Prabhar Oil Company, and distribution challenges in the Indian lubricants industry

Abstract

Subject area: Marketing-managing customer relationship, market positioning, target marketing, product strategy, distribution, retailing and supply chain management, integrated marketing communications. Study level/applicability: Undergraduate and graduate students in international marketing; business administration; strategic decision making and general management courses. Case overview: The case study focuses on the current scenario within the Indian automotive lubricants industry, in order to provide an understanding of the marketing challenges, especially in retailing and distribution, faced by organisations within this highly competitive sector. The case examines the implementation of marketing strategies into practice and provides an insight into the importance of branding, market segmentation, market positioning, product and pricing strategies and customer relationship management (CRM). Expected learning outcomes: The case study enables the students to understand and analyse: the current business environment and dynamics of emergence in the Indian automotive lubricants market; the critical success factors for doing business in the Indian automotive lubricants market and the associated opportunities and challenges; the importance of distribution and retailing strategies in the Indian context; Izo's growth and expansion strategy in India; and Izo's sales management and CRM systems and there importance to the success of the business. Supplementary materials: Teaching note. © 2011, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.