PROJECT REPORT

On

“A STUDY ON CUSTOMER ACQUISITION AND SALES PROMOTION

IN LOTS WHOLESALE AND SOLUTIONS”

FOR

THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF

“MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINSTRATION”

FROM GGS IP UNIVERSITY

DELHI

BATCH: 2017-2019

SUBMITTED BY: SUBMITTED TO:

MUDIT SINGH Dr. ANUBHAV VARMA

ROLL NO.06318403917

ARMY INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & TECHNOLOGY,

GREATER NOIDA (UP) – 201306
i
 SUPERVISOR CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mudit Singh a student of Master of Business Administration, Batch
2017-19, Army Institute Management & Technology, Greater Noida, has successfully
completed hi project under my supervision.

During this period, he/she worked on the project titled “A Study on Customer
Acquisition and Sales Promotion in Lots Wholesale and Solutions” in partial
fulfillment for the award of the degree of Master of Business Administration of GGSIP
University, Delhi.

To the best of my knowledge the project work done by the candidate has not been
submitted to any university for award of any degree. His performance and conduct has
been good.

Dr. Anubhav Varma

Asst. Prof. AIMT
G. Noida

Date :

ii
 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I, Mr. Mudit Singh, Roll No. 06318403917 of MBA 2017-19 Batch of Army Institute of
Management & Technology has undergone a Summer Internship in Lots Wholesale
Solutions for a duration of 7 weeks on a project title “A Study On Customer Acquisition
and Sales Promotion In Lots Wholesale And Solutions” hereby declare that this project is
my original piece of work.

Mudit Singh
Date:

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I want to show my sincere gratitude to all those who made this study possible. First of all,
I am thankful to the helpful staff and the faculty of Army Institute of Management and
Technology. Second, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my Industry Guide, Mr.
Pankaj Kumar Singh, for his untiring cooperation. One of the most important tasks in
every good study is its critical evaluation and feedback which was performed by my
faculty guide Dr. Anubhav Varma. I am very thankful to my Faculty as well as Industry
guide for investing his precious time to discuss and criticize this study in depth, and
explained the meaning of different concepts and how to think when it comes to problem
discussions and theoretical discussions. My sincere thanks go to my Institute and family,
who supported and encouraged me.

Mudit Singh
MBA 2017-19

iv
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report is undertaken to increase the customer base of the company lots wholesale
solutions in Noida area the objective of the project is to cover the area customer segment
wise there are three main segment which this report considered hotel restaurant and caters
(horeca), service cooperate offices, educational institute.
Making aware customers in market by interacting with them and studying the consumer
behavior to incline towards the company.
Making aware the customer in the market like food, non-food commodity which
company is providing.
To increase the customer base, it is necessary to know about the markets in Noida. For
this first we have maintained the daily sales report by going in the market to study the
market scenario and market requirement.
And this was analysis is done by going in the market that customers which are come
under the head of Hotel restaurant and caters are very much conscious about the price.
Whereas the customers which are come under the service corporate offices and education
institute are focus more on service and quality rather than price.
And by taking these requirement of the customer we are successfully overstated most of
the Noida market in potential customer of the company.
Our first objective was Brand awareness about the products and services provided by the
Company and to meet all the business need of our customer by fulfilling and satisfying
there Wants and needs by providing them a range of products like; fresh produce,
electronics, package
Foods, stationary, apparels and more- under one roof and in convenient pack sizes. Our
2nd objective was to fix meeting with the corporate offices by taking appointments and
Promoting our company and our services and make them our registered Customer.3 rd
objective was to deal with our customers by taking orders from them and identify the
Problems which they were facing and provide them with probable solutions and take
feedback from them about the company.

v
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Company Certificate..............................................................................................i

Supervisor Certificate............................................................................................ii

Certificate of Originality.......................................................................................iii

Acknowledgement.................................................................................................iv

CHAPTER CHAPTER NAME PAGE

NO. NO.

1. Introduction 1
1.1 Industry Introduction 2-6
1.2 Company Introduction 7-16
1.3 Topic introduction 17-20

2. 2.1 Literature Review 21-28

2.2 Objective of the Research 29
3. Research Methodology 30-32

4. Data Analysis and Interpretation 33-46

5. Findings Recommendations and 47-51

Conclusions
6. Bibliography 52

7. Appendices 53-55
Questionnaire

i
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1
 1.1 INTRODUCTION TO INDUSTRY

Retail comes from the French word retailer, which refers to "cutting off, clip and divide"
in terms of tailoring (1365). It first was recorded as a noun with the meaning of a sale in
small amount in 1433 (French). Its literal meaning for retail was to "break things in small
quantities, paring”. Retail is the final step of any economic activity. By feature of this
fact, retail occupies an important place in the world economy. According to Philip
Kotler, Retailing contains all the activities involved in selling goods or services to the
final consumers for personal, non-business use. A retailer or retail store is any business
enterprise whose sale volume comes mainly from retailing. These are the final business
units in a distribution channel that links manufacturers to customers. Manufacturers
usually make products and sell them to retailers or wholesalers. Wholesalers resell these
goods to the retailers and finally, retailers resell these products to the ultimate consumers.
In India if any forcing player come in the market with total foreign direct investment then
according to the government policies that foreign player is not allowed to do operation in
retail and the have to deal in wholesale business.
Retailing broadly involves:

1. Understanding the consumers’ needs

2. Developing good merchandise assortment
3. Display the merchandise in an actual manner so that shoppers find it easy and attractive
to buy.

Retail Concept the retailing concept is fundamentally a customer oriented, company-wide

approach to developing and implementing a marketing strategy. It provides strategies which
must be followed by all retailers unrelatedly of their size, channel design, and medium of
selling. The retailing concept covers the following four wide areas:

Customer orientation the retailer makes a suspicious study of the needs of the customer and
attempts to satisfy those needs

2
2. Goal orientation the retailer has perfect goals and devises strategies to achieve those
goals.

