“A STUDY ON DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL”

UNDERTAKEN AT

TIMEX GROUP INDIA LIMITED

Submitted By

E.KARTHIKA

(Reg.No:12309631019)

Of

GOJAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY

REDHILLS

SUBMITTED TO THE

FACULTY OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of the degree

Of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

IN

MARKETING

AUGUST 2010

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

Certified that this project report titled “A study on Distribution Channel” is

the bonafide work of Miss. E.Karthika (Registration Number: 12309631019)

who carried out the research under my supervision. Certified further, that to

the best of my knowledge the work reported herein does not form part of any

other project or dissertation on the basis of which a degree or award was

conferred on an earlier occasion on this or any other candidate.

Supervisor Head of the Department

Submitted to Project and Viva Examination held on _ ___________

Internal Examiner External Examiner

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my sincere thanks to our Chairman Dr.G.NATARAJAN Ph.D., our member of Secretary Thiru.E. BABU, M.A., D.B.M., (Industrialist) and our Director Prof. J.RAJA GOPALAN, M.SC., M.PHIL, M.I.S.T.E., Gojan School of Business and Technology, Edapalayam, Chennai – 600 052. For their whole hearted and kind co – operation.

A Special thanks to our Prof. Sundararajan., Gojan School of Business and Technology Edapalayam, Chennai – 600 052. For giving me the opportunity to do this project works.

I wish to take this opportunity to express my deep sense of gratitude to Prof. Neena Rao MBA Ph.D., Head of the Department, Department of Management Studies, and Dean of the College, Gojan School of Business and Technology, Edapalayam for the valuable guidance in this endeavor. I thank our faculty members Prof.M.SENTHIL, M.B.A., Ph.D., Prof.M.G.SUMITHRA, M.B.A., Prof.VINODH, M.B.A., Class Advisor and Prof. G.PREMA, M.B.A., of the Department of Management Studies, Gojan School of Business and Technology, Edapalayam, Chennai for his/her encouragement and valuable guidance provided for the successful completion of this project.

I wish to extend my heartiest and sincere thanks to Mr. K.G. SHANKAR, Sales Manager, Timex Group India Limited, for his guidance and encouragement through out my project work.

I take privilege of thanking Mr.Ganesh, Distributor, Timex Group of India Limited, Chennai.

I like to thank Prof. Neena Rao M.B.A Ph.D., faculty member, department of management studies Gojan School of Business and Technology, Edapalayam for her support and motivation throughout the research.

[KARTHIKA.E]

DECLARATION

I, E,KARTHIKA., (Reg.No:12309631019) a bonafide student of Department of Business Administration, Gojan School Of Business and Technology, Chennai would like to declare that the project entitled, “A STUDY ON DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL” in partial fulfillment of Master of Business Administration course of the Anna University is my original work.

(KARTHIKA.E)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTERS TITLE PAGE NO.Title Page 1Bonafide Certificate 2Acknowledgement 3Declaration 4Table of Contents 5Abstract 6

CHAPTER - 1 INTRODUCTION 71.1.Introduction - Watch Market 81.2.Introduction to the Company 181.3.Company Profile 381.4.Product Profile 431.5.Industrial Profile 45

CHAPTER - 2 DEVELOPMENT OF THE MAIN THEME 492.1.Need for the Study 502.2.Scope of the Study 512.3.Objectives of the Study 522.4.Limitations of the Study 532.5.Review of Literature 54

CHAPTER - 3 LEARNINGS IN THE COMPANY 633.1.Introduction about CFA 643.2.CFA in TIMEX 663.3.CFA Process 683.4.Forecasting in CFA 69

CHAPTER - 4 DISTRIBUTORS IN TIMEX 714.1.Roles Played by the Distributors 724.2.Schemes by the Company 734.3.Benefits to the Distributors 754.4.Advantages of Distributors 764.5.Disadvantages of Distributors 764.6.Conclusion 77BIBLIOGRAPHY 78

ABSTRACT:

The study was made at Timex Group of India Limited on the topic “Distribution Channel” With a focus on how the distribution takes place in Timex and what are the processes are carried on.

Distributor is the Main intermediary without whom the other channel will not take place. Distribution channels may not be restricted to physical products alone. They may be just as important for moving a service from producer to consumer in certain sectors, since both direct and indirect channels may be used.

A set of interdependent organizations (intermediaries) involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption.

It is a distribution network through which a producer puts his products in the hands of actual users.

The channel serves as a connecting link between the producer and consumers. By bridging the gap between the point of production and the point of consumption, a channel creates time, place and possession utilities.

CHAPTER – 1

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER – 1

1.1. INTRODUCTION – WATCH MARKET:

The Great Indian Watch Market:

Wrist Watches form an integral part of the personality of individuals in the present era. Earlier seen as a luxury item, they are now witnessing a fundamental change in perception, and are now gaining respect as an essential utility item. For the watch industry, time seems in its favour what with the liberalization of the Indian market coupled with the rising purchasing power of the young and consumerist Indians.

Indian watches market was for long dominated by public sector organizations like Hindustan Machine Tools Ltd. (HMT) and Allwyn (also famous for its refrigerators once upon a time!), and has now left the pioneers far behind or nowhere in market by private sector enterprises like Titan, Sonata, Ajanta and Timex along with foreign entities jostling for display space in the smallest of shops selling these products.

Before the establishment of HMT as the dominant player in the Indian markets initially, the country was solely dependent on imports to meet the internal demand. However, establishment of HMT as the leading player in the wrist watch segment in the 1960’s, changed the scenario.

In post liberalization India, the market stood to witness intensive competition between foreign and Indian manufacturers like Timex, Titan, Movado, Longines, Rado, Rolex, Fréderique Constant, Mont Blanc, Swatch, and many others. Many watch makers have made significant inroads in the industry and others are in the process of establishing themselves, currently.

Besides this, buyers are extremely choosy about the brand and type of wrist watches they wear. Being extremely brand conscious, their tastes have evolved over the years and have gone beyond the realms of durability to

choose in terms of aesthetics and elegance. Thus it is a buyers market with multitude of designs that have entered and flooded the market place.

The size of the watch market currently is estimated to be around 40 to 45 million pieces annually. The organized sector alone contributes up to 30 percent of this figure, and the rest of the demand is being met by the unorganized grey sector. This data is significant indeed in view of the socio economic distribution of the Indian populace. More than 58 percent of the population is under twenty five and more than 80 percent of the population is below 45 years of age.

In dollar terms, the estimated annual market size is around USD 195 million, despite the fact that the penetration of watches is the lowest, compared globally. Looking into this fact and the long standing Indian tradition of comparing watches with jewellery and other traditional items, many watch companies are interested in setting up base in India. The average growth in the size of the market is slated to be around 10 -15 percent per year.

A casual study of the watch market reveals that it is segmented on basis of multiple proportions such as price, benefits and types of watches. The price of the watches is a major motive in the minds of the customer. Accordingly, three segments can be identified here, namely low priced, medium priced, and high priced watches.

The lower priced segment consists of watches priced less than INR 500; the medium price range consists of watches in the INR 500-1500 range and the high priced watches come in the INR 1500 upwards range. There are other higher categories as well such as the premium and luxury range, but they appeal to only a small category of the watch market in India.

According to a recent study, more than 90 percent of the watches were from the lower price ranges with international costs being less than 20 Euros. Moreover, around 20 to 25 watches are being sold for every 1000 citizens.

Thus there is enormous potential for growth of the industry in this untapped segment. Some customers look out for features like fashion appeal, technology, sophistication and status. Others go for durability, economy and precision.

Many customers prefer mechanical and automatic watches, while others prefer quartz watches. Newer segments are also on rise such as ladies watches, children’s watches and gent’s watches. Customers usually base their preferences and buying decisions on a variety of factors like price, durability, utility, aesthetic appeal and brand name. A combination of all these points ultimately forms the customer’s buying decision that translates into the purchase of a watch.

The retail sector has just begun to boom in India. Since the early 1990’s, Indian customers are relying more on departmental stores and shopping malls to purchase their wants and needs. This has come as a boon for watch manufacturers and dealers, who are now looking forward to utilise these new outlets to reach out to the Indian masses. Watch manufacturers are looking at a suitable mix to market their products ranging from exclusive retail outlets to display sections in malls and large departmental stores.

In the end, though India is still considered to be a difficult market to penetrate, due to reasons like price sensitiveness and its largely unorganized sector. However, with the right planning and the right partners and experienced collaborators, it is expected that both international and domestic watch manufacturers will do well in the Indian markets.

1.1.1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

In today’s corporate and competitive world, I find that customers prefer only branded products with new styles and looks. The Timex Group has created an infrastructure and a marketing network that's absolutely enviable.

Within just a short period of time, the Group has managed to create a solid network of 10,000 distributors and dealers. Its products are available across the country, right from Assam to Kutch and from Jammu to Madurai.

Today, with employee strength of over 800 people, the Timex Group reiterates the fact that no dream is too big for the envisioned.

This growth potential attracts me to enter into this channel and Times Group of India Limited has give me the opportunity to work and understand the importance of customers for an organization.

This shows that the main aim of this Timex Company is to make their product available to all the people in the world.

Distributors are the only mediator with whom the watches will be available to all the customers from the nook and corner of the country.

1.1.2 .THE EVOLUTION THAT BROUGHT A REVOLUTION:

The year was 1985, when Mr. Chapsi Gala, having years of experience in wholesale trading of Plywood, Mica and Veneer created his own brand “Timex”. Timex was an instant success in the market, due to its high degree of production quality, extensive usability and competitive pricing. Within just six months, the newly formed Timex group set up its first state-of-the-art plant for manufacturing commercial & marine ply, block boards and flush doors. And in a span of just 2 years, another plywood unit had to be set up due to an ever increasing demand for the brand. In this venture, Mr. Chapsi Gala was well supported by his brothers, Jagshi Gala, Suresh Gala and Mahendra Gala.

