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! The Rs 390-crore Eureka Forbes Ltd (EFL) plans to foray into specialised cleaning chemical business (for
multi-purpose cleaning and sanitisation of surfaces) and target the hospitality, hospitals and industrial segments in
the new year. Currently, the company imports chemicals from a German company called Ecolab GmbH.

On the company¶s new plans, says Eureka Forbes Ltd senior vice-president (marketing) SK Palekar: ³The objective
behind the move is to offer complete cleaning solutions at value-for-money pricing strategy and develop the
specialised cleaning chemical market. The bottling for these products will be done in Bangalore.´

At present, the Rs 30-crore market is growing at a rate of 25 per cent per annum and the company hopes the market
will grow at the rate of 35 per cent next year.

The company plans to launch various products in the multi-purpose cleaning segment. ³With the move, we aim our
sales turnover to grow to Rs 450 crore by March 2003-end²a 15 per cent growth in our overall sales turnover,´ adds
Mr Palekar.

In the specialised cleaning chemical business, Eureka Forbes will now compete with Mumbai-based Johnson Wax
Professional and other local manufacturers.

On the company¶s growth strategy for its existing range of products such as vacuum cleaners and water purifiers, Mr
Palekar informs that EFL has presence in over 98 cities and towns.´We are strengthening our distribution deeper
down via the franchisee system. Also, we have tapped smaller cities with a new product called µForbes 3-in-1¶
wherein cold water can be stored in the product itself. There are water purifiers customised according to water
conditions in each market,´ he adds.

Explains Mr Palekar: ³When we first contemplated launching a vacuum cleaner, our research said it was a non-
starter. But, we felt that it was an idea worth backing, so we went ahead. The route adopted was not the conventional
one of distribution, supported by advertising. Instead we created µthe friendly man from Eureka Forbes¶ and sent him
to homes to fight dirt and germs,´ he adds.

According to Mr Palekar, Aquaguard has managed to make its brand name almost generic to the category with 67
per cent market share and Euroclean holds 77 per cent share of the market. Eureka Forbes has over 4,000 sales
personnel and 136 customer response centres in 98 towns.