Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
LAKME
PROJECT REPORT
PERCEPTION OF WOMEN
TOWARDS LAKME
Submitted To
SUBMITTED BY:
SAPNA SOOD
98/08
MBA
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my advisor, Ms. Neha for providing me with
continuous support and guidance which was vital for the successful completion of the
project. I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to my project guide,
Ms Neha, for a significant contribution made by her towards my learning, by way of
making herself available, providing leads in course of the project and most importantly
for the tremendous source of encouragement and inspiration she has bestowed on me
throughout the project.
I express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Vishal kalia for their timely guidance and in
providing the required facilities and information for completing the project.
I am also very indebted to my parents and my brother who have been with me at every
moment of my life.for his kind help and support during the tenure of the project.
I also want to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to my friends and all
the people who encouraged me throughout the project.
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
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Authorized signatory
Name : NEHA
(Project supervisor)
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
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INDEX
CHAPTER PAGE NO
1. EXECUTIVESUMMARY.................................................................................. 6-7
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Cosmetics and toiletries 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 and toiletries. 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. Globalization will certainly increase cosmetic products
penetration and all professionals shall equip themselves to exploit opportunities offered
by this sector.
The consumers are the largest economic group in any country and the present day
business activities are because of consumers only. Thus, consumers are the pillars of
the economy. The consumers are not only the heart of marketing system, but also the
controller of marketing functions. But it the modern marketing system consumers
sovereignty has become a myth on account of the variety of problems in the process of
merchandising. The study of consumer behavior enables marketers to understand and
predict consumer behavior in the market place; It also promote understanding of the
role that consumption plays in the lives of individual.
Consumer behavior and perception of women towards cosmetics with special reference
to the Lakme’s cosmetics products’. The primary objective of the study is to understand
the consumer behavior and perception of women by studying the awareness of the
financial products within the consumers and the number of consumers who take the
products from Lakme.
The introductory chapter gives and insight to the cosmetic industry. It briefly explains
about the history of cosmetic sector. It also contain the organizational profile of Lakme,
stating about its mile stones, vision, products, protection solutions, advertising
effectiveness and finally about its marketing strategies and challenges.
The second chapter gives a glimpses idea about the area of dissertation i.e. theoretical
background of the study. This part clearly explains the theoretical part of consumer
behavior in general. It also includes statement of the problem, need and impotents of
the present study and focal objectives of the dissertation undertaken. The third chapter
explains about literature review. It briefly describes what all are the information source
for the present study and what benefits has derived from the reference of those
literatures.
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
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Next part explains about the research methodology. With the basic understanding of the
study research design was formulated. To collect the data, questionnaires was
prepared.
The necessary data were collected through personal interviews and interaction with
users of Lakme products. This chapter specifically explains about the type of research,
sample technique, sample size, actual collection of data and the tools used for the
testing of hypothesis.
The last but one chapter contains the analysis and interpretation of data collected. The
collected data was coded through tally bars and presented in percentage wise and
depicted in the form of graphical representation. It also includes the hypothesis test
about the overall result of the present study.
The last chapter is entirely the exploration of the research study giving all respondents
opinion in nutshell as findings i.e. stating that around percentage of customers behave
positively towards the Lakme,s products. The dissertation ends up with the suggestions
in order to modify the current system for a higher growth and progress.
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Consumer behaviour
Consumer behaviour is the study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not
buy product. It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and
economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both
individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as
demographics and behavioural variables in an attempt to understand people's wants. It
also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends,
reference groups, and society in general.
Customer behaviour study is based on consumer buying behaviour, with the customer
playing the three distinct roles of user, payer and buyer. Relationship marketing is an
influential asset for customer behaviour analysis as it has a keen interest in the re-
discovery of the true meaning of marketing through the re-affirmation of the importance
of the customer or buyer. A greater importance is also placed on consumer retention,
customer relationship management, personalisation, customisation and one-to-one
marketing. Social functions can be categorized into social choice and welfare functions.
Each method for vote counting is assumed as a social function but if Arrow’s possibility
theorem is used for a social function, social welfare function is achieved. Some
specifications of the social functions are decisiveness, neutrality, anonymity,
monotonocity, unanimity, homogeneity and weak and strong Pareto optimality. No
social choice function meets these requirements in an ordinal scale simultaneously. The
most important characteristic of a social function is identification of the interactive effect
of alternatives and creating a logical relation with the ranks. Marketing provides services
in order to satisfy customers. With that in mind, the productive system is considered
from its beginning at the production level, to the end of the cycle, the consumer.
Belch and Belch define consumer behaviour as 'the process and activities people
engage in when searching for, selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of
products and services so as to satisfy their needs and desires'.'
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The black box model considers the buyers response as a result of a conscious, rational
decision process, in which it is assumed that the buyer has recognized the problem.
However, in reality many decisions are not made in awareness of a determined problem
by the consumer.
• Information search
Once the consumer has recognised a problem, they search for information on products
and services that can solve that problem. Belch and Belch (2007) explain that
consumers undertake both an internal (memory) and an external search.
Public sources
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✓ Personal experience
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
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The relevant internal psychological process that is associated with information search is
perception. Perception is defined as 'the process by which an individual receives,
selects, organises, and interprets information to create a meaningful picture of the
world'.
1. Stage Description
- Selective exposure consumers select which promotional messages they will expose
themselves to.
- Selective attention consumers select which promotional messages they will pay
attention to
- Selective comprehension consumer interpret messages in line with their beliefs,
attitudes, motives and experiences
- Selective retention consumers remember messages that are more meaningful or
important to them
The implications of this process help develop an effective promotional strategy, and
select which sources of information are more effective for the brand.CV
2. Information evaluation
At this time the consumer compares the brands and products that are in their evoked
set. How can the marketing organization increase the likelihood that their brand is part
of the consumer's evoked (consideration) set? Consumers evaluate alternatives in
terms of the functional and psychological benefits that they offer. The marketing
organization needs to understand what benefits consumers are seeking and therefore
which attributes are most important in terms of making a decision
3. Purchase decision
Once the alternatives have been evaluated, the consumer is ready to make a purchase
decision. Sometimes purchase intention does not result in an actual purchase. The
marketing organization must facilitate the consumer to act on their purchase intention.
