Mini Project

On
A Study on Consumer Behavior for Lux, A special case of
Lux in Lucknow
In partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of
Master of Business Administration

Project Submitted By
URVI SINGH

Under the Guidance of

Mr. Shubhendu S. Shukla
Asst. Professor

SRM BUSINESS SCHOOL, LUCKNOW (666)

(Approved By AICTE, Ministry of HRD, Govt of India and Affiliated to Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Technical University, Lucknow)

NH-24 SITAPUR ROAD, BAKSHI KA TALAB, LUCKNOW

(2020-21)

1
 TABLE OF CONTENT

PARTICULARS

1. Acknowledgement

2. Declaration

3. Certificate by Institute

4. Table of Content

5. Preface

6. Introduction of Company

7. History of the company

8. Introduction of Product

9. Objective of the project

10. Literature review

11. Research methodology

i. Data Source

ii. SWOT analysis of the product

12. Competitor analysis

13. Advantages of the product

14. Disadvantages of product

15. Limitation of the study / Research

16. Suggestion

17. Conclusion

18. Reference

19. Annexure if any (for example – questionnaire)

2
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

With all most sincerity, I would like to cease this opportunity to express my heartfelt
gratitude to Mr. Shubhendu S. Shukla) my college guide, for his insightful guidance for all
his endeavors in supervising my entire project who had lend a helping hand on various
occasions throughout the duration of internship. Without his guidance, support and valuable
suggestions during my entire duration, my project would not have been completed.
I would also like to gratefully acknowledge the contribution of all the people who have given
their precious time and have participated actively during the course of my entire project .

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 DECLARATION

I the undersigned solemnly declare that the mini project report “A Study on Consumer
Behavior for Lux, A special case of Lux in Lucknow” is based on my own work carried
out during the course of “Lux”.
I assert the statements made and conclusions drawn are an outcome of my project work.
I further certify that the work contained in the report is original and best of my knowledge.
This work has not been submitted to any other university for any examination.

Urvi Singh

4
 CERTIFICATE BY INSTITUTE

This is to certify that Urvi Singh have satisfactorily completed the Mini project
Report entitled, “A Study on Consumer Behavior for Lux, A special case of Lux in
Lucknow”. Based on the declaration made by the candidate and my association as a
guide for carrying out this work, I recommended this project report for evaluation as a
part of the MBA programmer of SRMBS, LUCKNOW affiliated to Dr. A.P.J Abdul
Kalam, Technical University.

Place: __________ ____________________

Date: __________ (Asst. Prof. Shubhendu S. Shukla)

5
 PREFACE

The importance of any academic schedule would gain advantage and acceptance only through
practical experience , hence it is quite necessary to put theories into practice. This is made
possibly by doing the Mini Project exercise.
To gain practical experience the Management of Business Administration department of my
S.R.M.B.S Lucknow provides an opportunity to student in the form of Summer Training
work as a necessary part.
This project have provided me the real feel of the corporate world ad it’s working lifestyle.
Theory and practice are two aspects of management education. In order to produce a
dynamic and promising executive, the two have to be blended together. It exposes the
potential managers to the actual work environment and makes them a rich into what actually
goes in the industrial climate. In fact, it is the implementation of theory in practice that is the
life force of management.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd. is a well-known and largest FMCG company in India. HUL has
always revamped its products to meet the changing needs of the consumer without
compromising on the quality. This report deals with one of its premier brands "LUX". HUL
leads the market in the toilet soap category with 54.3% market share. Lux has inched up to be
on par with Lifebuoy in HUL's soaps portfolio. The Lux brand now has an almost equal
market share as Hindustan Lever's largest selling soap brand - Lifebuoy. This report gives an
overview of the history of the company and the brand "Lux", the various strategies adopted to
survive in the market for over 75 years and the various competing brands. The promotional
activities adopted, the brand's strengths and weaknesses, threats faced are also analyzed. The
FMCG category is always a battleground for all the competing firms and the bathing soap
category is no different. With more firms entering the market, maintaining the customer base
is not very easy. Within six months, ITC's soap products have been able to capture 1.75% of
the market share.

6
 INTRODUCTION OF COMPANY

The origins of personal cleanliness date back to prehistoric times. Since water is essential for
life, the earliest people lived near water and knew something about its cleansing properties -
at least that it rinsed mud off their hands.

A soap-like material found in clay cylinders during the excavation of ancient Babylon is
evidence that soap making was known as early as 2800 B.C. Inscriptions on the cylinders say
that fats were boiled with ashes, which is a method of making soap, but do not refer to the
purpose of the "soap." Such materials were later used as hair styling aids.
Soap got its name, according to an ancient Roman legend, from Mount Soap, where animals
were sacrificed. Rain washed a mixture of melted animal fat, or tallow, and wood ashes down
into the clay soil along the Tiber River. Women found that this clay mixture made their wash
cleaner with much less effort.
Some of the early instances of commercial manufacturing of soap are:
In Britain references began to appear in the literature from about 1000AD, and in 1192 the
monk Richard of Devises referred to the number of soap makers in Bristol and the unpleasant
smells which their activities produced
A century later soap making was reported in Coventry. Other early centers of production
included York and Hull. In London a 15th century "sopehouse" was reported in Bishops gate,
with other sites at Cheapside, where there existed so per’s Lane (later renamed Queen Street),
and by the Thames at Black friars Andrew pears. In 1789, he commenced production of a
transparent soap at a factory in Wells Street, off Oxford Street and became hugely successful.

7
 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

The toilet soaps market is estimated at 530,000 tap including small imports. The market is
littered over with several, leading national and global brands and a large number of small
brands, which have limited markets. The popular and premium brands include Lifebuoy, Lux,
Cinthol, Liril, Rexona, and Nirma.

Toilet soaps, despite their divergent brands, are not well differentiated by the consumers. It is,
therefore, not clear if it is the brand loyalty or experimentation lured by high volume media
campaign, which sustain them. A consequence is that the market is fragmented. It is obvious
that this must lead to a highly competitive market. Toilet soap, once only an urban
phenomenon, has now penetrated practically all areas including remote rural areas. The
incremental demand flows from population increase and rise in usage norm impacted as it is
by a greater concern for hygiene. Increased sales revenues would also expand from up
gradation of quality or per unit value.

As the market is constituted now, it can be divided into four price segments: premium,
popular, discount and economy soaps. Premium soaps are estimated to have a market volume
of about 80,000 tones. This translates into a share of about 14 to 15%.
Soaps form the largest pie of the FMCG Market with bathing & toilet soaps accounting for
around 30% of the soap market, by value. Currently, the soap industry is divided into three
segments namely Premium, Popular and Economy/ Sub popular.

