A

A Synopsis on

" Market Analysis of Wrist Watches "

Submitted to
YASHWANTRAO CHAVAN MAHARASHTRA OPEN
UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF COMMERCE AND MANAGEMENT
Nashik.

In partial fulfillment of the Requirement for the award of the

degree of
Master of Business Administration (MBA)

By
Mr. Abhijit Ashok Sawant
PRN No.
Under the Guidance of
Mr. Laxman Pavanu Patil

Through
The Coordinator
Study centre code 71122

A
A Synopsis on

" Market Analysis of Wrist Watches "

1. INTRODUCTION
Theory & Concept
"A business has two - and only two - basic functions: marketing and
innovation."
Peter
Drucker
The rapid pace of change and intense competitive pressure in today's
marketplace demand that brands continuously innovate and reinvent
themselves to maintain their relevance and market position. In this context,
brand repositioning and other revitalization strategies have become a business
imperative for battling brand erosion. The appeal of brand repositioning is
further heightened by the rising costs and high risk associated with launching a
new brand.
Brand repositioning has received little attention in the marketing
literature and has mostly been treated as a variation of brand positioning. Biel,
for example, has defined brand positioning as "building (or rebuilding) an image
for a brand". The goal of positioning and repositioning strategies relates to the
management of consumers' perceptions. However, positioning focuses on the
creation of brand associations - consumers' perceptions of the attributes that
differentiate the brand from competitive offers while repositioning also implies
managing existing brand associations. The unique challenge of a repositioning
strategy, thus, lies in rejuvenating the brand image to make it relevant in an
evolving environment, while honoring the brand equity heritage.
Repositioning can be required as the market changes and new
opportunities occur. Through repositioning the company can reach customers
they never intended to reach in the first place. If a brand has been established
at the market for some time and wish to change their image they can consider
repositioning, although one of the hardest actions in marketing is to reposition a
familiar brand.
According to Solomon, position strategy is an essential part in the marketing
efforts because companies have to use the elements in the marketing mix to

influence the customers understanding of the position. During the movement

from something less attractive and relevant towards a more attractive and
relevant position several of strategic choices has to be made. The ones
responsible for the repositioning have to evaluate why a reposition is necessary,
and if the offer is the one that will change or just the brand name. There are
several risk factors that have to be taken into consideration when preparing for a
repositioning of the offering or the brand. During repositioning, the risk of losing
the credibility and reliability is high and the need for a thorough strategy is
therefore necessary to avoid this occurrence. Some analyst argue that to
successfully reposition a establish brand name is almost impossible because
repositioning of a brand can make the most loyal customer to switch brand. But,
in some circumstances a repositioning is necessary to gain credibility if the
brand is eroded. Whenever a reposition is in question it has to be of relevance
from a customer perspective, is this achievable? Some brands will on no
account be thought on as a luxury brand and therefore an attempt to reposition
will only damage the brand image or the actual company.
Numerous failed attempts at brand repositioning testify to the difficulty of
developing and implementing such a tactic. For example, while the soft drink
brand, Mountain Dew has remained relevant to the youth market through
continuous repositioning in its thirty years of existence, Levis' Jeans has been
losing market share to newcomers such as The Gap, despite numerous
campaigns designed to reposition the brand as trendy.
The strategic importance of brand repositioning in preserving and
enhancing brand equity, coupled with the mixed results of repositioning
attempts, underscores the need to develop a better understanding of the
dynamics of brand repositioning. Specifically, questions of whether, when and
how brands should be repositioned need to be addressed.

