8igure 1: Market hare of Italiano............................................................................................./ 8igure 5: *istribution 4etork of Italiano................................................................................' 8igure ): Tagline of Italiano.......................................................................................................; 8igure /: 6pense Allocation of 8 5!1571)............................................................................ " 8igure &: 6pense Allocation of 8 5!1)71/............................................................................ " 8igure ': Italiano 9ogo...............................................................................................................? 8igure ;: Italiano melamine used to create 8loers................................................................1! 8igure ": Italiano Melamine used to create a 2ird...................................................................1/
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6ecuti#e ummary •
Italiano Melamine is a brand of -89 Plastics% hich is a sister concern of the Pran7
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-89 group Italiano is the first to use full color melamine instead of the cream7hite color of its competitors. Italiano differs in terms of health and hygiene as 1!!B food grade
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poder used to make the products Target Market: Age group75&7&! Family Role7*ecision maker Social Class7Middle
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Class% 3pper Middle Class Touch Poins 7uper7shops% 4e Market% chools The market share for Italiano is around )&B7/!B. It is on e#en ground ith harif
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Melamine% ho is the market leader ith /!B The product is positioned as a somehat delu6e brand in the melamine products category. The rationale being that this melamine brand gi#es you a more elegant
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design and ceramic look than that of its main competitor (harif+ at the same price The pricing strategy of -89 regarding Italiano can be described as competiti#e pricing. Italiano tries to match the prices of its products ith the one of its primary
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competitor% harif Melamine The main distribution dri#ers from the depots are the ales -epresentati#es. The -s create the demand for the product and maintain supply. All transport is handled
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internally The IMC strategy for Italiano is centered holly around its tag line% Pure Art. The message is that Italiano as a melamine brand is so sophisticated that it can be
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described as an art form Italiano has launched in 5!15 and has gained significant ground on the market leader.
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o from that can infer that it is in its groth stage Any and all communications regarding Italiano is focused on portraying the brand as melamine in art form. This can be considered as the primary ob=ecti#e for all communication
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The company is focusing more on marketing in recent times
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Tools used in for ad#ertisement are7TD% 2illboards% 4espaper% 8acebook Page
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The rationale is that melamine sculptures ill make the Italiano brand synonymous ith art.
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The direct and only competitor of Italiano ould ha#e to be harif Melamine. harif MelamineEs push strategy has been orking. Their market presence is significant and name recognition is high due to their longe#ity
9oer brand aareness compared to the main competitor% ocial media presence is almost non7e6istent% 4o eb presence Opporuniies!Melamine market is large% Ceramic market e6ists that can be taken o#er% People are more open to the idea of using melamine than before Threas! harif are using an effecti#e push strategy using the channel members •
To broaden ItalianoEs horiFon% the company can book an ad#ertising spotG sponsoring deal ith the $indi72angla Channels (Hee 2angla% tar ,olsha+. An e6ample of such e6posure can be that a contestant ins an Italiano gift hamper for hisGher efforts in a reality TD sho
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To target the upper class of the society% Italiano needs to branch out further. The hygienic ad#antage of Italiano can be highlighted in the 9ifestyle section of Prothom Alo or *aily tar.
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A simple yet effecti#e campaign to launch on 8acebook could be to share photos of created art using the Italiano dishes. The e6amples are already there on their on page in the form of a bird and floers. 9et the customers create their on art by arranging Italiano melamine
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Customer promotional acti#ities can be accomplished through sponsoring school e#ents or ha#ing some kind of competition during tiffin hours
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8or trade promotions% dedicated shel#es and special focus on supermarkets% like Meena 2aFaar% 3nimart can be an option. Alternati#ely% -89 2est 2uy can be better ad#ertised to meet the same goal.
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Introduction The product chosen for this report is the Italiano Melamine. It is a brand of -89 Plastics% hich is a sister concern of the Pran7-89 group. The Pran7-89 group is one of the longest ser#ing local company in 2angladesh% hile the Italiano is its first #enture in the Melamine Products sector.
