Contents Introduction ........................................................................................................ 4 History ................................................................................................................ 5 Unilever Pakistan Limited ................................................................................... 5 List of Unilever Brands in Pakistan ......................................................................

6 Unilever Lux ........................................................................................................ 7 The Marketing Process........................................................................................... 7 Product Category ................................................................................................ 7 Market Segmentation ......................................................................................... 7 Target Market ..................................................................................................... 8 Product Positioning............................................................................................. 9 Marketing Tools ................................................................................................... 10 Product ............................................................................................................. 10 Price.................................................................................................................. 10 Place ................................................................................................................. 11 Promotion......................................................................................................... 11 Capturing value from Customers in Return .......................................................... 12 Market Share .................................................................................................... 12 Customer loyalty............................................................................................... 12 Conclusion and Recommendations ........................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 13 Recommendation ............................................................................................. 13

Executive Summary
Unilever is a multinational consumer product manufacturing giant operating in over hundred countries all around the globe. Unilever Pakistan is the Pakistan chapter of Unilever, where the company holds 60.75% share whereas the Government of Peoples Republic of Pakistan holds 39.25% share. Unilevers one of the most popular brand is LUX. They segments LUX.s market according to geographical locations. It further differentiates these segments into Socio Economic Cluster (SEC) which takes into account the criteria of education and profession which ultimately measures the financial ability of consumers. The cluster is divided into five parts starting from A to E. Unilever targets the urban and sub urban upper middle class and middle class segment of the population, who falls under A to C of SEC. Tactical marketing tools, 4Ps, are extensively used by the company to market LUX. Though LUX is produced in Pakistan, Unilever Pakistan maintains the same standard all around the globe. The product is available in six different fragrances under three different sizes. Since the demand for beauty soap market is to a great extent oligopolistic, variations in price lead to price war which can eventually break down the companys market share. Thus Unilever cannot provide a better price than its competitors. But the price is affordable by most of the people. Unilever Pakistan has outsourced its distribution channels to third party distributors which allow them to distribute LUX in massive bulks amounting to around ten million pieces. It undertakes the largest promotional activities in the beauty soap industry. The beauty soap industry has a few major producers of which Unilever holds market share of slightly less than 50%. Other competing brands like Dove, Rexona and Capri have started to have a strong consumer base, but LUX.s product features distribution and promotional activities have created high brand loyalty for which it is still the market leader.

Introduction
Unilever is one of the worlds largest and leading multinational companies; Unilever commenced their business activities on a larger scale by setting up their first factory in Netherlands, in the year of 1890. Operating in Pakistan for over the last four decades the company is trying to significantly contribute towards the augmentation of the standard of living by bringing world class high quality products at the door step of their customers. The usage of Unilever products by over 90% of the people in Pakistan stands a testimony to their successful operation. . Their array of products show that they produce household care, fabric cleaning, skin cleansing, skin care, oral care, hair care, personal grooming, and tea based beverage products under worldwide famous brand names Wheel, LUX, Lifebuoy, Fair & Lovely, Pond's, Close Up, Sunsilk, Lipton, Lipton Taaza, Pepsodent, All Clear, Vim, Surf Excel, and Rexona.

History
In the 1890s, William Hesketh Lever, founder of Lever Bros, wrote down his ideas for Sunlight Soap his revolutionary new product that helped popularize cleanliness and hygiene in Victorian England. Unilever is one of the biggest company of the world with its products spread all over the world. Present in 150 countries around the world with a wide range of products. The Unilever shares in the world are: Europe | 15bn | 38% Asia/Africa | 12bn | 29% The Americas | 13bn | 33%

Unilever Pakistan Limited

The Unilever Pakistan Limited (UPL), formerly Lever Brothers Pakistan Limited was established in Pakistan in 1948. The town of Rahim Yar Khan was the site chosen for setting up a vegetable oil factory. Unilever Pakistan is the largest FMCG company in Pakistan, as well as one of the largest multinationals operating in the country. Now operating six factories at different locations around the country. The Unilever's Head Office was shifted to Karachi from the Rahim Yar Khan site in the mid 60's.

