Marketing Management- Decision Sheet

chotuKool: “Little Cool,” Big Opportunity

By Nilanjan Mukherjee (PGP13156)

Situation
Godrej Group was established in 1918 as a lock, safes and security equipment manufacturing
company. It slowly transitioned into consumer goods starting with steel almirahs, refrigerators,
machinery, motors, and power distribution equipment. It gained popularity with one of its soaps
that was made without animal fats. Godrej made a reputation as a trustworthy and consumer-
oriented brand. Godrej was planning to introduce a low-cost portable refrigerator to tap the lower
strata of society who till now were using crude methods of food preservation like earthen pots.

Problem
1. The portable refrigerator did not fall into the present category of products. So there was a
need to inform the customers about the product.
2. The 1st iteration of the cooler was a failure as it did not satisfy the needs of the households.
The households saw the fridge as a desirable product and chotuKool as a cheaper alternative
to it. So owing gave a socially inferior status. The product found a different customer base,
the mom-and-pop stores shops adopted the product heavily.
3. The distribution channel in the rural areas was not yet established. They had to come up
with their own channel and distribution team or partner with other organisations.
4. There was a perceived utility but the product came under the want category while
Refrigerator was under the desired category.

Alternative Solutions.
1. To launch the 2nd iteration of the product only in rural areas:
Tap the additional market in form of the mom-and-pop stores that would help
Godrej to gain popularity in rural areas. It would provide them with a gateway to
their other product lines in the rural market. There will be no chance of
cannibalization or brand image deterioration. But the investment cost in developing
a new sales team and distribution team is very high, yet the product does not have
much aspirational value.
2. To launch the 2nd iteration in both urban and rural markets
Godrej can easily distribute the products in the urban market using available
channels and doing this would build a premium image of chotuKool in the minds of
rural people, adding to its aspirational value. The disadvantages are that introducing
the product can cannibalise the existing refrigerators in the urban market and also
deteriorate the brand image of Godrej.