The organisation can use variety of techniques to achieve this. The provision of credit or
payment terms may encourage purchase, or a sales promotion such as the opportunity
to receive a premium or enter a competition may provide an incentive to buy now. The
relevant internal psychological process that is associated with purchase decision is
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4. Postpurchase evaluation
To manage the post-purchase stage, it is the job of the marketing team to persuade the
potential customer that the product will satisfy his or her needs. Then after having made
a purchase, the customer should be encouraged that he or she has made the right
decision.it is not effected by advertisement.
Internal influences
External influences
The following are the certain factors which influence the consumer behavior:
Cultural factor divided into three sub factors (i) Culture (ii) Sub Culture (iii) Social Class
❖ Culture:-
The set of basic values perceptions, wants, and behaviours learned by a member of
society from family and other important institutions. Culture is the most basic cause of a
person’s wants and behaviour. Every group or society has a culture, and cultural
influences on buying behaviour may vary greatly from country to country.
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
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❖ Sub Culture :-
A group of people with shared value systems based on common life experiences and
situations.
Each culture contains smaller sub cultures a group of people with shared value system
based on common life experiences and situations. Sub culture includes nationalities,
religions, racial group and geographic regions. Many sub culture make up important
market segments and marketers often design products.
❖ Social Class:-
Almost every society has some form of social structure, social classes are society’s
relatively permanent and ordered divisions whose members share similar values,
interests and behaviour.
A consumer’s behaviour also is influenced by social factors, such as the (i) Groups (ii)
Family (iii) Roles and status
❖ Groups :-
A person’s behavious is influenced by many small groups. Groups that have a direct
influence and to which a person belongs are called membership groups. Some are
primary groups includes family, friends, neighbours and coworkers. Some are
secondary groups, which are more formal and have less regular interaction. These
includes organizations like religious groups, professional association and trade unions.
❖ Family:-
Family members can strongly influence buyer behaviour. The family is the most
important consumer buying organization society and it has been researched
extensively. Marketers are interested in the roles, and influence of the husband, wife
and children on the purchase of different products and services.
The person’s position in each group can be defined in terms of both role and status.
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
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It includes
Age and life cycle stage (ii) Occupation (iii) Economic situation (iv) Life Style (v)
Personality and self concept.
People changes the goods and services they buy over their lifetimes. Tastes in food,
clothes, furniture, and recreation are often age related. Buying is also shaped by the
stage of the family life cycle.
❖ Occupation :-
A person’s occupation affects the goods and services bought. Blue collar workers tend
to buy more rugged work clothes, whereas white-collar workers buy more business
suits. A Co. can even specialize in making products needed by a given occupational
group. Thus, computer software companies will design different products for brand
managers, accountants, engineers, lawyers, and doctors.
❖ Economic situation :-
❖ Life Style :-
Life Style is a person’s Pattern of living, understanding these forces involves measuring
consumer’s major AIO dimensions. i.e. activities (Work, hobbies, shopping, support etc)
interest (Food, fashion, family recreation) and opinions (about themselves, Business,
Products)
Each person’s distinct personality influence his or her buying behaviour. Personality
refers to the unique psychological characteristics that lead to relatively consistent and
lasting responses to one’s own environment.
❖ Motivation :-
Motive (drive) a need that is sufficiently pressing to direct the person to seek satisfaction
of the need
❖ Perception :-
The process by which people select, Organize, and interpret information to form a
meaningful picture of the world.
❖ Learning:-
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INTRODUCTION TO PERCEPTION
Human beings may differ because of their differences & uniqueness. People often see
the same situation/ phenomenon differently within the organization & outside the
organization. For example: when there is an accident in the factory, the supervisor may
treat it as the carelessness of worker while the worker may treat it as lack of adequate
provision of security measures. Thus the situation remaining the same, cause has been
assigned differently by different group of people. In order to understand why people see
the same situation differently, one has to understand PERCEPTION & its different
aspect.
WHAT IS PERCEPTION ?
DEFINITION
FEATURES OF PERCEPTION
❖ Perception is the intellectual process through which a person selects the data
from the environment, organizes it, and obtains meaning from it.
❖ Perception is a psychological process also. The manner in which people perceive
the environment affects his behavior.
❖ Perception, being an intellectual and psychological process, becomes a
subjective process and different people may perceive the same environmental
event differently.
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PERCEPTUAL PROCESS :
form of attitudes, opinions, beliefs, impression about the stimuli. This output
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along with other factors affecting human behavior may result in overt behavior.
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
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PERCEPTUAL SELECTIVITY
1. Extrenal factor
2. Internal factor
EXTERNAL FACTORS
The external factors are Nature, Location, Size, Intensity, Repetition, Novelty &
Familiarity, Contrast And Motion. Their impacct on the perceptual selectivity is as follow:
better attention.
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
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1. SELF-CONCEPT : The way a person views the world depends a great deal on
the concept or image he has about himself. Knowing oneself makes it easier to
see others accurately. People’s own characteristics affect the characteristics
which they are likely to see in others. They select only that aspects which they
find match with their characteristics.
2. INNER NEEDS : People’s perception is determined by their inner needs. The
need is feeling of tension or discomfort when one thinks him missing something
or when he feels he has not quite closed a gap in his knowledge. People with
different needs select different items to remember or respond to. When people
are not able to satisfy their needs’ they are engaged in wishful thinking, which is
a way to satisfy the needs not in real world but imaginary world , the day
dreaming.
3. RESPONSE DISPOSITION : Response disposition refers to a person’s tendency
to perceive familiar stimuli rather than unfamiliar ones. Thus, a person perceives
the things with which he is familiar. For Example: persons having dominant
religious value took lesser time in recognizing such related word as ‘priest’
whereas they took longer time in recognizing words related with economic value
such as ‘cost’ or ‘price’.
4. INDIVIDIAL ATTITUDE : The person tries to fit his attitude (whether positive or
negative) in the situation and perceive something. For Example: if a person
always thinks negative, he thinks that whatever is happen in his life will be
negative, he will perceive everything in the negative way. On the contrary if he
thinks positive, he is an optimistic, he will perceive everything in a positive way.
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❖ Figure and ground relationships: The figure represents what catches your
attention as distinct and unique, while the ground indicates what you perceive as
routine.
❖ Grouping helps individuals break up information and register it in their memory.
