PROJECT REPORT

NAME OF THE ORGANISATION : LAKME UNILEVER PRIVATE

LTD.
PLACE : BADI, SOLAN
FIELD OF STUDY :Marketing
TOPIC OF RESEARCH : CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
AND
PERCEPTION OF WOMEN
TOWARDS LAKME
Submitted To
Institute of Engineering and Emerging Technology, Baddi.
In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the award of Degree of
Masters of Business Administration.
SUBMITTED BY:
SAPNA
SOOD
98/08
MBA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my advisor, Ms. Neha for providing
me with continuous support and guidance which was vital for the successful
completion of the project. I would like to take this opportunity to express my
gratitude to my project guide, Ms Neha, for a significant contribution made by her
towards my learning, by way of making herself available, providing leads in
course of the project and most importantly for the tremendous source of
encouragement and inspiration she has bestowed on me throughout the project.
I express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Vishal kalia for their timely guidance and in
providing the required facilities and information for completing the project.
I am also very indebted to my parents and my brother who have been with me at
every moment of my life.for his kind help and support during the tenure of the
project.
I also want to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to my friends
and all the people who encouraged me throughout the project.
I am also thankfull to god for always being there.

To whomsoever it may concern

This is to certify that
Miss SAPNA SOOD, a student of INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, BADDI (IMS) has successfully completed her
project work of marketing entitled CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND
PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS LAKME under the guidance of her
project supervisor Miss.Neha.
It is her individual research work done on consumer behavior and perception.
I wish her good luck for her career.
Authorized signatory

Name : NEHA
(Project supervisor)
INDEX
CHAPTER
PAGE NO
1.EXECUTIVESUMMARY...........6-
7
2. INTRODUCTION TO CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR.......8-
14
a). CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR...8
b). BLACK BOX MODEL......9
c). SELECTIVE PERCEPTION MODEL.....10
d). FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR.11-
14
3. INTRODUCTION TO PERCEPTION...15-
19
a). WHAT IS PERCEPTION, DEFINITION, FEATURES15
b). PERCEPTUAL PROCESS16
c). PERCEPTUAL SELECTIVITY...17-
18
d). PERCEPTUAL ORGANISATION...19
 4. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ..20
5. INTRODUCTION TO COSMETIC INDUSTRY IN INDIA..21-
25
6. INTRODUCTION TO HINDUSTAN UNILEVER PRIVATE LIMITED26-
28
a). INTRODUCTION OF HUL26
b). HISTORY....27
c). COMPETITORS.....28
7. INTRODUCTION TO LAKME UNILEVER PRIVATE LIMITED.29-35
a). INTRODUCTION, KEY FACTS AND VISION....29
b). PURPOSE AND PRINCIPLES.30
c). CODE OF BUSINESS PRINCIPLES.31-32
d). LAKMES POSITIONING IN TERMS OF PERSONALITY..33-34
e). HOW LAKME IS INFLUENCING ITS CONSUMERS?......................35
8. PROFILE OF THE ORGANISATION36
9. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.37-39
a). OBJECTIVES....37
b). SOURCES OF DATA...38
c). RESEACH DESIGN.38
d). SAMPLING DESIGN.....38
e). SAMPLE SIZE....38
f). SAMPLE DESCRIPTION..38
g). LIMITATION OF STUDY..39
10. DATA ANALYSIS40-43
a). TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS..........40
b). PROCEDURE FOR TESTING HYPOTHESIS....41
c). CHI SQUARE TEST..41-43
11. DATA INTERPRETATION..44-62
12. FINDINGS.....63
13. SUGGESTIONS...64-65
14. CONCLUSION .....66
15 ANNEXURES.67-68
16. BIBLIOGRAPHY69

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Cosmetics and toiletries are not just the domain of women any longer and Indian
men too are increasingly taking to the use of more and more body sprays,
perfumes and other cosmetics and toiletries. With rising demand from men, the
Indian market is getting enlarged and many players are coming out with cosmetic
products especially skin care products for men. Globalization will certainly
increase cosmetic products penetration and all professionals shall equip
themselves to exploit opportunities offered by this sector.
The consumers are the largest economic group in any country and the present
day business activities are because of consumers only. Thus, consumers are the
pillars of the economy. The consumers are not only the heart of marketing
system, but also the controller of marketing functions. But it the modern
marketing system consumers sovereignty has become a myth on account of the
variety of problems in the process of merchandising. The study of consumer
behavior enables marketers to understand and predict consumer behavior in the
market place; It also promote understanding of the role that consumption plays in
the lives of individual.
This gives me an opportunity to work on with this endeavor focusing on the
Consumer behavior and perception of women towards cosmetics with special
reference to the Lakmes cosmetics products. The primary objective of the study
is to understand the consumer behavior and perception of women by studying
the awareness of the financial products within the consumers and the number of
consumers who take the products from Lakme.
The introductory chapter gives and insight to the cosmetic industry. It briefly
explains about the history of cosmetic sector. It also contain the organizational
profile of Lakme, stating about its mile stones, vision, products, protection
solutions, advertising effectiveness and finally about its marketing strategies and
challenges.
The second chapter gives a glimpses idea about the area of dissertation i.e.
theoretical background of the study. This part clearly explains the theoretical part
of consumer behavior in general. It also includes statement of the problem, need
and impotents of the present study and focal objectives of the dissertation
undertaken. The third chapter explains about literature review. It briefly describes
what all are the information source for the present study and what benefits has
derived from the reference of those literatures.
Next part explains about the research methodology. With the basic
understanding of the study research design was formulated. To collect the data,
questionnaires was prepared.
The necessary data were collected through personal interviews and interaction
with users of Lakme products. This chapter specifically explains about the type of
research, sample technique, sample size, actual collection of data and the tools
used for the testing of hypothesis.
The last but one chapter contains the analysis and interpretation of data
collected. The collected data was coded through tally bars and presented in
percentage wise and depicted in the form of graphical representation. It also
includes the hypothesis test about the overall result of the present study.
The last chapter is entirely the exploration of the research study giving all
respondents opinion in nutshell as findings i.e. stating that around percentage of
customers behave positively towards the Lakme,s products. The dissertation
ends up with the suggestions in order to modify the current system for a higher
growth and progress.
INTRODUCTION TO CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Consumer behaviour
Consumer behaviour is the study of when, why, how, and where people do or do
not buy product. It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social
anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision
making process, both individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of
individual consumers such as demographics and behavioural variables in an
attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the
consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in
general.
Customer behaviour study is based on consumer buying behaviour, with the
customer playing the three distinct roles of user, payer and buyer. Relationship
marketing is an influential asset for customer behaviour analysis as it has a keen
interest in the re-discovery of the true meaning of marketing through the re-
affirmation of the importance of the customer or buyer. A greater importance is
also placed on consumer retention, customer relationship management,
personalisation, customisation and one-to-one marketing. Social functions can be
categorized into social choice and welfare functions.
Each method for vote counting is assumed as a social function but if Arrows
possibility theorem is used for a social function, social welfare function is
achieved. Some specifications of the social functions are decisiveness, neutrality,
anonymity, monotonocity, unanimity, homogeneity and weak and strong Pareto
optimality. No social choice function meets these requirements in an ordinal scale
simultaneously. The most important characteristic of a social function is
identification of the interactive effect of alternatives and creating a logical relation
with the ranks. Marketing provides services in order to satisfy customers. With
that in mind, the productive system is considered from its beginning at the
production level, to the end of the cycle, the consumer.
Belch and Belch define consumer behaviour as 'the process and activities people
engage in when searching for, selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating, and
disposing of products and services so as to satisfy their needs and desires'.'

