Case Statement:
The client is a tile manufacturer with a market presence for 2-3 decades. They were the market leaders (70% share) but now have slid down to second place. They tried a few strategies 4 years back but have had no success. Suggest a few growth initiatives for the client.
C: Before I start, I want to understand where does the company lie in the value-chain? Do they only manufacturer or do they sell too?
I: They manufacture and majorly sell through dealers
C: Where are we based and what geography do we cover?
I: We have our factory in Gujarat and cater to entire Indian market majorly in north-west and central India.
C: You mention some remedial steps were taken. What were these and what was the impact?
I: Some product modifications were made, and few new dealers were on-boarded
C: What is the competitive landscape like?
I: There are 2-3 major players holding 80-85% market share.
C: How many SKUs do we have, and are we seeing a growth/decline in a particular category?
I: We have 100s of SKUs across 10-15 categories, decline is seen across all.
C: On the consumers side, do we do B2B and B2C both? Also are dealers our primary consumers?
I: We do some B2B, but let’s focus on B2C where we are primarily selling through dealers.
C: Is there any other objective that the client wants to achieve in terms of timeline, profits or other metrics?
I: No only market share growth. Let’s quickly move to ideas.
C: Sure, so my approach is that so we can look at organic growth in the existing business or in the new business. Within existing businesses, we can increase the revenue per customer or the overall number of customers. While focusing on increasing overall customers, we can look at the dealer’s side and the end consumers’ side.
I: Okay, how would you go about this via the dealer's route?
C: On the dealer side, we should be looking at increasing the onboarding rate and decreasing the attrition rate. We can increase onboarding by spreading awareness basis and by offering better promotional material and commission structure than competitors. We can reduce the attrition of dealers by increasing dealer engagement and adding sales-linked incentives. We can organise dealer meet-ups and trips to increase brand affinity. We should incorporate dealer feedback on sales and put demo products for dealers so that it is convenient for them to understand products and push better.about the product and the brand, by placing the product on a pilot
I: Okay, let's move on to the consumer's side.
C: On the end consumers side, we should prioritise the D2C channel to reduce dependency on dealers. Additionally, should make a product available through new retail channels like e-commerce where we can use existing players or create our own website. We can also look at evolving our products to increase use cases like decorations and DIY etc. Lastly, we should evaluate our promotion strategy for pushing both, trade and sales promotions and position ourselves as a long trusted brand of the country.
I: That's good. Do you want to focus on something else?
C: Yes, we can evaluate potential on the new business side, wherein we can expand into new geography such as tapping the potential of the South and East Indian market. If we were to offer new products and services, we can think of things like tile care, smart tiles, sustainable tiles etc. to appeal to the value of different consumer groups.
I: Okay, thank you so much. We can end the case here. All the best!
Background Information:
Client: Tile manufacturer – prior industry leader
Competitors: 2-3 major players holding 80-85% of market share
Customers: Both B2B & B2C and selling via dealers
Location/Geography: Based out of Gujarat, catering to the entire Indian market but majorly in NW and Central India
Products: 100’s of SKUs and decline across all
Value-chain: They manufacture and sell through dealers
Case Recommendations:
Dealer Engagement Strategy: Improve dealer onboarding and retention by offering better incentives, dealer meet-ups, and product support.
D2C Expansion: Reduce reliance on dealers by entering the direct-to-consumer market through e-commerce and retail channels.
Product Diversification: Expand the product range with innovative offerings like tile care, smart tiles, and sustainable options.
Market Expansion: Explore untapped markets in South and East India to regain lost market share.
Promotional Strategy: Position the brand as a trusted industry leader through effective trade and sales promotions.
Case tips:
Bring out all aspects of framework and explain it to the interviewer before seeking out specific information.
At each step broadly lay down your approach and explain the rationale to the approach at each step before seeking out specific information.
