Karamchand Appliances Private Limited (KAPL)

Karamchand Appliances Private Limited (KAPL)

The company was run by the Arya brothers : Naveen, Anil and Bimal. These brothers spotted a huge opportunity in the mosquito repellent business way back in 1990

They entered into an agreement with a Japanese company known as Earth Chemical Co. for technical collaboration They launched a pioneering product ie. Vaporizers and named it All- Out which described the core idea of the brand : to keep the mosquitoes out of the house

Transfer of Ownership
KAPL was bought by SC Johnson Ltd. a US based company. SC Johnson bought KAPL in two phases i.e. in 2003 and 2005. The deal amount was not disclosed but was estimated at Rs. 380 crores. This helped the All Out brand a lot in terms of technology and innovation.

Growth Of All Out

The launch of All Out in 1990, started becoming popular. In the mid 90s KAPL attained a share of 5% of the total mosquito repellents sold. The reason for the success of KAPL, because the other companies were concentrating on mats and coils. The sales of vaporizers segment reached about 253 million in 1996-97 which was dominated by KAPL.

Competitiveness of All Out Product

Pioneer Effect: First of its kind. Smoke Free, no residue, almost odorless. Long lasting. Ease of Use. Technically Sound: Dependable Japanese Technology.

Price Premium Pricing, creating an impression of a premier product. Flexible pricing to accommodate market sentiments. While All Out was priced at Rs 225 when it was launched, the price was reduced to Rs 135 for a cord model in 1994. In 1995, KAPL launched the 'Pluggy' for Rs 90. In 1996, a twin pack (offering the Pluggy and a cord model) was launched for Rs 135. In 1998, KAPL came out with a Rs 99 pack consisting of the Pluggy and a refill. All Outs 45-night pack at Rs.54

 Promotion The ads of All Out were unique and immediately caught the imagination of the masses. Since KAPL themselves handled the account the advertisement cost was quite low.
Other strategies: 1. Hindi Movie Video Cassettes 2. FM Radio 3. News Program Sponsors 4. Movie Song/Dance/Fight Sequence sponsoring on satellite TV Channels.

Competitors
KAPLs competitors were large multi-product companies whereas KAPL remained as a single product company.

The large companies had financial strength to sustain long and costly ads and promotional campaigns.
In such a scenario it is difficult for marketers to predict the span of market leadership of brand All Out. Competition from substitute product like coils, mats,etc

SWOT ANALYSIS
Strength Advertising Strategy Pricing Hassle- free Strong hold over market

Weakness Harmful effect of chemicals Single product Poor distribution

Opportunities Diversification of products Electric racquets

Threats Stiff competition Can lose out on a market where there is no electricity

Strategies And Recommendations.!!!

 1. New Mascot And Tagline

All Out can come up with a new mascot and tagline for the brand This will bring about a change in the perception and the brand can be positioned differently

New Mascot :

New Tagline : Keeping Mosquitoes Away.Gently..!!

 2. Come Up With Fight Mosquitoes Day

 3. Change Of Packaging All Out has been severely criticized about the brand had 'Extra MMR' had been. On the product and packaging, there is no mention of what exactly it contains. It contains a variant of a toxic compound called Allethrin, and 'Extra MMR' would only mean more toxic components.

The first thing for a brand is to build trust among its customers Therefore, we recommend that All Out should mention its contents on the packaging and should state the fact that an appropriate amount of MMR is not life threatening

 Increase distribution channels One of the biggest handicaps of All Out is its poor distributions channels and inability to reach out to a larger customer base Therefore, it is important for them to increase their distributions channels and look out for ways to reach out to different segments

 Margins to wholesalers and retailers Since, wholesalers and retailers play a very important role because they are in direct contact with the customers , it is important to have good relations with them and use them as a tool to push your sales All Out should provide them with competitive margins which will augment their sales

 Re-positioning with hospitals and doctors Since India is emerging as a very health conscious county, so All Out should bank on this opportunity and promote itself as a health product since it protects the customers from various diseases

 Variable Pricing All Out should undertake variable pricing They should price the main heating unit at a lower price and the small container of chemicals should be priced higher

 7. Research & Development The company should conduct research on the various substitutes that can be used instead of MMR and Allethrin They should also try to come up with different components to manufacture vaporizes which have various fragrances This could provide customers value for money

 4. Diversification of Products The biggest weakness of All Out is that it depends on a single product and it faces stiff competition from multi- product companies
Therefore, we suggest that they should come out with new products pertaining to the same industry such as : Creams Sprays Electric Rackets

 Combo packs Once they introduce the new products, they should come up with combo packs which could market their new products as well as give the customers the benefit of range of products Such combo packs should be made available at different packs at different costs.

 5. Battery operated vaporizes All out loses out market share in areas where there is no electricity

Therefore, we as a group would like to put forward the suggestion of coming up with battery operated vaporizes
This would be helpful to service an untapped market

 Hire a agency for advertisement They have always had a in house advertising campaign and they have used cost effective ways to advertise Now in order to reach out to a wider market, it should hire a official advertising agency and also increase the advertising budget

It should do heavy advertising during monsoons as the need for mosquito repellents soars

 6. Promote it on the basis of Eco-Friendliness and Pioneer Product The major advantage that All Out has is that it is a pioneer product and it should use this to its advantage They should promote their brand as eco-friendly since it contains a limited amount of MMR.

Company future
We are pretty sure that the company would be able to not just maintain but also increase its profit year by year. As still it has a market share of about 64%. Company is well settled and its not easy for any new entrant to compete effectively. Also the mosquito repellent market size is expected to grow up to Rs 39 billion by 2014-15, so there is huge scope of growth. For Alltherin, it should be noted that it is said to be harmful only when used in excess. Also the company has given certain guidelines viz., the doors and windows should be kept open while using the vaporizers. Company is also seeking for a substitute of Alltherin which could boost their market segment of vaporizers.