LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI INSTITUTE OF

MANAGEMENT &TECHNOLOGY BAREILLY

Customer Preferences
towards different Brands of
Apparels
Submitted to:

Submitted by :

Ms. Upasana Gupta

Abhinandan malhotra

Assistant Professor

PGDM (2014-16)

CONTENTS
1. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
2. PREFACE
3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
4. ABOUT BRANDS
5. CONSUMER MARKETS OF APPARELS
6. ENVIRONMENT OF APPARELS IN INDIA
7. UNDERSTANDING BUYING PATTERN OF CONSUMERS IN
INDIA
8. CONSUMER PREFERENCE OF APPARELS OF BRANDS
9. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
10.RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
11.DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS
12.CONCLUSION
13.LIMITATIONS
14.BIBLOGRAPHY

15.ANNEXURE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This project consumed huge amount of work, research and dedication. Still,
implementation would not have been possible if I did not have a support of
many individuals and organizations. Therefore I would like to extend my
sincere gratitude to all of them.
First of all I am thankful to MS. UPASANA KANCHAN for his support and
for providing necessary guidance concerning projects implementation .I am
grateful to him for provision of expertise, and technical support in the
implementation. Without his superior knowledge and experience, the Project
would like in quality of outcomes, and thus his support has been essential. I
would like to express my sincere thanks towards volunteer researchers who
devoted their time and knowledge in the implementation of this project.
Nevertheless, I express my gratitude toward my families and colleagues for
their kind cooperation and encouragement which helped me in completion of
this project.

Abhinandan Malhotra

PREFACE

The project is based on Customer Preference Towards Different Brands

of apparels the main motive of project report was to enhance my expertise
knowledge that I gained through my course.

The project has been completed by collecting the primary data by

interviewing the various customers Secondary data was also used as per the
availability from different sources. In all the main aim of study was to find
out Customer Preference Towards different brands of apparels

During the project, I learnt the perception of customers by applying

theoretical knowledge and concepts to the best.

Needless to say, errors and omissions are bound to occur.

Last but not the least, I am grateful to all those who happened to be a part of
the successful completion of this project and my mind and heart for going
hand in hand .

Executive summary

Consumers are evolving entities. Their aspirations & expectations are

continuously changing. Todays shoppers are more intelligent, discerning
& tuned to their individual preference. They are increasingly fashion and
brand conscious and select labels which define who they are or who they want
to be. The biggest challenge for all the brands is to create loyal consumer who
love them. Shoppers Stop Ltd 1
India represents an economic opportunity on a massive scale, both as a global
base and as a domestic market. Indian consumer markets are changing fast, with
rapid growth in disposable incomes, the development of modern urban lifestyles,
and the emergence of the kind of trend-conscious consumers that India has not
seen in the past. 3
Apparel and fashion industry in India is in its growth stage. Using consumer
sales promotion to differentiate ones offer has become an order of the day in
matured urban markets. More and more budget is allocated to these activities in
order to the lure the consumers. In such a scenario, it is very essential to study
how consumers make their choices in Apparel & Fashion category where there
are several brands in the consideration set of a consumer. The financial risk being
high consumers do switch from one brand to another due to sales promotion
offers and personal comfort zone. Hence it would of interest to a marketer to
learn about the consumer preferences with respect to sales promotion offer; what
schemes do consumer prefer for what kind of brands, which media do they prefer
to know about the brand, product, and related schemes, who prefers the branded
apparel and fashion products, the price range of the fashion products. These are
the questions which consumer considers while choosing a brand. Similarly even a
manager has to consider while introducing a product or brand.

Brands build customer loyalty by delivering excellent value no matter the price
point-high, low, or medium. Value includes styling, durability, quality fabrics,
and consistent fit. To the consumer, a brand name represents familiarity,
consistency, and confidence in performance. Brand names when linked with
lifestyle, self-expression, and aspirations epitomize intangibles that are desirable
to the consumer.
Consumers consider fashion as part of an overall budgetary spend, so apparel
purchases now compete directly with other choices from the technology,
entertainment, beauty and general lifestyle categories for the discretionary rupee.

