The present work is an effort to throw some light on Marketing Strategy of Nike at Nike Industries Limited.

The work would not have been possible to ome to the present shape without the able guidan e! supervision and help to me by number of people. "ith deep sense of gratitude I a knowledge the en ouragement and guidan e re eived by my organi#ational guide $$$$..and other staff members. I onvey my heartful affe tion to all those people who helped and supported me during the ourse! for ompletion of my %ro&e t 'eport. $$$$$.. ()(*+TI,( S+MM-'. This marketing strategi plan has been written keeping in mind the Indian operations of Nike In . / the global sports shoe giant. It aims first! at analy#ing the sports shoe industry India and finding a pla e in it for Nike. It then sets out to des ribe the target audien e for the produ t range and finally suggests a host of marketing strategies and a tivities that will help Nike to a hieve its target of be oming the 01 sports shoe brand in India. The plan begins with a brief overview of the produ t ategory being dealt with! namely premium 2uality sports shoes. It also dwells briefly on the history of the ompany and its urrent position and a tivities. The pro&e t moves on to the ru3 of the matter / the marketing plan to be followed by Nike in India. 4irstly! the ob&e tives behind this plan and the ore strategy are stated. *ustomers to be eventually targeted are des ribed and ompared with ompetitors5 ustomer targets. -fter starting the ob&e tives and reasoning behind them! the a tual marketing programs are des ribed in detail. This in ludes aspe ts su h as pri ing! advertising! promotion! sales! hannels! and the ompany website. Suggestions are made on ea h and every one of these aspe ts6 improvements and innovations are re ommended. The plan then goes on to the ustomer analysis se tion. The ustomer base is identified and various segments are pointed out. ,arious riteria and fa tors have been taken into onsideration while segmenting the market. "e have also tried to as ertain why ustomers buy these produ ts! how they hoose! and what fa tors matter most when making their de isions. The last few pages of this marketing plan deal with the various ways in whi h the plan! on e implemented! an be monitored and ontrolled T-7L( 84 *8NT(NT 19 INT'8:+*TI8N 1;1< a9 7a kground of the problem 1 b9 -bout The Nike Industry < 9 Nike Ma3sight = d9 Industry 8verview > e9 %rodu t Trend ? @9 '(S(-'*A M(TA8:8L8B. 1=;@C a9 'esear h ob&e tives 1= b9 'esear h design 1> 9 :ata sour es 1> i9 %rimary data 1> ii9 Se ondary data 1> d9 Duestionnaire design formulation 1E e9 Sample design 1F f9 Limitations of the resear h @C <9 *8M%-N. %'84IL( @1;=< a9 Nike Industries Ltd. / - ompany profile @1 b9 'e ent :evelopment @1 9 4uture %lan @< d9 'isk and *on ern @? e9 Literature 'eview <1 f9 =ps of Nike =C g9 S"8T -nalysis =1 =9 :-T- -N-L.SIS ==;E<

>9 *8N*L+SI8N G 4IN:INBS E=;EF E9 '(*8MM(N:-TI8NS E?;F> a9 8TA(' S+BB(STI8N IN*L+:( EH F9 -NN()+'( FE;?@ ?9 7I7LI8B'-%A. ?< INT'8:+*TI8N 7-*IB'8+N: 84 TA( %'87L(M Sin e the late 1H?Cs! 7usiness S hool marketing professor Itamar Simonson has looked for ways to understand how onsumers make hoi es. Mu h of his work debunks the a epted theory that giving onsumers what they want and making a profit are the most basi prin iples of marketing. *ustomers may not know what they want! and se ond;guessing them an be e3pensive! says the professor who tea hes M7- and %h: marketing and onsumer de ision;making ourses. In Simonson5s words! The benefits and osts of fitting individual ustomer preferen e are more omple3 and less deterministi than has been assumed. That5s be ause ustomer preferen es are often ill;defined and sus eptible to various influen es! and in many ases! ustomers have poor insight into their preferen es. In one of his re ent papers! Simonson ta kles the issue of one;to;one marketing and mass ustomi#ation. Supporters of these marketing approa hes have suggested that learning what ustomers want and giving them e3a tly what they want will reate ustomer loyalty and an insurmountable barrier to ompetition. In an e3ample taken to the e3treme in the @CC@ movie Minority 'eport! Tom *ruise5s hara ter runs through a shopping mall past talking billboards that re ogni#e him by name and urge him to buy produ ts he had earlier e3pressed an interest in su h as &eans and 'ay;7ans! the ultimate in personali#ed advertising. 7ut Simonson has this to sayJ The fa t that onsumer preferen es are often fu##y! unstable! and manipulatable is unlikely to hange. So! the effe tiveness of methods to give ustomers e3a tly what they Ksay they9 want has been grossly e3aggerated. Ais take on the long; held assumption that individual marketing will supplant targeted marketing is not so fast. In studies! he has learned that even when ustomers have well;defined preferen es and re eive offers that fit those preferen es! it is far from ertain that the response to su h offers will onsistently be more favorable than those dire ted at larger market segments. It5s all psy hology. *onsumers with well;defined preferen es may be skepti al that a marketer ould mat h e3pe tations. Those who don5t know what they want may not ever see the fit with what the seller wants them to buy. So! individuali#ed offers depend on ustomers5 preferen es G6 how the offer was e3tended G6 and on trust. (ffe tive individual marketing re2uires not only an understanding of individual preferen es and mat hing offers to those preferen es! but also a thorough familiarity with the various fa tors that impa t ustomers5 responses! Simonson writes. This is a tall order! one that some ompanies have been able to fill! at least to some e3tent. 4or e3ample! -ma#on keeps tra k of ustomers5 pur hases and suggests other books they might like. :ell builds omputers from mass; made parts to ustomers5 spe ifi ations. 7ut Simonson argues some ompanies an take the on ept too far! like the *ustom 4oot hain of shoe stores that took detailed measurements and spe ifi ations from ea h ustomer to design one;of;a;kind shoes. *ustom 4oot didn5t take into a ount that some ustomers were put off by the individuali#ed attention! Simonson says! and felt obligated to buy the shoes be ause the store went to so mu h trouble. They often didn5t ome ba k. So knowing only the ustomer preferen es is not enough. It is re2uired to understand other aspe ts of ustomer behavior. Iipping this in mind! present study will find out and analy#e onsumer behavior of Nike shoes with referen e to ladies segment.

-78+T TA( NII( IN:+ST'. In sport! visual a uity and prote tion an mean the differen e between winning and losing. Light

onditions have a dramati effe t on how the human eye per eives and! subse2uently how the body rea ts and performs ;; in the sun glinting over the upper de k! shallow ontrast on a putting green! or 2ui kly ad&usting from shadows to light on a tennis ourt or mountain bike single tra k. Nike knows that in athleti ompetition! even small advantages are riti al to performan e. Nike has spent the last eight years e3ploring the human eye to understand the s ien e of vision in the development of the new Nike Ma3Sight Sport;Tint *onta t Lens! available -ugust @CC>. "A-T IT IS Nike Ma3Sight! developed in partnership with 7aus h G Lomb! is a tinted soft onta t lens that behaves like sunglasses! redu ing glare and filtering out H>L of +,- and +,7 and more than HCL of blue light. 7ut be ause the lens rests dire tly on the eye! there5s virtually no distortion as with standard sunglasses. -thletes get the same lear view at all angles. %lus! Nike Ma3Sight eliminates the environmental effe ts that plague sunglasses like fogging! s rat hing! additional weight! or nosepie es and frames to obstru t vision. There5s no obstru tion from the edge of the lens! the frame or the nosepie e! be ause they don5t e3ist. -nd there are no pressure points and no slippage. Ma3 Sight also eliminates light leakage! redu ing the need to s2uint! allowing the eye to rela3 and perform more naturally. Nike Ma3Sight is! in effe t! one giant visual sweet spot. Nike Ma3sight A8" TA(. "8'I Nike5s patented Nike Ma3Sight Light -r hite tureM sele tively alters spe ifi wavelengths of light within the visual spe trum to enhan e key elements in sport. The athlete gets risp! lear vision without anything getting in their way. 7y removing most of the blue light! ontrast and larity are enhan ed N a de ided advantage for any ompetitor. 4or sports not ondu ive to eyewear! su h as golf! tennis and so er! athletes will see marked improvement! even on days where the sun5s not at its brightest. Nike Ma3Sight provides through;and;through tinting Kunlike osmeti ally tinted lenses9! so there5s no bending or s attering of light. %lus there5s limited in idental light or peripheral fli kering reeping around the sides! as with sunglasses. -thletes tested in Nike Ma3Sight lenses found they s2uinted less! were able to rela3 more! and had e3 eptional views of ontours and movement. Mar o Matera##i of Italy5s Inter Milan football lub and 7altimore 8rioles se ond baseman 7rian 'oberts are among the pro athletes wearing Nike Ma3Sight. It has been a lot of fun to start the season this hot! said 'oberts early in the ML7 season. In fa t! he be ame one of the first true fans of Nike Ma3Sight after impressive initial results. :uring a spring daytime game! 'oberts said! I wore the lenses and went @ for =. They are so awesome. "ith Nike Ma3Sight! there5s minimal s2uinting in bright light! and 2ui ker visual definition when going from bright light to shadows. "earers will also dis over a game;day benefit / the look. It makes the eye look distin t! the large; pupil effe t! says -lan 'ei how! Nike ,ision *onsultant. It looks ompetitive. '8LL 8,(' %A8T8S 48' - M-)SIBAT L(NS( SIM+L-TI8N TA( "(-' Nike Ma3Sight is a <C;day lens! though most athletes will wear them sele tively and for short durations. Lenses ome in si3;pa k pa kaging. Nike Ma3Sight is available with or without a orre tion! thereby making it a essible to athletes whether they wear onta ts or not. TA( AIST8'. Nike began e3ploring the Nike Ma3 Sight te hnology in 1HHF! ondu ting an initial lini al pro&e t! then subse2uent resear h pro&e ts using ollegiate athletes. 8regon5s %a ifi +niversity baseball players were the first athletes to undergo testing. *oa h Breg 7radley re2uested that he be allowed to try them before his players. Ae5d never worn onta ts! says :r. 'ei how. Ae took two pit hes and turned around and said! OI5ve never seen a ball that distin t and lear. %ut them on anybody who wants them.5 IN:+ST'. 8,(',I(" 7ill 7owerman said this ouple of de ades ago. The guy was right. It defines how he viewed the world! and it defines how Nike pursues its destiny. 8urs is a language of sports! a universally understood le3i on of passion and ompetition. - lot has happened at Nike in the <C years sin e we entered the industry! most of it good! some of it downright embarrassing. 7ut through it all! we remain totally fo used on reating performan e opportunities for everyone who would benefit! and offering empowering messages for everyone who would listen.

"e feel lu ky to have a genuine! altruisti reason to beJ the servi e of human potential. ThatPs the great benefit of sports! and wePre glad to be in the middle of it. "hat started with a handshake between two running geeks in sleepy (ugene! 8regon! are now the worldPs most ompetitive sports and 4itness *ompany. The "orld Aead2uarters is in 7eaverton! 8regon. The %a ifi Northwest is NikePs hometown! but like so many ambitious souls! we have e3panded our hori#ons to every orner of the world. Nike employs around @<!CCC people! and every one of them is signifi ant to our mission of bringing inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. -long the way Nike &oined up with some great partner ompanies that help e3tend our rea h within and beyond sports.

*ole Aaan offers asual lu3ury footwear and a

essories out of New .ork *ity and .armouth! Maine.