1990's added another interesting chapter to the progressive episodes of Timex Group. With personal insights into the European markets, the Group decided to diversify into exotic decorative veneers, a segment that was literally untapped in India. A manufacturing unit was immediately set up and the raw material was sourced from various parts of the world. Today, the Timex brand is virtually a market leader in the segment and is renowned for its widest range of Veneers in the country.

The year 2002 witnessed new forays of the Group. ACP and Ceramics were introduced into the repertoire and these added wings to the Group's soaring aspirations. In 2008, a revolution of sorts was created by the Timex Group when it set up a highly modernized unit near Vapi to manufacture an extensive range of decorative laminates. An enviable infrastructure

The Timex Group has created an infrastructure and a marketing network that's absolutely enviable. Within just a short period of time, the Group has managed to create a solid network of 10,000 distributors and dealers. Its products are available across the country, right from Assam to Kutch and from Jammu to Madurai. Today, with employee strength of over 800 people, the Timex Group reiterates the fact that no dream is too big for the envisioned.

MISSION:

“Our mission is full of promise and commitment to the society. By maintaining transparency, opening up exciting opportunities where we have a competitive edge for developing our business in the future and our new logo will help us confidently identify ourselves in every aspect of our business. We also intend to provide the best quality product at the most competitive price. Followed by an unmatched client service.”

VISION:

• To create a Timex family of distributors, dealers and employees and to be the foremost and efficient conglomerate with professional & ethical approach.

• To be a trendsetter by providing innovative and customized solutions.

• To reach the pinnacle of success by riding the customer’s confidence and well-wishes.

1.1.3. HISTORY OF TIMEX GROUP OF INDIA LIMITED:

1850s-1870s:  Waterbury Clock made timekeeping affordable for working class Americans. Its inexpensive yet reliable shelf and mantel clocks, with cases designed to imitate expensive imported models, contained simple, mass-produced stamped brass movements. Waterbury Clock's products grew out of a long tradition of innovative clock making that developed in Connecticut's Naugatuck Valley, known during the nineteenth century as the "Switzerland of America."

1880s:  Waterbury Watch, a sister company, manufactured the first inexpensive mechanical pocket watch in 1880 and quickly sold more than any other firm in the world. The "Waterbury," known for its extraordinarily long, nine-foot mainspring, was assembled by a predominantly female workforce whose dexterous fingers were prized for the close and exacting work. Waterbury pocket watches sold throughout North America and Europe, and could be found in Africa, where they were presented as gifts to native .

1900s:  By the turn of the twentieth century, the watch industry's first and most successful mass marketer, Robert H. Ingersoll, worked with Waterbury Clock to distribute the company's "Yankee" pocket watch, the first to cost just one dollar. Twenty years later, with nearly forty million sold, the "Yankee" became the world's largest seller and "the watch that made the dollar famous." Everyone carried the Yankee: from Mark twain to miners, from farmers to factory workers, from office clerks to sales clerks.

1917:  During World War I, the U.S. Army required Waterbury Clock to re-tool the Yankee pocket watch into a convenient new "wristwatch" for soldiers; after the war, returning veterans continued to wear the handy timepiece, and civilians took them up in huge numbers during the 1920s.

1930s:  The popularity of a brand new cartoon character led Waterbury Clock to produce the very first Mickey Mouse clocks and watches in 1933, under an exclusive license from Walt Disney. Despite the deep shadow cast by the Great Depression, within just a few years, parents bought two million Mickey Mouse watches for their children. Originally priced at $1.50, these same watches are Collector’s items that today command higher and higher prices.

1940s:  During World War II, the newly renamed U.S. Time Company completely converted its factories to wartime manufacturing. Over the course of the war, it turned an eighty-four year tradition of reliable mechanical timekeeping to the record-breaking production of more high-quality mechanically-timed artillery and anti-aircraft fuses than any other Allied source.

1950s:  U.S. Time's wartime expertise in research and development and advanced mass production techniques led to the creation of the world's first inexpensive yet utterly reliable mechanical watch movement. The new wristwatch, called the Timex, debuted in 1950. Print advertisements featured the new watch strapped to Mickey Mantle's bat, frozen in an ice cube tray, spun for seven days in a vacuum cleaner, taped to a giant lobster's claw, or wrapped around a turtle in a tank. Despite these and other extensive live torture tests, the Timex kept ticking. When John Cameron Swayze, the most authoritative newsman of his time, began extolling the Timex watch in live "torture test" commercials of the late 1950s, sales took off. Taped to the propeller of an outboard motor, tumbling over the Grand Coulee Dam, or held fist first by a diver leaping eighty-seven feet from the Acapulco cliffs, the plucky watch that "takes a licking and keeps on ticking®" quickly caught the American imagination. Viewers by the thousands wrote in with their suggestions for future torture tests, like the Air Force sergeant who offered to crash a plane while wearing a Timex.

1960s:  The Timex brand name became a household word during the 1960s. Having completely conquered the low-priced market, the company upgraded and diversified its product line. It introduced the "Cavatina," its first women's brand in 1959 and with it, a revolutionary merchandising concept: the watch as an impulse item. For the price of one expensive watch, women could buy several Timex watches to match different occasions or ensembles. Technological advances allowed the company to offer a wide range of Products, including the first low-priced electric watches for men and women, as well as several other, inexpensive jeweled models. Still another improved watch movement, introduced in 1961, served as the cornerstone for an extra Ordinary array of men’s wristwatches.

1970s:  By the mid-1970s, the renamed Timex Corporation had sold more than 500 million of these mechanical movements. At this time, every other watch bought in the U.S. was a Timex, and the brand retailed in two hundred and fifty thousand different outlets. None of these manufacturing, sales, and distribution records has ever been duplicated by another watch manufacturer.

1980s:  Alone among all domestic watchmakers, only Timex survived the brutal 1970s watch industry shakeout caused by new digital watch technology and fierce price competition from the Far East. Having gradually phased out mechanical watch production in favor of digital watches, in 1986 Timex introduced its "Ironman Triathlon®," jointly devised by serious athletes and industrial designers. Within a year, the "Ironman Triathlon®" became America's best-selling watch and, diversifying into a full line for men and women, became the world's largest selling Sports watch, a distinction it has held throughout the 1990s.

1990s and Beyond: In the 1990s, a nearly 150 year-old Timex vigorously pursues its long tradition of technological innovation and market leadership. The company introduced the industry's first electroluminescent watch face in 1992, when the blue-green Indiglo® night light appeared on some of its digital and analog watches. Today, more than 75 percent of all Timex watches are equipped with the Indiglo night light®. The All-Day Indiglo® display, using a hologram-like material, provides greater contrast between digital numbers and the display background. In 1994, Timex introduced the Data Link® watch, a sophisticated wrist instrument that carries scheduling, phone numbers, and other personal information, having collaborated with Microsoft to create the necessary software to communicate the data from computer to watch. In 1998, Timex pioneered its i-Control™ turn n pull analog alarm watch and, in a joint venture with Motorola, a new wrist pager called Beep wear®.

Timex embraces the new millennium with high brand confidence and a strong global workforce. Annual surveys consistently rank Timex as number

one out of fifty fashion brands in jewelry and accessories and the third most popular of all women's accessory brands. Seventy-five hundred employees are located on four continents: in Middlebury (next door to Waterbury), Connecticut; Little Rock, Arkansas; Manaus, Brazil; Besancon, France; Pforzheim, Germany; Cebu, the Philippines; People's Republic of China; Jerusalem, Israel; and Delhi, India.

1.2. INTRODUCTION TO THE COMPANY:

Waterbury Clock Company (1854–1944):

In 1854 Waterbury, CT-based brass manufacturer Benedict & Burnham created Waterbury Clock Company to manufacture clocks using brass wheels and gears. Waterbury Clock Company was legally incorporated on March 27, 1857 as an independent business with $60,000 in capital. The American clock industry, with scores of companies located in Connecticut's Naugatuck Valley, was producing millions of clocks, earning the region the nickname, “Switzerland of America.”The Waterbury Clock Company was one of the largest producers for both domestic sales and export, primarily to Europe. Today its successor, Timex Group USA, Inc. is the only remaining watch company in the region.

Ingersoll Watch Company

Originally, the company produced clocks as less expensive alternatives to the high-end European counterparts of the time. In 1887 the company began experimenting with its product line leading to the creation of the large Jumbo pocket watch invented by Archibald Bannatyne – named after the famous P. T. Barnum elephant. The Jumbo was put on the market in New York City on a trial basis catching the attention of Robert H. Ingersoll, a salesman and eventual marketing pioneer. During the turn of the century, Waterbury Clock Company produced millions of pocket watches for the newly created partnership of Robert and his brother Charles, Robert H. Ingersoll & Bro., under their own brand name.

In 1896, Ingersoll introduced the Ingersoll Yankee, a dollar pocket watch supplied by Waterbury Clock Company. These watches gained such great popularity that they became known as "the watch that made the dollar famous."

Waterbury Watch Company:

In 1877, a new prototype was introduced to Benedict and Burnham for an inexpensive pocket watch made of 58 parts, mostly made of punched sheet brass. They immediately set aside an unused portion of their machine shop and began producing the Long Wind at a rate of 200 per day by 1878. The department quickly outgrew its space in the plant, so with a capital of $400,000 Waterbury Clock's sister company Waterbury Watch Company was incorporated by Benedict & Burnham in 1880 to manufacture and sell inexpensive watches and other timepieces. Waterbury Watch started out very successfully in its early days, employing hundreds of women for their "slender fingers" and "delicate manipulation," having become the largest volume producer of watches in the world by 1888.

