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1
2
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the Summer Training Project Report entitled “BRAND
PREFERENCE AND COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS OF LG” being submitted by Mr.
AMIT KUMAR PAL as partial fulfillment of the requirement of the two year PGDM
course is a bona fide work carried out by the student at our institute.
This summer project study in his original work and has not been submitted to any other
University Institute.
Date:
3
DECLARATION
I, AMIT KUMAR PAL to declare that the summer training project report entitled
“BRAND PREFERENCE AND COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS OF LG” being
submitted to the Mangalmay Business Academy for the partial fulfillment of the
requirement for the Course of PGDM is my own endeavors and it has not been submitted
earlier to any institution/university for any degree.
Place:
( AMIT KUMAR PAL)
Date:
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would also like to thank my faculty guide, Mr.Ashwani for being very supportive of this
research for giving me this opportunity to explore our potential and undertake this
internship. It really helped to put the theoretical knowledge to practical use and gave a
much deeper understanding of the actual operations of the industry.
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PREFACE
The summer training was of 8 weeks and started with 1st of May and end with 30th of June
2010.
The purpose of this summer training was to take practical experience in marketing
organization to have exposure to various management practices in the field of marketing.
The report is an attempt to go through the detail of penetration of LG and study the
strategy of company to gain market Strategy.
.
No professional curriculum is completed without practical work experience. Every
individual who is doing management studies has to undergo this phase to practical study
before he/she can consider himself/herself full qualified as a potential manager.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
LG is one such company which has brought technologically advanced products for its
customers keeping in mind that today’s customer are placing greater weight on quality
and value in making their purchase decision. Dealers are also the customers of the
company. They are the last chain in the distribution channel of the company. They are the
one who directly deal with the consumers. If they are not satisfied with the company’s
services the company cannot achieve “Total Consumer Satisfaction”. They should
constantly try to find whether dealer’s are satisfied with the company or not and if not
what are the reasons and try to remove such reasons.
Today the markets have been globalized, there is a cutthroat competition, and there are
many players in the market offering same type of products. The companies have to
convince the customers and so advertisements play an important role in promoting the
company’s products. As there are many players in the market offering same type of
product, dealers have to keep the products of various brands for their customers. How
they have positioned the stock in show room is of great importance.
Keeping this in mind, I have undertaken the project to find competitors potential and
customer’s preferences towards the products of LG. For this, I prepared questionnaire for
both dealers and customers. In the current market scenario dealers play important role to
create the image of the company and the product.
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This project may prove to be of immense use to the Marketing section as well as
Customer Care Department as it will help them to know the problems of customers,
reasons for their dissatisfaction and ways to eliminate these problems.
This will also help the company to know how far they have been successful in their brand
building process. During the whole experience of conducting the survey and completing
the project, I met with both success and failure. But then both kinds of experiences have
only equipped me better with practical knowledge, ability, attitudes and skills.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION 11
12-33
COMPANY PROFILE
2.
LG IN INDIA
2. HISTORY
3. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE
MARKETING STRATEGY
BUSINSS MODEL
PRODUCT STRATEGY
FEATURE OF PRODUCT
PRICING STRATEGY
DITRIBUTION TRATEGY
SUPPLY CHAIN AT LG
RESEARCH
38-41
4. 1. OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH
2. LIMITATIONS OF RESEARCH
3. METHODLOGY
9
FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
5. 42-55
1. FINDINGS OF CONSUMERS
PERCEPTION
2. FINDINGS OF DEALERS
PERCEPTION
3. BRAND AWARENESS
6. SWOT ANALYSIS 56
CONCLUSION
7. 58-59
1.RECOMMENDATION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
60
8.
APPENDICES
9. 61-65
1. QUESTIONNAIRE FOR
CONSUMERS
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INTRODUCTION
Consumer durable industry is one of the most lucrative industries and is rapidly growing.
The Indian economic industry witnessed proliferation of
Global companies in the national scene, liberalization of Indian economy coupled with
the media explosion ushered in a new era of consumerism, increased purchasing power
and leads to the creation of budding consumer durable market.
The version Indian market offered tremendous scope to the multinationals. The growth
rates were as high as 22% in the wide goods segment compared to the nearly 2-3%
growth in the European market. Thus, it will witness major takeovers strategic alliances,
technical collaboration and formation of fully owned subsidiaries.
Adding value to the customer's life as a motto was upheld when LG touched the Indian
shores way back in 1997. Today, when LG is entering a decade, it is very heartening to
see that the company has achieved its growth through sheer hard work and determination.
