Market Segmentation and

Brand loyalty on TAJ

Taj Group

Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), branded as Taj Group,is a chain of hotels and resorts headquartered at Oxford House in Mumbai which was incorporated by the founder of the Tata group, JamsetjiTata, in the year 1903. This company is a part of the Tata group, one of India's largest business conglomerates. As of 2015, Taj Group operates 108 hotels across India and 17 hotels in the UK, USA, Africa, Maldives, Malaysia, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Middle East, and employed over 13000 people in the year 2010.

Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, founder of the Tata Group, opened the Taj Mahal Palace, a hotel in Mumbai (formerly called Bombay) overlooking the Arabian Sea, on 16 December 1903. It was the first Taj property and the first Taj hotel.

BUSINESS PROFILE

Indian Hotels Company Limited

Type: - Public company

Industry: - Hospitality and tourism

Founded: - 1903

Founder: - Jamsetji Tata

Headquarters: - Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Key people: - Rakesh Sarna (MD & CEO)

(1 September 2014 - Present)

Revenue: - ₹1924.79 crore (US$290 million)

Operating income: - ₹453.34 crore (US$67 million) (FY2012-13)[2][3]

Net income: - ₹1924.79 crore (US$290 million) (FY2012-13)[2][3]

Parent: - Tata Group

Website www.tajhotels.com

Why should we do the research?

Hotel landscape in the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi has seen remarkable growth in the last few years. From a totally under-supplied market a few years ago, the city now has surplus supply of hotels, thanks to emergence of strong micro-markets around Gurgaon and Noida/Greater Noida. If predictions are anything to go by, it is definitely going to be an extremely competitive region for hospitality stakeholders in the future. The supply from the Aerocityhospitality district has started trickling in, and it is expected to become the new Central Business District (CBD) of Delhi in the next few years. Greater Noida promises to be the next happening destination and Gurgaon will continue to grow to its flanks.

The biggest challenge is the increase in short- term supply and the impact it will have on product positioning and market performance against expectations. Gurgaon is no exception. However, one must remain confident of the Gurgaon market and its ability to recover and correct this imbalance in the short to medium term.

OBJECTIVES

1. Identification of brand loyalty process undertaken by IHCL.

2. Regain Missing emotional appeal

3. Building brand image of the TAJ brand at global level and regional level specially Delhi and NCR.

4. Identification of techniques to move from a mono-brand structure to a sun-and-planets model.

5. Finding to reserve the Taj brand for the luxury segment only.

6. Differentiate various steps to create distinct brands for other viable market segments.

7. Carefully manage and limit the use of the Taj name.

8. Differentiate between the luxury brand and the corporate entity.

9. Name the corporate entity Taj Group.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

PRIMARY DATA:-

Data observed or collected directly from first-hand experience. It consists of original data collected by researcher. It is often undertaken after the researcher has gained some insight into the issue by reviewing secondary data.

In this research project sources of primary data are:

1) QUESTIONNAIRE

2) PERSONAL INTERVIEW

SECONDARY DATA:-

Secondary data is one type of quantitative data that has already been collected by

someone other than the user .

In this research project sources of secondary data are:

1) INTERNET

2) BOOKS

3) MAGAZINES

4) NEWSPAPERS

Online Survey

This survey includes in-depth information about the performance of TAJ across Delhi and nearby cities and provides several benchmarks for comparing TAJ with other hotel performance in India. I would like to thank the participating personnel for all the information they have provided, thereby helping to improve the quality of this research.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1I9DxGe6f8H7vTcTxgsnsyXHdv71rsMSL6DwedLv7bWs/viewform

Online survey can be found on above mentioned link

Finding

Opportunity in the market

India’s hospitality market was in major flux. Explosive growth in the middle class was joined by a huge surge in business and leisure travel among domestic and foreign tourists. Ambitious international hotel brands were establishing themselves on the subcontinent. Tata-owned Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces (THRP), India’s most celebrated luxury hotel brand, realized it had an opportunity to serve new segments of the market.

41% Of the population expected to be middle class by 2025

By 2025, domestic luxury class will reach 24 million

A mixed bag of brands

The Taj brand had been diluted by years of opportunistic growth. The hotels in its portfolio—all Taj branded—offered two-star experiences, five-star experiences, and everything in between. Taj’s“mixed bag” of brands was confusing customer perceptions at a time when competition was fiercest.

New brands clarify tiers of service

A brand for every guest

Engaging employees

Leadership faced a challenge in selling the new brand architecture to its staff, since many employees felt proud of working for the Taj brand. The core branding team painstakingly engaged each stakeholder group to instillconfidence in the new strategy before launching publicly. Landor produced a brand spirit book and a 20-minute brand film to help employees embrace the transition.

Conclusion Internal acceptance of the new structure has been extraordinary, and

IHCL, Taj’s parent company, was recently named a Gallup Great Workplace. Brand recognition is the motive by TAJ group at global level to explore the opportunity available with them with the new successful brand architecture strategy has renewed the company’s commitment to international expansion, and it hopes to double its inventory in the next five years. Credit Suisse named Taj one of only 27 Great Brands of Tomorrow expected to significantly outperform the market in the next three to five years