24-12-2012, 01:07 PM
ALTERNATIVE CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION FOR BRITANNIA BISCUITS
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GENERAL INTRODUCTION
The marketing channels play an important role in
the movement of goods from the company to the end-user. Marketing
Channels are sets of interdependent organizations involved in the
process of marketing a product or service available for use or
consumption.Channels of distribution are the means employed
by manufacturers and sellers to get their products to the market and
into the hands of users.Channels are management tools used to move
goods from production to consumption.
They are means by which title to goods is transferred
from sellers to buyers . The process of transferring title is not so
simple , especially in the present day markets that are Characterized
by heterogeneity on both the supply and demand sides. There are a
wide variety of goods produced for sale , or the other side there are
highly varied and complex desires of consumers.
According to A.W.Shaw “ distribution is the application
of motion to the materials as they move from times, places,forms and
conditions where they have no value to the times, places , forms and
conditions where they have value”.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS OF DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
Transfer of title to the goods involved.
Physical movement from the point of production to the point of consumption.
Storage function
Communication of information concerning availability,
characteristic and price of the goods in transit, inventory and
on purchase.
BISCUIT INDUSTRY IN INDIA - AN OVERVIEW
Baking practices were well known to Indian cuisine for
thousands of years, but the humble biscuit became a familiar and
common place item of diet only during the 20th century.Biscuit is a hygienically packaged nutritious snack food
available at very competitive prices , volumes and different tastes.
According to the NCAER Study,biscuit is predominantly consumed
by people from the lower strata of society , particularly children in
both rural and urban areas.Limited over the last century have been
responsible for this remarkable dietary acculturation.The entire biscuits’ market is estimated to be 1.1 million
tonnes per annum, and valued at over Rs. 50 billion. The biscuits
segment enjoys one of the most developed markets for any item of
mass consumption, covering over 90 per cent of the overall
potential market . This implies that over 900 million Indians buy
and eat biscuits, with varying frequency in any year.
Biscuit industry in India in the organized sector
produces around 60% of the total production, the balance 40% being
contributed by the unorganized bakeries.The industry consists of two
large scale manufacturers,around 50 medium scale brands and small
scale units ranging up to 2500 units in the country, as at 2000-01.
COMPANY’S PROFILE
Britannia Industries Ltd
Britannia Industries Limited. The Company's principal
activity is the manufacture and sale of biscuits, bread, rusk,cakes and
dairy products like cheese, butter and milk. The brand names of
biscuits include Marie Gold, Treat, Maska Chaska, Good Day, Milk
Bikis, Little Hearts and Pure Magic.
Britannia is the market leader in the biscuit and bakery
Product’s segment in the organized market. Biscuits contribute to
more than 80% of Britannia's total turnover. Other products include bread and cakes. The company
has also established a significant presence in the dairy business in the
last two years with launch of a wide range of milk products such as
butter, dairy whitener, cheese, flavored milk and ghee.
BACKGROUND
Britannia was incorporated in 1918 as Britannia
Biscuits Co. Ltd in Calcutta. In 1924, Pea Frean UK acquired a
controlling stake, which later passed on to the Associated Biscuits
International (ABI) a UK based company. During the ’50s and’ 60s,
Britannia expanded operations to Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.