To fight competition, major players Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), Godrej Consumer
Products Ltd (GCPL) and Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting are now drawing up fresh game
plans. And the accent is clearly on innovation to gain mind share as well as market share in
this overcrowded category.

8
Major Players
Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

With over seven brands — LUX, LIFEBUOY, HAMAM, REXONA, BREEZE,

DOVE and PEARS — has 54.3% share of the overall soap market. HUL is India's largest
Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company; its journey began 75 years ago, in 1933, when the
company was first incorporated. The company stirring the lives of two out of three Indians
with over 20 distinct categories in Home & Personal Care Products and Foods & Beverages
and also one of the country's largest exporters. HUL's brands includes Lifebuoy, Lux, Surf
Excel, Rin, Wheel, Fair & Lovely, Pond's, Sunsilk, Clinic, Pepsodent, Close-up, Lakme,
Brooke Bond, Kissan, Knorr-Annapurna, Kwality Wall's - are household names across the
country. They are manufactured in over 40 factories across India. In the Rs7,000 crore by
sales soap market, HUL’s market share has dropped to 54.3% in March 2008 from 55.9% in
March 2006.

Godrej Consumer Products

GCPL, India’s second largest soap maker after Hindustan Unilever Ltd, has nearly 9.2%
market share. With 11% market share in value terms, it is the second largest soap maker after
Hindustan Unilever. Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) is a major player in the Indian
FMCG market with leadership in personal, hair, household and fabric care segments. The
company is one among the largest marketer of toilet soaps in the country with leading brands
such as CINTHOL, FAIRGLOW, NIKHAR, & ALLCARE. Fairglow brand, India's first
Fairness soap, has created marketing history as one of the most successful innovations. It is
also the preferred supplier for contract manufacturing of toilet soaps, some of which are the
most well-known brands in the country.

Wipro

In the Indian market, Wipro is a leader in providing IT solutions and services for the
corporate segment in India. Wipro also has a profitable presence in niche market segments of
infrastructure engineering, and consumer products & lighting.Wipro has made a large
acquisition in the Consumer Care business. The presence of Wipro in the toilet soap industry

9
can be seen through their brands such as SANTOOR and CHANDRIKA. With industry
leading organic growth rates and the acquisition, Consumer care business has reached a
Revenue run rate in excess of $100 million per quarter.

Procter & Gamble India

Procter & Gamble India (PGHHCL) was incorporated in 1964 after Procter & Gamble, US,
acquired Richardson Vicks, US. Formerly known as Richardson Hindustan (the Indian
subsidiary), it was later named as P&G. It changed its name again in 1998 to Procter &
Gamble Hygiene and Health Care in order to reflect the nature and character of the business
of the company. During 2004-05 the company has increased its installed capacity of Soaps &
Detergents and Toilet Preparations etc by 36500 Tonnes and 263 Tonnes respectively. With
this expansion the total installed capacity of Soaps & Detergents and Toilet Preparations etc
has increased to 108500 Tonnes and 5875 Tonnes respectively.

Nirma
Incorporated as a private limited company, Nirma was converted into a deemed public
company and then to a public limited one in Nov.'93. Nirma has a leadership presence in
Detergents, Soaps and Personal Care Products. To have a greater control on the quality and
price of its raw materials, Nirma undertook backward integration into manufacture of
Industrial Products like Soda Ash, Linear Alkyl Benzene (LAB), Alfa Olefin Sulphonates
(AOS), Fatty Acid, Glycerine and Sulphuric Acid. During 1996-97, Nilnita Chemicals, Nirma
Detergents, Nirma Soaps and Detergents, and Shiva Soaps and Detergents were amalgamated
with the company. The company created 'Nirma Consumer Care Ltd.' - a wholly owned
subsidiary on 22nd Aug.'97, which is the sole licensee of the brand name 'Nirma' within
India. Nirma enjoys a share of 6.74% in soaps.
ITC
ITC, the country’s largest cigarette maker, entered the segment last year and has made a
strong headway in a short time. According to AC Nielsen, its share has grown to 1.75% in
just five months despite the fact that many of its brands such as Superia, Fiama Di Wills and
Vivel are currently sold in only six states.

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a. Company profile

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), a 52%-owned subsidiary of Anglo-Dutch giant Unilever,

has been working its way into India since 1888. Formerly known as Hindustan Lever
Limited. The Group's principal activities are to manufacture and market consumer products.
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), a subsidiary of Unilever, is a fast moving consumer
goods (FMCG) company based in India. The company focuses on efficient delivery to
consumers with an improved supply chain, brand building initiatives and innovation, which
has helped the company to sustain its leadership position in the overall FMCG category in
India.

b. Mission

Unilever's mission is to add Vitality to life. They meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene
and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life.
Their deep roots in local cultures and markets around the world give them strong relationship
with consumers and are the foundation for their future growth.

A key requirement is building in the quality expectations of their consumers into their
products.

To win consumers’ confidence and loyalty, they need to consistently deliver branded
products of excellent quality.

The Quality Policy describes the principles that everyone in Unilever follows, wherever they
are in the world, to ensure that they are recognised and trusted for their integrity, the quality
of their brands and products, and the high standards they set.

c. Principles of the Quality Policy

• Putting the safety of their products and consumers first.

HUL has stringent mandatory quality standards in place against which compliance is verified

11
through regular audits and self assessments. These standards ensure they design, manufacture
and supply products that are safe, of excellent quality, and conform to the relevant industry
and regulatory standards in the countries in which they operate.

• They actively engage consumers and customers, translating their needs and requirements
into products and services, thus creating consumer value wherever they position their
products.

• Quality is a shared responsibility

Quality and consumer safety is the responsibility of every Unilever employee and Unilever
demonstrates visible and consistent leadership to meet this policy. The drive for quality, in all
that they do, is a passion reflected in their brand development, manufacturing and customer
service processes.

d. 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 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.

HUL's brands - like Lifebuoy, Lux, Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel, Fair & Lovely, Pond's, Sunsilk,
Clinic, Pepsodent, Close-up, Lakme, Brooke Bond, Kissan, Knorr-Annapurna, Kwality
Wall's – are household names across the country and span many categories - soaps,

12
detergents, personal products, tea, coffee, branded staples, ice cream and culinary products.
They are manufactured over 40 factories across India. The operations involve over 2,000
suppliers and associates. HUL's distribution network, comprising about 4,000 redistribution
stockists, covering 6.3 million retail outlets reaching the entire urban population, and about
250 million rural consumers.

