Name : Vanlal Rohlua

Roll No.: 196

B.Com sem VI (Marketing)

A project on the study of

marketing of musical instruments

and consumer behaviour.

JJ.. RREEYYNNOOLLDDSS && CCoo..

2

CONTENTS

Topic Page No.

i. Acknowledgement 3

ii. Introduction

- Marketing of musical instruments 5

- Consumer behaviour 10

iii. Company profile

-Products & services available at Reynolds 20

- Organisational structures 33

-Competitors 34

- Overview of business performance 37

iv. Objectives 42

v. Research and Methodology 43

- Primary data

- Secondary data

vi. Analysis 46

vii. Findings 59

viii. Conclusion 63

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This Project on Marketing of Musical instruments and consumer

behaviour has been a good experience to me in terms of learning as well as

my ability to cope up with project work and Presentation in the future

course of study. I would like to thank Rev. Fr. Felix Raj who introduced to

us the concept of Project work as well I would like to thank my internal

and project guide Prof. Anulekha Banerji who helped me in every step

during my project work and internship always patiently explaining to me

different steps of my project work .

Last but not the least I want to thank Prof. Tridib Sengupta,

head of the management dept. and all the college professors and

the staff of J. Reynolds & Co. for helping me in my internship and

providing me with valuable information that helped me to do my

project work at ease.

I would also like to thank Rev. Fr. Dominic Savio , vice-

principal of B.com and BBA Department who was always there at

my side to assist me when need arise.

Date:

(VANLAL ROHLUA)

4

5

MARKETING OF MUSICAL

INSTRUMENTS

Marketing of musical instruments in India is a challenging task

even though the population is large in number. It needs a dedication and

self interest, especially in western and modern musical instruments.

Retailing musical instruments is a fantastic business venture for the

musically inclined entrepreneur who's seeking a way to capitalize on their

skills and interests. Ideally, this type of specialty retailing is best suited to

a retail storefront.

Marketing of musical instruments includes selling, promotion,

distribution and services to customers. So, to excel in marketing of musical

instruments, let us first find out what is marketing ?

Marketing is defined by the American Marketing Association (AMA)

as "the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating,

communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for

customers, clients, partners, and society at large. Marketing is a product or

service selling related overall activities. The term developed from an

original meaning which referred literally to going to a market to buy or

sell goods or services. Seen from a systems point of view, sales process

engineering marketing is "a set of processes that are interconnected and

interdependent with other functions, whose methods can be improved

using a variety of relatively new approaches."

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Marketing is the process of performing market research, selling

products and/or services to customers and promoting them

via advertising to further enhance sales. It generates the strategy that

underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business

developments. It is an integrated process through which companies build

strong customer relationships and create value for their customers and for

themselves. It is used to identify the customer, to satisfy the customer, and

to keep the customer. With the customer as the focus of its activities, it can

be concluded that marketing management is one of the major components

of business management.

Marketing evolved to meet the stasis in developing new markets

caused by mature markets and overcapacities in the last 2-3

centuries. The adoption of marketing strategies requires businesses to

shift their focus from production to the perceived needs and wants of their

customers as the means of staying profitable.

The term marketing concept holds that achieving organizational

goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and

delivering the desired satisfactions. It proposes that in order to satisfy its

organizational objectives, an organization should anticipate the needs and

wants of consumers and satisfy these more effectively than competitors.

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Selling is offering to exchange something of value for something

else. The something of value being offered may be tangible or intangible.

The something else, usually money, is most often seen by the seller as

being of equal or greater value than that being offered for sale. Another

person or organization expressing an interest in acquiring the offered

thing of value is referred to as a potential buyer, prospective customer or

prospect. Buying and selling are understood to be two sides of the same

"coin" or transaction. Both seller and buyer engage is in a process of

negotiation to consummate the exchange of values. The exchange, or

selling, process has implied rules and identifiable stages. It is implied that

the selling process will proceed fairly and ethically so that the parties end

up nearly equally rewarded. The stages of selling, and buying, involve

getting acquainted, assessing each partys need for the others item of

value, and determining if the values to be exchanged are equivalent or

nearly so, or, in buyer's terms, "worth the price.

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The relationship between Selling and Marketing :

Marketing and sales differ greatly, but have the same goal.

Marketing improves the selling environment and plays a very important

role in sales. If the marketing department generates a list of potential

customers, that can benefit sales. A marketing department in an

organization has the goal increasing the number of interactions between

potential customers and the organization. Achieving this goal may involve

the sales team using promotional techniques such as advertising, sales

promotion, publicity, and public relations, creating new sales channels, or

creating new products (new product development), among other things. It

can also include bringing the potential customer to visit the organization's

website(s) for more information, or to contact the organization for more

information, or to interact with the organization via social media such

as Twitter, Facebook and blogs.

The relatively new field of sales process engineering views "sales" as

the output of a larger system, not just as the output of one department.

