Marketing Strategy Of Zil Limited Marketing Essay

Published: 23rd March, 2015 Last Edited: 23rd March, 2015

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In Fast Moving Consumer Goods sector, personal care industry plays a key role in enhancing the
confidence and self-image in consumers by presenting new products leading to new trends in the
market [1] . This attracts the attention of many businesses due to increasing market size as the average
annual growth of market is about 16% per year [2] . However in such an industry where there is such
immense competition, in order to maintain a sustained and sound competitive position in the market
companies should not only be profitable now rather for survival in the future they should have a clear
understanding of "What they are now" and "Where do they want to be?" [3] And here strategic
marketing plays a key role in order to formulate strategies which enable the firm to achieve its corporate
objectives.

Everything in this world has a life so is the case with a product - limited life. In Product Life Cycle there
comes a stage in the life cycle of a product where sometimes it requires thinking beyond its current
state, going deeper to re-work on it and re-launch it either to entirely reposition it, to revive a brand or
entirely take it to another differentiated level [4] . This restructuring is required by many of the brands
not only when they are failing but also to improve their current sales mix and most importantly market
share and profits to enhance their competitive position.

This study will mainly assess the factors leading to decline in market share of ZIL Limited particularly
after the re-launch of the Capri Personal Care Range in June 2011 - as the firm performed major
transformation in order to reposition Capri by changing the marketing mix - upgraded the product,
packaging and promotions to transform its image of being a luxurious family soap to a Personal Care
brand [5] . However instead of improvement in the market share of the firm the company started to lose
even their existing market share. What went wrong then? Was the re-launch of Capri a wrong move by
the firm or timing of re-launch was a factor which led to negative results? More specifically the study will
critically analyze the existing marketing strategies of the company to get answers to all of such questions
and also to highlight key area of improvement for the firm in order to improve their relative position in
the market.

This Chapter will give you an overview about ZIL Limited - its history, mission, vision, products and
services offered by the company along with the key objectives and core values of the firm which are
acting as growth drivers in today's time.

COMPANY OVERVIEW

ZIL Limited (formerly known as Zulfeqar Industries Ltd) started its business in Hyderabad in 1954 initially
Ali family being its owner, in order to enhance the business and to cater to the growing demand they
bought a factory by the name of Zulfeqar Industries Ltd in 1980; this name of business was made official
after getting it registered on Karachi and Lahore Stock Exchange in 1986 [6] . ZIL Limited has the
expertise in its business due to about 50 years experience of working in the industry - soap
manufacturing. The company's product portfolio consists of well-known brands such as Capri,Palmy and
Opal - which make ZIL Limited one of the leading soap manufacturing and marketing companies in the
Pakistan. It not only provides products for home customers rather than the customized products are also
available for it's out of home customers which mainly are offices, hotels, restaurants, industries, hyper
market chains [7] .

Vision

ZIL Limited's Vision is to "to create a feeling of well-being among people and make their lives a little
easier and more beautiful" [8] .

Mission

ZIL Limited's mission is "to ensure growth & profitability by extending product portfolio in other
categories of HPC business in domestic & international markets and to continuously improve system and
products to enhance customer satisfaction" [9] .

Objectives

The corporate objectives of ZIL Limited are as follows [10] :

To develop a high performance culture, through training and motivating employees.

To implement effective MIS in order to integrate business processes and speed-up decision making
process.

To assure quality at every production step and enhance design quality.

Proper optimization of resources to ensure business competitiveness.

Core Values

The core values of ZIL Limited which are acting as key drivers for the company are [11] :

Source: "Values at ZIL Limited" Annual Report ZIL Limited 2011, page 5.