2. IMPORTANCE
Many brands and companies are constantly reinvigorating their
businesses and positioning them for growth. There is a constant need to
innovate, reinvigorate, update, recalibrate, or just simply fend off the
competition in an effort to better explain "why buy me."
Brand positioning creates a specific place in the market for the brand
and product offerings. It reaches a certain type of consumers and delivers
benefits that meet the needs of several key target groups and users.
The actual approach of a company or brand's positioning in the
marketplace depends on how it communicates the benefits and product
attributes to consumers and users. As a result, the brand positioning of a
company and/or product seeks to further distance itself from competitors based
on a host of items, but most notably on five key issues: Price, Quality, Product
Attributes, Distribution, and Usage Occasions.
In recent times, consumerism has undergone a sea change. Consumers
today are well informed about the products, as compared to earlier times.
Hence, the marketplace has become customer centric. Recognizing the
importance of the customers in the business structure, companies have started
effecting brand repositioning exercises on a regular basis.
In the recent times, a major brand repositioning exercise has been
planned by Titan Industries Ltd. in order to provide more to its customers. The
company has first gone for change in logo and tagline. Then the
communication strategy has been revamped to convey its new position. The
present study consists of reviewing the positioning strategies of Titan watches.
An analysis of repositioning strategies of Titan also forms part of the study.
The main objective of the study is to broadly understand the overall wrist watch
industry in India. Secondarily to study the brand positioning and re-positioning
strategy of Titan wrist watches and to find out whether the loyal
consumers of titan watches are aware of the new positioning strategies of the
company and how they perceive them.
Primary and secondary sources of data have been made use of in the
study. The first part of the project, i.e., analysis of Indian wrist watch industry
and analysis of brand repositioning strategies of Titan Company has been
completed on the basis of secondary data. For this purpose, internet, journals,
books, magazines and so on have been made use of.
The second part of the project comprises of conducting a survey with the
help of questionnaire. The survey is proposed to be conducted on a sample of
50 consumers who are loyal to Titan Company, selected through convenience
sampling technique. The questionnaire consists of appropriate mix of open
ended and closed ended questions. The data is presented using pie charts and
bar diagrams.

3. SIGNIFICANCE
The repositioning strategy is rolled out in three stages: introductory,
elaboration and fortification stages. This involves the introduction of a new or a
repositioned brand, seeking to underline the brands value over others, and to
broaden the brand proposition. It is truly tough to change the customers
perceived attitude towards a brand, and therefore the risk is great that the
attempt to repositioning might be unsuccessful.
After rolling out the strategy, it is time to modify the proposition through
update of the personality and through repositioning. There are benefits and risks
with both of this segments and it is of great significance that they are truly
evaluated when deciding the next step in the process. To further understand the
stages stated above, figure.1 will guide you through the different phases that
follow after establishing a brand proposition.
Figure 1: Stages in brand strategy development
The implication with the term repositioning is that a company modifies
something that is already present in the market and in the consumers mind.
The definition of repositioning changes different individuals and professions. To

view the different definitions and perceive a greater understanding about this
concept, three examples of repositioning given by individuals in different
professions is stated below:

Repositioning is a change, principally about trigging the vision, mission and

value in a new direction that is more suited for the brand in the future.
(Brand manager consultant)
Principally, reposition concerns changing the consumers perception of the
brand
(PR- consultant)
Repositioning is built upon the change of unique and differentiated associations
with the brand in some kind of direction, it is about having a balance between
the category party and differentiation when using reposition strategies
(Leading brand strategist)
From these definitions, it is obvious that reposition is about moving
something to a newer and hopefully to a more attractive and relevant position.
The purpose of the movement differs with regards to what the company wants
to achieve. A company might want to reach out to a larger target group, or be
involved in several different positions at the market. There is also a visible
relation between price and quantity aspects. When a company perceives the
market as a demand curve, the purpose is to down stretch or up stretch in this
curve. When moving down it is often spoken of as an expansion down wards,
and when moving up and there is a need for reaching the premium segment and
expand up wards.
Figure 2: The principle of repositioning

New Position
Price

Previous Position
Experienced quality
When striving towards a new position in the market, it is important to
understand that consumers minds are limited. Peoples minds select what to
remember and it is therefore significant to convince the consumers with great
arguments. The market demand changes rapidly and therefore repositioning
can be necessary to meet these demands, newer and stronger arguments have
to be established to convince them to stay as loyal customers.

