RAI BUSINESS SCHOOL

ASSIGNMENT
ON

SUBMITTED TO:
Mr. SANDEEP SRIVASTAVA
RAI BUSINESS SCHOOL
NEW DELHI

SUBMITTED BY:
MUKESH KUMAR YADAV
MBA 3rd SEM
P.T.U. IND-INT.

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Company profile:
Hindustan Unilever Limited (abbreviated to HUL) (BSE: HUL) formerly
Hindustan Lever Limited, is India’s largest consumer products company and has an
annual turnover of over Rs 13,000 crores (calendar year 2007). It was formed in 1933 as
Lever Brothers India Limited and came into being in 1956 as Hindustan Lever Limited
through a merger of Lever Brothers, Hindustan Vanaspati Mfg. Co. Ltd. and United
Traders Ltd.. It is headquartered in Mumbai, India and has an employee strength of over
15,000 employees and contributes for indirect employment of over 52,000 people. The
company was renamed in late June 2007 to “Hindustan Unilever Limited”. In 2007,
Hindustan Unilever was rated as the most respected company in India for the past 25
years by Business World, one of India’s leading business magazines.The rating was
based on a compilation of the magazines annual survey of India’s Most Reputed
Companies over the past 25 years. HUL is the market leader in Indian consumer products
with presence in over 20 consumer categories such as Soaps, Tea, Detergents and
Shampoos amongst others with over 700 million Indian consumers using its products. It
has over 35 brands. Sixteen of HUL’s brands featured in the AC Nielsen-Brand Equity
list of 100 Most Trusted Brands Annual Survey (2008) According to Brand Equity, HUL
has the largest number of brands in the Most Trusted Brands.
List it’s a company that has consistently had the largest number of brands in the
Top 50 and in the Top 10 (with 4 brands). Hindustan Unilever distribution covers over 1
million retails outlets across India directly and its products are available in over 6.3
million outlets in India, i.e. nearly 80% of the retail outlets in India. It has 39 factories in
the country. Two out of three Indians use the company’s products and HUL products
have the largest consumer reach being available in over 80 per cent of consumer homes
across India. The Anglo-Dutch company Unilever owns a majority stake (52%) in
Hindustan Unilever Limited. HUL was one of the eight Indian companies to be featured
on the Forbes list of World’s Most Reputed companies in 2007.

HISTORY:
In the summer of 1888, visitors to the Kolkata harbour noticed crates full of
Sunlight soap bars, embossed with the words "Made in England by Lever Brothers".
With it, began an era of marketing branded Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG).
Soon after followed Lifebuoy in 1895 and other famous brands like Pears, Lux and Vim.
Vanaspati was launched in 1918 and the famous Dalda brand came to the market in 1937.
In 1931, Unilever set up its first Indian subsidiary, Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing
Company, followed by Lever Brothers India Limited (1933) and United Traders Limited
(1935). These three companies merged to form HLL in November 1956; HLL offered

