Principles of Marketing

Principles of Marketing

Utility stores

Assignment # 2

Presented to: Prof.Dr Siddiqi

Presented by:
MBA-I

Utility stores in Karachi: Successful or Not

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Introduction:
Utility stores are the stores in which consumer goods are available at cheaper rates. These
stores are developed and maintained by the government.
In almost all the societies, there is a general tendency to acquire more and more wealth
by all means. Similar situation was also being faced by Pakistan where majority of the
private traders were applying tactics like creation of artificial shortages of essential items
of consumption, black-marketing, charging high prices etc. The public had become
hostages in the hands of the unscrupulous traders and had no option but to buy from them
at what ever prices they demanded. In order to tide over this situation, and to provide
economic relief to the public, the Federal Government established Utility Stores
Corporation (USC) in July 1971 and placed it under the control of Ministry of Industries,
Production & Special Initiatives. The USC started its operations by taking over 20 stores
from the staff Welfare Organization, of the Establishment Division and gradually started
increasing its numbers. To exercise better command and control, the USC established
Regional Offices in different big cities to cater to the requirements of these additional
stores in an organized and economical manner. Some Government and private
departments also invited USC to open its stores for their employees for which they
provided rent-free store accommodation. The USC also opened a large number of stores
in different cities and towns by acquiring shops on rent at market rates.

Purpose :
The USC is committed to provide clean, graded, hygienically fit, unadulterated genuine
food and non-food items to the public and especially to the poorer segments of the
society, at comparatively cheaper rates than the market and to offer them a pleasant
environment of mutual confidence while making their purchases. It is also committed
towards its obligation to provide economic relief to the public by playing its role as a
price moderator and deterrent to profiteering, hoarding and black-marketing

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Objectives:
The basic objective of the USC is to provide essential and other items of daily use to the
public, specially the poorer segments of the society, at prices comparatively lower than
the market. It is, therefore, required to act as a price moderator and deterrent to
profiteering, hoarding and black marketing, thereby to provide economic relief to the
public.

Operations and Functions

The entire operations of USC are monitored by a Board of Directors which periodically
provides policy guidelines. The Secretary, Industries, Production and Special Initiatives
are Chairman of the Board of Directors. The operational activities of the USC are
managed by the Managing Director who is assisted by Six General Managers. It has
presently Fifteen (15) Regional Offices which are headed by Regional Managers and
monitored / supervised by four Zonal Managers. In order to exercise better command &
control and to conduct stores operations in a disciplined and more organized manner, new
Regional Offices are being opened in main cities under the expansion programme. Each
Regional Manager is assisted by Accounts Officer, Area Managers and other staff. Each
USC Region operates stores in its Region. These stores are supplied the required goods
through Trucks from the Regional Warehouse which are established in all USC Regions.
The sale prices are fixed by the Head Office located at Islamabad. The Head Office
makes procurements centrally and places orders on the suppliers to deliver goods to the
Regional Warehouses based on their fortnightly / monthly demands. The stores sell goods
and deposit sale proceeds in the local designated bank branches on daily or twice a day
basis from where these are remitted on daily basis to the Head Office which release
payments to the suppliers on due dates Region / Province wise total stores in operation as
on 30th June 2006 are 560.. On the direction of the Government, the USC under a phased
programme, is opening 440 new Utility Stores throughout the country. With the opening
of these stores, all Districts and Tehsil Headquarters / Talukas in the country will be
covered.

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Major Items
The USC is presently retailing over 2500 food & non food items of daily consumption.
Major items being sold by the USC are given below. On an average, a customer when
purchases kitchen and other items from the Utility Stores makes a saving of 8% to 10%
as compared with the purchases of identical items from a private retailer. The items sold
at Utility Stores are hygienically fit, unadulterated, genuine, clean, graded, of correct
weight and are cheaper than the marke
Prices of Major Items as On 18-08-2007

S. USC Sale Retail Market

Name of items
No Price Price
1. Super Basmati Rice 45.00 55.00 to 60.00
2. Tota Rice 25.00 30.00 to 33.00
3. Sugar 25.00 28.00 to 30.00
4. Dal Chana 29.00 33.00 to 35.00
5. Moong Washed 47.00 51.00 to 53.00
6. Mash Washed 57.00 68.00 to 72.00
7. White Gram 59.00 62.00 to 64.00
8. Dal Masoor 57.00 58.00 to 62.00
9. Tapal Danedar Tea 200 gms 54.00 57.00
10. Tapal Danedar Tea 400 gms 100.00 105.00
11. Yellow Label Tea 200 gms (Leaf) 61.00 64.00
12. Supreme Tea 250 gms 62.50 65.00
13. Rooh Afza 800 ml 79.00 80.00
14. Jam-e-Shireen 81.00 85.00
15. Lu Candi 160 gm 21.00 22.00
16. Lu Tuc 21.00 22.00
17. Fauji CornFlakes 225 gms 55.00 60.00
18. Rafhan Custard 300 gms 34.00 35.00
19. Nido 400 gms 138.00 145.00
20. Everyday 400 gms 124.00 130.00
21. Rose Petal Tissue Paper Luxury 46.00 48.00
22. Dentonic Tooth Paste 50 gms (Sensitive) 27.00 30.00
23. Dentonic Tooth Paste 75 gms (Sensitive) 36.00 40.00
24. Shezan Tomato Ketchup 830 gms 77.00 80.00

