PROJECT REPORT On

COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN MARKETING STRATEGIES OF LAKME AND REVLON

VS

Submitted by:

AMANPREET KAUR

AKNOWLEDGEMENT
I HAVE GREAT PLEASURE IN PRESENTING MY PROJECT ENTITLED LAKME AND REVLON. I INEPTNESS MY PROJECT. I WOULD LIKE TO THANK MY PROJECT GUIDES, ALL THE FACULTY MEMBERS. FOR THIS APPROVAL & ALSO FOR HER VALUABLE GUIDANCE & SUPPORT IN COMPLETING MY PROJECT OF COMPARATIVE STUDIES BETWEEN MARKETING STRATEGIES OF LAKME AND REVLON. LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST I WOULD LIKE TO EXPRESS MY SINCERE THANKS TO THOSE WHO DIRECTLY & INDIRECTLY HELPED IN THIS PROJECT. TO ALL THOSE WHO TAKE THIS AN CONTRIBUTED OPPORTUNITY TO EXPRESS MY DEEPEST GRATITUDE & INDIRECTLY THEIR VALUABLE TIME & ASSISTED ME IN

CONTENTS
Introduction Brief overview of marketing strategies. Company Profile of Lakme Company Profile of Revlon Various Marketing strategies adopted by the two Company along with product profile Objectives of the Study Suggestions and Recommendations Summary & Conclusion Appendix Bibliography

INTRODUCTION
Within a short span of the last five-six years, the use of cosmetics by Indian consumers has increased significantly with more and more women and men taking greater interest in personal grooming, increasing disposable incomes, changing life styles, influence of satellite television and greater product choice and availability. With the demand for cosmetics on the rise and the opening up of the market to foreign companies, many of the worlds popular cosmetics brands entered the Indian market in the early and mid-nineties and some more have set their sights on India. This cosmetics and personal care industry has been growing at an average rate of 20 per cent for the last few years. The growing Indian cosmetics market offers promising prospects for international brands. The growth rate in the cosmetics market reflects an increasing demand for beauty care products in India. Perfumes and fragrances, skin care, and hair care products are some of the major segments with promising prospects 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 many countries in Asia. The low market penetration of many cosmetics and personal care products offers room for growth. The Indian toiletries market is well developed and dominated by major multinational companies and a few large Indian players.

The urban population with increasing purchasing power is the major force driving demand for cosmetics and toiletries. India is a very pricesensitive market and mass-market products constitute the major part of the cosmetics and toiletries market. Indias import of cosmetics and toiletries and intermediate raw materials is around US$ 120 million, of which the U.S. has a share of approximately 10 percent. The objective of the study report is to analyze the consumer satisfaction level of different brands, particularly focused on the Lakme and Revlon products

