Impact of Culture on Strategies of 3 International Brands

To

Prof Naval K Bhargava

Compiled By:

Ashima Verma Isha Dhaila Kumari Divya Prerna Maheshwari Priyanka Mohanty Sujata Ajgaonkar

Students of Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (PGPCM 2007-2009)

1.1.

LEVI STRAUSS & CO. LTD.

In identifying the influence of culture on international marketing strategies this case study focuses on Levis jeans as the international brand to be considered. Levis has been chosen due of its extensive penetration of the international jeans market. It is known as the world's largest manufacturer of blue denim jeans. The corporation is organized into three geographic divisions Levi Strauss, North Americas (LSNA), based in the San Francisco headquarters; Levi Strauss Europe (LSE), based in Brussels; and Asia Pacific Division (APD), based in Singapore. The company employs a staff of approximately 10,500 people globally. Levi's, the main brand, was founded in 1873 in San Francisco, specializing in riveted denim jeans and different lines of casual and street fashion The Levi Strauss Company is a global marketer and producer of apparel. With respect to its global marketing effort, the company pursues two chief objectives. One is to establish a base market share in each national or regional market for the company's existing products, so that this can serve as a launch pad for product diversification in each of the various markets in the future. The second is to develop self-sufficiency in each of its markets so as to minimize problems related to long supply lines and import/export factors. Levi Strauss markets its products in 70 different countries and produces its products in 25 separate countries. Thus, diversity is a major characteristic of both the company's target markets and its production and distribution environments. The standardizing influences in the world-wide jeans market include economic and demographic variables such as purchasing power, age and gender. Such variables allow for an undifferentiated approach to marketing the jeans product category. However, other factors such as culture, religion, geographic and climatic conditions are influences that demand an adjustment in the target market, image and positioning of the product. Implications of Cultural differences Apart from the effect on the design of advertisements, cultural differences have a linguistic connotation with regard to the product name. The brand name of a product is a key element of
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its promotion but care has to be exercised to avoid causing offence in translation or using symbols that do not have the same significance worldwide. Moreover, culture can also affect the suitability of the product in particular local markets. Countries have varying tastes and fashions and this may create the need for adaptation. For instance, in Islamic countries females are discouraged from wearing tight fitting attire. On the other hand, Japanese consumers prefer tighter fitting jeans than their American counterparts. It is therefore evident that fit, design and style of jeans need to be adapted to meet the mindset and not just the physical characteristics of the local buyers. The appropriate colours to use both in the product and the promotional materials also have cultural dimensions. For example, the purple colour is the colour of mourning in Thailand but in the West it is associated with royalty. Distribution may also be affected by cultural norms. When Levis was setting up its own direct sales force in Japan, it found that the debt collection period was a six month period in there compared with a one month period in the US. Adaptation to the local trading customs is essential in order to penetrate a market. Levi Strauss in India The jeans culture of the US entered India around the late 60s. Imported jeans were in great demand. The market has expanded substantially in India since the mid 1970's. With the advent of satellite TV and the ever growing strong middle class, the jeans are gradually becoming a symbol of casual life style. Even though today Levis enjoys the status of being one of the true iconic youth brands in the country, Levis fumbled in the Indian market for nearly eight years. In the mid 90s, the Indian denim market was rather unsegmented. There were several Indian brands such as Cambridge, Flying Machine, Buffalo but none of these met customers' aspiration. Besides, there was almost no variety in terms of style, and very little differentiation between men's and women's styles. But jeans were very popular in terms of aspirational value. This demand was being met largely by the unorganised sector (through multi-brand garment outlets) and smuggled foreign brands.

Other international brands like Wrangler and Pepe were already present when Levis entered the Indian market in 1995. However, it was an established global leader, and certainly the best known jeans and denim wear brand. Levi's entered with premium imagery and pricing (prices began at Rs 1,100), similar to those of Wrangler and Pepe. This was a change from its mass brand positioning in the USA.