Company’s mission simply was to provide valued customers with the products which add
value to their life and to build an ever lasting relationship based on that foundation.
Today, this mission has emerged as leaders across categories in the Indian Consumer
Electronics.
LG has in a short span of nine years setup state-of-the art manufacturing facilities and
achieved an unprecedented turnover figure of Rs. 7500 Crores in 2007. It has laid out an
extensive network of 77 subsidiaries across the country employing a total of 72000
people,
LG aims to make India an export hub to consolidate its position not only in the domestic
but in the international markets.
11
COMPANY PROFILE
U.S. $73 billion LG Group is one of the world’s top conglomerates today, having
established its supremacy in diversified fields ranging from electronics, chemicals, and
cosmetics to trade and services. The LG Group was born as “Lucky Chemicals” in 1947,
a pioneer in the fledging chemical industry with a pioneering spirit. Founder chairman
planted the seed of the industry in the barren land.
LG was the First Korean Company to make cosmetics and to enter the synthetic resins
industry. LG established “Gold Star” in 1958, opening the door to electronic industry in
Korea. In the early 1970’s after Founder Chairman passed away, Mr. Chakyung took over
as a chairman.
“Gold Star” brand product sales in 1996 came to U.S. $ 9 billion, which ranked one of the
top electronic industries in the world. LG is known by consumers in more than 171
countries for offering products that deliver ultimate satisfaction. Along with the new
corporate mission, LG electronics has been reborn. The organization remains fruitful and
vibrant.
Building a better future for customer is the top priority and the company is going top gear
to make the “Better Future” a reality. The new corporate name and identity will continue
to offer full satisfaction to customers around the world and will come to symbolize the
face of the future.
12
LG IN INDIA
Its earlier two attempts one in 1992 and one in 1995 had failed. It first entered the country
in 1992 with the Gold Star brand name selling Color Television’s in partnership with
Kolkata-based consumer electronics company Bestavision, the marriage failed to click
right from the start. Two years and a host of problems later, it snapped ties with
Bestavision and tried to form a joint venture with the C.K. Birla group. That move, too,
failed in the negotiation stage itself. By then, the Gold Star brand had acquired a poor
reputation with dealers and consumers alike.
With the change in its corporate identity in 1995 worldwide from ‘Gold Star” to “LG” it
proved to be lucky in India only the third time around, despite being one of the first
multinationals to hit the Indian market after liberalization.
The company launched in May 1997, with, ten model of color television, ranging from 14
inches to 29 inches; eight models of large capacity refrigerators ranging from 320 lt to
650 lt and three models of washing machines from 5.5 kg to 20 kg and subsequently
launched the same in Chandigarh, Lucknow, Jaipur, Bombay, Pune, Calcutta,
Ahmedabad, Indore, Bangalore, Chennai and Delhi. These entire products bear the LG
brand name, which the company has decided to change from its previous brand “Gold
Star” around the world starting from 1997.
The company plans to export products worth. $100 million in a ten-year period. It also
has a plan to invest 25% of its equity to the Indian public or to an Indian investor after 5
years of operation.The company is taking measures to reduce costs and improve
productivity. With emphasis on quality and improved service to the customers at an
affordable price, the company will endeavor to gain additional market share.
13
HOW LG GREW
1958:
• Gold Star was established, developed and produced Korea’s first radio.
1960:
1970:
1980:
14
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Organization structure defines and describes the authority and responsibility relationship
between various positions. The people working together for the accomplishment of some
common objectives require a defined structure through which they are related to each
other and through which their efforts can be coordinated into a team.
LG is a functional organization whereby all the activities in the company are grouped
according to certain function.
• Sales and Marketing
• Human Resource Department
• Manufacturing
• Finance and Accounts
In LG, each functional head performs a specialized function for the entire company.
Every functional head has functional authority over other departments and every
employee reports to several functional heads. Here each operating executive carefully
concentrates on his function and gets expert advice and assistants.
At LG management and staff are subdivided into two levels:
(a) Managerial Cadre
(b) Clerical Cadre
Managerial Clerical
Officer II
Executive
15
Depending on the above classification of the managerial cadre, management can be
divided into the following.
Each employee in the above levels performs his or her task and responsibilities according
to the assigned function.
• Managing Director
• Vice President
• Managers
• Senior Manager
• Deputy Manager
• Executives
• Management trainees
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subsystem depends largely upon the policies, programmes and practices of the Human
Resource Management subsystem. The quality of HR determines in turn the success of an
organization.