PRODUCTS AT ZIL LIMITED

The main products of ZIL Limited include the following:

Capri

Capri is the main brand of ZIL Limited which has strong brand recognition followed by a strong presence
in the beauty soap market. Capri Natural Skin Care range is positioned as brand in the premium segment.
In order to reestablish Capri as a key player in the market, company made major transformation in the
main brand. Moreover new variants were also introduced in the category for example Capri Moisturizing
with Aloe Vera, Rose Petal and Capri Refreshing with sea mineral extracts and the other variant with tea
and white Orchid [12] . The firm has also made brand extensions to the parent brand Capri by launching
Capri Face wash and Capri Hand Wash range. Capri Product Range.jpg

Initially the 'face wash 'was considered as a niche product for a premium market. However recognizing
the current needs of the market Capri penetrate into face wash category as well providing natural
ingredients such as Aloe Vera and cucumber extracts; providing deep cleansing for glowing skin [13] .

On the other hand ZIL Limited also enhanced its product portfolio by introducing Hand Wash with
variants such as Capri Aloe, Capri Pink and Capri Refreshing - this will help company to strengthen its
personal care range in the market.

Palmy236.gif

Palmy Soap an important product for the company is popular among the target market who wants
beauty care within the affordable beauty soap category [14] . Palmy soap was re-launched in 2001 to
revitalize the brand and to strengthen its position in the market by enhancing the characteristics of the
product.

Opalopal-4.png

Opal is characterized on the basis of its innovative packaging which involves the concept of multi-packs
i.e. four soaps in one pack and hence it provide those consumers a good solution who want best value
for money [15] . Opal is present in two variants currently in the market which are 'Opal Beauty' for
glowing skin and the other one is 'Opal plus' for refreshing skin [16] .

King Swan

King Swan is a significant brand of ZIL Limited representing its Home Care product range. It is a type of
laundry soap that not only maintains the freshness of clothes but also enhances the colors making them
brighter and radiant [17] .king-swan.jpg

EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS

MARKETING STRATEGY OF ZIL LIMITED

The soap industry in Pakistan is in the growing stage as the rate of growth in soap industry is about 9.8%
per year [18] and due to change in the socio-cultural factors the personal care has become a part of life
of the people. On the other hand, considering the main brand of ZIL Limited so the product in back 2010
was close to the maturity stage of its product lifecycle as it was experiencing a sharp decrease in its sales
and it was losing its market share to other competitors such as LUX and Palmolive.

The company recently then re-launched Capri brand in 2011 in order to reposition its image in the mind
of the consumers to give a more contemporary look and image and to enhance its brand equity. This
decision was majorly based on observing the competitive situation of the market and their strategies
rather than the specialized market research. ZIL Limited in this case would be considered as a 'follower'
as it changed the marketing mix of its brands by observing what others i.e.' competitors are doing in the
market place specifically the LUX which is currently the market share leader. ZIL Limited has a main
marketing objective to enjoy share growth. This is particularly aimed at achieving greater market share
through targeting new customers by actually reviving the image of its brand Capri.

Market Strategies

Target Market

The primary target market for Capri soap is young belonging to socio-economic class A and B. Moreover
the new Capri is targeted for consumers having a mindset towards modern beliefs who appreciate the
values of beauty and personal care [19] .

Positioning of Capri

As for the Capri re-launch, the brand was entirely repositioned by upgrading of the features of the core
product to give it a more modern look in order to transform its brand image from being a toilet soap to a
Personal Care brand by focusing on the marketing mix of the brand and modifying the product and the
promotional strategies [20] .

Marketing Mix

The discussion of the marketing mix i.e.; 4P's of Capri soap is given below:

(a) Product

Capri is currently present is various new variants such as Capri Moisturizing with Aloe Vera, Rose Petal
and Capri Refreshing with sea mineral extracts and the other variant with tea and white Orchid [21] .
Recognizing the current needs of the market Capri penetrate into face wash category as well providing
natural ingredients such as Aloe Vera and cucumber extracts; providing deep cleansing for glowing
skin [22] . Capri is currently available in sizes such as 40gms, 80gms, 115gms and 155gms in the market.
Capri also has its brand extensions such as Capri Hand wash and Capri Face wash. In the new Capri the
fragrance of the product is also changed by making it more intense; also the packaging of the soap was
changed from hard cover to a soft cover [23] .

