BRAND REPOSITIONING STRATEGIES AND BRAND PERCEPTION OF CITIZEN ECO DRIVE WATCHESxa.yimg.com/kq/groups/22485914/170237… · Web view · 2009-09-07The second part of the project

Internship Report on

A Study of

BRAND REPOSITIONING STRATEGIES AND BRAND PERCEPTION OF

CITIZEN ECO DRIVE WATCHES

By

Vivek Kumar 149010108

(BIM BANGALORE)

To

Bharathidasan Institute of Management

Period (March 2009 –30th May 2009)

BRAND REPOSITIONING STRATEGIES AND BRAND PERCEPTION OF CITIZEN ECO DRIVE WATCHES Page 1

Declaration

I hereby declare that that the dissertation titled “A Study of BRAND REPOSITIONING

STRATEGIES AND BRAND PERCEPTION OF CITIZEN ECO DRIVE WATCHES” is done

for partial fulfillment of internship which is a part of study “under the guidance of Sharon

Andrew and I have invested my earnest effort to accomplish the task and it has not been

submitted anywhere for any other award. Where ever I had made any references I have furnished

the source of information and they have been acknowledged.

Vivek Kumar

PGDBM BATCH-06

Bharathidasan Institute of Management

Bangalore Campus


Certificate by the Guide

This is to certify that the dissertation titled A Study of “BRAND REPOSITIONING

STRATEGIES AND BRAND PERCEPTION OF CITIZEN ECO DRIVE WATCHES”

submitted by Vivek Kumar is of their original research work. It has been done as per part of his

internship in the CITIZEN ECO DRIVE WATCHES .it does not form any part of any previous

dissertation, thesis or report submitted to this company.

________________________

JOHN THARIAN ELENJICALASST MANAGER

CITIZEN WATCHES (INDIA) PVT LTD


Executive Summary

Many brands and companies are constantly reinvigorating their businesses and positioning them

for growth. There is a constant need to innovate, update, or just simply fend off the competition

in an effort to better explain "why buy me."

Brand positioning creates a specific place in the market for the brand and product Offerings. It

reaches certain type of consumers and delivers benefits that meet the needs of several key target

groups and users.

The actual approach of a company or brand's positioning in the marketplace depends on how it

communicates the benefits and product attributes to consumers and users. As a result, the brand

positioning of a company or product seeks to further distance itself from competitors based on a

host of items, but most notably on five key issues: Price, Quality, Product Attributes,

Distribution, and Usage Occasions.

In recent times, consumerism has undergone a great change. Consumers today are well informed

about the products, as compared to earlier times. Hence, the marketplace has become customer

centric. Recognizing the importance of the customers in the business structure, companies have

started effecting brand repositioning exercises on a regular basis.

In the recent times, a major brand repositioning exercise has been planned by CITIZEN

WATCHESPVT LTD in order to provide more to its customers. The company has first gone for

change in logo and tagline. Then the communication strategy has been revamped to convey its

new position.


The present study consists of reviewing the positioning strategies by looking on the present

perception of citizen watches among the peoples. An analysis of repositioning strategies of

CITIZEN WATCHES also forms part of the study.

The main objective of the study is to find out whether the loyal consumers of CITIZEN watches

are aware of the new positioning strategies and collections of the company and how they

perceive them.

Primary and secondary sources of data have been made use of in the study. The first part of the

project, i.e., analysis of brand repositioning strategies of CITIZEN WATCHES Company has

been completed on the basis of secondary data. For this purpose, internet, journals, books,

magazines have been made use of.

The second part of the project comprises of conducting a survey with the help of Questionnaire. The

survey is proposed to be conducted on a sample 130 consumers who are loyal and aware of CITIZEN

WATCH Company, selected through convenience sampling technique. The questionnaire consists of

appropriate mix of open ended and closed ended questions. The data is presented using pie charts and

bar diagrams.

The conclusion part of the report would provide an insight of consumer awareness regarding brand

repositioning strategies and their effectiveness in revamping the brand, CITIZEN.

Table of Contents


Declaration ii

Certificate by guide iii

Executive summary IV

Chapter page no

1. Introduction 9

1.1 Theory and concept 10

1.2. Literature Review 12

1.3. Stages of repositioning 13

1.4. Type of repositioning strategy 14

1.5 Benefits of repositioning strategy 15

2. Design of the study 16

2.1. Objective of the study 17

2.2 Limitation 17

2.3. Source of data collection 17

2.4. Sampling procedure 17

2.5. Primary data collection 18

3. Industry overview 19

3.1. History of the watch market 20

3.2 TOP ten players in watches Industry 21


3.3. Present situation of India watch market 22

3.4 .Major brand in India watch market 22

4. Company profile 24

4.1. Overview 25

4.2. Brand history 25

4.3. Company mission 26

4.4. Products portfolio 26

5. Citizen Brand Repositioning Strategies 30

6. Citizen Eco drive 33

6.1. Supply chain strategy of citizen watches 34

6.2. Other strategy 37

7. Consumer awareness survey 37

7.1. Respondent profile 38

7.2. Respondent age profile 39

7.3. Respondent awareness on environmental problem faced by our earth 39

7.4. Respondent preference in buying eco friendly products with better quality 40

7.5. Companies produce eco friendly products 40

7.6. Reason for preference 40

7.7 Number of respondent owned Citizen Eco drive watches 41

7.8 period of loyal of respondent to Citizen Eco drive watches 41

7.9 Reasons for brand loyalty 42


7.10 preferences of media 44

7.11 Effectiveness of advertisement in stimulating a consumer buying behavior 46

7.12 Preference for place for purchasing 46

7.13 Ambience and display of watches in the Citizen exclusive outlet 49

7.14 Known for Quality 50

7.15 Citizen a big brand 51

7.16 Necessary of brand ambassador for promotion 53

7.17 Necessary of brand ambassador for promotion 53

7.18 Ranking 54

7.19 Company life stage 55

7.20 Brand close to the heart 56

7.21 Citizen Success over other brands 57

7.22 Citizen failure over other brand 57

7.23 New features required 58

7.24 Suggestions given by the respondents to improve brand image 58

7.25. Findings of the survey 59

8. Chapter 8 – Conclusion 62

9. Appendix 63


Chapter 1 – Introduction


1.1Theory & Concept

"A business has two - and only two - basic functions: marketing and innovation."