Due to poor sales techniques, where jobbers and salesmen gave away much of the Waterbury Watch products as loss-leaders with little regard to the company's future – thereby cheapening the products' perceived value – Waterbury Watch quickly fell into bankruptcy. In a last attempt to salvage the company, Waterbury Watch began to produce higher-end watch models which only created more demand on a workforce unable to keep up with the complexity of the new watches using several hundred parts. The company was finally reorganized as the New England Watch Company in 1898 as its London sales office was placed into liquidation. The company continued to focus on high-priced watch models and eventually fell into receivership, discontinuing business in July 1912. Robert H. Ingersoll & Bro. bought the Waterbury plant and began manufacturing Ingersoll Watches there in 1914.

Advent of the wristwatch:

With the beginning of World War I there were new demands for timepiece design. Artillery gunners needed an easy way to calculate and read time while still being able to work the guns. The Waterbury Clock Company met this need by modifying the small Ingersoll ladies' Midget pocket watch to become military-issue wristwatches – lugs were added for a canvas strap, the crown

was repositioned to 3 o'clock, hands and numbers were made luminescent for nighttime readability – thus making one of the first wrist watches.

In 1922, Waterbury Clock Company purchased the Robert H. Ingersoll & Bro. for $1,500,000 which had gone bankrupt the previous year due to the post-war recession, thereby inheriting all of Ingersoll's and Waterbury Watch's assets and facilities. Unable to deliver on Ingersoll's guarantee of quality in Europe due to the Great Depression, Waterbury Clock sold the London-based Ingersoll, Ltd. to its Board of Directors in 1930, making it a wholly British-owned enterprise. The "powerful Ingersoll brand name" was continued in the United States by Waterbury Clock into the 1950s.No longer part of Waterbury Clock Company, Ingersoll Ltd. continued to produce the Ingersoll watch brand independently for the European and other international markets.

Following the Great Depression and a period of hardship for the company, Waterbury Clock Company regained its identity in the consumer market. In 1930, a license agreement was reached with Walt Disney, resulting in the production of the famous Mickey Mouse watches and clocks under the Ingersoll brand name. The new Mickey Mouse timepieces were introduced to the public at the Chicago World's Fair in June 1933 and quickly became the company's first million dollar line saving it from financial disaster.

In 1940, Thomas Olsen (owner and operator of Fred. Olsen Shipping Co.) And Joakim Lehmkuhl fled Norway with their families because of the Nazi invasion.Eventually they came to the United States seeking investments to assist in the war effort. In 1941, Olsen and Lehmkuhl purchased controlling interest in Waterbury Clock Company, Thomas Olsen became Chairman.

Though the company had fallen on hard times during the Great Depression it still had the manufacturing capability to make large numbers of timing devices. Mr. Lehmkuhl, who had studied business and engineering at Harvard and MIT, was appointed President by Olsen and, under his direction, the company became the largest producer of fuse timers for precision defense

products in the United States. A new concrete plant was built in nearby Middlebury, CT in 88 days in 1942 for the high-volume production of precision timers. In August 1943, the Army-Navy 'E' Award for excellence was awarded by the United States Under-Secretary of War to Waterbury Clock Company for the "Anglo-American fuse". As a result of this success shareholders in the following December voted to rename the company to United States Time Corporation.

United States Time Corporation (1944–1969):

Following the end of the Korean War, sales declined because of diminishing defense orders. United States Time Corporation President Lehmkuhl was convinced that an inexpensive watch that was both accurate and durable would be a marketing success. He felt that low cost could be accomplished through the combination of automation, precision tooling techniques used in making fuse timers, and a simpler design than that of higher-priced Swiss watches. Durability was accomplished through a new hard alloy, Armalloy, developed through wartime research. Armalloy was used to produce long wearing bearings, replacing the expensive jewels traditionally used in a watch's movement. These innovations led to the eventual public debut of the Timex brand in 1950, though the name was first used on a small trial shipment of nurses' watches in 1945.The X suffix was used to "convey U.S. Time's technological expertise and innovation".

Slogan: “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking”

The new watch movement design faced resistance from traditional jewelers. Lehmkuhl made two more decisions that proved pivotal to the company's long-term success. The company would go on to, or continue to pursue innovative marketing programs and develop new channels of distribution. A marketing decision was made to use the most credible newsman in the United States at that time, John Cameron Swayze, as a spokesperson for live torture tests on television with the tag line, "Timex – Takes a Licking and keeps on Ticking" – a well-recognized campaign in

advertising history. These commercials were developed by Hirshon Garfield as elaborations on tests originated by United States Time Corporation salesmen. The commercials included high-divers, water skiers, a dolphin, dishwashers, jackhammers, paint mixers and the propeller of an outboard motor, all torturing a Timex watch.

Consumer demand increased and new distribution channels were opened – despite the resistance from jewelers because of the low 50% markup – to include department stores, cigar stands, drug stores and a host of other mass market outlets. By 1962, the Timex brand held the number one market share position in the United States where one out of every three watches sold was a Timex. Foreign markets were added with company sales offices in Canada, Mexico, France, Great Britain, Germany and Portugal as well as with distributors in about twenty other countries. Plants were built in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Edwin H. Land, co-founder of Polaroid Corporation, contacted United States Time Corporation in 1948 in search of a manufacturer for his cameras. A strong relationship was forged between the companies in 1950 resulting in United States Time becoming the exclusive manufacturer of all Polaroid cameras worldwide through the 1970s, totaling more than 44 million cameras.

In recognition of the Timex brand's worldwide success, United States Time Corporation was renamed Timex Corporation on July 1, 1969.

Timex Corporation (1969–2008):

In the 1970s and early 1980s, the American watch and clock industry was devastated by the arrival of cheap mechanical watches from the Far East, as well as the development of digital quartz watches pioneered by Japanese companies. Lehmkuhl retired in 1973 with no clear successor. Polaroid ended its contract with Timex in 1975 resulting in a layoff of 2,000 employees. New technology, in the form of electronic digital watches and quartz analog

watches, was developing very rapidly, making Timex's mechanical watch making production facilities obsolete. Timex closed and consolidated worldwide operations, cutting the 30,000 employee workforce to 6,000.New competition, including Japanese companies, low-cost Hong Kong producers and large American companies such as Gillette, Texas Instruments and National Semi-Conductor were aggressively entering the business.The Disney license had expired and John Cameron Swayze retired from his role as spokesperson. The subcontracting business was rebuilt with new customers such as IBM, Hugin-Sweda and General Electric. In a joint venture with Sinclair Research Ltd., the company entered the home computer business, selling such computers as the Timex Sinclair 1000 and succeeding machines, modeled on the ZX81 and ZX Spectrum. In 1984 after declining sales, the company decided not to compete in the market any longer.

Timex Corporation transformed itself again in the mid-1980s as it abandoned its development of various consumer products and refocused efforts specifically on timepieces. Product quality and fashionable design became essential to success in the mass market. Although Timex had a solid reputation for durable products, increased efforts were put behind quality improvement. Longer battery life, more durable gold plating, greater accuracy and more water resistant styles were some of the many improvements that were implemented. New quartz analog movements were created using fewer components, reducing overall production time and costs.[10] Top athletes assisted in the design of sports watches for specific sports which led to the introduction of the Ironman Triathlon in 1986. Named for the Hawaiian triathlon the company had sponsored since 1984, the Ironman Triathlon became the most successful Timex watch in the post-mechanical watch era. Within its first year, Timex Ironman became the best-selling watch in the United States and the world's largest selling sport watch for the next decade.

Following on the success of the Ironman Traithlon line, Timex introduced the Indiglo night light during the Christmas shopping season in 1992. By January 1993 Indiglo had made headlines as a result of the bombing of the

World Trade Center in which an office worker wearing a Timex with an Indiglo night light used its light to guide a group of evacuees down 40 dark flights of stairs. Sales immediately took off leading to an increase in Timex's American market share.

Timex Corporation acquired Callanen International, the producer of Guess? Watches, in 1991 as part of its "multi-brand strategy". Timex and Disney reunited in 1993 to produce a new line of character watches called Disney Classics Collection. In 1994, Timex acquired the Nautica Watches license and introduced Timex Data Link. The Data Link PDA-type watch could receive contact and scheduling information from a sequence in a computer monitor's light using software developed with Microsoft.1997 saw the introduction of the successful Timex Expedition brand, designed for rugged outdoor sports. Timex and Motorola introduced Beep wear in 1998, a watch with an integrated pager.

The new millennium led to further growth of Timex Corporation and its parent, Timex Group B.V., by way of brand acquisition, brand introduction and licensing partnerships. In 2000, Timex Corporation purchased the French fashion watch brand Opex. Under its Callanen subsidiary, Timex acquired the watch license for urban fashion designer Marc Ecko in 2002.

The company entered the luxury market in 2005 when Timex's parent company acquired Swiss-based Vertime SA. Vertime is responsible for the design, manufacturing and distribution of Swiss-Made watches and jewelry for the Versace and Versus brands.

Timex launched a new brand In 2006 called TX, marketed around innovative technology and affordable luxury. During the same year, Timex Group B.V. acquired the ultra-luxury hand-made Swiss brand Vincent Bérard.

In 2007, Timex Group B.V. established Sequel AG as a separate company devoted to the design, manufacturing and distribution of the Guess? and the Swiss-Made Gc watch brands. The Sequel AG business is headquartered in

Zug, Switzerland. Timex Group B.V. purchased the Italian design studio Giorgio Galli Design Lab in 2007.

Timex Group USA, Inc. (2008–current):

The company was restructured in early 2008, establishing the Timex Business Unit as a separate business function for the Timex brand with its own president. Until then, "past Timex Group ceo’s have managed the Timex Group and brand, which has contributed to the brand’s less-than-stellar earnings in the last five years. While Timex Group’s Sequel division, which houses the Guess collections, has grown tremendously to rival Timex as the firm’s top earner, the signature brand has been flat." Since this change, Timex has introduced GPS enabled watches, heart rate monitor exercise watches and similar high tech devices.