Market Overview
The current size of the Indian cosmetic market is approximately US$ 600 million. Of this, the fastest growing segment is cosmetics, accounting for around US$ 60 million of the market. Industry sources estimate a rapid growth rate of 20 percent per annum across different segments of the cosmetics industry reflecting an increasing demand for all kinds of beauty and personal care product. Growth has come mainly from the low and medium-priced categories that account for 90 percent of the cosmetics market in terms of volume. Even with a 20 percent average growth rate, the per capita consumption of cosmetics is very low in India. Current per capita expenditure on cosmetics is approximately US$ 0.68 cents as compared to US$ 36.65 in 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. Also, with the boom in the Indian fashion world and the growth in the television industry, there has been a rise in demand for professional beauty care products. Cosmetic companies in India are placing increasing emphasis on market research and targeting new market segments such as teenagers, men and young women. Cosmetics constitute the high growth segments. Nail enamels and lipsticks account for around 65 percent of total color cosmetic sales in India. Lakme, a brand originally introduced by the Tata group of India, now bought over by Hindustan Lever (HLL) of the Unilever group, Tips & Toes, another domestic player, and Revlon dominate the US$ 60 million color cosmetics market. Multinationals, Revlon of the U.S. and L'Oreal's Maybelline has a dominant share of the small premium lipsticks and nail enamels market. Mass-market products account for a major share, while the premium segment accounts only for a mere 9 per cent in lipsticks and 5 per cent in nail enamels. Lipsticks account for nearly a third of the market at US$ 21 million, while the market for nail enamels is estimated at around US$ 23 million. The color cosmetics segment is very competitive and has a high penetration level of 80 percent. Most other cosmetic products are estimated to be used by less than 40 percent of the consumers. Market Trends Cosmetics 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. 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. Import Market Costs for importing products are much higher than producing it in the country. India allows entry of imported cosmetics without any restrictions but the average import tariff on cosmetics products is currently very high at 39.2 percent. This makes imported products very expensive for most consumers. Most foreign cosmetics companies selling premium brands have had a difficult time developing the low volume premium market in India. Many had to re-work price strategies towards the mass segment. Price is not the only reason responsible for their problems. Poor assessment of the size of the upper middle and high-income groups, and price sensitivity even within these groups, had added to their problems. Competition The Indian cosmetic market, which has been traditionally a stronghold of a few major Indian players like Lakme has seen a lot of foreign entrants like Revlon to the market within the last decade. India is a very price sensitive market and the cosmetics and personal care product companies, especially the new entrants have had to work out new innovative strategies to suit Indian preferences and budgets to establish a hold on the market and establish a niche market for themselves. Given the price-sensitivity of the Indian consumer who do not normally prefer to fork out a large sum at one time, many cosmetic companies launched their products in smaller pack sizes to make them more affordable. Lakme and Revlon were the first to introduce small pack

sizes. Revlon introduced its small-range of 8 ml nail polishes and lipsticks, and was soon followed it its strategy by major Indian companies as well. Small pack sizes have proved to be very popular in the Indian market as it offers a consumer lower purchase cost and the opportunity to try new products.

THE MARKETING CONCEPT The Marketing Concept was born out of the awareness that marketing starts with the determination of consumers wants and needs with the satisfaction of those wants. The concept puts the consumer both at the beginning and the end of the business cycle .It stipulates that any business should be organized around the marketing function, anticipating, stimulating and meeting customers requirements. The customer, not the corporation has to be the centre of the business universe. A business cannot succeed by supplying products and services that are not properly designed to serve the needs of the customers. Only the Marketing Concept is capable of keeping the organization free from marketing myopia.

MARKETING STRATEGY
Lakme: To Strongly Position The Brand On The Youth Platform. Lakme Lever is planning to revive its youth-oriented brand, Elle 18. Having put the brand on `maintenance' mode, this division of HLL was focusing on Lakme. Speaking to Business Line, Mr. Anil Chopra, Vice-President, said: "We are relooking at the Elle 18 brand." Launched in 1998, Elle 18 targeted the first-time cosmetic user and currently sports two product lines comprising lipsticks and nail enamel. "In the first three years, Elle 18 registered sharp growth rates and the purpose was to create a new segment of consumers," said Mr Chopra. At that point of time, Elle 18's main competitor in the youth-based cosmetics market was Tips & Toes, a brand that is almost non-existent today. Pricing strategy With a pricing that is almost one-third that of Lakme, Elle 18, of late, has also unleashed a campaign based on its products. "There was a change in our strategy in the past. While Lakme has been high on innovation, Elle 18 has been on maintenance mode. The brand has been growing at a lower rate than Lakme. But now we are now

relooking at Elle 18 as there is still no brand that is so sharply positioned on the youth platform," said Mr Chopra. There was a conscious price differential between the brands to attract the first generation users of cosmetics. So, while a Lakme Lipstick would have an MRP of Rs 165, an Elle 18 Lipstick was pegged at Rs 55. Meanwhile, Lakme Lever continues to innovate for its existing range of skincare and color cosmetics under the Lakme brand. It recently relaunched its skincare range under the name of Lakme Fundamentals. "While there is no new product, we will be upgrading the existing skin care range with new formulation and packaging," Mr Chopra said. In color cosmetics it has roped in designer Sabyasachi Mukerjee to unleash the `Free Spirit' range as part of its winter collection. "The overall beauty market has been growing between 15-20 per cent but we have been growing higher than the market." However, it is the salon business that has been registering the highest growth rates for Lakme Lever. "With a small base, our salon business has been growing the fastest," Mr. Chopra said.

