1 CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION

We come across various objects (or) things in our everyday life. We are also constantly bombarded with various with various stimuli then, what we do in practice is while we receive some objectives, we reject others.

Brand awareness is the probability that consumers are familiar about the life and availability of the product. It is the degree to which consumers precisely associate the brand with the specific product. It is measured as ratio of niche market that has former knowledge of brand. Brand awareness includes both brand recognition as well as brand recall. Brand recognition is the ability of consumer to recognize prior knowledge of brand when they are asked questions about that brand or when they are shown that specific brand, i.e., the consumers can clearly differentiate the brand as having being earlier noticed or heard. While brand recall is the potential of customer to recover a brand from his memory when given the product class/category, needs satisfied by that category or buying scenario as a signal. In other words, it refers that consumers should correctly recover brand from the memory when given a clue or he can recall the specific brand when the product category is mentioned. It is generally easier to recognize a brand rather than recall it from the memory. Brand awareness is improved to the extent to which brand names are selected that is simple and easy to pronounce or spell; known and expressive; and unique as well as distinct. For instance - Coca Cola has come to be known as Coke.

There are two types of brand awareness: 1. Aided awareness- This means that on mentioning the product category, the customers recognize your brand from the lists of brands shown. 2. Top of mind awareness (Immediate brand recall)- This means that on mentioning the product category, the first brand that customer recalls from his mind is your brand. The relative importance of brand recall and recognition will rely on the degree to which consumers make product-related decisions with the brand present or not. For instance - In a store, brand recognition is more crucial as the brand will be physically present. In a scenario where brands are not physically present, brand recall is more significant (as in case of services and online brands). Building brand awareness is essential for building brand equity. It includes use of various renowned channels of promotion such as advertising, word of mouth publicity, social media like blogs, sponsorships, launching events, etc. To create brand awareness, it is important to create reliable brand image, slogans and taglines. The brand message to be communicated should also be consistent. Strong brand awareness leads to high sales and high market share. Brand awareness can be regarded as a means through which consumers become acquainted and familiar with a brand and recognize that brand

OBJECTIVES, SCOPE, LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

1.1 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE To assess the awareness of duroflex brand in the market.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES To assess the kind of recommendations made towards the brand to others. To identify the reason for the brand preference over the competing brands. To assess the customer satisfaction level by choosing the particular brand. To assess the attractiveness of the duroflex brand.

2.1 SCOPE OF THE STUDY It helps the organisation to understand the consumer psychology on choosing the brand over the alternatives. It also helps to assess the real opinion and mindset of consumers and aids to meet out their expectation in future in turn that will increases the volume of sales. The study helps us to know about the Customer satisfaction level towards duroflex and other competing brands. The study helps to know the personality of a brand in the behaviour of a brand in the market. It also helps to find the loyalty of the customers in choosing the brand. The study helps to the organisation to choose the alternatives in marketing the products. The project helps to know the efforts taking in future towards the development of the organization.

2.2 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The major limitations of the study are the following: Since the study was conducted within the period of 4 weeks, time factor was a major constraint. The study was based on the assumption that the respondents will always be truthful and correct. But this assumption might not be true always.

The study was conducted only in Krishnagiri district. This may not give a generalized conclusion.

It is also felt that the responses available for the study were not accurate in certain cases. During the busy hours people are not ready to respond.

CHAPTER 2 THEORITICAL PERSPECTIVE

Meaning of a brand and Its Importance

A brand is a distinguishing name and/or symbol! intended to identity the goods or services of either one seller or a group of sellers, and to differentiate those goods or services from those of competitors (Aaker, 1991; Stanton, 1994, and Kotler, 1996). A brand thus signals to the customer the source ofthe product, and protects both the customer and the producer from competitors who would attempt to provide products that appear to be identical. Ancient history provides evidence of the importance of brands. In those days, names were put on such goods as bricks in order to identify their maker (Farquhar, 1989). It is also known that trade guilds in medieval Europe used trademarks to assure the customer and provide legal protection to the producer. In the early sixteen-century, Whisky distillers shipped their products in wooden barrels with the name of the producer burned into the barrel. The name showed the consumer who the maker (brewer) was and prevented the substitution of cheaper products. In 1835, a brand of scotch called Old Smuggler was introduced in order to capitalize on the quality reputation developed by bootleggers who used a special distilling process (Aaker, 1991).

Although brands have long had a role to play in commerce, it was not until the twentieth century that branding and brand association became so central to competitors. In fact,a distinguishing characteristic of modern marketing has been its focus upon the creation of differentiated brand associations to accentuate the bases of differentiation.

The idea has been to move beyond commodities to branded products to reduce the primary of price upon the purchase decision. Consumers associate the value of the product with the brand. The brand can convey either a positive or a negative message about the product to the consumer (Kim and Chung, 1997, p.361). The underlying value of a brand is often based upon specific association of a use context such as heart attack prevention can provide a reason-to-buy which can attract customers. Such an association represents the

7 products meaning to customers. Brand associations represent bases for purchase decision and for brand loyalty. There are a host of possible associations that a firm can build in a brand. Not all associations need to be built but rather those that directly or indirectly affect consumers buying behaviour. Product attributes (customer benefits) are an important class of associations, but there are others that can be important in some contexts (Aaker, p. 114). The following section deals with the brand associations that a firm can build and how they create value to both the firm and consumer.

Theoretical Framework on Brand Associations

Perceptual Dimensions of Brand Associations

As noted elsewhere in this paper, brand association is anything that is linked in memory to a brand (Aaker, p.1 09). The association reflects the fact products are used to express Lifestyles whereas other associations reflect social positions, and professional roles. Still others will reflect associations involving product applications, types of people who might use the product, stores that carry the product, or salespeople who handle the product or even the country of origin. Keller (1998) defines brand associations as informational nodes linked to the brand node in memory that contains the meaning of the brand for consumers.