-eason Italiano Melamine Crockeries is trying to bring a re#olution in 2angladeshi Crockeries Market. ince its launch in 5!15% through e6ponential groth% Italiano is no in a neck and neck position ith the market leader harif Melamine. 2efore its launch% there as almost a monopoly in the melamine market of 2angladesh. harif Melamine as taking the ad#antage of lack of competition in the market. They kept on producing the same traditional products ithout any kind of #ariation or product de#elopment. Italiano ha#e actually redefined the idea of melamine products in the consumerEs mindset ith its sophisticated design.
Italiano is also relati#ely ne in the marketplace. It as launched in 5!15 and has been in the market for about ) years.
Product *escription Apart from offering the customers a distinct brand% the Italiano focuses primarily on design 0uality. The design 0uality of the melamine products are more contemporary. It is the first to use full color melamine instead of the cream7hite color of its competitors. Italiano differs in terms of health and hygiene. 4o 3rea is used in its production and the 1!!B food grade poder used to make the products are more hygienic compared to its competitors. The ultimate aim for Italiano is to be an alternati#e to ceramic% hich has an ad#antage o#er melamine ith its longer lasting hite color. Italiano ants to use its full hite color to achie#e that.
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Company Profile of Pran7-89 roup Pran7-89 roup is the 2angladeshi food7products corporation based in *haka% 2angladesh.% founded in 1?"1. It is the largest food and nutrition company of 2angladesh% It is the largest e6porter of processed agro products ith the compliance of $A9A9 > $ACCP to more than 1!! countries. Pran started in 1?"1 as a processors of fruits and #egetables in 2angladesh. Pran e6ports to more than 1!! countries. -89 di#ersified its operation into the PDC category in 1??' and the plastic sector in 5!1&.
Mission$ Impro#ing 9i#elihood %ision$ Po#erty > $unger are Curses Aim$ To enerate mployment and arn *ignity > elf -espect for
through Profitable nterprises
8inancial trength • • • • •
Pran is the largest processors of fruits > #egetables in 2angladesh -89 is the market leader in cast iron% PDC > plastic items Pran (AMC9+ is listed in the * as an AE category company P of Pran (AMC9+ for the last year as '.?) PG of Pran (AMC9+ for the least year as )1.??
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Target Market @e can segregate the market for Italiano using the folloing #ariables7
Italiano is targeted mainly at the market hich is already buying melamine products. According to the representati#e at Pran7-89% the market siFe is &!7'! crore. ItalianoEs highest sales come from the suburban area.
Product Position ith -ationale The market share for Italiano is around )&B7/!B. It is on e#en ground ith harif Melamine% ho is the market leader ith /!B. The rest of the market belongs to #arious other brands% such as *iamond Melamine and 2angladesh Melamine. These brands do not offer a direct competition to Italiano. It is to be noted that this data comes from our inter#ie ith the representati#e of Italiano. *uring the inter#ie% they concede that harif is the market leader but not by much and 0uote an e#en market share for both of them. Their reasoning as that sometimes harif comes out on top in monthly sales and sometimes they do% so they ha#e no definite number that they can put forard.
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Maret Share Others (Diamond, Banglades h etc.); 20%
Italiano; 40%
Sharif; 40%
Italiano
Sharif
Others (Diamond, Bangladesh etc.)
8igure 1: Market hare of Italiano
The product is positioned as a somehat delu6e brand in the melamine products category. The rationale being that this melamine brand gi#es you a more elegant design and ceramic look than that of its main competitor (harif+ at the same price. 2ut compared to other brands (*iamond% 2angladesh+ the price is higher% so it feels more #aluable. o the customers think that they are getting a product due to it being more costly% along ith getting better #alue due to it being more contemporary in designs and health #alue.
The rational positioning for the product is that Italiano pro#ides a sophisticated melamine brand ith ne% e#er updating% contemporary designs at a competiti#e price.