There are plans to have 100 Lakme salons by the end of the year from the existing 92 salons across the country. Besides, Lakme Lever intends consolidating its hair care portfolio launched last year under the Lakme Hair Next brand. "We do not want to add to existing hair care products in the market. The brand has been launched in the hair styling category and we want to create awareness and educate our consumers without confusing them with more products," said Mr Chopra. Lakme Restages Its Opera Its turnaround sketch has got just a few strokes - grab the fashion platform, spruce up the supply-chain, and test the rural waters. High priestess of sacred Indian temple meets English army officer who's unwittingly strayed into holy ground. They fall in love. Her orthodox father vows vengeance... That's the story of Lakme, a 19th century opera written by Frenchman Leo Delibes, from which Simone Tata borrowed the name Lakme (French for Lakshmi, the name of the priestess). By 1999, the world looked set for a revised version of the work. Simone Tata was no longer on the scene. And a home-grown fashion brandoften personified as the high priestess of fashion in the country-had been sold to a multinational company whose provenance was English, well, Anglo-Dutch, actually-Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL).

Worse, with HLL not appearing too keen about the brand-the company, predictably, denies this-Lakm, the brand looked all set to follow the spirit of Lakm the opera (a tragedy). Lever was right. The aria, as is now evident, wasn't quite over. Standing amidst the jamboree of what is, arguably, India's first fashion summit, the Lakm India Fashion Week (LIFW for short), Anil Chopra, 51, the affable Director who heads Lakm Lever Ltd is bullish about the brand's new positioning: ''By taking on the fashion and glamour platform, we have, in a way, not just taken a lead (over others), but also got a virtual ownership of this plank. It will be very difficult for any other brand to adopt a similar approach.'' And reactions to the born-again Lakm at the LIFW did suggest that Chopra and the brand were on to a good thing. ''Lakm is at the forefront of product-innovation. Almost everyone has a Lakmsomething in their (cosmetics) collection,'' gushes Mumbai-based fashion choreographer Lubna Adams. So, is Lakm back? Getting the focus right A little bit of Lakm history: in 1995, Lakm Ltd (a Tata Group company) and HLL formed a 50:50 venture Lakm Lever that would market and distribute Lakm's products. In 1998, Lakm sold its brands (and the 50 per cent it owned in 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.

The FAQs: With Ponds becoming part of HLL, what happens to Lakm's skincare business? What does Lever's launch of Aviance mean for Lakm? And why is it so difficult to find Lakm products? Chopra accepts that distribution has been the company's Achilles heel for some time: ''The supply-chain hasn't been as robust as it should have been, but that has been the result of our efforts to reposition and reintroduce the brand.'' The positioning bit, although complex, is clear: Ponds is Lever's primary skincare brand; Lakm, its apparitional colour cosmetics brand, which also has a presence in skincare. The 'aspirational' qualification would mean Lakm would compete at what the company terms the 'upper-mass' (premium) end of the colour cosmetics spectrum (products priced between Rs 85 and Rs 250) where a 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 to ORG-MARG's retail audit, we have an 84 per cent share of the premium end of the colour cosmetics market.'' Chopra is quick to rubbish this claim; he says ORGMARG does not have a representative sample of the 60,000 outlets through which colour cosmetics are sold in India. Likely outcome by the strategy The premium segment, however, is just a slice of the Indian market for colour cosmetics (estimated size: Rs 275 crore). Today, the company has three brands: Lakm itself, which will be positioned as a fashion-brand;

Elle 18, which has enjoyed success as a college-girl brand; and Orchid, a super-premium brand that hasn't really seen much excitement since its 1999-relaunch. The company plans to re-re-launch Orchid by end-2000, and is testmarketing Elka, a brand targeted at the lowest-end of the colour cosmetics market. The brand, Chopra claims, could also catalyse Lakm's entry into the hinterland, but only if tests show there is a rural market for colour cosmetics. Says Nikhil Vora, 28, Portfolio Advisor, Sharekhan.com: ''Though rural markets are big potential, a company has to think of segments carefully. Any expansion into new areas should be justified by returns.'' Lakm will remain a loner in the Lever stable: Unilever does not have a presence in the colour cosmetics segment. That means Lakm Lever will have to depend on its own kitchen garden. But a focused-most of its skincare business and all of its exports business have been taken on by HLL-Lakm does seem to be on a come-back trail. It's still the second act, but this opera could well have a happy ending.