In 2008, Timex Group USA signed a four-year agreement making Timex the first official timekeeper of the ING New York City Marathon. Meanwhile, parent company Timex Group B.V. launched two new Swiss-Made luxury watch brands – Salvatore Ferragamo Timepieces and Valentino Timeless – under the Timex Group Luxury Watches business.

As the year closed, construction commenced on the second-largest ground mounted solar array in the northeastern United States at Timex Group USA's Middlebury, CT headquarters. The 800-panel solar array was inaugurated on February 5, 2009 during a press event held at the headquarters.[38] A few months later Timex Group USA purchased ownership of the Marc Ecko watch trademark it had licensed since 2002.At the same time, the Callanen International business unit merged with the Timex Business Unit bringing the Timex, Opex, TX, Nautica and Marc Ecko brands all under one house.

In an agreement announced on June 16, 2009, Timex Group USA became an official sponsor of the NFL's New York Football Giants new headquarters and practice facility called the Timex Performance Center. Further details of the

sponsorship include Timex being an official equipment provider to the Giants and working closely with the team to develop new products.

In honor of Timex's 50th anniversary, the company re-released their classic Timex 80 watch. The iconic retro design of this basic digital watch made it a hit with both fashion lovers and retro watch enthusiasts, and the range has since expanded to jumbo sizes, silver and gold metallic finishes and calculator watches.[citation needed]

Timex Group B.V.:

Timex Group B.V., a Dutch holding company, is the corporate parent of several watch making companies around the globe including Timex Group USA, Inc. Businesses and exclusive worldwide licenses include the Timex Business Unit (Timex, Timex Ironman, Opex, TX, Nautica, Marc Eckō), Timex Group Luxury Watches (Valentino, Salvatore Ferragamo), Sequel (Guess, Gc), Vertime (Versace, Versus), Vincent Bérard and Giorgio Galli Design Lab.Today, Timex Group B.V.'s products are manufactured in the Far East and in Switzerland, often based on technology that continues to be developed in the United States and in Germany. The group has operations in a number of countries in Europe, the Americas, and Asia.

1.2.1. COMPANY PERSPECTIVES:

Timex is a direct descendant of several important nineteenth-century

American clock and watch manufacturers. Like our company today, they all specialized in durable yet affordable timepieces.... Timex has maintained market superiority since that time by introducing innovative designs and technology.

Company History:

Timex Corporation has manufactured the largest-selling watch brand in the United States since the 1960s. Renowned for its sturdy but inexpensive timepieces, Timex distributes its watches through 100,000 outlets in the United States, as well as throughout the world.

Noble Ancestors :

Timex evolved from three notable 19th-century clockmakers: the Waterbury Clock Company, a manufacturing firm established in 1857; the Waterbury Watch Company, founded in 1880, maker and seller of pocket watches on an international scale; and Robert H. Ingersoll and Brothers, also an international manufacturer and marketer of pocket watches since 1881. During World War I, a new timepiece--the wristwatch--became popular. Easier to use than the pocket watch, wristwatches were in high demand with soldiers for their convenience in battle. Both the Waterbury Watch Company and Ingersoll and Brothers marketed wristwatches during the war and afterwards when demand for the novel timepiece remained strong.

Two Norwegian immigrants to the United States, shipbuilder Thomas Olsen and engineer Joakim Lehmkuhl--both of whom fled Norway after the German invasion of their country in 1940--founded Timex Inc. in 1941. They purchased the nearly bankrupt Waterbury Clock Company, seeking to aid the allied war effort by producing bomb and artillery fuses that utilized clockwork mechanisms.

When World War II ended in 1945, Olsen, the majority shareholder, returned to Norway, while Lehmkuhl remained in the United States to run the

company. During this time, Lehmkuhl decided to convert the Timex plant to mass produce inexpensive timekeeping devices. Using the simplest and most standardized production methods available, Lehmkuhl's plant incorporated a high degree of mechanization in the manufacturing process. Furthermore, the wristwatches Timex manufactured used hard alloy bearings, producing a more rugged and less expensive alternative to watches that used jewels. Timex's product and production methods eventually won Lehmkuhl a reputation as "the Henry Ford of the watch industry."

The first Timex watches rolled off the assembly line in 1949 and soon became known for their dependability. At the time, most watches were sold by jewelers, who typically marked up prices by 50 percent. To keep its prices low, Timex insisted on only a 30 percent markup, and, consequently, most jewelers refused to sell Timex watches. Robert Mohr, head of Timex's marketing operation, opted to bypass the jewelers, instead selling the watches directly to consumer outlets including drugstores, hardware stores, and even tobacco stands. During the 1950s and 1960s Mohr built a distribution network that reached nearly 250,000 outlets. By 1961, sales were up to $71 million, with after tax profits of $2.9 million.

Becoming a Market Leader in the 1960s :

Advertising heavily both to build its name and to sell the dependability of its watches, Timex relied chiefly on the visual impact of television. Commercials depicted Timex watches remaining functional and accurate after being attached to churning boat propellers and the hooves of galloping horses. The phrase "takes a licking and keeps on ticking" became widely known, and by the late 1960s Timex watches accounted for about half of U.S. watch sales.

During this time, the company deliberately underproduced, manufacturing only 85 percent of the watches it thought it could sell. This practice created a scarcity that kept prices up and dealers tractable. The company further secured its leadership position in the market by using new designs and technology in the years following the 1960s.

In addition to the manufacture of timepieces, Timex continued to produce the clockwork mechanisms for the military that it had begun during the war. Timex facilities were also used to assemble cameras for Polaroid.

By 1970 Timex had record profits of $27 million on sales of $200 million. Yet change lay just around the corner, as the firm was facing intense competition in a changing market. Although few companies producing watches in the same price range as Timex could challenge the company for quality or popularity, digital electronic watches were rapidly overtaking the conventional watch. Timex began producing digital watches in 1972, but it had not moved as fast as its competition. In 1974 the company's net income fell by one-third to $8.7 million on sales of $348 million. By 1976 digital watch prices had fallen into the price range of the company's mechanical watches, and Timex began losing market share. Its major competitors in the electronic watch market were Texas Instruments and Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corp., both of which had more experience with electronics. A price war ensued, and by 1977 Texas Instruments had slashed the price of one of its most popular watches to $10.

Also during this time, Timex management was in turmoil. Lehmkuhl had reportedly become increasingly eccentric and difficult to work with, and in 1973 Olsen's son Fred had the 78-year-old founder and chairperson removed from office. Furthermore, the company's three presidents were constantly at odds, and when electronics experts were brought in to help the company fight for digital watch market share, the infighting intensified and the company suffered. Timex was soon restructured to reflect Fred Olsen's belief that making electronic watches required a radically different approach than that of mechanical watches. The mechanical watch operation was thereafter isolated from the new electronic operations, a change that eventually created resentment among the employees. The restructuring also led to numerous mistakes as the isolated electronic division was unable to take advantage of the mechanical division's experience.

Consequently, Timex's electronic watches were awkwardly large and 50 percent more expensive than those offered by competing firms in the mid-1970s. Believing that sales of mechanical watches were in an irreversible decline, management planned to keep production capacity below the level of likely sales in order to make as much money from the line as possible as the market shrunk. Advertising for mechanical watches virtually ceased, and, as spending decreased, the capital was shifted to the manufacture and sale of digital watches.

The entire watch industry had a good year in 1977, and Timex decided to slow the downsizing of mechanical watch production. However, the company failed to reinstate its advertising budget, and, as a result, its only profitable product began to decline in popularity. Timex lost $4.7 million on sales of $600 million in 1979. Sister corporation TMX Ltd., a Bermuda-based company that supplied watches and parts to Timex, also lost $5 million that year.

Diversifying in the 1980s :

During this time, chief executive Robert Weltzien began diversifying the company. He bought a clock and timer operation from General Electric Co., and in early 1980 he held the company's first ever press conference, announcing that as Timex had gained experience from assembling Polaroid cameras--more than 40 million between 1952 and 1979--the company would soon begin manufacturing a new type of 35-millimeter camera. However, these moves were not enough to offset Timex's declining watch sales, and later that year Olsen flew in from Norway, fired Weltzien, and took his place as CEO. Thereafter, Olsen spent two weeks a month overseeing his businesses in Norway and the other two weeks with Timex in Connecticut.

While Olsen was a brilliant long-term strategist with immense energy, he had little experience with the day-to-day running of an organization, and some managers became frustrated as he interfered with the details of their projects. He began closing factories, cutting wages, and selling off side businesses, as he reshaped the company into a consumer electronics concern that would sell

watches, clocks, computers, and electronic products geared toward home health care.

In 1980 Commodore Computers explored the possibility of a merger or other working relationship with Timex, but Olsen declined. Instead, Timex opted to attempt duplicating Commodore's success by producing its own computer. Created by British inventor Clive Sinclair, the Timex computer was brought out at the end of 1982 and quickly sold 500,000 units. However, critics noted that the Timex computer was extremely limited in its capabilities and inferior to Commodore's product. After Commodore engaged Timex in a price war, Timex made little money from the venture.

In 1983 Timex brought its first home health care products to market. The products, made by Singapore subcontractors, included a $69.95 blood-pressure cuff, a $24.95 digital thermometer, and a $49.95 digital scale. Timex relied on its widely recognized name and large distribution base to give it an advantage over companies already selling similar products. The market was very competitive, however, and Timex was also hampered by the breakup of its Silicon Valley computer engineering staff due to continuing political infighting as well as the slow start of its new lab in Connecticut.

Watches still accounted for 90 percent of Timex's business in 1983. The firm's digital watches had improved considerably, and it introduced a new quartz calendar watch at $100 that was billed as the world's thinnest. While the majority of its electronic watches were more expensive than those of its competitors, Timex had succeeded in bringing out one model that sold for only $7.95.

