Project report on

Marketing strategy of lux

soap with reference to HUL

In the partial fulfillment of degree of bachelor of business

administration

Submitted to-

submitted by

Mr. Dheeraj Gandhi

Aghna shamsi

Project guide

bba vi sem

Declaration
I Aghna shamsi student of BBA Vith Sem INVERTIS UNIVERSITY
BARIELLY hereby declare that I have completed my project on the
topic of Marketing Strategies of lux soap with reference to
HUL. The information submitted here taken from the internet and
official website of LUX SOAP.

Aghna shamsi
Bba vi sem
Roll no 1110101007

Acknowledgement
First and foremost, I would like to express my
Sincere gratitude to my project guide f o r g i v i n g
m e t h e opportunity to do an interesting project like this.
I was privileged to experience a sustained, enthusiastic and involved
interest from their side. This e n c o u r a g e d u s t o b o l d l y s t e p
i n t o w h a t w a s a t o t a l l y d a r k a n d unexplored expanse before
us. I would also like to thank to my project guide MR. DHEERAJ
GHANDHI who ready with a positive comment all the time and a
special thanks to all those who took out time to fill our survey sheet
without which our project would have been a failure. Last but not the
least, I would like to thanks to all those who help me in making the
project.

Content
s.no
1

List of content
Introduction

Page no.

Industry profile
Future of soap industry
About the business
History of lux soap
Top soap brand in india
Product of lux soap
Summary

Company profile

History
Marketing strategy
Celebrity endorsement
Celebrity beauty
4 Ps

5-6
7-8
8
9-10
10-12
12
13-17
18-19
20-22
23-25
26-27
28
29-32
33-35

SWOT analysis

36-37

4
5
6

Literature review
Objective of the study
Research methodology

38-39
40
41-46

Findings

47

Suggestions

48

9
10

Conclusion
Bibliography

49-50
51

INTRODUCTION
Lux stands for the promise of beauty and glamour as one of India's most
trusted personal care brands. Since its launch in India in the year 1929,
Lux has offered a range of soaps in different colors and world class
fragrances. Lux is a beauty soap of film stars. Lux soap was first
Launched in 1916 as laundry soap targeted specifically at 'delicates'.
Lever Brothers encouraged women to home launder their clothes
without fear of satins and silks being turned yellow by harsh lyes that
were often used in soaps at the time. The flake-type soap allowed
the manufacturer some leeway from lye because it did not need
to be shaped into traditional cake-shaped loaves as other soaps
were. The result was a gentler soap that dissolved more readily
and was advertised as suitable for home laundry use. Lux toilet soap
was introduced in 1925 as bathroom soap. The name 'Lux' was
chosen as a play on the word "luxury." Lux has been marketed in
several forms, including bar and flake and liquid (hand wash,
shower gel and cream bath soap). Lux in step with the changing trends
and evolving beauty needs of the consumers, offers an
exciting range of soaps and Body Washes with unique elements to
make bathing time more pleasurable. One can choose from
arrange of skincare benefits like firming, fairne ss
and moisturizing.
From the 1930s right through to the 1970s, Lux soap colors
and packaging were altered several times to reflect fashion
trends. In 1958 five colors made up the range: pink, white, blue,

green and yellow. People enjoyed matching their soap with their
bathroom colors.
In the early 1990s, Lux responded to the growing trend away
from traditional soap bars by launching its own range of shower gels,
liquid soaps and moisturizing bars. Lux beauty facial wash, Lux beauty
bath and Lux beauty shower were launched in 1992.In 2004, the entire
Lux range was re-launched in the UK to include five shower
gels, three bath products and two new soap bars. 2005 saw the launch
of three exciting new variants with dreamy na me s such as
Wine & Roses bath crea m, Glowing Touch
and Sparkling Morning shower gels.

Industry profile
History of soap dates way back from 2350 years. Soap manufacturing
was started in North America. Early in the history of Europe colonies
and of the republic. Some American companies with currently well
known names were started 50 to200 years ago. During middle ages, soap
was made at various places in Italy, France, Spain, England and possible
other countries. Mankind knew about soap nearly 200 years back 70
A.D. when Mr.Pllny and Mr. elder evidentially discovered the soap
when roasted meat over flowed on the flow in ashes. This lump like
product was soap and had foaming and cleansing character. Since then
1192 A.D. that in the first time detergent was taken in London.
It is in 1931 A.D. that in the first time detergent was discovered by
Mr.Grency with the sulphate do live oil and almond oil. The wood
consumption of soap in1884 A.D. was said to be lakhs/ton per annum
and it was in this year Mr.W.H.L. ever entered the field of the soap
making in a big way. During the British rule the Lever Brothers,
England introduced modern soaps by importing and marketing them in
the country. The first company created was North West Soap Company,
the soap manufacturing plant in India situated in the city of Meerut, in
the state of Uttar Pradesh. In 1897, they started marketing cold process
soaps.
In 1918, Mr. Jamshedji Tata set up India's first indigenous soap
manufacturing unit when he purchased the Coconut Oil Mills at Cochin
Kerala. OK Mills crushed and marketed coconut oil for cooking and
manufactured crude cold process laundry soaps that were sold locally
and It was renamed The Tata Oil Mills Company and its first branded
soaps appeared on the market in the early 1930's.
7

