A

PROJECT REPORT

ON

“MARKET SURVEY OF RETAIL MARKET & SALES PROMOTION IN AREA OF

BHUBANESWAR REGION”
FOR
LAFARGE INDIA PVT. LTD.

SUBMITTED TO

ICFAI

SUBMITTED BY

PANKAJ KUMAR KARN

MBA
(2006-2008)

ICFAI - BHUBANESWAR

1
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Project Report title “MARKET SURVEY OF RETAIL

MARKET & SALES PROMOTION IN AREA OF BHUBANESWAR REGION”
FORLAFARGE INDIA PVT. LTD. is a bonafide work carried out by Pankaj
Kumar Karn of MBA of ICFAI Bhubaneswar for fulfillment of MBA degree of
university of ICFAI. He has worked under our guidance and direction.

Signature of Guide
(Dr George Judah) Prof. Milind Marathe

Date: Date:

Place : Place:

2
 Acknowledgement
“Interdependence is a higher value than independence”
Knowledge in itself is a continuous process. Nevertheless, a day getting a practical knowledge is
an important thing & most important thing is the support, guidance, motivation and inspiration
provided by the different persons of different sections. At this moment of our substantial
enhancement, I find no words to express my gratitude towards those who helped me directly or
indirectly in making this report successful. I am indebted & thankful for the assistance received
from various individuals
So I think all those people who contributed to this project from the very beginning till its
successful completion.

This project report could not have been completed without guidance of our Prof. Milind Marathe.

I extended to my sincere gratitude to Mr. Rajiv Kumar Area sales manager of the Lafarge India
Pvt. Ltd. in Bhubaneshwar warehouse. For his constant and able of guidance has been instrumental
in large measure on the success of project. He suggest this study ,and it has been great opportunity
to learn about a subject of which had no previous knowledge for this, I am very grateful to him.

I also extend my warmest thanks to Mr. Hari Shankar Choudhary whose constant encouragement
and guidance was immense help for being on track through the project.

Last but not least I would like to thanks my faculties & colleagues who guided me for project
completion.

Pankaj Kumar Karn

3
QUESTIONNAIRE
4
1. Which brand do you prefer most?

Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Grasim

2. Which brand do you store?

Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Grasim

3. Give reasons for your preference?

_______________________________________________________________________________

4. Which brand does your customer prefer?

Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Grasim

5. What is the Avg. monthly sale of different brands of cement?

Co. Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Rasim
Tones/bags

6. Give names of the stockiest for your preference?

7. Rank the companies stockiest on the basis frequency of making personal visits & ph calls.

Co. Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan rasim
Ranks

8. Which Companies stockiest inform you about the change in the market price faster?

Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Grasim

9. How much credit in days do you enjoy from the stockiest of following companies?

5
 Co. Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan rasim
No. of bags/days
10. Maximum profit you get out of selling various brands rank them?

Co. Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan rasim
Ranks

11. Rank sales promotion activities according to their effectiveness?

Activities Rank
Shop Naka & Manson Meet
Gifts
Incentives
Hoardings
Others

12. Give your preference for the following type of Gifts/incentives.

Share Tour Gold White gold Cheque Others

13. Give your raking to the cement companies in their

Sales promotion activities

Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim
Duncan

14. What is the general price gap (BP-RP) between the following companies?

Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Grasim

15. Rank the companies on the basis of their transportation facilities?

Company Rank

6
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim
Duncan
16. Rank the companies on the basis of their cement delivery time?
Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim
Duncan

17. Rank the companies which are the best delivery time?

Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim
Duncan
18. What kind of problem you generally face with the transport?

19. Rank the companies on the basis of the response to customer complaints.
Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim
Duncan

7
20. Rank the company on the basis of their Marketing Representative’s frequency of visit.

Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim
Duncan

21. Rank the company on the basis of their Marketing Representative’s accessibility.

Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim
Duncan

22. Rank the company on the basis of their Marketing Representative’s art of making and
maintaining the relationship.

Co. Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan rasim
Ranks

23. Any suggestion you would like to make for the company?

8
 INDEX
Chapter Name Of the Chapter Page no
No

1 Executive summary 2-3

2 Introduction to the title, Objective, scope of the 5-6

Project
3 Company Profile 8-16
4 Theoretical Background 18-19
5 Research Methodology 21-24
6 Data Analysis 26-44
7 Findings 45-47
8 Limitation of the Project 48-48
9 Conclusion 49-49
10 Recommendations 50-50
11 Bibliography 51-51
12 Annexure 52-52

9
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

10
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The project was carried out at Lafarge Cement Pvt. Ltd. at Bhubnashowar region

OBJECTIVE

The objective was carried out for two mail objective. The first objective was carried out the market
survey for knowing prevailing market condition of Lafarge Cement in Bhubneswar market. The
second objective of project was to study the sales promotion activities undertaken by Lafarge and
other competitors.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The descriptive nature of the research necessitated collection of primary data from retailers of
cement through market survey. Both the methods, personal interview technique and telephonic
interview technique were used with the measure emphasis on personal interview method.
Interviews were conducted through the “structure questionnaire”.

Sampling Technique

Random Sampling technique was used to select the retailers. Out of nearly 400 retailers of cement,
randomly 50% of population was considered as a sample size. 189 retailers were visited to collect
the information about the cement market.
The project was carried out for a period of 60 days. After collecting the detailed information from
the market, analysis of the data was made. The market research has reveled many facts and figures
about cement market.

11
RESEARCH AND DESIGN:

• INTRODUCTION

• OBJECTIVES

• SCOPE AND LIMITATIMITATION

12
INTRODUCTION TO THE TITLE
Today it is fashionable to talk about the new economy. We hear that the business are operating in
globalize economy; things are moving at a nanosecond pace our market are characterized by hyper
competition and disruptive technologies are challenging every business and so business must adopt
to empower consumer

To become successful in such a competitive environment the business organizations have to be

customer oriented. Customers need and want must be taken care of.” Built customer and not only
products”. Customer must be delighted. This information about the market could be collected by
the way of proper market survey. Rom the market survey we get the feed about the good or
services of the organization .For this purpose the said project work is undertaken.

The project was carried out for knowing prevailing market condition of Lafarge Cement in
Bhubaneshawar Region .The second objective of the project was to study the sales promotion
activities undertaken by Lafarge and its other competitors.

The project was carried out in the marker of Bhubaneshawar of Orrisa state. There are six market
players in cement industry. They are Konark, Century, Ultratech, ACC, Ambuja, apart from these
there are few local brands selling in the market.

