SUMMER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT

ON

“Customer relation office in Tommy Hilfiger”

in the partial fulfilment of the Degree of

Bachelor of Commerce

Of

CHANDIGARH UNIVERSITY, GHARUAN, MOHALI

Submitted By

Jasdeep singh
15BCM1317
Batch: 2015-18
Under the Guidance of

Prof. Aeshwarya Garg

(Assistant Prof. Chandigarh University)
Dear Mr. JASDEEP SINGH SETHI

APPOINTMENT LETTER

We welcome you to join our Organization as “CRO ” on following terms

and conditions:

 Your employment with Randstad Technologies Private

Limited is effective from 08-01-2018. Your CTC per annum
is INR 264,228.00.
 Your employment will be valid from 08-01-2018 to 07-01-2019,
reviewing your performance, it will be extended further. This
contract shall be terminable by either party giving 1 year notice in
writing or salary in lieu of notice, to the other.

 Duringthe above-mentioned period, your services will be deputed

to Tommy Hilfiger Arvind Fashion Private Limited(client
name) to do work pertaining to/incidental to the client‘s business.
 DECLARATION BY THE STUDENT

I hereby declare that the project report entitled “Customer relation office in Tommy Hilfiger”
submitted by me to “Chandigarh University” in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the
work in degree of bachelor of commerce is a record of bonafide project work carried out by
me under the guidance of Miss Rekha thakur and Ms pooja kanwar (HM & ASM of MBD
store) .

PLACE: Ludhiana

DATE: April 20, 2018

 INDEX

S.NO PARTICULARS PAGE NO.

1. INTRODUCTION TO 1
THE COMPANY
2 DETAILED 2-
INFORMATION ON
JOB PROFILE
3 DETAILED
PERFORMANCE SELF
APPRAISAL
4 DETAILED
EXPERIENCE
5 SWOT ANALYSIS OF
TOMMY HILFIGER
6 CASE STUDY
7 CONCLUSION

TOMMY HILFIGER
Tommy Hilfiger, formerly known as Tommy Hilfiger
Corporation and Tommy Hilfiger Inc., is an American
multinational corporation that designs and manufactures
upper market apparels for men, women and children,
and a wide range of licensed products such as footwear,
accessories, fragrances and home furnishings.[5] The
company was founded in 1985 and today is sold in
department stores and over 1400 free-standing retail
stores in 90 countries. In 2006, private equity firm Apax
partners acquired Tommy Hilfiger for approximately $1.6
billion, and in May 2010, PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH) (then
known as Philips van Heusen) bought the company.
[9]
 Daniel grider was appointed CEO in July 2014, while
founder Tommy Hilfiger remains the company’s principal
designer, leading the design teams and overseeing the
entire creative process. Global sales in retail through the
brand in 2013 were US $6.4 billion, and $6.7 billion in
2014.
INTRODUCTION

6
 TO CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes
they use to select, secure, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy
needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society. It blends
elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology, marketing and economics. It
attempts to understand the decision-making processes of buyers, both individually and in
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groups such as how emotions affect buying behaviour. It studies characteristics of individual
consumers such as demographics and behavioural variables in an attempt to understand
people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family,
friends, reference groups, and society in general. The Management of PROCTER & GAMBLE
once stated : "Our business is based on understanding the consumer and providing the kind of products
that the consumer wants. We place enormous emphasis on our product development area and our
marketing area, and on our people knowing the consumer.” The human mind is the most complex entity
in the whole universe as it is very unpredictable how a person would behave in or react in a particular
situation..A person’s behaviour changes from place to place and situation to situation or, say it is very
inconsistent. The person when has a need, is willing and able to satisfy the need is called
a consumer.

Customer behaviour study is based on consumer buying behaviour, with the customer playing
the three distinct roles of user, payer and buyer. Research has shown that consumer behaviour
is difficult to predict, even for experts in the field. Relationship marketing is an influential
asset for customer behaviour analysis as it has a keen interest in the re-discovery of the true
meaning of marketing through the re-affirmation of the importance of the customer or buyer.
A greater importance is also placed on consumer retention, customer relationship

8
management, personalisation, customisation and one-to-one marketing. Social functions can
be categorized into social choice and welfare functions.

THE DEFINITION & SCOPE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

 The term consumer behaviour is defined as the behaviour that consumer display in
searching for, purchasing using, evaluating and disposing of products and services that they
expect will satisfy their needs.
 Consumer behaviour focuses on how individuals make decisions to spend their available
resources (time, money, effort) on consumption-related items that includes what they buy,
why they buy, when they buy it, where they buy it, how often they buy it, how often they use
it, how they evaluate it after the purchase and the impact of such evaluations on future
purchases, and how they dispose of it.
 Two different kinds of consuming entities: the personal consumer and the organizational
consumer.
 Personal Consumer  Buys goods and services for his or her own use, for the use of the
household or as a gift for a friend. The products are bought for final use by individuals, who
are referred to as end users or ultimate consumers.
 Organizational Consumer  Includes profit and non-profit businesses, government
agencies (local, state, national) and institutional (e.g. schools, hospitals, and prisons), all of
which buy products, equipment, and services in order to run their organization. The consumer
wouldsatisfy it’s needs depending on his social, cultural, family, economic andeducational ba
ckground. Consumer is the principle a priori of business. The efficiency with which a free
market system of enterprise operates, depends upon the extent of consumer
understanding possessed by the business community. A business community that is ignorant
of consumer preferences cannot possibly fulfil it’s obligations in a meaningful and responsive
manner. So here comes the need to study.
 Consumer Behaviour is broadly defined as “the behaviour the consumer displays
in searching for, purchasing, using and evaluating products, services, and ideas which they
expect will satisfy their needs.” It is not only the study of what people consume, but is also
the study of who the consumers are, why they consume, how often they consume, and under
what conditions they consume .CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR refers to the buying behaviour
of ultimate consumers, those persons who purchase products for personal or household

9
use, not for business purpose. There are Psychological Theories that help us to
understand and predict the effect of all external and internal factors on a consumer.
External factors include Culture, Society, Reference group and family etc. Internal
factors comprise in a consumer mind and how consumers learning, memory, attitude, personality,
lifestyle and motivation levels effect consumer behavior. What would initiate a buying process
and how a buying decision would end is all covered under the study of consumer
behaviour. This all further helps relate product /
service, price and promotion etc. with consumer behaviour. Thusorganisation can place marketing mi
x so as to propogate their product/services.The present study on SHAMPOO is also trying to
find Consumer Perception about different features of Shampoos and how Price,
Environment, Packaging, Quantity, Easy Availability and Variety are affecting the sale of
Shampoo’s.

PSYCHOGRAPHIC

In psychographic segmentation buyers are divided into different groups on the basis of
lifestyle and \ or personality. People within the same demographic group can exhibit very
different psychographic profiles. These psychographic bases are often difficult to measure, but they
offer potential rewards in terms of providing management with a more relevant basis for
differentiating between segments of a market.

LIFESTYLE

People exhibit many more lifestyles than are suggested by the seven social classes. People’s product
interests are influenced by their lifestyles. In fact the goods they consume express their lifestyles.
Marketers are increasingly segmenting their markets by consumer lifestyles. Companies making
cosmetics, alcoholic beverages, and furniture are always seeking opportunities in lifestyle segmentation.

PERSONALITY

Personality affects the consumption of many goods, particularly those consumed publicly. An
aggressive personality for example, may be reflected in the choice of ostentatious clothing, furniture,
and automobiles. Preferences are frequently so different that it is impossible to serve all personality

10
types with the same productor brand. A recognition of important personality types can help
management “position” it’s towards a profitable segment or segments. Marketers have used
personality variables to segment markets. They endow their
 products with brand personalities that correspond to consumer personalities.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE MARKETING CONCEPT AND THE

DISCIPLINE OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

MARKETING CONCEPT, A BUSINESS ORIENTATION

 The field of consumer behaviour is rooted in the marketing concept, a business orientation
that evolved in the 1950s through several alternative approaches toward doing business
referred to respectively: -
1) The Production Concept.
2) The Product Concept.
3) The Selling Concept.
4) The Marketing Concept.
5) The Societal Marketing Concept.

