Sports wear giant Reebok plans to make its presence felt in Tier-II and Tier-III cities on the back of rising demand for its products in India.
Till a few years back, such cities were contributing less than 10% to the total sales of the brand associated with American culture.
“Now we are clocking more than 30% sales from low-profile areas which clearly define the seepage of brand consciousness into small districts of India,” said Sajid Shamim, executive director, marketing and sales, Reebok India. “At present, in most of the Tier-III cities we have 5 to15 retail outlets,” he said.
The company recently opened “sports pavilion stores” in Yamuna Nagar and Panchkula in Haryana, keeping in mind the target of expanding in the hinterland, and plans to launch several more in the coming year.
Reebok has developed a strong distribution network with presence in over 325 cities and is constantly launching the customised products. The brand has drafted a strategy for attracting consumers in locations such as Jharsuguda, Chikmagalur, Guntur, Varanasi and Surat.
“We need to organise the market before we can expect footfalls in our stores,” said Shamim. “Lower pricing and localisation of product are the two basics of marketing in such locations.”
{{/usCountry}}“We need to organise the market before we can expect footfalls in our stores,” said Shamim. “Lower pricing and localisation of product are the two basics of marketing in such locations.”
{{/usCountry}}The strategy to promote branded products especially in Tier-III cities largely depends on promotion plans, he said. “We are using cricket and Bollywood to reach out to the masses there. These two provide the strategic lever for communicating with the consumer,” he added.