7auer Nike Ao key! based in Montreal! Duebe ! is the worldPs leading manufa turer of ho key e2uipment and a wholly owned subsidiary of Nike! In . Nike partnered with Aurley International! a premium teen lifestyle brand founded by @C;year industry veteran 7ob Aurley based in *osta Mesa! *alifornia. In @CC<! Nike ompleted the a 2uisition of *onverse! the globally re ogni#ed footwear brand with nearly a entury of sports heritage! and home of the perennially popular *hu k Taylor -ll;Star and Qa k %ur ell footwear. (3eter 7rands BroupJ In -ugust @CC=! Nike reated the (3eter 7rands Broup! a wholly owned subsidiary! dedi ated to building athleti footwear and apparel brands for the value retail hannel. This portfolio of brands in ludes the 8ffi ial Starter %roperties LL* and 8ffi ial Starter LL* whi h are the sole owners and li ensors of the Starter! Team Starter and -sphalt brand names as well as master li ensee of the Sha2 and :unkman brands! a line of athleti apparel! footwear and a essory produ ts for the value retail hannel. Separate business units within the Nike brand in lude The QordanRQumpman @< brand and Nike Bolf. -s small as we feel! the Nike family is a fairly vast enterprise. "e operate on si3 ontinents. 8ur suppliers! shippers! retailers and servi e providers employ lose to 1 million people. The diversity inherent in su h si#e is helping Nike evolve its role as a global ompany. "e see a bigger pi ture today than when we started! one that in ludes building sustainable business with sound labor pra ti es. "e retain the #eal of youth yet a t on our responsibilities as a global orporate iti#en. If you have a body! you are an athlete. -nd as long as there are athletes! there will be Nike.

%'8:+*T T'(N: 7ovine skin was by far the most preferred leather material! followed by goatRkidRlambRsheep skin and ro odile skin. 'espondents overwhelmingly preferred the olor bla k and! to a lesser e3tent! dark brown. 4or handbagsRbrief ases! popular olors in luded light brown! white and red. *onsumer Segments with the 7iggest Spending %ower Male professionals! managers and e3e utives are the segment with the biggest spending power for now and in the oming three years. 8ther ma&or onsumer segments in lude male offi e workers6 sole proprietorsRbusiness owners6 female offi e workers6 and female professionals! managers and e3e utives. The *ompetitiveness of Aong Iong 7randsRSuppliers of Leather *onsumer Boods. Most retailers onsider Aong Iong brands to be either very ompetitive or 2uite ompetitive in both high;end and mid;range segments! but less ompetitive in the low;end segment. The ompetitiveness of Aong Iong brands mainly rests on their produ t styleRdesign and 2uality! with most respondents pi king those as the ma&or reasons behind the attra tiveness of Aong Iong brands in the high;end and mid;range segments respe tively. %'8:+*T %'84IL( -part from delivering a pair of omfortable sports shoes Nike also provides a number of value;added

features with its produ ts. The features that are a part of every Nike sports shoe are as follows.

Aigh %erforman e Sports ShoesJ Nike has patented the -ir system and has made it into a regular feature in most of its models. Many models feature an air po ket in the shoe that redu es the weight of the shoe and redu es pressure on the heels. 7esides the overall design and ompa tness of the shoes have made it a favorite of many professional athletes around the world.

*omfortJ Nike shoes are renowned all over the world for the omfort they provide. "ell padded and ushioned! they provide a tremendous level of omfort to the wearer and redu e the strain to his feet while playing.

LightweightJ This attribute is in line with the two des ribed above. - lightweight shoe provides greater mobility and eases the pressure on the feet of the wearer. :urabilityJ %eople pur hasing a pair of shoes at su h a high pri e often feel that they have made an investment. They would obviously want to see their shoes last a long time. To prove this point we draw the e3ample of the authors of this marketing plan. -ll of us own a pair of Nike5s and have been wearing them for well over two years / a symbol of the durability of Nike shoes.

StyleJ Nike5s designs are onsidered to be the most stylish in the industry and beat all others as far as looks are on erned. -ttra tively pa kaged! it is a delight to bring a pair home. -dd to this the Swoosh / the most re ogni#able symbol in sports and you have a produ t that would give the user a definite sense of pride. Nike shoes also ome with a guarantee ard that enables the owner to return it in ase of manufa turing defe ts. Aowever! owing to the fa t that the ompany implements stri t 2uality ontrol measures! oming a ross a defe tive pair in a store are a rarity. The most re ent additions to their line are the Nike E.C and Nike S7 shoes! designed for skateboarding. Nike has re ently introdu ed ri ket shoes! alled -ir Soom .orker! designed to be <CL lighter than their ompetitorsP.T Nike positions its produ ts in su h a way as to try to appeal to a Uyouthful....materialisti rowdU.T>V It is positioned as a premium performan e brand. NII( E.8 NII( S7

'(S(-'*A M(TA8:8L8B.

'esear h omprise defining and redefining problems! formulating hypothesis or suggested solutions6 olle ting! organi#ing and evaluating data6 making dedu tions and rea hing on lusions6 and at last arefully testing the on lusions to determine whether they fit the formulating Aypothesis. In short! the sear h for Inowledge through 8b&e tive and Systemati method of finding solutions to a problem is 'esear h. '(S(-'*A 87Q(*TI,(S To study the tastes! preferen es! and buying behavior of onsumers in ase of footwear of 7ata. To analy#e buying behavior of ladies segment of onsumers. To re ommend strategies to Nike to in rease sales in ladies segment. The main ob&e tives of this study areJ "orking of Insuran e %lans S"8T analysis of the produ t sold *omparative study with the ompetitors

'(S(-'*A :(SIBN T.%( 84 '(S(-'*AJ ; :es riptive resear h :es riptive resear h in ludes Surveys and fa t;finding en2uiries of different kinds. The main hara teristi of this method is that the resear her has no ontrol over the variables6 he an only report what has happened or what is happening. :-T- S8+'*(S There are two types of data. Sour e of primary data for the present study is olle ted through 2uestionnaire and answered by onsumers of Nike shoes. The se ondary data is olle ted from &ournals! books and through Internet sear h. %'IM-'. :-TThe data that is olle ted first hand by someone spe ifi ally for the purpose of fa ilitating the study is known as primary data. So in this resear h the data is olle ted from respondents through 2uestionnaire. S(*8N:-'. :-T4or the ompany information I had used se ondary data like bro hures! web site of the ompany et . The Method used by me is Survey Method as the resear h done is :es riptive 'esear h. '(S(-'*A INST'+M(NTS Sele ted instrument for :ata *olle tion for Survey is Duestionnaire.

D+(STI8NN-I'( :(SIBN 48'M+L-TI8N +nder this method! list of 2uestions pertaining to the survey are prepared for marketing staff of onsumers of Nike shoes. Duestionnaire has stru tured type 2uestions as well as unstru tured type 2uestions. Stru tured ob&e tive type 2uestions are prepared for the respondents with fi3ed response ategories. Some of the 2uestions are of multiple; hoi e type. The 2uestions have more than one alternative. DuestionnaireJ ; - 2uestionnaire onsists of a set of 2uestions presented to respondent for their answers. It an be *losed (nded or 8pen (nded 8pen (ndedJ ; -llows respondents to answer in their own words G are diffi ult to Interpret and Tabulate. *lose (ndedJ ; %re;spe ify all the possible answers G are easy to Interpret and Tabulate. T.%(S 84 D+(STI8N IN*L+:(:J :I*A8T8M8+S D+(STI8NS "hi h has only two answers .es or NoW M+LTI%L( *A8I*( D+(STI8NS "here respondent is offered more than two hoi es. IM%8'T-N*( S*-L( - s ale that rates the importan e of some attribute.

'-TINB S*-L( - s ale that rates some attribute from highly satisfied to highly unsatisfied and very ineffi ient to very effi ient S-M%LINB +NITJ ; "ho is to be surveyedW The marketing resear her must define the target population that will be sampled. The sample +nit taken by me6 Beneral publi of different age group! different gender and different profession ()T(NTJ; "here the survey should be arried outW I have overed entire residential area of :elhi ity for the survey TIM( 4'-M(J; "hen the survey should be ondu tedW I ondu ted my survey for ?weeks from 1Cth may to 1Cth Quly S-M%LINB 4'-M(J; The sour e from whi h the sample is drawn S-M%LINB T(*ANID+(J ; Aow should the respondent be hosenW In the %ro&e t sampling is done on basis of %robability sampling. -mong the probability sampling design the sampling design hosen is stratified random sampling. 7e ause in this survey I had stratified the sample in different age group! different gender and different profession S-M%L( SIS( *onsumers of shoes! >C nos ST(%S 48LL8"(: IN *8M%L(TINB TA( ST+:. Ki9 Libraries at Ka9 Indian *oun il for -pplied ( onomi 'esear h KI*-('9! Kb9 Indian Institute of Te hnology! KIIT9 :elhi! K 9 *oun il of s ientifi and industrial 'esear h K*SI'9 Kd9 %A: hamber of ommer e! are visited. Management R marketing books! &ournals are onsulted. Kii9 Internet sites ontaining information on Nike shoes G marketing are browsed. Kiii9 Sample survey was ondu ted. Kiv9 :ata was thoroughly he ked for error. :-T- %'8*(SSINB M(TA8:8L8B. Ki9 8n e the primary data have been olle ted! they are KI9 edited / inspe ted! orre ted and modified. Kii9 Tabulation / bring similar data together and totaling them in meaningful ategories. Duestionnaires are edited both in the field and later in home. 4ield editing took pla e &ust often the interview. Benerally editing is re2uired for open type of 2uestions. 7rief notes or symbols are fre2uently used during the interview to initially re ord the interviewer5s response sin e it was not desirable to interrupt the flow with lengthy note taking. Then immediately after the interview! brief notes are respondent. The responses are thoroughly he ked in home for in orre t! in onse2uential or ontradi tions ategories are developed only often the replies has been reviewed. This review provided a feel for the pattern of answers and thus determine what ategories best represent the answers. The olle ted data are pla ed into an order. %er entages of respondents answered similarly are al ulated and pla ed in a table. Then this is interpreted. This involved drawing on lusion from the gathered data. Interpretation hanges the new information immerging from the analysis into information that is pertinent or relevant to the study. *8N*L+SI8N "-S :'-"N 7-S(: 8N TA( S+',(. 4IN:INBS 4inally re ommendation was made to improve the sales strategy of Nike shoes to in rease the sales volume in ladies segment. S-M%L( :(SIBN TA( 7-SIS 84 S-M%LINBJ ; *onsumers of Nike shoes are hosen randomly! so that unbiased! representative sample may be obtained.