1) THE PRODUCTION CONCEPT

 The production concept assumes that consumers are mostly interested in product
availability at low prices; its implicit marketing objectives are cheap, efficient product and
intensive distribution.
 It makes sense when consumer are more interested in buying what’s available rather than
wait for what they really want.

2) THE PRODUCT CONCEPT

11
 The product concept assumes that consumers will buy the product that offers them the
highest quality, the best performance, and the most features.
 It ensures the company to improve the quality of its product and add new features.
 The product concept often leads to “marketing myopia” that is focusing on the product
rather than the customer needs.

3) THE SELLING CONCEPT

 The assumption of the selling concept is that consumers are unlikely to buy the product
unless they are aggressively persuaded to do so – mostly through “hard sell” approach.
 The problem in this concept is that it fails to satisfy a customer.
 Promotion can be done through advertisement, sales promotion and public relation.
 Today the selling concept is utilize be marketers of unsought products – that is which
people are not willing to buy it (such as life insurance).

4) THE MARKETING CONCEPT

 It started in 1950’s when some marketers realized we can sell more products by
determining what consumer would buy.
 Consumer need and wants became the firm’s primary focus.
 The marketers should made product what t can sell, instead of what it has made.

STARTING POINT FOCUS MEANS ENDS

SELLING CONCEPT

Factory  Product  Selling & Promotion  Profit through sale volume

MARKETING CONCEPT

Market  Needs  Marketing  Profit via customer satisfaction

5) THE SOCIETAL MARKETING CONCEPT

12
 Developing that product which benefits the society. Doing marketing in such a way that it
helps you in increasing your production & also giving benefits to society.
 The organization should determine the needs, wants and interest of target markets and
deliver the desired satisfaction more effectively and efficiently then do competitors in a way
that maintains or improves the customers and society’s well being.

THE ROLE OF CONSUMER RESEARCH

 Consumer research describes the process and tools used to study consumer behaviour.
 Two theoretical perspectives that guides the development of consumer research: -
 Positive Approach  It tend to be objective and empirical, to seek caused for behaviour,
and to conduct research studies that can be generalized to larger population.
 Interpretivists  the research done by Interpretivists, on the other hand tends to be
qualitative and based on small samples.

SEGMENTATION, TARGETING, AND POSITIONING

MARKET SEGMENTATION
 Dividing a market into distinct groups of buyers with different needs, characteristics or
behavior who might require separate products or marketing mixes.
 Market consists of buyers and, buyers differ in one or more ways. They may differ in their
wants, resources, locations, buying attitudes, and buying practices.
MARKET POSITIONING
 Formulating competitive positioning for a product and a detailed marketing mix.
Developing a distinct image for the product or service in the mind of the consumer, that will
differentiate with the competitors.

MARKET TARGETING
 The process of evaluating each market segments attractiveness and selecting one or more
segments to enter.
MARKETING MIX

13
 The marketing mix consists of a company’s service and/or product offerings to consumers
and the methods and tools it selects to accomplish the exchange. The marketing mix consists
of four elements:
1) The product or service that is the features, designs, brands, and packaging offered, along
with post purchase benefits such as warranties and return policies.
2) The price – the list price, including discounts, allowances, and payment methods.
3) The place – the distribution of the product or service through specific store and non store
outlets.
4) Promotion – The advertising, sales promotion, public relations, ad sales efforts designed
to build awareness of and demand for the product or service.

CUSTOMER VALUE, SATISFACTION, AND RETENTION

 Savvy marketers today realize that in order to outperform competitors they must achieve
the full profit potential from each and every customer. The three drivers of successful
relationship between marketers and customers are customer value, high levels of customer
satisfaction, and building a structure for customer retention.

1) PROVIDING CUSTOMER VALUE

 Customer value is defined as the ratio between the customers’s perceived benefits
(economic, functional and psychological) and the resources (monetary, time, effort,
psychological) used to obtain those benefits. Perceived value is relative and subjective.
 Example: McDonald’s Corporation to deliver the company’s four core standards; quality,
service, cleanliness, and value.

2) CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

 Customer satisfaction is the individual’s perception of the performance of the product or

service in relation to his or her expectations.
 The linked levels of customer satisfaction with customer behaviour identified several types
of customers: -

14
 Loyalists  Who keeps purchasing, they are satisfied completely.
 Apostles  Whose experiences exceed their expectations and who provide very positive
word of mouth about the company to others.
 Defectors  Who feel neutral or merely satisfied and are likely to stop doing business with
the company.
 Terrorists  Who have had negative experiences with the company and who spread
negative word of mouth.
 Hostages  Who are unhappy customers who stay with the company because of a non
polistic environment or low prices and who are difficult and costly to deal with because of
their frequent complaints?
 Mercenaries  Who are very satisfied customers but who have no real loyalty to the
company and may defect because of a lower price elsewhere or on impulse, defying the
satisfaction-loyalty rationale.
 The researches purpose that companies should strive to create apostles, raise the
satisfaction of defectors and turn them in to loyalist avoid having terrorists or hostages and
reduce the number of mercenaries.

3) CUSTOMER RETENTION

 Customer retention makes it in the best interest of customers to stay with the company
rather than switch to another firm.
 Loyal customers buy more products.
 Loyal customers are less prices sensitive and pay less attention to competitor’s advertising.
 Servicing existing customers, who are familiar with the firm’s offerings and processes, is
cheaper.
 Loyal customers spread positive word of mouth and refer other customer.
 Customer profitability-focused marketing tracks costs and revenues of individual
customers’ ad then categorizes them into tiers based on consumption behaviours that are
specific to the company’s offerings.
 Recent Study advocates using “customer pyramid” where customers are grouped in 4 ties:
1) The Platinum Ties Includes heavy users who are not price sensitive and who are willing
to try new offerings.

15
2) The Gold Tier It consists of customers who are heavy user but not as profitable because
they are more price sensitive than those in the higher ties. Ask for discount and buy from
several providers.
3) The Iron Tier It consists of customers whose spending volume ad profitability do no
merit special treatment from the company.
4) The Lead Tier It includes customers who actually cost the company money because
they claim more attention than is merited by their spending.

MARKETING ETHICS & SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The societal marketing concept – It is very important components of organizational

effectiveness. It helps us to build good image and also increase in sales. The converse is also
true – Perceptions of a company’s lack of social responsibility or unethical marketing
strategies negatively affect consumer purchase decision.

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR & DECISION MAKING ARE INTERDISCIPLINARY

 Consumer Behaviour was a new field in the mid of late 1960, because the marketing
theorists borrowed the concepts from other scientific disciplinary that is :-
 Psychology The study of the individual, 
Sociology The study of groups, 
Social Psychology The study of how an individual operates in groups,
 Anthropology The influence of society on the individual, and 
Economics To form the basis of the new marketing discipline.
Many Early theory based on economic theory on the notion that individuals are rationally to
maximize their benefits.

A SIMPLIFIED MODEL OF CONSUMER DECISION MAKING

 The process of consumer decision making can be viewed as three distinct but interlocking
stages: the input stage, the process stage, and the output stage.

16
 The Input Stage  Influences the consumer’s recognition of a product need and consists
of two major sources of information, the firm’s marketing efforts (the product itself, its price,
its promotion and where it is sold) and the external sociological influences on the consumers.

 The Process Stage  It is the model focuses on how consumers make decisions. The
psychological factors inherent in each individual.

 The Output Stage  It is the consumer decision making model consists of two closely
related post decision activities.

SPORTS RETAIL

17
Motivation behind the Study

•India is hosting international sporting events

•Retail sector in India is undergoing change

•Government is considering allowing FDI in less sensitive sectors like Sports

•High growth sector

•Growing interest among foreign sports retailers

Italian Trade Commission Report: “Market Research Report: Sports in India”

Global Overview of the Sports Sector

•Lack of official data •In most countries contribution of sports sector to GDP is less than 5%
strong inter linkages with other sectors like tourism, audio-visual, etc. Multiplier
effect

•Labour intensive sector, contributes significantly to employment –5% of EU (2% in UK)

•Size of global market: $284 bl. in 2008 –growing at 4% (before •Size of global market:
$284 bl. in 2008 –growing at 4% (before slowdown) •Global market driven by sports
apparel –50% of total demand

•US is largest market for sports products –1/3rdof global market •Asian market is currently
less than 25%

•Major exporters: China, Hong Kong, France, Italy, Germany, US •Major importers: US,
Japan, Germany, France, UK, Italy

Overview of Sport Sector in India

•Constitute2.7%oftotalretailmarket

18
•Organisedretailmarketshare–10%

•In total sports market, around30% is organised

•Manufacturinggrowingat10%-12%

•ATKearneyrankedIndia1stamong 30emergingmarketsforsportsin 2009

•Among largest sports goods manufacturers inAsia after China and Japan

•Sports retailing underwent massive changesince1995

•Sports“ culture”…..?

