1.

Introduction
Islamabad and Rawalpindi are the twin cities of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Comprising of
a roughly 6 million of population, hence these cities are diverse cities of the country. Islamabad
and Rawalpindi are at the border of Punjab and is neighboring with P province and together
they form a mi! of different cultures and traditions. "oth the cities are enriched with youth, so
these days the amusement for youth is basically hanging out at cafes or being at youth oriented
places. eeping all this in mind it gives Pakistan #obacco Company a clear vision regarding the
launching of their upcoming brand $unhill %witch as it was imported from & and the 'ulf
countries.
#he Project assigned to me by Pakistan #obacco Company was to do the consumer profiling of
$unhill %witch. #o gather information regarding which segment usually uses this brand. $unhill
%witch main feature is that it has menthol flavor in it and by switching the filter you can enjoy
the minty flavor which has never been introduced in Pakistan. Pakistan #obacco Company can
get first movers advantage as menthol flavored cigarette has never been introduced in the market
by any of the competing tobacco companies, especially P(I who has locked horns with P#C
since the beginning. )ere P#C can further get the edge by launching such a product in the
market.
#he characteristics of the product are such that youth will be attracted towards it which is crystal
clear. *e won+t be having consumers who smoke premium brands such as 'old ,eaf switch over
to $unhill %witch. "asically newly smokers will definitely be the ones trying out it or the youth
segment which are usually ranging from -./01. #his segment of youth is usually found in
colleges and &niversities. 2ne thing is for sure that P#C must keep the youth segment as their
target market in order to successfully launch its $unhill %witch.
#his report presents the findings of the research based project which aims to determine the
consumers or the segments which could potentially be the target market of their upcoming brand
$unhill %witch.
1
2. Methodology
#he primary purpose of the project was to gather data and to gain insight about $unhill %witch in
order to determine its true consumers. It was done by Physical verification at the shops where
$unhill %witch was available in the market of twin cities 3Rawalpindi and Islamabad4. 5s it was
the month of Ram6an the information was entirely collected from the shop owners. (ainly the
markets use to open up late and it was difficult to conduct 7uestions from the consumers as they
hardly showed up. 5bout 18 shops were visited out of which -9 had $unhill switch. (ainly it
was available on ey 5ccount shops. 2nce the data was collected the analysis was made in a
chart form.
3. Points for Consumer Profiling
Availability : #o check the availability of $unhill %witch on the number outlets.
Pricing:
%elling Price: 5t what price the shopkeeper is selling it to the consumer.
Purchase Price: 5t what price the shopkeeper is purchasing from the dealer.
Retailers Profitability: Per pack how much a shopkeeper is getting the margin;
<!pected Price: #his was asked from the shopkeeper if Pakistan #obacco Company
launches it, what should be the proposed price.
Consumer:
Consumer Reason for ,iking: #his was asked from the shopkeeper that what could be the
reason for consumer attraction to purchase the product.
2
5ge: #hus was to determine that which segment usually purchases the product.
<ducation: #o get an idea that is the product more popular in college students or
university students.
Profession: If there were any profession oriented smokers;
Weely !ales:
#his was taken under consideration in/order to get an idea that how well the product is doing and
on the basis of that develop hypothetical sales about the $unhill %witch when Pakistan #obacco
Company launches it.
". Action and #etailed Woring
5s I mentioned it that project was conducted on physical verification and by visiting the shops in
Rawalpindi and Islamabad. I visited about 18 shops in total which potentially had the availability
of $unhill %witch both in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. 5s the product is available only at the key
accounts of Pakistan #obacco Company I got the list of the shops from 5l/ "arka which is the
distributor of Pakistan #obacco Company. #hen I conducted my research project regarding the
consumer profiling of $unhill %witch.
#here were some shops which I couldn+t find mainly in Rawalpindi as the area is pretty much a
stranger to me. %ome shops did not have their original owners so the standby owners didn+t
provided me with the data which I re7uired from them. 5fter short listing the shops from which I
got the relevant data were -9 shops in total from the twin cities 3Rawalpindi and Islamabad4.
In the month of Ram6an it+s really hard to get information out of the shopkeeper. %ome
shopkeepers were repulsive and some just didn+t want to talk. "ut there were some shopkeepers
who were pretty much friendly and provided me the information with ease.