(b) Price

New Capri is considered as a premium product of ZIL Limited and is offering a brand to the consumers - a
value for money. The consumers in this category are less sensitive to the movement of prices. The price
of Capri soap 40gms is Rs. 15, 75gms is Rs.30 and 115gms is Rs. 42, 155gms in Rs. 50. Whereas the
bundle pack nowadays is being offered with three soap bars of 115gms at a price of Rs. 116.

(c) Place

Capri has a large distribution network within Pakistan. Their main manufacturing facility is based at
Hyderabad. An Intensive Distribution strategy is adopted by ZIL Limited after the re-launch and the brand
is available at various retail outlets stores and supermarkets in the cities. The purpose of this distribution
is easier availability for the target market and in this way the visibility of the product has also improved.
The modern retail - wholesale centers such as Metro and Makro are the source of about 40% of the sales
of Capri brand hence they play a crucial role in the sales [24] .

(d) Promotion

The awareness levels of the target market regarding Capri soap was made better by making effective
promotional campaigns after the re-launch of the brand. For this matter the use of electronic media as
well as print media was made. The company increased its marketing expenditure in 2011. For the sales
promotion, the intermediaries involved (retailers) were provided with various gifts items in order to
achieve the required sales level [25] . Moreover bundle pack schemes were introduced by the company
to provide an incentive to the consumer to induce them for trial purchase.

VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS

Michael Porter (1985) suggested the idea to analyze that how through a set/ chain of various activities in
product to depict how customer gathers value. In the whole process the value chain is entire set of
various kinds of steps, activities, strategies performed to product the final product, market it and deliver
it to the end customer and also to provide with after-sale services [26] . These primary and support
activities in case of ZIL Limited are as follows:

Primary Activities

Inbound & Outbound Logistics

Improvement in supply chain management is the key focus of ZIL Limited at this time in order to improve
efficiency and further decrease the level of costs. For that purpose the firm is trying to increase its
current distribution network over the entire country and also to improve information sharing among
them. To support the logistics functions of ZIL Limited, the distribution centers and warehouse are
available in all big cities of the country - transportation facility is also provided by the distributors for the
delivery of stock to the retailers as well as wholesale centers.

Operations

Since the company focus has changed now so in order to make the operations of the firm more efficient -
focus has been more towards reducing costs and increasing the sales.

In order to improve business relationships the firm is now taking steps to improve its relationship with
the other retailers and wholesalers so that through this way they can improve the visibility of their
product in the market. The manufacturing facility for ZIL Limited is located in Karachi which incorporates
all the required facilities to support the production process. Company has also started focusing more on
the communications channel to reach to their existing channel.

Marketing and Sales

The company has recently tried to improve the marketing of its product by actually re-launching the
Capri soap. Already the soap lost its existing consumers then again it was re-launched to provide it with a
new brand image. Previously there was much emphasis on word of mouth in case of its advertising
however realizing the potential of increasing competition the communication strategy was revisited and
hence new marketing campaigns for Capri were developed; which included a new brand ambassador for
the product as well from the Media Industry. Secondly the other promotional activities were also
increased and in this way bundle packs were introduced for promotion purposes in order to encourage
the purpose of Capri soap. The company in short improved its channels of communication.

Customer Service

The firm is not only responsible till it delivers the product to the customer rather than that it is the point
from where the firm starts to build a relationship with the consumer because consumer will experience
the product only after its purchase and the product performance and the expectations of the consumer
if they match then the consumer will have an extra-value for the product which he/she has bought and
hence his experience will encourage him to further repurchase the product. The use of other software in
order to improve the relationship with the customers for example the order management in which the
firms can keep the track that how much of the stock is available with the wholesaler and also for the
customer relationship management [27] .

Support Activities

Firm Infrastructure

ZIL Limited is operating in Home and Personal Care industry and has its business spread mainly over the
entire country while the main focus of the business are the major cities of Pakistan. For this purpose the
Head office for the company is located in Karachi which was recently modified entirely with a new look.
This production facility is also based there with the latest technological equipment and also facilities.

