A PROJECT REPORT ON

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MINERAL WATER INDUSTRY WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS TO BISLERI

Under the Guidance of:

Mr. R.N. SHARMA

Submitted by:

RICHA JAIN
ENROLLMENT NO. 0071341904 BBA(CAM) II SEMESTER
Course Coordinator:

1. Dr. L. M. Gupta 2. Ms. Vandana Sharma

In partial fulfillment of: IDEAL INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AND TECHNOLOGY

G U RU G OB I N D S I N GH I N D RA PRA SH TA U N I VE RSI TY , D E L H I

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I feel great pleasure in submitting this project as the culmination of my Guides efforts. This is a step towards the path leading to a "Bachelor of Business Administration (CAM) Degree. This project required hard work, sincerity and devotion which I tried my best to put in this project and in turn gained a lot of knowledge and confidence from this project. I am deeply grateful to my project guide MR. R. N. SHARMA who has helped me in completion of this project. He has been a constant guiding force and source of illumination for me. It entirely goes to his credit that this project has attained its final shape. I would like to thank him for his valuable advice and guidance. I am also thankful to all the retailers for their kind cooperation in filling up the questionnaire. Lastly, I feel obliged to my friends who provided me with their constant support without which this endeavour would not have been completed.

RICHA JAIN BBA (CAM)

CONTENTS
S. No. Acknowledgment Executive Summary Objective of the Study Introduction Mineral Water Industry - Current Scenario Inception of Bisleri Product Profile Manufacturing Distribution Packaging Marketing Mix of Bisleri: 4Ps of marketing Product Place Price Promotion
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CHAPTERS

Page No. 1 5 6 7 10 11

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Advertising campaign of Bisleri Methodology Analysis Strategies adopted by Bisleri Soft Target Getting in Shape Distribution Network Conclusion Limitations Recommendations Questionnaire Bibliography List of retailers covered during the survey

30 39 40 51

53 54 55 57 60 61

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This project "Comparative study of Mineral Water Industry with

Special Emphasis to Bisleri" aims to know about different brands of mineral water kept by the retailers.
It also shows the satisfaction level of the retailers with regard to

the quality of the product. For this near about 100 retailers from Delhi were being interviewed using Structured Questionnaire. Responses received from retailers were analysed to come to a set of conclusions & suggestions.

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objective of this project is to find out:

Different brands of mineral water being kept by the retailers. Frequency of distributor's visits to the retailers. Availability of the various mineral water among retailers. Satisfaction level of the retailers with regard to the quality of

the product.

Strategies and measures adopted by 'Bisleri' to counter the competition by 'Aquafina' & 'Kinley'.

INTRODUCTION
Water is the most important liquid in the world. Without water, there would be no life, at least not the way we know it. In today's living condition, the need for Pure Drinking Water is becoming the issue for the common Man. Eighty percent of the human metabolism consists of water. This is the reason why 90% of human diseases are water borne. There are 3 types of water impurities, which are root cause of water borne diseases 1. Microbiological-Bacteria / virus. 2. Dissolved impurities - chemical. 3. Imbalance of Mineral Contents. There are rapid changes that are taking place in our environment since long and the air and the water pollution is on an increase. The main sources of drinking water are rivers and downstreams which have also not been able to escape the pollution. When the consumer became aware of the problems caused by water pollution the market saw an advent of ceramic water filters, which filters the dust and suspended particles but dissolved impurities and microbiological impurities are not cleared out. The mineral balance is also not maintained.

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1980's witnessed more changes by a tap attachment wherein Iodine resin is used to filter the water. It deactivates

microbiological impurities to an extent but has side effects due to iodine and does not take care of dissolved impurities mineral balance. Late 1980's witnessed Ultra Violet based purifier, which filters dust and deactivates bacteria to a great extent. It maintains the odour and colour of water but does not clear out the dissolved impurities and mineral particles. Thus came to the advent of mineral water. Historically, the need for purified water within Indian homes had been kept down to a minimum. Essentially, there were three types of water that was used for different purposes. The first type was used for rinsing. The second type, which was used for cooking, was cleaner and kept covered. The third type was the cleanest drinking water and was very often boiled before use. Since an average family needed a small quantity, not more than five or six litres a day, boiled and filtered water had been a convenient solution for some time. The fallouts were obvious. It was very difficult to convince the people that purification system was worth the price. There was no visible way to demonstrate the benefit,
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The otherwise somnolent

market

began to change

once

companies like Eureka Forbes targeted the office segment, while the mineral water players went after travellers. Ion Exchange was the only company that had any measure of success in entering homes with Zero-B. But clean drinking water returned on the national agenda a little later. Around 1989, drinking water became an issue again. Around early 1990s time did a story on India as a key emerging market and that was the triggered for all the players eyeing this market."

MINERAL WATER INDUSTRY

- CURRENT SCENARIO A few years back, the mineral water market had been crawling at the rate of 3-4%, or even a lower figure. Indians carried drinking water in earthen pitchers, plastic or PUF bottles. But increasing cases of typhoid and other waterborne diseases began to be reported. In addition to this, liberalization happened and the mineral water industry began to be stirred and shaken. The market started growing an astounding rate of over 100% per annum. The fact that there were very few players in the market meant that their business grew by leaps and bounds. The country's bottled water business is estimated to be more than Rs. 1,100 crore, of which the branded market accounts for over Rs. 700 crore and about 700 million litres in volume. The rest is accounted for by the unorganized sector, which is dominated by small regional players. The market is still growing at a rate greater than 80% per annum.

Today there are more than 200 brands, out of which 10 of them are from top companies. In the branded segment, Parles 'Bisleri is the market leader with a share of more than 45%. Parle Agros 'Bailey comes a close second with market share of 15%.