Levi's target customer was in the 16-25 year age group who would be open to international fashion. Since they would be unable to afford premium products, the positioning may have failed to drive in sales. Moreover, the Indian consumer seeks high value for money, but Levis advertising and marketing strategies didn't explain to the customers why they had to pay a premium. Levis tried using Foreign as its equity. This is because in the mid 90s the Indian mindset was such that a foreign brand was automatically presumed to be one that was superior to a local brand. Levi's also thought that Indian consumers would fall for their iconic brand and buy it at any cost. Levis ended up skimming the market at the cost of market share and volume. Around the same time, V F Corporation launched Lee in India through a licensing agreement with Arvind Brands. Arvind already had strong brands in Flying Machine and Newport, and
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Arvinds bestselling label was Ruf & Tuf which catered to rural India. It had taken some creativity to crack the rural market, where many Indians still prefer custom-tailored clothes. Instead of fighting this mindset, Arvind came up with the "ready-to-stitch" Ruf & Tuf jeans, which were a big hit with their rural consumers. Like Levi's, Lee was also positioned as an aspirational brand. But the brand was more successful in building the 'American imagery than Levis. Lee did this by keeping the global image intact as well as adapting it to suit the Indian market. Also, Lee did not concentrate all its efforts on bottom wear. Lee's introduced its premium top wear range along with its first range of jeans, and later extended the brand into children's-wear. Pepe had also launched its casual wear and top wear ranges in 1996. Levi's, on the other hand, didn't extend into topwear until 2000. Till 1999, it had a portfolio of only 501s (a button-fly style that is its international bestseller), twills, chinos and gabardines. Levis shelves were filled only with denim. The variety seeking Indian shopper found shopping for a pair of Levis a rather dull experience. The Dockers range of khakis for men and Sykes, a more affordable sub-brand for top wear and treated jeans, were introduced in as late as 2001. Apart from the product range, Levi Strauss India Ltd. (LSIL) had a distribution strategy that also posed a problem. Instead of maintaining the brands image, LSIL's distribution strategy was sending out confusing signals. Instead of creating exclusivity for the brand, Levis ended up focusing on multi-brand outlets. It started with 30-odd Original Levi's (exclusive) stores but with an additional distribution through some 30 Weekender outlets. Customers perceived Weekender as a casual, affordable brand whereas Levi's was positioned as a super-premium offering. Upon realising that there was no positive rub-off on footfalls from the Weekender connection, Levi's started retailing through a mix of exclusive and shops-in-shop. However, in 1999, Levis extended its presence to class A and B towns as well as smaller outlets, diluting the brands as a result. On the one hand, it was exclusive; on the other hand, you could pick up a Levi's from small, mom-and-pop garment stores. Levi's found that Indian consumers are very price sensitive and the prices were rationalised. Its first affordable range (Signature) was launched in 1998 at Rs 995 a pair. This strengthened their product line and also opened up a big market for the brand.

Once the prices were made affordable, Levi's began to gain acceptance in the Indian market. LSIL also decided that they needed to connect with the Indian consumers by giving the brand an Indian charisma and appeal through Bollywood celebrities. The brand has used film celebrities like Shah Rukh, and Bipasha Basu, Sushmita Sen and Kangana Ranaut to endorse the brand. Notable are the award winning Slim Jeans ads and the provocative "dangerously low" jeans campaigns. The low waist jeans launched in 2003 is considered a milestone in this brand's lifecycle. It gave the brand a contemporary look and appealed to the new hip hop generation who was moving away from denims to khakis and other casual wear. The `Dangerously Low' campaign also helped Levis to get more women customers who now account for 30 per cent of the sales.

Fig-1. The Dangerously low campaign, 2003.

By 2004 Levis was no more a one-brand pure jeans company. Dockers fitted into a trend and proved to be a big success. Meanwhile, Levi's also expanded its portfolio and emerged as a complete casual wear collection. It went into tops, shirts, T-shirts and sweatshirts and added a line of accessories. It had four sub-brands Sykes, 501, Red Tab and Red Loop. Sykes, targeted at the youth aged between 15 and 19 years, has done well as sportswear and club wear with a good portfolio of products including reversibles and detachable cargos. The companys upward growth profile owes a lot to the young professionals becoming highly aspirational and the changing lifestyle patterns. The impact of consumerism by 'indies' (financially independent young people) has been tremendous. Shumone Chatterjee, Managing Director, LSIL, believes that the jump in sales of Levis in the recent years is largely due to the effect of disposable income coming into the hands of the 18-22 age group employed in BPO jobs. The youth market that Levis and other lifestyle brands have been chasing all these years finally has a credit card with no supervised spending limit. The important thing is that their salaries from their BPO or KPO jobs are 'pocket money' for a lot of them. Many live at home, so rent and food is taken care of. 'Live for today, hope for tomorrow, splurge tonight' is their mantra. While brands may be attractive, shopping at street markets like Colaba or Sarojini Nagar is equally cool - and a lot cheaper. The KSA Indian Consumer and Retail Outlook study found that 58% of apparel for young women and 42% for young men are unbranded. That's a huge gap for smart marketers. Levi's is one of the companies to address the affordability and has a 'street-wear' range labelled Sykes, along with the value offering, Signature. About 30% of Levis business comes from customers in the age bracket of 25-40 years. Youthfulness is a state of mind even older adults are strongly identifying with. Clubbing in India is embraced by moneyed 30 or 40-somethings; unlike in the West, where it is a teen and young-adult phenomenon. These 'middle-aged' consumers are living out their lost youth and it is reflected in their brand consumption and entertainment choices. Presently, the brand is growing at 30-35% annually. Growth is expected to increase to 50-55% over three years. LSIL has 170 Levi's, 62 Signature and 27 Dockers stores in the country. By
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the end of 2008, the number of stores will increase---to 40 Dockers, 225 Levi's and 100 Signature stores. Levis is growing fastest in the eastern region, especially in Kolkata. The increasing number of malls has helped growth. The eastern region, which has 21 stores (18 Levi's, 2 Dockers and 1 Signature), will have 100 stores by the end of 2009. Out of the 100 (32 Levi's, 8 Dockers and 60 Signature), 34-35 will be in Kolkata. Since the mid-price segment is experiencing the minimum growth and its share is being taken up by local brands (e.g. Spykar, Killer), LSIL plans to vacate the middle price segment and concentrate on the lower and the higher ends. Its Signature brand - which is the value offering will see a further fall in price and start at Rs 900 instead of Rs 1000. The premium segment will see an increase of about 15% in average pricing and increase to about Rs 2400. It is also said that LSIL will roll out its high-fashion, high-end brand Levis Rivet nationally in early 2009. The company is also planning to increase its ad spend significantly during the next few months as it sees a slowdown and counts on its advertising to perk up the sales and take an increasing share in the value jeans and premium jeans market in India. LSIL currently enjoys a 35% share in the national premium jeans market, which is estimated at Rs 1500 crore.