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10% of its equity to the Indian public, being the first among the foreign subsidiaries to do
so. Unilever now holds 51.55% equity in the company. The rest of the shareholding is
distributed among about 380,000 individual shareholders and financial institutions.
The erstwhile Brooke Bond's presence in India dates back to 1900. By 1903, the
company had launched Red Label tea in the country. In 1912, Brooke Bond & Co. India
Limited was formed. Brooke Bond joined the Unilever fold in 1984 through an
international acquisition. The erstwhile Lipton's links with India were forged in 1898.
Unilever acquired Lipton in 1972, and in 1977 Lipton Tea (India) Limited was
incorporated.
Pond's (India) Limited had been present in India since 1947. It joined the Unilever
fold through an international acquisition of Chesebrough Pond's USA in 1986.
The liberalization of the Indian economy, started in 1991, clearly marked an
inflexion in HLL's and the Group's growth curve. Removal of the regulatory framework
allowed the company to explore every single product and opportunity segment, without
any constraints on production capacity.
Simultaneously, deregulation permitted alliances, acquisitions and mergers. In
one of the most visible and talked about events of India's corporate history, the
erstwhile Tata Oil Mills Company (TOMCO) merged with HLL, effective from
April 1, 1993. In 1995, HLL and yet another Tata company, Lakme Limited, formed a
50:50 joint venture, Lakme Lever Limited, to market Lakme's market-leading cosmetics
and other appropriate products of both the companies. Subsequently in 1998, Lakme
Limited sold its brands to HLL and divested its 50% stake in the joint venture to the
company. HLL formed a 50:50 joint venture with the US-based Kimberly Clark
Corporation in 1994, Kimberly-Clark Lever Ltd, which markets Huggies Diapers and
Kotex Sanitary Pads. HLL has also set up a subsidiary in Nepal, Nepal Lever Limited
(NLL), and its factory represents the largest manufacturing investment in the Himalayan
kingdom. The NLL factory manufactures HLL's products like Soaps, Detergents and
Personal Products both for the domestic market and exports to India.
The 1990s also witnessed a string of crucial mergers, acquisitions and alliances
on the Foods and Beverages front. In 1992, the erstwhile Brooke Bond acquired Kothari
General Foods, with significant interests in Instant Coffee. In 1993, it acquired the Kissan
business from the UB Group and the Dollops Icecream business from Cadbury India.
As a measure of backward integration, Tea Estates and Doom Dooma, two
plantation companies of Unilever, were merged with Brooke Bond. Then in July 1993,
Brooke Bond India and Lipton India merged to form Brooke Bond Lipton India Limited
(BBLIL), enabling greater focus and ensuring synergy in the traditional Beverages
business. 1994 witnessed BBLIL launching the Wall's range of Frozen Desserts. By the
end of the year, the company entered into a strategic alliance with the Kwality Icecream
Group families and in 1995 the Milkfood 100% Icecream marketing and distribution
rights too were acquired.
Finally, BBLIL merged with HLL, with effect from January 1, 1996. The internal
restructuring culminated in the merger of Pond's (India) Limited (PIL) with HLL in 1998.
The two companies had significant overlaps in Personal Products, Speciality Chemicals
and Exports businesses, besides a common distribution system since 1993 for Personal
Products. The two also had a common management pool and a technology base. The
amalgamation was done to ensure for the Group, benefits from scale economies both in

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domestic and export markets and enable it to fund investments required for aggressively
building new categories.
In January 2000, in a historic step, the government decided to award 74 per cent
equity in Modern Foods to HLL, thereby beginning the divestment of government equity
in public sector undertakings (PSU) to private sector partners. HLL's entry into Bread is a
strategic extension of the company's wheat business. In 2002, HLL acquired the
government's remaining stake in Modern Foods. In 2003, HLL acquired the Cooked
Shrimp and Pasteurized Crabmeat business of the Amalgam Group of Companies, a
leader in value added Marine Products exports.

Brands:
Wheel Detergent ad in rural Nepal area. The company has a distribution channel
of 6.3 million outlets and owns 35 major Indian brands. Some of its brands include
Kwality Wall's ice cream, Lifebuoy, Lux, Breeze, Liril, Rexona, Hamam, Moti soaps,
Pureit Water Purifier, Lipton tea, Brooke Bond tea, Bru Coffee, Pepsodent and
Close Up toothpaste and brushes, and Surf, Rin and Wheel laundry detergents,
Kissan squashes and jams, Annapurna salt and atta, Pond's talcs and creams,
Vaseline lotions, Fair & Lovely creams, Lakmé beauty products, Clinic Plus, Clinic
All Clear, Sunsilk and Dove shampoos, Vim dishwash, Ala bleach and Domex
disinfectant.Rexona,Modern Bread and Axe deosprays Leadership HUL has produced
many business leaders for corporate India.
It is referred to as a 'CEO Factory' in the Indian press for the same reasons.[who?]
It's leadership building potential was recognized when it was ranked 4th in the Hewitt
Global Leadership Survey 2007 with only GE, P&G and Nokia ranking ahead of HUL in
the ability to produce leaders with such regularity.
Mission Unilever's mission is to add Vitality to life. We meet everyday needs
for nutrition, hygiene, and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look
good and get more out of life Vision Tag line-According to the CEO of HUL Mr.
Douglas Bailey the new logo and name symbolizes the idea of vitality. He says “The
identity symbolises the benefits we bring to our consumers and the communities we work
in. Our mission is full of promise for the future, opening up exciting opportunities where
we have competitive advantage for developing our business and our new identity will
help us confidently position ourselves in every aspect of our business CEO-MUMBAI:
FMCG major Hindustan Unilever on Monday announced the appointment of Mr. Nitin
Paranjpe as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the company, while
Douglas Baillie will be elevated as the Unilever Group Executive. Paranjpe would
replace Baillie, who would also be the Group President for Unilever's business in
Western Europe, HUL said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Present Stature:
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer
Goods company, touching the lives of two out of three Indians with over 20 distinct
categories in Home & Personal Care Products and Foods & Beverages. They endow the
company with a scale of combined volumes of about 4 million tonnes and sales of nearly
Rs.13718 crores. HUL is also one of the country's largest exporters; it has been
recognised as a Golden Super Star Trading House by the Government of India. The

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mission that inspires HUL's over 15,000 employees, including over 1,300 managers, is to
"add vitality to life." HUL meets everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene, and personal care
with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life. It is a mission
HUL shares with its parent company, Unilever, which holds 52.10% of the equity. The
rest of the shareholding is distributed among 360,675 individual shareholders and
financial institutions.

