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ELK ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF MARKETING AND RETAIL MANAGEMENT
ISSN 2349-2317 (Online); DOI: 10.16962/EAPJMRM/issn. 2349-2317/2015; Volume 7 Issue 2 (2016)
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MARKETING STRATEGIES AND PREFERENCE CRITERIA OF THE SELECTED
TEXTILE SHOWROOMS – A PRELUDE
Saraswathi. V
Department Of Commerce, Assistant Professor,
Apollo Arts And Science College, Madras University, India,
[email protected]
ABSTRACT
Clothing has been one of the primary needs of mankind. It has been the second in the triumvirate of man’s
fundamental necessities. Today majority of the people have got used to purchase their clothing through a wide
variety of retail textile showrooms as the retail outlets exist in every nook and corner of the country. They make
shopping convenient to the customers. With the increase in competition in retail showrooms, the manager has to
make various marketing plans to attain his objectives. Thus it has been necessary for all the showroom owners to
adopt marketing strategy to succeed in their business.
All the businesses including the retail showrooms have started considering “customer” as the sovereign.
The research study has been conducted to understanding how the textile showrooms have developed superior
customer value in markets, characterized by dynamic exchange relationships. The focus has been on understanding
the drives of customer values and how the textile showrooms have to deal with the customers in order to achieve
superior performance. This paper has also highlighted the potential impact of marketing strategy adopted by
selected textile showrooms in Chennai city.
Keywords: Clothing, Marketing strategy, Retailer, Textile showroom
1. INTRODUCTION
TO
TEXILE
INDUSTRY AND CLOTHING
century the modern textile industry took
birth in India when the first textile mill was
Since ancient times Indian Textile Industry
established at Fort Gloster near Culcutta in
has been well known for textile goods.
1818. Next to Agriculture, India mainly has
During the colonial regime the traditional
been into the Textile Sector. Indian Textile
textile industry of India was virtually
Industry has been one of the India’s oldest
decayed. However, in the early nineteenth
industries and has a formidable presence in
ELK ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF MARKETING AND RETAIL MANAGEMENT
ISSN 2349-2317 (Online); DOI: 10.16962/EAPJMRM/issn. 2349-2317/2015; Volume 7 Issue 2 (2016)
the national economy as it contribute to
personal or business use. Convenience
about 14% of manufacturing value-addition,
stores, departmental stores, supermarkets,
accounts for around one-third of
gross
chain stores, shopping mall/centers, textile
gainful
showrooms etc. have all been in retail
employment to millions of people. Thus the
trade. The Indian retail sector has been
industry has played an important role and
highly fragmented with more than 90 per
has been one of the key growth engines of
cent of its business being carried out by
the economy.
traditional family run small stores. Textile
export
earnings
and
provides
showrooms in Chennai have wanted to
Primarily, clothing has satisfied the desire
for warmth and for protection against the
remain successful despite the economic
depression and other problems.
elements. Secondarily, it has given psychical
satisfaction,
and
social
Marketing Strategy has focused on the
achievement. They have been a symbol of
drivers of customer value that has enabled
social status, of distinction, accomplishment
the organizations to create a sustainable
or occupation. Clothing has been one of the
competitive advantage in the marketplace.
most common ways by which the desire of
As markets have been are increasingly
distinction
characterised by a high degree of dynamics,
and
a
sense
of
recognition
of
accomplishment has been expressed.
strategic marketing has become more and
more important to an increasing variety of
2. IMPORTANT OF RETAIL
organizations. Marketing strategy has been
MARKETING AND MARKETING
the complete and the unbeatable plan
STRATEGY
designed specifically for attaining the
“Any business that directs its marketing
efforts
towards
satisfying
the
final
consumer is based upon the organization
of selling goods and services as a means of
distribution” Retail Marketing in India.
Retailing has included all the activities
involved in selling the goods or services
directly to the final consumers for their
marketing objectives of the firm.