Marketing strategy
In a short span of just 26 months, since its inception in May 1997, the brand has attained
a brand awareness level of about 90% in the consumer durable Indian market.
Considering the fact that LG electronics is a Korean multinational, entering the Indian
market meant establishing itself in a different market altogether with varied culture and
consumer tastes and preferences. Also that so many multinationals are sweeping into the
country, it is evident that each and every company has a cutting edge over another. These
global corporations are deviating from their international methodologies and improvising
their strategies for local markets.
Operations: LG opted for starting its own manufacturing facility at Greater Noida. The
20 month schedule to commission its manufacturing plant was compressed to 10 months.
The company decided to go in for a Green Field Project rather than acquisitions or
mergers. (For all products except refrigerators).
17
Products: LG decided to go in for Product Adaptation Strategy. Globally LG does not
operate in the direct cool refrigerator, semi automatic washing machine and 21 inch Color
Televisions. But the company had to develop these products for the Indian market
because these areas constitute a major bulk of buys for the Indian consumer. Also LG
launched, Sampoorna, India’s first Television with a devnagiri script on screen display on
the 50th anniversary of Indian Independence. LG’s strategy of localizing its products to
suit Indian tastes added to its strength.
Brand: The company launched its products in country with “LG, the global leader”. It
did not opt for any established brands in the country to be associated with it.
Leadership: At LG electronics, keeping the localized strategy in mind, the strategic areas
such as sales and marketing are headed by an Indian.
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THE BUSINESS MODEL
P
Fully-owned Greenfield Indian
E
INVESTMENT
R
A Incremental
BOTTOMLINE
T
OBJECTIVE
I
O
Market share
N
S Before launching itself in the market in 1997, it carried out an extensive research study to
understand consumer motivations to create magnetic products, price them strategically,
position them sharply and keep making the magnetism more potent. Having understood
the finer differences in consumer motivations, it opted for sharp arrow ‘reason to buy’
differentiation over the all-approach (category wise) taken by most of the other players.
19
After the initial preliminary market studies the sales and marketing department decided to
start off with 3 product categories:
• Color televisions
• Refrigerators
Within the first 4.5 months the company went all-India. As the company’s business
began to rise, LG introduced the following products to expand its product portfolio:
• Air conditioners
• Microwave ovens.
In a broad perspective, LG’s sales and marketing success can be attributed to its 7P’s of
marketing. In addition to the products, price, place and promotion, the key factors
that have contributed to LG’s success are the following 3 additional P’s:
The most important winning factor of the sales and marketing has been its ‘Passion’. It
is this attribute within all the workers that drives the other 6 P’s.
However LG’s Marketing Strategy is based on 3 P’s, apart from the conventional 4 P’s of
marketing:
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• Deep Penetration to increase volumes
Premium Pricing: LG electronics was one of the late entrants the 18th player. While other
companies were jostling to play the low price high volumes game, LG decided to
concentrate on the high end of all the product segments.
The maximum price of a CTV was Rs. 21,000 for a 21inch model, was 10 percent higher
than Sony’s prices. Since most of the competitors were catering to the lower and middle
segments, LG decided to concentrate on the premium segments. To cultivate the image
that LG was a leader is both technology and quality, innovative products were launched.
LG’s quality products and competitive prices have been accepted in the market place
considering its 90% brand awareness.
Place: The Company did not want to waste any time being among the last to enter the
market. The 20 month schedule to commission its manufacturing plant was compressed
to 10 months. It also decided to go in for a nation wide launch and appointed 1000
dealers in just 5 months in 1997. Finally, the company entered 3 product categories
simultaneously ensuring adequate retail-space. The company was able to build up the
market for its products faster because it had launched one product at a time and marketed
them region - wise.
However, to keep pace with the competitive market place it will have to launch models
with innovative features at regular intervals. For e.g., the proposed launch of a digital
TV by 2000 and many other digital products is a step towards this direction.
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LG believes in “Value Marketing”. LG is sacrificing volume for value. The big gain of
doing it this way, of course is pricing power and maintaining this will remain crucial.
Product positioning
The company wanted a USP for its products which no other company in the industry had.
Hence it piggybacked on health. This is a niche which none of the other company’s had
thought of. Each of its product lines were positioned based on health:
LG has right from its inception launched a series of state-of-the-art technology backed
products. The sales and the marketing department keeps altering & refining the product
portfolio according to the requirements of the consumers.
i. Color televisions
ii. Refrigerators
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iv. Air conditioners
v. Microwave ovens
Initially in 1997, the company had launched only 12 models of Color Televisions, 8
models of refrigerators (300 lt + frost free) and 3 models of fully automatic washing
machines. Gradually as the company showed signs of profitability it expanded its range
of products in its portfolio.