Lakme's Profile
Lakm is an Indian brand of cosmetics, owned by Unilever. Lakme started as a 100% subsidiary of Tata Group (Tomco), it was named after the French opera Lakm. At the time of its establishment, Indian cosmetic industry was rather nacent, and there was a very small market base. Simone Tata joined the company as director, and went on to become its chairman. When Tata's saw a bigger growth potential in the retail market, and greater competition from global companies in cosmetics, they enetered into a 50-50 joint venture with Hindustan Lever Limited (the Indian subsidiary of Unilever) in 1995 to form Lakme Lever. In 1998 Tata sold of there stakes in Lakm Lever to to HLL, for Rs 200 Crore (45 million US$), and went on to create Trent and Westside. Half a century ago, as India took her steps into freedom, Lakme, India's first beauty brand was born. At a time when the beauty industry in India was at a nascent stage, Lakme tapped into what would grow to be amongst the leading, high consumer interest segments in the Indian Industry - that of skincare and cosmetic products. Armed with a potent combination of foresight, research and constant innovation, Lakme has grown to be the market leader in the cosmetics industry. Lakme today has grown to have a wide variety of products and services that cover all facets of beauty care, and arm the consumer with products to pamper herself from head to toe. These include products for

the lips, nails, eyes, face and skin, and services like the Lakme Beauty Salons About LAKM The Carreras family established LAKM Cosmetics in 1997 and is independent, self-financed and family owned. The family has over 40 years of manufacturing experience in salon products. Lakm East a regional distributor of Lakm Cosmetics with its main office in Colchester is conveniently placed to provide you with all the guidance back up and support youll ever need. The Products LAKM leading hair care products are developed exclusively for distribution to hair and beauty salons. Branding and packaging of the product range is first class and they are tested and manufactured solely for this brand name and no other. The very best raw materials are used in manufacture using the latest technology and adopting the highest levels of hygiene. All product formulation is in accordance with the health standards of the European Union and the United States Food & Drug Administration and is subject to ISO 9002 certification.

The Promotion
Powerful point-of-sale displays are supplied FREE OF CHARGE for customer sales and your own use, with freestanding display units highlighting the unique quality and variety of your products and enhancing the quality of your sales and service. Combine this with FREE ongoing in-

salon education and you have the perfect basis to grow your business for yourself, but not by yourself. Lakme expands skin care products Lakme, the Indian cosmetics giant has expanded the range of skin care products it markets in Sri Lanka, and unveiled the company's new international logo and image, Lakme's local distributor Hemas Marketing (Pte) Ltd., has announced. Launched in Colombo earlier this month, the addition to the Lakme skin care range are the Lakme Nourishing Cold Cream, Nourishing Body Lotion, pH-Balanced Face Wash, Calamine Lotion, Sun Screen Lotion and Hair Remover. Prior to the launch of these products, Hemas Marketing was responsible for the distribution of Lakme Maximum Moisturiser and Lakme Deep Pore Cleansing Milk, which the company will continue to market in new packaging.

Revlon Profile
Revlon is a world leader in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance and personal care and is a leading mass market cosmetics brand. Our vision is to provide glamour, excitement and innovation through quality products at affordable prices. To pursue this vision, Revlon's management team combines the creativity of a cosmetics and fashion company with the marketing, sales and operating system of a consumer packaged goods company. Our global brand name recognition, product quality and marketing experience have enabled us to create one of the strongest consumer brand franchises in the world, with our products sold in approximately 175 countries and territories. Revlon's brands include Revlon, ColorStay, New Complexion, Revlon Age Defying, Almay, Ultima II and Flex and Charlie. Revlon was founded in 1932, by Charles Revson and his brother Joseph, along with a chemist, Charles Lachman, who contributed the "L" in the REVLON name. Starting with a single product - a nail enamel unlike any before it the three founders pooled their meager resources and developed a unique manufacturing process. Using pigments instead of dyes, Revlon was able to offer to woman a rich-looking, opaque nail enamel in a wide variety of shades never before available. Revlon's first beauty item was nail enamel. Opaque and long-lasting, it was an improvement over the more transparent, dye-based products of