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INCEPTION OF BISLERI
The origins of Bisleri lie in Italy, and the brand owes its name to founder Felice Bisleri, an Italian entrepreneur. Bisleri set up a plant in Mumbai for bottling and marketing mineral water, which was first of its kind in India. However, it did not satisfactory work. Among other reasons, the fact that the Indian consumer was unprepared to accept bottled mineral water was responsible for its failure. Consumers mindsets were more geared towards boiling water at home. In 1969, Parle bought over the Bisleri' brand. In those days Bisleri water was available in glass bottles. Parle's taking charge of Bisleri did not make a dramatic difference to the brand's fortunes immediately. While it did gain in terms of visibility and reach (piggybacking on Parle's existing distribution network), efforts to expand the bottled water market were not exactly painstaking. Parle at that particular time was interested in making soda water and not mineral water. There were just minor initiatives on part of the company for making mineral water as it was not considered to be a very profitable business at that time people still considered

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boiling water to be a safer than mineral water. Moreover they were not ready to pay for a commodity like water which was so abundantly available. In 1972-73 Parle changed the packaging of its bottled water to plastic bottles and that significantly made a difference in the sales. The buyers, then, were mainly the upper class - the trendy people. In 1993, Coca-Cola bought Parle's soft drink brands- thumps-up, limca etc. While Coca-Cola actually bought over Parle's

beverages, it agreed to a settlement that allowed the multinational to bottle and distributes Bisleri soda for a time frame of five years. The charge of Bisleri water, however, remained with Parle. The upsurge in the sales of Bisleri started from this point as Parle sold off its stable of brands to Coca-Cola. This was the time when it started concentrating on making Bisleri a success in the domestic mineral water market. The reason why Parle chose to retain the Bisleri name was that Parle saw a fairly lucrative business of mineral water in Bisleri's equity.

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The real shift in companys policy towards mineral water industry came in 1998, although the conscious efforts had already been started in 1994. This change was primarily because of the fact that the people, at this time, had started becoming more health conscious.

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PRODUCT PROFILE
Its a compliment being generic to the category, but its not very good when consumers think any mineral water brand is Bisleri. Bisleri, a product established in India by Ramesh Chauhan, Chairman of Parle Aqua Minerals has become a generic brand. Bisleri was the first marketed bottled water in a totally virgin market. The brand has become synonymous with mineral water; consumers accept any brand offered by the retailer when they ask for Bisleri. So far Ramesh Chauhans Bisleri enjoys the largest market share of 56% in the Rs. 1,100 crore mineral water markets and is growing at the rate of 180% per annum. Annual sales of Bisleri have touched Rs. 400 crores. In seventies, 'Bisleri' was the only mineral water that had national presence and the sale was to the tune of approximately one hundred thousand cases valued at about Rs. 60 lacs.

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MANUFACTURING
A quick look at Bisleri's manufacturing reach indicates that it is represented across the country North accounts for 35% of sales for the industry, West accounts for 30%, South 20% and the East 15%. In order to be available in untapped areas Bisleri has setup 16 plants located all over the country - three-fourths of which are company owned. The balance is run by franchisees. Bisleri has 5 plants in the North, 5 in the West- two of which were setup at Ahemdabad and Surat recently, 4 in the South and 2 in the East. The company has bottling units located in Chennai, Bangalore, Goa, Calcutta, Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Indore and Nepal. The new plants are being set up in states like Kerala, Orissa, Bihar and North Eastern States, which hitherto have been unexplored by the company. It is also changing its production strategy and shifting to a 10-hr production schedule with sudden increase in demand planned to be met by additional production.

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Bisleri has planned to expand its operations by investing Rs. 60 crore in the upgradation of facilities. The 120-bottles per minute (BPM) capacity of the 16 units across the country will be increased to 240 BPM. Conscious of the environmental implications of its PET bottles, the company is to set up recycling plants at Delhi and Chennai, each with an outlay of Rs. 50m. These will process 500 kg. of PET per hour. The processed material will be an input for polyester yarn manufacturers. In centers other than Delhi and Chennai, the company will set up crushing units to crush the used PET bottles. The company's expansion plans will see its water bottling capacity go up from the present 400 million litres to 500 million litres. Parle Bisleri Limited (PBL) is planning to invest Rs. 200 crore to increase its bottling capacity and double its turnover. The expansion will also increase the number of company's bottling plants from 16 at present, to 25. The company will set up all the new plants as green field plants. It doesnt have any intentions to acquire any existing plants.

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DISTRIBUTION
It's obvious that availability holds the key to the market. For any product to be successful the distribution system has to be really good. Large tracts of the country have not been explored by the national brands, which explain the proliferation of smaller brands. Bisleris strategy is to build a direct distribution system at an allIndia level. Currently, Bisleri has around 80,000 retail outlets in the country with about 12,000 each in the Metros of Delhi and Mumbai. It is intended to increase this number to 10 lakh outlets in order to expand brands reach. That means serious investments in company-owned trucks and carts. Parle hopes to double its existing fleet of 1,000 trucks. This would make it the largest fleet owner in the country. In order to service the home segment, the 5 litre packs are being pushed through the route of Fat Dealers(wholesale dealers) who are retailers as well as stockiest and serve as supply points from where customer can pick the required quota. The customer can call the fat dealer and place order for home delivery of the 5-litre pack. 180 of these dealers are already functional, and more are in the process of being appointed.

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The company plans to have its own distribution network in places where it has its own plants. Franchisees would manage the distribution in their respective areas of operation.