Mission
We meet every day needs for nutrition , hygiene and personal care with brands that help people feel good, look good and get more out of life. "Lever brothers will be the foremost consumer product company in Pakistan with care, skin, ice cream and spread. Already positioned in tea, hair, dental and household care, substantially profitable position in cooking oils and fats our strengths come from our people and from combining the best of our international as well as Pakistan origin. Our commitment is to continuously care for the need of our customers, consumers, employees, suppliers, shareholders and the community in which we live."

As one of Unilever's leading brands, it has always been Wall's mission to add vitality to your life - while being responsible about good nutrition

List of Unilever Brands in Pakistan

Blue Band Supreme Tea Clear Shampoo Close Up Fair & Lovely Lifebuoy soap & shampoo Lux Surf Excel Walls Lipton Tea Sunsilk Knorr Soup / Nudels Rexona Imperial Pond's

Unilever Lux
Lux soap was first launched in the UK in 1899 as a flaked version of Sunlight soap. Subsequently it was launched in the US in 1916, and marketed as laundry soap targeted specifically at 'delicates'. Lever Brothers encouraged women to home launder their clothes without fear of satins and silks being turned yellow by harsh lies that were often used in soaps at the time. The flake-type soap allowed the manufacturer some leeway from lye because it did not need to be shaped into traditional cake-shaped loaves as other soaps were. The result was a gentler soap that dissolved more readily and was advertised as suitable for home laundry use.[1] Lux is currently a product of Unilever. The name "Lux" was chosen as the Latin word for "light" and because it was suggestive of "luxury. In Pakistan Lux was first introduced in 1957 and till now Lux has become one of the top soap in Pakistan.

The Marketing Process Customer driven Marketing Strategy Product Category

LUX falls under the category of toiletry product as a beauty soap.

Market Segmentation
The company claims that LUX is the highest selling beauty soap in Pakistan. Moreover some survey reports also reveal the same result. Though LUX is the highest selling beauty soap in Pakistan, it does not go for traditional mass marketing. Moreover as a beauty soap LUX does not even segment its market according to gender. Unilever Pakistan Ltd. segments their market according to geographical areas. The

population of the country is segmented into three parts which are urban, sub urban and rural

Urban Richz Urban and Sub Urban Middle Class

Rural Poor

area consumers. The company further differentiate the geographical segments according to Socio Economic Cluster (SEC) i.e. education and Income.

Socio Economic Clusters A High Income Income B Upper C Mid D E

Lower Middle Low Income Income

Middle Level Level Income High Level of Educated Education Income Educated

Educated Slightly

Very Less Level Literacy

Low of

Slightly Less Slightly

Education

than Cluster A Less than than Cluster C Cluster B

The SEC divides the population in five segments starting from A to E, where A categorizes the highly educated and high income earners holders the main target market of the Lux, and sequentially in descending order E categorizes the opposite.

Target Market
A research carried out by Unilever Pakistan reveals that urban rich people are more likely to buy imported and expensive products. Moreover rural poor people tend to buy cheap products even without evaluating its quality. However urban and sub urban upper middle and middle class people tend to buy affordable and quality products.

LUX is not a highly expensive but an affordable product. That is why the company targets urban and sub urban upper middle and middle class people who are the second highest population of segment of the country. From the segmentation of customer according to SEC they target category A, B and C, because they are assumed to be financially well-off and can afford to buy LUX.

Socio Economic Clusters A High Income Income High Level of Education Education B Upper Income Educated Slightly Less than Educated Slightly Less than Cluster A Cluster B Middle C Level Mid Level Income

Product Positioning:
Unilever Pakistan Ltd obtained a good position in the buyers mind through better product attributes, price and quality, offering the product in a different way than the competitors do. The company offers improved quality of products in the industry at an affordable price with high branding, which ultimately helps to position the product in the buyers mind as the best quality beauty soap. The market share of the company in the beauty soap industry is somewhere around 52%.Since in the beauty soap industry all products are of same price Unilever cannot provide its consumers with better price but it is in a great position in reference with its packaging, fragrances and product designing. It states that though in comparison to its competitors the pricing of LUX is same but consumers rate it as the product which gives them the highest quality. This positioning created a strong customer loyalty for LUX, for which it the market leader in the industry.

