Hindustan Unilever Ltd: A segmented universe to an asteroid belt

I don’t think anyone in India who is anyway related to marketing does not dream to be working for this organization- Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL). It is hardly a wonder that it was voted the No. 1 employer of choice by B-School students across India in for the fourth year running in 2013. Not to mention, it is always an interesting bit to keep track of to get some indication of the market dynamics.

Amongst the biggest spenders on advertising in India, HUL is also amongst the companies which has a long history of presence in India since 1933. If god said, ‘Let there be light’, Unilever broke the dawn of brands in India with Sunlight. I guess the choice of category to enter India was spot on considering use of soap for washing clothes was basic to any household in India. It was merely an act of deviating people from the task of making soap at home with something now available at a shop in ready form.

This might have been the easiest of tasks as far as we talk of migrating customers to switch from traditional Indian ways to branded packaged products. Personal care products used aspirational value through association with film stars (or some of it was taken from the colonial rulers of the time). Competition was always around with Indians companies like Tata Oil Mills (TOMCO) and Godrej soaps also making a mark on the market, while global giants like P&G came into India in the 1950’s to capture its share.

Today, HUL has a dominant presence in the Indian market across four key verticals of Personal Care, Home care, Foods and Water purification products. Significantly, most of its dominant brands are home grown. It is some fringes in personal care like Lakme, Hamam (both acquired from Tata) and Foods (Kissan and Modern bakery) are acquisitions. A definite mention required- PureIT water purifier is the only product which bears the mother brand - Hindustan Unilever Limited mentioned across its face right up front.

A recent look at the brands under the personal care range put up a few questions in my mind though.

Look at the range of soaps HUL has today- Axe, Breeze, Dove, Hamam, Lifebuoy, Liril 2000, Lux, Pears, Rexona, Aviance Marine Soap. Of which I’m sure, other than Axe, Dove and Aviance, all have at least two or more variants, taking my available options to a conservative 20 (Lux has in excess of 5 for sure). While this might sound impressive, I see this as a segmentation challenge and a daunting marketing task. I agree, some segments are well defined here- Axe is for men, Dove and Aviance for skin care, Lifebuoy is hygiene, Liril 2000 and Rexona both talk of freshness, Pears is glycerine based and Lux is a beauty soap. I would have guessed Breeze and Hamam hold the bottom of the pyramid market for beauty and hygiene.

But when I went into a price comparison from an e-shopping portal, I was totally confused. For a 75 gms bar, Dove was at Rs. 46, Pears was Rs. 36 and Lux variant was Rs. 27. Liril 2000 was priced at Rs.29.In the 100gms bars, Hamam was Rs.26 while another Lux variant and Rexona were Rs 24. Lifebuoy was for 125 gms Rs. 24 which was actually the cheapest in the weight to price comparison. I could not get any indication for Aviance. Bottom line; was there a price segmentation or the entire affair was running only by means of product variants? Besides, the category is not isolated of competition with Vivel and Fiama Di Wills from ITC, Cinthol and Godrej No. 1 from Godrej and other players like Santoor, Himalaya and Nivea also flooding the market.

A look at the shampoo segments was equally appalling. HUL has Clear, Clinic Plus, Sunsilk, Dove, TRESemme and all their variants against a battalion from P&G, Nivea, Garnier, L’Oreal, Pantene and Himalaya all vying for the same purse.  

For the moment, I’m a confused customer when I have to buy bathing soap. I really cannot differentiate the products if Lux, Rexona, Breeze and Fiama Di Wills are placed before me. As a buyer, a difference of under Rs.5 doesn’t even register. On a given day, if my choice of soap is not available at a retailer, I don’t think brand loyalty will cause me not to defect to another brand. Customers today will be spoilt for choices of variety in terms of product features, packaging and all at a price they are willing to pay as per their need of the hour.

A question I pose- is there brand loyalty alive in products where product variation and price differences have shrunk to almost negligible?

I guess segmentation in recent times has virtually come down to retaining a customer by offering a yes to every need posed. You want fragrance, glycerine, hygiene, moisturizing, herbal; name it and I have a soap which can satisfy your need. If more than one- that is also possible. Add to it price promotions and bundled offers, and a customer will take no time to switch to a new brand. Every need today will have a bombardment of choices thrown at it. I guess HUL or any other company these days, is willing to offer a chance for a customer to look at any other shelf for anything they need.

