Paropakar a Rural retail Business Model

The business plan attempts to bring forward an innovative way of organising the rural markets. The study aims at making products accessible, available and affordable through small unit packs, low profit margin/unit and high return on capital employed. It targets the people in the villages and works towards improving their standard of living of the people. This plan explains about the high growth potential and the future retail hub for the companies in search of new markets and strives to prove that the bottom of the pyramid market is not only lucrative but also very profitable.
As per the study, entering a rural market would need making the existing kirana shopkeepers as employees of paropakar and selling products through their shops. This would remove incurring of the infrastructural overheads, get first mover advantage and utilise the experience of shopkeepers to serve customers better. The advantage to the seller is higher profit margin with fixed amount of salary and convince in procurement of goods. The buyers will be getting more variety with cheaper prices paid on these goods. The methodology followed here is the evaluation of the model using the Michele Porter’s Five Force model and SWOT analysis. A survey has been conducted among four shopkeepers and it gives their views on this model. This also attempts towards bringing in the best technology to serve the rural consumers.
The main aim of this business plan is that it should be serving the people of the villages and as a company it should be able to perform its societal obligations.

WE ARE LIKE THAT ONLY

The focus of the book is the central question of all marketing and strategy thinkers as well as managers: how large really is the Indian market, and how can we reach it profitably? For, surely there is no altruism or developmental orientation at all in the eyes and minds of Big Business be it Indian or international. The fact is that the bottom of the pyramid, presented most recently and forcefully by C.K. Prahalad, is a chance for them to make a fortune.
Rama Bijapurkar’s book provides, among other things, some directions as to how one might define this as well as the rest of the pyramid, starting from the creamy layer on the top. Much has indeed been said in the past decade, and since 1991, about the mammoth consumer market of 300 million people. Some chief executives of foreign companies and money men have been foolish enough to think of this as a market the size of the U.S., all speaking English and reachable by television. No wonder so many companies came salivating over the prospect. Yet, reality soon caught up with them, through the slowdown in the late 1990s. What they did not have is an appropriate mental model, a picture that was true to the reality of the Indian market — in terms of both its structure and behaviour. They used analogies, at best, of experience in countries such as Brazil and Thailand, to size the Indian consumer market.

Fallacies
What they should do, as Rama argues is to see the fallacy of facile simplifications and clichés about market segmentation. Many are irrelevant to India. It is fashionable to say that there are two Indias, and the sound-bite makers have coined the terms, India and Bharat to describe them. The truth is that there are far more than two types of India, perhaps a dozen. Much depends on what parameters you are looking at in segmenting and aggregating the target population.
To the CEO of a newly entering multinational, the issue is of great importance because it is a major step and a significant commitment of management time. Assessing the true potential means making adjustments to one’s lenses and seeing the reality as it is, not drawing inappropriate European or American parallels. She makes the point strongly that the sheer variety and diversity of the population is more than that of continental Europe.
Yet another fallacy is the great rural foray that everyone is so convinced about today. It is easy to think that the rural areas comprise mainly farmers and therefore incomes come mainly from agriculture. This is yet another fallacy that needs to be exploded, as the author does, showing the power and the growth potential of the self-employed and trader segments of the population. In fact, the purchasing power of the rural middle income group in the aggregate is as large as that of its urban counterpart. What is more the purchase and consumption of durables amongst the non-farm rural population follows a pattern not dissimilar to that of the urban counterparts.

Insight, the key
I like this book personally for the reasons that we like most things; because it says what one wishes one had done oneself. For instance, her persistent use of the new and more research based mental models is very encouraging. The fact of the matter is a good marketing strategy in India of today demands a combination of the skills of a sociologist, anthropologist and economist, which is quite rare in any individual and difficult to come by among the permanent staff of a company.
Insight rather than information or statistics should guide thinking on any relevant, innovative marketing strategy. It is a lesson that many CEOs tend to learn slowly and somewhat reluctantly. Here is a book that should help along the way, if they are so persuaded.
A common friend once described Rama Bijapurkar’s chief strength as the ability to popularise difficult concepts and turn research findings into layman’s language. I thought that it was a perceptive remark, considering how she has used a career in marketing research, and understanding the complex entity called the Indian consumer market as a springboard to becoming a well-recognised publicist for marketing and a strategy consultant.
After reading the very interesting volume full of insightful arguments and convincing data, one tends to agree. The book demonstrates that “Rama is like that only.”

MARKETING GIMIX

Best Direct Marketing Ever! Harley Davidson and marketing genius - there seems to be a connection. For the cult brand it is, its not easy to market to the evolved consumer. Every marketing effort has to surpass any previous effort and uphold expectations of the consumer. Just check out the direct marketing effort below. A 'Freedom Box' was sent across to potential customers. When the box was opened, a ventilator released fresh air on the consumer's face. "Feel free" was the words mentioned on the box. The effect it generated was that of a ride in the country side with the wind blowing against your face.