Some of HLL brands are:

Kwality Walls Ice Cream Hamam Lifebuoy Rexona Lux Liril Moti Soaps Breeze
Lipton Tea Brooke Bond Tea Bru Coffee Pepsodent Close Up Surf Rin Wheel Laundry
Detergent Kissan Annapurna Pond's Vaseline Fair & Lovely Lakmé Clinic Plus Clinic
All Clear Sunsilk and Lux Shampoos Vim Ala Bleach Domex Pureit Water Purifier
The Hindustan Lever Research Center (HLRC) was established in 1958, and now has
facilities in Mumbai & Bangalore. HLRC has 200 highly qualified scientists and
technologists, many of them with post-doctoral experience. HLL also runs various
ambitious programmes like Shakti. Shakti's aim is to create opportunities for rural women
thereby improving their livelihood and standard of living in rural sector. Shakti also
includes health and hygiene education through the Shakti Vani Programme. The
programme covers about 50,000 villages in 12 states. HLL's motive is to take this
programme to 100,000 villages influencing the lives of over a 100 million rural Indians.
HLL is also involved in running a rural health programme - Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetana.
The programme aims to inculcate the hygienic practices among rural Indians to bring
down the figure of diarrhea patients. It has already covered 70 million people in
approximately 15000 villages of 8 states. 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002,
2003, 2004, 2005.

New Ventures:

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 Hindustan Lever Network Ayush Ayurvedic Products & Services Sangam Pureit
Water Purifiers.

Exports:
HPC Beverages Marine Products Rice Castor Ayush Ayurvedic Products from
Hindustan Unilever Ltd. started by skopikar 2 yrs ago It goes without saying that
"Prevention is Always Better than Cure". When a person is sick, it is a drain not only
on the finances of the household but also prevents the concerned person from enjoying all
the good things in life. Our ancient system of Ayurveda coupled with the largest FMCG
company in India, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, have come up with great solutions to many
health problems. Anti-aging, Diabetes, Joint pains, Hair care, Special supplements for
children and so on are some of the areas handled. Health conscious people are welcome
to open a discussion on the subject.

HUL's INITIATIVE IN RURAL DEVELOPEMENT:

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) and its constituent companies have been in
India since 1931. Over these decades, while HUL has benefited from the developments
in the country, it has contributed equally to these developments. HUL has consciously
woven India's imperatives with the company's strategies and operations. The company’s
main contributions include developing and using relevant technologies, stimulating
industrialization, boosting exports, adding value to agriculture and generating productive
employment and income opportunities. HUL has been proactively engaged in rural
development since 1976 with the initiation of the Integrated Rural Development
Programme in the Etah district of Uttar Pradesh, in tandem with the company’s dairy
operations. This Programme now covers 500 villages in the district. Subsequently, the
factories that HUL continued establishing in lessdeveloped regions of the country have
been engaged in similar programmes in adjacent villages.
These factory-centered activities mainly focus on training farmers, animal
husbandry, generating alternative income, health & hygiene and infrastructure

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development. The company has acquired a wealth of experience and learning from these
activities.
LEARNINGS ON RURAL DEVELOPEMENT:
The principal issue in rural development is to create income-generating
opportunities for the rural population. Such initiatives are successful and sustainable
when linked with the company’s core business and is mutually beneficial to both the
population for whom the programme is intended and for the company. Based on these
insights, HUL launched Project Shakti in the year 2001, in keeping with the purpose of
integrating business interests with national interests.

