A Project of

Marketing
Submitted To: Sir Kaleem Irfan

Submitted By: Muhammad Hamza Akhtar BBA Section (B)

 Company Name
ITHAD KARYANA MERCHANTS
 Mission Statement
We earn the trust of people. We serve our people with,
anticipation, then fulfilling their needs with high quality products, customer-
focused services, while generating long-term profitable relationship with
customers. Ithad karyana merchants is dedicated to provide effective, efficient,
respectful public service with integrity and accountability using both proven and
innovative people.
 Vision Statement
We are committed to be a leader seller across the district
Bahawalnagar, through in policing through excellence, innovation, continuous
learning through experiences, quality leadership and management. We are
committed to deliver quality products which are sensitive to the needs of people
involving collaborative teamwork to overcome challenges. We take pride in what
we do and measure our success by the satisfaction of our worthy customers.
 Slogan
Eat well, spend less.
 Brand Mantra

“Others say Happiness can’t be purchased, we prove them wrong”

 Objectives
 Building sales and profit
 Increasing customer Traffic
 Building Customer Loyalty
 Increasing Department Ratings
 Employee Retention

 Core values
  Honesty: We are truthful and open in our interactions with each other and
with members of our communities.
 Integrity: We are honourable, trustworthy and strive to do what is right.
 Fairness: We treat everyone in an imperial, equitable, sensitive and ethical
manner.
 Respect: we value ourselves, our customers; showing understanding and
appreciation for the complains of the worthy customers.
 Reliability: We are conscientious, professional, responsible and
dependable in our dealings with the companies and dealerships.
 Positive attitude: We strive to bring positive and constructive influences
in our dealings with each pther and our customers.

 4 P’s of Marketing Mix

 Product: We are committed to providing products of consistently excellent
quality and standards, products that have a positive effect on the lives of the
consumers. As we continue to succeed in this aim, we can keep growing as a
marketing community. The products we have a wide range of variety. By the
grace of Allah, we have dealership of a hierarchy of brands as well as
products from local domestic industries.
We have distribution of multinational brands which are :-
Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, (Vicks, Ariel, Head & Shoulders,
Pantene, Safeguard), Nestle, Cadbury, Lay’s, Kurkury.
We are the proud distributers of renowned national brands in our area:
Shan foods, National, Dalda, Planta, Kolson, Mannpasand,
Shangrila, Bake Parlor, Sufi, Lu, Candyland, Mayfair, Gold leaf
gold flake, Capstain, Morven Hero, Ithad, Blue star, Shan Soap and
many more.
 (A) (B)

Figure: (A) International brands, (B)National brands.