HUL has traditionally been a company, which incorporates latest technology in all its
operations. The Hindustan Unilever Research Centre (HURC) was set up in 1958, and now
has facilities in Mumbai and Bangalore. HURC and the Global Technology Centres in India
have over 200 highly qualified scientists and technologists, many with post-doctoral
experience acquired in the US and Europe.

Group operates through seven segments: Soaps and Detergents, Personal Products, Exports,
Beverages, Foods, Ice Creams and Other. The products include home and personal care
products, foods and beverages, industrial and agricultural products. Home and personal care
products consists of personal and fabric wash, household, oral care, skin and hair care,
deodorants, perfumery, colour cosmetics and baby care. Foods and beverages includes tea,
coffee, cooking fats and oils, bakery fats, ice creams, tomato products, fruit and vegetable
products, rice, salt, atta and rawa, marine products and mushrooms. Industrial and
agricultural products includes specialty chemicals, bulk chemicals, fertilisers, animal feeds,
seeds, plant growth nutrients, processed-tri-glycerides and agri commodities, yeast, leather,
footwear and carpets, thermometers and plantations.

Its brands are spread across 20 consumer product categories. Hindustan Unilever markets
consumer goods throughout India. The company faces competition from international, local
and regional players.
The company derives 44.3% of its revenues from soaps and detergents, 26.6% from personal
care products, 10.5% from beverages, and the rest from foods, ice creams, exports, and other
products. As counterfeit trade increases, the company stands to lose on its brand equity and
exclusivity.

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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

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 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

50%

40%

30%

20% Product

10%

0%
Fabric washPersonal wash Shampoo Skin Toothpaste Tea Coffee

f. Hindustan Lever network

Started in 2003, Hindustan Unilever Network (HUN) is HUL's Direct Selling arm. It is a
multi-category direct selling business offering a wide range of high-quality,
high-performance products for its consumers and also exciting business and personal
development opportunities for its consultants. It already has about 7 lakh consultants - all
independent entrepreneurs, trained and guided by HUN's expert managers and trainers.

HUN’s mission is to a create millionaire club in India. There are many consultants who are
earning at over a rate of Rs.1,00,000 per annum. Several consultants earn over Rs.50,000 per

15
month.

HUN offers to build a business with different categories of Home & Personal Care (HPC)
and Food products. They are all essential household needs. And they are all exclusive to
HUN, specifically developed for the Direct Selling channel, and not available in the retail
channel.

HUN has already spread to 1500 towns and cities, backed by 28 offices and over 130 service
centres across the country. HUN's vision is to earn the love and respect of India by making a
real difference to the lives of million Indians.
g. Exports
Today, HUL is one of India’s Largest exporters of branded Fast Moving Consumer Goods. It
has been recognized by the Government of India as a Golden Super Star Trading House.
Over time HUL has developed into a viable & competitive sourcing base for Unilever world
wide in Home and Personal Care & Foods & Beverages category of products. HUL is also a
global marketing arm for select licensed Unilever brands and also works on building
categories with core country advantage such as branded basmati rice. HUL Exports offers
high level of service with flexibility and responsiveness thorough out the supply chain. It has
a dedicated organization structure to support this endeavour and this has helped in growth of
these businesses in particular. Intrinsic cost competitiveness in the end to end Supply chain
with appropriate technology and competitive capital investment operations while delivering
best in class quality enables HUL to position itself as a key sourcing hub for Unilever and
also become a preferred partner for Global customers in categories we operate.
HUL’s key focus in the exports business is on two broad categories. It is a sourcing base for
Unilever brands in Home & Personal Care (HPC) and Food and Beverages (F&B) for
supplies to other Unilever companies. It also focuses on becoming a preferred supplier to
both non-Unilever and Unilever clients in three categories in which India, as a country, has
competitive advantage – Branded Rice, Marine Products and Castor and its Derivatives .
HUL enjoys international recognition within Unilever and outside for its quality, reliability
and speed of customer service. HUL's Exports geography comprises, at present, countries in
Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, Australia, North America etc
h. Water
Pureit, a breakthrough offering of Hindustan Unilever (HUL), comes with many unique
benefits – complete protection from all water-borne diseases, unmatched convenience and

16
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, diarrhea,
typhoid and cholera. Pureit not only renders water micro-biologically safe, but also makes the
water clear, odourless and good-tasting.

REVENUE PERCENTAGE(JUN'8)
Others
3%

Exports
9%
Foods
15%

Home &
Personal Care
73%

i. Corporate Responsibility
As in the earlier years, your Company continued to involve itself in social welfare initiatives
across the Country, both through charity and social investment around issues like education,
health, nutrition and initiatives for the economic upliftment of the underprivileged.
The company has commenced a pilot in its tea business, in partnership with an NGO
(Partners in Change) to source tea directly from small producers and thereby improve their
livelihood. The effort of the Company in improving water availability through soil
conservation and water harvesting methods has borne good results. Company believes that
brands must be at the forefront of driving social change.

HUL is also running a rural health programme – Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetana. The
programme endeavours to induce adoption of hygienic practices among rural Indians and
aims to bring down the incidence of diarrhoea. It has already touched 84.6 million people in
approximately 43890 villages of 8 states. The vision is to make a billion Indians feel safe and
secure.

17
 INTRODUCTION OF PRODUCT

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 a range of skincare benefits like firming, fairness and
moisturising.
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 colours and world class fragrances. Lux is a beauty soap of film stars. Lux
recognized the need for a compelling message about beauty that would resonate with women
of today.
From the 1930s right through to the 1970s, Lux soap colours and packaging were altered
several times to reflect fashion trends. In 1958 five colours made up the range: pink, white,
blue, green and yellow. People enjoyed matching their soap with their bathroom colours.
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 names such as “Wine & Roses” bath cream, “Glowing Touch” and “Sparkling
Morning” shower gels.

18
Lux has recently launched its two fruit extract variants – New Lux Strawberry & Cream and
Lux Peach & Cream contain a blend of succulent fruits & luscious Chantilly cream. The most
recent addition in the brand is Lux Crystal Shine.

Study of LUX with respect to 4 P’s

a. Product

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, persons, places,
properties, organizations, information and ideas.

Product Classification
LUX is a Tangible, Non Durable Good on the basis of this classification.
LUX and other soaps fall into the category of Convenience Good

Product Life Cycle

LUX Beauty Bar is in the maturity stage of its life cycle.

Product Life Cycle

3

2.5
Product Life Cycle

1.5
Product Life Cycle
1

0.5

0
0 1 2 3 4
Axis Title

19
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 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.

To establish the presence of nourishing ingredients in the new Lux, a unique concept,
‘ingredients you can see in the soap’, was born. A novel metallic substrate packaging
beautifully showcased the ingredients and its globally accepted ingredient-linked perfumes
heightened the sensorial experience.