FEATURES OF PRODUCTS
I. REFRIGERATORS
a. Direct Cool: These refrigerators cool through the direct contact of air with the
cooling coils bound around the freezer. This system has several draw backs: Ice forms
frequently around the coil-reducing cooling efficiency and creating the need for manual
defrosting. Also the temperature distribution is uneven with the various compartments.
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LG entered the refrigerator market with 300 lt frost free models. It introduced 8 models
initially and now it has 9 models in the frost free type and 3 in the direct cool type.
LG’s air conditioners were launched in phase II of Jan’98. It launched its air conditioners
as “Health Air Conditioner’s”
a. Split type
b. Window type
On the whole there are about 9 models of Air Conditioners available in the market.
Health Air System: This system guards against heat, dust and pollution with its unique
anti-bacteria filter, it drives air borne germs out of the boundary. Its de-odorizing filter
does away with unpleasant odors, and the anti-fungus electrostatic air purification unit
traps dust particles as little as 0.01 microns and even smoke. It’s ‘Chaos’ Logic air flow
system creates natural air currents, and cools in gentle puffs rather than with blasts of
cold air. Thus it prevents any unhealthy, abrupt drops in the body temperature.
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• Unique Air Purifying Filters: The filtering system utilizes two filters. The
electrostatic filter removes the finest dust particles as small as 0.01 mm and even tobacco,
smoke and pollen. The de-odorizing filter removes unpleasant odors, especially those
caused by airborne fungi.
• Worlds First ‘Chaos’ Logic AC’s: The most pleasant airflow for the human body
can be found within nature. Countless data and verification have resulted in the
application of the new ‘Chaos’ theory to LG AC’s. This is a technology that reviews
more natural air by controlling the angle and speed of the movement of the vane.
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Middle &upper-middle Rs. 14000 to Rs 19000
income groups.
Frost free (up to 640 lt) Upper and upper middle Rs. 26,000 to Rs. 64,000
class; working women
Split type Upper and upper middle Rs. 42,000 to Rs. 67,000
class
Window type Upper middle and middle Rs. 23000 to Rs. 33,000
class
Semi Automatic Middle class and mass Rs. 75,00 to Rs. 8,000
market;
Fully Automatic Upper middle and upper- Rs. 18,000 to Rs. 21,000
class working women
26
Micro wave oven Health wave cooking
system
27
DISTRIBUTION AND RELATED STRATEGIES
LG is currently selling its products in 1800 towns and cities with population of one lakhs
and above. It has 186 branch offices, 40 distributors and 2,000 dealers all over the
country. By the end of 2008, the company plans to reach another 8000 towns with a
population of 50,000 or more. In this process it will add on to 100 distributors and 1500
dealers.
To achieve this, the company engages eight vans to feed the country covering 5000 km
every month, to familiarize the trade and the customers with LG products.
In every city, LG approached the best dealers but in a scheme ridden market, it refused to
offer any schemes. It positioned itself as an ethical company, instead of discounts. LG
wanted dealers to pay an advance for LG products. This ensured that the dealer would
push the brand in the market place, even if it was just to keep his oven cash from staying
blocked. In the long run this created demand for the brand.
Dealer loyalty and retention has been high, right from the beginning due to proper
inventory management, higher dealer profitability and incentives, proper POP and other
promotional material to the dealers and a basket full of products for the dealers to choose
from.
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Supply Chain at LG
C & F agents
Distributor
Dealer
• Advertising
• Public Relations
• Sales Promotion
i. Advertising
The company started with advertising on print and outdoor media in 1997.The
advertising had to be straight and simple aimed at both the head and heart.
29
For e.g. to advertise for refrigerators the ad - line went “From today all other refrigerators
will become history”. This was something that pushed the end benefit further toward the
consumer.
Over time, the media used extensively to advertise. Electronic, print and outdoor are
some of the types of advertisements. The media used to advertise for LG are 60% TV,
30% print and 10% outdoor.
Also the company has started with web advertising over the site.
In order to boost secondary sales the sales and marketing department has launched a new
activity. Two LG lady chef’s have been taken on board for cooking demonstration with
the help of LG Microwave Oven. The demos will be held at kitty parties arranged by
members, at dealer counters (to attract walk in customers), to new LG microwave
customers (they would be requested to invite at least 6-7 people to their house at the time
of demo). Currently this activity has started only in Kolkata and Mumbai and will be
gradually extended to other branches.