Also in 1983, Timex endured negative press from an employee strike at its plant in Dundee, Scotland, which strikers occupied after management fired 1,900 workers. Members of the British parliament, and finally Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, intervened before the six-week occupation was ended.

Refocusing on the Wristwatch :

Throughout the 1980s, inexpensive fashion watches rapidly gained popularity and were released by a number of companies, most notably the innovative Swatch Company. Timex's sales needed bolstering as some industry analysts estimated that the company only produced half as many watches as it had five years earlier. Consequently, Timex began producing watches that were more fashionable, sporty, and colorful, and invested money and energy in advertising. In the spring of 1983 the company launched a $20 million television advertising campaign focusing on its new technological sophistication and style. The commercials, by Gray Advertising, playfully exaggerated the features of Timex watches. In one ad a group of joggers ran up and down the contours of a Timex sports watch; in another, a group of people climbed out of a boat and walked across a waterproof Timex watch that served as a dock. Timex also showed its ads in movie theaters, purchasing four weeks of ad time at Screen vision Cinema Network's 4,500 theaters in 1986.

One of the firm's greatest successes during this time was its sports watches. In 1984, an Olympic games year, the company brought out the Triathlon watch, which was water resistant to 50 meters, could recall eight laps of running times, and had a 16-hour stopwatch. In its first year, 400,000 of the watches were sold at $34.95 each. Encouraged by this success, Timex brought out a ski watch that included a thermometer as well as a racing watch that could measure speeds of up to 999 miles an hour. The company launched its Atlantis 100 water resistant sports watch in 1986 with a $1 million ad shown during football's Super Bowl. This ad featured a group of divers discovering a 65-foot replica of the watch on the bottom of the Red Sea. Five other "adventure" commercials were also produced.

In 1988 Timex brought back its "takes a licking and keeps on ticking" campaign, which had not been used in ten years. This time, however, the ads were intentionally humorous and took the premise of the old ads to extremes, one ad showing the watches being thrown to ravenous piranha. Timex also stepped up advertising for its new line of men's and women's fashion watches,

influenced by those being sold by Swatch. Having formerly advertised mainly in such magazines as Time and Life, Timex began buying space in sports and fashion magazines. The ads were part of an effort to help Timex shake its staid image at a time when watchmakers like Swatch were making inroads by giving their watches a fun, quirky image. The firm spent $6 million on ads during its Christmas ad campaign, representing 60 percent of its $10 million annual ad budget.

Timex released new sport watches in 1988 that were aimed at niche markets while also being designed to appeal to a broader audience. One model, the Victory, included features useful in sailboat racing and a design influenced by traditional nautical instruments. While the Ironman watch was geared toward triathlon participants, the watch's memory feature and rugged styling proved so popular that Timex was soon able to claim that it was the best-selling watch in the United States through 1997, if not the leader among watch sales worldwide.

At the end of the 1980s the color plastic watch business pioneered by Swatch was beginning to decline, but Timex continued producing colorful watches with classic styling and increased the distribution of its watches to upscale department stores. Timex remained at the top of the U.S. mass market watch sector with a share near 50 percent. Sales for 1988 topped $500 million, and Timex was still the largest company in the $1.5 billion U.S. watch market, despite the fact that all of its watches were priced at under $75.

In 1990, with its market share under continual pressure, Timex spent $7 million on a unique two-month print ad campaign. Again picking up on the "takes a licking" theme, the ads featured portraits of people who, along with their Timex watches, had survived serious mishaps. One woman, for example, had fallen 85 feet while rock climbing and suffered only minor injuries. The ads, by the Minneapolis-based agency Fallon McElligott, appeared in 31 magazines and included several three-page spreads.

New Technologies in the 1990s :

Although the information age initiatives the company had pursued in the early 1980s had been sharply scaled back, Timex had not forgone new technologies altogether. The company announced it would develop a wristwatch that would double as a telephone pager in conjunction with Motorola Inc. Moreover, in 1992 Timex introduced a watch with a luminescent dial that glowed like a full moon at the push of a button. The watch used a dial made of zinc sulphide and copper that other companies had used on clocks, though Timex was the first to adapt it to watch size. Featuring patented electroluminescence technology, Timex's Indiglo Night-Light set the standard for watch illumination. It offered night workers, campers, sports players, and moviegoers a safe, nontoxic, bright, even blue-green light superior to other watches' shine. (Other manufacturers utilized incandescent bulbs, which resulted in faint illumination, or sunlight-storing phosphorescent substances, which faded, or potentially dangerous radioactive substances such as radium or titanium.)

These innovations were well received by the public. Sales for 1992 totaled $400 million, giving Timex one-third of the U.S. watch market. The company was now the largest watchmaker in the United States. Both Business Week and Fortune named the Indiglo Night-Light one of the best products of the year in 1993, and high demand for the Indiglo Night-Light continued after its introduction. Timex incorporated the innovation into 65 percent of its watch styles and added further technological improvements; for example, Night Mode, which provided a steady, three-second light source. The powers of the Indiglo Night-Light came to the nation's attention during the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York. Amid the smoke and darkness after the bombing, a man from Arizona used the light from his Indiglo Ironman Triathlon to lead people from the ravaged building.

More recognition came for Timex products when the "first family" of the United States donated President Bill Clinton's Ironman Triathlon--the watch he wore during the 1993 inaugural celebrations the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution.

"Nevertheless, President Clinton is not this watch's first presidential appointment," Timex revealed through an In the News press release, observing that "Although the Ironman Triathlon watch was designed to accommodate the needs of hard-core triathletes, it has proven a winner inside the Beltway, most notably on the wrists of the former presidential team of George Bush and Dan Quayle."

Once again, however, a labor dispute at Timex UK sullied the company's public image in 1993. Workers in the Dundee, Scotland, plant initiated a strike against Timex when the company announced impending layoff plans, wage freezes, and benefit reductions. When Timex fired the strikers and hired 250 replacement workers, violence and ill-will between the workers and company management ensued. At the time, a company supervisor told New Statesman & Society: "I cannot imagine the old workforce ever coming back to the factory. The rifts are so great now. It's all too personal."

Despite its image problems in the United Kingdom, Timex remained a favorite accessory brand in the United States, according to Fairchild Publications. Placing ahead of Nike and Levis, Timex ranked second in Fairchild Publications as the overall favorite fashion brand in the country in 1995. Still, despite it favorable position with the public, Timex launched ten marketing campaigns that year to compete more effectively, in particular challenging Swatch for market share.

Timex continued to develop technological innovations for its watches throughout the 1990s. In 1995, for example, it introduced the Timex Data Link, a watch employing wireless transfer technology so that watch and personal computer could communicate. Timex Data Link watches came equipped with a Windows-based PC program allowing data to be entered or imported into the program. A lens on the watch translated the data from on-screen bar codes to the watch's memory. "

In 1997, Timex introduced a notebook adapter that connected its Data Link watches with notebook, laptop, and portable PCs with liquid crystal display

viewing screens--the fastest growing PC market segment. "The benefits of the Notebook Adapter are twofold," Jan Mladik, marketing manager of Timex's Wrist Instruments Group, explained in a press release. "First, it provides a whole new group of consumers access to the Timex Data Link information transfer technology. Secondly, it allows those 'road warriors' who own both desktop PCs and portables to update databases and send new functions when traveling." The Data Link Notebook Adapter and the Timex Data Link 150S both won Innovations '97 awards.

Timex also began manufacturing a watch presented as an entry in the company's Bright Idea Contest in 1997. A contestant suggested a pulse timing watch designed specifically for health-care workers. Using the Indiglo Night-Light, Timex easily designed a watch with the ability to check pulse rates in low-light conditions.

In 1998, Timex introduced another new product--the Humvee. Named after AM General's all-terrain vehicle, the Humvee watch was water resistant and exceeded government standards for shock resistance. Timex entered into a licensing agreement with AM General to market a watch sharing the Humvee name. Lee Woodward, manager of marketing communications for AM General remarked in a press release: "We are proud to align ourselves with a partner that can capture the essence and qualities of the Humvee in a product such as a sports watch. Timex has a tradition of producing durable, long lasting products that can take abuse, just like the Humvee and Hummer."

Active in more than 90 countries since 1980, Timex maintained its position as a world leader in watches in 1998. The company also retained its hold on the U.S. market in particular through the introduction of innovative products and the use of technology. More of the same was expected from Timex as it approached a new century in watch making.

1.3. COMPANY PROFILE:

TIMEX GROUP INDIA LIMITED

Timex Group designs, manufactures and markets innovative timepieces and jewelry globally. Timex, founded in 1854, has expanded to become Timex Group, a privately-held company, with several operating units and over 5,000 employees worldwide. One of the largest watch makers in the world, Timex Group companies include the Timex Business Unit (Timex, Timex Ironman, Opex, TX, Nautica,

Marc Ecko); Timex Group Luxury Watches (Valentino, Salvatore Ferragamo); Sequel (Guess, Gc); Vertime (Versace, Versus); and Vincent Bérard.

Timex Group built its reputation as the pioneer in timekeeping by harnessing the power and possibility of time. From the first clock and wristwatch we produced through data integration - from classic, time-honored designs through exclusive, luxury collector's pieces - Timex Group companies continue to deliver unparalleled Quality to highly diverse and global customers.

Milan to Hong Kong, design sensibility and creativity inspire multiple lifestyle brands. From the hallmark everyday watches on which we built our reputation, to exclusive, high-end offerings, we are equipped to meet the needs of our brand partners.    

Timex Group India has one of the most powerful portfolios of brands in the watch industry. With technological innovation and cutting-edge design, we recognize the tremendous opportunity to leverage the reach and appeal of each brand’s individual identity, personality and customer base.

With our global organization and breadth of expertise, we bring our partners from concept through design, manufacturing to distribution, to meet and exceed the brands’ Criteria for success.

Our global resources give Timex Group India a true advantage in a highly competitive marketplace. By thinking and acting both locally and globally, we are constantly challenging ourselves to look at the future.