BLACK BOX MODEL

Marketing Environmental Buyer Decision Buyer
Stimuli Stimuli characteristics problem response
Product economic attitudes Problem Product choice
recognition
Price technological motivation Information Brand
Place political perceptions search choice
cultural personality Alternative Dealer
evaluation choice
Purcahse
timing
Promotion demographic lifestyle Purchase Purchase
decision amount
The black box model shows the interaction of stimuli, consumer characteristics,
decision process and consumer responses. It can be distinguished between
interpersonal stimuli (between people) or intrapersonal stimuli (within people).
The black box model is related to the black box theory of behaviourism, where
the focus is not set on the processes inside a consumer, but the relation between
the stimuli and the response of the consumer. The marketing stimuli are planned
and processed by the companies, whereas the environmental stimulus are given
by social factors, based on the economical, political and cultural circumstances of
a society. The buyers black box contains the buyer characteristics and the
decision process, which determines the buyers response.
The black box model considers the buyers response as a result of a conscious,
rational decision process, in which it is assumed that the buyer has recognized
the problem. However, in reality many decisions are not made in awareness of a
determined problem by the consumer.
Information search
Once the consumer has recognised a problem, they search for information on
products and services that can solve that problem. Belch and Belch (2007)
explain that consumers undertake both an internal (memory) and an external
search.
Sources of information include:
Personal sources
Commercial sources
Public sources
Personal experience
The relevant internal psychological process that is associated with information
search is perception. Perception is defined as 'the process by which an individual
receives, selects, organises, and interprets information to create a meaningful
picture of the world'.
THE SELECTIVE PERCEPTION PROCESS:
Stage Description
- Selective exposure consumers select which promotional messages they will
expose themselves to.
- Selective attention consumers select which promotional messages they will pay
attention to
- Selective comprehension consumer interpret messages in line with their beliefs,
attitudes, motives and experiences
- Selective retention consumers remember messages that are more meaningful
or important to them
The implications of this process help develop an effective promotional strategy,
and select which sources of information are more effective for the brand.CV
Information evaluation
At this time the consumer compares the brands and products that are in their
evoked set. How can the marketing organization increase the likelihood that their
brand is part of the consumer's evoked (consideration) set? Consumers evaluate
alternatives in terms of the functional and psychological benefits that they offer.
The marketing organization needs to understand what benefits consumers are
seeking and therefore which attributes are most important in terms of making a
decision
Purchase decision
Once the alternatives have been evaluated, the consumer is ready to make a
purchase decision. Sometimes purchase intention does not result in an actual
purchase. The marketing organization must facilitate the consumer to act on their
purchase intention. The organisation can use variety of techniques to achieve
this. The provision of credit or payment terms may encourage purchase, or a
sales promotion such as the opportunity to receive a premium or enter a
competition may provide an incentive to buy now. The relevant internal
psychological process that is associated with purchase decision is
integration.Once the integration is achieved, the organisation can influence the
purchase decisions much more easily.
Postpurchase evaluation
It is common for customers to experience concerns after making a purchase
decision. This arises from a concept that is known as cognitive dissonance. The
customer, having bought a product, may feel that an alternative would have been
preferable. In these circumstances that customer will not repurchase
immediately, but is likely to switch brands next time.
To manage the post-purchase stage, it is the job of the marketing team to
persuade the potential customer that the product will satisfy his or her needs.
Then after having made a purchase, the customer should be encouraged that he
or she has made the right decision.it is not effected by advertisement.
FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE CONSUMER BEAHVIOUR:
Internal influences
Consumer behaviour is influenced by: demographics, psychographics (lifestyle),
personality, motivation, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and feelings. consumer
behaviour concern with consumer need consumer actions in the direction of
satisfying needs leads to his behaviour of every individuals depend on thinking.
External influences
Consumer behaviour is influenced by: culture,sub-culture, locality, royalty,
ethnicity, family, social class, reference groups, lifestyle, and market mix factors
Consumer purchases are influenced strongly by or there are four factors.
The following are the certain factors which influence the consumer behavior:
01. Cultural Factor :-
Cultural factor divided into three sub factors (i) Culture (ii) Sub Culture (iii) Social
Class
Culture:-
The set of basic values perceptions, wants, and behaviours learned by a member
of society from family and other important institutions. Culture is the most basic
cause of a persons wants and behaviour. Every group or society has a culture,
and cultural influences on buying behaviour may vary greatly from country to
country.

Sub Culture :-
A group of people with shared value systems based on common life experiences
and situations.
Each culture contains smaller sub cultures a group of people with shared value
system based on common life experiences and situations. Sub culture includes
nationalities, religions, racial group and geographic regions. Many sub culture
make up important market segments and marketers often design products.
Social Class:-
Almost every society has some form of social structure, social classes are
societys relatively permanent and ordered divisions whose members share
similar values, interests and behaviour.
02. Social Factors :-
A consumers behaviour also is influenced by social factors, such as the (i)
Groups (ii) Family (iii) Roles and status
Groups :-
Two or more people who interact to accomplish individual or mutual goals.
A persons behavious is influenced by many small groups. Groups that have a
direct influence and to which a person belongs are called membership groups.
Some are primary groups includes family, friends, neighbours and coworkers.
Some are secondary groups, which are more formal and have less regular
interaction. These includes organizations like religious groups, professional
association and trade unions.
Family:-
Family members can strongly influence buyer behaviour. The family is the most
important consumer buying organization society and it has been researched
extensively. Marketers are interested in the roles, and influence of the husband,
wife and children on the purchase of different products and services.
Roles and Status :-
A person belongs to many groups, family, clubs, organizations.
The persons position in each group can be defined in terms of both role and
status.
03. Personal Factors :-
It includes
Age and life cycle stage (ii) Occupation (iii) Economic situation (iv) Life Style (v)
Personality and self concept.
Age and Life cycle Stage:-
People changes the goods and services they buy over their lifetimes. Tastes in
food, clothes, furniture, and recreation are often age related. Buying is also
shaped by the stage of the family life cycle.
Occupation :-
A persons occupation affects the goods and services bought. Blue collar workers
tend to buy more rugged work clothes, whereas white-collar workers buy more
business suits. A Co. can even specialize in making products needed by a given
occupational group. Thus, computer software companies will design different
products for brand managers, accountants, engineers, lawyers, and doctors.
 Economic situation :-
A persons economic situation will affect product choice
Life Style :-
Life Style is a persons Pattern of living, understanding these forces involves
measuring consumers major AIO dimensions. i.e. activities (Work, hobbies,
shopping, support etc) interest (Food, fashion, family recreation) and opinions
(about themselves, Business, Products)
Personality and Self concept :-
Each persons distinct personality influence his or her buying behaviour.
Personality refers to the unique psychological characteristics that lead to
relatively consistent and lasting responses to ones own environment.
04. Psychological Factors :-
It includes these Factors.
Motivation (ii) Perception (iii) Learning (iv) Beliefs and attitudes

