PROJECT REPORT OF TATA STEEL

Title of the project:

Retail market assessment for Tata GI pipes in Hooghly, Howrah & Kolkata South.

SUBMITTED TO:
MR.TVS.SHENOY
PRESENTED BY:

SUBHADIP MITRA, IIPM (KOLKATA) ABHISHEK MALLICK, IIPM (KOLKATA)

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CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
The following Summer Internship Report titled Retail market assessment for Tata GI pipes in Hooghly, Howrah & Kolkata South is hereby approved as a certified study in management carried out and presented in a manner satisfactory to warrant its acceptance as a prerequisite for the award of MBA (Master of Business Administration) for which it has been submitted. It is understood that by this approval the undersigned do not necessarily endorse or approve any statement made, opinion expressed or conclusion drawn there in but approve the Summer Internship Report only for the purpose it is submitted. Summer Internship Report Examination Committee for evaluation of Summer Internship Report Organizational Guide : Signature : Name Mr. T V Srinivas Shenoy : Designation Head Marketing (STP), Tubes SBU : Address Tata Tubes SBU, 3rd Floor, Tata Center, 43 J N Road, Kolkata - 700071 West Bengal : Tel No 033 22886996 (O), 9231056817 (M) : Email tvshenoy@tatasteel.com

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Firstly we thank Mr. Dipankar Sarkar, Dean, IIPM- Kolkata & Mr. Kulbir Chauhan, Dean, IIPM- Kolkata for the motivation given at the beginning of the project. We thanks to our project guide, Prof. Bijan D. Gupta for lending us his full support. His indispensable guidance and help played the major role in completing our project successfully. We are thankful to the esteemed company Tata Steel Limited for giving us the wonderful opportunity to undergo an invaluable training program and complete the Summer Project in Kolkata.

This training program proved to be an invaluable and extremely useful experience which both enhanced and increased our knowledge of Marketing Management. This was made even more meaningful because we trained under and were guided by some of the most knowledgeable and experienced persons in this significant field.

We therefore extend our gratitude to Mr. TVS. Shenoy(Head Marketing STP, Tubes SBU) for giving us the chance to train and work under his watchful eye.

We would also like to thank Mr. Shiddarth Mishra (Regional Sales Manager), Mr. Sayandeb Mukherjee (Manager Marketing STP), Mr. Udipta Sanyal (Senior Manager Sales), Mr. Joydeep Majumder (Assistant Manager Sales) for giving us the opportunity to work under his supervision. It would not have been easy for us to complete the project without their whole-hearted cooperation and support.

We would like to thanks Mrs. Bhawna M Raj (Sr. Manager HR/IR Commercial) who helped us whenever we needed and also thanks to all the member of HR department.

We are also thankful to all the retailers of Tata Pipes in Hooghly, Howrah & Kolkata South.

We extend our gratitude to all the members of the Marketing Department who have been very kind and welcoming. We will never forget how they extended their support to us whenever we needed it.

TABLE OF CONTENT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY COMPANY PROFILE PRODUCTS OFFERING BY TATA STEEL SBU OF TATA STEEL MANUFACTURING PROCESS INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT RESEARCH METHODOLOGY TATA STEEL TUBES SWOT ANALYSIS STP DATA ANALYSIS FINDINGS SUGGESTION BIBLIOGRAPHY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Tubes Division, Tata Steel is the leading manufacturer of commercial Tubes in the mark et. Th is indu stry is h igh ly f rag men ted with mo re than hun dred man uf actu ring un its. With an agg regate cap acity of ov er 21lakh MT, this industry is characterized by huge over capacities. 50% of supplies emanate from the small manufacturers, most of them having strong regional presence. There is also severe threat of substitution from PVC Pipes primarily in plumbing and irrigation segments. Tube Division, TATA Steel is the no. 1 company in the Indian tubes industry and is the only company with the well-established national network. The main objective of the research here done on behalf of TATA STEEL Tubes Division is:

To find out the potential of standard Tubes in Howrah, Hooghly, South Kolkata.
The sub objectives related to the objectives are: To find out that what are the attributes which customer prefers more while purchasing commercial tubes. To find out the different segments and corresponding customer group of commercial pipes. To find out the key customer requirements and expectation of GI pipes. To find out the different sizes which are in more demand in these market. To find out the closest competitors of TATA TUBES in these market.