Soaps are categorized into men's soaps, ladies' soaps and common soaps.
There are few specialty soaps like the Glycerine soaps, sandal soaps,
specially flavored soaps, medicated soaps and baby soaps. Specialty
soaps are high valued which enjoy only a small share of the market in
value terms. The market is growing at 7% a year. This means that the
incremental demand generation is 5% over and above the population
growth. With increasing awareness of hygienic standards, the market for
the Soaps could grow at a rate higher than 8% annually. Interestingly,
60% of the market is now sourced from the rural sector. This means that
the variance between the two segments is not very large. Since upperend market focus is the urban areas, margins come from the urban sector.

FUTURE OF SOAP INDUSTRY:

The growth prospects seems to be enormous considering the fact
that the per capita income consumption in India is as low at
0.30kgover the year we have M/S HUL, M/S TAMCO,LUX
etc., leading the industry in the field of soap manufacture,
growth of population, income

ABOUT THE BUSINESS:

8

Major players & market shares: Hindustan Unilever ltd., (HUL) is the
leader for the toilet soap industry in India with a 60% share in the
market. Other major players from LUX is facing competition are Godrej
soaps, Wipro, Procter & Gamble, Colgate Palmolive, Johnson &
Johnson etc., Of the nearly 7 lakhs tons toilet soap, market for 500 tons
comes from the premium segment, 3 lakhs tons won carbolic segment
and the rest are from the batting or popular segment. There are 40brands
in the total toilet soap market. In the popular segment Liril, Cinthol,
Palmolive, Lux international have been well established in the market.
In the popular segment lux, rexona, hamam, santore have a strong
presence while among the carbolic soap lifebuoy, Ok, nirma have proved
their worth. The important point is that the price of the soap between the
various brands generally varies between 50 paise and rupee. The soap
industry does not face serious problems to the raw materials front.
Consumption, expenditure increased in urban cities spread of education,
growing degree of personal hygiene etc., has increased by the spread of
audio-visual media, rising incomes and general consciousness about the
health.

History of lux soap

9

Lux soap first produced in United Kingdom in 1899. It was produced by

British company name Lever Brothers. Lever Brothers was founded in
1885 by William Hesketh Lever and his brother James. They using
glycerin and vegetable oil such as palm oil to manufacture soap called
Sunlight Soap.

The flaked version of soap called Lux soap. Glycerin was a lucrative by
product of the soap making process, and by the end of 1886, Lever
brothers also had a glycerin factory.
Lever opened their small office in New York in 1895. The company
started selling Sunlight and Lifebuoy but did not doing well until 1916.
Lux soap was first launched in United States in 1916. The Lux
trademark was registered in United States in 1900.
Lux soap was launched in India in 1929. The soap's very first
advertisement featured actress Leela Chitnis as its brand ambassador. It
was popularly known as 'the beauty soap of film stars.'
From 1930s right through 1970s, Lux soap colors and packaging were
altered several times to reflect fashion trends. In 1958 five colors were
made up the range: pink, white, blue, green and yellow. In 1990s, Lux
launching its own range of shower gels, liquid soaps and moisturizing

10

bars. Today, Lux soap is sold in 100 countries and sales achieved 1.0
billion euros in 2005 alone.
Although Lux was always advertised as a product meant for indulging
the senses, where bathing was a wonderful ritual in itself, it petered
down its approach in the recent years. The actors are still shown seen
indulging themselves. But the focus also moves towards the ordinary girl
in a bid to reach out to its female consumers. A wonderful example of
this promotion was the 2005 Mujhme Star Jagaaye campaign featuring
Aishwarya Rai and Shilpa Anand.
The campaign also promoted a Model Hunt that went underway soon
after. In 2004, Lux launched a Lux star bano, Aish karo contest where
consumers were supposed to buy a promotional pack of Lux and scratch
the special scratch card
to earn their reward. Prizes varied from living a day in Aishwarya Rais
life to beauty kits, Neeta Lulla saris among a host of other gift vouchers
and well more Lux soaps to be won. On its completion of 75 years in
2005, Lux roped in Shah Rukh Khan as its first ever male ambassador.
The advertisement featured the actor in a bathtub, flanked by his leading
ladies Juhi Chawla, Kareena Kapoor, Sridevi and Hema Malini. It was
known as the Har Star Lucky Star offer, where every wrapper
Guaranteed a gift, waiting to be unwrapped.
In 2009, Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan featured in the new
Sone Se Bhi Sona Lage campaign. The campaign also conducted a Lux
Super Star Offer where the lucky winners get to meet AishwaryaAbhishek in London.
The campaign jingle became so immensely popular that its varied
renditions were used in the advertisements that featured Katrina Kaif
since2009. Asin Thottumkal and Kajal Agarwal are
the newest brand ambassadors of Lux, modelling together for the Kya
Khoob HoTum advertisement that has been recently released Lux also
relies on market research for making innovative changes by going for
door-to-door sampling of a product, once a year, in urban and rural
11