The rapid pace of change and intense competitive pressure in today's market place demand that

brands continuously innovate and reinvent themselves to maintain their relevance and market

position. In this context, brand repositioning and other revitalization strategies have become a

business imperative for battling brand erosion. The appeal of brand repositioning is further

heightened by the rising costs and high risk associated with launching a new brand.

Brand repositioning has received little attention in the marketing literature and has mostly been

treated as a variation of brand positioning. Biel, for example, has defined brand positioning as

"building (or rebuilding) an image for a brand". The goal of positioning and repositioning

strategies relates to the management of consumers' perceptions. However, positioning focuses on

the creation of brand associations - consumers' perceptions of the attributes that differentiate the

brand from competitive offers – while repositioning also implies managing existing brand

associations. The unique challenge of a repositioning strategy, thus, lies in rejuvenating the brand

image to make it relevant in an evolving environment, while honoring the brand equity heritage.

Repositioning can be required as the market changes and new opportunities occur. Through

repositioning the company can reach customers they not intended to reach in the first place. If a

brand has been established at the market for some time and wish to change their image they can


consider repositioning, although one of the hardest actions in marketing is to reposition a

familiar brand.

According to Solomon, position strategy is an essential part in the marketing efforts because

companies have to use the elements in the marketing mix to influence the customers

understanding of the position. During the movement from something less attractive and relevant

towards a more attractive and relevant position several of strategic choices has to be made. The

ones responsible for the repositioning have to evaluate why a reposition is necessary, and if the

offer is the one who will change or just the brand name.

There are several risk factors that have to be taken into consideration when preparation for a

repositioning of the offering or the brand. During repositioning, the risk of losing the credibility

and reliability is high and the need for a thorough strategy is therefore necessary to avoid this

occurrence. Some analyst argue that to successfully reposition a establish brand name is almost

impossible because repositioning of a brand can make the most loyal customer to switch brand.

But, in some circumstances a repositioning is necessary to gain credibility if the brand is eroded.

Whenever a reposition is in question it has to be of relevance from a customer perspective, is this

achievable? Some brands will on no account be thought on as a luxury brand and therefore an

attempt to reposition will only damage the brand image or the actual company. Numerous failed

attempts at brand repositioning testify to the difficulty of developing and implementing such a

tactic. For example, while the soft drink brand, Mountain Dew has remained relevant to the

youth market through continuous repositioning in its thirty years of existence, Levis' Jeans has

been losing market share to newcomers such as The Gap, despite numerous campaigns designed

to reposition the brand as trendy.


1.2 Literature Review

The repositioning strategy is rolled out in three stages: introductory, elaboration and fortification

stages. This involves the introduction of a new or a repositioned brand, seeking to underline the

brand’s value over others, and to broaden the brand proposition. It is truly tough to change the

customer’s perceived attitude towards a brand, and therefore the risk is great that the attempt to

repositioning might be unsuccessful.

After rolling out the strategy, it is time to modify the proposition through update of the

personality and through repositioning. There are benefits and risks with both of this segments

and it is of great significance that they are truly evaluated when deciding the next step in the

process. To further understand the stages stated above, figure.1 will guide through the different

phases that follow after establish a brand proposition.


1.3 The stage of repositioning;

The implication with the term “repositioning” is that a company modifies something that is

already present in the market and in the customer’s mind .the definition of repositioning changes

different individual and profession. To view the different definition and perceive a greater

understanding about this concept, three example of repositioning given by individual in different

profession is stated below.

1.4 Figure 1: Stages in brand strategy development

The implication with the term” repositioning” is that a company modifies something that is

already present in the market and in the consumer’s mind.


“Repositioning is built upon the change unique and differentiated associations with the brand in

some kind of direction, it is about having a balance between the category party and

differentiation when using reposition strategies”

Figure 1: The principle of repositioning

New Position, Price, Previous Position, Experienced quality when striving towards a new

position in the market, it is important to understand that consumer’s minds are limited. People’s

minds select what to remember and it is therefore significant to convince the consumers with

great arguments. The market demand changes rapidly and therefore reposition can be necessary

to meet these demands, newer and stronger arguments have to be established to convince them to

stay as loyal customers.

As repositioning is a very complicated matter and therefore there are no detailed theories or

models. The aim with repositioning differ from person to person, and the only connection

between all the different theories is that repositioning is moving something from somewhere

towards a greater position at the market.

1.5 Three types of repositioning strategies:

(1) zero repositioning, which is not a repositioning at all since the firm maintains its initial

strategy in the face of a changing environment;


(2) Gradual repositioning, where the firm performs incremental, continuous adjustments to its

positioning strategy to reflect the evolution of its environment;

(3) Radical repositioning that corresponds to a discontinuous shift towards a new target market

and/or a new competitive advantage.

A four-phased brand repositioning approach can be followed to achieve the intended benefits:

Phase I. Determining the Current Status of the Brand

Phase II. What Does the Brand Stand for Today?