LSILs campaigns in India Advertising/ Promotion is one of the most culture-bound aspect of marketing mix. Differences in culture attitudes lead to enormous variations in advertising standards and expectations. Initially, Levis tried to minimise the degree to which culture prevents them from producing standardised promotional campaigns. This is because of the benefits of economies of scale and the higher quality that can be obtained for a single advertisement than for a multiplicity of local advertisements. In India, most of the early advertisements were those that were being aired across USA and Europe as well. With the exception of the 1996 clay animation advertisement, most of Levi
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Strausss global advertisements did not work well in India. Finally, around 2003, Levis came up with an Indian advertisement for the Levis low waist jeans. It was the first ever Indianized ad campaign of Levi Strauss entirely conceptualized and shot in India.

Fig-. Levis low waist jeans advertisements in USA (left) and India (right) The Indian ads featured skimpily dressed top Indian models posing for the camera. The dangerously low is very obviously associated with sexy self-confidence. In contrast, the US ad shows very little skin. It showcases the bold, daring attitude of the women who wear Levi's Lowrise Jeans. In the corresponding TVC, in order to retrieve what is rightfully hers, the Levi's heroine secretly enters a garage filled with stolen cars and makes a high speed escape. The US creative includes action, adventure and an unconventional ending to convey the daring sexiness of the protagonist. This is because in the West, it is not considered exceptionally daring to wear revealing clothes, as was the case in India around 2003. In late 2005 Levis launched a Levis Red Loop Campaign. The campaign was conceptualised by JWT, Bangalore and it used certain culture specific measures to attract attention. The models chosen were international (Caucasian) ones. What makes the campaign unique is that even though it looked like an international campaign, it was not. It was only for India (or possibly South Asia). For the first time, Levis was advertising for a local variant (Red Loop) at the local level. The underlying theme used was emulation. A large number of the Indian consumers subconsciously try to be like their western counterparts. Thus, a foreign celebrity endorsing an Indian product and foreign imagery tends to add to the perceived credibility of the offering. This emulative attitude is not present in Europe or USA.
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Fig.- The Red Loop campaign, Levis first local level advertising campaign

Next came the award winning series of ads, the Levis Slim Fit advertisements. These were well received.

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Fig-. The Levis Slim Fit campaign, 2006.

2005 onwards, Levis has also been heavily using film celebrities in their Indian advertisements.

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Fig. Shahrukh Khan endorsing Levis Red Tab, 2004

Fig-. Levis Diva collection featuring Sushmita Sen, 2007

Fig-. Levis Cling Fits campaign featuring Kangana Ranaut, 2007.

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Fig-. Deepika Padukone as brand ambassador of Levis Signature, 2008.

Levis Global Marketing Campaign Levis unleashed a global marketing campaign in July 2008 to celebrate the iconic Levi's 501 jeans. The campaign, titled 'Live Unbuttoned,' is the brand's first integrated global campaign and the biggest marketing program ever undertaken by Levis. 'Live Unbuttoned' is about the unrestrained and self-expressive attitude behind the timeless and classic straight-leg, button-fly 501 jeans. The objective is to let a new generation of jeans consumers around the world know that the original, quintessential 501 jean is contemporary and relevant to their lifestyle. The act of unbuttoning Levi's 501 jeans is employed as a metaphor of personal expression, revelation
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and breaking free from convention. Apart from TV and print, other elements of the campaign include viral videos components and outdoors. The digital content driven campaign utilizes an interesting cast of emerging pop-culture icons that contribute to the worlds cultural landscape in unique ways and represent unbuttoned way of living. Consumers are invited to unbutton each person online to receive exclusive content. The campaign also harnesses the concept of user-generated virals by allowing consumers to interact with friends and the Levi's brand online.