other manufacturers. Revlon's nail polish owed its superiority to the use of pigments, which also allowed a wider color range than the light red, medium red, and dark red then available. Initially, the revolutionary "cream enamel" came from the tiny Elka company, in Newark, New Jersey, a polish supplier to beauty salons for whom Charles Revson began to work as a sales representative in 1931. Charles Revson and his older brother Joseph distributed Elka nail polish as Revson Brothers. Within a year, however, Charles Revson decided to open his own nail polish company, going into partnership with his brother and a nail polish supplier named Charles R. Lachman, who contributed the "l" to the Revlon name. Revlon was formed on March 1, 1932.

Revlon had a keen fashion instinct, honed by his seven years of

sales experience at the Pickwick Dress Company in New York. Coupling this with his experience at Elka, he noted that the permanent wave boom was making beauty salons more popular and that demand for manicures was rising in tandem. He therefore targeted beauty salons as a market niche--a fortunate choice whose importance would grow. Within its first nine months, the company boasted sales of $4,055. There was a sharp rise in sales to $11,246 in 1933, the year the company incorporated as Revlon Products Corporation. At the end of 1934, the company had grossed $68,000. By 1937, sales multiplied more than 40 times. In that year, Revson decided to enlarge his market by retailing his nail polish through department stores and selected drugstores. This gave him access to more affluent customers as well as those with a moderate

amount of money to spend on beauty products. Formulating a maxim he followed for the rest of his life, Revson steered clear of cut-rate stores, selling his product only at premium prices. Marketing strategy Postwar sales strategy, too, was influenced by increases in spending and department store credit sales. Returning interest in dress sparked the company's twice-yearly nail enamel and lipstick promotions, which were crafted in anticipation of the season's clothing fashions. Each promotion featured a descriptive color name to tempt the buyer, full-color spreads in fashion magazines, color cards showing the range of colors in the promotion, and display cards reproducing or enlarging consumer ads. Packaging was designed specifically for each line. The Fire and Ice promotion for fall 1952 was one of the most successful. Its features included the cooperation of Vogue magazine, which planned its November issue around the lipstick and nail enamel, "push" money given to demonstrators in stores without Revlon sales staff to insure full retail coverage, and radio endorsements written into scripts for performers such as Bob Hope and Red Skelton. These efforts produced excellent publicity and helped to raise 1952 net sales to almost $25.5 million. The company received its next boost from its 1955 sole sponsorship of the CBS television show The $64,000 Question. Though initially reluctant to go ahead with this project, Revson was persuaded by the success of rival Hazel Bishop, whose sponsorship of This is Your Life was providing serious competition for Revlon's lipsticks. Attracting a weekly audience of 55

million people, The $64,000 Question topped the ratings within four weeks of its debut. Revlon's advertising budget for the year, $7.5 million, proved Charles Revson's adage that publicity had to be heavy to sell cosmetics; as a result of the television show, sales of some products increased 500 percent, and net sales for 1955 grew to $51.6 million, from $33.6 million one year previously. Takeover strategy The 1970s began with annual sales of about $314 million. The Cosmetics and Fragrances division, its six lines separately aimed, advertised, and marketed, was the industry leader in all franchised retail outlets. Revlon fragrances, such as Norell and Intimate for women and Braggi and Pub for men, had also become familiar to U.S. consumers. Revlon also had a new line of wig-maintenance products called Wig Wonder. An important 1970 acquisition was the Mitchum Company of Tennessee, makers of antiperspirants and other toiletries. Mitchum joined the Thayer Laboratories subsidiary, formerly Knomark. Mitchum-Thayer division's widely publicized products required a 1971 advertising budget of $4 million. In 1973, Revlon introduced Charlie, a fragrance designed for the working woman's budget. Geared to the under-30 market, Charlie models in Ralph Lauren clothes personified the independent woman of the 1970s. Charlie was an instant success, helping to raise Revlon's net sales figures to $506 million for 1973 and to almost $606 million the following year.