areas. The brand image is firmly and favourably embedded in the psyche
of the consumers. The product is also not particularly expensive, which
is said to be a winning combination.

Top Soap Brands in India

Dettol ( A Brand of Dettol India)
Lifebuoy (A brand of Hindustan Unilever)
Lux (A brand of Hindustan Unilever)
Dove (A brand of Hindustan Unilever)
Hamam (A brand of Hindustan Unilever)
Rexona (A brand of Hindustan Unilever )
Breeze (A brand of Hindustan Unilever )
Pears (A brand of Hindustan Unilever)
Liril (A brand of Hindustan Unilever)
Vivel ( A brand of ITC)
Superia (A brand of ITC)
Medimix (From Medimix International)
Santoor (A brand of ITC)
Savlon (From Savlons Family First Aid )
Margo (The soap was manufactured by Calcutta Chemical sand was
launched.

Products of lux soap

12

Lux is the oldest and most iconic beauty and bathing bar in India. It is the largest
selling soap brand in the world and is the Number 1 soap brand in India. Some of
the most beautiful and glamorous stars of the world have endorsed this brand over
the years, from Leela Chitnis to Katrina Kaif. The brand encourages women to
express their beauty by giving them an amazing feeling every time they use this
product. Here we are counting some of the best Lux soaps India.

Most Popular Lux Soaps

1. Lux Lotus & Cream Purple Soap:

This pretty purple lux soap is enriched with purple lotus and cream
which will help you to get silky smooth skin. It has a very pleasant smell
which lingers for a few hours post wash. The creamy formula and
essential oils in this soap keeps the skin well moisturized and does not
dry out the skin post wash. The soap lathers well and washes away easily
without leaving any soapy residue behind.

13

2. Lux Fresh Splash Soap:

This sea green lux beauty soap is infused with cooling mint, sea minerals
and fine fragrance making it best for your early morning bath. The soap
energizes the body and makes the dull skin, sparkling and refreshed. The
soap gives a cooling sensation to the skin while bathing and makes the
body fragrant and energized.
3. Lux Creamy White Soap:

Refresh and replenish your skin after a long days work with lux creamy
white. This soap is enriched with ultra caring Swiss moisturizers which
makes the bar so creamy that it feels like dallop of cream in your hand.
The soap produces a luxurious lather and glides smoothly on the skin to
make it smooth and moisturized.
14

4. Lux International Soap:

This beauty soap will surely make you feel like an international star and
will get your innumerable compliments on your lustrous and healthy
skin. This soap reaches till the layers of the skin to provide optimum
hydration and makes the skin soft, smooth and supple. The soap
maintains the natural moisture and pH value of the skin to keep it
healthy and radiant from within.
5. Lux Sandal & Cream Soap:

15

Lux sandal and cream soap comes with the goodness of milk cream and
sandal Ubtan. The soap removes the dirt and impurities from the skin to
make it healthy and purified. Regular application of this soap also
lightens and brightens the skin tone. Its unique curvaceous shape helps
you to have a better grip while bathing. It has a pleasant smell of sandal
which lingers for a while post wash.
6. Lux Strawberry & Cream Soap:

This soap is infused with soothing strawberry essential oils and Swiss
cream which provides moisturization and hydration to skin. The soap
smells like strawberries and produces a rich, creamy lather to makes the
skin noticeably softer and smoother. Unlike regular bathing soap, this
one does not dry out the skin or make it stretchy post wash. The skin
feels considerably smoother and softer than before. The strawberry in
this soap provides antioxidants to the skin which reduces fine lines and
wrinkles.

16

7. Lux Peach & Cream Soap:

This soap contains peach and cream as its active ingredients and is
formulated for dry skinned beauties. Peach is well known for its
moisturizing properties and makes dry skin smoother and softer than
before. It has a mild and feminine scent and lathers extremely well to
clean the skin of its dirt and impurities. The soap lathers luxuriously to
cleanse the skin and washes away easily.