Now that LG is coming up with its digital range of products, the vehicle that the company
plans to adopt would be direct selling, in order to demonstrate the products wherever
possible. The company keeps in mind the seasonality of product while promoting for its
products. It advertises heavily during festive season and also during summers when the
demand for Air Conditioners, washing machines is on the rise.
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TABLE 6:
The company considers the Advertising: Sales ratio, if sales are increasing the company
tries to reduce the ad – budget.
Of late LG has got more into corporate advertising i.e. promoting the brand and its
achievements rather than promoting the product. Even the ads seen on TV these days, LG
is trying to promote the brand and not the product.
The company takes care of the PR activities on its own mostly for press releases etc. The
officials at LG are very media friendly hence 90% of the media comes to the company
itself.
Today, LG stands as the Number 1 Public Relations Company in the industry... The
company organizes press conferences very often to keep the media updated on its
activities.
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Iii.Sales Promotion
It is only once in a while that the company comes up with promotional schemes. For
consumers, it has schemes like 10% off on pre- peak purchases and low finance schemes.
For dealers, the company gives them good margins based on sales, sending them to Korea
etc. Some of the recent schemes that LG has come up with:
(a) Lucky draws on purchase of every LG product, to a lucky customer, he’ll get a free
trip to Singapore for 4 days.
According to the stages of the product life cycle, LG is in the growth stage considering
the company’s success over the past 3 years. Marketing objectives and strategies for the
introductory and the growth stage are summarized.
Introduction Growth
Price Initially prices high to cater the Catering to the mass market
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premium end via its diverse priced.
COMPETITOR ANALYSIS
1) WHIRLPOOL
33
Whirlpool, right from its inception in 1911 as first commercial manufacturer of
motorized washers to the current market position of being world's number one
manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, has always set industry milestones
and benchmarks. The parent company is headquartered at Benton Harbor, Michigan,
USA with a global presence in over 170 countries and manufacturing operation in 13
countries with 11 major brand names /
Soon Whirlpool acquired Kelvinator India Limited in 1995 and marked an entry into
Indian refrigerator market as well. This expanded the company's portfolio in the Indian
subcontinent to washing machines, refrigerator, microwave ovens and air conditioners.
In the year ending in March '06, the annual turnover of the company for its Indian
enterprise was Rs.1,375 Crores. According to data, Whirlpool enjoys the status of the
single largest refrigerator and second largest washing machine brand in India.
34
A slogan of “You and whirlpool, the world's best homemaker” dots its promotional
campaigns. The products are engineered to suit the requirements of ‘smart, confident and
in-control' homemaker who knows what she wants. The product range is designed in a
way that it employs unique technology and offers consumer relevant solutions.
2) VIDEOCON
Videocon is an industrial conglomerate with interests all over the world and based in
India. The group has 17 manufacturing sites in India and plants in China, Poland, Italy
and Mexico. It is also the third largest picture tube manufacturer in the world. In India the
group sells consumer products like Color Televisions, Washing Machines, Air
Conditioners, Refrigerators, Microwave ovens and many other home appliances, selling
them through a Multi-Brand strategy with the largest sales and service network in
35
India.Videocon Group brands include Sansui, Toshiba, Electrolux, Kenstar, Next
The Videocon group has an annual turnover of US $ 4.1 billion, making it one of the
largest consumer electronic and home appliance companies in India...
3) SAMSUNG
Since its founding in 1938, SAMSUNG has maintained a mission statement that responds
both to its own change, and to new developments in the world.
36
The management philosophy represents the strong determination to contribute directly to
the prosperity of people all over the world. The talent, creativity and dedication of the
people are key factors to efforts, and the strides made in technology offer endless
possibilities to achieve higher standards of living everywhere.
SAMSUNG believes that the success of contributions to society and to the mutual
prosperity of people across national boundaries truly depends on how we manage our
company. The company’s goal is to create the future with our customers Samsung
provides products like dishwaher, washing machine, microwave, refrigerator and air
conditioners.
37
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
Globalization has affected today’s market towards the competitiveness. There are so
many domestic and multinational companies growing up rapidly. Survival is being the
core concept of the companies.
A company must know the strategy of the competitors because it directly affects it. So
there is a need for a company to know its rivals market potential, market share and selling
strategies.
Today the choice and preferences of consumer is also changing. Customer is now aware
about the products. Customer is better educated more sophisticated. He is aggressive and
critical who demands his money’s worth and pays only for what he wants.