Human Resource Management

ZIL Limited believes in the fact that their human capital is their sole asset which can prove to be
beneficial for the growth of the firm. The strategy at ZIL Limited is to empower the employees by giving
them the space to actually try what they want to achieve which is concurrent to the corporate
strategy [28] .

ZIL Limited conducts various projects and training programs over the year - for the new hiring ZIL Limited
believes in hiring those people who are talented, creative and responsible enough to enhance their
capabilities and to increase their performance. For that purpose in recruitment special careful attention
is given to the people being recruited in sales and marketing as the performance of those people directly
impact the revenue of the firm. Other than this various training programs are also conducted for the
employees - these training sessions help the employees to upgrade their knowledge and skills.

Technology and R&D

ZIL Limited believes in continuously upgrading the technology most importantly the information
management system - which further results from the up gradation of the infrastructure. Considering the
information system at ZIL Limited, the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has been implemented in the
organization since 2011 in order for the effective operations of the firm. In order to smoothly run the
sales and distribution process a sales software system has been implemented in Karachi initially for the
test run after the successful implementation of this software there it will be implemented according at
all the major cities of the country at ZIL Limited offices [29] . This software will help track the sales record
and the stock position at the distributors end as well.

Procurement

The primary goal of ZIL Limited is to maximize the overall supply chain value for the firm while fulfilling
the demand of the customer. For this purpose the operational costs should be reduced over the entire
supply chain and hence in this way profitability of the firm can improve [30] . For this purpose flexibility
in operations and the high responsiveness of firm is required in the supply chain to meet the customer
demands.

SWOT ANALYSIS

Evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of ZIL Limited will help identify the competencies which can be
capitalized upon in the long run; also, the deficiencies in the firm could then be reduced by taking
appropriate actions. The SWOT Analysis for the firm is given below:

Strengths

The strength of Capri lies in the brand image - the popularity that the soap has in the beauty soap
category among all the socio-economic classes. The various variants of the soap enable Capri to make a
good presence in all the categories of personal care range products. Capri has a high mass appeal as
compared to the other soaps. Company has a strong brand portfolio focusing on both premium as well
as value for money range category which helps ZIL Limited to maintain a strong position in the market.

Weaknesses

Capri soap has an image of being soap especially for the modern women - previously it had an image of
being a family soap after the repositioning its focus has entirely changed from being a family brand to a
modern brand and due to this it is forgoing a large chunk of the target market i.e.; the male group. Firm
has currently less focus towards the promotional strategies which is detrimental to the sales of Capri - a
need to revisit those promotional strategies is required. Capri even after such popularity has an image of
being a brand of secondary choice rather than primary - there is a need to work on the desirability of the
brand.

Opportunities

Soap industry is currently in growing stage - considering the brand extensions of Capri such as face wash
and hand wash etc so the market currently has a potential for such type of personal products. Change in
life style of the people also plays a positive role in the success of the industry - consumers are being
more knowledgeable than ever and hence they are willing to try new products relating to personal care
range. Increasing population is also positive sign for the company as they will have larger amount of
target market than ever.

Threats

Considering the threats for the firm, so firstly personal care industry has high level of threat of new
entrants and increasing level of new firms in the market are creating a threat for the firm in case of
market share. Large number of MNC's are already leading the market whereas the local companies are
following the strategies of those foreign companies in an attempt to get brand loyalty like those. ZIL
Limited currently is operating only in the personal care range which can be a threat for the company as if
the target market changes its preferences or if the personal goes through any declining stages. Extensive
need for R&D and technological change is required in order maintain a strong position in the market.

LITERATURE REVIEW

LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter includes the critical analysis of the literature on the FMCG sector specifically the soap
industry of Pakistan. It gives an overview of how

An Overview of the FMCG Industry

In any economy, FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) sector acts as important contributor to the
economy and it is also known as one of the biggest industry of the world [31] . Even with the instability
in the economic condition of the country along with other key challenges in the external environment -
still there exists many factors which contribute positively to the growth of this sector [32] . Factors such
as increase in population, increasing urbanization, changes in the socio-cultural factors and the fact that
almost about a major portion of population lies under the age of 20 years are all the factors which
provide FMCG sector with an assured and sustainable future growth5.