New Products introduced by HUL in recent years:

 Lux strawberry and cream
 Clinic plus multi sachet
 Ponds age miracle
 Axe shock and recover
 Paddle pop
 Wheel active Green

Divisions:
Home and Personal Care:
The HPC business is made up of Fabric Wash, Household Care, Personal Wash
and Personal Care categories.
 Personal Wash: Lux, Lifebuoy, Liril, Hamam, Breeze, Dove, Pears, Rexona
 Laundry: Surf excel, Rin, Wheel
 Skin care: Fair and Lovely, Ponds, Vaseline, Aviance
 Oral care: Pepsodent, Close up
 Deodorants: Axe, Rexona
 Colour cosmetics: Lakme
 Ayurvedic personal and health care: Ayush

Foods:
The Foods Division of your Company comprises Beverages, Processed Foods, Ice-
Creams and Modern Foods businesses. The Division recorded strong growth in 2007.
 Tea: Brooke Bond, Lipton
 Coffee: Bru
 Foods: Kissan, Annapurna, Knorr
 Ice cream: Kwality walls

PRODUCT STRATEGY AS PER PLC STAGE IN DIFFERENT

SEGMENTS

1. SOAP LUX

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PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE:
LUX Beauty Bar is in the maturity stage of its life cycle.

Some of the prominent variants

Lux Almond
Lux Orchid
Lux Fruit
Lux Saffron
Lux Sandalwood
Lux Rose
Lux International
Lux Chocolate
Lux Aromatic Extracts
Lux Oil and Honey Glow
Lux Provocateur

LUX Beauty Soap- Form, Features, Style:

With icons of beauty endorsing the brand, the offerings made by Lux have
always been superior and have always led the market, setting benchmarks for
competition. Lux has beauty offerings in two of the four market segments – popular and
premium, spanning the needs of varied consumers.
Lux Toilet Soap in the popular segment has in the past years offered its
consumers a range of soaps enriched with the goodness of a variety of nourishing

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ingredients – rose extracts, almond oil, milk cream, fruit extracts and honey which are
known to harbour the secrets of incredibly perfect skin.
At the upper end of the market is the premium range which continues to offer
specialised skincare to its consumers in the form of International Lux – a range of
moisturising, deep cleansing and sunscreen soaps.
Logo:

Labelling:
The LUX Trade Character or Logo is present prominently on the package. A novel
metallic substrate packaging showcases the ingredients, and a female model is shown on
the pack. Also displayed graphically are the key ingredients.

Packaging:
The colors are different for different variants such as saffron for the saffron variant,
pink for the rose extracts etc.The Bars come in package sizes of 100g, 120g, 150 g

Lux has also launched a 45 g variant called Mini Lux priced at Rs. 5.

Promotion:
The great Indian brand wagon started nearly four decades ago. Great brands
sometimes outlast their ambassadors as proven by Lux which celebrated its 75th
anniversary in India. The first ambassador, Leela Chitnis featured in a Lux advertisement
which flagged off the Lux wagon. She gave way to a galaxy of stars which includes

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Madhubala, Nargis, Meena Kumari, Mala Sinha, Sharmila Tagore, Waheeda Rehman,
Saira Banu, Hema Malini, Zeenat Amaan, Juhi Chawla, Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi,
Aishwarya Rai and Kareena Kapoor. The last frontier for most actors aspiring to stardom
is becoming a Lux ambassador. The brand has outlasted many soaps. From the beginning,
Lux became a household name across the country.
Advertising:
Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas,
goods and services by an identified sponsor. Ads can be a cost effective way to
disseminate messages, whether to build a brand preference or to educate people.
LUX ADVERTISEMENTS THROUGH THE AGES

Leela Chitnis in the first Lux print adverstisement featuring an indian actress

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Aishwarya Rai in a print advertisement featuring Lux international

Priyanka Chopra in the latest Lux advertisement

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 USP or the common thread through all the advertisements is the Presence of Movie
Stars through the ages.
 The product has been positioned on the basis of REFERENCE GROUP by using a
celebrity popular at that point in time.
 Some amount of attribute positioning by mentioning the various ingredients has also
been done.
Change in communication strategy:
However, the communication was slowly seen to be losing relevance, as
consumers were beginning to question if the film star actually used the brand. In addition
to this, several competitive beauty soap brands had begun advertising using similar
methods of communication. In this context, the global brand team for Lux developed a
new communication strategy. This strategy – bring out the star in you – for the first time
moved the brand away from the long-running film star route. The film star still features in
the new communication but not as her gorgeous self but rather as an alter ego/projection
of the protagonist (a regular girl), for a few seconds of the entire ad.Thus, for the first
time the film star was used as a communication device and not as the main feature of the
ad. The move away from the film star and her fantasy world to a regular Lux user, with
the focus on the protagonist’s star quality, is a change from the norms set by Lux
advertising in the past. With the new communication strategy, the film star is used purely
as a communication device to portray star quality in every Lux user. This can be
significantly seen in the latest TV commercial of Lux Crystal Shine where Priyanka
Chopra is portrayed as a normal woman.
This idea – bring out the star in you – puts the consumer at the heart of the
brands’ promise. This promise goes beyond the functional deliverables of soap, beyond
bathing and the bathroom to the world outside. It’s a world where with Lux on her side,
an ordinary woman can impact her world with her own star quality. This is a successful
attempt to bring the brand closer to its users and to give it a more youthful and
contemporary image.