The information about the market was gathered by visiting retailers in the market. Interview of
retailers was taken depending upon there accessibility.

While doing the project attempt was made to collect maximum information about the marker. To
get actual and correct information ,it was not told retailers that the survey is conducted by
Ultratech Cement for the obvious reasons .Number of retailers were visited to get the actual picture
of the market. Again, the retailers of each grade (according to the performance) were visited, to get
each and every detail about the market.

Most of the time was spent in traveling for one retailer were reluctant to give the information , as
they do not want to disclose their business details. Visits to such retailers were loss of time, money
and energy.

13
After collecting the derailed information about the market analysis is done. In the analysis, the
observations recorded during the project were carefully analyzed and the results are prepared. The
findings and result of the project work are given at the later stage in the report.

14
 OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
This project was undertaken for two main objectives was

 To carry out market survey for knowing prevailing market condition of Lafarge India Pvt.
Ltd. In Bhubaneshawar (Orrisa)

The second objective was

 To study the sales and promotion activities undertaken by Lafarge cement and other player
in the market.

To attain these two objectives various other sub objective are needed to be achieved. These are
listed below.
 To analyze the market share of Lafarge Cement in Bhubaneshawar market.
 To know the customers preference for the brands of cement.
 To know the preference of retailer for sorting different brands of cement.
 To understand the effectiveness of various sales promotion activities of cement.
 To know preference of retailers for different gift and incentives.
 To analyze the sales promotion activities of various brands.
 To analyze the transportation facilities for Lafarge and other cement companies.
 To analyze the frequency of visits of marketing representative of various companies

Thus it attempt to find ways to increase market share, to increase customer satisfaction and
thus increase the business prospects.

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 Scope of the study

1. The study has been done for the Cement so more or less it helps in understanding the
consumer preference towards the cement market.

2. The study can help in analyzing certain weak point, improving on which a company can
overcome the low sales of its cement but only in Bhubaneshwar region

16
COMPANY PROFILE

17
 LAFARGE VISION

To be a leading cement company in India by:

• Sustained growth that creates value for our shareholders and doubles our turnover every 4
years.
• Building strong brands that meet consumer needs and aspirations.
• Embracing safety as a way of life.
• Being a responsible citizen and ensuring sustainable development.
• Being committed to the highest standards of corporate governance by conducting our
business with integrity, honesty and transparency.
• Fostering a performance culture in an environment of learning that encourages mutual trust
and respect, teamwork, customer orientation and sharing of best practices - which makes us
a preferred employer.

HISTORY
The beginning (1833 to 1914):
In 1833, Léon Pavin, launched an industrial lime production operation, having taken over a
business acquired by his family in 1749 with the purchase of the Lafarge domain in south-eastern
France, an area known for generations for the quality of its limestone deposits. The company
signed its first major international contract in 1864, delivering 110,000 tonnes of lime for the
construction of the Suez Canal. Lafarge opened its first central research laboratory in 1887, the Le
Teil Laboratory, with which highly reputed scientists collaborated. In 1908, the Central Laboratory
filed a patent for Cement Fondue calcium aluminates, obtained by fusing a mixture of bauxite and
limestone. This new high alumina binder gradually established a reputation as a rapid-hardening
cement resistant to both high temperatures and corrosion. In the years until 1914, favoring a
strategy of horizontal integration, the company – now the "Société des Chauxet des Ciments de
Lafarge du Teil" – set about acquiring lime and cement companies in all parts of France.

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1914 - 1955 Growth on all fronts

International development began with the opening up of North African markets. Lafarge, which
had operated in Algeria ever since 1866, now became the leading Portland cement producer in
Algeria, and set up operations in Morocco and Tunisia. Lafarge continued to acquire companies in
mainland France. With a quarter of the domestic market, the company became established as
France's number one cement producer. In 1926, Lafarge opened its first aluminous cement® plant
in the United Kingdom. It diversified into gypsum in 1931, and developed Superblanc, new
cement, in 1932. By 1939, Lafarge was the leading cement producer in France. After 1945,
Lafarge gained a new lease of life with the arrival of Alfred François at the helm, the Marshall
Plan and the post-war rebuilding boom: production doubled over the next ten years.

1955 - 1981 Mergers, acquisitions, developments

In 1956, Lafarge constructed its first North American cement plant, creating Lafarge Cement of
North America with the start-up of the Richmond plant in Canada. In 1959, Lafarge began
operations in Brazil. By the end of the 1960s, Lafarge Canada had become the third largest cement
producer in the country, with annual production capacity of 900,000 tonnes. In 1980, a merger
agreement was signed between Lafarge and Coppée, the newly formed group becoming Lafarge
Coppée. Acquisitions in the United States and Canada established Lafarge Coppée as the number
one cement producer in North America. The size of the Group rose from 12,000 to 17,000
employees.

1982 - 1990 The conquest of Europe

During the 1980s, with the construction of a single market representing more than 300 million
inhabitants, the Group chose to expand its business in Europe. Lafarge first turned to Germany,
raising its stake in Portland Zementwerk at Wössingen to 83%. Through the purchase of the Swiss
company, Cementia in 1989, the Group acquired interests in Asland (Spain), Aslan (Turkey) and
Perlmooser (Austria). Then followed the investments in Eastern Europe: East Germany, the Czech

19
Republic (1991), then Poland, Romania, Russia and Ukraine. The agreement with the East German
cement producer, Karsdorf, came even before German reunification had been mooted.

1990 - 2001 Lafarge becomes world leader in building materials

1994 saw Lafarge take a foothold in China. Today, all four of the Group's Divisions operate there,
and there have been developments throughout Asia (1998: Indonesia and the Philippines; 1999:
India and South Korea). The Group's expansion in Poland began in 1995 with the acquisition of a
75% stake in Kujawy. Within six years (2001), 4 entities representing all four Divisions were
active in the country.Lafarge acquired Redland in 1997, positioning itself more strongly in
Aggregates and Concrete and gaining entry onto the Roofing market.
Thanks to the acquisition of Warren in Canada in 2000, Lafarge became one of the leading
aggregates producers in North America. Lafarge focused on its main four Divisions, and divested
its Specialty Products businesses, which became Materis. Lafarge was the first industrial group to
conclude a partnership agreement with WWF (World Wildlife Fund for Nature).
In 2001, following the acquisition of Blue Circle, Lafarge became the world's leading cement
producer. Numerous acquisitions and joint ventures in all four Divisions, and on every continent,
particularly Asia, have continued to consolidate its world leadership position. In July, 2001,
Lafarge was introduced onto the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

2001-2004: A global growth

In 2002, the Gypsum Division acquired the plasterboard businesses of Gyproc (a subsidiary of
British PlasterBoard) in Germany, Poland and Central Europe.
The Cement Division inaugurated in China the new Dujiangyan cement plant, the first greenfield
cement plant for the Group in China, and acquires a 70% interest in the Chongqing cement plant.
The Cement Division acquired two new cement plants in Slovenia and in Serbia.
In 2003, the Cement Division enters Australia and had constructed a new cement plant in Mexico,
near Mexico City.