Todays global apparel environment is tougher than ever for brands. There are many
reasons for the emergence of this challenging climate;
From a proliferation of brands-

Fierce competition from retailers acting as

brands smarter consumers
The consolidation of department stores
mass retailers redefining themselves
luxury designers creating for mass.
The demand for luxury goods.
The growth of the discount sector.
All of this adds up to one stark fact: those brands that break through the noise and
communicate their message to the consumer directly and clearly in a way that
means something to them.
Rising costs of living around the world cause consumers to stretch their incomes
more thinly, meaning necessities are being weighed against apparel. Fashion must
have value and purpose and truly resonate to the consumer. Strong brands with
consistent powerful messages can create loyalty and a sense of worth that
transcends the burden of choice.
The understanding of consumers desires, behavior, and of purchase process of
fashion products is extremely important to design products collections as well as to
placement of these products in market.
Considering a marketing approach, a fashion product must satisfy the demand
target, so the main idea (message) behind the brand (sender) must reach the
consumer (receiver).

BRANDS

Building a strong brand requires careful planning and a great deal of

long term investment. At the heart of great brand is a great product or
service backed by creatively designed and executed marketing Kotler
& Keller
Brand according to (American Marketing Association) is A name, term,
sign, symbol, or design, or combination of them, intended to identify the
goods and services of one seller or group sellers and to differentiate them
from those of competitors. Branding thus is a means to distinguish one
product from another and these differences may be functional, rational, or
tangible related to product performance of the brand.
Brand equity is added value endowed to products and services. This value
may be reflected in how consumers think, feel, and act with respect to the
brand, as well as the prices, market share, profitability that the brand
commands for the firm. Brand equity is an important intangible asset that
has psychological and financial value to the firm.
Customer based brand equity can be defined as the differential effect that
brand knowledge has on the consumer response to the marketing of that
brand. Positive customer based brand equity is when consumer react more
favorably to a product.
Brand knowledge consists of all the thoughts, feelings, images,
experiences, beliefs, and so on that become associated with the brand. In
particular, brands must create, strong, favorable, and unique brand
associations with customers, for example Ruf & Tuf jeans were introduced
as youthful and sturdy brand.
Brand Equity model Aaker Model Professor David Aaker views brand
equity as a set of five categories of brand assets and liabilities to a brand that
add to or subtract from the value provided by a product or service to a firm
and/or to that firms customers. These categories of brand assets are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Brand loyalty
Brand awareness
Perceived quality
Brand associations
Other proprietary assets such as patents, trademarks, and channel
relationships.

Introduction
As per Graca Guedes ,to the three components of fashion style, acceptance and styling,
announced by authors like Frings, Packard et al and Wolse, a fourth element has been added.
Those three components orient this new element the brand, but they are also determined by it.

From this new trend, with social and economic implication, emerge 2 different concepts of
fashion products: the fashion global product and the market segment fashion product.
The market of fashion products is highly competitive market whose main characteristics is
the similar positioning of a large number of brands and, in this respect the brands image
developed by marketing communications can influence the adoption process of the products.
This process, the marketing stimuli, a side with the intention to influence the purchase
decisions must transmit similar messages in all communication support. The harmony of this
complex process must consider such aspects as the brand awareness and the brand image,
both determined by the characteristics of consumers perception.
The image is a mental representation of the brand or product attributes and benefit. It is a
multi dimensional phenomenon that depends on the perception of those attributes and
benefits. In fashion products, both mental representation and its perception are built in a
continuous way, and developed through the image of fashion transmitted by each seasonal
collection and by all activities of marketing communication.
The overall effect of fashion product branding depends on the integration of all the
components of the marketing communication plan, including visual merchandizing, with the
product design. All these three elements have an
impact over the adoption process and a similar final goal: to influence the purchase option of
fashion products through the satisfaction of a certain fashion image demand.

