ABSTRACT

A brief mention of the fact that rural India makes up close to three-fourths of India’s
population and 51% of the total disposable income is enough to ascertain that this
market holds a significant amount of potential. Some might be lead to believe that the
per capita calculations would prove the previous statement incorrect. However, the fact
that rural India forms 41% of India’s middle class and a mere one percent increase in
India’s rural income translates to a mind-boggling Rs 10,000 crore of buying power is
evidence enough to know that this market holds promise. The research paper studies
the penetration of branded apparel industry in rural area/ rural market. We conduct the
research with the sample size of 100 numbers around the Kanakapura areas and
Ramanagar areas to find out the rural marketing strategies for brand penetration on
apparel industry.

Key words: Rural Market, Apparel Industries, Brand Strategies, Penetration Marketing

Title: The Brand Penetration of Apparel Industry in Rural Area

Author:
 Dr. Kiran Kumar Thoti., B.E., MBA, PhD,
Sr. Asst. Professor,
Sree Vidyanikethan Institute of Management,
Sree Sainath Nagar, Chandragiri (M.D),
Tirupati, Chittoor (Dst), Andhra Pradesh- 517102;
Ph: +91-9686261185, Email: kirankumar3561@gmail.com

Co-Author:
 Mrs. Roopa Shree., MBA,
Sr. Lecturer,
Don Bosco Institute of Bio-Science and Management Studies,
Kumbalagodu, Mysore Road, Bangalore- 560070;
Ph: +91-9845992203, Email: roopapraveen2004@gmail.com
1.1 Introduction:

Rural India accounts for almost 70 per cent of the population as the recent Census 2011
indicates that of the 1.21 billion populations, 833 million live in rural India. The clan has
been exposed to new communication technologies and a plethora of services which has
strengthened its aspirations to become an urbanised society. According to a recent
Technopak report, rural Indian economy is highly supported by increasing disposable
income, Government initiatives and schemes and favourable demographics. As a result,
the rural segment of the Indian economy is growing at a pace of 8-10 per cent per
annum and is anticipated to add new consumption of US$ 90 billon-100 billion over
2012-2017 to the current base of US$ 240 billion-250 billion. Moreover, the growth of
rural India is largely attributed by increasing awareness about need of education.
According to the ASER (2012) report, private school enrolment in rural India has
enhanced by 5.5 per cent points over past six years. The literacy rate has also gone up
by 68.91 per cent in rural India.

Rural chains in India are targeting hinterlands in a big way. For many companies, a
large section of their revenues is contributed by rural sales. This fact is further making
marketers focus their strategies on rural needs and customise their offerings
accordingly. DCM Shriram's rural retail arm Hariyali Kisaan Bazaar (HKB) is planning to
open 10 outlets in 2012. It is India's biggest rural retail chain by sales and operates 230
stores across eight states. HKB is also planning to partner with mobile telephone
companies to provide farm and commodity advisory services to the farmers. Indian
footwear industry, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 15 per
cent, is anticipated to reach approximately Rs 38,700 crore (US$ 7.87 billion) by 2015
from the current level of around Rs 22,000 crore (US$ 4.48 billion), according to a study
by a leading industrial body. The projected growth is based on larger penetration into
tier II and III cities and growing rural market which is making various premium footwear
ranges, about 55 per cent of the overall footwear industry.
1.2 Background of the Study:

Rural business process outsourcing (BPO) units account for over US$ 10 million
towards India's IT-BPO revenues. Many big IT-BPO companies in India are getting
attracted towards hinterlands due to availability of immense untapped talent and lower
costs. Attrition rates in rural areas are just about 3-5 per cent as against a high of 50 per
cent in urban BPOs. Employee costs in rural BPOs is almost half as against that of
urban BPOs which bring overall operational costs down by almost 30-40 per cent for IT
companies. Nasscom has further stated that employee base in these areas would
expand by over 10 times by 2013-14 from 5,000 in 20011-12.