These associations include perceptions of brand quality and attitudes towards the brand. Keller and Aaker both appear to hypothesize that consumer perception of brand are multi-dimensional yet many of the dimensions they identify appear to be very similar. The image that a good or a service has in the mind of the consumer how it is positioned probably more important to its ultimate success than are its actual characteristics. Marketers try to position their brands so that they are perceived by the consumer to fit a distinctive niche in the marketplace - a niche occupied by no other product (Schiffman and Kanuk, 1994) According to Aaker (1991) there are at least nine brand associations. The associations convey either the concept, or the meaning of the product in terms of how it fulfills the customers need. In todays highly competitive environment a distinctive product image is most important. As products become more complex and the market place more crowded, consumers rely more on the products image than its actual attributes in making purchase decisions.

8 One of the brand associations that a firm can use in differentiating its product is Customer benefit Customer benefit refers to the need that is satisfied by a product. For example, cavity control by a tooth paste is a customer benefit. Customer benefit may be rational, psychological (emotional) benefit, or self- expressive benefit. A rational benefit is closely linked to a products attribute and would be part of a rational decision process. A psychological benefit relates to what feelings are engendered when buying and! or using the brand (Aaker, p.1 19). An example of a rational benefit for a computer to a consumer would be its ability not to lose work whereas a psychological benefit would be the feeling of being professional. For a car, the emotional benefit would be the feeling of safety when driving it as a driver of a Volvo car would testify.

The self-expressive benefit relates to the ability of a brand to help a consumer to communicate his or her self-image. Since consumers have multiple roles, the consumer has an associated self-concept and a need to express that self-concept. The purchase and use of brands is one way to fitful the need for self-expression (Aaker, 1991). He gives the example of a consumer, who may define him/herself as successful and powerful by driving a Mercedes Benz.

Product attributes These refer to a products characteristics. Attributes are associated with a products rational benefit. For example, a Volvo cars attribute is durability. Similarly, a shampoos attribute would be its safety to use every day. A marketer requires identifying an attribute that is important to a major segment and not already claimed by a competitor, e.g an attribute that offers something extra (like features or services that offer something better). The identification of an unmet customer problem can sometimes lead to an attribute previously ignore by competitors (Aaker, p. 115).

Use / application A marketer can associate a brand with a particular use or application. For example, a beer can be associated with good friends in a warm social setting. A study of the coffee market revealed that there were nine relevant use contexts for coffee (Glen, et al1984).

CHAPTER-3 INDUSTRY PROFILE

The organizational study was conducted in Duroflex (P) Ltd. The company was set up in 1963. And now, Duroflex is Indias leading manufacturer of rubberized coir mattress and the largest exporter of sleep and comfort products. It began as a small

manufacturing plant along the quiet canal at Alleppey, Kerala, is today a leading enterprise with the most modern manufacturing processes in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala having customers across the world.

India accounts for more than two-thirds of the world production of coir and coir products. Kerala is the home of Indian coir industry, which is an important cottage industry contributing significantly to the economy of the major coconut growing States and Union Territories such as Kerala, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Orissa, Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep e. t .c

COIR AND FOAM INDUSTRY

The coir industry in India originated about one century ago. The word coir in English is from the Malayalam word KAYAR meaning rope made from coconut husk fibrea major cash crop in the agriculture sector. With an area of 1.54 million hectares India rank the 3rd position among the coconut producing countries in the world. More than 90% of the area under and the position of coconut in India are concentrated in the four southern states of Kerala, Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Coconut husk is an important agriculture resource, which provide livelihood to a large number of workers in the rural areas of the country. Coir Industry in India is considered as a cottage industry. Kerala, which accounts for 4% of total production of coconuts in the country, had been the home of the Indian coir industry. The coir industry in India can be divided into two broad segments White fibre and Brown fibre.

10 White fibre is the coir fibre extracted manually from retired coconut husks by Natural enzyme action. The fibre thus produced is golden yellow in colour. The products of white fibre are coir yarn, ropes, mats and matting for exports and domestic markets.

The Brown Fibre and foam Sector is located mainly in the states of Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Northern parts of Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Orissa and Goa has also started producing brown fibre. Its the fiber produced by mechanical extraction from matured coconut husks. The products of brown fibre are rubberized coir, lower grade yarns, ropes, mats and matting e. t. c. Its also used in large quantities for cheap upholstery and slugging. Although the coir industry is actually centuries old, the brown fibre industry in India is only about two decades old.

The company is competing with the brands like sleepwell, kurlon, century, rubco, sunindra etc. These are the major players of foam and coir industry.

In india, based on new innovation and technology the duroflex company playing very important role by introducing new products in different ranges according to the customers status.

Indian coir industry is an important cottage industry contributing significantly to the economy of the major coconut growing States and Union Territories, i.e., Kerala, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, Orissa, Assam, Andaman & Nicobar, Lakshadweep, Pondicherry, etc. About .5.5 lakh persons get employment, mostly part time, in this industry. The exports from this industry are around Rs. 70 crores.

History of coir industry

The coir industry is one of the most ancient traditional industries in Kerala. Extending from the south to the extreme north of Kerala, the industry has deep rooted in the economical social and political field especially in the coastal belt of Kerala. Availability of

11 coconut husk in abundance and availability of man power are some of the factors that contributed to the flourishing of the industry in Kerala.

The first coir weaving factory was established in the year 1854 in Alappuzha by Mr, James Darren who marked the beginning of modern coir industry in India. As the products enjoyed a favourable market in Europe, several foreign companies established their manufacturing units at Alappuzha which had the advantage of plentiful availability of raw material, natural facilities for rotting husks, and cheap water transportation of the place with European trades men.

The export market was controlled by the foreign companies who owned large factories. The primary stage of manufacturing comprising of rotting of husk, extraction of fibre and spinning of coir were organised well with the local small scale units engaged in various operations. By the early years of 20th century the small scale sector began to expand its activities by organising all the processing operations on a single unit basis. Spinning was however done by the women at home and they were paid. During the period of 2nd World War, Indian entrepreneurs emerged stronger and offered stiff resistance to the large foreign owned companies who dominated in the manufacturing and exporting fields.