As stated in the literature, repositioning is a very complicated matter and

therefore there are no detailed theories or models. The aim with repositioning
differ from person to person, and the only connection between all the different
theories is that repositioning is moving something from somewhere towards a
greater position at the market.
Corstjens and Doyle (1989) identified three types of repositioning strategies:
(1) Zero repositioning,
which is not a repositioning at all since the firm maintains its initial
strategy in the face of a changing environment;
(2) Gradual repositioning,
where the firm performs incremental, continuous adjustments to
its positioning strategy to reflect the evolution of its environment; and
(3) Radical repositioning
that corresponds to a discontinuous shift towards a new target
market and/or a new competitive advantage.
After examining the repositioning of several brands from the Indian
market, the following 8 types of repositioning have been identified. These
are:
1. Increasing relevance to the consumer
2. Increasing occasions for use
3. Making the brand serious
4. Falling sales
5. Bringing in new customers
6. Making the brand contemporary
7. Differentiate from other brands
8. Changed market conditions.
It is not always that these nine categories are mutually exclusive. Often
one reason leads to the other and a brand is repositioned sometimes for a
multiplicity of reasons.
A four-phased brand repositioning approach can be followed to achieve
the intended benefits:
Phase I.
Phase II.
Phase III.
Phase IV.

Determining the Current Status of the Brand

What Does the Brand Stand for Today?
Developing the Brand Positioning Platforms
Refining the Brand Positioning and Management
Presentation

The benefits that can be derived from brand repositioning exercises can
be summarized as:
Value over others
Updated personality
Relevant position
The risks associated with such strategies are:
Loss of focus
Neglecting original customers
Losing credibility for the brand
Confusing the brand
Therefore, brand repositioning is more difficult than initially positioning a
brand because one must first help the customer unlearn the current brand
positioning (easier said than done). Three actions can aid in this process: (1)
carefully crafted communication, (2) new products, packaging, etc. that
emphasize the new positioning and (3) associations with other brands (cobranding, co-marketing, ingredient branding, strategic alliances, etc.) that
reinforce the new brand positioning.
This exercise is so critical to an organizations success that the
organizations leadership team and its marketing/brand management leaders
should develop it, preferably with the help and facilitation of an outside brandpositioning expert.

4. Objectives
1. To study the current scenario of Indian wrist watch industry.
2. To review the brand positioning strategies of different sub-brands of
Titan watches.
3. To analyze the brand repositioning strategies of Wrist watches.
4. To study consumer awareness and perception about the brand
repositioning strategies of Wrist Watches.
This study would help titan industry to understand the gaps in its
communication strategy regarding brand repositioning exercises and the
further measures to be taken for effective marketing communications.

5. Research Methodology
1. Limitations

The study is confined to Pune area only

There is possibility of sampling errors in the study
The responses of the consumers may not be genuine
The questions included in the questionnaire may not be
comprehensive
2. Sources of Data Collection
The relevant data was collected from both primary sources and
secondary sources. The starting point of my information gathering has
been the secondary sources such as internet, books, and journals and
so on.
First, I made a study of the brand positioning and repositioning
strategies of Titan watches through secondary sources such as internet,
insurance magazines, and journals and so on. Then I conducted a
consumer awareness survey on brand repositioning strategies
undertaken by Titan watches in recent times.
3. Sampling Procedure
A sample of 50 consumers who are brand loyal to Titan watches
since more than a year and in the age group of 20 30 years have been
considered for this study. As Titan has taken up brand repositioning
strategies since July 2008, consumers who have seen the previous and
new campaign have been targeted
4. Primary Data Collection
Data was collected through an interview schedule, consisting of
both open ended and closed ended questions. The schedule covered
parameters like reasons for consumers brand preference; recollection of
earlier tagline and advertisement, brand ambassador of Titan;
awareness of new tagline and campaign featuring Aamir Khan, new
designs and so on. The data was collected through e- mails, telephone
contacts and one-to-one personal interviews.

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6. CHAPTER SCHEME

Chapter

II

III

IV
V

Particulars
Introduction
1.1 Introduction about the study
1.2 Objectives of the study
1.3 Need for the study
1.4 Limitations of the study
Company profile
Research methodology
3.1 Research
3.2 Research design
3.3 Collection of data
3.4 Techniques for data collection
3.5 Graphical tool used
3.6 Statastical tool used
Analysis and interpretation
Findings,suggesstions and conclusion

Mr. Abhijit Ashok Sawant

Project Student

Mr. Laxman P. Patil

Project Guide

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