#he information was collected on the basis of 7uestioning from the shopkeeper and from the
shopkeeper I was able to identify the segment which usually purchases the product. #hough there
were some shops which provided the information but did not provided the complete information.
3
#he main hurdle which I tend to face was regarding the weekly sales part as the shopkeeper
hesitated in telling the sales. (ostly shopkeepers just ignored the sales part. %o after short listing
the shops with providing the full fledge information I recorded its findings and did the analysis
of it. =urther I will provide the $ata %ummary.
#he areas which I visited were >innah super, blue area, =/-8 (arka6, =/-- (arka6, "ahria #own
in Islamabad. In Rawalpindi I visited %cheme ?, %addar, 'ulrai6, Commercial (arket and etc.
#he data was collected on a %heet, its outlook would be provided further.
$. %imitations
#he limitations faced while conducting the project are listed below:
)esitance of the shopkeepers to provide their phone numbers and names.
)esitance of the shopkeepers to tell accurate sales.
5vailability of the product was the main concern.
$ue to the month of Ram6an the shops use to open up pretty late.
#ime duration was also a factor.
#o locate the shops in Rawalpindi where $unhill %witch was available was a tough
job as I do not belong from here and was short in knowledge about the where about of
the city.
,anguage barrier.
&. #ata !ummary
#he sample of data collection in form of table is given in the appendi! for further details.
4
'. (indings
#he analysis has been done with the help of supported data being collected, representing in the
form of charts and bars as follows:
Figure 1
=igure - is showing the 7uantity of costumers being male or female that are using $unhill
switch, aged between -. to ?8 which depicts the popularity of $unhill switch among them and
its usage. 5s per the data 98 male users of age 0@ to 06 are e!tensive users of $unhill followed
by age 00 which is slightly low than the age bracket of 0@/06, si!ty male users as seen. 2nly @1
male customers are using $unhill switch which falls under the age of 00 and 0., age ?8 and -.
being the lowest in case of males. )owever it clearly shows that males are the heavy users as
compared to the females where the highest numbers of users are -1 which fall under the age
bracket of 00/06 and rest being the lowest. #hus it+s a male dominant brand as being the heavy
end users where the main focus should be on males rather than females in this specific market to
raise the growth of sales and profitability in return.
5
Figure 2
=igure 0 is showing the relationship of selling, purchase and e!pected price rates at the different
shops as shown above. It varies from shop to shop as highest selling price being Rs. 0?8 in &mer
'eneral %tore, Aajeeb 'eneral %tore, %tep in %% and >alrai6 mart 0 where the purchase price also
varies in these four stores including the e!pected price. 5s you can see from the chart that the
purchase price of umer general store is Rs. 088 and making retail margin per pack of Rs. ?8
above all but the e!pected price is that of Rs. -88 showing the difference of Rs.-?8 which is of
main concern. 2n the other hand purchase price of Aajeeb 'eneral %tore is Rs. 0-1 and just
getting the retail margin per pack of Rs. -1 only and the e!pected price is that of Rs. -18
showing the difference of Rs. .8 from the actual selling price. *hereas %tep in %% and >alrai6
mart 0 purchase prices is Rs. 0-8 and getting the same retail margin per pack of Rs. 08 and the
e!pected price is that of Rs. -88 showing the difference of Rs.-?8.
#he selling price of B super stores is Rs. 008 namely "obby Pan %hop, Ripples, "lock "uster,
Aawa6 Pan %hop, $/*atson =/-- (arka6, $/*atson =/-8 (arka6, >alrai6 (art, ,una shopping
centre and )arolds. Purchase Price of four stores "obby Pan %hop, Ripples, "lock "uster and
,una is same as that of Rs. 088 but in case of "lock "uster the e!pected price is Rs. B8 as
6
compare to others of Rs. -88. )owever above all the >alrai6 (art is getting Retail margin per
pack of Rs.?8 which is greater than these B stores. 5s the purchase price of >alrai6 (art is Rs.
-B8 and the e!pected price is Rs.-88 showing the difference of Rs. -08.
%haheen Chemist and Aoor super store selling price is Rs. 0-8 where the purchase price varies
between the two as well as the retail margin per pack. Purchase price of %haheen Chemist is Rs.