Each of the soaps in the range has milk cream, with the active ingredients of rose extracts,

20
sandal saffron, almond oil and fruit extracts. These create an experience in pampering
indulgence and luxury designed to bring out the star in every woman. This is the first time in
the Indian chapter of the brand that the beauty bar variant was being differentiated on the
basis of its ingredients rather than its perfume and colours.
Though Lux International, a premium variant of the toilet soap, launched in 1989, is
differentiated on the basis of its ingredients, the popular version, Lux Beauty Bar was always
projected as a “pure and mild” solution to soft and smooth skin.

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.

21
b. 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 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

22
Leela Chitnis in the first Lux print adverstisement featuring an indian actress

Aishwarya Rai in a print advertisement featuring Lux international

Priyanka Chopra in the latest Lux advertisement

23
 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.
Lux campaigns have wooed millions of people over the decades. Popularly known as the
beauty soap of film stars, Lux has been an intimate partner of the brightest stars on the silver
screen for decades. An ode to their beauty, an announcer of their stardom, advertising
campaigns on Lux have featured film stars across the nation, promising their beauty and
complexion to ordinary women.

With top movie stars – from Madhubala to Madhuri, from Babita to Karisma and Kareena
having endorsed the goodness of Lux over generations, it was natural that the brand has built
equity as the best beauty soap in India.

From the beginning Lux, by using a leading film star of the time, has fulfilled the consumers’
aspirations of using beauty soaps via the rationale ‘if it’s good enough for a film star, it’s
good for me. This later moved into a transformation role of having a bath with Lux, which
transports the user into a fantasy world of icons, film stars and fairy lands.

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

24
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.

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

25
 OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

The main purpose of the study was to know the consumer behavior, tradition
and awareness of Lux among the people; to measure the effective of electronic
media; to analyze the media behavior of the people; and to identify the first
source of information for consumer products.
The study has been conducted to collect the information about tradition
and consumer behavior for a particular group, and the role of different source of
information in buying a product.
The main objectives of the study as follows:
 To know the Lux awareness among the people.
 To measure the effectiveness of Distribution channel of the LUX.
 To analyze the Market Strategy in the Lucknow Market.
 To identify first source of information about product.
 To identify the change in attitude of the consumer due to electronic media.
To identify the factors which affects the change in decision of the consumer

26
 LITERATURE REVIEW

Sales Promotion

Sales promotion, a key ingredient in marketing campaigns, consists of a collection of

incentive tools, mostly short term, designed to stimulate quicker or greater purchase of
particular products or services by consumers or the trade.
Whereas advertising offers a reason to buy, sales promotion offers an incentive to buy.
Sales promotion includes tools for

Prominent Sales Promotion Schemes Used By LUX

 Lux presented 30 gm gold each to the first three winners of the Lux Gold Star offer
from Delhi. According to the promotional offer that Lux unveiled in October 2000, a
consumer finding a 22-carat gold coin in his or her soap bar got an opportunity to win
an additional 30 gm gold. The first 10 callers every week got a 30 gm gold each.
The offer could be availed only on 100 gm and 150 gm packs of Lux soap.

 Lux Star Bano, Aish Karo contest: All one needed to do was buy a special
promotional pack of Lux soap. The pack comes with a special scratch card. The 50
lucky winners and their spouses were flown down to Mumbai to live a day like
Aishwarya Rai would. They could also be given gift vouchers worth Rs 50,000 from
Shoppers' Stop along with an exclusively designed Neeta Lulla sari and a beauty
makeover by Michelle Tung, Aishwarya's preferred designer and stylist. The pièce de
résistance was a dinner date with Aishwarya Rai herself.

Lux celebrated 75 years of stardom with the Har Star Lucky Star activity.
All wrappers of Lux had a star printed inside them. If the consumer found written
inside the star, any number from “1” to “5”, she would get an equivalent discount (in
rupees) on her purchase from her shopkeeper. If the consumer found “75 years”
written inside the star, she will get a year’s supply of Lux free.

27
Online contests:

Please enter your name and

email to play the game.

Play the supercharged version of the hit puzzle game, Bejeweled. Create rows of 3 or more
identical stones and you could win a trip for two to a five-star Resort in Goa.

Public Relations:

Not only must the company relate constructively to customers, suppliers and dealers, it must
also relate to a large number of interested publics. A public is any group that has an actual or
potential interest in or impact on a company’s ability to achieve its objectives. PR involves a
variety of programs designed to promote or protect a company’s image or its individual
products.

28
LUX PR Activities

Press relations:
Lux has been maintaining constant communicating with its customers and potential
customers, of the various developments taking place in the brand by using press
relations.
Events:
Lux celebrated 75 years of existence in a grand way by unveiling Shahrukh Khan as
their latest brand ambassador. Kareena Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Sridevi and Hema
Malini graced the event and made it special. All the stars have endorsed Lux in the
past. The event was held at the grand Intercontinental in Mumbai.

Limited edition:
Coming up with limited edition of the brand is also a way of attracting attention towards the
brand. It creates a buzz and a feeling of urgency to try out the product and helps in promotion
of the brand. This strategy was also implemented by Lux by bringing out limited editions like
Chocolate Seduction, Aromatic Glow, Festive Glow and Haute Pink.

c. Price
If price is too high then a company may never sell a single item of it. If price is too low then
one can lose money on every sale once all of costs of doing business are considered.
Therefore the key is to price it in such way that it appears attractive to the customer as well as
profitable to the company. HUL seems to have mastered this idea. Prices of HUL are
considered the most competitive in Indian market. The main fact for this huge success story is
the strategic pricing decision the company has adopted from time to time.

HUL always gives value for money to their consumers. It is known for its competitive
pricing. It has the advantage of quoting a reasonable price due to its economies of scale. HUL
also can quote a very competitive price due to its superior technology and optimum
utilization of inventory. It has the product range that meets the needs of all classes of
consumers. It has the products that are categorized as premium and mass products. HUL
matches its prices with the competitor who is operating in the same category.

29
HUL also gives price offs on its products to reward consumers who are using it for a long
time and also to attract new consumers.

The price of the premium segment products is twice that of economy segment products. The
economy and popular segments are 4/5ths of the entire soaps market.

Price segments of toilet soaps

Segment Price/weight
Premium > Rs. 15 / 75 gms
Popular Rs. 8-15/75 gms
Economy < Rs. 8 /75 gms

However, recently HUL has been forced to hike its price by one rupee, to Rs17 (for 100 gm),
giving in to the pressures of inflation. This paves the way for competing soap makers like
Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) to take price increases.