LIMIT-TI8NS 84 '(S(-'*A The geographi al area was very mu h limited to residential area G so the results are not parti ularly refle tion of the urrent behavior. 7I-S(S -N: N8N;*88%('-TI8N 84 TA( '(S%8N:(NTS. The olle ted data are pla ed into an order. %er entages of respondents answered similarly are al ulated and pla ed in a table. Then this is interpreted. This involved drawing on lusion from the gathered data. Interpretation hanges the new information immerging from the analysis into information that is pertinent or relevant to the study. :ue to limited time period and onstrained working hours for most of the respondents! the answers at times were vague enough to be ignored. Most of the people in India take their Nike Shoes in the period pre eding Mar h G so the response to initial onta ts were not all en ouraging and that has been the primary reason in the inability to 2uantify the results large enough so as to dedu e any relevant out omes. *8M%-N. %'84IL( NII( IN:+ST'I(S LT:. / - *8M%-N. %'84IL( Nike India Ltd K7IL9 is IndiaOs largest footwear ompany. Nike first established itself in India in 1H<1 and ommen ed manufa turing shoes in 7atanagar in 1H<E. The ompany has its Aead2uarters in Iolkata and manufa tures over << million pairs per year in five plants lo ated in 7atanagar K"est 7engal9! 4aridabad KAaryana9! 7angalore KIarnataka9! %atna K7ihar9! Aosur KTamil Nadu9. It se ures its leather supply from two tanneries in Mokamehghat K7ihar9 and 7atanagar K"est 7engal9. It has a distribution network of over 1!>CC retail stores and @F wholesale depots provide e3 ellent a ess to onsumers and wholesale ustomers throughout India. -s on :e ember <1! @CCE! the *anadian parent had a >1 per ent stake while institutional holding was about 1< per ent. '(*(NT :(,(L8%M(NTS Nike India has said that it5s 4aridabad and Mokamehghat units are being taken over by 4ashion Shoe %rivate Ltd and 7:*L (nterprises %vt Ltd! respe tively. The ompany is also enabling the buy ba k provision in its -rti les of asso iation to enable buy ba k of shares. The assets and liabilities of both the units will be transferred to these ompanies and shares will be offered in the agreed ratio to the e3isting shareholders of Nike India Ltd on a re ord date! whi h will be fi3ed by the *al utta Aigh *ourt. "hile retail sales have in reased both in value and volume! wholesale sales have de lined due to restri tion of supplies as a means to re over ustomersOoutstanding. Beneral re ession and sluggish market onditions in the industry also have had a dire t impa t on lower sales and profitability. 'esistan e of onsumers to pri e rises in popular volume produ ts as well as dis ounts to lear slow; moving sto ks and under utili#ation of produ tion apa ity adversely affe ted the operational results. The lo kout de lared at the %eenya fa tory on 8 tober 1! @CCF due to serious industrial relation problems and non; omplian e with the tripartite settlement has been withdrawn. The footwear manufa tured in this fa tory! whi h was shifted to the ompanyOs other fa tories and asso iated manufa turers! will now be gradually produ ed within the fa tory. The ommen ement of produ tion from this fa tory will help in re; ooping the minimal loss being suffered by the ompany from this lo kout. In Simonson5s words! The benefits and osts of fitting individual ustomer preferen e are more omple3 and less deterministi than has been assumed. That5s be ause ustomer preferen es are often ill;defined and sus eptible to various influen es! and in many ases! ustomers have poor insight into their preferen es. In one of his re ent papers! Simonson ta kles the issue of one;to;one marketing and mass ustomi#ation. Supporters of these marketing approa hes have suggested that learning what ustomers want and giving them e3a tly what they want will reate ustomer loyalty and an insurmountable barrier to ompetition. 7ut Simonson has this to sayJ The fa t that onsumer preferen es are often fu##y! unstable! and manipulatable is unlikely to hange. So! the effe tiveness of methods to give ustomers e3a tly what they Ksay they9 want has been grossly e3aggerated. Ais take on the long;held assumption that individual marketing will supplant targeted marketing is not so fast. In studies! he has learned that even when ustomers have well;defined preferen es and re eive offers that fit those preferen es! it is far from ertain that the response to su h offers will onsistently be more favorable than those dire ted at larger market segments. It5s all psy hology. *onsumers with well;defined preferen es may be skepti al that a marketer ould mat h e3pe tations. Those who don5t know what they want may not ever see the fit with what the seller wants them to buy. So! individuali#ed offers depend on ustomers5 preferen es G6 how the offer was e3tended G6 and on trust. (ffe tive individual marketing re2uires not only an understanding of

individual preferen es and mat hing offers to those preferen es! but also a thorough familiarity with the various fa tors that impa t ustomers5 responses! Simonson writes. This is a tall order! one that some ompanies have been able to fill! at least to some e3tent. 4or e3ample! -ma#on keeps tra k of ustomers5 pur hases and suggests other books they might like. :ell builds omputers from mass; made parts to ustomers5 spe ifi ations. 7ut Simonson argues some ompanies an take the on ept too far! like the *ustom 4oot hain of shoe stores that took detailed measurements and spe ifi ations from ea h ustomer to design one;of;a;kind shoes. *ustom 4oot didn5t take into a ount that some ustomers were put off by the individuali#ed attention! Simonson says! and felt obligated to buy the shoes be ause the store went to so mu h trouble. They often didn5t ome ba k. So knowing only the ustomer preferen es is not enough. It is re2uired to understand other aspe ts of ustomer behavior. Iipping this in mind! present study will find out and analy#e onsumer behavior of Nike shoes with referen e to ladies segment. 4+T+'( %L-N The management says that it is not averse to outsour ing if it worked out heaper. It is also open to the idea of importing shoes ; mostly from *hina ; if it works out heaper. Nike and 'eebok India *ompany have announ ed an agreement to foray into retailing partnership for sale of 'eebok and 'o kport footwear in Nike outlets. The partnership entails retailing a range of sports shoes for walking! running! tennis and training for personal fitness and sports ranging between 's HCC;@!>CC. -n attra tive valuation ompared to its peers is the main trigger for the s rip. 7esides! the ompany5s aggressive fo us on retailing and revamping of business Ka division into shoes and apparels9 is also helping sentiment for the s rip. %lans are afoot to start selling apparel in India made by the &oint venture North Star. There5s talk that the ompany is planning on a voluntary retirement s heme K,'S9 to ut osts. 4or the third 2uarter ended <C September @CCF! Nike India redu ed its losses to 's >.E? rore K's ?.>1 rore9 on a H.@L in rease in net profit to 's 1>=.@F rore K's 1=1.@E rore9. :espite redu ing its losses for the 2uarter! Nike India has! over the last few 2uarters! been ontinuously re ording weak performan es as a result of an overall slowdown in the industry due to lower onsumer spending. In reasing domesti ompetition! parti ularly from the unorgani#ed se tor! has also been eroding into the ompany5s market share. The ompany is finding it diffi ult to maintain its market share in a highly pri e;sensitive Indian market! despite having strong brand re all. HFL of the ompany5s revenues are from the domesti market while the remainder is from e3ports. Nike India is the biggest player in the Indian shoe market. Nike India5s ma&or problems in lude its high ost of produ tion and low emphasis on marketing. The ompany may be able to address the first problem through outsour ing produ ts. 7ata5s brand image has been restri ted to that of a ompany that emphasi#es on utilitarian produ ts more than trendy ones. *ustomers feel the ompany is la king in innovation. Aen e! their preferen e has shifted to other lo al brands. Nike India has a large marketing network with over 1!>CC showrooms! @F wholesale depots and eight retail distribution enters a ross the ountry. 7esides! there is a network of <CC e3 lusive wholesalers servi ing @>!CCC dealers all over the ountry. Aowever! in spite of this and the li ense to sell other brands like Nike! Aush %uppies and Lotto! Nike has not been able to improve sales onsistently. The re ent rise in sales during the third 2uarter ended September @CCE an be attributed to the festive season. 'e ently! it also entered into a retailing tie;up for Lee *ooper shoes. Nike India has also been trying to fo us on aggressive marketing of its produ t. The ompany has been going through a period of transition for the past one year. "ith the e3pansion of the retail industry in New :elhi and Mumbai! the ompany has re ently de ided to shift its marketing operations to :elhi in order to provide value shopping for its ustomers. Aowever! the manufa turing a tivity and the registered offi e will ontinue at Iolkata. Nike India has plans to invest in sophisti ated ma hinery to retain its ni he pla e in manufa turing. The ompany has put a fresh fo us to its retail business. The ompany has de ided to leanse its wholesale operation by building relationships with redit;worthy buyers. It is to the ompany5s redit that it has lately overhauled its marketing set;up into a four;tier retail stru ture that will be sto ked with produ ts mat hing the area5s ustomer profile. - Nike outlet in an up market pla e will offer a distin tly different range of footwear from another in the suburbs. -t the top of the four;tier stru ture will be international stores sto king brands like Nike and 'eebok. Ne3t will be ity stores! lo ated in up market areas and atering to middle and high;in ome groups. The ompany has identified the brands %ower! North Star! 7ubble gummers! Marie *laire and Aush

%uppies for the top end of the market. Third in line will be family stores at ommer ial lo ations displaying basi and mid;range footwear. -t the bottom will be ba#aar stores that will basi ally aim at driving volume sales at lower pri e points. The management of Nike India is taking ma&or steps in terms of improving market penetration! fo us on stores onfiguration! distribution logisti s! better industrial relations and overhead rationali#ation. Laun hing of new produ ts always remained at the enter stage of the ompany5s operations. -t the same time! with the opening up of the e onomy! more and more goods will be imported from *hina. This may signifi antly affe t Nike India5s prospe ts unless it manages to wean away ustomers with a drasti ut in osts. -lternatively! like other Indian manufa turers! even Nike may onsider relo ating its manufa turing bases in *hina. Aowever! it is not that easy a task to undertake. Nike India! the >1L subsidiary of Toronto;based Nike Shoe 8rgani#ation! remains the biggest player in the Indian shoe market! though its share in footfalls has been de reasing over the years. Now in a determined bid to straddle a ross all produ t and pri e points! Nike India has de ided to restru ture its 1!<CC;outlet strong retail business division along spe ifi ustomer segments into 7a#aar! 4amily! and *ity and 4lagship stores. Nike India has de ided to appoint brand managers for ea h produ t group in a newfound aggression to ta kle dwindling sales. (a h of these managers assisted by a dedi ated team would be like a brand hampion responsible for pro urement! produ tion! advertisement! promotion and re;supply. Nike India has roped in 8gilvy G Mother for devising its festive season advertising! side;stepping Q"T! its in umbent agen y. The &ob involves developing spe ial ommuni ation dire ted towards the festival season shoppers. Nike India Ltd K7IL9 is India5s largest footwear ompany selling over EC Mn pairs per year in India! +S-! +I! (urope! Middle (ast and 4ar (ast. 7IL has a market share of ECL in leather produ ts and FCL in anvas shoes. The footwear industry in India is highly fragmented and dominated by the unorgani#ed se tor. The industry si#e is around 's F> 7n and is growing at around 1CL annually. It ompetes with Indian players su h as Liberty Shoes! %hoeni3 International! Mir#a Tanners! Tatas! - tion Shoes and Lakhani Shoes and global players like -didas! 'eebok and Nike. - essories and garments ontribute footwear sales a ount for more than HEL of sales while the balan e. The turnover break up is as follows / %rodu ts ,olume KL9 ,alue KL9 'ubber and *anvas >CJ <C Leather @H J>F %lasti @1J H B'8"TA :'I,('S The ompany has a very omprehensive distribution network whi h omprises its own and fran hise stores. It has 1>CC showrooms! @> wholesale depots and ? distribution enters. %8%+L-' 7'-N:S Nike owns brands like Aush %uppies! Signor! Marie *laire %ower! Sandak! Aawai! Naughty boy and -mbassador. It also distributes other brands su h as Nike and Lotto. 4o us on middle; lass and upper lass Nike will ontinue to fo us on middle and upper lass ustomers. It is introdu ing Obudget stores5 whi h will help ustomers to identify with the brand. It is also in reasing fo us on rural thrust for volume growth in the low;pri ed footwear segment. 'ISI -N: *8N*('N Lifting of 2uantitative restri tion on import of footwear will lead to the market being flooded by imports. Labor issues have always bothered 7IL and this resulted in disruption of manufa turing a tivities on numerous o asions. *ompetition is hotting up in the domesti market due to popular brands su h as Baitonde! 'ed Tape! Lotus 7awa and Tatas. These brands are gaining market share espe ially in the premium segment and in this segment 7IL has no signifi ant presen e. Latest 'esults Sales for D< 4.@CCC in reased by >.>L yoy to 's1.Fbn. profits dropped by HCL yoy to 's<.? Mn due to lower operating margins and higher depre iation and interest. :epre iation in reased by E.<L yoy to 's <F Mn while interest ost in reased by H.<L yoy to 's @<.= Mn. 8perating margins dropped by <.<L due to in rease in input ost. The %eenya plant has not ommen ed operations despite lifting up of the lo k out sin e Quly <! @CCF. ,-L+-TI8N 7IL5s long;term su ess is dependent on the how labour issue is ta kled and the fle3ibility! whi h it an adopt to meet threat of imports and ompetition from lo al footwear ompanies. Long term