Strategy formulation framework

Revlon
CRITICAL SUCCSES FACTOR PRICE WEIG HT 0.15 RATI NG 3 WEIGH TED SCORE 0.45

Lakme
RATI NG 4 WEIGH TED SCORE 0.60

FINANCIAL POSITION CONSUME R LOYALTY ADVERTISI NG PRODUCT QUALITY INNOVATI ON MARKET SHARE MANAGEM ENT GLOBAL EXPANSIO N TOTAL

0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.15 0.10 0.06 0.15 1

3 4 3 4 3 4 3 3

0.43 0.40 0.30 0.40 0.45 0.40 0.18 0.45 3.33

4 4 3 3 3 2 3 4

0.40 0.40 0.30 0.30 0.45 0.20 0.18 0.60 3.43

OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
To find out the impact of Lakme and Revlon informative Cosmetics consumer. To study the effect of Consumer Satisfaction on the Products on the brand switching behavior of the

marketability of Cosmetic products. To know the impact of various striking features on buyers behavior. To know the media access by consumers to know about Cosmetics Products. To know various cosmetics product range in the market level for Cosmetic Products (Nail Enamels, Lotions, Shampoo).

STRENGTH Marketing & Sales A commitment to innovate, Expand and excel:All India network of sales and distribution with service reaching to two hundred thousand outlets via a network of twelve hundred distributors. Twenty- One Depots spread across the country integrated through a single IT network. A 300 plus professional field force serving the distributors and the main retail stores on a regular basis. Marketing Department comprising of seasoned professionals ever adaptive to market dynamics. Association with top of the line advertising agencies to communicate and connect its brands to the consumers. Technology Center Providing and maintaining the international quality that the consumer deservesQualified team of technologists and scientists endeavoring to adapt formulations, develop new products & packaging.

Well equipped laboratory to control and meet the international quality standards of our products. Consumer Preferences of Cosmetics Toplines Buying Preferences Among cosmetics, more than half the consumers want Lipsticks the most. Nail Polish is a distant second. Mid and Premium price range are the most preferred.

Advertising Recall Only Lakme ads recalled significantly by consumers at the unaided level. When prompted for cosmetics, Lakme ads dominate the top of mind ad recall among consumers. Revlon ads also recalled noticeably. Brand Preferences Lakme is the only cosmetic brand getting significant brand recall at the unaided level. Revlon and LOreal recalled noticeably. When prompted for cosmetics, Lakme dominates the category in consumer minds in a big way, be it for brand recall or for intention to buy. Revlon a distant second on both counts.

Promotional schemes offered by Lakme and Revlon

Promotions have emerged as the most economical and effective way to establish a personal rapport with your customers. They have always been a part of the consumers product s game, but nowadays, its almost like one cant buy a tooth brush without having to tote a detergent bar home as well. A gift on a festive occasion or free with the purchase of a certain product goes miles in leaving a favourable mark on the minds of your customers. Marketing heads are exploring the effectiveness of each and every product as a gift to boost sales. This frenzy has led to a deluge in the range of innovative products entering this market. Infact, the type of products entering the gifting and promotional category is simply mind-boggling and differ from product to product. The type of products offered as a promotional item range from a small ball pen to expensive electronic items. Infact, the meaning of the term gift seems to have attained a wider meaning. People tend to offer just about any thing under the label Free Gift Inside. Value Perception could be one reason why this freebie strategy is more effective. Five rupees off means five rupees less to the manufacturer, but a gift item which sells for five rupees might be sourced for just Rs. 1- 2, making the offer far more cost effective.