Fig-. Akshay Kumar roped in as the Indian icon for Levis global Live Unbuttoned campaign, 2008. Worldwide, Levis has chosen artists, musicians, skateboarders, designers, DJs, and also ordinary people like bloggers as the unbuttoned icons. The sole exception of India (and Taiwan), where Levis has chosen a film celebrity, Akshay Kumar, is because in India Bollywood stars have unparalleled appeal and are considered very aspirational. Indians look up to these superstars, especially for trends in fashion and lifestyle. Moreover, Akshay Kumar fits the image of the alpha male that Levis is trying to drive at for Levis 501 jeans in India.

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1.2.

BARBIE

History: Barbie was created in 1959 by Ruth Handler, co-founder of Mattel, who named her after her daughter Barbara. The original idea was to create a fashion doll that would, according to Mattel, 'inspire little girls to think what they wanted to be when they grew up'. She has many real life facts. For instance, her real name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. Her real birthday is March 9, 1959. That was the day she made her official appearance at the Toy Fair. She has her pilot's license. She was an instant success, with 351000 Barbie dolls sold in her first year. Barbie has had over 40 pets. They include cats, dogs, horses, a lion cub, a panda and a zebra. Mattel claims that three Barbie's are sold every second. Over one billion dolls have been sold in 150 countries Whether pan-regional or global marketing, internationally oriented companies are moving in the direction of global coordination of their market strategies, tactics, organizational structure With a 16% share of the US toy market, the company has succeeded in expanding and maintaining itself with its mature brands. Its strategy for achieving constant growth relies on its capability of managing change and constantly revitalizing and reinventing its products. By combining tested technologies and innovative design in its core product, Mattel has been able to maintain Barbie's status in the market for almost 40 years as a champion in sales. Mattel's ability to "update" Barbie to appeal to generational interests shows how societal changes affect design, and consequently shape the market. Barbie is a cultural icon and a rich source of information on how society affects design

Barbie is now much more than just a doll. She is a brand. On the heels of an estimated $800-million in worldwide revenues generated by Barbie dolls and accessories in 1991, Mattel last year launched Barbie for Girls, an "umbrella concept" designed to expand Barbie's licensing potential while focusing attention at retail.

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One of the reasons why Mattel has changed its strategy is because of its market research. In 2000, it researched in different markets and found that girls in Asia liked the original blondehaired Barbie just as much as girls did in US. Mattel pushed Barbie in to Global market by adapting fashion and culture trends to it product. Difficulties for Mattel to enter global market are culture, barriers and competitors. Mattel faced problem in the Middle East about religious and social grounds. Parents and religious leaders think Barbie is odd with their culture value and Arab girls reality is different from Barbie. In Brazil, Barbie has competition from local rival which has lower price and more realistic. However, Mattel found that they did not need a total overhaul their product to be successful, For example, Mattel launched Barbie with a painted head spot and dressed in Sari with universal Barbie in India. Moreover, Mattel fought competitors in Japan by joining forces with Bandai, Japans largest toy company. They adapted Barbie to Japanese culture and realized that Japans market prefers well known American Barbie. Finally, partnership strategies had been eliminated but still Mattel had a huge success with 31% of total revenue. In brief, Global strategies are partnerships that adapt it product to local taste, economic condition and pricing. I think that Mattel is doing Fair in Middle East and well in the Asian market. Overall, Mattel is doing well, but they will need to adapt a strategy to make more market share in the Middle East. 2. Mattel has experience problems in entering the Japanese market. How could Mattel have achieved greater success in Japan? Mattel faced the complex distribution system and intense competition from Japanese brands. At first, consumers did not know much about Barbie so Mattel enlisted the service of Takara, a Japanese toy specialist. Some groups of companies utilize pan-regional marketing techniques which are, and developed for specific countries by taking into account individual socioeconomic, technological and cultural characteristics.

Barbie in Japan: There must be certain distinctions between products of global use which are universal in appeal and hence require local adaptations because of apparent nuances in certain regional

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and/or individual markets. Many American companies have failed to realize that Japanese consumers have varying, distinct taste patterns which make the US global products unacceptable unless they are changed or 'customized'. The most interesting case is that of Mattels Barbie doll. Barbie doll did very poorly in Japan. Then Mattel gave the manufacturing license to Takara, a Japanese toy and doll specialist. The market research done by Takara showed that the Barbie was hated by the Japanese. Her breasts were too big and legs too long. Some appropriate modifications were done to her anatomy. The eyes went from blue to brown and she took on a more suitable look that appealed to the Japanese child's sense of aesthetics. This increased sales and was a massive success.

