Research structured Finding Outcome : : Sample is large and representative Data analysis is quantitative process is formal and

Conclusive Finding making used as input into decision

Thus, we can see that on the basis of the comparison of the above two research design process is that conclusive research design process is most suitable for our project study. The main objective of our proj ect is to study Consumer Usage and Attitude towards Parker Pen". So, with the help of the 18

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen conclusive research design process, we will be able to arrive at a definite conclusion with the help of both primary data as well as the secondary data. Also, data analysis is possible in conclusive research design process. So, data collected by means of survey can be put to a good use for the study of Consumer Usage and Attitude towards Parker Pen". Sampling Plan Sample design process comprises of the following ste ps which is shown below schematically. Define the population

Determine the sampling frame

Select the sampling technique

Determine the sample size

Execute the sampling process

Target population
The target audience is in the age group of both 10 years - 21 years and 21 years - 35 years. A sample of 100 respondents was taken from each of the age group.

Sampling frame
It is a representative of the elements of the target population. The sampling frame was basically formulated by selecting the particular locality which comes under the target population. Places close to my house were taken as a sampling frame which even included collages, schools, university and other

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen institute. The college students were approached mainly from Ja waharlal Nehru University Campus as well as the Qutub institutional area where all the management institutes are there. The schools that were visited: Apeejay School, Mothers International School, Birla Vidya Niketan, Don Bosco, New Green Field School. The above localities were simply chosen for the fact that the final data analysis presents a true picture of the usage as well as the attitude of the respondents in the Delhi city.

Sampling Technique
In the following project study, convenient sample size is b een used.

Sample size
It refers to the number of the elements to be included in the study. In this project sample size is 100. The sample size was set by keeping in mind factors such as: 1. Importance of decision 2. Nature of research 3. Resource constraint 4. Time constraint in the sense that the time period for the completion of the project study is two months.

Sample execution
It requires a detailed specification of how the sampling design decision with respect to the population, sampling frame, sampling unit, sampl ing technique, and sample size to be implemented. Basically, face to face interview was resorted to for contacting the respondents.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

COLLECTION OF PRIMARY DATA

Primary data for our conclusive research was collected from the respondents belonging to the target population with the help of the questionnaire designed for the purpose of the project study. Personal interviewing was used for the purpose of survey. The primary reason for selecting personal interview as the means of survey was because of the follow ing reasons which are given below: Criteria interviewing Flexibility of data collection Diversity of question Use of physical stimuli Control of data Personal High High High collection High

environment Response rate Obtaining sensitive information Speed high Cost high High Low Moderate Moderate

COLLECTION OF SECONDARY DATA

Secondary data was collected from various websites in the internet, newspaper, and magazine excerpts etc.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

Chapter 4 Literature Review

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

LITERATURE REVIEW

COMPANY PROFILE
Pen companies like Link, Today's and Luxor are aggressively tapping the rural market since they feel there is huge untapped potential in the hinterland. They have already lined up low-priced offerings which they feel will go down well in the rural markets. And industry insiders feel that ball point pens are expected to be key drivers for these markets. "The rural market is less crowded, so we will be aggressively exploiting this market by launching new pens which are low priced" says Linc Pens and Plastic MD Deepak Jalan. The company had earlier launched a low priced pen specifically for the rural market and is believed to be doing well. "This segment is very important for us, we had launched Link Tiptop for Rs. 2.50 to have a foothold in the rural market and today this pen is a category leader" he says. Officials at Today's pens feel that compared to the urban areas the upgradation of consumers in the rural areas is taking place very fast. "With the increase in

purchasing power of the low-income group, they are now willing to spend more" says Today's Pens director Mukesh Gupta.

Linc Rolls out designer pen

After the launch of Linc Gum stick, Linc Pen & Plastics has now rolled out a trendy retractable ball pen with a designer refill, Link Tip Top. Available in India at Rs. 2.50, Tip Top comes in 20 pieces box packing. The company says that this product will mark an in-depth marketing foray into the rural market.

Hrithik signs to royalty deal with ballpen brand

After an innings with Coke, cine-sensation Hrithik Roshan is now teaming up with Salman Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, Ajit Agarkar and Vinod Kambli to promote Today's ballpens from the end of this month through a literacy campaign.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen This was announced by chairman and managing director of Today's Writing Products Ltd Rajesh Drolia. He told The Financial Express that Hrithik would sign five of their products from June 30. "We have signed the agreement. From the end of this month, Hrithik Roshan would promote five of our products, including autograph pens poster pens, puzzle pens and felt pens with drawing books. We have not yet finalized the fifth product but it would be done soon", Drolia said. According to him, Today's has entered into a 14-month agreement with the Kaho Naa Pyar Hai star on a royalty sharing basis. Asked about the royalty percentage, Drolia said: "It would be less than 10 percent. However, he felt that it is a win-win situation for both Hrithik and Today's. "It is true that we would like to make most out of Hrithik Roshan's popularity but at the same time, the star would be creating a new image of himself by promoting a stationery product. Pen is, after all, different from all other products" Drolia said. The company would, however, continue with its relationship with other cine and cricket starts. All of them are playing important roles in our advertising and merchandising campaigns. We continue to recognize the need for strong advertising and have set up a fullfledged brand management team to execute its advertising strategies", he added.

Flair Millennium 2000 series

Flair Pens have launched the Millennium 2000 series of pens in the market. The series features models with a new look in terms of packaging, design and finish. The models on offer include Gel-O, Fortune, Easy Grip, Romance and Euro-Line among others, priced in the Rs. 12 to Rs. 150 bracket.

