Anurag Jain's Blog
Saturday, September 06, 2003

Deccan Air, contd..

Deccan Air reminds me of Sam Walton's Walmart. Like Walmart, Deccan's basic strategy is discounting/low prices. Like Walmart, Deccan's essential territory is hinterland/country. And more importantly, like Walmart, the incumbent biggies (in aviation) dont seem to give a rat's ass about Deccan's fledgling efforts. I hope they (incumbents) dont realize it till its too late! (just like in Walmart's / Kmart/ Ann & Hope case).

I am using this analogy because analogies are an interesting and insightful way to make sense out of the complex constructs. Talking about analogies, Deccan Air's low-pricing is similar to the startegy adopted by Coke in introducing 'Chota Coke'. With Chota Coke, what coke essentially did was this: it made cola more affordable to tea/coffee drinking segment and in the process expanded the market significantly. Or, for that matter, take shampoo packaging. The sachets packing makes it more affordable and hence consumers who wouldn't otherwise use shampoo (so much), end up buying shampoo, and moreover, in a recurring fashion.

All these analogies are put forth to emphasize one point which is more important than any other point in the civil aviation game: 'affordability'. And it is clear by now that what Deccan Air is attempting is to make air-travel more affordable to the masses.

May many Deccan Airs bloom. I, for one, am watching this baby.

(My earlier posts on Deccan: Post 1, Post 2)

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