Phase III. Developing the Brand Positioning Platforms

Phase IV. Refining the Brand Positioning and Management Presentation

1.6 Benefits of repositioning:

Value over others

Updated personality

Relevant position

“Up to date” image

The risks associated with such strategies are:

Loss of focus

Neglecting original customers

Losing credibility for the brand

Confusing the brand

Therefore, brand repositioning is more difficult than initially positioning a brand because one

must first help the customer “unlearn” the current brand positioning.

Three actions can aid in this process:


(1) Carefully crafted communication,

(2) New products, packaging, etc. that emphasize the new positioning and

(3) Associations with other brands (co-branding, co-marketing, ingredient branding, strategic

alliances, etc.) that reinforce the new brand positioning.

This exercise is so critical to an organization’s success that the organization’s leadership team

and its marketing/brand management leaders should develop it, preferably with the help and

facilitation of an outside brand-positioning expert.

Chapter 2 – Design of the study


2.1 Objectives

To review the brand positioning strategies of different sub-brands of CITIZEN watches

To study the brand repositioning strategies of citizen watches.

To study consumer awareness and perception about the brand repositioning strategies of

citizen watches

To recommend suitable measures to be taken by the CITIZEN Company to further

improve its brand perception and loyalty among its customers.

This study would help CITIZEN watches Pvt ltd industry to understand the gaps in its

communication strategy regarding brand repositioning exercises and the further measures to be

taken for effective marketing communications.

2.2 Limitations

The study is confined to Bangalore area only

There is possibility of sampling errors in the study

The responses of the consumers may not be genuine

The questions included in the questionnaire may not be comprehensive.

2.3 Sources of Data Collection

The relevant data was collected from both primary sources and secondary sources.


The starting point of my information gathering has been the secondary sources such as internet,

books, and journals and so on.

First, I made a study of the brand positioning and repositioning strategies of CITIZEN watches

through secondary sources such as internet, insurance magazines, and journals and so on.

2.4 Sampling Procedure

A sample of 130 peoples in Bangalore both loyal as well other who are found of watches and

who are aware of CITIZEN watches in the age group of 20 – 30 years have been considered for

this study. As CITIZEN has taken up brand repositioning strategies since 1999, consumers who

have seen the previous and new campaign have been targeted

2.5 Primary Data Collection

Data was collected through an interview schedule, consisting of both open ended and closed

ended questions. The schedule covered parameters like reasons for consumers brand preference,

awareness about ECO DRVE among the people, effectiveness of brand ambassador of CITIZEN,

awareness of new tagline and advertisement, new designs and so on. The data was collected

through e- mails and one-to-one personal interviews.


Chapter 3 - Industry Overview


3.1 History of the watch market

The Indian watch industry began in the year 1961 with the commissioning of the watch division

of HMT. The first watch model manufactured by HMT was the Janata model in the year 1962.

HMT was the leader in the watch market till the Tatas formed Titan Watches in association with

Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation in the year 1987. They took a major strategy

decision, which later changed the face of the Indian watch market- to manufacture only quartz

watches. Liberalization in 1992 and the removal of quantitative restrictions due to WTO has

opened the doors for many foreign brands in the Indian market the market stood to witness

intensive competition between foreign and Indian manufacturers like Timex, Titan, Movado,

Longines, Rado, Rolex, Fréderique Constant, Mont Blanc, Swatch, and many others. Many

watch makers have made significant inroads in the industry and others are in the process of

establishing themselves, currently. Besides this, buyers are extremely choosy about the brand

and type of wrist watches they wear. Being extremely brand conscious, their tastes have evolved

over the years and have gone beyond the realms of durability to choose in terms of aesthetics and

elegance. Thus it is a buyers’ market with multitude of designs that have entered and flooded the

market place.


The size of the watch market currently is estimated to be around 40 to 45 million pieces

annually. The organized sector alone contributes up to 30 percent of this figure, and the rest of

the demand is being met by the unorganized grey sector. The watch market has been segmented

on basis of multiple proportions such as price, benefits and types of watches. The price of the

watches is a major motive in the minds of the customer. Accordingly, three segments can be

identified here, namely low priced, medium priced, and high priced watches. Many customers

prefer mechanical and automatic watches, while others prefer quartz watches. Newer segments

are also on rise such as ladies watches, children’s watches and gent’s watches. Customers usually

base their preferences and buying decisions on a variety of factors like price, durability, utility,

aesthetic appeal and brand name. A combination of all these points ultimately forms the

customer’s buying decision that translates into the purchase of a watch.

3.2 TOP ten players in watches Industry

1. Titan watches

2. Citizen watches

3. Swatch watches

4. TagHeuer

5. Omega

6. Timex group

7. Rado

8. Casio


9. Longines watches

10. Tissot

3.3 Present Situation of the Indian Watch Market

The Indian watch market is today of 40 million units, out which 60% is in the unorganized sector

in which the maximum number of watches are sold are below Rs.300. Quartz watches form two

thirds of the organized sector and the rest is split between mechanical and digital watches. Even

in the organized sector, three fourth of the sales by volume comes from watches that are priced

below Rs.1000. Plastic as such is not acceptable to average Indian consumers, especially those

from the small towns and rural areas who regard it as cheap and flimsy. They want toughness

which translates into a good quality metal model at a reasonable price.

Watch is one of the consumer durables whose replacement rate is very high. The replacement

rate of watch is 33.8 %( Source: India market demographics report, 2003). This is also due to

the fact that the estimated scrap rate of wrist watches is 7.8%, which is applicable after 6 years

(Source: India market demographics report, 2003). So due to high scrap rate, outdated models,

and the shift from the mechanical watches to the quartz watches is causing a very high

replacement demand for watches. This along with the low penetration levels represents the

untapped market potential for watches in India.

3.4 Major brands in the Indian watch market

The major players in the Indian watch market include HMT, Titan and Timex. The


Other players include Westar, Shivaki, Maxima, and SITCO. Foreign brands such as Cartier,

Piaget, Omega, Tiffany’s, Gucci, Longines, Casio, Citizen, TagHeuer and Espirit are also

making an inroad into the Indian market.