PACKAGING
Variety is spice of life. Today for any business organisation to be successful it has to provide its customers with the differentiated product that is a value buy for them. In order to cater to the changing needs of the customers the business has to continuously come out with the variants of the product so that it can target the maximum segments. Today, Aqua Minerals offers a variety of packaging options: 300 ml, 500 ml, 1 litre, 1.2 litre, 2 litre, 5 litre, and 20 litre. The 5-litre bottles account for 35 per cent of sales showing a growing health concern among the Indian society. 1-litre bottles account for 30 percent of the share, whereas the 500 ml bottles taking up 15 per cent. The remaining sizes share the rest of the contribution. The 2 litre bottles were introduced to slowly and steadily replace the conventional 1 litre bottles. This would give them an advantage over others. The 500-ml category was re-focused as a trendy

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product, targeted at the teenage crowd and for the roadside consumers.

Following is a quick overview of the various packaging options provided by Bisleri along with the target consumers:
Size of the bottle 500 ml 1 litre 1.2 litres 2 litres 5 litres 20 litres Price per bottle Rs. 6 Rs. 10 Rs. 12 Rs. 18 Rs. 40 Rs. 200 Target consumer Teenagers, college students and roadside consumers. General consumers and travellers. Consumers demanding a little more water at just a little more price. Small offices, shopkeepers, households. Households, institutes, shops, showrooms. offices, retail

Households, institutes, offices, schools and colleges.

The following pie chart clearly shows the sales wise distribution of the various pack sizes:

% share of pack sizes in sales

10 15 500 ml 1 litre 2 litres 35 10 30 5 litres others
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ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN OF BISLERI BEFORE LAUNCH OF ACQUAFINA & KINLEY

Every brand needs a good ad. campaign to establish itself in the market. So it becomes very imperative to look at various ad. campaigns that Bisleri undertook to build itself as a brand. Bisleri started its game plan with the punch line of Pure and safe and used the same catch-line for advertising. But with the advent of many new players, all claiming the purity, it became very imperative for Bisleri to differentiate its product so as to stand out in the market. Bisleri found the answer in sealed cap bottles. It claimed 100% purity. While the bottles of the other brands, it claimed could be refilled with ordinary or even germinated water, Bisleris seal capped bottles ensured the consumer of purity of water and single-used ness of the bottles. The ad. showed a milk-man and a child showering their buffaloes and filling the so-called mineral water bottles with the same water and packing them with the simple polythene seal and the consumer not knowing about the purity of the water he is drinking. Next clip shows the Bisleri bottles being sealed with plastic caps and ensuring the purity of water. The ad. did work for Bisleri and it got its much needed product differentiation.

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In 2000, some giant brands like Pepsi and Coca-Cola entered the mineral water industry with a big bang. Bisleri now had a big threat of maintaining its market cap. While Coca-Cola introducing its brand Kinley as a health care product, Pepsi projected Aquafina as something as pure as Your own body. Pepsi targeted the young generation and introduced Acquafina as a fancy product to carry. The ad. campaign of Aquafina emphasized as 70% of your body is water and thus give your body the purest water. The ad. showed young vibrant models and created the atmosphere of youthfulness. Water, Pepsi claimed, was no longer a simple beverage, but was something highly fashionable. They

complimented it by giving their bottles an attractive look. This soon caught the eye of the consumer. All these factors made Pepsi the biggest upcoming competitor of Bisleri. Where as Kinley lagged behind the race, showing a doctor advising a family to take Kinley for pure water not a very attractive ad campaign. Bisleri, to counter-attack the new Feel-Young fever had to even bolder steps. They first changed their base line from Pure And Safe to Play Safe. They tried a brand new ad. campaign to catch the fancy of consumer.
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The new ad. showed a young romantic couple on a marooned island, when the girl seductively attracts the guy and he follows her in trance. The moment he gets hold of her, she whispers something in his ears. The next few shot show the guy looking for something in frenzycan not find it. Rushes towards the chemists shop. Buys something (keeping the audience in suspenseor rather implicitly pointing for ). The girl opens it and.takes out a bottle of Bisleri and quenches her thirst. Caption: Play Safe. This campaign was to catch the attention of youth and a new Indian society, which is supposed to be not-soprudish. Thus Bisleri has taken a very bold step. The TV ads. have been complimented by print ads. also. The campaign is reported to be doing pretty well.

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CHALLENGES IN FRONT OF THE BISLERI

The company had the share of more than 50% of the national market. But now the share of the company is going down, in the pie of the national market. Until recently there was competition with only the unorganized sector. Other than the financial constraints up to an extent, the company has to focus on the marketing management of the product. In light of the challenge in front of the company and its current strengths and position, it is handy to incorporate the marketing mix to counter the marketing strategies of the competitors by developing its own marketing strategies.

MARKETING MIX
The set of controllable tactical tools- product, price, promotion, and place (4 Ps) that the firm blends to produce the response it wants, in the target markets.

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The 4Ps PRODUCT

The main product of the company is the mineral water by the name of Bisleri Mineral Water. Other than mineral water the company has also the soda water under its brand name called the Bisleri Soda Water. Bisleri, and that is the reason introduced the concept of bottled mineral water in India, first, it has become a generic name for the mineral water. Bisleri has become a perfect synonym of the mineral water for the Indian consumers. The main challenge facing the company or any other player in this mineral water industry is that there is no scope of invention and innovation in the product, which can be added as the additional benefits of the product.

It is just water after all. This is what the Indian customers think of the bottled water. If we are talking about a product like television we can think that the innovations could provide extra benefits derived from the product.

VARIANTS OF THE PRODUCT

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The company is offering wide variants of the product. These include the different quantities available of the product. Starting from the Jumbo pack (20 lt. Jar) to the 500 ml. bottles. In between, it also has 1 lt., 1.2 lt., 2 lt. and 5 lt. packs.