The Indian Economy is soaring. I think Indian people love brands. There isnt
another American designer on this soil, may be because they dont know it, may be
because they dont understand it, may be because they dont care. I care about it. I am
excited about it and I feel very positive that we are going to build a wonderful lifestyle
business here.
Tommy Hilfiger, International fashion icon

Consumer Markets of apparels

Indian consumer markets are changing fast, with rapid growth in disposable
incomes, the development of modern urban lifestyles. Indian consumers are
becoming increasingly sophisticated and knowledgeable about products;

media channels that allow companies to communicate with consumers are

growing in diversity and reach.
Foreign brands remain very powerful in India, especially in clothing
and personal care products, but increasingly brands have to be
associated with value.
Indias consumer markets are unique. India has more people living in
poverty than any other country. Its population is less urbanized than almost
every other comparable economy. Literacy rates are lower than in most
Asian competitors and income is less well distributed across the whole
population than in most Asian competitors.
The market is also highly regional. A patchwork of cultures and languages,
federal India also has a highly uneven pattern of wealth. Average state
incomes in Punjab, Gujarat and Maharashtra are around five times the level
in Bihar, for example. Some urban areas continue to be richer on average,
while large rural areas of Bihar, Jharkand, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa are
officially destitute.
According to
recent data from Indias Marketing White book by
Business world India has around 208 million households. Of these only a
little over six million are affluent that is, with household income in
excess of INR215,000. Another 75 million households are in the category of
well off immediately below the affluent, earning between INR45,000 and
INR215,000.

Environment for the apparel in India

India continues to be among the most attractive countries for global
retailers. At 511 billion $ in 2008, its retail market is larger than ever and
drawing both global and local retailers.

Organized retail which still accounts for less than 5% of the market, is
expected to grow at Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 40% from
20 Billion $ in
2007 to 107 billion $ by 2013. Indias overall retail sector is expected to rise
to
833 Billion $ by 2013 and to 1.3 trillion $ by 2018, at a CAGR of 10%.
Consequently, as a democratic country with a high growth rates, Indias
retail market opportunity is unchallenged. Consumers spending has risen
sharply as the youth population (more than 33% of the country is below
the age of 15) has been a significant increase in its disposable income. In
the past 4 years alone consumers spending rose an impressive 75%.
But challenges have emerged that could potentially slow the pace of growth
for new global entrants stifling regulations, soaring real estate costs and
fiercely competitive domestic retailer groups. In addition, shopping mall
projects are running resource constraints that are delaying completions and
destructing many retailer entries strategies.
Global retailers, hungry to enter this market, continue to frustrate by
restrictive government regulation. Under Indias current laws which the
government relaxed somewhat in 2006, single brand retailer can own a 51%
majority stake in joint venture with a local partner.
Such relaxed regulation does not extend to multi brand retailer such as WalMart, Tesco and Carrefour, which must operate through franchise or cash &
carry wholesale format. Accordingly, Wal-Mart recently joined forces with
Indian telecom giant Bharti enterprises. Bharti will own retail shop under
the Wal-Mart franchise and Wal Mart will operate logistic, procurement and
storage activities. In the past couple of years, numerous retailers including
the SPAR group, Carrefour, Marks & Spencer and Nautica have entered the
market. Earlier entrants, including Wal-Mart and Metro, have plans for a
blitz across the country. Tesco and Kroger will feel additional pressure as
the situation grows more competitive.