After independence, the European companies in India adopted a policy of disposing their units in India to the local entrepreneurs. Subsequently, they set up mechanised units in Holland, UK, West Germany and other countries in the continent and started imported fibre and yarn from India for the manufacture of fine products with finish and attractiveness.

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COMPANY PROFILE

HISTORY OF THE COMPANY A delegation sponsored by the Coir Board went to Europe in the year 1953 with a specified goal of establishing more advanced industries in the coir sector. The delegation gave maximum importance for setting up Rubberized coir factories in India. They have reasoned that as both coir and rubber are available in India it will be ideal to set up the factories in India itself for exporting finished products to Europe and other countries. The Coir Board gave consent to seven concerns for importing and setting up the units. At that time all the machineries were imported from abroad. The main suppliers of machinery were Austria and Germany. And now these technologies are available in India too.

M/s. Duroflex Coir Industries (P) Ltd has developed new technologies and machinery for the manufacture of Rubberized coir products. They set up three factories with 100% indigenous machinery. The machines have much greater output and more efficient than the imported machines.

Late Mr.P.C.Mathew was a pioneer in the field of the production of rubberized coir. And he was the promoter of M/s Duroflex Coir Industries (P) Ltd in 1963 at Alappuzha, Kerala with a view to use agro based inputs for manufacture of its products. Subsequently in 1982, the manufacturing operations of M/s Rubrofibre (P) Ltd were bifurcated and M/s Duroflex Coir Industries (P) Ltd took over the operations and manufacture of the factory.

PROFILE OF THE COMPANY

The rubberized fibre industry originated in Europe around 1953 used rubberised horse hair and rubberized dog hair. This was later on adapted to coir fibre. The industry originated in India by 1963.The founders of Duroflex have pioneered the manufacture of rubberised in a small coir factory at Alleppey. From its humble beginning at Alleppey, Duroflex has now three manufacturing units at Alleppey, Hosur and Hyderabad,

13 and an extensive marketing organisation with company sales office/depots and over 1500 stockists all over India.

Duroflex (P) Ltd, Hosur is one of the three manufacturing units of the group and leading manufacturers of rubberized products in India. Main product of the company is rubberized coir mattresses, which are bought by domestic households, hospitals and bulk users. Company also manufactures industrial products of rubberized coir for packaging, air filteration, bus and railway seats and carpet underlay. Manufacturing of Polyurethene foam for own use at Hosur unit, natural latex foam at Alleppey for own use and export were also started in 1991.

Duroflex products are known for consistent and standard quality and the Company gives priority to apply strict quality control in its operations. These are acquired to procurement and processing of raw materials manufacturing of finished products and testing them to rigorous standards. Company is primarly engaged in manufacturing and marketing of mattresses to the consumer. Company has also given importance to product and process development, development of plant and machinery engineering and introduction of new products.

Company is engaged in export of its products to Europe, Middle East and Far East through its subsidiary company Coco latex Exports (P) Ltd. Company undertakes research and development activity in its areas of activity and has recently started a separate unit to make eco-friendly boards out of coir and jute fibres as an alternative to plywood.

To survive competition in the customer driven market Duroflex (P) Ltd Hosur has established a quality management system at Hyderabad and Alleppey units. The objective of the company is to supply rubberized coir products which meet the ever increasing demands of the customers at competitive prices by continued process improvements by the application of state of the art technologies.

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COMPETITORS

Major competitors of Duroflex are the following:

KURLON SUNIDRA RUBCO SLEEPWELL CENTURY

ACHEIVEMENTS Its the largest exporter of sleep and comfort products. The company holds the ISO 9001-2000 certificate by the American Quality Assessors (AQA). They are also members of the International Sleep Products Association (ISPA) and therefore updated on the latest developments in quality and technology in the category.

Duroflex mattresses have the largest sales record in South India with a market share of 27% and also its subsidiary company Cocolatex have exports to over 40 countries.

PLACE OF LOCATION The companys head office is located at Alappuzha district in Kerala. Alappuzha is also known as the Venice of the East. The location has several advantages like nearness to National Highway 47, access to transportation facilities, availability of raw materials and efficient labour force.

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PRODUCT PROFILE Duroflex is Indias leading manufacturer leading manufacturer of rubberized coir mattresses and the largest exporter of sleep and comfort products. Duroflex Pvt. Ltd manufactures wide variety of mattresses, pillows and cushions. Its major products are the following:

1. Rubberized coir mattresses

Rubberized coir mattresses are a combination of natural materials like coconut fibre and natural rubber. The Following are the types of rubberised coir mattresses produced.

Duro Foam Dream On Premium Special Kwilt Special Bliss Crown- Regular Crown Ortho Golden Plus Bodyline Seasons

2. Spring mattresses

Spring or Springtek mattresses are a range of high-end spring mattresses. They are manufactured with the very latest technology available today. Specially imported springs of

16 German technologies and the very latest Italian CNC quilting machines bring us the best spring mattresses available in India today. Following are the types of spring mattresses, Bonnel spring mattress Top pocketed spring mattress Deluxe Super Deluxe

3. Polyurethene Foam-

Duroflex offers pure flexible polyurethane foams. The machines are specially designed to meet specific customer requirements. CNC-based high- precision cutting machines also enables the cutting of foam blocks into diverse shapes and sizes to manufacture high quality model pillows and polyurethene products. Following are the types of polyurethene foams, LD(9.5-10D) 13D,16D and 18D 18SS AND 20SS 23D and 28D 32D-40D

5.Pillows & Cushions-

Duroflex also offers an equally comfortable and healthy range of

pillows and

cushions besides its mattresses. And they are designed in such a way that it holds our neck and spine in a neutral position. And below are the types of pillows and cushions available with Duroflex,

Dimple Sensus Flexi Puf

17 Dream on pillow Rubberized Coir Pillow Duropillow Eco Pillow Supersoft Bolstr Settee Comfy-Puf Elegant Supersoft Cushions

COCO-LATEX EXPORTS (P) LTD The companys export wing is known by the name COCO-LATEX EXPORTS (P) LTD. Cocolatex specializes in 100% natural and eco friendly mattresses. The company also produces and exports the following items,
a) Rubberized Coir Sheets-Its made from coir and natural rubber latex blended with anti-oxidants for long life.