088 whereas the purchase price of Aoor super store is Rs. -B1. %haheen Chemist is getting the
retail margin of Rs. -8 per pack and Aoor of Rs. -1. <!pected price of %haheen Chemist being
Rs. -88 and Rs. .1 of Aoor super store thus showing the difference of Rs. --8 in case of %haheen
Chemist and Rs. -01 in case of Aoore super store.
Ciro6 'eneral %uper %tore and (idway %uper %tore are selling it for Rs. 088 but the purchase
price of Ciro6 is Rs. -B8 to -B1 and (idway super store purchase price is Rs. -B8 thus the retail
margin of ciro6 varies from Rs. 1 to -8 whereas the retail margin per pack of midway super store
is Rs. -8. <!pected price is same for both the stores of Rs. --8.
5 brief conclusion can be made that higher the difference between the selling and purchase price
then higher the margins will be entertained and the difference between the e!pected and selling
price increases in return, vice versa is also true.
7
Weekly Sales Analysis
Figure 3
=igure ? shows the relationship of weekly sales volume and e!pected volume at different shops
as listed mainly highlighting the difference between the e!pected that were estimated and actual
weekly sales volume denoted by M as a measure. $/*atson =-- (arka6 and (idway %uper
stores are showing a growth in weekly volume sales as compared to the other stores. "ut the
actual weekly sales are less than the e!pected sales in all cases as shown above. *eekly sales
volume of $/*atson is ?.@ ( as compared to the e!pected weekly sales volume of @.0 (
showing the difference of 8.. (. #hus need to fill that 8.. ( volume to improve the sales
volume further. *hereas the actual weekly sales volume of (idway %uper store is ? ( as
compared to the e!pected sales volume of @ (, showing the difference of - ( which is slightly
greater than the sales volume of $/*atson. #his shows that $unhill %witch availability should
met on time as the sales volume are increasing in these stores and they are of prime importance
from the perspective of sales growth and profitability. $/*atson =/-8 marka6 is showing an
actual weekly sales volume of 0.6 ( where the e!pected weekly sales volume was ?.0 (. 'ood
thing is that the difference is of 8.6 ( that need to be filled thus emphasi6e should be made on
this store as well because a potential growth can be seen.
8
5ctual weekly sales volume of "lock "uster is - ( and Aawa6 Pan %hop is -.0 (. #he e!pected
weekly sales volume of "lock "uster is -.. ( showing the difference of 8.. ( and that of
Aawa6 is 0.0 ( showing the difference of - (. Rest super stores weekly sales volume is less
than - ( thus one should work on improving the sales growth in other stores as well to achieve
the estimated profit as per the desired results. &mer 'eneral %tore being the lowest in weekly
sales volume of 8.? ( but the difference between the actual and e!pected weekly sales volume is
8.9 ( only.
,ower difference between the actual and e!pected weekly sales volume as compared to others is
that of ,una shopping center with the actual weekly sales volume of 8.9 ( and e!pected to be -
( thus showing the difference of 8.? ( only. *hereas the higher difference between the actual
and e!pected is that of )arold which is showing the difference of -.6 ( with lowest weekly
actual sales volume of 8.@ ( above all and e!pected to be 0 ( which is a great loss and
unhealthy from the sales and profitability prospective.

). Conclusion
In my opinion Pakistan #obacco Company should go ahead with this project because such
product is yet to be launched in the market. #his could give them first mover+s advantage in the
market. %econdly it will create variety under the head brand of $unhill. It will also attract
customers who smoke brands which are in competition with P#C. #his will also help in customer
retention. If a person wants to switch from 'old ,eaf to any other brand, he will have the option
of switching to $unhill %witch keeping the customer under the umbrella of Pakistan #obacco
Company.
5t the end I would like to say that it was a wonderful e!perience to work with such professional
people. It gave me the opportunity to learn how the organi6ation works and get to the knowledge
how the market works. It was an honor for me being an internee at Pakistan #obacco Company. I
would like to thank all the people who helped me and enlightened me with their e!periences and
knowledge. It was definitely worth being an internee and this e!perience would help me a lot in
my upcoming professional life.