In terms of another variant the company has also come up with small glasses of 300ml. Those are priced at Rs. 3 per glass. The company has introduced these glasses for the social occasions like marriages and get together. This again is very competitive in the price field and also the customer is getting a convenient product with the benefit of purity at such a low price. Now the customers would not have to drink impure water served in unhygienic glasses.

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PACKAGING:
The packaging of the product is an important factor in the marketing of the product. The packaging of the product was absolutely accepted by the customers till now. But it has been along time the company has changed the packaging of 1 ltr. mineral water bottle. One of the competitors of the company, Pepsi, has mineral water by the name of Aquafina. The packaging of the Aquafina is creating the need for the company to change its packaging and make it look sturdier. The brand Aquafina has been targeted towards the youth and that is why they have made the bottle look more hip. Bisleri would have to give a new look to its product to stopping Aquafina from snatching its market share.

To conclude:
Looking at the facts above the company according to me should pay attention on the packaging of the product so that it is able to attract more customers. Secondly, the company should go for Brand Extension. The company should take the benefit of the brand name it has created over a long period of time. It can introduce new products in the category of beverages.

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PLACE
Place stands for the company activities that make the product available to the target customers. To make the product available to the target consumers a good distribution network has to be there to support the good quality of the product. Here in the case of the mineral water industry the distribution network is an important factor in being competitive and the catch lies in making water available to maximum number of places in the country.

DISTRIBUTION NETWORK:
The small-scale players built their sales by piggybacking on the generic category built up by Bisleri. Its a battle that Bisleri can win by sheer distribution muscle. One of the reasons why Bisleri is running strong in this industry is its strong distribution network built over the years since its inception. Further, Bisleri plans to increase its distribution network over the southern and eastern region, where it is behind popular brands like Team in Tamil Nadu and in Andhra Pradesh.

Conclusion: It is very important for the companies to understand

that winners would be those who will endure a strong regional presence. Therefore the companies should take some immediate actions to make presence in the whole country and more important

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is every nook and corner of the states where they are present today.

PRICE
AN ECONOMIC FACTOR AFFECTING THE BUYERS BEHAVIOUR

Price is the sum of values that consumer exchanges for the benefits of having or using the product or service. Price is the only element in the marketing mix that produces revenue. All other elements represent costs. In India, where the majority of the population comprises of the middle-income groups and lower income groups; it is not hard to understand that pricing is one of the most important factor in the buying decisions. Bisleri has met the expectations of the consumers in terms of pricing the product and also making the product available in variations of litres, making Bisleri both convenient and affordable. The company is following a very aggressive pricing. Its product is available at a very reasonable price. Company charges Re.1 for every 100 ml. This strategy by the company is very effective in the Indian context where the consumers are highly price conscious. The company has come up with another variant of the product. It is 1.2 lt. bottle that is priced at Rs.12 keeping the price fixed at Re.1 per 100 ml.
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Conclusion:
To conclude from the facts that the pricing strategy of the company is very competitive and therefore the company is giving value to the customers for money.

PROMOTION
Modern marketing calls for more than just developing a good product, pricing it attractively, and making it available to the target customers, companies must also communicate with their

customers, and what they communicate should not be left to chance.

A Companys total marketing communications program- called its Promotion Mix consists of specific blend of advertising, personal selling, sales promotion, and public relations tools that the company uses to pursue its advertising and marketing objectives.

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ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN
While designing the advertisement campaign, it is necessary to keep in mind the opinion leaders. Youth are the opinion leaders of the present time. And thus it becomes necessary to design the campaign keeping the youth in mind. The opinion leaders would further trickle down the message to the less active members of the society. This is exactly what Bisleri is doing. Bisleri has started an advertisement campaign stressing the point of purity and flaunting the patent right the company has over the breakaway seal. The company has tried to put the message across louder, by using the ad. campaign that catches the eye of everyone, specially the youth.

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MESSAGE CONTENT OF THE CAMPAIGN

Bisleri that was looking for a differentiator decided to make the breakaway seal the symbol of purity. The tamper-proof seal was developed, around which the communication was woven. The campaign stresses the safety provided by the breakaway seal by illustrating the ease with which conventionally sealed bottles can be refilled and recycled. The objective with the campaign would have been to highlight the tamper-proof seal and create doubt in the consumers mind of the purity of the other brands. That is, Bisleri is the only one that guarantees purity and keeps you safe.

Conclusion:
New advertisement campaign of Bisleri is eye catching. This is what the company should do. And also the company should make the message clearer to the customers that it has the patent right over the breakaway seal. Apart from a high dose of investments on expanding bottling capacities and an ad. budget thats risen six-fold over last year, if Bisleri wants to penetrate every possible segment of the market, it can do that by introducing more pack sizes and establishing the brand strongly with trendy new packaging.

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Apart from creating consumer pull with campaign, the company, to increase its sales would have to do the sales push as well. For that it would have to give the retailers and other stockiest high trade margins and incentives for keeping the product. This is very important in case of this product because consumers would take up what is available to them at ease and whatever retailer is giving.

3 Cs CONSUMER:
The central question the company has to understand is: How does consumer responds to various marketing stimuli the company might use? The company that really understands how customers will respond to different product features, prices and advertising appeals has a great advantage over its competitors. The question can be further broken down to: Who buys? When do they buy? Where do they buy? Why do they buy?

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Who buys?
The middle income and the upper income groups are the users of the bottled water. The lower income group is still dependent on the water from wells and hand pumps. In the middle-income group also, people buy bottled water while travelling. Among the various income groups, these comprise the students, the office going executive, tourists and the retired people. So the company should go in for strategies to target customer segments based on appeal, prices, convenient packaging and other characteristics conforming to the customer segment the company is targeting.

When do they buy?