 To find out the market share of different players in GI Pipes industries in these market. To find out the constraints which are faced by TATA Tubes in way of increasing market shares? To find out the substitute of GI Pipes and reason of substitute. To find out the different complaints which are acknowledged by the end users. Keep ing the main o bjective in min d we h av e find ou t man y facts wh ich are beneficial for us to come to our conclusion and will also help the company in various ways.

The research and the survey are conducted in the proper and the structured manner to achieve our objective at its best possible way. The study was designed as a market survey and w a s c o n d u c t e d w i t h t h e h e l p o f questionnaire. We prepared a structured questionnaire and data has been collected from all our respondents by conducting interviews. With the help of collected data several analyses have been done. By making various graphs and pie charts we have tried our best to make our research analysis more specific and clear to all.

The important facts which we have finally got are: Tata pipes are mostly preferred in the market because of their superior quality and brand name. Key segments and customer group of GI pipes are :

Market Segment Plumbing

Customer Group House Builders, Plumbers Farmers

Irrigation

Durability of pipes, leak proof pipes, authenticity, uniform thickness and rust free pipes are key customer requirements and expectations. Steel quality, weld quality, galvanizing quality and surface finishing are the most important attributes, which are checked by the customers before buying the GI pipes.

COMPANY PROFILE
Tata Steel formerly known as TISCO (Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited), it is part of Tata Group of companies it was established in 1907. It is based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India it is the world's seventh largest steel company with an annual crude steel capacity of 31 million tons. It is now one of the world's most geographically-diversified steel producers, with operations in 26 countries and a commercial presence in over 50 countries Tata Steel is Asia's first and India's largest integrated private sector steel company. It is the largest private sector steel company in India in terms of domestic production. Currently ranked 315th Fortune Global 500. Tata Steel is also India's second-largest and most profitable company in private sector. Tata Steel is the 8th most valuable brand according to an annual survey conducted by Brand Finance and The Economic Times in 2010. The 4 million tons Jamshedpur plant, which produces both flat and long products, is undergoing a million tons capacity expansion to be completed by September 2005. The company intends to raise its capacity to 15 million tons per annum by 2010 through organic growth and acquisitions. The Jamshedpur capacity will produce 7.4 million tons and the balance capacity will be put up or acquired elsewhere in India and overseas.. Tata Steel has set an ambitious target to achieve a capacity of 100 million tons by 2015. Managing Director B. Muthuraman stated that of the 100 million tons, Tata Steel is planning a 50-50 balance between greenfield facilities and acquisitions.

Overseas acquisitions have already added up to 21.4 million tons, which includes Corus production at 18.2 million tons, NatSteel production at two

million tons and Millennium Steel production at 1.2 million tons. Tata is looking to add another 29 million tons through the acquisition route.

Tata Steel has lined up a series of Greenfield projects in India and outside which includes,

6 million tons plant in Orissa (India) 12 million tons in Jharkhand (India) 5 million tons in Chhattisgarh (India) 3-million tons plant in Iran 2.4-million tons plant in Bangladesh 5 million tons capacity expansion at Jamshedpur (India) 4.5 million tons plant in Vietnam (feasibility studies underway)

PRODUCTS
Tata Steel's products include hot and cold rolled coils and sheets, galvanized sheets, tubes, wire rods, construction re-bars, rings and bearings. In an attempt to 'discommodities' steel, the company has introduced brands like Tata Steelium (the worlds first branded Cold Rolled Steel), Tata Shaktee (Galvanized Corrugated Sheets), Tata Tiscon (re-bars), Tata Pipes, Tata Bearings, Tata Agrico (hand tools and implements) and Tata Iron (galvanized wire products). The Construction Solution Group explores new avenues for steel utilization by techniques that are economical, use less natural resources and energy. Tata Steel has also developed "galvanized annealed" cold rolled steel with technical assistance from Nippon steel & Areolar for high-end auto applications.