Local hypermarket retailers are moving aggressively to get ahead of further

loosening of foreign investment regulation. Taking their cue from success of
hypermarket in china local retailer such as Pantaloon, the Tata group s
Trent,
RPG enterprises, K Raheja Corporation and Reliance have all taken an early.
lead due to ambitious expansion plans. Season business such as Reliance &
Aditya Birla are locking at the upstream value chain (farms, logistics and
storage) to better their.positions once they begin competing directly with the
likes of Wal-Mart.
The real estate costs are prohibitive and the cost to acquire to train and
retain workers has increased as more lucrative work opportunities emerged.
Although the workforce continues grow rapidly (with more women and
farmers entering), it cannot keep up with the growth across all the business
sectors in India.
Still, large retail outlets hold a strong appeal for customers even though
they place Indias 4 million to 6 million mom-and-pop shops at risk. This
is causing concern over the pace of change and could be another speed
bump on the road to Indias 1.2 billion consumers.
Apparel is Indias second largest retail category (behind food &
grocery), representing 10% of retail market. Projected to reach $ 37
billion for 2008, apparel will be among the highest growth categories, with
a CAGR of between 12 to 15.
Still, Indias apparel market is highly fragmented. The top 7
competitors represent less than 10% of total market. Customers tend to
be loyal to a specific retailer Shoppers Stop, Westside & Pantaloon
instead of any particular apparel brand. This has led to a thriving private
label apparel market for ready-to-wear clothes and more competition.
However, brands as Benetton,
Louis Phillipe, Van Heusen and Esprit are capturing a strong following
among Indian consumer.
There is a flurry of activity across all price points, with new concepts and
brands being launched almost every month. Madura Garment joined Peter
England People, a mass market family store modeled after GAP and Old
Navy. Discounter Koutons has opened nearly 1000 stores in the past few
years.
A key challenge for apparel retailer in India is to induce customer to
purchase quickly, which means sales promotion tactics are important,
including end of season sales, festival promotion and special events.

The clothing segment (2005) is positioned for further organized retail

penetration due to the high level of branding activities by apparel retailers
and merchandising spread across formats such as department stores,
hypermarkets, own retail outlets and franchises.

Understanding buying pattern of consumers in India

India has one of the youngest populations in the world with 54% of the
population below the age of 25. Discretionary spending has seen a 16% rise
for the urban upper and middle classes and the number of high income
households has grown by 20% year on year since 1995-96. There is an
increasing shift from price consideration to design and quality, as there is a
greater focus on looking and feeling good (apparel as well as fitness). At the
same time, the new Indian consumer is not beguiled by retailed products
which are high on price but commensurately low on value or functionality.
There is an easier acceptance of luxury and an increased willingness to
experiment with mainstream fashion. This results in an increased
tendency towards disposability and casting out -from apparel to cars to
mobile phones to consumer durables. The self-employed segment of the
population has replaced the employed salaried segment as the mainstream
market. 40% of primary wage earners in the top 2-3 social classes in towns
with a population of 1 million or more are self employed professionals and
businessmen. This has driven growth in consumption of productivity goods,
especially mobile phones and two and four-wheelers.
Finally, credit friendliness, drop in interest rates and easy availability of
finance have changed mindsets. Capital expenditure (jewellery, homes, cars)
has shifted to becoming redefined as consumer revenue expenditure, in
addition to consumer durables and loan credit purchases.
The 4 major organized retail sectors are
Food
Groc
ery
Cloth
ing
Book
s
Musi
c

Consumer Preference for apparel brands

India devotes roughly the same share of their income to apparel as do Chinese
and Brazilian. But the countries lower per capita income levels means overall
spending on apparels is significantly lower, and the habit of Indian shopper
present intriguing challenges for multinationals eyeing the market.
Most important shopping occasions revolved around special events such as
weddings and annual religious festivals a figure dramatically higher than the
one for shoppers in the other emerging markets. Furthermore, to a greater
extent than else were shopping is a family activity in India, nearly 70% of its
shoppers always go to stores with their family, and 74% - more than twice
than average of Brazil, China and Russia view shopping as the best way to
spent time with family. The preference for family oriented shopping is
consistent across age groups, income segments, regions and city sizes.
As in many markets, in India women are the primary decision makers in
apparel purchases for the entire family. But Indias men also have an important
role indeed, half of their husband had a major influence on which stores they
frequented a proportion far higher than Brazil (3%), China (8%) and Russia
(18%). Whats more, India is unusual in that the market for mens apparel is
larger than womens market, where traditional Indian apparel still dominates.
Mass market apparel retailer must therefore find formats and merchandising
approaches that will attract shoppers seeking apparel not only for special
occasion but also appealing to entire family.
Young Indian aged 18 24 years strongly trust brands from their own country
but also believe that foreign brands are of higher quality than local brand.
In India, rather than using only income bands to define category of consumers,
we use the socioeconomic class code established by the Market Research
Society of India, high-end or global consumers are those in socioeconomic
class (SEC A), mass-market consumers are those in SECs B and C, and
struggling consumers are represented by SECs D and E. In addition to
household income the class code incorporate the levels of education and
occupation.
Young generation (Youngistan) frequently goes for the shopping of apparels
which is average of 4.5 trips per six months and average spending is also
much higher than the average spending. This is why the apparel brands are
targeting the youth in BRIC countries including India.
Age groups of 18 24 years and 25 34 years would like to spend more on
apparel if their income increases instead of saving. Most of the youngster
believe that domestic brands can compete with the foreign brands but they
would like to purchase foreign brands.