The middle-income group buys mineral water while travelling. At home or at the work place they mainly use water filters that are installed. Or, they use large pack of bottled water like the jumbo pack (20 Lt.) by Bisleri. The upper income group uses mineral water only. So, they constitute a large part of the total market.

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Where do they buy?

The bottled water users buy the water from retail outlets and also through tie-ups with dealers. Large consumers of bottled water order their water requirements through dealers. The small time but frequent consumer buys bottled water from retail outlets.

Why do they buy?

For obvious reasons, soaring mercury levels are directly proportional to consumption of purified bottled water. The basic reason consumers ask for bottled water is the safety. With the growing health hazards in the country and as the people are becoming more health conscious they are switching over to bottled water. This is the reason that the industry is growing at fast pace. The other reason after this is that the bottled water is convenient to carry. They can throw the bottles after use unlike when they carry water from home.

Consumer concerns and Perceptions

The thinking here is that with consumer perceptions about mineral water changing, the brand Bisleri has to reinvent itself. Earlier, mineral water used to stand for water enriched with certain

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minerals and was picked up by health-conscious consumers. This no longer holds. Mineral water has come to mean just thatwater. Albeit safe drinking water that is conveniently available. The consumer does not really care if the water contains minerals. The most important consideration is purity of the product.

What the company is doing to take care of the consumers concern? Tampering of seals:
Around 76 per cent of consumption happens in transit. Consumer research conducted by me revealed that the overriding concern for this set of buyers is the tampering of the seal. Many have witnessed used bottles being refilled at railway stations. So when a consumer buys mineral water, he would like to be assured that the water has not been tampered with. Bisleri has rightly introduced the concept of the breakaway seal to reinforce the purity of Bisleri mineral water and given a surety to its consumers that what they are consuming is SAFE.

Taste of the mineral water:

Many consumers want the mineral water to taste more like Water. The consumer research done by me revealed that consumers preferred Bisleri because of its natural taste.

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COMPANY- BISLERI
North accounts for 35 per cent of sales for the industry, west accounts for 30, south 20, and the east, 15 per cent. Bisleri has five plants in the north, three in the west, four in the south and one in the east. In order to be available in untapped areas, Mr. Chauhan is planning to set up manufacturing units in Bihar and Orissa where Bisleri has no presence as of now. Currently, Bisleri has 14 manufacturing units - two of which were set up at Ahemdabad and Surat.

COMPETITION:
The mineral water market is set to explode and hit the Rs. 2,000 crore marks in the next couple of years. This is drawing the big guns attention. First Britannia launched Evian. And recently, soft drinks giant Pepsi entered the fray with Aquafina. Now, Nestle too is reportedly planning a foray. Meanwhile, Parle Agros Bailey has been growing steadily. Small local players too are breathing down Bisleris neck riding on better trade margins and intensive distribution (in their respective areas of operation).
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The competition facing Bisleri can be categorized into a few brand names like

Parle Bailey Pepsi Aquafina Coca Cola Kinley

With Parles Bailey being the main competitor and second in market share in the organized market, Bisleri faces tremendous competition from the unorganized sector.

Aquafina
The advantage for Aquafina is that though there are over 300 labels of bottled water in Indian market, few can be called brands. It is necessary to remember that every product with a name is not a brand; even Bisleri has become generic to this category. It does not have any emotional values attached to it. So there was no difficulty for Pepsi in creating space in such a market which is completely different from the soft drinks market, where it will be very difficult for any new player to find a slot. Although Aquafina is only available in one pet bottle, the pricing, at Rs.10, is competitive. And it is safe. In addition to the tamper proof seal, there is a reliable method of checking whether the bottle has been refilled. The date of manufacturing has been written on the cap as well as on the bottle. Thus a person who is refilling it would have to find a matching cap and bottle, the probability of which is very low.
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Coca Cola Kinley

Coca-Cola joined the race by announcing the imminent launch of its own brand of water and, in the process, putting to rest rumors of its so-called takeover of Bisleri. Kinley is targeting institutions.

Parle Agros Bailey

Bailey the brand that is owned by Ramesh Chauhans brother Prakash Chauhan is very popular in the southern part of India. Southern part of India accounts for 20% of the sale of the whole water market industry. Bisleri would have a tough competition from Bailey since the company plans to spread its presence in that part of the country. Another thing that makes the competition difficult for the company is the price at which its competitor is offering the product. Like Bisleri it also gives the 1 lt. for Rs.10. The only strength point of the company that it can capitalize is its generic name. And also the company would have to enter that market with a strong distribution base. We know the fact that Bailey has grown at a rapid pace using the route of franchising which Bisleri has not adopted as yet. This is another point that the company would have to take care to face the competition.

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METHODOLOGY
Sample
For the purpose of completion of this particular project retailers were interviewed. The sample sizes of 100 retailers were taken in order to come up with the result.

Sample technique
Sampling technique, Convenience sampling.

Sample size
100 retailers were covered in Delhi, in order to find out the effect that Bisleri experienced due to entrants of two-multinational companies- Pepsi's Aquafina and Coke's Kinley.

Tools and techniques for data collection

Tools and techniques for data collection are as follows:-

Primary data collection:

Primary data was through interview with the retailers using structured questionnaire.

Secondary source of data collection:

Various Internet sites, newspaper, magazines were searched in order to find information useful for completion of this project.
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FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS

Total number of retailers touched in Delhi

Shahara, Dilshad Garden, Preet Vihar, Lal Quarter, Vikas Marg, Anand Vihar, Surajmal Vihar, Kaushambi, Gandhi Nagar and Kailash Nagar. Out of 100 retailers, everyone stored mineral water and basically these shops were centrally located to the market and were basically general store, confectionery shop and small kirana shop. The survey revealed that almost every shop stored mineral water, therefore it can be interpreted that mineral water in current market scenario is on general demand and retailer enjoy selling it, as they get good margin out of it.