PRODUCT SPECIFICATION
Steel Tube Technology opened up in India in the early 1950s with the establishment of the Indian Tube Company Ltd. (ITC), a joint venture between Tata Steel and Stewarts & Lloyds UK (Now a part of British Steel). After the disinvestments by British Steel, ITC merged with Tata Steel to form the Tubes Division in 1985, which today is the leading Welded Steel Tube Company in India with a manufacturing capacity of 200,000 tones.

STANDARD TUBES
Indian Standards: IS 1239 Part-1, IS 1161 British Standards: BS 1387 American Specifications: ASTM A 53

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STRATEGIC BUSINESS UNITS

Apart from the main steel division, Tata Steel's operations are grouped under the Following strategic business units, BEARINGS DIVISIONS: Manufactures ball bearings, double row selfaligning bearings, clutch release bearings and tapped roller bearing for two wheelers, fans, water pumps, etc. FERRO ALLOYS AND MINERALS DIVISION: Operates chrome mines and has unit for making Ferro chrome and Ferro manganese. It is one of the largest players in the global Ferro chrome market.

RINGS AND AGRICO DIVISION: The ring plants manufactures forged and
rolled rings for bearings and automotive components .Tata Agrico is the first organized manufacturer in India of hand tools and implements for application in agriculture.

TATA GROWTH SHOP (TGS): Has designed, developed, manufacture, erected and commissioned thousands of tons of equipments ranging from overhead cranes to high precision components, including a rocket launch pad for the Indian Space and Research Organization. TUBES DIVISION: The biggest steel tube manufacturer with the largest market share in the country, it aspires to strengthen its market presence by expanding and modernizing its commercial and precision tube manufacturing capacity.

WIRE DIVISION: A pioneer in the manufacture of steel wires in India, it

produces coated and uncoated wires, branded as Tata Iron. The division also operates a wholly owned subsidiary in Sri Lanka.

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COMMERCIAL TUBE MILL

Reliable, long lasting and customized Precision welded tubes from Tata Steel meet national and international standard. Standard/Commercial tubes are manufactured from hot rolled steel, the finest quality steel from Tata Steels state of art HSM plant. Used extensively in power and industrial boilers, transformers, super heaters, economizers, heat exchangers, automobiles and other engineering applications, precision welded tubes are manufactured with customary TATA commitment to quality. The manufacturing process is governed by comprehensive quality plan. Constant quality check is carried out during the manufacturing process, both in the two and three inch mill, with size ranges from 12.70mm OD to 76.2mm OD, with thickness ranging from 0.91mm to 4.06mm. The manufacturing process involves forming of hot rolled steel strips in to a tabular shape, the edges being weld under pressure using induction heating.

The HR strip coil stock is then leveled and cut, before the ends are welded together in the flash welder. After edge slitting, the strip is progressively bent into tabular form. Forming takes place at an ambient temperature, with a close control on dimensions and surface finish is maintained. Welding and sizing follow this. The continuous tube is then straightened and cut to the required length.

In order to identify defects both in parent material as well as the welded zone, nondestructive testing is done both online and off line this process is particularly useful for ensuring the quality of boiler tubes. The state of the art 2 inch mill has an automatic high speed cut off machine. The tubes are finally sent to the normalizing furnace. Normalizing removes metallurgical differences between the weld zone and the body of the tube and the effect of cold working caused in the forming process. This restores the grain structure and there by stress relieves the tubes. It is also
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necessary for achieving the desired level of mechanical properties, such as hardness, yield and tensile strength. Normalization is done for all boiler and cold drawn tubes. It may be done for other tubes also if specified. Precision welded tubes are reverse engineered to meet exact customer requirements. New products are developed to meet changing customer needs

