ARCHIES

NAGINDAS KHANDWALA COLLEGE

CLASS : GROUP : TOPIC :

Tybbi 6 ARCHIES

SUBMITED TO: PROF. MEHA TODI

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Acknowledgement
We wish to express our heartful gratitude to several individual who have inspired and supported us constantly, personally and professionally. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our subject teacher Prof. Meha Todi for her guidance. We thank you madam for giving such a wonderful topic that we got a chance to work on it effectively and efficiently. We are also grateful to our classmates and group members for their constant support.

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ARCHIES WILL BE PRESENTED BY:

1) Vishal Chauhan 2) Dimple Dhabalia 3) Ishita Gandhi 4) Apeksha Gogri 5) Rachita Jhaver 6) Sneha Kamdar 7) Jinal Mistry 8) Tanvi Sawla 9) Vishakha Shah 10) Rashmi Sondagar

506 510 514 515 518 523 527 539 545 551

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INDEX
SR PARTICULARS NO. 1. About Archies 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. History Archies- The Way Indians Greet Archies- The new look Product Archies captures half of Indias Greeting Cards Archies rejigging strategy Promotion Recent developments PAGE NO. 5 6 7-8 9-10 11-12 13-14 15 16 17 18-19 20 21-22 23-25 26

10. Archies to revamp operations 11. 12 Brand Values after restructure Achievements

13. Case study 14. Webliography

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ABOUT ARCHIES
Archies Limited is Indias market leader in the social expression industry with over 60% market share in the organized sector. Having pioneered the concept of branded retailing in India over the last three decades Archies has grown with the spread of modern culture, increasing urbanization and improving standard of living. With the retail boom happening in the country, Archies is consciously targeting malls and other prime retail space for opening its own stores. Archies currently operates 195 exclusive outlets in 14 states 57 cities and nearly 300 franchise outlets across India and neighboring countries. With an increased focus of gifting, Archies has exclusive tie-ups with many global majors, like Russ Berrie, Inc. of USA, Keel Toys, Carte Blanche, Paper Island, History & Heraldry of UK, just to name a few. At the CSR level, Archies has long standing arrangements with Help Age (Indias premier NGO for Old People) and CRY (Indias premier NGO for underprivileged children), where Archies designs, manufactures and markets Greeting Cards and other Social Expression Stationery with royalties going to them.

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History
The organization, through its mushrooming franchises, has been manufacturing and selling its products since 1979. In fact, it has virtually created this industry in India and changed the way Indians express themselves. Anil Moolchandani whose family owned a sari shop in Kamla Nagar, Delhi, founded Archies. One fateful day, a customer presented him with two posters that he had brought back from the US. Anil displayed these posters in the shop and was amazed when visitors inquired whether they were for sale. Not one to pass up a business opportunity, Anil started putting up posters for sale in his shop. In 1979, Anil set up Archies, a mail order poster shop and started operating from a mezzanine office measuring 200 square feet. The other products on offer included songbooks and leather patches. Archies received its first mail order worth Rs.12 from a customer in Lucknow. In 1980 the company introduced its first line of greeting cards called the Poster Series (PSeries). The success of the P-Series, which continue to be sold even today, led to Archies setting up a distribution channel. Penetration of Archies greeting cards continued to grow and in 1981, the company held its first distributors' meet in New Delhi. As sales grew, the company explored new ways of expanding its business and establishing itself as the market leader. It procured its first ever foreign license from Walt Disney in 1984. Next in line was the establishment of the Archies Gallery chain. The first of its kind concept-store opened its doors in Kamla Nagar, Delhi, in 1987 and was an instant hit. As the market environment continued to evolve and internet became an important aspect of urban life, Archies has kept pace by introducing e-cards and offering online gifting opportunities through its e-commerce portal.