3. Value driven approach the retailer deals good value to the customer with merchandise
keeping the price and quality appropriate for the target market.

4.Coordinated effort every task of the firm is aligned to the goal and is designed to
maximize its efficiency and deliver value to the customer.

What is the Difference between Retail and Wholesale?

Wholesalers sell in large bulk quantities, without worrying about many of the aspects of
retailing that consumers expect like visual merchandising. Wholesalers do not want to
business with a large number of end-user customers. Rather, their goal is to sell bulky
quantity to a small number of retailing companies.

It is rare for a wholesaler to sell goods straight to consumers. The exception to that would be
membership warehouse. These members only retail stores are a mix of wholesaling and
retailing in that they sell directly to consumers, but they sell in large quantities, which often
allows them to sell at prices that are lesser than other retailers that sell in small quantities
from impeccably merchandised stores in high-rent shopping districts.

The big difference between wholesale and retail is in the rate. The retail price is always high
than the wholesale price. The reason for this is because the added cost of selling produce to
end-user customers—labor, rent, advertising, etc.—is factored into the pricing of the
merchandise. The wholesaler doesn’t have to deal with such expenses, which allows him to
sell goods at a lower cost.

How Does the Retail Supply Chain Work?

The retail supply chain involves of manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and the consumer
(end user). The wholesaler is directly associated to the manufacturer, while the retailer is
connected to the wholesaler, and not to the manufacturer.
3
Here are the roles of the key performers in a typical retail supply chain:

 Manufacturers: Produce the goods, using machines, raw materials, and human
resource.
 Wholesalers: Purchase complete goods from the manufacturers and sell those goods
to retailers in large bulk quantities.
 Retailers: Sell the goods in insignificant quantities to the end-user at a higher price,
theoretically at the MSRP (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price).
 Consumer: End-user who buys the goods from the retailer for personal use.

There are exceptions to this outdated supply chain, however. Some of the world's biggest
retail companies like Wal-Mart, and Amazon.com, for example, are large ample to deal
directly with manufacturers, without the need for a wholesaler in the middle of the
transaction.

What Are Different Types of Retail Stores?

Here are some examples of the different types of retail stores where consumers can purchase
products for immediate use or consumption.

 Department Stores: Sell a varied range of merchandise that is arranged by category

into different sections of the physical retail space. Some department store categories
consist of shoes, clothing, beauty products, jewelry, housewares, etc. Illustrations of
department store retailers include Macy's, Nordstrom, and JC Penney, to name just a
few.
 Grocery Stores and Supermarkets: Sell all types of food and beverage products,
and sometimes also home-based products, clothing, and consumer electronics as well.
 Warehouse Retailers: Large plain warehouse-type services stocked with a large
variety of products packaged in large quantities and sold at lower-than-retail prices.

 Specialty Retailers: Specialize in a specific set of products. Toys ‘R’ Us, Victoria's
Secret, and Nike are examples of department retailers

4
 Convenience Retailer: Usually part of a retail position which sells gasoline
primarily, but also sells a limited range of grocery commodities and auto care
products at a premium "convenience" price from a brick-and-mortar store.
 Discount Retailer: Sell a wide variation in products is often private labeled or
generic brands at below-retail prices. Discount retailers like Family Dollar, Dollar
General, and Big Lots will often foundation closeout and discontinued merchandise
at lower-than-wholesale prices and pass the savings onto their customers.

 Mobile Retailer: Uses a smartphone platform to process retail businesses and then
ships the products that were purchased directly to the customer
 Internet Retailer: Sells from an Internet shopping website and ship the purchases
directly to customers at their homes or workstations and without all the expenses of a
traditional brick-and-mortar retailer, usually sell merchandise for a lower-than-retail
price

5
AGAR AAP KE PASS HAI DUKAN

TO

HAMARE PASS HAI SAMADHAN

6
 1.2 INTRODUCTION OF COMPANY

Type Public (BSE: LOTS WHOLESALE SOLUTIONS)

Founded January 2017, India

Headquarters Haryana

Key people CEO : Suchada Ithijarakul

Managing Director: Mr. Tanit Chearavanont

Director: Mr. Sameer Singh

Industry Retailers, hotels, restaurants, catering businesses, services business

Operators, hospitals and Education Institution

Products Food, Non Food, grocery, Housekeeping, Stationary,

Revenue $50 billion (2017)

Employees 10,000+ (2017)

Website www.lotswholesale.com

7
 CORE PHLILOSOPHY

MISSION
To deliver superior value to our customer shareholder employees and society at large

VISION
To be the best food solution provider of professional customers

VALUE
To follow the 3- C philosophy
 Create value for the company
 Community
 Company

MISSION mission is to deliver superior value to our customer, shareholder, employees

and society at large.
Multi – format Expansion in ASEAN
Award Team achievement and invest in people
Know the differences Know and respect the local differences
Responsible for the society and the world
Offer the best Value and solution to customers
Lead into delivery excellent customer experience

8
 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Strong corporate governance is essential for a successful business, and our board
members ensure LOTS Wholesale Solutions operates with integrity and
accountability. Learn more about our corporate governance policies and read
our Statement of Ethics.