Pen with rubber grip arrives

Specifically designed with rubber grip, the transparent, retractable Linc Star Flo is the latest pen to be launched by Linc Pens and Plastics Ltd. Available in four different colours the pens are priced at Rs 15 along with an extra refill worth Rs. 5 manufacturers claim that the special refill with 06 mm TC ball helps enhance the quality of writing.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

Flair pens introduces Sporty range

Mumbai-based Flair Limited has introduced Flair Sporty-a range of plastic pens including ball points, gel ink, roller, micro tip and sketch pens. German Soft Ink (sued for the first time in plastic pens) and 0.5 mm extra fine Swiss tip is a common feature on all Flair Sporty pens to ensure smooth flow, according to the company. Packed in trendy green and yellow, Flair Sporty range comprises fashion, cyclone ball pens, micro ball and trio pen sets, in metallic, pastel and fluorescent colors. Priced between Rs. 7 and Rs 35, Flair Sporty pens are available at all stationery outlets and general stores.

More literacy promises to give good business to small pen makers

The uneducated have more than a relation of deprivation with the written world. They are the future of writing instruments, or at least small pen makers depend on them for survival, in a market where there is no end to the number of brands and range. At one end of the pen business is the vast unorganized sector which is said to be making people's pens and at the other, there is the high-priced segment. In between are some branded popular pens. "The market for pens is so big in the country that each segment can flourish" says Sarlesh Vishwakarma, manager sales; Stic Pens Pvt. Ltd Vishwakarma feels that competition has increased in the branded segment in the past few years. According to him, this segment will play a key role in future. "But cheaper pens, manufactured by small companies, will continue to hold 50 percent of the market share. This is so since half the population of the country is illiterate and they will be using pens once they learn to write". Besides, rural and town population still constitute the demand for cheaper pens. "Once can start making pens in one room with Rs. 25,000 in hand though for setting up a big unit at least Rs. 1 crore is required even if one is just assembling", adds Vishwakarma. "The unorganized sector can earn in this line but only through its labour. Margins are not very great but if one manufactures in large quantities and makes all the parts by himself, profit can be huge," says J.C. Mehta, proprietor, Bharat Refills who started

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen his business in 1988 with around Rs. 50,000 and now has turnover which hovers around Rs. 30-40 lakh. Mehta was into refill making earlier but with the demand for refills falling, he switched over to assembling pens and trading. "With companies like Reynolds coming out with their brand of refill along with pens, the market for refills shrunk. But we still make certain types of refills. We are also exporting pens indirectly". Mehta too is confident that despite the forces of marketing and advertising which work for the high price segment, the demand for cheap pens will increase because the literacy rate will rise.

Sales
Today's Writing Products Ltd, one of the fastest growing pen manufacturing companies, has signed Hollywood star Selman Khan for promoting its diverse product range. Rajesh Drolia, chairman and managing director, said the group's turnover for the year 1997-98 was over Rs. 60 crore of which 15 percent accounted towards exports. The company is planning to cross the Rs. 100 crore mark by the end of the millennium as a result of recent technical collaborations with Mon-Ami Korea for speedwriting pens and Aubex Japan for fine liner pens. Stic has introduced its new range of Hi Fi and Retra ballpens under the Stic Star Quest and Crazee about Cricket series. The pens have photographs of famous film stars and cricketers imprinted on them. The range has been launched under license from First Serve Entertainment India, a Vijay Amritraj company in Chennai and US-based company Upper Deck LLC. Ideal as low-cost gifts and birthday presents, the set consists of one hi-fi and one extra ball pen and is priced at Rs. 20.

Pierre Cardin launches Studio pens:

Pierre Cardin has launched its Studio range of pens in India under its tie-up with Flair pens. The refillable pen carries the Pierre Cardin signature and has a non-drying refill. It is available in six colours and is priced at Rs. 25.

Schefields ties up with Kotobuki, plan JV

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen Kotobuki & Co. Ltd. of Japan has tied up with Calcutta-based pen-makers Schefields Ltd to sell its Penac brand of pens and mechanical pencils in India. Kotobuki sells around 150 million pens worldwide every year and supplies to most major pen companies. Schefields is also planning to start a manufacturing joint venture with Kotobuki, after the product gets established in the Indian market, according to Schefields director Deepak Khemka. Kotobuki is also an original equipment manufacturer for most of the world's to pen companies like Parker, Pilot, Reynolds, AT Cross, Staedtler, Waterman, Faber Castell etc. It is also credited with developing the technology for mechanical pencils.

Customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is defined as the individuals perception of the performance of the product on service in relation to his on her expectations. Customer satisfaction is the ultimate goal: There is no higher achievement than to satisfy the customer whom an organization has committed itself to serving. This doesnt mean that the organization become a not for profit industry. Profits and revenues are nothing more than the outcomes of fulfilling customers needs and expectations. Customer satisfaction to an investment: Customer satisfaction process doesnt often produce results in the very short term. Rather the pay off are usually realized in the medium or long term. Everyone must be involved in customer satisfaction: All personnel have the capability, at some level, to influence customer satisfaction. Top management must communicate exactly how personnel will be expected to contribute because this is possible the more those employees industrial their sales in creating customers satisfaction, the better they will be able to participate.

Strategies to keep in touch

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen Mailers : To go beyond the shop "Attitudes" customer relationship system would include sending regular mailers updating consumers about the latest range, schemes etc. This would essentially be through emails. Cards : Standardized cards for birthdays and anniversaries would be given out to the customers to be a point of the happy times of its customers. Product catalogues would be sent as attachment giving out product details, range availability, price quotations etc.

Building Customer Relationships

As with the development of quality store brands, the development of strong direct customer relationships requires the retailer to have a long-term investment mentality. Investment can take several forms, some more obvious and apparent than others. A fairly transparent investment is the cost of rewarding loyal customers. Loyalty incentives not only reward and promote customer loyalty, they also encourage customers to participate in developing the customer information base and the two-way communication process. Loyalty incentives can show up in direct cost, such as cumulative points on a store cad with trade-in value, or special discounts and promotions. They can also show up in the indirect cost of special services offered at no extra charge or at subsidized prices, such as pre-picking or home delivery.