17

Summary
Unilever is a multinational consumer product manufacturing giant
operating in over hundred countries all around the globe.
Unilever india is the india chapter of Unilever, where the
company holds 60.75% share whereas the Government of Peoples
Republic of india holds 39.25% share. Unilevers one of the most
popular brand is LUX. They segments LUX.s market according
to geographical locations.
It Further differentiates these segments into Socio Economic
Cluster (SEC) which takes into account the Criteria of education and
profession which ultimately measures the financial ability of
consumers. The cluster is divided into five parts starting from A to E.
Unilever targets the urban and sub urban upper middle class and
middleclass segment of the population, who falls under A to C of SEC.
Tactical marketing tools, 4Ps, are extensively used by the company to
market LUX. The product is available in six different fragrances
under three different sizes. Since the demand for beauty soap market
is to a great extent oligopolistic, variations in price lead to price war
which can eventually break down the companys market share. Thus
Unilever cannot provide a better price than its competitors. But
the price is affordable by most of the people. Unilever india has
outsourced its distribution channels to third party distributors
which allow them to distribute LUX in massive bulks amounting to
around ten million pieces. It undertakes the largest promotional activities
in the beauty soap industry.

18

The beauty soap industry has a few major producers of which Unilever
holds market share of slightly less than 50%. Other competing brands
like Tibbet, Aromatic and Keya have started to have a strong
consumer base, but LUX.s product features distribution and
promotional activities have created high brand loyalty for which it is
still the market leader. Unilever, with the aid of its heavy
promotional activities, has been able to penetrate the market. But
the other producers in the industry are posing a threat towards Unilevers
market share as they have moved towards the rural masses of the
population. Therefore, Unilever india should undertake further
steps such as moving towards the rural and/or poorer.

19

COMPANY PROFILE
HINDUSTAN UNILEVER
COMPANY

HINDUSTAN UNILEVER
LIMITED

CEO

NITIN PARANJPE

EXCECUTIVE

MR. SHRIJEET MISHRA

DIRECTOR, FOODS
EXCECUTIVE DIRECTOR,

MR. HEMANT BAKSHI

HOME& PERSONAL CARE

HEADQUARTERS

MUMBAI, INDIA

FOUNDED

1933

20

MISSION
HUL MISSION IS TO ADD VITALITY TO LIFE. THEY MEET
EVERYDAY NEEDS FOR NUTRITION, HYGEINE, AND
PERSONAL CARE, WITH BRANDS THAT HELP PEOPLE FEEL
GOOD, LOOK GOOD AND GET MORE.

INNOVATION
IN THEIR SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION TO MEET CONSUMER
NEEDS THEY WILL RESPECT THE CONCERNS OF THEIR
CONSUMERS AND OF SOUND SCIENCE APPLYING RIGOROUS
STANDARDS OF PRODUCT SAFETY.

VISSION
Unilever products touch the lives of over 2 billion people every
day whether that's through feeling great because they've got
shiny hair and a brilliant smile, keeping their homes fresh and
clean, or by enjoying a great cup of tea, satisfying meal or
healthy snack.

21

HUL works to create a better future every day and helps people feel
good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services
that are good for them and good for others.
With over 35 brands spanning 20 distinct categories such as soaps,
detergents, shampoos, skin care, toothpastes, deodorants, cosmetics, tea,
coffee, packaged foods, ice cream, and water purifiers, the Company is a
part of the everyday life of millions of consumers across India. Its
portfolio includes leading household brands such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Surf
Excel, Rin, Wheel, Fair & Lovely, Ponds, Vaseline, Lakm, Dove,
Clinic Plus, Sunsilk, Pepsodent, Closeup, Axe, Brooke Bond, Bru,
Knorr, Kissan, Kwality Walls and Pure it.
The Company has over 16,000 employees and has an annual turnover of
around Rs.25,206 crores (financial year 2012 - 2013). HUL is a
subsidiary of Unilever, one of the worlds leading suppliers of fast
moving consumer goods with strong local roots in more than 100
countries across the globe with annual sales of 51 billion in 2012.
Unilever has about 52% shareholding in HUL. It is owned by AngloDutch company Unilever which owns a 67% controlling share in HUL.
Market share of toilet soap category is 54.3%.

22

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 HUL in November 1956; HUL offered 10% of its equity
to the Indian public, being the first among the foreign subsidiaries to do
so. Unilever now holds 52.10% equity in the company.
The rest of the shareholding is distributed among about 360,675
individual shareholders and financial institutions.
Pond's (India) Limited had been present in India since 1947. It joined the
Unilever fold through an international acquisition of Chese brough
Pond's USA in 1986.

Since the very early years, HUL has vigorously responded to the
stimulus of economic growth. The growth process has been
accompanied by judicious diversification, always in line with Indian
opinions and aspirations.