Lux has versions in all the three price segments:

Recent pricing of Lux (100 g)

Lux Crystal Shine Rs 17

Lux Festive Glow Rs 15

Mini Lux Rs 5

d. Place

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Cutting-edge distribution network

HUL’s distribution network is recognized as one of its key strengths -- that which helps reach
out its products across the length and breadth of this vast country. The need for a strong
distribution network is imperative, since HUL’s corporate purpose is “to meet the everyday
needs of people everywhere.”

At Hindustan Unilever Limited, distribution network is one of the key strengths that help
them reach their products across the length and breadth of this vast country. It has 2000+
suppliers and associates 7,000 stockists and direct coverage in over 1 million retail outlets
across India.

To meet the ever-changing needs of the consumer, HUL has set up a distribution network that
ensures availability of all their products, in all outlets, at all times. This includes, maintaining
favourable trade relations, providing innovative incentives to retailers and organizing demand
generation activities among a host of other things. HUL boasts of placing a product across the
country in less than 72 hrs.
The first phase of the HUL distribution network had wholesalers placing bulk orders directly
with the company. Large retailers also placed direct orders, which comprised almost 30 per
cent of the total orders collected.
Today, the goods are transferred from the factory to the company warehouses and are sent to
the distributor from there on a daily basis. From the distributor, the stock reaches the market
through daily sales. Typically, these include the salesman registering the order of a retail
outlet and delivering the goods the next day.
Recently HUL has changed its traditional way distribution and came out with a new strategy
of distribution. It‘s because of the change in buying pattern of the consumer due to more
disposable income. There are different channels of distribution like Modern Trade, which
covers all chains of super markets like Food World, who get the stocks directly from the
company. Wholesalers and second leg of big retail outlets called Super Value stores come
under the surveillance of the distributor along with the mass retail outlets. There is also this
new concept in the HUL distribution channel called Kiosk. Kiosk is a small shop that sells
only sachets and low priced items (below Rs.10/-). Kiosk also does not come under the
surveillance of the distributor.

31
In addition to the ongoing commitment to the traditional grocery trade, HUL is building a
special relationship with the small but fast emerging modern trade. HUL's scale enables it to
provide superior customer service including daily servicing, improving their range
availability whilst reducing inventories. HUL is using the opportunity of interfacing more
directly with consumers in this retail environment through specially designed communication
and promotions. This is building traffic into the stores while yielding high growth for the
business.

RSNet
An IT-powered system has been implemented to supply stocks to redistribution stockists on a
continuous replenishment basis. The objective is to catalyse HUL’s growth by ensuring that
the right product is available at the right place in right quantities, in the most cost-effective
manner. For this, stockists have been connected with the company through an Internet-based
network, called RSNet, for online interaction on orders, dispatches, information sharing and
monitoring. RS Net covers about 80% of the company's turnover. Today, the sales system
gets to know every day what HUL stockists have sold to almost a million outlets across the
country. RS Net is part of Project Leap, HUL's end-to-end supply chain, which also includes
a back-end system connecting suppliers, all company sites and stretching right up to stockists.
Powered by the IT tools it has improved customer service, while ensuring superior
availability and impactful visibility at retail points.

For rural India, HUL has established a single distribution channel by consolidating
categories. In a significant move, with long-term benefits, HUL has mounted an initiative,
Project Streamline, to further increase its rural reach with the help of rural sub-stockists. As a
result, the distribution network directly covers about 50,000 villages, reaching about 250
million consumers.

Distribution will acquire a further edge with Project Shakti, HUL's partnership with Self Help
Groups of rural women. The project, started in 2001, already covers over 5000 villages in 52
districts of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, and is being
progressively extended. The vision is to reach over 100,000 villages, thereby touching about

32
100 million consumers. The SHGs have chosen to adopt distribution of HUL's products as a
business venture, armed with training from HLL and support from government agencies
concerned and NGOs. A typical Shakti entrepreneur conducts business of around Rs.15000
per month, which gives her an income in excess of Rs.1000 per month on a sustainable basis.
As most of these women are from below the poverty line, and live in extremely small villages
(less than 2000 population), this earning is very significant, and is almost double of their past
household income.

For HUL, the project is bringing new villages under direct distribution coverage. Plans are
being drawn up to cover more states, and provide products/services in agriculture, health,
insurance and education. This will both catalyse holistic rural development and also help the
SHGs generate even more income. This model creates a symbiotic partnership between HUL
and its consumers, some of whom will also draw on the company for their livelihood, and
helps build a self-sustaining cycle of growth.

33
 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

TYPES OF RESEARCH:
The basic types of research are as follows –Descriptive Research: The major purpose of
this research is description of the state of affairs, as it exists at present.
Analytical Research: In this research, the researcher has to use facts or information already
available, and analyze these to make a critical evaluation of the material
Applied Research: It aims at finding a solution for an immediate problem facing a society or
an industrial/ business organization.
Fundamental Research: It mainly concerned with generalizations and with the formulation
of a theory.
Quantitative Research: It is based on the measurement of quantity or amount. It is
applicable to phenomena that can be expressed in terms of quantity.
Qualitative Research: It is concerned with the qualitative phenomenon, i.e., phenomena
relating to or involving quality or kind.
Conceptual Research: It is related to some abstract ideas or theory.
Empirical Research: It is data- based research, coming with conclusions, which are capable
of being verified by the observation and experiment
Diagnostic Research: Such a research fallow case -study method or in-depth approaches to
reach the basic casual relation.
Exploratory Research: The objective of this research is the development of hypothesis
rather than their testing.
MY RESEARCH:
I was gathering the consumer behavior of the Britania product in Neemrana Region, which is
being done by me first. Therefore, my research is exploratory research.

RESEARCH DESIGN
A research design is the arrangement of conditioned for collection and analysis of Data in a
manner that aims to combine relevance to the research purpose which economy in procedures
So it is clear from the above definition that very first step in the process of marketing
research is systematic design which can be defined as a specification of methods and
procedure for acquiring the information need to structure or solve problems.
The main characteristics of research design can be summarized in two words:

34
 ANTICIPATION
SPECIFICATION

FUNCTIONS OF RESEARCH DESIGN:

 Statement of evidence needed to solve the problem.
 Anticipation of what will be done with data to provide answer to problems.
 Specification of evidence from where it will be obtained and how.
 Statement of basic schemes whereby answers will be revealed and validated.
 Guide for the Calculation and approval of the feasibility and cost of the project.
 revision of blue prints or plan for guiding the work.

TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGN:

There are three types of research design: -
1. Research design in case of exploratory research studies.
2. Research design in case of descriptive and diagnostic research studies.
3. Research design in case of hypothesis – testing research studies.

