This is a project for Grade 12 Marketing Students of CBSE curriculum. It is based on "Study on Retail Organization & Product Life Cycle.

1. INTRODUCTION
Definition of Marketing:-
According to Philip Kotler, Marketing is a process
of social and managerial activities in which groups
and individual obtain their wants and needs
through the process of Creating, Offering and
exchanging the products of value with others.

2. Meaning of Marketing:-
It is an economic
process in which
goods and services
are exchanged
between producers
and consumers. Its
values are
determined in terms of money.
 Marketing involves various activities such as
identifying the customers need and satisfy their
needs and development of products and motivating
the potential buyers to buy the same product.
 Consumer satisfaction is the key to the survival and
growth of the organization. So the marketing is
concerned with satisfaction thereby they earn profit.

3. Evolution of Marketing:-
Philip Kotler categorized the five major marketing eras
that have evolved throughout time. Some of the
concepts developed in each era are still around today,
and marketing concept remnants from each era
compete with each other as organizations conduct their
marketing activities.
i. Production Era: One of the oldest concept eras,
it holds that consumers will favour those products
that are widely available and low in cost. Managers of
production-oriented organizations concentrate on
achieving high production efficiency and wide
distribution.

4. ii. Product Era: This era brought about marketing
beliefs that consumers will favour those products that
offer the most quality, performance or innovative
features. Marketing managers focus on making superior
products and improving them over time.
iii. Sales Era: During this era, the primary marketing
concept belief held that consumers if left alone would
not buy enough of the organization’s products;
therefore, the organization must undertake an
aggressive selling and promotion effort.
iv. Marketing Era: Evolving from and challenging the
first three concept eras of marketing, this era holds that
the key to achieving organizational goals consists of
being more effective than your competitors in
integrating and coordinating marketing activities toward
determining and satisfying the needs and wants of your
target markets.
v. Societal Marketing Era: The newest to evolve,
it holds that the organization’s task is to determine the
needs, wants and interests of target markets and to
deliver the desired satisfaction more effectively and
efficiently than competitors in a way that preserves or
enhances the consumers’ and the society’s wellbeing.

5. Marketing Mix
Marketing Mix is a business tool used in marketing and
by marketers. The marketing mix is often crucial when
determining a product or brand's offer, and is often
associated with the Four Ps: Price, Product, Promotion,
and Place.

6. PRODUCT
A product is seen as an item that satisfies what a
consumer demands. It is a tangible good or an intangible
service. Tangible products are those that have an
independent physical existence. Typical examples of
mass-produced, tangible objects are the motor car and
the disposable razor. A less obvious but ubiquitous
mass-produced service is a computer operating system.
Every product is subject to a life-cycle including a growth
phase followed by a maturity phase and finally an
eventual period of decline as sales fall. Marketers must
do careful research on how long the life cycle of the
product they are marketing is likely to be and focus their
attention on different challenges that arise as the
product moves.

7. PRICE
Price is the amount a customer pays for the product. The
price is very important as it determines the company's
profit and hence, survival. Adjusting the price has a
profound impact on the marketing strategy and,
depending on the price elasticity of the product, often it
will affect the demand and sales as well. The marketer
should set a price that complements the other elements
of the marketing mix.
When setting a price, the marketer must be aware of the
customer perceived value for the product. Three basic
pricing strategies are: market skimming pricing, market
penetration pricing and neutral pricing. The 'reference
value' (where the consumer refers to the prices of
competing products) and the 'differential value' (the
consumer's view of this product's attributes versus the
attributes of other products) must be taken into
account.

8. PLACE
Place refers to providing the product at a place which is
convenient for consumers to access. Various strategies
such as intensive distribution, selective distribution,
exclusive distribution and franchising can be used by the
marketer to complement the other aspects of the
marketing mix. In other words, distribution channels for
the product is a system process. Generally, majority of
the product need a retail shop. But place also can be a
telephone call center or a website. Hence, the place
turns into another major element in marketing mix.
PROMOTION
Promotion comprises elements such as: advertising,
public relations, sales organisation and sales promotion.
Advertising covers any communication that is paid for,
from cinema commercials, radio and Internet
advertisements through to print media and billboards.
Public relations are where the communication is not
directly paid for and includes press releases,
sponsorship deals, exhibitions, conferences, seminars or
trade fairs and events.