20
 In 2004, the Group:

• Acquired in Ecuador Cementos Selva Alegre.

• Acquired The Concrete Company of Columbus, Georgia, United States with
operations in both cement and concrete.
• Acquired Hupfer Holdings with operations in France and Switzerland in aggregates
activities.
• Acquired an additional 10.2% stake in Lafarge Halla Cement, in South Korea.
• Acquired an additional 14% stake in our gypsum operations in Lafarge Gypsum in
Asia, in a joint venture with Boral.

Lafarge Group's Growth Strategy

To maintain its leadership in construction materials, the Group is aggressively following a strategy
of growth and competitiveness. This includes international development and expansion in all of its
businesses. Lafarge Group has established its presence or consolidated its position, alone or with
local partners, in countries as diverse as Egypt, Uganda, Mexico, South Korea, Venezuela, Brazil,
Jordan, Poland, Germany, Argentina, Turkey, Canada, United States, Australia and Ukraine. With
operations on every continent, Lafarge is committed to a strategy of international development. It
aims to simultaneously, increase its business in countries with high market growth potential, and
further develop products enjoying growth in mature markets, capitalizing on every opportunity and
offering synergies with existing businesses.

21
 LAFARGE ORGANIZATION

Lafarge Cement - India

Lafarge India provides a professional and exciting environment to its employees and is
consistently able to attract the best talent in the industry. Lafarge has always put its employees at
the heart of its strategy. Its management style has for many years been termed "participative
management", open to the cultures of the companies it has acquired on all five continents. The
keywords are Participation, Efficiency and Example. As part of Lafarge's training philosophy, it
conducts regular exchange of personnel between its operations in Europe, North America and
other parts of Asia with India to ensure that the Indian operations reach operating efficiencies
comparable with the best in the world.

22
 CEO

PRESIDENT
VP VP VP VP VP VP
(Manufactur (human (Marketing) (Control and (finance and (Business
ing) resource) performance) legal) development

RSM

ASM

Summer
trainee

23
 PRODUCTS DETAIL
1. Lafarge Concreto

Lafarge Concreto has been launched by Lafarge to meet the need of

homebuilders in India for truly premium all-purpose cement. Concreto
was developed in Lafarge’s state-of-the art laboratories, which are
extensively networked with its Central Research Institute in France. The
company has leveraged its combined know-how of more than 170 years
and its experience across 75 countries to develop this unique product.
Concreto is a specially engineered, premium quality ‘all purpose
cement’. It can be used for varied applications like roofing, foundations,
beams, columns, plastering and brickwork. It is specially formulated to
provide a denser concrete mix than normal cements.

Concreto is characterized by:

• High ultimate strength due to the addition of highly reactive silica containing more than 95%
glass content.
• Enhanced durability due to optimum pore refinement and consequently denser concrete matrix
– this improves the impermeability of the concrete.
• Exceptionally high resistance to chemical attack (sulphates and acids).
• Protects reinforcement from corrosion.
• Reduction of structural cracks due to lower heat of hydration than ordinary cements.
• Low heat of hydration and higher resistance against alkali-reactive aggregates.

Lafarge Cement

Lafarge Cement is the flagship brand of Lafarge. A unique outcome of

international expertise, this super performing cement has been developed
taking into consideration the weather conditions in India and the practices
of homebuilding. Lafarge Cement is available in Portland Slag Cement
(PSC) and Portland Pozzalona Cement (PPC) variants. Lafarge PPC and
PSC are very high performance blended cements far exceeding the
requirement of IS: 455-1989 & IS: 1489.

Lafarge PSC is the only PSC in its markets produced by blending high
quality pulverised clinker with the most consistent slag of over 95% glass content. This therefore
provides very high compressive strength exceeding 60 MPa at 28 days. Lafarge PSC has a very
low heat of hydration and is hence suitable for mass concreting and concrete cast under “Hot
Weather Conditions”. Workability retention is also enhanced.

Lafarge cement has very high soundness as reflected through the extremely low values of
expansion through the Le-Chatelier test and Autoclave tests.Its C3A content is low, thus making it
more resistant to sulphates compared to other cements.

24
Its other chemical properties contribute to a very low co-efficient of permeability of the concrete
prepared, thus making it an ideal choice for construction of dams, foundations, tunnels, or other
sub-soil constructions and structures that shall be in contact with water.

Being a blended cement with a highly reactive slag obtained from the best source in the country so
far, it improves the density of the concrete mix thus increasing the durability factor.

Plants and Operations

Lafarge India's current cement operation comprises a modern split location cement facility located
at Sonadih (District Raipur, Chhattisgarh) and at Jojobera (District Singhbhum, Jharkhand) and an
integrated cement facility located at Arasmeta (District Janjgir-Champa, Chhattisgarh).

A brief description of Lafarge India's existing facilities is as below:

Rated Capacities
Location Facilities
(as of 2006)

Clinkerisation unit 1.4 MTPA of clinker

Sonadih
0.5 MTPA of Ordinary Portland
Cement Grinding unit
Cement (OPC) 43 grade
3.4 MTPA of Portland Slag Cement
Cement Grinding unit with separate
Jojobera (PSC) & Portland Pozzolana Cement
circuits for clinker and slag grinding
(PPC)

Clinkerisation unit 1.6 MTPA of clinker

Arasmeta
1.6 MTPA of Portland Pozzolana
Cement Grinding unit
Cement (PPC)

The plants at Sonadih, Jojobera and Arasmeta are based on the dry process technology and use
energy efficient processes. The thermal energy of the kiln is optimized by the use of a multistage
pre-heater with in-line pre-calciner.