MANUFACTURING PROCESS
Commercial tubes are manufactured by the high frequency induction welding process which commonly known as the HFIW process. Until 1993 these tubes were manufactured entirely in the old 3-inch ERW mill which can produce tubes with outside diameter 90d) ranging from 15.88 to 76.20mm. in august 1993 anew 2-inch precision mill facility was procured, with the commissioning of which, Commercial tubes of OD as low as 15.88mm and with a lower thick ness of 0.99mm became commercially available. The current manufacturing range extends from 12.7mm to 76.2mm OD. The thickness range is from 0.6mmto4.06mm.

The process entails forming of hot rolled steel strip into tubular shape and welding the edges under pressure, using induction heating. Since forming takes place at ambient temperature using cold rolled strip, a very close control on dimensions and surface finish of the tubes is possible. Pre-treated hot rolled strip, subsequently cold rolled to close tolerances, is the feed-stock for the manufacture of tubes.

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 In the 3-inch HFIW mill, the hot rolled strips are leveled and the end cuts square to enable end to end welding of coils to form endless lengths of strips for maintaining the continuity of the mill. The strip edges are then trimmed to ensure cleanest possible surface for welding. The mill proper consists of series of forming rolls which bend the strip progressively into tubular form by Centre forming with abutting edges.

The process of tube making in the 3 inch Commercial tube mill, through quite similar to that of the old mill, incorporates the latest technology. The superior edge forming technique employed here has made it possible to roll tubes with thickness/diameter ratio ranging from 1.6to10%.it has a state-of-the-art automatic weld-temperature controller, which ensures complete consistency in the weld quality irrespective of any minor variations in the mill speed, strip thickness etc. its automatic high speed cut-off machine is designed to cut tubes at speeds of 100 meters/minute.

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15

COLD DRAWING
The cold-draw plant is an important complement to the tubes ,if required in non-standard sizes for specific end uses with close dimensional tolerances and superior physical/mechanical properties, and produced by cold drawing the pre-treated tube through a die over a plug to maintain both the outside and the inside dimensions of the tube to very close tolerances. A wide assortment of sizes within the general range is possible by means of cold drawing.

PACKAGING
The tubes are packed lose as well as in bundles and as required. The tubes are covered with polythene bags and polythene-lined Hessian bags. The following modes of packing are generally used. Loose ends bagged with Hessian/polythene Bundles, ends bagged with Hessian/polythene Bundles wrapped with wax paper and Hessian/polythene Special finishes or modes of the packing, in so required, are undertaken after mutual discussion.

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SOME OF THE LEADING COMPANIES IN INDIAN STEEL INDUSTRY

BOKARO STEEL PLANT: Steel manufacturer.

ESSAR STEEL: Producer of sponge iron, steel and iron ore pellets.
JINDAL IRON & STEEL: Producer of galvanized steel products.

JINDAL STEEL & POWER: Manufacturer of mild steel slabs and

sponge iron.

STEEL AUTHORITY OF INDIA: Manufacturer of steel and iron.

TATA STEEL: Producer and supplier of wire rods, bars, and steel flats.

VIZAG STEEL: Producer of pig iron and steel.

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INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT

The study is undertaken to know the retailers perspective while selling a product. To understand how the Tata Company is different in marketing its product.

NEED OF THE STUDY

To gather proper knowledge as well as understand the scenario of the Market. To find out new possibilities.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
To give correct information to the management of Tata tube for having the detailed market scenario of Steel tubes. To find out the areas of satisfactions and dissatisfactions of Tata tube. To find the market size of Steel tubes in Howrah, Hooghly, South Kolkata. To find out the factors that affects the demand for steel tubes. To analyze data and make recommendations about possible improvement in attributes of the product so that demand for Tatas product can be increased.

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SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study of this project is confined to Howrah, Hooghly, Kolkata South districts only. This study was conducted to know the market prospects of Tata GI pipes in those districts.