MY RESEARCH DESIGN:
My Research was exploratory research so I am discussing only exploratory research design.
In exploratory research design hypothesis is developed on the basis of the influencing
variables, which are available. The main purpose to do research design is to find new ideas
for which the researcher must always remain alert. The possibilities of ideas are explored but
in case a better idea is found the focus of investigation gets change. There are three principle
stages of exploratory research design.
FIRST STAGE : Survey of secondary information sources.
SECOND STAGE : Interviews with knowledgeable persons.
THIRD STAGE : Examination of situation that are analogues to the Problem.

SAMPLING DESIGN:
A Sample design is a definite plan for obtaining a sample form a given population. It refers to
the technique or the procedure the researcher would adopt in selecting items for the sample.
Sample design may as well lay down the number of items to be included in the sample i.e.,
the size of the sample.

35
DIFFERENT TYPES OF SAMPLE DESIGNS:
There are two types of sample designs.
1. Non – probability sampling.
2. Probability sampling.
MY SAMPLING DESIGN:
For the survey of India bulls consultancy Pvt. Ltd. In Lucknow City, my respondents
were approximately 5lacs. So the universe was large (5lacs) in this case. Therefore, I took the
sample in this case while I surveyed the universe. Therefore, the data are approximately quite
accurate.

METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION:

There are two types of data.
1. PRIMARY DATA
2. SECONDARY DATA
PRIMARY DATA:
The primary data are those, which are collected afresh and for the first time, and thus happen
to be original in character.
SECONDARY DATA:
The secondary data are those which have already been collected by someone else and which
have already been passed through statistical problem.
The methods of collecting primary and secondary data differ since primary data are to be
originally collected while in case of secondary data the nature of data collection work is
merely that of compilaion.

36
 SWOT analysis of the product

SWOT ANALYSIS
SWOT analysis is a basic, straightforward model that provides direction and serves as a basis
for the development of marketing plans. It accomplishes this by assessing an organizations
strengths (what an organization can do) and weaknesses (what an organization cannot do) in
addition to opportunities (potential favorable conditions for an organization) and threats
(potential unfavorable conditions for an organization). The role of SWOT analysis is to take
the information from the environmental analysis and separate it into internal issues (strengths
and weaknesses) and external issues (opportunities and threats). Once this is completed,
SWOT analysis determines if the information indicates something that will assist the firm in
accomplishing its objectives (a strength or opportunity), or if it indicates an obstacle that
must be overcome or minimized to achieve desired results (weakness or threat) (Marketing
Strategy, 1998).

The SWOT analysis summarizes the external environmental factors as a list of opportunities
and threats.

SWOT PROFILE OF LUX

STRENGTHS
1.Strong Market Research (door to door sampling is done once a year in Urban and Rural
areas)
2.Many variants (Almond Oil, Orchid Extracts, Milk Cream, Fruit Extracts, Saffron,
Sandalwood Oil, and Honey to name a few)
3.Strong sales and distribution network backed by HLL
4.Strong brand image
5.Positioning focuses on the attractive beauty segment
6.Dynamically continuous innovation of the product and brand rejuvenation – new variants
(Aromatic Glow and Chocolate Seduction and Lux White Spa body wash) and innovative
promotions (22 carat gold coin promotion – ‘Chance Hai’)
7.Perceived to have high value for money (strong brand promotion but relatively lower price
which is a winning combination in the popular segment)

37
8.Though it is in popular segment, it is having mass appeal/market presence across all
segments (15% of the soap market captured by Lux (sales / volume)
9.Unique advantage of having access to resources and assets of HLL

WEAKNESSES

1.Lux is mainly positioned as beauty soap targeted towards women, hence it lacks unisex
appeal
2.Usage rate/ wear rate is high and is generally mushy and soggy
3.Some variants like the sunscreen, International variant did not do well in the market
4.Certain advertisements like the recent one with Shah Rukh Khan resulted in controversial
interpretations of the message of the advertisement and lead to some loss of focus (of
message of the advertisements)
5.Stock out problems - replenishment time is high in semi-urban/rural areas
6.Earlier positioning as the “soap of the stars” has somewhat alienated the brand from a
portion of the consumers especially in rural areas.

OPPORTUNITIES

1. Soap industry growing by 10% in India

2. Beauty segment’s Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is very high. An indication
of this is that Fair and Lovely’s segment is increasing at a fast rate - Lux must reinforce its
presence in the beauty segment
3. More promotions like price-offs and samples
4. Retentive strategy required as the soap segment is in the mature stage of its product life
cycle
5. Line extension – probably with more variants catering to the beauty segment like natural,
herbal soap etc
6. Liquid body wash is currently in the growth stage – Lux should come out with more
variants in this segment
7. Level of servicing is high during sales promotion schemes – this could be brought down
8. It has a large market share and hence has a strong hold over the market

38
THREATS

1. New entrants/local competitors/MNCs would increase the competition (Camay, P&G)

2. High internal competition – Pears also catering the beauty segment (also from HLL stable)
3. Excessive dependence on beauty segment makes Lux vulnerable to changing customer
tastes
4. Technological change makes the existing products obsolete – Lux should focus on
technological innovations like Body Wash
5. Its in the maturity stage in the Product Life Cycle and has a threat of slipping down to
decline stage if constant reinvention of the brand is not carried out.

39
 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS

Internal competitors
Lifebuoy:
Born: 1895
History: Owned by Unilever Plc., the parent company of Hindustan Unilever Ltd.
Status: Has 18% market share in the bathing soaps category, worth Rs6,000 crore
Lifebuoy landed on Indian shores in 1895, when the country was in the grip of a plague
epidemic. With its positioning as a powerful germicidal and disinfectant, and with a strong
carbolic smell, it was what the nation was looking for. But the health advantage waned over
time as competitors came out with soaps that promised both health and beauty.
It was around 2002 that the product moved from being a hard soap to a mild soap that
delivered a significantly superior bathing experience. The new soap had a refreshing
fragrance and its overall positioning changed, painting its promise of health in softer, more
versatile and responsible hues—for the entire family. The packaging was also changed: The
rugged looking packs were soon replaced with a softer pinkish cover. This was followed by a
series of ads highlighting the soap’s germ-fighting benefits.
Lifebuoy had become a family soap with hygiene as its core promise. Right from the early
days, the brand has preferred effective communication to celebrities. An exception is its
recent, limited exposure campaign with cricketer Yuvraj Singh.