Applications: Sheets and pads for fully made up mattresses Furniture Carpet Underlay Fillers

b) Latex foam pillows- Its made of 100% natural rubber. They are available in slot and firm variety.

c) Natural latex foam-Natural rubber is eco-friendly, biodegradable and renewable with an elasticity which cannot be attained by any other material. Its available in pin core and as cavity sheets.

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Applications:

Mattresses Cushioning Furniture Composite mattresses

d) Fully made up mattresses-The major export brands are Bodyline, Quilt, Coir and spring, Sandwich Combo and Comfortek. These are also available in India.

e) Curled coir-They are made by curling the raw coir.

f) Needled punch coir sheets-Its manufactured at its Needled felt factory situated at its Hosur Branch. Such sheets are produced with a needle machine in which it does not require latex for joining two coir sheets.

Applications:

Insulate pads for mattresses Geo textiles Horticulture e. t. c

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OBJECTIVES OF THE COMPANY

To attain high market shares. To increase profitability through customer satisfaction. To produce high quality products. To attain cost effectiveness in all levels. To create and maintain good relations with dealers and customers.

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IMPORT STATISTICS - COIR ALL ITEMS (COUNTRY-WISE) Country wise Performance During The Period From April'2007 TO March'2008 Descending order of Value Quantity in Tonnes. & Value in Rs. Lakhs Sl. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 COUNTRY USA UK GERMANY NETHERLANDS SPAIN ITALY CANADA FRANCE AUSTRALIA BELGIUM REPUBLIC OF CHINA SOUTH KOREA SWEDEN JAPAN TURKEY GREECE SOUTH AFRICA BRAZIL UAE POLAND PORTUGAL DENMARK SAUDI ARABIA ISRAEL KUWAIT CHILE IRAN NORWAY MEXICO MALADIVE ISLANDS MALAYSIA NEW ZEALAND EGYPT AUSTRIA RUSSIA QUANTITY 38264.01 10413.69 7661.43 26759.76 10276.37 6129.29 3824.68 3047.72 6000.66 2300.09 8633.49 13118.8 1388.39 1284.31 1471.38 1222.49 1268.88 881.59 2738.41 1278.38 996.32 735.91 937.26 2142.22 763.58 375.43 738.81 542.32 594.92 420.59 1928.23 454.33 637.15 316.69 439.43 VALUE 22197.72 5539.44 4591.79 4195.24 2628.59 2539.16 1965.94 1714.56 1510.31 1003.87 991.5 963.32 846.62 813.39 742.96 662.91 511.14 451.24 451.2 410.91 403.67 400.94 393.03 295.29 264.89 254.91 236.98 214.12 198.7 195.51 182.57 178.8 176.11 156.75 148.53 QTY% 22.67 6.17 4.54 15.86 6.09 3.63 2.27 1.81 3.56 1.36 5.12 7.77 0.82 0.76 0.87 0.72 0.75 0.52 1.62 0.76 0.59 0.44 0.56 1.27 0.45 0.22 0.44 0.32 0.35 0.25 1.14 0.27 0.38 0.19 0.26 VAL% 36.68 9.15 7.59 6.93 4.34 4.2 3.25 2.83 2.5 1.66 1.64 1.59 1.4 1.34 1.23 1.1 0.84 0.75 0.75 0.68 0.67 0.66 0.65 0.49 0.44 0.42 0.39 0.35 0.33 0.32 0.3 0.3 0.29 0.26 0.25 60521.08 15968.45 12265.35 30977.79 12915.39 8676.28 5796.14 4766.92 7517.03 3306.98 9631.75 14091.48 2237.23 2099.8 2216.44 1887.22 1781.61 1334.1 3191.98 1690.73 1401.25 1137.95 1331.5 2439.27 1029.36 630.98 976.62 757.11 794.3 616.67 2112.24 633.7 813.93 473.89 588.47

21 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 HUNGARY LATIVIA IRISH REPUBLIC URUGUAY ARGENTINA LEBANON KENYA LYBIA MOROCCO HONGKONG FINLAND ECUADOR DJIBOUTI CYPRUS TAIWAN YOUGOSLAVIA UKRAINE TANZANIA COLOMBIA ALGERIA PANAMA SINGAPORE SWITZERLAND VENZULA CROATIA CZECHOSLOVAKIA JORDAN NIGERIA GHANA OMAN PERU BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA AFGHANISTAN LITHUANIA BAHARAIN MAURITIUS GABON JAMAIC THAILAND PARAGUAY MARSHALL ISLANDS FIJI ISLANDS RUMANIA 824.32 336.61 504.39 170.04 241.09 192.61 1412.1 133.79 374.85 603.54 141.77 749.05 875.6 172.53 209.17 68.54 149.38 350.27 49.57 60.9 57.59 55.74 53.35 61.06 57.76 42.5 68.6 33.86 43.04 95.73 24.94 19.36 18.57 20.99 40.88 41.17 15.59 47.91 13.02 12.85 16.98 11.72 30.41 138.37 127.9 125.41 124.92 124.25 98.07 89.51 86.38 85.05 81.87 75.54 74.46 68.13 58.45 49.42 47.5 45.81 39.46 38.19 37.23 34.74 33.41 31.18 28.28 27.69 25.74 22.94 20.02 19.37 17.56 15.63 14.28 11.98 11.28 10.48 10.32 10.22 9.98 9.13 8.93 8.74 8.15 7.97 0.49 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.14 0.11 0.84 0.08 0.22 0.36 0.08 0.44 0.52 0.1 0.12 0.04 0.09 0.21 0.03 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.02 0.03 0.06 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.03 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.02 0.23 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.21 0.16 0.15 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.12 0.12 0.11 0.1 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.07 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.04 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 963.41 464.92 630.31 295.27 365.69 290.95 1502.6 220.39 460.26 685.91 217.51 824.07 944.36 231.18 258.79 116.16 195.36 390.01 87.85 98.23 92.42 89.24 84.61 89.43 85.53 68.31 91.62 53.93 62.47 113.38 40.61 33.67 30.58 32.3 51.4 51.53 25.84 57.94 22.18 21.8 25.74 19.89 38.41