Titan has been consolidating its market share over the past decade. Timex watches, which

entered in India with collaboration with Titan, now independently has also gained substantial

market share.

3.5 Segmentation of Indian Watch industry Based on price

Mass (Rs.350-600),

Popular (Rs.600-900),

Premium (Rs.900-1500),

Super-premium (Rs.1500-8000)

Connoisseur segments (above Rs.8000)

Based on user category

Men’s watches

Women’s watches

Youth watches

Kids watches


Chapter 4 - Company Profile


4.1 Overview

Citizen watches, a Japanese multinational company with a 70 year old heritage and worth 3

billion (US$), sells world-class watches and allied products in more than 150 countries

worldwide. The company was founded in 1924. As one of the world's leading watch brand with

renowned Japan watch making art, CITIZEN was officially introduced into India through its

local subsidiary company, Citizen Watches (India) Pvt. Ltd in 1997. The entry was heralded by

the revolutionary concept, Eco-Drive – the world’s 1st light powered watches, lending an air of

excitement and expectation around the brand and adding to the excellent equity CITIZEN

already had enjoyed in India. Citizen’s association with India goes a ong way back when 1st

Prime minister of India, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, visited the Citizen Watch Co in Japan. Impressed

by the technologically advancement he sought technology know-how for India. And HMT, the

PSU, was selected for technology transfer of the same in 1964.

4.2 Brand History

In 1924, the Shokosha Watch Research Institute produced its first "CITIZEN" watch. Mr.

Shinpei Goto, the Mayor of Tokyo-Japan, named the watch "CITIZEN" and even after this was

adopted as the name of the company in 1930. CITIZEN has produced approximately 300 million

units of complete watch and movement in 2006. As an all round watch manufacturer, CITIZEN

has always been breaking new ground in watch technology for more than seven decades. Its


record of achievements boasts many firsts the world’s most accurate analog quartz watch, the

world’s thinnest light powered watch, the worlds most advanced radio controlled watch, and

many more.

4.3 Company mission

As the names "Citizen Watch" or "Citizen Group" state, their policy is to provide the best

products and services to all "citizens" in the world. The name Citizen was chosen to be "Close to

the hearts of people everywhere", and every national surely desire better life and better goods.

The Citizen policy is to provide the highest quality products and services to each of them.

Citizen hopes to contribute to people's life in everywhere in the world by making products that is

familiar and loved by citizens.

4.4. Products portfolio

Watches and Clocks are the main products but the Citizen groups entered in Indian market with a

wide range of watch models. Citizen Watches India has introduced more than 1000 models into

the Indian market.

Main category Price range

1. Men’s and women’s watches Rs 2500 - Rs.15000/- in the Quartz range

2. Eco Drive Rs 4500 - Rs.35000/-

3. Promaster Rs 10000 - Rs.60000/-

Men’s and women’s watches in the normal range


These watches are available with steel, gold plated and two tone case and strip for men and

women. More than 800 models have been introduced in this category. There are several leather

straps models too. Models are available with day and date and only date besides basic models.

Introduced in 1997, CITIZEN Eco-Drive watches made a revolutionary statement in terms of

technology and beauty. The essences behind amazing cutting-edge Eco-Drive technology from

CITIZEN are environmentally friendly (powered by any light) and maintenance free (never

change a battery). The watch is capable of charging itself under any kind of light and runs even

in the dark for a span ranging from 5 months to 5 years (depending on the models) after being

fully charged. With its wealth of technological expertise build up over many years, CITIZEN has

achieved impressive number of technical accomplishments in integrating special features in Eco-

Drive, like Perpetual Calendar, Moon Phase, Retrograde Display, and Minute Repeater.

Moreover, the luxurious and universal design epitomizes its product policy “The Fusion of

Technology and Beauty”. Minute Repeater – Working on the Eco-Drive technology, it has a

special feature of telling time by different chime sounds which represent hour, quarter hour, and

minute.

Minute Repeater watch collection, priced between Rs. 22,000/- to Rs. 25,500/

Perpetual Calendar (for men) – These watches incorporate the date programmed till the year

2100 irrespective of leap years. The watch shows the day, date and month display as well as are

water resistant with noon-reflective coating (glass). They also have an alarm facility and 270

days power reserve. These watches are priced from Rs. 15,000/- onwards.


Moon Collection (for men) – Watches in this special collection show the different stages of the

lunar cycle besides day, date and month display. These watches are priced between Rs. 16,500/-

to Rs. 18,000/-.

Promaster “Super Chronograph 1000”

This latest tech wonder from CITIZEN represents heady mix of heart throbbing technology with

incredible designs. The world’s 1st Eco-Drive watch which can measure time 1/1000 second.

When chronograph operations commence, small hands on the dial begin to rotate rapidly, while

the same information is also shown in the digital display. The watch comes with lap memo

function for checking previous results, as well as recalling the best lap, average lap and lap speed

of each. With its hinged function buttons, the watch offers highly distinctive styling, while the

rubber edge on the left side of the case makes it easier to grip when performing chronograph

functions. Added with a rotating bezel and a dial that suggests a measuring gauge, this is a watch

purely designed for the sports-minded. With alarm, world time, calendar, LED light, titanium

case/band and sapphire glass, it leaves nothing more to be desired.

JW0071-58E priced at Rs. 59,900

“Calendrier”

With a light-powered Eco-Drive movement as the starting point, the watch depicts cosmic space

through the earth, moon and sun. The theme of the design is the fusion of space and time. The

dial represents a Calendrier (Calendar) with the earth at its center. Surrounding it is the moon

phase at 6 o’clock, the date (symbolizing the sun) at 12 o’clock, and day and month at 9 o’clock

and 3 o’clock, respectively.