Brand of mineral water kept by the retailers

The survey revealed that out of 100 retailers surveyed, all over Delhi, 70% of the retailers kept Bisleri's mineral water, 25% Kinley, 30% Aquafina mineral water.

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However it can be noted that retailers prefer Bisleri mineral water which has got a share of 70%. This is so because people or customer recalls mineral water with the brand name of Bisleri. The new entrants basically Aquafina and Kinley is been kept by 30% and 25% of the retailers and they consider that this product will soon capture market share as the brand name will speak its quality.

Pie chart-showing percentage of different mineral water being kept by the retailers

45% 70%

26% 30%

Bisleri

Aquafina

Kinley

Others

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 Frequency of distribution visit

Distribution is one of the important parameters which holds on key position for any fast-moving consumer goods as the sale of this particular type of product highly depends on distribution network and its availability, also frequency of distribution is taken into consideration for the sale of this kind of product. Therefore it can be interpreted that sale of any product depends on its distribution and thus we can say that distribution and sales are interrelated. The total number of retailers covered for the purpose of my analysis is 100, and out of this almost every shop gets the mineral water of each brand on a regular basis i.e. on a daily basis, therefore linkage is always there with the company regarding the demand for mineral water. This is good sign for the company as it is in regular touch with the retailers.

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Bar graph showing frequency of distributor visit to retailers

100% 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Bisleri 0% 0% 0% 0% Aquafina 0%0% Kinley 0% 0% Bailey 0% 0% Others 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Daily

Alternatively

Weekly

Availability of the various mineral water among retailers shows varying percentage

Easily Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Bailey 73% 75% 60% 70%

Get but not often 18% 15% 15% 20%

Does not get 9% 10% 10% 10%

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Bar graph showing availability of the various mineral water among retailers
80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Bisleri Aquafina Easily Get but not often Kinley Does not get Bailey 18% 9% 15% 10% 15% 10% 73% 75% 60% 70%

20% 10%

From the data, it can be interpreted that availability of Bisleri mineral water among the retailers is 73%. The retailers get the product easily, whereas 18% of them feels that they do not get the product offer and rest of the 9% retailers feels that they do not get this product at all. Thus it can be said that, distribution system of Bisleri is good and should try to maintain this pattern in order to compete with Kinley and Aquafina which have strong distribution network due to their soft drink link.

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However, in the case of Aquafina 75% of retailers gets the product regularly, 15% get the product on an irregular basis whereas rest of the 10% retailer does not get the product at all. In the case of Kinley 60% retailers get the product easily whereas 15% of the retailers get this mineral water on an irregular basis and rest of the 25% retailers does not get the product at all. Therefore Coca-Cola should do something with its distribution network in order to capture more market share as it does not need to create its separate distribution network for mineral water; this is because they have already strong presence in the market due to its soft drink link. Thus it can pose major threat to Bisleri in a long run, if its potential is used at full capacity.

Bisleris has strong presence in the market as it can be seen from the table that 70% of retailers gets the product easily. 20% retailers get the mineral water on an irregular basis, where as rest of the 10% retailers feels that they do not get the product at all.

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 Other mineral water accounts 60% in case of easy availability, 20% feels that they do not get the mineral water in a regular basis and rest of the 20% retailers feels that they do not get the product all.

Regarding level of satisfaction in terms of margin

Satisfied Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Bailey Others 43% 73% 78% 80% 80% Not satisfied 57% 27% 22% 20% 20%

Graph showing satisfaction level in terms of margin

90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 43%

73% 57%

78%

80%

80%

27%

22%

20%

20%

Bis leri

Aquafina

Kinley Satis fied Not s atis fied

Bailey

Others

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 Satisfaction level of the retailers with regard to the quality of the product

Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Bailey Others

65% 95% 80% 60% 40%

Pie chart showing satisfaction level among the retailers regarding quality of the product from the various players

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65%

95%

40%

60%

80%

Aquafina

Kinley

Bailey

Others

bisleri

After calculating % of retailers satisfied with the quality of mineral water, it was found out that the Aquafina is leading ahead with its competitors, as 95% of retailers feels that quality of this particular brand is much better than the other mineral water, followed by Kinley, where 80% retailers are satisfied by its quality then the Bisleri 65% followed by Bailey's 60% and other mineral water 40%. This shows that the quality of new entrants like Aquafina and Kinley is much better; thus it can give tough competition to the retailers in the particular parameter. Therefore Bisleri should do something in terms of its quality in order to maintain its existing market share.

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 Analysis regarding role of advertisement in increasing market share of following mineral water

Effective Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Bailey Others 60% 92% 72% 30% 10%

Not effective 40% 8% 28% 70% 90%

Bar graph showing the role of advertisement in increasing market

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 92% 72% 60% 40% 28% 8% Bisleri Aquafina Kinley Bailey 30% 10% 70% 90%

Others

Effective

Not effective

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Advertisement in today's competing environment plays an important role in increasing market size of any particular product. It can be interpreted from the given table that advertisement has played a major role in the case of Bisleri to maintain the current market size and compete in this competitive environment. 60% of the retailers feel that advertisement of Bisleri has played major role in maintaining its current market size whereas 40% does not think so.

In the case of Aquafina, retailers feel that advertisement for this particular product has helped it to grow and capture the market size and with this aggressive advertisement strategy, it is expected that its market share will increase in near future. 92% of the retailers feel that due to its advertisement, this particular product is being accepted in the market, whereas rests of the 8% have varying reasons.