investors with a two;year investment hori#on an a umulate the sto k at urrent levels. It is also in reasing fo us on rural thrust for volume growth in the low;pri ed footwear segment. Lifting of 2uantitative restri tion on import of footwear will lead to the market being flooded by imports. Labor issues have always bothered 7IL and this resulted in disruption of manufa turing a tivities on numerous o asions. *ompetition is hotting up in the domesti market due to popular brands su h as Baitonde! 'ed Tape! Lotus 7awa and Tatas. These brands are gaining market share espe ially in the premium segment and in this segment 7IL has no signifi ant presen e. Sales for D1 *.@CC1 de reased marginally by C.EL yoy to 's 1>HC.F mn. There was a net loss of 's <C.@ mn as against a profit of 's <H.E mn in the orresponding period of the previous year. The loss is due to lower operating margins and higher interest. 7IL5s long;term su ess is dependent on the labor issue and the fle3ibility! whi h it an adopt to meet threat of imports and ompetition from lo al footwear ompanies. Long term investors with a two;year investment hori#on an a umulate the sto k at urrent levels. 4IN-N*I-L AIBALIBATS KIn 's Million9 @CCC1@ K1@9 1HHH1@ K1@9 1HH?1@ K1@9 D1@CC1C< D1@CCCC< Sales F!<1>.FC F!1C<.HC E!<><.@C 1>HC.F 1ECC.H L Browth @.H? 11.?@ KC.E9 Net %rofit <C=.EC @=@.EC 1EE.<C K<C.@9 <H.E L Browth @>.>E =>.?? K1FE9 (%SK's9 >.HC =.FC <.@C <.C? L Browth @>.>< =E.?? 'atios @CCC1@ K1@9 1HHH1@ K1@9 1HH?1@ K1@9 D<CCCCH D<HHHCH 8%MKL9 H.FF H.C? F.1E 1.CH E.H N%MKL9 =.1E <.=@ @.E@ @.> '8(KL9 ?.H> F.== >.<1 Nike understated H month losses ; 7rief 4inan ials Kin 's. Mn.9:etailed Duarterly %eriod ending Kmonths9<C;Sep;@CCF KH9<1;:e ;@CCE K1@9<1;:e ;@CCE K1@9 Net sales =H?C.@CE=E1.1FF1F@.H1 8ther In ome=@.1CE<.E1E>.@1 Total In ome>C@@.<CE>@=.FFF@<?.1@ *ost of goods sold=HF=.FCE=F1.FHFC>1.FE 8%7:IT=F.EC>@.H?1?E.<E %-T;11F.@C;F=.1C<H.?C Bross 7lo k;@1H1.CF@CE@.@E (2uity apital;>1=.@@>1=.@@ (%S K's.9;;1.==C.FF :%S K's.9;C.CCC.F> 7, K's.9;<F.@F<?.F1 %R( range K39;C.C ; C.CC.C ; C.C :ebt R (2uity K39;C.<@C.@E 8perating margin KL of 8I9 C.HC.?@.E Net margin KL of 8I9;@.<;1.1C.> -s on <C Qune @CCF! the publi ! institutions and foreign bodies held <1.@<L! 1<.H1L and C.1EL stake in the ompany! respe tively LIT('-T+'( '(,I(" The study of onsumer behavior has evolved sin e the Information %ro essing Model K7ettman! 1HFH9 assumed that the individual is logi al in hisRher buying pro ess. This model was riti i#ed be ause it failed to treat different onsumption phenomena motivated by symboli meanings KAolbrook and Airs hman! 1H?@9. Individuals are not always looking for effi ien y and e onomy! but also for distra tion! aestheti ! e3pression! et . K7oyd and Levy! 1HE<9. *alling for a broadening of theoreti al frameworks of onsumer behavior! many authors pleaded in favor of the study of all onsumption forms KAolbrook! 1H?E9! being inspired by (uropean semi logy and -meri an semioti KLevy! 1H>H! 1HE<! 1H?16 Airs hman! 1H?C6 Iehret;"ard! Qohnson and Louie! 1H?>6 Mi k! 1H?E6 Aolbrook! 1H?E6 85Shaughnessy and Aolbrook! 1H??6 NXth! 1H??6 Stern! 1H??6 Brafton;Small and Linstead! 1H?H9. These are the study of signs! meanings and produ tion of symbols. 4antasy! emotion and pleasant aspe ts of onsumption were then ta kled from an e3periential point of view. The (3periential ,iew is a phenomenologi al perspe tive that per eives onsumption as a primary state of ons iousness

having a variety of symboli meanings! responses and hedonist riteria KAolbrook and Airs hman! 1H?@6 8lshavsky and Branbois! 1HFH9. The basis of the traditional Information %ro essing Model is the optimi#ation of the utility of a produ t under the basis of a utilitarian evaluation of its tangible hara teristi s. Nevertheless! it negle ts emotional aspe ts. 8n the other hand! the (3periential ,iew leaves out different fa tors su h as e onomi onditions! e3pe tations! some elements of the marketing mi3 Kpri e! distribution9! per eived risk and onfli ts! but mostly the so ial influen e of the onsumers5 referen e groups KAolbrook and Airs hman! 1H?@6 7usiness *entral (urope! 1HH=9 whi h is the aim of the Symboli Intera tionism %erspe tive. - 2uisition! possession and onsumption are a tivities taking pla e in a pro ess of impressions reation or identity management whi h is! a ording to 7elk K1HF?9! an intera tive pro ess on erning both the image of goods onsumed and that of the individuals onsuming them. The Symboli Intera tionism %erspe tive deals with the relationship between onsumers and the produ ts they onsume! and suggests that a signifi ant proportion of onsumption behaviors onsist of so ial behaviors! and vi e versa KSolomon! 1H?<9. This leads us to onsider the importan e of so iali#ation pro esses Kfamily! referen e groups9 through whi h individuals learn the meanings of symbols and those of onsumption. "ith the aforementioned meanings being negotiated and built through intera tions with others! onsumption is not only an individual a tivity! but also a so ial pro ess of goods definition KBallant and Ileinman! 1H?<9. Sin e individuals are often motivated to a 2uire produ ts a ording to what they mean to them and to members of their so ial referen e groups KLeigh and Babel! 1HH@9! their behavior is sub&e t to the pressures of ultural norms and the e3pe tations of so iali#ation institutions rules su h as those oming from family and other referen e groups K4aber! 85Buinn and M *arthy! 1H?F6 (ngel! 7la kwell and Miniard! 1HH<9. Thus! Symboli Intera tionism %erspe tive onsiders the human spirit as fundamentally so ial! and dependent on shared symbols. The symbols being generated at a global level KBeert#! 1HF<6 Solomon! 1H?<6 M *ra ken! 1H?E! 1H??6 Leigh and Babel! 1HH@9! the Symboli Intera tionism %erspe tive a epts as pre ept the fa t that so iety and its ulture pre ede every individual a tion! and that a ultural onsensus results from intera tions! ommuni ation! and negotiation between so ial a tors K*haron! 1H?H9. If! at a on eptual level! the onsumption good be omes an instrument of ommuni ation! at an operational level! image variables may be regarded as the intangible attributes of the produ t that arry ultural and so ial meanings. - ording to (ri kson! Qohansson and *hao K1H?=9! an image variable is defined as some aspe t of the produ t that is distin t from its physi al hara teristi s but that is nevertheless identified with the produ t. The image variables emerge from four ognitive representations individuals have of their environmentJ the symbolism of advertising! the elebrity endorsement! the brand! and the ountry of origin of the produ t. The made;in is onsidered by :i hter K1HE@9 as the fifth element of the marketing mi3! and is defined as the ountry where are lo ated the orporate head2uarters of the organi#ation doing the marketing of the produ t or the brand KQohansson! :ouglas and Nonaka! 1H?>9. The ountry of origin arries a rhetori that influen es onsumers5 pre on eptions towards the produ ts of a ountry. Its meaning an be on eived as an indi ation serving as a basis of evaluation K7ilkey and Nes! 1H?@9! when one onsiders a produ t as a bundle of information. *onse2uently! a ording to Iaynak and *avusgil K1H?<9! the images of a foreign ountry that are formed by onsumers are made of ognitive! affe tive and behavioral omponents. The first one represents the per eived hara teristi s of the ountry. The se ond one on erns the appre iation or not of those hara teristi s! and the third one orresponds to the a tions about the ountry that the onsumer feels are appropriate. - tenden y to evaluate positively the lo al produ tion ompared to imported produ tion! and biases in favor of industriali#ed ountries have been found in previous studies K7ilkey and Nes! 1H?@6 *ordell! 1HH@9. This does not mean the onsumer will not buy the produ t! but rather that he is not in lined to do so KS hooler! 1HF19. "hen entering foreign markets! sellers often fa e 2uotas! tariffs! and non;tariff barriers. In addition! they may fa e an intangible barrier in the form of onsumer bias on the basis of produ t origin KS hooler! 1HF19. The informational value of the ountry of origin was also found to vary a ording to the level of involvement of the onsumer in pur hasing the produ t and the presen e of other ues su h as brand name! guarantee and pri e K-hmed and d5-stous! 1HH<9. In a re ently published meta;analysis of ountry;of;origin effe ts! %eterson and Qolibert K1HH>9 on lude that the average effe t si#e is lower KC.1H9 for pur hase intention! higher KC.<C9 for 2ualityRreliability per eptions and onte3t dependent. More spe ifi ally! they found that the hara teristi s of the study Kresear h design! type of respondents! study ues! sample si#e! stimulus onte3t et .9 influen e the relative effe t of ountry; of;origin to a lesser degree for 2ualityRreliability per eptions than for pur hase intention. Aowever! the type of respondents Kstudents! onsumers or businesspeople9 had no influen e on 2ualityRreliability per eptions. Stanford BS7 marketing professor Itamar Simonson and 'an Iivet#! an assistant professor at *olumbia +niversity! asked a group of 1H> *olumbia students to do6 eat a lot of sushi.%arti ipants were offered a Ufre2uent dinerU program that would reward them for their patronage at various university dining lo ations and given a ard that would tra k their pur hases. They were randomly assigned to one of two groups those in the UlowU re2uirement group were told they would have to pur hase 1@ sandwi hes to get two free movie ti kets! whereas those in the UhighU re2uirement group were told they would have to pur hase 1@ sandwi hes and 1@ orders of sushi to get two free movie