Motivation :-
Motive (drive) a need that is sufficiently pressing to direct the person to seek
satisfaction of the need
Perception :-
The process by which people select, Organize, and interpret information to form
a meaningful picture of the world.
Learning:-
Changes in an individuals behaviour arising from experience.
Beliefs and attitudes :-
Belief is a descriptive thought that a person holds about something
Attitude, a Persons consistently favourable or unfavourable evaluations, feelings,
and tendencies towards an object or idea
INTRODUCTION TO PERCEPTION
Human beings may differ because of their differences & uniqueness. People
often see the same situation/ phenomenon differently within the organization &
outside the organization. For example: when there is an accident in the factory,
the supervisor may treat it as the carelessness of worker while the worker may
treat it as lack of adequate provision of security measures. Thus the situation
remaining the same, cause has been assigned differently by different group of
people. In order to understand why people see the same situation differently, one
has to understand PERCEPTION & its different aspect.
WHAT IS PERCEPTION ?
Perception is a congnitive process. Cognition is basically bit of information;
cognitive process involves the way in which people process/understand that
information. Perception process involves selecting, organising and interpreting
the stimulus. Thus perception is the process selecting, organizing and
interpreting or attaching meaning to the events happening in the environment.
However, what one can perceive can be different from objective reality. Their
need not be but there is often, disagreement. For example: its possible that all
the employee in a firm may view it as a great place to work favorable working
conditions, interesting job assignment, good pay and excellent benefit but as
most of us know, its very unusual to find such agreement.
DEFINITION
PERCEPTION may be defined as a process by which individual organize and
interpret their sensory impression in order to give meaning to their environment.
FEATURES OF PERCEPTION
Perception is the intellectual process through which a person selects the
data from the environment, organizes it, and obtains meaning from it.
 Perception is a psychological process also. The manner in which people
perceive the environment affects his behavior.
Perception, being an intellectual and psychological process, becomes a
subjective process and different people may perceive the same
environmental event differently.

PERCEPTUAL PROCESS :
Perception process is explained by input-throughput-output approach. This
approach emphasizes that there is input which is processed and gives output.
Perceptual process present three elements of perception. These are: existence
of stimuli (objects, event, &people) perceptual mechanism (selecting, organising,
& interpretation) and perceptual outputs (attitude, opinion, & values). Perceptual
output along with other determinant of human behavior affects and shape
behavior. Let us see how perceptual process works in terms of its three basic
elements.
PERCEPTUAL INPUT: The stimuli in the environment- objects, events, or
people- can be considered as the perceptual inputs. Thus everything in
the setting where the events occur, or which contributes to the occurrence
of the events, can be treated as perceptual input. When the perceiver
interacts with a stimulus, sensation take place which starts perceptual
process. (Sensation is described as the response of a physical sensory
organ. The physical senses are vision, hearing, touch, smell, and taste.)
PERCEPION MECHANISM: Perceptual mechanism involves three
elements- selection of stimuli, organization of stimuli, and interpretation of
stimuli.
SELECTION OF STIMULI: After receiving the stimuli from the
environment, some are selected for further processing while others are
screened out because it is not possible for a person to select all stimuli
which he see in the environment. There are two types of factors which
affects the selection of stimuli. These are external and related to stimuli
and internal related to the perceiver.
ORGANISATION OF STIMULI : After the stimuli are selected these are
organized in some form of in order to make sense out of that. The various
forms of organizing stimuli are figure-ground, perceptual grouping,
simplification and closure.
INTERPRETATION OF STIMULI: The perceptual inputs that have been
organized will have to be interpreted by the perceiver to extract some
meaning of what is going on in the situation. People interpret the meaning
 of what they have selected and organized in term of their own assumption
of people, things and situations. They interpret the things as good/bad,
beautiful/ugly, and so on. Interpretation of stimuli is affected by situation
under which perception take place and characteristics of perceiver.
PERCEPTUAL OUTPUT : Based on perceptual mechanism which ends
with interpretation of stimuli, perceptual output emerges. The output may
be in the form of attitudes, opinions, beliefs, impression about the stimuli.
This output along with other factors affecting human behavior may result
in overt behavior.
PERCEPTUAL SELECTIVITY
Perception is a selective process. While selection, certain aspects of stimuli are
screened out and others are admitted. For example: when people read a
newspaper, they do not read the entire newspaper but read only those news
which interest them. This is known as perceptual selectivity.
This is caused by variety of factors which may be grouped into two categories:
1. Extrenal factor
2. Internal factor
EXTERNAL FACTORS
The external factors are Nature, Location, Size, Intensity, Repetition, Novelty &
Familiarity, Contrast And Motion. Their impacct on the perceptual selectivity is as
follow:
NATURE : By nature we mean, whether the object is visual or auditory,
and whether it involves pictures, peoples or animals. It is well known that
pictures attract attention more readily than words.
LOCTION : The best location of a visual stimulus for attracting attention is
in the center of the page. When this position is not available in the
newspaper or a magazine, a position in the upper portion of a page is
more favourable than on in the lower portion and left hand side receive
more attention than the right hand side.
SIZE : Generally objects of larger or bigger size attract more attention
than the smaller ones. For Example: in an advertisement in newspaper full
page spread attract more attention than a few lines in the classified
section.
INTENSITY : The intensity principle states that more intentse the external
stimulus is, the more likely is to be perceived. A loud sound, or bright light
is noticed more as compared to soft sound, or dim light. For Example:
advertisement on televisions are slightly louder than the regular
programmes to gain customers attention.
 REPETITION : The repetition principle states that a repeated external
environment is more attention- getting than a single one. Repetition
increase peoples alertness to the stimulus. For example: Advertisers use
this principle by repeated advertisement of the same product to attract
peoples attention.
NOVELTY & FAMILIAIRTY :Novelty & familiarity principle state that either
a novel or a familiar external situation can serve as attention-getter. New
objects or events in a familiar setting, or familiar objects or events in new
setting draw better attention.
CONTRAST : Contrast is a kind of uniqueness which can be used for
attention getting. Letters of bold types, persons dressed differently than
others, buildings of different colors in the same locality,etc. get more
attention.
MOTION : Motion principle states that a moving object draws more
attention as compared to a stationary object. For Example: commercial on
televisions (moving ones) get more attention than print media.
INTERNAL FACTORS While external factors are related to environment stimuli,
internal factors are related to the individuals complex psychological makeup or
oneself. People generally select those stimuli and situation which are compatible
to their personality, motivation, and other personal factors. Such factors are- self-
concept, inner- needs, response disposition, individual attitude, interest, learning,
and experience. A brief description of their impact on perception selectivity is as
follow:
SELF-CONCEPT : The way a person views the world depends a great
deal on the concept or image he has about himself. Knowing oneself
makes it easier to see others accurately. Peoples own characteristics
affect the characteristics which they are likely to see in others. They select
only that aspects which they find match with their characteristics.
INNER NEEDS : Peoples perception is determined by their inner needs.
The need is feeling of tension or discomfort when one thinks him missing
something or when he feels he has not quite closed a gap in his
knowledge. People with different needs select different items to remember
or respond to. When people are not able to satisfy their needs they are
engaged in wishful thinking, which is a way to satisfy the needs not in real
world but imaginary world , the day dreaming.
RESPONSE DISPOSITION : Response disposition refers to a persons
tendency to perceive familiar stimuli rather than unfamiliar ones. Thus, a
person perceives the things with which he is familiar. For Example:
persons having dominant religious value took lesser time in recognizing
such related word as priest whereas they took longer time in recognizing
words related with economic value such as cost or price.
 INDIVIDIAL ATTITUDE : The person tries to fit his attitude (whether
positive or negative) in the situation and perceive something. For
Example: if a person always thinks negative, he thinks that whatever is
happen in his life will be negative, he will perceive everything in the
negative way. On the contrary if he thinks positive, he is an optimistic, he
will perceive everything in a positive way.

