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A study onMensperceptioninbuyingdecisionsonbranded shirtsin TiruchirappalliDistrict

Gopinath.R ResearchScholar &TOA(G) CMTS,BSNL,TamilNaduCircle,Tiruchirappalli,TamilNadu,India. dr.raju.gopinath@gmail.com ABSTRACT The present study investigates mens perception in buying decisions on branded shirts in Tiruchirappallidistrict.Theneedtounderstandtheemergingmarketsandconsumershasbecome abigchallengeforthecorporateworldespeciallyincreatingandmanagingapowerfulbrand.By developingapowerfulbrand, corporatecanestablish'brandequity'andtheequityassistsfirmsin a variety ofwaysto manage competitionand tomaintainmarketshare.Branding isoneof the mosteffectivecompetitivetoolsanditisachallengingtaskforthemarketertonurtureabrand into a strong, profitable brand. They are everywhere on the TV hoardings, posters and print media. Brands while proclaiming their positive qualities pull down those of their rivals. Intangible assets such as brands, patents and knownow have become increasingly dominant elements of company value. Brands are widely recognized as corporate assets but have been historicallyevaluatedbasedonnonfinancialattributeslikeawareness,recognitionandperceived value. Every marketer instinctively knows that his or her brand is valuable. Brand value is representedbythepremiumpriceacompanygetsatthetimeoftransferofownership.However, the value for ongoing business is determined by the important financial term Goodwill. Buying behaviour of men on branded shirts is changing one. Number of people visits the showroom withabrand in mindbecausethequality and comfort ofthat brandaresuitable for them.Itisconcludedinthestudy,thatallthedemographicfactorsandpurchasepatternfactors donothavesignificantinfluenceonthebuyerschoiceofretailoutlet. Anattemptismadeinthis studytoassessthebuyingbehaviourinrespectofmensshirtsinsinglebrandshowroomsorin multibrandshops. Keywords: Buyingbehaviour,singlebrand,multiplebrand 1.Introduction Brandmanagementholdsthekeyinthemodernmarkets,particularlyinIndianmarketsbecause Indians are very traditional. India's traditional dress for men is Dhoti but gradually, people transmitted into tailor made dresses. Due to the globalization process, Indians are getting attractedtoreadymadedresses,particularlyMultinationalbrands. ThegrowthofreadymademenswearbusinessinIndiawasveryslowtilltheearly1980's.The main reason for this was that Indian men were used to buying cloth and getting their outfits tailored mainly through local tailoring shops from the unorganized segment. Consequently, ASIAN JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT RESEARCH 600

there were no national level brands in this category for a long period. By the mid 1980's however customer mindset seemed to have started changing gradually, along with increasing urbanization, and changes in the social and economic status and life styles. As in many other industries in the nation, the move towards 'branding' soon took momentum in the mens wear market. Bothlistedandunlistedplayerscatertothebrandedapparelmarket.Thereareasmallnumberof listedplayerssuchasChennaiSilks,SarathasTextiles,RaymondShowRoom,BombayDyeing, NokadaShowRoom,AhamedBrothersandThailaSilks.PopularunlistedplayersincludeIndigo Nation,ColourPlusBasicandSting. 1.1ReasonsforBranding Itisaninstrumentforsalespromotioninthemarket. Itfacilitateseasyadvertisementandpublicity Itcreatesspecialconsumerpreferenceovertheproduct. 1.2BrandValue Film Crimmins, Executive VicePresident of DDB Needham told that the key to ensure brand loyaltywastoincreasethevalueofthebrandinthemindoftheconsumer,ataskhesaid,was easier said than done. Crimmins argued that more than sustained advertising to build value, factorssuchasproductimprovements,packagedesign,communicatingthecompetitivepositions andpromotionthatdelivernotonlypurchaseincentivesbutalsoaddedvalue. 1.3BuyingBehaviour Difference in customers habits, their cognitive structures and their motives cause them to behave differently when buying. Although an individual doesnt act the same way in all situations, people tend to act consistently, we may identify six groups of consumers by their buyingbehaviour. Ahabit determinedgroupofbrandloyalconsumerswhotendtobesatisfiedwiththe productorbrandlastpurchased. Apricecognitivegroupofconsumerswhodecideprincipallyuponthebasisofpriceor economycomparison. Acognitivegroupofconsumerswhoaresensitivetorationalclaims An impulse group of consumers who buy on the basis of physical appeal and are relativelyinsensitivetobrandname. Agroupofemotionalreactorswhorespond toproductsymbolsandareheavilyswayed byimages. A group ofnew consumers whohaventyetstabilized thepsychological dimensionsof theirbehaviour.