Little girls in the U.S. dream about what they will be when they grow up, and little girls in Japan dream about what they are today. Our line reflects both, but in the U.S. we play up the part about dreaming about being a doctor or an astronaut. So we cut out that part for Japan and focused on the everyday stuff. Once we did that, sales took off., sais Jill Barad, CEO, Mattel Toys

There has been a trend over the last few years with Barbie. Around October they show a new Barbie movie. This year it's Barbie and the Diamond Castle. Last year was Barbie Fairytopia's Mariposa and the year before that it was Barbie Fairytopia's Mermadia. And somewhere in between there was Barbia, the Island Princess. They come out on Cartoon Network where a couple hundred thousand kids watch it. Mattel makes the movies to promote the dolls just in time for Christmas! The sheer marketing genius lies in the timeliness of launching just in the fourth quarter when the holiday season is approaching and then bringing out the dolls and other merchandise just as children are going to ask for them.

Indeed Barbie has to be the best marketed doll of all time. Instead of holiday marketing, they took the opportunity to entertain children at the same time giving them something new (or newly packaged) to buy. Barbie will always be Barbie, it's the same doll. But when repackaged over and over again as different characters that sing and dance and entertain children and collectors of all ages, then marketing has done its job.

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Cultural Adaptations: What Would a Barbie Doll be like in Iran? Sara and Dara are two Iranian dolls, wearing long, flowing clothing, or Iranian national costumes. They were made to resist cultural corruption from the West and they promote traditional values with their modest clothing and pro-family stories. Barbie dolls are considered anti-Islamic; importing them is prohibited.

Barbie in China: Barbie was introduced in China in October 1999. Even though the doll is immensely popular in other regions of the world, she isn't the doll reference in China. There is no tradition of doll playing for Chinese girls. One wandering in a toy store will find huge quantities of stuffed animals, usually cartoon characters such as Winnie the Pooh, but the articulated dolls are rare. The price, associated to the absence of a marketing campaign for locals also contribute to this low popularity. There is nothing written in Chinese on the boxes (apart from the security device), and there are even some Barbie from Japan mixed with the American Barbie. It is possible to find almost every type of Barbie in the stores that display them, including the collectable items. Ken is quite rare, but Kelly, Barbie's little sister is widely sold and seems to be a popular item. It would be interesting to know why there are so few Ken models: it could be that it seems awkward to play with a male doll, or simply that the imports are "morallycontrolled". With the introduction of Yue-Sai, Barbie started to have more competition in the articulated dolls market. The name Barbie was finally phonetically translated, and now there seems to be more Barbie products outside of Barbie stores, for example, snacks in supermarkets with the Barbie logo marketed for kids with special bonuses inside the wrappings.

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The Yue-Sai doll was officially launched at the end of November 2000. There is even one cartoon presenting Yue-Sai, friends and family. The accessories are still few, mainly furniture to fill the Yue-Sai house, and up to the latest news, she doesn't has any doll relatives, friends or boyfriend. Being in the stores a couple of times, I heard numerous comments about how YueSai was pretty and how good-looking she is, which is something I never heard next to the Barbie stalls. Even though the doll is said to be designed to improve little Asian girls feeling towards their image, when one has a closer look to and Yue-Sai doll he can realize that she indeed looks a lot like Barbie. She has a clear complexion, which is a Chinese traditional beauty standard, black hair and dark eyes. Apart from that, she has exactly the same measurements as the Barbie except for the waist which is slightly thicker. The feet have exactly the same position, made to wear high-heel shoes. The other main difference is the arm position, Barbie's arms being folded so that she can hold things. A major difference

between Barbie and YueSai is that even though the real Yue-Sai did not want to create a "vacuous, empty-headed personality" (Yue-Sai WaWa launch brochure), the dolls do not seem to have much by way of distinct personalities, There have been numerous professional Barbies, but no professional Yue-Sai. Instead, you get Yue-Sai in Spain, Winter Princess, Purple Princess, Gold Princess, Red Princess, the Dream Bride, Peony Princess, to name but a few.

