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Strategies & Market Trends : India Coffee House -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: hmbsandman who wrote (9046)	10/27/1999 11:32:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12475

Shoppers' Bonanza - Well not so fast,Indian consumers have choices now... So screwing them as before is not as easy as it used to be. As for consumer protection, there are now private consumer protection watch groups (a la Ralph Nader & Co) as well as special courts to handle consumer complaints if I am not mistaken. ======================== The Indian consumer emerges king as companies, spurred fierce competition, churn out an alluring range of products that are top of the line, come at bargain prices and are backed by prompt service. By V Shankar Aiyar It is the closest Indians have come to a real revolution. And in a sense Madhukar Kamat's story says it all. Back in the '80s, Kamat's boss sanctioned him a car. "I was told I could buy any car, any colour. Which meant an Ambassador or a Premier Padmini." Last month, in his new avatar as the CEO of Bates Clarion, it was Kamat's turn to make one of his juniors a similar offer. "In the amount that was agreed upon, there were seven choices -- -- from a souped up Tata Sierra to a Honda City." And that in just one segment. The upwardly mobile consumer today has a choice of 10 brands that sell worldwide and 50 different models ranging from the Rs 1.95 lakh Maruti 800 to the Rs 27 lakh E-class Mercedes Benz. TV-star and ghazal singer Talat Aziz puts it succinctly: "You can wish and get more for less." Two years ago, Aziz, a cyber buff, had bought himself a Compaq 486 multimedia system for Rs 72,000. Last month he looked up a dozen brands and bought himself a new system that includes a P-III chip, a Samsung 17 inch colour monitor and a modem so fast it leaves skid marks. "I have got three times the processing power, a larger screen and faster access for just Rs 50,000," says Aziz. "The consumer is the emperor of choice," adds Kamat. Not surprisingly, Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) Chairman Keki Dadiseth takes time off from a busy schedule and spends one day every month with his sales staff in the field in whichever part of the country he is to figure out if the consumer likes the look and smell of HLL's products. Dadiseth's -- -- and HLL's -- -- mission: to understand the needs and aspirations of the consumers, 50 per cent of whom are under 20 years of age......... india-today.com