That way, even use of multiple stimuli can work and create several associations.
❖ Closure is a need of consumers as well. They want to take the message to its
logical conclusion if the stimulus does not give complete information. Teaser ads
take advantage of this.
Does the consumer perceive the stimuli as intended? Perceptual distortion can occur
due to a variety of reasons:
❖ Physical appearance: The kind of people you are using in advertisements will
distort perceptions, which has to be used to your benefit.
❖ Stereotypes that develop can distort perception
❖ First impressions of a product/service get carried on for a long time.
❖ Jumping to conclusions: If you cannot present yourself differently, the prospect
can jump to conclusions before you even make a presentation, e.g. tele calling
❖ Halo effect: One or two dimensions of the stimuli will create broad perceptions
on the product. Brand extension can be an example.
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Review of Literature
When consumers perceive an advertisement for a certain brand as promoting another,
it is not only ineffective, but even counterproductive (Kamen, 1987; Poiesz and
Verhallen, 1989): it produces an effect that the advertiser specially wants to avoid.
Consumer behavior is studied so that we can come to know that how perception and
attitude of a person decides that what should be the buying pattern of the consumers
(Poiesz and Verhallen, 1989).
A consumer confusing brands thinks he/she recognises the brand. Depending upon
what is the perception of the consumers, it can be positive or negative. (Häcker and
Verhallen, 1988; Poiesz and Verhallen, 1989). Negative perception refers to the extent
to which the respondents will not buy the product. Positive brand perception refers to
the degree to which the other respondents are willing to buy the product. Positive
Brand perception is an advantage for a brand. Negative brand perception may be a
threat to a clear positioningof the product amongst the women.
Brengman et al. (2001) found that Consumers most vulnerable to brand perception
generally have higher level of knowledge about the products which they are using.
Products are becoming more and more objectively similar with respect to their
functionality and product presentation (Poiesz and Verhallen, 1989). Ha (1996) refers
to the degree of similarity and proximity of advertisements. (De Pelsmacker and
Geuens, 1997a).the more the proximity the more consumers are prone to buy the
products.
Successful advertising techniques get imitated and waves of similar advertising arise.
It can be expected that a higher DOSS leads to more brand confusion. In parallel,
similarity in visual appearance of products has also been found to be a major reason
for confusion in advertising (Loken and Ross, 1986; Ward and Loken, 1986).
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The market for cosmetics and toiletries in India is characterized by high volume sales
of low-end toiletry products, while at the same time the legendary emerging middle-
class has generally been fuelling demand for cosmetics and upper-mass toiletries.
Products that are too specialized have yet to be successful on the Indian market.
Examples include toners, hand care and other value-added skin care products, bath &
shower products and aftershave balm. Only the richest consumers can afford these;
indeed, the average consumer may be unaware of their purpose or even existence.
This also explains the relatively poor showing of perfumes, especially the premium
variety.
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.
Market Overview :
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 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
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from the low and medium-priced categories that account for 90 percent of the
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
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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. The skin care market in India is estimated at
US$ 180 million. Within the last decade, this segment has seen many consumers
slowly shift from the mass to the premium end of the market. In the skin-care segment,
price and volume played an equal role in value growth. From a very basic level of
most consumers using only face cream and moisturizers, the market for more
specialized skin care products such as sun screens, toners, cleansers, and
astringents, dark circle removing creams, anti-wrinkle creams and day and night
creams seems to have grown steadily in recent years.
Moisturizing lotions, fairness creams and face cleansers are the popular categories in
the skin-care segment and account for approximately 60 percent of the skin-care
segment. The major players in this segments are Lakme, Ponds, Fair & Lovely of the
HLL group with 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. The size of the
hair care market in India is estimated at more than US$ 200 million, 50 percent of
which interestingly comes from sales of shampoo. International companies like
Unilever through its subsidiary, Hindustan Lever (Sun silk, Organics, Clinic, and Lux);
and Procter & Gamble (with brands such as Pantene, Head & Shoulders) dominate
the shampoo market in India with approximately 58 and 20 percent market share
respectively.
The market for hair creams, mainly used for hair grooming by men is also very small.
Hair oiling, an age old tradition of Indians and mainly used as a pre-wash nourishment
is a major segment in this sector and has giants like HLL and local Dabur and Marico
Industries fighting for market share in the hair oil segment. More and more shelves in
shops and boutiques are stocked with cosmetics from around the world. Since
liberalization, many international brands like Avon, Burberrys, Calvin Klein, Cartier,
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Christian Dior, Estee Lauder, Elizabeth Arden, Lancome, Chambor, Coty, L'Oreal,
Oriflame, Revlon, L'Oreal, Yardley, Wella, Schwarzkopf, Escada, Nina Ricci, Rochas,
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Yves St. Laurent and Japanese cosmetics company, Shiseido have entered the Indian
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
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market.
The prices of most foreign brands have been fairly high, which has deterred average
Indian consumers. International brands cater to a segment that can broadly be
classified as the urban higher income group. Penetration levels of international
cosmetics brands in India are still low. Foreign brands currently constitute only 20
percent of the market. A major reason for low penetration of international brands can
be attributed to high pricing.
Market Trends
Cosmetics and toiletries 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 and toiletries. 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. In the last five/six years, there has been a renewed craze
for herbal cosmetic and personal care products, especially in the skin care segment
with the growing belief that chemical-based cosmetics are harmful. Shehnaz Hussain,
Biotique, and Lotus Herbals are the major players in this segment. Many companies
also expanded their range to include herbal variants. The growing popularity for
natural products also attracted many primarily health-care companies such as
Himalaya Drugs (with its Ayurvedic Concepts range), and Dabur to launch natural-
based cosmetic products.
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.
Competition
The Indian cosmetic market, which has been traditionally a stronghold of a few major
Indian players like Lakme, and Ponds has seen a lot of foreign entrants 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
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new innovative strategies to suit Indian preferences and budgets to establish a hold on
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the market and establish a niche market for themselves. HLL and Revlon were the first
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
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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. . In the skin-
care segment, from just creams and moisturizers, there has been a upgrade to value-
added products such as under-eye wrinkle removing creams, dark circle removing
creams toners, sunscreen lotions, fairness creams, and many more.