•Consumers changing

•International sports

•Increasing private participation

Manufacturing Policy in India

 100% FDI is allowed in manufacturing of sports products

•Focus is on exports and not on the domestic market

•Fast track clearance by DGFT

•Duty exemptions, technology up gradation SEZ

•State specific incentives e.g. Meerut

19
Retail Policy in India

Retail: Multiple Regulators

•FDI is not allowed in multi-brand retailing

•100% FDI is allowed in cash and carry wholesale trading –automatic route

•Since 2006, FDI up to 51% allowed in single-brand retailing –FIPB approval

FDI not an Entry ban -Multiple Routes

•100% FDI in whole sale cash and carry most suitable for volume business

•Direct selling is a part of wholesale trading: Potential route for sports and fitness goods

retailers

•Non-store formats like telemarketing

•Most foreign retailers enter through exclusive licensing and distribution agreements e.g.
Lotto Sports Italia

•Wholly owned subsidiary through setting up manufacturing e.g. Nike, Reebok, Adidas

•Franchising is a common mode to increase retail footprints

India ranked quite low (39th) among 67 countries in terms of the percentage of international
retailers in 2008

20
Industry Facts

Drivers: Increased spending power; Increase in number of sports events; Growing health &
fitness awareness; Unsaturated market; Increasing organised retail space.
Challenges: Low sports participation rate; Competition from unorganised players; Poor
sports infrastructure; Imposition of excise duty.
Trends: Players sponsoring major sports teams and events; Tie-ups with renowned Indian
designers; Players roping in celebrities for brand endorsements; Sportswear being one of the
niche sections of the retail industry is witnessing steady growth; In India, sports is mostly
treated as a recreational activity; Organised sportswear industry is dominated by major
international brands – these players have outsourced a considerable part of their production to
Indian manufacturers; Sportswear includes sports apparel, footwear and accessories; Sports
shoes account for a major sales chunk of the total sports products market.
With further support from the government, the scope for growth in the sports sector is
definite, just that the policies need fine tuning, which will equip the retailer to operate in a
harmonious manner.

Barriers in Retail

• Key problems of corporate and traditional retailers are same, impact may be different:

Infrastructure – parking, electricity, warehousing

High real estate costs

Regulations – Shop and Establishment Act

Corporate stringent labour laws; traditional: stringent shop opening timings

• Small consumer base, low brand loyalty, limited knowledge about use and technology:

• Corporate Retailers /brands: Brand positioning

• Lifestyle/casual wear versus sports, luxury versus sports

21
• Lack of integration among export promotion councils, manufacturing sector

• Contract manufacturing – may loose control of production

• Technology intensive product have to be imported, high duties.

• Fragmented manufacturing –role of export councils

• Sporadic shortage of raw materials

• Most global retailers are multi-brand

• Single brand – sleeping partner and profit sharing

• Even if FDI in single brand is raised to 100% it will not help

• Back door entry routes

• Shortage of technology, finance, global best management practices

• Consumers want commitments – after sales services

22
INTRODUCTION TO DECATHLON

23
 DECATHLON SPORTS

Decathlon

Industry Retail

Founded 1976

Headquarters Villeneuve d'Ascq, France

Key people Mattia Palascino, Michel Leclercq, founder and

40% owner

Products Clothing
Sportswear
Sports equipment

Revenue €8.2 billion (2014)

Number of 65,000
employees

Subsidiaries Quechua, Tribord, Domyos, B'Twin, Kipsta,

Nabaiji, Wed'ze, Simond, Kalenji, Newfeel,
Artengo, Inesis, Geologic, Caperlan, Solognac,
Fouganza, Oxelo, Aptonia, Geonaute, Orao [1]

Website www.decathlon.co

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Decathlon is one of the world's largest sporting goods retailers.

Decathlon started with a store in Lille, France in 1976, founded by Michel Leclercq. It started
to expand abroad a decade later, to Germany in 1986, Spain in 1992, Italy in 1998, Portugal,
the United Kingdom in 1999, China in 2003, India in 2009 and Southeast Asia in 2012.
Today, there are more than 850 stores in 22 countries. The company employs more than
60,000 staff from 80 different nationalities.

The retailer stocks a wide range of sporting goods, from tennis rackets to advanced scuba
diving equipment, usually in large superstores which are sized at an average of
4,000m².Decathlon Group also owns 20 brands, with research and development facilities all
over France to develop the latest innovative designs, registering up to 40 patents per
year. Each brand represents a different sport or group of sports, with a dedicated product
development and design team.

Decathlon Group also owns the Toboggan and Decath stores, the former sells sporting goods
at discount prices, whilst the latter is a smaller high street sized version of the larger
Decathlon superstores

40 YEARS OF SPORT

In 1976, the AS Saint-Etienne football team turned France green with their epic European
tale, Guy Drut hoisted the Tricolor at the pinnacle of athletic achievement, and a certain
Bernard Hinault amassed an impressive stash of amateur titles. Sport has always been high on
the agenda in France, and it was becoming more popular all the time. It was during this
boom with sporting federations and clubs boasting seven million members, that the
Decathlon adventure began, in the car park of the Auchan shopping centre in Englos, about
thirteen miles from Lille.

The very first Decathlon opened its doors on 27 July 1976. It soon had everyone talking: a
store dedicated exclusively to sport was something of a revolution! For the very first time,
people who enjoyed playing sport could find a wide range of equipment and clothing all
under one roof and at extremely competitive prices.

Right from the beginning we believed in the following: A simple P+L by department (ten)
which we looked at every week. Thanks to measuring like this locally we put the decision
making close to the customer. It gambles on the local person in charge but I believe if you do

25
not gamble on people locally then you do not win. An individual meeting every month on the
shop floor with everyone with a written summary. No offices including the leader / manager.
Everyone had to be obsessed with the customer. No delivery bay. The product is the hero of
the store. Not the furniture and fittings. The costs are the lowest in the market (with many
sacrifices) to allow the cheapest prices. Other competitors will succeed in different ways but
it will not work if we copy. The most important is to keep things coherent between the
strategies for the customer and the leader has to guarantee this coherence. We worked hard
but really had a lot of fun and laughter. It is important. As an adult 25 years after starting with
now 20000 employees we try to push our values (dynamic, sincere, responsible, and
generous) throughout the world and I am proud we do that together. Michel Leclercq

1976 Lille France 1986 Germany 1992 Spain 1993 Italy 2001 Brazil 2003 China 2006 Russia
2009 India 2016 Australia & South A

1000+ stores are located globally, in the following countries.

  Belgium: 26 stores
  Brazil: 19 stores
  Bulgaria: 4 stores
  Czech Republic: 9 stores
  China: 169 stores
  Croatia: 4 stores
  France: 302 stores
  Germany: 32 stores
  Hungary: 17 stores
  India: 38 stores
  Italy: 107 stores
  Kuwait: 1 store
  Malaysia: 1 store
  Netherlands: 7 stores
  Poland: 45 stores
  Portugal: 28 stores
  Romania: 17 stores
  Russia: 40 stores

26
  Slovenia: 1 store
  Slovakia: 3 stores
  Spain: 139 stores
  Singapore: 2 stores
  Sweden: 2 store
  Turkey: 18 stores
  Taiwan: 8 stores
  United Kingdom: 22 stores
  United States: (closed 2006)
  Lebanon: 1 store
  United Arab Emirates: 2 store
  Morocco: 4 stores
  Thailand: 5 stores

Online delivery has been introduced in Belgium, France, The Netherlands, United Kingdom,
Germany, Turkey, India, Italy,[7] Singapore, Spain, Brazil, Portugal and more recently
Ireland.

In India, Decathlon products can be bought directly through their stores subsequent to change
in India's FDI policy and approval for Decathlon in February 2013.[8] In addition to this,
Decathlon products are also available online through their online resellers.

The Oxylane network

Oxylane, a network of innovative retail chains and brands providing enjoyment for all sports
people.