In a space measuring just a few millimeters thick, the multi-layered metallic dial creates a sense

of infinite depth and breadth and gives a feeling of continuity with the cosmos. As a design

element, the month and day disks, connected to the watch’s rotation mechanism, suggest the

movement of heavenly bodies.

The result is the creation of a unique world, and a model that marks the debut of a totally new

Eco-Drive. Models available are BU0003-02P, BU0011-55A and BU0011-63Z; starting at a

price range of Rs. 20,000.

Perpetual Calendar

It wasn’t too long ago when CITIZEN brought out one of its great successes into the Indian

markets. The Eco-Drive ‘Perpetual Calendar BL800X’ series still continues to charm watch

lovers across India with its great panache. Amazingly sharp looks blended with features like

perpetual calendar, day/date/month display, alarm, 24 hour display, translates into this

scintillating collection from CITIZEN. Models are available from a starting price of Rs 17,320

only.

PROMASTER

These stylishly crafted watches are specially designed and developed for men, especially men

who are passionate about sports. The new models in this collection are:

Aqualand U100: These wrist - watches are ideally suited for professional Divers priced at Rs.

32,500/-.


Navihawk: These are wrist - watches for use by pilots as an aid in navigating aircrafts. These

watches are priced at Rs. 15,700/-.

Land Sportissimo U200: These are the latest collection of promaster, which can be used in the

land for the sports purpose. These watches have different features like 1/100 second

chronograph, world time, LCD display, 24hr display, sapphire glass and more. The price range

starts from Rs.20, 000/- onwards

Land E2100: these wrists - watches come packed with features such as 12 hours Chronograph,

intervals of 1/5th of a second, alarm, 20 bar water resistance, Titanium Carbide Coating,

Sapphire Glass (non-reflective coating) along with a Stainless Steel case and band. These

watches are priced at Rs. 39,380

Chapter 5- CITIZEN Watches: Brand Repositioning Strategies.


CITIZEN watches Pvt ltd decided to revamp its flagship watch brand, from citizen watches to

citizen eco drive, with the intention of making it more youthful and relevant to the changing

times. The brand, launched has undergone a major repositioning exercise only once before – five

years ago, when Hindi film actor karena kapoor and Rahul dravid was appointed brand

ambassador. What followed later was the ‘ECO _DRIVE’ campaign, which tried to increase

watch consumption per person, by suggesting the use of different watches for different

occasions.

Citizen has got its presence in INDIA through its exclusive showrooms called First Citizen.

Currently they have 40 exclusive showrooms pan India. Citizen is present in almost all large

format types across India and also in the Multi Brand outlets. These types of stores comprise of

80 Nos & 350 Nos respectively. Citizen also does its business through E-commerce.


Citizen Watches India Pvt Limited apart from handling the Indian Operations is Responsible for

building the retail in the neighboring countries like Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Srilanka.

Place the Citizen to place them in other field like

Industrial Machinery - Impressive Value Production – Pursuing the ideal labor, plant

and equipment through advanced industrial machinery. like cincornA20,geared motor,

precision measuring instrument


6. New logo and tagline - “Citizen Eco drive”

As a part of repositioning strategy Citizen Eco drive has undergone for a change in their logo

from citizen to citizen eco drive to create awareness of the benefit of the citizen’s watches as an

environmental friendly. They too use the word unstoppable with their symbol during the

advertisement and in their hoardings. As a result of this strategy where Citizen India Pvt ltd are

known due to their old brand and they are known for their environmental friendly products.


6.1 How Citizen Eco drive watches works.

The Eco-Drive watch runs solely on the power produced by light from any source. By utilizing


the mechanism of a solar cell and a charging device, light is converted into energy that ensures

normal performance even in deficient light conditions. Such advanced technology in using light,

both natural and artificial, to power a watch has brought to reality an ultimate vision that is Eco-

Drive, the Light Powered Watch.

The secret of Eco-Drive lies in its reserve battery. The device, which contains no such toxic

elements as mercury, acts as a reservoir to store the energy converted from light. When fully

charged, the watch can run on this energy from 4 months to 5 years, depending on its model.The

Citizen Eco-Drive incorporates this hassle-free handling into an entire range of functions, from

the simplest in 3-hand movement to the most sophisticated, such as perpetual calendar and

minute repeater, etc. Recently, radio-controlled technology has even been developed. All these,

combined with the omissionof battery replacement, underscore Eco-Drive friendliness to

ecology, as well as to its users. Citizen watches are mainly kept in temperature of 10 to 60

degree C with an accuracy of +/-20sec per months.


6.1. Supply chain strategy of citizen watches

Supply chain of citizen Eco drive watches is very customer centric and well developed they use both the intermediaries as well as retailers and distributors for the supply of their watches to their customer from the point of origin. Their well distribution network take care of


response time, product variety, product availability, customer experience, time to market, order visibility, and return ability factors .they have their exclusive outlet all over the world as well as the to place their watches in different multiband outlet for better customer experience. The watches comes from Honk Kong to India bonded ware house in Bangalore and from their it get distributed to all the 4 direction (East, west, North, south)after passing through central warehouse in Bangalore .and get availability for the customer in various brand outlet, shopping mall, national chain store, exclusive show room. where the customer can find the watches of their own choice as well as customer can place their order with the help of internet and get the delivery at their place.

6.2 Other Strategies


CITIZEN Eco drive is also trying to reach new customer segments. They are now trying

to target all adults in socio economic classes A&B.

Citizen Eco drive is also looking at innovative retail strategies and planned to launch the

smallest and slimmest eco drive collections soon.

