Shashi Sinha - FCB Ulka ED and Lodestar Media chief executive
During an interview with www.indiantelevision.com he comments on the major problem for companies in Rural India.
Since the monsoons have been good, the rural demand will pick up. The definition of "rural" is also very subjective in India. And the wholesale market in rural areas is a different ballgame.
The real challenge here is to ensure that the distribution systems are in place.
How many companies have the wherewithal to invest in setting up distribution network across the length and breadth of the country and advertise constantly to stimulate demand? I would say - just five or six companies.
It's easy to crack "rural media" but distribution is the true challenge. I would say that several clients haven't been able to reap the benefits of TV advertising due to weak distribution channels in rural areas.
Infrastructure, too, has to improve in rural India too and the onus of that rests on the government.
RISC could be a fantastic fit for most of these companies as they can create a world-class distribution center at every 100 kms all over the country. It would change the face of Rural distribution and marketing.
Sunil Jain in the business-standard also talks about similar problems to Coke and Nestle.
Not surprisingly, at a CII marketing summit where Banerjee made this point, Nestle India's chief Carlo Donati was quite dismissive of the mad rush in search of the rural consumer -- three fourths of India may live in rural areas, he conceded, but finding and servicing these customers was expensive and hit your profit margins.
While Coca-Cola India chief Sanjiv Gupta refused to rise to the bait, or answer specific questions on Coke's margins for rural areas versus urban ones, he did concede that rural operations were an expensive business -- the disposable income in rural areas is usually half that in urban areas, and distributors often have to drive 200 kilometres to service five shops to drop off less than a case of Coke each time. | 
