synopsis on lakme

7/28/2019 synopsis on lakme

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Synopsis

BUYING BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMER TOWARDS

COSMETICS IN LUCKNOW

Special preference to Lakme

in Partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the

Degree of Master of Business Administration.

bySamra Mahboob

MBA

Integral University,Lucknow

Roll no: 1100122130

Under the guidance of

Zahid Raza Khan

Asst. Professor, MarketingIntegral University


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Declaration

I hereby that I have worked on the topic BUYING BEHAVIOR OF CONSUMERTOWARDS COSMETICS IN LUCKNOW (Special preference to Lakme)

All the information that has been collected, analyzed and documented for the project isauthentic possession to me.

I would like to categorically mention that the work here has neither been purchased nor acquiredby any other unfair means. The data and information existing in this report are accurate andupdate to the current data, to the best of our knowledge.

However, for this purpose of the project, information already compiled in many sources hasbeen utilized.

All information in this report is true representation of what I have experienced during theproject.

Samra Mahboob


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Acknowledgement

Co-operation and building up of moral are the essence of success. These are two factors that goa long way in achieving it. It is a Herculean task, which lacks these two determinants of success.It was an opportunity and great pleasure for me to be in such an environment and havinginteraction with concerned people.

I express my heartily respect and profound thanks for their enlightening and meticulousguidance for the consummation and evaluating of this project.

Prof. Zahid Raza Khan, Faculty Member, Department of Management & Research , whowas in the role of my Faculty Guide, left no stone unturned in guiding me along the course ofmy Project work.

I am grateful to them those given me this opportunity to work on such type of project, withouttheir, it is not possible for me to complete the project.

Finally, to my parents, for all the tea and care with which they overwhelmed me through these

long months of creation.

I sincerely hope that my first venue in this field is appreciated. Offering thanks.

Samra Mahboob


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Executive summary

About the project

Within a short span of the last five-six years, the use of cosmetics byIndian consumers has increased significantly with more and morewomen and men taking greater interest in personal grooming,increasing disposable incomes, changing life styles, influence ofsatellite television and greater product choice and availability.

This cosmetics and personal care industry has been growing at anaverage rate of 20 per cent for the last few years. The growing Indiancosmetics market offers promising prospects for international brands.The growth rate in the cosmetics market reflects an increasing demandfor beauty care products in India. Perfumes and fragrances, skin care,and hair care products are some of the major segments with promisingprospects for U.S. companies.

Penetration of most cosmetic and toiletries is very low in India.Current consumption of many products is well below that of manycountries in Asia. The low market penetration of many cosmetics andpersonal care products offers room for growth.

The urban population with increasing purchasing power is the majorforce driving demand for cosmetics and toiletries. India is a very price-

sensitive market and mass-market products constitute the major part ofthe cosmetics and toiletries market. Indias import ofcosmetics and

toiletries and intermediate raw materials is around US$ 120

million, of which the U.S. has a share of approximately 10 percent.


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Objective of Study

Objectives are the route map of any research. Without setting objectives

any research would be meaningless and all the efforts of the researcher

will go in vain. The objectives of this project titled "consumer

behaviour regarding purchase of cosmetics" were:

1) Finding major factors that influence the purchase decision of

consumers to purchase cosmetics.

2) To find out the variety of cosmetics, the women and students prefer most.

3) The brands, which are popular for the particular type of product.

4) The expenditure and the frequency of using the cosmetics.

5) Determining the sources from where the women get theinformation

about cosmetics.

6) Consumer perception towards the cosmetics ads.

7) Whether they are influenced and inspired by the ads.


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INTRODUCTION

High priestess of sacred Indian temple meets English army officerwho's unwittingly strayed into holy ground. They fall in love. Herorthodox father vows vengeance... That's the story of Lakm, a 19thcentury opera written by Frenchman Leo Delibes, from which SimoneTata borrowed the name Lakm (French for Lakshmi, the name of thepriestess).

The current size of the Indian cosmetic market is approximately US$600 million. Of this, the fastest growing segment is color cosmetics,accounting for around US$ 60 million of the market. Industry sourcesestimate a rapid growth rate of 20 percent per annum across differentsegments of the cosmetics industry reflecting an increasing demand forall kinds of beauty and personal care product. Growth has come mainlyfrom the low and medium-priced categories that account for 90 percentof the cosmetics market in terms of volume.

Even with a 20 percent average growth rate, the per capita consumptionof cosmetics is very low in India. Current per capita expenditure oncosmetics is approximately US$ 0.68 cents as compared to US$ 36.65in other Asian countries. However, with changing lifestyles, higher

disposable incomes, increasing advertising, penetration of satellite

television, awareness of the western world and growing importance

of beauty pageants, there have been significant changes and use of

cosmetics is on the rise.