9. Importance of Marketing
Marketing in itself is a huge world. The importance
of marketing in today’s world the most important.
Some of them are:
i. Marketing Helps in Transfer, Exchange & Movement
of Goods: Goods and services are made available to
customers through various intermediaries’ viz.,
wholesalers and retailers etc. Marketing is helpful to
both producers and consumers.
To the former, it tells about the specific needs and
preferences of consumers and to the latter about the
products that manufacturers can offer.

10. ii. Marketing Is Helpful in Raising & Maintaining the
Standard of Living of the Community: Marketing is
above all the giving of a standard of living to the
community. Paul Mazur states, “Marketing is the
delivery of standard of living”.
By making available the uninterrupted supply of goods
and services to consumers at a reasonable price,
marketing has played an important role in raising and
maintaining living standards of the community.
Community comprises of three classes of people i.e.,
rich, middle and poor. Everything which is used by these
different classes of people is supplied by marketing.
iii. Marketing Creates Employment: Marketing is
complex mechanism involving many people in one form
or the other. The major marketing functions are buying,
selling, financing, transport, warehousing, risk bearing
and standardisation, etc. In each such function, different
activities are performed by a large number of individuals
and bodies.
Thus, marketing gives employment to many people. It is
estimated that about 40% of total population is directly
or indirectly dependent upon marketing.
iv. Marketing as A Source of Income & Revenue: The
performance of marketing function is all important,

11. because it is the only way through which the concern
could generate revenue or income and bring in profits.
Marketing does provide many opportunities to earn
profits in the process of buying and selling the goods, by
creating time, place and possession utilities. This income
and profit are reinvested in the concern, thereby earning
more profits in future. Marketing should be given the
greatest importance, since the very survival of the firm
depends on the effectiveness of the marketing function.
v. Marketing Acts as A Basis for Making Decisions: A
businessman is confronted with many problems in the
form of what, how, when, how much and for whom to
produce?
In modern times, marketing has become a very complex
and tedious task. Marketing has emerged as new
specialised activity along with production.
As a result, producers are depending largely on the
mechanism of marketing, to decide what to produce
and sell. With the help of marketing techniques, a
producer can regulate his production accordingly.

12. Concepts of Marketing
There are five important concepts of marketing. They are:
i. Production Concept
This concept is the oldest of the concepts in
business. It holds that consumers will prefer
products that are widely available and inexpensive.
Managers focusing on this concept concentrate on
achieving high production efficiency, low costs, and
mass distribution.
ii. Product Concept
Product concept is the understanding of the
dynamics of the product in order to showcase the
best qualities and maximum features of the product.
Marketers spend a lot of time and research in order
to target their audience.

13. iii. Selling Concept
Selling concept, which places the focus on sales
rather than what people actually need or want.
The product is misrepresented which results in
high customer dissatisfaction.
iv. Marketing Concept
Marketing concept, this focuses on what people
need and want more than the needs of the seller.
This concept is about the importance of satisfying
the customer’s needs.
v. Societal Marketing Concept
Societal marketing concept, not only uses the
same philosophy as the marketing concept, but
also focuses around the products benefit to the
betterment of society. Greater emphasis is put
on environmental impacts, population growth,
and resource shortages and social services.

14. I’s of Marketing
Intangibility
Intangibility is used in marketing to describe the inability to
assess the value gained from engaging in an activity using
any tangible evidence. It is often used to describe services
where there isn't a tangible product that the customer can
purchase, that can be seen, tasted or touched.

15. Inconsistency
Inconsistency is the second most important characteristic.
Since there is no standard tangible product, services have
to be performed exclusively each time.
Inseparability
Inseparability of services makes it difficult to separate a
service from the service provider. The production and
consumption of a service can occur simultaneously, making
it impossible to produce and store a service prior to
consumption.
Inventory
Inventory cannot be maintained for services. Inventory
carrying costs are more subjective and lead to idle
production capacity. When the service is available but
there is no demand, cost rises as, cost of paying the
people and overhead remains constant even though the
people are not required to provide services due to lack of
demand.