The color cosmetics market saw new products such as smudge-proof lipsticks and
mascaras, liquid lip color, and long-stay lipsticks being introduced. These specialized
applications led to growth in volumes and also enabled companies to price the
products at a premium, driving up value growth.
L'Oreal markets its range of specialized hair care products exclusively through salons
and beauty parlors. L'Oreal currently is the only company in the market that has a hair
color range tailored exclusively for parlors. The company was also the first to
introduce modern hair color and shampoos for colored hair in the Indian market.
HUL, is currently India's largest cosmetics and personal care products producer and
its brands has the dominant share (more than 50 percent) in segments such as
personal wash, skin care, shampoos, lipsticks and nail polish.
Sales Prospects
The growing Indian cosmetics market offers promising opportunities for international
brands. The growth rate in the cosmetics market reflects an increasing demand for
beauty care products in India. The most promising segments for international
companies to pursue are perfumes and fragrances, and specialized/professional skin
care and hair care products. The fastest growing market is however color cosmetics,
which account for US$ 60 million of the total market.
The rural market in India for cosmetics and toiletries remains is largely untapped.
Major domestic players have also not been able to penetrate this market. The urban
market itself for specialized cosmetic products remains to be fully exploited. The
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Indian skin-care market is not yet fully tapped and offers promising prospects as a
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growth area. Penetration of color cosmetics is lower than the penetration prospects of
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
To promote the growth of their products, a dominant player like Lakme have embarked
upon a business plan to establish their exclusive franchised beauty salons across
major metros in the country. Imported cosmetics have had a major impact on the
Indian market.
L'Oreal India has established a consumer advisory unit and Ponds, as mentioned
earlier offers skin care advise through touch-screen kiosks, and telephone help-lines.
Beautique - an exclusive one-stop shop for only imported cosmetic brands set up
recently in New Delhi has qualified beauty consultants to provide free advice and
make overs to consumers.
Market Access
Prior to March 31, 1999, India had cosmetics and toiletries on its restricted list of
imports and a special import license was required for import of cosmetics and toiletries
into the country. This regulation has now been done away with and, India today,
permits import of cosmetics and toiletries without any restrictions. This has made the
Indian market more attractive to foreign cosmetic companies. Imports have been
made easier, but not necessarily cheaper.
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Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) (BSE: HUL) is India's largest fast moving consumer
goods company, touching the lives of two out of three Indians with over 20 distinct
categories in home & personal care products and food & beverages. They endow the
company with a scale of combined volumes of about 4 million tonnes and sales of
over Rs. 13,000 crores. HUL is also one of the country's largest exporters; it has been
recognised as a Golden Super Star Trading House by the Government of India.
HUL was formed in 1933 as Lever Brothers India Limited and came into being in 1956
as Hindustan Lever Limited through a merger of Lever Brothers, Hindustan Vanaspati
Mfg. Co. Ltd. and United Traders Ltd.. It is headquartered in Mumbai, India and has an
employee strength of over 15,000 employees and contributes for indirect employment
of over 52,000 people. The company was renamed in June 2007 to “Hindustan
Unilever Limited”.
In 2007, Hindustan Unilever was rated as the most respected company in India for the
past 25 years by Businessworld, one of India’s leading business magazines . The
rating was based on a compilation of the magazine annual survey of India’s Most
Reputed Companies over the past 25 years. HUL is the market leader in Indian
consumer products with presence in over 20 consumer categories such as soaps, tea,
detergents and shampoos amongst others with over 700 million Indian consumers
using its products. It has over 35 brands. Sixteen of HUL’s brands featured in the
ACNielsen Brand Equity list of 100 Most Trusted Brands Annual Survey (2008).
According to Brand Equity, HUL has the largest number of brands in the Most Trusted
Brands List. It’s a company that has consistently had the largest number of brands in
the Top 50 and in the Top 10 (with 4 brands).
Hindustan Unilever's distribution covers over 1 million retails outlets across India
directly and its products are available in over 6.3 million outlets in India, i.e., nearly
80% of the retail outlets in India. It has 39 factories in the country. Two out of three
Indians use the company’s products and HUL products have the largest consumer
reach being available in over 80 per cent of consumer homes across India.
Unilever Limited. HUL was one of the eight Indian companies to be featured on the
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
History - Chronology
In the summer of 1888, visitors to the Kolkata harbor noticed crates full of Sunlight
soap bars, embossed with the words "Made in England by Lever Brothers". With it,
began an era of marketing branded Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). Soon
after followed Lifebuoy soap in 1895 and other famous brands like Pears, Lux and
Vim. Vanaspati ghee was launched in 1918 and the famous Dalda brand came to the
market in 1937.
In 1931, Unilever set up its first Indian subsidiary, Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing
Company, followed by Lever Brothers India Limited (1933) and United Traders Limited
(1935). These three companies merged to form HUL in November 1956; HUL offered
10% of its equity to the Indian public, being the first among the foreign subsidiaries to
do so. Unilever now holds 52.10% equity in the company. The rest of the shareholding
is distributed among about 360,675 individual shareholders and financial institutions.
The erstwhile Brooke Bond's presence in India dates back to 1900. By 1903, the
company had launched Red Label tea in the country. In 1912, Brooke Bond & Co.
India Limited was formed. Brooke Bond joined the Unilever fold in 1984 through an
international acquisition. The erstwhile Lipton's links with India were forged in 1898.
Unilever acquired Lipton in 1972, and in 1977 Lipton Tea (India) Limited was
incorporated.
Some of its brands include Kwality Wall's ice cream, Knorr soups & meal makers,
Lifebuoy, Lux, Breeze, Liril, Rexona, Hamam and Moti soaps, Pureit water purifier,
Lipton tea, Brooke Bond tea, Bru coffee, Pepsodent and Close Up toothpaste and
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brushes, and Surf, Rin and Wheel laundry detergents, Kissan squashes and jams,
Annapurna salt and atta, Pond’s talcs and creams, Vaseline lotions, Fair and Lovely
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creams, Lakmé beauty products, Clinic Plus, Clinic All Clear, Sunsilk and Dove
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
shampoos, Vim dishwash, Ala bleach, Domex disinfectant, Rexona, Modern Bread,
and Axe deosprays.