30% retailers feel that Baileys sale is due to the advertisement whereas 70% of the retailers do not feel so. Therefore if Bailey wants to increase its market share then it should do something in this field also.

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STRATEGIES THAT BISLERI SHOULD FOLLOW IN ORDER TO RETAIN ITS MARKET SHARE
The soft target
Selling bottled water requires constantly expanding the market. The company should also target the market for soft drinks. All the soft drinks address three issues: fun, thirst and refreshment followed by status to some degree. The thirst and the status value of the mineral water are well accepted. There is very little the mineral water brands can do to add the fun element around the product. Again here, it becomes important for the company to have a good distribution network. It should be understood that if the mineral water is easily available everywhere then it can be said with confidence that it would be able to replace the soft drinks as thirst quencher. If we try and look at the reasons that why consumers buy soft drinks as thirst quenchers: we would find the answer as that either water is not available or if it is available then safety is not assured. Therefore backed by a good distribution network mineral water industry can grow at a rapid rate.

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Getting in shape
The other improvement the company needs is in terms of packaging. It is often seen that the youth are the opinion leaders, therefore it becomes very important for any consumer product to make a mark in that generation, if it really wants to grow. The company for that would have to come with packaging that is sturdier and portrays itself as a help brand.

Distribution network
The need for improving the distribution network is not only when the company wants to target the soft drinks market. If it wants to enter every part of the country and would face competition from competitors like Bailey it becomes a prerequisite for the company to have a strong distribution network. Take the example of Bailey, it can be seen that this company has grown rapidly in the past and is still on that trend. One of the important reasons for this rapid growth is franchising.

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CONCLUSION
The players who will endure will be those who have a strong regional presence. Take the case of Team, which enjoys immense popularity in Tamil Nadu. Similar brands with a regional presence are Siruvani, and Koday. Thus, new players will be looking for a distinct positioning. One such brand is Pepsis Aquafina, the largest selling bottled water brand in the US. After its successful test launch in Mumbai and Bangalore, Aquafina was released in Chennai, Ahemdabad, Vadodara, and Pune. Pepsi has invested over Rs.5 crore in the new Aquafina water project in Maharashtra, which is the only Aquafina plant outside the US. According to, executive vice president, corporate communications of Pepsi Foods Ltd., Aquafina will be helped by Pepsis network. Moreover, Aquafina will be served absolutely chilled. That makes sense too, since surveys have indicated that an overwhelming majority of the bottled water that is consumed in India is by people who are travelling. With the big players, who have the support of the financial muscle and a large consumer base in other categories with them, like Pepsi, Britannia, Nestle and Coke the battle is the tougher arena of brand building. All the multinationals are looking at highoctane advertising targeting specific consumer segments. Sensing

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troubled waters ahead, Bisleri is busy working on a strategy to soak up the competition and protect his water kingdom.

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LIMITATIONS

The scope of this project is limited to areas in East Delhi only. Because of time constraint sample size was restricted on 100.

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RECOMMENDATIONS
Advertisement to build the brand image that will provide the required ground to establish the authenticity to the product.
Flavoured water without sugar and artificial ingredients could be

introduced so that the consumers also have a healthy substitute to the soft drinks. Bulk water delivery to home at no additional cost.
Company like Aquafina & Kinley should come up with other big

bottle variant.
POP (Point of Purchase) displaying the cost of water at Rs. 2

per mlt as the perception of the people is that mineral water cost Rs. 10 per lt. Awareness programs at health club, schools & Nursing homes. Display of hot and cold dispensers and bottles at places like hotels, clubs and airports where upper class group visits, as they are the potential customers. Place like departmental stores, petrol pumps and super bazaars can also be considered. Mineral water in poly bags like milk is more convenient to the consumers.

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 The company should organise camps at various part of the city also road show to bring about the difference between mineral water and filter/purified water and to tell the people how mineral water is more hygienic than filtered water/purified water. To aware people the cost benefit analysis to the customer of how the mineral water would cost less and benefit more, because people using purifier system cost too much.
To win over the consumer faith over the genuinety of the

product the company should have redressal forums where people can convey their grievances.
' Buy two bottles get one like offers can also be introduced by

big brands.
Pirated or copied variants of branded water to be stopped. Plastic quality of bottle can be improved as especially middle

class segment don't want to throw plastic bottles after water consumption and like the same bottle to be used in future or domestic purposes.

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RETAILER QUESTIONNAIRE
Name of Retailer: Location: 1. Are you aware of the fact that there are more than 200 brands in today's mineral water industry? YES/NO 2. Which is the brand you stock more? (a) Bisleri (d) Bailey (g) Evian (b) Aquafina (e) Hello (c) Kinley (f) Kingfisher

(h)Any other (Pl. Specify? __)

3. Which brand offer best retailer margin? (a) Bisleri (d) Bailey (g) Evian (b) Aquafina (e) Hello (c) Kinley (f) Kingfisher

(h) Any other (Pl. Specify? __)

4. How easily do you get Bisleri mineral water from the distributors? (a) Easily (b) Get but not often (c) Does not get

5. How easily do you get Aquafina mineral water from the distributors? (a) Easily (b) Get but not often (c) does not get

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6. How easily do you get Kinley mineral water from the distributors? (a) Easily (b) Get but not often (c) does not get

7. How easily do you get Bailey mineral water from the distributors? (a) Easily (b) Get but not often (c) does not get

8. Which brand spends more on advertising? (a) Bisleri (d) Bailey (g) Evian (b) Aquafina (e) Hello (c) Kinley (f) Kingfisher

(h) Any other (Pl. Specify? __)

9. Have you ever received complaints regarding any existing brand? If yes which brand? (a) Bisleri (d) Bailey (g) Evian (b) Aquafina (e) Hello (c) Kinley (f) Kingfisher

(h) Any other (Pl. Specify? __)

10. How often do you promote local brands and why? . 11. Do you feel any major differences between branded and

unbranded mineral water?