The larger system includes many functional areas within an organization.

From this perspective, "sales" and "marketing" (among others, such as

"customer service") label for a number of processes whose inputs and

outputs supply one another to varying degrees. In this context, improving

an "output" (such as sales) involves studying and improving the broader

sales process, as in any system, since the component functional areas

interact and are interdependent.

Most large corporations structure their marketing departments in a

similar fashion to sales departments and the managers of these teams

must coordinate efforts in order to drive profits and business success. For

example, an "inbound" focused campaign seeks to drive more customers

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"through the door", giving the sales department a better chance of selling

their product to the consumer. A good marketing program would address

any potential downsides as well.

The sales department would aim to improve the interaction

between the customer and the sales facility or mechanism (example, web

site) and/or salesperson. Sales management would break down the selling

process and then increase the effectiveness of the discrete processes as

well as the interaction between processes.

For example, in many out-bound sales environments, the typical

process includes out-bound calling, the sales pitch, handling objections,

opportunity identification, and the close. Each step of the process has

sales-related issues, skills, and training needs, as well as marketing

solutions to improve each discrete step, as well as the whole process.

J. Reynolds & Co. has been doing well in marketing of musical

instruments of different world leading brands. Musical instruments

mainly includes guitars, keyboards, synthesizers, drums, pianos and pads.

Apart from these musical instruments, almost all types of accessories are

available.

Marketing of musical instruments needs a lot of knowledge about

the instruments, apart from the marketing knowledge alone.

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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

The consumer buying process is a complex matter as many internal

and external factors have an impact on the buying decisions of the

consumer. It is first important to understand their buying behaviour .

Consumer behaviour can be defined as all psychological, social and

physical behaviour of all potential consumers as they become aware to

evaluate, purchase, consume and tell others about products and services.

Consumer behaviour is inter-disciplinary in nature.

It may also be defined as the decision process and physical activity

individuals engage in when evaluating, acquiring or disposing of goods

and services. It is the study of in individuals, groups or organizations and

the processes they use to select, secure and dispose of products, services

experiences or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes

have in the consumer and society. It is the action of customers in the

market place and the underline motives for these actions.

Depending on a consumer's culture, subculture, and/or social class,

an individual will purchase a particular brand that is popular amongst

his/her peers. A consumer's social group has a drastic impact on which

product they will purchase. For example, if Joe's mother has been using

Tide detergent all of his life, he is very likely to use the same.

Age, life-cycle stage, occupation, economic circumstances, lifestyle,

and personality are all personal characteristics that will influence the

buyer's behaviour.

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Consumers buying behaviour is

influenced by cultural, social, personal

and psychological factors.

Cultural Factors: - culture, subculture and social classes are particularly

important in buying behaviour. Culture is the fundamental determinant of

a persons wants and behaviour. Each culture consists of smaller

subcultures that provide more specific identification and socialization of

its members. Subculture includes nationalities, religions, racial groups and

geographic regions.

Social Factors: - In addition to cultural factors a consumers behaviour is

influenced by such social factors as reference groups, family and social

roles and statuses. A persons reference group consists of all the groups

that have a direct (face to face) or indirect influence on the persons

attitudes or behaviour. Groups that have direct influence on a person are

called as membership groups. Some membership groups are also called as

primary groups, such as family, friends, neighbours and co-workers with

whom the person interacts fairly continuously and informally. People also

belong to secondary groups such as religious, professional and trade

union groups which tend to be more formal and require less continuous

interaction. Inspirational groups are those a person hopes to join;

dissociative groups are those whose values and behaviour an individual

rejects. The family is the most important consumer buying organization in

society, and family members constitute the most influential primary

reference group. A person participates in many groups-families, clubs,

organizations. The peoples position in each group can be defined in terms

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of role and status. A role consists of the activities a person is expected to

perform. Each role carries a status.

Personal Factors: - A buyers decisions are also influenced by personal

characteristics. These include the buyers age in the life cycle, occupation,

economic circumstances, lifestyle and personality and self concept. People

buy different goods and services over a lifetime. They eat baby food in the

early years, most foods in the growing matured years and special diet in

the later years. Occupation also influences consumption patterns. A blue

collar worker may buy work clothes, work shoes and lunch boxes. A

company president may buy expensive suits, air travel and country club

membership. People from same subculture, social classes and occupation

may lead quite different lifestyles. A lifestyle is a persons pattern of living

in the world expressed in activities, interest and opinions.

Psychological Factors: - A persons buying choices are influenced by four

major factors viz. motivation, perception, learning, believes and attitudes.

In the light of growing competition in the Indian retail industry each and

every company is trying its best to attract new customers as well as at the

same time retain the existing customers. Hence this can be done by

keeping a track on the buying behaviour of the customers. Therefore my

topic on buying behaviour of consumer shows the different factors which

influence the consumer buying behaviour while shopping.

