Principles Of Marketing

Principles of Marketing

Principles of Marketing Utility stores

Assignment # 2 Presented to: Prof.Dr Siddiqi Presented by: MBA-I Utility stores in Karachi: Successful or Not 1

Principles of Marketing

Introduction: Utility stores are the stores in which consumer goods are available at cheaper rates. These stores are developed and maintained by the government. In almost all the societies, there is a general tendency to acquire more and more wealth by all means. Similar situation was also being faced by Pakistan where majority of the private traders were applying tactics like creation of artificial shortages of essential items of consumption, black-marketing, charging high prices etc. The public had become hostages in the hands of the unscrupulous traders and had no option but to buy from them at what ever prices they demanded. In order to tide over this situation, and to provide economic relief to the public, the Federal Government established Utility Stores Corporation (USC) in July 1971 and placed it under the control of Ministry of Industries, Production & Special Initiatives. The USC started its operations by taking over 20 stores from the staff Welfare Organization, of the Establishment Division and gradually started increasing its numbers. To exercise better command and control, the USC established Regional Offices in different big cities to cater to the requirements of these additional stores in an organized and economical manner. Some Government and private departments also invited USC to open its stores for their employees for which they provided rent-free store accommodation. The USC also opened a large number of stores in different cities and towns by acquiring shops on rent at market rates.

Purpose : The USC is committed to provide clean, graded, hygienically fit, unadulterated genuine food and non-food items to the public and especially to the poorer segments of the society, at comparatively cheaper rates than the market and to offer them a pleasant environment of mutual confidence while making their purchases. It is also committed towards its obligation to provide economic relief to the public by playing its role as a price moderator and deterrent to profiteering, hoarding and black-marketing

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Principles of Marketing

Objectives: The basic objective of the USC is to provide essential and other items of daily use to the public, specially the poorer segments of the society, at prices comparatively lower than the market. It is, therefore, required to act as a price moderator and deterrent to profiteering, hoarding and black marketing, thereby to provide economic relief to the public.

Operations and Functions The entire operations of USC are monitored by a Board of Directors which periodically provides policy guidelines. The Secretary, Industries, Production and Special Initiatives are Chairman of the Board of Directors. The operational activities of the USC are managed by the Managing Director who is assisted by Six General Managers. It has presently Fifteen (15) Regional Offices which are headed by Regional Managers and monitored / supervised by four Zonal Managers. In order to exercise better command & control and to conduct stores operations in a disciplined and more organized manner, new Regional Offices are being opened in main cities under the expansion programme. Each Regional Manager is assisted by Accounts Officer, Area Managers and other staff. Each USC Region operates stores in its Region. These stores are supplied the required goods through Trucks from the Regional Warehouse which are established in all USC Regions. The sale prices are fixed by the Head Office located at Islamabad. The Head Office makes procurements centrally and places orders on the suppliers to deliver goods to the Regional Warehouses based on their fortnightly / monthly demands. The stores sell goods and deposit sale proceeds in the local designated bank branches on daily or twice a day basis from where these are remitted on daily basis to the Head Office which release payments to the suppliers on due dates Region / Province wise total stores in operation as on 30th June 2006 are 560.. On the direction of the Government, the USC under a phased programme, is opening 440 new Utility Stores throughout the country. With the opening of these stores, all Districts and Tehsil Headquarters / Talukas in the country will be covered.

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Principles of Marketing

Major Items The USC is presently retailing over 2500 food & non food items of daily consumption. Major items being sold by the USC are given below. On an average, a customer when purchases kitchen and other items from the Utility Stores makes a saving of 8% to 10% as compared with the purchases of identical items from a private retailer. The items sold at Utility Stores are hygienically fit, unadulterated, genuine, clean, graded, of correct weight and are cheaper than the marke

Prices of Major Items as On 18-08-2007 S. No 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24.

Name of items Super Basmati Rice Tota Rice Sugar Dal Chana Moong Washed Mash Washed White Gram Dal Masoor Tapal Danedar Tea 200 gms Tapal Danedar Tea 400 gms Yellow Label Tea 200 gms (Leaf) Supreme Tea 250 gms Rooh Afza 800 ml Jam-e-Shireen Lu Candi 160 gm Lu Tuc Fauji CornFlakes 225 gms Rafhan Custard 300 gms Nido 400 gms Everyday 400 gms Rose Petal Tissue Paper Luxury Dentonic Tooth Paste 50 gms (Sensitive) Dentonic Tooth Paste 75 gms (Sensitive) Shezan Tomato Ketchup 830 gms 4

USC Sale

Retail Market

Price 45.00 25.00 25.00 29.00 47.00 57.00 59.00 57.00 54.00 100.00 61.00 62.50 79.00 81.00 21.00 21.00 55.00 34.00 138.00 124.00 46.00 27.00 36.00 77.00

Price 55.00 to 60.00 30.00 to 33.00 28.00 to 30.00 33.00 to 35.00 51.00 to 53.00 68.00 to 72.00 62.00 to 64.00 58.00 to 62.00 57.00 105.00 64.00 65.00 80.00 85.00 22.00 22.00 60.00 35.00 145.00 130.00 48.00 30.00 40.00 80.00

Principles of Marketing

25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 42.

