LAUNCH OF iROBOT ROOMBA

IN INDIA

BASED ON MARKET SURVEY CONDUCTED IN THE

YEAR 2009.
 LAUNCH OF iROBOT ROOMBA
IN INDIA

Based on Market Survey conducted in the year 2009.

Navi Mumbai

Prepared by
Group5
Table of contents Page no.
Executive summary…………………………………………………5

Introduction………………………………………………………….6
Company profile……………………………………………………………..6

Features of iRobot Roomba …………………………………………………6

Environmental Analysis (SLEPT Analysis)………………………….7

Socio-cultural analysis………………………………………………………...7

Legal analysis………………………………………………………………….8

Economic analysis……………………………………………………………..9

Political analysis………………………………………………………………10

Technological analysis………………………………………………………...11

R&D…………………………………………………………………...12

Competitors……………………………………………………………12

STP……………………………………………………………………..12
Segmenting……………………………………………………………………12

Targeting………………………………………………………………………12

Positioning…………………………………………………………………….13

Market Research………………………………………………………….13
Objectives………………………………………………………………………….13
 Research methodology……………………………………………………………13

Findings……………………………………………………………………………13

Limitations…………………………………………………………………………14

Distribution Strategy………………………………………………………14

Sales Pitch…………………………………………………………………14

IRobot Model comparison…………………………………………………15

Accessories…………………………………………………………………15

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..16

Appendix…………………………………………………………………..17-18

Bibliography……………………………………………………………….19
Summary
Decades of research and development work on autonomous robotic intelligence finally has
started paying off. By 2025, the first machines that can see, hear, move and manipulate objects
at a level roughly equivalent to human beings are going to make their way from research labs
into the marketplace. These robots will not be able to "think" creatively like human beings, but
that will not matter. Massive AI systems have evolved rapidly and allowed machines to perform
in ways that seemed very human.

Humanoid robots soon will cost less than the average car. Now the humanoid robot will be soon
in India is going to be launched by robot’s Roomba which will become a commodity item, a
robot to clean home and offices. Robots have begun to move in and replace humans in the
workplace in a significant way. Robots will fill janitorial and housekeeping positions in hotels,
motels, malls, airports, amusement parks and so on.

ref Robotic nation by Marshall Brain …..do it apa style.

iRobot robotics is now geared up to launch its products in India .iRobot Roomba is a robotic
vacuum cleaner which is available in different series and price ranges for both house and
commercial uses. Roomba is the first among the series to be launched.
iRobot’s home robots are revolutionizing the way people clean their homes – inside and outside.
The award-winning iRobot Roomba floor vacuuming robot is leading the series; more than 2
million iRobots have been sold worldwide. Roomba made experimental robots a reality for the
first time and showed the world that robots are here to stay.

The Indian market is an untapped destination where there is a growing demand for innovative
products like the Roomba.The changes in lifestyle patterns, increasing household disposable
income ,increase in literacy rate has given momentum to the youth to accept these range of
products. There has been a diffusion of innovation among this generation which would help
India see a new technological advancement.
Introduction
iRobot Roomba Features

iRobot Roomba® 510

Vacuum Cleaning Robot

 500 Series Cleaning System

 Covers up to 2 rooms on a single battery charge
 1 Virtual Wall

iRobot Roomba® 560

Vacuum Cleaning Robot

 500 Series Cleaning System

 Covers up to 4 rooms on a single battery charge
 On-board Scheduling
 Compact Self-charging Home Base®
 2 Auto Virtual Walls

iRobot Roomba
400 series- $130 to $200.
500 series- $250 to $450.
Professional- $550.

Company Profile
• iRobot designs and builds robots that make a difference.
• Founded in 1990 by MIT roboticists
• iRobot’s corporate headquarters are located in Bedford, Mass. The company also has
offices in Virginia, North Carolina, Michigan, California, the United Kingdom, France,
China, Hong Kong. and Now in India.
• $298 Million Revenue in 2009
• iRobot is world market leader in Personal Robots
• High Market growth in Personal Robots so expected sales of 15 Million units by year
2015.
Environmental Analysis to launch iRobot in India

The new product that will be launched in the Indian market is the new cleaning robots which are
available not only for households but also for hotels and corporate. In this regard, the macro-
environment of the Indian market will be analyzed using the SLEPT model. SLEPT means
Social, Legal, Economic, Political and Technological analysis.