Marketing Tools Product

LUX is an internationally renowned beauty soap brand of Unilever. Though manufactured in Pakistan for the local market by Unilever Pakistan Ltd, as an international brand, it maintains an international quality for the product. Formula given by Research and Development departments in foreign countries, LUX is produced in Pakistan from imported raw materials like sodium soap, glycerol and different extracts according to flavors, coming from Unilever plants situated abroad.

LUX is offered in Pakistan in six different flavors which are: LUX Energizing Honey, LUX Golden Glow, LUX Nature Pure, LUX Orchid Touch, LUX Almond Delight and LUX Aqua Sparkle. Taking into account the convenience of its customers, the company manufactures all flavors of LUX in three different sizes, 40gm, 80gm and 120gm.

Orchid touch

Almond delight

Energising fruit

Aqua sparkle

Price
Though Unilever Pakistan gives its LUX customers a lot in terms of the product itself, it cannot provide a better pricing. This is due to some constraints in the beauty soap industry. Beauty soap is a product with a vulnerable demand in Pakistan. A change in price has a high risk of creating price war among the rivals which will eventually cause a loss of profit. Its prices are almost equal to its competitor. Company carries out research on competitors price and brand loyalty when it feels extreme necessaity of chaging price. The brand loyalty test is an exploratory research which is known as Brand Health Check-Up (BHCU).

Place
Unilever Pakistan Ltd. has a huge distribution channel for LUX all over the country as its sales reach more than 10 million pieces a year. The company has six huge warehouses, one in each division of Pakistan. The company does not use its own fleet of transport for distributing its product. However, it has outsourced its distribution process to various third party distributors, exclusively dedicated to Unilever Pakistan Ltd. These distributors then supply the product all over Pakistan to a huge number of retailers. Even though LUX targets the urban and sub urban middle and upper middle class people they are distributing their products all over Pakistan because of a recent increase in demand of its product to all segments of the population.

Promotion
Unilever Pakistan undertakes huge promotional activities to promote LUX which has topped the beauty soap industry of Pakistan. It spends almost 20% to 25% of its Net Proceeds from Sales (NPC) of LUX for promotional activities for LUX. Its certain annual promotional campaigns like LUX Superstar and LUX Annual Style Awards has made the product a part of the glamour world. Since the 1930s, over 400 of the worlds most stunning and sensuous women have been proudly associated with Lux advertisements. They do not only promote LUX in Pakistan for the beauty conscious females, it also promotes the brand for males and the company proved that, by including world famous male celebrity Shahrukh Khan and Shan for their advertising campaign. Unilever Pakistan Ltd spends a huge amount of money for promoting LUX through TV commercials, newspaper advertisements and billboards. Moreover it also undertakes small promotional campaigns at different schools, colleges, universities and recreational parks with winners of its Zonal Beauty Contests. Till now promotional activities of LUX has always been successful which has made it a household common name and helped it reach almost one billion taka sale value in the year 2004. Lux has been widely advertised in Pakistan ever since the brand was introduced. Pakistani models including Reema Khan, Meera, Aaminah Haq, Babra sharif and various other leading models and actresses have been "Lux models" from time to time. Lux remains the leading soap brand in Pakistan, representing the stylish class of Pakistan. Things started with a TV show called Lux Style Ki Duniya, now with the country's leading models and actors taking

part in the annual Lux Style Awards every year. Ali Zafar the famous Pakistani Singer has become the first male model for Lux.Capturing value from Customers in Return

Market Share
The beauty soap industry in Pakistan consists of only seven major producers. Unilever Pakistan Ltd is operating in the industry with its world famous brand LUX. Out of these giant companies Unilever Pakistan Ltd is the market leader with a share of around 43%.

Sales

Others. 24%

LUX 43%

Rexona 9% Dove 11%

Capri 13%

Figure shows the market share of all the companies in the sector. Unilever Pakistan Ltd is leading the market. The other competitors are very competitive among themselves but they cannot put a intense competition with Unilever Pakistan Ltd, as they have market share much less than Unilever Pakistan Ltd.