COMPETITORS
Procter and Gamble (P&G) India : HUL faces a fierce competition from P&G India in
its key segments i.e. Detergents and Personal Care. It operates in India thorugh three
subsidiaries: Procter and Gamble Home Products (100% subsidiary of the company),
Procter and Gamble Hygiene and Health care Ltd. (PGHH) and Gillette India Ltd. It
has in its portfolio some of P&G's Billion dollar brands such as Vicks & Whisper in
health care and Ariel and Tide in detergents segments.
Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. (GCPL): It has two segments: Soap (64% of
revenues) and Personal Care.GCPL is second largest soap player in India after HUL
with a market share of 9.2%. Personal Care includes hair care products, shaving
cream and other toiletries.On December 11, 2008, it acquired 100% stake in SCA
Hygiene Products which owns the Snuggy brand of baby diapers.
Dabur India Limited - Dabur India Limited is an India-based fast moving consumer
goods company which deals in healthcare, personal care and food products.In
November 2008, Dabur India Limited announced the acquisition of 72.15% of Fem
Care Pharma Ltd which is primarily engaged in the business of export of personal care
products.
Marico Limited:Marico has a portfolio on high margin "Beauty and Wellness" platform
which includes hair oils, soaps, edible oils, skin care etc. This portfolio has shown a
growth of 30% over a period of FY05-08.
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
“Lakme is the Indian woman’s Beauty Sutra” – inspiring expression of her unique beauty
and sensuality.Lakme brings expert products and services that are borne out of true
understanding of the needs of the Indian woman. They help the Indian woman in
expression of her best self – sensual, original, expressive, alive and intuitive. Lakme
inspires her to unleash the potency of her femininity, beauty and sensuality
Key facts
Lakme was the first major beauty brand in India and takes pride in being the expert on
Indian Beauty for over 50 years. It is complete beauty brand spanning colour cosmetics,
skin care & hair styling products and extending to beauty services through the network
of Lakme Beauty Salons. Its bond with beauty and fashion is manifested through the
Lakme Fashion Week, which is now the largest fashion event of its kind in the country.
Lakme has a foot print of over 1200 assisted sales outlets, which is the largest span of
outlets with “Beauty Advisors” in the country.
Our vision
Unilever products touch the lives of over 2 billion people every day – whether that's
through feeling great because they've got shiny hair and a brilliant smile, keeping their
homes fresh and clean, or by enjoying a great cup of tea, satisfying meal or healthy
snack.
A clear direction
The four pillars of our vision set out the long term direction for the company – where we
want to go and how we are going to get there:
• We will develop new ways of doing business that will allow us to double the size
of our company while reducing our environmental impact.
Our corporate purpose states that to succeed requires "the highest standards of
corporate behaviour towards everyone we work with, the communities we touch, and
the environment on which we have an impact."
Conducting our operations with integrity and with respect for the many people,
organisations and environments our business touches has always been at the heart of
our corporate responsibility.
• Positive impact
We aim to make a positive impact in many ways: through our brands, our commercial
operations and relationships, through voluntary contributions, and through the various
other ways in which we engage with society.
• Continuous commitment
We're also committed to continuously improving the way we manage our environmental
impacts and are working towards our longer-term goal of developing a sustainable
business.
Our corporate purpose sets out our aspirations in running our business. It's underpinned
by our code of business Principles which describes the operational standards that
everyone at Unilever follows, wherever they are in the world. The code also supports
our approach to governance and corporate responsibility.
We want to work with suppliers who have values similar to our own and work to the
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same standards we do. Our Business partner code, aligned to our own Code of
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
A vitality mentality
Unilever's mission is to add Vitality to life. We meet everyday needs for nutrition,
hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get
more out of life. Our deep roots in local cultures and markets around the world give us
our strong relationship with consumers and are the foundation for our future growth. We
will bring our wealth of knowledge and international expertise to the service of local
consumers – a truly multi-local multinational. Our long-term success requires a total
commitment to exceptional standards of performance and productivity, to working
together effectively, and to a willingness to embrace new ideas and learn continuously.
Business partner code There shall be compliance with all applicable laws and
32
regulations of the country where operations are undertaken. There shall be respect for
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human rights, and no employee shall suffer harassment, physical or mental punishment,
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
or other form of abuse. Wages and working hours will, as a minimum, comply with all
applicable wage and hour laws, and rules and regulations, including minimum wage,
overtime and maximum hours in the country concerned .There shall be no use of forced
or compulsory labour, and employees shall be free to leave employment after
reasonable notice .
There shall be no use of child labour, and specifically there will be compliance with
relevant ILO standards .There shall be respect for the right of employees to freedom of
association* .Safe and healthy working conditions will be provided for all employees .
Lakme is a product range that caters to the beautification needs of not only women in
their adult age but in today's context teenagers also. It has a brand personality of
someone who takes care of you and your beauty needs. It tries to position itself
amongst its consumers as a product range that will help them look beautiful as is
evident from its catchphrases:
Lakme has a range of beauty products to offer to its consumers. Some of the ways in
which it
2. Lakme (versatile eye shadow collection): rich, long lasting and healthy make up.
8. Lakme sun expert (sunscreen): sun safe hamesha! (face the sun with a smile)
12. Lakme hair next: exclusive range of hairstyle products that give you that salon look
instantly.
On the basis of above mentioned positioning strategies Lakme can have the following
characteristics that determine its personality:
· Something that is not harsh on your body or harmful for your beauty.
· A cosmetic product that you can wear for the entire day and not a special occasion.
The following factors of Lakme's personality help in differentiation of its products from
the
competition:
· It helps arm the consumer with products to pamper her from head to toe i.e. a
complete
product range.
for that.
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
City : baddi
Status : Private
Email : info@lakmelever.com
Website : http://lakmeindia.com
Mobile no : 912222850552
Lakme Lipstick.
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
Lakme Eyeliner.
Lakme Kajal.
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research methodology is a careful investigation for inquiring in a systematic method and finding
solution of a problem. It comprises the defining and redefining of problem formulating hypothesis,
collection and evaluating data, making detection and reaching conclusion. This research consists of
following element.
OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
SOURCES OF DATA
RESEARCH DESIGN
SAMPLING DESIGN
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LAKME
SOURCES OF DATA
Primary data are those collected by the investigator himself for the first time and thus they are original
in character, they are collected for a particular purpose. A wellstructured questionnaire was personally
administrated to the selected sample to collect the primary data.