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Archies: The Way Indians Greet

A Company in Trouble!
In February 2002, the Delhi High Court dismissed an application for injunction filed by leading Indian greeting card and gift company, Archies Greetings & Gifts Ltd. (Archies).The company wanted a stop order to restrain Hindu fundamentalist groupsthe ShivSena, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dalfrom "interfering in the Valentines Day celebrations and sales promotions in its showrooms and outlets." Archies filed the application fearing that the groups will vandalize their outlets as they had in February 2001. The Court's decision shocked Archies' management, for any disruption of business on Valentine's Day would translate into huge revenue losses for the company. Director Vijayant Chhabra said, "Everyone knows what happened last year. Our outlets were targeted in Mumbai, Delhi and other parts of the country. Our business has been affected severely." The dismissal of the injunction appeal came at a time when the company was facing a host of problems on various other fronts that were taking a toll on its performance. In the late-1990s, e-cards became very popular. Archies was forced to launch its own e-greetings website, archiesonline.com, through its wholly-owned subsidiary archiesonline.com Ltd. in mid-2000. However, by late 2001, the company made archiesonline.com a paid service. Youhan Darrab Aria (Aria), Chief Officer (Logisticsand Finance) of the portal commented, "E-commerce was not happening from our site as expected and ads were also not forthcoming. We wanted to increase our revenue and charging users was the solution." As expected, a large number of the 0.6 million registered users stopped using the service. Aria admitted, "We have suffered massive drops in our registered user base since we became a paid site." In addition to these problems, Archies' initiatives to convert its network of franchisee outlets into company-owned outlets and its distributor set up into a Carrying and Forwarding (C&F) set up were proving to be major burdens on its finances. As a result, in 2000-01, for the first time in its over 20-year history, the company experienced a negative growth. Turnover declined from Rs. 710 mn in 1999-2000 to Rs. 680 mn in 2000-01, while net profits for the same period
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declined by around 32% from Rs. 130 mn to Rs. 91 mn. Archies' market share remained at 45% between 1998 and 2000. Analysts remarked that the company's leadership status in the Indian greeting card and gifts market seemed to be doing it no good in increasing its market share and sustaining profitability.

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ARCHIES- THE NEW LOOK

The new look Archies will reflect in the stores, which will have a brighter, fresher look. Ever since the beginning in 1979, Archies has been an integral part of its customers lives. Helping them emote, helping them express themselves, in being the most special way to say they care. In the last decade and a half, Archies has morphed from being a pure play greeting card player to a comprehensive greeting & gifting company, core target audience has vastly expanded, covering early teens to mid 40s. People love experience of an Archies store, have huge expectations from us and our products. They look for that new greeting or gifting concept and are rarely disappointed. In todays world, in order to stay relevant in our customers minds, in order to show that we are not the Archies their parents grew up with, we felt the need to change our logo and look and feel. Yet we strongly feel the need to retain ownership of our tag line of being the most special way to say you care, because that is who we were, who we are and who we will always be. A new humble, friendly, young welcoming, exhilarating and exciting Archies. By incorporating both the color red and the heart into our logo, we feel we would communicate better with our consumers, who today fall into various categories like the family focused group, the new traditionalist customer, the socialite customers, the young rebels and the trendsetters, encompassing the core target audience of early teens to mid 40s. For any change to be effective, one needs to walk the talk as well. The new look Archies will reflect in the stores, which will have a brighter, fresher look. Which, will sport the new logo and exude warmth, with the liberal use of the new house colors, in dcor and internal signages. Communicating to the customers, that their favourite Archies store is the fresh, new, rejuvenated kid in town.
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Archies says the logo change is to make the brand relevant to customers to ensure that it is not the same brand with whom their parents grew up with. The logo change will also involve a change in store decor and retail experience. However, the logo change will not involve any change in the brand's tagline of 'the most special way to say you care'. The new logo has both the color red and the heart, which the company says will help them communicate better with consumers, who today fall into various categories. "The new look Archies will reflect in the stores, which will have a brighter, fresher look. The stores will sport the new logo and exude warmth, with the liberal use of the new house colors, in decor and internal signages. The attempt is to communicate to the customers that the Archies store is the fresh, new, rejuvenated kid in town," the company said in a press release.