ti kets. So! the se ond group had to do mu h more to re eive the same reward. Iivet# and Simonson also asked parti ipants how mu h they liked sushi relative to the typi al student. The resultW Students who liked sushi were mu h more likely to &oin the Ufre2uent dinerU program that re2uired them to pur hase both 1@ sandwi hes and 1@ orders of sushi. UIt shows a ommon mistake that onsumers make G if they see an offer that seems to fit them better than other onsumers! for e3ample! a program that re2uires sushi;lovers to eat sushi that fit ompletely olors their assessment of how attra tive the offer is!U Simonson says. U-s a result! by reating what appears like personal fit! marketers an attra t onsumers to fre2uen y programs and many other promotional offers.U Iivet# and Simonson repli ated these findings regarding influen es on parti ipation in fre2uen y! or loyalty! programs in studies with travelers interviewed at domesti airports.The sushi study is among a number of studies Simonson has been ondu ting sin e the late 1H?Cs about how onsumers make hoi es. Mu h of his work debunks the a epted theory that giving onsumers what they want and making a profit are the most basi prin iples of marketing. The theme that pervades SimonsonPs work is that ustomers may not know what they want and se ond;guessing them an be e3pensive. In his words! The benefits and osts of fitting individual ustomer preferen e are more omple3 and less deterministi than has been assumed.U ThatPs be ause! Simonson says! U ustomer preferen es are often ill;defined and sus eptible to various influen es! and in many ases! ustomers have poor insight into their preferen es.U In another re ent paper! Simonson ta kles the issue of one;to;one marketing and mass ustomi#ation. Supporters of these marketing approa hes have suggested that learning what ustomers want and giving them e3a tly what they want will reate ustomer loyalty and an insurmountable barrier to ompetition. In an e3ample taken to the e3treme in the @CCF movie Minority 'eport! Tom *ruisePs hara ter -nderson runs through a shopping mall past talking billboards that re ogni#e him by name and urge him to buy produ ts he has e3pressed interest in su h as &eans and 'ay;7ans6 the ultimate in personali#ed advertising. 7ut Simonson has this to sayJ UThe fa t that onsumer preferen es are often fu##y! unstable! and manipulatable is unlikely to hange. So! the effe tiveness of methods to give ustomers e3a tly what they Ksay they9 want has been grossly e3aggerated.U Ais take on the long;held assumption that individual marketing will supplant targeted marketing is Unot so fast.U ThatPs be ause onsumers are very diffi ult to figure out! s ien e fi tion and te hnology notwithstanding. U4urthermore! even when ustomers have well;defined preferen es and re eive offers that fit those preferen es! it is far from ertain that the response to su h offers will onsistently be more favorable than those dire ted at larger market segments.U ItPs all psy hology. *onsumers with well;defined preferen es may be skepti al that a marketer ould mat h e3pe tations. Those who donPt know what they want may not ever see the fit with what the seller wants them to buy. So! individuali#ed offers depend on ustomersP preferen es6 how the offer was e3tended G and on trust. U(ffe tive individual marketing re2uires not only an understanding of individual preferen es and mat hing offers to those preferen es! but also a thorough familiarity with the various fa tors that impa t ustomersP responses!U he writes. This is a tall order! one that some ompanies have been able to fill at least to some e3tent. 4or e3ample! -ma#on keeps tra k of ustomers5 pur hases and suggests other books they might like. :ell builds omputers from mass;made parts to ustomersP spe ifi ations. 7ut Simonson argues some ompanies an take the on ept too far! like the *ustom 4oot hain of shoe stores that took detailed measurements and spe ifi ations from ea h ustomer to design one;of;a;kind shoes. Simonson argues that *ustom 4oot didnPt take into a ount that some ustomers were put off by the individuali#ed attention and felt obligated to buy the shoes be ause the store went to so mu h trouble. They often didnPt ome ba k. Indeed! an Internet sear h produ es no "ebsite. Simonson! who has re eived many prestigious awards for his resear h on onsumer behavior and marketing! tea hes M7- and %h.:. marketing and onsumer de ision;making ourses. The loyalty program arti le is slated for publi ation in the Qournal of Marketing 'esear h this year. 8nline ustomi#ation gives onsumers the opportunity to hoose hara teristi s they want in a produ t when they shop for it online. Many ompanies are looking at online ustomi#ation as the future of online business Qanis *row! Iansas State +niversity marketing instru tor! resear hed how people make hoi es on the Internet. She re ently studied onsumers in an online environment and their ability to ustomi#e several produ ts ; pi##a! shoes! and ele troni devi es. *row said that her study posed two 2uestions for respondentsJ first! how diffi ult is it to ustomi#e a produ t! and se ondly! how likely is the person to pur hase the produ t he or she has ustomi#edW -ll parti ipants in the study hose to ustomi#e produ ts. In terms of ustomers5 likelihood to pur hase! a greater number of ustomers made pur hase de isions when there are more options to hoose! she said. Aowever! it was slightly more diffi ult when more features were offered. She reated a website where people ould ustomi#e produ ts to their individual preferen es and needs. *row sele ted three generi produ tsJ pi##a! shoes! and a %ersonal :igital -ssistant K%:-9. Thirty;one ollege students took part in the study.

UStudents ould ustomi#e the three produ ts! and I provided a drop;down bo3 on the site with attributes to hoose from!U she e3plained. *onsumers ould li k on a drop;down bo3 to ustomi#e a produ t they would want to pur hase! she said. She found that more people relied on the default hoi es rather than sele ting other hoi es that were offered. She said! some resear h suggests that many people do not want to put a lot of effort into pur hase de isions. U- lot of times! people may not have preferen es already in mind!U she said. "hen onsumers have the han e to reate preferen es! the 2uestion is whether they rely on previous preferen es or if they develop new ones! she said. In the future! *row says she will be studying strategies that onsumers go through during pur hase de isions. UI will be studying de ision pro esses to develop omputer aids that ould help the onsumer rea h their pur hase de ision!U she said. -lthough her urrent pro&e t involves analy#ing the onsumer behavior of ollege students in an online environment! in future pro&e ts she plans to analy#e other demographi groups. *ustomi#ation will be a key business opportunity in the future for businesses online or in more typi al shopping environments!U *row said. She hopes her resear h will help onsumers in making pur hase de isions and help businesses determine produ ts to offer and how to offer them. Aong Iong ompanies! in luding leather onsumer goods suppliers! have shown a growing interest in tapping the mainland onsumer market after *hinaPs a ession to the "orld Trade 8rgani#ation and gradual opening of its domesti market. 4or Aong Iong ompanies targeting this vast market! a good understanding of the behavior of mainland onsumers is ne essary in order to formulate an effe tive and suitable market strategy. In view of this! the AIT:* ondu ted a survey study in four ma&or mainland ities in 4ebruary @CCF. The study was omposed of two interlo king surveys. The first survey Ksurvey on shoppers9 su essfully interviewed a total of 1!CCC shoppers of leather onsumer goods in four ma&or ities! namely 7ei&ing K7Q9! *hengdu K*:9! Buang#hou KBS9 and Shanghai KSA9. The se ond survey Ksurvey on retailers9 interviewed managersRoffi ers;in; harge of ma&or department stores in these four ities. The survey study analyses leather onsumer goods in terms of onsumer behavior! the ompetitiveness of Aong Iong brands and the onsumer segments with the greatest biggest spending power. The main survey findings are as followsJ

*8NS+M(' 7(A-,I8' Shopping lo ations! :epartment stores were the most preferred type of retailers! followed by outlets in shopping malls and hain stores. %rodu t variety! guaranteed 2uality! brand hoi e! pri e! servi es and store environment were ited as the ma&or reasons for visiting a leather onsumer goods store. SA8%%INB TIM( Thirty;eight per ent of respondents visited leather onsumer goods shops at least on e a month. Shopping during weekends is ommon. 8ther popular shopping o asions in lude National :ay K1st 8 tober9! *hinese New .ear KQanuaryR4ebruary9! New .earPs :ay KQanuary9 and Labour :ay K1st May9. M-'I(TINB *A-NN(LS %romotional a tivities in shopping malls and department stores are the most popular promotional and sales a tivities! followed by dis ountRpri e redu tion! T, ommer ials! dis ount oupons! promotional stands! e3hibitions! buy;one; Kor more9 gets;one;free. %+'*A-SINB %8"(' 8n average! respondents owned =.@ pairs of shoes! 1.@ pie es of wallets! 1.< pie es of belts and 1.< pie es of handbagsRbrief ases. 8ver the past 1@ months! an average respondentPs spending on leather onsumer goods was as followsJ ; ShoesJ 'M7 >HF Ktotal9 'M7 <@? Kper pair9 ; "alletJ 'M7 @@E Ktotal9 and 'M7 1H< Kper pie e9 ; 7eltJ 'M7 @@C Ktotal9 and 'M7 1H= Kper pie e9 ; AandbagRbrief aseJ 'M7 =FE Ktotal9 and 'M7 <>H Kper pie e9 S(L(*TI8N *'IT('I"hen hoosing leather onsumer goods! produ t 2uality stood out as the prin ipal onsideration for respondents! followed by produ t material! raftsmanship! styleRdesign! pri e and brand. %8%+L-' 7'-N:S Most respondents onsidered brands important.

=%S 84 NII( Nike5s =%s omprised of the following approa hes to pri ing! distribution! advertising and promotion! and ustomer servi eJ %ri ingJ Nike5s pri ing is designed to be ompetitive to the other fashion shoe retailers. The pri ing is based on the basis of premium segment as target ustomers. Nike as a brand ommands high premium. %la eJ Nike shoes are distributed to Multi 7rand store front and the e3 lusive Nike stores a ross ountries. "hile this ne essitates a se ond trip for the ustomer to ome and pi k up the shoes! it allows Nike to offer a mu h wider sele tion than any of the ompetition. %romotionJ Lo ation! targeted advertising in the newspaper and strategi allian es serves as the foundation of Nike advertising and promotion effort. The athletes and other famous sports personalities are always taken as brand ambassadors. They form the prime building blo ks of their portion strategy. %rodu tJ The produ t range of Nike omprise of shoes! sports wear! wat hes et . Its produ t history began with long distan e running shoes in 1HE<. K%ast 1F yearsJ -ir Qordan basketball shoes9. "ide range of shoes! apparel and e2uipment. 4or e3ampleJ Nike 8regon :igital Super "at h Nike %resto *ee :igital Medium "at h Nike %resto *ee :igital Small "at h Nike 'on -nalog "at h Nike Tria3 1C 'egular "at h Nike Tria3 -rmored II -nalog Super "at h Nike "omenPs Imara 4it :igital "at h S"8T -N-L.SIS S"8T -N-L.SIS NII(! IN*. ST'(NBTAS Nike is a very ompetitive organi#ation. %hil Inight K4ounder and *(89 is often 2uoted as saying that P7usiness is war without bullets.P Nike has a healthy dislike of is ompetitors. -t the -tlanta 8lympi s! 'eebok went to the e3pense of sponsoring the games. Nike did not. Aowever Nike sponsored the top athletes and gained valuable overage. Nike has no fa tories. It does not tie up ash in buildings and manufa turing workers. This makes a very lean organi#ation. Nike is strong at resear h and development! as is eviden ed by its evolving and innovative produ t range. They then manufa ture wherever they an produ e high 2uality produ t at the lowest possible pri e. If pri es rise! and produ ts an be made more heaply elsewhere Kto the same or better spe ifi ation9! Nike will move produ tion. Nike is a global brand. It is the number one sports brand in the "orld. Its famous PSwooshP is instantly re ogni#able! and %hil Inight even has it tattooed on his ankle. "(-IN(SS(S The organi#ation does have a diversified range of sports produ ts. Aowever! the in ome of the business is still heavily dependent upon its share of the footwear market. This may leave it vulnerable if for any reason its market share erodes. The retail se tor is very pri e sensitive. Nike does have its own retailer in Nike Town. Aowever! most of its in ome is derived from selling into retailers. 'etailers tend to offer a very similar e3perien e to the onsumer. *an you tell one sports retailer from anotherW So margins tend to get s2uee#ed as retailers try to pass some of the low pri e ompetition pressure onto Nike. 8%%8'T+NITI(S %rodu t development offers Nike many opportunities. The brand is fier ely defended by its owners whom truly believe that Nike is not a fashion brand. Aowever! like it or not! onsumers that wear Nike produ t do not always buy it to parti ipate in sport. Some would argue that in youth ulture espe ially! Nike is a fashion brand. This reates its own opportunities! sin e produ t ould be ome unfashionable before it wears out i.e. onsumers need to repla e shoes. There is also the opportunity to develop produ ts su h as sport wear! sunglasses and &ewellery. Su h high value items do tend to have asso iated with them! high profits. The business ould also be developed internationally! building upon its strong global brand