Breaking away from tradition, HLL resorts to a male and metro sexual Shah Rukh to
revive Lux, which turned 75 in 2005.

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 2. DETERGENT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Surf excel has been following the Unilever’s message i.e. add vitality to life.
Similar is with surf excel. In the beginning Surf Excel was facing competition from Ariel,
the product of P&G. but very soon with the tagline “Dirt is Good”, Surf Excel was
successful in regaining it’s market leadership. It soon emerged back as the dominant
detergent of the country. The product is decided by matching the marketing insights with
the local insights. The marketing report of the brand should match the region’s attitude so
that the product can fulfill and satisfy the customer’s need and expectation. The
packaging is designed in such a manner that it should it is able to create a Recall value
among the prospective customers. It should stand out among its competitors because
majority of the purchases are impulsive buying’s.Price is decided as per the economic
situation and spending pattern of the target market. Distribution pricing strategy is
determined in such a way so as to suit all forms of trade (GT, LMT, IMT) along with
customer’s purchasing power. Promotion was the most important ingredient in the revival
of Surf Excel. The event Paint Masti created a name of the brand. Relaunch of the Surf
with the tagline “Dirt is Good” helps in differentiating the product, because all other
brands are still focusing on the fact that dirt is bad.
INTRODUCTION:
Change is inevitable and a leader must be willing to embrace change rather than
resist it. When new technology opens the possibility of a new market that may threaten
the existing one, a successful firm should consider entering the new market so that it will
have the first-mover advantage in it. For example, Surf lost its leadership as Ariel came
with a better technology powder safe for hands and tough on dirt. Surf did a re-entry with
a marvelous campaign of “Dirt is Good”. The company has been able to maintain its
leadership position because it used its resources to form make a move into the
competitive arena.

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KEY TO SUCCESS:
To build customer value, satisfaction and hardcore loyalty with the brand.

UNILIVER’S MESSAGE:
We have always believed that dirt is a valuable way to enrich our lives, both
young and old. To ensure that everyone, anywhere in the country, can share in this
initiative, we're investing heavily in developing a range that suits the pockets of all
income groups. This has included launching affordable skus that not only offer the top
clean advantages of Surf Excel, but also reduce the time, physical effort and amount of
water needed to wash clothes by hand.
.
PRODUCT:
Regional Brand Teams at Bangkok meets and decides where to launch which
product. The feasibility report is prepared and market insights are discovered. Market
insights should match Local Insights. In the report even the people’s actions while
washing are also observed and presented in the report. This enables to present a full
fledge information about a the attributes, cultural values, and motions of a particular
community, region, or a nation, may it be washing pattern, economic condition, or
spending pattern.

PACKAGING:
Surf Excel, mainly Unilever has a new Phenomena. It consults all 3 trade models
(General trade, Local modern trade, and International modern trade) while designing
packaging for Surf Excel. Packaging should be to create impulsive desires, and it should
stand out among its competitors. It is where Product development team and marketers
come into action in furnishing packaging standards for all its product ranges.

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PRODUCT LIFECYCLE:
Surf Excel is at growth stage unlike Lux which is at Maturity. The Surf is still
showing an increase in profits (approximately 25% this year). At growth if the sales are
stagnant or not increasing company can relaunch or reposition it’s product to give a boost
as it was previously done with Lifebuoy.

Market Growth Stage:

During the market growth stage, demand for the product increases and the size of
the market grows. The pioneer’s sales and profits go up. By the time the pioneer thinks of
settling down with the product, competitors may enter the scene with similar or improved
versions. The pioneer may then have to alter his strategies.

Market maturity stage:

In the market maturity stage, demand tends to reach a saturation point. There is
enough supply from several competing sources. Dealers may dictate terms to the various
competing firms. Price competition becomes intense and the pioneer tries to distinguish
his brand by subtle product differentiation and exploits the brand loyalty he has built up.