At Oxylane, 60,000 of us live our common Purpose on a daily basis: to make the pleasure and
benefits of sport accessible to all. In every country where we are present, we share a strong
and unique company culture, reinforced by our four values: Vitality, Sincerity, Responsibility
and Generosity. At Oxylane, we place innovation at the heart of our activities: from research
to retail, including conception, design, production and logistics. Our twenty Passion Brand
teams channel all their energy in to developing technical, good-looking and simple products,
always at the lowest possible prices. These products are aimed at all sports enthusiasts, from
beginners to experts, and are sold exclusively at Decathlon.

27
OXY + LANE = OXYLANE

OXY = Oxygen, Freshness and good environment;

LANE = Path, Way, Journey

Decathlon Values

All over the world, Decathlon shares a strong and unique company culture reinforced by four
values: Vitality, Sincerity, Responsibility and Generosity.

Vitality

Vitality is Life, intense activity, energy, drive and vigour. The employees are full of vitality
as they are first and foremost positive and full of energy. They are enthusiastic, they love
creating and innovating, and relentlessly strive to improve and make things around them
change.

Sincerity

Sincerity is transparency in its actions, amongst themselves, with their customers and with
the suppliers. They want there to be a great deal of coherence between ‘what we say’ and
‘what we do’.

Responsibility

Being responsible is about making decisions and making sure they are acted upon. The
employees assume the consequences of their decisions, both in terms of their team and their
customers. Responsibility is also about anticipating the challenges facing society and
orienting their actions towards sustainable development. And it is also their responsibility to
guarantee the safety of their customers and employees all over the world.

Generosity

Generosity is closely related to Responsibility. Within a group, supporting, helping and

listening to each other, without necessarily expecting anything in return, is fundamental. This
mindset leads them to be demanding and make the best choices when designing the products.

28
The retailer develops and sells its own brands. Each sport or group of sports has a
separate brand name:

 Aptonia - Nutrition and Healthcare
 Artengo - Racket Sports
 B'Twin - Cycling
 Caperlan - Fishing
 Domyos - Fitness, Gym, Yoga, Dance, [9]
 Fouganza - Horse Riding
 Geologic - Target Sports such as Archery, Darts and Pétanque
 Geonaute - Sports Electronics
 Inesis - Golf
 Kalenji - Running
 Kipsta - Team Sports
 Nabaiji - Swimming
 Newfeel - Walking and Urban Wear
 Orao - Eyewear and Optical Accessories
 Oxelo - Rollersports, Skating and Scooters
 Quechua - Hiking, Camping and Outdoor Gear
 Simond - Mountaineering
 Solognac - Hunting
 Tribord - Watersports
 Wed'Ze - Skiing and Snowboarding

29
Brands providing technical support for the products of its passion brands:

 EQUAREA - Clothing designed for the active removal of sweat

 ESSENSOLE - Shoe soles and insoles
 NOVADRY - Waterproof and breathable clothes
 STRATERMIC - Warm and light clothes
 STRENFIT - Light and Robust Synthetic fabrics (non garment)
 SUPPORTIV - Support and compression

Its success has greatly contributed to the decline of selling prices in France, while the
innovation of its own brands has caused great difficulties for other traditional manufacturers.
2008 was a record year for the company as the brand Decathlon had beaten all its competitors
on three key points: margin, market share, and highest turnover per square meter of retail
space. It is arguably the third at a global level. A 2008 survey of 774 catchment areas at the
request of the Ministry of Economy and Finance shows that "for sporting goods, Decathlon is
dominant in 92.8% of zones". This dominant position has the effect of marginalizing its
commercial competitors, including independent retailers.

COMPETITION

In 2009, Decathlon's sector rivals, Go Sport (fr) and Sport 2000, joined forces to set up a common
purchasing centre in Switzerland, intended to "pressurize most of the major international
suppliers", according to François Neukirsh, Managing Director of Go Sport, in the
newspaper Les Échos. Otherwise, the company does not have significant competition due to

30
 their specific target audience in mass-market retail. In India its major competitors are Adidas,
Nike and Reebok.

As on Dec 15th, 2012

Make the pleasure and benefits of sport accessible to 1 billion Indians

We design, we manufacture & we sell products that are technically as superior as they
are affordable to all Indians

31
32
DECATHLON SPORTS INDIA GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

We are a wholesale company which consists of the sale of goods to retailers, industrial,
commercial, institutional, or other wholesalers and related subordinated services. All our
Customers shall submit to DECATHLON SPORTS INDIA (DSI) a photocopy of a valid
certificate of Registration along with a completed registration form, the signed General
Terms and Conditions of Sale and authorisation letter (if the authorised signatory further
authorises another person of the organisation). The submitted documents for registration must
be true, complete and correct. Any liability or damages arising to DSI due to any wrong
declaration or due to a purchase made in violation of this agreement shall be indemnified to
DSI by the Customers. Persons below the age of eighteen years cannot be authorised. The
present Terms and Conditions of Sale have been drawn up exclusively to govern dealings
between DSI and any organisation making a purchase via DSI's website or directly at DSI's
distribution centre, hereinafter referred to as “the Customer”, and together as “the Parties”.

Protected Elements: All the elements protected in conformance with the rights of
Intellectual property - Territory: As a defined area, including INDIA only.

PRODUCTS: The Customer can take a close look at DSI's website for a complete
description of the products. In spite of DSI doing its best to describe and present the articles

33
being sold on the website as accurately as possible, some product characteristics may be
altered slightly. Despite all precautions by DSI, there may be inadvertent errors, and DSI
shall not under any circumstances be held liable should this arise. The photographs of
products shown on DSI website are not contractually binding. Under no circumstances may
DSI be held liable on the basis of said photographs.
DECATHLON SPORTS INDIA attempts to keep the elements mentioned on its website
accurate and complete. In particular the information about pricing, specifications and in
general case all information about our products is subject to change without notice. It is
possible that there could be errors or omissions in the information provided in this website.
The information could also be incomplete. DECATHLON SPORTS INDIA is not responsible
for any errors, omissions or representations on any of our pages or any links on any of our
pages.

PRICES: The prices displayed on products are expressed in Indian Rupees and shall include
all taxes applicable by law. Product prices shall not include delivery charges, the cost of
certain forms of packing or charges for certain optional services selected by the Customer.
DSI shall have the right to refuse or cancel any orders placed by the Customer.

PAYMENT: For online purchases, Customer may pay for his/her purchase by using an EFT
(Electronic Fund Transfer) or credit/Debit card.

WARRANTY: The Customer undertakes to take all the necessary measures to preserve in

good condition all the products ordered. Term: Most of the DSI brand products are covered
by a contractual one year warranty unless otherwise specified on the product or its packaging
or by DSI at the time of sale. However, this warranty shall not apply in the case of natural
wear and tear of the product, damage caused by negligent use of the product, or by use in a
manner for which the product was not intended.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: DSI is the owner of all the rights of intellectual property

attached to the products ordered by the Customer. DSI reserves the right to proceed to the
necessary formalities with the aim of their protection on the Territory. DSI undertakes to the
Customer a non-exclusive right of use on the brands and Protected Elements owned by DSI.

34
The Customer recognises the existence and validity of the trademark applications or
registrations and use of DSI's products and undertakes never to challenge their validity,
registration and use in the Territory. The Customer undertakes not to derive any right from
the use of DSI's products and undertakes never to attempt to register, directly in his name or
indirectly by a third party, any identical or confusingly similar trademark or internet domain
name that may infringe DSI's trademarks or constitute unfair competition. In case the
Customer applies for or uses any identical or similar trademark or domain name to DSI's
products, he shall immediately take all necessary actions, at his own expense, to cancel or
transfer the infringing trademarks or domain names to DSI upon DSI's first demand. The
Customer undertakes to inform and to immediately notify DSI of illicit imitation and more
generally of any unfair competition practices based on the Protected Elements.
Accordingly, the Customer agrees that he will not copy and/or modify and/or create
derivative works from all the elements of http://www.decathlon.in. The customer also agrees
that he will not use any robot, spider, other automated device, or manual process to monitor
or copy any content.

