PLC OF LUX

INTRODUCTION:

The look and feel of the Lux products and packaging to the fragrances, are delights to the feminine senses. Lux launched the worlds first mass-market beauty soap is the US in 1924 & had been launched in India in 1929. Since then it has expanded into the whole world. Lux products could be found in over 100 countries and they had the sales of 1.0 billion euros in 2005. And Lux is the market leader in Arabia, Brazil, India, Thailand and South Africa.
Pr oduct details:

Organisation: Unilever

Product: Lux Soap

Markets: India, China, Japan and UK

DEVEL OPMEN T ST AGE:

A Monsieur Charpy employed atLever in England developed a technology that allowed production of a very thin sheet of soap that then could be flaked. The company began selling what they first named "Sunlight Flakes" in England in 1899, though the name was changed to "Lux" in 1900 which is associated with luxury. The soap flakes began to be imported to the U.S. in 1910 and manufactured at a new Lever Brothers plant in Cambridge & than in 1924 launched as beauty soap.
INTR ODUCTION S TAGE:

Lux launched as the worlds first mass-market beauty soap in US in 1924. Since then it has expanded into the whole world. After 1924 lux had been launched in many countrie s all over the world i.e. UK(1928), INDIA(1929), SHRI LANKA(1931), BRAZIL(1932) PAKISTAN(1957) etc. After launch Lux became famous & got success because of marketing strategy of unilever & no near competitor in the market. Outdoor & TV advertising played a key role in the launch & success of Lux.
GR OWTH ST AGE:

In the growth stage, their sales rapidly started rising. In the growth stage, they have expanded their market. World market for soap is obviously market for Lux soap too. This figure shows the maximum market opportunity is in Asia, Europe, North America and Latin America.

World Market for Soap Unilever took full advantage and became the market leader for Lux brand in soap. They always concentrate on different Culture, lifestyles, tastes, preferences budgets & economic development of the country. This strategy helped Unilever to be the number one Lux soap brand. Unilever depends heavily on advertising its brands and continued product innovation to maintain and expand their market position. 1. Advertising: In almost all the countries movie & famous TV serial star can b e seen in the lux advertisement. In 1943, Lux Soap store display cardboard advertising sign features popular Paramount movie star Paulette Goddard. In India also famous bollywood stars have also been lux brand ambassadors. The very first advertisement in 1929 in India featured Very famous Leela chitins as its brand ambassador. a. Outdoor & TV Advertising:Brand awareness moved from 21% to 93% among women during the outdoor campaign & TV advertisement. Purchase consideration among women almost doubled to 21%, while ad awareness rose 33% to 56%. Media attribution showed the impact of outdoor. Before the posters ran, 23% of women spontaneously thought they had seen the ads on roadside posters. After the activity that figure rose to 67%, posters showed by far the biggest relative increase of any medium. Lux had launched different different variants & different products of lux i.e. shampoo, body wash gel etc to attract large number of customers. 2. Direct Consumer Contact: A large part of the global rural market for Lux is not media reachable. In order to tap this huge market, Unilever in the global market are usingDCC strategies to create brand awareness, consolidate brand loyalty and thereby increase sales. Unilever also attempt to gain credibility in local markets and thereby build tacit endorsement for their products through the sponsorship of activities, conferences and campaigns, undertaken by local professional bodies, funding and disaster relief funds, donations, etc. All these are part of nonaggressive corporate strategy to extend or consolidate their brand positioning in local markets. They also continou research work for further improvement according to the customers need. a. Field research: Lux marketers develop an expert knowledge of local markets, consumers, and their behaviors, and draw on this to create marketing campaigns that maximize Lux brands impact through targeted communications. b. Desk research:Lux marketers act different roles based in Lux Innovation Centers. They combine market research with local market insights to raise brand awareness and generate loyalty. Meanwhile, Lux is making use of the data that consumers volunteer themselves online in blog, message

boards and review sites. The advantage of using consumer-generated content to generate insights as to consumer tastes gives an honest view of how the consumer feels.

MATURITY ST AGE:

Competitor brands from both HUL itself (e.g. Lifebuoy, Liril, Hamam, Breeze, Dove) & other manufacturers offered the competition & this slowed down sales. Price of these products is also very low in comparison to Lux thats why customers move towards these products. Than HUL implemented the Segmentation strategy to increase the sales & to reduce the cost. Segmenting the market means dividing an overall market up into a number of smaller, more easily attacked, and markets. Focusing on a market segment allows more targeted messaging, and more effective use of resources. It also reduces the costs of going to market, and results in better market understanding of the segment youre attacking. For example In India HUL is focusing on the Targeting the consumer and their purchasing power. They are classified into very rich, consuming class, climbers, aspirant and destitute. The research was carried out by R & D department of HUL in India As the marketing channels of the company are already established HUL tried to increase the penetration in the rural sector to the extreme remote areas, which are not touched till now. HUL tried to reduce the delivery time of the products by choosing and increasing the strategic locations of warehouses. HUL then will track the distribution path of the wholesalers in small cities through marketing

team and would establish a platform or team at a zonal level for all the wholesalers and would try to take their feedback on the market developments. These kinds of congregations could also increase the brand loyalty in the wholesalers and they would be motivated to push HUL products.
DECLINE S TAGE:

HUL has use many strategy & done many campaigns for the sales promotion of Lux but the sales are still decreasing. The reasons are: 1. Currency fluctuations: Currency fluctuation can often disrupt the best-laid business plans of companies. Unilever products are in over 100 countries worldwide. As a result, it is exposed to adverse currency fluctuations. For instance, in 2004, a 5.9% decline in turnover was primarily attributed to a 4% appreciation of the average Euro exchange rate against other currencies. Cash equivalent in fiscal 2005 was reduced by 188 million as a result of adverse currency fluctuations. Any adverse currency fluctuations in the future would affect the group's bottom line growth. 2. Inflation: In year 2006 inflation rate was much higher in UK then other countries. In 1970 due to hard economic conditions Unilever faced high inflation change in price level. Inflation rate may vary in different country. Depend on the currency rate, market and behaviour of the consumer. 3. Competition: Lux has been facing competition from HUL itself & from other companies also. 4. Conflicting trends: As Bloomberg news1 reported on 17th October in 2004 Unilever did not expand Shanghai Lux Soap factory because of rising labor and land prices. Instead, the London-based maker of Lux soap received a package of tax breaks and cheap land, and cut its wage bill in half by moving the plant to an industrial park on the outskirts of Hefei, the Capital of Anhui Province.