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Unilever's INR 55 bn ($1.36
bn) brandRexona,
internationally spans across 90 markets
worldwide commanding 14.5% share of the global deodorant
market. In India, as one of the pioneer brands
of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), Rexona was worth INR 1.78 bn
in 2006. With an annual growth rate of
28%, Rexona constitutes a core brand in HUL's brand
portfolio. HUL's Rexona, as a soap brand constantly improved to keep up
with the expectations of the Indian consumers. As a deodorant
brand, though Rexona created a new category in the personal care
segment in India, it failed to win over the consumers. Traditionally, body
odor was hardly taken seriously in India. The consumers were
highly accustomed to perfumed soaps and talcum powders to fight body
odors. The deodorants at large were seen as smell-good, perfume-like products.
The hot weather conditions in India presented ideal
market opportunities to the deodorants, yet none of the major
manufacturers attempted to explore the market. Until the Rexona deodorant
was launched in 1995, the market for deodorants in India was
virtually non-existent. HUL faced an uphill task of changing
consumer perception towards its Rexona deodorant. HUL had been
striving hard to position its deodorant brand across mass markets in India,
where consumer possessed a different set of perception for this product.
In 2007, HUL decided to reposition Rexona deodorant from
`fragrant deodorant' to an `anti-perspirant' for body odorby introducing
the roll-on formats. But analysts are skeptical if Rexona can change
the consumer's perception towards deodorants and gain a wider market.
India's Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector has been
the fourth largest sector in the
economy. The Indian FMCG industry grew by 22% in 2006,
with food (43%) and personal care (22%) segments being the
largest contributors to the total
sales. The total FMCG market is estimated
to be over $17.36 bn and is expected to reach $33.4 bn in
2015. The Household and Personal Care (HPC) industry in India
comprised fabric wash, personal wash, hair care, oral care, skin cosmetics,
color cosmetics, men's toiletries and fragrances. The HPC industry
is divided into two segmentspremium segment and
popular segment. The popular segment catered to masses both in urban
and rural markets. While the mass-market products including
essential bath and shower products and oral hygiene accounted for the bulk
of value sales, premium products were restricted to the upper
middle-classes and niche high-income consumers. Urbanization,
a combination of changing lifestyles, higher disposable income,
greater product awareness, and affordable pricing had been instrumental
in driving the growth across HPC industry in India. |