Customer loyalty
We all want to be pampered, to look and feel great, to enjoy that moment when anything seems possible. And that's just what Lux offers you on a daily basis at a price you can afford. Lux has been winning hearts of Pakistani consumers for more than 20 years. Throughout this time, Lux has been closely associated with many of the most glamorous and sensual women

of the age. Marilyn Monroe, Demi Moore and Catherine Zeta-Jones are some of the stars who've appeared in Lux ads. In Pakistan, leading celebrities like Babra Sharif, Meera and Aaminah Haq have endorsed the brand.Which made there customers reluctant to Lux and to make there customers a loyal customers.

Conclusion
The beauty soap industry of Pakistan consists of a few producers in the industry. The demand for this product is very much vulnerable in terms of pricing. Unilever Pakistan is providing LUX. at a price which is affordable to most of the people in the country. Beauty soap is an uprising product in Pakistan as a greater portion of the population, both male and female, are now getting more beauty conscious. As a multinational company Unilever Pakistan with heavy promotional activities, has been able to penetrate the market. With six different fragrances, three different sizes, international standard and high quality design, as a product, LUX has been highly successful over the years. Its distribution process is highly efficient. Its promotional activities, like the beauty contest has been a milestone in attracting a huge number of customers. Overall with its marketing activities LUX has been a successful brand. The only place where rival companies are progressing is in giving customers redemption offers. Research revealed that Pakistani customers are highly attracted to this sort of offers. These offers are not sustainable in the long run but still it takes away a considerable part of LUXs sale in the short run.

Recommendation
I would suggest some recommendations to Unilever Pakistan Ltd. to adopt more successful operation in Pakistan. Since a huge portion of the rural poor people is demanding LUX in recent days, Unilever Pakistan Ltd should expand their target market also towards the rural people. They should also conduct different promotional activities in rural fairs and socially responsible promotional activities to attract rural consumers and social awareness .Because Lux has different skin type soap so now if they provide different types of beauty soaps for male and female soapunder the same brand name i.e. LUX it might increase their sales. Lastly, as Pakistani culture children have a huge say in shopping so they should also promote the product to children like their another brand Dove. These are the recommendations

suggested by teem members to Unilever Pakistan Ltd. to adopt for a more successful operation in Pakistan with large market share.

SWOT ANALYSIS
SWOT analysis is a basic, straightforward model that provides direction and serves as a basis for the development of marketing plans. It accomplishes this by assessing an organizations strengths (what an organization can do) and weaknesses (what an organization cannot do) in addition to opportunities (potential favorable conditions for an organization) and threats (potential unfavorable conditions for an organization). SWOT analysis is an important step in planning and its value is often underestimated despite the simplicity in creation. The role of SWOT analysis is to take the information from the environmental analysis and separate it into internal issues (strengths and weaknesses) and external issues (opportunities and threats). Once this is completed, SWOT analysis determines if the information indicates something that will assist the firm in accomplishing its objectives (a strength or opportunity), or if it indicates an obstacle that must be overcome or minimized to achieve desired results (weakness or threat) (Marketing Strategy, 1998).

The internal and external situation analysis can produce a large amount of information, much of which may not be highly relevant. The SWOT analysis can serve as an interpretative filter to reduce the information to a manageable quantity of key issues. The SWOT analysis classifies the internal aspects of the company as strengths or weaknesses and the external situational factors as opportunities or threats. Strengths can serve as a foundation for building a competitive advantage, and weaknesses may hinder it. By understanding these four aspects of its situation, a firm can better leverage its strengths, correct its weaknesses, capitalize on golden opportunities, and deter potentially devastating threats. Internal Analysis - The internal analysis is a comprehensive evaluation of the internal environment's potential strengths and weaknesses. Factors should be evaluated across the organization in areas such as:

Company culture, image Organizational structure Key staff Access to natural resources Position on the experience curve

Operational efficiency, capacity Brand awareness Market share Financial resources Exclusive contracts Patents and trade secrets

The SWOT analysis summarizes the internal factors of the firm as a list of strengths and weaknesses. External Analysis - An opportunity is the chance to introduce a new product or service that can generate superior returns. Opportunities can arise when changes occur in the external environment. Many of these changes can be perceived as threats to the market position of existing products and may necessitate a change in product specifications or the development of new products in order for the firm to remain competitive. Changes in the external environment may be related to:

Customers Competitors Market trends Suppliers Partners Social changes New technology Economic / Political environment

The SWOT analysis summarizes the external environmental factors as a list of opportunities and threats.