Clothing is the second largest segment in terms of retail sales.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH DESIGN: Depending upon the objectives of the research the

most suitable marketing research design is DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH
SOURCES OF DATA: The information used in this project report was through
primary sources i.e. interacting the customers and getting the first hand
information
TYPE OF SAMPLING TECHNIQUE: Convenient sampling method
SAMPLE SIZE: 100
SAMPLE FRAME: Bareilly
TOOLS OF DATA COLLECTION: Personal interview and Questionnaire
DATA REPRESENTATION TOOL: Analyzing the collected data and
reporting the findings. Finally the data collected, was thoroughly analyzed and
processed to obtain the required information. The data has been summarized in
the form of graphs

OBJECTIVES

1 .To find out consumer preference with respect to brands with the help of
primary data.
2. To understand the buying pattern of the consumers.
3. Factors, which help in increasing the sale of apparel.
4. To find out consumer awareness about different apparel brands.

DATA ANALYSIS

1-

Do you buy only branded products

60
50
40
30
20
10
0

COCLUSION- 25% of customers buying only branded products and mostly (50%)
of customer buy branded products when they needed the quality preferable.

2- Are you price sensitive consumer?

Are you price sensitive consumer?

No; 14%

Yes; 86%

CONCLUSION- 86% of customer are price sensitive whereas 14% are not.

3- Which brand do you prefer in apparels?

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Nike

Puma

UCB

Madame

Woodland

CONCLUSION- 28% of the customer prefer UCB the most favorable or preferred
brand and after that Madame(26%), Woodland with (25%), Nike (19%) and 12% for
Puma.

4-Why do you prefer these brands?

35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Category 1

Variety

Quality

Promotion

Availability

CONCLUSION- As per the survey 15% prefer brands for price, 30% for variety,
32% the most preferred criteria is quality of the product and 12% and 11% for
promotion and availability respectively.

5- Do you think the brand which you are using is value for money?
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Yes

No

Can't say

CONCLUSION- 52% of customer thought brand is value for money whereas 23%
are not and 25% are cant say or make any comment on it.

6- From where you prefer to buy your branded apparels?

Prefered place for buying

5%

Malls
39%

35%

Retail
Online
Others

21%

CONCLUSION- 39% people preferred malls the best place for buying branded
apparels whereas 35% is happy with online shopping, 21% are done their shopping at
retail outlets and 05% from others.

7- Do you stick to shopping add the same branded company of apparels?

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Yes

No

Can't say

CONCLUSION- 52% customer done their shopping from the same brand and 38%
prefer other brands also. 08% peoples are doing shopping from different and local
brand.

8- Will you recommend the branded apparels to other?

Recommand the brand to others?

No; 28%

Yes; 72%

CONCLUSION- 72% people recommend other peoples to buy branded apparels

whereas 28% dont do this.

9- Does a celebrity endorsement influence your brand selection?

Celebrity endorsement influence for brand selection

45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Agree

Somewhat Agree Indifferent Somewhat Disagree Disagree

CONCLUSION- 28% customers are agree that celebrity endorsement influence for
brand selection, 39% somewhat agree with this whereas 18% are strongly disagree and
04% are totally disagree.