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1.4NeedfortheStudy Customersincludethepresentcustomersconsumingtheproductsofanorganizationandalsothe prospective customers who are presently consuming the products of competitors. Customers must be periodically analyzed from several perspectives such as who constitute the customer inventory,levelofcustomerretention,whatmakesthembuy,whattheirlevelofsatisfactionis, wheretheyareplacedintheloyaltyladder,whatmakesthemdisloyal,andsoon.Thisanalysisis to be performed not only on the existing customers but also on the former customers, so that correctiveactionsmaybeinstigatedtoretaincurrentcustomers.Periodicalcustomersatisfaction auditprogramwouldprovideameaningfulinsightintothecustomerattitudeandtheirbehaviour andalsowouldformthebasisfordevelopingappropriatestrategiestoretainrelationshipwiththe customers. 1.5StatementoftheProblem Indiahaswitnessedafranticpaceofretaildevelopmentoverthepastfiveyears.GoldmanSachs hasestimatedthattheIndianeconomicgrowthcouldactuallyexceedthatofChinaby2015.Itis believedthatthecountryhaspotentialtodeliverthefastergrowthoverthenext50years.There is increased sophistication in the shopping pattern of customers, which has resulted in the emergence of big retail chains in most metros mini metros and towns being the next target. Customertasteandpreferencesarechanging,leadingtoradicaltransformationinlifestyleand spendingpatterns,whichinturnisgivingrisetonewbusinessopportunities.Thegenericgrowth islikelytobedrivenbychanginglifestylesandbystrongsurgeinincome,whichinturnwillbe supportedbyfavorabledemographicpatterns. Nowadaysthebrandedshirtsareincreasinglyusedbymen.Theyselecttheirbrandedshirtin the Single brand showrooms (or) Multibrand showrooms. The buying decisions of the respondentsareinfluencedbydifferentfactors.Theincreasesindemandforconsumergoodsand expendables have boosted the sale of branded mens wear. Keeping this in view research is carriedouttoknowaboutthebuyingbehaviourofmenconsumerwithregardtobrandedshirts available in brand specific showrooms (Single brand showroom) and multibrand showrooms (Multibrandoutlets). 2.ReviewofLiterature Lalithaetal.,(2008) madeastudyentitled"BrandPreferenceof Menswear".Scopeofthestudy focuses on the brand preference regarding shirts and pants of select consumers living in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. It is confined to the customers visiting the select showrooms in Hyderabad and Secunderabad. The objectives of this study were to know the reason why customers prefer branded shirts and pants to unbranded ones, to find out the influenceofadvertisementforbrandedclothingforthepurchasebehaviouroftherespondentand toknowthefactorsinfluencingcustomerswhilechoosingbrandedshirtsorpants.Itisconcluded that educational qualifications, employment status, age group, convenience of shops, and advertisement are influencing factors for purchasing the branded shirts and pants by the respondents. 94percent of the respondents are highly educated and purchased branded ready wears.Agegroupof2050yearsareincomeearningpeopleandspendingonthebrandedwears. Thestudyrevealsthattheadvertisementsplayalimitedroletochoosethebrandamongready

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madedressesavailableinthemarket.54percentofthecustomersarebuyingbrandedreadywear becauseofqualityandstatussymbol. RituNarang(2006)inastudyentitledAStudyonBrandedMenswear,wastakenupinthe city of Lucknow with an intention to explore the purchase behavior of the buyers of branded menswear.Theobjectivesofthisresearcharetostudythepurchasebehaviourofthebuyersof brandedmensgarments,tostudytheimpactofadvertisingonthepurchasedecisionofbuyers, to study the impact of promotional activities on purchase behaviour of buyers (Kazmi, 2001 Mathur, 2002). The research type was exploratory as it was conducted to develop a concept about the purchasing behaviour of buyers of branded mens garments and the impact of advertisingontheirpurchasedecision.Thisstudyconcludedthatmostofthetimesbuyersvisit theshowroomsofbrandedgarmentswiththepurposeofshopping(JaishriandJethwaney,1999). The purchasing of branded garments is not impulsive. However, compared to women, male buyers visit the showroom for passing the time the number of people visiting the showroom withabrandinmindissameasthenumberofpeoplevisitingtheshowroomwithnobrandin mindAdvertisinghasmaximumimpactincreatingbrandawareness(Kamalaveni,2008). PathakandTripathi(2009) madeastudyentitledCustomerShoppingBehaviouramongModem RetailFormats:AStudyof Delhi&NCR.TheStudyisanexploratoryresearchconductedin Delhi&NCR.ItspecificallyfocusesoncustomershoppingbehaviourinIndianscenarioamong themodernretailformats(Sumathi,2003).Objectivesofthestudyaretofindoutthefactorsthat affect the buyer's decisions among the modern retail formats and to evaluate the comparative strengthofthesefactorsinbuyingdecisionofthebuyers. Onthebasisofprimaryaswellassecondaryresearchtheauthorsnotethatretailersoften over look the schemes and offerings expectedby the customers and tried to impose their own offeringsuponcustomerswhichultimatelycausethedissatisfaction(Fornell,etal.,20062009). It is also observed that in the changing retailing environment, understanding the psyche of a customer is critical for success in retailing. Aggregate level picture may be misleading, as it averagesthebeatsandthevalleys.Hence,Individualunderstandingisdesirable(Mishra,2009). It is further stated that the Indian customers have become more sensitive to quality, customer serviceandstatus.He/She isreadytopay,sometimes,astronomicalsums,providedtheirneeds are satisfied. They are basically looking for an experience which is more of cognitive than physical(Biplab,(1998). Today'syoungconsumersareinclinedmoretowardsleadingacomfortableandhasslefreelife. They have come in possession of money and wish to spend it on trusted goods and services, which are well worth the money that they would pay. 'Brands' cost them dearly and yet, they preferthesameastheyareconsciousofthefactthatbrandedproductsgivethemtheirmoney's worth. This generation of consumers may, therefore, be labeled as 'the brand conscious generation(Sherlaker,1995).Raymonds,AmulandBataaretrustedbrands.Theproblemisthat whentheystartedtheywerepioneersintheirline,whereastoday,therearemultiplebrandsthat areabletodeliverthesamequalityatalowerpriceperhaps.Unlesstheyreinventthemselvesand remainrelevant,theycannotsustain. The Article entitled The Recipe for the success of Garment Industry highlights that SegmentationTargetingPoisoning(STP)isanimportantstrategictoolinbusiness,wherein