22 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 CONGO DOMNICAN REPUBLIC GUATEMALA ICELAND SYRIA SRI LANKA EL SALVADOR PAKISTAN QATAR TUNISIA BANGLADESH SOUTH YEMEN CANERIIB NEW CALEDONIA SLOVAK REPUBLIC BULGARIA TRINDAD BRUNEI YENEN TOTAL 10.45 17.35 10.16 11.87 10.85 49.24 41.5 25.5 13.85 6.96 8.45 27 2.83 1.47 1.93 8.82 3.35 11 1.38 168754.71 7.43 6.63 6.45 6.2 6.05 5.88 5.46 5.14 5.05 3.66 2.57 1.82 1.49 1.34 1.3 1.29 0.91 0.78 0.61 60516.61 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.01 0 0.01 0.02 0 0 0 0.01 0 0.01 0 100.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0.01 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 100.02 17.9 24 16.63 18.09 16.92 55.16 46.99 30.67 18.92 10.63 11.03 28.84 4.32 2.81 3.23 10.12 4.26 11.79 1.99 229471.3

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CHAPTER 4 REVIEW OF LITERATURE: Definition of Brand awareness is the probability that consumers are familiar about the life and availability of the product. It is the degree to which consumers precisely associate the brand with the specific product. It is measured as ratio of niche market that has former knowledge of brand. Brand awareness includes both brand recognition as well as brand recall. Extent to which a brand is recognized by potential customers, and is correctly associated with a particular product. Expressed usually as a percentage of target market, brand awareness is the primary goal of advertising in the early months or years of a product's introduction. Ref articles; PHILIP KOTLER-Marketing Management 2003, pg no 197 by prentice Hall Inc Brand awareness model is described that helps guide advertising strategy, based upon careful attention to brand awareness and brand attitude. In this model, an important distinction is drawn between recognition brand awareness and recall brand awareness. Brand attitude strategy is seen as reflecting an interaction between a potential consumer's involvement with the purchase decision and the underlying motivation to purchase. Ref articles; PHILIP KOTLER & GARY ARMSTRONG The Principles of Marketing -12th Edition 2008, Pearson publication

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There are two types of brand awareness: 1. Aided awareness- This means that on mentioning the product category, the customers recognize your brand from the lists of brands shown. 2. Top of mind awareness (Immediate brand recall)- This means that on mentioning the product category, the first brand that customer recalls from his mind is your brand. Consumers have access to wide variety of foreign products and brands from outside the country. In developing countries, preference for imported and branded product prevails rather than those local brands among consumers in developing countries (Leila Hamzaoui Essoussi and Dwight Merunka and Paul Czanne, 2007).

Research in many countries also indicated that consumers in developing countries generally prefer foreign brands. This is because they believe that local brand is more superior to foreign brand in terms of quality. (Nor Khasimah Alimana and Md Nor Othman, 2007).

Other previous studies have suggested that consumers tend to have negative stereotype about foreign good and has patriotic feelings on local brand goods made in home country. It shows that consumers are more likely to prefer domestically-made goods rather than foreign-made goods.

There are different views on the image that consumers associate with a given country-of-origin for a product. The first view is that the country-of-origin of the product is the picture and reputation that businessmen and consumers attach to products. Building brand awareness is essential for building brand equity. It includes use of various renowned channels of promotion such as advertising, word of mouth publicity, social media like blogs, sponsorships, launching events, etc.

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To create brand awareness, it is important to create reliable brand image, slogans and taglines. The brand message to be communicated should also be consistent. Strong brand awareness leads to high sales and high market share. Brand awareness can be regarded as a means through which consumers become acquainted and familiar with a brand and recognize that brand (Gary A. Knight, 1999).

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CHAPTER-5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A proper research Methodology is imperative to derive meaningful inferences and conclusions from the study. The Methodology followed for this study is as follows.

3.1.1 RESEARCH DESIGN In this market survey, the design used is descriptive in nature. The information is collected from the individuals and analyzed with the help of different statistical tools for describing the relationship between various types of variables pertaining to market potential for home Insurance. Moreover Cross table Analysis has been done for multivariate data and information has been obtained to meet the objectives of the study. 3.1.2 QUESTIONNAIRE The questionnaire includes both open ended and closed ended questions with multiple choices, Open-ended questions enable wide range of responses. This enables the respondent to express his views in his own words. However this is difficult to tabulate and analyse.

Close-ended questions offer a limited choice of response Respondents find these easier to complete. Close-ended questions can also be tabulated and analysed more easily.

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3.2

DATA

3.2.1 Nature of Data Both primary and secondary data are used in this study in order to meet the requirements of the objectives. Under the study primary data was collected by using a Questionnaire.

3.2.2 Source of Data

The Primary data was collected from the individuals residing in hosur, with the help of the questionnaire, which was prepared after getting inputs from the experts and executives in Duroflex ltd. Secondary data are sourced from Magazines, Books, Pamphlets, Websites etc.

3.3

METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION

Structured Questionnaire method is used as an instrument for collecting information from the individuals. A Pilot study was conducted based on which a few changes were made in the Questionnaire.

3.4

SAMPLING Since the population of consumers of general Insurance is large in number,

researcher was unable to collect information from all individuals due to limitation of time. So part of the population is taken for analyzing and generating the findings.

3.4.1 Sampling Unit

The respondents of the study are individuals residing in various areas of hosur.

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3.4.2 Sample Size

The sample size is 100. And the simple random sampling technique used to collect the data from the population.

3.4.3 Sampling Method

Simple random sampling method is used. The area to be surveyed was divided into blocks. A number of blocks was chosen at random. Every household in the chosen block was surveyed.