The research study has been framed
to understanding how the textile showrooms
have developed superior customer value in
the market. This paper has also highlighted
the potential impact of marketing strategy
adopted by selected textile showrooms in
ELK ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF MARKETING AND RETAIL MANAGEMENT
ISSN 2349-2317 (Online); DOI: 10.16962/EAPJMRM/issn. 2349-2317/2015; Volume 7 Issue 2 (2016)
Chennai city. The five popular textile
succeed in their business. With the increase
showrooms have been selected for the study.
in competition in retail textile showrooms,
There are following below:
the manager has to make various marketing
plans to attain his objectives. It has been
1. Pothys
important to create a good image and by
2. RMKV
earning more profits, a company has to
3. The Chennai Silk
device a good strategy that can be affect all
4. Jayachandran
aspects of business.
5. Saravana store
The research has been conducted to
3. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
analyse the marketing strategy provided by
the selected five textile showrooms in
All the businesses including the retail textile
showrooms
have
started
considering
“customer” as the sovereign. Today, the
market place has been flooded with many
new players including a host of
Chennai city and the customers’ preference
criteria for choosing a showroom.
4.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY:
The present study has been carried out to
find out the preference criteria of the
Today the majority of the people
have got used to purchase their clothing’s
through
a wide variety of retail textile
showrooms. In the entry stage of textile
showrooms, they enter with a new price
appeal, limiting product offerings, & limited
customers in selecting a showroom and the
marketing strategies adopted by the textile
showrooms.
The
study
has
provided
suggestions to the owners of the textile
showrooms, to help them retain their
customers in the market.
services. The monopoly power over the
others has a price advantage, which can
5.
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
offer products at low prices to get a
competitive edge over its competitors.
The entire work has been planned to cover
the following objectives:
Now a days, retail textile showrooms have
been increasing rapidly in Chennai city. It
 To decipher the opinion of the existing
has been necessary for all the showroom
and the prospective customers with
owners to adopt marketing strategy to
ELK ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF MARKETING AND RETAIL MANAGEMENT
ISSN 2349-2317 (Online); DOI: 10.16962/EAPJMRM/issn. 2349-2317/2015; Volume 7 Issue 2 (2016)
respect
to
the
marketing
strategies
adopted by the showrooms
the study. Therefore, to study the purchase
 To gather information about the
cause-effect
marketing
relationship
strategies
showrooms be selected for the purpose of
behavior of the consumers, Thiyagaraya
of
the
Nagar
with
the
convenience. Through random sampling
customers
in
Chennai
was
selected
for
method a sample size of 250 respondents
 To ascertain the opinion of the
customers with respect to the best
has been selected from five selected textile
showrooms.
marketing practices that can be
6.3 Tools Used
adopted by the sellers
6. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Statistical tools used
6.1 Study Area:
 Percentage analysis
The area selected for the study has been
 Rank analysis
Chennai city.
 Kendall’s co efficient of concordance
The secondary data, as an integral part of
7. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
any research study has provided information
on key variables, which have played a major
 Through there have been many retail
part in the actual research. The source of
textile showrooms at Chennai, only 5
secondary data collected includes have been
have been taken for the study.
 The results and findings have been
from:
based on the opinion of the respondents

The internet and

The
various
of Chennai city only.
thesis,
journals,
magazines and newspapers
 The respondent’s views and opinions
may hold good for the time being and
may vary in future.
6.2 Sample Size
Since there have been a lot of textile
showrooms in Chennai city , it was
considered desirable that a limited textile
 The respondents then ranked the
five showrooms based on the attributes
of each outlet and the promotional
ELK ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF MARKETING AND RETAIL MANAGEMENT
ISSN 2349-2317 (Online); DOI: 10.16962/EAPJMRM/issn. 2349-2317/2015; Volume 7 Issue 2 (2016)
strategies followed by them. Kendall’s
The respondent’s preferences of the shops
coefficient of concordance has been
and the promotional strategies followed
applied to confirm the similarities of
by the shops have been ranked and
opinion expressed for the satisfaction
analysed in following Tables , using
and
Kendall’s W
preferences
expressed
by
the
respondents.
9. Respondents’ favorite Shop
8. Respondents’ reasons for preferring
the shop :
The lowest mean value assigned has been
the most preferred shop by the respondents.