RETENTION OF TITLE: Title to the products ordered by the Customer shall remain

vested in DSI and shall not pass to the Customer until the purchase price for the products
ordered has been paid in full and received by DSI. LIABILITY – FORCE MAJEURE: DSI
may not be held liable in the case of a failure to fulfil its contractual obligations as a result of
circumstances beyond its control or a « force majeure » occurrence. Under no circumstances
may DSI be held liable for losses of profit, business losses, loss of data or loss of earnings, or
for any other indirect loss or loss that was not foreseeable when the website was used or
when the contract of sale was entered into by the Parties.

LOSS OF PASSWORD FOR ONLINE PURCHASE: The member is fully responsible for

their own password for online purchase. The Member is responsible to intimate DSI on
knowledge of their password being lost or hacked and is solely responsible to indemnify DSI
for misuse of online membership transactions. This includes usage of non-member credit or
debit card for purchase of products.

ACCESS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES THAN INDIA

35
This website may be accessed from other countries than India. If you live outside India,
please refer to our partners within the OXYLANE GROUP by clicking here: Decathlon
World

36
 CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN DECATHLON

CUSTOMER SATISFIED OR SATISFIED POLICY

At Decathlon.in, we are sportspeople for sportspeople. We build products that have high
value for your money. In order to ensure your complete satisfaction we offer you a flexible
return/exchange policy.

Received your order damaged?

We will reship the items in question to you immediately - at our cost. If necessary, we might
ask you to send us a picture of the damaged carton or product.

37
You believe the product is defective?

We can ship you a replacement or return your money. The choice is yours.

Ordered a backpack and received a bottle?

That was certainly not our intention. We're terribly sorry for the unpleasant surprise. The
right product will soon be on its way.

Didn't get the right size?

Product didn't meet your expectations? We will fix it!

This Privacy Policy governs the manner in which Decathlon Sports India collects, uses,
maintains and discloses information collected from users (each, a "User") of
the decathlon.in website ("Site"). This privacy policy applies to the Site and all products and
services offered by Decathlon Sports India.

Personal identification information

We may collect personal identification information from Users in a variety of ways,

including, but not limited to, when Users visit our site, register on the site, place an order,
subscribe to the newsletter, respond to a survey, fill out a form, and in connection with other
activities, services, features or resources we make available on our Site. Users may be asked
for, as appropriate, name, email address, mailing address, phone number and credit card
information. Users may, however, visit our Site anonymously. We will collect personal
identification information from Users only if they voluntarily submit such information to us.
Users can always refuse to supply personally identification information, except that it may
prevent them from engaging in certain Site related activities.

We have changed our Analytics tracking code to support Display Advertising and implement
Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting. We use this information to better
understand, protect and serve the Users. We use this information to provide the services the

38
Users request. We might use this information to resolve disputes; troubleshoot problems; help
promote a safe service; measure consumer interest in our products and services; inform the
Users about online and offline offers, products, services and updates; customize the User's
experience; detect and protect us against error, fraud and other criminal activity; enforce our
terms and conditions; and as otherwise described to the Users at the time of collection.
In our efforts to continually improve our product and service offerings, we collect and
analyse demographic and profile data about our users' activity on our Site. We might use this
data to tailor your experience at our Site, providing you with content that we think you might
be interested in and to display content according to your preferences.

Using the Ads Settings, the Users can opt out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising
and customize Google Display Network ads. The Users can also opt out of Google Analytics
using Google Analytics' currently available opt-outs for the web.

Non-personal identification information

We may collect non-personal identification information about Users whenever they interact
with our Site. Non-personal identification information may include the browser name, the
type of computer and technical information about User's means of connection to our Site,
such as the operating system and the Internet service providers utilized and other similar
information.

Web browser cookies

Our Site may use "cookies" to enhance User experience. User's web browser places cookies
on their hard drive for record-keeping purposes and sometimes to track information about
them. User may choose to set their web browser to refuse cookies, or to alert them when
cookies are being sent. If they do so, note that some parts of the Site may not function
properly.

How we use collected information

Decathlon Sports India may collect and use User's personal information for the following
purposes:

39
- To improve customer service
Information you provide helps us to respond to your customer service requests and support
your needs more efficiently.
- To personalize user experience
We may use information in the aggregate `to understand how our Users as a group use the
services and resources provided on our Site.
- To improve our Site
We may use feedback you provide to improve our products and services.
- To process payments
We may use the information Users provide about themselves when placing an order only to
provide service to that order. We do not share this information with outside parties except to
the extent necessary to provide the service.
- To run a promotion, contest, survey or other Site feature
To send Users information they agreed to receive about topics we think will be of interest to
them.
- To send periodic emails
We may use the email address to send User information and updates pertaining to their order.
It may also be used to respond to their inquiries, questions, and/or other requests. If User
decides to opt-in to our mailing list, they will receive emails that may include company news,
updates, related product or service information, etc. If at any time the User would like to
unsubscribe from receiving future emails, we include detailed unsubscribe instructions at the
bottom of each email or User may contact us via our Site.
How we protect your information

We adopt appropriate data collection, storage and processing practices and security measures
to protect against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure or destruction of your personal
information, user name, password, transaction information and data stored on our Site.

Sensitive and private data exchange between the Site and its Users happens over a SSL
secured communication channel and is encrypted and protected with digital signatures.

Sharing your personal information

We do not sell, trade, or rent Users' personal identification information to others. We may

40
share generic aggregated demographic information not linked to any personal identification
information regarding visitors and users with our business partners, trusted affiliates and
advertisers for the purposes outlined above. We may use third party service providers to help
us operate our business and the Site or administer activities on our behalf, such as sending out
newsletters or surveys. We may share your information with these third parties for those
limited purposes provided that you have given us your permission.

Third party websites

Users may find advertising or other content on our Site that link to the sites and services of
our partners, suppliers, advertisers, sponsors, licensors and other third parties. We do not
control the content or links that appear on these sites and are not responsible for the practices
employed by websites linked to or from our Site. In addition, these sites or services, including
their content and links, may be constantly changing. These sites and services may have their
own privacy policies and customer service policies. Browsing and interaction on any other
website, including websites which have a link to our Site, is subject to that website's own
terms and policies.

Changes to this privacy policy

Decathlon Sports India has the discretion to update this privacy policy at any time. When we
do, we will revise the updated date at the bottom of this page. We encourage Users to
frequently check this page for any changes to stay informed about how we are helping to
protect the personal information we collect. You acknowledge and agree that it is your
responsibility to review this privacy policy periodically and become aware of modifications.

Your acceptance of these terms

By using this Site, you signify your acceptance of this policy. If you do not agree to this
policy, please do not use our Site. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of
changes to this policy will be deemed your acceptance of those changes.

Decathlon organizes a lot of sport events to make you try the products and discover
sports you don't practice yet !

41
But if you are a sports player already, Decathlon organizes tournaments for you too !
You can enjoy all our sport activities with your friends, your family and/or your
colleagues !

Reasons for Dissatisfaction:

REASONS
Wrong Smiley
Comfort
Product Quality
Cash Counter Operations
Stock NA
Staff Interaction
Price
Others

Every day the consumers are contacted in order to know their reasons for their dissatisfaction.
as in this report we can clearly see that customer were not comfortable in the store so they
were contacted and told them we have put coolers for better and comfortable ambience in the
store so as to keep our sales increasing

Not Satisfied  Satisfied  Very Satisfied 

June 3.94%  45.67% 50.39% 

May 0.87% 51.90% 47.23%

42
REVIEW OF LITERATURE

43
(Kotler and Keller, 2012)-The topic of consumer behaviour is one of the massively
studied topics by the researchers and marketers in the past and still being studied.
Researchers show different reasons as to why consumer behaviour has been the topic of
many academics and researchers. One of the common views is that understanding
consumer behaviour has become a factor that has a direct impact on the overall
performance of the businesses.

(Kotler and Keller, 2012)- It is worth noting that consumer buying behaviour is studied
as a part of the marketing and its main objective it to learn the way how the individuals,
groups or organizations choose, buy use and dispose the goods and the factors such as
their previous experience, taste, price and branding on which the consumers base their
purchasing decisions

(Lancaster et al, 2002)- Another view suggests that understanding consumer behaviour
has become crucial especially due to fierce competition in retail industry in the UK and
worldwide. This chapter will introduce some other areas of research background of
consumer behaviour addressing the works of researchers and marketers. Moreover,
consumer decision making process, in particular, five stages of consumer decision making
process will be discussed in detail.