Strategies to reward the loyal customers

Sale Days: Almost all retail outlets undertake promotional activities especially that of putting store items on sale. During these times "Attitude" would reward customers by limiting the first day of sale only for select customer set - to provide them the first choice and the widest range. This can be done by informing the loyal set of customers through pamphlets etc. thereby making him feel important and hence strengthening the bond. Bonus : For those customers who have shopped 10 pairs of garments through the year would get the eleventh at 1/10th price (on the presentation of memos). And it will be a year round scheme to promote and build customer relations and this scheme would be printed at the end of every bill.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen Preference to our customers : Most ticket of shows/programmes for the youth are distributed through retail outlets e.g. Ricky Martin show, Daler Mehandi Show etc. At all such occasions where "Attitude" was to hold the distribution of these tickets personal calls informing our customers about the availability and in some cases tickets also book the tickets for them. Thereby building customer relations and rewarding loyal customers. Lucky draws : The end of every 3 months there would be a lucky draw where in off all the customer cards one would be picked for a free gift thereby bringing back even the customer who did not intend coming back. No "Customer" goes with just the product : A range of Parker Pens would be at the shop and a pen 10% of the bill value would be given along with the product and since its a premium outlet no outfit would be less than 500 (this activity would be sustained by shooting up the price by 10% and availing benefits of economies of scale).

LIFETIME CUSTOMER VALUE

Retail transactions are often individually of small value, consumers may give little evidence of retail brand loyalty in their search for best prices, and retailers themselves are often very focused on short-term sales performance. This combination tends to make retailers transaction-focused, and makes them lose sight of the potential lifetime value of customer loyalty. Value is driven by a combination of annual spend per spending consumer or household, the life-cycle of that spend, and the share of customer spend that a retailer might hope to achieve. Recognizing the lifetime value of customer relationships can help retailers determine how much and where to invest in building direct customer relationships - although there is no automatic formula for deciding how much of that lifetime value to invest in capturing and keeping a customer. Fashion repertoires retailers do not expect to capture high proportion of even a loyal customer's total annual fashion spend.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen So at "Attitude", in order to add to the lifestyle customer value various benefits are given to the customers. Customization: "attitude" aims to add customer value by offering 100% customized products to the customers. This would be one way of ensuring that a onetime customer comes a life long customer. Personalization : The moments of truth when the sales staff interact with the prospective customers entering "Attitude" are very crucial in determining the way in which the latter' reacts. At "Attitude" sales personnel would give personal attention to each customer however at the same it would be ensured that he does not feel honoured. Moreover a conscious effort would be made to remember names of require customer to make them feel important. Trained Staff : To ensure that the customers delivered what they want and in the way they want "Attitude" would hire and regularly train its staff. The staff would be equipped to handle all possible queries of the customers. Feedback loop for "Attitude" Transfer of database information Customer Store "Attitude" Customer relationship cell

Upgradation of database regular team

Feedback specific problem handling special schemes

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

ORGANIZATION CHART-PARKER

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

PARKER PRODUCTS

Parker Vector Standard

Parker Jotter Stainless Steel Roller Ball Pen

Parker Sonnet Fountain Pen

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

Parker Vector Stainless Steel Set (Roller Ball + Ball Pen)

PROBLEMS OF THE ORGANIZATION

Luxor is a major player in the market with a market share of around 15%. Parker is a brand that is well established in this market. Parker is manufactured and marketed in India by Luxor Writing Instruments Ltd (LWIL). Parker was launched in India in 1996. Luxor had a joint venture with Gillette which owned the brand at that time. In 2000 Gillette sold the brands to $9 Billion major Newel Rubbermaid. That included the 50:50 joint venture with Luxor. Later the Jains bought the entire stake in the joint venture. Now LWIL have the 100 right to manufacture and market Parker Pens in India. The writings instruments market can be classified into premium, middle and economy segment. There are many established players in this market like Cello, Add Gel, Todays, Lamy, cross etc. While the premium segment is dominated by super expensive brands like Mont Blanc, Cartier etc, the economy segment is dominated by local players. All the action is in the middle segment which consists of College students, Executives Businessmen etc. Parker pens have a rich heritage. The treaty of peace ending the 1898 SpanishAmerican Civil war was inked using Parker pen. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle drafted the stories of Sherlock Holmes using Parker pen. The list contains the Who is Who of American History. Parker was considered to be a premium brand in India (before Mont Blanc and Co's landed with Rs l lakh and above pens). The brand had an aspirational value attached to it. Then LWIL decided to shed the premium image to play the volume game. Earlier Parker was priced above Rs 100. Research found that the price put off a large segment of the market. The market was dominated by Reynolds (again a Rubbermaid brand) marketed by GM Pens. The TG for this segment was the school/ college kids

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen and this segment was growing. Reynolds is leading with a market share of 12% and Luxor umbrella brands are next with 10% market share followed by players like Cello and Todays. Parker then launched Parker Beta for Rs 50 aiming this segment and plays the volume game. Parker is endorsed by none other than Big B. Some ads are lousy and some very good. I like the ones with the baseline Why use a pen that's not a Parker. Since the lower segments of the pen market lacks brand loyalty, Big B can make a difference. LWIL by using Big B aims to connect and identify with young and old alike. Parker was a brand that had the elegant premium touch to it with its rich tradition and quality. But with the launch of lower priced Parker range, the premium and the exclusivity have been compromised. Now the Parker range is available from Rs 505000. Big B to certain extent salvages the pride of Parker. But when the brand tries to play the volume game, it is difficult to sustain the premium. Thus Parker is losing out the Executive segment where pens are used as Accessory. Its a void that is waiting for a brand.