.
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12. How often do your customers ask for Bisleri, Kinley & Aquafina? .
8. How frequently you receive Bisleri, Kinley & Aquafina from their

respective distributors? (a) Weekly (b) Twice a Week (c) Daily

14. If any suggestion ..

Thank you

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Marketing Management, Philip Kotler, Eleventh Edition.

Marketing Research, Harper W. Boyd, Jr. Ralph Westfall,

Stanley F. Stasch.
Research Methodology- R.C. Kothari, Second edition. Various issues Business World, Business today. Websites

www.bislerimineralwater.com www.coke.com www.pepsi.com www.parle.com www.google.com www.rediff.com

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List of retailers covered during the survey:

NAME OF THE RETAILERS
AMIT CONFECTIONARY HANS PAN SHREE STORE AAR KAY ENTERPRISES

LOCATION
SHAHDARA SHAHDARA SHAHDARA SHAHDARA

GOEL AYURVEDIC & GENERAL SHAHDARA STORE MITTAL SWEETS KIRTI GENERAL STORE SHIVA GENERAL STORE OM THREADS & GENERAL STORE S. K. ENTERPRISES JAI SHIV GORAKH STORE RAMA DIARY GANESH STORE KUMAR GENERAL STORE SHIV GORAKH STORE BANGA GENERAL STORE J. P. DIARY KOMAL STORE J. P. STORE ORISSA DIARY SHAHDARA SHAHDARA SHAHDARA SHAHDARA DILSHAD GARDEN DILSHAD GARDEN DILSHAD ARDEN DILSHAD GARDEN DILSHAD GARDEN DILSHAD GARDEN PREET VIHAR RPEET VIHAR PREET VIHAR PREET VIHAR PREET VIHAR
63

MANOJ MANGLA STORE BALAJI GENERAL STORE KERELA STORE SUPREME STORE NEELU DIARY NARESH GENERAL STORE SHIV BHANDAR BINDAL PROVISION STORE SHARMA HOTEL SANJAY GENERAL STORE BABA BAKERY DURGA STORE SELECTION TAILORS BINDAL ENTERPRISES NARWAL SUPER STORE AZAD JUICE CORNER LUCKY STORE NAVIN CONFECTIOBARY AWASTHI STORE MUNIRKA GENERAL STORE AHSHIT CONFECTIONARY SUPER STORE AAPNA STORE MANOHAR PROVISIONAL STORE

PREET VIHAR PREET VIHAR PREET VIHAR PREET VIHAR PREET VIHAR LAL QUARTER LAL QUARTER LAL QUARTER LAL QUARTER LAL QUARTER LAL QUARTER LAL QUARTER LAL QUARTER LAL QUARTER LAL QUARTER VIKAS MARG VIKAS MARG VIKAS MARG VIKAS MARG VIKAS MARG VIKAS MARG VIKAS MARG VIKAS MARG VIKAS MARG

64

MUKUL JAIN STORE SUBHASH GENERAL STORE NEETHI KERELA STORE JAGDAMBA PROVISION STORE PRIYA GENERAL STORE SINGHAL STORE BANSAL STORE SRI KRISHNA TRADERS SINGHAL SWEETS LODHIWAL STORES SINDHI STORE RAMESH TRADING COMPANY SHARMA STORE SHANTI PROVISIONAL STORE TILSI STORE VARUN STORE BIMAL STORE SATISH STORE KAMAL NATH STORE VINOD PROVISIONAL STORE GOEL SUPER BAZAR MOHIT STORE PARAWA STORE LAL DEPARTMENT

VIKAS MARG ANAND VIHAR ANAND VIHAR ANAND VIHAR ANAND VIHAR ANAND VIHAR ANAND VIHAR ANAND VIHAR ANAND VIHAR ANAND VIHAR ANAND VIHAR ANAND VIHAR ANAND VIHAR ANAND VIHAR SURAJMAL VIHAR SURAJMAL VIHAR SURAJMAL VIHAR SURAJMAL VIHAR SURAJMAL VIHAR SURAJMAL VIHAR SURAJMAL VIHAR SURAJMAL VIHAR SURAJMAL VIHAR SURAJMAL VIHAR

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BHATIA STORE SAVITA GENERAL STOER KRISHNA GENERAL STORE VIKASH STORE KEWLA STORE ANIL STORE JAGDAMBA GENERAL STORE P K GENERAL STORE 9-9 SUPER BAZAR KANIKA GENERAL STORE KRISHNA DIARY RAJINDER STORE SHIVAM GENERAL STORE BHARADWAJ STORE SETHIA STORE VATSH STORE GANDHI GENERAL STORE KOMAL GENERAL STORE SHTAM STORE PAUL STORE GENERAL PROVISIONAL STORE KALKA PROVISIONAL STORE CHAWLA GENERAL STORE RAKESH CLOD DRINKS

SURAJMAL VIHAR SURAJMAL VIHAR KAUSHAMBI KAUSHAMBI KAUSHAMBI KAUSHAMBI KAUSHAMBI KAUSHAMBI KAUSHAMBI KAUSHAMBI KAUSHAMBI KAUSHAMBI GANDHI NAGAR GANDHI NAGAR GANDHI NAGAR GANDHI NAGAR GANDHI NAGAR GANDHI NAGAR GANDHI NAGAR GANDHI NAGAR GANDHI NAGAR KAILASH NAGAR KAILASH NAGAR KAILASH NAGAR

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SUNNY STORE TARUN STORE NAYEDYAM STORE

KAILASH NAGAR KAILASH NAGAR KAILASH NAGAR

67