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

All the retailers of Howrah, Hooghly and South Kolkata were not covered because of constraints of time. Respondents unwillingness to provide adequate information were consequent upon time constraints and personal inconveniences. Sampling and non-sampling errors might have crept in and attempt is made to minimize them. Considering the mammoth size of the market the sample size was probably inadequate as covering each and every department, which was at geographical disparate location, was not feasible. Since the topic was sensitive the retailers were very reluctant to talk about it. Since the topic was very vast and difficult it was not possible to touch each and every aspect of the topic in a short time period.

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RESEARCH METHODOLOHY
The methodology adopted for this project is exploratory nature, since there is no hypothesis that has to be tested. The conclusion has to be draw by exploratory research work. There have been two sources of information have been collected.

PRIMARY SOURCE
We have visited many retailers which are in Kolkata South, Howrah & Hooghly, we get the first hand information regarding the product, which are its features and the buying pattern of the product. Their inputs have been valuable.

SECONDARY SOURCES
Internet and web sites of company help us more to collect good amount of data for our project.

SAMPLING SAMPLE SIZE

KOLKATA SOUTH HOWRAH HOOGHLY

=
= = =

57
25 18 14

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MAJOR PLAYERS OF WEST BENGAL PIPE INDUSTRY

GI SEGMENT

PVC SEGMENT

TATA

ORIPLAST

NEZONE

SUPREME

ZINDAL

ASTOR

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TATA GI PIPES - SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTH
Brand name of Tata. Long existence in the Market. The biggest R&D facility in the Industry. Varieties of product in the Market.

WEAKNESS Lack of well-trained sales people.

Lack of cost-effectiveness. Absence of Innovation. Lack of Advertisement.

OPPOURTUNITIES
New Project. Manufacture long lasting & easy to fix pipes.

THREAT
Increase in price of raw materials. Cost effective PVC pipes. Expensive labor & power. High Market share of competitors.

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STP (SEGMENTATION, TARGETING , POSITIONING)

SEGMENTATION OF CLASS OF CUSTOMER

Middle Class. Upper Middle Class. Upper Class.

TARGETING CUSTOMER
Executives. Businessman.

POSITIONING PRODUCT
Status Symbol. Eco-friendly.

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DATA ANALYSIS

SAMPLE SIZE
KOLKATA SOUTH HOWRAH HOOGHLY

=
= = =

57
25 18 14

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1. MAIN BRANDS IN GI PIPES:

COMPANY TATA NEZONE JINDAL OTHERS TOTAL RESPONDENT 32 11 9 5 57 PERCENTAGE 56.26% 19.37% 15.69% 8.68% 100%

60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% TATA NEZONE JINDAL OTHERS

COMMENT: Though there are many Brands in GI segment, still plumbers are
recommending Tata as the premium Brand, because of its quality, service long existence in the Market and Brand Image.

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2. BRANDS RECOMMENDED BYCUSTOMER

COMPANY ORIPLAST SUPREME OTHER PVC TATA NON-TATA TOTAL RESPONDENT 20 11 7 13 6 57 PERCENTAGE 34.33% 19.57% 13.29% 21.63% 11.18% 100%

BRANDS RECOMMENDED BY CUSTOMER

40.00% 35.00% 30.00% 25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00%

COMMENT: Customers prefer PVC pipes over GI, because of costeffectiveness and easy to fix. Here customers mean mostly plumbers. Peoples who belongs to relatively higher income group they are mostly opting for Tata pipes.