16. Marketing
research
Marketing
research is the
process or set
of processes
that links the
consumers,
customers, and end users to the
marketer through information. Information is used to
identify and define marketing opportunities and problems;
generate, refine, and evaluate marketing actions; monitor
marketing performance; and improve understanding of
marketing as a process. Marketing research specifies the
information required to address these issues, designs the
method for collecting information, manages and
implements the data collection process, analyses the
results, and communicates the findings and their
implications.

17. An organization or economic system where goods and
services are exchanged for one another or for money.
Every business requires some form of investment and
enough customers to whom its output can be sold on a
consistent basis in order to make a profit.
Businesses can be privately owned, not-for-profit or state-
owned. An example of a corporate business is PepsiCo,
while a mom-and-pop catering business is a private
enterprise.

18. Characteristics of Business
 Creation of Utilities: Business makes goods more useful
to satisfy human wants. It adds time, place, form and
possession utilities to various types of goods. In the
words of Roger, "a business exists to create and deliver
value satisfaction to customers at a profit".
 Dealings in Goods and Services: Every business
enterprise produces and/or buys goods and services for
selling them to others. Goods may be consumer goods
or producer goods.
Consumer goods are meant for direct use by the
ultimate consumers, e.g., bread, tea, shoes, etc.
Producer goods are used for the production of consumer
or capital goods like raw materials, machinery, etc.
 Continuity in Dealings: Dealings in goods and services
become business only if undertaken on a regular basis.
According to Peterson and Plowman, "a single isolated
transaction of purchase and sale will not constitute
business recurring or repeated transaction of purchase
and sale alone mean business." Therefore, regularity of
dealings is an essential feature of business.

19.  Sale, Transfer and Exchange: All business activities
involve transfer or exchange of goods and services for
some consideration. The consideration called price is
usually expressed in terms of money.
Business delivers goods and services to those who need
them and are able and willing to pay for them.
 Profit Motive: The primary aim of business is to earn
profits. Profits are essential for the survival as well as
growth of business. Profits must, however, be earned
through legal and fair means.
 Element of Risk: Profit is the reward for assuming risk.
Risk implies the uncertainty of profit or the possibility
of loss. Risk is a part of business. Business enterprises
function in uncertain and uncontrollable environment.
 Economic Activity: Business is primarily an economic
activity as it involves production and distribution of
goods and services for earning money. However,
business is also a social institution because it helps to
improve the living standards of people through
effective utilisation of scarce resources of the society.

20. Objectives of Business
 Profitability: Maintaining profitability means making
sure that revenue stays ahead of the costs of doing
business, according to James Stephenson, writing for the
"Entrepreneur" website. Focus on controlling costs in
both production and operations while maintaining the
profit margin on products sold.
 Productivity: Employee training, equipment
maintenance and new equipment purchases all go into
company productivity. Your objective should be to
provide all of the resources your employees need to
remain as productive as possible.
 Customer Service: Good customer service helps you
retain clients and generate repeat revenue. Keeping
your customers happy should be a primary objective of
your organization.

21.  Marketing: Marketing is more than creating advertising
and getting customer input on product changes. It
understands consumer buying trends, being able to
anticipate product distribution needs and developing
business partnerships that help your organization to
improve market share.
 Growth: Growth is planned based on historical data
and future projections. Growth requires the careful
use of company resources such as finances and
personnel, according to Tim Berry, writing on the
"Entrepreneur" website.
Types of Business Organization
A business can be organized in one of several ways, and
the form its owner’s choice will affect the company’s
and owner’s legal liability and income tax treatment.
Here are the most common options and their major
defining characteristics.

22. SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP
The vast majority of small businesses
start out as sole proprietorships.
These firms are owned by one person,
usually the individual who has day-to-
day responsibility for running the
business. Sole proprietorships own
all the assets of the business and the
profits generated by it. They also
assume complete responsibility for
any of its liabilities or debts. In the eyes of the law and
the public, you are one in the same with the business.