Considering the FMCG sector of Pakistan, it is characterized by strong presence of the Multinational
Companies along with few local key players leading to an intense competition in the industry. Within the
FMCG sector there are various categories such as Home and Personal Care (HPC), Oral Care, Skin and
Hair care etc. Consumer Goods sector is one of the fastest growing sectors even global FMCG sector
research shows that the consumer base globally will reach to 2.5 billion people [33] in 2012 which shows
an immense potential for growth in this industry. However considering the economic condition of
Pakistan, so the Real GDP growth rate in 2011-12 is almost 3.7% [34] which has further led to increase in
the consumption behavior and is showing a positive trend and outlook of the retail as well as the
wholesale industry. Moreover as the FMCG industry growth is directly correlated with the economy,
hence a positive growth trend in this industry will help to contribute towards the GDP of the country.
According to Economic Intelligence Report, the aggregate consumer demand in Asiais on the increasing
trend and for the case of soaps and cleaners it is expected to increase by 11% in 2012 [35] .
Home and Personal Care Industry (HPC) in Pakistan

Within the FMCG sector, the Home and Personal Care (HPC) segment plays a significant role and is
considered as one of the main segment driving the profitability of the firm.Considering the product mix
within the industry so there is a diverse set of products which caters to various demographics and
psychographics groups. Major categories within the Home and Personal Care (HPC) segment are beauty
soaps, detergents, shampoos,fabric conditioners, etc.

Change in socio-cultural environment and increasing number of consumers are the few main factors
which have transformed the dynamics of the HPC industry. Another major factor is that the consumers
are now well-informed about their needs, they want to get best out of their money and for this they
want a product which can act as a longer-term solution rather than for a short time. Such factors have
not only increased the depth of the market, created various niche's but also have intensified the
competition. Currently the HPC market is in the stage of growth but over the few years it is expected that
the growth in this particular industry will slow down and this will lead to the maturity stage of the
industry [36] . The competiveness is quite intense within the industry especially due to the thrifty
consumers which are price sensitive and hence there arises an opportunity for all those manufacturers
who produce counterfeit products offering at a much lower price. Many of the private labels have have
entered the market and they are catering to the mass market and following penetration pricing to make
their place in the market and many of the consumers resort to such products due to either income
constraints or the unawareness about the product. Not only this but also the incidence of bringing in the
smuggled soap in to the country is quite prevalent these days which is affecting the sales of all other
manufacturers who are providing quality products to the consumers.

Considering the key players in the Personal care industry of Pakistan so currently Unilever, Colgate
Palmolive, ZIL Limited, Reckitt and Benckiser, IFFCO Pakistan Limited, etc which is offering beauty soaps
such as LUX, Palmolive, Dettol, Royal Lather, Hoor, Dibet, Pears. Considering the total market size for the
soap industry, so it is estimated to be around 300,000 tons per year and also there has been observed a
lot of trend in using the antibacterial soaps and in few years it is expected that the sales of these soaps
will further increase [37] .The market analysis shows that almost 50% of the market share is taken by the
beauty soaps, whereas 40% signifies the share of the antibacterial soaps followed by the share of 10% in
other categories. However within the antibacterial soap category Safeguard has a share of 39%, Lifebuoy
with 33%, followed by a market share of 17% and 11% of Dettol and Palmolive respectively [38] .
Chemical companies also have a strong correlation with the sales of the personal care products and
about 40% of their sales mix is dependent on such industries which mainly include Home and Personal
Care (HPC) industry. This sector has been of great importance to the chemical companies due to high
profit margin of around 10% to 30% and also the fact that currently it accounts for over $10billion of
sales through personal care industry [39] .