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Pricing trategy Analysis The pricing strategy of Pran7-89 regarding Italiano can be described as competiti#e pricing. Italiano tries to match the prices of its products ith the one of its primary competitor% harif Melamine.
The dealerEs profit margin is less compared to that of its lesser competitors% say for e6ample% *iamond Melamine. o% neither harif nor Italiano can afford to go into a price ar. If they increase their price to increase their percei#ed #alue% the dealers ill flock to the other. If they decrease their price to start a price ar% the dealers ill =ust prefer the other brands as they can get more margin from them. A comparison beteen Italiano and harif Melamine prices is shon belo7
Ialiano
Shari&
11 inch 0uare Plate
11&
15 inch tar *ish
15!
1!.& inch round plate
11!
11 inch -ound Plate
1!&
-ice poon
)'
-ice poon
)"
In terms of pricing to across channel le#els% the margin goes from "B to 1"B. 8or e6ample% if the dealer buys at Tk. 1!!% the retailers buys at Tk. 1!" and sells it to the customers at an M-P of Tk. 11" or Tk. 15!% hich is set by Pran7-89.
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*istribution trategy Italiano uses a simple distribution strategy to reach the consumers. -a materials used in production are imported. The machinery and printing paper are also foreign in nature. The production factories are located in Kaligan=% $abigan= and 4arsingdi. 8rom there large transportation trucks are used to distribute the products to depots in #arious areas of the country.
The depots act as money depositories as ell as product depositories. The main distribution dri#ers from this stage are the ales -epresentati#es. The -s create the demand for the product by maintaining communications ith the retailers and informing them of any trade or retail sales promotions. The -s also make sure supply is met. The retailers directly contact the -s to order the product by 0uantity and the -s make sure the products are distributed among the retailers accordingly.
It is to be noted that all the transportation is handled internally by Pran7-89 group. 4o outsourcing is used for transport of the products or any other factors in#ol#ed. Also% 2est 2uy outlets throughout 2angladesh also acts as personal retail houses for the company.
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!rod"ction #o"se $ %a& Materials $ Machiner'
De(ots $ )rans(ortation )r"cs
%etailers $ Sales %e(resentati*es hel( &ith demand and s"((l'
+"stomers
8igure 5: *istribution 4etork of Italiano
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IMC trategy The IMC strategy for Italiano is centered holly around its tag line% Pure Art. The message is that Italiano as a melamine brand is so sophisticated that it can be described as an art form.
8igure ): Tagline of Italiano
Product 9ife Cycle Italiano has launched in 5!15 and has gained significant ground on the market leader. o from that can infer that it is in its groth stage. The company hopes to catch and perhaps e#en surpass the market leader ithin the ne6t ) years.
Marketing Communication
2udget The budget for ad#ertising and marketing for the company as a hole is increasing. In 8inancial ear 5!1575!1)% 1"B and 51B of total e6pense allocation as for Marketing 6penses and elling > *istribution 6penses respecti#ely. In the folloing year% 5;B and 5)B of total e6pense allocation as for Marketing 6penses and elling > *istribution 6penses respecti#ely. This means that the company is focusing more on marketing in recent times.
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8igure /: 6pense Allocation of 8 5!1571)
8igure &: 6pense Allocation of 8 5!1)71/
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Ad#ertisement Time > chedule @hile e do not ha#e concrete timings of the ad#ertising schedule% hen asked the representati#es from the company said that they try to run ads during the e#enings hen the heads of the family are home. Tools used in for ad#ertisement are7 •
Tele#ision
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2illboards
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4espaper 8acebook Page
trategy > -ationale ItalianoEs strategy is focused on to things7design and hygiene. The to #alue propositions that Italiano brand are7
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The first color melamine of the country% has modern designs Is more hygienic% uses 1!!B food grade
8olloing this rationale% Italiano has used its melamine in #arious shapes to ad#ertise its artistic beauty. The first instance can be found in its logo itself.