3.5

TOOLS USED To analyze the data the following tools were applied:

Percentage Analysis Chi square Test

3.5.1 Percentage Analysis This is an univariate analysis where the percentage of a particular factor with different categories is calculated, in order to help one get fair an idea regarding the sample and there by that of the population. 3.5.2 Cross Tabulation While percentage analysis is applicable to single variable, cross tabulations help in identifying relationship between different variables.

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CHAPTER-6 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Analysis is the process of placing the data in an ordered form and extracting the meaning from them. In other words analysis is the answer to the question, what message is conveyed by each group of data.

The raw data become information, only when they are analyzed and when put in a meaningful form.

Method of analysis

The simple percentage is used for all calculations. Tabular representations, bar charts are used for better projections. Apart from that chi square test is used for comparison between two factors.

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4.1

ANALYSIS OF DATA TABLE 4.1.1 AGE LEVEL OF THE RESPONDENTS S. No. 1 2 3 DUROFLEX Age Level Upto 30 yrs. 31 40 yrs. Above 40 yrs. Total No. of Respondents percentage 40 40 35 35 25 100 25 100.0

From the above table it is found that, 40% of the respondents are below 30 years old and 35% of the respondents using duroflex belong to age group of between 31-40 years ,and 25% respondents are more than 40 years old

FIG 4.1.1 AGE GROUP OF RESPONDENTS

45 40 35 30

percentage

25 20 15 10 5 0 Upto 30 yrs. 31 40 yrs. Above 40 yrs.

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TABLE 4.1.2 GENDER OF THE RESPONDENTS

S. No. 1 2

Gender Male Female Total

DUROFLEX No. of Respondents Percentage 60 40 100 60 40 100.0

From the above table it is identified that, the respondents are (60%) Male and (92.8%) are Female.

FIG 4.1.2 GENDER OF THE RESPONDENTS

70 60 50

percentage

40 30 20 10 0 Male Female

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TABLE 4.1.3 EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION OF THE RESPONDENTS S. No. 1 2 3 4 Educational Qualification High School Graduates Post Graduates Others Total DUROFLEX No. of Respondents 17 28 28 27 100 Percentage 17 28 28 27 100.0

From the above table it is identified that, the respondents are(28.%) are graduates, (28.%) are Post Graduates and in other respondents (44.%) belongs to other qualification.

FIG 4.1.3 EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION OF THE RESPONDANTS

30 25

percentage

20 15 10 5 0 High School Graduates Post Graduates Others

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TABLE 4.1.4 ANNUAL INCOME LEVEL OF THE RESPONDENTS

S. No. 1 2

Annual Income level Below 2,00,000 Rs. 2,00,001- Rs.3,00,000

DUROFLEX No. of Respondents Percentage 20 20 35 35

Rs. 3,00,001-Rs.4,00,000 30 30 15 100.0

Above Rs. 4,00,000 Total

15 100

From the above table it is identified that, nearly(20%) of the respondents are under the income category of Rs. 200000 and (35%) of the respondents in the income range above Rs.200000-300000,and (45%) of the respondents income range is more than Rs.300000

FIG 4.1.4 ANNUAL INCOME LEVEL OF THE RESPONDENTS

40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

percentage

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TABLE 4.1.5 LEVEL OF BRAND LOYAL CUSTOMERS TO DUROFLEX S. No. 1 2 3 DUROFLEX No. of Respondents Percentage 56 35 9 100 56 35 9 100

Opinion Yes No Uncertain Total

From the above table it is identified that, in most of the respondents (56%) are brand loyal customers for the duroflex products and other respondents (41.%) are not brand loyal towards duroflex products.

FIG 4.1.5 LEVEL OF BRAND LOYAL TO THE CUSTOMERS

60 50

percentage

40 30 20 10 0 Yes No Uncertain

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TABLE 4.1.6 INFLUENCING FACTORS WHILE PURCHASING DUROFLEX BRAND S. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 DUROFLEX Influencing Factors Price Quality Comfort Brand name Durability Others Total No. of Responses 8 32 20 18 16 6 100 Percentage 8 32 20 18 16 6 100.0

From the above table it is identified that, most of the respondents (32%) are influenced by quality and (20%) of the respondents are influenced by comfort of the duroflex products and other respondents (18%) are influenced by brand name and (16%) were

influenced by durability .

FIG 4.1.6 INFLUENCING FACTORS WHILE PURCHASING THE PRODUCT

35 30

percentage

25 20 15 10 5 0 Price Quality Comfort Brand name Durability Others

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TABLE 4.1.7 INFLUENCING PERSON TO PREFER THIS BRAND S. No. 1 2 3 4 DUROFLEX Influencing Person Dealers Family Members Friends & Relatives Self Total No. of Respondents 15 20 30 35 100 Percentage 15 20 30 35 100.0

From the above table it is identified that, (50%) of the respondents

got

influenced by the family members and friends and other respondents (35%) were influenced by themselves and remaining (15%) influenced by dealers towards duroflex products.

FIG 4.1.7 INFLUENCING PERSON TO PREFER THIS BRAND

40 35

percentage

30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Dealers Family Members Friends & Relatives Self

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TABLE 4.1.8 ADVERTISEMENT INFLUENCED TO CHOOSE THIS BRAND S. No. 1 2 DUROFLEX No. of Respondents Percentage 30 70 100 30 70 100.0

Opinion Yes No Total

From the above table it is identified that, the (25%) respondents have seen the dealers advertisement and got influenced to buy the product and the other respondents (75%) are not influenced towards the advertisement of the durofex products.

FIG 4.1.8 ADVERTISEMENT INFLUENCED TO BUY THE PRODUCT

80

percentage

70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Yes No

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TABLE 4.1.9 RESPONDENTS SATISFACTION LEVEL ON DUROFLEX BRAND S. No. 1 2 3 4 DUROFLEX No. of Respondents Percentage 30 50 15 5 100 30 50 15 5 100.0

Opinion Very Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied Total

From the above table it is identified that, most of the respondents (80%) are satisfied with duroflex products and other the respondents (20%) are not satisfied towards duroflex product.