Acebron et al (2000)-One of such studies of consumer buying behaviour has been

conducted. The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of previous experience on
buying behaviour of fresh foods, particularly mussels. In their studies the authors used
structural equation model in order to identify the relationship between the habits and
previous experience on the consumer buying decision. Their findings show that personal
habits and previous experience on of the consumers have a direct impact on the
consumers’ purchase decision in the example of purchasing fresh mussels. They also
found that the image of the product has a crucial impact on the purchasing decision of the
consumer and further recommended that the product image should continuously be
improved in order to encourage the consumers towards purchasing

44
Variawa (2010)-Another study conducted by analyzed the influence of packaging on
consumer decision making process for Fast Moving Consumer Goods. The aim of the
research was to analyze the impact of packaging for decision making processes of low-
income consumers in retail shopping. A survey method has been used in order to reach the
research objectives. In a survey conducted in Star Hyper in the town of Canterville 250
respondents participated. The findings of the research indicate that low-income consumers
have more preferences towards premium packaging as this can also be re-used after the
product has been consumed. Although the findings indicate that there is a weak
relationship between the product packaging and brand experience. However, it has been
proven by the findings of the research that low-income consumers have greater brand
experience from the purchase of ‘premium’ products when compared to their experience
from purchasing ‘cheap’ brand products.

Lee (2005)-carried out study to learn the five stages of consumer decision making process
in the example of China. The researcher focuses on the facts that affect the consumer
decision making process on purchasing imported health food products, in particular
demographic effects such as gender, education, income and marital status. The author
employed questionnaire method in order to reach the objectives of the research. Analysis
of five stages of consumer decision making process indicate that impact of family
members on the consumer decision making process of purchasing imported health food
products was significant.

The author further explains this by the fact Chinese tradition of taking care of young and
old family members have long been developed and marriage is considered to be extremely
important in Chinese tradition. This reflects in the findings of the study that the purchase
of imported health food products made by a person for the people outside the family is
declined significantly by both male and female Chinese after they get married.

Blackwell et al (2006)-Five Stages Model of consumer decision making process has also
been studied by a number of other researchers. Although different researchers offer
various tendencies towards the definitions of five stages, all of them have common views
as they describe the stages in similar ways. One of the common models of consumer
decision making process has been offered by him. According to him, the five stages of

45
consumer decision making process are followings: problem/need recognition, information
search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision made and post-purchase evaluation.

Each stage is then defined by a number of researchers varying slightly but leading to a
common view about what each stage involves. For example, according to Bruner (1993)
first stage, need recognition occurs when an individual recognizes the difference between
what they have and what they want/need to have. This view is also supported by Neal and
Questel (2006) stating that need recognition occurs due to several factors and
circumstances such as personal, professional and lifestyle which in turn lead to formation
of idea of purchasing.

(Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007).-In the next stage, consumer searches information related
to desired product or service Information search process can be internal and external.

(Rose and Samouel, 2009).-While internal search refers to the process where consumers
rely on their personal experiences and believes, external search involves wide search of
information which includes addressing the media and advertising or feedbacks from other
people

Once the relevant information about the product or service is obtained the next stage
involves analyzing the alternatives. Kotler and Keller (2005) consider this stage as one
of the important stages as the consumer considers all the types and alternatives taking into
account the factors such as size, quality and also price.

Backhaus et al (2007) suggested that purchase decision is one of the important stages as
this stage refers to occurrence of transaction. In other words, once the consumer
recognized the need, searched for relevant information and considered the alternatives
he/she makes decision whether or not to make the decision.

Kacen (2002) Purchasing decision can further be divided into planned purchase,
partially purchase or impulse purchase as stated by Kacen (2002) which will be discussed
further in detail in the next chapters.

46
Finally, post-purchase decision involves experience of the consumer about their purchase.
Although the importance of this stage is not highlighted by many authors Neal et al
(2004) argues that this is perhaps one of the most important stages in the consumer
decision making process as it directly affects the consumers’ purchases of the same
product or service from the same supplier in the future.

The most noteworthy writers that serve as academic advocates of The Five Stage Model
of consumer decision making include Tyagi (2004), Kahle and Close (2006) Blackwell
et al. (2006), and others.

Factors Impacting Consumer Buyer Behaviour

It has been established that the consumer buying behaviour is the outcome of the needs
and wants of the consumer and they purchase to satisfy these needs and wants. Although it
sounds simple and clear, these needs can be various depending on the personal factors
such as age, psychology and personality. Also there are some other external factors which
are broad and beyond the control of the consumer.A number of researches have been
carried out by academics and scholars on identifying and analyzing those factors affecting
the consumers’ buying behaviour and as a result, various types of factors have been
identified. These factors have been classified into different types and categories in
different ways by different authors. For instance, Wiedermann et al (2007) classified
them into internal and external factor. On the other hand, Winer (2009) divided them into
social, personal and psychological factors. Despite the fact that they have been classified
into different groups by different authors they are similar in scope and purpose (Rao,
2007).

It is important to note that The Five Stage Model is not the only model related to
consumer decision-making, and there are also a range of competing models that include
Stimulus-Organism-Response Model of Decision Making developed by Hebb in 1950’s,
Prescriptive Cognitive Models, The Theory of Trying (Bagozzi and Warsaw, 1990), Model
of Goal Directed Behaviour (Perugini and Bagozzi, 2001) and others. All of these models
are analysed in great detail in Literature Review chapter of this work.

47
 THE PROBLEM UNDER STUDY

Background of the problem task undertaken

I did 8 weeks internship at Decathlon sports India, Mohali. My project guide encouraged me
to undertake the study about “Consumer Behaviour in Decathlon” and make a project report
on it and analyse the survey data of questionnaires with respect of the responses by the
customers. I chose consumer behaviour as my topic because of the following reasons:

 To know about the impact of consumer behaviour on consumer buying behaviour

consumer satisfaction etc.
 To understand the how the sale can be increased by improving better consumer
interaction understanding consumer buying behaviour reasons for dissatisfaction in
the store
 To study about the reasons for decreasing sales and finding ways to influence
consumer.
 To know about the impulse buying of customers due to their level of satisfaction in
the store.
 To know about the confidence of the customers on the products they are buying which
have proper information regarding prices, quality, etc given through signages under
consumer buying or consumer behaviour.

Consumer behaviour has many tools under it to attract retain and increase the number
of customers for the betterment of stores

1. Developing various counter to improve the level of satisfaction

2. Increasing the volume as well number of walk ins in the store

48
 3. Better conditions for the customers in the store
4. Providing better quality of products, better designs and attractive promotional prices
so as to gain sales.
5. Finding out the reasons which led to the dissatisfaction of the consumers.

Consumer behaviour includes

• Store image

• Customer satisfaction

• Friendly environment to the customer

• Store location

• Store layout

• Visual merchandising of the store

• Customer interaction.

RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

The rationale of study arises from the consumer behaviour in the store and the methods
performed by the store to serve the customers better

 The analysis of customer dashboard is done by everyday follow up with the

satisfaction level of customers. The customers are called up to know the feedback and
reason for dissatisfaction, if any in order to improve our services.
 The exchange and refund is taken care properly to avoid inconvenience. Customers
need not bring the bill, they just need their online details for it.
 Proper information of warranties is given for clear view of products. Display of the
products is in proper order and plan.
 Information of product items is given by the staff properly and through good signages.

49
 BARI Survey is done in the store to know the overall behaviour of consumers in the
store and to know about their buying behaviour.
 Proper billings are done and it is one of the main tool to for customer satisfaction so
that customers don’t have any is comfort.

50
OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY

51
 OBJECTIVES

 Drawing up the customers' profile

 Evaluating their visit behaviour
 Measuring the purchase rate
 Identifying the reasons for non purchase
 Measuring the satisfaction
 To measure the level of availability of Decathlon products .
 To know the prevailing competition for the Decathlon product.

SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS

In an attempt to make this project authentic and reliable every possible aspects
Of the topic was kept in mind.

 It was difficult to get the questionnaire filled from the customers as they show less
interest towards it.

 Lack of time is one of the basic limitations in the project. There were time constraints
as we had to submit the report in 2 months.

 There is possibility of biasness because the analysis is a quantitative one in nature.

 This study is conducted only in Decthlon Mohali so the results are confined to that
area only so there is less number of participants.

