In my second year of working with Oscar Leathers Pvt Ltd. I was given a task to survey the domestic Indian market and chalk out the feasibility of launching our own domestic brand.  The company had tried the same on numerous occasions before but couldn’t see it through because of the stiff completion from the people who were importing the goods from China and selling similar products at very competitive prices.  To lock heads with the traders who have been in the market for over a decade required a lot of courage and perseverance. I was determined to see this through because this was a very important aspect of marketing our production unit.

We conducted a swat analysis and came up with a solution to give us a competitive edge. Since our product was a higher quality niche pure leather product our plan was to convince the customers by putting forward the advantages of buying a pure leather product. However, the most ignored sector in the Indian retail industry is the after sales service and we wanted to use this to our advantage.  We knew that we had to come up with a plan to keep the customer happy by providing exceptional after sales service. We decided to give a 1 year warrantee on our product’s. None of the importers could use this strategy because of the inferior quality of the product they were importing from China.

We tested the waters and launched a weeklong advertisement campaign on all social networks, local radio channels and newspapers. We invited friends and government officials to the opening of our store.  We strategically decided to open on the festive day of Diwali, which marks a new beginning on the Indian calendar. We could feel the momentum around us and we knew if we could  make a break through  in the Indian market despite the stiff price completion.

The brand “TOES” was officially launched in the month of October 2011 and was an instant hit. The brand exceeded our sales target of INR 10 million in the first year from a single retail shop.  Our perseverance and courage to do what no other local manufacturer had done finally produced results.  The company now plans to open new stores across five metros in India by the end of December 2013.

This was very special learning experience in many ways.  I learnt that with the correct fundamentals and strategy all barriers could be broken. I displayed exceptional team management skills and worked across different verticals to achieve a common goal. Critical decision making during the course of the project gave my confidence a boost in terms of decision making.  I learnt the key principals of product pricing and brand management that gave us a unique identity amongst our customers. To ensure that we meet our targets for the future I have assigned an independent team to manage the product development and marketing. I am sure our brand will grow from strength to strength in the years to come.