Market modification:
A company might try to expand the market for its mature brand by working with the
two factors that make up sales volume: Volume = number of brand users x usage rate per
user. Expand number of brand users: Convert non-users; enter new market segments;
attract competitors’ customers. Increase the usage rates among users.

Product modification:

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 Managers try to stimulate sales through quality improvement, feature
improvement, or style improvement.

Marketing Program modification:

Product managers might also try to stimulate sales by modifying marketing
program elements such as Prices, Distribution, Advertising, Sales promotion, Personal
selling, Services.
Market decline stage:
In the decline stage, sales begin to fall. The demand for the product shrinks
probably due to new and functionally advanced products becoming available in the
market, or the market becoming apathetic to the product. In any case, prices and margins
get depressed, total sales and profits diminish. Some firms try to link up the sale of these
products with some other premium products they have developed and thus try to stretch
the life of the declining product.

3. SKIN CARE:
Fair & Lovely
 Fair & Lovely, Based on a revolutionary breakthrough in skin lightening
technology, Fair & Lovely was launched in 1978.
 The Hindustan Lever Research Centre (it is among the largest research
establishments in India's private sector, including pharmaceutical companies, with
facilities in Mumbai and Bangalore) deployed technology, based on pioneering
research in the science of skin lightening to develop Fair & Lovely.
 The brand today offers a substantive range of products, including Ayurvedic Fair
& Lovely Fairness cream, Fair & Lovely Anti-Marks cream, Fair & Lovely Oil
control Fairness Gel, Fair & Lovely for Deep Skin and Fair & Lovely Fairness
Soap. The latest has been the Perfect Radiance, a complete range of 12 premium
skincare solutions from Fair & Lovely.

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PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE:
A product passes through certain distinct stages during its life, and this is called the
Product Life Cycle. The PLC is normally presented as a sales curve spanning the
product’s course from introduction to exit.

Four distinct stages in PLC:

A typical product passes through four distinct stages during the course of its life as shown
below:

Market pioneering stage (Introduction)

Market growth stage
Market maturity stage
Market decline stage

Market Pioneering Stage:

Now the product is in its introductory stage. At this stage, there may not be a
ready market for the product. Sales are low; the product undergoes teething troubles;
profits seem a remote possibility; demand has to be created and developed; and
customers have to be prompted to try out the product. This stage poses several problems
for the marketer. The complexity of the problem and the duration of the stage depend
upon the nature of the product, its price, its technological newness and the consumer’s
view of the product. One of the crucial decisions to be taken at this stage is the pricing

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decision. Since the product is new, no past data or comparisons are available. The firm
opts for one of the following pricing strategies: (1) market skimming (2) market
penetration. The skimming strategy involves high prices, taking advantage of early entry
and the relative novelty of the product in the pioneering stage. Penetration pricing
involves low pricing, with a view to having good market coverage and eventually a mass
market for the product. This strategy also aims at keeping the competitors out. The kind
of pricing strategy to be adopted will depend on the characteristics of the product, market
characteristics and the firm’s objectives. Another crucial area demanding attention at this
stage is market development and promotion. This is the stage when demand has to be
created and developed. The firm has to invest heavily on promotion and wait for the
reward.
Market Growth Stage:
During the market growth stage, demand for the product increases and the size of
the market grows. The pioneer’s sales and profits go up. By the time the pioneer thinks of
settling down with the product, competitors may enter the scene with similar or improved
versions. The pioneer may then have to alter his strategies. He has to stay ahead of
competitors and persuade the customer to prefer his brand. He cannot dictate the price to
the customer. He cannot dictate the terms to the channel members. If he had adopted the
price skimming strategy at the pioneering stage, this is the time to reconsider his pricing
strategy. He is forced to follow competition-oriented pricing, because the total market is
now being shared among many firms, though he may still remain the market leader.
Marketing and distribution efficiency become decisive factors at this stage.
During the growth stage, the firm uses several strategies to sustain rapid market growth:
 It improves product quality and adds new product features and improved styling.
 It adds new models and flanker products i.e. products of different sizes, flavors
and so forth that protect the main product.
 It enters new market segments.
 It increases its distribution coverage and enters new distribution channels.
 It shifts from product-awareness advertising to product-preference advertising.
 It lowers prices to attract the next layer of price-sensitive buyers.