 The sample was geographically limited and the age range was narrow.

52
  The time pressure of the respondents may have affected the quality of data.

METHODOLOGY OF THE SURVEY

 Survey conducted at the exit of the store by means of face-to-face interviews.

 The answers were collected on the system by means of Google doc.
 The average duration of a questionnaire was 5 minutes.
 150 shoppers were interviewed in the month of May and June 2016.

SAMPLE: The sample size for the survey is 150 customers per store. Please keep in mind,
all the respondents should be above 18 years.

TARGET: Customers, buyers or not, that visited the store the day of the interview

• Customers were interviewed indifferently at the exit of the store, whether they made a
purchase or not.
They are selected at random on the basis of one customer out of three

DATA COLLECTION: The answers were collected in face to face on a form programmed
questionnaire

SURVEY PERIOD: The interviews have been conducted in June 2016 every day of the
week including week-ends. The period of the interviews should be a "normal" one with
stocked shelves to get representative results of the store

SELECTION OF THE RESPONDENT: The survey is done only at the exit of the store
after the customer has completed the purchase and is leaving. The interviewer can select the
customers (men or woman) on a random basis. It can be people who have made purchases
and not made purchases.

SURVEY PERIOD: The survey will be conducted on all days of the week. The ideal time
for the survey is 1 week. The survey is conducted twice a year to get accurate and comparable
results.

53
DURATION OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE: The mean duration of the revised
questionnaire is 3-4 minutes.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. It may be

understood as a science of studying how research is done scientifically. In it we study the
various steps, the research processes that are generally adopted to study the research problem
and basic logics behind them.

RESEARCH DESIGN

After research objectives the second stage of research for developing the most efficient plan
for gathering the needed information. Designing a research plan includes decisions on data
sources, research approaches, research instrument & sampling plan.

DATA COLLECTION

There are certain steps which are followed for making an effective research. It depends upon
organization to organization and person to person who adopt a certain strategy in research
called research methodology. Research methodology followed me in the organization is

54
  Visiting different departments.
 Conversation with highly skilled and qualified players.
 Data collection from different sources.
 Preparation of project.

It is known that success of any research depends on the development of an efficient plan for
gathering the required information. Data gathered may be primary or secondary in nature.
Secondary data consists of information that already exists with the institutions or from
outside sources. Secondary data provides for a starting point of the research and offer the
advantage of low cost and easy accessibility. But primary data collected is more specific
reliable and relevant for the lay-down project. Hence for this project primary as well as
secondary data has been made use of keeping in mind the sample or nature of the project.

SOURCES OF DATA

Main sources of collection of my data are:

PRIMARY DATA

The primary source of data used in making of this project report is information collected from
personal interaction with collaborators in the department as well the store.

SECONDARY DATA

Secondary data has been collected from the following sources

 Published reports of company

 Data from various departments
 Company’s web site:- www.decathlon.in
 Internet
 Company brochure
 Open bravo

55
DATA ANALYSIS TOOLS

An attempt was made tabulate and summaries data in order to relate critical, points with study
objectives the reliability of the summaries data was tested with the help of data analysis tool
like percentage, average, standard deviation and variance and spss.

56
DATA ANALYSIS & INTERPRETATION

57
The data collected from the survey has been analyzed & interpreted carefully. So as to fulfill
the objectives of the study

Various statistical tools of data analysis have been employed as & where required. The
primary data & secondary data have been combined, together to draw inferences.

I have made 4 constructs in the questionnaire:

1 Visit efficiency

- Purchase preparation before visiting

- Purchase and non purchase, lost and achieved sales
- Lost sales: reasons for not buying

2 Competition and store traffic

- Types of customers and competitors frequented

3 Store satisfaction

- Overall satisfaction / Detailed satisfaction / Comparison to competitors

- Recommendation

4 Shoppers’ profile

- Gender, age, sport level

- Smartphone

Construct wise questions are followed:

Visit Efficiency

Purchase prepartion : 2/5 of our visitors do prepare their visite on decathlon.in

We can notice an important increase of website visits

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Q3. Did you visit the Decathlon website to prepare your purchase before coming to the
store?

Dec.
May1615
June 16

59%
No
66%

41%
Yes
34%

Visit performance : Part of lost sales tends to increase.

Q7. Did you purchase anything today from this Decathlon store? / Q8. Did you make
any unplanned purchases today in this store?

Q9. Is there a particular product you were looking for but did not buy in this store
today?

Total lost sales : 27 %

The main reasons are the non-availability of the product

Q10. Why did you not buy this product?

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 The product wasn’t available (out of stock) 45%

I couldn't find the sport I was looking for 31%

The prices are too high 17%

Cash counters issues 2%

Sales staff availability & competency 6%

Competition and store traffic

½ customers hear about Decathlon by word of mouth

Q7. How did you hear about Decathlon :

Purchase prepartion : 2/5 of our visitors do prepare their visite on decathlon.in

We can notice an important increase of website visits

Q3. Did you visit the Decathlon website to prepare your purchase before coming to the
store?

60
Dec.
May1615
June 16

59%
No
66%

41%
Yes
34%

Visit performance : Part of lost sales tends to increase.

Q7. Did you purchase anything today from this Decathlon store? / Q8. Did you make
any unplanned purchases today in this store?

Q9. Is there a particular product you were looking for but did not buy in this store
today?

Total lost sales : 27 %

The main reasons are the non-availability of the product

Q10. Why did you not buy this product?

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 The product wasn’t available (out of stock) 45%

I couldn't find the sport I was looking for 31%

The prices are too high 17%

Cash counters issues 2%

Sales staff availability & competency 6%

Competition and
store traffic

½ customers hear about Decathlon by word of mouth

Q7. How did you hear about Decathlon :

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 38 %

Word of mouth 50%

By passing near a Decathlon store 32%

Advertisements / hoardings on the street 6%

Social Media 7%

Online Advertising / Banners online 5%

Competitors : The market still is leaded by international brands.

People tends to visite competitors less.

Q6. In which other stores or websites do you regularly buy sports items, apart from this
one?

63
 23%
NIKE
30%

22%
ADIDAS
25%

14%
PUMA
19%

14%
REEBOK
18%

7%
WILDCRAFT
0%

2%
SPORTZONE
17%

15%
OTHER
8%

June 16

Competitors : People tends to prefer local market.

Amazon, Flipkart and Yonex are important competitors too.

Q5. If others (15%), please note :

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 Local market 32.2%
Yonex 12.7%
Filpkart 5.7%
Amazon 5.1%
Nivia 4.8%
Sports access 4.1%
Shakti 3.5%
FILA 2.9%
Snapdeal 2.9%
Speedo 2.5%
Myntra 2.2%
North Face 1.9%
SG 1.9%
Skechers 1.9%
Asics 1.6%
Bata 1.6%
Sachdev sports 1.6%
Total sports 1.6%
Woodland 1.6%
Champion sports 1.3%
Scott 1.3%
Sports Emporium 1.3%
Power 1.0%
Rakhra Sports 1.0%
Bharath sports 0.6%
Salomon 0.6%

Logically,  store visit frequency decrease significantly with all the new stores.

Q6. On average, how many times a year do you come to THIS store?

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 39%
More than 5 times
29%

23%
2 - 5 times
53%

37%
First time
18%

June 16

Store satisfaction

Detail of grades put by our customers : it mainly moves from 9 and 10 to 7 and 8
We can notice a decrease from 9.

Q13. In general, which score from 1 to 10 would you give to the store where we are right
now?

66
 Jun-16 June 2015
45%
40% 40%
37%
35%
33%
30% 34%
25%
22%
20%
17%
15%
10% 7%
5% 2% 4%
0% 0% 0% 0% 1%
0% 1%
1 0% 20% 30% 4 0% 50% 6 7 8 9 10

X axis: Satisfaction Grade

Y axis: % customers who put the grade

The overall satisfaction decreases according to the frequency of practice of respondent.

Q13. In general, which score from 1 to 10 would you give to ...

Q17. How often do you practice sport?

Frequency of practice

The choice of products impact significantly the overall satisfaction

Q13. In general, which score from 1 to 10 would you give to ...

Gap : 2,7

Satisfaction for price has an important decrease

Q13. In general, which score from 1 to 10 would you give to ...

