3. OBJECTIVE Primary objective: To develop a marketing model to enhance sales for the handicrafts products of Birbhum District of West Bengal To explore newer markets and lifestyles by developing value added solutions.
4. OBJECTIVE Secondary objective: Understanding the problems especially related to marketing being faced by the artisans Finding out the extent to which NIFT intervention has helped the artisans Exploring new opportunities and finding newer ways by which NIFT can extend its support to them Defining feasible solutions in the problem areas concerning the local artisans
5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY EXPLORATORY RESEARCH: To clarify thoughts and opinions about the research problem of the respondent population CONCLUSIVE RESEARCH: Through structured, non-disguised questionnaire.
6. DATA COLLECTION Primary data collection Obtained by survey conducted by filling up of the questionnaire. Recording the conversation of the artisans and observing. Secondary data collection Internet, journals, articles and referring to books and magazines
20. Customer categories: Institutional Customers – As institutions, be an office or hotel. This segment of customer is price sensitive. Therefore, any player wanting to focus in this category, should position as a well-known brand available at optimum value for money. Individual Customers – This segment of customers is also price sensitive, but quality and reliability factors play more important role as compared to price. Brand names are looked up to in this category as well to ensure Quality, Durability and Trustworthiness.
25. Assistance is being extended to Central and State Corporations/ Cooperatives/ Voluntary organisations to engage design consultants. Great emphasis is been laid on improvement of design and technology upgradation.
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27. Setting up of urban crafts haats such as the ‘DilliHaat’ has provided immense direct opportunities to craftpersons in marketing handicrafts objects on sustained basis.
28. It is now proposed to organise these programmes at Rural Metals like the KumbhaMela, PushkarMela or the KurukshetraMela etc which enjoy significant but local interest.
45. VisvaBharati University at Santiniketan, established by RabindranathTagore, is one of the places Birbhum is internationally renowned for.
46. Birbhum Geographical Area: 4550 sq. k.m. Total Population (2001 Census): 3012546 Forest Area: 15966 hectares. Net Area Available for Cultivation: 531463 hectares. Resources: Livestock. Minerals: China Clay, Fire Clay, Black Stone and Crude Clay Agricultural produce: Paddy, Wheat, Potato and Sugarcane. No. of Registered SSI Units: 3624 No. of Large/Medium Units: 4 Banks & Branches Commercial Banks - 109 Rural Bank - 65 Co-operative Bank - 18
73. Quite closely spaced stitches, often in brightly coloured blocks of pattern which denotes specific symbols and produces a rippled effect upon the fabric.
82. KANTHA Packaging: Artisans not concerned about packaging. Packaging is handled by retailer and NGO’s who stock and sell it. Segmentation: People who value the art and craftsmanship involved. Of the market Tourists and foreigners Demand: Period of durgapuja is the highest selling period. The month of October to march are the months experiencing the highest sale. Supply: Plain sarees and dress materials are procured from adjacent districts at a price range of about Rs.500- 700. Raw materials like thread are about from local markets. Consumer buying pattern and expectations: All the products have different demand patterns. Sareesand dupattas have highest demand.
100. BATIK Packaging: Artisans not concerned about packaging. Packaging is handled by retailer and NGO’s who stock and sell it. Demand: Period of durgapuja is the highest selling period. Supply: Raw materials like fabric, dyes and colors are procured from local markets, the bolpurdistric, and Kolkata. Consumer buying pattern and expectations: Products which are in high in demand are kurtis and tops. These products takes lesser time to be made. Consumers expect that the colors should neither bleed nor fade away. Demand for better and different designs made on brighter colors.
111. In the 1960s a group of 65 people were trained in this craft.
112. But the unit declined because of a lack of proper marketing effort.
113. In 1978, Sasha revived this unit with design and development work which soon lead to orders from overseas clients.
114. Leather works are a special identity of this district predominant in Surul under Bolpur - Sriniketan block .
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116. LEATHER Packaging: Artisans not concerned about packaging. Packaging is handled by retailer and NGO’s who stock and sell it. Segmentation Two major segments: of the market: First is the foreign clients who import these products Second is the domestic buyer belonging to Kolkata & other parts of west Bengal,guwahati, Chennai & Mumbai etc. Focuses on the niche segment & hence the impetus is on quality Demand: The domestic demand for leather craft increases during the festive season i.e October to feb Demand throughout the year Supply: The raw material has to be purchased & processing is done at shantiniketan& then sold outside. Many a times he does not have the adequate capital to invest in raw material
146. It was started in 2003 by Ms.KiaSarkar, Ms. Lipi Bose, Ms. BiruSarkar.Location Non-commercial area of the town surrounded by greenery. Alchaalso runs a cafe (next door) also has a tiny bookstore. Target Segment Tourists and foreigners. Store Environment - Creative presentation of merchandise designed very aesthetically. The walls are made up of the mud highlighting the rural look.