COMPETITION INFORMATION
CELLO PENS The makers of Cello pens, are a part of Rs. 800 crore (US$ 182mn.) Cello Group. Lauded as one of the world's best and India's largest pen manufacturer's and well known for its dynamism and spirit of innovation. Cello ceaselessly endeavours to bring in the newest and the best of technology to set new benchmarks in quality and innovates constantly to blaze new trails in the market place. At Cello, innovation is not just a guiding philosophy; it is a key business process, dynamism and a defining attitude. Today Cello offers one of the largest range of pens offered by any manufacturer in the world, all conforming to the highest global standards. The result of a well-equipped assembly line with over 175 ultra-sophisticated injection moulding machines and a highly trained and dedicated work force of 5000. Cello's extensive global R & D, cutting-edge manufacturing technology, production, processes, globally sourced material and exhaustive quality standards are among the best in the world. It's what makes Cello Group strong business conglomerate. It's what makes Cello a Cello.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen Cello has India's largest range of smart looking, high-performance gel ink and ballpoint pens in different ink colours and at a variety of price points. Be it a school kid, a college student, a young professional or a senior executive, there is a Cello for everyone. Starting from Cello Alpha Gel, Maxriter and Gripper pens for pressure-free writing that are a hit with school kid to the cool looking Cello Finegrip, Pinpoint and Technotip XS that the college going crowd vouches for. From the ever-dependable Cello Finer, Pointe and the stylish Cello Powermax that has become the working professionals' most preferred to the Cello Sapphire, Papersoft and Executive pens with a certain understand luxury that have become a common sight on the desks of senior executives. There's also Cello's new range of Highlighters and markers that have carved out an enviable name for themselves in a very short time. Cello Pens are backed by well-thought out marketing and advertising campaigns based on strategically sound positioning that have driven the name Cello to the tip of every tongue. Today, Cello enjoys very high top-of-mind consumer recall and a prime spot of consumer mind space. This, coupled with Cello's aggressive below-the-line promotional initiatives, makes sure Cello stays the most asked for pen in India.
LINC PEN & PLASTICS LIMITED :

Linc Pen & Plastics Limited. (LPPL) has

exclusive rights of distribution,

marketing and packaging of Uniball brand in India. LPPL has been associated with Mitsubishi Pencil Co Ltd for more than 15 years. Linc Pen & Plastics Limited is a leading manufacturer, marketer and exporter of writing instruments and stationery products. The companys headquarter is in Kolkata, with two state of the art manufacturing facilities located in West Bengal and one in Goa. All the manufacturing facilities of the company are ISO 9001:2000 certified. LPPL is the second largest player in the country with a 10% market share. However, in the eastern region and UP, it is the undisputed market leader with a 30% share of the market. The company has already registered its brand in more than 50 countries worldwide, while it sells its products in 20 countries. With the Indian manufacturers and exporters slated to increase their market share in the global export market, the company is well on its way to be within the top three exporters of the industry. LPPL is the only company in the industry to have top line growth, and at the same time, making profits since 1998. We expect the company to maintain this trend in

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen future. The company has roped in Shah Rukh Khan as the brand ambassador since September 2010. However, the effect of that has started to show from Q1FY10, when the company has managed to clock around 20% growth in top line. We expect the mindshare of the company to go up in future, helping it to garner a slice of the expanding market share. The company is also a supplier of pens to global retail giants like Wal-Mart, Asda and Tesco for their private labels. The company has one of the largest product breadths in the industry, with products catering to both mass segment (below Rs 20) and high value segment (above Rs 20). LPPL has products catering to both the value conscious as well as the quality conscious. LAMY PENS Lamy is an independent family-owned enterprise which was established in 1930 by C. Josef Lamy in Heidelberg. The LAMY brand has existed since 1952 and proved its innovative prowess in the very first year with the completely novel LAMY 27 fountain pen series. And in 1966 the distinctive style of Lamy Design was born with the LAMY 2000. With an annual production of over 6 million writing instruments and a turnover exceeding 50 million Lamy today is not only the market leader in Germany but also ranks among the German design brands whose products hold a special position worldwide.

LAMY safari

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

SHEAFFER
The year: 1912. The place: Fort Madison, Iowa. Walter A. Sheaffer takes his grand idea of a pen-filling apparatus that utilizes a lever system and, with his life savings, founds the W.A. Sheaffer Company. The physical space of the company is a modest one - the backroom of Mr. Shaffers jeweler store - but the vision of the company is much more than modest. Nearly a century later, we continue to offer generation after generation innovative, reliable and stylish writing instruments. These pens are used worldwide by loyal and diverse friends who appreciate elegance and class. We look back to the nostalgic past, to simpler times when a look in the eye and a hand shake was the norm. We look to the abundant future, by redefining the fashion of written communication in our technological world. You have a signature. And Shaffer gives you the power to show the world what it is.

Shaffer Pens are a delightful mix of craftsmanship and excellence in quality. Available in Fountain Pen, Roller Pen and Ball Pen, they are the written word for everything you look for in a pen. Immaculate design, thoughtful features and effortless writing make Shaffer, a much sought-after brand in pens. The range of pens in this collection can be personalized with your name. Sheaffer pens come in a premium gift box.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

PRODUCTS
Writing Instruments

Sheaffer Prelude Collection Welcome to the quality writing instrument.

Sheaffer Intensity Passion and Power Personified

Sheaffer Agio Collection The difference is in the details.