8igure ': Italiano 9ogo
The middle IE of the logo is using different colors to gi#e attention to the fact that this is a color melamine. To con#ey its message about its design% Italiano uses its products to create #arious pictures7like floers or birds. The rationale is that these melamine sculptures ill make the Italiano brand synonymous ith art. 1'
8igure ;: Italiano melamine used to create 8loers
@e ha#e tried to =udge their IMC strategy through a fe attributes
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Coherence$ The message is simple. Pure ArtE focuses solely on the beauty and
design aspect of Italiano. Italiano is not =ust a melamine% it is something that ele#ates hate#er you are ser#ing in the product to higher form. #en the brand name itself% ItalianoE tries to be artistic as e often e0uate Italy as a country of art and beauty.
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Consisency: The Pure Art tag is consistently used in all its packaging% its ad#ertising
through commercials and print media.
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E&&eci'eness$ The fact that Italiano has reached almost e0ui#alent market share ith
harif Melamine ould gi#e credence to the fact that their strategy is orking. They ha#e also had great sales in the *haka International Trade 8air. 1;
Competitors There are a fe players in the melamine market. The market leader is harif Melamine ith Italiano as its closest competitor.
harif Melamine harif Melamine has been the market leader for 0uite some time and ha#e a good relationship ith the holesale dealers and retailers. They ha#e roughly o#er /!B of the market share. Their main competiti#e ad#antage is that they are #ery ell knon in the market and the general populace. 2ut they are not inno#ati#e in their design and they do not ha#e a distinct brand% =ust harif MelamineE. @hile the harif MelamineE name alone has been enough for the market% ItalianoEs entry meant that harif has had to change its strategies. @hile Italiano has been focused on offering end customers the moderniFation of its melamine products% harif has focused on its channels. They ha#e been gi#ing discounts to the holesalers to make their product more attracti#e to them. They are also selling on credit much more than before to make sure the market is filled ith their product.
harif MelamineEs push strategy has been orking. Their market presence is significant and name recognition is high due to their longe#ity. Italiano hopes that their on significant financial poer combined ith their design dri#en% inno#ation based strategy ill gi#e them the edge o#er harif.
*iamond Melamine *iamond Melamine has started its business in 5!!). It is a bit pricey compared to the other to and has lo sales. It should be noted that internet presence of *iamond is much higher than that of Italiano.
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2angladesh Melamine 2angladesh Melamine is the cheapest among the brands. It has moderate sales. 2ut brand aareness seems loer.
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Champion Marketing trategy 2efore del#ing into creating a marketing strategy for Italiano% e need to identify hat the brand lacks. To determine that% e made a simple @
ur#ey 8indings The consumer sur#ey in its entirety can be founded in the appendi6 section. The main summariFed findings are
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-espondents are illing to use melamine in their households (;1B+ Attributes that the respondents prefer in the product are Juality (;/B+% Price (&1B+ and *esign (/&B+7in that order -espondents prefer to be reached by the social media (&'B+ and Tele#ision ()1B+ A miniscule portion (?.;B+ of the respondents ha#e seen ItalianoEs 8acebook page
2ased on our obser#ations and the findings from the sur#ey% e ha#e prepared a simple @
@
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9oer brand aareness compared to the main competitor ocial media presence is almost non7e6istent 4o eb presence
Opporuniies
5!
• • •
Melamine market is large Ceramic market e6ists that can be taken o#er People are more open to the idea of using melamine than before
Threas
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harif are using an effecti#e push strategy using the channel members
Ad#ertising trategy Tele#ision is still the go to medium for mass marketing and should be a focus for Italiano. 4o7a7days the popularity on Indian 2angla TD Channels such as Hee 2angla% tar ,olsha etc. ha#e reached an all7time high. The heads of the household are more inclined to atch an ad#ertisement on these channels during prime time (?pm711pm+ here the dramas and reality shos are usually broadcast. Pran is already using their financial position to ad#ertise in these channels% and e#en sponsoring a fe programs. If they ant to broaden ItalianoEs horiFon% then they can book am ad#ertising spotG sponsoring deal. An e6ample of such e 6posure can be that a contestant ins an Italiano gift hamper for hisGher efforts in a reality TD sho.