INTEREST : If a person is interested in something he will perceive that

thing in better way. On the other hand, if the person is not interested in
that thing, he will not perceive that thing in a better way. For Example:
children watch television with the good interest and curiosity, so they
perceive quickly whatever is shown in TV.
LEARNING & EXPERIENCE : People perceive many things differently
according to their learning and experience of the past. If a person has
wrong impression or bad past experience of something, he see the things
negative and he perceive that thing in only negative way because it is his
experience that forces him to perceive in this way.
PERCEPTUAL ORGANISATION People tend to organize the stimuli rather than
perceiving it as a whole. Following ways:
Figure and ground relationships: The figure represents what catches
your attention as distinct and unique, while the ground indicates what you
perceive as routine.
Grouping helps individuals break up information and register it in their
memory. That way, even use of multiple stimuli can work and create
several associations.
Closure is a need of consumers as well. They want to take the message
to its logical conclusion if the stimulus does not give complete information.
Teaser ads take advantage of this.
Does the consumer perceive the stimuli as intended? Perceptual distortion can
occur due to a variety of reasons:
Physical appearance: The kind of people you are using in
advertisements will distort perceptions, which has to be used to your
benefit.
Stereotypes that develop can distort perception
First impressions of a product/service get carried on for a long time.
Jumping to conclusions: If you cannot present yourself differently, the
prospect can jump to conclusions before you even make a presentation,
e.g. tele calling
 Halo effect: One or two dimensions of the stimuli will create broad
perceptions on the product. Brand extension can be an example.

Review of Literature
When consumers perceive an advertisement for a certain brand as promoting another, it is not only i
even counterproductive (Kamen, 1987; Poiesz and Verhallen, 1989): it produces an effect that the a
specially wants to avoid.

Therefore, perception, although seldomly studied, is a phenomenon that has an impact over its cons
researchers. unremitting attention, and measures of consumer behavior and perception should be a
more conventional measures to increase the sales of a product(Poiesz and Verhallen, 1989).

Consumer behavior is studied so that we can come to know that how perception and attitude of a pe
that what should be the buying pattern of the consumers (Poiesz and Verhallen, 1989).

A. Sengupta and Noopur Agrawal

Not only the consumer behavior but the perception of consumers, may be the subject of people buyi
products of lakme (Poiesz and Verhallen, 1989).
Correct identification and confusion are not perfectly related. It is possible that the recipient of the m
attribute any particular brand to an advertising message, in which case he/she is not really confused
does not have any idea.

A consumer confusing brands thinks he/she recognises the brand. Depending upon what is the perc
consumers, it can be positive or negative. (Hcker and Verhallen, 1988; Poiesz and Verhallen, 1989
perception refers to the extent to which the respondents will not buy the product. Positive brand perc
the degree to which the other respondents are willing to buy the product. Positive Brand perception
advantage for a brand. Negative brand perception may be a threat to a clear positioningof the produ
women.

Brengman et al. (2001) found that Consumers most vulnerable to brand perception generally have h
knowledge about the products which they are using.