External Competitors

Santoor:
Santoor is the flagship brand in the Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting stable and the 2nd
largest brand of soap in India in the popular segment of the category. The brand enjoys two
decades of trust since its launch in 1986 and has grown to be counted amongst the top brands
in the Country in an intensively competitive market. Millions of women across the country
have discovered the secret of younger looking skin with Santoor. It is a truly unique soap that
combines the goodness of natural ingredients - Sandal, Turmeric and natural Skin Softeners.
Sandal provides a cooling and soothing effect that softens skin, while turmeric controls
formation of skin darkening pigments like melanin, to give skin a radiant glow. Natural Skin

40
Softeners make skin soft and supple. The end result, skin that is so healthy and beautiful, it
lies about your actual age!
Amongst the first brands in the Country to launch an offering with the twin ingredient
benefits of Sandal and Turmeric, Santoor has over the years moved from a purely natural
ingredient based appeal, to one of the most preferred beauty soaps of the day. Today, Santoor
is one of the fastest growing soap brands in India. Santoor is available in three variants –
Santoor (Sandal & Turmeric), Santoor White (Sandal & Almond milk) and Santoor Chandan
which is a premium soap manufactured with extracts of Sandalwood oil – a favourite of
discerning consumers.

Cinthol:

Cinthol the popular and much-loved brand of Godrej Consumer Products Limited
(GCPL)have been a favourite of people for many years. All different soaps in its range are
having feel-fresh fragrance and high TFM index. Cinthol’s range covers an economic Lime-
fresh, the medium deo-soaps (spice, lime,cologne and the new ’sport’) and a slightly
expensive “Cinthol-Original”. For decades, Cinthol-Original is one of the best soaps made in
India. It had a simple red-cover which attracts none! But was still able to sustain itself in the
market . Godrej has now launched the improved Cinthol range. Cinthol now offers a deo-
range of soaps, talc and deo-sprays in three exciting fragrances - Classic, Cologne and Sport
in a trendy new packaging. It also offers Cinthol fresh soap and Cinthol Regular soap with
new exciting packaging. The eye-catching and vibrant packaging symbolizes a sense of
adventure, zest and action. The new Cinthol range brings 24-Hour Confidence through Active
Deo Formula, which controls body odour, Powerful DryShield that absorbs sweat, UltraScent
Technology for long lasting fragrance and Freshness that revitalises you 24x7.

The new range will be available across the country at modern retail and other outlets and will
be supported by high-impact advertising on television, print, out-door, on-line and radio.

Vivel and Superia:

The Vivel Di Wills range is available in two variants. Its unique carton pack has been
developed by ITC's design team to provide a novel consumer experience. Vivel Di Wills
Sheer Radiance is enriched with Olive Oil, to provide skin lustre to make it radiant. Vivel Di
Wills Sheer Crème is enriched with Shea Butter, to moisturize skin to make it soft and supple.

41
The Vivel range of soaps is available in four variants:-
Vivel Young Glow is enriched with Vitamin E and Fruit Infusions which help in providing
youthful glow to the skin.

Vivel Satin Soft is enriched with Vitamin E and Aloe Vera which help the skin feel
beautifully soft.

Vivel Sandal Sparkle is enriched with Sandalwood Oil and Active Clay which helps in
providing clear skin.

Vivel Ayurveda Essence is enriched with multiple Ayurvedic Ingredients which help protect
skin from germs and harsh environment, keeping it healthy and beautiful.

In the popular segment, ITC has launched a range of soaps and shampoos under the brand
name Superia. Superia Soaps enriched with natural ingredients give radiant glowing skin.
Superia Soaps are available in four variants:
1. Fragrant Flower: with the fragrance of Rose & Lavender Oil
2. Soft Sandal: with the fragrance of Sandal & Almond Oil
3. Natural Glow: with Neem & Coconut Oils
4. Healthy Glow: with Orange Oil

Market Segmentation
“One cannot be everything to everyone, but can be everything to a selected few”. This is the
basis for segmentation. The definition of segmentation is “market segmentation is a process
of dividing a heterogeneous market into homogeneous sub units. Market segmentation is the
identification of portions of the market that are different from one another. Segmentation
allows the firm to better satisfy the needs of its potential customers.
A good market segmentation will result in segment members that are internally homogenous
and externally heterogeneous; that is, as similar as possible within the segment, and as
different as possible between segments.

42
Market segmentation of Lux
As mentioned above, market segmentation is done so as to satisfy the customers more
efficiently. For a brand like Lux, which has a broad customer base, this factor becomes
absolutely critical.
The segmentations are done basically on the basis of factors like:
Lux soap concentrates in the beauty soap category. A brief description of the various factors
Lux considers are:

Gender:
Lux has been, since its introduction seen as a soap for women. Lux as a brand symbolises
beauty. The Lux ads has hosted a bevy of film stars such as from Madhubala, Babita, Hema,
Karisma to Kareena all endorsing the goodness of Lux over generations. This was done in
order to attract women who wanted to look and feel like the stars they idolised.

Age :
Lux is seen to mainly attract customers that fall within the age group of 16 to 35. In order to
cater them, Lux comes up with new and interesting variants. One of the latest entrants, Lux
Crystal Shine is mainly targeted at the youth . So is the Black Provocateur which symbolises
boldness . Another example is the chocolate variant lux which was a novel idea. All these
are introduced to catch the attention of the youth.
Income :

One of the essential characteristic of an FMCG product is an affordable price which is very
important for its fast sales. It’s the meeting point of demand for a product and its price that
decide whether the product will sell or not. And the demand for a product is highly dependent
on the income of the customer. Lux is not very costly toilet soap. Its price varies from Rs.15
to rs.20.Therefore its target market starts from the middle income group.

Positioning
Lux—derived from the word luxury— was launched in 1899 as a laundry soap in the UK. In
1925, the brand was extended to the toilet soap category. It was positioned as a beauty soap
in India, and HUL has since used successful film actors of the time—such as Leela Chitnis,
Madhubala, Hema Malini and Kareena Kapoor—to endorse the product.
Lux’s secret of longevity has been its consistent evolution—be it the soap colour, packaging

43
or new variants, the brand has banked on innovation to keep its youthful image intact.
Extending the soap cake to a range of shower gels, liquid soaps and moisturizing bars has
helped the brand keep consumers excited and the competition at bay.
What has not changed is the consistency in its communication and its positioning. Its tag
lines—if it’s good enough for a film star, then it’s good for you too to Play with beauty—
have conveyed the same message over the years. It taps into an emotion very close to
humanity’s basic need—social interaction. The brand has always hired celebrities when they
have reached a certain height rather than using them at the start of their careers. This has
helped the customers to relate to their idols on screen.
From being a soap for the stars, Lux has recently started positioning itself in such a way that
the ordinary woman can relate to the brand. The advertisements show not the star, but the
actress in the character of an ordinary girl or woman, which any woman can identify with.
This positioning has helped the brand in striking a chord with the target consumers.

