XYLYS: Exploring Consumer Perception about Premium Watches in the Indian Context Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for XYLYS: Exploring Consumer Perception about Premium Watches in the Indian Context case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. XYLYS: Exploring Consumer Perception about Premium Watches in the Indian Context case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by S. Ramesh Kumar, Kasturi Baral. The XYLYS: Exploring Consumer Perception about Premium Watches in the Indian Context (referred as “Watch Luxury” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Sales & Marketing. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Customers, Emerging markets, Growth strategy.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of XYLYS: Exploring Consumer Perception about Premium Watches in the Indian Context Case Study

The liberalization of markets, the rising disposable income, the exposure to western lifestyles, and the need for the new generation to establish an identity for itself are some of the reasons for the growth of the luxury watch category in India. The market for luxury watches was estimated to be 3% of watch retail, and was growing at almost 20% annually, which was more than twice the growth rate of the entire market. Heritage, glamour and technology were a combination of factors that were associated with luxury watch brands universally.While there were several global watch brands being marketed in India at various price points, the challenge for a leading Indian company Titan Industries that had made rapid strides in the watch market over the last two decades was to successfully introduce a luxury watch brand. Manoj Chakravarti, Senior Advisor, Titan Industries reflected about his 28 years in the watch industry both in India and abroad, and contemplated about Xylys, Titan's premium watch brand, and its foray into the Indian market. He had formulated several aspects of marketing mix strategies in the past to face diverse kinds of challenges. Xylys was a premium watch brand launched by Titan a few years ago; the brand was aimed at creating a unique perception among consumers. There were several interesting possibilities for Chakravarti to consider. Would a conventional positioning approach be sufficient? Was it necessary to obtain some insights regarding the application of the uniqueness aspect to the self-perception of consumers? How were such aspects of uniqueness related to other established brands? How important was the "Swiss-made" label? Did the buyers and prospective buyers of premium watches hold any specific stereotypical images of such watches? How does the self-concept of consumers matter to luxury watch brands? The case delves into behavioral concepts that are important from the viewpoint of brand perception of luxury brands.

Case Authors : S. Ramesh Kumar, Kasturi Baral

Topic : Sales & Marketing

Related Areas : Customers, Emerging markets, Growth strategy

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for XYLYS: Exploring Consumer Perception about Premium Watches in the Indian Context Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10028591)	-10028591	-	-
Year 1	3469736	-6558855	3469736	0.9434	3273336
Year 2	3957987	-2600868	7427723	0.89	3522594
Year 3	3968723	1367855	11396446	0.8396	3332216
Year 4	3230172	4598027	14626618	0.7921	2558599
TOTAL			14626618		12686745

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2658154

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Internal Rate of Return
2. Net Present Value
3. Payback Period
4. Profitability Index

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Watch Luxury have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.
2. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Watch Luxury shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of XYLYS: Exploring Consumer Perception about Premium Watches in the Indian Context

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Sales & Marketing Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Watch Luxury often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Watch Luxury needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10028591)	-10028591	-	-
Year 1	3469736	-6558855	3469736	0.8696	3017162
Year 2	3957987	-2600868	7427723	0.7561	2992807
Year 3	3968723	1367855	11396446	0.6575	2609500
Year 4	3230172	4598027	14626618	0.5718	1846861
TOTAL					10466330

The Net NPV after 4 years is 437739

(10466330 - 10028591 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10028591)	-10028591	-	-
Year 1	3469736	-6558855	3469736	0.8333	2891447
Year 2	3957987	-2600868	7427723	0.6944	2748602
Year 3	3968723	1367855	11396446	0.5787	2296715
Year 4	3230172	4598027	14626618	0.4823	1557760
TOTAL					9494524

The Net NPV after 4 years is -534067

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9494524 - 10028591 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Watch Luxury to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Watch Luxury has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Watch Luxury can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Watch Luxury, then the stock price of the Watch Luxury should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Watch Luxury should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of XYLYS: Exploring Consumer Perception about Premium Watches in the Indian Context

References & Further Readings

S. Ramesh Kumar, Kasturi Baral (2018), "XYLYS: Exploring Consumer Perception about Premium Watches in the Indian Context Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.