BIG SAFARI DOMINATES : THE MARKET IN AHILYANAGAR:GIRISH LOKHANDE

Mr. Girish Lokhande said that the biggest proof of our family relationship with the owners of Big Safari is that in 2009, my house and shop were destroyed by fire. Duringthat difficult period, the company s tood firmly by my side. To help me restart my business, the company continued supplying goods without interruption. For 7-8 months, they neither took nor demanded any payment. When my situationimproved, I began making payments. The company has always stood with us through good times and bad. Apart from Big Safari and RKT, we do not deal with any other agarbatti company.

Mr Girish said that his company has been engaged in the distributionbusiness in Ahilyanagar since 1982, and the third generation of the family is now involved in this trade. The agarbatti business was started during my father’s time.

Earlier, he was engaged in the oil business. According to him, Hansmukh uncle and Mr. Ghanshyam had approached my father with five dozen packets of RKT agarbatti. At that time, I was probably not even born. My father often used to say that this was where the journey began, and today we sell between 700 and 800 cartons of agarbatti every month. In this way, our family entered the agarbatti trade through Big Safari itself. Now my son Rushikesh has also joined the business.

In response to a question, he said that Ahilyanagar comprises 14 talukas and we cover the entire district. Our supply network extends across a radius of nearly 200 kilometres, and we receive products directly from the company. Our complete focus is on expanding the business of Big Safari and RKT. Apart from this, we also handle Parm, LijjatPapad and Vastu Kapoor.

Responding to a question from Sugandh India, he said that Big Safari’s Green Big ₹10 pack is the highest-selling product in the region. After that, the ₹50 zipper pack performs well. Other brands sell in very limited quantitieshere. Nandini from Nashik has a modest presence. He said that Big Safari’s jar pack and candy dhoop are in tremendous demand. Customers ask for them by name. Apart from these, Kesarful and Belaful are also highly popular.

According to him, the trend of dhoop and bamboo-less products started around two years ago, but even today the market consists of about 80% agarbatti and only 20% dhoop. He said that the company’s dry sticks sell very well. Speaking about wet dhoop, he said that food stalls and roadside vendors use it extensively. We handle Param’s wet dhoop range. Sambhrani cups have a decent market here. Param and Aroma Day from Aurangabad perform well. Premium products witness strong demand during festivals.

In response to another question, he said that Big Safari’s zipper packs account for nearly 80% of the market here, while other brands share the remaining 20%. Speaking about the camphor market, he said that Bhimseni camphor is in high demand. We buy loose camphor and sell it after re-packaging. Around 10-12 kilograms of camphor are sold daily. According to him, Kelkar attar sells well in this market, though I personally do not stock attars. At our retail counter, sevenout of every ten customers purchase by brand name, and an average customer buys agarbatti worth nearly ₹1,000 per month. Most people make monthly purchases. As a result, demand for 400-gram and 500-gram jumbo packs has increased significantly

Speaking to Sugandh India, he said that no other brand can compete with Big Safari in this market. Around 80% of customers purchase products from different ranges of Big Safari. The company launches products only after extensive testing and offers good fragrance, multiple varieties and affordable pricing. As a result, competing companies are unable to match the same combination of price, quality and fragrance. This is why customers prefer the brand. The company’s research is so advanced that it launches products even before the demand for a new fragrance emerges in the market.

He said that Big Safari enjoys a monopoly across all product ranges in the local agarbatti market. Customers purchase products simply by seeing the Big Safari name. The company sends sales agents every month. This helps maintain a strong grip on the market and also provides regular feedback on changing consumer preferences.

In response to a question, he said that the ₹10 pouch of Big Safari contains 30 agarbatti sticks. Customers are happy to buy it because it offers good fragrance at an affordable price. The company has recently launched Big Flora-50. It contains 55 grams and 50 brown agarbatti sticks for ₹10. The product is receiving an excellent response from the market.

He further informed that our vehicles cover all talukas and our supply network reaches nearly 800 counters. Around 30 distributors purchase products from us in bulk. He said that wholesale supply contributes more to our business than retail sales.