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Project report on

Marketing strategy of lux

soap with reference to HUL

In the partial fulfillment of degree of bachelor of business

administration

Submitted to- submitted by

Mr. Dheeraj Gandhi Aghna shamsi

Project guide bba vi sem

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Declaration

I Aghna shamsi student of “BBA Vith Sem INVERTIS UNIVERSITY

BARIELLY” hereby declare that I have completed my project on the

topic of “Marketing Strategies of lux soap with reference to

HUL”. The information submitted here taken from the internet and

official website of LUX SOAP.

Aghna shamsi

Bba vi sem

Roll no 1110101007

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Acknowledgement

F irst and fo remost , I wou ld l ike to express my

Sincere grat i tude to my pro ject gu ide f o r g i v i ng

m e t he opportunity to do an interesting project like this.

I was privileged to experience a sustained, enthusiastic and involved

interest from their side. This e nc o u r a ge d u s t o bo l d l y s t e p

i n t o w ha t w a s a t o t a l l y da r k a nd unexplored expanse before

us. I would also like to thank to my project guide MR. DHEERAJ

GHANDHI who ready with a positive comment all the time and a

special thanks to all those who took out time to fill our survey sheet

without which our project would have been a failure. Last but not the

least, I would like to thanks to all those who help me in making the

project.

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Content s.no List of content Page no.

1 Introduction Industry profile

Future of soap industry

About the business

History of lux soap

Top soap brand in india

Product of lux soap

Summary

5-6

7-8

8

9-10

10-12

12

13-17

18-19

2 Company profile History

Marketing strategy

Celebrity endorsement

Celebrity beauty

4 P’s

20-22

23-25

26-27

28

29-32

33-35

3 SWOT analysis

36-37

4 Literature review 38-39

5 Objective of the study 40

6 Research methodology

41-46

7 Findings

47

8 Suggestions

48

9 Conclusion 49-50

10 Bibliography 51

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INTRODUCTION

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 colors and world class

fragrances. Lux is a beauty soap of film stars. 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 evo lving beau ty needs o f the consumers, o ffers an

exci t ing range o f soaps and BodyWashes with unique elements

to make bathing time more pleasurable. One can choose from

arrange o f skincare benefi ts l ike f i rming, fai rness

and moistu rizing.

From the 1930s r ight through to the 1970s, Lux soap colors

and packaging were altered several times to reflect fashion

trends. In 1958 five colors made up the range: pink, white, blue,

green and yellow. People enjoyed matching their soap with their

bathroom colors.

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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 “Sparkl ing Morning” shower gels.

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Industry profile

History of soap dates way back from 2350 years. Soap manufacturing

was started in North America. Early in the history of Europe colonies

and of the republic. Some American companies with currently well

known names were started 50 to200 years ago. During middle ages, soap

was made at various places in Italy, France, Spain, England and possible

other countries. Mankind knew about soap nearly 200 years back 70

A.D. when Mr.Pllny and Mr. elder evidentially discovered the soap

when roasted meat over flowed on the flow in ashes. This lump like

product was soap and had foaming and cleansing character. Since then

1192 A.D. that in the first time detergent was taken in London.

It is in 1931 A.D. that in the first time detergent was discovered by

Mr.Grency with the sulphate do live oil and almond oil. The wood

consumption of soap in1884 A.D. was said to be lakhs/ton per annum

and it was in this year Mr.W.H.L. ever entered the field of the soap

making in a big way. During the British rule the Lever Brothers,

England introduced modern soaps by importing and marketing them in

the country. The first company created was North West Soap Company,

the soap manufacturing plant in India situated in the city of Meerut, in

the state of Uttar Pradesh. In 1897, they started marketing cold process

soaps.

In 1918, Mr. Jamshedji Tata set up India's first indigenous soap

manufacturing unit when he purchased the Coconut Oil Mills at Cochin

Kerala. OK Mills crushed and marketed coconut oil for cooking and

manufactured crude cold process laundry soaps that were sold locally

and It was renamed The Tata Oil Mills Company and its first branded

soaps appeared on the market in the early 1930's.

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Soaps are categorized into men's soaps, ladies' soaps and common soaps.

There are few specialty soaps like the Glycerine soaps, sandal soaps,

specially flavored soaps, medicated soaps and baby soaps. Specialty

soaps are high valued which enjoy only a small share of the market in

value terms. The market is growing at 7% a year. This means that the

incremental demand generation is 5% over and above the population

growth. With increasing awareness of hygienic standards, the market for

the Soaps could grow at a rate higher than 8% annually. Interestingly,

60% of the market is now sourced from the rural sector. This means that

the variance between the two segments is not very large. Since upper-

end market focus is the urban areas, margins come from the urban

sector.

