For refractory industries to be successful in terms of reasonable profit rate with multiplying sales and consistently rising market share, it is essential for them to adapt the most appropriate marketing strategy for creating new customers and retaining them. So, to cope with the changing customer expectation in the fast changing economic and non-economic environment, there is a need for adopting strategies by the marketers to enhance their sales. In today’s business firms, two main marketing strategies are used in creating new customers and retaining the existing ones. This paper deals with the limitations of Red Ocean Marketing Strategy that promotes guerrilla marketing and brand wars, which has led to a fresh debate on ethical and legal grounds. Blue Ocean Marketing Strategy that helps in creating uncontested market spaces has also been discussed, highlighting its methodological principles that apply to all types of refractory industries. The discussion presented in this study gives a clear picture of the competitive advantages and core competence areas of refractory industries in Odisha.

In India, the first refractory manufacturing unit was set up at Raniganj in 1874 by Burn and Company Ltd. (now Burn Standard Co. Ltd., Kolkata) to cater to the needs of ordinance factory, railway workshops, Calcutta mint and foundries. In 1907, with the setting up of Tata Steel and Indian Iron and Steel Company, the demand for refractory increased. So consequently, new refractory manufacturing units like Kumardhubi Fireclay and Silica (KFS) Works, Bihar Firebricks and Reliance Firebricks were set up. After the independence, in India, a number of integrated steel plants like Hindustan Steel (now SAIL) at Durgapur, Bhilai and Rourkela were set up. Tata Steel also doubled its capacity with technological upgradation.

Further, to meet the increasing demand for refractory, Burn and Co. Ltd increased their existing manufacturing capacity and set up new units in West Bengal, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Entrepreneurship Development Journal, Blue Ocean, Marketing Strategy, Refractory Industries, Red Ocean Marketing Strategy, Blue Ocean Marketing Strategy, Kumardhubi Fireclay and Silica (KFS) Works, Bihar Firebricks, Reliance Firebricks, Odisha,