FIG 4.1.9 SATISFACTION LEVEL OF THE RESPONDENTS TOWARDS DUROFLEX

60 50

percentage

40 30 20 10 0 Very Satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Highly Dissatisfied

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TABLE 4.1.10 OPINION ABOUT ATTRACTION OF THE BRAND NAME IN THE MARKET S. No. 1 2 3 4 DUROFLEX No. of Respondents Percentage 20 45 20 15 100 20 45 20 15 100.0

Opinion Highly Attractive Attractive Moderately Attractive Not Attractive Total

From the above table it is identified that, (65%) of the respondents have opined that the brand name is attractive and the other respondents (35%) have opined that the brand name is not soo attractive.

FIG 4.1.10 OPINION ABOUT THE ATTRACTION OF BRAND NAME IN THE MARKET
50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Highly Attractive Attractive Moderately Attractive Not Attractive

percentage

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TABLE 4.1.11 SEEN THE DEALERS ADVERTISEMENT OF DUROFLEX S. No. 1 2 DUROFLEX No. of Respondents Percentage 60 40 100 60 40 100.0

Opinion Yes No Total

From the above table it is identified that, (60%)of the respondents have seen the dealers advertisement and the other respondents (40%) have not seen the dealers advertisement.

FIG 4.1.11 RESPONDENTS SEEN THE ADVERTISEMENT OF DEALERS

70

percentage

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Yes No

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TABLE 4.1.12 OPINION ABOUT THE ADVERTISEMENT OF DUROFLEX S. No. 1 2 3 4 DUROFLEX No. of Respondents Percentage 25 45 20 10 100 25 45 20 10 100.0

Opinion Highly Attractive Attractive Moderately Attractive Not Attractive Total

From the above table it is identified that, nearly(25%) of the respondents have opined that the advertisement is highly attractive and the other respondents (45%) have opined as advertisement is attractive and (20) feel the advertisement is moderately attractiveand (10%) feel the advertisement is not attractive.

FIG 4.1.12 OPINION ABOUT THE ADVERTISEMENT OF DUROFLEX

50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Highly Attractive Attractive Moderately Attractive Not Attractive

percentage

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TABLE 4.1.13 OPINION ABOUT OFFERS PROVIDED BY DUROFLEX DEALERS S. No. 1 2 3 4 DUROFLEX No. of Respondents Percentage 15 30 30 25 100 15 30 30 25 100.0

Opinion Excellent Very good Average Below average Total

From the above table it is identified that, (45%) of the respondents have opined that the offers provided by duroflex is good and the other respondents (55%) have opined that the offers provided by duroflex is not good.

FIG 4.1.13 OPINION ABOUT THE OFFERS PROVIDED BY DUROFLEX DEALERS

35 30

percentage

25 20 15 10 5 0 Excellent Very good Average Below average

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TABLE 4.1.14 CONTINUOUS PURCHASE OF RESPONDENTS S. No. 1 2 3 DUROFLEX Continuous purchase Yes No Uncertain Total No. of Respondents 65 20 15 100 Percentage 65 20 15 100.0

From the above table it is identified that, (65%) of the respondents are ready to buy the product whenever it requires, and (35%) are not continues buyers.

FIG 4.1.14 CONTINUOES PURCHASE OF THE RESPONDENTS

70 60

percentage

50 40 30 20 10 0 Yes No Uncertain

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TABLE 4.1.15 RECOMMENDATIONS ON DUROFLEX TO OTHERS S. No. 1 2 3 DUROFLEX Recommended Certainly Uncertain Will Not recommend Total No. of Respondents 69 25 6 100 Percentage 69 25 6 100.0

From the above table it is identified that, (69%)of the respondents are certainly recommended the product to friends and relatives and the other respondents (31%) are feel to not recommend the product to others.

FIG 4.1.15 RECOMENDATION ON DUROFLEX TO OTHERS

80 70

percentage

60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Certainly Uncertain Will Not recommend

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CHI-SQUARE METHOD

ANNUAL INCOME LEVEL OF THE RESPONDENTS

Annual Income level in Rs Below 2,00,000 Rs. 2,00,001Rs.3,00,000

Observed frequency 20

Expected frequency 25

O-E -5

(O-E)2 25

(O-E)2/E 1

35

25 25 25

10 5 10

100 25 100

4 1 4 X2=10

Rs. 3,00,001Rs.4,00,000 Above 4,00,000

30 15

Null Hypothesis (H0)

There is no significant relationship between influencing factors and brand awareness.

Alternative Hypothesis (H1)

There is close significant relationship between influencing factors and brand awareness.

CHI-SQUARE (2) CALCULATION : Calculated 2 value Degree of freedom Table value Level of Significance INFERENCE It is found from the above analysis that calculated chi-square value greater than the table value at 5 degree of freedom and null hypothesis rejected. So, we conclude that, there is close significant relationship between income level and brand awareness. = = = = 5% 10 5 7.815

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CHI-SQUARE METHOD

INFLUENCING FACTORS AND BRAND AWARENESS TOWARDS DUROFLEX

Factors Price Quality Comfort Brand name Durability Others

Observed frequency 8 32 20 18 16 6

Expected frequency 17 17 17 17 17 17

O-E -9 15 3 1 -1 -11

(O-E)2 81 225 9 1 1 121

(O-E)2/E 4.76 13.23 0.52 0.058 0.058 7.11 X2=25.73

Null Hypothesis (H0)

There is no significant relationship between influencing factors and brand awareness.

Alternative Hypothesis (H1)

There is close significant relationship between influencing factors and brand awareness.

CHI-SQUARE (2) CALCULATION : Calculated 2 value Degree of freedom Table value Level of Significance = = = = 5% 25.73 5 11.070

INFERENCE It is found from the above analysis that calculated chi-square value greater than the table value at 5 degree of freedom and null hypothesis rejected. So, we conclude that, there is close significant relationship between influencing factors and brand awareness.