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Need of Consumer Behaviour

Consumers do not act as theory would suggest, so it is important to

study and understand their behaviour for a particular market.

Changing preferences of consumers.

Differentiated products reflect their special needs, lifestyle and

personality.

Meeting of special needs of customers required market

segmentation.

Introduction of new products with rapid change in technology.

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BUYING DECISION PROCESS:

PROBLEM RECOGNITION

The buying process starts when the buyer recognizes a problem or need

by gathering information from a number of consumers, marketers can

identify the most frequent stimuli that spark an interest in a product

category.

INFORMATION SEARCH

Consumer information sources fall into four groups:

Personal sources: Family, friends, neighbours, and acquaintances

Commercial sources: Advertising, salespersons, dealers, packaging,

displays

Public sources: Mass media, consumer -rating organizations

Experimental sources: Handling, examining, using the product

EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES

There are several decision evaluation processes; first the consumer is

trying to satisfy a need. Second, the consumer is looking for certain

benefits from the product solution. Third, the consumer sees each product

as a bundle of attributes with varying abilities for delivering the benefits

sought to satisfy this need.

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PURCHASE DECISION

However, two factors can intervene between the purchase intention and

the purchase decision. The first factor is the attitude of others. The second

factor is unanticipated situational factors that may erupt to change the

purchase intention. A consumers decision to modify, postpone, or avoid a

purchase decision is heavily influenced by perceived risk.

POST PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR

Marketers must monitor post purchase satisfaction, post purchase actions

and post purchase product uses.

POST PURCHASE SATISFACTION: the importance of post purchase

satisfaction suggests that product claims must truthfully represent the

products likely performance.

POST PURCHASE ACTIONS: satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the

product will influence consumers subsequent behavior. If the consumer is

satisfied, he or she will exhibit a higher probability of purchasing the

product again. Dissatisfied customers may abandon or return the product.

POST PURCHASE USE AND DISPOSAL: Marketers should also monitor

how buyers use and dispose of the product. If consumers store the

product in a closet, the product is probably not very satisfying. If they sell

or trade the product, new-product sales will be depressed. Consumers

may also find new uses for the product.

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Need to understand:

Why consumers make the purchases that they make?

What factors influence consumer purchases?

The changing factors in our society.

Consumer Buying Behaviour refers to the buying behaviour of the

ultimate consumer. A firm needs to analyze buying behaviour for:

Buyers reactions to a firms marketing strategy has a great impact

on the firms success.

The marketing concept stresses that a firm should create a

Marketing Mix (MM) that satisfies (gives utility to) customers,

therefore need to analyze the what, where, when and how

consumers buy.

Marketers can better predict how consumers will respond to

marketing strategies.

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COMPANY PROFILE

J. Reynolds & Company, situated in 15 Mirza Ghalib

Street, Near Fire Brigade HQ Kolkata, West Bengal 700016.

Reynolds is a third generation family business established

over 100 years ago in Kolkata. Today the businesses are also

located in Goa, Bangalore and Shillong.

From a humble beginning with Pianos, the business

expanded to encompass violins, mandolins, piano accordions,

recorders and finally the guitar.

John Remedios with his brother Jonas trained under

Luthiers in Germany "Karl Hofner" and "Matt Hohner" and

thereafter started production of the guitar in Kolkata.

Johns' three sons Felix, Leslie & Peter joined the business

in 1979 and there was no looking back.

Felix started operations in Bangalore and expanded into

rentals of sound, lights, Audiovisuals, trussing, Lasers and LED

screens. He is today the best in India and has been responsible

for numerous world famous acts like Bryan Adams, Deep

Purple, Enrique, Beyonce, Black eyed Peas, Mark Knoffler, INXS ,

Firehouse, Iron Maiden, A.R Rahman etc. .

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Leslie moved full circle to Indias seaside paradise GOA in

1989 and after a stint with musical instruments graduated into

the futuristic business of themes, decor, sets inc luding stages,

lights, sound, AV and complete event solutions. Further

monopolising on his family s creativity he has expanded into

weddings concepts & creations. His disp lay centres in Goa and

his professional approach has made him the Country s leading

event, decor and wedding solution provider.

Peter continued to keep the Calcutta flag flying high and

Reynolds + Music still rocks the Nation.

Reynolds and its involvement in the music industry in India since

1908 have kept many an audience spellbound. Having pioneered guitar

making in the Country and provided world class equipment to musicians,

this third generation family business continues to grow from strength to

strength.

Reynolds is a family business which lead the country in musical

instruments marketing and its related products and services. It is the

manufacturer of Reynolds guitars and certified dealer of all Roland

products, Yamaha and is also a retailer of other musical instruments and

processors, effects, speakers, etc..

Reynolds mostly deals with Roland, one of the world leading

producer and marketing of electronic musical instruments and devices.