Chapter 7 – Consumer Awareness Survey


7.1 Respondent profile

7.1 Indicating the sample universe

GENDER FEREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

MALE 90 69%

FEMALE 40 31%

Interpretation

Out of 130 respondents, 69% were male and 31%were female and the entire respondent belongs

to corporate categories from Bangalore.

7.2 Age of the respondent

7.2 Table indicating the age of the sample

AGE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

15-25 23 17%

26-35 94 72%

<35 13 11%

Interpretation


Out of 130 respondents, 17% respondents were belong between the age 15-23 , 72% respondent

were belong in age category between 26-35 and 11% of the respondent belong to age of more

than 35 .hence most of the respondent belong to 26-35.

7.3 Respondent awareness on environmental problem faced by our earth

Out of 130 respondents almost 95% seems to be aware of different environmental problem

Like global warming, environmental degradation, problem arises due to various pollution etc and

it was surprised that still 5%of the respondent are unaware of these problems.

7.4 Respondent preference in buying eco friendly products with better quality

100%of the respondent prefers to buy the eco friendly products with better quality as they feel

that eco friendly product the environment as well satisfy there need in a better way .

7.5 companies produce eco friendly products


Interpretation

Out of 130 respondents 83 respondent feel Toyota produce an eco friendly product, where as 42

feel that citizen group Pvt ltd as the company which produce eco friendly product followed by

Biocon (24),Dabur(37),Riva(61) , many others company like Intel, Casio, Nortel, Tata, Honda

comes under categories which respondent feel produce eco friendly products.

7.6 Reason for preference7.6 table indicating reason for preferring Citizen watches

Frequency PercentValid

PercentCumulative

Percent

Valid Brand 96 73.8 73.8 73.8

eco friendly 34 26.2 26.2 100.0

Total 130 100.0 100.0

Interpretation


When the respondent were asked reason for their preference it was found that 74% prefer

citizen due to its old brand while 26%feel its eco friendly which drive the sell. 7.7 Number of respondent owned Citizen eco drive watches 7.7 Table indicating number of respondent owing citizen watches


PercentCumulative

Percent

Valid Yes 35 26.9 26.9 26.9

No 95 73.1 73.1 100.0

Total 130 100.0 100.0

Interpretation

The respondent were asked whether they own the Citizen watches or not out of 130 respondent

only 27%were found who owned it and 73%were non user .

7.8 Period of use

The respondents were asked to mention since how long they have been brand loyal to Citizen.

This was an open ended question and hence various responses were received. The minimum

period of use was set as one year, and non user was also one of the choices, while the maximum

period of use was determined. For convenience, the different responses are categorized into

three: Non user, 0-1year, 1-2 year,>2 year.

7.8 Table indicating from how long the respondents are loyal to the Citizen watches



PercentCumulative

Percent

Valid non user 95 73.1 73.1 73.1

0-1year 14 10.8 10.8 83.8

1-2year 10 7.7 7.7 91.5

>2 year 11 8.5 8.5 100.0

Total 130 100.0 100.0

73% of the respondents fall into first category, while 11 % of the respondents were loyal to

citizen from last 1 year while around 8% and 9% of the respondent were loyal to citizen from

more than1 and 2 year respectively.

7.9 Reasons for brand loyalty


The respondents were asked to select the reasons from the options given for their preference for

Titan watches. For this question, multi-responses were received from the respondent

Table 7.9: indicating Reasons for brand preference (out of total 130)

Reason Number of responses

Attractive designs 8

Environmental friendly 28

Brand image 72

Good quality 22

7.10 Citizen Eco drive advertisements


In the survey respondent were asked whether they have seen the advertisement of Citizen Eco

drive watches and where. Citizen advertises its watches in almost all media vehicles. The

advertisements can be seen in news paper, magazines, hoardings, road show and so on.

All the 130 respondents have seen the advertisements of Citizen Watches in various media. This

was a multi-response question and the options given to select were restricted to magazines,

newspapers, hoardings and road show.

The findings of the survey have been summarized in a table as follows:

7.10 Table indicating the most effective media

Place


PercentCumulative

Percent

Valid newspaper 18 13.8 13.8 13.8

Magazine 73 56.2 56.2 70.0

Hoarding 31 23.8 23.8 93.8

road show 8 6.2 6.2 100.0

Total 130 100.0 100.0


InterpretationAlmost 100%of respondent have seen the advertisement in various form of media and it has been

seen that Magazine is the most appropriate media through which 57% of the respondent have to

know about Citizen eco drive watches, where as 23 % have seen in hoarding in various

places,14%from news paper,6%from road show.

7.11 Effectiveness of advertisement in stimulating a consumer buying behavior

7.11 Table indicating the effectiveness of Citizen Advertisement


Effective


PercentCumulative

Percent

Valid not at all effective

18 13.8 13.8 13.8

Effective 43 33.1 33.1 46.9

Neutral 55 42.3 42.3 89.2

highly effective 14 10.8 10.8 100.0

Total 130 100.0 100.0

Interpretation

The survey has revealed that 42%thinks that advertisement was ok and as same as the other

while 33%thing that advertisement were affective to stimulate customer for purchasing ,18%feel

that there is still gap in the advertisement to attract and stimulate while 14%thought that

advertisement was highly affective to stimulate customer.

7.12 Preference for place for purchasing7.12 Table indicating respondent choice for place of purchase


PercentCumulative

Percent

Valid exclusive show room

67 51.5 51.5 51.5

shopping mall 21 16.2 16.2 67.7

multi brand outlet 30 23.1 23.1 90.8

local dealers 12 9.2 9.2 100.0

Total 130 100.0 100.0


Interpretation

In the survey it was tried to find out the preference place and their reason for purchasing watches

and it was seen that 52 % of respondent prefer exclusives show room as the feel that it help them

to come across more choices ,recent models, no duplication, and discount opportunity. While

23% prefer multi brand outlet as they can compare the benefits, price, of different watches

companies and 16%and 10% prefer to buy from shopping mall and local dealer respectively as

respondent feel that it easy for to purchase and get repair their watches from time to time.