Respondents have various reasons to choose
Out of the five selected textile showrooms in
a shop , Table No.1 has given an idea about
Chennai, the majority of the respondents
the respondents’ reasons for preferring a
have selected Pothys first followed by
shop.(Refer Table 1)
RMKV , The Chennai Silks, Jayachandran
and the Saravana Stores.(Refer Table 2)
82.4% of the respondents have preferred
RMKV for high quality of products. 45.2%
Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance has
have chosen Pothys for their high quality
been used to find whether the ranks assigned
products and 23.8% of the respondents .The
by the respondents have the same order in
respondents have been quite satisfied with
ranking or have any similarities. The
respect to The Chennai Silks, both with
Kendall’s (W) vary between 0 and 1. Higher
respect to quality and reasonable pricing
the value of W higher has been the similarity
(51.2% and 46.5% respectively).
among the respondents in assigning ranks.
37.3% of the respondents have preferred
Kendall’s coefficient of concordance
Saravana Stores for their low pricing of
dresses. While 40.6% of the respondents
have considered Jeyachandran’s products as
N
250
Kendall's W .118
reasonably priced.
The respondents have preferred first Pothys,
Source: Computed
followed by Saravana Stores, RMKV, The
The Kendall’s (W) has been found to be
Chennai Silks and Jeyachandran.
0.118, which has indicated that there has
ELK ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF MARKETING AND RETAIL MANAGEMENT
ISSN 2349-2317 (Online); DOI: 10.16962/EAPJMRM/issn. 2349-2317/2015; Volume 7 Issue 2 (2016)
been a very low similarity among the
The
respondents in assigning ranks for their
strategies as the first choice among the given
preferred shop. Depending on the perception
strategies .
of the respondents, the ranking preference
has also been changing over the period.
respondents
have
chosen
Pricing
Kendall’s coefficient of concordance
Hence the respondents’ views about the
Kendall's W .500
shops have been varying.
Source: Computed
10. Satisfaction of the respondents on
strategies adopted by shops:
The Kendall’s coefficient of concordance
has revealed a good similarity among the
The lowest mean value has been taken to be
respondents in assigning ranks for preferred
the most preferred strategy as expressed by
strategies. This has established that the
the respondents. Reasonable price has been
respondents have a rational approach to shop
the first preference of the respondents.
for their products and have shown a uniform
Kendall’s coefficient of concordance
inclination towards cutting down costs by
the showrooms, to enjoy the benefit of price
Kendall's W .141
cuts on good & services.
Source: Computed
12. Benefits preferred by the respondents.
The Kendall’s (W) has revealed a very low
similarity among the respondents ( 0.141) in
assigning ranks for their preferred strategy
and hence the opinion of the respondents
have varied preferences.
11. Marketing strategies preferred by the
respondents.
(Refer table 5)
‘Reasonable price without any discount’ has
been
the
primary expectation
of
the
respondents while selecting products in their
showrooms. The above ranking has revealed
that the customers always have given
importance to reasonable and competitive
pricing, as compared to gift articles and gift
(Refer table 4)
vouchers.
Kendall’s coefficient of concordance
ELK ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF MARKETING AND RETAIL MANAGEMENT
ISSN 2349-2317 (Online); DOI: 10.16962/EAPJMRM/issn. 2349-2317/2015; Volume 7 Issue 2 (2016)
Kendall's W .391
14. Suggestions
Source: Computed
The study has revealed a price-conscious
Kendall’s coefficient of concordance has
customer in the market. Hence , the textile
revealed a moderate low similarity among
respondents in assigning ranks for their
showrooms should adopt a reasonable
pricing policy to satisfy the customers.
choice of various benefits required in future.
The textile showrooms have to introduce the
Inspite of the differences in opinion, the
latest designs and styles with huge collection
respondents have preferred cash benefits to
to cater to the needs of their customers.
gift.
Pricing and advertising strategies are plays
13. Findings
an
important
role
on
attracting
the
 The respondents satisfaction levels for
customers. So the showroom owners should
all the products in Pothys,RMKV and
also concentrate the both and plan right
The Chennai Silk have been Excellent.
marketing plans to succeed.