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customersaregroupedtogetherbasedonsomecommontraits(segmenting),businessanalysisis done for these segments to identify viable segment(s) (targeting) and the firm positions its marketingoffertoappealtothetargetedsegment(s)sothattheidentifiedsegmentresonatesto the offering (positioning). Because of the universalization of common production technologies and quality standards, differences in various products and services are getting blurred. At the sametime,customersarequitedemandingandwouldwanttheirspecificneedstobeaddressed. Thus,firmswillhavetoconfigurewhatcustomerswant,ratherthanbeingproductcentric.This trend makes the customer segments smaller and smaller and poses a challenge to make each clusteraviablesegment. Simintiras, Anotonis (1997) attempt to distinguish evaluation outcomesof likely future satisfactionfromfeelingsoremotionspriortotheactofpurchase,andassesstheimpactofpre purchase satisfaction on the purchase behavior of first time buyers. In their study after conceptualizingprepurchasesatisfactionastheemotionaloutcomeofanticipatedsatisfaction,it was hypothesized that prepurchase satisfaction and anticipated satisfaction are related but distinctconstructsandprepurchasesatisfactionlevelsarehigherforpotentialfirsttimebuyers who buy than those who do not buy. The results provided support for both propositions, and suggestthatanticipatedsatisfactionandprepurchasesatisfactionaredistinguishableconstructs, and prepurchase satisfaction is a predictor of the purchase behavior of first time buyers. Shainesh (2004) presents that buying behavior in a business market is characterized by long cycle times,groupdecision making, participantsfromdifferent functionalareas and levels and sometimesdivergentobjectives,andchangingrolesoftheparticipantsduringthebuyingcycle. Jayashree(1998)saysInthematteroftextiles,theconsumerprefersawidevarietyoffabricsto choose them, and their preferences changes according to the season and geographical areas2. Consumertasteisacontrollingfactorindeterminingthecharacterofgoodsthatappearsinthe market. A rational approach to clothing needs and expenditure makes the consumer more effectiveparticipateinentiremarketeconomy.Genderhasbeenidentifiedinmuchliteratureon consumershoppingbehaviorasasignificantfactorinunderstandingconsumerbehaviorandasa fundamental market segmentation index for companies to meet their customers needs and wants marketers shouldstrive to understand the gender differences in decisionmaking styles. Research addressing the issue of gender differences in decisionmaking styles could help marketers to find better ways of communicating with both sexes and to guide marketing mix decisions(MitchellandWalsh,2004).Marketingscholarsarguethatgenderbasedsegmentation, especiallyifitisbasedonbiologicalsexperse,meetsseveraloftherequirementsforsuccessful implementation: the segments were easy to identify, easy to access, and large enough for consumer products and services to be marketed profitably3&4. Numerous studies in the past have provided considerable evidence that gender relates to consumers perceptions, attitudes, preferencesandpurchasedecisions(Bakewell and Mitchell2006SprolesandKendall,1986 Canabal,2001). 3.ObjectivesoftheStudy Thestudyhasbeencarriedouttofulfillthefollowingobjectives. Toascertainthebrandofshirtmostpreferredbyrespondents. Toassessthevariouspositiveattributesofpopularbrandsofshirts.