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PRODUCT
The Archies range includes greeting cards, posters, social expression stationery and gifts. Its unmatched quality and unique variety provides customers a plethora of choices ranging from a three-inch mini-greeting card for just Rs. 4 and a five-and-a half-foot teddy bear for Rs. 10,000 to elegant crystal masterpieces at over Rs. 25,000. Its exclusive and trendy products are selected and sourced from all over the world. Archies has always provided its customers with premium quality greetings and gifting collections such as curios, photo albums, soft toys, mugs, quotations and key chains. Archies maintains a strong back-end support to ensure that its galleries never run out of supplies. It has a highly efficient supply chain management system that helps build an effective retailing structure. Archies' strap line 'The Most Special Way to Say You Care' aptly echoes its position in the market. Today, Archies offers a product portfolio containing alloccasion greeting cards, gift items such as curios, photo albums, photo frames, soft toys, mugs, quotation plaques, key chains and a wide range of stationery. Emotions have always been at the heart of the Archies collections. With unmatchable quality and unique variety, Archies provides its customers a choice ranging from a three inch mini-greeting card to a five-and-a-half foot teddy bear. The company's strategic tie-up with Paramount Cards in 1988 led to the introduction of new lines of everyday cards such as 'Thinking of you', 'Hello', 'Miss you' and 'Get well soon', among others. To give buyers a truly intercontinental experience, Archies has successfully maintained its licensing arrangement with American Greetings a US$ 1.70 billion (Rs. 8160 crore) company since 1993. In addition, it has exclusive distribution tie ups with Keel Toys (UK), Paper Island (UK) for path-breaking concept of branded retailing in India; Archies has expanded its operations in sync with market needs. The brand currently operates 120 company stores in fourteen states and 36 cities across India, in addition to more than 350 franchise outlets in 100 Indian cities and fivecountries.Though still in its formative years per capita consumption of greeting cards is estimated at allow 0.5 compared to over 32 in the UK and about 22 in the US the social expressions

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market is growing at 12%-15% per annum.Archies had a turnover of Rs. 118 crore (US$ 24.60 million) in 2007/08 and Rs. 138 crore (US$ 29.80 million) in 2008/09.

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Archies captures half of India's greeting cards market

Let's rejoice together, and strive to make each day in the year joyous and promising, wishing you a very happy new year. Sounds like an extract from an Archies card? Founded by Anil Moolchandani in 1979 with only two employees to help him, Archies Ltd today is considered a one-stop solution for greetings and gifts. "We want Archies to be a part of everyone's celebration," says Pramod Arora, joint managing director of the company, adding, "The thrust is on reaching every individual and addressing various emotions." With festivity and New Year's just round the corner, Archies has sold nearly 1 crore greeting cards this year. "Although SMSes are an instant source of gratification, greeting cards have always been and will continue to be one of the favored form of communicating feelings to those we care about," says Arora. Starting out from a basement in Delhi's Daryaganj area, Archies initially sold posters and song books containing lyrics of hits from groups such as ABBA, Beatles and BoneyM. It was Moolchandani's passion for music that prompted him to put down lyrics of the greatest English hits together. Says Arora: "An avid music enthusiast himself, Moolchandani could spend hours listening to a sound track, meticulously translating its lyrics." His idea clicked when he managed to sell the entire lot of song books to a music shop in Chanakyapuri. The rest, of course, is history. The company's signature product, greeting cards, were introduced in 1980, while 1987 saw the birth of the Archies Gallery chain, the first one being set up at Kamala Nagar in Delhi. "There was no looking back after that and we saw sales peak in 1999-2000," says Arora. Over the last couple of years, there has been a 25% decline in sales of greeting cards, although cards meant for different occasions and 'days'mother's day, father's day et alhave witnessed a dramatic rise. Also, Archies' online
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version has over 700 programmed e-cards with animation and sound effects incorporated. And that's not all. There's also a 'gift' section, wherein consumers can purchase items and get them delivered at their doorstep. It is Archies' own creative team, comprising 45 members, which creates content for the cards and works on their designs. According to estimates, the total size of the greeting card industry is between Rs 150 crore and Rs 200 crore in retail, while Archies has about 50% market share. Riding on an annual turnover of Rs 120-crore, it currently has a headcount of 1,300 people. Archies has 480 outlets across the country of which only 100 are companyowned-and-managed. "We adopted the franchise mode of operation to expand our operation in India and abroad," says Arora. Amongst other countries, Archies has its presence in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Gulf, to name a few. The franchisee model contributes a great deal to the success of Archiesalmost 27% of the company's turnover comes from franchisees. Archies has evolved from a partnership concern in 1979 to a listed company in 1996 and the current valuation of the company is estimated at Rs 113.50 crore. Having withstood the changing trends, Archies sure has played its card right so far.