Wipro BPO, the BPO arm of Wipro Technologies had launched its first rural BPO centre
at Manjakkudi Village in Tamil Nadu in August 2011. In October 2011, Infosys BPO had
inked an agreement with the Government of Andhra Pradesh to open rural BPO centres
in 22 districts. Rural Shores is another firm that had opened a BPO centre in Bagepalli
district of Karnataka and serves over 20 clients including HDFC, Infosys, Wipro
Technologies and Genpact. Government recruited more than 10,000 youth in 2014 for
online agriculture helpline.

According to Ranjan Kapur, Country Manager, WPP India, rural marketing

communication is going to emerge in a big way as the users of smart phones are
expected to grow from 100 million now to touch 200 million by 2015. To increase
internet penetration in rural India, the Government will create 250,000 nodes for
broadband by 2016 that would serve around 750,000 villages as 3G services are getting
a strong foothold in the country. Moreover, rural India is the new battle ground for
marketers and manufacturers these days. India's growth in terms of consumption
pattern is largely to be accounted by the people residing in hinterlands. A report by
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and CII projects that small town and rural customers
would be the single largest market segment constituting 36 per cent of households by
2020 and rural and urban aspirers will account for 23 per cent of all the households.
The ultimate objective of all production is consumption. A free market economy provides
freedom to the consumers to buy and consumer goods of their choice. The buying
preferences of consumers send signals to producers to produce various commodities in
required quantities. Producers, therefore, produces only those commodities which are
desired by the consumers. In India, consumer behavior has changed in recent years
owing to enhanced awareness, information technology, and, more importantly,
governmental intervention through legislations. India's rural consumers account for
about 73 percent of the total consumers. In recent years, the lifestyle of a large number
of rural consumers in India has changed dramatically and continues to do so. The
buying behavior of the rural consumers is influenced by several factors, such as socio-
economic conditions, cultural environment, literacy level, occupation, geographical
location, efforts on the part of sellers, exposure to the media, etc. This book examines
the buying behavior of India's rural masses and the diverse factors which influence their
choices.

1.3 Consumption pattern – The pie Figure given below gives a depiction of the
expenditure heads of a rural household.

Chart No.1: Consumption pattern; Source: NSSO 5th round KPMG Analysis
1.4 Review of literature

According to Alain d'Astous, Odile Saint-Louis, (2005) "National versus store brand
effects on consumer evaluation of a garment", Journal of Fashion Marketing and
Management, Vol. 9 Iss: 3, pp.306 – 317; The study reported in this article aims to
examine the effects of national versus store brands on consumer evaluation of a
garment, taking into account the intended product usage situation (for everyday use
versus for a special occasion) as well as price (regular versus discount), type of store
(department versus boutique), and store image (lower-class versus upper-class).

According to Sundarraj Karthikeyan (2011), The Indian economy has grown over the
last 10 years with new jobs created in the ITES sector, Biomedical, Automotive
engineering, Apparel manufacturing and Civil engineering. The growth is strongly led by
Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES); this is supported by the education
sector with increase in the number of students enrolling for higher education and large
numbers of students graduating every year thus creating a large pool of technical and
managerial manpower. The working class people segment has grown since the
economic growth and it has benefited middle class and upper middle class people. Due
to the increase in the number of working people and substantial raise in income,
spending power has increased over the years, and particularly the young Indians in the
age of 15 – 25 like to shop more. The Government of India has laid down strict rules to
protect the environment and avoiding child labour but there is no legality followed by
companies in providing an ethical environment in means of working time and salary.
The increase in food, energy and real estate costs makes people’s lives more difficult at
this time. Are we going to follow the western countries and repeat the same mistake
leading to a standstill? As resources are getting to near exhaustion, now is the time to
think and ask ourselves question of what we are doing and justify ensuring that we buy
only for our needs. This study focuses on the consumer behaviour of young Indians in
the age of 15 – 25 to understand and know their perception towards spending and to
show a new path for the society and the industry for a sustainable environment.
1.5 Industry Profile

The history of apparel and textiles in India dates back to the use of mordant dyes and
printing blocks around 3000 BC. The foundations of the India's textile trade with other
countries started as early as the second century BC. A hoard of block printed and resist-
dyed fabrics, primarily of Gujarati origin, discovered in the tombs of Fostat, Egypt, are
the proof of large scale Indian export of cotton textiles to the Egypt in medieval periods.