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PIPE MARKET IN HOOGHLY DISTRICT

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3. MARKET SHARE IN HOOGHLY DISTRICT

PLACE MOGRA CHANDANGAR PANDUA KONNAGAR SREERAMPORE CHINSURA DANKUNI TARAKESHWAR TOLTAL MARKET SIZE (Rs) 2,72,88,000 4,81,80,000 2,21,97,000 1,82,78,000 2,42,88,000 3,16,63,000 2,83,18,000 2,91,85,000 22,93,97,000 TATA 12.40% 17.95% 17.56% 15.59% 10% 8.14% 3.17% 6.57% 11.42% PVC 85.07% 79.90% 80.01% 79.51% 84.65% 87.89% 87.53% 90.28% 84.35% NON-TATA 3.77% 2.15% 2.43% 4.90% 5.35% 3.97% 4.30% 3.15% 4.23%

N.B: The entire calculation is done depending on the data given by retailers &
assumptions of market scenario. Data collected only from Tata Retailer. Calculation done depending on the Revenue Sales.

COMMENT: The entire calculation done depending on the sales by the Retailers.
It is clear from the above graph that PVC has a higher market share than Tata, the reason can be the lesser price with a good quality product which is offering by the PVC companies. Another factor is that PVC pipes are easy to fix and less time consuming which is a boon for the plumbers thats why plumbers prefer PVC over GI pipes.

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MARKET SHARE IN HOOGHLY DISTRICT

NON-TATA 4%

TATA 12%

PVC 84%

COMMENT: In Hooghly, most of the areas water is highly Iron affected, so over
here life of a GI pipe is very less. So not only Tata even market of Non-Tata is also down here & eventually the entire market Captured by PVC. Sale of PVC is few times over here than Tata. One of the best retailers in Hooghly District Kundu & Co. told us the difference is so high that PVC sale is five times that of Tata.

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4. SALES OF TATA PIPES IN HOOGHLY DISTRICT IN LAST FIVE YEARS

35.00% 30.00% 25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00% 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 COMMENT: In Hooghly post-recession period the sales figure improved.

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PIPE MARKET IN HOWRAH DISTRICT

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5. MARKET SHARE IN HOWRAH DISTRICT

PLACE MARKET SIZE (Rs.) BALLY 1,75,00,000 18.85% 71.44% 9.71% TATA PVC NON-TATA

BANKRA

1,91,00,000

21.98%

71.81%

6.28%

SALKIA

2,30,25,000

18.24%

78.62%

3.14%

ULUBERIA

1,59,97,000

21.75%

70.02%

8.23%

GHUSURI

45,00,000

100%

------

------

SHIBPUR

1,37,25,000

28.41%

69.23%

2.36%

HOWRAH AC

2,31,55,000

5.95%

92.87%

1.18%

SANTRAGACHI

2,32,45,000

11.87%

83.9%

4.23%

HOWRAH MAIDAN MULLICK FATAK BANDHAGHAT

98,00,000

20.20%

76.54%

3.26%

3,95,80,000

8.03%

79.58%

12.39%

68,90,000

7.83%

87.10%

5.07%

BAKULTALA

56,80,000

8.45%

79.25%

12.32%

ANDUL

1,90,30,000

15.13%

78.83%

6.04%

TOTAL

20,21,97,000

15.55%

78.27%

6.18%

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N.B: The entire calculation is done depending on the data given by retailers &
assumptions of the Market scenario. Ghusuri was not calculated because there was only one retailer & he deals with only Tata. Data collected only from Tata Retailer. Calculation done depending on the Revenue Sales.

MARKET SHARE IN HOWRAH DISTRICT

TATA PVC NON-TATA

COMMENT: In Howrah District similar thing is happening, due to low price

& good quality of PVC pipes it is capturing the entire market. Shree Krishna Tubes Co. is one of the leading retailers in Howrah he told us that the Market size is very big out here, but the entire market is capturing by PVC. Shree Krishna Tubes only deals with the Tata product.

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6. SALES OF TATA PIPES IN HOWRAH DISTRICT IN LAST FIVE YEARS

30.00%
25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00% 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 COMMENT: In Howrah sales figures are also fluctuating, in the year 2009-10
sales were increased & we are not considering 2010-11 data, because it is incomplete. Pre 2009-10 there was a recession period due to that the Market was down. After that with the improvement of Market sales is also improving.