Tanit Chearavanont
Managing Director

Sameer Singh Manish Gehlot Mandeep Kaur

Director, Ops, BD & Expansion Director, IT Vice President, HR

Jatin Mazalcar Nishant Raiyrath SandipMishra

Director, Finance Director, Commercial Vice President

9
Lots wholesale solutions is a part of the USD 50 billion Charoen Pokphand Group and a
entirely owned subsidiary of Siam Makro Public Company Limited from Thailand, today
unveiled its first wholesale supply center in India at Netaji Subhash Place, New Delhi.
Initiated by the Hon’ble Minister of Food Processing Industries Smt. Harsimrat Kaur
Badal, this is the first of the fifteen distribution centers LOTS Wholesale Solutions is

The recently launched store which is spread over an area of 50,000 sq.ft will supply to
more than 50,000 registered members which include hotels, restaurants, and caterers
(horeca), kirana stores, corporates, MSMEs and institutions such as government
agencies, Indian retail sector is increasing exponentially; more particularly food retail is
pacing past other sectors. Food processing and food retail are footage robust growth. The
arrival of the multinational companies like CP Wholesale in India and registering their
presence by opening chain of stores in India and inauguration of their first store LOTS in
Delhi shows the reputation of Brand India in the world. Days are not far for India.
The company had declared its foray into India at the World Food India 2017 with a
Memorandum of Understanding worth Rs1, 000 crore signed with the Ministry of Food
Processing Industries. With its initial ways in Delhi NCR, LOTS Wholesale Solutions
generate.
Talking about the promotion of the first store in India, Tanit Chearavanont, Managing
Director, LOTS Wholesale Solutions said, "It is a landmark day for LOTS Wholesale
Solutions and Siam Makro as we show our first wholesale center in India. Through this
store, the registered associates of LOTS Wholesale Solutions will enjoy the benefits of a
vast assortment of high-quality food and non-food products, tailored to the specific needs
of the Delhi market. We will offer our business customers a wholesale experience of
global standards with a focus on high-quality products and customized services designed
to make their purchasing easier, more efficient and economical.

The store will become wholly operational and cater to our customers from 19th July
onwards."

Under its region-specific business plan, LOTS Wholesale Solutions will provide support

10
to home-grown brands and local suppliers. Fresh produce will be directly sourced from
local farming communities, which will help farmers increase their income whilst
reducing wastage during transportation and storage.

As the future of 12 million of shopkeepers, policy makers and even some state
governments in consultation with center have been planning to restrict foreign players in
the Indian retail sector, which is in its nascent stage. Therefore, the decision of letting
FDI in retailing has been a controversial subject for last decade. FDI is allowed in several
segments of the economy by the central government but FDI in retailing is still restricted
and not allowed in full swing.

There for the company is dealing in wholesale business in India the company strategy to
increase the customer base by registering the registered business under the head of the
company and also providing the service to the four employee of the company and
welcome them to come and buy from store at whole sale rate

SWOT ANALYSIS

SWOT analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and its environment. It is the first
stage of planning and helps marketers to focus on key issues. SWOT stands for strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths & weaknesses are internal factors.
Opportunities, and threats are external factors.
 Strengths
 Thailand’s leading Cash & carry operator in wholesale for professional business
operators.
 LOTS WHOLESALE SOLUTIONS is in FMCG sector.
 LOTS retail specialist marketing expertise.

 Weaknesses
 Less awareness among the customer.

11
  Metro cash and carry has better product range than LOTS WHOLESALE
SOLUTIONS.
 Newly established in India.

 Opportunities
 To become better in the business of FMCG sector.
 To be accepted by the consumers in comparison to other retail stores.
 To develop better marketing strategy than retail outlets.

 Threats
 Best Price and Metro Cash & Carry are huge threats to LOTS WHOLESALE
SOLUTIONS.
 Best Price have greater acceptance among the consumers in comparison to LOTS
WHOLESALE SOLUTIONS.

12
CUSTOMER BASE

13
 COMPANY CUSTOMERS

Intend to cater to multiple segments of resellers and business customers through a

membership-based system.

Core Customers will include

 Hotels, Restaurants and Caterers (HORECA)
 Retailers
 Independent (Kirana) Stores
 Service professionals, which many include Corporates,SMEs, as Enterprices etc
 Institutions such as Government Aganies, Educational Institutes and Hospitals etc

DEPARTMENT IN STORE

Non-food items (NFIs): Are items other than food. The term is particularly used
in humanitarian contexts, when providing NFIs to those affected by natural disasters or
war may be a life-saving priority. Usually, they include essential household items such

14
as blankets, plastic sheets, buckets and other containers for water, cooking items
and soap

Food items: This is an organized list of foods. Food is any substance consumed to
provide nutritional maintenance for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and
contains important nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals.

 Edible fungi
 Edible nuts and seeds
 Baked goods
 Breads
 Dairy products
 Eggs
 Meat
 Cereals
 Seafood
 Staple foods

COMPANY PRODUCT

 With the main focus in customers’ needs and satisfaction, product assortment is a key
to retain and enhance customer base. The assortment represents not only the product
variety, but also the product availability, packaging, and sizing
.
 We provide basic necessity consumer goods and product for business and private
uses

 We maintain strict food safety standard and quality control across our full assortment

 We maintain low cost, low price, high quality to pass on the saving to our customers

15
 Fresh Food Dry Food Non Food

Fresh Food: - Frozen food, Butchery, Spice, Seafood, Fruits, Veg, Bakery
Dry Food: - Grocery, Oil, Rice, Sugar, Beverages, Snacks, Cleaning
Non Food: - Electronic, Stationary, Disposables, Household items
FMCG PRODUCT: Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) or Consumer Packaged
Goods (CPG) are goods that are sold quickly, and at relatively low cost. Examples
include on-durable goods such as packaged foods, beverages over-the-counter drugs, and
other consumables.

THE LOTS ADVANTAGE

What makes us different from others.

A curated assortment for each Lots catchment, the cater to their local needs
 Exhaustive food safety training and quality control
 Customized and last mile deliveries
 Localities sourcing of fresh products
 Transparent pricing at all touch points
 Leveraging tech and innovation in everything we do

16
 1.3 TOPIC INTRODUCTION

What is customer acquisition?