During the 13th century, Indian silk was used as barter for spices from the western
countries. Towards the end of the 17th century, the British East India Company had
begun exports of Indian silks and several other cotton fabrics to other economies.
These included the famous fine Muslin cloth of Bengal, Orissa and Bihar. Painted and
printed cottons or chintz was widely practiced between India, Java, China and the
Philippines, long before the arrival of the Europeans. The diversity of fibers found in the
country, intricate weaving on its state-of-art manual looms and its organic dyes has
attracted buyers from all across the world for centuries. Before the introduction of
mechanized ways of spinning in the early 19th century, all Indian silks and cottons were
hand spun and hand woven, a highly popular fabric, called the khadi. Independent India
saw the development and building up of textile strength, diversification of its product
range, and its emergence, once again, as an important player in the world industry. The
worldwide apparel industry is one of the most important sectors of the economy with
regard to investment, revenue, trade and employment generation all over the world. The
apparel industry in India has substantially diversified on the basis of fashion, climate,
region, culture and fiscal factors. Indian textile is witnessing great growth and
development in the industrial sector in India as well as abroad. The significance of the
apparel industry is entirely based on the contribution of the industrial productivity and
employment.

1.6 Statement of the Problem

 People in rural and semi urban areas buy apparel from their local retailer but not
from the exclusive outlets and malls even though they are available in their
proximity.
  To identify brand penetration of apparel industry in rural India and providing
sufficient information on basis of age income and spending pattern of individual.

1.7 Scope of the Study

 To increase the brand penetration of apparel industry in rural area.

1.8 Objective of Study

 To understand what prevents i.e., price/awareness /any other, the consumers
from buying apparel from exclusive outlets and malls.

1.9 Hypothesis
1. Ho: There is a significant relationship between different price range and different
purchase locations.
H1: There is no significant relationship between different price range and
different purchase locations.

2. Ho: There is a significant relationship between different purchase location and

different attributes of customer insight.

H1: There is no significant relationship between different purchase location and

different attributes of customer insight.

1.10 Methodology
The sample size for the research was 100 and we use the primary source as questions
and secondary sources as article and journals mainly on the rural marketing, urban and
rural development, marketing strategies, and rural area. The samples were selected in
the area of Kanakapura and Ramanagar rural area near to Bangalore. The reasons for
selected the Kanakapura and Ramanagar rural areas because, the areas are mainly
depends on the sugar canes and coconuts and wheat agriculture grains. The samples
were collected from the person who belongs to the rural places in and around the
Kanakapura and Ramanagar rural area around Bangalore.
1.10.1 Research Design
Research design used is “Qualitative research”. Method used to do a research is
“Survey”. As previous data about the same was not available so it was recommended
to go for Qualitative research where data is in the form of words, pictures or objects.
Interactive interviewing technique was adopted for gathering data with the help of
standard ‘Questionnaire’

1.10.2 Development of Questionnaire

There are in all 1 questions in a questionnaire. Questionnaire has several types of
question like Contingency questions- Multiple-choice and Matrix questions- Yes/no
questions.

1.11 Analysis of the Data Collection

Price Range Total

Particular 100- 300- 500- 700- above
s 300 500 700 1000 1000
Purchase Once in week 1 1 3 1 2 8
Freq
Once in a 0 1 0 2 0 3
fortnight
Once in a month 4 7 14 6 5 36

During festivals & 2 17 9 7 5 40

functions
Other 1 7 3 1 1 13

Total 8 33 29 17 13 100

Table No. 1: Table showing Purchase frequency Vs Price range

The above table interfaces that if the price of the clothes is in the range of 300-500 they
are going to gain a huge customer base in the future.
 Chart No.2: Figure showing Price range VS Purchase location

The Chart No.2 Interfaces that if the people who are willing to buy the clothes between
price range of 300 - 500 buy their clothes from local retailer and the people who are
having the purchasing power of 500-700 generally buy their clothes from shopping
malls.