8or nespaper% Italiano can distribute catalogues or coupons through the hakers. This can be a good ay to reach a large number of the urban population. If Italiano ants to target the upper class of the society% it needs to branch out further. The hygienic ad#antage of Ital iano can be highlighted in the 9ifestyle section of Prothom Alo or *aily tar.
ocial Media Campaign This is an area here Italiano needs the most impro#ement. The 8acebook page has a measly 5;; likes and the last post (at the time of riting+ is from eptember of last year. It is ob#ious that the page had started ith ell intentions% but since then has become a tick7in7the7bo6 item for the marketing department. If Italiano ants to capture the social media users% they need to be serious about their presence on 8acebook.
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8igure ": Italiano Melamine used to create a 2ird
A simple yet effecti#e campaign to launch on 8acebook could be to share photos of created art using the Italiano dishes. The e6amples are already there on their on page in the form of a bird and floers. 9et the customers create their on art by arranging Italiano melamine crockeries and post them on 8acebook ith an accompanying hashtag. The best pictures can be determined by popularity (no. of likes% comments% shares+ and the top 1! can be featured in a nespaper adGbillboard. There can e#en be a priFe like a trip to Co6sE 2aFar for the family of the inner.
Promotional Acti#ities Customer promotional acti#ities can be accomplished through sponsoring school e#ents or ha#ing some kind of competition during tiffin hours. They can start buyer reards program they can gi#e free MugsGpoons for e#ery bulk purchase. Italiano can run a promotion here they guarantee that their product ill not get discolored and if it does ithin a timeframe% they can be returned. They can also partner ith a dishashing brand as a complimentary product. 8or sales promotions% dedicated shel#es and special focus on supermarkets% like Meena 2aFaar% 3nimart can be an option. Alternati#ely% -89 2est 2uy can be better ad#ertised to meet the same goal. Italiano can also increase their presence in online grocery stores such as Chaldal.com.
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Appendi6 ur#ey on Italiano: Consumer Aareness
This sur#ey is initiated ith a #ie to crafting a champion marketing strategy for Italiano% the first e#er colored melamine brand in 2angladesh% from the Pran7-89 roup 7 one of the biggest local conglomerates% to ser#e the purpose of the Term7Paper on Market Theory and Practices course under M2A Program at Institute of 2usiness Administration% 3ni#ersity of *haka. The responses ill solely be used on academic purposes only.
*isclaimer: 4either the Pran7-89 roup nor the Institute of 2usiness Administration% 3ni#ersity of *haka is associated ith this sur#ey.
1. *o you kno about Italiano7es% 4o
5. $o do you come to kno about it7TD% -adio% ocial Media% 2illboard% tore% 4GA
). $a#e you e#er seen its TDC7es% 4o
/. If yes% ho often ha#e you seen7Dery often% 8re0uently% eldom% 4e#er (sa only once+
&. *id you e#er #isit ItalianoEs 8acebook page7es% 4o
'. If yes% ho often did you #isit7Dery often% 8re0uently% eldom% 4e#er (sa only once+
;. $a#e you e#er used Italiano7es% 4o
". @hat do you think about ItalianoEs 0uality > design76cellent% Dery good% ood% A#erage% 2ad% 4GA
?. @hat about ItalianoLs a#ailability in the market7A#ailable% A#erage% 4ot A#ailable
1!. @hat do you think of ItalianoLs pricing7$igh% Medium% 9o% 4GA
5)
11. $o much do you bank on the loyalty of Pran7-89 roup7Completely% Partially% 4ot at all
15. @hat measures should be taken to reach you7TD% -adio%
1). Are you illing to use melamine in your daily life7es% 4o
1/. @hat ill be your order of priority in that case ($ealth ConsciousnessE is the first priority% apart from that+7Product -ange% Color% Juality% Price% *esign
1&. The constraints against usage of melamine% arrange in descending order7Perception% Price% tatus related issue% Juality > *esign% 9ack of Promotion