Products are becoming more and more objectively similar with respect to their functionality and prod
presentation (Poiesz and Verhallen, 1989). Ha (1996) refers to the degree of similarity and proximity
advertisements. (De Pelsmacker and Geuens, 1997a).the more the proximity the more consumers a
buy the products.
Successful advertising techniques get imitated and waves of similar advertising arise. It can be expe
higher DOSS leads to more brand confusion. In parallel, similarity in visual appearance of products h
found to be a major reason for confusion in advertising (Loken and Ross, 1986; Ward and Loken, 19
Furthermore, in a study of brand perception of consumers cited the product or the packaging. as a p
for recognition and buying of the product. (De Pelsmacker and Van Den Bergh, 1997b).
INTRODUCTION TO COSMETICS INDUSTRY IN INDIA
India, with a population of nearly a billion people, is a country of contrasts. India's urban population i
engine that fuels the demand for various cosmetic products. The morphing of India is subtle and the
not visible for the first time visitor. However, the market liberalization process that began in 1991, alo
crowning of three Indians as Miss World and Miss Universe during the preceding four years, have m
women conscious of their appearance. Consequently, the cosmetic consumption patterns of Indian w
changed, and this trend is fuelling growth in the cosmetic sector. The Indian cosmetics and toiletries
by 8.7% in current value terms in 2001, with value sales amounting to Rs126 billion.
The market for cosmetics and toiletries in India is characterized by high volume sales of low-end toil
while at the same time the legendary emerging middle-class has generally been fuelling demand for
upper-mass toiletries. Products that are too specialized have yet to be successful on the Indian mark
include toners, hand care and other value-added skin care products, bath & shower products and af
Only the richest consumers can afford these; indeed, the average consumer may be unaware of the
even existence. This also explains the relatively poor showing of perfumes, especially the premium v
This cosmetics and personal care industry has been growing at an average rate of 20 per cent for th
years. The growing Indian cosmetics market offers promising prospects for international brands. The
the cosmetics market reflects an increasing demand for beauty care products in India. Perfumes and
skin care, and hair care products are some of the major segments with promising prospects for U.S.
Penetration of most cosmetic and toiletries is very low in India. Current consumption of many produc
that of many countries in Asia. The low market penetration of many cosmetics and personal care pro
room for growth.
Market Overview :
The current size of the Indian cosmetic market is approximately US$ 600 million. Of this, the fastest
segment is color cosmetics, accounting for around US$ 60 million of the market. Industry sources es
growth rate of 20 percent per annum across different segments of the cosmetics industry reflecting a
demand for all kinds of beauty and personal care product. Growth has come mainly from the low and
priced categories that account for 90 percent of the cosmetics market in terms of volume.
Nail enamels and lipsticks account for around 65 percent of total color cosmetic sales in India. Lakm
originally introduced by the Tata group of India, now bought over by Hindustan Lever (HLL) of the Un
Tips & Toes, another domestic player, and Revlon dominate the US$ 60 million color cosmetics mark
Multinationals, Revlon of the U.S. and L'Oreal's Maybelline has a dominant share of the small premi
and nail enamels market. Mass-market products account for a major share; while the premium segm
only for a mere 9 per cent in lipsticks and 5 per cent in nail enamels. The skin care market in India is
US$ 180 million. Within the last decade, this segment has seen many consumers slowly shift from th
premium end of the market. In the skin-care segment, price and volume played an equal role in valu
a very basic level of most consumers using only face cream and moisturizers, the market for more s
care products such as sun screens, toners, cleansers, and astringents, dark circle removing creams
creams and day and night creams seems to have grown steadily in recent years.
Moisturizing lotions, fairness creams and face cleansers are the popular categories in the skin-care
account for approximately 60 percent of the skin-care segment. The major players in this segments
Ponds, Fair & Lovely of the HLL group with a 50 percent market share, followed by players such as J
that markets the Nivea range of products in India, Godrej and Revlon. The size of the hair care mark
estimated at more than US$ 200 million, 50 percent of which interestingly comes from sales of sham
International companies like Unilever through its subsidiary, Hindustan Lever (Sun silk, Organics, Cl
and Procter & Gamble (with brands such as Pantene, Head & Shoulders) dominate the shampoo ma
with approximately 58 and 20 percent market share respectively.
The market for hair creams, mainly used for hair grooming by men is also very small. Hair oiling, an
tradition of Indians and mainly used as a pre-wash nourishment is a major segment in this sector an
like HLL and local Dabur and Marico Industries fighting for market share in the hair oil segment. Mor
shelves in shops and boutiques are stocked with cosmetics from around the world. Since liberalizatio
international brands like Avon, Burberrys, Calvin Klein, Cartier, Christian Dior, Estee Lauder, Elizabe
Lancome, Chambor, Coty, L'Oreal, Oriflame, Revlon, L'Oreal, Yardley, Wella, Schwarzkopf, Escada,
Rochas, Yves St. Laurent and Japanese cosmetics company, Shiseido have entered the Indian mark
The prices of most foreign brands have been fairly high, which has deterred average Indian consum
International brands cater to a segment that can broadly be classified as the urban higher income gr
Penetration levels of international cosmetics brands in India are still low. Foreign brands currently co
percent of the market. A major reason for low penetration of international brands can be attributed to
Market Trends
Cosmetics and toiletries are not just the domain of women any longer and Indian men too are increa
the use of more and more body sprays, perfumes and other cosmetics and toiletries. With rising dem
the Indian market is getting enlarged and many players are coming out with cosmetic products espe
products for men. In the last five/six years, there has been a renewed craze for herbal cosmetic and
products, especially in the skin care segment with the growing belief that chemical-based cosmetics
Shehnaz Hussain, Biotique, and Lotus Herbals are the major players in this segment. Many compan
expanded their range to include herbal variants. The growing popularity for natural products also attr
primarily health-care companies such as Himalaya Drugs (with its Ayurvedic Concepts range), and D
natural-based cosmetic products.
Import Market
Costs for importing products are much higher than producing it in the country. India allows entry of im
cosmetics without any restrictions but the average import tariff on cosmetics products is currently ve
percent. This makes imported products very expensive for most consumers. Most foreign cosmetics
selling premium brands have had a difficult time developing the low volume premium market in India
Competition
The Indian cosmetic market, which has been traditionally a stronghold of a few major Indian players
and Ponds has seen a lot of foreign entrants to the market within the last decade. India is a very pric
market and the cosmetics and personal care product companies, especially the new entrants have h
new innovative strategies to suit Indian preferences and budgets to establish a hold on the market a
niche market for themselves. HLL and Revlon were the first to introduce small pack sizes. Revlon int
small-range of 8 ml nail polishes and lipsticks, and was soon followed it its strategy by major Indian c
well.
Small pack sizes have proved to be very popular in the Indian market as it offers a consumer lower p
and the opportunity to try new products. . In the skin-care segment, from just creams and moisturiz
been a upgrade to value-added products such as under-eye wrinkle removing creams, dark circle re
toners, sunscreen lotions, fairness creams, and many more.
The color cosmetics market saw new products such as smudge-proof lipsticks and mascaras, liquid
long-stay lipsticks being introduced. These specialized applications led to growth in volumes and als
companies to price the products at a premium, driving up value growth.
L'Oreal markets its range of specialized hair care products exclusively through salons and beauty pa
currently is the only company in the market that has a hair color range tailored exclusively for parlors
was also the first to introduce modern hair color and shampoos for colored hair in the Indian market.
A strong brand promotional campaign, good distribution network, constant product innovation and qu
improvement, and the ability to provide a variety of quality products are some of the major reasons f
of most companies.
HUL, is currently India's largest cosmetics and personal care products producer and its brands has t
share (more than 50 percent) in segments such as personal wash, skin care, shampoos, lipsticks an
Sales Prospects
The growing Indian cosmetics market offers promising opportunities for international brands. The gro
cosmetics market reflects an increasing demand for beauty care products in India. The most promisi
for international companies to pursue are perfumes and fragrances, and specialized/professional ski
care products. The fastest growing market is however color cosmetics, which account for US$ 60 mi
market.
The rural market in India for cosmetics and toiletries remains is largely untapped. Major domestic pla
not been able to penetrate this market. The urban market itself for specialized cosmetic products rem
fully exploited. The Indian skin-care market is not yet fully tapped and offers promising prospects as
Penetration of color cosmetics is lower than the penetration prospects of the skin-care segment.

To promote the growth of their products, a dominant player like Lakme have embarked upon a busin
establish their exclusive franchised beauty salons across major metros in the country. Imported cosm
had a major impact on the Indian market.
L'Oreal India has established a consumer advisory unit and Ponds, as mentioned earlier offers skin
through touch-screen kiosks, and telephone help-lines. Beautique - an exclusive one-stop shop for o
cosmetic brands set up recently in New Delhi has qualified beauty consultants to provide free advice
overs to consumers.
Market Access
Prior to March 31, 1999, India had cosmetics and toiletries on its restricted list of imports and a spec
license was required for import of cosmetics and toiletries into the country. This regulation has now b
away with and, India today, permits import of cosmetics and toiletries without any restrictions. This h
Indian market more attractive to foreign cosmetic companies. Imports have been made easier, but n
cheaper.