• customer acquisition cost

• improving your customer acquisition strategy

• method of acquisition customers

• customer retention as an acquistion method

• customer lifetime value

Customer acquisition is the process of bringing new customers or shoppers to your

business. The goal of this process is to create a systematic, justifiable acquisition strategy
that can evolve with new trends and changes.

Customer acquisition is important for companies of any age and size. It allows your
business to

1) Make money to meet costs, pay employees, and invest in growth,

2) Show evidence of traction for outside parties such as investors, associates, and
influencers.

17
Being able to systematically attract and convert new customers retains companies healthy
and growing and investors happy.

At this point you may be asking, what’s the difference between lead group and customer
acquisition Well, let’s breakdown it down.

In the business world, we imagine the customer journey typically with a funnel or a
related graphic that highlights the stages in the buying process and the mindset of the
prospect.

As consumers move through the funnel (as part of their journey as a buyer):

1. Gain awareness of your brand

2. Add your product or service to their consideration pool.
3. Make a decision to become a paying consumer of your business.

To simplify the procedure, lead generation typically happens at the top of the funnel,
lead acquisition happens in the middle, and lead conversion happens at the bottom. And
customer acquisition usually refers to the funnel as a whole.

For the sake of this guide, we are going to use customer acquisition in reference to the
top and middle of the marketing funnel — lead generation and acquisition combined.
This is because the bottom of the funnel typically requires more dedicated, customized
methods to convert customers, such as lead scoring and closing tactics.

Here another way to visualize it, in a less funnel-like fashion:

18
In the illustration above, customer acquisition lives in the attract phase, where consumers
become readers and visitors.

So, now that we’ve well-defined customer acquisition and its place in the overall
marketing process, let’s dive into how to measure it.

What Is Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)?

You’ve received the buzzword: customer acquisition cost, otherwise known as CAC.
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is the cost related with bringing a new customer or
client to your business, such as marketing costs, events, and advertising. It’s typically
intended in reference to a specific campaign or window of time.
CAC is important because it assigns real value to your marketing efforts and allows you
to size your ROI — a metric inquired about by CEOs, managers, and investors alike.

How to Minimize Customer Acquisition Cost?

Here’s a simple fact about marketing: You can always do better-quality. You can always
reach new audiences, market with better messages, and reduce associated costs.

Depending on your outlook, this could be good or bad update. Personally, I find it
motivating. There’s always something to learn and always something to improve upon.
Better yet, you aren’t fixed with a subpar metric that your executives or investors aren’t
quite happy about.

If you’re looking to develop your CAC, here are a few ways to minimize the cost of
acquiring new customers:

1. Improve your website conversion efforts. Enhance your calls-to-action, confirm

your site is mobile and tablet responsive, optimize your landing pages, and clean up
your copywriting. Consider A/B testing a landing page or shopping handcart to see
if a certain design or copywriting angle works best. These will make sure any
customer acquisition approaches you’re already employing are working as perfectly
as possible.

19
2. Boost the value of your current customers. This may involve releasing a new
product or upgrade in which your customers can also invest in. User value can also
skyrocket when they discuss other customers or simply act as promoters for your
business. (We’ll touch on more of this below.)
3. Adjust and optimize your customer acquisition strategy. Take some time to lay
out your acquisition plan and see what each method is costing you. Where could you
cut back on extra marketing expend or manpower? Costs for specific channels can
increase over time, and you can always minimize CAC by finding newer, cheaper
channels to invest in. This process also ensures your approach reflects the most
recent marketing trends and remains agile.

20
CHAPTER 2

21
 2.1 LITERATURE REVIEW

Customer Acquisition
According to Kotler and Armstrong (2009), finding the right customers that
provides a profitable return can be defined as customer acquisition. Customer
acquisition is necessary for every companies that start creating a business, expanding
their business, products and services, and it is effective in situation where the
switching cost is relatively low and repeat purchases are rare. In acquiring customers,
it is essential for organization to choose the right customers to serve before decide
how they can best acquire them. This is particularly important as it is a fact that
organization will not be able to serve all customers in every way. Hence,
organizations nowadays decide to segment their customers and focus more on
customers that they can acquire, satisfy best and bring profitability (Jobber, 2010).
After deciding which segment of customers to target, it is necessary for
organization to understand the consumers first. There are three concepts that need to
be recognized. Firstly, needs which refer to basic human requirements, in retail sector
case; this can be in a form of necessity to go overseas by retail sector service. While,
wants are the alternative form of needs that are molded by culture and individuality,
again in retail sector case, this would be the desire to have convenience, comfortable
and prestigious retail sector service. Thirdly, wants that are supported by ability to
pay is often called demand. It is critical to understand these three concepts which can
be seen in the work of Burton, Kotler and Keller (2009) because it is difficult to
provide service with better value that lead to successful customer acquisition, if the
organization itself does not know what are the customers’ needs and wants which
will not create strong demand.
Next, Market offerings can be defined as the combination of product, service,
experience and information that meet the needs or wants of customers (Lovelock,
Patterson and Walker, 2007). Organization need to be careful in creating market
offering as by creating an offering, customers tend to create a form of expectations in
regards to value and satisfaction based on market offering (Kotler, 2000). For
example, SIA offer a great experience and excellent quality level of retail sector

22
service, customers that hear SIA market offering tend expect high level of retail
sector service. Hence, if the market offering of SIA does not meet the expectations,
customers tend to be dissatisfied and switch to competitors. However, in SIA
scenario, SIA is able to deliver their service at the promised level which leads to the
creation of loyal customers who will share their experience and recommend the
service to others. Next, it is also essential to keep in mind that quality of the service is
not the only decisive factor. This is true as every customer has their own budget (i.e.
for those who want value-formoney service can go for budget retail sector while
those who prefer luxury and prestige will choose SIA). Last but not least, there has
been an observation in the work of (Sellers, 1989; Hanan, 2003) that more than 25%
of retail sector customers are changing retail sectors annually which indicates that
knowing how to acquire customers are extremely essential, particularly due to arrival
of budget retail sectors and the development of technology (internet).