9
*. +ecommendations
5ccording to the findings I would highly recommend to launch the product keeping the youth
segment under consideration as per the gender analysis it strongly depicts that people aging from
08/06 are powerful consumers of $unhill %witch. #he product should be a youth oriented one
and as P#C would be targeting the youth it would help in growing their market share further with
the launch of $unhill %witch.
#he proposed price of the $unhill %witch I would recommend should be round about Rs..8. #he
other brands of $unhill have a similar price range that is why the proposed price, in order to
have variety in a brand the price should be similar or near about. %econdly people would not
prefer the product which is e!pensive. People go for good 7uality and a product which is in their
range. #he cons of this product in my opinion are that it might not be having loyal customers due
to the fact of its minty flavor characteristics as it strongly depicts that it would be cigarette just
for the sake of fun.
Packing is another main issue which needs to be taken care of. P#C has to abide certain laws
regarding the warning picture. #he packing finishing should be in such a way that the consumer
tends to ignore the warning picture and purchases it. #he imported $unhill switch has a very
attractive and a shiny finishing which catches the eye of a customer and makes him purchase the
product.
5t the very initial stages it should be launched at youth oriented places such as, CafC+s, %heesha
Centers and in the posh areas of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. "rand ambassadors could also be
used for creating the awareness about the newly launched product. )ere the shopkeepers can also
play a very huge role, for instance if a person buys any competing tobacco companies brands he
must advocate it to the consumer about the product.
Incentives for the shopkeepers can also encourage for the promotion of $unhill like 'iveaway
3,ighters, #/shirts etc4 who purchase minimum of 1 outers. (onetary incentives could also be
given to the shopkeepers in order to motivate them. #he 7uality of the product is also a main
issue to be taken under consideration. 5s I came across a person who told me that in order to
10
make $unhill %witch a success, P#C needs to come up with the similar 7ualities the one which
the imported product possesses. People always go for the 7uality. #hat is why local product tends
to get ignored and the imported product gets the green signal.
1,. Weely %earning
1
st
Wee
2n my very first day of the internship I met (r.5sghar 5li to whom I was suppose to
report. *e had a little orientation session together.
#hen afterwards he introduced me to (r.'ulfara6 han as my supervisor who gave me
an article regarding Cycle Instructions of 'old =lake and Cycle "rief of 'old =lake to
read and get a hold of how the market runs.
#oday (r.'ulfara6 made my attachment with the %#(2 3%enior #rade (arketing
2fficer4 of the company (r.Dubair, to have a feel of the market and how the dealings are
done with the retailers. *e covered round about 08 shops of the main %addar "a6aar in
Rawalpindi. <very shopkeeper was dealt very well and warmly by (r.Dubair which
taught me one thing that in order to be a successful marketer you need to be very good
with your words. 5t each and every shop the target books were checked. 5fter having a
visit of the shops we went to the 5l/"arka #rading $istribution office. It is the main
distributor of Pakistan #obacco Company ,imited+s products in Islamabad, Rawalpindi,
'ujar han and ahuta. It was a great e!perience visiting the 5l/"arka+s officeE I also
got to know the terms regarding the packaging of cigarettes. 'ot to know that in every
-( there are -888 sticks and 1 outers 3dandas4. - outer consists of 088 sticks. #here I was
given a briefing by one of the %po+s 3%ales Promotion 2fficer4 about how the stock is
managed and is distributed in the respective shops. 5lso visited the warehouse where all
of the stock was placed. - full carton contains 18 outers containing -8,888 sticks. #he
damaged stock is sent back to the company for claim.
11
5nother busy day at the 5l/"arka $istribution office. #oday I saw how the stock is
dispatched to the market under the supervision of Chaudhry %ubaydaar %aleem who is
responsible for the monitoring of stocks and recording it into the stock book. <very sales
person has its own stock book in which the records are maintained and how many sales
the person has made. In the stock book there is a column of %#2C% 2&# and %#2C
R<#&RA<$. "y subtracting these two you get the %ales. I was fortunate to count the
stocks and make the recordings in the record book of the sales person. #he stock which is
returned back is then placed back at the warehouse. It is the responsible of %ubaidar
%aleem to make the check and balance and make sure that no theft is committed. ,ater on
I was attached with an =%2 3=ield %ales 2fficer4 who enlightened me with the duties
which the =%2 has to fulfill. ,ike every =%2 has . salesman under him and he has to
visit the shops just to check that whether the supplies are being made to the designated
retailers or listen to the complaints of the shopkeepers and forward it to the company. It is
also their duty to put the 2'$+s in the shop or to do the promotion stuff in the market.