Challenges to Personal Care Segment

Considering the Home and Personal Care Segment so due to the adverse economic condition of the
country the demand of such products can get affected as changes in the economic condition or inflation
immediately gets translated into the changes in the disposable income of the consumers which further
in affect changes the level of purchasing power. Although the multinational companies are offering
products with high quality and benefits but still being a luxury item the economic environment can have
a negative effect on the demand in the difficult times [40] .

Another major challenge for the local industry players is that currently there is a high domination of
multinational companies present - local players on one side are catering mainly to the mass market
whereas the other MNC's have more diverse range of products available for various categories hence
they grab a larger chunk of the market. Reason for this imbalance share lies not only in the difference in
investment in capital and expertise by the domestic and multinational firms rather than differences in
the marketing strategies also seem to be a major factor [41] . More specifically the international brands
have much stronger communication channels to connect with the consumer; along with the wide strong
distribution network which ensures the availability of the product at each and every end of the country.

Efficient management of supply chain in the current time is also a major challenge for all the FMCG
companies present as it affects the product visibility in the market which further affects the sales
revenue of the firm. Moreover the current change in the modern trade has led to companies to move
larger retail stores for example HYPERSTAR and METRO - Cash & Carry. This arises a challenge for such
firm that how they can enhance their product visibility in such stores either by offering trade discounts
or other promotional activities - as currently about half of the sales revenues of all the MNC's and local
companies come through modern trade these wholesale stores like METRO, MAKRO. Not only efficient
supply chain is enough for a successful company rather effective communication between the brand and
the consumers should be present only then brand awareness can be created to further enhance the
brand equity. Moreover consumers are much more well-informed now and hence the firms need to offer
some value instead of competing on the basis of cost.

Critical Success Factors in Personal Care Industry

Personal care sector is considered to be more resistant to recession than the other sectors [42] .
However still there is a need for companies to actually focus on the key factors which are found to be the
reason for the success. Considering the critical success factors of this industry so review of literature
shows that various researches have shown different results however the some of the findings are
discussed here. Firstly, mostly businesses in the personal care industry compete on the basis of
differentiation rather than costs. The major reason for this factor is that due to globalization currently
there is immense level of competition in the industry new products are coming out every day may it be a
new variant of soap with moisturizing, cleansing or antibacterial effect they are trying to penetrate the
market and also the consumers are quite informed these days hence the companies really cannot
compete only on the basis of price instead they need to create some value for the customer in order to
attract them and hence the differentiation seems to be an appropriate strategy.

Another important factor which determines the success in the market is that how a company can cater
to the specialized needs of the markets i.e.; the niche market. It can be considered as a good strategy if
the firm wants to create a niche positioning in the mind of the consumers and hence through this they
gain market share. Moreover in order to develop a position in the market the firm should have expertise
in marketing so that by developing differentiating marketing strategies the firm will be able to create
brand awareness - which further would lead to more purchase by the consumers. Furthermore proper
pricing strategies and trade discounts help the company in maintaining good relationships with the
consumer as well as the suppliers [43] . The firm should be operating on economies of scale as such
reduction in costs can lead to the lower costs in the long run and hence in this way the company can
enjoy above normal profits which ensures the good profitability condition of the company.

Brand loyalty is also considered as one of the main factors as the higher level of brand lead to repeat
purchases and even recommendations to other non-users which is considered quite important for the
case of personal care industry as the consumers like to take opinions from others especially for such
beauty items opinions of family and friends especially the users of the product are given more regard.
Moreover research and development also plays a key role as new products in the portfolio should be
introduced so that it firstly attracts the consumers and also strengthen the position of the business in the
market due to the diversity of the products. Moreover there should be profitable long-term relations
with the suppliers leading to cost effective operations so that they will help in an efficient supply chain
leading to higher surplus value [44] .