23

HUL 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. HUL has also set up a subsidiary in
Nepal, Unilever Nepal Limited (UNL), and its factory represents the
largest manufacturing investment in the Himalayan kingdom.
In January 2000, in a historic step, the government decided to award 74
per cent equity in Modern Foods to HUL, thereby beginning the
divestment of government equity in public sector undertakings (PSU) to
private sector partners. HUL's entry into Bread is a strategic extension of
the company's wheat business. In 2002, HUL acquired the government's
remaining stake in Modern Foods.
In 2003, HUL acquired the Cooked Shrimp and Paste urised Crabmeat
business of the Amalgam Group of Companies, a leader in value added
Marine Products exports.
In 2007, the Company name was formally changed to Hindustan
Unilever Limited after receiving the approval of shareholders during the
74th AGM on 18 May 2007. Brooke Bond and Surf Excel breached the
the Rs 1,000 crore sales mark the same year followed by Wheel which
crossed the Rs.2,000 crore sales milestone in 2008.
On 17th October 2008 , HUL completed 75 years of corporate existence
in India.

24

In January 2010, the HUL head office shifted from the landmark Lever
House, at Backbay Reclamation, Mumbai to the new campus in Andheri
(E), Mumbai.
On 15th November, 2010, the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan was
officially launched in India at New Delhi.
In March, 2012 HULs state of the art Learning Centre was inaugurated
at the Hindustan Unilever campus at Andheri, Mumbai.
In April, 2012, the Customer Insight & Innovation Centre (CiiC) was
inaugurated at the Hindustan Unilever campus at Andheri, Mumbai.

25

Lux Marketing Strategy

This Hindustan Unilever product has focused on wide promotions most
of which has been short lived. Apart from tagging itself as a beauty
brand made for the stars, it has even designed short term promotions for
sales. One of the famous ones being:
The Lux Gold Star Offer This was one of the popular promotions
which offered gold coins in few selected soaps.
Star Bano Aish Karo This offer gave a chance to few lucky
winners who got a chance to live a day like Aishwarya Rai with gift
offers worth Rs.50,000 from Shoppers Stop and beauty makeover by
Michelle Tung and Neeta Lulla sarees (Aishwarya Rais favorite stylist
and designer). The bumper prize was dinner date with Aishwarya Rai
herself and later in 2009 the same offer changed into a dinner date with
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan together.
Har Star Lucky Star- This came at the time when Shahrukh Khan
was aired in Lux advertisements when the brand had finished 75 years of
stardom. In this offer, selected lux soap packets had stars printed with
number 75 inside the wrapper. The lucky winners got the opportunity to
avail free supply of Lux soaps for a year.

26

Recent Advertisements
Katrina Kaif has been roped in to become the brand ambassador of Lux
lately. In the most recent advertisement of July, 2012 which stars both
Katrina Kaif and Shahrukh Khan in the campaign. They endorsed two
variants of the Lux soap Lux Peach and Cream and Lux Strawberry
and Cream. The fragrance of the new Lux soap stands for love and
sensuality and the ad uses the slogan Bekaboo.
The ad was made to be promoted at the time when both Shahrukh
Khans and Katrina Kaifs movie was about to be released.

27

Celebrity endorsement
Celebrity endorsement is the very important and basic tools for the
promotion of the product and now a day it is become a trend for the
product marketing and brad building. However it is easy to select a
celebrity but it is very difficult to establish a strong relationship between
the product and the endorser. The celebrity can make a better brand
image and also helpful for profit maximization
Hollywood
Since the 1930s, many well-known Hollywood actresses have marketed
the soap to women as a beauty enhancer. Advertisements have featured
Dorothy Lamour, Joan Crawford, Laurette Luez, Judy Garland, Cheryl
Ladd, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Taylor , Demi Moore, Sarah Jessica
Parker , Catherine Zeta-Jones, Rachel Weisz, Anne Hathaway, and
Marilyn Monroe, among others. The first male to star in a Lux
advertisement was Hollywood actor Paul Newman.
Bollywood
Today, the brand is still heavily advertised In India using Bollywood
stars.Madhubala,MalaSinha ,Karishma Kapoor, rani mukherji, juhi
chawla, sridevi.

28

Celebrity beauty
Lux is a super brand that celebrated beauty across the world since 1925.
The soap which was endorsed by the beautiful film stars came to India in
1929. Lux has been the largest selling personal wash brand in the
country.
Lux has effectively managed its PLC through careful brand building and
changing the product in line with the changing consumer. The brand is
being positioned as the favorite soap

of Film stars has been consistent in terms of communication and

positioning. The brand is also the classic example of successful celebrity
endorsement. The first celebrity to endorse the brand was Leela Chitnis .
From Leela to Aishwarya , From Madhuri to Madhubala, Lux has been
endorsed by more than 50 film stars ( a sort of record isn't it). But in all
these communications, the celebrity never shadowed the brand.
Lux was always changing with the times. Whether it be in terms of the
product or in terms of promotions, the brand kept the consumers excited.
Lux has two basic extensions in terms of segments. Lux beauty soap and
International Lux.

