HUL AND P&G PRICE WARS

HISTORY
• 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.
•
In one of the most visible and talked about events of India's
corporate history, the erstwhile Tata Oil Mills Company
(TOMCO) merged with HUL, effective from April 1, 1993.

In 1996, HUL and yet another Tata company, Lakme Limited,
formed a 50:50 joint venture, Subsequently in 1998, Lakme
Limited sold its brands to HUL and divested its 50% stake in
the joint venture to the company.

HUL formed a 50:50 joint venture with the US-based Kimberly
Clark Corporation in 1994,

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.
 PRODUCT Mix & P R O D U C T LI NES

Lux, lifebuoy, dove

Personal wash Pears, rexona, breeze

Surf excel Wheel

laundry sunlight

Fair & lovely Ponds

ndustan Unilever Ltd Skin care vaseline

Sunsilk
Hair care Clinic

Pepsodent
Oral care closeup

Axe
Deodrants rexona

Color cosmetics lakme

Ayurvedic ayush
 SWOT ANALYSIS OF HUL:
 STRENGHTS:
• Unmatched distribution network- a must to cater rural
market.
• Strong Brand Portfolio, Price, Quantity & Variety.
• Innovative Aspects.
• Solid Base of the company (3400 distributors,16 million
Outlets over the world, 700 million customer base).


•
Highly skilled human resource.
Strong R&D Team.
Corporate Social Responsibility.

WEAKNESS :

Changing Consumer Tastes & Preferences.
Low Export Levels.
High Cost Of Production.
“Me-too” products which illegally mimic the labels and brands
of the established brands.
Competitive Products
OPPORTUNITIES :
Changing Lifestyles
Rising income levels
Untapped rural market.

Large domestic market – population over 1 billion .

Export potential and tax & duty benefits for setting exports
units.
THREATS :

Entry of new companies and brands in the FMCG sector.

Increasing cost of raw materials.

Slowdown in an economy can have an impact on the FMCG

sector.

Duplication of brands.

Tax and regulatory implications.

Removal of import restrictions resulting in replacing of

domestic brands.
Store-branded or private-label offerings.
 BCG MATRIX
MARKET SHARE

HIGH LOW

STARS: QUESTION MARKS:

ARKET GROWTH
HIGH
Hair care, skin care,
premium soaps & Processed food
water (pure it)
CASH COWS: DOGS:

LOW
Mass soaps, beverages,
oral care, laundry, Sea food exports
colour cosmetics
 ANSOFF MATRIX
Existing Products New Products
g Markets

w Markets
 JOURNEY OF SURF EXCEL
• HUL introduced Surf in 1959, first detergent powder in the
country.


• The promise of superlative whiteness- connected with the

consumers and helped to establish the brand.


• It was the first detergent brand on TV.



• The 1970 saw the launch of nirma, and surf had to

communicate the idea of price value equation to its
consumers.
• In 1990 mid priced detergent Ariel and Surf ultra were introduced.


• Concentrates had taken over the top performance image leadership

amongst detergent powders.


• In1996 surf was re-launched as surf excel, its positioning claiming

to clean a wide variety of stains.


• In 2003 surf excel quick wash was introduced to address the

complaint of shortage of water


• In 2005 surf excel matic was introduced to address the need of fast
growing washing machine consumer.


• In 2006 detergent bar was introduced to its portfolio.

•
PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE OF
SURF EXCEL:

Surf excel
 INTRODUCTION:
qSurf was introduced in the year 1954.

qIn 1970 surf had to face competition from Nirma,

for which they launched the “Lalita- ji”
campaign, which was quiet successful.

qIt was the first ever detergent brand to advertise on

television.

qThe era of Lalita Ji ensured that Surf represented

the woman of that epoch, which in turn managed
to instill confidence among consumers.
qIn1990 Ariel (P&G) was introduced as a competition to
surf ultra, to which surf responded by introducing surf
ultra, mid price powder segments. Campaign “daag
dhundte reh jaaoge”.

qIn due course HUL kept improving and innovating surf

by adding various features to it.

qIn 1996 surf was re-launched as surf excel and positioned

as ”jaise bhi daaho surf excel hai na”
 GROWTH:
• Surf has entered the growth stage by having increase in profits
by approx 25%.


• Surf excel’s recent campaign of “daag ache hain” has caught

the attention of the consumers and also led to increase in
sales.


• At this stage surf excel competes with brands like Ariel,

Henko, Tide, Nirma etc.


• Here they follow the concept of aggressive advertisement and

selling.
•

In their advertisement they try to differentiate
their products with that of the competitor’s.

They keep upgrading their product so as to achieve
higher market share.
PORTERS FIVE FORCES
THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS:

Low threat of new entrants.

üEntry of ITC ltd and P&G products.

üLaunch of Nirma.

üEntry of Henko detergent.

THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES:

Threat of substitutes is high.

 RIVALRY AMONG
COMPETITORS:


High rivalry among the competitors.

Low profitability.

Competition with respect to price, quality and

innovation.

High advertising cost involved in differentiating the

products from that of the competitors.