Large MNCs like the Levers, Godrej, Philips,revlon etc. have resorted to

giving their own lesser known brands free with their popular brands and vice-versa. This automatically tends to reflect a better sales volume as far as both the brands are concerned. The companies tend to save their promotional expenses and utilise the same to generate better sales in the respective brands. This trend is extensively practiced by the electronic industry. The companies like AIWA and Videocon have been known to offer irresistible freebies like: a walkman or a small sound system free on the purchase of a colour television, over 10 CDs free with a purchase of a sound system etc. Such moves by these companies forced better-established brands like Onida etc. think on their feet. This trend has come in as a zephyr to the lesser popular brands striving to establish themselves in the market. Companies that cannot invest a heavy sum in promotion or cannot afford to engage in a massive sampling exercise simply tie up with better-known brands for their products to be offered as free gifts. This acts as a mutual benefit for both the parties, as one achieves better sales while the other achieves better exposure at a very nominal expense. There tends to be a small amount of exploitation of a few lesserknown brands in such exercises, but every thing The latest trend as a promotional strategy that has set the marketing arena abuzz is contests. Every second brand seems to be running a contest to actively involve the buyer in his brand. The prizes given out by companies in contests range from gold, diamonds to cars, homes and free trips abroad. The companies are tying up big celebs and running contests where the customer gets to

dine with his favourite star on winning the contest. Recently Axe for its brand of deodorant Vodoo actually booked a far away island in Kerela and held the longest dance party. Customers had to correctly answer the questions in the form placed in its pack to qualify for this party. Another womens wear store Scullers actually ran a competition for the women in Bangalore where one could actually design a garment of their choice tops, trousers, capris, skirts and shorts - and have it hit the Scullers Womens wear shelves. Infact a leading cosmetic company Lakme also ran a similar promotion where customers could create a shade and give it the name of their choice. It is not only the customer who is being lured by such marketing gimmicks. The companies are running extensive schemes for the dealers too. Bell ceramics had recently organised a largest party in the ceramics industry for their dealers at Tikujinis Wadi, Thane. The dealers along with their whole family were invited to this party. Apart from luscious snacks there was a whole lot of entertainment activities like games, competitions etc. for children.

But at the end of the day what emanates as the greatest question is, the companies may have no doubt charged a premium for their products and services earlier but how safe are they by indulging in such practices? Are the companies really benefiting by sacrificing on their profit margins? Or is it as one of a customer puts it They have been charging exorbitant premiums earlier, its time they returned some.-No one would know except the horse himself

SUGGESTIONS
I would like to suggest few points over which a thought can be given to overcome that drawback due to which some of the problems are faced by the products of Lakme and Revelon Products. 1. Company should encourage solving the customers complaint. Customer satisfaction should be the ultimate aim so that customer complaints should be removal. 2. Promotion by local advertisement can also help in promoting Sales of the products. 3. 4. More promotional schemes should be introduced for customers. Timely feedback should be taken so that all the problems can be easily removed. 5. The company should provide good margin for distributorship.

FINDINGS
The products of Revlon Groups of Companies are the leading choice in New Mumbai and it is far ahead from its competitors in terms of customers. The products of Revlon Groups of Companies are preferred because of its low price and easily available. While other branded companies product are not preferred due to high price and brand loyalty. The advantages which the products of Lakme Groups of Companies shares over other branded companies products are as follows. 1. The products of Revlon Groups of Companies are preferred because of its low price and easily available. While other branded products are not preferred due to high price and brand loyalty. 2. The products of Lakme Groups of Companies are easily available at easy payments and had a very good after sales retailer services. 3. People who are more conscious about their health are more aware about products and therefore prefer the products of Revlon Groups of Companies. 4. Users of personnel & Health care products also generally prefer for buying the products of Revlon Groups of Companies.

CONCLUSION
The overall average sales of Revlon Products are 54.9% in all markets and Lakme Products are 45.1% in all markets. The average sales in different markets are as follows :-

The average Sales Across East Mumbai markets are 50.2%

respectively.

The average Sales across West Mumbai markets are 48.9%

respectively.

The average sales across North Mumbai markets is 42.1%

respectively.

The average sales of Lakme & Revlon across South Mumbai markets
is 37.2 % respectively. The figure reveal that Lakme & Revlon has good market penetration in all most all the market covered in the survey where compared to its competitions, Like HLL, NIVEA and Others. Still there is a need to Promote Lakme to reach at the level of product like ponds, pears etc. Monthly survey should be conducted to improve its brand image and increase customer loyalty.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
The essence of the report, are inspired and collected by these sources, listed in this chapter, not fully but partially as advisory notes.

WEBSITES

www.lakmeindia.com www.revlon.co.in