29

Lux was initially a premium brand. Lux was being projected as an

aspirational brand and the endorsements by stars further reinforced the
positioning. The increasing competition in the soap category forced Lux
to rethink on its targeting strategy. The brand had a choice either to
compromise on market share and uphold the premium positioning or to
retain the market share and dilute the positioning. Lux wanted to ensure
that the brand be positioned as premium but also did not wanted to
compromise on the share. Thus born International Lux which is the
premium variant and the affordable segment was catered by Lux beauty
soap.
Lux beauty soap is available in Four variants : Exotic Flower Petals,
Fruit Extracts, Almond and Sandal. Lux has a common ingredient of
Milk cream in all the variants.

Although the brand enjoyed success and has sustained its leadership
position, of late this brand has been facing issues of stagnation. The
stagnation is caused by the plethora of brands competing for the market
share and the scope for differentiation has reduced to almost nil.
Together with the rush for celebrities to endorse anything from salt to
cars, Lux is finding it difficult to sustain growth in this cluttered market.

30

In 2005 Lux celebrated its 75th anniversary sparking of a controversy.

Deviating its tradition of roping in Bollywood Divas, this time none
other than Shah Rukh Khan endorsed Lux. The ads created instant
controversy with marketers discussing whether the brand has suddenly
become MALE. Paul Newman also has endorsed Lux soap which shows
that Lux makes such stunts to excite the market. Whatever be the
controversy, the brand again succeeded in creating

excitement in the market. Some argue that HLL was testing a new
positioning to appeal to male users while others say that it was a one
time endorsement to break the clutter. For marking the 75th year Lux
came out with a celebration range endorsed by Kareena Kapoor . The
Celebration range too created news because of its variant :Chocolate
Seduction. These innovative products created lot of excitement that
ensured that Lux remained in the top of mind of the consumers. Another
variant which I like personally is the Lux with Orchid which looked cool
in terms of packaging and looks.
Over these years, the positioning of Lux also evolved. Earlier the brand
used the positioning " Beauty soap of Film stars" . But as the customer
evolved, the positioning lost its charm because customers began to doubt
whether the film stars actually used this brand. Taking a cue from the
customers, Lux changed the positioning appealing to the need for
becoming a star. The new positioning is communicated with the tagline "
Bring out the star in you".

31

Although worldwide the brand is being endorsed by film stars, the actual
package usually contains picture of international models and not film
stars.
While Lux beauty soap is sticking to the age old positioning, Lux
international has moved from being a soap brand to a skin care brand.
Lux International has the tagline " Not Just Soap, Its Skin Care". Under
the Lux umbrella brand, HLL has introduced variety of personal wash
products like body shampoo, hair shampoo etc.
Lux is the classic example of HLL's marketing genius. The brand will
experiment and explore more in the days to come....

32

Study of LUX with respect to 4 Ps

A) Product:LUX is an internationally renowned beauty soap brand of Unilever.
Though manufactured in India for the local market by Unilever India
Ltd, as an international brand, it maintains an international quality for
the product. Formula given by Research and Development departments
in foreign countries, LUX is produced in India from imported raw
materials like sodium soap, glycerol and different extracts according to
flavors, coming from Unilever plants situated abroad.
LUX Energizing Honey, LUX Golden Glow, LUX Nature Pure, LUX
Orchid Touch, LUX Almond Delight and LUX Aqua Sparkle. Taking
into account the convenience of its customers, the company
manufactures all flavors of LUX in three different sizes,40gm, 80gm and
120gm.
A Product is anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy a need or
want products that are marketed include physical goods, services,
experiences, events, person, place, properties, organization, information
and ideas.
Brand name
Product innovation
Quality and Quantities
Packaging and labeling
Style, shape and design

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B)Price:Though Unilever india gives its LUX customers a lot in terms of the
product itself, it cannot provide a better pricing. This is due to some
constraints in the beauty soap industry. Beauty soap is a product with a
vulnerable demand in india. A change in price has a high risk of creating
price war among the rivals which will eventually cause a loss of profit.
Its prices are almost equal to its competitor.
Compares Luxs price with its major competitor
Company carries out research on competitors price and brand loyalty
when it feels extreme necessity of changing price. The brand loyalty test
is an exploratory research which is known as Brand Health CheckUp(BHCU). Recent price of lux soap(100 g) is Rs.23
c)Place:
The company does not use its own fleet of transport for distributing
its product. However, it has outsourced its distribution process to various
third party distributors, exclusively dedicated to Unilever India Ltd.
These distributors then supply the product all over India to a huge
number of retailers. Even though LUX targets the urban and sub urban
middle and upper middle class people they are distributing their products
all over India because of a recent increase in demand of its product to all
segments of the population.