Determinants of Market Share of Firm

In order to understand the determinants of market share firstly clear understanding of the term market
share should be made. As market is not any physical place rather it is characterized by the group of
consumers hence the term 'market share' relates to the share of the consumers - potential consumers in
specifically [45] . Considering the determinants of market share, so the market share is considered to be
determined by the purchasing decisions of the consumers which are in affect influenced by factors such
as price, quality, promotions and availability of the product [46] . As in the soap industry, the higher the
value you are offering to the customer the higher the sales will be which in return will improve your
share in the market. The price also plays a key role in the part as it is one of the main determinants
influencing the purchasing behavior of the customers. Sometimes firms also compete on the basis of
price to gain the market share i.e.; either through price penetration or price skimming. Product
availability is another key factor that determines the market share as no matter how strong your product
but it really cannot be successful until you have a strong shelf presence in the market hence the strong
market presence is a key factor. Advertising is another important factor as no matter how good your
product, market presence, its quality is but if you are not communicating the benefits to the consumers
you really will not be able to achieve your desired objective. Hence there should be proper
communication channels present to connect with the consumers.

Impact of Market Share on Profitability

As the competition intensify in an industry it becomes necessary for the firms to develop such kind of
strategies which can help them in gaining the ultimate performance so to improve the profitability of the
firm and therefore in this regard the market share plays a key role in affecting the profitability of a
firm [47] . There has been done a lot of work to find the relationship between market share of a firm and
profitability in the past leading to various conclusions - it has also been considered as the most-
researched area. There are two school of thoughts relating to this area of research. The first school of
thought is of the view that a direct relationship exists between the market share of firm and its
profitability. As the market share of the firm increases it leads to a positive effect on the profitability of
the firm. On the other hand the research studies show that although there is a positive direct
relationship the market share of a firm and its profitability but it relates to the fact that how suitable are
the competitive and strategic factors for the firm to operate. But again the selection of the appropriate
strategy for the firm relies on the fact that what is the corporate objective of the firm; its purpose of
existence i.e.; the mission and the vision - hence by keeping in mind all these factors the specific strategy
at each level i.e.; operational, functional level is designed for the firm [48] . However on the other hand
if a firm experiences a growth for a relatively short time in the market share so it is possible that it can
have no positive effect on the profitability of the firm due to the costs incurred in gaining that market
share. But the other school of thought is of the view that for profitability it is not necessary to have high
market share for high profitability rather the firm can be profitable while maintaining a low level of
market share as well [49] . As while operating in a niche market firm can earn much more high profits
while catering to the specialized needs of the target market which are not fulfilled by the other firms
present and also such products have particularly high profit margins so in this case even with low market
share the firm can have high profitability.

However the proponent of the first school of thought are of the view that market share results in higher
profits as the effect of economies of scale and experience start to result in a firm which helps the firm to
achieve greater production at a lower cost due to higher level of experience in the industry [50] . On the
other hand, it has also been argued that the market share of firm results due to the presence of
efficiency hypothesis which states that as the firm becomes more and more efficient in its operations
that results in higher level of profitability further more resulting in high market share. And for this, firms
either use their high value products or enhanced skills to gain the market share [51] . This is one of the
main reasons that describe that how a small firm can be profitable as well while maintaining a lower
level of market share.

While we consider about increasing the market share so that does not come in free rather it has a cost
involved and it also has a perceived risk to it. Here are also limitations to it as it is difficult for the firms
with low market share to enhance it due to the resource constraints if they do not have ample earnings
available to support further investment in expansion. Also if a firm wants to reposition a product not
only the financial investment will be enough rather they would require the capabilities to support the re-
branding or the brand building of activities [52] .

Factors influencing Purchase Decision of Consumers in Soap Industry

Considering the factors affecting the purchase decision of the consumer, so the literature provides us
with various factors which in turn influence the buying pattern of the consumer such as past purchase
experience of the consumer, price sensitivity, subjective norms and brand loyalty [53] . In any industry
whenever purchasing a product the past experience related to using that product plays a key role as
many of the consumers are risk averse so they rarely want to use a new product hence they resort to the
one which they have already tried and their past experience with that particular product can lead to the
future purchase as well. Moreover if a consumer is loyal towards a certain brand he will not indulge in
seeking other alternatives rather would like to stick with that particular brand. The price sensitivity of the
consumers also affect its decision that if a consumer is more price sensitive he or she will be much more
conscious about the fact that what are the attributes of the product are matching its price or not; if yes
only then he will buy it. Moreover small changes in price could lead him to switch to the alternatives.
Other than this the opinions of the family members and friends also play a key role in shaping up our
purchase decisions and this factor is quite much more related to the personal care industry.