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Archies rejigging strategy

Greeting cards and gifts company Archies Limited is scripting a new fourpronged strategy to be implemented over the next one year. As part of the strategy, the company plans to launch new marketing schemes to arrest the decline of its margins-rich paper greeting cards business. Plans are afoot to expand its retail presence in upcoming malls through a chain of company-owned stores and forge alliances with premium brands to establish their shop-in-shop corners within Archies stores. Also on the anvil is an exit from unmanageable businesses such as Archies Music and replace it with new focus product categories like kid's stationery. Though Archies Limited's revenues have seen mixed trends-Rs 80 crore in 2001-02, Rs 68 crore in 2000-01, and Rs 71 crore in 1999-00-its profitability has seen a steady decline: from Rs 13.4 crore in 1999-00, it dipped to Rs 9.1 crore in 2000-01, and further to Rs 7.5 crore in 2001-02. "In the next three years around 140 malls would be coming up across the country and we want to have presence in around half of this,'' said a senior company executive. Archies is now in the process of finalizing a retailing alliance with Oyzterbay under which the company can set up shop-in-shop stores within Archies' key stores in Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi. The company is now talking to a domestic watch company for a similar tie-up. After adding 10 company-run outlets this year, Archies plans to add 10 more such outlets in the next six months to its current 38-store chain of companyrun outlets. Earlier, Archies announced a tie-up with Blaze Flash Couriers to launch 'Express Wishes' under which it will allow its customers to buy cards and have it delivered to the address of their choice at a rate lower than the market.

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Promotion
Greeting card occasions in India have almost singlehandedly been created by Archies. It has Indianite hitherto foreign events like Valentines Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day and Teachers Day amongst others. It also created a day of its own Friendship Day. Over time, Archies promotions have married the medium and message to reap rich returns and to inch closer to its customers. The company has also ventured into in-film advertising with the Hindi film, Waqt: a race against time. This was preceded by a vast array of movie merchandise for widely acclaimed films like Speed, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun, Devdas and. Not to miss out on the growing FM radio craze, Archies has been airing promotional activities on radio.

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Recent Developments
Shopping malls have given Indian consumers a one-stop shopping experience and Archies, being present in most of them, has proverbially been at the right place at the right time. Being aware of the huge potential in the fashion accessories market, the company has also ventured into this arena with Stupid Cupid a range of trendy jewellery, handbags, sunglasses, hats and funky belts. The brand is aimed at those who want to look different and do not hesitate to experiment when it comes to fashion and lifestyle. Stupid Cupid has opened nine stores in Delhi and one in Mumbai, in addition to Shopin- Shop counters within large format.

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Archies to revamp operations

With sales having taken a beating, for reasons as diverse as the popularity of e-cards to the Gujarat quake, Archies Greetings and Gifts Ltd (AG&G) has decided to restructure its three-tier system of operations to play up its exclusivity and brand name. The company plans to restructure its existing three-tier system of operations and play up its exclusivity and brand name. Doing away with the franchise-based Archies' card shops, the company will retain its Archies Paper rose Shoppe and its flagship will continue to be the Archies' Gallery. The company planned to fund its restructuring, through internal accruals and borrowing from banks for its working capital. The promoters, Mr. Anil Moolchandani and family, hold about 66 per cent equity in the company and the rest is with the financial institutions and the public. He ruled out any change in the equity pattern, for the moment.

