Multinational Companies aim at Low budget consumers
For years, multinational companies had little interest in lower-end consumers, figuring no money was to be made. Now, they are increasingly attractive to all types of industries, from consumer product makers to technology businesses. Google just announced plans to sell a stripped-down, cheaper version of its Android phone in India.
“A lot of times a product we take for granted may be wholly unknown to consumers in this market,” Mr. Milstein said.
Companies often forget to consider whether consumers want or need a product with too many bells or whistles. A phone with a built-in camera, for example, makes little sense if a family does not have access to the Internet and cannot share photos.
Pricing, too, can be complicated. “Where we might use eight grams of tea to make four cups, a poor person will use it to make seven or eight cups,” said D. Shivakumar, chief executive of PepsiCo’s India business. “If you don’t understand that, your projections for profits and losses will be way off.”
Many products are transcending their original markets and appealing to a more affluent consumer. PepsiCo, for instance, just began selling Kurkure, an inexpensive line of Indian-style snacks, in Canada and the Middle East. It is the first time the company has sold a purely Indian innovation outside India.
G.E. realized more than a decade ago that products devised for the Indian market might appeal to more developed markets, and planted the company’s largest and first international research and development center here.
Source: NYT- Multinational Companies aim at Low budget consumers