INTRODUCTION TO HINDUSTAN UNILEVER PRIVATE LIMITED

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) (BSE: HUL) is India's largest fast moving consumer goods compa
the lives of two out of three Indians with over 20 distinct categories in home & personal care product
beverages. They endow the company with a scale of combined volumes of about 4 million tonnes an
Rs. 13,000 crores. HUL is also one of the country's largest exporters; it has been recognised as a G
Star Trading House by the Government of India.
HUL was formed in 1933 as Lever Brothers India Limited and came into being in 1956 as Hindustan
through a merger of Lever Brothers, Hindustan Vanaspati Mfg. Co. Ltd. and United Traders Ltd.. It is
in Mumbai, India and has an employee strength of over 15,000 employees and contributes for indire
of over 52,000 people. The company was renamed in June 2007 to Hindustan Unilever Limited.
In 2007, Hindustan Unilever was rated as the most respected company in India for the past 25 years
Businessworld, one of Indias leading business magazines . The rating was based on a compilation o
magazine annual survey of Indias Most Reputed Companies over the past 25 years. HUL is the mar
Indian consumer products with presence in over 20 consumer categories such as soaps, tea, deterg
shampoos amongst others with over 700 million Indian consumers using its products. It has over 35
Sixteen of HULs brands featured in the ACNielsen Brand Equity list of 100 Most Trusted Brands Ann
(2008). According to Brand Equity, HUL has the largest number of brands in the Most Trusted Brand
company that has consistently had the largest number of brands in the Top 50 and in the Top 10 (wit
Hindustan Unilever's distribution covers over 1 million retails outlets across India directly and its prod
available in over 6.3 million outlets in India, i.e., nearly 80% of the retail outlets in India. It has 39 fac
country. Two out of three Indians use the companys products and HUL products have the largest co
being available in over 80 per cent of consumer homes across India.
The Anglo-Dutch company Unilever owns a majority stake (52%) in Hindustan Unilever Limited. HUL
the eight Indian companies to be featured on the Forbes list of Worlds Most Reputed companies in 2

History - Chronology
In the summer of 1888, visitors to the Kolkata harbor noticed crates full of Sunlight soap bars, embo
words "Made in England by Lever Brothers". With it, began an era of marketing branded Fast Movin
Goods (FMCG). Soon after followed Lifebuoy soap in 1895 and other famous brands like Pears, Lux
Vanaspati ghee 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, foll
Brothers India Limited (1933) and United Traders Limited (1935). These three companies merged to
November 1956; HUL offered 10% of its equity to the Indian public, being the first among the foreign
do so. Unilever now holds 52.10% equity in the company. The rest of the shareholding is distributed
360,675 individual shareholders and financial institutions.
The erstwhile Brooke Bond's presence in India dates back to 1900. By 1903, the company had launc
tea in the country. In 1912, Brooke Bond & Co. India Limited was formed. Brooke Bond joined the Un
1984 through an international acquisition. The erstwhile Lipton's links with India were forged in 1898
acquired Lipton in 1972, and in 1977 Lipton Tea (India) Limited was incorporated.
Simultaneously, deregulation permitted alliances, acquisitions and mergers. In one of the most visibl
about events of India's corporate history, the erstwhile Tata Oil Mills Company (TOMCO) merged wit
effective from April 1, 1993. In 1995, HUL and yet another Tata company, Lakme Limited, formed a 5
venture, Lakme Unilever Limited, to market Lakme's market-leading cosmetics and other appropriate
both the companies. Subsequently in 1998, Lakme Limited sold its brands to HUL and divested its 5
joint venture to the company.
Some of its brands include Kwality Wall's ice cream, Knorr soups & meal makers, Lifebuoy, Lux, Bre
Rexona, Hamam and Moti soaps, Pureit water purifier, Lipton tea, Brooke Bond tea, Bru coffee, Pep
Close Up toothpaste and brushes, and Surf, Rin and Wheel laundry detergents, Kissan squashes an
Annapurna salt and atta, Ponds talcs and creams, Vaseline lotions, Fair and Lovely creams, Lakm
products, Clinic Plus, Clinic All Clear, Sunsilk and Dove shampoos, Vim dishwash, Ala bleach, Dome
Rexona, Modern Bread, and Axe deosprays.

COMPETITORS
Procter and Gamble (P&G) India : HUL faces a fierce competition from P&G India in its key segmen
Detergents and Personal Care. It operates in India thorugh three subsidiaries: Procter and Gamble H
(100% subsidiary of the company), Procter and Gamble Hygiene and Health care Ltd. (PGHH) and G
Ltd. It has in its portfolio some of P&G's Billion dollar brands such as Vicks & Whisper in health care
Tide in detergents segments.
Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (GCPL): It has two segments: Soap (64% of revenues) and Persona
is second largest soap player in India after HUL with a market share of 9.2%. Personal Care include
products, shaving cream and other toiletries.On December 11, 2008, it acquired 100% stake in SCA
Products which owns the Snuggy brand of baby diapers.
Dabur India Limited - Dabur India Limited is an India-based fast moving consumer goods company w
healthcare, personal care and food products.In November 2008, Dabur India Limited announced the
72.15% of Fem Care Pharma Ltd which is primarily engaged in the business of export of personal ca
Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited : It manufactures a range of products marketed under the Colgate
oral care products and Palmolive (skin care and hair care products) brand names.
Marico Limited:Marico has a portfolio on high margin "Beauty and Wellness" platform which includes
soaps, edible oils, skin care etc. This portfolio has shown a growth of 30% over a period of FY05-08

INTRODUCTION OF LAKME UNILEVER PRIVATE LTD

Lakme is the Indian womans Beauty Sutra inspiring expression of her unique
beauty and sensuality.Lakme brings expert products and services that are borne
out of true understanding of the needs of the Indian woman. They help the Indian
woman in expression of her best self sensual, original, expressive, alive and
intuitive. Lakme inspires her to unleash the potency of her femininity, beauty and
sensuality
Key facts
Lakme was the first major beauty brand in India and takes pride in being the
expert on Indian Beauty for over 50 years. It is complete beauty brand spanning
colour cosmetics, skin care & hair styling products and extending to beauty
services through the network of Lakme Beauty Salons. Its bond with beauty and
fashion is manifested through the Lakme Fashion Week, which is now the largest
fashion event of its kind in the country. Lakme has a foot print of over 1200
assisted sales outlets, which is the largest span of outlets with Beauty Advisors
in the country.
Our vision
Unilever products touch the lives of over 2 billion people every day whether
that's through feeling great because they've got shiny hair and a brilliant smile,
keeping their homes fresh and clean, or by enjoying a great cup of tea, satisfying
meal or healthy snack.
A clear direction
The four pillars of our vision set out the long term direction for the company
where we want to go and how we are going to get there:
We work to create a better future every day
We help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands
and services that are good for them and good for others.
We will inspire people to take small everyday actions that can add up to a
big difference for the world.
We will develop new ways of doing business that will allow us to double
the size of our company while reducing our environmental impact.