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Archies Ltd

Type

Public (BSE: 532212 NSE: ARCHIES)

Industry Founded Headquarters Revenue

Greeting Cards 1979 New Delhi, India 139.643 crore (US$25.42 million)[1]

Operating income Net income Website

12.33 crore (US$2.24 million) -10.87 crore (US$-0 billion) www.archiesonline.com

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Brand Values after restructure

Touching the emotional chord and feelings of people around India has been a trademark that is very specially Archies. It promises the most special way to say you care. It has kept this promise with an outpouring of desirable and unique gifting ideas. Its customers can always luxuriate in the constant variety the brand churns out. As a brand, Archies is committed to providing its customers with opportunities to vent their innermost sentiments. Throughout the year, they can say it with a card or a gift no matter where they live in India. As part of its core belief in social responsibility, the company has also extended a helping hand to foster the causes of some of the best known and highly regarded social institutions across the country. These initiatives include ties with Help Age India, an organization that works for the well-being of the deprived and desolate elderly, as well as Archies collaboration with Child Relief and You (CRY), that reaches out to the needs of the deprived and underprivileged children.

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ACHIEVEMENTS
Archies now has evolved from a cards-only outfit to a complete social expressions company. With each gallery stocking more than 5000 inimitable objects, Archies has demonstrated exemplary mastery over its large network of retailers, franchisees and company stores. This company is a textbook example of how supply can sometimes create its own demand. If increasing numbers of Indians are celebrating special occasions like Mother's Day and Father's Day, in great measure it is because of the ability of Archies to bring focus on them and develop sales and marketing strategies that are at once brilliant and unique. Friendship Day which is widely celebrated nationwide on the first Sunday of August every year was brought to India by Archies. There is no better illustration of the company's inventiveness than 2007 when Archies instituted the 4th Sunday in September as Daughter's Day. With more people using the occasion to openly express their affection Fizzy Moon, Xpressions Gifts Co (UK), Russ Berrie (US) and Gund (US). Each of these is an internationally recognised brand and Archies' arrangement simply means that Indians now have access to them. A unique programme in the Archies product portfolio is 'Gift of the Month.' In this marketing initiative a product is chosen and sold at Rs. 99 (US$ 2.10) well below its normal printed price for an entire month. The idea was to create excitement within the store and thus attract customers to the outlet. The companys most notable achievement has a purely psycho-emotional dimension to it: when at a loss for words think of Archies. The company has successfully engraved itself in the minds of consumers as a living and caring entity that speaks the right words at the right time and helps find a card for every cause and reason and a gift for every occasion. It is hardly surprising then, that this once small company, launched in a staid environment should be classified a Consumer Super brand two years in a row. Thanks to its spirit of innovation Archies has been the market leader since its very inception. Today, the company boasts several collaborations and licensing arrangements. These include Walt Disney characters, Archie comics; licensing arrangements with the worlds largest publicly owned greeting card company, American Greetings, in addition to those like Anne Geddes, Simon Elvin and Kim Anderson. The year 1996 still stands as a testimonial
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to the companys commercial vibrancy and vitality. Its public issue that year was oversubscribed four times. Three years later the companys share price with an original offering of Rs. 70 zoomed to a meteoric Rs. 1,400.