38

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

SWOT ANALYSIS
SWOT ANALYSIS OF LUXOR BASED ON THE RESEARCH CONDUCTED STRENGTH
Great brand image Excellent customer satisfaction especially among corporate professionals Diverse product range Mass appeal and popularity Caters to each market segment-children, professionals, students. Well expanded retail network-both small and big outlets have Luxor pens Strong hold among the corporate professionals

WEAKNESS
Lack of new designs and innovations(based on customer response) Difficulty in procuring refills and ink bottles for Parker. Danger of losing brand appeal. Opportunities Building a Brand image about Luxor in a new manner Writing Instruments Market is expanding as many foreign companies are coming in this. By continually introducing new products, expanding the target base, Parker can reposition itself

Threats Stiff competition from Lamy, Cross & cello pens Unawareness among consumers regarding Luxors complete and exhaustive range of products. Less promotions, advertising by Luxor

39

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

Chapter-5 Data Analysis

40

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

DATA ANALYSIS
For the research, data was collected from both primary and secondary sources

through questionnaires formed for the purpose. The questionnaires were filled by 50 customers and 50 retailers.

PRIMARY DATA
Questionnaires Personal interview

SECONDARY DATA
Various internet sites Internal data provided by the company

ANALYSIS TOOLS
Graphs Pie charts

41

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

1. AWARENESS OF BRANDS

Chart Showing Awareness of Brands

5% 12%

3%

25%

10% 10% 15% Parker Reynolds Cello Montex Uniball/Cross Lamy Pierre Cardin Other 20%

INTERPRETATION
The above pie chart shows the distribution of awareness of different brands of pen. The top 3 brands of pen in this case were: Parker, Cello, Uniball / Cross.

42

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

2.

WEIGHTAGE OF DIFFERENT ATTRIBUTES OF PARKER PEN Writing performance-----------------------------10 Design/style---------------------------------------42 Brand name----------------------------------------38 Reasonable Price----------------------------------10

Chart Showing the distribution of weightage of different attributes of Parker Pens

10

10

42 38

Writing performance

Design/Style

Brane Name

Reasonable Price

INTERPRETATION
The above pie chart shows the distribution of weight age of different attributes of Parker pens. So, the descending orders of the attributes according to the weight age: brand name, reasonable price, design & style & writing performance.

43

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen 3. OUTLETS FROM WHERE THE RESPONDENTS PURCHASE THE PARKER PEN School Stationery shop---------------------------------- College Stationery Shop-------------------------------- Stationery shop------------------------------------------- Stationery & gift shops at malls------------------------2 3 62 33

Chart showing the distribution of outlets from where the respondents purchase the parker pens 70 60 50 40 School Stationery shop 30 College Stationery Shop 20 10 0 Outlets
School Stationery shop College Stationery Shop Stationery shop stationery & gift shop at malls 2 3 62 33

No of Respondents

Stationery shop stationery & gift shop at malls

INTERPRETATION
The above pie chart shows the distribution of outlets from where the respondents purchase the Parker pens. About 62 respondents buy the Parker pen

44

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen from the stationery shop while other 33 respondents got the Parker pen from shops, malls, school and college stationery shop. 4. PREFERRED BRAND IT TERMS OF QUALITY

PREFERRED BRAND IN TERMS OF QUALITY

10%

7%

27%

23% 33%

Parker Cello Uniball Pieree cardin cross

INTERPRETATION
The above pie chart shows the distribution of preferred brand in terms of quality. Descending order of preferences Cello, Parker, Uniball, and Pierre Cardin etc.

45

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

5.

LUXOR PEN OWNER (PARKER)

Chart Showing the distribution of parker pen owners

60 50

no of respondents

40 30 20 10 0

yes yes
INTERPRETATION

No 40

60

The above graph shows the distribution of Luxor (Parker) Pen owners. It can be clearly seen from the graph that about 60 respondents are Luxor (Parker) pen users.

46

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

6. USAGE OF DIFFERENT SUB BRANDS OF PARKER PEN

50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Parker jotter Parker reflex parker vector parker beta 11 2 38 49 Parker jotter Parker reflex parker vector parker beta

INTERPRETATION
The above figure shows the distribution of the ownership pattern of sub brands of Parker pens. It is clear from the figure that Parker Vector and Parker Beta has got the maximum amount of acceptance from the respondents.

47

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen 7. ACQUISITION MODE OF THE RESPONDENTS Self purchase------------------------------------ Gift-----------------------------------------------69 31

Chart shwoing the distribution the acquisition mode of the respondents

70 60

No of Respondents

50 40 30 20 10 0 Acquisition mode Self purchase Gift

Self purchase Gift

32 68

INTERPRETATION
The above graph shows the distribution of the acquisition mode of the respondents. 32 respondents acquired the Parker pen through self purchase, 68 respondents acquired for the purpose of gifting.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

8.

RESPONDENTS WHO HAVE SEEN PARKER ADVERTISEMENT Yes--------------------------------- No----------------------------------80 20

Chart showing the distribution of the respondents who have seen Parker and Waterman Advertisement

80 70 60
No. of Respondent

50 40 Yes 30 20 10 0 Response No

Yes No

80 20

INTERPRETATION
The above graph shows the distribution of the respondents which have seen the Parker advertisements. Nearly 80 respondents have seen Parker Advertisement and 20 respondents have not seen Parker.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

9.