Founded in 1854 as the clock-making subsidiary of Waterbury, CT based brass manufacturer Benedict & Burnham. Waterbury Clock Company was legally incorporated in 1857 as an independent business.

One of the world’s top watch companies Over 5,000 employees worldwide Manufacturing and distribution in 20 countries

Watches sold in more than 100 countries

Timex Group USA, Inc. (formerly known as Timex Corporation), a subsidiary of Timex Group B.V., is headquartered in Middlebury, Connecticut. The company is the current day successor to the Waterbury Clock Company, founded in 1854 in nearby Waterbury, Connecticut.

Timex Corporation manufactures watches. It offers wristwatches and clocks for fashion, outdoors, and sports and fitness purposes. The company's products include wristwatches for men, women, and kids; audio; alarm clocks; eyewear; thermostats; timers and night lights; weather instruments; thermometers; straps; and pedometers. It offers its products through stores.

The company has operations in Middlebury, Connecticut; Little Rock, Arkansas; Manaus, Brazil; Besancon, France; Pforzheim, Germany; Cebu, the Philippines; People's Republic of China; Jerusalem, Israel; and Delhi, India.

Timex Corporation was founded in 1857 as Waterbury Clock Company and changed its name to United States Time Corporation in 1944. Later, the name was changed to Timex Corporation in 1969. Timex Corporation is a subsidiary of Timex Group B.V. 

Branching out from its original "takes a licking" designs, Timex is strapping on fresh faces so it can tap new markets worldwide. The nation's largest watch manufacturer has expanded its lines from simple, low-cost watches to include high-tech tickers capable of paging or downloading computer data.

Its sports watches have gone upscale and gadgety with its Expedition and Ironman lines. The company also makes and markets thermostats, pedometers, and weather instruments. Through a licensing agreement, Timex makes watches for Guess? and Versace, among others. Founded in 1854, Timex is owned by the family of Chairman Annette Olsen, whose grandfather bought the company in 1942.

1.3.1. TIMEX GROUP PRECISION ENGINEERING LIMITED:

TIMEX established its state-of-the-art precision Tool room and Injection molding facility in 1992 to support production of plastic parts for watch business.

The Tool room went commercial in 1998 and after 10 years of success, the facility was established, as an independent business unit in the year 2008, as Timex Group Precision Engineering Ltd. By leveraging its vast experience in manufacturing of precision injection molds and injection molded parts, TGPEL has, in a short time, established itself as one of the leading commercial Tool Rooms in the country.

Business Overview:

Timex Group Precision Engineering Ltd (TGPEL) is ISO 9001:2000 certified by TUV Nord.

The company provides a one stop solution to its customers for mold design, manufacturing, tryout, injection molded part production and sub assemblies.

It specializes in manufacturing of High Precision Injection Molds up to 300 Ton capacity, using the latest technology Machines installed in a controlled environment.

With quality at the core of the business, Premium quality Tool Steels (like Stavax, Orvar Supreme, Calmax etc) hardened through vacuum technology, are used to enhance tool performance.

TGPEL has on its team, qualified and experienced staff from reputed institutes across the country backed by a strong Design Team well-versed on the latest Design software available in the industry.

TGPEL offers internationally competitive and customized products with high focus on quality, cost, lead time and reliability.

The customer portfolio boasts of major organizations in the Electrical, Switchgear, Automotive, Medical, Consumer Durables and FMCG segments in India and abroad.

“TGPEL is committed to provide quality tools and components worldwide with an emphasis on on-time delivery by understanding the stated and implied needs of the customers.”

Timex Group India Limited, formerly Timex Watches Limited, is an India-based company. The Company is engaged in manufacturing and trading of

watches. The Company operates in three segments: watches segment, which is engaged in manufacturing and trading of watches; tools and moulds segment which is engaged in the manufacturing of tools, moulds and plastic components, and Times Global Services, which is engaged in providing information technology and finance related back office support to other group companies.

1.4. PRODUCT PROFILE:

1.4.1. TIMEX:

Over half a century ago, Timex revolutionized watch making by using cutting-edge technology in products in outdoor, sports and style categories. Today, Timex is a household name synonymous with design, durability and performance and it continues to embrace its reason for being: undaunted innovation.

1.4.2. ECKO:

Throughout its history, the Ecko watch brand has evolved with a renowned heritage in unlimited innovation and pioneering fashion. It is the arbiter of

trend-defining, dynamic brands and products that continually excite and inspire their customer.

1.4.3. NAUTICA:

Nautica watches for men and women combine distinctive styling, bold colors and unique design. Inspired by sailing and the sea, the Nautica watches’ functionality reflects an energetic lifestyle and fuses the best of classic American style with the latest technical innovation.

1.4.4. OPEX:

Opex is a young, audacious brand that embodies contemporary French sensibility. Designed in Paris for women and by women, Opex timepieces are the ultimate expression of trendy, stylish femininity. Inspired by the rhythm of the prêt-à-porter collections, Opex reinvents itself each season.

1.4.5. TX:

Engineered in Germany, the TX movement platform was developed over five years with zero compromises. Using the finest materials – premium sapphire crystals, sculpted dials and hands, the finest leather, and an etched case back – every TX timepiece incorporates four independent motors, each driving a specific function.

1.4.6. SALVATORE FERRAGAMO:

The unique Ferragamo collections are a brilliant tribute to the Italian tradition of design and craftsmanship. From the automatic styles with sapphire crystal glass to the GMT chronograph and the Automatic precious Tourbillon movement, this collection evokes the iconic stature of Salvatore Ferragamo’s groundbreaking designs.

1.4.7. VERSACE:

The combination of Swiss technology with distinctive Italian style, Versace timepieces are the embodiment of international glamour – sophisticated, elegant and refined. Versace’s watch collections are designed in accordance with the Maison’s intrinsic style and characterized by the iconic Versace logo.

1.4.8. VALENTINO:

An icon of Italian haute couture, designer Valentino Maison’s design aesthetic is brought into modernity with the creation of timepieces that express his values: exclusivity, elegance, flawless craftsmanship, quality and beauty. Based on the culture of couture, the Valentino watch collection encapsulates the concept of time in a tangible way.

1.4.9. VERSUS:

Versus watches are urban and youthful, dynamic and confident. The 2009 versus collection of timepieces emphasizes the use of bold, edgy design. It embodies the novel combination of fine materials and the insatiable attention to impressive detailing.

1.5. INDUSTRIAL PROFILE:

Timex Group India Limited engages in the manufacture and trading of watches in India and internationally. It offers various collections of watches in fashion, sports, and outdoor lines for men and women.

The company also manufactures tools, moulds, and plastic components for other parties. In addition, it provides after sales service to its customers. The company was incorporated in 1988 and is based in Noida, India. Timex Group India Limited is a subsidiary of Timex Group Luxury Watches B.V.

Timex watches were first introduced in the 1950's, as the company brand evolved from the Waterbury Clock company, which produced the first affordable timepieces for Americans back in the 1850's.

This company developed into the Waterbury Watch Company, which specialized in affordable mechanical watches. Waterbury became famous in the 1930's with their Mickey Mouse watches and clocks that today are worth far more than the £1.50 they cost. When the Great Depression hit America in the 1940's, this company was bought out by the U.S. Time Company.

Production during World War II turned from timepieces to artillery with mechanical timing, and anti-aircraft fuses. The first Timex wristwatches had impeccable timing and reliability, and were introduced in 1950. Record breaking sales were generated by the excellence of the watches and by excellent advertising for Timex in print and on television. Memorable ads include those featuring John Cameron Swayze with various live on television torture tests, such as watches taped to outboard motor propellers, or watches taking giant leaps the Grand Coulee Dam. The most famous ad line for Timex is "takes a licking and keep on ticking®" which was a line still recognized today. By the end of the decade, Timex comprised one of every three purchased in the United States.

Timex remained a household word, and watch and clock leader for the next three decades, selling over 500 million mechanical watches. They adjusted to new Oriental competition in the 1980's when the renamed Timex Corporation introduced new digital watches with their "Ironman Triathlon®" line for serious athletes. It soon became the country's best selling watch. Over the next two decades, Timex continued their long history of excellence through innovation. They introduced electroluminescent watch faces. Three quarters of today's Timex feature their Indiglo night light®. Other digital Timex watches were brought to market in the mid-1990, including Data Link®, which is a mini data bank for scheduling information and phone numbers. The

company teamed up with Microsoft and Motorola in joint ventures to produce other complex watches and pagers.

Timex entered the 2000's strong and confident, remaining one of the top brands known for excellence and reliability, and for being fashionable accessories. The company has over 7500 employees on four continents.

Timex watches are featured in their company museum, Timexpo where their history and technological developments are showcased in Waterbury, CT. Timex watches are still popular for use as presentation gifts, incentive awards, promotions, and gifts. There are promotional imprint Timex watches that can also be ordered, which are nice for recognition awards, and business gifts. Timex watches remain the leading watch in America.

New Timex models include smart watches with multi-functions, great for sports and workouts, fun watches in clip and necklace styles, watches to help monitor health factors, and sports statistics timepieces that include speed and distance calculations, and e-Instruments watches that measure things like the temperature of surf, and predict tide times. It is no secret that Timex watches keep up with the times.

One of the largest manufacturers of high quality watches in the world. A Timex watch is known for its dependability and manufacturing quality.

Timex - One of the largest manufacturers of high quality watches in the world. A Timex watch is known for its dependability and manufacturing quality. Timex watches are the pioneers of Indiglo technology, which lights the entire dial of the watch with the push of a button.

With more than 150 years of history as a watchmaker, Timex is one company that knows watches. As America's first watchmaker Timex carved their name in the industry early, and their brand is still a household name even now.

Timex watches began way back in 1850. At that point the company was

known as Waterbury Clock. They were the first company in America to make clocks affordable to the common people. Their shelf and mantel clocks were reliable and quickly became very popular throughout America.

