ABSTRACT

Margo is a brand of soap manufactured in India. The soap has neem as its main ingredient. The soap was manufactured by Calcutta Chemicals and was launched in 1920. In 1988 the soap was among the top five selling brands in India, with a market share of 8.9%. As of 2001, the brand was worth Rs. 75 crores and belonged to Henkel-SPIC. As of 2003, the brand was relaunching new products focused on the younger demographics and had a market share of close to 2% of the premium soaps segment in India.
Product Benefits: Margo Neem Soap is the only full herbal and medicinal soap with anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. The Neem in Margo cleanses from deep down, removing germs, grime and

blemishes without removing any vital body oils. With a medicinal history stretching over 4000 years in Ayurvedic medicine, Neem when used as soap truly assists in maintaining a delicate sheen and enhances your complexion's beauty naturally. Ingredients Include: Soap Base - vegetable oils in their natural form. Neem Advantage: Neem oil contains Azadiractin an bitters, with proven skin nourishing, germicidal and antibacterial properties. TFM: 76% Added Medicated Moisturiser: A recipe containing natural moisturisers like lanolin and anti-bacterial compounds.
One of the widely acknowledged benefits of Neem is its utility as a skin care agent. Margo taps that very same natural benefit through pure neem oil. Owing to the unparalleled delivery of this equity through its range of toilet soaps, Margo today is among the widely known brands in India, with a loyal consumer base. Starting in 2009, Margo has done a revamp of the imagery of the toilet soaps, and has introduced the product in a new pack and new shape. This change in packaging and shape has been done to appeal to the preferences and aspirations of Indias dynamic and ever increasing young population. Additionally, the flagship product Margo Original Neem now comes with added Vitamin-E moisturizer which makes a great product even better, through its synergy with anti-bacterial cleansing benefit of the everpotent pure neem oil.

DECLINE STAGE
Besides of all campaigns for the sales promotion of Margo .The reasons for its decline are : 1. Failed to understand the changing dynamics of Indian consumers, more and more choices began to unfold before the consumer and Margo was becoming a niche brand. 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 cheaper price than Margo.

3. Competition: Margo has been facing competition from HUL: LUX, 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. Wipro: The presence of Wipro in the toilet soap industry can be seen through their brands such as SANTOOR and CHANDRIKA. Sales Costs Profits Marketing Objectives Product Strategy Price Strategy Distribution Strategy Declining sales Low cost per customer Declining profits Reduce expenditure Phase out weak items Cut price Go selective: phase out unprofitable outlets

INTRODUCTION TO PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

The course of a products sales and profits over its lifetime is called the product life cycle. PLC shows the stages that products go through from development to withdrawal from the market. Product Life Cycle (PLC): Each product may have a different life cycle.

 PLC determines revenue earned. Contributes to strategic marketing planning To identify when a product needs support, redesign, renovating , withdrawal, etc.

INTRODUCTION OF COMPANY HENKEL

Henkel India Ltd. (HIL)

HIL has manufacturing plants located at Karaikal and Tiljala manufacturing detergents and cosmetics.

HIL along with its Subsidiaries manufacture and market a range of world class Detergents, Cleansers, Cosmetics & Hair Care products.

HILs product portfolio includes brands like Henko range of Detergents, Pril Utensil Cleansers, Fa range of Toilet Soap, Deodorants, Talc, Shaving Cream, and after-shave lotion, Mr. White range of detergents, Margo bath soap, Bref range of cleaners and Neem Tooth Paste. Hair care products from Schwarzkopf Professional division include Igora, Bonacure, Glatt, and Osis.

HIL is poised to launch its International Range of products to further entrench its position in the minds of the discerning Indian Consumers.Dedicated to quality, environmental protection and continuous improvement in all spheres of activity, HIL is committed to create superlative value for its consumers and stakeholders on a sustained and enduring basis.

PLC OF MARGO SOAP

INTRODUCTION TO MARGO:
"COMPLETE SKIN CARE SOAP"
Margo is one of the oldest herbal soaps in India. The brand which is more than 85 years old is famous for its neem content.