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Barbie in India: The launching of the boy doll Ken, boyfriend of the girl doll Barbie was a failure in India. Nowadays, more than 95% of couples are agreed by the fathers. The idea of boyfriend does not exit. Indians usually say that love comes after the marriage and this idea is also applied to commercial relations. The parties are only really involved once they have made the first operations and once the commercial relation has been consolidated. By the way, Ken was launched again as the oldest brother of Barbie and this time, it was a success. In a country where only a few kids put playing with toys as a favorite activity, (they would rather watch TV), selling them is no easy task. Mattel, which failed to sell fewer pieces at high prices, in the late eighties and early nineties, is now seeking to sell larger volumes at lower prices. In tune with this strategy, the company has launched the Seasons Special Barbie and Kelly. The strategy has enabled the company to sell larger volumes. Moreover, such undercutting does not affect the brand value, say analysts, because the toy market is aimed at children, for whom the joy that a particular brand can give is much more important than the brand name. Mattel is also cashing in on the festive spirit, planning to give every girl an entire range of favorite icons with whom she can play out her fantasies about Christmas. Mattels marketing strategy is to identify the Barbie range with Indian themes and cut down on the price. However, the Christmas theme, say analysts, may not lead to volume sales, as the company will have to aggressively promote the theme itself rather than the brand as the theme is not Indian.

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Pink Flowered Sari

face: black hair with braids, brown eyes. jewelry: o red heart earrings w/rhinestone o gold collar necklace w/red rhinestone o red bangles o bow ring. sari: o pink flowered silk o underskirt of dark pink cotton o no trim choli: dark pink silk

face: dark brown hair with braid, brown eyes. jewelry: o red heart earrings w/rhinestone o gold collar necklace o yellow bangles o bow ring. sari: o orange silk o underskirt of orange cotton o gold and black checked trim choli: orange silk

The three dolls Special Barbie, her little sister Kelly, and a special Santa Beanie will be available at all main toy outlets and gift stores in India. India is one of the prime customers for Mattel. India has 35 per cent of its population in the under-14 group as compared to Germany and Japan, where only 21 per cent of the population are below 14. In addition to this, as urban families increasingly become double income ones, with both the parents working and the kids at home alone, the toy market with its enormous capacity to assuage the guilt of parents who leave their children alone at home is all set to

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boom. Several market surveys show that kids are the decision makers when it comes to buying games or toys.

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1.3.

PIZZA HUT

Multi-National food brands in India: There has been an extraordinary growth in the food industry worldwide, with the advent of many multinational food companies setting up their ventures. Once these companies enter a new geography, they do not only face the change of physical boundaries, but also the change of political environment, cultures, habits, values and beliefs. These factors very much effect the sustainability of a company in a new country.

A multinational food enterprise (MNFEs) can either adopt global strategies, considering the whole world as one single market which involves, marketing of standardized products using standardized marketing mix in the same way everywhere, or it can mould itself as per the requirements in each market and have local strategies. A third way out, which is being very successfully adopted these days, is a hybrid of these two, which is becoming a glocal entity that involves having global strategies at the broader level, but customizing the services as per the local needs. Glocalization explains the interactions between global and local dimensions in any strategy, like political governance strategies, business marketing strategies, media and communication strategies etc. It also explains why some of the strong strategies failed, when they did not consider the effect of cultural diversity and strength of local dimensions. It is considered as formation or distribution of products or services actually planned for a global market, but modified to suit local laws and culture. Now, as far as food business is considered this concept becomes all the more important as a lot of differences in eating habits, with respect to food as well as in the way it is consumed exists when one moves from one region or culture to another. Religion is another reason which affects these habits. A number of multi national food companies have flourishes if they have kept this mind, whereas many has also failed by not considering the challenges put forward by
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cultural and regional differences. An example of this can be considering some animals sacred (like beef in most parts of India) in some region whereas he same are consumed heavily in some others. The biggest attraction for international food business in India is 700 million Indians under the age of 35. India is one of the youngest nations in the world and the increase in disposal income coupled with changing lifestyle of the urban Indian consumers is bound to create huge opportunities for the food industry. Realizing the potential of this market, many multinational food enterprises like Mc Donald, Barista, Pizza Hut have set up their business activities over here. Now, in this scenario, the success of any food firm, to a large extent, is determined by the trust that it is able to gain from the residents of a region. Here, one brand which comes to our mind is Pizza Hut, which has been rated as the most trusted food service brand in India by the Economic Times for consecutively four year (2008).