Trusted brand and product line-up was developed through state-of-the-art

technologies and unfettered ideas.

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Based on technologies that have developed over the years as the top

brand in electronic musical instruments, Reynolds continues to expand its

business domain through a "multi-brand strategy" which encompasses

well-known brands such as Reynolds, "Roland" and "BOSS."

The products which are available at Reynolds are mainly purchased

directly from manufacturers which is generally the best price but higher

minimum orders.

Vision and Mission

MUSIC, MUSIC AND MORE MUSIC...The show must go on !! and we at

Reynolds ensure our customers complete satisfaction.

This is what drives the company and which make it one of the best musical instruments dealer in the country.

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PRODUCTS & SERVICES

PRODUCTS ON SALE

Portable electronic keyboard

synthesizers from Roland,

Yamaha & Casio

Accoustic Pianos 88 kets 3 pedals

from "Ritter"

Drumsets from "Basix" "Yamaha"

"GB&A" "Sonor" " Tama"

Guitars - "AXL", "Jackson",

"CORT" , "Fender", "GB&A",

IBANEZ", "Jackson", "J&D",

"YAMAHA"

Effect Processors - "ZOOM",

"BOSS", "DOD", "Korg",

"Digitech"

Amplifiers - "Hartke",

"Behringer", Fender", "VOX",

"Marshall"

Percussions, Drumsticks &

Cymbals - "African", "Paiste",

"TOCA", "Remo", "Vicfirth"

ROLAND - Entire electronic range

All musical instruments accessories

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RENTAL OF AUDIOVISUALS

Pro Audio systems including speakers, amplifiers, mixers, mics,

monitors, as well as stage lighting like PAR cans, scanners & moving

heads + effects like smoke and lasers, conferencing & banqueting

services with laptops, podium mics, projectors upto 5000

ansilumens, screens upto 16x12, matrix switchers, and all related

products.

EVENT MANAGEMENT

Artist / Celebrity / Talent / Production

Conceptualizing, planning and execution of any event, be it a

Corporate affair, Product Launch, Road shows, Awards &

felicitations, music & entertainment, Fashion show, theme nights,

artist management or Weddings.

Coordination of all vendors like decorators, Barmen, entertainers,

performers, sound & lights, photography, vehicles, florists, caterers

amongst others is our forte.

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SOME OF THE ESTEEMED CLIENTS

The Oberoi Grand Hotel

The Taj group

Royal Calcutta Golf Club

CCFC

Fountainhead

Percept D Mark

Tiger Sports Marketing

Mcleod Russell Ltd.

FICCI

Bajaj allianz

Metaljunction

Fort Radisson

Network 21

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Important products available at Reynolds

Since Reynolds is also a dealer of Roland and Yamaha it is important

for them to highlight those products available with them. Roland is an

important part of Reynolds because it constitute the highest number of

products available at Reynolds. Yamaha and Casio are also important as

most of the Keyboards and Synthesizers are Yamaha and Casio.

From the dawning of the era of electronic musical instruments,

Roland has led the global music scene through releases of many

innovative products based on the original, world's first or Japan's first

technologies. Roland has now grown into a comprehensive brand covering

audio and video to bring joy of making music and video into our life, from

the living room to live concert stages.

BOSS is a brand that realizes the dreams of guitarists, from beginners to

pros, with a broad line-up of products ranging from guitar effects based on

state-of-the-art digital technology to digital recorders that allow users to

produce pro-quality music.

World standard from the very beginning

Envisioning the future. Creating moving sounds. This is the Roland

spirit.

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"Roland" was known as the name of a medieval European hero, and the

reason this name was used as the company's name was that these two

syllables were pleasant to the ear and could be pronounced in the same

way in any language in the world.

Ever since 1972, when the company was founded by the first president

Ikutaro Kakehashi (presently special consultant), they have been true to

the starting point, which is their commitment to "experimentations for

creating simulative sounds," and have continued to be driven by their

pursuit of "sounds that are comfortable to the human ear." They have

eventually found the material for creating "good and expressive sounds"

in the form of silicon chips. By leveraging this state-of-the-art technology

that has been enabled through modern science, they have been able to

establish a unique position in the world of electronic musical instruments.

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Roland's Corporate Slogans

- Inspire the Enjoyment of Creativity

- Be the BEST rather than the BIGGEST

- The Roland Family - Cooperative Enthusiasm

The entire range of Rolands electronics is available at Reynolds.

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Today, Yamaha is a leader in businesses ranging from musical

instruments and audio & video products to information technology

products, new media services, home furnishings, auto components,

specialty metals, music education and resort facilities. Yet, true to their

musical origins, no matter what business they take on -- or what country

they do business in -- they seek to remain perfectly attuned to a set of

common values that define the world of Yamaha

Yamaha Music India, part of Yamaha worldwide group, is

established with its clear vision to promote and develop the market of

Musical instruments, Pro-Audio and Audio-video products in India.