10-which attribute matters most while selecting apparels?

45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Brand

Price

Quality

Design

Ambience of store

CONCLUSION- 40% customers attribute design for selecting apparels, 25% for
brand, 18% as per for price and 12% and 05% customers prefer quality and ambience
of store respectively.

Findings

1. People wear branded clothes to look attractive and to impress people.

2. Price of branded clothes is not a big issue for people. People prefer
branded clothes over non-branded regardless of high price.
3. People buy branded clothes because they provide more value for money
and because of their good quality.
4. Wearing the same type of clothes makes people bored. They like to wear
new and fashionable clothes.
5. People wear branded clothes because of comfort and recognition that they
give.
6. Promotion of the brand by a well-known personality hardly affects the
decision.
7. People are less loyal towards the branded clothes.
8. People get influenced by price offers, design and style of products to
change the brand.
9. Fashion, family and friends influence the choice of brand..

Limitations

1. The duration of survey and its geographical extent is one of the

limitations.
2. For more authentic and relevant results a larger sample size with a greater
geographical reach can be considered at later stage.
3. The scope of this project is limited to Bareilly. So, we cannot say that the
same response will exist throughout India.
4. This study is based on prevailing consumers perception. But perception
may change according to time, fashion, technology, development etc.

Conclusion

The preference of consumers for readymade outfits even for branded apparels is
fast changing caused by the creation of personality and status with the quality
and comfort they deliver. Due to the increased awareness and consciousness,
people are ready to spend any price for comfort and quality. Intense era provide
high quality materials and lot of variety in Indian garment market to satisfy the
desire of customers. The customers are also utilizing the opportunity too. The
results confirm that Indian people have become highly brand conscious resently.
Hence, brand image is a not a significant factor in choosing the product or brand
to buy. There are other aspects like, quality, comfort, expectations and
demographic characteristics are also influence to the purchasing decision that
dominate the purchase decision of males and females. From the analytical
introspection it is evident that the gender differences do exist with respect to
build attitude towards fashionable apparels and brands. Further, the variation in
age and income is not significant as consumers preferred brands or outfits
irrespective of that. Allen Solly tops the minds of the customers followed by
Van Heusen and Raymonds Which refers to the maximum frequency of
recalling the brands. These are the most familiar and favourite brands also
among brand aware consumers, specifically in context of India.

Finally, males and females are not having any significant differences in their
brand awareness, shopping frequency and shopping expenditure. Males are
equally interested to go for shopping as females along with they spend excess
money during shopping than their female counterparts. Frequency of males

going for shopping with their companions has increased over times
and has reached almost at par with that of females.Attitude of males towards
clothing varies from that of females. There are two factors are found during
measuring attitude of consumers towards branded apparels, Intrinsic Pleasure
and Prestige and Status. Intrinsic Pleasure included pleasure and significance, in
the same way, Prestige and Status integrated status, impression and acceptance
of the branded products.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Web sourceo

www.google.com

ANNEXURE

1. Do you buy only branded products ?

Yes always
Never
Only when quality is important
Rarely

2- Are you price sensitive consumer ?

Yes
No
3- why brand do you prefer in apparels?
Nike
Puma
Ucb
Madame
Woodland
4-why do you prefer these brands?
Price
Variety
Quality
Promotion
Availability
5- Do you think the brand which you are using is value for money?
Yes
No
Cant say

6- From where you prefer to buy your branded apparels?

Malls
Retail outlets
Online

 Others
7- Do you stick to shopping add the same branded company of apparels?

Yes
No
Cant say

8- Will you recommend the branded apparels to other?

Yes
No

9- Does a celebrity endorsement influence your brand selection?

Agree
Somewhat agree
Indifferent
Somewhat disagree
Disagree
10-which attribute matters most while selecting apparels ?rank your preference ?

Brand
Price
Quality
Design
Ambience of store

Name
Gender
age