FOREWORD
Building A Design Edge
Indian businesses have realised the strategic value of design, finally
Feroz Ahmed
08 Aug 2008
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ADVANTAGE POINTS:
Products such as Titan
Aviator, LG Scarlet LCD,
Tanishq jewellery, and
Mahindra Scorpio have
distinguished themselves
with design |
Indian consumers like their products at a bargain, but they still like them pretty, trendy and user-friendly. No more can Indian or multinational companies get rich in India by dumping, dated or clumsy products on Indian consumers.
“In India, aesthetics and design have been neglected, but now businesses have recognised the importance of design,” says Anand Mahindra, vice-chairman and managing director of Mumbai-based auto major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M). “They have discovered that Indian consumers are sensitive to design even in low-cost products.” He points out that Maruti Suzuki’s mid-range hatchback Swift is selling extremely well for this reason despite not being the cheapest or the most fuel-efficient car in its category.
C.V. Raman, Maruti Suzuki’s chief general manager for R&D, concurs only too readily. “Aesthetics and trendiness are becoming as important factors to Indian consumers as price,” he says. That is also the reason, according to him, for the Swift’s new, 3-box variant DZire selling faster than a roomier and more fuel-efficient Logan from Mahindra Renault.
Raman also points out that instead of offering outdated or unsuitable cars to Indian consumers, the global car makers are now designing cars specific to Indian consumers’ needs and preferences. For example, Renault has set up a design studio in India and it plans to create a small car in partnership with Bajaj Auto. and Ford is working on an Indian version of its 2007 small car, Verve.
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| (pic by Sanjay Sakaria) |
Design is also the vehicle that Indian automakers are using to gatecrash into the global markets. For example, the Hoshiarpur-based farm equipment maker, Sonalika Group’s fledgling car company, Indian Cars and Motor (ICML) has hired the Turin-based design firm, Pininfarina, to design a saloon and an SUV on a common platform. “We want vehicles that we can sell in Europe as well as India,” says Raman Mittal, director of ICML.
Watchmaker Titan Industries and its jewellery division Tanishq are also using design to open up new markets at home and abroad. “We don’t have the watchmaking heritage like European brands, so we focus on contemporary designs,” says Suparna Mitra, head of marketing at Titan. The company has carved a niche in the Middle-East and South-east Asia with its ultra- slim Edge watches. Now it is trying to reach out to global consumers through its Aviator Series.
Tanishq has used design innovation to break the stranglehold of traditional jewellers in the Indian market and become the largest jewellery brand in India. It has made an encouraging start in the US market offering locally relevant minimalist designs.
According to Kishore Biyani, chairman of Mumbai-headquartered Future Group, India’s biggest retailer, design is becoming a critical component of business strategy for Indian companies, particularly in retail. “Our stores are designed for crowding as Indian consumers tend to shop where others are already shopping,” he says, adding, “And the visual cues in the stores are arranged to evoke greed and fear among customers with the objective of making them buy more now, instead of economising or deferring their purchases.”
Design comes in handy to push a product up the value chain. Bangalore-based United Spirits (USL) is using creative blending and packaging to lift its Romanov vodka brand from the bottom of the market to the mid rungs. The company launched Romanov Red in July with an altered formula and a dramatically new packaging. Romanov Red is made with alcohol produced from multiple grains instead of the molasses-derived alcohol used in the regular Romanov. More importantly, it packaged the new, improved Romanov in a red bottle with the label printed on the bottle itself. The company is charging 40 per cent more for Romanov Red compared to the regular Romanov, though its packaging cost is 15 per cent lower.
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Taj Mahal Hotel in Delhi has used design to turn a low-potential nook of its property into a premium restaurant. In May, the hotel opened its Japanese restaurant, Wasabi, below its lobby, an area where there is no view and no natural light. But, its designer, London-based Marioandtheo, ensured that customers do not sense that by turning Wasabi into a theatre of lights, blending coloured lights with white lights. The restaurant is patronised by the capital’s elite and global travellers, according to restaurant manager Akshay Tripathi.
Still, design is yet to permeate Indian business pervasively. According to Darlie O. Koshy, director of Ahmedabad-based National Institute of Design, the outstanding examples of Indian companies having used design for building corporate brand and gaining a competitive edge in the market at home and abroad are still limited to a few groups such as the Tatas.
However, as Indian consumers get exposed to global goodies, they are unwilling to accept anything but the best and the latest. So, companies have no option but to infuse their offerings with innovative and aesthetic designs. Else, the borders are open.
feroz (dot) ahmed (at) abp (dot) in
(Businessworld Issue 11-18 Aug)
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