Critically evaluating the consumer purchasing decision, it is influenced by many other internal and
external factors such as personal, socio-cultural, psychological, and economic factors [54] . Among all
these factors the socio-cultural factors play a key role because the changes in the trends in the market
persuade the consumer to adapt to it and consumers are more interested in following the beliefs are
values in the society. Personal factors also play a critical role in this regard- such as the age of the
consumer defines various types of demand of the consumer for example in the case of soap young
females would require a soap with natural ingredients rather than extra added cleansers whereas for the
old age women there are various personal care product available catering to the needs of the skin at that
particular age, moreover education of the consumer also plays a key role as the more informed the
consumer is the more time he would require in evaluating the alternatives and deciding on making a
purchase. The economic condition of the consumer also puts a constraint on his budget and hence a
hurdle in making a purchase decision. Moreover the lifestyle of the person also shapes up the buying
decision. The promotional activities by the companies also play a key role in creating the awareness
relating to the product.

Considering specifically the personal care industry, consumers are much more interested in the benefits
of using the product rather than being concerned about the price. They consider more of the tangible
benefits such as how the soap would help to properly nourish their skin. The research shows that LUX is
rated high on the basis of being a proper treatment for skin nourishment [55] . Housewives are mainly
considered as the decision makers involved in the purchase of beauty soaps and it has been observed
that the opinions of the family as well as brand loyalty has been considered a major factor in influencing
purchase decision. Other factors relating to the product such as its texture, lather, aroma, variations and
packaging play a key role in the selection of a soap brand [56] . The higher the quality of the brand the
more the quality conscious consumers would be inclined to pay for such products. Moreover brand
personality also has an influence over the purchasing decision as the more the consumer can relate to a
product so the more the consumer would be inclined to buy that particular product.

Brand Re-Launch in Personal Care Industry

Considering the case of brand re-launch in personal care industry, firstly we need to clarify the difference
between the two terms which are brand rejuvenation and brand re-launch. The two terms are closely
related yet different in nature brand rejuvenation refers to the fact that when you provide the product to
the consumer with some enhanced value means which can be through modifying the existing features of
the product [57] . On the other hand for the case of brand re-launch, it refers to the fact that when
brands could not survive within the competitive position of the market, the company re-launch the
brand by improving some potential features in the brand - it can be re-launch either with the same brand
name or with a new brand name showing a revived position [58] .

Brands re-launcher brand extension becomes an attractive strategy when a firm is not able to achieve
the desired level of sales or the sales revenue is on the declining trend [59] . Considering whether brands
re-launch or brand extension is a good strategy - we will have to look at the pros and cons of both. In this
way a re-launch is preferred as compared to brand extension when you want to make few improvements
in the product performance, when it is much more costly to get the shelf-place in the market that is the
competitors have much more higher visibility, when your other brands cannot help in providing
marketing support to the brand [60] . Conversely brand extension strategy is much more suitable when
you want to cater to a differentiated need of the market which is different from what the parent brand is
serving, when the company requires premium pricing strategy in order to cover for its costs and to
maintain higher profit margins, when the product visibility can be improved without incurring additional
costs and the parent brand can also implement the market activities of the brand extension [61] .

Brands are developed so that they can grow in future to bring about long-term success for the company.
However developing, maintaining and reviving brand is not an easy task rather it requires a suitable
brand strategy. In order to get the desired results the factors should be present to have strong growth in
the brand. To have a growth in brand, you should attract new potential consumers; make the existing
consumers more loyal so to increase their consumption pattern, to make profitable relations with the
retailers [62] .