'Quality the watchword'

Differentiation in terms of quality of service, branded products and use of technology is set to become crucial to win customer and dealer loyalty in the world of oil retailing.

Industry players, dealers and government officials attending Petrotech 2005 today agreed that to make further in-roads, a mere promise of unadulterated products would not suffice.

Highlighting the changing trends in retail segment ONGC Chairman Subir Raha said, "There has been a subtle shift towards marketing premium products than just commodity retailing."

ONGC intends to enter the retailing business by March this year by initially setting up 12-15 outlets.

The shift, in fact, was driven by emergence of customer base that was willing to spend more for branded products, said S Radhakrishnan, Director (Marketing), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd.

Reliance also seems upbeat about the high-end product marketing. "We are developing sophisticated grades of gasoline and would introduce them in our second phase of retail expansion," P Raghvendran of RIL said.