Dealers are the customers of the company and consumers are the main source of the
information. This project has certain objectives for which dealers and consumer’s
perception were covered all over Kolkata region.
38
Limitations in Research
Every study has its own limitations in terms of methodology and the resources available
for its conduct. This study has no expectation to it and has been carried under following
limitation:
1. Some of the dealers as well as the customers were not forthcoming with information as
they thought it to be a waste of time. Some customers were not able to respond due to
lack of awareness.
2. A number of dealers were biased towards a particular brand which was giving them better
returns.
3. Some of the shop owners were not available so, contacted person was not able to present
a fair view.
4. Respondent’s lack of time to give information and their casual attitude was a big
hindrance in the study.
5. The dealers were biased by some recent experiences which they had with a particular
distributor regarding the service or distribution.
Research Methodology
39
Methodology is the specification of the method for acquiring the information needed to
structure the study.
Universe
Universe for dealer survey was Dehradun.
Universe for consumer survey was Dehradun.
Sampling Size:
• Sample size for consumer survey was 100 covering houses and markets from different
areas of Dehradun.
• Company survey consisted of visiting 70 dealers of Dehradun.
Sampling Techniques:
Collection of Data
1. Secondary data
Internal Data
External Data
40
2. Primary Data
• Interview Method
Some of the employees of LG from Sales and marketing department and a few dealers of
LG were interviewed for the purpose of exploratory study. The response obtained from
them was very helpful in preparing the questionnaire for dealers and deciding upon
various classificatory and data variables.
Two questionnaires were designed one for the consumers and the other for the dealers. 70
dealers and sub dealers and 100 consumers were visited for the research work.
Observation Method
Observation about the consumer behavior at dealer counter gave us lots of knowledge
about the customer expectations regarding products, counter preferences for brand and
after sales service.
41
FINDING AND ANALYSIS
To study the promotional strategies of various brands only newspapers were studied due
to practical limitations. Four newspapers were studied for a period of two months from
02nd May to 30th June, 2010. 2 of them were English Newspapers i.e. Times of India and
Hindustan Times and 2 Hindi Newspapers i.e. Dainik jagran and Hindustan.
42
GRAPH 1:
16 15
14
12 E le c tro lu x
10
Type of advertisements
10 G o d re j
8 7 H itac h i
6 4 4 LG
4 3 S am s u n g
2 2
2 V id e o c o n
0 V o ltas
W h irp o o l
B ran d s
43
GRAPH 2:-
35 32
Total advertisements
30 Electrolux
25 Godrej
19 18
20
Hitachi
15
7 8 LG
10 5 6
4
5 Samsung
0 Videocon
Voltas
Whirpool
Brands
GRAPH 3:-
44
Brands - wise Classification of
advertisement on basis of days
7
6 Sunday
5 Monday
Number of
4 Tuesday
advertisem
3 Wednesday
ents 2 Thursday
1 Friday
0 LG SAMSUNG WHIRPOOL Saturday
Brands
45
FINDINGS OF CONSUMER’S PERCEPTION
A total of 100 consumers were taken into consideration for the analysis. The survey
covered different houses and markets in Dehradun.
GRAPH 1:
GRAPH 2:
40 32 Factors
LG
30
Price 23 Brand
Durability 18
Capacity Sony
20
Convinience 11 8 Services
11 Provided by the Co.
Adv. & Pub.
10 & Friends
Discount Offers
5 BPL
Family
0 Videocon
Philips
Brand
Others
46
Consumer electronic items include Television, Refrigerator and Air Conditioners.
Consumers were asked to recall the advertisement of any brand and their responses are
measured and plotted in the graph. From the graph it is observed that advertisements of
LG brand ie 59 were recalled mostly.
GRAPH 3:-
60
Samsung
50 Whirlpool
Bajaj
40
Godrej
Points
LG
30
BPL
20 Kenstar
Videocon
10 Philips
IFB
0 Others
Brand
Home electronic items include Washing Machine and Micro Wave Ovens.
Consumers were asked to recall the advertisement of any home appliance brand and their
responses are measured and plotted in the above graph.
47
From the graph it is observed that advertisements of LG brand i.e., 48 were recalled
mostly.