Purpose & principles

Our corporate purpose states that to succeed requires "the highest standards of
corporate behaviour towards everyone we work with, the communities we touch,
and the environment on which we have an impact."
Always working with integrity
Conducting our operations with integrity and with respect for the many people,
organisations and environments our business touches has always been at the
heart of our corporate responsibility.
Positive impact
We aim to make a positive impact in many ways: through our brands, our
commercial operations and relationships, through voluntary contributions, and
through the various other ways in which we engage with society.
Continuous commitment
We're also committed to continuously improving the way we manage our
environmental impacts and are working towards our longer-term goal of
developing a sustainable business.
 Setting out our aspirations
Our corporate purpose sets out our aspirations in running our business. It's
underpinned by our code of business Principles which describes the operational
standards that everyone at Unilever follows, wherever they are in the world. The
code also supports our approach to governance and corporate responsibility.
Working with others
We want to work with suppliers who have values similar to our own and work to
the same standards we do. Our Business partner code, aligned to our own Code
of business principles, comprises ten principles covering business integrity and
responsibilities relating to employees, consumers and the environment.

A vitality mentality
Unilever's mission is to add Vitality to life. We meet everyday needs for nutrition,
hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and
get more out of life. Our deep roots in local cultures and markets around the
world give us our strong relationship with consumers and are the foundation for
our future growth. We will bring our wealth of knowledge and international
expertise to the service of local consumers a truly multi-local multinational. Our
long-term success requires a total commitment to exceptional standards of
performance and productivity, to working together effectively, and to a willingness
to embrace new ideas and learn continuously.
Code of business principles
Standard of Conduct We conduct our operations with honesty, integrity
and openness, and with respect for the human rights and interests of our
employees.
Obeying the Law Unilever companies and our employees are required to
comply with the laws and regulations of the countries in which we operate.
Employees Unilever is committed to diversity in a working environment
where there is mutual trust and respect and where everyone feels
responsible for the performance and reputation of our company. We will
recruit, employ and promote employees on the sole basis of the
qualifications and abilities needed for the work to be performed.
Consumers Products and services will be accurately and properly
labelled, advertised and communicated.
 Shareholders Unilever will conduct its operations in accordance with
internationally accepted principles of good corporate governance. We will
provide timely, regular and reliable information on our activities, structure,
financial situation and performance to all shareholders.
Business Partners Unilever is committed to establishing mutually
beneficial relations with our suppliers, customers and business partners.
Community Involvement Unilever strives to be a trusted corporate
citizen and, as an integral part of society, to fulfil our responsibilities to the
societies and communities in which we operate.
Public Activities Unilever companies are encouraged to promote and
defend their legitimate business interests. Unilever will co-operate with
governments and other organisations, both directly and through bodies
such as trade associations, in the development of proposed legislation
and other regulations which may affect legitimate business interests..
The Environment Unilever is committed to making continuous
improvements in the management of our environmental impact and to the
longer-term goal of developing a sustainable business.
Innovation In our scientific innovation to meet consumer needs we will
respect the concerns of our consumers and of society.
Competition Unilever believes in vigorous yet fair competition and
supports the development of appropriate competition laws.
Business Integrity Unilever does not give or receive whether directly or
indirectly bribes or other improper advantages for business or financial
gain. No employee may offer give or receive any gift or payment which is,
or may be construed as being, a bribe.
Conflicts of Interests All Unilever employees are expected to avoid
personal activities and financial interests which could conflict with their
responsibilities to the company. Any breaches of the Code must be
reported in accordance with the procedures specified by the Chief Legal
Officer.
Business Partner Code We are committed to working with our business
partners to achieve high standards and to provide greater transparency on
how we work together.
Maintaining high standards together To meet the expectations our
consumers have of our brands as high quality, reliable products, we form
close working relationships many of them long-term with our business
partners. In support of this approach, we have developed a Business
Partner Code that is compatible with our Code of Business Principles. The
Code makes clear the standards to which we expect our business
 partners to adhere. It contains 10 principles covering business integrity
and responsibilities relating to employees, consumers and the
environment.
Business partner code There shall be compliance with all applicable laws and
regulations of the country where operations are undertaken. There shall be
respect for human rights, and no employee shall suffer harassment, physical or
mental punishment, or other form of abuse. Wages and working hours will, as a
minimum, comply with all applicable wage and hour laws, and rules and
regulations, including minimum wage, overtime and maximum hours in the
country concerned .There shall be no use of forced or compulsory labour, and
employees shall be free to leave employment after reasonable notice .
There shall be no use of child labour, and specifically there will be compliance
with relevant ILO standards .There shall be respect for the right of employees to
freedom of association* .Safe and healthy working conditions will be provided for
all employees .
Corporate Governance We have always aspired to high standards of
corporate governance. Transparency and accountability are the two basic
tenets of Corporate Governance. We, at Hindustan Unilever, feel proud to
belong to a Company whose visionary founders had laid the foundation
stone for good governance long back and made it an integral principle of
the business, demonstrated in the words above.
Our approach to Corporate Governance To succeed, we believe, requires the
highest standards of corporate behaviour towards everyone we work with, the
communities we touch, and the environment on which we have an impact. This is
our road to sustainable, profitable growth and creating long-term value for our
shareholders, our people, and our business partners.
LAKMES POSITIONING IN TERMS OF PERSONALITY AND SELF
CONCEPT:
Lakme is a product range that caters to the beautification needs of not only
women in their adult age but in today's context teenagers also. It has a brand
personality of someone who takes care of you and your beauty needs. It tries to
position itself amongst its consumers as a product range that will help them look
beautiful as is evident from its catchphrases:
1. On top of the world!
2. Source of radiant beauty1!
Lakme has a range of beauty products to offer to its consumers. Some of the
ways in which it
tries to position itself:
1. Lakme Hair Color: magic of colors (collage).
2. Lakme (versatile eye shadow collection): rich, long lasting and healthy make
up.
3. Lakme fair perfect: For flawlessly fair skin!
4. Lakme face magic: daily wear souffl.
5. Lakme (skin vitalizer): radiant skin, now and forever.
6. Lakme (moisturizer): radiant skin, now and forever.
7. Lakme nail polish and lipstick: electric brilliance/sensual brilliance
8. Lakme sun expert (sunscreen): sun safe hamesha! (face the sun with a smile)
9. Lakme pure defense: anti-pollution system.
10. Lakme Tropical Island (cosmetics): defining the future of fashion.
11.Lakme hair care (international): natural hair care
12. Lakme hair next: exclusive range of hairstyle products that give you that
salon look
instantly.
On the basis of above mentioned positioning strategies Lakme can have the
following characteristics that determine its personality:
Someone who takes care of your beauty needs.
A long lasting beautification product range.
Something that is not harsh on your body or harmful for your beauty.
A product that provides you with an option of getting beautiful hair.
A product that helps you get a beautiful skin.
A cosmetic product that you can wear for the entire day and not a special
occasion.
Someone who tells you right things about looking good.
It's an Indian cosmetic brand.
It covers all facets of beauty care for women.
The following factors of Lakme's personality help in differentiation of its products
from the
competition:
It covers all facets of beauty care.
It helps arm the consumer with products to pamper her from head to toe i.e. a
complete
product range.