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D) Promotion:
Its certain annual promotional campaigns like LUX Channel Superstar
and LUX Channel Annual Cinema Awards has made the product
a part of the glamour world. Since the 1930s, over 400 of the worlds
most stunning and sensuous women have been proudly associated with
Lux advertisements.
They do not only promote LUX in India for the beauty conscious
females, it also promotes the brand for males and the company proved
that, by including world famous male celebrity Shahrukh Khan for their
advertising campaign.

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Swot analysis
Strength
Strong market research (Door to door sampling once in a year
Rural and Urban area.)
Many variants (Almond oil, Orchid extracts, Milk cream, Fruit
extracts, Saffron sandalwood oil and Honey)
Strong sales and distribution network backed by HUL
Strong brand image
Strong brand promotion but relatively lower prices Winning
combination.
Mass appeal/Market presence across all segments ( 15% of soap
market).
Worldwide fame of Unilever.
Unilever is High reputable company.

Weakness
Mainly positioned as beauty soap targeted towards women.
Some variation like the sunscreen, international variant did not do
well in the market.
Not much popular in rural areas
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Opportunity
Soap industry is growing by 10% in India
Beauty segments compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is very
high
Liquid body wash is currently in growth stage Lux should come
out with more variants in this segment
Large market share Strong hold over the market

Threats
High internal competition (Pears Beauty segment)
New entrants (Vivel)
Maturity stage threat of slipping down to decline stage if
constant reinvention is not carried out.

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Literature review
Discovering the Consumer: Market Research, Product Innovation,
and the Creation of Brand Loyalty in Britain and the United States in the
Interwar Years. This paper discusses the use of market and consumer
research at Lever/Unilever and its advertising agency in Britain and the
United States, J.Walter Thompson (JWT), in the interwar period.
Research surveys conducted by JWT in the 1920s and 1930s helped
Lever reposition its international soap brand Lux.
The article also shows that marketing's cultural practices often predate
its conceptualization and academic theorization.

The Brand: Lux Soap Flakes

One of Levers earliest product innovations was a production technique
developed in1889, which soap to be produced in forms of flakes. The
resulting p r o d u c t , soap flakes, made washing easier and preserved the
garments as women did not have to rub clothes with the hard soap bar. In
1900, Levers product came on the market as Lux soap flakes.
Moreover, the product was positioned as a problem solver (Levitt1960);
if consumers were rich enough to buy expensive clothes, they also had
problems which low-income groups did not have, that is, the
preservation of silk or other expensive clothes. Lux helped solve these
problems. In 1906, Lever began to export Lux soap flakes to the United
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States. There, its advertising agency JWT suggested that the traditional
positioning of Lux as a product to be used to wash woolen
garments (see slogan Lux wont shrink woolens)
should be widened so that consumers saw Lux as product that could be
used for all fine fabrics. Its advertisements often followed an aggressive
market expansion strategy for their products; by suggesting a
wider framework of possible uses for a given product both the customer
base and the usage rate of a product could be increased
(Ansoff 1957). For its client Lever Brothers, this strategy resulted in
increased sales from 10,000 cases in 1915 to over one million cases in
1918 (The history of LuxFlakes1950;Lovett 1970).
This strategic marketing orientation of JWTs Advertising
is further exemplified in its decision to use advertisements in 1922 to
promote the use of Lux for the washing of dishes In the early 1920s, the
Lux advertising campaign in the American market took a crucial turn
toward dialogic consumer engagement. In 1924, JWT invited
American housewives to submit testimonials for Lux soap flake s.
These letters, of which about 53,000 arrived at the JWT headquarters,
were used by the agency to conduct a survey of consumer habits. It
turned out that consumers had independently begun to use the flakes for
the washing of their hands, for baths, for their babies, and for washing
their hands and hair.

39

Objective of the study

Effect of celebrity endorsement 0n consumer buying
behavior towards lux soap.
To find out the marketing strategy of the company
regarding lux soap .
To study the marketing mix of the lux soap.

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RESEARCH METHEDOLOGY
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Marketing research means the systematic gathering,
recording, analyzing of data about problems relating to
the marketing of goods and services Marketing research
has proved an essential tool to make all the need of
marketing management. Marketing research therefore is
the scientific process of gathering and analyzing of
marketing information to meet the needs of marketing
management.
Butgathering of observation is must be systematic. The s
ystematic conduct of researchrequires:
1 Orderliness, in which the measurements are
accurate.
2 Impartiality in analysis and interpretation. All of
research can be categorized into basic and applied.
Selection of type of method for data collection is one of most critical
parts of any research. This is all about discussing the different
techniques and method for data collection and selection of the most
suitable method for the particular study. This is done through evaluation
of the strength and weaknesses of each method.
The federal definition of research by Messian college as defined in the
federal policy is Research means a systematic investigation, including
research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or
contribute to generalize knowledge.
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Definition of Research
A detailed study of a subject, especially in order to discover (new)
information or reach a (new) understanding

Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research

problems. It may be understood as a science of studying how research
is done scientifically.
In it we study the various step that are generally adopted by a
researcher in studying his research problem along with he problem
behind them. It is necessary for the researcher to know not only the
research methods/ techniques but also the methodology.
Researcher not only to needs to know how to develop certain indices
or the tests, how to calculate the mean, the mode, the median and the
standard deviation or the chi square, how to apply particular research
techniques, but they also need to know which of these methods or
techniques, are relevant and are not, what would they mean and
indicate and why.

