SURVIVAL STAKES: A CASE STUDY

Section B Group 6 Ankita Singh Harikrishna Prashanth C S Nishant Mahajan Sourav Dutta Vaishnavi S

Introduction
Western India Cosmetics (WIC), old and established cosmetics company with manufacturing facility in Aurangabad y WIC taken over by Excelsior for deliberate diversification y Excelsior a Rs. 1000 crore company
y

Excelsior business

6% 4% 10% 10% 70% Liquor Real Estate Finance Consumer Product Others

WIC brands
Bonjour

Sparkle

Wash

Herb

Bharat 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35

Annual sales in crores of rupees

Challenges faced by WIC

Unsuccessful brands, very little product differentiation, bloated workforce and labor trouble, and minuscule market shares y Advertising and promotion support from parent group is erratic y No top-of-the-mind awareness among consumers y Frequent strikes and go-slows
y

Soaps

23% 2% 3% 4% 11% 15% 42%

Lifebuoy Lux Hamam Liril Cinthol Mysore Sandal Others

Bonjour
Toilet soap y Half-dead y No signs of revival
y

Recommendation y Divest it y Use the cash products

generated for other

Sparkle
High priced toilet soap y Product offering: retains freshness all day long no differentiation y Demand languishing
y

Recommendation y Harvest it y Use the cash generated to support the other products

Bharat
Medium-priced, ayurvedic and ethnic soap Direct competition concentrated in South India Flat market share Bread and butter of the company Recommendation y Promote aggressively y Correct for erratic supplies y Improve packaging y Improve manufacturing by backward integration y Also position it as a beauty solution y Introduce sandal and glycerin variants y Target the consumer who is concerned about going green
y y y y

Detergents
2% 6% 8% 10% 26%

12% 36%

Nirma Wheel Surf Ultra Ariel Supersoaker Rin Power White Ariel Others

Wash
Detergent powder y Immense competition y Never paid enough attention
y

Recommendation y Divest it y Use the cash generated to support other products

Toothpastes
5% 12% 52% 22% 3% 1% 5% Colgate Close-up Colgate gel Pepsodent Promise Babool Others

Herb
Herbal toothpaste y Gone down well with the consumers and continues to occupy a niche Recommendation y Introduce the product in sachets y Introduce tooth powder for rural markets y Introduce variants and features y Position it as a day and night solution y Target the consumer interested in going green
y

New product lines

Lotions y Perfumes y Herbal mouthwash y Hand sanitizers y Low priced face washes and face packs y Herbal hair gel
y

Conclusion
Remove Bonjour, Sparkle and Wash from the portfolio y Promote and improve Bharat and Herb y Introduce new product lines
y

Thank you!!!