Pizza Hut, Worldwide: Pizza Hut began in 1958, when two college students from Wichita, America; Kansas Frank and Dan Carney, were approached by a family friend with the idea of opening a pizza parlor. Though the concept was new in Americans at that time, the brothers saw a huge potential in this enterprise. The result of their foresight was the first Pizza Hut restaurant which was the foundation for one of the most successful pizza chain in the world. Innovation, dedication to service and value, commitment to quality, and consistent efforts to improve growth and leadership through more than four decades had led to the building of this leading pizza enterprise. Through their interest and initiative, the Pizza Hut system was able to speedily develop new territories in the United States as well as overseas. The first international restaurant was opened in Canada in 1968, after which Pizza Hut went to Mexico, South America, Australia, Europe, the Far East and Africa. Today, Pizza Hut operates in more than 100 countries and territories throughout the world. In 1977, Pizza Hut was acquired by one of the giants of international business - PepsiCo, Inc. In October of the same year, PepsiCo combined its restaurant businesses viz. Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell, and Tricon was founded. In 1999, after the addition of two more brands, A&W and Long Johns Silver, Tricon was renamed as Yum Restaurants International, which currently has over 30, 000 restaurants in more than 100 different countries. Pizza Hut Inc., a division of
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Tricon Global Restaurants Inc., has now more than 7,200 units in the U.S. and 3,000 units in more than 86 other countries. Today, franchisees and joint-venture partnerships account for more than half of the Pizza Hut system's total units.

Pizza Hut, India: Pizza hut came to India in 1996, with a dine-in restaurant in Bangalore. It was one of the first multinational brands to enter the food retail sector in India. Pizza Hut has a significant role in pioneering and developing this category in India and has been able to establish itself as the market leader. As per an internal survey it owns 48% share of this category in India. The Pizza Hut franchise stepped into the Indian fast food market and soon expanded itself in India and now has the KFC brand beneath its umbrella. Pizza Hut has always tried to bring out offerings with extra value for Indian customers. These offerings ranging from pizzas which are available to suit every price range, to new promotions or the introduction of innovative product ranges, has resulted in increasing its presence in India to the current 70 restaurants across 18 cities. While consolidating its presence in the metropolitans, this aggressive expansion has also involved Pizza Hut entering smaller cities. Pizza Hut has close to 100 restaurants across 25 cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh, Agra, Surat, Baroda, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mathura, Amritsar, Cochin, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Coimbatore, Meerut, Lucknow, Pondicherry, Bhubaneshwar, Vishakapatnam and Dehradun The employees of the restaurant support centre of the Pizza Hut fast food franchise in Delhi works to place Pizza Hut at the top of Indian market. This centre is in charge of finance, legal and marketing sides of the Indian operations of Pizza Hut franchisees.

Customized services of Pizza Hut in India: Menu:

The Great Indian Treat, a menu catering to the specific tastes of the Indian public was
launched by Pizza Hut, in 1996. The menu presented a good blend of the traditional Italian toppings with the Indian curries, which has led to a considerable increase in sales.

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These products like Chicken Tikka, Spicy Korma, Spicy Paneer and the Masala and Tandoori pizzas have been a tremendous success. Seeing the preferences of the Indians, its efforts has been to provide a full meal to its customers. Along with other Pizzas, a fully Punjabi range of pizzas have been added which includes veg masala, kadai paneer, chatkila chat, teekha chicken, kadai chicken Pizzas to suit the Indian palates. Along with pizzas, the menu features appetizers like garlic bread and soups, fresh salads, oven baked pastas and choice of ice-cream sundaes Tandoori range of pizzas was another addition to its continuous efforts to provide its customers with maximum value. These pizzas are served with a slice of lemon to enhance the overall experience of food. The latest addition is the delicious Chettinad pizza, a mouthwatering combination of the worlds best pizzas with strong flavours of the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu.

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Freshizza: Freshizza a new pizza crust with a perfect blend of freshness and taste is another special offering for Indians from the stable of Pizza Hut. It has been made by keeping in mind, the special preference of Indians, for freshness in their food. The dough for the crust, is made out of whole meal flour and not of plain flour (maida), keeping the health concerns in mind.

Pankaj Batra, director, Marketing, Yum! Restaurants International, said, Freshness of food is

of prime importance to the Indian consumer. It is a consciousness that runs deep in everything Indian. India is the first market to be launching this crust but we are sure that it will quickly make its mark beyond the shores of India. In fact, Pizza Hut's innovative product development initiative has always taken cognisance of the local tastes and preference in India. Our consumers have responded very favourably to our novel offerings in the past like the pan and the tandoori pizza, and we are sure to get a similar response for the Freshizza as well.

Veg Pizza Hut in Gujrat: Pizza Hut for the first time went all vegetarian specially for Ahmedabad, when it opened its first 100 per cent vegetarian outlet in the world. Pizza hut has two outlets in Ahmedabad. One is at C G Road, Ahmedabad, where non veg pizzas are not served. In the other outlet near hotel grand Bhagwati, Sg Highway, non vegetarian food is served. Another branch of Pizza Hut in Chowpatty offers a Jain menu without all root-based ingredients

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Prices: Efforts have always been made to serve value offerings in terms of money, as the Indian market is very sensitive in this regard. For example, with a price range starting from Rs 95 onwards, Freshizza is available in medium size (for 2) as well as family size (serves 4). The large size is available at Rs 125. It tries to add value for its customers by providing reasonable combo-offers.