FUTURE OF SOAP INDUSTRY:

The growth prospects seems to be enormous considering the fact that the per capita income consumption in India is as low at

0.30kgover the year we have M/S HUL, M/S TAMCO,LUX

etc., leading the industry in the field of soap manufacture, growth of population, income

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ABOUT THE BUSINESS: Major players & market shares: Hindustan Unilever ltd., (HUL) is the

leader for the toilet soap industry in India with a 60% share in the

market. Other major players from LUX is facing competition are Godrej

soaps, Wipro, Procter & Gamble, Colgate Palmolive, Johnson &

Johnson etc., Of the nearly 7 lakhs tons toilet soap, market for 500 tons

comes from the premium segment, 3 lakhs tons won carbolic segment

and the rest are from the batting or popular segment. There are 40brands

in the total toilet soap market. In the popular segment Liril, Cinthol,

Palmolive, Lux international have been well established in the market.

In the popular segment lux, rexona, hamam, santore have a strong

presence while among the carbolic soap lifebuoy, Ok, nirma have

proved their worth. The important point is that the price of the soap

between the various brands generally varies between 50 paise and rupee.

The soap industry does not face serious problems to the raw materials

front. Consumption, expenditure increased in urban cities spread

of education, growing degree of personal hygiene etc., has increased by

the spread of audio-visual media, rising incomes and general

consciousness about the health.

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History of lux soap Lux soap first produced in United Kingdom in 1899. It was produced by

British company name Lever Brothers. Lever Brothers was founded in

1885 by William Hesketh Lever and his brother James. They using

glycerin and vegetable oil such as palm oil to manufacture soap called

“Sunlight Soap.”

The flaked version of soap called Lux soap. Glycerin was a lucrative by

product of the soap making process, and by the end of 1886, Lever

brothers also had a glycerin factory.

Lever opened their small office in New York in 1895. The company

started selling Sunlight and Lifebuoy but did not doing well until 1916.

Lux soap was first launched in United States in 1916. The Lux

trademark was registered in United States in 1900.

Lux soap was launched in India in 1929. The soap's very first

advertisement featured actress Leela Chitnis as its brand ambassador. It

was popularly known as 'the beauty soap of film stars.'

From 1930s right through 1970s, Lux soap colors and packaging were

altered several times to reflect fashion trends. In 1958 five colors were

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made up the range: pink, white, blue, green and yellow. In 1990s, Lux

launching its own range of shower gels, liquid soaps and moisturizing

bars. Today, Lux soap is sold in 100 countries and sales achieved 1.0

billion euros in 2005 alone.

Although Lux was always advertised as a product meant for indulging

the senses, where bathing was a wonderful ritual in itself, it petered

down its approach in the recent years. The actors are still shown seen

indulging themselves. But the focus also moves towards the ordinary girl

in a bid to reach out to its female consumers. A wonderful example of

this promotion was the 2005 Mujhme Star Jagaaye‘ campaign featuring

Aishwarya Rai and Shilpa Anand.

The campaign also promoted a Model Hunt that went underway soon

after. In 2004, Lux launched a Lux star bano, Aish karo‘ contest where

consumers were supposed to buy a promotional pack of Lux and scratch

the special scratch card

to earn their reward. Prizes varied from living a day in Aishwarya Rai‘s

life to beauty kits, Neeta Lulla saris among a host of other gift vouchers

and well… more Lux soaps to be won. On its completion of 75 years in

2005, Lux roped in Shah Rukh Khan as its first ever male ambassador.

The advertisement featured the actor in a bathtub, flanked by his leading

ladies Juhi Chawla, Kareena Kapoor, Sridevi and Hema Malini. It was

known as the Har Star Lucky Star‘ offer, where every wrapper

Guaranteed a gift, waiting to be unwrapped.

In 2009, Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan featured in the new

Sone Se Bhi Sona Lage‘ campaign. The campaign also conducted a Lux

Super Star Offer where the lucky winners get to meet Aishwarya-

Abhishek in London.

The campaign jingle became so immensely popular that its varied

renditions were used in the advertisements that featured Katrina Kaif

since2009. Asin Thottumkal and Kajal Agarwal are

the newest brand ambassadors of Lux, modelling together for the ―Kya

Khoob HoTum advertisement that has been recently released Lux also

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relies on market research for making innovative changes by going for

door-to-door sampling of a product, once a year, in urban and rural

areas. The brand image is firmly and favourably embedded in the psyche

of the consumers. The product is also not particularly expensive, which

is said to be a winning combination.