 Price: Price refers to the value of that is put for a product. It is the second most
important component of marketing mix. People purchase from us because we satisfy
their needs. A customer does not pay for a tangible product but for the benefit it will
provide. We care for the need of our people. We have a tremendous variety of
products; from fancy multinational brands to pure local made items. So, everyone can
buy from us according to their budget as well as liking. As the time is growing, people
of today are much concerned about the branding of aq product. So, Ithadians are
striving to provide quality products of renowned brands. On the other hand, we also
don’t disappoint our honored customers who can’t afford branded products, so we
offer them low price yet good quality products and striving to fulfil our motto; eat
 well, spend less. We have mentioned a price list at our store. We sell goods at fixed
prices to avoid inconvenience forus and our customers.
 Promotion: Promotion is an important ingredient of marketing mix as it refers to the
process of informing and attracting customers traffic. Promotion is done through
means of personal selling, advertisement, publicity and sales promotion. It is done
mainly with a view to provide information to perspective customers about the
availability characteristics and uses of a product. It arouses the interest of customers in
the product. Following are the means through with Ithad merchants promote their
sellings and products:
 Sales promotion: we offer discounts on different products on distinct days in year. For
example, in the holy month of Ramadan we offer flat 20% discount on dates, suger,
flavoured drinks etc. moreover, our sales promotions are also offered on Eid, 14 august
and New year sales also thrive excitement in customers so that they can get more in
less amount.
 Printed Shopping bags: The shopping bags and cards imprinted Ithad merchants,
their logo and Contact Number are a doorstep towards promoting our store.
 Publicity and advertisement: an advertisement of our departmental store promoting
the available discounts and striking features of our products are also telecasted on local
City Cable channels, to make people aware of us and buy from us.
  Place:
Goods are produced to be sold to customers. They must be made available
to the customers at place where they can conveniently make purchases. Our store
is located at the prime location of the city; in the main Sadar bazar, so that the
retailers as well as whole sellers and other daily routine customers can reach us
easily. Our go downs and depositories are on main highway so that material in
bulk can be loaded and delivered from there without entering the rushy premises
of city.
 SWOT Analysis:
A SWOT analysis is an incredibly simple, yet powerful tool to help develop a business
strategy, whether building a startup or guiding an existing company. SWOT stands for
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. For a business to be fully
flourishing company founders and leaders should be fully involved. This isn’t a task
that can be delegated to others. But, company leadership shouldn’t do the work on
their own, either. For best results, you’ll want to gather a group of people who have
different perspectives on the company. Select people who can represent different
aspects of your company, from sales and customer service to marketing and product
development. Everyone should have a seat at the table.
Following is the SWOT analysis of Ithad Merchants:
Strengths: Strengths are internal, positive attributes of a company. These are things
that are within control. The prime location of our departmental store is our strength,
owing to being placed in the area reachable to everyone, we got the opportunity to
have maximum sales. Our quality products upon which we never compromise which is
the milestone which has led us to be the business tycoon of our area. Through a long
successful era of customer-seller relationship we have succeeded in earning the trust of
our customers and this is helping out our business to get flourish consistently.
Weaknesses: Weaknesses are negative factors that detract from your strengths. These
are things that you might need to improve on to be competitive. In spite of being
successful our business has some flaws too which should have to be checked down.
With the passage of the and improvement in the technology the accounts system
should be computerized and monitored through computer system, but we are still
lagging in this thing. All the accounts are managed manually. Another thing which I
feel flawed in our business is that as we are placed in a remote area of Pakistan, our
people are not that much aware and interested in buying branded products from multi-
national companies except some very scarce number of customers. Due to this reason,
the sale of branded products is less, and it should be improvised.

Opportunities: Opportunities are external factors in a business environment that

are likely to contribute to success. With the passage of time and people are getting
aware about different products through advertisement in TV and social media and this
is a plus point for us as now the sales of branded products are also being established.
Now we are also focusing upon a home-delivery system so that people can get what
they want at their door step.

Threats: District Bahawalnagar is purely and agricultural area as 85% of the

population over there relies solely on agriculture. Being a desert area and increase in
temperature of climates, the crops are not giving productive yields, and this is leading
to a decline in the income of farmers. Farmers are not as wealthy as they were 5 years
ago due to decline in crop production and it is a great threat to our business because
agriculture effects all the occupations. Moreover, there are many new stores opening in
our premises, so competition is also a threat to our business.

Advertisement: The word of mouth is the first and strong source of our
advertisement as we are serving people more than 3 decades, so people believe in us
and purchase from us and we have our regular customers and re-trailers who always
buy from us. The quality of our products and best dealing with customers is our
strength. Moreover, we advertise our store through local city cable and telecast an ad,
through people get knowledge about newly launched items and sale promotion. We
have tuck-shops in different schools which is also a source of advertisement an
extension in our business. Further publicity is run through printed shopping bags and
stalls conducted by us on different occasions in the city.

Product Differentiation: Product differentiation is a marketing strategy that

businesses use to distinguish a product from similar offerings on the market. For small
businesses, a product differentiation strategy may provide a competitive advantage in a
market dominated by larger companies. The differentiation strategy the business uses
must target a segment of the market and deliver the message that the product is
positively different from all other similar products available. We use a differentiation
strategy that focuses on the cost value of the product versus other similar products on
the market, it creates a perceived value among consumers and potential customers. A
strategy that focuses on value highlights the cost savings or durability of a product in
comparison to other products. We offer products in less price than market in bulk
amount and it gives us benefit that more people buy from us and it does not affect our
profit. For example, the market price of 1 kg rice is 120 rs, but we sell 10kg bag in
1090, that’s 10% discount and it attracts customers. We are the sole dealers of 50
companies and no one in our area has distribution of these products in the market e.g
LU, Dalda, Planta, all kinds of cigarettes. Our exclusively prepared white flour;
“Awami Maida” is much liked by the bakeries.