HOW LAKME IS INFLUENCING ITS CONSUMERS?

THE CONCEPT OF EGO: According to Freudian Psychoanalytic theory
Lakme tries to position itself on the basis of its appeal to the consumers
which have an ego. This means that the consumers of Lakme have an
impulsive drive for which they seek immediate satisfaction without concern
for means of satisfaction. Women all over the world are always expected
to look good and Indian women are no exception; More so because of the
fact that Indian women in general do not have a fair skin like that of their
western counterparts. Thus it becomes but natural for Indian women to try
and look good and use beauty products that help enhance their looks and
style. With globalization and liberalization of Indian economy and the
changing demographics and income levels there is more and more
concern to look good as today's Indian woman is no longer confined to her
home but is a big contributor to the growth of Indian economy.
THE CONCEPT OF PERSONALITY GROUPS: Lakme tries to woo the
compliant consumers according to Karen Horney's classification4 of
personality groups i.e. people who move towards others. Those who have
desire to be loved, wanted and appreciated. As is earlier stated women
are supposed to look good not only in western countries but also in India.
Women always appreciate if someone calls them beautiful and it has
become the custom of the society to see women in such a context. So it
would be prudent to say that according to the societal norms a women has
to look good at all times and which has a bearing on the psychology of
female consumers towards cosmetic products which help them achieve
that desired look. Needless to say that Lakme plays on the concept of
women wanting themselves to be appreciated for their beauty and being
loved for that.
CONCEPT OF PERCEPTUAL SELECTION: On the basis of perceptual
selection Lakme has tried to position itself among its consumers in the
following ways: Lakme has tried to gain the attention of its consumers by
line extension and having more and more product depth, packaging and
attractive print advertisements. If we look at the line extensions of
Lakme than we would observe that it is in almost all the segments of
cosmetic care ranging from hair care to skin care to beauty salons!
Looking at the product depth it is pretty evident that Lakme has actually
 tried to fill in all areas that it can, particularly the nail paint and the lip color
segment is a big hit among Indian women as it offers them a wide variety
of products in terms of colors as well as various styles that they can
choose from.

PROFILE OF THE ORGANISATION

Name of the company : LAKME UNILEVER PRIVTAE LTD
Address of Head office : 165166 hindustan lever house
Backbay reclamation, church gate,
Mumbai, Maharashtra.india 400020
City : baddi
State :HIMACHAL PRADESH
Status : Private
Telephone number : -+91 2222870622
Email : info@lakmelever.com
Website : http://lakmeindia.com
Chief executive officer : Mr.Anil chopra
Contact person : Richa puranesh- marketing manager

Mobile no : 912222850552
Companys product range:
Lakme Lipstick.
Lakme Nail Polish.
Lakme Eyeliner.
Lakme Kajal.
Lakme Strawberry Face Wash.
Lakme Radient Rose Powder.
Lakme Nail Enamel Remover.
Lakme Strawberry Silk Cream
Lakme Deep Pore Cleansing Milk
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methodology is a careful investigation for inquiring in a systematic method and finding
solution of a problem. It comprises the defining and redefining of problem formulating hypoth
collection and evaluating data, making detection and reaching conclusion. This research consists
following element.
OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
SOURCES OF DATA
RESEARCH DESIGN
SAMPLING DESIGN

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. To understand the attitudes and perception of respondents towards cosmetics products.
2. To understand the growth of cosmetics sector in todays scenario.
3. To study the respondents awareness towards lakme.
4. To know people perception towards lakme products available in the market.
5. To understand peoples consumer behavior with reference to cosmetics.

SOURCES OF DATA
Primary Source of Data
Primary data are those collected by the investigator himself for the first time and thus they are or
in character, they are collected for a particular purpose. A wellstructured questionnaire was perso
administrated to the selected sample to collect the primary data.
ANNEXURE
LISTOF TABLES
TABLE TITLE PAGE NO
NO
1. Table showing the companys cosmetic that the 44
respondents are using.
2. Table showing that which project is being used the 45
most by the respondents.
3. Table showing that if their products provide them with 46
an option of long lasting and healthy makeup.
4. Table showing the reasons which motivates the 47
respondents to buy the product of that company.
5. Table showing that approximately how much do the 48
respondents spend in cosmetics.
6. Table showing the number ofrespondents who find their 49
cosmetics economic.
7. Table showing that which product was chosen as the 50
best product by them.
8. Table showing that which services provided by their 51
company is most appreciated.
9. Table showing that which is most motivating factor for 52
the buying of products of lakme.
10. Table showing that in which cosmetic of lakme do they 53
spend most.
11. Table showing that what is the level of information of 54
respondents on lakme as a product.
12. Table showing that what is the most common purpose 55
for which the respondents buy the lakme products.
13 Table showing the ratings given by the respondents to 56
 the lakme products.
14. Table showing that if the respondents are satisfied with 57
the beauty services provided by the lakme.
15. Table showing that if the respondents are satisfied with 58
the beauty products provided by the lakme.
16 Table showing the level of usefulness of the site of 59
lakme
17. Table showing that how much would the respondents 60
would invest on lakme
18. Table showing if lakme is the leader in cosmetic 61
industry
19. Table showing that how many respondents will buy the 62
products of lakme even if the price of it will rise.
LIST OF GRAPHS
TABLE TITLE PAGE NO
NO
1. Graph showing the companys cosmetic that the 44
respondents are using.
2. Graph showing that which project is being used the 45
most by the respondents.
3. Graph showing that if their products provide them with 46
an option of long lasting and healthy makeup.
4. Graph showing the reasons which motivates the 47
respondents to buy the product of that company.
5. Graph showing that approximately how much do the 48
respondents spend in cosmetics.
6. Graph showing the number ofrespondents who find 49
their cosmetics economic.
7. Graph showing that which product was chosen as the 50
best product by them.
8. Graph showing that which services provided by their 51
company is most appreciated.
9. Graph showing that which is most motivating factor for 52
the buying of products of lakme.
10. Graph showing that in which cosmetic of lakme do 53
they spend most.
11. Graph showing that what is the level of information of 54
respondents on lakme as a product.
12. Graph showing that what is the most common purpose 55
for which the respondents buy the lakme products.
13 Graph showing the ratings given by the respondents to 56
the lakme products.
14. Graph showing that if the respondents are satisfied 57
with the beauty services provided by the lakme.
15. Graph showing that if the respondents are satisfied 58
with the beauty products provided by the lakme.
16 Graph showing the level of usefulness of the site of 59
lakme
17. Graph showing that how much would the respondents 60
would invest on lakme
18. Graph showing if lakme is the leader in cosmetic 61
 industry
19. Graph showing that how many respondents will buy 62
the products of lakme even if the price of it will rise

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Websites used
 www.invogue.com
2. www.lakmeindia.com
3. www.google.com
4. www.hindustanunilever.com
5. www.feminaindia.com