Lakme, a brand originally introduced by the Tata group of India, nowbought over by Hindustan Unilever (HUL) of the Unilever group, Tips& Toes, another domestic player, and Revlon dominate the US$ 60million color cosmetics market. Multinationals, Revlon of the U.S. andL'Oreal's Maybelline has a dominant share of the small premiumlipsticks and nail enamels market. Mass-market products account for a

major share, while the premium segment accounts only for a mere 9 percent in lipsticks and 5 per cent in nail enamels. Lipsticks account fornearly a third of the market at US$ 21 million, while the market for nailenamels is estimated at around US$ 23 million. The color cosmetics


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segment is very competitive and has a high penetration level of 80percent.

The skin care market in India is estimated at US$ 180 million. Withinthe last decade, this segment has seen many consumers slowly shiftfrom the mass to the premium end of the market. The penetration rate

is high in the skin-care segment as compared to color cosmetics. Inthe skin-care segment, price and volume played an equal role in valuegrowth. Moisturizing lotions, fairness creams and face cleansers are thepopular categories in the skin-care segment and account forapproximately 60 percent of the skin-care segment. The major playersin this segments are Lakme, Ponds, Fair & Lovely of the HUL groupwith a 50 percent market share, followed by players such as J.L.Morison that markets the Nivea range of products in India, Godrej and

Revlon. Penetration levels of international cosmetics brands in Indiaare still low. Foreign brands currently constitute only 20 percent of themarket. A major reason for low penetration of international brands canbe attributed to high pricing. These companies initially gained sales ontheir international brand image, however, repeat purchases were notforthcoming and to retain their sales growth, several foreign companiesreformulated price strategies to tap the large Indian middle class. Urbanwomen in the middle and upper income groups in the age range of 23-

50 is the target group for international brands, as this group looks forbetter products and is willing to pay a premium for international qualityproducts. Industry estimates suggest that there are close to 10 millionsuch women in India.


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Company Profile

Hindustan Unilever Limited

Chairman: Harish ManwaniCEO and Managing Director: Douglas (Doug)

BaillieDirector, Finance and IT: D. Sundaram

Hindustan Unilever Limited (abbreviated to HUL), formerlyHindustan Lever Limited, is Indias largest consumer products

company and was formed in 1933 as Lever Brothers India Limited.It is currently headquartered in Mumbai India and its 41,000employees are headed by Harish Manwani, the non-executive chairmanof the board. It is Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) Industrythat includes detergents, soap, shampoo deodorant, toothpaste, andother personal care items, and cosmetics HUL's personal care brandsinclude soap brands such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Liril, Breeze, Dove, Pear's,and Rexona; shampoos and hair coloring brands including Sunsilk

Naturals and Clinic; skin care brands Fair & Lovely and Pond's; andoral care brands Pepsodent and Close-Up. The company's cosmetic lineis led by the Lakme brand. HUL also produces a line of Ayurvedicpersonal and healthcare items under the Ayush brand. In addition to theFMCG segment, HUL has developed a line of food items, primarilyunder the Kissan and Knorr Annapurna brands, as well as the ice creambrand Kwality Wall's.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:HLL_logo.png


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VISION

To earn the love and respect of India, by making a real difference toevery Indian.. HLL follows its parent companys mission to addvitality to life. They strive to meet everyday needs of nutrition,

hygiene, and personal care products that help people feel good, look

good, and get more out of life.

STRATEGY

Grow ahead of the market by leading market development

Activities

Leverage positive impact of growing Indian economy on

consumer spending

Grow a profitable foods and Top end business

Grow the bottom-line ahead of top line

Strong commitment to sustainable development


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Lakme

Half a century ago, as India took her steps into freedom, Lakme, India'sfirst beauty brand was born. At a time when the beauty industry in Indiawas at a nascent stage, Lakme tapped into what would grow to beamongst the leading, high consumer interest segments in the IndianIndustry - that of skincare and cosmetic products. Armed with a potentcombination of foresight, research and constant innovation, Lakme hasgrown to be the market leader in the cosmetics industry. Lakme todayhas grown to have a wide variety of products and services that cover allfacets of beauty care, and arm the consumer with products to pamperherself from head to toe. These include products for the lips, nails, eyes,

face and skin, and services like the Lakme Beauty Salons.

