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| Vegetables with the maximum profits are corriander and chillies |
For those who prefer more hygiene, there are water vendors at many places such as the metro stations in Delhi who dole out branded bottled water from 20 liter cans for Re 1. Though they sell other products such as coffee and tea, water is what boosts their sales the most during summer. A quick calculation reveals that they sell 100 glasses of water per 20 liter can, which costs anywhere from Rs 30 to 60 depending on the brand. Since Bisleri retails at Rs 60, they make a profit of Rs 40 per can.
Vegetable sellers
Eighteen-year-old Sandeep Kumar has recently joined his uncle’s trade of vegetable vending. His uncle owns a small pushcart that is just enough to display 15 different varieties of vegetables. He mostly has seasonal vegetables, but the things that he stocks up for sure are items like onions, potatoes, tomatoes, coriander and chillies. He explains, “These are the items that that sell the most as they are used in most Indian dishes. I generally buy 5 kg of tomatoes, potatoes and onions, and 1 kg of coriander and chillies daily.”
Ask him about the profit margin on each vegetable and he is quick to add, “The money that I make is just enough to feed my family. Items like tomatoes, potatoes and onions are the most in demand. People who come to buy vegetables bargain a lot, leaving us with a meager profit margin of Rs 4 to 5 per kg. On the other hand, vegetables with the most profit margin are coriander and chillies.” Probe him more and he says, “Today’s rate for coriander was Rs 30. Generally when a customer buys vegetables for a significant amount we give coriander and chillies for free, otherwise we charge Re 1. The retail price is Rs 5 for 100 gm, and calculating on that basis we earn up to Rs 50. Therefore, we earn a profit Rs 20.” Besides these, he sometimes also sells lemons for Re 1 each. He says, “Lemons comes at Rs 50 per kg for us. In a kg there are about 50. We generally sell three lemons for Rs 5, but sometimes we sell it for Re 1 when business is low or the lemon is a day old or somebody wants just one lemon.”
| DARE/did you know? |
| In holy cities like Vrindavan and Mathura, you can get coins worth Rs 9 for Rs 10? Pilgrims who visit these holy cities buy these coins for offerings at the temple or giving alms. In fact, not so long ago, you could get coins worth 90 paisa in exchange for Re 1! Cost-per-thousand impressions or CPM is a very common term in Internet advertising. It refers to the cost per 1,000 page impressions in online advertising. The current rate for CPM is around Rs 88 to Rs 440, which means one impression costs about 0.08 to 0.44 paisa! |
Sachets that retail for Re 1
Of late, a number of companies are bringing out smaller packs of their products to attract more consumers. Explaining the logic behind this, Jagdeep Kapoor, chairman of Samsika Marketing Consultants, explains, “Introducing smaller packs has several advantages. One is that it acts as a trial pack and helps attract new consumers who want to try out the product. The second advantage is that these low-priced products are those that are bought frequently, as consumers may not buy certain products in bulk due to the affordability factor. The third advantage is that smaller packs also help in increasing penetration, especially in rural markets.”
When a new product is launched, a consumer may initially be hesitant to buy a bigger pack. Trial packs are also beneficial when a consumer wants to try another products in the same category, for example, shampoos. Therefore, smaller packs help in generating more trials. “In recent times more and more products are getting into the Re 1 fray to increase trials by consumers, to penetrate the never-used segment and also to increase the frequency of purchase of such products. Therefore, Re 1 is an excellent price point for consumers to try, buy and, if satisfied, re-buy,” says Kapoor.
The hologram industry
There are certain products that come cheaper when bought in bulk—one is holograms. In India, the trend of using holograms started in the early 1990s mainly as a measure to counterfeit piracy. Today, a number of industries such as FMCG, pharmaceuticals, computer software and hardware, make use of holograms extensively. In fact, the government of India is one of the biggest users of holograms in India for voter ID cards, driving licenses, passports etc. Pankaj Kumar, senior sales manager of Kumbhat Holographics, says, “Holograms can be quite inexpensive when bought in bulk. The price of a 7x7 mm hologram can be as less as 1 paisa when you order 7 lakh prints. For Re 1 the size can go up to 40 x 40 mm for a minimum order size of Rs 7,000.”
| DARE/50 things that retail for Re 1 or less | |
| 01. Matches 02. Confectionaries: toffees, gums 03. A glass of water at roadside vendors 04. Stationary: erasers, sharpeners 05. A phone call 06. Kites 07. Shampoo sachets 08. Vegetables: coriander, lemons etc 09. Candles 10. Paper cups/plates 11. Stamps/postcards 12. Use of roadside weighing machines 13. Photocopying 14. Some medicines 15. Waste paper 16. Balloons 17. Golguppas 18. Bindis 19. Stickers 20. Greeting cards 21. Holograms when bought in bulk 22. Screen printing in bulk 23. One mosquito coil 24. White paper sheets 25. Small coconut pieces at roadside stalls | 26. Loose flowers 27. Some crackers 28. Rangoli/Holi colors 29. Thread 30. Needles 31. Marbles 32. Chalk 33. Nails/screws 34. Used bottles 35. Some local cigarettes such as Rustam available in Patna 36. Blades 37. Perfume samplers 38. Ice 39. Loose beedis 40. Digestive tablets 41. Chewing tobacco 42. Paper caps 43. Buttons 44. Salt/sugar sachets 45. One online impression of an ad 46. Jam sachets 47. Oil sachets 48. Whistles 49. Toothpicks/earbuds 50. Use of public urinals |
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written by Rashmi Priya, November 16, 2009
Its really a very good measure taken by companies to increase penetration in to all segments.
written by Prem Parmar, November 07, 2009
I m sending you the old Magazine of DARE soft copy available on net.
waiting for ur reply
Prem Parmar
written by Ankur, July 07, 2009
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