Socio Cultural analysis

Consumer opinions, trends and buying patterns, the brand image of the company and ethnic or
religious views are all potential social factors.

Demographics of India

Population: 1,166,079,217 (2009 est)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 31.1% (male 190,075,426/female 172,799,553) (2009 est)
15-64 years: 63.6% (male 381,446,079/female 359,802,209) (2009 est)
65-over: 5.3% (male 29,364,920/female 32,591,030) (2009 est)
Sex ratio:
At birth: 1.12 male(s)/female (2009)
Under 15: 1.10 male(s)/female (2009)
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female (2009)
65-over: 0.90 male(s)/female (2009)

India’s population will continue to grow at relatively rapid pace helping to drive up total
spending. India’s youthful demographic profile will further enhance this trend.

According to latest government statistics national literacy is around 64.84%.

Female literacy is around 53.63%, male literacy is around 75.67%.It is estimated that rate of
increase in literacy will be more in rural area than in urban.

iRobot’s unique educational outreach program is designed to inspire elementary and high school
students to choose careers in the robots industry (which is not that effective in India) and become
the robocists of tomorrow.

House hold product spending of Indian market is well below the international standard so there is
lot of scope for the market to grow, so cleaning robots being a revolutionary product can bring
some change.

Demands for vacuum cleaners are very low due to national preferences for floor tiles rather than
carpets and it also need lot of manual attention, and it occupies more space, but our robot will
clean tiles as well as carpets, it don’t need that much manual support, and is very compact so
there is good scope for the product.

In the social context, it seems that the company has a great opportunity since, analysis shows that
the Indian target market is really in need of a new novelty items which can be used for cleaning
work without manual efforts.  In addition, it also indicates that the current situation of the Indian
market is that the customers are fascinated with new gadgets in line with modern technology. It
can be said that the social situation of the Indian market is seen as a good target for company that
would provide a new technological so as to meet the needs of the customers for a new novelty
items.

Legal Analysis:
From business pattern to taxes, there are many legal issues to be encountered when starting a
company or launching a new product in a country, many of which can bring a promising start-up
to a grinding halt if the proper steps are not taken.

Laws to be followed:

1. Consumer laws:
a. Consumer Protection act 1986.
2. Direct tax law:
a. Income tax act 1961.
b. Wealth tax act 1957.
3. Indirect tax law:
a. Central exercise act 1944.
b. Customs act 1952
4. Corporate law:
a. Companies act 1956
b. Sale of goods act 1930
c. Foreign trade act 1992
5. Environment law:
a. The environment protection act 1986
6. Service and Labour act law:
a. Employers liability act 1938
b. Sale promotion employee act 1976
7. Intellectual property act
a. Copyright act 1957
b. Trade and merchandise mark act 1958
c. Trademark act 1999
8. IT Law
 a. Information technology act 2000.

All paper works should be very transparent and clear, so that the business doesn’t face
any issues later

Economical Analysis:
Some important determinations of economical analysis of Indian market. Data used from
McKinsey Global Institute Report (May 2007) and Marketing White book 2007-08

 India’s economic growth has accelerated significantly over last two decades
 Real avg. household disposable income has roughly doubled since 1985. It is Rs. 113744.
 With rising income, household consumption has soared and new Indian middle class has
emerged
 Total Indian consumption capacity is 17 trillion
1. 9trillion belong to Aspirers
2. 2 trillion belong to Seekers
3. 1 trillion belong to Strivers

% of
Income in thousand Category population
<90 Deprived 54%
90-200 Aspirers 41%
200-500 Seekers 4%
500-1000 Strivers 1%
 Spending on discretionary items will grow faster than spending on necessities
 India has high national saving rates than other countries.
 Estimated total aggregate household disposable income in 2005 is about Rs. 23526
Billion.
 Share of GDP
1. Service sector: 55%
2. Industry: 26%
3. Agriculture: 19%
 Tier1 and Tier 2 cities account for 44% of urban population and over half of urban
income in 2001.
 Higher income consumer segments predominant in large cities and poor in small cities.
 Emerging niche Tier3 cities are richer than most Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities.

