Country adding five million new wireless connections per month

In rural India, carrying around a $44 mobile phone can be something of a status symbol. Or at least it has been for Pandurang Narayan Shelke, a 55-year-old farmer in Latur, a village in the west Indian state of Maharashtra. Last January his son, who works as a porter at Bombay's Victoria Terminus railway station, bought him a low-end Nokia 1100 handset. Shelke had coveted one for years. And, now, "my stock has gone up considerably with my poor relatives, as I can talk to my son whenever I want," he says.

Shelke's small step into the world of wireless communications is part of a much larger drama unfolding in the Indian telecom market, once a backwater but now the world's fastest-growing after China. The number of fixed and wireless telephone connections has doubled in the past two years, to about 150 million, and Indians are signing up for mobile-phone service at an extraordinary five million new wireless connections a month. The Ministry of Telecom has set a target for India to have 250 million connections and mobile coverage for 85 percent of the country—from about 30 percent today— some time in 2007.

While India has a very long way to go in establishing a nationwide network of landline telecom networks, let alone high-speed broadband service, paradoxically, the country could overtake China in the next several years in terms of mobile-phone subscription growth. Rolling out towers and base stations to support wireless networks certainly isn't cheap. But it likely will be wireless networks—not copper-wire fixed lines—that do most to pull India out of the telecommunication dark ages.

India's rise as a mobile phone megamarket also comes at a time of market saturation in Europe, Japan, and the U.S. Global handset makers such as Nokia, Motorola and LG Electronics all see emerging markets such as India as key revenue drivers for the industry in the years ahead. The trick in India is positioning stellar brands at the low end of the market. Nokia, for instance, sells about 45 models in India. Yet its biggest seller, accounting for 15 percent of sales in India, is the basic 1100 model for $44 that is turning heads in villages like Latur. Motorola will launch a handset for under $30 in October.

Nokia has established a big, early lead in India with a dominant 63 percent share, followed by LG (13 percent), Motorola (8.5 percent) and Samsung (3.5 percent), which may have made a strategic mistake globally by sticking to high-end, feature-loaded handsets.

There could be rollicking good times ahead for handset makers with the right business model in India. Analysts think there is a replacement market in the 85 million range (mostly better-off urban dwellers) already in place. Moreover, India's relatively young population—it is home to the biggest under-25 age cohort on the planet—suggests a steady stream of first-time subscribers. Early in 2006 Nokia opened a handset factory in Madras that is churning out one million handsets a month, and company executives think they could eventually sell 400 million mobile phones in India.

That said, there are huge challenges that, if unresolved, could disrupt the India growth curve. To really develop India's full potential, local telecom providers will need to spend massive amounts of money to expand coverage to the country's sprawling rural regions. "A lot depends on how fast the players roll out their networks into the rural hinterland," says Kuldeep Goyal, a general manager with the government-owned telecom carrier BSNL.

The good news is that sizable investments are underway. BSNL is spending around $4 billion over the next three years on rural coverage as well as broadband and optical fiber network expansion. In its largest markets, such as the states of Maharashtra and Goa, it will increase its 1,200 base stations to 3,000 by March of 2007. Another major India telecom, Reliance Infocomm, is expected to invest around $550 million through the end of the decade, mainly outside of major urban centers.

VOCABULARY:

roll out - зд. производить в большом количестве

 

TRANSLATION NOTES:

That said, there are huge challenges that, if unresolved, could disrupt the India growth curve. – Однако (тем не менее), существуют очень серьёзные проблемы, которые, если их не разрешить, могут негативно отразиться на показателях экономического роста Индии. (См. часть Ш, раздел 10)

 

 

VOCABULARY CHECK

1) Маркетинговая «смесь» (маркетинг-микс) включает в себя анализ собственно продукции, цен, схемы распространения, рекламы, а также анализ потенциальных продавцов и покупателей.

2) Доля рынка – это удельный вес данной компании или товара в обороте всего рынка.

3) Сегментация рынка – разделение рынка на подгруппы на основе возраста, уровня доходов и др. характеристик покупателей с целью выяснения их интересов и определение предложения товара конкретно для каждой группы населения.

4) "Денежная корова" - направление деятельности или товар с низкими темпами роста и большой долей рынка. Компания использует такой бизнес для оплаты своих счетов и для поддержки других элементов бизнеса, требующих инвестирования.

5) Продажа товара по цене ниже цены конкурента ведет к ценовым войнам.

6) Насыщение рынка – это ситуация, когда весь имеющийся на рынке спрос на определенный товар полностью удовлетворен.

 

 

SECTION 3 PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND BRANDS; UPMARKET AND DOWNMARKET

LEAD-IN

In marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a market that might satisfy a want or need. However it is much more than just a physical object. It is the complete bundle of benefits or satisfactions that buyers perceive they will obtain if they purchase the product. It is the sum of all physical, psychological, symbolic, and service attributes

Products are sometimes referred to as goods, for example in the expression fast-moving consumer goods, or FMCG.

White goods are things such as washing machines and refrigerators. Brown goods are things such as televisions and hi-fi equipment. Goods are also referred to formally as merchandise.

Services are activities such as banking, tourism, or entertainment that contributes to the economy but which may not directly involve manufacturing. Services may be referred to informally as products.

Products have a life-cycle, and forward-thinking companies are continually developing new products to replace products whose sales are declining and coming to the end of their lives. A 'total product' includes the image of the product as well as its features and benefits. In marketing terms, political candidates and non-profit-making public services are also 'products' that people must be persuaded to 'buy' and which have to be presented and packaged attractively.