Secondary data are those, which have already been collected by some other persons for their purpose
and published. Secondary data are usually in the shape of finished products. External Data, was
generated from magazines, research books and internet (websites).
RESEARCH DESIGN
The study was conducted as an exploratory sampling survey method to collect primary and secondary
data.
SAMPLE SIZE Sample size denotes the number of elements selected for the study. For the present
study, 100 respondents were selected at random. All the 100 respondents were the customers of one
or another cosmetic industry. Out of these 100 respondents 60 were specifically Lakme customers.
SAMPLE DESCRIPTION The respondents of this dissertation was 100 cosmetics users of different
cosmetics companies in general, out of which 60 respondents were the users of Lakme in particular;
as the dissertation was focused on the consumer behavior and perception of users towards the
cosmetic products with special reference to Lakme. The respondents were personally contacted for
the purpose of the study. A questionnaire was used for survey and was answered by the customers of
different life insurance companies. Most of the respondents were in age group of 18-20; which was
having a frequency of 68, 14 respondents were in the age group of 21-24, 10 respondents were in the
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age group of 24-29 and 8 respondents were more than 30 years. According to gender wise, all were
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female respondents. Nearly half of the respondents were students and a big chunk of the rest was
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
employed women.
LIMITATION OF STUDY
1. An underlying assumption for the entire project is that the details and the feedback received from
the population is true.
2. It was difficult to find respondents as they were busy in their schedule, and collection of data was
very difficult. Therefore, the study had to be carried out based on the availability of respondents.
3. Some of the respondents were not ready to fill the questionnaires and some of them were not ready
to come out openly.
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
TESTING OF HYPOTHESIS
The test of hypothesis begins with an assumption about the population from which the sample is
drawn. According to Prof.Morris Ham bury, “A hypothesis is simply a quantitative statement about a
population”. Hypothesis testing deals with a procedure, which accepts or rejects the hypothesis.
1. Null Hypothesis
2. Alternate Hypothesis
Null Hypothesis
The null hypothesis is a very useful tool in testing the significance of difference. It states that there is
no real difference in the sample value and population value in the particular value under consideration.
This means that the observed difference is due to the random fluctuations. The null hypothesis is
denoted by Ho.
Alternate Hypothesis As against the null hypothesis the alternative hypothesis specify those values
that the researcher believes to hold true, and he hopes that the sample data lead to acceptance of this
hypothesis as true.
Types of Errors When a statistical hypothesis is tested there are four possibilities:
Level of Significance Confidence with which the null hypothesis is accepted or rejected depends on
what is called significant level. The probability, with which we may reject a null hypothesis, when it is
true, is called the level of significance. Therefore the level of significance is the risk, statisticians
running in his decision. The level of significance is denoted by ‘a’. It is better to keep level of
significance at a low percentage. It means that we should not reject a true hypothesis.
Acceptance Region This represents the region with which the calculated value of the statistics must
lie to accept the null hypothesis. If calculated value lies in this region then the null hypothesis will be
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rejected.
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
1. Set up a null hypothesis (Ho) and alternative hypothesis (H1) appropriate to the test to be
conducted.
4. Calculate the value of the test statistics using the appropriate formula
5. Make decisions about accepting or rejecting the null hypothesis. If calculated value is less than
tabulated value, Ho is accepted, else, HA is accepted by rejecting Ho.
Chi- square Test: It is a non- parametric test. It describes the magnitude of discrepancy between
observed value and expected value. Higher the value of Chi-square y 2, greater the discrepancy
between the observed values from sample to sample. It is a statistic whose value is always positive
and varies from zero to infinity. It is the sum of difference between the expected value and observed
value. This distribution is a limiting approximation of multinomial distribution with g as the mean and 2g
(nu) as the variance of the distribution. The test depends on the set of observed and expected values
and the degree of freedom g (nu). It is a continuous distribution, which can be applied to discrete
random variables.
It is the number of classes to which the values can assigned arbitrarily with out violating the
restrictions or limitations placed. It is calculated using the following formulae.
C is the no: of columns DOF = (n-1), where n is the no: pairs of observed and expected values.
No theoretical cell frequency should be less than 5. In case, the cell frequency is less
• It is used as a test of independence of attributes. This test brings association, if any, between
the attributes.
• It is used as a test of goodness of fit. In other words, it tests whether the given set of
observation will fit in to the distribution (normal, binomial etc…)
• It is used as a test of homogeneity. In other words, it tests whether a set of readings are more
uniform or non-uniform. So with this test we can determine whether two or mor independent
random samples are drawn from the same population or not.
1. An underlying assumption for the entire project is that the details and the feedback received from
the population is true.
2. It was difficult to find respondents as they were busy in their schedule, and collection of data was
very difficult. Therefore, the study had to be carried out based on the availability of respondents.
3. Some of the respondents were not ready to fill the questionnaires and some of them were not ready
to come out openly.
TEST OF HYPOTHESIS
Whether the consumers are satisfied with cosmetic products and services of Lakme company.
HYPOTHESIS:
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
Level of significance: 5%
Tab=7.88
Cal = 1.25
Tab = 7.88
Since, the calculated value (□□.cal) is lesser than tabulated value (□□.tab), null hypothesis (Ho) is
accepted, i.e. alternate hypothesis (Ha) is rejected. It means consumers are satisfied products and
services of LAKME.
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
lakme
loreal
garnier
lotus
✓ Out of the 100% population only 20% ladies are using loreal.
✓ Out of 100%of population only 60% of ladies are using Lakme.
✓ Out of 100% of population only 15% of the ladies are using garnier.
✓ Out of 100% of population only 5% of the ladies are using lotus.
Table showing that which product is being used most often in a month.
makeup
skin care
hair care product
body care product
3. Do you think that your product provides you with an option of healthy and long lasting harmless?
Table showing the number of people who think that think that their product provides them with an
option of healthy and long lasting harmless Makeup
May be 17 17%
Not sure 5 5%
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
Series 1
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
no not sure may be yes
✓ 58% of the people trust their brand when it comes to healthy makeup.
✓ 20% of the people do not trust their brand when it comes to healthy makeup, but because
results use it.
✓ 17% of the people think that not all of the products of their brand is healthy.