#hey have classified their shops in volumes from - to BE these are allocated on the basis
of sales. 5lso learned the B steps of call which the salesperson has to follow:
-. Preparation
0. 5pproach
?. %tock Check
@. Presentation
1. Closing
6. In store marketing and merchandising
9. Consumer Contact
.. 5dministration
B. <valuation
#oday was a repeat of yesterday+s activityE saw the stocks being loaded and being
dispatched to the market. 5lso had the privilege to meet (r. Daka/ul/)a7 who is the %$2
3%enior $istribution 2fficer4 of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. )e told me about the
categori6ation program which is imposed by P#C to follow which is known as #op
#raders. In this program they give colors to the shops regarding its sales. #he tur7uoise
color is given to the shop which has pretty much high sales and P#C also takes special
care of that shop by giving multiple benefits to its shopkeepers also known as ey
12
5ccounts. %econdly is the 2range color, the shop which has decent sales is given that
color. "asically this shopkeeper+s duty is to make -1 customer contacts by writing down
the names of the customer, his address and contact number. 2n this basis the shopkeeper
receives points from P#C. ,astly is the purple color in which the shopkeeper has to meet
the target. In return the incentive which is given in return is that the particular
shopkeeper+s name is entered into the lucky draw which P#C conducts on monthly,
7uarterly and yearly basis giving out -?88 cc cars, generators, cell phones etc. 'ot to
know about the prices of cartons of different brands like for instance - full carton of 'old
,eaf costs round about ?1.98.1 Rs. %imilarly $unhill and "enson costs ?99661 Rs.
Aowadays the company is offering -8F discount on every 2uter, Carton and on -( to
each shopkeeper.
#o sum up the first week I had a pretty much learning stuff to swallow and to get to know
the ropes of how the corporate world runs and what issues and hurdles the company has
to pass from in order to be successful. #he main thing which kind of fascinated me about
the organi6ation is that there is a friendly environment and their main (otto is to
R<%P<C# each person no matter at what level he or she is designated.
2
nd
Wee
#oday I was assigned with a project in which I had to gather information regarding
$unhill %witch. #he objective behind this assigned project is that to get to know about
the product that what sort of people usually uses this product. "asically this product is yet
to be launched by P#C in Pakistan, it is imported by the retailers and usually it+s
available on ey 5ccounts of P#C. *hat I was supposed to do was to survey the markets
of Rawalpindi and do customer profiling that what sort of people smoke $unhill %witch
which included 5ge, 'ender, and Profession. 5nd to get an idea what are weekly sales of
it and if P#C launches this product at what price they should launch in the market. 5t
what prices the retailers purchase it and at what price they are selling it. 5nd what makes
the customer to smoke $unhill %witch. I visited Ciro6 'eneral %uper %tore near %addar
where I met (r.=ara6 and collected the data about $unhill %witch. )e told me that what
13
age group usually uses $unhill %witch and at what price he has to buy it. #he retail
margin which he earns from every pack of $unhill %witch was varying from 1 to -8 Rs.
#oday I did was to punch the data into the e!cel sheets. #he data was regarding the
number of shops present in commercial market area. I had to punch those in order to keep
a record of them. #here were round about -18 total shops. ,ater in the day I went with a
=%2 3=ield sales officer4 to check out the markets in the commercial market area whether
there are any complaints from the retailers about the stock or whether the salesman is
delivering the stocks on time etc. round about 01 shops were visited by us.
Gisited the shops at commercial market and (urree road regarding my project on $unhill
%witch. 'athered the data from "obby Pan %hop, Aawa6 Pan %hop and &mer 'eneral
%tore. #he shopkeepers were humble enough to answer each and every 7uestion which I
asked and helped me to gather relevant information about the product.
5s it was =riday nothing much happened and as it is the )oly month of Ram6an so the
markets are closed. %o did a little bit of office work and was attached with (r.Imran who
handles the Islamabad market areas. #he reason for my attachment is to complete my
assigned project as I have to gather information from the markets of Islamabad where
$unhill %witch is available.