With its clear leadership in the Musical instruments market worldwide,

Yamaha Music aims to be the most preferred brand for artists, music

lovers and aspiring musicians in India.

Reynolds have been selling the products of Yamaha which mainly

includes digital keyboards and Synthesizers and guitars.

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Products of Yamaha available at Reynolds are :-

PORTABLE KEYBOARDS

Creative players of all ages - from the very young to the young at heart - will enjoy

making their own music on these high - quality keyboards, with a wide range of

exceptionally natural, realistic sounds and powerful auto accompaniment features.

ARRANGER WORKSTATIONS

Yamahas range of Arranger Workstation keyboards are packed with hundreds of great

sounds using the unique Advanced Wave Memory (AWM) tone generation system. In

addition there is a comprehensive range of performance features for every type of

player.

Different models of Portable Keyboards and Arranger Workstations are

available at Reynolds.

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GUITARS

Reynolds have many of the best selected brands of Guitars like

Ibanez, Fender, Cort, AXL, Jackson, GB&A, J&D, Peavey, Clayton, Yamaha

and their own brand, Reynolds. These guitars include Electrical, Acoustic

and Classical. Some of the important and leading brands of guitars are

marketed by Reynolds are given below

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya,

Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument

companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and

Europe, as well as the first brand of guitars to mass produce the Seven-string guitar. It

is one of the worlds leading brand of guitar, it is used by many of the international

artiste famous guitarist like, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, Mick Thompson and

many more.

Joe Satriani's choice

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The Jackson bloodline began back in the late 1970s, when

heavy music experienced a flamboyant and virtuosic

resurgence in popularity and a small Southern California

guitar repair shop became the epicenter of a new level of

shred-approved excellence. Ever since then, Jackson guitars

have been universally lauded as the metal guitars; the shred

machines, highly-original, high-performance instruments of

distinctive style and formidable substance. From metals chart-topping peaks to its

darkest recesses, for discerning guitarists all over the globe, Jackson is the only way to

go. Recent years have seen the Jackson bloodline continue to flourish, with all of the

companys most famous modelscustom and production series alikeenjoying great

success. Jackson signature instruments have also come into their own, with

magnificent models bearing top metal names such as Phil Collen (Def Leppard), Mark

Morton and John Campbell (Lamb of God), Phil Demmel (Machine Head), Chris Beattie

(Hatebreed), Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden), Matt Tuck (Bullet For My Valentine) and

others. Furthermore, the Jackson Custom Shop remains the longest-operating true

custom shop in the United States, with many members of its original staff still working

there and doing what they do bestproviding axe-wielding metallurgists worldwide

with world-class high-performance instruments that have no equal.

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Iconic Fender instruments such as the Telecaster, Stratocaster, Precision

Bass and Jazz Bass guitars are known worldwide as the instruments that started

the rock revolution, and they continue to be highly prized by todays musicians and

collectors.

With an illustrious history dating back to 1946, Fender has touched and

transformed music worldwide and in nearly every genre: rock n roll, country and

western, jazz, rhythm and blues and many others. Everyone from beginners and

hobbyists to the worlds most acclaimed artists and performers have used Fender

instruments and amps, in the process making the company not only a revered music

industry name, but also a cultural icon.

It is our vision to continue championing THE SPIRIT OF ROCK-N-ROLL throughout

the world, and our mission to exceed the expectations of music enthusiasts worldwide.

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Other famous brands of guitars available at

Reynolds are :-

, PLUTO, PEAVEY,

CLAYTON

These Guitars, which are available at Reynolds are mainly of Acoustic and

Classical guitar.

32

PRODUCT MIX

( Fig. Based on the products available at show room )

Reynolds keep a good product mix of different brands. From the

above diagram it is found that the largest number of products are Roland,

39% of instruments available at Reynolds are from Roland. Next comes

their own brand of guitar, which holds 11% , Yamaha has 10% and other

products make up the rest.

39%

10% 7%

11%

5%

4%

6%

7%

11%

Different brands at Reynolds

Roland

Yamaha

Casio

Reynold

Ibanez

Jackson

Clayton

Cort

Others

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ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURES

Management Team

Peter Remedios Owner

Chairman and Managing Director

Operations manager

Peters strengths are writing and carrying out sales programs, and

keeping a company within its financial limitations. He has had a lifelong

interest in music and plans to translate that enthusiasm, along with his

management skills, into making Reynolds a successful long-term

investment.

Related Management Strengths:

CEO/COO level responsibility.

Writing sales programs to generate and maintain consistent sales

goals.

Excellent communication skills.

Maintains mutually beneficial vendor relations.

Ability to anticipate and adapt to changing economic conditions.

Experience negotiating complex sales contracts, including financing

and shipment options with large corporate clients such as Roland and

Yamaha.