DIRECT MARKETING

Woah! Tiny Parachutes in the courtyard...

Where are the aliens?Don't worry; I haven't sighted a UFO yet but just noticed this interesting direct marketing technique. Samples of coffee arrived at different neighborhoods apparently via parachute. The key communication being that everyone can get great coffee from Hawaii delivered to their homes, in the quantity and frequency they desire.The direct marketing initiative communicates the USP of Coffees of Hawaii. For those who would have normally questioned how anything from Hawaii could ever get to their doorstep, the parachutes proved that it might be difficult but certainly possible. The parachutes in fact play the role of attracting attention and interest towards the direct marketing initiative. Contrary to traditional direct marketing initiatives (leaflets, envelopes etc.), which end up in the dustbin with immediate effect, this initiative would guarantee a second look and certainly greater response rates. Now how many of you would buy from Coffees of Hawaii if you saw the parachute in your courtyard.

Cell Phone Projector

Texas Instruments demonstrated a prototype of its tiny Pico Projector built into a cell phone, promising the device may be commercially available as early as next year.Battery-powered autonomous digital signage that can be updated remotely? It can't come soon enough.

Must read

Frequent motivational author John C. Maxwell, a former pastor, squarely based these 21 laws of leadership on enduring values. These guidelines are meant to inspire, not innovate, as they offer techniques to make leading by principle a practical reality. Maxwell's straightforward, insightful rules are well worth the time you will spend reading them. This book is a gem of simplicity as a game book for building stronger teams and becoming a better leader.

About the Author
Consultant and former pastor John C. Maxwell writes frequently about leadership and regularly gives workshops on leadership principles. He is the author of several other books, including The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork and Winning with People.

Two conflicting trends are at work in Human Resources Management. On the one hand there is a growing trend toward high commitment policies designed to develop broadly trained employees who identify with their organization and who are prepared and trusted to exercise high orders of discretion. Organizations with such strategies are marked by participation, lifetime employment, career flexibility, new forms of compensation, and generous fringes. At the moment, however, these strategies are being threatened by corporate restructuring, downsizing, and leveraged buyouts, all of which discourage investment in human capital. But even if high commitment organizations dominate the heartland of the economy in the future, many in the labor force will be denied their benefits.

The author’s explain how change can be effected in an organization via the story of a group of penguins that is forced to relocate because their current iceberg of residence is melting. The story is about how a group of “leader” penguins determine if relocation is needed, and once the answer is determined to be a YES, form a team to come up with the plan to effect the change – which includes selling the need for the change (relocation) to larger penguin population, forming sub-teams to figure out the new location and associated logistics, motivating the teams on a constant basis to not lose focus and then aiding in the relocation.

Who moved my cheese is a book written by Dr. Spencer Johnson. Dr. Johnson uses the word ‘cheese’ as a metaphor for the things that we desperately long for. He narrates a small story with four characters to drive home his point. The crux of the story is quick and timely adaptation to change. The book is divided into three sections. The first section is titled ‘the Gathering’, the second section, ‘Who Moved My Cheese’ is the central theme of the book and the third section is titled ‘Discussion’.

According to the author, adaptation to change would make things easier. Because success lies in anticipating change and acting accordingly. Sometimes, when things don’t happen as expected, it is better to change ones direction. Most of the people cling on to the past and fear change. Overcome fear of change and you’ ll soon be freed from this fear, says the author.
This overwhelming book succumbs to the very scope of its ambition and the topics it covers: globalization and technology. Author Thomas Friedman literally covers the world for The New York Times, and his access to important local authorities, corporate executives, local Times bureaus and researchers, the Internet and a tape recorder has enabled him to compile a huge amount of information. All of it buttresses his views about the important convergence of political and technological change. He offers interesting anecdotes about companies worldwide and intriguing conversations with friends, reporters and experts. But Friedman, well-spoken expert that he is, still needs an editor to tame his long chapters and repeated points. He conveys abundant knowledge, with incisive insights and interpretations, but skim where you must. With that caveat.

About the Author
Thomas L. Friedman has won the Pulitzer Prize three times for his reporting and foreign affairs column in The New York Times. He wrote three best sellers: The Lexus and the Olive Tree, Longitudes and Attitudes and From Beirut to Jerusalem, which won the National Book Award.