Lafarge worldwide places a very high emphasis on protection of the environment. In all its Indian
plants, bag filters and electrostatic precipitators are used to reduce pollution and ensure
environment friendly plant operations. Lafarge India has adopted stringent quality control
measures to ensure the highest quality cement .The plants have the benefit of the strong technical
and R&D set-up of Lafarge group called DPC which is supported by CTI & CTEO - at Lyon in
France, CTS - at Montreal in Canada, ATC - at Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and CTEC - in Austria.
Lafarge Group employs more than 500 scientists and spends more than 100 million euros annually
in developing leading technologies in the area of building materials and construction technology.
The regular exchange of knowledge and technological improvements between the technical centre

25
and the Indian operations has enabled Lafarge India to improve operational efficiencies on a
continuous basis.

26
THEORETICAL
BACKGROUND

PROMOTION

27
Promotion is persuasive communication. It is a highly visible element in the marketing mix. It tells
the target customer product, price, and place. It tells also known as marketing communication.
Promotion consist of activities that facility exchanges with target customers through persuasive
communication to stimulate demand.

According to Professor Philip kotler:-

“Promotion includes all the activities the company undertakes to communicate and promote its
products to the target market.”

In modern marketing the question is not whether to promote but rather what to say, to whom and
how often. A good product, an attractive price and an accessible distribution must be supported by
an effective promotion to satisfy customer needs. Promotion activity include advertising, sales
promotion, public relation, and direct marketing. Promotion can also be viewed as the management
of the customer buying process of pre-purchase, purchase and post purchase.

FUNCTION OF PROMOTION:-

Promotion is a tool to influence target customer and to face competition. It performs four
functions:-
 Information
 Persuasion
 Reminding
 Reinforcing

PROMOTION MIX
The promotion mix is the combination of advertising, public relations, sales promotion, personal
selling and direct marketing tools that help achieve marketing objective
1. ADVERTISING: - Advertising in any paid form of nonpersonal communication by an
identified sponsor to promote product.

28
2. PUBLIC RELATION: - It refers to programmes designed to promote or protect a company
image and products. Publicity is any unpaid form of communication through
media about an organization, its policies and products.

3. PERSONAL SELLING: - personal selling is personal communication with customers to

persuade them to buy products. It permits interaction and relationship
building. Sales persons provide feedback about the market, competitors and
customers.

4. DIRECT MARKETING: - It is persuasion by manufacturer to specific customers. The tools

of direct marketing are:
1. Face to face selling
2. Mail
3. Catalogue marketing
4. Telephone
5. E-mail

5. SALES PROMOTIONS: - Sales promotion has been increasing in popularity as a tool.

Marketers are using it aggressively. Sales promotion refers to short term
incentives to stimulate demand. It is used to create a stronger and quicker
purchase response. It can be directed at consumers, middleman and sales
personnel. It supplements advertising and facilitates personal selling.

According to Professor William J. Stanton:- “Sales promotion refers to demand –stimulating

devices designed to supplement advertising and facilitate personal selling.
According to professor Philip kotler:- “Sales promotion consists of diverse collection of
incentives tools, mostly short term, designed to stimulate quicker and or
greater purchase of particular product /services by consumer or trade.

NATURE OF SALES PROMOTION:

1. It is short term
2. It provides incentives

29
 3. It aims at quicker response:
4. It is directed at target audience

OBJECTIVE OF SALES PROMOTION

1. Objective for consumer promotion:-
(a) Encourage greater purchase volume
(b) Attract new customer
(c) Introduce new products
2. Objective for trade promotion:-
(a) Carry and push new item
(b) Increase reseller’s inventories
(c) Attract new channel members
(d) Offset competitive promotion
(e) Better store display
3. Objective for sales force promotion
(a) Motivate sales force
(b) Support new product

METHOD OF SALES PROMOTION

Sales promotion methods differ according to the target audience. They can be directed at
consumer promotion, trade promotion, and sales force promotion
(a) Consumer promotion method
Free sample
Coupons
Rebates
Premium
Price off
Contests
Display/Demonstration
(b)Trade promotion methods
Free goods

30
 Allowance
Prices-off
Sales contest
Gift items
Credit facilities
Trade show
(c) Sales contests
Trade shows and conventions
Gift items
Promotional kits
Bonus and commissions

31
 RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

32
The research methodology is the way systematically solve the systematically solve the research
problems. The main objective of the product was to know the market condition of Lafarge Cemejnt
and to study the sales promotion activities undertaken by various cement companies. For this, right
at the beginning the research plan was prepared. This includes all the detail of how to go about
research work of Lafarge Cement.

RESEARCH PLAN
Definition of research problem
The research problem can be defined as follows
1. `What are the cement being used by various customer in the region of
Bhubaneshwar and what are their expectation from the cement.
2. What the market trend is of cement and brand awareness of Lafarge Cement.

DATA COLLECTION

The descriptive nature of research necessitates collection of primary data from retailers through
market survey, personal interview technique was used and interview were conducted through
structured questionnaire the question were asked in prearranged manner. The market research was
conducted over a period of 60 days. Data was tabulated, analyzed and suggestion and
recommendation were given.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENTATS

The Research instrument chosen for conducting the survey was structured questionnaire was
pre[pared as show as in the annexure. The questionnaire includes open ended as well as close
ended question, few open ended question were included to obtain the perception of the retailers.
The questionnaire designed and a pilot survey was made with the questionnaire and then changes
were made accordingly with the questionnaire.

SAMPLE PLAN

33
A sampling technique was chosen for the study was Random Sampling Technique. This is the
most common method of selecting the sample. This is because the retailers are localized in
different part of the marker a group of retailers are chosen are random from large group. It gives
all retailers in a group and equal chance of being selected for the purpose of the survey.

SAMPLE SIZE

Out of nearly 400 retailers in cement market of Bhubaneshwar and its region around randomly
50% of total population was considered as the sample size.

CONTACT METHOD

Both personal and telephonic interview methods were used for conducting the market survey.
Personal interview had the benefit one to one communication between the researcher and the
respondent. If the respondent is having any doubt or queries in their mind, they can get heir doubts
clarified from the researcher on the spot and so superior of data was collected from the survey was
collected from the survey.

Tele – interview was conducted with the structured questionnaire. Tele-interview was less costly
and less time consuming but the data could not be collected in detail from the respondents. Also
any doubt or queries of respondent could not be clarified.