Customer retention
According to Thompson (2004), customer retention is about increasing the
sales by endlessly satisfy and serve the customers so they will keep coming back. In
order to ensure the customer retention to be successful, the quality of the service
needs to be able to satisfy or go beyond the customer expectations (Zikmund,
McLEOD and Gilbert, 2002). Moreover, this view has also been supported in the
work of Storbacka and Lehtinen (2001), which said that considering what are the
customers’ needs for today is not enough. It is also vital to identify or predict the
customer’s future needs.
Customer retention can be done in many ways, like for example by the use of
customers’ loyalty program (i.e. Kris Flyer program from Singapore retail sectors
which allows customers to redeem free travel in accordance to the mileages that the
customers have spent). Another way to retained customers is by keep providing
satisfying service or providing the service that beyond the customer expectations to
maintain trust and satisfaction of the customers. Additionally, by opening an open
feedback from customers to ensure that the company is providing the service that is

23
still relevant and needed with the customers. Customer retention has been argued by
Reich held (1996), that it is less costly compared to customer acquisition, as
customers that are satisfied and believe in certain services tend to increase the
switching cost in terms of trust and convenience.

Customer Relationship Management

A remarkable technique that involves creating relationship that gives win-win
situation for both customers and company can be defined as Customer Relationship
Management (Baran, Galka and Strunk, 2008). Customer relationship management
involves compiling and analyzing the vast amounts of data of customers which will
provide greater insight of the customers’ behavior. This will allow a company to treat
different customers with different actions accordingly which allow the company to
act more efficiently and effectively while retaining their customers. This technique is
crucial in retaining customers, as without the existence of knowledge in regards of
customers, it is difficult to understand, anticipate and adapt with the customer needs
and wants.

Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty

It has been stated in the work of Timm (2011), that a basic sense of caring,
concern and competence plays an important role in building customer satisfaction.
Customer that are satisfied with a service tend to be loyal and involved with repeat
purchases that lead to mouth-to-mouth promotion which will increase the company
profitability (Hill et al, 2007). Next, according to Timm (2011), customer satisfaction
occurred whenever the customers feel that the price that they pay for certain service
is beneficial or worthy. One of the best ways for company to provide satisfaction for
customers is by working closely with the customers to ensure the service meet their
needs and wants (Lovelock, et al., 2005). This is necessary in order to ensure the
service to stay relevant and needed by the target customers and not result in defect
customers. For example, tiger airway which is a budget retail sector stays closely

24
with their target market which is the price conscious customers by keep offering
value-for-money retail sector service.
Next, different customers perceived value from a service subjectively. Therefore, it is
essential for company to identify and assess the value perception of key people that
are involved in purchasing process (Hollensen, 2003). For example, by using a
multiple-person approach which often provide more reliable results rather than
single-person studies.

Service Recovery
Service recovery is an extra service that is used to compensate customers due
to service failure, converting a defect and existing customers into loyal customers
(Cheng, 2000). The fact that services nowadays are still often performed by human,
the existence of service failure due to human-error is undeniable. This indicates the
importance of service recovery so that the customers that feel dissatisfied because of
service failure will feel better. By doing this, customers will feel compensated and
delighted which may lead to better promotion for the company. This view has been
supported in the work of Cheng (2000). Without service recovery, the unsatisfied
customers tend to label the company as no-good which will end up as defect
customers and may lead to bad mouth-to-mouth promotion (Zemke and Bell, 2000).
Last but not least, company that able to set the service recovery at the right place will
ensure that improvement of the image and the name of the company that lead to an
increase in profitability.

Management and Training of Employees

As it has been mentioned above, an excellent service that provides
satisfaction is essential. However, without the existence of employees that has the
ability to perform such service, a great service is just a fantasy (Byars and Rue,
2003). This indicates the importance of choosing the right people to do the job and
train them, so they will become company assets instead of liabilities (Slosson, 1999).
By providing quality training, it will influence the overall motivation and efforts of
25
the employees toward work which will further increase the quality of the service.
Management in here refers to company ability to assign the skills that are necessary
for each of the employees that have different roles (i.e. the stewardess need to be
enhancing with the communication skills and empowered while the technician may
be enhance with the evolving technology knowledge). Next, there are two types of
feedbacks which are the feedback with hope for the company to improve and
feedback that involve with dissatisfaction and irritated feeling. The problem lies in
the second type of feedback where customers tend to be thinking and acting
emotionally. Hence, it is necessary for the employees (frontline employee) to be able
to manage this emotional customer in the right way. JetBlue retail sectors offer a
great example which one of the steward gone berserk and yell at the passengers as the
passengers accidentally hit the steward head when taking the luggage (Candiotti,
Batchelor and Solomon, 2010). This event occurs possibly due to lack of emotional
training, which indicates the essential of training. Moreover, this view is also
supported by Jobber and Lancaster (2003), in their studies on learning organizational
which revealed that in order for company to survive in the competitive marketplace
training is required.
In conclusion, the theories above are crucial in achieving the research objectives. The
theories explained about how to acquire and retained customers effectively and
efficiently. In order to realize the acquisition and retention, several
requirements/knowledge are necessary like for example, understanding customer
needs, wants, demand, market offering, customer relationship management,
understand how to provide satisfaction and loyalty to customers, understanding the
service recovery, training and management. Each of the theories plays their own
important roles that support the achievement of successful customer acquisition and
retention.