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 Torankthefactorsinducingtherespondentstogoforbrandedshirts Toidentifythedemographicandpurchasepatternrelatedfactorsinfluencingthechoice ofretailoutlet. Toidentifytheshowroomspecificfactorsinfluencingthechoiceofretailoutlet. Tooffersuitablesuggestionstothe singlebrandshowroomfranchiseesandmultibrand shopowners 4.MethodologyandToolsofAnalysis Thisstudyhasbeenundertakenwiththeobjectiveofassessingthebuyingbehaviorinrespectof mensshirtsinsinglebrandshowroomsorinmultibrandshops.Forthepurposeofassessingthe levelofsatisfaction,primarydatahavebeencollectedfromrespondentsandsecondarydatahave been collected from books, magazines and websites. Samples of 200 respondents were interviewed using structured interview schedule. Only men who used readymade shirts have been chosen asrespondentspurposively (nonrandomsampling method), asthemainobjective ofresearchistostudythebuyerbehaviourinrespectofmensreadymadeshirts.Duecarehas been taken to include people of various age groups hailing from different socioeconomic background.Percentages,ranks,meansscoresandweightedscoreshavebeencomputedtofulfill the objectives of the study. Further chisquare test has been applied to test the hypotheses in respect of demographic factors, purchase pattern factors and showroom specific factors. Rank analysishasalsobeencarriedouttoranksiximportantreasonsbehindthepurchaseofbranded shirts. They are quality, status symbol, official purpose, good colors & designs, smart look & comfortable and different style. Overall mean scores have been calculated for six showroom specific factors with five point scale via, best, good, neutral, poor, very poor for both single brandshowroomsandmultibrandshowrooms.The factorsare:locationofshops,salesmanship & courtesy, wider choice in colour, design & material, price range, offers & discounts and facilityforuseofcreditcard. 4.1LimitationsoftheStudy Thestudyissubjecttothefollowinglimitations: ThestudycoversrespondentsinTiruchirappallitownonly.Theconsumersattitudemaynot besameinothertownsandcitiesbecauseofdifferenceinpreference,lifestyleandbuying patterns. Asthesamplesizebeinglimited(ie)200,theconclusionmaynotbewhollyapplicableto thetotalmarket 5.ResultsandDiscussion As per Table 1, 29.5 percent of the respondents are 20 years old or less. 53.5 percent of the respondentsbelongtothecategoryof2130yearsandtherest17percentoftherespondentsare above30years.4.5percentoftherespondentsareeducateduptoSchoollevel58percentofthe respondentsbelongtothecategoryofArts&Sciencegraduates/Postgraduatesandtherest37.5 percentoftherespondentsarepursuingProfessionalcourseorhavecompletedsuchacourse.50 percent of the respondents are students, 34.5 percent of the respondents are employed and the ASIANJOURNALOFMANAGEMENTRESEARCH 605

rest15.5percentoftherespondentsareeitherprofessionalorselfemployed. Furtherthetableshowsthat22percentoftherespondentsaremarriedandtherest78percentare unmarried.40.5percentoftherespondentsfamilieshavemonthlyincomebelowRs.10000.29.5 percentoftherespondentsbelongtothecategoryofRs.l0000Rs.20000andtherest30percent oftherespondentsbelongtothefamilieswithmonthlyincomemorethanRs.20000.44percent oftherespondentsbelongtourbanarea,29.5percentoftherespondentshailfromthesemiurban areaandtherest26.5percentoftherespondentsarefromruralarea. It isevinced further from table1 that16percentoftherespondentsalwaysusebrandedshirts 35.5percentoftherespondentsbuybrandedshirtsmostofthetimesandtherest48.5percentof therespondentsbuyitoccasionally.38.5percentoftherespondentsgetinformationfromfriends &relatives37percentoftherespondentsthroughadvertisementsandtherest24.5percentofthe respondentsgetitfromshowrooms/shops.20percentoftherespondentsbuyduringoffseason sale.51percentof therespondentsaremainlybuyingduringfestivaltimeandtherest29percent of the respondents buy mainly for functions. Selection factor reveals that 53 percent of the respondents go for selfselection 22.5 percent of the respondents get the help of friends for selectionandtherest24.5percentselectshirtsthroughfamilymembers.Showroompreferred factors reveals that 44.5 percent of the respondents buy most of their shirts in single brand showroomsandtherest55.5percentoftherespondentsbuyshirtsinanymultibrandshop.City factor reveals that 43 percent of the respondents buy shirts in Tiruchirappalli city and rest 57 percentbuyinothertownssuchasChennai,TirupurandCoimbatore. 5.1BrandChoiceofConsumers Table2portraysthebrandchoiceoftheconsumers. Itisevincedfromthetable2that,Raymond,aleadingbrandispreferredbythehighestnumber ofrespondentsandsecuredahighscoreof52.NoPreferenceforanyspecificbrandsecuresthe secondplacewith35scores.Thisshowsthatmanyconsumersarepurchasingshirtsaccordingto theirfinancialpositionsandperceptionaboutsmartlook,styleandcomfort.PeterEnglandwhich successfully captured the Indian middle class mind has bagged 29 scores and stands third. Following Peter England, John Player and Louis Philippe occupy fourth and fifth places with scoresof16and14respectively.