MEDIUM IN WHICH RESPONDENT SAW ADVERTISEMENT

Chart showing the distribution of medium in which the respondents saw the Parker Advertisement 60 50 Television
No. of Respondent

40 30 20 10 0 Response in shop (posters/banners/glow signs Newspaper magazine

Television in shop (posters/banners /glow signs Newspaper magazine

53 25

12 10

INTERPRETATION
The above pie chart shows the distribution of weightage of medium in which the respondents saw the Parker advertisement. The descending order of weightage was as follow television, shop (posters/banners/glow sign)

newspaper, magazines.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

10. RESPONSE OF RESPONDENT TOWARDS STATEMENT

5 18

5 40

29

makes high quality pen attractive appearance

gift which can be appreciated best writing performance

well established reputation good value for money

INTERPRETATION
The above pie chart shows the distribution of the view of the respondents regarding the Parker pen in terms of affirmation. The top 3 statement as per weightage given were: (a) makes high quality pen (b) gift which can be appreciated (c) well established reputation

51

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

11.

LIKELY RESPONSE OF THE RESPONDENTS TO THE NEXT BEST PREFERRED BRAND Cross ----------------------------------------------- Cello------------------------------------------------- Uniball/Pierre Cardin etc ---------------------10 25 65

Chart showing the distribution of the likely response of the respondents if they do not find a Parker and Waterman in an outlet 10

25

65

Cross

Cello

Uniball/ Pierre cardin etc

INTERPRETATION
The above pie-chart shows distribution of the likely response of the respondents to the next best preferred brand if they do not find a Parker in an outlet. 25 respondents preferred cello 65, preferred Pierre Cardin etc and the rest preferred cross.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

12.

PREFERRED WRITING MODE

PREFERRED WRITING MODE

45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0
1

INTERPRETATION
The above graph shows the distribution of Preference of writing mode the respondents. Out of the 100 respondents that were interviewed we re 43 preferred, Ball 39, preferred gel and the rest roller.

53

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

13.

GOING TO OTHER OUTLETS FOR PURCHASE OF PARKER PEN

GOING TO OTHER OUTLETS FOR PURCHASE OF PARKER PEN

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0 1 Yes No

INTERPRETATION
The above graph shows whether the respondents were willing to go to other shops if they did not find the Parker in a Pa rticular shop. 80 of them said yes.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

14.

CHART SHOWING THE DISTRIBUTION OF SEX OF THE RESPONDENTS

Chart showing the distribution of sex of the respondents

80 70 60
No. of Respondent

50 40 Male 30 20 10 0 Sex of the respondents Female

M ale Female

75 25

INTERPRETATION
The above graph shows the distribution of Sex of the respondents Preference of writing mode the respondents. Out of the 100 respondents 75 were Male and 25 Female.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

13.

AGE OF RESPONDENTS

AGE OF THE RESPONDENTS

15 35

50

Upto 18 years

23-27 years

19-22 years

INTERPRETATION
The above pie chart shows the distribution of the age of the respondents. About 50 respondents were of age between 23-27 yrs, 35 respondents were of the age between 19-22 yrs, 15 were upto the age of 18 years.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

14.

OCCUPATION OF THE RESPONDENTS

OCCUPATION OF THE RESPONDENTS

15% 36%

49%

Students School + College Coporate Professional (and Businessmen) others Teachers etc

INTERPRETATION
The above pie chart shows the distribution of the occupation of the respondents. About 49 respondents were corporate professionals and in business, 15 respondents were students and the rest having other professions.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

Chapter - 6 Conclusions

58

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

CONCLUSIONS
The following are the conclusions that can be drawn from the survey that was carried out: It can be concluded from the survey that the maximum respondents use on the average one to three pens in the past two months. It clearly indicates the frequency of pen purchase by the respondents. So, it should be kept in mind that the frequency of pen purchase while deciding upon the volume of pens that is to be produced by the company. It can be concluded from the survey that the maximum respondents had opted for ball point pen and gel pen. So, it is important for the company to focus on these two segments to further reinforce its position in the writing instruments industry. However, if we go by the statistical figures, Luxor Writing Instruments Limited is losing ground in the industry mainly because it is not producing gel pens. So, the company should concentrate on the gel segment also. It can also be concluded that the majority of the usage pattern is tested towards ball point pen and gel pens. The majority of the respondents use the above two modes of pen very often. These two segments of pen provides ample amount of opportunity for the company to tap. By studying the attitude pattern of the respondents, one can conclude that the maximum number of respondents prefer to have roller ball, ball point and gel pen. In other words, the respondents seem to have a favourable attitude towards roller ball, ball point and gel pen. The company should try and cash on with the closeness of the mind of the respondents with the likes of ball point pens, gel pens and roller ball pen. It can be concluded that the most important factors that play in the mind of the respondents are : writing performance, flow and comfort. So, the company should try and bring about constant improvement in the quality of the pen to suit the needs of the consumers. The flow of pen is equally important. So, the company should see to it that there is no leakage in the refill as such. Also, the grip of the pen is paramount importance to the consumers. So, in that aspect, effort should be made to make the grip more comfortable.

59

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen It can be concluded that the majority of the respondents prefer fine tip. So, in that respect, the company should see to it that the different varieties of pen that they manufacturer should have a fine tip. It can be concluded that the majority of the respondents prefer to buy a particular brand of pen in the pen shop. So, the company should see to it that point of sale promotion should be given a lot of stress. In shop posters, danglers, glow signs should be put. So, that it leaves a profound impact on the mind of the consumers. It can be concluded that the majority of the respondents prefer to buy their pen from the stationery shop. Though of late, the company trying to push its product through the FMCG route but as it is evident from the survey, it is still to catch on. It can be concluded that the main competitors of Parker as far as aided as well as unaided recall is concerned, is Reynolds, Add Gel, Cello. The companies take note of these competitors and devise various strategies and when these competitors come out with new variation of their pen. It can be concluded that most of the respondents acquired the Parker through self purchase and gifts. When the school students as well as the college student were surveyed, it was quite evident that Parker pen was perceived to be a costly pen, good for only giving it as a gift. So, the company should tap this segment the most as it has a lot of potential. Majority of the respondents seems to have a favourable attitude towards Parker pen. So, the company should take steps in the regard to further reinforce its position in the mind of the consumers. This can be done effectively by the means of the advertisement. It can be concluded that the majority of the respondents buy Parker pen because its brand name, flow and the writing performance. However, it scores a negative point on factors such premium, price, design/style and lightweight. These factors may prove to be a hindrance in boosting the sale of the Parker pen and so, it should be given due consideration. The respondents were given a hypothetical question wherein, they had to conceptualize a picture of ideal pen in their mind and exactly how would they go about buying that ideal pen. It was concluded that the respondents give maximum amount of weightage to the writing performance, flow, brand name.