Retail sector probably is the most important sector of economy because it has to do
directly with consumer. It includes all stores, from kiosks and small groceries to
supermarket chains and shopping malls that sell products and services to final consumer
for personal and household use. The aim of this paper is to make an investigation of retail

26
sector and its business type. To gather the data, second resources has been used. A deeply
scanning of literature has been performed. According to the investigation, the retailing
sector generally is organized in two main groups: the retailing within the store and
retailing out of the store. Retailing within the store is classified according to different
characteristics, but the most important types of classification are those based on the form
of the ownership, merchandise and price. According to the ownership-based
classification, the most important types are independent stores, chain stores, franchising
and leased department stores. According to the merchandise-based classification the most
important types of retailing are department stores, supermarkets, specialty stores,
convenient stores, superstores and retailer services. According to the price-based
classification, the most important types of retailing are discount stores, factory outlets,
category killers, off-price stores, warehouse clubs and hypermarkets. According to the
place-based classification the most important type of retailing are shopping centers. The
most important types of retailing out of the store are direct selling.

People often think that retailing is just selling goods at a store, while retailing at the same
time includes the sale of services. Retailing can be differentiated in numerous manners
from other business activities.

It has following characteristics:

 There is a direct end-user interaction in retailing.
 It is the only point in the value chain to provide platform for promotions.
 Sales at the retail level are generally in small unit sizes.
 Location is a critical factor in retail business.
 In most retail business, services are as important at core products.
 There are a larger number of retail units compared to other members of the value
chain.

Retailing performs various functions in our day to day life. Its main role is seen in the
distribution channel of marketing. It serves producer, consumer and economy as a whole
in a big way. A retailing or retailer’s function is important for consumers and
27
manufacturers and wholesalers. Retailers work as buying specialists for clients and sales
agents for their suppliers: while fulfilling these roles, they perform various marketing
activities such as meeting customer needs, creating product types, collecting market
information, and granting customer’s credit. These provide the consumer's connections
with producers or wholesalers.

1. Place utility: Generally, products should be available in a place that the consumer
chooses. Otherwise, consumers may not choose the merchandise or the required
merchandise can either replace or give up the merchandise completely. In this case, the
payments that the consumer do. In other words, the place utility can be defined as
satisfying the consumer's desire to purchase the desired goods and services in a place
where the consumer wants, without departing too far.

2. Time utility: Because consumers are looking for products at certain times, the
retailer's job is to know this time and make the products available at the required time.
However, the retailer seeks to obtain the cost price of the offered capital. The length
of delivery time available to the product will affect the price level.

3. Ownership utility: The retailer selling to customers with credit provides the utility of
ownership. It transfers the ownership of the goods and the payment of the price
relates to the maturity.
As metro cash and carry is well established and has much more convenience as
compared to its competitors. it is also situated in the heart of the city (Delhi/ NCR)
which gives an edge to metro cash and carry. This is the reason that metro cash and
carry is the biggest threat and competition for lots wholesale solutions. Metro cash
and carry provides more variety of goods and much cheaper than its competitors that
makes metro cash and carry in a better position than its competitors among the
consumers.

28
 2.2 OBJECTIVE

This research aims to achieve the following objectives:

1. To study the Evaluation of Customers Acquisition.
2. To study about the factors that affect customers in choosing retail companies.
3. To study the emerging market of lots wholesale in Greater Noida.
4. To study about strategies of company for sales promotion.

29
 CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

30
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes the methodology of the study. This project is based on information

collected from primary sources. After the detailed study, an attempt has been made to present the

process of customer acquisition, Brand awareness and promotion of Lots Wholesale Solutions

and its comparative analysis with Metro Cash and Carry and Wal-Mart Best Price & other retail

organizations towards the people. The data had been used to cover various aspects like price of

various commodities available at Lots Wholesale Solutions, Wal-Mart Best Price and Metro

Cash and Carry. In collecting requisite data and information regarding the topic selected, I went

to the outlets of Lots Wholesale Solutions, Metro Cash and Carry & other retail stores of

Delhi/NCR city and collected the data.

Research design:

A research design was formulated which guided the collection and analysis of data.

Exploratory research design was followed and survey was done with the help of a structure non

disguised questionnaire.

Sample Size:

A sample of around 40 peoples & 3 stores were taken on the basis of convenience. The actual

customers were contacted on the basis of random sampling.

Research Period:

Research work is only carried for 8 weeks.

31
Research Instrument:

This work is carried out through face to face survey & self-administered questionnaires. The

questions included were opening ended, dichotomous and offered multiple choices.

Data Collection:

The data, which is collected for the purpose of study, is divided into 2 bases:

 Primary Source: The primary data comprises information survey of “Customer Acquisition,

Brand awareness and promotion of Lots Wholesale Solutions and its comparative analysis

with Metro Cash and Carry & other retail organizations”. The data has been collected

directly from respondent & with the help of structured questionnaires.

 Secondary Source: The secondary data was collected from Company’s website and price

list of the companies.

Research process
The research process has four distinct yet interrelated steps for research analysis
It has a logical and hierarchical ordering.
1. Determination of information research problem.
2. Development of appropriate research design.
3. Execution of research design.
4. Communication of results.

Each step is viewed as a separate process that includes a combination of task, step
and specific procedure. The steps undertaken are logical, objective, systematic,
reliable, valid, impersonal and ongoing.

32
 CHAPTER 4
DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

33
 DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

The data is analyzed on the basis of appropriate tables by using mathematical techniques.
The technique that I have used is pie graphs, Bar graphs, with MS Excel.
Noida
Main market:
Sector 18
Sector 50
Sector 60
Sector 59
Kaushambi
Vaishali
Sector 41
Sector 49
Sector 25
Sector 12/22

34
 SAMPLE OF CUSTOMER ACQUISITION

What is the data of total horeca customer acquisition in Noida?