7.13. Respondent rating on ambience and display of watches in the Citizen Eco drive watches exclusive outlet


Ambience


PercentCumulative

Percent

Valid Average 5 3.8 3.8 3.8

Neutral 33 25.4 25.4 29.2

Good 92 70.8 70.8 100.0

Total 130 100.0 100.0

Display of watches

Display


PercentCumulative

Percent

Valid Average 16 12.3 12.3 12.3

Neutral 3 2.3 2.3 14.6

Good 73 56.2 56.2 70.8

excellent 38 29.2 29.2 100.0

Total 130 100.0 100.0


Interpretation

In the survey people were asked to rate the ambience and display of the watches as per their

experience in the citizen exclusive showroom and it was found that 70% of the respondent rated

ambience they experience as good and 50% of the respondent rated good to the display of the

watches .which show that ambience and display of the watches currently in the exclusive room is

good but still there is space of improvement as only 29%of the respondent ranted display of the

watches as excellent and none of them rated ambience in excellent.


7.14 Known for Quality

Quality


PercentCumulative

Percent

Valid strongly agree 36 27.7 27.7 27.7

Agree 65 50.0 50.0 77.7

neither agree nor disagree

29 22.3 22.3 100.0

Total 130 100.0 100.0

Interpretation


When respondant were asked whether they agree or disagree that citizen eco drive watches are

known for quality none of them disagree , 50% agree and 28% were strongly agree with the

statement

7.15 Citizen a big Brand

Brand


PercentCumulative

Percent


Agree 30 23.1 23.1 83.1


22 16.9 16.9 100.0

Total 130 100.0 100.0


Interpretation

When the respondents were asked that citizen is big brand 60%strongly agree on the statement

where as 23%were agreeing which show that Citizen place itself as a big brand in peoples mind.

7.16 Citizen as an innovative companyInnovative


PercentCumulative

Percent


Agree 49 37.7 37.7 63.1


48 36.9 36.9 100.0

Total 130 100.0 100.0


Interpretation

In option of the respondent a very mixed option were recived where 26%&38%strongly agree

and agree respectively on the statement that Citizen watches pvt ltd is an innovative company

36% were neither agree nor disagree.

7.17 Necessary of brand ambassador for promotion

Brand ambassador


PercentCumulative

Percent


Agree 19 14.6 14.6 32.3


10 7.7 7.7 40.0

Disagree 78 60.0 60.0 100.0

Total 130 100.0 100.0


Interpretation

When the people were asked about their opinion whether a brand ambassadors of a product is

necessary for promotion of the product of a company and it was fond that 60%of the respondent

feel that if the product is good there is no need for brand ambassador were as 17% strongly feel

that a brand ambassador is necessary for promotion of the product.

7.18 Ranking


PercentCumulative

Percent

Valid Second 21 16.2 16.2 16.2

Third 50 38.5 38.5 54.6

Fourth 41 31.5 31.5 86.2

None 18 13.8 13.8 100.0

Total 130 100.0 100.0


Interpretation

When respondent were asked to rank citizen eco drive watches in compare to other brand of

watches it was found that 39%rank it third ,32%rank it second which show that although citizen

is not a market leader in watch segment it place an important position in people choice.

7.19 Company life stage


Life


PercentCumulative

Percent

Valid emerging 38 29.2 29.2 29.2

growing 73 56.2 56.2 85.4

maturing 19 14.6 14.6 100.0

Total 130 100.0 100.0

Interpretation

The survey has revealed that more than half of the total numbers of respondents feel Citizen

Watches Pvt limited in the growing stage while 38% belief that it an emerging company as they

feel it still left a lot of innovation for citizen watches to do...


7.20 Brand close to the heart

When respondent where asked to tell 4 brand watch company come first to their mind are as

follows:

Interpretation

It is clear from the response that Titan is the market leader and even in the presence of other

foreign and Indian watches brand citizen place a unique place in the mind of the people.

.

7.21 Citizen Success over other brands

In the survey the respondent where asked features according to them which make citizen success

over other brand.

As it open ended question many responses were received the responses are as follows:

Eco drive watches(light powered watches)


Old brand

Different features(Perpetual Calendar, moon phase)

Attractive Design

7.22 Citizen failure over other brand

In the survey the respondent where asked features according to them which pulls back citizen

over other brand

As it open ended question many responses were received the responses are as follows:

Marketing

Price

Distribution

7.23 New features required


In the respondent were asked do they feel that new features should be introduce in watches and

which new features they are looking for 100%of respondent feel that new features should be

introduce and features they are looking are as follows:

Gps tracking facility

More slim

Digital with analog display

Touch screen facility (to see time of different countries with just a touch )

Lightning ,data storage

Fm facility

7.24 Suggestions given by the respondents to improve brand image

Various responses were received for this question. Most the responses have been summarized as

follows:

Introduce more trendy and innovative designs

Focus on youth market segment

Spread awareness about availability of watches in middle segments as most of the

consumers feel that CITIZEN brand is synonymous with premium watches.

Take steps to change consumer perception that CITIZEN watches are high priced.

Improve after sales service.

Place more exclusive showroom round the corner

High promotion for more awareness

Organize environmental programme to educate the people benefit of Citizen products


7.25. Findings of the survey

The findings of the consumer awareness survey are listed below:

75% of the respondents were found to be non user of the Citizen watches. This shows

that the positioning strategy of these watches has to be improved.

Most of the consumers prefer Citizen watches for their old brand and good quality.