ANALYSIS AND INFORMATION

Detailed information was collected for the project marker survey for retail marketing and sales
promotion activities of Lafarge Cement for the area of Bhubaneshawar market. The information
was collected by visiting the retailers of cement present in Bhubaneshawar market. The interview
of retailer taken in a friendly atmosphere so as to encourage them to give right information,
without any hesitation. Because of some inherent limitation of telephonic interview, the method of
personal interview was mostly used.
ANALYSIS

34
The analysis of the collection information was made in scientific manner. Different manner rank
was given to each alternative of particular questions, in the questionnaire.
A particular rank was given in the following manner,

Rank- 1 For the most favorable alternative

Rank- 2 For the moderately favorable alternative

Rank- 3 For unfavorable alternative

Rank- 4 For most unfavorable alternative

Rank- 5 Unfavorable

To come at the conclusion, total of each alternative of all the sample size retailers was made. Thus
the “sum of an alternative” having least score considered to be most favorable. In this manner,
result is prepared for various important parameters of the survey. With the help of results so
obtained, the findings are recorded in the form of graphs.

The market of cement Changes as the area changes. The demand for particular cement for
particular cement is much less. This is because of the crazier Trend of particular market.

Thus the demand for the cement is not that price sensitive. Price is not the criterion for selection of
rejection of particular brand is adapted on the type of application of cement and the brand name in
market. Thus the awareness among the customers about the particular cement plays a vital role.

The major types of customers are the builders and masons. The individual customers are there, but
their demand is not more. The customers are ready to give slightly high price, but he wants quality
cement, thus he is quality conscious. The customer perceives quality of cement as good quality
because of effective marketing. So effective marketing is necessary.

35
The retailer in the marker plays an important role in the sale of the cement. They have some
expectation from the cement companies; they expected credit facility, good sales promotion
schemes, and timely delivery of cement, etc

Among the plastic bag and paper bag of cement, Customer prefer bag. This is because the paper
bag prevents it from moisture and quantity remains intact.

In brief cement market is sensitive to marketing. The better & more the marketing the more is
possibility of sales. The observations and findings of the market survey about market share and
sales promotion activities are given at the next stage, in the report.

36
DATA ANALYSIS

PRESENTATION

INTERPRETATION

37
Q. Which brand do you prefer most?

Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Grasim

ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION 1:-

Dealers brand preference:-

Company No of Dealers percentage

Lafarge 24 12%
Konark 60 30%
Ulteratech 36 18%
Acc 36 18%
Ambuja 14 7%
Century 12 6%
Grasim 8 4%
Duncan 10 5%
Total 200 100%

Dealers preference towards the

cements brand
5%
4% Lafarge
12% Konark
6%
Ulteratech
7%
Acc
30% Ambuja
18%
Century
Grasim
18%
Duncan

Analysis and Interpretation:-

Obviously, maximum dealer, which are about 78 percent, come with Konark, Acc, Ultratech or
Lafarge, And 22 percent either confused or dependent on seasonally available brand for the
Cement.

38
Q. Which brand do you store?

Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Grasim

ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION 2:-

Dealer’s preference for the storage of cements brand:-

Company No ofDealers percentage

Lafarge 40 20%
Konark 50 25%
Ulteratech 22 11%
Acc 24 12%
Ambuja 18 9%
Century 24 12%
Grasim 12 6%
Duncan 10 5%
Total 200 100%

Dealer preference towards the storage of

brand

5%
6% 20% Lafarge
Konark
12%
Ulteratech
Acc
9% Ambuja
Century
25%
Grasim
12%
Duncan
11%

Analysis and Interpretation:-

Most of the dealers prefer to store either Lafarge or Konark. 20% of the dealer choice is Lafarge
where as 25% of the dealers choice is Konark. Remaining 35% of the dealers inclined towards the
Acc, Ultratech and Century. Remaining 20% of the dealer gives equally importance to the
Ambuja, Duncan and Grasim.

39
Q. Which brand does your customer prefer?

Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Grasim

ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION 3:-

Customer inclination towards the cement brand:-

Company No of Dealers percentage
Lafarge 24 12%
Konark 60 30%
Ulteratech 36 18%
Acc 36 18%
Ambuja 14 7%
Century 12 6%
Grasim 8 4%
Duncan 10 5%
Total 200 100%

Cusrtomer preference towards cement Brand

5% Lafarge
4% 12%
6% Konark
7%
Ulteratech
Acc
Ambuja
30%
18% Century
Grasim
18% Duncan

Analysis and Interpretation:-

78% of the customers are brand loyal. And 22% of the customers are price sensitive they go with
that brand which has fewer prices. In case of brand equity Lafarge lies in No. four.

40
Q . What is the Avg. monthly sale of different brands of cement?

Co. Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Rasim
Tones/bags

ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION 4:-

Average Monthly sale of cement:-

Company Consumption percentage

Lafarge 1365 13%
Konark 2651 26%
Ulteratech 1548 15%
Acc 1890 19%
Ambuja 640 6%
Century 750 7%
Grasim 625 6%
Duncan 685 7%
Total 10154 100%

Average monthly Consumption

7% 13%
6%
Lafarge
7% Konark
Ulteratech
6% Acc
27% Ambuja
Century
Grasim
19%
Duncan
15%

Analysis and Interpretation:-

This data show that the maximum consumption of cement brand in the region of Bhubaneshwar is
Konark cement which is about 26% of the total sales of the cement. Lafarge is on the no. fourth
position which is about 13% of the total sale of cement.

41
Q. Rank the companies stockiest on the basis frequency of making personal visits & ph calls.

Co. Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Grasim
Ranks

ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION 5:-

Dealers rank the companies stockiest on the basis of frequency of making personal visits & ph
calls

Company Total of Rank

Lafarge 562
Konark 656
Ulteratech 430
Acc 450
Ambuja 515
Century 380
Grasim 420
Duncan 470
Total 3883

Rank of the Company stokist

Lafarge
12% 14% Konark
11% Ulteratech
17%
Acc
Ambuja
10%
Century
13% 11%
12% Grasim
Duncan

Analysis and Interpretation:-

From this data we can conclude that only the weak brands stockiest are preferred by the retailers.
Strong brands stockiest are not given the proper consideration towards the retailers. All the giant
brands are ranked as 3 or 4 where as all the loose brands retailers are ranked as1or2.