Target Markets: A target market is a group of customers within a business's

serviceable available market at which a business aims its marketing efforts and
resources. A target market is a subset of the total market for a product or service. The
target market typically consists of consumers who exhibit similar characteristics (such
as age, location, income or lifestyle) and are considered most likely to buy a business's
market offerings or are likely to be the most profitable segments for the business to
service.
 A departmental store is a place which owns the products of everyone’s needs. From
wholesalers to buy products for their shops, to daily retailers, from women buying
daily household items to children craving for a packet of chips or a cookie, we have
something for everyone. So, it is a plus point for us that people of every age come to
buy from us. Our customers are not limited to a particular financial class, we have
something for even a person who has a single penny.

Marketing Strategy: We adopt door to door strategy, according to our area and
psychologically it benefits when you go and motivate someone upon an idea or a
product. So, our marketing heads go door to door to retailers and wholesalers and
introduce new products. Marketing is also done through electronic media as discussed
above.

Pricing strategy: A business can use a variety of pricing strategies when selling a
product or service. The price can be set to maximize profitability for each unit sold or
from the market overall. It can be used to defend an existing market from new
entrants, to increase market share within a market or to enter a new market. The
competition within the market today is extremely high, for this reason, businesses
must be attentive to their opponent's actions in order to have the comparative
 advantage in the market. The technology of internet usage has increased and
developed dramatically therefore, price comparisons can be done by customers
through online access. Consumers are very selective regarding the purchases they
make due to their knowledge of the monetary value. Firms must be mindful of these
factor and price their products accordingly.

Our pricing strategy is that the prices we offer match with the overall market prices.
Basic prices are same for all the products like ghee, oil, sugar, flour, but if someone
buys in bulk amount we offer them good discount as compared to market.

Porter's Five Forces

Porter's Five Forces is a business analysis model that helps to explain why different
industries are able to sustain different levels of profitability. The model was originally
published in Michael Porter's book, "Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing
Industries and Competitors" in 1980. The model is widely used to analyze the industry
structure of a company as well as its corporate strategy. Porter identified five
undeniable forces that play a part in shaping every market and industry in the world.
The forces are frequently used to measure competition intensity, attractiveness and
profitability of an industry or market. These forces are:

1. Competition in the industry;

The importance of this force is the number of competitors and their ability to threaten
a company. We have competitors in the market and we cope with them through
planned strategies, advertisement and quality assurance to our customers.

2. Potential of new entrants into the industry;

A company's power is also affected by the force of new entrants into its market. The
less time and money it costs for a competitor to enter a company's market and be an
effective competitor, the more a company's position may be significantly weakened.

3. Power of suppliers;
 This force addresses how easily suppliers can drive up the price of goods and services.
It is affected by the number of suppliers of key aspects of a good or service, how
unique these aspects are, and how much it would cost a company to switch from one
supplier to another. The fewer the number of suppliers, and the more a company
depends upon a supplier, the more power a supplier holds. We are the sole distributers
of many companies, so we have the opportunity of bargaining the rates of products as
we have no competitor of same brand in our area.

4. Power of buyers;
This specifically deals with the ability customers have to drive prices down. It is
affected by how many buyers or customers a company has, how significant each
customer is, and how much it would cost a customer to switch from one company to
another. Due to quality assurance and prices according to market we have fixed rates,
so the factor of customer bargaining is negligible. But if the customers are buying in
bulk, then the power of buyers counts as we have to compete in the market. Moreover,
as we are the sole seller of so many products, the customers have to buy from us, since
they have no choice and we for sure do not exploit them.

Limitations
In spite of being successful our business has some flaws too which should have to be
checked down. With the passage of the and improvement in the technology the
accounts system should be computerized and monitored through computer system, but
we are still lagging in this thing. All the accounts are managed manually. Another thing
which I feel flawed in our business is that as we are placed in a remote area of Pakistan,
our people are not that much aware and interested in buying branded products from
multi-national companies except some very scarce number of customers. Due to this
reason, the sale of branded products is less, and it should be improvised.

Personal Experience

My father is the owner of Itehad Merchants. So, besides my studies I help him out in
business and planning different strategies. We plan together when we launch some new
products and own new distributers. So, it helps me a lot in practically applying what I
study in business studies.