Chart No.3: Purchase location VS Customer insights

The chart no.3 shows that people buying from retailer look for quality and affordability.
Interestingly people who purchase from “Shopping Malls” also look for quality and
affordability. However, convenience was not a major obstacle for the people in rural
areas as many of the times they travel more than normal people living in urban area.

Chart No.4: Shopping partner Vs Influence on purchase decision

The Chart No.4 shows that an individual goes mostly with friends and families for
purchasing of apparels are very often. In “Very Often” category friends occupy highest
position in being as shopping partners rather than others. This shows that very few
people are inclined to go for shopping alone.

Chart No. 5: Price range VS Income level

The Chart No.5 shows that maximum number of people who are having income of less
than Rs.1 lakh go for the purchase of apparel costing Rs.300-500 and Rs. 500-700. And
also people with Rs 1-2 lakhs of income go for apparels costing Rs.300-500.

Chart 6: Price range Vs Age group

The chart No.6 shows that the price range and the age group give an interesting
relationship. Majority of the respondents whose purchasing power is between 300-700
are the people of age 20 years to 30 years. These are actually the working people and
are able to purchase the clothes. In fact 68% of the respondents having the purchasing
power of 300-500 were the people in their 20’s. They are also willing to shift their base
as 20% of them can spend 500-700.

1.12 Hypothesis Testing

Statistical tool used for hypothesis testing is Chi-square and significance level is 0.05.

Hypothesis 1:

Ho: There is no significant relationship between different price range and different
purchase location.

H1: There is a significant relationship between different price range and different
purchase location.
 Chi-square calculation
OBSERVED(O) EXPECTED(E) (O-E)2 (O-E)2/E
5 2.72 5.198 1.911
14 11.22 7.7284 0.689
9 9.86 0.7396 0.075
4 5.78 3.1684 0.548
2 4.42 5.8564 1.325
0 1.04 1.0816 1.04
3 4.29 1.6641 0.388
3 3.77 0.5929 0.157
3 2.11 0.7921 0.375
4 1.69 5.3361 3.157
2 3.68 2.8224 0.767
12 15.18 10.1124 0.666
16 13.34 7.0756 0.530
9 7.82 1.3924 0.178
7 5.98 1.0404 0.174
1 0.48 0.2704 0.563
3 1.98 1.0404 0.525
1 1.74 0.5476 0.315
1 1.02 0.0004 0.001
0 0.78 0.6084 0.78
0 0.08 0.0064 0.08
1 0.33 0.4489 1.360
0 0.29 0.0841 0.29
0 0.17 0.0289 0.17
0 0.13 0.0169 0.13
TOTAL 16.194
 Calculated χ2 Value = 16.194
 Degree of freedom = (5-1) (5-1) =16
 χ2 Table value = 26.30
Inferences: As table value is more than calculated value hence Ho is accepted i.e.
there is no significant relationship between price range and different purchase locations.

Hypothesis 2:

Ho: There is no significant relationship between different purchase location and different
attributes of customer insight.
H1: There is a significant relationship between different purchase location and different
attributes of customer insight.

Chi-square calculation
OBSERVED(O) EXPECTED(E) (O-E)2 (O-E)2/E
27 23.12 15.0544 0.0651
9 8.84 0.0256 0.003
28 31.28 10.7584 0.344
4 4.76 0.5776 0.121
2 2.38 0.1444 0.061
2 0.91 1.1881 1.306
3 3.22 0.0484 0.015
0 0.49 0.2401 0.49
5 5.78 0.6084 0.105
1 2.21 1.4641 0.662
9 7.82 1.3924 0.178
2 1.19 0.6561 0.551
0 2.72 7.3984 2.72
1 1.04 0.0016 0.001
6 3.68 5.3824 1.463
1 0.56 0.1936 0.346
TOTAL 9.017

o Calculated χ2 Value = 9.017

o Degree of freedom = (4-1) (4-1) =9
o χ2 Table value = 16.92
Inferences: As table value is more than calculated value hence Ho is accepted i.e.
there is no significant relationship between different purchase locations and different
attributes of customer insight.