Mark Assistant manager

Below this are the staff members in the office and sales persons in

the show room.

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COMPETITORS

J. Reynolds & Co. faced competition mostly from the local market

competitors. Even though there are many competitors in the market, the

company gained a large portion of the market share, especially in the

musical instruments and its accessories.

Some of the major competitors include the following :-

Galaxy Digital PVT LTD

S S Music

Music Planet

Braganza & Co

Kolkata Music Center

Pakrashi & Co.

Roland Pro Music

A part from these mentioned above, there are many local and small

dealers of musical and its related instruments.

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COMPETITIVE COMPARISON

Reynolds is different from its competitors in several key areas:

1. Their three largest competitors do not carry band and orchestral instruments,

one of their primary focuses.

2. They offer services to support their products, and most of their competitors sell

just the products themselves.

3. Reynolds take full advantage of "name brand recognition," an element that most

dealers overlook and under-advertise.

4. Reynolds capitalize on their competitors' weakness in the accessory category

by keeping well-stocked.

Musical instruments cannot be fully enjoyed without knowledge and

experience. Unfortunately, they cannot sell these products at a higher price just

because they offer repair and instructional services; the market does not support

dealers who have tried this. They must offer varied services and product mixes and be

competitively priced as well, in order to survive in this new economy. In addition to

educating our customer base, they are committed to providing the best product value.

Accessories are the highest profit center for the store and they have to expose their

competitors' weakness in this area if they wish to expand market share from day one

of operations. Competitors that do not stock the necessary accessories will send their

customers to competing stores, from which customers may not return. It is important

to keep the accessory department well-stocked to take advantage of the competitors'

flaws, and avoid this pitfall ourselves.

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SERVICES AND HOME DELIVERY

J. Reynold & Co. provide quality after-sales services on all its products

sold and of their services. During this period of warranty, all services

are provided for free.

Home delivery is given only on Pianos. They can deliver anywhere in

India. Products like Pianos are given 10 years of warranty.

Reynolds also accepted a special order of products from customer. A

customer can placed an order of the products, custom guitars orders are

also accepted.

Repairing of musical instruments can also be done at Reynolds. There is

an engineer and mechanics available for any repairs.

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OVERVIEW OF BUSINESS

PERFORMANCE

In the consolidated fiscal year under review (April 1, 2009 to March

31, 2010), global economy saw a continuous minimization of corporate

capital investment and weak individual consumption, due to the economic

recession brought on by the financial crisis of the previous consolidated

fiscal year. Despite some signs of a mild recovery in the second half, the

future prospects remain uncertain.

In terms of Electronic Musical Instruments Business, under these

circumstances, the Company continued its efforts to streamline businesses

with a focus on reducing costs, inventories, and the number of models.

Mean while, also continued working to cultivate new demand, by

marketing directly to customers through measures including shop-in-shop

activities, and the Better Life with Music concept that proposes better

quality of life through playing musical instruments. Although these efforts

resulted in robust sales for new amplifiers for musical instruments,

synthesizers, and digital pianos, sales of existing products were sluggish

overall, especially in the higher price ranges. Sales in some of the products

were up from the previous consolidated fiscal year, while it fell in some

products because of weak consumer spending.

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Consolidated Financial highlights

Years ended March 31

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Net sales 892,70,0 952,59,0 985,60,0 945,06,0 855,03,4

Gross profit 385,00,0 408,60,0 479,40,0 427,96,0 345,66,0

Operating income 837,40 984,20 133,33 743,00 813,0

Ordinary income 900,40 984,55 99,90,0 605,00 541,0

Net income 320,80 370,10 362,10 104,70 209,00

Net assets 535,24 733,31 786,89 714,99 712,77

Total assets 817,38 931,16 986,92 938,86 916,75

Gross profit margin (%) 43.1 42.9 48.6 45.3 40.4

39

Gross Profit margin

The above figure represent the gross profit percentages of the

company for the last five years. It is shown that the gross profit has

come down. Downsizing of the musical shop is one reason.

43.1 42.9

48.6

45.3

40.4

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Gross profit margin

Years

40

Electronic Musical instrument Business

41

42

THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY IS

TO FIND OUT THE FOLLOWING :-

Marketing of musical instruments.

The marketing strategies and position, function and management of

the company.

The consumer behaviour in their selection process and criteria of

musical instruments.

43

44

The methodology used for this organization study is

mainly in two ways. They are:-

Primary Data

Secondary Data

Primary Data:

Primary data are those data which are collected first hand and thus

happen to be in original character. The primary data includes the

following :

Questionnaires

Observing

Interviews with the company personnel at different levels of

management.

From the manager

From the office staff

From the workers

Secondary Data:

Secondary data are those data which have already been collected from the

company such as-

Business journals

Quality manuals

Annual report

Magazines

Newspapers

45

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

While surveying I encounter with some problems like-

A survey should involve a larger sample size otherwise the

findings of the survey cannot be generalized.