Types Cities percentage of Income in thousand per Total Disposable income

 Households Household percentage
Tier1 8 29% 186 39%
Tier2 26 15% 129 14%
Tier3 33 9% 136 9%
Tier4 5094 47% 114 39%

 Per household consumption in rural India will reach today’s urban level by 2017
 Consumption on account of Housing and utilities is approximately 2000Billion INR
 India’s share of wallet of housing utilities and products is low by international standard
and estimated to fall further
 Deprived and Aspirers will become small in personal and household service spends but
remain key in rural India.
 Strivers and Seekers form middle class.
 Out of aggregate, 57% consumption is in rural areas and it is Expected grow at 3.6%
where as 43% consumption is in urban area and it is Expected growth is 5.8%
 So, middle class growth will spread beyond Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities.

Conclusions:

1. Our Products will attract middle class and premium customers.

2. As middle class is spread across Tier1 , Tier2 and Tier3 cities , Product will also
be channelized accordingly.
3. Share of Household products and utilities is less as compared to aggregate
consumption share so there is always a scope to grow this market.
4. National Savings of Indian consumers is also maximum. This information can
also be used tactfully.

Political analysis
India has an open economy system, at the present state; the government is stable, which has
opened a very good market for FII’s and FDI’s.

Government has fair tax policies, labor law, environmental law, trade restrictions, and tariffs.

The present budget supports new and innovative product for the development of country, which
helps us to start a new robot market in here.

According to a published report, India ranks as one of the slowest countries in terms of time
taken to set up a new business. It takes 89 days in India to set a new business as compared to 5
days in U.S. delays are mostly due to beauracratic red tape or babus.
Communist parties in India are against globalization, which will probably create some impact on
us, while starting a robot revolution in India

Technological Analysis

The complexities of achieving business success through increased efficiency, effectiveness and
competitiveness, combined with innovative applications of modern technology, has heightened
the awareness of both the industry and a foreign country to ensure quality products and
service(1993). Since, the Indian market is aware of the existence of different technologically
based gadgets and tools, the new product that will be launched can be assured of its marketability
not only as an office tool but also as a household tool.
Latest technologies applied in our product; following are some of the functions of Roomba and
Scooba.
* Automatically cleans your floor without any hand labor while you enjoy life.
* Its compact size enables it to reach under furniture and other hard-to-reach places.
* Stair Avoidance Detector assures the unit won't drop from the stairs and table.
* The cleaner will escape automatically by itself when it was stuck by the furniture bottom.
* Non-collision Bumper protects your furniture and wall surface.
* Virtual Wall Detector makes sure the cleaner work at the confirmed area which you want to
clean.
* Wall Following Sensor makes sure this unit can clean most ground surface along the wall.
* It keeps your floor clean between periodic deep vacuuming,
* Self-adjusting cleaning head automatically traverses uneven floor transitions as it cleans carpet,
hardwood, linoleum, and tile.
* Easily slide out the removable particle bin to discard the dirt that it picked up.
* Three clean modes for different cleaning needs.
* Remote controlled. (Remote Control Style & Self-Recharging Style）
* Setting timing mode on intelligent charging base plate to automatically clean at the presetting
time of everyday, besides, the unit can be preset to automatically start to work when the recharge
is finished.
* Automatically search the intelligent charging base plate to recharge by itself when the power is
short.
* The cleaner can detect the dirty area and increase the clean times during the cleaning process.
* UV light sterilization kills most bacteria and viruses of the floor.
* The walking speed can be adjusted as you like.
* A mop can be installed on it to improve the cleaning efficiency .
R & D Department

With high time working members of R & D iRobot is committed to provide platforms for
innovation and discovery, developing key partnerships to foster technological exploration and
building robots that improves the standard of living and safety worldwide.
They continually developed state of art robots by:
-Pursuing R&D opportunities with leading academic research institutions, businesses and other
technology innovators.
-Leveraging experience as a systems integrator to put together best in class teams of partners
from a wide range of technology areas.
-Providing a direct path to commercialization for innovations resulting from research initiatives.

Competition: India
• Euroclean robocleanz by Eureka Forbes
• Indirect competition from various vacuum cleaner manufacturers available in India
• Hand vacuum cleaners
• Large vacuum cleaners
• Human efforts : Maid

STP
Segmentation
 Geographic-
 Metros
 Tier-1 , Tier-2, Tier-3
 Demographic-
 Age- 0-24 years, 25-64 years, Above 65 years
 Life-cycle- Adult, Married, Senior Citizen
 Social-Class- Upper, Upper-Middle, Middle, Lower Class

Targeting
 Primary Target-
o Upper Class

o Metro Cities
  Working Class People
 Secondary Target-
o Upper Middle, Middle Class

o Tier-1 Cities, Senior Citizens.