A little bit of Lakm history:

In 1995, Lakm Ltd (a Tata Group company) and HLL formed a 50:50venture Lakm Lever that would market and distribute Lakm'sproducts. In 1998, Lakm sold its brands (and the 50 per cent it ownedin the JV) to HLL, renamed itself Trent and entered a different business(retail). Only, the years between 1995 and 2000 saw HLL wrestling

with several issues with a bearing on Lakm's future. A brand that hasover 5 decades talked of beauty is none other than Lakm. Launched in1952, it offered a range of cosmetics with nail polishes & lipsticks fromthe early 80s. Lakm also understands the importance of maintaining

and accentuating a womens natural beauty, for this it has introduced arange of skincare products from 1987. These ranges have beenconstantly innovated to bring specialized beauty care and complete therange for the definitive women.

A brand that has over 5 decades talked of beauty is none other thanLakm. Launched in 1952, it offered a range of cosmetics with nailpolishes & lipsticks from the early 80s. Lakm also understands theimportance of maintaining and accentuating a womens natural beauty,for this it has introduced a range of skincare products from 1987. Theseranges have been constantly innovated to bring specialized beauty careand complete the range for the definitive women.

Chopra accepts that distribution has been the company's Achilles heelfor some time: ''The supply-chain hasn't been as robust as it should havebeen, but that has been the result of our efforts to reposition andreintroduce the brand.'' The positioning bit, although complex, is clear:


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Ponds is Lever's primary skincare brand; Lakm, its aspirational colourcosmetics brand, which also has a presence in skincare.The 'aspirational' qualification would mean Lakm would compete atwhat the company terms the 'upper-mass' (premium) end of the colourcosmetics spectrum (products priced between Rs 85 and Rs 250) wherea slew of competitors, ranging from Revlon (through Modi Revlon) to

Chambor, are already slugging it out. Says Meghna Modi, 26,Executive Director, Modi Revlon: ''The numbers say it all. According toORG-MARG's retail audit, we have an 84 per cent share of thepremium end of the colour cosmetics market.'' Chopra is quick torubbish this claim; he says ORG-MARG does not have a representativesample of the 60,000 outlets through which colour cosmetics are sold inIndia.Still, it is conceivable that Lakm's new-found aspirational strategy

could have been brought about by competitors like Revlon andMaybelline, which targeted this segment. Indeed, the company's non-transfer lip-colour range follows in the wake of Maybelline's launch ofa similar range, and its new nail-enamel colours come soon afterMaybelline and Revlon launched their nail-enamel range. Thecompany's defense is that it takes at least 15 months from theconceptualization to the actual launch of products.And fashion consultants like Meher Castelino believe the brand

commands an edge at the high-end: ''By appropriating the fashionplatform for itself, Lakm has entrenched itself at the glamour-end.''


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SWOT ANALYSIS Of LAKME

Strengths :local brand of specific relevance to India.Strong R&D capability, well linked with business.Integrated supply chain and well spread manufacturing units.Ability to deliver Cost Savings.Access to Unilever global technology capability and sharing of

best practices from other Unilever

Weaknesses :Price positioning in some categories allows for low price

competition.Varying quality range in its products.Falling Quality of Lame salons

Opportunities :Brand growth through increased consumption depth and

frequency of usage across all categories.Upgrading consumers through innovation to new levels of quality

and performance.Building brand image by collaborating with top designers in

Lakme Fashion week

Threats :

Aggressive price competition from local and multinationalplayers.Spurious/counterfeit products in rural areas and small towns.Non Existence of brand image in long Run


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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research is based on:-

Primary Data1)Questionnaire

Secondary Data

InternetCompany Reports& BroachersMagazinesNewspapers Articles &journals

Data is also gathered by talking to the respondents (Target Audience,understanding their beauty needs,what aspire them to go for the(lakme)brand. Also the level of :-

Brand awareness,Price level,Visibility of brand personality.Expectancy of Communication

All these factors were the prime criterion for selecting (Which brand??),Short listing and ranking (level of trustworthiness? or most favoured )

which had helped us for identifying the winner in cosmetics industry.


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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kotler Philip , Keller Lane Kevin marketing , prentice hall ofIndia , 2005

S.P Gupta , Business Statistics, 14th edition , 2005 Business Statistics , J. K Sharma , edition 2005 Tata Mc graw-Hill Edtion , Business research methods ,

Donald R.Cooper , Pamela S. Schindler.

References

www.hindubusinessline.com www.lakmeindia.com www.hll.com www.economictimes.com www.financialexpress.com
http://www.hindubusinessline.com/http://www.hindubusinessline.com/http://www.lakmeindia.com/http://www.lakmeindia.com/http://www.hll.com/http://www.hll.com/http://www.economictimes.com/http://www.economictimes.com/http://www.economictimes.com/http://www.hll.com/http://www.lakmeindia.com/http://www.hindubusinessline.com/

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