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25. Mango Pickle 325 gms (Shezan) 48.00 50.00

26. Mango Pickle 1000 gms (Shezan) 117.00 122.00
27. Apple Jam 440 gms (Shezan) 60.00 65.00
28. National Roonaq Biryani Masala 50 gms 21.00 22.00
National Roonaq Bombay Biryani Masala 70
29. 21.00 22.00
gms
30. USC Red Chilli Powder 200 gms 34.00 36.00 to 39.00
31. USC Turemeric Powder 100 gms 10.00 15.00
32. USC Garam Masala Powder 50 gms 18.00 28.00
33. USC Coriander Powder 200 gms H/P 16.00 26.00
34. USC Crystal Iodized Salt 800 gms 8.00 14.00
35. USC Kenya Tea 200 gms 47.00 57.00
36. Utility Ghee 1 Kg Pouch 67.00 91.00
37. Utility Cooking Oil 1 Ltr 67.00 91.00
38. Utility Manpasand Ghee 1Kg 67.00 91.00
39. Utility Manpasand Oil 1Ltr 67.00 91.00
42. Sufi Washing Soap P.Kg 62.00 64.00

Utility stores in Karachi

Store Code Name of Store

No.
KI-0010 Gulshan 13/C Sumera Centre Gulshan-e-Iqbal Block 13/C Karachi
KI-0064 Gulshan-e-Johar 16/A Karachi
KI-0067 Dewan-e-Khas Karachi
KI-0068 Gulshan 4/B Karachi
KI-0046 Defence 31/C 1st Border Commercial Area Phase-V PDOHA, Karachi

Super Stores in Karachi

1. Agha’s
2. Imtiaz1
3. Imtiaz2
4. Naheed

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5. Shahid Iqbal
6. D-mart
7. Forum
8. Park towers

Price List of D-Mart

Category Description Price

pulses Bajra 1kg Rs. 20
Pulses Black channa 1kg Rs. 42
Pulses Kabli channa 1kg Rs.64
Pulses Red lobia 1kg Rs. 56
Pulses White lobia 1kg Rs.58
Flour Al-khubz atta 10 kg Rs. 205
Flour Ashrafi chakki atra Rs. 225
10 kg
Flour Asian atta 5kg Rs. 120
Flour Haseeb atta 5kg Rs. 110
Flour bake parlor atta Rs.140

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Ghee Adam’s desi ghee Rs. 195

tin 1kg
Ghee Aseel pure ghee Rs. 240
500 kg
Ghee Dalda banaspati Rs. 112
Ghee Gold’n palm Rs. 379

Services in Super Stores and Utility Stores:

The facilities and services are very good in the super stores. To do shopping in big stores
is very comfortable. Many stores or almost all of the super stores have air conditioners
for their customers keeping in view their customer’s conformability. In super stores there
is variety of goods and products. All the products are well arranged over there and they
have their staff in their stores in order to help he customers. the paying system in these
stores is very organizing and time saving. These stores provide car parking for their
customers and all these facilities make such stores better and distinguishable from the
utility stores. Many people who are busy and they don’t like the congested areas they
prefer to buy their things from such super stores and they also get plenty of variety in the
same store that makes them more convenient.
Apart from all such services and facilities these super stores are pretty expensive and a
normal mediocre cannot afford such process. Such stores are better or comfortable for the
rich and business class. But the question arises what other class of the economy do? For
the rest of the classes of our society government has opened utility stores. Grocery items

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are available at lower prices on such stores and people buy their items for such stores.
But in such stores there are lots of people and they have to face long queues.

Conclusion:
The utility stores are providing a good service to poor people. By providing the consumer
goods at cheaper rates government is trying to eliminate the poverty from the country.
However it is not that easy to eliminate the poverty completely but providing such
incentives government can insure that some steps are being taken for the poor people and
they are also given some incentives. But there are lots of people in the utility stores
and there are long queue in such stores and people have to wait for too long even
in hours for their turn and it is kind of hectic for them. And also such stores do
not have facilities like air conditioners, cooperative staff, variety of goods .
And these stores provide limited of goods. Because of these reasons or problems
utility stores are not that successful but they are not even unsuccessful and also
government is trying to expand the number of the utility stores and trying to
make them successful.