Positioning
 First Robot Vacuum cleaner
 Product And Its features

Market Research
Objective
 Brand Awareness
 Product Awareness
 Prelaunch Reaction
 Consumer Behavior

Research Methodology
 Exploratory Research
 Open Interviews (refer appendix 1.1)
 Convenient Sampling
 Sample Size 135 (130 consumers 5 retailers)

Findings (refer appendix 1.2)

 Huge Opportunity for the product.
 People not aware about the product but are ready to buy.
 Positive reaction by consumers as well as Retailers
 Consumers are comfortable with the price range
Limitations
 Sample Size as per convenience
 Qualitative research through open interviews
 Biasness towards the product
 Area covered

Distribution Strategy
Metros
 As found in our Market Research, Retailers in Metro cities are more than happy to
display iRobot in there Shops
 Retail channels + Direct Marketing
 Disposable income
 360 degree Marketing
 Demo after buying or Registration for free trial to visitors
Tier1 Cities
 Not go through Retail channel
 Direct Marketing
 360 degree Marketing
 Emphasize on asking for free Demo through ads
 Differentiating Genuine customers from the rest

Sales Pitch
• Helps to keep your Home clean without making your hands dirty
• It helps nuclear families from hassle of cleaning home and tension of maid
• It Helps elderly people as negligible manual operations
 • It provides customized solution even when you are not at home
• Virtual Wall® to keep Roomba cleaning where you want it.
• Virtual Wall® Lighthouses™
• Dirt Detect™
• Home Base®
• Advantage of iRobot’s award-winning customer service

Roomba Models Comparison

MODE PRIC ROOM SCHEDULIN AUTO ROOM HIGH

L E COVERAG G CHARG TO CAPACIT
in RS E E ROOM Y
BIN

410 7000 1-2 NA NA NA Optional

510 8890 1-2 NA Available NA Optional

560 13600 Up to 4 Available Available NA Optional

570 16500 3-4 Available Available Availabl Included

e

Accessories
• 1 or 2 Virtual Walls / Lighthouses
• 1 Compact self charging Home base
• 1 Extra rechargeable Power supply battery set
• 2 Brush cleaning tools
 • 1 Extra set of Brushes
• 2 Extra Filters
• 1 Vacuuming debris bin
• 1 Accessories storage case

Conclusion
Thus,the launch of iRobot Roomba in India would be successful considering the market
conditions and customer behavior towards a robotic vacuum cleaner. The socio-economic
analysis reveals that there is a huge market for house cleaning novel devices in India.The Indian
population is around 1.8 million with 61% people in the age group below 35 yrs.Also the
disposable household income income has increased in both rural and urban areas which has
given momentum to the demand and need for innovative technological products.The market
research conducted implies that the Indian market is unaware of robotic vacuum cleaners but is
willing to purchase such products.Also at the distributior and retailer level there is a great
response and willingness to accept and help launch the product.
Appendix
1.1 Questionaire
1)Name
2)age
3)sex
4)How do you clean your house?
5)Do you have a vacuum cleaner?
Yes/No
6)Have you heard about robotic vacuum cleaner?
Yes/No
7)Will you such a product if offered to you?
Yes/No
8)How much would you pay for it?
Yes/No
9)Family annual income
10)Occupation

1.2- Responses collected from consumers in tier 1 and tier 2 cities.

Do you have a vacuum cleaner?

80

70 YES, 67

60

50
Want to Buy, 41
40
NO, 32
30

20

10

0
YES NO Want to Buy
 Are u aware about robot vacuum
cleaners?

Yes Yes, 13

No No, 117

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140

Would you like to buy Roomba

Will think, 28

No, 9

Yes, 93
Bibliography
www.irobot.com

store.irobot.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId.net

www.dailymotion.com

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roomba

www.techgadgets.in/.../irobot-roomba-530-560-and-570-auto-vacuum-robots-released/

www.robotshop.ca

Prepared by Group 5

Manali Gupta RMM1

Prashant Balel RMM2

Mukesh Singh RMM13

Swapnesh Jain RMM14

Deepika Thapar RMM 24

Devprayag Mohanty RMM55