re ognition. There are many markets that have the disposable in ome to spend on high value sports goods. 4or e3ample! emerging markets su h as *hina and India have a new ri her generation of onsumers. There are also global marketing events that an be utili#ed to support the brand su h as the "orld *up Kso er9 and The 8lympi s. TA'(-TS Nike is e3posed to the international nature of trade. It buys and sells in different urren ies and so osts and margins are not stable over long periods of time. Su h an e3posure ould mean that Nike may be manufa turing andRor selling at a loss. This is an issue that fa es all global brands. The market for sports shoes and garments is very ompetitive. The model developed by %hil Inight in his Stamford 7usiness S hool days Khigh value branded produ t manufa tured at a low ost9 is now ommonly used and to an e3tent is no longer a basis for sustainable ompetitive advantage. *ompetitors are developing alternative brands to take away NikePs market share. -s dis ussed above in weaknesses! the retail se tor is be oming pri e ompetitive. This ultimately means that onsumers are shopping around for a better deal. So if one store harges a pri e for a pair of sports shoes! the onsumer ould go to the store along the street to ompare pri es for the e3a tly the same item! and buy the heaper of the two. Su h onsumer pri e sensitivity is a potential e3ternal threat to Nike. :-T- -N-L.SIS 1. :emography of respondents

-N-L.SISJ It was observed that the ma&ority of the respondents onsist of professional from various fields like engineers! software professionals! working e3e utive et . who effe tive form <?L of our database. "hile <EL were students from various fields. 8thers onstitute designers and athletes et . the further study is arried on the buying behavior of the above mentioned ategories of onsumer! whi h shows that our onsumer is well edu ated and is very well informed about the produ t.

@. *onsumer5s in ome level and spending apa ity on shoes

-N-L.SISJ In the survey ondu ted a dire t relation between the in ome level and the spending apa ity was observed. -lso it was found that students were spending in the range of 's 1CCC / 's <CCC as ompared to the working lass professionals who were ready to spend between 's <CCC / 's ECCC! sin e they have higher spending power be ause of higher in ome levels. SA8%%INB S(-S8N -N-L.SISJ -mongst the student and the professional it was found the onsumer buying 7(A-,I8' does not hange with respe t to the seasons and o asion as most of the onsumer would like to buy their shoes as and when need arises! whereas the businessman generally do their shoes shopping during traveling or on spe ial o asion5s. 7'-N: '(*8LL(*TI8NJ -N-L.SISJ "hen asked about re on iling a sports shoes brand about FCL of the respondent were able to re all '((78I or -::I:-S were as rest were able to remember NII( and 4IL- brands. This was due to the fa t that '((78I has brand ambassador like '-A+L :'-,I: and .+,'-Q SINBA. 4-*T8' IN4L+(N*INB TA( 7+.INB %'8*(SSJ -N-L.SISJ -mong the various fa tors like so ial! psy hologi al! personal and ultural fa tors it was observed that the onsumer give more preferen e to his personal hoi e and psy hologi al fa tors like >CL of the

people onsider omfort and they generally do not onsider durability as an important aspe t be ause they believe that it omes along with the brand . -lso the so ial fa tor like style was se ond most important fa tor behind the onsumer buying motives.

K79 *8M%-'IS8N "ITA 8TA(' 7'-N:S -N-L.SISJ In response to the 2uestion about giving! out of 1CC point to the various fa tors affe ting their buying 7(A-,I8' between NII( and 8TA('5S following was observedJ 8TA('S NII( a. Style YYYY@CYYYY YYY<CYYYYY b. %ri e YYYY1CYYYY YYY1CYYYYY . *omfort YYYYY<CYYY YYY<CYYYYY d. 7rand YYYY1CYYYY YYY@CYYYYY e. :urability YYYYY<CYYY YYY1CYYYY this further shows that the onsumer look for style in the NII( more in omparison to the other brand hen e! gave their <C points to it whereas @C in ase of other brands it was seen that the omfort remains at e2ual pla e even while hoosing a ompetitive brand.

7+.INB 48'*(S -N-L.SISJ It was observed that onsumer is for ed by no fa tors like peer pressure! family and friends and some time people would like to buy a produ t be ause it is being endorsed by their favorite elebrity. It was observed that the beside that personal hoi e of the respondent! the pressure from the friends plays an important buying for e for the students! while the peer and ollege in ase of the professional and the least pursuing fa tor is family whi h was seen in ase of the respondents belonging to age group <> years and above.

N8 84 %(8%L( 7+.INB NII(SA8(S G '((78I SA8(SJ -N-L.SISJ This 2uestion was asked to know the market apture by the '((78I and the time period of asso iation of the ustomers with '((78I. It was dedu ed that more than F>L of the respondents were using the '((78I shoes and were mainly asso iated with it for a period of 1 year or more. "hile the remaining respondents were using either the NII( or -::I:-S brand shoes.

*+ST8M(' S-TIS4-*TI8NJ -N-L.SISJ 7e ause of the 2uality produ t offered by the '((78I about ECL of the respondents were either very satisfied or satisfied! while 1CL did not gave any response as they were not using the '((78I shoes. <. :o you ask for a spe ifi brand by nameW

HCL people say yes to this. and the remaining 1CL say no.

=. "hi h brand do you generally useW

%eople in India prefer Nike the most as we an see that @=L L people prefer Nike sports wear. Then omes -didas and 'eebok.

>. Aas any sports shoes ad Kseen on T,Rin a maga#ine9 made an impa t on youW .(S N8 I4 .(S! TA(N "A. NII( =< >F -:I:-S E< <F '((78I => >> -*TI8N <C FC

Most of the people are influen ed with -didas5s ad! then with 'eebok and then Nike. The most un; influential is that of a tion.

E. "hat a ording to you is the relative importan e of the followingW ,. Imp Imp. Not so Imp. :oesn5t matter %'I*( >C @? 1@ 1C :+'-7ILIT. >> => C C 7'-N: IM-B( =C @C 1> 1> *8M48'T-7L( >= <E 1C C L88IS =C =C 1> >

7y this we infer that the onsumer wants the shoe to be durable that is of primary importan e for them. Then the pri e is also very important for them. The shoe should be omfortable. -long with that looks and the brand image is also important. F. "hat features of Nike do you like the mostW

The most liked feature of Nike is the light weight shoe. Then it is the enhan ed toe support. 4rom here we an infer that most important aspe t for the onsumers is the omfort they get from the shoes. ?. "hat range you preferW

Larger number of people goes in for shoes that ome under the range of 's. 1>CC;<>CC. - s we know that Nike is a premium brand @FL of the buy shoes that falls under the range of 's. <>CC;F>CC and lesser no. of people buy shoes ranging in between <>CC and >>CC.

H. Aow often you buy NikeW

E@L of the onsumers buy Nike only on e a year. Aere we noti e one thing that some don5t buy Nike.

1C. -re you satisfied buying NikeW

The people who buy Nike are fully satisfied buying it! their per entage is E=L. 8nly 1> L are not satisfied buying it.

11. :o you think Nike serves the purpose of being a good brand! for Sports wearW

>EL of the people agree that Nike serves its purpose for being a sport brand. 8nly @FL people don5t agree with it.

1@. "ill you prefer Nike laun hing a new range whi h an serve the purpose of servi e lassW

EFL say yes to the idea of laun hing a new range for the servi e lass. <E don5t have any idea of this.

*8N*L+SI8N G 4IN:INBS The spe ifi brand ob&e tive of Nike India would be to build up its brand reputation! image and e2uity. - brand is not simply a olle tion of produ ts and benefits! but also a storehouse of value stemming from awareness! loyalty! and asso iation of 2uality and brand personality. - brand is a name! term! sign! symbol or design or a ombination of them intended to identify the goods or servi es of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate from those of ompetitors. In essen e! a brand identifies the seller or maker. It an onvey up to si3 levels of meaningJ -ttributes! 7enefits! ,alues! *ulture! %ersonality and +ser. If a ompany treats a brand only as a name it misses the point. The branding hallenge is to develop a deep set of positive asso iations for the brand.

-lthough these si3 meanings are noti eable in the Nike brand in the west and other parts of the world! they are yet to be ultivated in India. Nike has to ensure that their brand is built up on these pillars in India. The se ondary brand ob&e tive of Nike India would be to ensure that they mat h the market share and sales volumes of its ompetitors. -fter all! a ompany is in business to make profits and stay ahead of its ompetitors. - ompany! produ t or brand may have a very good reputation and image! but if it is not profitable! it does serve its purpose. -t the same time sales figures and data an be misleading. Aen e market share has also to be paid attention to. Nike despite being one of the most popular brands in the world has not really aught on in India. .et! there is reason to believe that 7ata5s %ower and Liberty would be ahead of Nike in terms of popularity. "e also noti e that Nike is at par with 'eebok. This again does not refle t too well on the brand! onsidering that Nike outsells 'eebok everywhere else in the world. Aen e it is reasonable to state that Nike5s popularity level in India ould do with a boost. The best way to a hieve this would be some serious brand building. The image of the brand has to be improved and people must be made aware of its presen e. Thus! the rationale behind hoosing improvement of brand image and reputation as the ompany5s primary ob&e tive is 2uite lear. Nike5s distin tive ompeten y lies in the area of marketing! parti ularity in the area of onsumer brand awareness and brand power. 8n the global s ale this key distin tive ompeten y towers over the ompetitors. -s a result! Nike5s market share is number;one in the athleti footwear industry in most pla es around the world. *at h phrases like! UQust :o It!U and symbols like the Nike USwoosh!U ouple with sports i ons to serve as instant reminders of the Nike (mpire. It is about time that this ompeten y is leveraged on to India. Two key attributes of a distin tive ompeten y are its inability to be easily repli ated and the value or benefit it offers to onsumers. 4ew ompanies have su h a re ogni#able image and the resour es to promote it. This ultimately translates into added value for onsumers. The publi benefits from the strength of Nike5s image at the point of pur hase. 4or de ades! onsumers have ome to asso iate the Nike image with 2uality produ ts. 7y asso iating star athletes and motivational slogans like! UQust :o It!U with marketing ampaigns that emphasi#e fitness! ompetition! and sportsmanship! onsumers identify their pur hases with the prospe t of a hieving greatness. .ounger onsumers espe ially benefit from this positive influen e. This image is something that ompeting ompanies an not easily dupli ate by simply enhan ing the physi al hara teristi s of their produ ts. Nike5s vision is to remain the leader in the industry. The ompany will ontinue to produ e the 2uality produ ts that have been provided in the past. Most importantly! Nike will ontinue to meet the ever; hanging needs of the ustomers! through produ t innovation. In the past! the ompany has utili#ed produ t differentiation as the main ompetitive strategy. -s Nike5s reputation di tates! it will ontinue to pla e emphasis in this area. Nike has built its business on providing produ ts that rise above all others and this has made it the worldwide su ess that it is today. Nike is known for its te hnologi ally advan ed produ ts and is the leader in this area. This allows Nike5s produ ts to stand out from the rest. The ompany5s fo us also allows it to maintain a somewhat narrow ni he that enables it to effe tively apture the needs and wants of the onsumers. -n e3ample of Nike5s superior and innovative te hnology is its new range of shoes alled -ir %resto. Termed as the first T;shirt for the feet! these shoes an take the shape and si#e of the wearer5s feet. +nlike regular shoes it omes are si#es like )L! L! M! S and )S. (a h of these si#es an a ommodate three onventional foot si#es. Nike will ontinue to produ e su h path;breaking produ ts in the future and stay a step ahead of its ompetitors. Nike will also fo us on making a strong effort in pri e leadership. Nike5s produ ts in the past have been on entrated in the higher end of the pri ing ategory. -n entran e will now be made into lower pri e ategories with these 2uality produ ts. This will enable Nike to apture an even greater hold on market share. %resently! the only form of ustomer relationship management a tivity that Nike has adopted in India is produ t warranty. Nike shoes ome with a si3;month warranty. If the shoe is found to be defe tive or wears out within si3 months due to no fault of the wearer! Nike repla es the produ t. This is only the first step and more needs to be dome in this area. 7eing a ompany that always strives towards e3 ellen e! Nike needs to know e3a tly what its ustomers think about their produ ts. - good way of assessing this would be to have the ustomer fill in a form at the point of pur hase. The form will ask the ustomer his R her opinion on the produ t as well as the showroom. Suggestions and omments would be wel ome. Aowever! are must be taken to ensure that these forms are not too umbersome and do not take up too mu h of the ustomer5s time. Surveys have indi ated that normally people don5t mind filling in forms as long as they are not too long.