Top Soap Brands in India Dettol ( A Brand of Dettol India)

Lifebuoy (A brand of Hindustan Unilever)

Lux (A brand of Hindustan Unilever)

Dove (A brand of Hindustan Unilever)

Hamam (A brand of Hindustan Unilever)

Rexona (A brand of Hindustan Unilever )

Breeze (A brand of Hindustan Unilever )

Pears (A brand of Hindustan Unilever)

Liril (A brand of Hindustan Unilever)

Vivel ( A brand of ITC)

Superia (A brand of ITC)

Medimix (From Medimix International)

Santoor (A brand of ITC)

Savlon (From Savlon‘s Family First Aid )

Margo (The soap was manufactured by Calcutta Chemical sand was

launched.

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Products of lux soap

Lux is the oldest and most iconic beauty and bathing bar in India. It is the largest

selling soap brand in the world and is the Number 1 soap brand in India. Some of

the most beautiful and glamorous stars of the world have endorsed this brand over

the years, from Leela Chitnis to Katrina Kaif. The brand encourages women to

express their beauty by giving them an amazing feeling every time they use this

product. Here we are counting some of the best Lux soaps India.

Most Popular Lux Soaps

1. Lux Lotus & Cream Purple Soap:

This pretty purple lux soap is enriched with purple lotus and cream

which will help you to get silky smooth skin. It has a very pleasant smell

which lingers for a few hours post wash. The creamy formula and

essential oils in this soap keeps the skin well moisturized and does not

dry out the skin post wash. The soap lathers well and washes away

easily without leaving any soapy residue behind.

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2. Lux Fresh Splash Soap:

This sea green lux beauty soap is infused with cooling mint, sea minerals

and fine fragrance making it best for your early morning bath. The soap

energizes the body and makes the dull skin, sparkling and refreshed. The

soap gives a cooling sensation to the skin while bathing and makes the

body fragrant and energized.

3. Lux Creamy White Soap:

Refresh and replenish your skin after a long day’s work with lux creamy

white. This soap is enriched with ultra caring Swiss moisturizers which

makes the bar so creamy that it feels like dallop of cream in your hand.

The soap produces a luxurious lather and glides smoothly on the skin to

make it smooth and moisturized.

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4. Lux International Soap:

This beauty soap will surely make you feel like an international star and

will get your innumerable compliments on your lustrous and healthy

skin. This soap reaches till the layers of the skin to provide optimum

hydration and makes the skin soft, smooth and supple. The soap

maintains the natural moisture and pH value of the skin to keep it

healthy and radiant from within.

5. Lux Sandal & Cream Soap:

Lux sandal and cream soap comes with the goodness of milk cream and

sandal Ubtan. The soap removes the dirt and impurities from the skin to

make it healthy and purified. Regular application of this soap also

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lightens and brightens the skin tone. Its unique curvaceous shape helps

you to have a better grip while bathing. It has a pleasant smell of sandal

which lingers for a while post wash.

6. Lux Strawberry & Cream Soap:

This soap is infused with soothing strawberry essential oils and Swiss

cream which provides moisturization and hydration to skin. The soap

smells like strawberries and produces a rich, creamy lather to makes the

skin noticeably softer and smoother. Unlike regular bathing soap, this

one does not dry out the skin or make it stretchy post wash. The skin

feels considerably smoother and softer than before. The strawberry in

this soap provides antioxidants to the skin which reduces fine lines and

wrinkles.

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7. Lux Peach & Cream Soap:

This soap contains peach and cream as its active ingredients and is

formulated for dry skinned beauties. Peach is well known for its

moisturizing properties and makes dry skin smoother and softer than

before. It has a mild and feminine scent and lathers extremely well to

clean the skin of its dirt and impurities. The soap lathers luxuriously to

cleanse the skin and washes away easily.

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Summary

Unilever is a multinational consumer product manufacturing giant

operating in over hundred countries all around the globe.

Unilever india is the india chapter of Unilever, where the

company holds 60.75% share whereas the Government

of Peoples Republic of india holds 39.25% share. Unilever’s one of

the most popular brand is LUX. They segments LUX.’s market

according to geographical locations.

It Further differentiates these segments into Socio Economic

Cluster (SEC) which takes into account the Criteria

of education and profession which ultimately measures the financial

ability of consumers. The cluster is divided into five parts starting from

A to E. Unilever targets the urban and sub urban upper middle class and

middleclass segment of the population, who falls under A to C of SEC.

Tactical marketing tools, 4P’s, are extensively used by the company to

market LUX. The product is available in six different fragrances

under three different sizes. Since the demand for beauty soap market

is to a great extent oligopolistic, variations in price lead to price war

which can eventually break down the company’s market share. Thus

Unilever cannot provide a better price than its competitors. But

the price is affordable by most of the people. Unilever india has

outsourced its distribution channels to third party distributors

which allow them to distribute LUX in massive bulks amounting to

around ten million pieces. It undertakes the largest promotional activities

in the beauty soap industry.