This book was a publishing phenomenon in the early 1990s, as Stephen R. Covey managed to repackage an ethical and moral tradition thousands of years in development and make it meaningful to a late twentieth century, secular audience. Covey wraps the mix in a distinctively American can-do program of easy-looking steps calling, mostly, for self-discipline. The result is a quite worthwhile, useful manual for self-improvement. I feel most readers can learn something useful from this book, though some will find the style too familiar and easy-going, and the prescriptions easier to agree with than to act upon, much less adopt as habits.

About the Author

Stephen R. Covey is vice-chairman of Franklin Covey Co., and teaches Principle-Centered Living and Principle-Centered Leadership. Covey is also the founder and former CEO of the Covey Leadership Center. He is the author of several books. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has been a bestseller for many years

Stephen M.R. Covey's book provides a framework for understanding trust, and a set of guidelines for building and restoring trust. Abundant anecdotes illustrate its lessons. An impressive array of business leaders, gurus and authorities lent their names to blurbs for this book, most of them endorsing the proposition that trust is good for the bottom line of any business. It would be hard to argue with that. If the book's style reminds you of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, there's a reason. The author is the son of 7 Habits' guru Stephen R. Covey, and the same writer, Rebecca R. Merrill, was involved in both books.

About the Authors
Stephen M. R. Covey is co-founder and CEO of CoveyLink, a leadership consultancy. Rebecca R. Merrill is the co-author of Life Matters and Connections (with Roger Merrill) and of First Things First (with Merrill and Stephen R. Covey).

Given the reality of the modern world, business schools and management training programs should offer a class called: "Business Savvy 101: An Overview of Hidden Agendas, Power Struggles and Other Leadership Challenges." Fortunately, Ram Charan offers a tutorial on that subject in this book. He provides excellent insights for aspiring executives and current leaders. Although parts of the text are repetitive, that fault is far outweighed by the value of Charan's concrete examples from brand-name companies. This book is useful to readers at all levels of management who want to sharpen their leadership skills.

About the Author
Ram Charan, a business adviser for global corporations, is also the author of What the CEO Wants You to Know and the co-author of Execution. Charan, a frequent public speaker, also writes a biweekly column for Yahoo! Finance

Key Ideas
• No matter what your business, the only way to generate enduring profits, is to build a workplace that attracts, focuses on and keeps talented employees.
• From stock options, to concierge services, and in-chair massages –companies have added perks and benefits to their employee packages, but no company has yet devised an accurate yardstick to measure a manager’s ability to find and keep talented employees.
• Throughout this book we focus on keeping talented, productive employees, not Road warriors – the army term for people who prefer to “retire on active duty” or those who sleep on the job.
• Who demands this measuring stick? Institutional Investors. These investors are moving trillions of dollars in and out of companies, and they want to know if management can do its job, mainly keeping the employees and customers happy.
• A great deal of a company’s value now lies “in between the ears of its employees”.
• When someone leaves a company, he takes his value with him. Sometimes, he takes it straight to the competition.

• We need a way to measure the intangibles, like R&D, customer satisfaction, and employee satisfaction
Marcus Buckingham is passionate about helping us identify our unique strengths and unleash their power. As we read and work your way through the program in this book, we will become convinced that growing through our strengths is the ticket to our future happiness, effectiveness and success. He refutes the approach of improvement by fixing mistakes as a dead end that cannot help us discovering how we can be exceptional. Nothing presented in this book will help us without action and implementation. However, if we take up the challenge, we will become empowered as we take charge of our work through our strengths. I recommend this book because it contains just a few simple ideas that could change our life.

About the Author
Marcus Buckingham is the author and co-author of several best-selling books including First, Break All the Rules; Now, Discover Your Strengths and The One Thing You Need to Know.

The Book I Liked The Most

Author C.K. Prahalad’s excellent book suggests replacing traditional notions of government-channeled aid with a new model for relieving poverty and stimulating development. The new model relies on profit-making businesses, especially multinational corporations (MNCs). The MNCs have an economic incentive to tap the great market that exists, all but hidden, at the bottom of the economic pyramid. The author demonstrates clearly that it is possible to develop business models that allow the poorest of the poor to participate actively in their own economic development by becoming entrepreneurs. Although the individuals at the bottom of the pyramid (referred to as BOP) have little money, collectively they represent a vast pool of purchasing power. They welcome opportunities to escape their oppressive burdens, including predatory intermediaries, corrupt governments and the societal "poverty penalty" that requires them to pay more than the rich for similar services. Clearly written, well documented and furnished with an abundance of anecdotes, this book is a must-read for those interested in alleviating poverty and for those looking to tap a vast new market for consumer goods.

About the Author
C.K. Prahalad is Harvey C. Fruehauf Professor of Business Administration and professor of Corporate Strategy and International Business at the University of Michigan Business School. He co-authored the global business bestseller Competing for the Future.