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Table1: Profileofrespondentsdemographicandpurchasepattern
Factors Upto20Years 2130Years Above30 School Arts&School(UG&PG) SingleBrand Showrooms 23 52 14 4 48 ProfessionalCourse 37 Student 49 Employed 30 Professional / Self 10 Employed Married 16 Unmarried 73 UptoRs.10000 35 Rs.10000Rs.20000 23 AboveRs.20000 31 Urban 40 SemiUrban 28 Rural 21 Always 17 MostoftheTimes 35 Occasionally 37 Friends&Relatives 36 Advertisement 35 Showroom/Shop 18 OffSeasonSale 19 FestivalTimes 48 Functions 22 Self 50 Friends 17 FamilyMembers of Tiruchirappalli OtherTowns 22 32 57 MultiBrand Shops 59 107 34 9 116 75 100 69 31 44 156 81 59 60 88 59 53 32 71 97 77 74 49 40 102 58 106 45 49 86 114 Total 36 55 20 5 68 38 51 39 21 28 83 46 36 29 48 31 32 15 36 60 41 39 31 21 54 36 56 28 27 54 57 Percentage toTotal 29.5 53.5 17 4.5 58 37.5 50 34.5 15.5 22 78 40.5 29.5 30 44 29.5 6.5 16 35.5 48.5 38.5 37 24.5 20 51 29 53 22.5 24.5 43 57

Age(Years)

Education Qualification

Occupation

MaritalStatus Family Income perMonth Location Residence Frequency Purchase of

of

Source of Information aboutBrand Occasion Purchase Persons Finalizing Selection Shirts Place Purchase of

of

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Table2:Brandsmostpreferred
Brand Raymond PeterEngland JohnPlayer LouisPhilippe Basics IndigoNation Allensolly Zero Sting OtherBrands Nopreference foranyspecificbrand Total 52 29 16 14 12 11 10 9 7 5 35 200 No.ofRespondents

Table3: Positiveattributesof brandsfrequencytable

Brand Allensolly Basics Raymond Louis Philippe Sting Offers& RangeofColours Frequent Attractivenessof Discounts &Design Advertisement Advertisement 2 16 57 6 13 39 5 20 9 30 17 20 25 16 4 14 88 5 10 4 27 6 19 15 8 5 9 77 5 8 8 21 13 19 27 8 Total 17 52 261 20 14 36 111 53 76 84 46

IndigoNation 5 6 15

PeterEngland 33 Zero JohnPlayer VanHuesen Others 17 18 17 14

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Table4: Ranktable Factors Quality StatusSymbol OfficialPurpose GoodColours&Designs SmartLook&Comfortable DifferentStyle Weighted Score 969 540 543 782 748 618 Rank 1 6 5 2 3 4 MeanScore 4.85 2.70 2.72 3.91 3.74 3.09

Table5: Resultsofchisquareanalysisfactorsandchoiceofretailoutlet
Factors Age Education Occupation MaritalStatus FamilyIncome Location Frequencyof Purchase Levelof Significance 5percent 5percent 5percent 5percent 5percent 5percent 5percent Degreesof Freedom 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 Table Value 5.991 5.991 5.991 3.841 5.991 5.991 5.991 5.991 5.991 5.991 3.841 Calculated H0:Rejected Value /Accepted 1.6238 1.1519 2.7347 1.5287 2.4949 0.744 3.256 1.5866 1.4222 1.1127 3.2781 Accepted Accepted Accepted Accepted Accepted Accepted Accepted Accepted Accepted Accepted Accepted

Sourceof 5percent Information Occasionof 5percent Purchase PersonsFinalizing 5percent Selection PlaceofPurchase 5percent

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Table6: Showroomspecificfactorsanassessmentbyrespondents
No.ofResponses Factors Best Good LocationofShops Neutral Poor VeryPoor Best Good Salesmanshipand Courtesy Neutral Poor VeryPoor Best WiderChoicein Colour,Design andMaterials Good Neutral Poor VeryPoor Best Good PriceRange Neutral Poor VeryPoor Best Good Offersand Discounts Neutral Poor VeryPoor Best Good Neutral Poor VeryPoor SingleBrand Showrooms 79 96 15 10 61 86 36 12 5 59 102 25 10 4 39 100 27 25 9 48 90 27 25 10 81 69 37 7 6 MultiBrand Shops 58 90 35 12 5 45 94 41 18 2 75 78 34 7 6 50 85 39 21 5 53 81 36 18 12 57 75 42 14 12 Total 137 186 50 22 5 106 180 77 30 7 134 180 59 17 10 89 185 66 46 14 101 171 63 43 22 138 144 79 21 18