GRAPH 1:-
Consumers were asked to rate various factors of LG products and their response was
measured and plotted. From the figure it is observed that LG products were perceived to
have effective advertisement, better quality and have high brand equity. (i.e. 71, 45 and
35 respectively)
50 BETTER Q UALITY
Points 40
GO O D BRAND EQ UITY
30
BETTER AFTER SALES
20 SERVICES
10 EASY TO USE
0 DURABLE
Factors MO RE FUCTIO NS
BETTER APPEARANC E
48
AGE-WISE CLASSIFICATION OF CONSUMER’S
Perception
GRAPH 2:
49
GRAPH 3:-
Consumers were asked to recall the advertisement of LG products and their response was
measured and plotted in the graph. From the graph it is observed that age group of 18-35
years recalled mostly advertisement of Refrigerator and Air Conditioner. While age
group of 35-50 years recalled mostly advertisement of Microwave and Color Television
100%
80%
> 50 yrs
60%
35 - 50
40%
18 - 35
20%
0%
CTV Ref. AC W /M M/W
while age group above 50 years recalled Refrigerator and Washing Machine.
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Dealer’s Perception
Dealers were asked questions regarding various factors and were asked to rate them on a
5 point scale. Points scored by individual brands were added. Maximum points, which
could be scored by any brand, were 21. Their responses are plotted in the graph.
GRAPH 1:
12
10
Incentive
8 POP
Supply
Points 6
Employee behaviour
4 Credit period
2 After sales services
Warranty period
0
1 2 34 5 Brands
6 7 89 1011
1 = Sansui, 2 = Samsung, 3 = Crown, 4 = LG,
5 = Electrolux, 6 = Whirpool, 7 = Akai, 8 = Godrej,
9 = BPL, 10 = Videocon, 11 = Onida
From the figure it is concluded that Sansui and Samsung were perceived as the best
brands with 10 points.
Sansui and Crown were told to have best after sales service.
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Godrej offers best supply.
BRAND AWARENESS
LG electronics has established a strong brand name standing apart in the consumers
mind. In three years of its existence in the market it has attained a brand awareness level
of about 90% in the consumer durable market.
This survey was conducted covering 4000 households across 4 metros Delhi (B), Chennai
(C), Kolkata (D) and Mumbai (M) to quantify the gains and losses made by each of the
major advertisers on the awareness scales of viewers.
D C B M All D C B M All
20% 18% 14% 20% 18% 30% 34% 22% 32% 31%
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Brand Association with Products
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Analysis
LG spent about Rs. 40 crore as its expenditure for the world cup. Huge players like BPL
did not succeed much in the market. Every unit of mind space that LG gained was BPL’s
loss. Both BPL and LG started out with the same brand awareness before the World Cup,
but BPL fell and LG rose because of different ad-spends. Brand awareness for BPL fell
from 35% to 27% and for LG it rose from 18% to 31%.
LG exploited the opportunity that its ad-spend offered by pushing through its mother –
brand image. It was a smart strategy and it worked.
This is the reason that customers perception of LG has widened dramatically from being
a Television company to being a full fledged consumer durable company. It has gained
on its association with every product category: 40 percent to 61 percent for fridges; 38 to
56 for washing machines; 27 to 36 for music systems; 11 to 22 for microwaves; 15 to 37
for AirConditioner’s. This is quite an achievement.
Brand Strength
According to the research we can analyze where LG stands in the consumer’s mind. It
compared LG’s Color Televisions, refrigerators and washing machines with leading
brands in the same categories on four parameters: recall level, recommendation
inclination, status connotation and product differentiation. The survey was conducted in
the five metros and four other cities (Lucknow, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad and Jaipur)
amongst 25-40 year old men owning a car or motorbike (for Color Televisions); 25-40
year old men and women in car/ motorbike owning house holds (for fridges); and women
in car – owning households (for washing machines).
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• Some of the findings are:
Clearly, LG’s brand – building efforts have had exemplary success. What the company
needs to do is to capitalize on it.
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SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths Weaknesses
Premium pricing, no discounts Lack of transparency with dealers
Focus on technology and quality Focus on niche segments
Strong commitment from parent Dominance of Korean work culture
In – house manufacturing capability Little presence in A&B class towns
Products localized to suite Indian
tastes
Opportunity Threats
Convert image into market share Way behind market leader
Wide product portfolio Stagnant urban demand
Positive rub-off due to high quality Nothing unique about strategy
Healthy resource generation Highly competitive market
The strategy adopted by the company of premium pricing could turn out to be its
weakness in the long run. It would enable it to remain a low volumes player only. Even a
company like Sony, which believes in selling premium products globally, has decided to
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introduce cheaper washing machine models to increase its volumes in small towns. The
reason for doing this is because future demand will come from the small towns and the
rural areas where consumers are extremely price sensitive.