SWOT PROFILE OF LUX

STRENGTHS 1.Strong Market Research (door to door sampling is done once a year in Urban and Rural areas) 2.Many variants (Almond Oil, Orchid Extracts, Milk Cream, Fruit Extracts, Saffron,

WEAKNESSES 1.Lux is mainly positioned as beauty soap targeted towards women, hence it lacks unisex appeal 2.Usage rate/ wear rate is high and is generally mushy and soggy 3.Some variants like the sunscreen,

Sandalwood Oil, and Honey to name a few) 3.Strong sales and distribution network backed by HLL 4.Strong brand image 5.Positioning focuses on the attractive beauty segment 6.Dynamically continuous innovation of the product and brand rejuvenation new variants (Aromatic Glow and Chocolate Seduction and Lux White Spa body wash) and innovative promotions (22 carat gold coin promotion Chance Hai) 7.Perceived to have high value for money (strong brand promotion but relatively lower price which is a winning combination in the popular segment) 8.Though it is in popular segment, it is having mass appeal/market presence across all

International market

variant did not do well in the

4.Certain advertisements like the recent one with Shah Rukh Khan resulted in controversial interpretations of the message of the

advertisement and lead to some loss of focus (of message of the advertisements) 5.Stock out problems - replenishment time is high in semi-urban/rural areas

THREATS 1.New entrants/local competitors/MNCs would increase the competition (Camay, P&G) 2.High internal competition Pears also catering the beauty segment (also from HLL stable) 3.Excessive dependence on beauty segment makes Lux vulnerable to changing customer tastes 4.Technological change makes the existing products obsolete Lux should focus on

segments (15% of the soap market captured by Lux (sales / volume) 9.Unique advantage of having access to resources and assets of HLL

OPPORTUNITIES 1.Soap industry growing by 4% in India 2.Beauty Growth segments Rate Compounded is very Annual An

technological innovations like Body Wash

(CAGR)

high.

indication of this is that Fair and Lovelys segment is increasing at a fast rate - Lux must reinforce its presence in the beauty segment

3.More promotions like price-offs and samples 4.Retentive strategy required as the soap segment is in the mature stage of its product life cycle 5.Line extension probably with more variants catering to the beauty segment like natural, herbal soap etc 6.Liquid body wash is currently in the growth stage Lux should come out with more variants in this segment 7.Level of servicing is high during sales promotion schemes this could be brought down

A new product progresses through a sequence of stages from introduction to growth, maturity, and decline. This sequence is known as the product life cycle and is associated with changes in the marketing situation, thus impacting the marketing strategy and the marketing mix. The product revenue and profits can be plotted as a function of the life-cycle stages as shown in the graph below:

Product Life Cycle Diagram

Introduction Stage In the introduction stage, the firm seeks to build product awareness and develop a market for the product. The impact on the marketing mix is as follows:

Product branding and quality level is established, and intellectual property protection such as patents and trademarks are obtained. Pricing may be low penetration pricing to build market share rapidly, or high skim pricing to recover development costs. Distribution is selective until consumers show acceptance of the product. Promotion is aimed at innovators and early adopters. Marketing communications seeks to build product awareness and to educate potential consumers about the product.

Growth Stage In the growth stage, the firm seeks to build brand preference and increase market share.

roduc t qualit y is maint ained and additi onal features and support services may be added. Pricing is maintained as the firm enjoys increasing demand with little competition. Distribution channels are added as demand increases and customers accept the product. Promotion is aimed at a broader audience.

Maturity Stage At maturity, the strong growth in sales diminishes. Competition may appear with similar products. The primary objective at this point is to defend market share while maximizing profit.