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The beauty soap industry has a few major producers of which Unilever

holds market share of slightly less than 50%. Other competing brands

like Tibbet, Aromatic and Keya have started to have a strong

consumer base, but LUX.’s product features distribution and

promotional activities have created high brand loyalty for which it is

still the market leader. Unilever, with the aid of its heavy

promotional activities, has been able to penetrate the market. But

the other producers in the industry are posing a threat towards Unilever’s

market share as they have moved towards the rural masses of the

population. Therefore, Unilever india should undertake further

steps such as moving towards the rural and/or poorer .

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COMPANY PROFILE

HINDUSTAN UNILEVER

COMPANY HINDUSTAN UNILEVER

LIMITED

CEO NITIN PARANJPE

EXCECUTIVE MR. SHRIJEET MISHRA

DIRECTOR, FOODS

EXCECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MR. HEMANT BAKSHI

HOME& PERSONAL CARE

HEADQUARTERS MUMBAI, INDIA

FOUNDED 1933

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MISSION

HUL MISSION IS TO ADD VITALITY TO LIFE. THEY MEET

EVERYDAY NEEDS FOR NUTRITION, HYGEINE, AND

PERSONAL CARE, WITH BRANDS THAT HELP PEOPLE FEEL

GOOD, LOOK GOOD AND GET MORE.

INNOVATION

IN THEIR SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION TO MEET CONSUMER

NEEDS THEY WILL RESPECT THE CONCERNS OF THEIR

CONSUMERS AND OF SOUND SCIENCE APPLYING RIGOROUS

STANDARDS OF PRODUCT SAFETY.

VISSION

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.

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HUL works to create a better future every day and helps people feel

good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services

that are good for them and good for others.

With over 35 brands spanning 20 distinct categories such as soaps,

detergents, shampoos, skin care, toothpastes, deodorants, cosmetics, tea,

coffee, packaged foods, ice cream, and water purifiers, the Company is a

part of the everyday life of millions of consumers across India. Its

portfolio includes leading household brands such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Surf

Excel, Rin, Wheel, Fair & Lovely, Pond’s, Vaseline, Lakmé, Dove,

Clinic Plus, Sunsilk, Pepsodent, Closeup, Axe, Brooke Bond, Bru,

Knorr, Kissan, Kwality Wall’s and Pure it.

The Company has over 16,000 employees and has an annual turnover of

around Rs.25,206 crores (financial year 2012 - 2013). HUL is a

subsidiary of Unilever, one of the world’s leading suppliers of fast

moving consumer goods with strong local roots in more than 100

countries across the globe with annual sales of €51 billion in 2012.

Unilever has about 52% shareholding in HUL. It is owned by Anglo-

Dutch company Unilever which owns a 67% controlling share in HUL.

Market share of toilet soap category is 54.3%.

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History In the summer of 1888, visitors to the Kolkata harbour noticed crates full

of Sunlight soap bars, embossed with the words "Made in England by

Lever Brothers". With it, began an era of marketing branded Fast

Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG).

Soon after followed Lifebuoy in 1895 and other famous brands like

Pears, Lux and Vim. Vanaspati was launched in 1918 and the famous

Dalda brand came to the market in 1937.

In 1931, Unilever set up its first Indian subsidiary, Hindustan Vanaspati

Manufacturing Company, followed by Lever Brothers India Limited

(1933) and United Traders Limited (1935). These three companies

merged to form HUL in November 1956; HUL offered 10% of its equity

to the Indian public, being the first among the foreign subsidiaries to do

so. Unilever now holds 52.10% equity in the company.

The rest of the shareholding is distributed among about 360,675

individual shareholders and financial institutions.

Pond's (India) Limited had been present in India since 1947. It joined the

Unilever fold through an international acquisition of Chese brough

Pond's USA in 1986.

Since the very early years, HUL has vigorously responded to the

stimulus of economic growth. The growth process has been

accompanied by judicious diversification, always in line with Indian

opinions and aspirations.

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HUL formed a 50:50 joint venture with the US-based Kimberly Clark

Corporation in 1994, Kimberly-Clark Lever Ltd, which markets Huggies

Diapers and Kotex Sanitary Pads. HUL has also set up a subsidiary in

Nepal, Unilever Nepal Limited (UNL), and its factory represents the

largest manufacturing investment in the Himalayan kingdom.

In January 2000, in a historic step, the government decided to award 74

per cent equity in Modern Foods to HUL, thereby beginning the

divestment of government equity in public sector undertakings (PSU) to

private sector partners. HUL's entry into Bread is a strategic extension of

the company's wheat business. In 2002, HUL acquired the government's

remaining stake in Modern Foods.

In 2003, HUL acquired the Cooked Shrimp and Paste urised Crabmeat

business of the Amalgam Group of Companies, a leader in value added

Marine Products exports.

