Marketing Management - I

Case Study on:

RECKITT BENCKISER: DEVELOPING A
NEW LAUNDRY CARE CATAGORY IN
INDIA

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Group 7 Team Members:
 Khushboo Mittal (19A2HP436)
 Muskan Jain (19A2HP463)
 Ankita Pal (19A1HP059)
 Madhav Kothari (19A3HP664)
 Rishabh Das (19A1HP014)
 Lovekesh Muchhal (19A2HP430)

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Summary
Reckitt & Sons was founded in 1819 in Slough, Berkshire, England and in the year
1999 it merged with Netherlands based Company Benckiser thus adopting the
name Reckitt Benckiser. It has been the World’s largest Producer of Household
Products and major producer of Consumer Healthcare and Personal Products. The
company has employed more than 37,000 employees worldwide and has made its
presence viable in more than 60 countries. The company has been growing since
its inception with a net revenue of £8874 Million in 2015.Its Flagship product
includes Dettol Antiseptic Liquid which was introduced in 1932 and had built the
trust and goodwill of the Indian Consumers since then. The key to success for
Reckitt Benckiser was its continuous “Innovation Strategy” clubbed with the
expansion of its Product Categories in different Product Line. New launches
included products like Dettol Gold Bar Soap, Dettol Fresh Lather Shaving Cream,
Dettol Plasters, Liquid Hand wash, Liquid Body wash and Instant Hand Sanitizer.
Laundry Care Market in India was growing through a rapid pace and the valuation
reached Rs.189 billion in 2015 due to the increase in the Disposable Income of the
Consumers. With no brands offering any “Antibacterial Detergents”, the
consumer concerns regarding hygienically clean laundry could be an opportunity
for Reckitt Benckiser and they can have a “First Mover Advantage” in this
segment. The case is related to this dilemma if the company should launch the
Detergent as Brand Extension of Dettol or launch a specifically new brand for
Detergents.

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Q1. Identify the key drivers of laundry detergent industry in India.

Answer:

1.More disposable income: Due to increase in the income of the urban as well as
rural population people now have more disposable income to spend. Because of
high disposable income people are now can afford laundry detergent. In rural
areas due to rise in income there is further penetration of low cost detergent like
Ghari, Wheel.

2.Increased penetration of washing machine: Now people are moving towards

more machine wash than hand wash. Powdered detergent in the machine
segment had 68% share followed by liquid detergent. More washing machine
demand means more demand for detergent.

3.Demand for better quality premium product: Earlier people were more price
sensitive but now people want premium quality product even at extra cost.
Automatic detergent, high-quality hand-wash laundry soaps boasted value growth
in the laundry care market. These products are costlier than the old alternative
but of premium quality.

4.Added product benefits: Premium laundry detergent increased growth rate of

India’s laundry segment by giving additional benefits like stain removal, shine,
softness. Women are gravitated to one product with multiple attribute to save
and energy.

5.Changing preference: the simple shift from traditional bar soap to more
sophisticated hand wash detergent was an indicator of India’s consumer
revolution. By 2013 8.8% of household has washing machine. Better facilities such
as running water, constant electricity and better plumbling contributed to
increased use of washing machine which require detergent.

Q2. Analyze the Dettol brand and the reason for its success over the years.

Answer: Dettol’s Antiseptic liquid was RB’s flagship product. It was introduced as
a skin antiseptic for surgical procedures and childbirth in 1932. It was a doctor
recommended product for cleaning wounds and preparing skin for minor
procedures. Due to the acceptance by the people and powerful branding it
became a synonym for antiseptic liquid. The brand had created a distinct image in
the consumer’s mind through its trademark smell which assured them of its

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quality. Dettol also introduced its own kitchen cleaning gel in 2013. It also voted
as India’s most trusted brand various times.

The various reasons for its success over the years are as follows:

1. It offered high anti-germ standards.

2. Recommended by health care professionals.

3. It is seen as an effective and versatile “expert”.

4. It enjoys the emotional appeal of a mother’s love and care for a hurt child
through advertisements.

Q3: Should Reckitt Benkiser launch the detergent as the brand extension of
Dettol or launch new brand for detergents?

Answer:

Dettol as a brand has immense trust and loyalty from the consumers. Reckitt
Benkiser should extend the product under the same brand image by using
antibacterial detergent strengths to consolidate and expand the market position.
The idea of antibacterial laundry can be leveraged into building a significant
competitive advantage in the market.

Strong brand equity and brand awareness will help to easily attract a large
number of new customers. There are enough evidences in the case to conclude
that superior product and services quality can help RB to further increase its
market share as the current customer are extremely loyal to it.

Growing Market Size and Evolving Preferences of Consumers – With the

increasing number of consumers using detergents, RB can target the preferences
and tastes of the people by adding value based features based on consumer
needs.

Increase in Consumer Disposable Income – Antibacterial Laundry can use the

increasing disposable income to build a new business model where customers
start paying progressively for using its products. According to case study,
antibacterial detergent can use this trend to expand and obtain a substantial
market share.

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Q4. Develop the Brand positioning bull’s eye for Reckitt Benckiser detergent

Answer: The advantage of a Brand Positioning Bull’s eye is that it helps to create a
position for the brand. At the core is the brand mantra, aided by the key points of
parity (POP) and points of difference (POD). This will be followed by the
substantiates or the main motto to believe in the key concepts. Consumers take
reference from these substantiates to find how the POP and POD is justified. The
last but not the least are the information that are provided from the point of view
of values, personality, character and visual identity that adds enough insight on
brand positioning.

Brand Mantra: In order to launch the new product, it is expected that the brand
will have a unique mantra. So keeping by the promise that the company has made
to the consumer, that is health and hygiene, the brand mantra for the company
goes as follows:

“Younger, brighter, cleaner clothes”

Points of Parity: The POPs are the associations that can be shared with other
brands but the particular brand should match the claim that they are the best
among the competitors. POPs should not become the reason to choose a brand,
but they should be present to continue the comparative analysis. So, the POP for
the Laundry detergent is:

· The feasibility of taking care of fabrics

· Understands the needs of the modern urban cleaning requisites

· Technologically advanced formulation from natural ingredients

Point of Difference: PODs are the benefits or attributes that a consumer finds a
strong connection with the brand. The other competing brands cannot offer the
same features that make this detergent unique to the consumers. Here the PODs
are:

· Removes dirt with germs, making them 99.99% germ free, it is a one stop
solution to all laundry related issues, making sure that it cleans as well as cares.

· Formulation that works on the obstinate dirt marks, repair damaged fibre and
maintenance of the colour of the clothes

· Available on the key e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Bigbasket, Grofers etc
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The substantiators of the product provide the factual and demonstrable support
to the POP and POD. This is as follows:

After making the European detergent market reach new heights with its germ
cleaning and fabric enhancing with its keratin based detergent formula, the new
variants have been launched in the Indian market for a premium washing
experience.

The brand personality of the detergent that acts as the added value to the
detergent are the sincerity with which it has developed the ingredients, the
segmentation of the product for dark colour clothes and light colour clothes that
makes washing option available to the consumers and the sophisticated keratin
technology that is designed to repair the damaged fibre and make clothes look
like new.

Visual Identity: Available in 1 litre sized packs, it has two variants to choose from.
The dark pack can be easily understood by the consumers that it is related for the
dark clothes and the light one for the light colour clothes. The pricing is also
competitive, keeping in mind the budget of the Indian household.