However, within the past three years the marketing efforts of LG has paid fruits but now
the company must move ahead with better proposals and ideas to survive in the
competitive market. The key to survive in a competitive market place is the ability to
launch models with innovative features at regular intervals. Currently LG has a wide
range of products but it needs to aggressively introduce more models.
LG electronics has to go a long way before it becomes a major in the consumer durables
market. Becoming India’s top consumer electronics company, it means surging past BPL,
Videocon and Philips. At the moment BPL is the largest player in consumer electronics
and home appliances. And these companies definitely have its eyes open to know what is
happening in the industry. However LG’s technological superiority will provide the
cutting edge to its marketing strategy. Also the support that the company is getting from
the parent company that is willing to invest in more money, the company’s growth is
assured.
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CONCLUSION
The result of success in today’s highly charged competitive market depends not only in
product innovation and level of productivity but also in hands of efficient service network
with technological advancements and more adaptability towards information edge.
It has been seen that companies are trying to lower the cost of production and trying to
give more emphasis in creating value added customer base and customer service. It has
lead to extreme innovation and cost reduction to the marketer. It is also seen during last
few years that the companies, which have more, efficient, and meaningful service
network and also the companies who have controlled the cost of distribution have
eventually controlled the market.
In order to multiply sales volume, only an efficient dealer and retail network can widen
the geographical reach of a company’s products. There is substantial over capacity in the
industry. A shakeout is most likely and survival will depend upon technology, pricing
power, efficient after sales service and to a limited extend branding power.
One thing has become quite clear now, strategic marketing is critical for survival and
growth.
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Recommendations
At this point of market evolution, various electronic and household producing companies
believe that their core competency is managing operations and brand. Competitors
believe that this is a time to invest in the business and not to save cost through
outsourcing. So LG should consider this viewpoint and think about the risk involved in
outsourcing its core competence.
LG should try to counter by providing lower rates to certain users or high end
users i.e. to follow discriminatory or product-mix pricing strategy.
LG must try to come out with some specific plans and offers so that people get
motivated and buy the product because of that specific offer.
More proportional schemes should be launched to incorporate the perfect blend of
push and pull. So LG should provide dealers and distributor more perks and
incentives.
Emphasis on more effective Public Relation exercise should be given by
sponsoring various events to expand its reach.
In the interest of subscribers LG should take serious steps regarding the
‘Customer satisfaction pre and post sale’ in consent with the regulatory bodies.
LG should incorporate further innovations to outsmart the most potential
competitors like Samsung, Whirlpool and Voltas.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
WEBSITES
1) www.lgindia.com
2) www.electronicindustry.com
3) www.strategy-business.com
4) www.google.com
2) Business Today, June 2010, "Will LG be Lucky Enough to Strike Gold", George
Skaria.
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APPENDICES
1. Full Name:
4. Monthly Income:
Less than Rs 3000 Rs 3000 to 9000
Rs 9000 to 15000 more than Rs15000
5. Are you planning to buy any consumer electronics item within a year?
YES NO
2 REFRIGERATOR:
LG Whirlpool Electrolux
Godrej Other _______
3 AIR CONDITIONER:
LG Carrier Hitachi
Voltas Samsung Other ______
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4 WASHING MACHINE:
LG Samsung Whirlpool
Videocon Other ______
5 MICROWAVE:
LG Samsung Kenstar
Whirlpool Other _______
7. Rank the following factors in the way they affect your buying decision of a consumer
electronics product? ( Rank 1 being least important and 5 being most important )
Price ___ Appearance ___ Durability ___ Functions __ Easy to use ___After
Sales Service ___ Brand Name ____ Pressure of friends, relatives____
8. Which two brands first come in your mind when you talk of consumer electronic items
and Home Appliances?
Partially Unsatisfied
Fully Satisfied
Satisfied
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Quality of goods
Price
3. For how long you have been selling consumer electronic and household items?
Less than 1 year 1 year or more
4. What all brands of consumer electronics are sold the most in your shop? Please
specify.
____________________________________________________________
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5. What is your opinion about Warranty Period offered by the above company in its
products?
Unsatisfied Neutral Satisfied
6. What are your annual sales of following products of various brands during past year?
(Annual sales in units)
7. What is your opinion about After Sales Service offered by company to its customers?
Partially Neutral Satisfied partially
Unsatisfied Unsatisfied Satisfied
LG
Samsung
Whirlpool
Voltas
Videocon
Electrolux
Godrej
9. Any comments/suggestions
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________
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