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CASE STUDY
25 years old company to cash in on the retail boom Hyderabad
The original creator of the Feel Good factor, Archies Limited, Indias top market leader in the social expression industry with more than 50% market share and near negligible competition, which has completed 25 years in Indias Rs 500 crores social expression industry, plans to open 50 more company managed / owned stores across the country in every happening shopping mall and other retail real estate. Over the next 24 months, Archies plans to consolidate its retail chain, which today consists of larger format company managed / owned stores and franchisees. The planned stores would be larger in format, stocking levels, wider in range, and would give the company greater access to its core target audience. Any franchisee growth would be in addition to these 50 stores. Being in the business of emotions like no one else Archies has been manufacturing and selling greeting cards and other social expression products like gifts, posters etc since 1979. Having virtually created this industry Archies has today changed the way Indians express themselves. Undeterred by the threat from internet and SMS Archies has plans to counter technology. Archies has put in place a paid e-card service on archiesonline.com and a tie up with India times for Greetings Channel for 8888 in terms of MMS. The Product range of Archies includes Greetings Cards, Posters, Social expression Stationery and Gifts. Over next few years it is our vision, that we should be a part of any possible occasion that is being celebrated in any house in the country. Archies aims to be one stop gifting and greeting option. To take a line from old much used advertising campaign, whenever you think greetings and gifts think of us. After all Archies creates trends. In fact, Greeting Card occasions in India have almost single-handedly been created by us. Valentines Day, Mother Day, Father Day, all international events brought to India by us. Friendship Day is a day created by us. There was no such day until we created it. Where gifts are concerned, India tends
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to follow international trends for gift items and we keep abreast of those trends and try to maintain a first mover or exclusive advantage over introduction of gift items. Also, emotions are now being communicated via technology like internet and SMS. This kind of transition is a time for regrouping, gaining a better perspective by moving back half a step and then moving forward again, in a much more focused manner. With all these steps behind us, we are now poised for a leap forward into the future. says Mr. Pramod Arora, Executive Director, Archies Ltd. In the process Archies has created a massive property. The company today has one of the strongest brand recalls and brand equity. Take this Selling Atal Just Like at Archies said The Statesman, India - 25 Feb 2004... It will be like Archies (a popular gift shop), Mr. Mahajan said. Mr. Vajpayees image will be on coffee mugs, T-shirts and caps, he said. ... Brand Atal on poll roll read Calcutta Telegraph, India - 25 Feb 2004.... T-shirts and caps. Merchandising options like setting up Archies-type outlets are being explored, Mahajan said. If nothing works ... These are just a couple of examples of Archies brand image. As a result Archies today stands tall in the league of Indias Super brands. Archies will feature in the first edition of the book Indias Super brands, due to be released in 2004. The Greeting Card market in India is estimated to be around Rs. 300 crores at retail value. Of this the organized sector accounts for approx Rs. 150 crores, i.e. 50%, and Archies account for 50% of the organized sector i.e. Rs. 75 crores. The main competition for Archies is from the unorganized sector. Presently there are 2-3 major national level players while others are regional or local players. The leading player in organized segment of the greeting cards industry is Archies. In comparison to the west that has mature greeting and gifting markets, India is still a growing market with a tremendous potential. Where Greeting Card usage is concerned, US market has a per capita consumption of 40, the UK market has a per capita consumption of 50, and India, even accounting for fact that only 25% on population would be potential users, has a per capita consumption of only 0.5.

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The Archies story goes back to the 1980s when Archies pioneered social expression by introducing greeting cards for all major Indian traditional festivals such as Holi, Rakhi, etc. besides usual Birthday, Anniversary, New Year even introducing new concepts like Valentine's Day which have fast gained popularity and others soon to be introduced Halloween which are gradually attracting public attention. Having pioneered the concept of branded retailing in India over the last three decades, Archies has grown with the spread of modern culture, increasing the urbanization and improving the standard of living. With close to 2,000 outlets including company shops, franchisees and independent retail outlets Archies greatest strength is its massive reach. Spread across 120 cities and 6 countries. Archies is now on an aggressive expansion spree focusing on the mall opportunity and B and C class towns. Archies has tie-ups and licensing arrangements for popular merchandising characters for Greeting Card design and worlds leading greeting card brands. This includes Dennis the Menace & Walt Disney Characters, Licensing arrangements with Paramount Cards. Inc, USA, Portal Publications Inc., USA, Anne Geddes, and the worlds largest publicly owned greeting card Company, the American Greetings, for Greeting Card design and the name use. Archies has actively brought in the International Card Holidays which today form a part of the events calendar. E.g. Valentines Day, Mothers Day, Fathers Day etc. Archies today has a presence by way of franchisees in 5 countries. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, UAE, Bahrain. In addition to this, Archies cards are sold wherever there is a sizable Indian population, where the Indian occasions like Rakhi, Holi and Diwali are very much popular.

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WEBLIOGRAPHY
www.archies.com www.wikipedia.com www.articles.economictimes.com

Thank you

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