RESEARCH REPORT

A STUDY ON RETAILERS’ FEEDBACK AND EXPECTATION

AND
SCOPE OF ADVERTISING IN INCREASING PRODUCT DEMAND OF
DEBONGO FOOTWEAR SERIES BY VKC DIVISION 2.
 INTRODUCTION

VKC Group is a footwear manufacturing and marketing company, based in the Kozhikode district of Kerala
state, in India. It is considered to be one of the biggest in the organized footwear sectors. It is also the largest
branded PU footwear manufacturer in India.

This study focuses on the market performance and effectiveness of advertisement of Debongo footwear series
from VKC Division 2 which aims to sell its products to the age group of 18 – 35 at a low price.

A STUDY ON RETAILERS’ FEEDBACK AND EXPECTATION

AND
SCOPE OF ADVERTISING IN INCREASING PRODUCT DEMAND OF
DEBONGO FOOTWEAR SERIES FROM VKC DIVISION 2.

NILAMBUR:

A. CHINCHOOSE FOOTWEAR:

Complained about low profit margin for retailers. Odyssia, Fisher, Mark is a threat to VKC since they
provide higher profit margins and retailers are only interested in maintaining stock of companies who
provide them with high profit margin. Though the profit margin is low, they have an opinion that
Debongo footwear models are good in terms of quality.

B. BIG SHOES:

Complains regarding footwear quality but they already reported it to the company. Executive and
sports variants are sold most but complaints reported by customers.

C. SHOETOPIA:

Customers complained about gum-related issues in shoes they bought from Shoetopia. Executive
variants are in demand due to the low price of the footwear when compared with other competitors.

D. LIKES FOOTWEAR:

Doesn't sell Debongo but sells other VKC footwears.

E. FASHION FEET:

Complained about footwear quality (mainly gum related issues) in executive variants.

EDAKKARA:

A. PEPINO:

No new stock, no special opinions and suggestions.

B. FOOTLAND:

D4700 Debongo variant is not up to the mark. (Ladies variant)

D4108 is sold well in the market due to the variety in design and good fitting.
Haven't tried executive variants yet.
They were interested in Debongo products and noted down a few art numbers from the catalogue.

C. KOKKADAN:

Demand ≠ Supply.
They’re in an opinion that the products are not always available to add in their inventory. They feel
helpless when customers’ come in with enquiries. They also have an opinion that instead of dealing
with a wide variety of products from the same series, VKC could deal with lesser variants so that
they will be able to maintain stock of products easily.

D. CITY FOOTWEAR & FANCY:

Demand ≠ Supply.
VKC must make sure they maintain stocks of products since they are not able to maintain customers’
needs.

E. UKASHA:
Great opinion.
Running shoes are in demand.

F. SHOE CLUB:

Doesn't sell Debongo products.

G. ORANGE FOOTWEAR:

Ashraf: 8606024244 (Need catalogue)

H. PLANET:

Good opinion overall.

I. SAFA MARWA:

Debongo not interested since they’re in an opinion that VKC doesn’t market Debongo well.
Seeks better promotion activities such as printing calendars and Debongo branded covers.

MAMPAD:

A. SALU FOOTWEAR:

Doesn’t deal with Debongo footwear models but they seemed to be interested in maintaining stocks
after viewing Debongo product catalogue.
Proprietor’s name : Shaji
Contact number : +91 9995442216
B. LIKE SPORTS:

Like Sports has a good opinion overall about Debongo footwear models and appreciated about model
varieties.

C. AK FANCY:

Deals with Debongo ladies’ footwear models and has a good opinion on overall product quality.

D. FAMILY FORWARD:

Doesn’t deal with Debongo products but interested after viewing catalogue.
They requested a copy of Debongo product catalogue to choose the products.

PERINTHALMANNA:

A. MAX FOOTLOCKER:

Complained about low profit margin and finds it difficult to deal with VKC products when compared
to other competitors who provide higher profit margins unlike VKC and thus they are not interested in
promoting VKC brands and wasn’t even interested in providing advertisement space to paste Debongo
ads.

B. VIORA FOOTWEARS:

Viora footwears is a well-furnished retail shop with a lot of glass works covering the building but other
companies have already reserved a few advertisement spaces. The owner wasn’t interested in pasting
advertisements on the glass but has agreed to provide a couple of flat pillars (Fig 1.) which support the
glass walls and the space just above the entrance door (Fig 2.)

Fig 1. Fig 2.