1.13 Findings
 Majority of rural people are not much aware of branded apparel.
 People in rural prefer to buy from local and retail shops.
 Very few people with higher income level know and prefer to buy branded
apparel.
  Majority of the buyers are influenced by their friends and family members while
buying apparels.
 Buying pattern is based on income level of the respondent.
 Maximum numbers of respondents are willing to have an outlet close to their
place.
 Location of outlet doesn’t matter much until quality required and prices are in
affordable range.
 If quality is not compromised and affordable prices are maintained, people in
rural will
Prefer to shift to branded apparel.
 Purchase of apparels peaks during festival seasons.
 Young people are a huge customer base in the rural.
 There is a significant relationship between different price range and different
purchase locations.
 There is a significant relationship between different purchase location and
different attributes of customer insight.

1.14 Conclusion
The rural India forms 41% of India’s middle class and a mere one percent increase in
India’s rural income translates to a mind-boggling Rs 10,000 crore of buying power is
evidence enough to know that this market holds promise. The worldwide apparel
industry is one of the most important sectors of the economy with regard to investment,
revenue, and trade and employment generation all over the world. The apparel industry
in India has substantially diversified on the basis of fashion, climate, region, culture and
fiscal factors. People love to wear costly brands as they believe a costly brand not only
symbolizes high quality but also status. Our research shows that majority of the target
population gives high importance for price, quality, brands as well as trends of course
taking their budget allocation into consideration.
Purchasing power of a customer depends on the brand awareness and is significantly
correlated with the monthly expenses, Price Range of low end branded apparel is
correlated with the Purchase Location of the retail outlet and Price range of apparel is
strongly correlated with Quality and affordability. We can conclude saying that rural
market has a huge opportunity for the branded apparels because of rural people
positive perception towards quality, trend and price.

Bibliography

 Philip Kotler, Kevin lane Keller (2006), Marketing Management, Pearson

Education, 12th edition.
 Michael R. Solomon (2006), Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having, and Being,
Pearson Education, 6th edition.
 Harsha.V.Verma (2006), Brand management, Excel books, 1 st edition.
 Alain d'Astous, Odile Saint-Louis, (2005) "National versus store brand effects on
consumer evaluation of a garment", Journal of Fashion Marketing and
Management, Vol. 9 Iss: 3, pp.306 – 317.
 Sundarraj Karthikeyan; [2011-10-17], “An investigation on consumer behavior
and preferences towards apparel, purchase by Indian consumers age 15 – 25”,
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Questionnaires
1) How often do you purchase apparels?
a. Once in a week b. Once in a fortnight
c. Once in a month d. During festivals & functions
e. Any other, specify _______________________________
2) Where do you usually prefer to go for buying apparels?
 a. Retailer b. Exclusive Outlets
c. Shopping Malls d. Any other (specify)
______________
3) Within what price range are the apparels you normally purchase?
a. 100-300 b. 300-500
c. 500-700 d. 700-1000
e. Above 1000
4) What is that you look for when you purchase apparels?
a. Quality of the apparels b. Convenience
c. Affordability
d. If combinations of above, mention ______________________
5) With whom do you usually go for shopping?
a. Friends b. Family
c. Alone d. Any other,
specify_____________
6) How often do they influence your purchase decision?
a. Regularly b. Very often c. Never

7) What according to you is the most important thing in the apparel that decides your
purchase? (Scale: 1 represents low and 5 represents high)

A Price 1 2 3 4 5
B Quality 1 2 3 4 5
C Brand 1 2 3 4 5
D Trend 1 2 3 4 5

8) In general, what do you feel regarding the price of the branded apparels?
(1.Very Low 2. Low 3.Moderate 4.High 5.Very High)
1 2 3 4 5
9) How often do you purchase apparels from your local retailer?
a. Once a week b. Once in a month
c. Once in 6 months d. Once in a year
10) Would you like to shift from local apparel to branded apparel?
 a .Yes b. May be c. No

11) Would you prefer to have branded outlet near to your place?
a. Yes b. No

Personal Information:
Age group: a. < 20 b. 20-30 c. 30-40 d. Above 40
Income level: a. < 1L b.1-2 L c. 3-4 L d. Above
4L
Occupation: a. Farmer b. Worker
c. Govt. Employee d. Businessman
e. Any other, specify ________________________