 The product although famous for its positive effects to the skin is nowhere in the market. During its launch, the product had dedicated customer base and since the product was unique due to its medicinal value , customers tend to be loyal. The whole brand was having Neem as its core identity.

INTRODUCTION STAGE

 Margo soap is a brand of natural soap India. It is marketed by Henkel-SPIC. It is manufactured by Calcutta Chemicals and was marketed by Shaw Wallace until1999, when Calcutta Chemicals and Detergents India Ltd were acquired by Henkel-SPIC. At that time there was many competitor of Margo, which was from brand LIFEBUOY, Lux etc. In the initial stages Margo was introduced in the major cities of INDIA like Calcutta, Mumbai, and Delhi etc. MARKETING OBJETIVES - was to create the product awareness and to attract the customers towards the product as it was complete skin care soap. Margo MARKETING STRATEGIES in the initial stages : 1. Product = They offer only one product in the market. They did not come up with the different type of product. 2. Price = In the initial stages of the product, they offer the product reasonable cost because; they want to recover their initial cost of making the product as well as the market share. 3. Advertising = In the initial stages, they allocate more advertising budget So that more and more customers could be attracted towards the product. 4. In ads they targeted the health conscious customers, who were readiest to buy the product. 5. Distribution = was to cover all cities of India according to demand of product. Their distribution channel was through: Manufacturer Wholesaler & Retailer

Introduction Stage of the Margo

Sales Costs Profits Marketing Objectives Product Strategy Price Strategy Distribution Strategy Advertising Strategy

Low sales Reasonable cost per customer Negative Maximize profit while defending market share one brand with medical importance Price easily accessible to customers. Build more intensive distribution Stress brand differences and benefits

GROWTH STAGE

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

In the growth stage, company had the following MARKETING STRATEGIES : 1) Product = In the growth stage, the company had offered the same product in the market. 2) Price = In this stage, the company had changed their price to some extent because of maximizing the market share. ( Slightly cut down the prices ) 3) 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. 4) Distribution = In this stage, company had expanded their market to the town and villages of INDIA. Their distribution channel was the same as in the initial stages of the product. 5) Promotion = In the growth stage, the company had also used the different proportioning strategies to attract the new and the existing customers.

GROWTH STAGE
Growth Stage of the Margo
Sales Costs Profits Rapidly rising sales Average cost per customer Rising profits

Marketing Objectives Product Strategy Price Strategy Distribution Strategy Advertising Strategy

Maximize market share Offer product extensions, services Price to penetrate market Build intensive distribution Build awareness and interest in the mass market

MATURITY STAGE
They modified the product by adding some changes in the product. In this stage, few more competitors enter into the market. The company has expanded their market to almost cities of INDIA. MARKETING OBJECTIVES = the marketing objective of Margo is to maximize more profit while defending the market share. And to expand the

market throughout INDIA. With the re-launch, the brand also targets a
younger age group between 20 and 25.

MARKETING STRATEGIES In this stage are based on: 1. Product = The Margo has made the modification in the product by introducing: A NEW look, a milder herbal fragrance and more
lather soap, A variant having neem as the main ingredient but added
glycerin for moisturisation.

2. Price = The Margo product is now available at higher prices in the market, the reason behind is that the companys marketing objectives is to maximize more profit. 3. Distribution = Now Margo products are available in almost all the cities of INDIA. Their distribution channel is same as in the initial stage. 4. Advertising = in this stage Margo advertising has been reduced to some extent because of the more brand awareness in the minds of customers. Recently, they have shown Rani Mukharjee in advertisements.

MATURITY STAGE
Maturity Stage of the Margo
Sales Costs Peak sales Low cost per customer

Profits Marketing Objectives Product Strategy Price Strategy Distribution Strategy Advertising Strategy

High profits Maximize profit while defending market share Diversify brand and models Price to match or best competitors Build more intensive distribution Stress brand differences and benefits