 The respondents satisfaction levels for
all the products in Pothys,RMKV and
The Chennai Silk been only Good.
 The respondents preferred reasonably
priced products, first and then have
insisted on the good quality of the
products even though when price high.
 Jayachandran has been chosen as the
first by the respondents and ‘Highly
satisfied’ for providing discount offers
in the market, followed by Saravana
Stores.
 76% of respondents have received
special offers from the showrooms.
 98% of respondents have been regular
visitors of the showrooms.
15. Conclusion
Since today’s market is a buyer’s market, it
become necessary to study the customer
taste, preference, idea etc,. As a large
number of products are available in the
market, the competition become severe.
Pothys has studied all the types of customer
behavior, preferences and has adopted
various marketing strategies to increase the
sales volume of their products. Marketing
strategies oriented with customers changing
needs, tastes, fashion, affordability and
exquisite collection should be the sine qua
non of the customer-seller relationship.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ELK ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF MARKETING AND RETAIL MANAGEMENT
ISSN 2349-2317 (Online); DOI: 10.16962/EAPJMRM/issn. 2349-2317/2015; Volume 7 Issue 2 (2016)
 Nordas, “ Textile and Clothing”,
European journal of marketing, 2004
Vol 38, pp.125-126.
 Rashid khan. M.D, “ A Study of
customer perception on the marketing
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for brand building” MBA Dissertation,
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ELK ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF MARKETING AND RETAIL MANAGEMENT
ISSN 2349-2317 (Online); DOI: 10.16962/EAPJMRM/issn. 2349-2317/2015; Volume 7 Issue 2 (2016)
List of Tables
Table 1: Respondents’ preference of a shop as the first Choice.
Reason for preference
TOTAL
High
quality
Huge
Low
collections price
High
discount
offers
Reasonable
price
No. %
No. %
No. %
No. %
No. %
Pothys
38
45.2 24
28.6 2
RMKV
28
82.4 6
17.6
The Chennai
Shop
22
Silks
preferred
51.2 1
2.3
3.9
7
13.7 19
37.3 15
5
15.6 4
17.6 25
Saravana
Stores
2
Jayachandran
TOTAL
90
36.9 43
Source: Computed
Table 2: Shop preferred by the respondents
Shops preferred
Mean
Rank
Pothys
2.19
RMKV
2.90
The
Chennai 2.99
2.4
20
84
34.43
34
13.93
46.5
43
17.62
29.4 8
15.7
51
20.90
12.5 10
31.3 13
40.6
32
13.11
10.2 25
10.2 61
25.0
244
20
23.8
No. %
ELK ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF MARKETING AND RETAIL MANAGEMENT
ISSN 2349-2317 (Online); DOI: 10.16962/EAPJMRM/issn. 2349-2317/2015; Volume 7 Issue 2 (2016)
Silks
Jayachandran
3.25
Saravana Stores
3.68
Source: Computed
Table 3 : Strategies preferred by the respondents
Strategies preferred by the respondents Mean Rank
Reasonable price
3.35
Discount sales
3.49
Festival offers
3.60
Year end offer
4.41
Buy 1 get 1 offers
5.02
Gift articles/vouchers
5.18
Special discount for regular customer
5.22
Media advertisement
5.73
Source: Computed
Table 4. Marketing strategies preferred by the respondents.
Marketing Strategies preferred
Mean
Rank
Pricing strategies
1.57
Customer service strategies
1.97
ELK ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF MARKETING AND RETAIL MANAGEMENT
ISSN 2349-2317 (Online); DOI: 10.16962/EAPJMRM/issn. 2349-2317/2015; Volume 7 Issue 2 (2016)
Advertising strategies
2.84
Interior design strategies
3.62
Source: Computed
Table No. 5: Preferred benefits
Benefits preferred and expected Mean Rank
Reasonable price without discount 1.85
Competitive pricing
2.31
Year end real sales & offers
2.84
Valuable gift articles
3.78
Gift voucher
4.22
Source: Computed