In the 1880's Waterbury began to market its first watch. The product was known as the Yankee pocket watch. Between 1880 and 1920, working with mass marketer Robert H. Ingersoll, Waterbury sold over 40,000,000 of their Yankee model watch throughout the US and Europe.

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Timex watches can boast other big successes. They made America's first popular wristwatch in 1917. The watch was designed and produced at the request of the US army during WWI.

During the 1930's they found huge success with their Disney branded Mickey Mouse watches. In the 40's the company was renamed the US Time company and put all of their efforts into manufacturing timing devices for artillery and anti-aircraft devices.

It wasn't until the 1950's that Timex watches began to produce the product that would make them one of the world's largest watchmakers. In 1850 they produced one of the most popular watches ever marketed in North America. The product was simply known as Timex. With their hugely successful marketing campaigns ("Timex takes a licking and keeps on ticking”), they quickly grew the Timex brand into the largest brand in the US. By the end of the 1950's one out of every three watches sold in the US was a Timex.

Having completely taken over the low-price watch markets, during the 1960's and 70's the company took the name Timex Watches, and began to produce higher end products as well. Today Timex Watches produces a full line of men's and ladies watches in many styles. From fashion watches to the ultra-elegant, Timex likely makes a watch that fits.

CHAPTER – 2

DEVELOPMENT OF THE MAIN THEME

CHAPTER – 2

2.1. NEED FOR THE STUDY:

This study is based on the study of distributors roles played in the company and how the distributor is important for a company.

It also enables us to know what the benefits the distributor gets are and what are the risks he bears.

The study aims at understanding the process carried out by the distributor and how the distributor makes the product available to all the people and customers.

2.2. SCOPE OF THE STUDY:

The main scope of this study is to ascertain the effectiveness of channel of distribution and various methods to increase the sales volume of the concern. The methods include regular information to the buyers creating a brand position in the market and taking measures to make the brand remain in its position.

One of the important aspects of this study is also to increase the market segment for the product.

2.3. OBJECTIVE:

Describe the nature of distribution channels, and tell why marketing intermediaries are used.

Understand the different marketing intermediaries available to the hospitality industry and the benefits each of these intermediaries’ offers.

Know how the company uses the distribution channel.

Discuss channel behavior and organization, explaining corporate, contractual, and vertical marketing systems, including franchising.

Illustrate the channel management decisions of selecting, motivating, and evaluating channel members.

Identify factors to consider when choosing a business location. To know the importance of distributors in the company and how they

are considered as important in the company.

2.4. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:

Not creating awareness about the product is the one of the limitations to the Timex Company.

Another is the distributor has to invest his own money and the banks and other financial institutions will not help them.

2.5. REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

2.5.1. DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL:

Distribution of products constitutes an important element of marketing mix

of a firm. After development of the product, the entrepreneur has to decide

channels or routes through which the product will flow from the factory to the

potential customers.

He has a number of alternatives available to him. The entrepreneur may

choose to distribute the product directly to customers without using any

intermediaries. Alternatively, he may use one or more middlemen including

wholesalers, selling agents, and retailers.

Big firms have their zonal or regional authorized agents or dealers spread

over the entire country. The dealers, in turn, work with distributors and

retailers.

On the other hand, small firms cannot afford to have zonal offices, but are

devising their own ways of doing business. They also receive regular orders

for goods. Entry may be difficult for the small firms.

It has been observed that many authorized dealers of known brands also

stock other unknown or new brands of goods. They also insist on the

customer buying the lesser known brand because of higher margin of profit.

The small entrepreneur, with fewer overheads and low labor costs along

with better planning and management, may be able to earn good profits.

2.5.2. MEANING OF CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION:

A channel of distribution or trade channel is the path or route along which goods move from producers to ultimate consumers. It is a distribution

network through which a producer puts his products in the hands of actual users.

A trade or marketing channel consists of the producer, consumers or users and the various middlemen who intervene between the two.

The channel serves as a connecting link between the producer and consumers. By bridging the gap between the point of production and the point of consumption, a channel creates time, place and possession utilities.

A channel of distribution represents three types of flows:

Goods flow from producer to consumers; Cash flow from consumers to producer as payment for goods; and Marketing information flows in both directions, from producers to

consumers in the form of information on new products, new uses of existing products, etc.

The flow of information from consumers to producers is the feedback of the wants, suggestions, complaints, etc.

2.5.3. KINDS OF DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS:

Every small-scale entrepreneur requires a channel that can distribute his

product to the right customers at the right time and at the right cost.

It consists of all the middlemen which participate in the distribution of

goods and which serve as a link between the manufacturer and the consumer.

Producer↔ Consumer

Producer↔ Retailer↔ Consumer

Producer↔ Wholesaler↔ Retailer↔ Consumer

1. Producer ↔ Consumer:

This is also known as direct selling because no middlemen are involved. A

producer may sell directly through his own retail stores, for example, Bata.

This is the simplest and the shortest channel. It is fast and economical.

Small producers and producers of perishable commodities also sell directly

to the local consumers.

Big firms adopt direct selling in order to cut distribution cost and because

they have sufficient facilities to sell directly to the consumers. The producer or

the entrepreneur himself performs all the marketing activities.

2. Producer ↔ Retailer ↔ Consumer:

This is one stage distribution channel having one middleman, i.e., retailer.

In this channel, the producer sells to big retailers like departmental stores

and chain stores who in turn sell to customer.

This channel is very popular in the distribution of consumer durables such

as refrigerators, T V sets, washing machines, typewriters, etc.

This channel of distribution is very popular these days because of

emergence of departmental stores, super markets and other big retail stores.

The retailers purchase in large quantities from the producer and perform

certain marketing activities in order to sell the product to the ultimate

consumers.

3. Producer ↔ Wholesaler ↔ Retailer ↔ Consumer :

This is the traditional channel of distribution. There are two middlemen in

this channel of distribution, namely, wholesaler and retailer.

This channel is most suitable for the products with widely scattered

market. It is used in the distribution of consumer products like groceries,

drugs,

Cosmetics, etc.

It is quite suitable for small scale producers whose product line is narrow

And who require the expert services and promotional support of wholesalers.

2.5.4. CHOICE OF CHANNEL OF DISTRIBUTION:

While selecting a distribution channel, the entrepreneur should compare

the costs, sales volume and profits expected from alternative channels of

distribution.

In order to select the right channel for distributing his product, a small-

scale manufacturer should keep in mind the following considerations:

1. Market Considerations: The nature of the market is a key factor

influencing the choice of channels of distribution. The following features of the

market should be considered to determine the channels:

a. Consumer or industrial market: If the product is meant for industrial

users, the channel of distribution will be a short one. This is because industrial

users buy in a large quantity and the producer can easily establish a direct

contact with them. But in case for goods meant for consumers, retailers may

have to be included in the channels of distribution.

b. Number and location of buyers : When the number of potential customers

is small or the market is geographically located in a limited area, direct selling

is easy and economical. In case of large number of customers, use of

wholesalers and retailers becomes necessary.

c. Size of order: Direct selling is convenient and economical where customers

place order in big lots as in case of industrial goods. But where the product is

sold in small quantities, middlemen are used to distribute such products.

A manufacturer may use different channels for different types of buyers. He

may sell directly to big retail stores and may use wholesalers to sell to small

retailers.

d. Customers buying habits: The customer buying habits like the time he is

willing to spend, the desire for credit, the preference of personal attention and

one stop shopping significantly affect the choice of distribution channels.

2. Product Considerations: The type and nature of the product influence

the number and type of middlemen to be chosen for distributing the product.

The important factors with respect to the product are as follows:

a. Unit value: Products of low unit value and common use are generally sold

through middlemen, as they cannot bear the cost of direct selling. On the other

hand, expensive consumer goods and industrial products are sold directly by

the producers.

b. Perishability : Perishable products like vegetables, fruits and bakery items

have

relatively short channels, as they cannot withstand repeated handling. Goods,

which are subject to frequent changes in fashion and style, are generally

distributed through short channels, as the producer has to maintain close and

continuous touch with the market.

c. Bulk and weight: Heavy and bulky products are distributed directly to

minimize

handling costs. Coal, bricks, stones, etc., are some examples.

d. Standardization: Custom-made and non-standardized products usually

pass through short channels due to the need for direct contact between the

producer and the consumers. Standardized and mass-made goods can be

distributed through middlemen.

e. Technical nature: Industrial products requiring demonstration,

installation and

After sale service are often sold directly. The consumer products of technical

nature are generally sold through retailers.

f. Product line: An entrepreneur producing a wide range of products may find

it

Economical to set up its own retail outlets. On the other hand, firms with one

or two products find it profitable to distribute through wholesalers and

retailers.

g. Age of the product: A new product needs greater promotional effort and

few

middlemen may like to handle it. As the product gains acceptance in the

market, more middlemen may be employed for its distribution.

3. Middlemen Considerations: The cost and efficiency of distribution

depend largely upon the nature and type of middlemen as given in the

following factors:

a. Availability : When middlemen as desired are not available, an

entrepreneur may have to establish his own distribution network. Non-

availability of middlemen may arise when they are handling competitive

products, as they do not like to handle more brands.

b. Attitudes : Middlemen who do not like a firm’s marketing policies may

refuse to

handle its products. For instance, some wholesalers and retailers demand sole

selling rights or a guarantee against fall in prices.

c. Services: Use of those middlemen is profitable who provide financing,

storage,

promotion and after sale services.

d.Sale Potential : An entrepreneur generally prefers a dealer who offers the

greatest potential volume of sales.

e. Costs : Choice of a channel should be made after comparing the costs of

distribution through alternative channels. After deciding the number of

middlemen, an entrepreneur has to select the particular dealers through

whom he will distribute his products. While selecting a particular wholesaler

or retailer, the following factors should be taken into consideration:

a. Location of dealer’s business premises;

b. Financial position and credit standing of the dealer;

c. Knowledge and experience of the dealer;

d. Storage and showroom facilities of the dealer;

e. Ability of the dealer to secure adequate business and to cover the market;

f. Capacity of the dealer to provide after sale service;

g. General reputation of the dealer and his sales force;

h. Willingness of the dealer to handle the entrepreneur’s products;

i. Degree of co-operation and promotion service he is willing to provide;

j. Nature of other products, if any handled by the dealer.