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PIPE MARKET IN KOLKATA SOUTH

35

7. MARKET SHARE IN SOUTH KOLKATA

PLACE MARKET SIZE (Rs.)
6,30,00,000 12,66,80,000 9,19,65,000 3,59,20,000 1,66,40,000 3,33,80,000 36,75,85,000

TATA

PVC

NONTATA
4.77% 8.3% 10.34% 13.1% 3.06% 4.5% 7.36%

JADAVPUR KALIGHAT BEHALA GARIAHAT GARIA TOLLYGUNGE TOTAL

11.90% 17.66% 20.35% 10.35% 6.8% 13.12% 13.92%

83.33% 74.04% 69.31% 76.55% 90.14% 82.32% 78.72%

N.B: The entire calculation is done depending on the data given by retailers &
assumptions of the Market scenario. Data collected only from Tata Retailers. Calculation done depending on the Revenue sales.

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MARKET SHARE IN SOUTH KOLKATA

NON-TATA 7%

Sales

TATA 14%

PVC 79%

COMMENT: In South Kolkata the original pipe market size is huge, but in
respect of the Market size Tata is not performing up to the mark, more or less the entire market being captured by PVC. One of the best Retailer in South Kolkata Sanitary Sales give us the data that they have sold 100-120 tons of Tata pipes in the financial year of 2010-11, but they have sold 3-3.5 Cr. Rupees of PVC pipes. From this data it is quite obvious that PVC sale is few times higher than Tata sales, but Tata is still earning good revenue due to its Brand Image, Premium Customer Segment & naturally high price. For example, price/ ft. of 20mm Tata pipe is Rs. 59 whereas similar size of pipe is available in PVC segment in Rs. 11, so price of Tata pipe is more than five times of price of PVC pipe. So to compete with Tata, PVC has to sell five pipes where Tata has to sell only one pipe. So from this concept it is clear that Tata is dealing in revenue whereas PVC is dealing in volume sales. So if Tata increase the volume sell then they can regain the market to some extent.

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8. SALES OF TATA PIPES IN SOUTH KOLKATA IN LAST FIVE YEARS

25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 COMMENT: This is the sales figure for Tata pipes in South Kolkata for last
five years. From this representation it is clear that sales are not constant it is fluctuating every year, though it is not increasing rather decreasing.

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9. TOTAL MARKET SHARE IN KOLKATA SOUTH, HOWRAH, HOOGHLY

NON-TATA 6% TATA 14%

PVC 80%

N.B: The entire calculation is done depending on the data given by retailers &
assumptions of the Market scenario. Data collected only from Tata Retailers. Calculation done depending on the Revenue sales.

COMMENT: This is the total market share of Tata, PVC & Non-Tata in the pipe
market of Howrah, Hooghly & South Kolkata. High market share of PVC due to their low price & good quality pipes, as well as they deal in volume not in the revenue, which actually helps them to increase the market share.

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10. SUGGESTION BY RETAILERS

SUGGESTION
PRICE SHOULD BE DECREASED MORE ADVERTISEMENT SALES FORCE OTHERS NO SUGGESTION

SAMPLE SIZE
57 57 57 57 57

RESPONDENT
51 21 30 10 5

PERCENTAGE
88.53% 37.53% 52.74% 17.27% 8.49%

SUGGESTION BY RETAILERS
100.00% 80.00% 60.00% 40.00% 20.00% 0.00%

COMMENT: According to the retailers, if Tata wants to increase the

market share then first of all they have to set a competitive price, where a customer gets a value for money. Tata has to recruit a sales force those who visit the project site, real estate companies to sell Tata pipes. Advertisement is another parameter which has to done effectively both TV commercials and print media.