BCG Matrix

BCG matrix method is a portfolio management tool developed by Boston Consulting Group
.It is a method based on the product life cycle theory that can be used to know what priorities
should be given in the product portfolio of a business unit.To ensure value creation ,a
company should have a portfolio of products that contains both high growth products in need
of cash inputs and low growth products that generate a lot of cash.There are 2 dimensions :
market share and market growth.Placing products in the BCG matrix results in four
categories in a portfolio of a company:

Star : High market growth and high market share

Cash cows : Low market growth and high market share
Question marks : High market growth and low market share
Dogs : Low market growth and low market share

Innovation seems to be the main theme of the Indian soap industry in 2008. With the entry of
ITC, the stage is all set for a major tussle between the new entrant and existing players in the
Rs 6,500-crore branded toilet soaps sector in India. The soap industry is seen to have a
market growth rate of about 10%. This shows that industry has a high growth rate. HUL is a
market leader in the industry and its soap Lux enjoys a market share of 17 % in India. So

44
according to the concept of BCG matrix any product which has high market growth and
market share is classified as STARS. The major objective of products coming in Stars is to
maintain their high market share. HUL comes up with various variants in LUX quite
frequently in order to maintain their position.

QUESTION
STARS
MARKS
LIFEBOUY SANTOOR
LUX CINTHOL

Market
Growth
Rate DOGS
CASH COWS

Relative Market Share

Ansoff model for Lux:
The Ansoff Growth matrix is a tool that helps businesses decide their product and market
growth strategy. Ansoff’s product/market growth matrix suggests that a business’ attempts to
grow depend on whether it markets new or existing products in new or existing markets.

Current Product New Product

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Current Market Penetration Strategy Product Development Strategy
Market Attract users : Gold coin offer Product Reformulation: Introduced
Gold coins hidden in soaps variants with different ingredients –
selectively Honey, chocolate, strawberry, etc
100 gm contained 3-gm gold coin Product feature addition:Lux Crystal
150 gm contained 5-gm gold coin shine (with sparkles)
Product line extension : addition of small
size (Rs 5/-,45 gms)

New Market development Strategy Diversification Strategy

Market A new variant called Lux Nalangu Related Diversification : Introduction of
pindi was introduced in Andhra body wash
Pradesh.

Lux has been in this industry for more than 75 years. It has constantly applied various
strategies to survive and succeed in the industry. Some of the recent ones are mentioned in
the above model.

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 RECOMMENDATIONS

Lux has been following a trend of constant product development and improvement since its
inception. This has always proved to be successful for the brand. Therefore a similar strategy
can be followed in the future: Lux can go for a high end Ayurvedic variant. Lux has been
associated with beauty and feminine grace till now. In the present day consumers are into
naturopathy and believe in natural treatments like the Ayurveda. Keeping with this trend, Lux
can foray into Ayurvedic variant. HUL already has Hamam soap in this category. But it is a
low priced soap whose target audience is quite different from Lux. This new variant can
provide the current customers of Lux with a blend of both class and natural goodness.

Today’s children are tomorrow’s customers. Children have a major share in the decision
making process of consumers. Therefore it will be a viable decision to launch Lux Kids
Special soap. By doing this Lux can “catch them young” and get a loyal customer base from
them. This variant can be in vibrant colours as opposed to the soft colours used currently. The
fragrances can also be made more “fun” and vibrant.

Lux has high penetration in the urban and semi urban areas. However, it has only 19.8%
penetration in the rural areas. The rural market has great untapped potential, which HUL has
not concentrated on till now. Consumers are becoming more and more aware and undergoing
a surge in disposable income. This huge opportunity can be explored by Lux. HUL already
has a strong distribution channel in almost all regions. What is needed here is a change in the
communication strategy to reach out to the rural customers. The various channels of
communication should be made more appealing to this rural segment of customers

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 REFERENCES

 www.capitaline.com
 www.hll.com
 www.wikipedia.com
 www.scribd.com
 Marketing Management – A South Asian Perspective by Philip Kotler

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 APPENDICES

Urban Rich

Urban and Sub Urban Upper

Middle and Middle Class

Rural Poor

(Figur2.1): Market Segments 1.

Socio Economic Clusters

A B C D E
Income High Income Upper Mid Lower Middle Low Income
Middle Level Level Income
Income Income
Education High Level of Educated Educated Educated Very Low
Education Slightly Less Slightly Slightly Less Level of
than Cluster A Less than than Cluster C Literacy
Cluster B

(Table 2.1): Socio Economic Cluster Segmentation 1

(Figure 2.2): Positioning Map

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BRAND
Lux
Aromatic
keya
Tibet

(Table 3.1): Comparative scenario of soaps price

Division Location of Warehouse

Dhaka Dhaka City
Chittagong Kalurghat Heavy I/A
Sylhet Sylhet City
Rajashahi Rajshahi city
Khulna Khulna City
Barisal Barisal City

(Table 3.2): Location of Unilever Bangladesh Ltd’s Divisional Warehouses 1.

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 45
40
35 LUX
30 Tibet
Keya
25
Aeromatic
20 Meril
15 Lilly
10 Camelia
5
0

(Figure 4.1): Market Share

Sl. No. Company Brand Name Yearly Market Share

on Toilet Soap
1 Unilever (BD). Ltd Lux International Beauty Tk. 312 43.33%
Soap Core
2 Square (Toiletries Meril Beauty Soap 48 Core 6.66
Division)
3 Keya Cosmetics Ltd. Keya Beauty Soap 72 Core 10.00%
4 Aromatic Cosmetics Ltd. Aromatic Beauty Soap 48 Core 6.66%

5 Lily Cosmetics Ltd. Lily Beauty Soap 72 Core 10.00%

6 Kohinoor Chemical Co. Tibet Beauty Soap 72 Core 10.00%
7 Marks & Allys Ltd. Camelia Beauty Soap 60 Core 8.35%
8 Others 36 Core 5.00%
Total Market 720 Core 100%
(Table 4.1): Estimated Annual Sales Revenue and Market Share .

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. www.unilever.com
 http://www.unileverea.com/ourbrands/personalcare/lux.asp
 http://www.unilever.co.uk/ourbrands/personalcare/lux.asp
2. www.unileverbd.com
3. Report on “Competition Scenario in Bangladesh”, page 18, prepared by Bangladesh
Enterprise Institute, July 2005.)
4. http://www.gfk.be/ProductsAndServices/ConsumerDiagnosticTools/SpecialAnalyses/
BrandHealthCheckUp
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unilever
6. http://ladytobaby.com/show.php?item=155

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