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Saikat Sengupta

Get some external perspective: hire people for senior positions who are not bogged down by family history and can take harsh decisions on product lines and their continuation based solely on performance rather than sentiments.

Tushar Gulavani

The Pendharkars must adapt to the mall culture that is catching up in India. They must focus on multi-brand tie-ups with giants such as Big Bazaar, Reliance, etc, and have their products sold through these outlets, as this is where India’s 350 million-odd middle-class population shops.

Vishal Khandelwal

Pendharkar Bros must focus on one or more big ideas and work to make them successful. After all, Haldiram is known for its bhujia and not any other of its 100-odd snacks. Or like K C Das of Kolkata, which is known for its roshogullas. The Pendharkars also need to identify their niche and focus on developing it.

Souvik Gupta

They can attract customers by starting a policy of slashed rates for all sales after 8 pm. To convince the franchisees, the Pendharkars can initially subsidize them for the extra cost.

Souvik Bhadra

Merge some of the companies within the Pendharkar Group that are involved in related sectors to create a distinct and comprehensive sweets-and-snacks company (say, Company X). Then synergize the marketing and distribution networks of these companies under the merged company.

Manish Agarwal

Branding is important in the organized sector and Pendharkar Bros lack that. While they have a monopoly on chivda, it is mostly known locally, and the end customer has not been educated that 'chivda' and 'Pendharkar Bros' are synonymous.

Avinash Unni

They should tie up with production houses such as Balaji Telefilms to have product placements in their shows. This will help capture the attention of the ‘family audience’.

Desi

Spin off the dairy business! Sell it to Milky Way with a buy-back arrangement. Keep them engaged in the dairy business while you figure out the best step forward with your sweets business. At least your competitor is now tackling your problems instead of you!

Prashant Govindan

Local distribution could be split into two distinct business groups: savories and sweets. The reason for this is simple. Dairy-based sweets are perishable and need a cold chain to preserve their freshness. They also need to be consumed quickly. Therefore, the distribution network needs to be tightly-knit and should allow for withdrawal of expired products. This is best achieved through their own chain of branded retail outlets or franchised outlets.

Sapana Dwivedi

Their profit margin is very low, and due to competition, it is not advisable to increase the price of their products. So, rather than unnecessarily increasing the cost of the products by spending on advertising, they need to focus on increasing the distribution network. This will help them meet customer demand easily and also help attract new customers.

 
 

Siddharth Roy

They should focus on brand attributes such as exclusivity, product safety, social causes, innovation and stability that are difficult for retailers to replicate.

Ramanand Ruikar

The Pendharkar team needs to develop innovative ideas to identify easy, hassle-free ways to reach a large number of people, such as installing vending machines of their products at prime locations, motor drive-throughs, etc.

 
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