Market maturity stage:

In the market maturity stage, demand tends to reach a saturation point. There is
enough supply from several competing sources. Dealers may dictate terms to the various
competing firms. Price competition becomes intense and the pioneer tries to distinguish
his brand by subtle product differentiation and exploits the brand loyalty he has built up.
The pioneer feels compelled to communicate directly with the consumers, since, by now,
dealers have become multi-brand dealers. The pioneer may try product and packaging
modifications and promotional deals and make special offers to new market segments so
that his sales volume does not shrink.
Long-term and short-term marketing plans are implemented to possibly prolong
the maturity stage; if this is not done, it could easily lead to the stage of decline.
Relatively low prices, increased marketing costs, keener competition and lesser profits
characterize this stage. Some companies abandon weaker products to concentrate on
more-profitable and new products. Faced with situation of declining demand for scooters,
Bajaj, one of the largest manufacturers of scooters in the world, focused on motorcycles.

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Three potential ways to change the course for a brand are market modification, product
modification and marketing program modification.
Market modification:
A company might try to expand the market for its mature brand by working with the
two factors that make up sales volume: Volume = number of brand users x usage rate per
user. Expand number of brand users: Convert non-users; enter new market segments;
attract competitors’ customers. Increase the usage rates among users: Have consumers
used the product on more occasions; have consumers used more of the product on each
occasion; have consumers use the product in new ways.

Product modification:
Managers try to stimulate sales through quality improvement, feature
improvement, or style improvement.

Marketing Program modification:

Product managers might also try to stimulate sales by modifying marketing
program elements such as Prices, Distribution, Advertising, Sales promotion, Personal
selling, Services.

Market decline stage:

In the decline stage, sales begin to fall. The demand for the product shrinks
probably due to new and functionally advanced products becoming available in the
market, or the market becoming apathetic to the product. In any case, prices and margins
get depressed, total sales and profits diminish. Some firms try to link up the sale of these
products with some other premium products they have developed and thus try to stretch
the life of the declining product. Firms do perceive the impending total decline and
prepare for the gradual phasing out of the product. Successful firms quite often keep new
products ready in queue to fill the vacuum created by the decline of existing products.
The knowledge that a product will pass through such a cycle is helpful in evolving proper
product policies and promotion and pricing strategies.When firms leave the declining
market earlier than others, it is tempting for the remaining firms to stay and attract the
withdrawing firms’ customers. A company that is in an unattractive industry but
possesses competitive strength should consider shrinking selectively. A company that is
in an attractive industry but has competitive strength should consider strengthening its
investment. Companies that successfully restage or rejuvenate a mature product often do
so by adding value to the original offering. Strategies for withdrawing can be harvesting
or divesting. Harvesting calls for gradually reducing a product or business’s costs while
trying to maintain sales. The first step is to cut R&D costs and plant and equipment
investment. The company might also reduce product quality, sales force size, marginal
services, and advertising expenditure. It would try to cut these costs without letting
customers, competitors and employees know what is happening. Harvesting can increase
cash flow substantially.

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Advertisement of Fair & Lovely
4. FOOD PRODUCTS
Kissan:
Acquired by Hindustan Lever Limited in 1994, the Kissan category consists of
'deliciously wholesome products for kids to grow up. The Kissan range consists of
ketchup and other sauces, jams, squashes and ready-to-drink products. For mothers and
children, Kissan is today one of the most trusted brands in the country. Kissan continues
to be a pioneer in the categories that it operates in.The Kissan range of products category
consist of 'deliciously wholesome products for kids.The Kissan range consists of ketchup
and other sauces, jams, squashes and ready-to-drink products. For mothers and children,
Kissan is today one of the most trusted brands in the country. Kissan continues to be a
pioneer in categories like Jams, Ketchup and Squashes.

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 Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has launched Amaze Brainfood under the
Kissan brand. Each serving of Amaze Brainfood is specifically designed to give children
33% of the required dosage of nutrients for mental development daily,based on
international dietary recommendations for school going children. Amaze, now available
in all leading retail outlets across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh is currently
available in three different formats- Bars (33gm), Bites (30gm) and Smart Mix (150 gm
& 400gm) in various exciting flavours. Amaze is all set to become a healthy and easy
choice and it not only delivers key brain nutrients on a wholesome base, it is also
delicious and available in formats readily acceptable by the children.
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) has launched Amaze Brainfood under the
Kissan brand. Each serving of Amaze Brainfood is specifically designed to give children
33% of the required dosage of nutrients for mental development daily,based on
international dietary recommendations for school going children. Amaze, now available
in all leading retail outlets across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh is currently
available in three different formats- Bars (33gm), Bites (30gm) and Smart Mix (150 gm
& 400gm) in various exciting flavours. Amaze is all set to become a healthy and easy
choice and it not only delivers key brain nutrients on a wholesome base, it is also
delicious and available in formats readily acceptable by the children.