New products are introduced or launched onto the market. If a defect is found in a product after it is launched, it may be recalled: customers may be asked to return the defective product for checks. A product that a company no longer wants to make available is withdrawn from the market.

Products, for example skis, exist in different models. Some are basic, some more sophisticated. The cheapest skis are low-end or bottom-end. The most expensive ones are high-end or top-end products, designed for experienced users (or people with a lot of money!). The cheapest entry-level skis are for beginners who have never bought skis before. Those in between are mid-range. If you buy sophisticated skis to replace basic ones, you trade up and move upmarket. If you buy cheaper skis after buying more expensive ones, you trade down and move downmarket.

Mass market describes goods that sell in large quantities and the people who buy them. For example, family cars are a mass market product. A niche or niche market is a small group of buyers with special needs, which may be profitable to sell to. For example, sports cars are a niche in the car industry.

A brand is the symbolic embodiment of all the information connected with a product or service. A brand typically includes a name, logo, and other visual elements such as images or symbols. It also encompasses the set of expectations associated with a product or service which typically arise in the minds of people.

Marketers seek to develop the expectations comprising the brand experience through branding, so that a brand carries the "promise" that a product or service has a certain quality or characteristic which make it special or unique. A brand image may be developed by attributing a "personality" to or associating an "image" with a product or service, whereby the personality or image is "branded" into the consciousness of consumers. A brand which is widely known in the marketplace acquires brand recognition or brand awareness.

Products that are not branded, not sold under a brand name, are generic products, or generics. This applies especially to pharmaceutical drugs.

 

VOCABULARY

product	- продукция, продукт; товары (произведенные товары и услуги (напр., компанией или страной)); объем продукции
goods commodities merchandise durable goods manufactured goods consumer goods	- товар; товары     - товары длительного пользования - фабрикаты, промышленные товары - потребительские товары, товары народного потребления
fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)	- ходовые товары широкого потребления, товары повседневного спроса
white goods	- “белые” товары: техника, используемая в домашнем хозяйстве и обычно окрашенная в белый цвет (отсюда и название): холодильники, посудомоечные машины, микроволновые печи, стиральные машины и т. д.
brown goods	- "коричневые" товары: электрооборудование для домашнего хозяйства и отдыха: тостеры, утюги, электрические чайники, телевизоры, радиоприемники, стереосистемы и т. д.
services	- услуги, обслуживание, сервис
life cycle	- жизненный цикл: совокупность всех стадий жизни продукта - от разработки концепции до прекращения эксплуатации
introduce a product launch a product	- выводить (новый товар на рынок)
recall a product withdraw a product	- отозвать товар с рынка; прекратить продажу товара
downmarket (BrE) low-end market bottom-end market lower end of the market downscale market (AmE)	- нижние эшелоны рынка: рынок товаров для небогатых покупателей, предпочитающих покупать товары по низким или сниженным ценам
upmarket (BrE) high- end market high-income market top-end market upscale market (AmE)	- элитный рынок, верхние эшелоны рынка: рынок товаров для состоятельных потребителей с уровнем дохода и образования выше среднего
entry-level	- доступный по деньгам для первичных покупателей того или иного товара; упрощенный, упрощенной модели (простые в дизайне и недорогие предметы техники)
trade up	- менять: продавать менее дорогую вещь с целью покупки более дорогой вещи
trade down	- менять: продавать что-либо дорогое с целью покупки дешевого (напр. покупать квартиру с меньшей площадью после продажи квартиры с большей площадью)
mass market	- рынок товаров массового производства
niche market	- сегмент (сектор) рынка: группа потребителей на рынке, имеющих схожие потребности
brand	- торговая марка, товарный знак, бренд: определенное название, знак, символ или дизайн товара, идентифицируемые в сознании потребителей с данным товаром и отличающие его от товаров конкурентов
logo logotype	- логотип
branding	- брендинг, создание бренда, продвижение торговой марки
brand recognition	- узнаваемость марки, осведомленность о марке
brand awareness	- знание марки: осознание широкой публикой факта существования марки и качества выпускаемых под ним продуктов
branded goods	- марочные товары: товары, продаваемые под торговой маркой (производителя или продавца), т. е. имеющие идентифицирующие их названия и символы
generic product generics	- немарочный товар: товар, не имеющий торговой марки; не рекламируется, имеет дешевую упаковку и продается по ценам ниже сходного продукта известной фирмы

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS:

1) What can the term “product” refer to?

2) What goods are called white goods? brown goods?

3) Give examples of fast-moving consumer goods.

4) What is a “total product”?

5) When are products recalled from the market?

6) What terms are used to describe cheap and expensive products?

7) What is the difference between upmarket and downmarket?

8) What does a life-cycle of a product depend on?

9) What is a brand of a product and what does it include?

10) What are the ways of developing a brand image?

 

VOCABULARY PRACTICE

Our poll shows significant rises in those who say they plan to buy a TV or video, though there is still little movement in the index for white goods such as fridges and freezers.

The popularity of home entertainment will be maintained over the period, with sales of brown goods such as televisions and hi-fi equipment, set to increase by 35 per cent, the report says.

Dell has made its biggest product launch so far, with 18 new PCs to replace its current line.

Marketing programs are designed to enhance brand awareness and establish favorable, strong, and unique brand associations in memory so that consumers purchase the product or service.

Health authorities all round the world are trying to cut drug costs by using generic products and restricting price increases on branded drugs.

With this type of equipment in the US, product life cycles are so short that product launches are very frequent.

 

TEXTS TO TRANSLATE:

45. LG's White-Hot White Goods