Facilityforuseof CreditCard

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Table7: ChiSquareanalysisshowroomspecificfactorsandretailoutlet
Levelof Degreesof Significance Freedom 5percent 5percent 5percent 5percent 3 4 4 4 4 4 Table Value 7.815 9.488 9.488 9.488 9.488 9.488 Calculated Value 13.2274 5.581 7.426 6.2482 3.33284 9.0738 H0:Rejected/ Accepted Rejected Accepted Accepted Accepted Accepted Accepted

Factors Locationof Shops Salesmanship andCourtesy WiderChoice PriceRange

Offersand 5percent Discounts Facilityforuse 5percent ofCreditCard

Table8: Overallscoresandmeanscoresacomparison Total Score for Total Score for Mean Score Mean Score Single brand Multi brand (Total/200) (Total/200) showroom showroom 1835 2172 501 172 28 9.175 10.86 2.505 0.89 0.14 1690 2012 681 180 42 8.45 10.06 3.405 0.9 0.21

Options Best Good Neutral Poor VeryPoor

5.2ProcessofBrandChoice Theprocessofbrandchoiceisapurposefulactionplanofselectingaspecificbrandfromamong the wide range of brands available. The criterion that guide is matching the expectations of customerwithwhatthebrandcouldoffer. Four important factors relating to the brand have been considered in this study as factors ultimatelyattractingtheconsumertowardsabrandofshirtsandtheyare Offers&discountsprovided. Attractiverangeofcoloursanddesigns. Frequencyofadvertisementinprintandelectronicmediaand ASIANJOURNALOFMANAGEMENTRESEARCH 611

 Theattractivenessofadvertisements. The responses obtained in respect of these factors with reference to various brands of their choice have been tabulated and presented in Table 3. The favorable responses for each brand havebeensummedupandshowninthelastcolumn. Raymond brand emerged as the toper with total score of 261 and this brand has secured the maximum score in respect of each of the four factors namely Offers & discounts, Range of colours & designs, Frequency of advertisement and Attractiveness of advertisement. Peter Englandstandssecond,bagging111scoresVanHuesenfollowsPeterEnglandwiththescoreof 84 John Player & Zero occupy fourth and fifth places respectively. The other brands have securedlowscores. 5.3RankingbyCustomers The branded shirts market is exploding with wide choice and all possible price ranges to suit consumers of different age groups andsocial status. In order to know what motivates them to buy branded shirts, the respondents were asked to rank the six important reasons behind the purchase of branded shirts. They are 1.Quality 2. Status Symbol 3.Offical Purpose 4. Good Colours&Designs5.SmartLook&Comfortable6.DifferentStyle. Basedontheirrankingfromonetosix,weightshavebeenassigned(suchasrankI6scorerank 2 5 score rank 3 4 score rank 4 3 score rank 5 2 score rank 6 I score) and the total weightedscoreobtainedbyeachofthesixfactorshavebeenpresentedintable4.Finalranking hasbeendeterminedaccordingtotheweightedscore.Theranksandalsothemeanscoreshave beendepictedinthesametable. Qualityisthecornerstoneofastrongbrandandaqualityproductdeliverssuperiorperformance. Hencethequality factorhasgotoverwhelmingresponsefromtheconsumersandhasobtained thetoprankwiththehighestweightedscoreof969.Theavailabilityofgoodcoloursanddesigns underaspecificbrandlabelhasadirectbearingonthebrandstrength.This factorhassecured the second position with the total weighted score of 782. In the branded shirt market, the productscanbeeasilycopiedandimproved.Almostallbrandsmarketshirtswhichenhancethe smartlookandgivecomfort.Thisfactoroccupiesthirdpositionbyobtainingweightedscoreof 748.Thepositiveattitudeofconsumertowardsbrandedproductsresultsineffectiveresponsein terms of increased sales. Consumers perceive that branded shirts offer them a chance to wear shirtswith'DifferentStyle'andhencethisfactorstandsfourthwithaweightedscoretotalof618. The factors 'Official Purpose' and' Status Symbol' registered weighted scores of 543 and 540 respectivelyandthedifferenceinthescoresisverynarrow. 5.4FactorsInfluencingChoiceofSingleBrandandMultibrandOutlets Inanybuyingsituationforconsumerproductorservices,therecanbefourelements,whichcan affectbuyingprocess.Theyare: 1. BuyerCharacteristics 2. ProductCharacteristics