In 2007, the Company name was formally changed to Hindustan

Unilever Limited after receiving the approval of shareholders during the

74th AGM on 18 May 2007. Brooke Bond and Surf Excel breached the

the Rs 1,000 crore sales mark the same year followed by Wheel which

crossed the Rs.2,000 crore sales milestone in 2008.

On 17th October 2008 , HUL completed 75 years of corporate existence

in India.

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In January 2010, the HUL head office shifted from the landmark Lever

House, at Backbay Reclamation, Mumbai to the new campus in Andheri

(E), Mumbai.

On 15th November, 2010, the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan was

officially launched in India at New Delhi.

In March, 2012 HUL’s state of the art Learning Centre was inaugurated

at the Hindustan Unilever campus at Andheri, Mumbai.

In April, 2012, the Customer Insight & Innovation Centre (CiiC) was

inaugurated at the Hindustan Unilever campus at Andheri, Mumbai.

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Lux Marketing Strategy

This Hindustan Unilever product has focused on wide promotions most

of which has been short lived. Apart from tagging itself as a beauty

brand made for the stars, it has even designed short term promotions for

sales. One of the famous ones being:

“The Lux Gold Star Offer” – This was one of the popular promotions

which offered gold coins in few selected soaps.

“Star Bano Aish Karo” – This offer gave a chance to few lucky

winners who got a chance to live a day like Aishwarya Rai with gift

offers worth Rs.50,000 from Shopper’s Stop and beauty makeover by

Michelle Tung and Neeta Lulla sarees (Aishwarya Rai’s favorite stylist

and designer). The bumper prize was dinner date with Aishwarya Rai

herself and later in 2009 the same offer changed into a dinner date with

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan together.

“Har Star Lucky Star”- This came at the time when Shahrukh Khan

was aired in Lux advertisements when the brand had finished 75 years of

stardom. In this offer, selected lux soap packets had stars printed with

number 75 inside the wrapper. The lucky winners got the opportunity to

avail free supply of Lux soaps for a year.

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Recent Advertisements

Katrina Kaif has been roped in to become the brand ambassador of Lux

lately. In the most recent advertisement of July, 2012 which stars both

Katrina Kaif and Shahrukh Khan in the campaign. They endorsed two

variants of the Lux soap – Lux Peach and Cream and Lux Strawberry

and Cream. The fragrance of the new Lux soap stands for love and

sensuality and the ad uses the slogan – “Bekaboo”.

The ad was made to be promoted at the time when both Shahrukh

Khan’s and Katrina Kaif’s movie was about to be released.

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Celebrity endorsement

Celebrity endorsement is the very important and basic tools for the

promotion of the product and now a day it is become a trend for the

product marketing and brad building. However it is easy to select a

celebrity but it is very difficult to establish a strong relationship between

the product and the endorser. The celebrity can make a better brand

image and also helpful for profit maximization

Hollywood

Since the 1930s, many well-known Hollywood actresses have marketed

the soap to women as a beauty enhancer. Advertisements have featured

Dorothy Lamour, Joan Crawford, Laurette Luez, Judy Garland, Cheryl

Ladd, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Taylor , Demi Moore, Sarah Jessica

Parker , Catherine Zeta-Jones, Rachel Weisz, Anne Hathaway, and

Marilyn Monroe, among others. The first male to star in a Lux

advertisement was Hollywood actor Paul Newman.

Bollywood

Today, the brand is still heavily advertised In India using Bollywood

stars.Madhubala,MalaSinha ,Karishma Kapoor, rani mukherji, juhi

chawla, sridevi.

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Celebrity beauty

Lux is a super brand that celebrated beauty across the world since 1925.

The soap which was endorsed by the beautiful film stars came to India in

1929. Lux has been the largest selling personal wash brand in the

country.

Lux has effectively managed its PLC through careful brand building and

changing the product in line with the changing consumer. The brand is

being positioned as the favorite soap

of Film stars has been consistent in terms of communication and

positioning. The brand is also the classic example of successful celebrity

endorsement. The first celebrity to endorse the brand was Leela Chitnis .

From Leela to Aishwarya , From Madhuri to Madhubala, Lux has been

endorsed by more than 50 film stars ( a sort of record isn't it). But in all

these communications, the celebrity never shadowed the brand.

Lux was always changing with the times. Whether it be in terms of the

product or in terms of promotions, the brand kept the consumers excited.

Lux has two basic extensions in terms of segments. Lux beauty soap and

International Lux.

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Lux was initially a premium brand. Lux was being projected as an

aspirational brand and the endorsements by stars further reinforced the

positioning. The increasing competition in the soap category forced Lux

to rethink on its targeting strategy. The brand had a choice either to

compromise on market share and uphold the premium positioning or to

retain the market share and dilute the positioning. Lux wanted to ensure

that the brand be positioned as premium but also did not wanted to

compromise on the share. Thus born International Lux which is the

premium variant and the affordable segment was catered by Lux beauty

soap.

