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Major consumer product and service companies in India are
increasingly targeting India's rural markets for expanding their businesses. Some
of the organizations which have already made their presence felt in
the rural hinterland are Hindustan Unilever, Coca-Cola, LG
Electronics, Britannia, Philips, Colgate Palmolive and various telecom and life
insurance companies.
Indian Tobacco Company (ITC) has a diversified portfolio of
businesses including cigarettes, hotels, paperboards
and specialty papers, packaging, agribusiness,
packaged foods and confectionery, branded apparel, greeting cards, and
various FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) products. For the first
time in India, ITC launched its rural mall "Choupal Sagar" in
remote parts of the country in order to serve high potential rural
consumers. This mall provides warehouse facilities for the storage of
farm produce purchased from the farmers and also functions as a
shopping-cum-information center for rural consumers.
Recently HDFC Bank drew up new measures for expanding its
network in rural areas. It also planned to appoint more field staff and
set-up offices with Internet and other facilities at rural branches. The aim
behind all these initiatives is to create awareness among farmers and
self- help groups about bank services. |