Sector in Noida Number of

Registration

Sector 50 market 16

Sector 49 18

Sector 18 8

Sector 41 15

Sector 25 15

Sector 51 4

Kausambhi 30

Vaishali 22

Sector 16 9

Sector 19 6

35
 Sales
60

50

40

30

20

10

Total visit Number of Registration

INTERPRETATION:

This this the project which is taken for the first time as company is going to setup a new

store in Noida sector 62 this data is taken by me during research. The market

continuously and approaching the new customers.

1. Corporate offices visited during project.

Sector in Noida Number of Registration

Sector 63 18

Sector 18 9

Sector 59 5

Sector 60 6

36
 Sales
50

40

30

20

10

0
Sector 63 Sector 18 Sector 59 Sector 60

1. Corporate offices visited during project. Number of Registration

1. Corporate offices visited during project. Total visit

INTERPRETATION:

In service corporate offices the prchase department handle all the purachasing for the
offices and most of the things are done on contract basis and its very diffecult to break
the contarct of coorporate offices in two months almost half of the market was ragistered
in lots wholesale solutions.

37
 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

How frequently do you visit Lots Wholesale Solutions?

No of Visit No of visitor

Once a week 45

Twice or more a week 19

Once a month 15

Twice or more a month 13

Rarely 8

Total no of visit

No of visitor
50
45
40
35
30
25
20 No of visitor

15
10
5
0
Once a week Twice or more Once a month Twice or more Rarely
a week a month

38
 INTERPRETATION:
From the above graph analysis, it can be understood that the maximum number of customer
visit Lots Wholesale Solution Netaji Shubhash Place, Delhi once a week. To sum up
everyday Lots wholesale solutions, Delhi entertain new/changing customer in a week.

This is due to the difference in the purchasing behavior of the different customer it serves.
Customers like HORECA purchase on a weekly or two times a week, customers like
colleges and institutions purchase on a monthly basis.

SIZE OF ORGANIZED OUTLETS

Location decision is always followed by the size. Size of the outlet determines the capacity
of the customers the outlet can handle, the categories, varieties, and quality of merchandise,
the layout of the space and other facilities the company store can provide to the customers.

The rental and real estate prices are alarmingly so high in Delhi that it is very difficult for
retailer to put up a huge size in a normal circumstance. So, it is evident that many of the
retailers in Delhi tries his best to optimize the size.

39
Apart from Lots do you intend to visit any other cash & carry store:

Other Visit No of Respondent Percentage

YES 76 76

NO 24 24

Total no of other visit

80
70
60
50 Yes
40 No
30
20
10
0
No of Respondent Percentage

INTERPRETATION:
From the above graph it is very clear that most of the customers who are visiting the LOTS
store are very much satisfied with the services and the promotional offers of the company.

40
What is the purpose behind visiting Lots?

Purpose No of respondent Percentage

Shopping 35 70

Outing 6 12

Other 9 18

Purpose behind visit

70

60

50

40 No of respondent

30 Percentage

20

10

0
Shopping outing other

INTERPRETATION
From the above shown graph it can be understood that due to the promotional offer run by
the company that most of the people who enter or visit the store are there to shop.

41
On an average how, much amount of money does you spend in a visit to Lots:

Purchase amount Respondent Percentage

0-2000 12 12
2000-10000 15 15
10000-30000 45 45
Above 30000 28 28

Money spend in visit

45
40
35
30
25 Respondent
20 Percentage

15
10
5
0
0-2000 2000-10000 10000-30000 Above 30000

INTERPRETATION:

The above given graph shows the purchasing behavior of the customers visiting the store.
It is very clear that the maximum number of customer has a buying power of 10000-
30000.

42
Do you go with a planned list of product to be purchased from Lots?

Planned purchase Respondent Percentage

Yes 70 70

No 30 30

List of product

70

60

50

40 Yes
No
30

20

10

0
Respondent Percentage

INTERPRETATION:

The above graph states that most of the customers who visit the store come with a pre-
planned list of the articles they want to purchase.

43
What is your mode of payment in Lots?

Mode of payment Respondent Percentage

Cash 25 25

Debit 55 55

Credit 20 20

Mode of payment

60

50

40
Respondent
30
Percentage
20

10

0
Cash Debit credit

INTERPRETATION
The above graph states that most of the customer who visit the store make the payment

through the debit card due to the increase in the trend of the digital payment.

44
From where customers got to know about LOTS WHOLESALE SOLUTIONS.
g

SOURCE CUSTOMERS
Newspapers
Newspaper 65
Internet 18
Banners & holdings 17
Distributed pamphlets 40

Encourages to visit Lots

CUSTOMERS
70

60

50

40

30 CUSTOMERS

20

10

0
Newspaper Internet Banners & holdings Distributed
pamphlets

INTERPRETATION:

Above data shows how different sources helped LOTS WHOLESALE SOLUTIONS to
reach out to people and, which was the best available source.

45
 1. Market share covered by other retail store?

Name of Retail store Number of Respondent

Local shops 45%

Best Price 35%

Metro cash & carry 20%

Interpretation: In the above question we found that out of 100 people 45 people visited
local shops, 35 people visit best price & 20 people visit metro cash & carry.

Sales
other stores best price metro cash & carry

22%
39%

39%

46
 CHAPTER 5
FINDINGS, LIMITATIONS, SUGGESTIONS,
CONCLUSION

47
5.1 FINDINGS

 Lots Wholesale Solutions have less brand awareness among the consumers.

 Other retail store in the market has better product range than Lots Wholesale Solutions.

 Best Prize have greater acceptance among the consumers in comparison to Lots Wholesale
Solutions.