23. Advantages of Sole Proprietorship
 Easy formation: Easiest and least expensive form of
ownership to organize.
 Independent decision making: Sole proprietors are in
complete control, and within the parameters of the
law, may make decisions as they see fit.
 Yields complete profit: Profits from the business flow-
through directly to the owner’s personal tax return.
 Easy to close: The business is easy to dissolve, if desired.
Disadvantages of Sole Proprietorship:
 Unlimited liability: Sole proprietors have unlimited
liability and are legally responsible for all debts against
the business. Their business and personal assets are
at risk.
 Shortage of funds: May be at a disadvantage in raising
funds and are often limited to using funds from
personal savings or consumer loans.
 Requires more effort: May have a hard time attracting
high-caliber employees, or those that are motivated by
the opportunity to own a part of the business.

24. PARTNERSHIP
A partnership is an
agreement between
two or more people to
finance and operate a
business.
Partnerships, unlike
sole proprietorships,
are entities legally
separate from the
partners themselves.
In a general partnership, however, profits and losses flow
through to the partners’ tax returns.
Each general partner has equal responsibility and authority
to run the business. Each partner should be involved in day-
to-day operations of the business, and should make
management decisions. Any partner may represent the
business without the knowledge of the other partners—the
actions of one partner can bind the entire partnership.

25. Advantages of Partnership:
 Easy formation: Partnerships are relatively easy to
establish.
 Mutual skills: A partnership may benefit from the
combination of complementary skills of two or more
people. There is a wider pool of knowledge, skills and
contacts.
 Cost effective: Partnerships can be cost-effective as
each partner specializes in certain aspects of their
business.
Disadvantages of Partnership:
 Unlimited liability: Business partners are jointly and
individually liable for the actions of the other
partners.
 Conflicts: Since decisions are shared, disagreements
can occur. A partnership is for the long term, and
expectations and situations can change, which can
lead to dramatic and traumatic split ups.
 Restriction on number of partners: There is a restriction
on the number of partners, and hence contribution in
terms of capital investment is usually not sufficient to
support large scale business operations.

26. JOINT STICK COMPANY
A company is an association of persons formed for carrying
out business
activities and has a
legal status
independent of its
members. The
company form of
organization is
governed by The
Companies Act,
1956. A company
can be described as an artificial person having a separate
legal entity, perpetual succession and a common seal.
Advantages of Joint Stock Company
 Adequacy of Capital: Generally, a Joint Stock Company
has the opportunity to raise huge capital than other
types of business. If the company needs money it can
sell its shares to the public.

27.  Limited Liability: The liability of a shareholder is limited
to the face value of the shares he holds. He has no
further liability if he has paid the full value of the
shares that he has agreed to pay.
 Perpetual Succession: Perpetual succession is another
important advantage of joint Stock Company. A joint
stock company survives, even if all members are
willing to shut down the company or if all members die
in natural calamities.
Disadvantages of Joint Stock Company
 Lack of Control: The buying and selling of shares of a
company is the only real control an owner has. Since
the number of shareholders is determined by the
number of shares of a company, control by the Board
of Directors is difficult.
 Complexity in Formation: The formation of a company
requires greater time, effort and knowledge of legal
requirements and the procedures involved.
 Lack of Secrecy: A company must provide each
shareholder with an annual report. When a large
number of reports are issued, the reports become
public. Hence the secrecy is lost.

28. JOINT HINDU FAMILY BUSINESS
The Joint Hindu Family Firm is the next non-corporate,
group ownership form of family business operative in India.
It is governed by the Hindu Law. In the Hindu Law, there are
two schools: (i) Dayabhaga, which is applicable in Bengal
and Assam; and (ii) Mitakshara, which is applicable in the
rest of India.
Advantages of Joint Hindu Family
 Stability: The existence of the Joint Hindu Family firm
does not come to an end by the death, insanity, or
bankruptcy of any coparcener.