Lux beauty soap is available in Four variants : Exotic Flower Petals,

Fruit Extracts, Almond and Sandal. Lux has a common ingredient of

Milk cream in all the variants.

Although the brand enjoyed success and has sustained its leadership

position, of late this brand has been facing issues of stagnation. The

stagnation is caused by the plethora of brands competing for the market

share and the scope for differentiation has reduced to almost nil.

Together with the rush for celebrities to endorse anything from salt to

cars, Lux is finding it difficult to sustain growth in this cluttered market.

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In 2005 Lux celebrated its 75th anniversary sparking of a controversy.

Deviating its tradition of roping in Bollywood Divas, this time none

other than Shah Rukh Khan endorsed Lux. The ads created instant

controversy with marketers discussing whether the brand has suddenly

become MALE. Paul Newman also has endorsed Lux soap which shows

that Lux makes such stunts to excite the market. Whatever be the

controversy, the brand again succeeded in creating

excitement in the market. Some argue that HLL was testing a new

positioning to appeal to male users while others say that it was a one

time endorsement to break the clutter. For marking the 75th year Lux

came out with a celebration range endorsed by Kareena Kapoor . The

Celebration range too created news because of its variant :Chocolate

Seduction. These innovative products created lot of excitement that

ensured that Lux remained in the top of mind of the consumers. Another

variant which I like personally is the Lux with Orchid which looked cool

in terms of packaging and looks.

Over these years, the positioning of Lux also evolved. Earlier the brand

used the positioning " Beauty soap of Film stars" . But as the customer

evolved, the positioning lost its charm because customers began to doubt

whether the film stars actually used this brand. Taking a cue from the

customers, Lux changed the positioning appealing to the need for

becoming a star. The new positioning is communicated with the tagline "

Bring out the star in you".

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Although worldwide the brand is being endorsed by film stars, the actual

package usually contains picture of international models and not film

stars.

While Lux beauty soap is sticking to the age old positioning, Lux

international has moved from being a soap brand to a skin care brand.

Lux International has the tagline " Not Just Soap, Its Skin Care". Under

the Lux umbrella brand, HLL has introduced variety of personal wash

products like body shampoo, hair shampoo etc.

Lux is the classic example of HLL's marketing genius. The brand will

experiment and explore more in the days to come....

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Study of LUX with respect to 4 P’s

A) Product:- LUX is an internationally renowned beauty soap brand of Unilever.

Though manufactured in India for the local market by Unilever India

Ltd, as an international brand, it maintains an international quality for

the product. Formula given by Research and Development departments

in foreign countries, LUX is produced in India from imported raw

materials like sodium soap, glycerol and different extracts according to

flavors, coming from Unilever plants situated abroad.

LUX Energizing Honey, LUX Golden Glow, LUX Nature Pure, LUX

Orchid Touch, LUX Almond Delight and LUX Aqua Sparkle. Taking

into account the convenience of its customers, the company

manufactures all flavors of LUX in three different sizes,40gm, 80gm and

120gm.

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, person, place, properties, organization, information

and ideas.

Brand name

Product innovation

Quality and Quantities

Packaging and labeling

Style, shape and design

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B)Price:-

Though Unilever india gives its LUX customers a lot in terms of the

product itself, it cannot provide a better pricing. This is due to some

constraints in the beauty soap industry. Beauty soap is a product with a

vulnerable demand in india. A change in price has a high risk of creating

price war among the rivals which will eventually cause a loss of profit.

Its prices are almost equal to its competitor.

Compares Lux‘s price with its major competitor

Company carries out research on competitors ‘price and brand loyalty

when it feels extreme necessity of changing price. The brand loyalty test

is an exploratory research which is known as Brand Health Check-

Up(BHCU). Recent price of lux soap(100 g) is Rs.23

c)Place:

The company does not use its own fleet of transport for distributing

its product. However, it has outsourced its distribution process to various

third party distributors, exclusively dedicated to Unilever India Ltd.

These distributors then supply the product all over India to a huge

number of retailers. Even though LUX targets the urban and sub urban

middle and upper middle class people they are distributing their products

all over India because of a recent increase in demand of its product to all

segments of the population.

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D) Promotion:

It‘s certain annual promotional campaigns like LUX Channel Superstar

and LUX Channel Annual Cinema Awards has made the product

a part of the glamour world. Since the 1930s, over 400 of the world‘s

most stunning and sensuous women have been proudly associated with

Lux advertisements.

They do not only promote LUX in India for the beauty conscious

females, it also promotes the brand for males and the company proved

that, by including world famous male celebrity Shahrukh Khan for their

advertising campaign.