147. Merchandise Assortment Less SKUs to avoid the cluttered look. More styles and designs rather than on the product depth. Bags, kurtas, sarees, leather accessories, light Jewelry, organic food, organic cosmetics, upholstery etc. Weaving, dyeing, batik, iron and bronze work, leather, wood and bamboo work and terracotta. To make: Clothes, Accessories, Linen, Home embellishments Price High priced . The psychological pricing strategy has been followed here which implies higher the price better the quality. Service Five sales persons are always there. Extended in to a library and a small restaurant for their refreshment. Promotion Word of mouth promotion and few hoardings.
150. It is aimed at the rural development and promoting village arts and crafts.Location At a commercial street of the town. Other small shops having similar merchandise are also there. Target Segment Mainly tourists from kolkata and foreigners. Store Environment Bigger in comparison to Alcha(area approximately 700sq.ft) is smaller than that of Vasundhra. No props are used to display merchandise. The merchandise is displayed mainly on the walls and in the small display windows.
151. Merchandise Assortment Manufactures all the products and retails them through their own outlets. Have their own set of artisans who make the products & sell at their outlets. Sarees, kurtas, leather accessories etc. Large variety of merchandise is the USP of store. Price Medium priced. 20% of the MRP is paid as the making charge to the artisans. Service Artisans Co-operative Society” is the controlling unit. 4-5 people to assist customers on the floor About 65 expert leather craftsmen are engaged at their wares in AamarKutir Promotion Same as it is in Alcha and Vasundhra. * The peak seasons are during ‘Posh Mela’, ‘DurgaPuja’ and ‘VasantUtsav’ (i.e. Holi). During this period, sale is Rs 70,000 to Rs 1 lakh daily.
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153. Various handicrafts are sold here too.Location Like Alcha, the store is located at a non-commercial area of the town. A beautiful garden and a nursery surrounding the store. Target Segment Mainly tourists and foreigners. Store Environment Bigger area. Keep similar merchandise together, no extra creativity can be seen. Typical conventional shop with a wooden counter Use of big iron and wooden racks for the display of the merchandise.
154. Merchandise Assortment Sources the products from Bolpur and from the nearby villages Number of SKUs at the store is very high both in product depth and width. Product categories like sarees, fabric, kurtas, leather bags, leather footwear, accessories, leather wallets, wooden dolls, dhokra items etc. USP- Large number of SKUs Price low priced in comparison to Alcha. Moderately priced. Service Seven to ten sales persons are there on the floor. These people make sure that the customer (foreigner or a tourist) understands the craft and its intricacies. Promotion Like Alcha, Vasundhra is also dependent on word of mouth promotion and on hoardings, which help in attracting foreigners and tourists
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156. To reach out to the rural population around them and help improve the village economy by working with Nature. Location: Located where the Forest ends. A Banyan tree, seven centuries old, stands guard at the entrance. Target segment: They are mainly tourists and foreigners Store environment: The space for retail is less. This space has been used for displaying garments, bags, farm products. Very less space has been given to sell variety of products.
157. Merchandise assortment Farm produce: For selling farm produce such as rice, mustard, ghee, jams, jellies, squashes, pickles, murabbas, toffees, aampapads, and traditional Bengali sweets such as coconut roundels (naroos), pithas and patishaptas. Local village handloom products & handicrafts:Lungi, Handloom Towels, Kurta, Blouse material, Saris, Salwar materials, Embroidered,Tops, Bags, Terracotta show pieces, Cane stools (Mora), Cane mats (Chatai & Madur),Cloth, paper and cane files, Fabric – kantha embroidered as well as without embroidery. Price Medium priced. Service Three sales persons are always there on the floor. A library and a small restaurant as a part of extended serrvices. Promotion: e-marketing, satellite linkages. Direct marketing through word of mouth is done.
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159. To uplift craft and Craftsmen and thereby improving the rural economy.Location In the campus of visvabharti university. Target market Tourists and students along with foreigners. Store environment Not very well organized. Staff has not taken enough care for the outlet. Products can be displayed in a better way.
160. Merchandise assortment Very less variety of products were displayed. All products were manufactured by the students involved in the program. Products include file covers, wallets, bags, files, clutch, printed bedcovers, printed diaries, trey, tea pots. Crockery, fabric, etc Price I Not very highly priced. Prices are low. Price of various items range from Rs.25- Rs. 600 Service Two sales staff was present to entertain customers. 2 accountants were there for accounting and billing. Service was slow. Promotion No measures for promotion is taken except for word of mouth.
