Crowded & fragmented market with multiple branded and unbranded competitors
After recording a modest growth in revenues over the past three years, one of India’s leading manufacturers of rainwear was keen to explore the market in South India (Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh) and map the opportunities.

The rainwear market in southern India comes with its challenges:

• A fragmented market with a large & growing number of small local / unbranded players offering rainwear products at cheaper rates
• unbranded players offering higher retail margins
• High penetration of umbrellas

While product differentiation was critical, the client had difficulty identifying the precise need of buyers.

Identified product strategies & margin structures of competitors
The research study involved interviewing over 100 players (competitors, distributors and retailers) and 500 customers in southern India. We determined the market size, segmentation and growth projections by product category. We identified the strategies and product positioning of branded and unbranded competitors.
 
Our conversations with stakeholders in the supply chain highlighted

• how competitors planned their production and order / dispatch schedules to meet the seasonal nature of rainwear demand
• the margin structure of branded versus unbranded players

Through interviews with customers, we were able to establish their purchasing habits, product needs, preferred brands, and ideal price points. Separately, we also surveyed a hundred customers to understand their satisfaction levels after using one of the client’s recently launched products.

Recommendations that fed into the client’s business strategy for southern India
Our research provided actionable recommendations which they eventually fed into their annual business strategy.