29.  Liability: Except the Karta, all other members’ liabilities
are limited to the extent of their share in the ancestral
property.
 Credit Worthiness: Compared to the Sole Proprietor, the
credit worthiness of the family business is more.
Disadvantages of Joint Hindu Family:
 Limitations of Management: Like sole proprietor, the
Karta may not be possessing all the management skills
required in the fields of production or purchasing,
marketing, personnel and industrial relations,
financing, and other enterprise functions.
 Short Life of Business: The life of the family business is
shortened if family quarrels take precedence over
business interests.

30. COOPERATIVE SOCIETY
The word cooperative means
working together and with
others for a common purpose.
The cooperative society is a
voluntary association of
persons, who join together with
the motive of welfare of the
members. They are driven by
the need to protect their
economic interests in the face
of possible exploitation at the hands of middlemen
obsessed with the desire to earn greater profits.
Advantages of Cooperative Society:
 Easy to Form: The formation of a cooperative society is
very simple as compared to the formation of any other
form of business organisations. Any ten adults can join
together and form a cooperative society.

31.  Limited Liability: In most cases, the liability of the
members of the society is limited to the extent of
capital contributed by them. Hence, they are relieved
from the fear of attachment of their private property.
 Economic Operations: The operation carried on by the
cooperative society economical due to the
eliminations of middlemen. The services of middlemen
are provided by the members of the society with the
minimum cost.
Disadvantages of Cooperative Society:
 Limited Resources: Cooperative society’s financial
strength depends on the cap contributed by its
members and loan raising capacity from state
cooperative banks. The membership fee is limited for
which they are unable to raise large amount of
resources as their members belong to the lower and
middle class.
 Inefficient Management: A cooperative society is
managed by the members only. They do not possess
any managerial and special skills. This is considered as
major drawback of this sector.

32. Canon Inc. is a Japanese
multinational corporation
specialized in the
manufacture of imaging
and optical products,
including cameras,
camcorders,
photocopiers, steppers, computer printers and medical equipment.
It is headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan.
Canon has a primary listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a
constituent of the TOPIX index. It has a secondary listing on the
New York Stock Exchange. At the beginning of 2015, Canon was
the tenth largest public company in Japan when measured by
market capitalization.
The origins of Canon date back to the founding of Precision Optical
Instruments Laboratory in Japan in 1937 by Takeshi Mitarai, Goro
Yoshida, Saburo Uchida and Takeo Maeda. During its early years

33. the company did not have any facilities to produce its own optical
glass, and its first cameras incorporated Nikkor lenses from
Nippon Kogaku K.K.
Canon manufactures consumer imaging products including
printers, scanners, binoculars, compact digital cameras, film SLR
and digital SLR cameras, lenses and video camcorders.
The "Business Solutions" division offers multi-functional printers,
black and white and colour office printers, large format printers,
scanners, black and white and colour production printers, as well
as software to support these products.
Lesser known Canon products include medical, optical and
broadcast products, including ophthalmic and x-ray devices,
broadcast lenses, semiconductors, digital microfilm scanners and
handy terminals.

34. snaps of canon store at Dubai mall

35. Interview with Manager
Q1. When was the company founded?
Ans: The Company was founded on August 10th, 1937.
Q2. How many stores do you have in UAE?
Ans: Currently we have 30 stores operating in UAE.
Q3: For how long have you been with Canon?
Ans: I have been working with Canon since 4 Years.
Q4: Does Canon offer allowances and special service
for employees?
Ans: Yes! We do! We get Paid Annual Leave and Air
Tickets. Canon has Employee Referral Program,
Employee Recognition Award and a lot more.
Q5: What is Canon’s aim?
Ans: We want to deliver our product to anyone who
has the passion for this industry.
Q6: Who are your biggest rivals?
Ans: It’s mainly Nikon & Panasonic.
Q7: Which is your newest product? Do you think it’ll
make a place in the market?
Ans: Canon 5D MIV. It has already made a place.

36. PRODUCT catalogue

37. PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
The product life cycle is an important concept in marketing.
It describes the stages a product goes through from when
it was first thought of until it finally is removed from the
market. Not all products reach this final stage. Some
continue to grow and others rise and fall.

