ITC Limited

Incorporated in 1910 as Imperial Tobacco Company of India Ltd. 1974 the companys name was changed to I.T.C. 1975 diversified into several businesses
Hotels, Paperboards & Specialty Papers, Packaging, Agri-Business, Packaged Foods & Confectionery, Information Technology, Branded Apparel, Personal Care, Stationery, Safety Matches, FMCG products, Textile, Paper, Cement

Source: Indian Tobacco Company, Website. URL: <http://www.itcportal.com>.

ITC Limited

1990 established as an agricultural trading company Today generates annual revenues to the tune of US$150 million

Opening up of Indian market in 1996

Rethink of its ITC-IBD strategy and use information

technology to change the rules of the game.

E-Choupal - empowering famers through internet.
Source: ITC-IBD (International Business Division of the Indian Tobacco Company), e-Choupal: Website. URL: http://www.echoupal.com

ITC Limited

Number of rural households using fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) products has grown from 136 million in 2004 to 143 million in 2007
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI)

FMCG sector in rural areas is projected to grow by 40 per cent against the 25 per cent growth in urban areas
AC Nielsen report (April-May 2008)

ITC Limited

Rural markets in 2008 have grown at 25 per cent compared to the 7-10 per cent growth rate of the urban consumer retail market.

Opportunities in rural retail were estimated to be over US$ 34 billion in 2007. This figure is expected to touch US$ 43 billion in 2010 and go up to US$ 58 billion by 2015.
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on the Indian rural retail sector (September 2007)

ITC Limited

Rigid hierarchical structure with strong moorings in caste and traditions. Patriarchs have held decision making powers within families and communities Dominant sections of villages have been politically allied due to their dependence Government action. Always had far too many people needing to be supported by far too little of land. Migrations to cities

ITC Limited

Huge disparities have heralded a social revolution. The new generation has greater exposure Mounting aspirations of younger generation Disintegration of hierarchies Reservation policies being extended to backward classes

ITC Limited

Percolation of education and prosperity levels to the lower levels giving rise to an economically better off middle class. Hegemony of elders in decision-making at both family and community has been diluted. Aspirational rural youth forced to stay back in light of decreased opportunities leading to demand of urban lifestyles

ITC Limited

Increasing numbers of young, educated rural youth with city exposure are turning decision makers in the traditional village set-up. Not very different from their urban counterparts in education, exposure, attitudes and aspirations, their relevance for the

marketer who wants sell branded goods is immense.

ITC Limited

ITC Limited

EChoupal

Choupal Sagar

Choupal Fresh

ITC Limited

Removes information asymmetry Delivering real-time information Customised knowledge to the farmer Helps align farm output to market demands; securing better quality, productivity and improved price discovery. By 2012, the e-Choupal network will cover over 100,000 villages, representing 1/6th of rural India, and create more than 10 million e-farmers.

ITC Limited

100,000150,000 sqf of Hypermart launched in 2004.

Has trading area, weighing facilities, telemedicine

kiosks, special products for farmers, etc. Choupal Sagar - connected to company's e-choupal network. Smaller outlets with a capacity of 12,000-13,000 SKUs planned

ITC Limited

Currently tackling both the front end retail as well as the back end Structure merging both wholesale and retail formats Supplies supported at various points by effective warehousing and cold chain infrastructure Scale up of its engagement with farmers planned to make them feeders for the stores.

ITC Limited

IT-enabled kiosk services (echoupal) links to Choupal Sagar for every 2530 e-choupals. The Choupal Sagars double up as retail outlets for the consumers and also as infrastructure to support ITCs rural procurement. Choupal Sagars are malls that double up as shopping and facilitation centres for farmers. Mega rollout of Choupal Fresh in urban India by leveraging its extensive backward linkages with farmers and supply chain efficiencies.

Source: Roy, A.K. (2007) Leveraging ICT for Rural Marketing FICCI Rural Marketing Summit. May 10th 2007, New Delhi

Source: Roy, A.K. (2007) Leveraging ICT for Rural Marketing FICCI Rural Marketing Summit. May 10th 2007, New Delhi

Photograph Source: Srinivas Rao, M. (2008). Empowering Farmers through ICT - Lessons from ITC e-Choupal. National Conference on e-Governance -2008, Panchkula