PEST Analysis

POLITICAL

The political factors which generally affect products are voluntary codes and practices,
market regulations, trade agreements (tariffs or restrictions), tax levies and tax breaks, type of
government regime, etc. Since the product is a shoe cover and the sales focus will be within
the country, these political factors will not have much of an effect on the product.

ECONOMICAL

In India, more than 65% of the population is below the age of 35. The number of people in
the ‘working population’ between the age group of 18-30 is on the rise. Because of
globalization, there are more and more job opportunities due to which people are moving to
the urban areas thus increasing the economic levels of individuals. Coupled with the low
price of the product, people would be willing to pay for shoe protection

SOCIO-CULTURAL

Social factors are forces within society like family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, media, etc
whereas cultural factors include an individual’s religion, values, etc. These factors will not
have a negative effect on the sales of the product.

TECHNOLOGICAL

Our shoe protection will be made of PVC (Polyvinyl Chloride) and cloth. There are basically
2 types of PVC available in the market. One is ‘Virgin’ PVC which is relatively expensive
and the other is ‘Recycled’ PVC which is cheaper. Until a few years ago, Recycled PVC was
not available but now with the introduction of ‘Vinyloop’ and ‘Texiloop’, it has become a
possibility. These decrease the cost of production which allows the product to be priced low
to cater to different income groups.
 STDP

After analyzing the environment we needed to decide on the target audience. To come to the
conclusion of who to target, where to target, we did STDP analysis for the product.

SEGMENTATION

The product is for shoe protection and so segmentation is primarily done on the basis of
geographical factors and gender.

The demographic factors considered are as follows:

 Age: The age segment will consist of people of ages 20 and over.
 Gender: The gender segment will consist of both males and females. There will be
more focus on the females as they will be more willing to experiment with footwear.
 Income: The income segment will consist of people earning more than 2.5 lakhs per
annum.
 Geographical: The geographical segment will consist of metros like Mumbai, Delhi,
Kolkata, Chennai, etc and also the areas of high rainfall like those near the eastern
Himalayan regions.

TARGET

In the initial phase, the target market will be those

 In the age group between 20 to 40
 People from both the student and the working class
 Families having a salary of more than 3.5 lakhs per annum
 People living in the metros

DIFFERENTIATION

The product is a new concept of ‘Fashionable Protection for shoes’ and a similar product is
not available in the Indian market. This is the biggest differentiating point for our product.

POSITIONING
The product is positioned as a ‘One stop shop for Stylish Protection’ against rain, dirt and
other pollutants.
 Marketing Mix - The 4 P’s

Marketing mix is the set of marketing tool that the firm uses to pursue its
marketing objectives in the target market. These tools are classified into four broad groups
called the 4 P’s of marketing. These are Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.

PRODUCT

Chameleon is a stylish shoe protection cover. In Simple words they are going to be stylish
umbrellas for your shoes. Currently, there is no protection cover for shoes in the Indian
market.

Chameleon is going to be first of its kind and will protect your shoes from getting wet in the
rains, and from dirt, harmful UV rays and other pollutants. They are easy to put on and strong
enough to walk in with a slip free sole. It is not only going to provide protection but will also
add colour and style to your shoes as it will be available in different designs and colours.
Chameleon will come in all sizes and can be worn over any size heel. They will be available
for both male and female population.

Our goal is to design an extremely stylish, durable and convenient product to carry in your
purse or briefcase. So, don’t let the weather ruin your shoes again!

PRICE

Pricing is a very important factor in the success of a product. When pricing is done one needs
to look at the elasticity of demand, competition, need or want for your product, production
costs, promotional costs and what sort of profits are you expecting from the market. Once all
these factors are looked at carefully one comes to making a final decision on pricing the
product.

For our product there will be no competition in the market so we can enjoy the benefits of
being the first. But since we are not sure of the demand for our product we need to cut down
on the price.

After looking at all the factors involved and the cost involved in the production, we have
decided to keep an introductory price of Rs. 300 for a pair of shoe cover.

PLACE
 The means by which products and services get from producer
to consumer and where they can be accessed by the consumer

The basic strategy is to reach to the right customer without incurring too much cost. Since our
product is targeted towards the urban population of age group 20-40, we will tie up with
privately owned shops. We will also set up an online shopping shop where people can check
out all our available products and order online. We will also use this to ask for any
suggestions or feedbacks from our customers

Once the product is in its growth stage we will try to setup some Chameleon shops.

PROMOTION

 Promotion is communicating with the public in an attempt to influence them toward

buying your products and/or services.

We have designed our promotional activities considering the fact that ours is a new product.
Activities will be low cost and targeted towards a specific audience. Our main advertising
vehicles will be Mall Activations, Social Networking sites like Facebook and Twitter,
Outdoor promotions. These vehicles will be preferred as most of our target audience i.e. 20-
40, visits mall not only to shop but just to hangout. Most of the people these days spend a lot
of time on social networking sites and 80% of this population is our target audience. Along
with this we will be advertising through fashion and lifestyle magazines. All these are low
cost promotional activities and will help us reduce our product cost.

Sales promotions like discounts and a free pouch and a towel to clean the shoes will be
offered to attract customers.

Other big idea will be to come out with posters with a picture of Chameleons and copy saying
that chameleons coming soon to protect your shoes. These will create a curiosity amongst the
public. People will wait to see what the chameleon is all about.

We will be using a healthy mix of Push and Pull strategies.

SWOT
STRENGTHS

The following are the strengths of the product

 It is a new idea of shoe protection currently not available in the Indian market. Its
introduction will give an enormous market potential and we will be able to provide a
unique protection to the customers.

 It provides shoes with protection not only against rain but also from dirt and other
pollutants, thus increasing the life of the shoes.

 The cost of production and selling price will be relatively low. So we can cater to a
large number of individuals among different income groups.

 The shoes are very comfortable to walk around in and will be available for all shoes
types. When not in use it can be carried in a pouch and kept in either the pocket or
handbag.

WEAKNESS

The following could be the weaknesses of the product

 To develop an interest among consumers that such a shoe protection is feasible to

them.

 There could be apprehensions among the consumers about wearing a cover over their
shoes and how comfortable it would be for them

OPPORTUNITIES

The following are opportunities for the product in the future

 In countries like those in Europe and in some parts of the U.S. it rains throughout the
year. There is a big market potential in these places for such protection and the style
that comes along with the product.

 If accepted in the market then the business could expand into shoe manufacturing.

 To come out with a thick sole shoe cover in order to target the rural market. In a way
this would be a two in one product for these individuals.

THREATS
The following could be threats affecting the product

 Sales could drop in the non-monsoon season, if people primarily use the shoe cover
only during the rainy season.

 If the product becomes a hit among the masses, there is bound to be more competition
in the market with companies coming out with similar products.