What's in a box ?

For some companies the entire brand is defined by the box that contains the product...

In a recent visit to a men's accessories store in Mumbai I found 4 brands with little or no product differenciation . If a consumer mixed up the products then it would have been tough (if not impossible ) for the sales staff to figure out which design belonged to which brand . The general idea seems to be that brand = the packaging with a name slapped on it . The customer is an idiot who will get moved into reaching for his wallet at the sight of the brand name . What else can explain a product with a price 4 times that of the exactly identical product  next to it ? The only difference being the box ( brand ) in which the products were placed . 

In any country this would be a crazy path to follow . One that will confuse and alienate customers sooner and later . To do this in a value conscious market like India is even more mystifying .

* a friendly chat with the salesperson revealed that not a single unit of the 4x priced product had been sold since the time the store had commenced operation .

The obscure some people eventually see . The completely obvious , it seems , takes a little longer .