DESIGN ATTRIBUTE PREFERENCES FOR SANTINIKETAN LEATHER BAGS

As a consequence of the retail-globalization through e-commerce platforms and social media, both domestic & international market opportunities have widened many folds for the Santiniketan Leather Bags, but at the same time the market have become intensely competitive with customers having a wide range of options. It is evident that in a highly competitive market, consumer focused product design is considered as a key competitive edge. This research aims to establish the relationship between product design and consumer preferences of Santiniketan leather bags based on various design attributes like silhouette, size, colour, function, and features. The study was conducted in two steps with the first step was to classify the design attributes based on existing product trends and demand collected from diverse sources like retailers, designers, artists, and manufacturers. Designs of the bags were thereafter sectioned into several benchmarking factors based on various attributes of design and variants of the same. In the second step, a descriptive cross-sectional consumer survey was performed to understand the consumer's criteria of preferences. The outcome of the survey indicates clear inadequacy in the present design compositions of Santiniketan leather bags in the context of design trend and consumer preferences. The study concluded with proposing a preferential matrix for the stakeholders to design new bags meeting customers' perception. This study is the first of its kind to explore consumer preferences for new product development in Santiniketan leather bags.