Kenstar: The Channel Dilemma

Sakhhi Chhabra

Product #:W44017

Supplier:Ivey

Discipline:Marketing, Strategy

Setting:India, 2024

Details:Case (PDF) • 12 pages • 2025-08-20

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Sunil Jain, CEO of Kenstar, an Indian home appliance manufacturer, needed to finalize the sales strategy for the 2024 festive season. His key challenge was resolving the conflict between online and offline sales channels. E-commerce platforms offered discounts, boosted sales volume, and helped clear stock, but this affected Kenstar’s sales team, who struggled to meet offline sales targets because retailers were buying products from online platforms for resale at better prices. Jain had to decide on a strategy to reconcile the channel conflict, refine its pricing and dealer promotions, and redesign incentives to recognize the evolving role of the sales team in a multi-channel retail marketplace.

Learning Objectives

This case is suitable for teaching sales and distribution management concepts and is intended for a marketing course. It is suitable for a master of business administration (MBA) class, especially during elective courses on channel management. It can also be used in executive MBA classes and sales training programs. Upon completion of the case study discussion, students will be able to do the following:

Identify the root causes of channel conflicts and assess the pros and cons of potential solutions.
Resolve channel conflicts while managing distribution across multiple sales channels.
Analyze the strengths and weaknesses of online (e-commerce) and offline (general trade and modern trade) channels.
Develop trade promotions for retailers.
Redesign the incentive structure and key performance indicators (KPIs) for sales employees.

Kenstar: The Channel Dilemma

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Learning Objectives