2.5.5. IMPORTANCE OF DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL:

The importance of channel of distribution is as follows:

· Cost Savings in Specialization - Members of the distribution channel are

specialists in what they do and can often perform tasks better and at lower

cost than companies who do not have distribution experience.

Marketers attempting to handle too many aspects of distribution may end

up exhausting company resources as they learn how to distribute.

· Reduce Exchange Time - Not only are channel members able to reduce

distribution costs by being experienced at what they do, they often perform

their job more rapidly resulting in faster product delivery.

· Customers Want to Conveniently Shop for Variety - Marketers have to

understand what customers want in their shopping experience.

Resellers within the channel of distribution serve two very important needs:

1) They give customers the products they want by purchasing from many

suppliers (termed accumulating and assortment services, and

2) They make it convenient to purchase by making products available in single

location.

CHAPTER – 3LEARNINGS IN THE

COMPANY

CHAPTER – 3

3.1. INTRODUCTION ABOUT CFA:

CFA means Clearing and Forwarding Agency.

CFA is an integral part of the company.

They does the back – end process in the company.

This process includes:

Receiving the goods from the factories or premises.

Warehousing the goods.

Receiving Dispatch orders from the agents.

Arranging Dispatch of goods.

Maintaining Records of the receipt and Dispatch of

goods and the stock available at the warehouse.

All the Bills are maintained and transactions are

updated.

CFA process is carried out through style code and product code.

For NTO’s (Non-Traditional Outlets), Bar code is necessary which are

scanned thoroughly and taken inward at the warehouse.

Only when the bar code matches with the product code, the stock is

said to be saleable.

CFA is the agents appointed to supply chain the stocks from

warehouse to the distributors or stockiest.

As the manufacturer cannot do this process directly, they appoint

these CFA’s in order to make this process less complicated by means

of shifting the goods from manufacturers to the dealers through

these CFA’s.

The number of CFA’s will be based upon tge volume of production of

the company.

The credit limit of TIMEX is for 3 months i.e., 90 days.

CFA’s will first bill the stocks i.e., Inventory is carried out first for the

stocks that comes in and then only he will do other processes like

shifting the stocks according to the purchase order that they receive

from the dealers.

CFA’s will

Takes the orders and bill them first, and

Clear the stocks through shipment for the same order

to the respective distributors.

The manufacturer will have the contact only with these CFA’s, so that

they can easily shift the goods from the warehouse which leads to

smooth running of business.

CFA’s are those who gives the products to the wholesaler from there

it reaches to retailer and then to the end user i.e., customer.

All the bills, invoices are maintained properly and updated.

3.2. CFA IN TIMEX:

Timex Group India Limited has its manufacturing company at Buddy in

Himachal Pradesh.

Manufacturing is done by two ways:

i. Trade, and

ii. Marketing.

CFA for Timex maintains two types of invoices through which they bill

the stocks. They includes:

i. Trading Invoice, and

ii. Manufacturing Invoice.

Trading consists of Buying or Importing from other countries.

Manufacturing consists of Production from India.

Timex Brand is in U.S.A.

It also got its royalty from U.S.A.

Invoices consists of

Order Number

Invoice Number

Invoice Date

CST Number

VAT number

It also consists of UCP, which means Unit Cost Price.

UCP is the price of the products.

Invoice is based upon the margin for the dealers.

It more specifically talks about the margin for both dealers and

distributors.

For dealers the margin is 15% and for the distributors it is 6.5%.

Through this Invoice with different margin rate for different dealers,

distributors, showrooms and NTO’s will help us to find the differences

that

When the margin rate is HIGH, it will lead to LESSER

amount to be paid by the dealers.

When the margin rate is LOW, it will lead to HIGH amount

to be paid by the dealers.

It means in simple terms,

If the Percentage of margin rate is HIGH, Total Payable

Amount will be LESS.

It the Percentage of margin rate is LOW, Total Payable

Amount will be HIGH.

CFA’s should have

Storing place called Warehouse, and

Should be financially Sound.

3.3. CFA PROCESS:

CFA consists of the following processes.

STOCK IN

STOCK CHECK PHYSICALLY

COURIER OPERATIONS

FULLFLEDGED (DAMAGED)

MODEL WISE SEGREGATION MAINTENANCE

FIFO (FIRST IN FIRST OUT)

3.4. FORECASTING IN CFA:

In Timex the forecasting process will be carried out before 4 months

itself.

Forecasting is prepared based upon the Sales/Target that is to be

achieved in future.

Forecasting is done mainly to make the stock to be available at all the

time in the CFA i.e., warehouse.

As CFA knows how much stock they need to meet the next month target,

so this forecasting process is carried out by them.

Through forecasting the CFA ensures that there will be always available

of stocks in the warehouse and there will be no scarcity at any sense.

So forecasting plays a major role in CFA.

CFA’s forecast for 90% and the remaining 10% is done by NPD it means

“New Product Development” by the manufacturer.

FORECASTING

FORECASTING BY PERCENTAGE DONE

CFA 90%

NPD 10%

TOTAL 100%

This forecasting when it is prepared it is sent to service qualification,

where the re – qualification report is prepared.

Forecasting once prepared it will be sent to the manufacturer.

CHAPTER – 4

DISTRIBUTORS IN

TIMEX

4.1. ROLES PLAYED BY THE DISTRIBUTORS:

Distributors are the mediators between an Organization and Dealers.

Distributors should be;

Experienced Persons,

Financial Back ground should be Strong, and

Dealer Relationship should be Effective.

These distributors are recruited by means of an advertisement.

There are 8 distributors in Tamil Nadu.

They work on margins, which are prescribed in terms of percentage

(%).

They will get extra payouts from the targets that have been already

fixed which is yet to be achieved.

These targets are fixed by the company in liason with the distributor.

A Negotiation will take place while fixing the targets.

If the product is not a fast moving product or if it is not saleable, then

the distributor will get back the product from the dealers on credit

note.

They will first make the dealers to know or create awareness about

the product to them, so that they can sell the product to their end user

called the customers easily.

Distributors are the first buyer from the warehouse.

Every product gives 6.5% margin, when the product ranges from

lesser than or equal to Rs. 1495/-, and the product gives 7.5% margin,

when the product price ranges from greater than or equal to Rs.

1500/-.

They also get an additional payout as PI i.e., Performance Incentive.

DISTRIBUTOR RETAILER ENDCUSTOMER

Target is fixed on monthly basis.

Distributor will get limited credit as 90 days.

Distributors will buy on “Cash and Carry” basis and sells at “Credit”

basis.

4.2. SCHEMES BY THE COMPANY:

The Company provides two schemes to the distributors.

SCHEMES

DEDDD

The Dealer scheme is benefited to distributors.

The Consumer scheme is benefited only to end user as the scheme is

being published in the advertisement.

In figures normally 700 – 800 watches are saleable per month.

In dealer scheme, distributor will fix the margins on their own

decisions based upon their collection of stocks.

Distributor should provide “Field Sale Report” (FSR) to the company in

a prescribed manner on monthly basis.

Company will not question the distributor on their decisions over

dealers.

4.3. BENEFITS TO THE DISTRIBUTORS:

Margin as 6.5%.

Schemes called “Dealer Scheme”.

Dealer scheme can be informed to dealers based on relationship or it

may not be informed. It is up to the decisions of distributors.

DEALER SCHEME CONSUMER SCHEME

If the discount rate is more than the competitors company, then the

distributor will fix the discount rate more than the competitor from

their investment and not from the company, and the company will

never compensate those money to the distributors.

Distributor will get registration under sales tax and not from any

other government. They will register under VAT. They will be

mentioned as watch dealing and not as brand name as TIMEX,

TITAN, etc.

Distributor can deal with any number of company based upon his

capacity. Only if the company restricts the distributor to deal only

with the particular company then they can only deal with that

company brand not any other company or other brands.

4.4. ADVANTAGES OF DISTRIBUTORS:

Distributor is necessary for “Cost Curtail”.

They will reduce the work load of the company.

They have more responsibility than the company.

They will act as a “Buffer”.

After sales also distributor will play as a coordinator between

customer and service centre.

4.5. DISADVANTAGES OF DISTRIBUTORS:

They have to work on their own money, bank will not provide any

financial assistance.

They provide blank cheque to the company in case if the

distributor done any default in payment.

They are the risk bearer whereas, company is always in the safe

zone.

They have to work on credit limit (90 days).

4.6. CONCLUSION:

From the above information I came to know that the TIMEX Company is a brand – oriented company which I find that customers prefer only branded products with new styles and looks. The Timex Group has created an infrastructure and a marketing network that's absolutely enviable.

The company produces new styles and shows creativity in the products which absolutely leads to coverage of more customers in the market.

Thus only through the distribution channel this company can increase the sales volume as the product reaches all the nook and corner of the world through effective distributors at world wide.

The only one suggestion which I want to give to the company is nothing but creating awareness about the product through effective advertisements through Medias.

BIBILIOGRAPHY:

WEBSITES VIEWED:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distribution_%28business%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timex_Group_USA

http://www.pmwf.com/TimexOnlineMuseum/TimexHistory.htm

http://www.timex.com/

http://www.linkedin.com/companies/timex

http://www.timexindia.com/tgpel.aspx

http://www.timexindia.com/brands.aspx

http://www.watchshop.com/Timex-Watches.html