42
Q. Which Companies stockiest inform you about the change in the market price faster?

Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Grasim

ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION 6:-

Company that provides information to the retailer about the price change in the near future:-

Company No of Dealer
Lafarge 15
Konark 10
Ulteratech 21
Acc 22
Ambuja 26
Century 38
Grasim 36
Duncan 32
Total 200

Information provided to the

retailer about future change in
price
8% Lafarge
5% Konark
16% Ulteratech
11% Acc
18% Ambuja
11%
Century
18% 13% Grasim
Duncan

Analysis and Interpretation:-

More than 100 of retailers said that Century or Grasim or Duncan provide the preinformation
about the future price change. This helps them to take precautionary action against the future
happenings.

43
Q How much credit in days do you enjoy from the stockiest of following companies?

Company Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan rasim
No. of bags/days

ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION 7. :-

Credit period facilitate by the companies stockiest to the retailer

Company No of days
Lafarge 15
Konark 10
Ulteratech 21
Acc 22
Ambuja 26
Century 38
Grasim 36
Duncan 32
Total 200

Credit period facilitate by the Companies

stockiest to the retailers

Ambuja Lafarge
Century Konark
Acc
Ulteratech
Acc
Grasim
Ulteratech Ambuja
Century
Konark Duncan Grasim
Lafarge Duncan

Analysis and Interpretation:-

The entire market leaders (Lafarge, Konark, ACC, Ultratech) of cement industries provides
relatively less credit period (i.e. less than 50 days) to their stockiest due to which the stockiest are
not able to provide the sufficient credit in days to their retailers. Where as the newly entered
cement brand provides sufficient credit in terms of quantity as well as in days to their retailers.
That’s why their growth rate is relatively high.

44
Q Maximum profit you get out of selling various brands rank them?

Co. Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan rasim
Ranks

ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION 8:-

Maximum share of profit of retailers comes through the selling of the cement:-

Company Profit
Lafarge 35
Konark 45
Ulteratech 38
Acc 37
Ambuja 14
Century 17
Grasim 8
Duncan 6
Total 200

Maximum profit earned by selling the brands

8 6
17 35

14

45
37

38

Analysis and Interpretation:-

Only 35 retailers said that their maximum profit comes through Lafarge. Similarly 45, 38, and 37
retailers said that their maximum profit comes through Konark, ACC, and Ultratech respectively.

45
Q. Rank sales promotion activities according to their effectiveness?
Activities Rank
Shop Naka & Manson Meet
Gifts
Incentives
Hoardings
Others
ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION 9:-
Retailer’s belief towards the activity that influences sales of the cement:-

Activities Ranks
Shops naka and mason 14
Gift 37
Incentive 49
Hoardings 66
Others 34
Total 200

Retailers believe on the activities that influence

sales of the cement

7%
17%

19% Shops naka and mason

Gift
Incentive
Hoardings
32% Others
25%

Analysis and Interpretation:-

Sixty six retailers out of two hundred which is 33%, beliefs that Hoardings influence the sales of
the cement. Incentives also play vital role in the promotion of the goods.

46
Q Rank sales promotion activities according to their effectiveness?
Activities Rank
Shop Naka & Manson Meet
Gifts
Incentives
Hoardings
Others

ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION 10:-

Retailers’ preference towards the gift:-

Gifts No of dealers
Share 14
Tour 40
Gold 39
White Gold 12
Cheque 29
others 66
Totals 200

Retailers preference towards the gift

14
Share
66 40
Tour
Gold
W hite Gold
Cheque
29 39 others
12

Analysis and Interpretation:-

Most of the retailers do not want to say about the gift. But after asking again and again their
preference are out of the available optioned e.g.:-TV, Camera, cycle, trophy, etc. Out of two
hundred 40 preferred tour, 39 preferred gold, 29 preferred cheque, 14 preferred share and 12
preferred white gold.

47
Q Give your raking to the cement companies in their sales promotion activities

Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim
Duncan

ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION 11:-

Retailers rank the cement company on the basis of the sales promotional activities:-

Company Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3 Rank 4 Rank 5 Total (Retailers)

Lafarge 20 40 80 25 35 200
Konark 60 55 47 38 0 200
Ultratech 20 25 32 78 45 200
Acc 20 71 57 27 25 200
Ambuja 12 14 45 68 61 200
Century 13 45 68 52 22 200
Grasim 50 68 58 24 200
Duncan 30 62 82 26 200

Retailers rank the cement co on the basis of the

their sales promotional activity

90
80
Rank 1
70
60 Rank 2
50
Rank 3
40
30 Rank 4
20 Rank 5
10
0
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A
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La

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G
K

D
A

C
U

Analysis and Interpretation:-

From the interpretation of the data, we come to know that Konark and ACC are on no.1 and no.2
respectively. Lafarge cement is on no.3. Because 30% of the retailers believe that Lafarge is on no

48
three. Century, Grasim, and Duncan are making extra effort to penetrate the market. Every retailer
mentioned their name and mentioned their considerable effort.
Q What is the general price gap (BP-RP) between the following companies?

Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Grasim

ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION 12:-

The profit on per bag of cement:-
Company price gap on per bag

Lafarge 6
Konark 5
Ultratech 6
Acc 6
Ambuja 7.5
Century 8
Grasim 10
Duncan 10

The difference between the billing price and

retailing price on one bag of cement

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
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A
fa

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La

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K

D
A

C
U

Analysis and Interpretation:-

Lafarge charges competitive price to the customer. Some of the company charges premium price
like OCL where as some of the brand has very less price like Grasim, Cemtury and Duncan. Price
of Lafarge is always equal to the price of Ultratech, ACC.

49
. Q Rank the companies on the basis of their transportation facilities?
Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim
Duncan

ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION 13:-

Companies are ranked on the basis of the transportation facility provided by them:-

Total
Company Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3 Rank 4 Rank 5 (Retailers)
Lafarge 70 65 28 25 12 200
Konark 23 25 15 72 65 200
Ultratech 40 70 65 25 0 200
Acc 20 67 90 20 3 200
Ambuja 15 14 45 90 36 200
Century 85 78 37 0 0 200
Grasim 80 75 38 7 0 200
Duncan 95 62 43 0 0 200

Companies ranks on the basis of the

transportation facilities

100
80 Rank 1
Rank 2
60
Rank 3
40
Rank 4
20 Rank 5
0
e

n
k

ja

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h

m
cc
rg

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A
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A

C
U

50
Analysis and Interpretation: - Transportation facility is a very vital factor for a brand to be
successful in the market; Lafarge cement has proved itself in this area as they are having the best
reach in the urban area not in the rural area.

Q Rank the companies on the basis of their cement delivery time?

Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim
Duncan

ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION 14:-

Companies are ranked on the basis of the cement delivery time:-
Company Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3 Rank 4 Rank 5 Total
Lafarge 114 53 33 0 0 200
Konark 91 82 27 0 0 200
Ultratech 0 82 91 12 15 200
Acc 82 78 39 1 0 200
Ambuja 14 25 97 61 3 200
Century 42 12 83 42 21 200
Grasim 11 24 45 21 99 200
Duncan 21 37 49 68 25 200

Companies rank on the basis of the cement

delivery time

120
100
80 Rank 1
60 Rank 2
40
Rank 3
20
0 Rank 4
Rank 5
e

n
k

ja

y
h

m
cc
rg

ur

a
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bu

si

nc
A
fa

nt
on

ra
at

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La

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lt r

G
K

D
A

C
U

Analysis and Interpretation:-

51
Lafarge is quite ahead in the race in regards to the delivery option, as many retailers says that a
small quantity of cement bags are not delivered by most of the company on time, they say that ar
least you need carry 200 bags and so on, but Lafarge are willing to accept and delivery any amount
of bag at any time.
.Q Rank the companies on the basis of the response to customer complaints.
Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja

ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION 15:-

Companies responses towards the customer complain:-

Company Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3 Rank 4 Rank 5 Total no of the retailers

Lafarge 102 71 27 200
Konark 78 45 36 41 0 200
Ultratech 41 65 52 41 1 200
Acc 82 78 35 5 0 200
Ambuja 41 78 44 35 2 200
Century 42 52 41 37 28 200
Grasim 31 51 47 37 34 200
Duncan 26 56 45 68 5 200

Companies rank on the basis of the response to

the customer complail

120
100
80 Rank 1
60 Rank 2
40
Rank 3
20
0 Rank 4
Rank 5
e

n
k

ja

ry
h

m
cc
rg

ca
ar

ec

bu

tu

si
A
fa

on

un
en

ra
at

m
La

lt r

G
K

D
A

C
U

Analysis and Interpretation:-

52
Almost most all the companies’ stockiest response towards the customer’s complained but Lafarge
is far ahead to the other companies. Most of the retailers said that Lafarge Marketing
representative are so much attentive towards the customers responses.

Q Rank the company on the basis of their Marketing Representative’s frequency of visit.
Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim
Duncan
ANALYSIS, PRESENTSTION AND INTERPRETATION 16:-
Companies’ are ranked on the basis of the visit of the marketing representative:-

Company Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3 Rank 4 Rank 5 Total no of the retailers

Lafarge 85 75 40 0 0 200
Konark 78 65 42 15 0 200
Ultratech 45 66 74 15 0 200
Acc 47 52 41 51 9 200
Ambuja 23 45 65 25 42 200
Century 62 68 47 23 0 200
Grasim 23 42 37 47 51 200
Duncan 65 74 54 0 7 200

Companies are ranked on the basis of the visit of

marketing representative

90
80
70 Rank 1
60 Rank 2
50
Rank 3
40
30 Rank 4
20 Rank 5
10
0
e

n
k

ja

y
h

m
cc
rg

ur

a
ar

ec

bu

si

nc
A
fa

nt
on

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La

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G
K

D
A

C
U

Analysis and Interpretation:-

53
Lafarge’s marketing representatives are too much concern towards the customer’s welfare. So they
visit almost retailers ones in a week. Where as other companies’ marketing representative visit the
counter only twice in a month.

WHOLESALE PRICE / RETAIL PRICE ANALYSIS

WHOLESALE PRICE
BRANDS (Billing price) RETAIL PRICE PRICE GAP
Lafarge 112-114 118-120 6
Konark 114-116 119-120 5
Ultratech 112-114 118-120 6
ACC 112-114 118-120 6
Ambuja 110-112 117-119 7.5
Century 106-108 114-116 8
Grasim 102-104 112-114 10
Duncan 100-102 112-114 10

By comparing the wholesale price and retailing price of the various Brands in the market, we can
infer that the retailers get a good margin in case of GRASIM & DUNCAN. Above that it is the
cheapest brand among the major brands in the market.
Hence the analysis carried earlier part of the project i.e. profit selling brand is justified at both the
levels.

54
SWOT –Analysis
SWOT-analysis is done to understand the external and internal environment of the organization.
SWOT, which is acronym for strength, weakness, opportunity and threats is
also known by TOWS-analysis. Though such an analysis, is strength and weakness exist within an
organization can be matched with the opportunity and threats operating in environment , so that an
effective strategy can be formulated. An effective organizational strategy, therefore, is one that
capitalizes on the opportunity through the use of strength and neutralizes the threats by minimizing
the impact of weakness.

Below is the SWOT- analysis of Lafarge India Pvt. Ltd. in cement market.

Strength
 People ask for bleakness in cement and Lafarge has this.
 Cement grade is good and people are satisfied.

55
  Customer choice.
 Lafarge being an MNC has a global leverage.
 It has a good brand image in Cement.

Weakness
 Great need of strategic way for promotion and advertisement for both dealers and
customers.
 Not an easy task to overtake Konark, Ultratech and ACC.
 Price and margins is not match with dealers and retailers expectation respectively.
 Guaranty given by company is from the date of manufacturing which is not acceptable for
the dealers and retailers.
 Take large time in the replacement of Cement.
Opportunity

 Strong infrastructure requirement for the development of the country and the country is
developing in the utter pace.
 No of the medium class people is growing.
 Institutional market like corporate and government offices, school society complexes are
growing in large scale, which will increase the requirement.

Threats

 Cheep priced brand are grabbing rapidly a large chunk of lower income customer base.
 Other brands like Duncan and Grasim provide maximum profit to the both customer as
well as to the retailers.
 It was found from my survey that Konark maximum market share is due to brand loyalty.
 Dealers expect more margin and gift to sell of the Lafarge cement.

56
 FINDING

OTHER REASONS STATED BY RETAILER FOR BRAND PREFERENCE:-

LAFARGE
 Better quality
 Good name in the market
 Timely available
 Immediately respond on the competitors strategy.
 Relatively less price.
 Better packaging

ULTRATECH
 Sells easily in the market the customer demand for them.
 Customer choice.
 Good name in the market as it carries the goodwill of L&T.