60

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen It can be concluded that the awareness of Parker advertisement is fairly good. Nearly, 98 percent of the Parker pen users have seen Parker advertisement. So, in that perspective the advertisement of the Parker pen has been quite effective. Parker pen has been largely been acquired from stationery shop. So, as discussed earlier, the company should give more focus on point of sale advertisement. Parker pen advertisement has been successful in television, newspaper particularly. The company should go for more insertion in these medium to gain the maximum amount of mileage vis--vis its competitors. There is an overwhelming amount of awareness amongst the Parker pen users that Amitabh Bachchan is then brand ambassador. The respondents are able to easily co-relate Parker pen especially Parker Beta with Amitabh Bachchan. Majority of the respondents are aware of the fact that Parker Pen starts at Rs. 50. There are still certain sections of peoples such as school students as well as college student that the Parker pens are expensive, suitable only for giving gifts. Majority of the respondents were of the view that they would go to another shop to buy a Parker pen if they do not get it in an outlet. This just goes to show that the majority of the respondents who were interviewed were brand loyal. Parker pens main strengths are: "Makes high quality pen" "Gift which can be appreciated" "Well established reputation" "is well made" "pen that makes impression on others" Its weaknesses are "Inexpensive pen" " I like to flaunt it"

61

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen " I am an achiever in life" "specialist in fountain pen" "Stylish design"

The performance gap which exists between the Parker pen and the ideal pen shows the areas on which improvement should be made to make the pen more competitive in the market. The following are the areas where the company should sustain its efforts i.e. Brand name Premium Comfort Reliability Flow

The following are the areas where the company should strive to make the improvement. These areas are: Design/style Price Lightweight Writing performance

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

LIMITATIONS
The sample size is moderate enough though it could have been bigger The responses from the sample consumers were obtained through questionnaire, which has its own limitations. All these limitations are also applicable to this study. There is considerable time gap between the purchase of Refrigerator and the study conducted; rapidly changing marketing environment has affected the responses of the sample of Refrigerator owners. The area chosen for survey may not reflect the demographic makeup of national average and national tests, which is a limitation of the study. Between the sender and the receiver, due to differing perceptions, communication errors in the form of miscomprehension, selective perceptions etc. creep in. In this case too, these were unavoidable, and thus might have added to slight inaccuracy in my results. I had to work under a time constraint for which I would not gather more information. All places could not be covered especially the remote areas even within the NCR territory. Hence the opinion of many people was left untapped.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

Chapter-7 Recommandations

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

RECOMMENDATIONS
1. One of the respondents was of the view that Indian Parker is not well made. Golden Parker is not available in India. 2. The outer finishing of the Parker pen is not good enough. Adequate changes should be made in this regard. 3. Quite a few of the respondents who were surveyed were of the view that pen breaks easily near the grip part. So, the grip portion of the Parker pen should be made very strong. 4. Parker pen seems to be very heavy. So, effort should be made to make it a lightweight pen. 5. There is a general perception in the mind of the respondents that Parker pens are a bit costly. So, the company should give its pricing strategy a second thought. 6. It has also seen that mostly the respondents buy Parker pen for gifting purpose rather than for personal use. This phenomenon should be kept in mind by the company. 7. While visiting some of the stationery shop, it was observed that the distributor margin for the Parker pen in most of the cases were very low. So, the shopkeeper thinks twice before keeping Parker pens. 8. It was also observed that the cap of Parker pen becomes very loose. So, in this regard, the cap of the pen should be made for tight. 9. It was also observed that while visiting different stationery shops, there was lack of posters, danglers, etc. in various shops that were visited. For instance, when Archie's Gallery in Alaknanda market was visited, the owner could not put poster, danglers of Parker pens because they were not authorized to promote other company's product. So, the company should take note of this and take appropriate action. 10. It was also observed that in certain instances, the gift that was associated with the particular sub-brand of Parker was not received by the retailer. The company should take a serious note of this incident and must take an appropriate action.

65

Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen 11. It was also observed that the retailers did not get their amount reimbursed when the price of the Parker pens were slashed. Instead of getting the reimbursement, they got other products, say, cartridges in lieu of reimbursement. This seriously hampers the goodwill of the retailer and so, the company should take a serious note of this incident. 12. The company should ensure better production logistics using backward integration into raw materials and packaging to cut down production cost. 13. The company should go for the optimal product mix to bring about maximum gain or profit. They should also milch certain sub-brands of Parker which is not doing well in the Indian Market. 14. The company handles basically four brands of pen namely, Parker, Luxor, Pilot and Papermate. All of these brands of pen should be treated as a separate Strategic Business Unit (SBUs). It will be beneficial for the company in the sense that these SBUs will have its own set of competitors and each SBU will have a manager who is responsible for strategic planning and profit performance and who controls most of the factors affecting profit. 15. The company should analyze each opportunity and prepare the best product and should then, commit itself for the long run to make a product a success. 16. The company should always be an active innovator and should be constantly innovating to bring about new changes in the product specifically with relation to Parker pens to suit the changing needs and wants of the customer. 17. The company should go for high quality, action oriented as well as national promotion to further reinforce its position as market leader in the writing instrument industry. 18. The company should try to cater to the niche segment which comprises of the affluent segment of the Indian population because they are the one who will buy the costly Parker pens. It is also quite evident that Parker pen is not doing that well in the upper segment of the product range. A major chunk of the revenue is coming from the lower segment of its product range. Targeting the affluent segment of the Indian society might just do the trick for the Parker pens in the upper segment.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