Proprietor’s name : Nasar

Contact number : +91 9633008020

C. MAX SHOES AND CHAPPALS:

Max Shoes and Chappals have an opinion that VKC doesn’t co-operate with its retailers, the profit
margin is extremely low and thus not interested in promoting VKC.
D. PICARDO:

Debongo performs well in market and there are a lot of enquiries from the customers.
Picardo agreed to post Debongo advertisement above the elevator (Fig 3.) which leads to ladies’
floor and it has a clear view from reception area but doesn’t have a clear view from the entrance.

Fig 3.

Proprietor’s Name : Yahya Pullat

Contact Information : +91 9562581888

E. EYES ON ADVERTISERS:

Eyes On Advertisers has a premium hoarding spot which is situated just above an LED wall which
displays advertisements of various companies (Fig 4- Long shot, Fig 5- Normal shot, Fig 6- Short
shot) in Perinthalmanna junction (Calicut => Palakkad road) and has agreed to send details via email
or WhatsApp upon request.

They have other locations over Kerala which includes:

 A Couple of other hoarding spots in the same junction.
 Mannarkad
 Manjeri
 Malappuram Town
 Tirur Town
 Ottapalam
 Pattambi
 Shoranur
 Fig 4. Fig 5. Fig 6.

Proprietor’s Name : Niyas.

Contact Information : +91 9645990505

F. <UNKNOWN ADVERTISEMENT COMPANY>:

There’s an available hoarding space near Jubilee junction, Opposite Poly quarters,
Perinthalmanna => Angadipuram road.
Fig 7- Long shot, Fig 8- Short Shot.

Fig 7. Fig 8.
G. ZEENATH’S IFOOT:

Zeenath’s iFoot has a great opinion regarding Debongo’s product quality and performance.
They’re interested in providing space to advertise Debongo series but unfortunately lacks adequate
space to do it since other manufacturers have already reserved available spaces even before
inauguration.

They are planning to shift buildings and can be considered for a prospective advertisement space for
Debongo series.

ANGADIPURAM:
A. MARK FOOTWEAR AND BAGS:
Mark Footwear and bags is a small-scale retail shop and isn’t interested in providing advertisement
spaces.

B. APSARA FOOTZONE:
Apsara Footzone complained about product quality of Debongo footwear series, mainly glue-related
issues and deficit in stock of dealers. They’re interested in providing advertisement spaces but lacks
adequate space.

TIRURKAD:
A. SAFA FOOTWEAR:

Safa footwear is a small-scale retail shop of footwears from various brands but they’re not a fan of
Debongo and just maintained stock of 2 models to be specific.
They complained about D4900’s V strap not being precise to the leg size and needs attention in
measurement.

B. ALANKAR FOOTWEAR:

Alankar footwear is a small-scale footwear shop and has agreed to post Debongo footwear’s
advertisement on its main name board. They have requested not to print their contact number on the
board.

Proprietor’s Name : Narayanan

Contact Information : +91 9744308422
 CONCLUSION

FINDINGS:

Debongo, VKC Division 2’s brand new premium segment series has limitless potential to grow on an
international level but the demand of the customers is not met by the company since stocks are not made
available in time for the retailers to sell which is obviously because of an inefficient supply chain management
system.
Retailers complained about the low profit margin of VKC’s products and has an opinion that the company
doesn’t co-operate with them.

As the rate of advertisements increase, there’s a chance the demand of the products will also increase along
with it. But if the company is careless enough to ignore this situation, the demand for the products will
definitely start declining. It’s all a part of familiarizing people with the products and retaining loyal customers
but just familiarizing won’t help much if the company doesn’t have an efficient and effective supply chain
management system.

A few retailers complained about product quality, mainly gum-related issues in Debongo footwear series and
customers have filed for replacement since the footwear was damaged within a short span of time.

SOLUTION:

VKC needs its retailers to exist in the market, to be No.1 in footwear industry and for that, they must make
sure both the manufacturers and retailers work together as a team to make that happen.

VKC may take over the complete production process of Debongo which may also help in reducing costs of
the products and thus they’ll be able to provide better profit margin schemes to retailers and hire own
employees in production process under ‘piece-rate system’.
Major demerit of piece-rate system is that the employees tend to produce huge quantities in less time which
may result in reduced quality of footwear. To bridge that gap, VKC could seek the help of Total Quality
Managers.

Once the production process is over, the company must make sure their supply chain is efficient and effective
to maintain the equilibrium point of products in the market (Demand = Supply).

WEBLIOGRAPHY
 www.wikipedia.org