However, there is a misconception about pricing of citizen products among the

consumers. They perceive them to be high priced.

As people used to prefer exclusive show room to buy their watches more of the

exclusive show room need to be opened round the corner.

Advertisement in mass media such as magazines, newspaper and hoarding are best

means to spread awareness about brand.

Brand ambassadors for a product are not much required for the promotion of a good

product only a good communication strategy is what required.

Citizen watches’ designs are rated as eco friendly product and it is regarded as an

innovative company. This indicates that they are looking forward for more innovative

designs to be introduced by the company.

As73 % of the respondent feel Citizen watches in the stage of growing which indicate a

bright future for its watches as people feel a lot to be come from the citizen

The ambience and display of watches have been given good ratings compared to other

variables mentioned in the questionnaire with respect to Citizen exclusive showrooms.



Chapter 8 – Conclusion

The suggestions to improve consumer awareness about brand repositioning strategy of

Citizens are as follows:


To increase its visibility, Citizen Company can sponsor events similar to fashion shows in

which all latest designs launched are displayed. This would have multiplier effect as the

latest designs launched by the company get noticed by different segments of the

customers in varied ways.

Tie –up with FM radio channels for reminder advertisements and informing customers

about various sales promotion offers from time-to-time.

Invest more in R&D as customer expectations are changing rapidly. Though Citizen has

got more product collections, it should focus on introducing more varieties in already

existing product collections. In other words, having a limited but more depth in product

collections would be more advantageous.

Introduce exclusive collection for youth segment which is more contemporary and

complements both traditional and western wear.

Majority of the population in India belongs to middle class segment so more innovative

design should be made for them in a reasonable price and more of the exclusive show

room should be set up.

After sales service has to be improved. That is, the process of servicing and repairing of

watches should be made faster. This can be done by ensuring the spare parts availability

and training all sales personnel in Citizen Service centre to undertake these tasks.

Tie up with international watch brands and make them available locally.

Make use of internet to spread awareness among consumers about the brand.


9. Appendix

QUESTIONNAIRE

As a student of BIM Bangalore, I am undertaking study on the brand perception of CITIZEN ECO DRIVE watches among the people of Bangalore. I would like to assure you that all information would be kept confidential and used for better customer service in the future.

RESPONDANT PROFILE


GENDER Male Female

Age 15-25 26-35 >35

Are you aware of the environmental problem faced by our Earth

YES NO

Would you prefer to buy products which are eco friendly with better quality

YES NO

Name some company you feel produce eco -friendly products

Are you aware of Citizen Eco drive watches YES NO

If yes You would like to have Citizen Eco drive watches because

Brand Eco friendly product

Please tick the option which you feel is appropriate2. Do you own Citizen Eco dive watches? Yes No

3. Since how many months /years have you been using CITIZEN Eco-drive watches? 0-6 months 7-12 months 1-2 years >2 years

4. Why do you prefer CITIZEN Eco-drive watches? (Please tick any one) Attractive design Environmental friendly Brand image Better quality


5. Have you seen the advertisement of CITIZEN Eco-drive watches? Yes No

6. Where have you seen the advertisement? Newspaper Magazine Hoarding Road show

7. Do you think the advertisement is effective in stimulating a consumer buying behavior? Not at all effective C Effective Neutral highly effective

8. Are you aware of new collections of CITIZEN-ECO DRIVE watches? Yes No

9. If yes how do you rate new collections of Citizen Watches? Poor Average Neutral Good Excellent

10. From where would like to buy the watches? Exclusive Showroom Shopping malls Multi brand outlets Local dealers.

11. Why?

12. How do you rate The CITIZEN Eco-drive exclusive outlets with the respect to the following? (Tick the appropriate option)Categories Poor Average Neutral Good Excellent

Ambience

Sales representativeAfter sale serviceDisplay of watchesIn Overall experience you got

Q13.Please tick the option which you feel is appropriate.


Statement Strongly agree

Agree Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree Strongly disagree

1. CITIZEN Eco-drive watches are known for quality

2. CITIZEN Eco-drive watches are easy to operate

3. Citizen Eco-drive is itself a big brand

4. Citizen Eco-drive watches are innovative watches(with new technology and innovative features)

5. Company has an excellent after sale service

6. Brand ambassadors will play a great role in attracting customers for Citizen.

14. What suggestion would like to give to improve The Citizen brand image among customer?

15. Do you think the time has come for the citizen to try something new/introduce new feature? Yes No

16. What new features would like to have in your watch?

18. Where do you like to place Citizen Watches in compare to others brands? First Second Third fourth none

19. Name 4 features where you feel CITIZEN Eco drive successes over the other watch companies? 1. 2. 3. 4. 20. Name 3 areas which you feel pull Citizen Eco drive back over the other watch companies? 1. 2. 3.

22. Which stage of product life cycle do you think citizen watches co ltd belongs to? Emerging Growing Maturing Declining.

23. Name four watch company which comes to your mind? 1. 2. 3. . 4.


Thank you for your feedback, we sincerely appreciate your honest opinion and will take your input into consideration while providing service in the future .if you have any comment or concern about this survey please contact-Company – THE CITIZEN ECO -DRIVE WATCHES.

References

Sengupta Subroto (2006), “Brand Positioning: Strategies for Competitive Advantage”.

www.brand watches.com.

.www.capital line .com

ICFAI Journal of Brand Management

www.marketingprofs.com

www.brandingstrategyinsider.com

www.scribd.com

titan repositioning strategy


http://www.scribd.com/

Documents

BRAND REPOSITIONING STRATEGIES AND BRAND PERCEPTION OF CITIZEN ECO DRIVE WATCHESxa.yimg.com/kq/groups/22485914/170237… · Web view · 2009-09-07The second part of the project