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3. SellerCharacteristics 4. SituationalCharacteristics Thesignificanceof relationshipbetweencertaindemographic factors/purchasepattern factors andtheretailoutletchosenforbuyingbrandedshirtshasbeentestedusingchisquaretest.The factorsselectedforanalysishavebeenlistedbelow(Table1) DemographicFactorsPurchasePatternFactors Age Frequency of Purchase Education Source of Information Occupation Occasion of Purchase Marital Status Person Influencing Selection Family Income City of Purchase Locationofresidence. Ageisanimportantfactorwhilepurchasingthebrandedshirts.Accordingtoagerespondentsare classifiedintothreecategoriesupto20years,2130yearsandabove30years.Buyingbehaviour ischangedaccordingtobuyereducation.Sorespondentsareclassifiedaspertheireducationinto three categories (i.e) School Level, Arts & Science (Both UG & PG) Graduation and Professional course. On the basis of occupation, the respondents are classified as students, employed and professional / selfemployed. Respondents behaviour may vary based on his occupationalstatus. BasedonMaritalStatusthebuyingbehaviourmaychangebecauseformarriedrespondentsthe spouse is likely to play a major role in selection of retail outlet. Hence the respondents are classified into categories namely married and unmarried. Based on family income the buying power changes as high income people may go for premium brands than middle class people. Entertainment expenses and purchase of dresses which assumes fashion value depends on the surplus income available. Life style which is based on the economic status influences buying decisions. Family income per month is classified into three categories (i.e) upto Rs.10000, Rs.10000Rs.20000andaboveRs.20000. Business communities believe that sizable disposable income in India is concentrated in the urbanareaswithwelloffandaffluentclasses.Hencelocationofresidenceisclassifiedintothree categories(ie)urban,semiurbanandruralarea.Frequencyofpurchaseofbrandedshirtsvaries from person to person. Depending on the frequency of purchase, the respondents are grouped intothreecategories(ie)always,mostofthetimesandoccasionally.Informationaboutbranded shirts are collected from three sourcesFriends & Relatives, Advertisement and Showroom / Shop. Occasion of purchase differs from person to person according to the availability of disposal income at a given point of time and the importance given by them for off season discountsandcelebrationsoffestivalsandfunctions.Familyisanimportantexternalfactorthat playsakeyroleinbuyingdecisions.Indianconsumersarestillfamilydrivenentities.Shopping, entertainment and eating out are family events since these decisions are normally group decisions. Hence a marketer has to address family sensibilities more rigorously to woo Indian customers.Basedonwhofinalizedselection,therespondentsarecategorizedintothreetypes Self,FriendsandFamilymembers.Placeofpurchasemaychangeaccordingtotheincomelevel, mobility etc. People like to do shopping in other cities and towns rather than their place of residence.Thereforetherespondentsaregroupedintothosewhobuylocallyandthosewhobuy inothercitiessuchasChennai,Coimbatore,Tirupuretc. ASIANJOURNALOFMANAGEMENTRESEARCH 613

TheresultofchisquareanalysisasperTable5revealsthatnoneofthesixdemographicfactors of the respondents selected for the study (Age, Education, Occupation, Marital Status, Family Income,and Location ofResidence)hassignificantinfluenceonthe choiceoftheretailoutlet preferred for buyingbranded shirts.Similarly itisfound thatnoneof thefivepurchasepattern related factors (frequency of purchase, source of information, occasion of purchase, person influencingselection,cityofpurchase)hassignificantrelationshipwiththeretailoutletchosen forbuyingbrandedshirts. 5.5ShowroomSpecificFactorsAnAssessmentbyRespondents Theresearcherhaschosensixspecific factorswhicharethoughcommon forbothsinglebrand showroomsandmultibrandshopsbutwillhavedefiniteinfluenceonconsumerbehaviour.They are: 1. LocationofShops 2. Salesmanship&Courtesy 3. WiderchoiceinColour 4. Design&Material 5. Pricerange 6. Offersanddiscounts 7. Facilityfor useofcreditcard. Therespondentswereaskedtoindicatetheiropiniononthesefactorsinrespectofsinglebrand showroomsandmultibrandshowroomsseparatelyonaLikertsfivepointsscaleviz,best,good, neutral,poor,verypoorareshownintable6havebeenpreparedonthebasisofmeanscoresof theoptionsforeveryfactorandalsoforapplicationofChiSquaretest. 5.6ShowroomSpecificFactors The results of chisquare analysis (Table 7) revealed that there is a significant relationship betweenlocationofshopsandthechoiceofretailoutlet.Butthereisnosignificantrelationship betweenretailoutletandothershowroomspecificfactors,viz.salesmanship&courtesy,wider choice in colour, design and materials, price range, offers & discounts and facility for use of creditcard.Locationoftheshopwillattractmorenumberofconsumersandithelpstoincrease thesalesofgoods.Brandspecificshowroomsshouldbelocatedinsuchawaythatcustomerscan findthelocationoftheshopveryconvenientforaccess.Thesalesmanshouldcoverthecustomer attentionthroughtheireffectiveservice.Thebuyingbehaviourishighlyinfluencedthroughgood salesmanshipandcourtesy. Thecustomers concentrationisnot only on thebrand,but alsoon theaccompanyingservicesofferedatthreedifferentstagesviz.,presales,duringsalesandafter sales. Any dissatisfaction as regards these services would cause him to move away. The customers needs and wants are satisfied only through wider choice in colour, design and materialandthereforehisbuyingbehaviourisbasedonthisfactoralso.Customersalwaysmake comparisonofcompetitorsproductsanddecidethepurchasepattern. Pricevalue factor has emerged as the most important determinant of customers shopping ASIANJOURNALOFMANAGEMENTRESEARCH 614