Mango Pickle 325 gms (Shezan) Mango Pickle 1000 gms (Shezan) Apple Jam 440 gms (Shezan) National Roonaq Biryani Masala 50 gms National Roonaq Bombay Biryani Masala 70 gms USC Red Chilli Powder 200 gms USC Turemeric Powder 100 gms USC Garam Masala Powder 50 gms USC Coriander Powder 200 gms H/P USC Crystal Iodized Salt 800 gms USC Kenya Tea 200 gms Utility Ghee 1 Kg Pouch Utility Cooking Oil 1 Ltr Utility Manpasand Ghee 1Kg Utility Manpasand Oil 1Ltr Sufi Washing Soap P.Kg

48.00 117.00 60.00 21.00

50.00 122.00 65.00 22.00

21.00

22.00

34.00 10.00 18.00 16.00 8.00 47.00 67.00 67.00 67.00 67.00 62.00

36.00 to 39.00 15.00 28.00 26.00 14.00 57.00 91.00 91.00 91.00 91.00 64.00

Utility stores in Karachi Store Code No. KI-0010 KI-0064 KI-0067 KI-0068 KI-0046

Name of Store Gulshan 13/C Sumera Centre Gulshan-e-Iqbal Block 13/C Karachi Gulshan-e-Johar 16/A Karachi Dewan-e-Khas Karachi Gulshan 4/B Karachi Defence 31/C 1st Border Commercial Area Phase-V PDOHA, Karachi

Super Stores in Karachi 1. Agha’s 2. Imtiaz1 3. Imtiaz2 4. Naheed

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Principles of Marketing

5. Shahid Iqbal 6. D-mart 7. Forum 8. Park towers

Price List of D-Mart Category

Description

Price

pulses

Bajra 1kg

Rs. 20

Pulses

Black channa 1kg

Rs. 42

Pulses

Kabli channa 1kg

Rs.64

Pulses

Red lobia 1kg

Rs. 56

Pulses

White lobia 1kg

Rs.58

Flour

Al-khubz atta 10 kg

Rs. 205

Flour

Ashrafi chakki atra

Rs. 225

Flour

10 kg Asian atta 5kg

Rs. 120

Flour

Haseeb atta 5kg

Rs. 110

Flour

bake parlor atta

Rs.140

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Principles of Marketing

Ghee

Adam’s desi ghee

Rs. 195

Ghee

tin 1kg Aseel pure ghee

Rs. 240

Ghee

500 kg Dalda banaspati

Rs. 112

Ghee

Gold’n palm

Rs. 379

Services in Super Stores and Utility Stores: The facilities and services are very good in the super stores. To do shopping in big stores is very comfortable. Many stores or almost all of the super stores have air conditioners for their customers keeping in view their customer’s conformability. In super stores there is variety of goods and products. All the products are well arranged over there and they have their staff in their stores in order to help he customers. the paying system in these stores is very organizing and time saving. These stores provide car parking for their customers and all these facilities make such stores better and distinguishable from the utility stores. Many people who are busy and they don’t like the congested areas they prefer to buy their things from such super stores and they also get plenty of variety in the same store that makes them more convenient. Apart from all such services and facilities these super stores are pretty expensive and a normal mediocre cannot afford such process. Such stores are better or comfortable for the rich and business class. But the question arises what other class of the economy do? For the rest of the classes of our society government has opened utility stores. Grocery items

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Principles of Marketing

are available at lower prices on such stores and people buy their items for such stores. But in such stores there are lots of people and they have to face long queues.

Conclusion: The utility stores are providing a good service to poor people. By providing the consumer goods at cheaper rates government is trying to eliminate the poverty from the country. However it is not that easy to eliminate the poverty completely but providing such incentives government can insure that some steps are being taken for the poor people and they are also given some incentives. But there are lots of people in the utility stores and there are long queue in such stores and people have to wait for too long even in hours for their turn and it is kind of hectic for them. And also such stores do not have facilities like air conditioners, cooperative staff, variety of goods . And these stores provide limited of goods. Because of these reasons or problems utility stores are not that successful but they are not even unsuccessful and also government is trying to expand the number of the utility stores and trying to make them successful.

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