A larger sample size may increase the time and cost of collecting

the primary data with the help of Questionnaire.

Many of the respondents were not willing to fill the

questionnaire.

Some people were not willing to respond and few of them who

responded were in hurry hence the active participation was

lacking. Due to which I faced difficulties in collecting

informations regarding our questionnaire.

Another problem which I face was that people were hesitating to

give information about their views freely.

Official data of financial performance of the company cannot be

retrieved as the company cannot disclose their actual financial

performance.

The Customers response rate is very low.

46

47

For the purpose of analysis questionnaires were prepared. The

questionnaires contained 12 questions. However, the sample size of the

people was 40. The response rate is very low as only 34 have responded

completely. The responses so obtained for each questions has been

expressed in simple percentage form.

Q.1. Buyer of musical instruments on the basis of gender

i) Male : 26 ii) Female : 6

Comment : The customers who response the questionnaire consist of only

19 % of female, while 81% is male. Among these female customers, most

of them bought musical instrument or its related products for others.

81%

19%

Gender

Male

Female

48

Q.2. Which instrument do you play ?

Comment: Most of the customers can play one or the other musical

instruments. Among these instruments, most customers can play Guitar,

which consist of 41% and next comes Keyboards/Synthesizers which

consist of 26%. Surprisingly, among those customers who bought musical

instrument for their own, 12% of them do not know how to play.

41%

26%

9%

6%

6%

12%

Instruments

Guitar

Keyboards

Drums

Flute

Others

None

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Q3. What is your purpose of buying musical instrument ?

Comment : It is found that most of the customers who bought musical

instruments are not necessarily musicians. Professional musicians is only

23% while the largest number is those who learn playing, consisting of

35%. 24% of the customers bought for themselves as they like playing.

18% of the customers bought for others as a gift.

23%

35%

18%

24%

Purpose of buying musical instruments

Musician

Learning play

Hobby

For others

50

Q.4. Which brand of guitar do you prefer ?

Comment : Fender is the most preferred brand of Guitar because of its

price and its quality. Ibanez is also one of the brand that attracted

customers. Other guitars like Jackson, Pluto, Cort, etc. are also good brand

that customers liked. But the figure shown is not necessarily what the

customers purchased. It means that customers did not necessarily buy

their most preferred brand.

20%

23%

15%

9%

18%

15%

Most prefered brand of Guitar

Ibanez

Fender

Jackson

Cort

Pluto

Others

51

Q.5. Which brand of keyboard/synthesizer do you prefer ?

Comment : Yamaha Keyboards and Synthesizers are the most preferred

brand, which consist of 44% and Roland comes next with 35% and Casio

with 21%.

44%

35%

21%

0%

Most prefered brand of Keyboard

Yamaha

Roland

Casio

Others

52

Q.6. What factor influence you to go for a particular brand ?

Comment : The factor which influence the customers the most for a

particular brand is the Quality, which consist of 41% and the next factor is

the Price, which consist of 32%. The above figure shows that other factors

also influence customers like Durability with 12%, Variety with 6% and

Other factors with 9%.

41%

32%

6%

12% 9%

Factor which influence to go for a particular brand

Quality

Price

Variety

Durability

Others

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Q.7. How do you select your instrument ?

Comment: It is found that most of the musical instruments is selected on

the basis of Quality, the above figures shows that 29% choose on the basis

of the quality. Price is also an important factor which consist of 26% and

Brand name also plays an important role for selecting an instrument with

21%. Some of the customers, consisting 9%, selected their instrument

based on the appearance irrespective of the quality and price.

21%

26%

29%

12%

9% 3%

Brand name

Price

Quality

Performance

Appearance

Others

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Q.8. Are you satisfied with the price ranges at Reynolds ?

Comment : The above figure shows that 56% of the customers are

satisfied with the prices of products at Reynolds, but 29% are not satisfied

while 15% of the customers are not sure whether they are completely

satisfied or not.

56% 29%

15%

Yes

No

Not sure

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Q.9. How often do you purchase musical instrument or its related

products?

Comment: The customers of musical instruments do not buy the products

very often. Those who buy the instruments or its related products account

for only 6%, and 12% of the customers buy every 6 months, 35% of them

buys once in a year and the rest, 47% buys in every two years.

6% 12%

35%

47% Every month

Once in 6 months

Once in 12 months

Once in 2 years

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Q.10. What kind of promotional tool do you prefer ?

Comment: The most preferred promotional tool is Discount, which

account for 50%, Free gift comes next with 30%, and coupons with 15%

and 5% of the customers prefer to get one free when buying a product.

