Consumer & Retail

Asia - Shopper habits change in Asia

Source: Warc, 31 October 2011

Sales of fast-moving consumer goods posted a double-digit increase in Asia Pacific in the second quarter of this year, but many local shoppers are adopting new habits in an effort to save money. This marked an acceleration from the steady growth rate of around 12% recorded during the previous four quarters, and can be measured against the expansion rates of between 6.6% and 8.1% delivered between Q1 and Q4 2009.

"Consumers, who are faced with almost uniform pricing across all consumer goods retailers are trying to maximise their shopping experience by finding non-price factors that will give them added value to the money they have to spend," said Peter Gale, Nielsen's managing director, retailer services.

India - Apparel makers, retailers plan to cut prices by 15%

Source: The Business Standard, 27 October 2011

Apparel manufacturers and retailers plan to cut merchandise prices for the upcoming spring-summer season, which starts in February, by 10 to 15 per cent. The reason: A drop in sales and a correction in raw material (cotton) prices.

However, Arvind Singhal, chairman of retail consultancy Technopak Advisors, believes the plans to cut prices has more to do with the fall in consumer demand than the correction in cotton prices. “Consumer sales are down, and if they want to maintain sales, they have to cut prices. Even Diwali sales have not turned out as expected,” he says. CMAI's Mehta agrees. “Higher apparel prices have not been received well by consumers, and since raw material prices have fallen, manufacturers and retailers have to reduce the prices of finished products," he adds.

India - Coca-Cola to focus on meeting demands of rural India

Source: The Economic Times, 02 November 2011

Global beverages major Coca-Cola Company is tailoring its business to meet the requirements of rural India, which the company has identified as a 'huge opportunity'. "There are 700 million people in India who live in rural area. We don't want to neglect them. We see a huge opportunity there," Coca-Cola Company Executive Vice-President and Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer Joseph Tripodi told reporters on the sidelines of AdAsia 2011.

“We project almost a billion people entering the middle class in the next decade (in India). Almost 800 million people are moving in the cities... when people move in to the cities their lives become fast and they want packaged beverage, that is why we are very bullish on India," he said.

With such opportunities ahead, he said India is one of the most important markets across all dimensions of profit, people, partnerships and productivity for Coca-Cola.

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