Case Analysis FEVIKWIK AND THE GURGAON MARKET

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CONTENT
1. An overview of the Positioning: Cheapy vs. Fevikwik 2. Why Cheapy (or not)? 3.Promotion 4. Distribution: Focus more on retailers 5. Incentives for Wholesalers

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1. POSITIONING
FEVIKWIK
No mess, hassle free; One drop instant adhesive. Its ability to bond a variety of surfaces in a matter seconds makes it a handy home and industrial adhesive. Also, Fevikwik is projected as a cheap and instant super adhesive.

CHEAPY
As found from the information provided by the wholesalers and a few consumers, its positioning seems to be in exact competition to that of Fevikwik. Why spend more when you can have it cheap? Less time for adhesion and more time for yourself. This is aimed at highlighting the point that Cheapy is cheaper than anything that is available in the market for instant adhesion. Also, it brings to the fore that it is easy to remove if it spills over to a body part or any place not intended by the user.

2. Why Cheapy (or not) ?

Home Users: CONSUMERS
The users of adhesives value the instant adhesion property more than they do the stability of the bond. A survey of 20 consumers in the Gurgaon revealed some interesting perceptions about something which needs fixing viz. If it has broken once, it needs to be replaced sooner or later, what we look for is it gets fixed for the time being. This is where Cheapy scores over Fevikwik as it is cheaper, provides almost the same effect and satisfies the consumer need to fix it faster.

Unawareness of different quantity packs

Most consumers dont seem to recall any information about Fevikwik being available in sachets other than the 5gm variant. So for small needs, when there is always the 1gm, 500mg available, they tend to buy whatever is available at lesser price, for example Cheapy.

Auto mechanics/Hardware craftsmen

With reference to interaction with 2 mechanics. The application of adhesive in these workshops is not articulate and careful in terms of the way it is applied (Offcourse the place of application needs to be precise) resulting in spill overs on floors, body parts especially hands and fingers. Owing to the superior adhesive quality of Feviwik, it is extra difficult to remove. In most cases , normal water wont do the trick. Again, Cheapy being of lesser quality does the adhesion but does not cause problems in removal. And also, it comes at a lesser price and thus reduces the cost of these workers. 3 |Pidilite

Children, students, artists

The largest market of Fevikwik ;This category of consumers are mostly not concerned with the price differentiation between both the products. They are more inclined towards using the better product and tend to prefer the publicized and advertised Fevikwik. But even this group refrains from Fevikwik when it comes to usage with thermocoal or cardboards because it bores through the material. In these cases Fevicol is preferred. WHOLESALERS The major difference between the customers of a retailer and a wholesaler lies in the fact that the customers of a retailer generally knows what to buy and demand that directly. But in the case of a wholesaler, in most cases, the customers have an idea of the required product type and sometimes specific in mind too. Its an opportunity for the wholesaler to present the customer with alternatives that might be more profitable to him as well as the customer. Mostly the incentive schemes are better in value at the wholesaler level as they are the ones who can affect the reach of the product to the point of sale. Following is the list of factors that are valued by wholesalers ( based on responses by 5 wholesalers):1. Profit margins 2. Space for storage 3. Incentives to promote a particular product 4. Proximity to retailers

1. Profit margins
Due to nearby manufacture and distribution more or less mainly form the point of packaging (i.e no need for a regional distributor) , the landing price of Cheapy s much less than that of Fevikwik, which is sourced from Baddi (for Gurgaon).

2.Space of storage
Because it can be ordered at a much shorter notice than Fevikwik, the number of units of Cheapy that need to be stored is much less. This in tirn requires less space on the part of the wholesaler which is desired owing to high floor price in the Gurgaon region.

3. Incentives
Out of 5 wholesalers, 4 of them responded that if the incentives are not in the form of cash discounts, then they would go for the scheme which is more on utility than the cash value. So, as mentioned in the case, the steel glass incentive is more utility to the wholesaler at the point of his business when compared to the Milton casseroles which although more in value but less in utility. Also, the same wholesalers said the casserole , torch light are better than glasses but the number of such things that we can keep is limited but the steel glass can be kept more in quantity. 4 |Pidilite

3. PROMOTION
Right now and since its introduction, Fevikwik is promoted as the cheap and super instant adhesive. The perception as explained above is sometimes that an adhesive is an adhesive, if it sticks things in a reasonably quick time. The major point of difference that Fevikwik possesses is the superior quality and stability of the bond. The promotion should be focused on that perception rather than it being cheap because cheapy is much cheaper. Also, the promotion can be improved by projecting the easy methods of removal from body parts and undesired places, instead of just saying less hassle because the hassle is evidently there and the consumers know about it. The awareness about the various quantity sachets also need to leveraged as for different consumers different options are available depending on the need.

4. DISTRIBUTION: Focus More On Retailers

The wholesalers have different factor of value than the retailers. The retailers sell what is demanded the most. The distribution channel should be strengthened and wholesalers must be limited in number., The supply of Fevikwik needs to be directly to the retailers and they must sensitized that the landing price which is already higher at the point of wholesale adds to their price and they can directly purchase form Pidilite and reduce their cost of buying.

5. INCENTIVES FOR WHOLESALERS

Instead of matching Cheapy, the incentive scheme must be increased in utility as well as frequency of providing the incentives. At every sale of first 50, more utility and with increasing number of untits sold, the incentive must be increased in value and can be reduced in utility. Say at every milestone, such as 50 100, 500, 1000, 2000, 4000 the incentives must be pre-announced so that the wholesalers are motivated by the anticipated gifts. Also for attracting new wholesalers, an extra 20, 10, 5 units with the first, second and third shipment respectively can be given.

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