50%

15%

30%

5%

Prefered Promotional tool

Discount

Coupons

Free gift

Buy one get one free

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Q.11. How would you rate J. Reynolds & Co ? please circle the applicable

answer

Comment: 46% of the customers gave a rating of 4 out 5, while 26% gave

3 out of 5, 6% of them gave 1 rating point, 14% gave 5 out of 5 and

another 14% gave 2 out of 5 rating points.

6% 14%

26% 40%

14%

Ratings

1

2

3

4

5

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Q.12. Are you satisfied with the products and services at Reynolds ?

Comment: 85% of the J. Reynolds & Cos customers are satisfied with the

products and services while 15% of the customers are not completely

satisfied. Their dissatisfaction may be because of different reasons.

85%

15%

Satisfied

Yes

No

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The key findings from the analysis of

data are mentioned below :

The customers of musical instruments mainly consist of men.

Most of the customers of musical instruments can play one or the

other musical instruments. But there are also customers who do not

play any musical instruments.

Fender guitars and Yamaha keyboards were most preferred brand.

Other brands of musical instruments also play an important role in

the marketing of musical instruments.

Many factors influences customers for their criteria of selecting a

particular brand like, Quality, Price, Variety and Durability.

It is found that customers select their instruments on the bases like

first quality, second price, third brand name, fourth performance,

fifth appearance or looks and other factors.

Most of the customers of musical instruments do not buy the

products regularly or we can say, very often. Those customers who

buys often are professional musicians and studio engineer.

It is found that the customers most preferred promotional tool is

giving discount.

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TECHNOLOGY

The Music Industry is currently riding a trend toward high-tech

electronics in several product areas, most notably in guitar related effects

and multi-track recording hard/software. Sales increases in these areas

are due to the slashing of the price barrier in the home recording market,

and the pace at which new products become obsolete. This high tech boom

has increased the music industry market substantially.

Digital keyboards are also seeing increased market share as

technology becomes more accessible. These units offer families state-of-

the-art sounds and capabilities without a huge learning curve. For

instance, digital piano sales are currently the fastest growing segment of

the total piano market in the U.S., and sales have increased 450% over the

last ten years.

One downside of technological innovations is that prices in this

industry are dropping sharply, lowering revenues per unit. It is therefore

essential that the Musical Instrument retailer of today bundle products

together as packages, to increase profits and build sales.

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RECOMMENDATIONS

J. Reynolds & Co. is one of the company that leads the market in musical

instruments and services. Even though it is performing well, there is

always room for improvements.

The company does not undertake any promotional tool to promote

their products apart from display and try-out, where the customers can

try any musical instruments. Advertisement is not done for musical

instruments.

The company could have grab more of the market share if their

shop and products are advertised and if some promotional tools were

undertaken, there is a chance for expansion and increasing the profit.

Reynolds is known for its guitars and quality Roland products, so it

should continue to maintain its image for giving quality and music and

more music.

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From the field study and data collected from different sources, it can

be concluded that J. Reynolds & Co. provide people who love quality music

and musical instruments at a reasonable price.

The quality and authenticity stands out, with a good quality services.

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QUESTIONNAIRE

Q.1. Personal information :

i) Name : _____________________________________ ii) Age

ii) Sex : Male Female

Q.2. Which instrument do you play ?

i) Guitar ii) Keyboards iii) Drums

iv) Flute v) Others iv) None

Q.3. What is your purpose of buying musical instrument ?

i) Im a musician

ii) I am learning

iii) Playing is my hobby

iv) For others

Q.4. Which brand of guitar do you prefer ?

i) Ibanez ii) Fender iii) Jackson

iv) Cort v) Pluto vi) Others

Q.5. Which brand of keyboard/synthesizer do you prefer ?

i) Yamaha ii) Roland

iii) Casio iv) Others

Q.6. What factor influence you to go for a particular brand ?

i) Quality ii) Price iii) Variety

iv) Durability v) Others

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Q.7. How do you select your instrument ?

i) Brand name ii) Price iii) Quality

iv) Performance v) Appearance vi) Others

Q.8. Are you satisfied with the price ranges at Reynolds ?

i) Yes ii) No iii) Not sure

Q.9. How often do you purchase musical instrument or its related

products?

i) Every month ii) Once in 6 months

iii) Once in 12 months iv) Once in 2 years

Q.10. What kind of promotional tool do you prefer ?

i) Discount ii) Coupons iii) Free gift

iv) Buy one get one free

Q.11. How would you rate J. Reynolds & Co ? please circle the applicable

answer

Very good 5 4 3 2 1 very bad

Q.12. Are you satisfied with the products and services at Reynolds ?

i) Yes ii) No

*********************************************************

Thank you for your contribution

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Primary sources

1. Consumer Survey

Secondary sources

1. Website: www.marketing.about.com www.roland.com www.google.com info@reynoldsmusic.in

2. Reference list:

Kotler Philip - Marketing management R.Kumar - Research Methodology

Solomon Consumer Behaviour Rock Street Journal The Record Newspapers

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