 HOReCa products have major acceptance among all offerings of Lots Wholesale Solutions
among consumers.

 The consumers are less much satisfied of the offers introduced Lots Wholesale Solutions.

 Customers are more aware about Best Prize than Lots Wholesale Solutions.

 Most of the customer prefers local markets and distributer.

5.2 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

In attempt to make this project authentic and reliable, every possible aspect of the topic was
kept in mind. Nevertheless, despite of fact constraints was at play during the formulation
of this project. The main limitations are as follows:

 Due to limitation of time only 30 people & 3 stores were selected for the study. So the
sample of people & stores was not enough to generalize the findings of the study.

 The main source of data for the study was primary data with the help of self-administered
questionnaires. Hence, the chances of unbiased information are less.

 Retailers were hesitant to disclose the true facts.

48
5.3 MAJOR SUGGESTIONS:

o Cover the entire hotel’s restaurant and service corporate offices which are not covered by
creating more bits of sales.
o Expected service gap is still short of 40%, which should be covered as soon as possible.
o Give training to the sales force and assign them market to cover all market customer
segments wise.
o Markets like vaishali kausambhi sector 41are market with potential customer has to give
extra attention.
o Consumer Activation programmes should be organised frequently. For E.g. We can set our
Canopy and we can organise Sawach Abhiyan as these events will give people a chance to
try our product, ask questions about it and participate in some way that makes them feel a
part of our brand.

A Customer Care should be appointed at market: Complaint Book- A complaint book should be
kept with every CDA and the contact no. of the CDA should be available with every retailer.
The CDA have to note down all the grievances of the retailers and every month ASM must
check that the problems of each and every retailer is being resolved

49
5.4 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This research has allowed to understand the customers’ mindset and preference when they are
considering retail companies. There are several important factors that have been identified which
need to be highlighted in grasping and retaining the customers. Firstly, in regards to the analysis on
the attractive pricing affect customers differently according to their occupation. There is no
relationship within these two variables which means every customer love attractive price despite
having different occupations. Hence, it is essential for retail sector companies to ensure that they
have the best pricing strategies to grasp the customers. Moving on to the next finding which proves
there is a relationship between the accessibility/place to gain service with the media or source that
are used in searching retail sector companies. This highlight the needs for retail sector companies
to provide great accessibilities for customers both physically (store) and Online media service.
This is necessary and essential as different type of media that customers use has different impact
on the needs of accessibilities/place to gain service. In addition, it is also essential for retail sector
companies to know that informing customers about retail sector service need to be differentiated.
Informing younger customers through various media may be effective and efficient as they are
aware of it, while for older customers; relying mouth-to-mouth promotion is more efficient and
effective, as they are rarely using media like newsletter, email and other media. Furthermore,
according to correlation analysis, the essence of the quality of service personnel affects the service
recovery/compensation result. This highlights the needs for retail sector companies to train their
workers so that they will be able to deliver the service recovery that can lead to better satisfaction
and recommendations. Moreover, in regards to factors that affecting customer’s satisfaction that
leads to recommendation, attributes like punctuality, quality of service personnel, reputation,
strong brand image and modern service plays an important role in achieving customer’s
satisfaction and recommendation. This indicates the need for companies to be able to provide great
service with consistency to provide punctuality and establish reputation for long term; able to
cope-up with the changes/development in the marketplace in order to create a strong brand image
and ensure that the service that they offer are realized by enhancing the quality of service
personnel that perform and support the service. In Conclusion, it is essential to focus on all the

50
aspects above in order to be able to acquire and retained customers which lead to recommendations
thus, increasing the overall profitability for the companies for the present and in the long term.

51
 BIBLOGRAPHY
Research paper

[1]. Baran, G. Galka, R. and Strunk, D., 2008. Principles of Customer Relationship
Management. Mason: Thompson South-Western.
[2]. Berman, B. and Evans, J.R., 2010. Retail Management: a strategic approach. 11th ed.
New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
[3]. Burns, A. C. and Bush, R.F., 2005. Marketing Research: Online Research Applications.
4th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.
[4]. Burton, S. Kotler, P. and Keller, K.L., 2009. Marketing management / Suzan Burton;
Philip Kotler; Kevin Lane Keller. NSW: Pearson Education Australia.
[5]. Byars, L.L. and Rue, L.W., 2003. Human Resource Management. 7th ed. New York:
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
[6]. Cheng, P.L.K., 2000. Strategic Customer Management Enhancing Customer Retention
and Service Recovery. 4 Pang Seng Road Singapore: Business Craft Consultancy.
[7]. Churchill, G.A. and Brown, T.J., 2007. Basic Marketing Research. 6th ed. Ohio:
Thompson South-Western.
[8]. Collis, D.J. and Montgomery, C.A., 1997. Corporate Strategy Resources and the scope
of the Firm. Chicago: McGraw-Hill Irwin.

Websites
www.lotswholesale.com
www.bestprice.in
www.metro.co.in

Magazines
India today
Business India.
Material profile of company

52
 APPENDIX

QUESTIONNAIRE
53
 Name: Age:
Gender:

1.How frequently do you visit Lots Wholesale Solutions?

o Weekly
o Monthly
o Quarterly
o On planned basis

2.Apart from Lots do you intend to visit any other cash & carry store?

o Yes
o No

3.What is the purpose behind visiting Lots?

o Shopping
o Outing
o Other

4.On an average how much amount of money do you spend in a visit to Lots?

o Below 2000
o 2000-10000
o 10000-30000
o More than 30000

5.Do you go with a planned list of products to be purchased from Lots?

o Yes
o No

6.What is your mode of payment in Lots?

o Cash payment
o Credit card
o Debit card

54
7.What encourages you to visit Lots?

o Product variety
o Service
o Product quality

55
1