Bibliography

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books
Marketing Research - Naresh Malhotra, 4 th edition. Marketing Management - Philip Kotler, 12 th edition. Advertising Management - David Aaker, John G. Myers, and Rajeev Batra. Brand Management - Subroto Sengupta

Websites
www.indiainfoline.com www.expressindia.com www.aceglobalonline.com www.economictimes.com

Magazines and journals

Writing instruments - a Potential for Export (by G.P. Gandhi). Writing instrument - Excerpts from Business World Magazine.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

Annexure

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

ANNEXURE
QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Do you use a pen? Yes No

2. How many pens you have used in the past two months? Below 1 4-6 1-3 above 7

3. Which mode of pen do you use and why and what is your usage pattern? Mode (a) Fountain Pen Usage Pattern (i) Never tried Why (Reason) ____________________

(ii) Ever tried (iii) Past 4 weeks (iv) Past 12 months (v) Used most often (b) Roller Ball Pen (i) Never tried _____________________

(ii) Ever tried (iii) Past 4 weeks (iv) Past 12 months (v) Used most often (c) Ball Point Pen (i) Never tried (ii) Ever tried (iii) Past 4 weeks (iv) Past 12 months _____________________

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen (v) Used most often (d) Gel (i) Never tried (ii) Ever tried (iii) Past 4 weeks (iv) Past 12 months (v) Used most often 4. What do you think about the particular mode of pen that you use? _____________________

(a) Fountain Pen

Insist No Opinion

Prefer Unaware

Intend Reject

(b) Roller pen

Insist No Opinion

Prefer Unaware

Intend Reject

(c) Ball Point Pen

Insist No Opinion

Prefer Unaware

Intend Reject

(d) Gel Pen

Insist No Opinion

Prefer Unaware

Intend Reject

5. What factors do you keep in mind when you buy a pen? Please give the raking on a scale starting 1 which is of highest importance and 10 is of lowest importance.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen Factors Writing Performance Design/Style Brand Name Reliability Comfort Place Flow Light Weight Fine Tip Premium Any other (please specify Ranking ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ___________________________

6. What is your preference for the pen tip? Broad Medium (0.7mm)

Fine (0.5mm) Extra/micro fine 7. When do you decide the brand of pen you want to purchase? In the pen shop It is pre-decided

8. From which kind of outlet did you buy your last pen? School stationery shop Stationery shop College stationery shop Kiranawala store

9. Which is the first brand of pen that comes to your mind? _____________________________________________ 10. Which other brand of pens are you aware of?

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen _____________________________________________ 11. Which all brands of pen you are aware of? Parker Camlin Reynolds Waterman Papermate Luxor Mitsubishi Rotomac Pilot Reynolds Cello Hero Add Montex Any other__

12. Do you own a Parker? Yes No

13. Which particular sub-brand of Parker do you own? Parker Sonnet Parker Frontier Parker Rialto Parker Beta

Any other specify________________ 14. How did you acquire the Parker pen? Self purchase Borrowed Gift Promotion

15. If option 1, then did you last buy your Parker Pen? _______________________________________________ 16. From where did you buy a Parker Pen? School stationery shop Stationery shop College stationery shop Kiranawala store Others

17. What is your attitude towards 'Parker'? Insist Prefer Intend

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen No opinion Unaware Reject

18. How do you rate a Parker Pen on various factors that is given below? Please give ranking on a scale of (1-10) wherein, 10 is the highest and 1 is the lowest. Factors Writing Performance Design/Style Brand Name Reliability Comfort Place Flow Light Weight Fine Tip Premium Any other (please specify Ranking ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ___________________________

19. In your ideal pen, what all factors do you keep in yo ur mind? Please give their ranking on a scale of (1-10) wherein, 10 is the highest and 1 is the lowest. Factors Writing Performance Design/Style Brand Name Reliability Comfort Ranking ______ ______ ______ ______ ______

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen Place Flow Light Weight Fine Tip Premium Any other (please specify ______ ______ ______ ______ ______ ___________________________

20. Have you seen any advertisement of Parker? Yes No

21. If yes, then on which medium have you seen/heard the advertisement of Parker Pen? Television Radio Newspaper Magazine

In shop (posters/ banners/glow signs etc. 22. Who stars in Parker Pen advertisement? Amitabh Bachchan Aamir Khan Shahrukh Khan Hrithik Roshan

23. At what price is a Parker available? Rs. 25 Rs. 75 Rs. 50 Rs. 100

Above Rs. 100 24. Give your preferences in terms of agree or disagree to the following statement concerning the 'Parker Pen'.

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

Statement Makes high quality pen Gift which can be appreciated Well established reputation Pen that makes impression on others Attractive appearance Is well made Good craftsmanship Stylish design Makes technologically advanced pen Specialist in fountain pen Best writing performance Good value for money Wide variety of pen Pens with new idea I am an achiever in life I am noticed by my friends I like to flaunt it Inexpensive pens

Agree

Disagree

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Consumer Usage and Attitude Towards Parker Pen

25. If you do not get a Parker pen in an outlet do you Go to another shop Buy any other brand _______________ (specify which one) Request the shopkeeper to get it -------------------------Name of the Respondent: Sex: Age Below 14 years 19-22 years Above 27 years Occupation: School student Private Company Employee Consultant Others (Specify) ______________ College student Professional Teacher 14-18 years 23-27 years Male Female

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