3
rd
Wee
<arlier today I was given the task to tally the cash memo of 1 sales persons with the
discount sheet. "asically the discount sheet had, that how many a salesperson has visited
shops during the particular day and how much he has given discount on the $unhill
"rand. #he cash memos which I tallied were from -0
th
>uly till 09
th
>uly from the discount
sheet that how much total discount the salesperson has given during the day. 2n - outer
-8F was given as the discount which was round about Rs.91.??. 5fter tallying the cash
memos with the discount sheets I went to visit the phase @ markets regarding my project
with the salesperson. #he names of the shops were Ripples and "lock "uster.
14
#oday was hell of a busy day as I was to visit the market of Islamabad regarding my
project. Gisited the markets of f/-- marka6 and f/-8 marka6. It was a sort of a difficult
task because of the communication barrier I had to face as most of the shopkeepers were
communicating in Pashto language or were not clear in communicating in &rdu. I was all
on my own and had nobody to translate for me what the shopkeepers were saying but
after ? hours of struggle I came up with some information regarding my project. *ell
today did a new e!perience for me as I got to know that you might get bumped into
people who might not speak your language or maynot know your language so it is very
important to communicate with the people in their language, like today I had to face this
communication barrier which really took my time in the market.
$elivered the stocks to different markets in Rawalpindi with the salesperson at
Commercial (arket, %addar, and %atellite #own etc. ,ater on came back to office and
made the entries in the stock book regarding how much of the stocks been sold and how
much the stocks have been returned to the distribution centre. "asically today was a day
spent entirely in the market. 5lso had to listen to the complaints of some shopkeepers
regarding the delivery of stocks on time which I forwarded further to the higher
authorities.
#oday visited >innah %uper markets regarding my project. It was not so hectic as the
shopkeepers were cooperative in lending me with the helpful information I re7uired from
them. Gisited about @ to 1 shops from where I collected my data.
"
th
Wee
5s I am nearing the end of my tenure as an internee the workload has seem to get less
onto my shoulders. #oday compiled my presentation regarding the project assigned to
me. #hough it isn+t final yet, still a little tweaking is needed to be done. ,ater on did
some office work regarding the sorting of data of shops salesman wise. 5lso went to the
regional office where I gave an update on project status.
15
*ent to sadder with the =ield sales officer (r.=ai6an where we placed our advertising
posters into several of shops of the main sadder ba6aar and also checked whether the
stocks are being delivered on time by the salesperson. I also volunteered myself in
putting the posters onto various portions of the shops. ,ater on did some record
management, in which I had to give the names of shops which I visited and also tell their
status regarding the conditions of 2gd+s where the stocks are displayed.
5t the distribution office of 5l/"arka I was given a task to record the sales of shops of .
th
of 5ugust 08-0 into the CI' software. "asically CI' is the software which 5l/"arka uses
to record the sales volume of its outlets. #here were round about -88 to -08 shops of
which I had to record the sales in the software. 2ther than that I was suppose to check the
damaged stock in the warehouse with %ubaiydar saab. #he damaged stock was made
separate and was made for claim to Pakistan #obacco Company.
#oday it was an honor for me as I placed different brands of cigarettes on the brand
board. #he board main purpose was to identify different brands of different companies.
=or instance Pakistan #obacco Company, Philip (orris International, 2thers and
International #obacco "rands. #hen there were categories like the most e!pensive brand
would be known as HPremiumI. 5nd lesser then that would come in H-alue for MoneyI.
#he later categories were H%o.I and H/ltra %o. !egmentI. I really felt honored as I
was given this task to place different brands under their respective company heads and
categories. Prices were also written. =or Premium brands the Pricing was above Rs.98.
=or G=( the pricing was from Rs.?1 to 98. =or ,ow category the price was Rs 00 to ?1
and for the &,% the price was less than Rs.00.
$
th
Wee
$id the mapping of areas on the map with the =%2+s regarding their beats. <very =%2
has his own specific area to cover, solely I did not do the mapping I was just assisting the
=%2+s regarding to locate their areas on the map. ,ater on I discussed my project with
(r.'ulfra6 who is %ales Promotional Coordinator.
16
5lso visited a shop in %addar "a6aar as there was shortage of stock so I accompanied an
=%2 and delivered the re7uired stock to that particular shop.
17