behaviour.Mostoftheretailersreportedthatcustomerswereverymuchconsciousofthevalue, and they usually compared the valuesacrificed andreceived.It played a very key role intheir buyingdecisionprocess.Offersanddiscountsmayincreasethepurchasingpowerofcustomer. Offersanddiscountsareprovidedbytheretaileratfestivalandstockclearancetime.Creditcard isknownasPlasticMoney.Theideaistouseitintheplaceofmoney.Themainpurposeisto promotethefacilityofconveniencetocustomersinpurchase.Facilityforuseofcreditcardmay changethebuyingbehaviour. 5.7OverallScoresandMeanScores Therespondentswereaskedtoindicatetheiropiniononshowroomspecificfactorsinrespectof singlebrand showroom andmultibrand showroom separatelyonaLikerts fivepointscale viz, best,good,neutral,poor,verypoor.Thescorehavebeenassigned(suchasBest5scoreGood 4 Score Neutral3 Score Poor2 Score and Very Poor1 Score) and the overall scores and mean scores obtained by both single brand show room and multibrand showroom have been presentedinTable8. Table 8revealsthat meanscoresof bestand good optionsin the fivepoint scale inrespectof singlebrand showroom arehighcomparedto multibrandshowroom. Inotheroptions it isvice versa.Thetotalscoresandmeanscoresofsinglebrandshowroomshaveaslightedgeoverthe multibrandshowrooms. 5.8Suggestions Basedonthefindingsofthestudy,followingsuggestionshavebeenoffered. 1. Purchasepatternrevealsthatonly16percentoftherespondentsalwaysusebrandedshirts and 35.5percent respondents use them most of the times. Brand preference should be createdthroughfeelgoodadvertisementandbrandloyaltyprogrammes. 2. Advertisement hasbeen the major source of information for 37percent of respondents only. This highlights the need for intensive advertisements. There should be a tone of freshness,styleandenergyconveyedthroughtheadvertisement. 3. Only20percentoftherespondentsbuyduringoffseasonsale.Thereforeretailerhasto providemoreoffers&discountsduringoffseasonsale. 4. Allensolly, Indigo nation, Louis Philippe secured low scores in positive attributes of brands. The manufacturers have to concentrate on this attributes to attract more consumerstowardstheirbrand. 5. Most of the respondents do not have knowledge about the location of single brand showrooms. It must be boosted through advertisements, mainly through hoardings in importantplaces. 6. Only 44.5 percent of the respondents preferred to buy from single brand showroom. Hence, offers and discounts provided to customers must be improved in single brand showroomcomparedtomultibrandshops. 7. 43 percent of the respondents purchased their shirts in Tiruchirappalli and the rest preferredothertowns.Thereforeitissuggestedthatthereshouldbemorebrandspecific ASIANJOURNALOFMANAGEMENTRESEARCH 615

showroomsinTiruchirappallitocatertotheneedsofTiruchirappallipeopleresidents. 5.9Conclusion Inthestudyitisconcludedthatallthedemographicfactorsandpurchasepatternfactorsdonot havesignificantinfluenceonthebuyerschoiceofretailoutlet.Showroomspecificfactorsalso do not have influence on the buying behaviour of retail outlet except location of shops. Raymond,a leading brandis the mostpreferredbrand andpossesses a highdegreeofpositive attributes. In ranking by customers, the quality factor occupies the first position: Colour and design,Comfortandstylearesecuringsuccessiveranksrespectively.Thetotalscoresandmeans scores lead to the conclusion that single brand showrooms have a slight edge over the multi brandshowrooms. 6.References 1. Bakewell,C.and Mitchell,V.W.(2006).Maleversusfemaleconsumerdecisionmaking. JournalofBusinessResearch,59,12971300. 2. Biplab,S.B.(1998).HandBookofMarketingManagement,HimalayaPublishingHouse,
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