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Swot analysis

Strength

Strong market research (Door to door sampling – once in a year –

Rural and Urban area.)

Many variants (Almond oil, Orchid extracts, Milk cream, Fruit

extracts, Saffron sandalwood oil and Honey)

Strong sales and distribution network backed by HUL

Strong brand image

Strong brand promotion but relatively lower prices – Winning

combination.

Mass appeal/Market presence across all segments ( 15% of soap

market).

Worldwide fame of Unilever.

Unilever is High reputable company.

Weakness

Mainly positioned as beauty soap targeted towards women.

Some variation like the sunscreen, international variant did not do

well in the market.

Not much popular in rural areas

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Opportunity

Soap industry is growing by 10% in India

Beauty segments compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) is very

high

Liquid body wash is currently in growth stage – Lux should come

out with more variants in this segment

Large market share – Strong hold over the market

Threats

High internal competition (Pears – Beauty segment)

New entrants (Vivel)

Maturity stage – threat of slipping down to decline stage – if

constant reinvention is not carried out.

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Literature review Discovering the Consumer: Market Research, Product Innovation,

and the Creation of Brand Loyalty in Britain and the United States in the

Interwar Years. This paper discusses the use of market and consumer

research at Lever/Unilever and its advertising agency in Britain and the

United States, J.Walter Thompson (JWT), in the interwar period.

Research surveys conducted by JWT in the 1920s and 1930s helped

Lever reposition its international soap brand Lux.

The article also shows that marketing's cultural practices often predate

its conceptualization and academic theorization.

The Brand: Lux Soap Flakes One of Lever‘s earliest product innovations was a production technique

developed in1889, which soap to be produced in forms of flakes. The

resulting p r o d u c t , soap flakes, made washing easier and preserved the

garments as women did not have to rub clothes with the hard soap bar.

In 1900, Lever‘s product came on the market as Lux soap flakes.‘

Moreover, the product was positioned as a problem solver (Levitt1960);

if consumers were rich enough to buy expensive clothes, they also had

problems which low-income groups did not have, that is, the

preservation of silk or other expensive clothes. Lux helped solve these

problems. In 1906, Lever began to export Lux soap flakes to the United

States. There, its advertising agency JWT suggested that the

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traditional positioning of Lux as a product to be used to wash

woolen garments (see slogan Lux won‘t shrink woolens‘‘)

should be widened so that consumers saw Lux as product that could be

used for all fine fabrics. Its advertisements often followed an aggressive

market expansion strategy for their products; by suggesting a

wider framework of possible uses for a given product both the customer

base and the usage rate of a product could be increased

(Ansoff 1957). For its client Lever Brothers, this strategy resulted in

increased sales from 10,000 cases in 1915 to over one million cases in

1918 (The history of LuxFlakes‘‘1950;Lovett 1970).

This strategic marketing orientation of JWT‘s Advertising

is further exemplified in its decision to use advertisements in 1922 to

promote the use of Lux for the washing of dishes In the early 1920s, the

Lux advertising campaign in the American market took a crucial turn

toward dialogic consumer engagement. In 1924, JWT invited

American housewives to submit testimonials for Lux soap f lakes.

These letters, of which about 53,000 arrived at the JWT headquarters‘,

were used by the agency to conduct a survey of consumer habits. It

turned out that consumers had independently begun to use the flakes for

the washing of their hands, for baths, for their babies, and for washing

their hands and hair.

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Objective of the study

Effect of celebrity endorsement 0n consumer buying

behavior towards lux soap. To find out the marketing strategy of the company

regarding lux soap .

To study the marketing mix of the lux soap.

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RESEARCH METHEDOLOGY

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Marketing research means the systematic gathering, recording,

analyzing of data about problems relating to the marketing of goods

and services” Marketing research has proved an essential tool to make

all the need of marketing management. Marketing research therefore is

the scientific process of gathering and analyzing of marketing

information to meet the needs of marketing management.

Butgathering of observation is must be systematic. The systematic cond

uct of researchrequires:

1) Orderliness, in which the measurements are accurate.

2) Impartiality in analysis and interpretation. All of research can be

categorized into basic and applied.

Selection of type of method for data collection is one of most critical

parts of any research. This is all about discussing the different

techniques and method for data collection and selection of the most

suitable method for the particular study. This is done through evaluation

of the strength and weaknesses of each method.

The federal definition of research by Messian college as defined in the

federal policy is “Research means a systematic investigation, including

research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or

contribute to generalize knowledge”.

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Definition of Research

“A detailed study of a subject, especially in order to discover (new)

information or reach a (new) understanding”

Research methodology is a way to systematically solve the research

problems. It may be understood as a science of studying how

research is done scientifically.