38. The different stages of Product Life Cycle are:
Introduction
Researching, developing and then launching the product.
Growth
When sales are increasing at their fastest rate.
Maturity
Sales are near their highest, but the rate of growth is
slowing down, e.g. new competitors in market or
saturation.
Decline
Final stage of the cycle, when sales begin to fall.

39. INTRODUCTION STAGE
The first of the four product life cycle stages is the
Introduction Stage. Any business that is launching a new
product needs to appreciate that this initial stage could
require significant investment. This isn’t to say that
spending a lot of money at this stage will guarantee the
product’s success.
Any investment in research and new product development
has to be weighed up against the likely return from the new
product, and an effective marketing plan will need to be
developed, in order to give the new product the best
chance of achieving this return.
Example: Samsung Quantum Dot Display TV
SUHD is Samsung’s brand name behind its new range of 4K
Ultra HD TVs. Just like 4K Ultra HD TVs, SUHD TVs have
around four times as
many pixels as standard
1080p Full HD TVs packed
into the display panel.
Quantum Dot means, in a
nutshell, that the colours
presented to you are
more lifelike than
Samsung's older 4K Ultra HD TVs with an LED backlight.

40. GROWTH STAGE
The growth stage is typically characterized by a strong
growth in sales and profits, and because the company can
start to benefit from economies of scale in production, the
profit margins, as well as the overall amount of profit, will
increase. This makes it possible for businesses to invest
more money in the promotional activity to maximize the
potential of this growth stage.
Example: 4K Curved TVs
As the 4K ultra HD TV market grows, new standards and
new design trends are
starting to take firm root. One
of these, at least so far, has
been a tendency towards TVs
with a gentle concave
curvature to their screens.
The big questions, which have
also spawned some debate
among consumers, tech watchers and manufacturers as
well are whether curved TV designs are superior to their flat
screen counterparts, if they’re worth buying and in case
they’re worse or better, than by how much and in which
ways.

41. MATURITY STAGE
During the maturity stage, the product is established and
the aim for the manufacturer is now to maintain the market
share they have built up. This is probably the most
competitive time for most products and businesses need to
invest wisely in any marketing they undertake. They also
need to consider any product modifications or
improvements to the production process which might give
them a competitive advantage.
Example: LED TVs
An LED display is a flat panel display, which uses an array of
light-emitting diodes as pixels
for a video display. Their
brightness allows them to be
used outdoors in store signs
and billboards, and in recent
years they have also become
commonly used in
destination signs on public
transport vehicles. LED
displays are capable of
providing general illumination in addition to visual display,
as when used for stage lighting or other decorative (as
opposed to informational) purposes.

42. DECLINE STAGE
Eventually, the market for a product will start to shrink, and
this is what’s known as the decline stage. This shrinkage
could be due to the market becoming saturated (i.e. all the
customers who will buy the product have already
purchased it), or because the consumers are switching to a
different type of product. While this decline may be
inevitable, it may still be possible for companies to make
some profit by switching to less-expensive production
methods and cheaper markets.
Example: LCD & CRT TVs

43. SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF PLC
Following are the three special categories of Product Life
Cycle:
 STYLE
 FASHION
 FADS
STYLE:
A style is the manner in which a product is presented and certain
styles come and go. The current style for mobile phone is touch
screen and this style will last until a
new technology style appears. So
the shape of a style product life
cycle is like a wave, as one style
fades out, another appears.

44. FASHION:
A fashion is a current trend or popular
style in a particular field. A fashion can
have a long or short life cycle. Certain
clothing fashions last for a short period
and the product life cycle will decline
very rapidly, whilst others will decline
slowly or even turn into what is known
as a timeless classic.
FADS:
A fad is a product that is around for a
short period and is generated by hype.
As you can see (in the graph below) for
a fad product sales peak very quickly, as
this product has a very short life cycle.
Sometimes a product may follow the
standard product life cycle but have one
stage of the cycle which has a fad type
of unusually high peak in sales.