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11. COMPARISON OF ATTRIBUTES

6 5 4 3 2 1 0

TATA NON-TATA PVC

1- POOR, 2- GOOD, 3- AVERAGE, 4- VERY GOOD, 5- EXECELLENT

COMMENT: From the above graph we can see that there is no such
difference between Tata and PVC when it comes to Quality, Availability and Service. But in case of Cost-effectiveness PVC even Non-Tata is better than Tata, because as there is no such difference between Tata and PVC in terms of Quality so the less costly product will sell more. But if we consider Brand Image then we can see that Tata is a much preferred Brand than any other in the Industry. So from the above illustration we can say that Cost-effectiveness is the weakness of Tata pipes where Brand Image is Tatas biggest strength.

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12. ATTRIBUTES INFLUENCE SALES

ATTRIBUTES
QUALITY AVAILABILITY PRICE BRAND IMAGE TOTAL

RESPONDENT
27 4 19 7 57

PERCENTAGE
47.84% 6.47% 33.25% 12.44% 100%

QUALITY AVAILABILITY PRICE BRAND IMAGE

COMMENT: From the above graph we can say that two major
attributes which influence sales are Quality & Price. Now it is clear that Quality means good Quality & Price means competitive price. So customer is always looking for a product which is of good quality with competitive price or we can say that Cost-effective product.

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13. PRICE COMPARISON

SIZE
20mm 25mm

TATA Rs./Ft.
59 77

ORIPLAST Rs./Ft.
11 16 30 47

NEZONE Rs./Ft.

COSTING OF PIPING FOR ONE FLOOR COMPANY

LENGTH
20Ft. 20Ft. 10Ft.

SIZE
15mm 20mm 25mm

PRICE
920 1180 770

TATA

TOTAL PVC
20Ft. 20Ft. 10Ft. 15mm 20mm 25mm

2870
180 220 160

TOTAL

560

COMMENT: The first table portrait the price difference among the Tata,
Oriplast & PVC. The second table shows that if a customer done its house plumbing with Tata pipes then he will spend more than five times than if he does it with PVC. So it is absolutely clear that PVC pipes are more cost-effective than Tata pipes.

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FINDINGS
Most of the retailers expect good quality with low price.

To increase the market share, Tata has to set a competitive price. Tata pipes usually cater the premium customer segment. Retailers & plumbers are complaining about the deterioration of quality Tata pipes specially galvanizing & bending quality of pipes. Tata pipes are more used in retail than contract. The market leader is Oriplast. Lack of push selling by Retailers. Many local manufacturers are selling their products using fake stamp of Tata pipes. Marketing people do not visit the retailers outlets regularly. Since quality of Tata pipes is excellent, many retailers as well as end users have demanded pipes fittings should also be manufactured by the company.

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 Fewer profit margins discourage the small retailers to sell the Tata pipes. Jindal and Nizon are main competitors of Tata pipes in the GI segment. The proper means of communication and an effective advertisement can tend to increase in the sale of Tata tubes. PVC pipes are swallowing the market of steel pipes because of its low price. Tata pipes can increase the market share by increasing the number of distributors.

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SUGGESTION
Well trained sales force to visit the new projects. Emotional, frightened TV commercials. Use print media & roadside hoardings as a promotional tactics. Need for additional range of product for catering to new markets/customers. Innovative technology that increases the longevity of the GI pipes. Lucrative scheme for plumbers & retailers to motivate them for push selling. Like other competitors, Tata pipes should also conduct product promotional program regularly. Increase value for money of the product. Strengthening retail network in identified territories.

Positioning the product as a status symbol for the customer. Enhance and leverage Brand equity in plumbing and irrigation segment. Enhance Brand visibility through retail identity program.

Customer complaint should be resolved within the predetermined duration.

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 Different schemes offered by Tata Pipes should also be reached to the small retailers. Re-design the website to provide consultation for the customer as well. Re-design the website to provide consultation for the customer as well. Reduce order execution and delivery time so that Tata pipes would tap the market opportunities. Tie-up with some plastic tank manufacturing Company.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary data collected from Tata steel distributor. Primary data collected from retailers of Tata Pipes in Hooghly, Howrah & Kolkata South. www.tatasteelwikipedia.com www.tatatubes.com www.tatasteel.com WORLD STEEL REVIEW, April 2011

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