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FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS

FINDINGS

1.

35% of the respondents using this brand those who are earning between 2 to 3 lacks and 45% are above 4 lacks per annum.

2. 3.

There are 56% loyalty to this brand . . Quality(32%),brand name(18%),comfort(20%) are the most influencing factors while purchasing this duroflex brand

4. 5.

Most of the respondents preferring this brand through their relatives and friends, self. There is no much advertisement effectiveness in the market,70% of respondents are not yet seen the duroflex advertisement.

6. 7. 8. 9.

80% of respondents are satisfied with their duroflex mattresses. 65% of respondents are attracted by the brand name. The dealers are not providing good offers to the customers . Most of the people are ready to purchase this product next time.

10. More than 70% respondents said that , they will not recommend to others

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SUGGESTIONS

a) There should be more production facilities to access new markets. b) Try to acquire raw materials from local market also. c) Try to adopt an Identity card facility for every employee. d) Regular advertisement through electronic as well as print media may help to boost sales. e) The company has to adopt a strategy that would lower the production and distribution costs in order to face the competition and to conquer new markets. f) Company can also extend its market to Northern states of India. g) There should be more distribution of responsibilities. h) The working environment must be clean and neat. i) The companys infrastructure can be modified. j) The company can extend its operation to a new area which enables the setting up of new factory buildings in order to increase the production.

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CONCLUSION

Duroflex Mattresses (P) Ltd set up in 1963. Duroflex (P) Ltd is manufacturing different types of high quality mattresses in different varieties. The products are highly durable also. Company had introduced a new technology known as Rubberized coir with assistance of companys strong research wing. Duroflex mattresses is one of the largest exporters of sleep and comfort products from India. The company is holding the ISO 9001-2000 certificate.

In Indian market there is good market potential for this coir industry, especially to the sleeping beds. In olden days there was a mattresses made by coir fibre, now new technologies using to produce the high quality products making by rubber and with some chemicals. The main competitors to this duroflex brand is sleepwell, kurlon,sundira,century. Even though there is a tough competition duroflex is captured high market share. But still the duroflex have to focus on the improve of quality aspect and middle , low class people aspect should concentrate.

If they implement the recommended suggestions in marketing the product and creating brand awareness in the market then they may expect more profit and they can dominant the competitors.

The project helped me to understand various department and functions of the company. The various department of this company are Purchase, Production, Marketing, Personnel & Administration and Finance.

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BIBLOGRAPHY Philip Kotler Marketing Management 2003 prentice hall Philip Kotler Gary Armstrong Principles of Marketing 2008 Pearson publication C.R.Kothari Research methodology. Kinner & Taylor Marketing Research Gary A. Knight, Consumer preferenz for foreign and domestic products, JOURNAL OF CONSUMER MARKETING, VOL. 16 NO. 2 1999 Om Prakash Yadav and Parveen S. Goel, Customer satisfaction driven quality improvement target planning for product development in automotive industry, O.P. Yadav, P.S. Goel / Int. J. Production Economics 113 (2008) 9971011 Tor W. Andreassen and Line L. Olsen, The impact of customers brand awareness of varying degrees of customer service on commitment and perceived relative attractiveness, Managing Service Quality Vol. 18 No. 4, 2008 pp. 309-328 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0960-4529 DOI 10.1108/09604520810885581 Nor Khasimah Alimana and Md Nor Othman, Purchasing Local and Foreign Brands: What Product Attributes Metter?, Proceedings of the 13th Asia PacificManagement Conference, Melbourne, Australia, 2007, 400-411 Leila Hamzaoui Essoussi and Dwight Merunka And Paul Cezanne, Consumers product evaluations in emerging markets: Does country of design, country of manufacture, or brand image matter?, International Marketing Review Vol. 24 No. 4, 2007 pp. 409-426 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0265-1335 DOI 10.1108/02651330710760991 www.duroflexindia.in www.coirindustry.com www.rubberindustry.com

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ANNEXURE

A STUDY ON BRAND AWARENESS TOWARDS DUROFLEX PRIVATE LIMITED AT HOSUR

Respondent No.____________
1. Name :

2. Occupation 3. Age . 4. Gender : :

a) Male

b) Female

5. Educational qualification a) High School c) Post Graduate . 6. Monthly income level Under 15,000 25,000 & above 7. Marital status

: b) Graduate d) Others____________ :

15,00120,000

20,001-25,000

: a) Married

b) Unmarried

8. How many people living in your home including yourself? ___________ 9. Specify the brand of your sleeping bed : ____________________________ 10. How many years you are using this duroflex products? a) Upto 5 years b) 5 - 8 years d) Above 8 years

52 11. What are the factors you considered while purchasing your sleeping bed? 1. Price 2. Brand name 4. Quality 5.safety

3. Comfort

12. Who influenced you to prefer this brand particularly over the other brands? a) c) Dealers Friends & Relatives b) Family members d) Others (please specify)___________

13. Have you seen the Dealers advertisement of the duroflex products ? a) Yes b) No

14. If Yes, is the advertisement attractive? a) Highly attractive c) Moderately attractive b) Attractive d) Not attractive

15. Why did you prefer this brand specifically over the other brands? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

16. Please mark your opinion on the following aspects of your sleeping bed S.No. 1 2 3 4 5 Attributes Price Quality Safety Brand personality Comfort Very High High Moderate Low Very Low

17. Are you satisfied with your brand? a) Very satisfied b) Satisfied c) Dissatisfied d) Highly dissatisfied

18. Will you recommend your duroflex brand to your friends and relatives?

53 a) Certainly b) Uncertain c) Will not recommend

19. If you come across a new model/Variety from a competitor, will you switch over? a) Yes b) No

20. Are you a loyal customer for this brand ? a)Yes b)No

21. Will you buy this product if the brand name in not duroflex? a)Yes b)No

23. Opinions and Suggestions about duroflex __________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ 24. Address for communication

Tel No

Mob