-nother good method would be to introdu e a system of ustomer points. (very time a ustomer makes a pur hase! he would earn himself a ertain number of points! depending on the pri e of the produ t. -fter he rosses a ertain point level! he would be entitled to a gift from the ompany or hoose a produ t of a ertain value from the range. This would be helpful in building ustomer loyalty and give them an in entive to make repeat pur hases. - most valued ustomer database ould be reated from her e and various forms of dire t marketing ould be dire ted at them. This would help the ompany to retain its e3isting ustomers. - third way to improve ustomer relationship would be to issue gift oupons and vou hers. %eople would have the fa ility to buy these vou hers and present them to their dear ones. This would be a good way to rea h out towards newer ustomers through e3isting ones. '(*8MM(N:-TI8NS To e3plore the mainland market! Aong Iong ompanies should position themselves in areas in whi h they are strong. 4rom the viewpoint of mainland onsumers! Aong IongPs leather onsumer goods are onsidered ompetitive in the high;end and mid;range. Mainland onsumers are brand ons ious! and it is vital to promote own brands whi h have lear image. This survey also shows that Aong Iong produ ts are preferred for their designRstyle and 2uality. 7earing these in mind! Aong Iong ompanies should never ompromise on 2uality! and they should allo ate more resour es to produ t design! sele tion of material and raftsmanship. 8TA(' S+BB(STI8N IN*L+:( :epartment stores are the prime sales and marketing hannel for leather onsumer goods. In addition! store de orations and produ t displays should be designed to reate a strong first impression. Seasonal promotion ampaigns! like spe ial dis ounts and advertisements! ould be employed. New lines of olle tions should be introdu ed for festivals. In addition to promotional a tivities in shopping malls and department stores! dis ounts and T, ommer ials are onsidered effe tive hannels for promotion. It is advisable to pay attention to the affordability of ustomers in different ities! while setting pri e points for different produ t ategories. Meanwhile! leather shoes offer better growth potential. %opular materials used for leather onsumer goods in lude bovine skin! goatRkidRlambRsheep skin and ro odile skin. 'egarding olors! bla k is by far most sought;after with dark brown in se ond pla e. :ue to their growing spending power! the rising middle lass should be the target of Aong IongPs sellers of leather onsumer goods. Aong Iong ompanies should put more emphasis on produ ts for business use. In addition! it is useful to introdu e appropriate designs that ater for the tastes of the middles lass. :ouble *li k @CCE *onsumer (mail Study 8 tober @CCE! the fourth of :ouble;*li k annual onsumer email studies points to an in reasing sophisti ation in onsumer usage of email fun tionality and a orresponding omple3ity of pur hasing behavior. The Spam risis ontinues to affe t onsumer behavior online but does not ne essarily loud onsumer re eptiveness to legitimate marketersJ an overwhelming ma&ority of online onsumers re eive offers by email and have made a pur hase online or offline as a result. *onsumers are using available tools to limit spam and are employing operate email a ounts for pur hasing! all in attempts to in rease ontrol and improve their email e3perien e. "orking with 7eyond Intera tive and the N48RRnet sour e panel of HCC!CCC +S onsumers! polled 1!CCC onsumers via email from Quly <C ; -ugust>! @CCF. -ll respondents re ruited use emailRinternet 1Z times per week! whi h refle ts the usage of the larger online population KH=L of the 1?Z online population a ording to Nielsen! @CCE9.There was an e2ual segmentation of men and women and the average age was =@.F.This is the fourth of an annual series of onsumer resear h studies and trending information was derived using the data from previous years. The sample mirrored previous studies and is refle tive of the online population as a whole. Iey 4indings The ma&ority of onsumers re eive some kind of marketing email with spe ial offers from retailers most ommon Sender re ognition most impa ts operates! while ontent relevan e in reases likeliness to pur hase 4re2uen y as ertain ategory! are very spe ifi to the ategory of email but vary greatly from one onsumer to the ne3t6 fre2uen y of permission based email is learly a great on ern to onsumers and has an impa t on what they onsider to be Spam. (mail drives multi; hannel pur hases and has an immediate as well as a latent Nearly E=L of onsumers ite the line as the most important fa tor in opening an email.@CCE *onsumer (mail Study impa t. It drives onsumers most often to the online hannel but also results in retail and atalog sales. *onsumers have be ome sophisti ated in their use of IS%;supplied tools to limits %am and in their usage of various email addresses to manage their varied email a tivities Aome and free email addresses are most often used for pur hasing! within email address spe ifi ally designated for that usage. Men and women have radi ally different ideas of what spam is and different pur hasing behavior related to Spam. "omen

are more re eptive to promotions and dis ounts and orrespondingly more interested in and tolerant of marketing emails than men. 'e eptiveness to Marketer (mails. The vast ma&ority KH1L9 of onsumers re eive some form of permission;based email with >F.@L re eiving spe ial offers from online mer hants! >>.=L re eiving them from traditional retailers! and =?.>Lre eiving them from atalogers. 8ther popular types of marketing emails in luded a ount statementsRonline bill payment information Kre eived by =H.?L of respondents9! travel emails K=<.<L9! oupons for gro eries K=C.CL9! health K=1.1L9 and household tipsRre ipesR rafts K=@.1L9. 8f ategories in whi h onsumers do not urrently re eive e;mails! respondents are most interested in re eiving gro ery oupons K ited by @@.1L9 and household tipsRre ipesR rafts K1<.EL9.8ther ategories of strong interest were ele troni s and omputer softwareRhardware! 1<.?L and apparelRshoes at1@.<L. %ermission;based email also ontinues to be the preferred method of onta t from the favorite retailer regarding new produ ts! servi es or promotions Kpreferred by >HL of onsumers9! while only <@.1L preferred dire t mail. Sender 'e ognition! *ontent 'elevan e Most Impa ts %ur hasing onsideration behavior! the line ontinues to be the most ompelling reason to open permission;based email! ited by E<.<L of all respondents! an in rease from >H.HL in@CC>. This speaks to the growing signifi an e of user re ognition of sender and the power of brands [\ even more important in an era of spam. 8f all types of sub&e t lines! dis ount offers are the primary motivational fa tor for opening permission based email Kin reased to>H.>L of all respondents from >E.FL in @CCF9! while ompelling news and information fell from >F.EL of all respondents to =?.EL in @CCE.Spe ial offers from retailersR atalogers re eived by at least >CL of respondents "hen asked what most ompelled them to take a tion on a permission;based email! produ t I needed at the time! a refle tion of the relevan y of the offer! was noted by<F.?L of all respondents! outranking the ne3t most ommon hoi e! spe ial offer or dis ount! ited by <>.CL of respondents. Likeliness to respond ould be in reased if an email ontains relevant information Knoted by EF.<L of respondents9 and ontains information based on interests spe ified to that ompany. *onsumers found re ommendations based on past pur hasing behavior less appealing Knoted by only @?.1L of all respondents9.*onsumers learly want a degree of ontrol over what marketers send them and would like their spe ified interests taken into a ount. *onsumers are also very spe ifi in their fre2uen y preferen es! with news and weather most often preferred daily! spe ial offers from retailers! online mer hants and atalogers most often preferred weekly! and a ount statementsRbill payment ommuni ations monthly. Aowever! there5re signifi ant numbers of onsumers who vary in these preferen es! with &ust over@CL of those who re eive spe ial offers and dis ounts from retailers! online mer hants and atalogers preferring the ommuni ations to ome monthly. In a ordan e with spe ified fre2uen y statements! when asked what on erned them about their inbo3es! fre2uen y of permission;based email was se ond only to Spam! ited by =@L of respondents. This danger is even more pronoun ed onsidering only @?L noted fre2uen y of permission;based email as a on ern in@CCE. *learly marketers need to test for optimal fre2uen y and soli it ustomer preferen es. (mail :rives Multi;*hannel %ur hases 7ut at the (3pense of 8ffline 'etail %ermission;based emails learly drives pur hases. Si3ty;seven per ent of respondents re eived an email offer from a *onsumers take a tion on emails orresponding to produ t need 'elevant ontent! information spe ified by user in reases likeliness to respond @CCF *onsumer (mail Study! *ataloger or online mer hant that resulted in a pur hase. Top pur hasing ategories wereJ apparelRshoes at ?<.=Lmaking a pur hase! omputer softwareRhardware at ?1.=L! giftsRflower sat FF.EL! travel at FF.@L! ele troni s atFF.1L and food at F1.FL. The only under performing ategory was finan ial produ ts and servi es at =1.>L! whi h ould relate to the high onsideration ne essary for these produ ts! the in iden e of spam in this ategory or la k of interest due to the e onomy. The hannel pur hased in as a result of permission;based email is highly spe ifi to the ategory of produ tJ travel had the highest in iden e of online pur hase atFCL with only 1<L pur hasing by atalogRphoneRmail! while apparelRshoes had a relatively high in iden e of online pur hase! >?L with =1L pur hasing via offline retail and @<L via atalog! and over the ounter and pres ription drugs had e2ual levels of online and retail pur hase at <@L.(mail marketing promotes use of the online hannel. In omparing the typi al hannel pur hase behavior of respondents in a variety of ategories to where they were most likely to pur hase after re eiving permission based email! the results show that respondents are more likely than usual to use the online hannel for pur hasing after re eiving a permission based email6 this is true in all ategories e3 ept finan ial servi es. In apparelRshoes! where <1L would typi ally buy online! a permission;based email resulted in an in rease of online hannel usage to >?L! giftsRflowers saw online hannel lift from =>Lto E1L! and ele troni s from =>L to ECL.4or onsumers who re eive email offers from retailers in the apparelRshoes ategory! email marketing does in rease use of the atalog hannel. 8f those who re eive emails from atalogers! 1EL reported that they typi ally bought via atalogs. This number rose to @<L saying they had pur hased though a atalog after re eiving permission based email. This e3ample illustrates the dire t onne tion between atalog drops with effe tively se2uen ed email marketing used as a pur hase driver. The Latent Impa t of (mail Marketing Most a tion taken in response to email marketing does not result immediately from the li k. "hile @FL li ked through and made a pur hase during that same online session! an even greater number! <<.EL! li ked through to find out more information! then pur hased online at a later date. -n additional 1@.@L li ked through to find more information and then pur hase offline through atalog or retail. %ermission;based offers generate sales. -s was demonstrated by the great interesting dis ounts and spe ial offers! email usage for omposing is on the rise and as offline thus latent impa t as well. Seventy two per ent of respondents reported