BARGAINING POWER OF
BUYERS:

High bargaining power

High switching cost

Price sensitivity
BARGAINING POWER OF
SUPPLIERS:

High bargaining power of

suppliers.
 SEGMENTATION,
TARGETING,POSITIONONG:
TARGET MARKET:
Surf excel’s target market has always been the middle class of
india since the 1950s.

POSITIONING
Surf excel is positioned as the stain remover “Surf Excel
hain na”
 MARKETING MIX
• PRODUCT
• PRICE
• PLACE
• PROMOTION
 PRODUCT
• SURF EXCEL MATIC 
• SURF EXCEL QUICKWASH
• SURF EXCEL BLUE
• SURF EXCEL BAR
• SURF EXCEL GENTLE WASH



PRICE
 PROMOTION
• TV Advertisements
• Newspaper articles
• Promotional offers
• Features housewives.



SURF EXCEL MATIC OFFER

Buy a Whirlpool pro

series washing machine
& get 1 year's supply
of Surf Excel Matic
detergent FREE *
Offer valid until stock
lasts
* Disclaimer: One year's
detergent here implies 6
kgs. As per IMRB survey of
2998 the average annual
consumption of Surf Excel
Matic is approximately 6
kgs
 Surf Excel Blue Bucket Pack

Get a 16 litre bucket with Surf Excel

blue 3.3 kg pack. MRP: Rs.380/-*
*(inclusive of all taxes)

Surf Excel Quick wash Freshness Combo Pack

Get Surf Excel quick wash 1kg and Comfort
fabric conditioner 200ml bottle in a combo pack.
Surf Excel quick wash removes stains and
Comfort gives 7 days long freshness to your
clothes. Surf Excel quick wash 1 kg Rs. 146 +
Comfort fabric conditioner 200ml Rs. 29 =
Rs. 175 Pay Rs. 163*/- for the combo pack and
save Rs. 12/-
*(inclusive of all taxes)
 
 JOURNEY OF RIN
DETERGENT
• Rin was launched in a bar form in a test
market in 1969 and extended
nationally in 1970. 
• In the late 1980s, Rin faced its first real
competition with the launch of low-
price discount detergent bars. At
prices 60% lower than Rin,
• The advertising campaign 'Zara sa Rin'
went on to become a 'white - off-white
crossover' was developed.
This route was hugely successful in establishing a superior brand image
in the consumer's mind.

the entry of Rin Shakti powder a highly aspirational brand was now
available at a very affordable price. Proof of performance in the
communication was depicted in the form of a wash-rewash test where the
brand claimed to remove dirt from clothes washed with ordinary bars.
Since then a continuous programme of product innovation and improvement
has taken place on the brand.

In 2008, the brand came up with the promise of Double Whiteness. Rin
adopted the
Tagline "Duguni Safedi, Duguni Chamak"

This year , Rin came with another advertisement with a new tagline "
Chamakte Rahna "
Rin has already started promoting its new found positioning theme during
the Dance Premier League where the contestants are made to say the
tagline.
RIN
 INTRODUCTION
• Introduced in 1970.
• initially, positioned as - 'Rin is not a
soap, it is a totally new idea for
washing clothes'. The benefits clearly
outlined that the bar had
concentrated cleaning power hence
washed 50% more clothes.
• The memorable baseline 'Whiteness
strikes with Rin' was introduced and a
strong brand property - the mnemonic
of the lightning flash was developed.
•
In the late 1980s, Rin faced its first real competition with
the launch of low-price discount detergent bars. At prices 60%
lower than Rin, they were positioned as a low sog product.

The brand has finally found its right positioning statement.

Chamakte Rahna

The
tagline has a strong connection with the brand promise and at
the same time helped the
brand to ladder up. The ad is also very nicely made.
 
.
 
 GROWTH
• Today Rin has three variants: Rin Supreme
bar, Rin Shakti bar and Rin powder. Rin
Supreme and Rin Shakti operate at two
distinctly different price points. While the
Rin Shakti proposition is superior
whiteness vis-à-vis mass- market, the Rin
Supreme proposition is superior
performance to give whites that look like
new.
• Rin Supreme bar was launched in 2002 as
the ‘No mud’ bar. While ordinary bars
have up to 40% mud-like ingredients, New
Rin Supreme is made with patented Pure
Clean technology ‘to keep clothes looking
white like new’ – for longer. Like a true
leader, Rin has been successful
Early 2004 saw the advent of a brand new Rin Shakti powder. Rin
Shakti paved the way with a brand new proposition of double
whiteness along with a powerful innovation of ‘No mitti powder’
– as it dissolved thoroughly in water as opposed to ordinary
powders which left behind a mud-like residue. The suffix
‘Shakti’ has now been dropped from the powder pack.
 
 MATURITY
• Maturity stage
• Rin is facing its toughest competition
in the form of Tide from P&G.
• 2005 Amitabh Bachchan was roped
in as brand ambassador (model) for
the brand. The ads were trying to
reinforce the positioning of Rin as
the premium detergent soap.