Promotions: Offers like 32% savings on king size meals on the use of visa cards for transaction, membership rewards, guaranteed gift worth Rs.1500 and an opportunity to go to Singapore on celebration of birthdays at Pizza Hut, VIP memberships have helped in increasing the sales at Pizza Hut. Kids Eat Free promotion was another initiative, which was introduced to coincide with the summer vacations. This offered a free pizza to all children, 12 years and below. Giving it customers an opportunity to showcase their talent, Pizza Hut conceived the Jig n

Jeeto contest, which was Organized in Delhi and received a huge response with super star
Fardeen Khan judging the show.

Pizza Hut guys entertaining their guests: Eating out is a form of entertainment and unwinding activity in India and Pizza Hut understands this very well. A number of service initiatives have been uniquely developed for India and have been greatly instrumental in building an emotional bond with the customers. Pizza Hut servers not only serve our customers great food, they also sing and dance for them. One can find a number of evidences of this on you tube, with Pizza Hut guys in Kaushambi, Ghaziabad, dancing on Chak De India Songs, and doing Bhangra on peppy numbers of Gurdas Mann number in Delhi, Calcutta, Chandigarh and Amritsar, to entertain the customers. The crewmembers at Pizza Hut often break into a Boogie at restaurants in Delhi and Mumbai.
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Pizza Hut named as most trusted food brand in India:

LOUISVILLE, KY, June 18, 2008 The Economic Times (India) annual survey of Indias
Most Trusted Brands named Pizza Hut as the Most Trusted Food Service Brand in India for the fourth year, ahead of all other Indian and global brands. In addition, Pizza Hut is the only restaurant company to place in the Top 25 Service Brands list. India represents a huge opportunity for Yum! Brands, said Graham Allan, president, Yum! Restaurants International. With an extremely large and young population in excess of 1.1

billion people, growing middle class and emerging economy, we are excited to continue to grow our brands in India. We are making a significant investment in India and are continuing to build an outstanding local team and put the infrastructure in place to capitalize in this large and rapidly growing market, added Allan.
All the efforts put in Pizza Hut has resulted in making it a truly glocal brand, which the Indians trust and cherish. Through its customized efforts Pizza Hut has ensured a stable place in the heart and mind of Indian customers.

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2. Conclusion-

There are many external factors which influence the consumer in purchasing process, and culture being one of them. People in different countries have different value orientations, which is a bi-product of the culture and that causes variation in preferences of products and brands. So in todays context when every company is expanding itself to cater to various geographies; for having effective international marketing and communication strategy, marketers should understand these differences. And more importantly they should formulate their strategies based on the cultural nuances of the particular geography. As the cultural factors influence consumer response pattern, there is need to consider these factors in planning international marketing strategies. In marketing products internationally, therefore, understanding cultural practices can be useful in assessing whether a single strategy can be effective in different national environments, or whether several strategies should be adopted, each geared to the different cultural setting. The influence of culture on consumer behaviour, as in how culture moulds and dictates the consumer purchase, use and dispose actions and subsequently on formulation of strategies by international marketers, is explained through the three case studies- Levis, Barbie and Pizza Hut- taken above. All the three examples are in Indian context and give a perspective of how international marketers have adopted strategies that reflect the Indian culture.

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Kotabe, Peloso, Gregory, Noble, Macarthur, Neal, Riege and Helsen (2008) International Marketing and Asia Pacific Focus, Wiley India Pvt Ltd Terpstra, v. and Sarathy, R. (2000) International Marketing, 8th Edition, Dryden Press Hall, E.T. and Hall, M.R. (1986) Hidden Differences: doing business with the Japanese, Anchor Press International Marketing by Rajabol Socio- Lifestyle Marketing by Bernard Cathelat Marketing in a Multicultural World by Costa & Bamossy Consumer Behaviour and Culture by Marieke de Mooij Lifestyle Marketing by K Sangeetha http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS96961+21-Jul-2008+PRN20080721, 'Live Unbuttoned' With Global Launch of New, Innovative Levi's 501, Mon Jul 21, 2008

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_/ai_89490193, Iconic Jeanswear Brand Introduces New Look of Low for Men, Business Wire, July 24, 2002 http://www.businessgyan.com/content/view/638/354/, In The Limelight - Dangerously low, Jul 15 2003 http://readbetweentheps.blogspot.com/2005/12/levis-india-red-loop-u-in-loop.html Demetris Vrontis, Peri Vronti, Levi Strauss: an international marketing investigation, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Volume 8, 2004, pp 389-39

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http://www.pizzahut.co.in http://www.pizzamarketplace.com http://www.franchisebusiness.in http://www.planmanconsulting.com http://www.ifama.org http://archives.chennaionline.com http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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