LUX: BEAUTY BAR OF FILMSTARS

A STUDY

Submitted By:- Avinash Kumar- 72

NEW DELHI INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT

50(B&C), 60 Tughlakabad Institutional AreaNew Delhi-110062

E-mail: info@ndimdelhi.org Website: www. Ndimdelhi.org TABLE OF CONTENTS

1

1. Objectives of the Study2. Scope of the Study3. Limitations of the Study4. Methodology5. Company Background 6. Data Analysis7. Conclusions8. Recommendations

ReferencesAppendix

\

1. OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

2

The main objectives of the study are:

i) The objective of the project was primarily to approach the LUX consumers from the Delhi region.

ii) To know the customer’s expectation from LUX.

Secondary Objectives:-

iii) To study consumer perceptions regarding various schemes on Lux and Responses toward them.

1. SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The geographical scope of the study was restricted to the Delhi due to time and resource constraints. The study being exploratory in nature, the sample size was restricted to 100 consumers Focus being mainly on in-depth probing, the generalizations drawn are only indicative and not conclusive.

2. LIMITATIONS OF THE PROJECT

(1)Response biasness could be one of the limitations.(2)The sample chosen may not be the true representative of the whole

population.(3)As the research was exploratory in nature, it was not possible to study

the accurate phenomenon of the fact.

3. METHODOLOGY

3

In order to address the above questions an exploratory study was conducted. The idea was to probe and get deeper insight into sales promotion scenario of Lux and to tap perceptions of retailers and consumers. In order to address above mentioned objectives .

(i) Study of secondary sources was carried out, (ii) Responses of consumers were taken using structured questionnaire

Convenience sampling was used for consumer studies. The respondents for consumer study were mostly students and consumers found as per convenience in the market. The total respondents were 80 in number.

Data analysis is done using software packages like SPSS & MS-EXCEL.

4. COMPANY BACKGROUND

4

INTRODUCTION

HINDUSTAN LEVER LIMITED

In the summer of 1888, visitors to the Kolkata harbor 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 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.

Since the very early years, HLL 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.

The liberalization of the Indian economy, started in 1991, clearly marked an

5

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 Ice-cream 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 Ice-cream Group families and in 1995 the Milk food 100% Ice-cream marketing and distribution rights too were acquired.

Finally, BBLIL merged with HLL, with effect from January 1, 1996. The

6

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, Specialty 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 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 Pasteurised Crabmeat business of the Amalgam Group of Companies, a leader in value added Marine Products exports.

Price segments of toilet soaps

Segment Price/weight

Premium > Rs. 15 / 75 gms

Popular Rs. 8-15/75 gms

Economy < Rs. 8 /75 gms

LUX: THE STAR PERFORME

The great Indian brand wagon started nearly four decades ago. Great brands sometimes outlast their ambassadors as proven by Lux which is celebrating its 75th anniversary in India.

7

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 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. Actor Hema Malini says, “One of the turning points in my career was when I was signed up by Lux. It was then that I knew I had made my mark in Indian cinema as a leading lady. To be a Lux star is a much sought after honour amongst leading ladies and it truly means a lot to me.”

After 50 Indian female actors lathering up with Lux, it is now the turn of a male actor, Shah Rukh Khan, to say, “Aaj mein aapko batanewala hoon meri khubsuratein ka raaz — Lux. Ab batayein aapka favourite Lux Star kaun hai? (I want to tell you about my beauty secret — Lux. Who is your favourite Lux Star?)” In 1926, Ginger Rogers became the first Hollywood great to appear in a Lux commercial. The first Lux bar made in India was sold for the princely sum of two annas in 1934.

LUX: VARIANTS

In the country since 1929 and endorsed by popular film stars, Lux is the biggest brand in the soap category. Lux Toilet Soap, in the popular segment, offers its consumers a range of soaps enriched with the goodness of a variety of nourishing ingredients –Almond Oil, Orchid Extracts, Milk Cream, Fruit Extracts, Saffron, Sandalwood Oil and Honey. The Lux premium range offers specialized skincare to its consumers in the form of Lux International. It also includes Lux Body Wash for superior bathing benefits keeping in step with the changing needs of the Lux consumer In addition to these variants lux has come up with a few more variants to celebrate its 75 years in business.

Data Analysis

1) DATA INTERPRETATION OF CUSTOMER’S SURVEY

8

a. Age group – Tabulating in percentage the age group of customers

Age-group Percentage (%)

20-25 65%

25-35 20%

35-above 15%

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

Series1 20-25yrs

25-35 yrs abve 35

b. Income Level Tabulation

Income Group Percentage (%)

9

15000-25000 52%

25000-35000 38%

35000- above 10%

52%

38%

10%

Income Group15000-25000 25000-35000 35000<

3. Family Members;-

10

Below-5 73%

5 to 7 20%

7 to 10 3%

Above-7 0%

Below-576%

5 to 721%

7 to 103%

Column1

4. What is your favorite Soap of all time?

11

LUX 28%

DOVE 30%

CINTHOL 12%

PEARS 20%

OTHERS 10%

LUX28%

DOVE30%

CINTHOL12%

PEARS20%

OTHERS10%

Preferances

12

5 Rate the following brands of soaps according to the following parameters, rate on a five point scale

Parameters LUX CINTHOL PEARS DOVE Others

Price

Brand

Aesthetics

1Poor, 2-Fair,3-Good,4- Very-good, 5Excellent.

LUX CINTHOL PEARS DOVE OTHERS0

1

2

3

4

5

6

Chart Title

PriceBrandAesthetics

CONCLUSION

13

The findings of the empirical study indicate that unless the brand to be

promoted is in the consideration set of the consumer, sales promotion by

itself is unlikely to have any major impact.

Clearly this shows that managers need to invest into brand building

exercise so that his/her brand appears in the consideration set of the target

consumers.

The role of retailer in influencing consumer in brand choice decision in a

toilet soap category was found to be insignificant which also supports the

above observations.

In order to build trust and commitment companies should tap

preferences, perceptions of consumers.

10.RECOMMENDATIONS

1. They should provide more promotions like price-offs and samples.

2. Retentive strategy required as the soap segment is in the mature stage

of its product life cycle

3. Level of servicing is low during sales promotion schemes – this could

be brought up.

REFERENCES

1. Phillip Kotler:- “Marketing Management”3. www.google.com4. www.hll.com

14

APPENDIX

CONSUMER’S QUESTIONNAIRE

Name:-

Gender: - Male/Female

1. Age-group: - 20- 25, 25-35, above -35.

2. Income group: - 15000-20000 20,000-35000Above- 35000

3. Family Members :-Below-55 to 77 to 10Above-7

4. What is your favorite Soap of all time?

LUX DOVE CINTHOL PEARS Others

5. Have you ever used LUX? Y / N

6. If LUX is your current use, then of which category?

75g, 100g, 125g

15

7. Do all the members of your family use the same brand of soap? Y / N

8. What is the frequency of purchase? Weekly Bimonthly Monthly Others

9. Which brand do think has the best range of prices? (……………..).

10.Which soap has the best brand value? (……………….)

11.Rate the following brands of soaps according to the following parameters rate on a five point scale

Parameters LUX CINTHOL PEARS DOVE OthersPriceBrandAesthetics1Poor, 2-Fair,3-Good,4- Very-good, 5Excellent.

16