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Recommendation rate increase significantly to return to levels normally seen in the
barometer.

Q15. Would you recommend this Decathlon store to a friend or acquaintance?

Yes certainly Yes probably No probably not

86% 11%

80% 15%

Shoppers’ profile

Gender & age : More 25-44 years old customers than last year.

Q19. How old are you?

24%
Less than 25
27%

46%
25-34 years old
45%

25%
35-44 years old
20%

3%
45-54 years old
6%

55 years old and 1%

more 1%

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Average age in 2016 :

31,1 years old, a little bit more than 2015 (30,4 years old)

Q22. Gender of the respondent

72%
Male
73%

28%
Female
27%
June 15

We can observe customers are less sporty

Q17. How often do you practice sport?

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 35%
Everyday
35%

31%
Weekly
40%

19%
Monthly
15%

15%
Don't practice
10%

June 15

Q19. Do you have a smartphone ?

96%

MAIN FINDINGS

People interviewed this wave have a quite different profile than last year:

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- Less sporty: more and more customers don’t practice any sport (+5pts) or just monthly
(+4pts), and sporty customers decrease (-9pts).

- And slightly older: 31,1 year old in April 2016 vs 30,4 years old in June 2015.

People are less curious to visit Decathlon without planning to buy: 10% of simple visit vs.
14% in June 2015.

On the contrary there are a little more lost sales: 28% of lost sales vs. 22% last year and the
reasons of it due to the store are multiple: availability (45%), choice of product (31%) and
price (17%).

The word by mouth is the most encouraging way to hear about Decathlon (50%).

Satisfaction rates have a bit decreased this year.

Important to our customers is to improve product choice and to propose more attractive price.

Staff availability should be improved too.

Logically, store visit frequency decreases significantly with all the new stores : the part of
customers to come to a Decathlon store for the first time grow up of 19 pts.

  

CONCLUSION

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Visit efficiency

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  Purchase preparation before visiting: ¼ of customers goes on the web to prepare its
visit at Decathlon.

 The overall visit performance improved in India since June 2013 thanks to its capacity
to make customers do unplanned purchases.

 The unavailability of products still is the main reason of lost sales, at a higher level
than range of products.
.

Competition and store traffic

 Loyalty: 62% of Decathlon customers are already loyal customers in India. It’s a bit
less than in June 2013.

 Decathlon shares a lot of customers with 4 competitors : Nike, Adidas, Puma and
Reebok, but there are more exclusive customers than in 2013.

 Decathlon still is recruting new customers. (1/4 of customers has never been to the
store before this visit).

Store satisfaction

 The overall satisfaction of customers is very good in India but it has slightly
decreased since June 2013 (-5pts of very satisfied customers).

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  Detailed satisfaction: the good overall satisfaction is driven by the staff and store
concept whereas products and the prices are less perceived.

 80% of customers think that Decathlon is better than competitors on prices, range of
products and competence. This advantage is decreasing on the comparable stores.

 Recommendation and intention to return: Close to all customers are willing to

recommend and return to the store.

Shoppers’ profile

 You can continue to develop strategies of communication and business with internet

 Decathlon clientele is a very male clientele (more than 8/10) and less families.

 Sport level & travel time to the store: the interviewed sample is quite or very sporty
and live far from the Decathlon store compared to other countries.

 Events about cricket, cycling and badminton would be interesting for our customers.

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 APPENDICES

QUESTIONNAIRE

Please refer to the pointers and guidance to each question

1. How often do you practice sport?

● Everyday ● Weekly ● Monthly ● don’t practice

This is to find out if our customers practice sport and how often. This data will help you
identify your shopper’s profile. Only 1 answer can be selected .

2. How did you hear about Decathlon?

● By passing near a Decathlon store ● Word of mouth

● Online Advertising / Banners online ● Social Media ● Advertisements / hoardings on the

street

This is to find out how our customers have heard of us. This information can be very useful
in communication and also amend the current communication policies if needed.
Maximum of 2 answers can be selected .

3. Did you visit the Decathlon website before coming to the store?

● YES ● NO

This is to find out what % of our customers are aware of our website and also find out
behavioural pattern to see if customers look online before coming to the store to purchase.
.

4. In what other stores or websites do you buy sports items from?

● NIKE ● ADIDAS ● REEBOK

● PUMA ● WILDRAFT ● SPORTZONE ● WEBSITE ● OTHERS

If others, please note

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This is to find out who our competitors are. Multiple answers can be selected on this. Please
note in this question, there is an option called “OTHERS”, if the customer says Others
please fill the immediate field following that. If not it can be left blank.

5. On an average, how many times a year do you come to this Decathlon store?

● First time ● 2 - 5 times ● More than 5 times

This is to find out the frequency of visits of the customer. We have reduced the format from
the previous surveys. This question will also ascertain the new buyers to your store.

6. Did you purchase anything from the store today?

In most cases employee conducting the interview should be able to ascertain this information.

● YES ● NO

This can be marked by the interviewer if you are sure of the customer’s purchase. This will
save out on time as well.

7. Did you make any unplanned purchase in the store today?

● YES ● NO

This is to find out you had any gained sales from a customer who just came into the store.

8. Is there a particular product you were looking for but did not buy in this store today?

● YES ● NO

This is to find out if there was anything that the customer wanted and did not buy. This will
give us an idea of our stock, range and availability overall.. If the customer has said NO
to this question, please do not ask the following question.

9. Why did you not buy this product?

76
● Product wasn't available (Out of Stock) ● Couldn't find the sport / model / size i was
looking for ● Sales staff availability & competency ● Prices are high ● Cash counter
issues ● Not Applicable

This helps us ascertain what was the exact reason of the customer not buying the product. We
have clubbed a few reasons from the previous survey to ensure it is to the point. Multiple
answers can be selected. If the previous answer is NO, please mark NOT APPLICABLE
in this question.

10. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest

Each aspect to be rated on a scale with one answer for each only.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

This store we are in

Choice of products

The quality of products

Prices

Competence of sales staff

Ease with which products can be located and found

This is for the customer to be able to gauge us on the above factors. Please keep in mind this
will also result in the overall satisfaction of the customer. Each point on the scale is very
important.

77
11. Would you recommend this Decathlon store to a friend or acquaintance?

● Yes, certainly ● Yes, maybe ● No, probably not ● No, certainly not ● Don't know

This is to find out if our customers are our promoters and they promote “Decathlon”. Please
be careful in selecting the options carefully.

12. Do you have a Smartphone?

● YES ● NO

To be able to understand what % of our customers have Smart phones. This information will
be useful to ascertain on how we can help in the customers overall Omni channel journey.

13. Age

● 18 - 24 ● 25 - 34 ● 35 - 44 ● 45 - 54 ● 55 and above

Please note you cannot do this survey if the customer is lesser than 18 years of age.

14. Gender

This can be filled by the interviewer based on the respondent answering the survey.

78
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
www.decathlon.in

www.decathlon.com

www.wikipedia.com

www.google.com

www.playgroundonline.com

https://www.google.co.in/search?
q=decathlon+zirakpur&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=zFvMU8LkLoegugS5-
4D4Cg&sqi=2&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1067&bih=493

http://resellers.decathlon.in/index.php?route=account/create

http://resellers.decathlon.in/index.php?route=webreport/webreport/sportsdetails

http://www.playgroundonline.com/decathlon

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-03-28/news/48662796_1_sports-
goods-e-commerce-foreign-direct-investment

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/effect-consumer-behaviour-marketing-organization-
17934.html

https://www.google.co.in/?gws_rd=ssl#q=review+of+litreature+images

http://www.google.co.in/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fptop.only.wip.la%3A443%2Fhttp%2Fphotos.wikimapia.org%2Fp
%2F00%2F03%2F71%2F71%2F01_big.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F
%2Fwikimapia.org%2F29479544%2FDecathlon-
Zirakpur&h=457&w=700&tbnid=CAHQGlJi0j5ZRM
%3A&zoom=1&docid=1E6m83Lf0J_R_M&ei=z1vMU6HqMMi-
uATo0oK4DA&tbm=isch&ved=0CB0QMygBMAE&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=382&page=
1&start=0&ndsp=7

https://www.google.co.in/search?
q=decathlon+photo&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=fT_MU7twzLC4BPT5gsgL&v
ed=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1067&bih=493#q=decathlon+france&tbm=isch

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