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 According to Sidharth Singh, Category Head, Hindustan Unilever Limited, "It is
vital to give children a good start in life and good nutrition is key for developing their
brain and body to its full potential. Increased urbanisation, changing
g diets and lifestyles have lead to imbalanced diets and high intake of empty calories.
Amaze provides a nutritious option to the mothers who find it difficult to feed their
children with nutrient rich foods children need for proper growth and development. It
would easily fit into the normal meal moments of a child and is a wholesome alternative
to unhealthy snacks which children tend to get attracted to." Nutrition plays a very
important role and has a long lasting effect on mental development.

5. PURIFIERS
Water Pureit:
Pureit, a breakthrough offering of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), comes with many
unique benefits – complete protection from all water-borne diseases, unmatched
convenience and affordability. Pureit’s unique Germkill Battery technology kills all
harmful viruses and bacteria and removes parasites and pesticide impurities, giving you
water that is ‘as safe as boiled’. It assures your family 100% protection from water-borne
diseases like jaundice, diarrhoea, typhoid and cholera. What’s more, it doesn’t need gas,
electricity or continuous tap water supply. Pureit not only renders water micro-
biologically safe, but also makes the water clear, odourless and good-tasting. You will be
further reassured to know that Pureit meets the stringent germ-kill criteria of the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the toughest regulatory agency in the USA.
The performance of Pureit has also been tested by leading scientific and medical
institutions in India and abroad.

This patented technological breakthrough has been developed by HUL. This

state-of–the-art engineering developed by a team of over 100 Indian and international
experts from HUL and Unilever Research Centres has made Pureit possible at the
consumer price of just Rs. 2000. Pureit runs with a unique ‘Germkill battery Kit’™ that
typically lasts for 1500 litres of water. The Germkill Battery Kit™ is priced at Rs.350.
This means consumers will get four litres of water that is ‘as safe as boiled water’ ™ for
just one rupee. Which works out to an extremely affordable 23 paise per litre.
Pureit, which marked the company’s entry into the consumer durables
business, was introduced in 2005 in Chennai and then in other southern markets before its

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national launch early this year. Once the roll-out of the product in the urban markets is
completed, HUL will launch Pureit in rural markets, according to three people familiar
with the plan who spoke on condition of anonymity because they aren’t authorized to
speak to the media.
“The company is making substantial investments in sales and distribution and advertising
and promotions to ramp up its presence in the urban markets,” one of them said. “For
rural markets, it is planning to tie up with various government agencies and non-profit
organizations.”
The company plans to add 2,500 more executives over the next nine months to Pureit’s
existing sales team of 7,500. Besides traditional advertising such as television
commercials, the company is promoting the product through non-traditional channels
such as hospitals, clinics, government and non-government bodies and health care
agencies.

Piyo Pure Raho Sure

PRODUCT LIFECYCLE:
Surf Excel is at growth stage unlike Lux which is at Maturity. The Surf is still
showing an increase in profits (approximately 25% this year). At growth if the sales are
stagnant or not increasing company can relaunch or reposition it’s product to give a boost
as it was previously done with Lifebuoy.

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Market Growth Stage:
During the market growth stage, demand for the product increases and the size of
the market grows. The pioneer’s sales and profits go up. By the time the pioneer thinks of
settling down with the product, competitors may enter the scene with similar or improved
versions. The pioneer may then have to alter his strategies.

Market maturity stage:

In the market maturity stage, demand tends to reach a saturation point. There is
enough supply from several competing sources. Dealers may dictate terms to the various
competing firms. Price competition becomes intense and the pioneer tries to distinguish
his brand by subtle product differentiation and exploits the brand loyalty he has built up.

Market modification:
A company might try to expand the market for its mature brand by working with the
two factors that make up sales volume: Volume = number of brand users x usage rate per
user. Expand number of brand users: Convert non-users; enter new market segments;
attract competitors’ customers. Increase the usage rates among users.

Product modification:
Managers try to stimulate sales through quality improvement, feature
improvement, or style improvement.

Mukesh Kumar Yadav

MBA PTU (IND-INT)
SEM 3rd

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