✓ 5% of the people are not at all sure of the healthiness of their products.
4. What is the reason that motivates you to use the products of a particular company?
Table showing the reasons that motivates the respondents to buy particular product.
ECONOMICAL
TRENDSETTER
MEASURABLE
EASILY AVAILABLE
Table showing that how much the respondents invest in the buying of cosmetics.
Series 1
more than Rs. 2000
Rs. 500
Table showing that how many respondents find their cosmetics to be economical.
NO 30 30%
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MAY BE 11 11%
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
yes
no
may be
not sure
✓ 49 respondents out of 100 respondents believe that their cosmetics are economical.
✓ 30 resondents out of 100 respondents believe that their cosmetics are not economical.
✓ 11 respondents out of 100 respondents say that not all the products are economical.
✓ 10 respondents out of 100 respondents are not at all sure of economic reliability of their
cosmetics.
7. If you are being asked to choose amongst one of the best product that you use, what would that
be?
Table showing the best cosmetic product of the respondents of their brand .
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sunscreen lotion
hair bouncers crème
lip gloss
moisturizers
✓ 59 respondents out of 100 respondents found sunscreen lotion to be the best product.
✓ 15 respondents out of 100 respondents found hair bouncers crème to be the best product.
✓ 9 respondents out of 100 respondents found moisturizers to be the best product.
✓ 17 respondents out of 100 respondents found lip gloss to be the best product.
Table showing the most appreciated service provided by their favourite company.
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facialƒ massgae
hair sevicing
Series 1
Category 2
steam bath
Table showing the reasons which motivates the respondents to buy lakme products
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measurable results
economical
easily available
trend setter
✓ 20 respondents out of total 60 lakme respondents use lakme products for the measurable
results.
✓ 18 respondents out of 60 lakme respondents use its products as they are economical.
✓ 12 respondents out of 60 lakme respondents use its products as they are easily available.
✓ 10 respondents out of 60 lakme respondents use its products as they are trend setters.
Table showing the lakme cosmetic in which the maximum investment is done by respondents.
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
5
4
3
2
1
Series 2
0
✓ 34 respondents out of the total 60 lakme respondents spend maximum money in sunscreen
lotion.
✓ 9 respondents out of the total 60 respondents spend maximum money in hair bouncers crème.
✓ 5 respondents out of the total 60 lakme respondents spend maximum money in moisturizers.
✓ 12 respondents out of the total 60 respondents spend their maximum money in lip gloss.
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good
excellent
moderate
bad
✓ 14 respondents out of 60 lakme respondents had excellent knowledge about lakme as a brand.
✓ 28 respondents out of 60 lakme respondents had good knowledge about lakme as a brand.
✓ 10 respondents out of 60 lakme respondents had moderate knowledge about lakme as a brand.
✓ 8 respondents out of total 60 respondents had bad knowledge about lakme as a brand.
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12. what is the purpose for which you buy lakme products?
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
Table showing the purpose for which the respondents buy the lakme products
make up
skin products
long and strong hair
glow and acne free
✓ 17 respondents out of total 60 lakme respondents buy lakme skin protection products.
✓ 13 respondents out of total 60 respondents buy lakme products for long and strong hair.
✓ 10 respondents out of total 60 respondents buy lakme products for glow.
✓ 20 respondents out of total 60 respondents buy lakme products for make up.
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✓
13. Rating the products offered by lakme as:
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
1
2
3
1: excellent
2: good
3: moderate
Table showing the satisfaction level of the lakme respondents with respect to the saloons services
provided by it.
1
2
✓ 48 respondents out of 60 respondents are satisfied with the services provided by the saloons
of lakme.
✓ 12 respondents out of 60 respondents are not satisfied with the services provided by the
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saloons of lakme
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
15. Are you satisfied with the products offered by the company?
Table showing the whether the respondents are satisfied with the products of lakme.
1
2
1
2
Table showing that how much the respondents spend in lakme products.
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
Series1
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
1
2
3
4
1. depicts money below Rs. 500. ;2. depicts money between Rs. 500-Rs. 1000.;3. depicts money
between Rs. 1000- Rs. 2000.;4. depicts money between Rs 2000 and above.
Table showing the number of respondents who think that lakme is a leader in cosmetic industry.
1
2
3
4
19. Would you continue to buy Lakme products even if its price rises by say upto 15%?
Table showing if the respondents will use the lakme product even if the price rises by 15%
1
2
✓ 21 respondents out of 60 respondents will stop using lakme if price will rise.
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
FINDINGS
1. Lakme is the clear market leader across all age groups and income levels.
2. Majority of the respondents ie. 60 respondents out of total 100 respondents are using lakme
products. With Loreal in the second number having 20 regular customers of it. 15 respondents
rae using Garnier and only 5 are using Lotus cosmetics. This shows that lakme has more
number of women using it.
3. The dissertation shows that maximum number of the respondents are using make up products
of their brand like mascara, eyeliner, foundation, facepowder, blushers etc. next the eopleare
investing maximum in skin care products.
4. 58 respondents trust their brand of cosmetics when it comes to healthy make up. 20
respondents do not find their cosmetics to be healthy in the sence that the brand uses more of
chemicals in its compositions.
5. 35 respondents use their cosmetic products because they are economical in nature, while a
major portion of the bulk buys the products of a brand because they show measurable results.
6. 68 respondents spend below Rs. 500 on their cosmetics. However there are many people ie 14
who spend Rs. 1000- Rs. 2000 in cosmetics.
7. 49 respondents out of 100 respondents find their cosmetic brand to be economical in nature.
8. 59 respondents out of total of 100 respondents find sunscreen lotion to be the best product of
their cosmetic brand. While 17 out of them find lip gloss to be the best part of its brand.
9. 44 people appreciate the facial and massage services provided by their favourite cosmetic
company. 32 out of 100 users find steam bath to be very appreciative.
10. 20 respondents out of 60 users who use only lakme products, use lakme products because
they show measurable results. While 18 out of 60 uses it because lakme is very economical in
nature.
11. 34 respondents out of 60 users of lakme products use the sunscreen lotion the maximum times,
the next product being lip gloss.
12. 28 respondents have a very good knowledge about lakme as a brand.
13. 20 respondents out of 60 respondents use lakme’s makeup products, while 17 respondents use
lakme products of skin protection.