In it we study the various step that are generally adopted by a

researcher in studying his research problem along with he problem

behind them. It is necessary for the researcher to know not only the

research methods/ techniques but also the methodology.

Researcher not only to needs to know how to develop certain indices

or the tests, how to calculate the mean, the mode, the median and the

standard deviation or the chi square, how to apply particular research

techniques, but they also need to know which of these methods or

techniques, are relevant and are not, what would they mean and

indicate and why.

Researcher also need to understand the assumption underlying

various techniques and they need to know the criteria by which they

can decide the certain techniques and others will not.

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All this means that it is necessary for the researcher.

The methodology used for the study was very rigorous. Appraisal

forms were made, interviews with employees were held and websites

were checked for any type of information related to the study.

Random selection procedure was used and a sample of 50 employees

was taken. The methodology so applied is briefly discussed below

step by step.

RESEARCH DESIGN

Research design is the overall description of all the steps though

which the projects have preceded forms the setting of objectives to

the writing of the project report. The success of the project depends

on the soundness of the research design, which includes problem

definition, specific method of data collection and analysis and time

required for the project.

TYPES OF RESEARCH DESIGN

The research design is formulated after the formulation of objectives

and according to the requirement of the study. The following types of

research design are used for the purpose of study with different

objectives in frame of mind.

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EXPLORATORY RESEARCH DESIGN

This is used to formulate a problem for more precise investigation or

for developing hypothesis. It is also a used for establishing priorities

for further research; it also clarifies the concepts and making analyst

familiar with the problem.

EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

Experimental research is also called experimental or casual research,

experimental is defined as a process where events occur in a setting at

the discretion of the researcher and the controls are used to identify

the resources of variation in subjects’ response. The following are

most common design for the marketing experiments.

“After only design”

“Before after design”

“Before after with control group design”

“After only with control design”

“Ex post facto design”

Continuous dairy panel design”

Factorial design”

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DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH DESIGN

Descriptive studies undertaken in such a circumstances where

researcher is interested in knowing the demographic characteristics of

the consumer of when he is interested in knowing the proportion of

people in the given population who behaves in the particular manner

making projection of the certain thing or determining relation

between two or more variable.

The descriptive research in the research as the name implies are

design to describe something besides the emphasis on description it,

should it or should not be conclude that such studies should simply

fact gathering expeditions. Unfortunately, it is relatively easy to start

a descriptive study with the vague thought that the data collected with

interesting.

Hence we have used descriptive research design. The population

taken for the purpose of study comprised of people from middle

class, upper class.

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SOURCES OF DATA

There are types of data secondary and primary data. The secondary

data refers to those data which are gathered for some other purpose

and are already available in the firm’s internal record and commercial

purpose’ magazines and who sites.

On the other hand, primary data do not exist already is record and

publication. The one has to gather primary data a fresh from the

specific study undertaken by him.

Main source of the data was a primary source of the data collection

for determining the performance appraisal process of the employees

and to study the factors upon which performance of the employees

are appraised, secondary source of data were used.

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Findings

Price of lux soap is high as compared to other soap.

Lux should introduce its kids special soap.

Lux should promote its product i.e hair shampoo and body shampoo. Lux has been endorsed by 50 film stars but actually not used by them. Lux strategies are not sustainable in the long run.

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Suggestions

Introduce kid’s special Lux soap.

Company should target to all age group.

Lux is a brand of all segment of society, so advertising should not

contain only

―FILMI SITARO KA SABUN but also like ―AAM ADMI KA

SABUN.

Target rural customer.

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Conclusion

LUX Is Generic Brand Widely Used By all Segment of Society,

so company should consider all segment of society while launching its

different type of product.

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.

Lux has high penetration in urban & semi-urban areas. However, it has

only19.8% penetration in rural areas.

It enjoys sound financial position & high profits from this sector.

The beauty soap industry of india consists of a few producers in the

industry. The demand for this product is very much vulnerable in

terms of pricing. Unilever India is providing LUX at a price which

is affordable to most of the people in the country. Beauty soap is

an uprising product in India as a greater portion of the population, both

male and female, are now get t ing more beau ty conscious.

As a mult inat ional company Unilever India with heavy

promotional activities, has been able to penetrate the market With six

different fragrances, three different sizes, international standard

and high quality design, as a product, LUX has been highly successful

over the years.

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Its distribution process is highly efficient. Its promotional

activities, like the beauty contest has been a milestone in

attracting a huge number of customers. Overall with its

marketing activities LUX has been a successful brand.

The only place where rival companies are progressing is in giving

customers redemption offers. Research revealed that Indian customers

are highly attracted to this sort of offers. These offers are not sustainable

in the long run but still it takes away a considerable part of lux’s sale in

the short run.

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Bibliography

Website www.google.com

www.hul.com www.lux.com