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A file picture of actor and brand ambassador of Whirlpool, Kajol, at the launch of its Diwali campaign.

Debdatta Das

New Delhi, Nov. 7 Diwali, besides being a time for celebrations, is also about heavy expenditure, with people from all walks of life giving gifts of appreciation to their near and dear ones. So this Diwali, with the culture of consumerism on an all-time high, the FMCG, durable and retail sectors are using new as well as time-tested mechanisms to keep their cash registers ringing.

While players such as LG Electronics India Pvt Ltd, Big Bazaar and Dabur India Ltd have come up with innovative strategies to tap the festive gifting culture, players such as Whirlpool of India and PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt Ltd have decided to go by the time-tested formula of discount offers and gift packs respectively.

Mr V. Ramachandran, Director Sales and Marketing, LGEIL, said: “We have altogether skipped the conventional route and are offering value additions in terms of customer service, quality and technology, which have a higher impact in gaining customer loyalty and spreading goodwill for the brand.”

“In spite of our strategies not focussing on freebies and discount for our categories, sales during festivals give an uplift of 30 per cent versus an average month. Diwali provides the biggest peak among them, wherein the peak can be as much as 50-80 per cent compared to an average month’s sales. We have achieved the highest monthly sales of Rs 1,100 crore in October. For the key two months we have raised our growth targets by 7-8 per cent and plan to clock Rs 1,900 crore in sales for the month of October-November combined,” he added.

Dabur’s Mr Sanjay Sharma, Business Head, Foods, said: “This year we are selling gift packs with a twist. Our plan is to sell health. We are doing it through retailing seven different gift packs of our Real juices as well as a new initiative that we call the ‘gift of good living’, which is a container consisting Chyawanprash, Honey and Squeezy Honey.” The company’s sales during the festive season alone have been experiencing a growth of 40 per cent on a year-on-year basis, and it expects to maintain the momentum.

Big Bazaar hypermarket chain this year has launched a television campaign ‘Khushiyo se bhari jholi’ that talks about the several offers in the outlets that keep customers happy and coming back throughout the year. The other new initiative the hypermarket has undertaken according to Mr Rajan Malhotra, Head, Big Bazaar, is increased focus through promotional offers on unusual categories such as footwears that are normally not thought of as a gifting option during the season.

Meanwhile, home appliances major Whirlpool is going by the script, and has launched a promotional offer that offers discounts and freebies. On its ‘Magic chalao, dream home sajao’ offer for the festive season, Whirlpool would spend around Rs 45 lakh by providing 30-home makeovers to be won by consumers on purchase of Whirlpool products. “By the end of this year, Whirlpool, which is popular for its refrigerators, will be known for all the categories like microwave, washing machines and air-conditioners,” said Mr Shantanu Das Gupta, Vice-President, Marketing, Whirlpool of India. He said the company was expecting a 20-per cent growth in sales during this Diwali as against the last festive season.

Following the same route is PepsiCo India with almost eight different kinds of beverage gift packs consisting of its brands Pepsi, 7Up, Mirinda and Tropicana along with gift packs of snacks brands Kurkure, Lays and Leher Namkeen. “We invest significant efforts in the designing, packaging and creation of our festive gift packs. This category has seen positive grow and we have plans to invest in the same, year on year,” said Ms Punita Lal, Executive Director, Marketing, PepsiCo India.

More Stories on : Promotions & Offers | Personal Products | Consumer Electronics

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