having used oupons or offer odes Kan in rease of >FL over the =ELwho reported using them in @CCF9. 4ifty;eight per ent of respondents used the oupon or offer ode at an offline store. -ll of this latent a tivity resulting from email marketing demands that marketers in rease their own ross; hannel sophisti ation in data aptureJ unless they5re measuring both online and offline pur hase a tivity! immediate and latent impa t! they are not apturing the full effe t of their email performan e. *onsumers 7e ome More Sele tive in their %ra ti es! In reasingly +se Tools to Limit S%-M( mail volume as reported by onsumers was up but not markedly so K@E= emails per week vs. @>= in @CCF9. Spam remained the number;one on ern about their email bo3! noted by ?HL of respondents K onsistent with last year9.The per ent of email re eived that was Spam >EL was also onsistent with@CCF. "hat have hanged are their opening pra ti esJ 8nly @FL opened HCL of their permission based email! while about a third K<CL9 did so in @CCF. In regards to what they are most likely to do with Spam! an in reasing number are deleting without reading KE>L as ompared toECL in @CCF9 and only =L are reading to determine whether it is of interest Kas ompared to >L in @CCF and 1?L in@CCE9. The likeliness of unsubs ribe has de lined markedly Kfrom <<L in@CCE to @=L in @CCF9. %erhaps onsumers have gotten fed up or de ided the a tivity was futile. "hen asked what spe ifi ally they were doing to eliminate or limit spam! a vo al minority! <E.1L reported using a Spam fun tion of their email program! 1>.HLdownloaded spam filtering software and1<.FL reated a se ondary email addressor making online pur hases. - key finding of the @CC> study had been the usage of on average @.E email addresses per respondent. This year! respondents have learly be ome tired of the omple3ity of managing those a ountsJ this year! only <=L reported having more than two addresses while==L reported having that many in @CCF.'espondents seem to be onsolidating! with an average number of a ounts at@.< in @CCF.Latent impa tJ nearly =EL pur hase online or offline some time after li king through an email "ith more than one in;bo3! what do onsumers onsider the primary addressW %erhaps in relation to the amount of &ob instability and the desire of having a more permanent address! the home address was onsidered the primary one. 8f those with multiple addresses! F=L had a spe ifi email address that they used for online pur hasing! with either the home address K ited by =?.<L9 and a free address K ited by <H.FL9 as this pur hasing address. 'etail;oriented email marketers learly need to make spe ial efforts at improving deliverability among the ma&or home IS%s and free email providers as this learly will impa t overall performan e. Mars G ,enusJ Men 'eally -re :ifferent from "omen in 'espe t to (mail Marketing Two very spe ifi areas stand out in how men vs. women rea t to email marketingJ men have a mu h broader definition of Spam! while women are mu h more likely to be a tive pur hasers as a result of permission;based email. More men than women onsider spam to fall into these very broad definitionsJ E>L ited an email from a ompany that I have done business with but omes too often while only >EL of women did so! E1L of men ited an email that may have been permission based but omes too fre2uently while only >>L of women did so and <EL ited any email that tries to sell me a produ t or servi e while <@L of women did so. *orrespondingly! women are more sensitive to emails of offensive sub&e t matter KH=L women vs. H1L men9 .- tive pur hasers! those who pur hased in multiple produ t ategories or from various types of ompanies Kmulti; hannel shoppers9 after re eiving an email! are more likely to be women than men. -loof these data points add up to online behavior that mirrors offline. "omen remain the primary household pur hasers! @CCF *onsumer (mail Study 'espondents with multiple a ounts likely to use a free one for online pur hases "omen more likely to be a tive pur hasers! multi; hannel pur hasers. The fourth of :ouble;*li k annual onsumer email studies points to an in reasing sophisti ation in onsumer usage of email fun tionality and a orresponding omple3ity of pur hasing behavior. The Spam risis ontinues to affe t onsumer behavior online but does not ne essarily loud onsumer re eptiveness to legitimate marketersJ an overwhelming ma&ority of online onsumers re eive offers by email and have made a pur hase online or offline as a result. *onsumers are using available tools to limit spam and are employing separate email a ounts for pur hasing! all in attempts to in rease ontrol and improve their email e3perien e. 8b&e tivesRMethodology :ouble;*li k! working with 7eyond Intera tive and the N48RRnet sour e panel of HCC!CCC +S onsumers! polled 1!CCC onsumers via email from Quly <C ; -ugust>! @CCF. -ll respondents re ruited use emailRinternet 1Z times per week! whi h refle ts the usage of the larger online population KH=L of the 1?Z online population a ording to Nielsen! @CCF9.There was an e2ual segmentation of men and women and the average age was =@.F.This is the fourth of an annual series of onsumer resear h studies and trending information was derived using the data from previous years. The sample mirrored previous studies and is refle tive of the online population as a whole. Iey 4indings The ma&ority of onsumers re eive some kind of marketing email with spe ial offers from retailers! online mer hants and atalogers most ommon Two to one onsumers prefer to be onta ted by their favorite retailer regarding new produ ts! servi es or promotions via email rather than dire t mail. Sender re ognition most impa ts operates! while ontent relevan e in reases likeliness to pur hase 4re2uen y preferen es! or how often respondents prefer to re eive emails of as ertain ategory! are very spe ifi to the ategory of email but vary greatly from one *onsumers prefer to be onta ted by their favorite retailer via email. -NN()+'(

D+(STI8NN-I'( 1 I buy my own shoes ,ery fre2uently fre2uently sometimes never @ I find buying shoes a pleasurable event. ,ery fre2uently fre2uently sometimes never <. I buy ostly shoes ,ery fre2uently fre2uently sometimes never

= for pur hasing shoes! I an travel long distan e ,ery fre2uently fre2uently sometimes never > I buy shoes whi h are liked by my family Strongly agree -gree Indifferent :isagree Strongly disagree E I buy shoes whi h are advertised attra titively Strongly agree -gree Indifferent :isagree Strongly disagree F I buy shoes whi h are advertised and endorsed by elebrity. ? I like to buy shoes whi h are imported from %aris or Italy. Strongly agree -gree Indifferent :isagree Strongly disagree H. I like to buy shoes whi h are designed in %aris or Italy. 1C. I like to buy shoes whi h are very stylish G of latest design. Strongly agree -gree Indifferent :isagree Strongly disagree 11. I like to buy shoes whi h are less e3pensive but very stylish G of latest design. Strongly agree <C.CC -gree >C.CC Indifferent 1=.CC :isagree =.CC Strongly disagree @.CC 1@. I Like to buy shoes whi h are not very stylish but omfortable KL.of 'espondents9 Strongly agree 1C.CC -gree <C.CC Indifferent 1?.CC

 :isagree <@.CC Strongly disagree 1C.CC 1<. I Like to buy shoes whi h are not stylish but omfortable and long lasting Strongly agree -gree Indifferent :isagree Strongly disagree 1= I Like to buy shoes whi h are e3pensive G stylish but omfortable strongly agree -gree Indifferent :isagree Strongly disagree 1> I like to buy Nike shoes whi h are e3pensive G stylish but omfortable Strongly agree ?.CC -gree @=.CC Indifferent =.CC :isagree @.CC Strongly disagree @.CC

1E I like to buy Nike shoes whi h are not very stylish but omfortable Strongly agree 1@.CC -gree 1E.CC Indifferent @.CC :isagree ?.CC Strongly disagree @.CC 1F I like to buy Nikeshoes whi h are not stylish but omfortable and long lasting Strongly agree ?.CC -gree 1E.CC Indifferent @.CC :isagree 1@.CC Strongly disagree @.CC 1? I like to buy Nikeshoes whi h are not very stylish but omfortable Strongly agree 1=.CC -gree 1E.CC Indifferent :isagree Strongly disagree 1H I like to buy Nikeshoes whi h are less e3pensive but very stylish G of latest design. Strongly agree =.CC -gree 1C.CC Indifferent =.CC :isagree 1=.CC Strongly disagree =.CC

@C I like to buy Nikeshoes whi h are very stylish G of latest design. Strongly agree @.CC -gree E.CC Indifferent ?.CC :isagree @@.CC Strongly disagree @.CC @1 I like to buy Tailor made shoes whi h are very stylish G of latest design. Strongly agree 1C.CC -gree <?.CC Indifferent @=.CC :isagree 1E.CC

 Strongly disagree 1@.CC @@ I will ertainly buy shoes if high 2uality mat hing imitation &ewelry given free. Strongly agree <E.CC -gree >E.CC Indifferent =.CC :isagree =.CC Strongly disagree C.CC @< I will ertainly buy shoes if high 2uality imported s ent given free. Strongly agree <?.CC -gree EC.CC Indifferent @.CC :isagree @.CC Strongly disagree C.CC @= My e3pe tation is fulfilled by my shoe supplier. Strongly agree E.CC -gree @=.CC Indifferent =@.CC :isagree ?.CC Strongly disagree C.CC @> Shoe ompanies should survey ustomer preferen es. Strongly agree @=.CC -gree >E.CC Indifferent 1E.CC :isagree @.CC Strongly disagree @.CC @E Shoe ompanies should suggest shoe design using elebrity. Strongly agree <@.CC -gree >@.CC Indifferent 1=.CC :isagree @.CC Strongly disagree C.CC @F I know e3a tly what I want in my shoes. Strongly agree ?.CC -gree @E.CC Indifferent @=.CC :isagree @@.CC Strongly disagree @C.CC @? I don5t want to spend too mu h time on de iding my shoes. Strongly agree @?.CC -gree >?.CC Indifferent ?.CC :isagree E.CC Strongly disagree C.CC @H Stores display is the best form of advertisement Strongly agree @=.CC -gree =?.CC Indifferent 1C.CC :isagree =.CC Strongly disagree C.CC <C T., advertisement is the best form of advertisement Strongly agree 1E.CC -gree >@.CC Indifferent =.CC :isagree 1E.CC Strongly disagree 1@.CC <1 7uying ustomi#ed shoe by internet is very attra tive. Strongly agree @=.CC -gree >@.CC

 Indifferent =.CC :isagree 1E.CC Strongly disagree =.CC <@ 7uying ustomi#ed shoe by internet is very attra tive. 7ut no spam mail. Strongly agree 1E.CC -gree @?.CC Indifferent @.CC :isagree 1C.CC Strongly disagree ==.CC

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