Case study of KUNDAN MISHTHAN BHANDAR Background: KMB came into existence in way back 1947.The original founders were “Lala Prakash Cahnd ji” and “ Lala Kundan Lal ji”. They initiated with just providing “Rewaris” and “lassis” to the people of Ramnagar Uttarakhand. They have a clear cut idea of “Good ethics is good business”. However an expansion took place in 1951 when a whole hearted sweet shop was opened in Ramnagar itself. They were the biggest importer of “coke” at that time for the region. And after that KMB Ramnagar came out as a full fledged restaurant that deals in Small meals and snacks and south Indian dishes. The second branch was opened in Kashipur in the year 2004 dated 4th may. They have a tag line attached to them saying “Sweetening your relationship”. Case Details: KMB is a major brand of sweets in Ramnagar and Kashipur region. Since they deal in Food Industry hence their major concerning issues have always been of providing customers with “A high Qualitied Product”. Since the very beginning, the brand 'KMB' had been renowned for its quality products. Given the increasing popularity of KMB in Ramnagar, the group planned to expand its operations and opened the second branch in kashipur. The Kashipur operations are under the charge of three people namely “Mr. Anil Arora,” “Mr. Satyam Arora” and Mr. “Ashokam Arora.” The brand faced tough competition from sweets and snack food vendors in the unorganized market of kashipur. Some of the major and really old players were “Naman Sweets,” Ram Sweets” “Manohar Sweets” “Shankar Sweets” etc. but the neck to neck and direct competition was providede by “Naman sweets” who were into the field since last 14 years..Moreover, the group had to overcome internal problems as well like investment problems etc and the quality of the raw materials used was also an issue to be paid full attention to. However KMB with determination and commitment and strong Business Strategies, raised gradually and overcomed “Naman Sweets” at present day. Stared from a scratch they slowly and gradually owned a major share in the sweet industry in near by areas too. Customers from near by areas of Rudrapur, Gadarpur, Bazpur, Kichcha, also approach KMB on special occasions and festivals. They have a major customer share in the form of near-by Industries, and secondly retail customers. The brand name is an asset to them. The sweets ranging from a price of 120 per kg to 1400 per kg are served to the customers moreover another feather to the cap was added with the retailing of “Chaat and Gol gappas” . Another innovated function is of manufacturing and selling of “KMB Namkeens”. The Manufacturing, Packaging, and Distribution is all handled by the Management of KMB itself. The Management is supported by A team of Personnel consisting 28
people which include Cooks, Sales persons, Marketing Staff(Seasonal), store operators, Guards, etc. Their promotional Techniques basically consists of providing free samples for taste to customers, Promotional stationary, Print media advertising, and Special Discounts to regular customers. The core concept of “Quality assurance” is implemented at every level from manufacturing to sales. The staff is enabled to wear caps and gloves to assure hygiene. Moreover A personal Laboratory is maintained to check the authenticity of the raw materials brought. The current challenges include the Core Competition from other retailers dealing in the same industry, the increasing trend of chocolates during festive seasons, to deal with the hoaxes and myths related to the quality of raw materials during festive season management of the personnel, moreover the unplanned challenges that occur during the course of business. One such incident occurred on 4th October 2011 when whole of the retail outlet was burnt due to short circuit and lead to a severe loss for the firm and it being a peak time for the “Sweet industry” because of Dussehra and Diwali added more complexities for the firm. However the determination and commitment towards the Business paid well-off for the firm and due to good contacts and immediately planned management strategies the Operations of the business were started normally on 6th October 2011 itself which seems to be an impossible task for any one of us. The future Vision and ideation of the Firm includes: accelerating the Quality consciousness approach, and hence had already applied for ISO 9001 certification and are planning for certifying their products under the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) certification. Moreover they plan to appear as a full-fledged player in the “Namkeen” manufacturing and distribution market so that the KMB Namkeens are made available to distant customers as well. The most bulled eyed plan of the firm is to open a food court that deals in snacks and small meals for the food loving customers at the kashipur branch. Q.1 What do you think were the main reasons, of KMB overcoming the oldest players of the sweet industry in kashipur? Q.2 Do you think the snack bar idea implementation will prove to be fruitful for the firm? Is there enough value in expansion of the brand? Q.3 Any suggestions and Recommendations for the Firm?
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people which include Cooks, Sales persons, Marketing Staff(Seasonal), store operators, Guards, etc. Their promotional Techniques basically consists of providing free samples for taste to customers, Promotional stationary, Print media advertising, and Special Discounts to regular customers. The core concept of “Quality assurance” is implemented at every level from manufacturing to sales. The staff is enabled to wear caps and gloves to assure hygiene. Moreover A personal Laboratory is maintained to check the authenticity of the raw materials brought. The current challenges include the Core Competition from other retailers dealing in the same industry, the increasing trend of chocolates during festive seasons, to deal with the hoaxes and myths related to the quality of raw materials during festive season management of the personnel, moreover the unplanned challenges that occur during the course of business. One such incident occurred on 4th October 2011 when whole of the retail outlet was burnt due to short circuit and lead to a severe loss for the firm and it being a peak time for the “Sweet industry” because of Dussehra and Diwali added more complexities for the firm. However the determination and commitment towards the Business paid well-off for the firm and due to good contacts and immediately planned management strategies the Operations of the business were started normally on 6th October 2011 itself which seems to be an impossible task for any one of us. The future Vision and ideation of the Firm includes: accelerating the Quality consciousness approach, and hence had already applied for ISO 9001 certification and are planning for certifying their products under the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) certification. Moreover they plan to appear as a full-fledged player in the “Namkeen” manufacturing and distribution market so that the KMB Namkeens are made available to distant customers as well. The most bulled eyed plan of the firm is to open a food court that deals in snacks and small meals for the food loving customers at the kashipur branch. Q.1 What do you think were the main reasons, of KMB overcoming the oldest players of the sweet industry in kashipur? Q.2 Do you think the snack bar idea implementation will prove to be fruitful for the firm? Is there enough value in expansion of the brand? Q.3 Any suggestions and Recommendations for the Firm?
doc_323832778.doc