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Researcher also need to understand the assumption underlying

various techniques and they need to know the criteria by which they
can decide the certain techniques and others will not.
All this means that it is necessary for the researcher.
The methodology used for the study was very rigorous. Appraisal
forms were made, interviews with employees were held and websites
were checked for any type of information related to the study.
Random selection procedure was used and a sample of 50 employees
was taken. The methodology so applied is briefly discussed below
step by step.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research design is the overall description of all the steps though
which the projects have preceded forms the setting of objectives to
the writing of the project report. The success of the project depends
on the soundness of the research design, which includes problem
definition, specific method of data collection and analysis and time
required for the project.
TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGN
The research design is formulated after the formulation of objectives
and according to the requirement of the study. The following types of

43

research design are used for the purpose of study with different
objectives in frame of mind.

EXPLORATORY RESEARCH DESIGN

This is used to formulate a problem for more precise investigation or
for developing hypothesis. It is also a used for establishing priorities
for further research; it also clarifies the concepts and making analyst
familiar with the problem.
EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH
Experimental research is also called experimental or casual research,
experimental is defined as a process where events occur in a setting at
the discretion of the researcher and the controls are used to identify
the resources of variation in subjects response. The following are
most common design for the marketing experiments.
After only design
Before after design
Before after with control group design
After only with control design
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 Ex post facto design

Continuous dairy panel design
Factorial design

DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH DESIGN

Descriptive studies undertaken in such a circumstances where
researcher is interested in knowing the demographic characteristics of
the consumer of when he is interested in knowing the proportion of
people in the given population who behaves in the particular manner
making projection of the certain thing or determining relation
between two or more variable.
The descriptive research in the research as the name implies are
design to describe something besides the emphasis on description it,
should it or should not be conclude that such studies should simply
fact gathering expeditions. Unfortunately, it is relatively easy to start
a descriptive study with the vague thought that the data collected with
interesting.
Hence we have used descriptive research design. The population
taken for the purpose of study comprised of people from middle
class, upper class.

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SOURCES OF DATA
There are types of data secondary and primary data. The secondary
data refers to those data which are gathered for some other purpose
and are already available in the firms internal record and commercial
purpose magazines and who sites.
On the other hand, primary data do not exist already is record and
publication. The one has to gather primary data a fresh from the
specific study undertaken by him.
Main source of the data was a primary source of the data collection
for determining the performance appraisal process of the employees
and to study the factors upon which performance of the employees
are appraised, secondary source of data were used.

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Findings

Price of lux soap is high as compared to other soap.

Lux should introduce its kids special soap.
Lux should promote its product i.e hair shampoo and body shampoo.
Lux has been endorsed by 50 film stars but actually not used by them.
Lux strategies are not sustainable in the long run.

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Suggestions
Introduce kids special Lux soap.
Company should target to all age group.
Lux is a brand of all segment of society, so advertising should not
contain only
FILMI SITARO KA SABUN but also like AAM ADMI KA
SABUN.
Target rural customer.

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Conclusion
LUX Is Generic Brand Widely Used By all Segment of Society,
so company should consider all segment of society while launching its
different type of product.
Today, HUL is one of Indias Largest exporters of branded Fast Moving
Consumer Goods. It has been recognized by the Government of India as
a Golden Super Star Trading House.
Lux has high penetration in urban & semi-urban areas. However, it has
only19.8% penetration in rural areas.
It enjoys sound financial position & high profits from this sector.
The beauty soap industry of india consists of a few producers in the
industry. The demand for this product is very much vulnerable in
terms of pricing. Unilever India is providing LUX at a price which
is affordable to most of the people in the country. Beauty soap is
an uprising product in India as a greater portion of the population, both
male and female, are now getting more beauty conscious.
As a multinational company Unilever India with heavy
promotional activities, has been able to penetrate the market With six
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different fragrances, three different sizes, international standard

and high quality design, as a product, LUX has been highly successful
over the years.

Its distribution process is highly efficient. Its promotional

activities, like the beauty contest has been a milestone in
attracting a huge number of customers. Overall with its
marketing activities LUX has been a successful brand.
The only place where rival companies are progressing is in giving
customers redemption offers. Research revealed that Indian customers
are highly attracted to this sort of offers. These offers are not sustainable
in the long run but still it takes away a considerable part of luxs sale in
the short run.

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Bibliography
Website
www.google.com

www.hul.com
www.lux.com

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