Salt n Soap: Online Retailing of Food and Groceries

Name: Salt n Soap: Online Retailing of Food and Groceries (English version)
SKU: 9B20M152

Atul Arun Pathak; Shabana Chandrasekaran; Balamurugan Annamalai; Atanu Ghosh

Product #:9B20M152

Supplier:Ivey/IIM-Nagpur

Discipline:Entrepreneurship, International Business, Strategy

Setting:India, 2020

Details:Case (PDF) • 11 pages • 2020-08-28

Subjects:

Customer lifetime value Market research Business models Corporate strategy Business management Entrepreneurship International business Strategy

Geography:

Asia India

Your Price:

$10.54

Purchase this material with a free Educator Account and enjoy more benefits:

Free Educator Copy
Free Teaching Notes
Build your coursepack
Discounted academic price

In January 2020, the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Salt n Soap, an online retailer of food and groceries in Kolkata, India, was reviewing the company’s strategy and business model. Salt n Soap had been in operation for six years, and now offered nearly 15,000 food and grocery (F&G) products of 1,000 distinct brands through its online retailing website. However, the Indian online F&G retail industry was highly competitive. Salt n Soap had a limited business footprint, mainly concentrated in Kolkata, India and unlike its competitors, it had not raised external equity funding. The CEO had to quickly reassess the current business model and strategy and prepare for the oncoming challenges from an increasingly competitive business environment. The decision had to be made before the end of the month so that any strategic changes could be implemented within the current financial year.

Learning Objectives

This case is suitable for use in graduate- and postgraduate-level courses on digital marketing, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, strategic management, and retailing. It can also be used for competency development programs aimed at training marketing managers and entrepreneurs and founders of new business ventures, especially in the F&G and online retail sectors. The case helps participants understand the concept of business models in the context of entrepreneurial start-up ventures. It helps students compare and contrast business models and assess their suitability to meet customer requirements. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to

explain the size, scope, and growth of the Indian online F&G retailing industry;
understand the business models of online retailing of F&G in emerging economies;
identify drivers affecting purchase decisions of customers in the F&G products categories;
explain how emergent competition affects the business models of incumbent firms; and
make entrepreneurial business model pivot decisions.