The universe for a customer was once possibly as well segmented as the solar system. Every brand possibly had its own unique place which the others did not share. I guess it is the mass consumerism in India that has promoted all this competition which has made it more of an asteroid belt.  

Intensity Towards Competency (how better to define ITC)

Business jargon and some of its understanding came into my life only after I started working at the age of 22 in GE Healthcare. As much as we hoped for our machines to be the mark of technology, it was the reputation of the company that outperformed. These were the day when I got exposed to terms like global sourcing, core competencies, diversified business and consolidation through almost every central communication. Reason- these were lessons learnt the hard way and screaming out to everyone; beware: that this is what we had tried and failed, try not to do the same mistakes.


Since I have learnt this, I have tried to look at Indian corporates which have tried to diversify, streamline to core or tried things, failed and renewed themselves. Of course, what I looked in each case was the element which I could say could be the core competency of the corporate.

One of the best examples of diversification I have seen is that by ITC Limited. The company is over 100 years old and for 60 years the company did nothing but made and sold cigarettes. Even today, it has almost 60% revenues coming in from tobacco sale. But they have diversified smartly into businesses like hotels, paper, foods & confectioneries, clothing, personal care products and stationery. Not to mention smaller businesses like agro, retail and IT. What I admire so much about ITC is its commitment towards building on competency with every new vertical and living by its motto- Create Value.

In 1970 it went into Hotels - unrelated to the tobacco business but the ITC Sheraton Chola in Chennai was nothing but the best in the sector at a time when there were no big hotel chains in India. The fact that today ITC Grande and ITC Fortune are brand which have stood the test of time is only due to the fact that they stand for something unique in their offering.

The next diversification was paper and paper board. Okay, there is connect with tobacco as both utilized organic plant origins and - after all, a cigarette is basically tobacco wrapped in paper, packed in a paper box. But ITC paper is renowned all across the industry for industrial as well as regular printing. Sure, clothing, personal care products and foods are an offshoot which is not entirely in coherent; but the way these products have been developed and marketed is a master class in understanding consumers.

Typically, a cigarette vendor has a small shop where tobacco products, mints n toffees, small quantity pouches of snacks n biscuits, soaps and oils, sachets of shampoos, playing cards, ball pens etc. That’s a huge range of categories considering nothing here costs in excess of Rs 25. Margins are low but volumes are high. It is like a poor man’s supermarket.

So, for 60 years you have been in the tobacco business. In the process, you have established a distribution network unrivalled by anyone else in India. Go out to the most rural parts of India and you will still find a cigarette (so what if it chota Goldflake) from ITC available. Come to the semi urban and urban space and the product mix spreads from the Goldflake to the Classic range and further on to the premium brands like Insignia.

Now what does every smoker need which can be easily distributed along with the cigarettes???- a matchbox and mints. ITC entered into the marketing and distribution of a cottage industry like match boxes with AIM and Mangaldeep as two brands. While the need is catered for its customers, ITC also moves into essence sticks with Mangaldeep, a support extended to the same people manufacturing the matches. There is Candyman with mints. A long shot, but a smoker can very well be in need of finger snacks to go with a drink. There comes in Bingo. Most of these shops are open since early morning or run till late evening. The Superia range of personal care products serves the travellers and small quantity consumers to perfection.

ITC is not just a brand for the common man- it also serves a life style. The hotels are a statement. The clothing range and personal care products often remind me of the way Dunhill business suits became a rage in Japan in the 60s. Wills Lifestyle, Essenza Di Wills (premium), Fiama Di Wills are all brands which talk of a lifestyle a person with a Wills Insignia in his fingers will desire.

While all the lifestyle talk, ITC e-Chaupal combines the farm produce sourcing with IT efficiency so that farmers get the best value for their produce. On the other end, buyers also get access to the best agro products eliminating middle men. This is the most successful online mandi in India at present. Add to it Chaupal sagar- an agro supermarket to sell farm produce eliminating the complete chain of bulk buyers who cut commissions from producers to consumers.

A wide range of products and excellence in each one; a strong sourcing and distribution chain- ITC has it. Call some of the rural initiatives as CSR or Bottom of the Pyramid approach- it all does make an impact on every life. ITC truly Creates Value…