Product features may be enhanced to differentiate the product from that of competitors. Pricing may be lower because of the new competition. Distribution becomes more intensive and incentives may be offered to encourage preference over competing products. Promotion emphasizes product differentiation.

Decline Stage As sales decline, the firm has several options:

Maintain the product, possibly rejuvenating it by adding new features and finding new uses. Harvest the product - reduce costs and continue to offer it, possibly to a loyal niche segment. Discontinue the product, liquidating remaining inventory or selling it to another firm that is willing to continue the product.

The marketing mix decisions in the decline phase will depend on the selected strategy. For example, the product may be changed if it is being rejuvenated, or left unchanged if it is being harvested or liquidated. The price may be maintained if the product is harvested, or reduced drastically if liquidated.

In the growth stage, their sales rapidly started rising. They have expanded their market to the other cities of INDIA. MARKETING OBJECTIVES = The marketing objectives of the Lux were to expand their market to the other cities of INDIA. Another objective was to maximize more market share.

In the growth stage, company had the following MARKETING STRATEGIES:

Product = In the growth stage, the company had offered the same product in the market. Price = In this stage, the company had changed their price to some extent because of maximizing the market share. ( Slightly cut down the prices )

Advertising = In the growth stage, they had increased their advertising budget as in the initial stages because of attracting the new customers or to retain the existing customers. Sharmila Tagore, Hema Malini, Zeenat Amaan, Juhi Chawla, Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi Distribution = In this stage, company had expanded their market to the other cities of INDIA. Their distribution channel was the same as in the initial stages of the product. Promotion = In the growth stage, the company had also used the different proportioning strategies to attract the new and the existing customers

They modified the product by adding some changes in the product. In this stage, few competitors enter into the market like (CINTHOL, FAIRGLOW, SANTOOR, CHANDRIKA, FIAMA DI WILLS and VIVEL). The company has expanded their market to almost all the cities of INDIA. MARKETING OBJECTIVES = The marketing objective of Lux is to maximize more profit while defending the market share. And to expand the market to all the cities of INDIA. MARKETING STRATEGIES In this stage are based on: Product= The Lux has made the modification in the product by introducing: Lux Almond, Lux Orchid , Lux Fruit, Lux Saffron, Lux Sandalwood, Lux Rose, Lux International, Lux Chocolate, Lux Aromatic Extracts, Lux Oil and Honey.etc Price = The Lux products are now available at higher prices in the market, the reason behind is that the companys marketing objectives is to maximize more profit. Distribution = Now Lux products are available in almost all the cities of INDIA. Their distribution channel is same as in the initial stage. Advertising = In this stage Lux advertising has been reduced to some extent because of the more brand awareness in the minds of customers. Recently, they have shown Aishwarya Rai , Kareena kapoor & Shah Rukh khan. PROMOTIONAL OFFERS :---- Like buy 3 get 1 free.

Besides of all campaigns for the sales promotion of Lux .The reasons for its decline are : 1. Currency fluctuations: Unilever products are in over 100 countries worldwide, As a result, it is exposed to adverse currency fluctuations. For instance, in 2004, a 5.9% decline in turnover was primarily due to a 4% appreciation in the average Euro exchange rate. 2.SLOWDOWN: In year 2008 - 09 due to hard economic conditions in INDIA and other countries the sales were highly affected as the consumer started looking for some alternate products with a cheaper price than Lux. 3.Competition: Lux has been facing competition from HUL itself (Lifebuoy) & from other companies like:Godrej Consumer Products : GCPL, Indias second largest soap maker with 9.2% market share. with leading brands such as CINTHOL, FAIRGLOW & NIKHAR.

Fairglow brand, India's first Fairness soap, has created marketing history as one of the most successful innovations Wipro : The presence of Wipro in the toilet soap industry can be seen through their brands such as SANTO OR and CHANDRIKA. In the southern market of India it is a major market player in toilet soap. ITC :It entered the segment last year and has made a strong headway in a short time by growing to 1.75% in just five months. With the brands like: Superia, Fiama Di Wills and Vivel