14. 28 respondents found lakme to be good, 18 found it to be an excellent product, 14 respondents
, moderately like the products of lakme.
15. 48 respondents are satisfied with the services provided by LAKME.
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SUGGESTIONS
1. Affordable cosmetic products must be launched, drawing less than 1000 rupees per month.
This will attract mores of youg women towards it and will further increase the market share of
the company.
2. Lakme should also concenterate on the cosmetic products for the mails. As today even boys
are becoming more concerned of the way they are looking. More and more boys are turning out
to be metro sexual. This category will rise in the future and lakme must concentrate on
catching them so that the company can generate more sales from them.
3. Lakme must not limit itself to serve only the women, as it will be ignoring a large chunk of looks
conscious and metro sexual boys.
4. It would be wise for the company to target young people in the above category and grow along
with them as they and the nation prospers.
5. Many respondents in their answer as to why they did not take lakme product said that lakme
does not provide a makeup or sunscreen lotion which is to be put only once as it is not
moisture resistant. So lakme should work more in creating a water resistant sunscreen lotion
which could stay all through the hard sweaty days.
6. More of the saloons should be created in order to provide easy accessibility to the consumers
of the services and products provided by lakme.
7. Lakme can start contests for free makeover of women , as it was being started by dove, sunsilk
and ponds in collaboration- be beautiful.
8. Website Changes:
a. Lakme must advertise more about its website in the mass media so people can gain
firsthand knowledge about its products at their convenience in a more detailed manner.
b. The website is good but instead of having a glossary as a separate entity, link words
which are difficult to understand for a first timer (even if it is as simple as ‘spf’) must be
marked up (underlined) in the text, which upon clicking must open out to a window giving
details.
c. A page must be devoted on why cosmetic products of lakme must be taken plus real life
stories of how people with use of lakme cosmetics improved their looks.
d. Links to other sites extolling the virtues of cosmetics must be given.
e. A page devoted to Lakme’s beginning as a cosmetic industry must be included in the
website to assure potential customers that this is one company that will stick around for a
long time to come. Exciting contests can be launched for those who visit the website.
9. lakme has tied up with HUL – hence it must advertise in these websites also. It can also
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advertise in other beauty related sections of websites like vogue.com and feminaindia.com.
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Youth sites like mtstylecheckvindia.com, facebook.com, orkut.com, twitter.com etc can also be
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
targeted.
10. According to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs the 2nd step to self actualization is the
fulfillment of the safety needs. Though people feel the need for being presentable and have
good looks, a large number live in an ivory tower and they procrastinate to take decisions
regarding this aspect. It is this dormant aspect that Lakme should awaken in people and bring
about restlessness and unfulfilled feeling regarding their and their family’s overall physical
grooming. The next choice then would be cosmetics. This could be brought about by an
innovative campaign slogan saying, “The decision is now”.
11. Lakme must not target people only when they start earning but much before that. To gain the
‘early bird ‘ advantage they must organize sessions in schools and colleges giving explanations
on how the medicure, pedicure, facials, massage etc can in general help in their overall
development. . It can also bring about a stronger brand commitment in this manner.
12. Leverage information technology to service large numbers of customers efficiently and bring
down overheads. Technology can complement or supplement distribution channels cost-
effectively. It can also help improve customer service levels considerably.
13. Use data warehousing, management and mining to gauge the profitability and potential of
various customer and product segments and ensure effective cross selling.
14. Understanding the customer better will allow cosmetic companies to design appropriate
products, determine pricing correctly and increase profitability.
15. Ensure high levels of training and development not just for staff but for distribution
organizations. Existing organizations will have to train staff for better service and flexibility,
while all companies will have to train employees to cope with new products and an intensive
use of information technology. The importance of alliances and tie-ups means that companies
will have to integrate related but separate providers into their systems to ensure seamless
delivery.
16. Build strong relationships with intermediaries such as agents. The agency force is an important
customer interface and companies must partner with this group to reach customers and serve
them effectively.
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LAKME
CONCLUSION:
The different information or benefits derived from the in-depth study of the above mentioned
information sources are as follows:
1. consumer behavior and perception study; it helped to know that what actually is consumer
beahviour and what are the factors that affect the buying behavior of consumers. It also helped
us to know that how can perception have a positive and a negative impact on the consumer
beahviour.
2. cosmetic industry in india- this section helped in knowing tat cosmetic is not a new concept in
india. People have been grooming themselves physically. The only difference is the addition of
chemicals and technology to our personal grooming.
3. Competition existing in the present insurance market; there are many other companies posing
tough competition to lakme ie Revlon , garnier, loreal, lotus etc.
4. All the marketing information sources has given a significant contribution to the detailed
theoretical perspective for the research i.e. about consumer behavior an perception.
5. World Wide Web also worked as a highly important information source as it provides updated
information for the research relating to various areas.
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
ANNEXURE
LISTOF TABLES
19. Table showing that how many respondents will buy the products of 62
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LIST OF GRAPHS
Graph showing that how many respondents will buy the products of
lakme even if the price of it will rise
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN TOWARDS
LAKME
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cultural work-related values: Implications for consumer behaviour,” European Advances
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• Mooij, D. (2004) Consumer Behaviour and Culture: Consequences for Global Marketing
and Advertising, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• Palmer, A. (2000) Principle of Marketing, Oxford: Oxford University press.
• Rolando, Diaz-Loving, (1998) “Contribution of Mexican ethno psychology to the
resolution of the etic-emic dilemma in personality,” Journal of Cross-Cultural
Psychology, l (29), 104-118.
• Schiffman, L. G and Kanuk, L. Leslie. (1994) Consumer behaviour, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Schutte, H. and Ciarlante, D. (1998) Consumer Behaviour in Asia, Macmillan Press
Limited.
• Solomon, M. R. (1996) Consumer Behaviour, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
• Usunier, J. C. (2000) Marketing across cultures, London: Prentice Hall.
• Williams D. Jerome, Sang-Lin Han and William J. Qualls, (1998) “A Conceptual Model
of Study of Cross-Cultural Business Relationships,” Journal of Business Research.
Websites used
1. www.invogue.com
2. www.lakmeindia.com
3. www.google.com
4. www.hindustanunilever.com
5. www.feminaindia.com
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