161. Artisans Profile Artisans 1: : RabiaBibi ( Success) Business : Kantha embroidery She has established herself as a successful entrepreneur, with 6 to 7 number of artisans working under her. Costing of a Saree :
181. There are more than 500 such varieties available at the art wing.
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183. She took a loan of 2,20,000 from Gramin Bank, 7 years back
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185. Question 1): Artisan’s age Most of the artisans (33%) were found to be in the age group of 31 to 40 years old and least number of artisans (17%) was found to be in the age group of 51 years old and above.
186. Question 2): Artisan’s sex The gender of artisans was found to be mainly females i.e. 70% of the total artisans surveyed were females and the rest 30% were males.
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188. Question 5) a: Most of the artisans responded (64%) said that the Katha craft is being pursued on piece rate system and 10 % of them said that it is pursued on daily wage basis.
189. Question 5) b: Most of the artisans responded (70%) said that the Batik craft is being pursued on daily wage basis and 10 % of them said that it is pursued on piece rate system.
190. Question 6) : Most of the artisans responded (70%) were found to be not engaged in other activity apart from handicrafts, and 30% of them were found to be engaged in other activities like animal rearing, construction.
191. Question 7) : Most of the artisans surveyed (40%) were having current monthly income within the bracket of Rs. 5,000 to 7,500 and least no. of them (10%) were found to be below Rs. 2,500
192. Question 8) : Most of the artisans i.e. 70% are not maintaining any savings account. 20% of them are maintaining it in Bank and 10% in post office.
193. Question 9) : 80 % of the artisans responded have saved any amount of money and 20 % of them have not saved any amount of money.
194. Question 10) : 76% of the artisans surveyed were found to be above poverty line (APL) and 24% of them were below poverty line (BPL)
195. Question 11) : 93% of the artisans were found to have their own dwelling house and the remaining 7% have rented dwelling house
196. Question 12) : Most of the artisans i.e.40% are using their own resources and only 7 % of them have taken home loan
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199. Question 15) : 83% of the artisans have extended their product line over last two years in terms of color and design while 17% of them have not extended their product line.
200. Question 16) : 63 % of the artisans found new products more profitable than the old products while the rest 37% have not found so.
201. Question 17) : 40% of the artisans work on market demand design while 27% work on the traditional design.
202. Question 18) : 57 % of the artisans work on design created on their own while only 13% follows the old patterns of design.
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205. Question 21) : The artisans surveyed said that they have received training from NIFT in skill development, product description, money and design.
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211. Question 27) : 80% of the artisans surveyed owned or wanted to start a unit
212. Question 28) : Minimum finance required for starting such a unit is Rs. 1.5 to 2 lacks.
213. Question 29) : 20 % of the artisans use bank loan as source for financial assistance, 20% of the artisans use own funds while most of the artisans i.e. 60% of them use other sources like friends, family, mahajans, agents.
214. Question 30) : 30% of the artisans surveyed sell their products directly to customers and 30% of them sell their products in fairs and festivals.
215. Question 31) : 94% of the artisans surveyed face difficulty in marketing their products.
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217. Next is the presence of middlemen/agent which exploits the artisans. Apart from this they also face problem in transport and distance of the market.
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221. Question 36) : 80% of the artisans are satisfied with their current artisan work but the rest 20% are not satisfied , mainly due to low income they get there.
222. Question 38) : NIFT intervention in cluster project have contributed to all these five parameters equally i.e. 20%
223. Question 39) : NIFT intervention in cluster project has highly satisfied 80% of the artisans, 15% are just satisfied and the remaining 5% are dissatisfied.
224. SUGESSIONS & RECOMENDATIONS Marketing: •Organize frequent meeting between buyers and sellers and develop awareness about new concepts such as eco-friendly methods, product diversification by dint of new fibers. • A few craft clusters may be identified to be given sustained attention in terms of a common facility centre for each such cluster. Such a centre will facilitate provision and supply of requisite developmental tools, implements, raw materials, dyes/herbal finishes, testing facilities, eco-friendly concepts, design support for product and market development and communication. • The field offices of Development Commissioner (Handicrafts) in the state, need to be duly restructured and staffed with individuals who are focused on the sector and target-driven, to help inculcate the necessary awareness, enabling due promotion and monitoring of activities in the area. • There is a need to strengthen the National Centre for Design and Product Development (NCDPD) at the state. It is also essential that entrepreneurs in close cooperation with an established NGO carry out the management and operation of the centre.
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226. The role of intermediaries and the agents should be curtailed.
227. The marketing schemes shall be aimed at achieving twin objective of creating awareness among people through fairs of handicraft products and providing them with market outlets for direct sale.
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229. The artisans should be trained in such away so that can have a fair idea of the expected selling price of the handicrafts