57
  High market awareness.
 Sells more

CENTURY
 Good relationship with the company people.
 Price is low and affordable for people
 Low price helps to sell easily.
 Quality is good.
 More profit selling the brand.
 Good service and relationship

ACC
 People ask for ACC.
 Service is good.
 “Dhalai karne ke liye” people ask for ACC.
 Very superior quality cement as compared to others
 Selling form the very first day the shop came in to being & sells easily (shree ganesh
traders, bhatagaon)
 They have same price prevailing for wholesale at dealers/stockiest retailers end.
AMBUJA
 Customers preference
 Good cement, plastering work is good
GRASIM (Birla plus)
 Customers choice.
 Price is suitable as per customers pocket
 Rate & profit
 Good relationship with the people at Grasim.
 Birla is a very renowned name so people trust it.

DUNCAN
 Rate & profit
 Price is suitable as per customers pocket

58
  Service is good.

PROBLEM FACED BY
STOCKIEST
 None of the stockiest had any complains about any brands, in regards to the price,
transport, service etc
 Dispatch being closed at the start of the month is a ”trump card “for them to play in the
market to push the sale.
 Stockiest are satisfied with the companies service.

RETAILERS REGRETS (Lafarge)

 The stockiest occasionally inform about the price change in the market.
 They do not make personal visits to the counters frequently.
 Price should be stabilized in the market.
 Price stability in regard to the price set by the company as well as wholesalers (i.e. all the
wholesalers should have the same price offered in the market).
 The management should not interfere in the price offered by the counterperson to the
customers.
 They need price flexibility to shoot up the sale.
 Dispatch being closed every start of the month is a problem is a problem for them to stick
to the commitments made by them to the customers.
 Small quantity ordered is not furnished on time.
 Pressurize them for taking more quantity for more quantity for transportation facility.
 Lafarge now does not give any gifts at the counters.

59
 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

1. Lack of cooperation from the retailers in regard to giving interview

2. It was found in some cases dealers showed inclination towards certain brands which gave
them more margins when compared to others.
3. It was experienced during the survey that it was difficult to convince or make the retailers
and dealers understand the important of the project
4. As the retailers and dealers thought that it was unwise for the to give their details of
business as they feared competitors would take advantage.

60
 SUGGESTIONS
A very exhaustive study has been made, keeping in the essence of the objective of the project.
With the efforts put on the project a detailed analysis was conducted and result were derived,
based on the results and market response few suggestions are discussed below

A Price fluctuation creates problems for retailers as the cannot keep the commitments of price to
customers……
The reach to the rural market need to be strengthened
Transportation to rural areas need to be strengthened, a significant amount of business is lost
because of this.
At time it has been seen that the delivery commitments an the side of the company is not prompt,
this creates a bad name and again business is lost
On interviewing Dealers/Retailers the most important thing they said was about the price
flexibility, they want that the company should give them the price flexibility to play in the market.
(As the company has outlined that the price offered by the company should only be offered to the
customer, it should not increased to the customer, it should not be increased or decreased).

61
The Brand Name Lafarge is quite difficult to be pronounced and remember, so it should be made
short and easy for the rural masses to remember like (L&T).

CONCLUSION
To attain the objective of the project detailed information was collected from the market of
Bhubaneshwar. The market research has revealed many facts and figures about the cement
scenario in the market prevailing.

In the market, Lafarge cement is well known brand of cement. This is the result of the good quality
of the Lafarge cement along with their effective marketing efforts, which covers the whole market
customers of Lafarge cement are highly satisfied with the use of it, as they do not face any
problem after using it.

There are seven major players in the market but the major completion is between the two brands of
cement. But because of good marketing efforts, Lafarge cement is able to grasp some share of
various other brands
The market survey undertaken shows that effective marketing efforts play a vital role in creating
the goodwill for the brand. The distribution channel of cement industry must be well designed and
made effective this ensures timely availability of cement to customers.

62
Good marketing creates good image i.e. brand building. Even through often Lafarge take over the
Tata cement and place its brand as Lafarge cement in the market , but still it has not shown any
decline in its status. Lafarge still cherishes the good will created by Tata cement in the market.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

1. Research Methodology: C.K. Kothari

Wishwa Prakashan Darayaganj
New Delhi
2nd Edition-1995

2. Marketing Management: Philip Kotler

Prentice- hall of India Pvt. Ltd.
New Delhi-110001
8th Edition -1995

63
WEBSITE

1. www.lafarge-cement.co.in
2. www.google.com
3. www.ibef.org
4. www.msn.com
5. www.indianexpress.com

ANNEXTURE

64
 QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Which brand do you prefer most?

Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Grasim

2. Which brand do you store?

Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Grasim

3. Give reasons for your preference?

_______________________________________________________________________________

4. Which brand does your customer prefer?

Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Grasim

5. What is the Avg. monthly sale of different brands of cement?

65
 Co. Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Rasim
Tones/bags

6. Give names of the stockiest for your preference?

7. Rank the companies stockiest on the basis frequency of making personal visits & ph calls.

Co. Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan rasim
Ranks

8. Which Companies stockiest inform you about the change in the market price faster?

Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Grasim

9. How much credit in days do you enjoy from the stockiest of following companies?

Co. Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan rasim
No. of bags/days

10. Maximum profit you get out of selling various brands rank them?

Co. Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan rasim
Ranks

11. Rank sales promotion activities according to their effectiveness?

Activities Rank
Shop Naka & Manson Meet
Gifts
Incentives
Hoardings
Others

12. Give your preference for the following type of Gifts/incentives.

Share Tour Gold White gold Cheque Others

13. Give your raking to the cement companies in their

Sales promotion activities

66
 Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim
Duncan

14. What is the general price gap (BP-RP) between the following companies?

Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan Grasim

15. Rank the companies on the basis of their transportation facilities?

Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim
Duncan
16. Rank the companies on the basis of their cement delivery time?
Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim
Duncan

17. Rank the companies which are the best delivery time?

Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark

67
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim
Duncan
18. What kind of problem you generally face with the transport?

19. Rank the companies on the basis of the response to customer complaints.
Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim
Duncan

20. Rank the company on the basis of their Marketing Representative’s frequency of visit.

Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim
Duncan

21. Rank the company on the basis of their Marketing Representative’s accessibility.

Company Rank
Lafarge
Konark
Ultratech
Acc
Ambuja
Century
Grasim

68
Duncan

22. Rank the company on the basis of their Marketing Representative’s art of making and
maintaining the relationship.

Co. Lafarge Konark Ambuja Century Ramco Acc Ultratech Duncan rasim
Ranks

23. Any suggestion you would like to make for the company?

69