Marketing Management 1

Section E

Group Number 7

Members
257 - Akshita Jalan
267 - Harsh Garg
277 - Monika Rathore
287 - Rajkumar Easwaramoorthy
297 - Sourabh Bhagat
307 - Vishesh Kalra
 VORA AND COMPANY

Q1) Should Mr. Vora continue in this business?

Mr. Vora should try his luck further with the Blossom brand of easy to cook oats. When submitted to
test among consumers, the Blossom oats had been rated as equal to or better than the competing
products. Furthermore, oatmeal is a high nutritive and quick to cook packaged food which is an
appealing product for the consumers.
An essential factor to be considered by Mr. Vora is that it has been only 2 years since Blossom has
been in the market, while Champion brand by Ganesh Flour Mills has been existing for 7 years (3
years in experimental marketing and nation-wide distribution post that). Learning from this
observation, Mr. Vora should be patient to reap benefits from his investment. An added advantage is
the lower price of Blossom oats compared with Champion (Rs. 81/85 versus Rs. 93 for 550gm),
which is the only in house competition of Blossom. Vora and Company will be able to hit break even
if it is able to sell approximately 8 cases more per month (18 cases if advertising expenditure is
included in cost) [Exhibit A].
Exhibit A
Amt
Particulars (Rs.)

Direct Costs per Case 59.92

No of Cases sold in a month 83.00

Total Direct Costs incurred in a month 4,973.36

Total Overhead Costs incurred in a
month 1,015.00

Total Expenses incurred in a month 5,988.36

Assuming the average revenue earned

per Case to be Rs. 66, Total Revenue is 5,478.00

Loss 510.36

Number of Cases to be sold more to

achieve Break-Even 7.73

Q2) What are the major problems faced by Vowra and Company?
Vora and Company has been facing numerous problems, many of them stemming from their own bad
decisions and the others as a by-product of doing business. The ISI mark has not arrived which can
potentially increase the creditability of the Blossom brand. Vora and Company has no data about its
competitors in terms of their sales, profits or product portfolio, which renders them clueless about
benchmarks of the industry.
The distributors of the company are incompetent. Messers R.C. Ramanathan of New Delhi (agent in
North India) did not have experience in competing food products, thus he does not have any expertise
in how to go about the competition offered by the Champion brand. The agents in South India were
new to the sale of food products, they also did not have salesman for some time. Moreover, the entire
distribution system only worked on the pull effect of the retailers. There was no push from the
company or distributors, which is a major fallacy in the supply chain. To top these factors, Mr. Vora
communicated with his suppliers only via mail/post, which involved high gestation period with zero
interpersonal motivation.
Blossom did not have product variability; it was offered in only one size unlike Champion (550 gm vs
550 gm and 750 gm). Also, both the products look very similar (no product differentiation). The high
commission to distributors (20% for Blossom versus 15% for Champion) was an issue as the product
reach continued to be low for Blossom. The manufacturing expenses for Blossom has ~37% of the
cost just consisting of tin (packing material). Sudden and onetime advertising expense of Rs. 4000
was drained with no use. All these issues are to be strategically addressed to cure the current situation
of the Blossom brand.

Q3) Should Vora make any changes in decisions concerning – a) Product and Packaging b)
Advertisements and Promotion c) Pricing and d) Sales and Distribution
We propose the following changes to be made to the respective heads:
a) Product and Packaging – The current format and design of Blossom oats is very similar to
the Champion brand; thus a product differentiation element is necessary by changing the
graphics or the shape/size of the product. The ISI mark should be attained at the earliest and
added to the label. The product should be offered in more than one size or flavour. The
packaging material should be changed from tin to a cheaper alternative. The picture of a
smiling girl should be replaced by a happy housewife and a boy, since 1960s was a period of
gender discrimination. Also, the words ‘quick cooking oats’ should be given more importance
and have more label space.
b) Advertisements and Promotion – Increase spend on advertising via popular mediums like
radio and newspapers. Extra amount should be spent in the southern region since it is the
primary market. If possible, distribute samples of Blossom along with other products of Vora
and Company or with food products of other companies.
c) Pricing – Blossom already has a price advantage compared to Champion as Blossom’s
550gm package is equivalent to 750gm of Champion when calculated at per gm basis. The
price in South India should be reduced to Rs. 81 (equivalent to its North India price). This
would eliminate any kind of price discrimination thoughts in the mind of the consumers and
also since South India is the primary market.
d) Sales and Distribution - The distribution agents should be changed in both North and South
India. They should be replaced with experienced distributions who can compete with
Champion and apply a push of Blossom products on the retailer’s shelves. Also, the excess
commission that Blossom gives to its distributors (extra 5%) should be incentive based. Also,
it is essential the Mr. Vora comes down to personally interact with the distributors to motivate
them to increase the sales of Blossom oats.