Henkel slashes Henko Stain prices by Rs 15

CORPORATES FINE TUNE BRANDING STRATEGY

The Chennai-based detergent maker Henkel Spic India has slashed the prices of its products under its flagship brand Henko Stain Champion by Rs 15 per kg.

Procter & Gamble and Hindustan Lever Ltd had cut the prices of their detergents recently.

Addressing a press conference, Sathishkumar, managing director, Henkel Spic, said, "Our price cut have little to do with the market price of detergents redefined by market leaders recently. We had been giving Pril dish washing liquid worth Rs 12 free along with Henko Stain Champion. The results of a study conducted by us six months ago showed that a cut in price would be a better alternative than providing another product free."

Henkel Spic has re-staged the Rs 100 crore brand Henko Stain Champion in a new gusset pack with pre-treater powerpearls to remove tough stains. Henko per kg is now available at Rs 75 compared with Rs 90 earlier, while a 500 gm pack would be available at Rs 38 against Rs 46 earlier.

Sathishkumar said, "We have about nine per cent of the market share and expect this to increase to 11 per cent during the current calendar year. We plan to build momentum of the brand by doing massive sampling and door-to-door sales."

He said Henkel Spic had a strong presence in the southern and eastern parts with a market share of 16 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively.

The advertisement expenditure for the current year would be 20 per cent of its net sales.

Bollywood actress Urmila Mathondkar will be the brand ambassador in northern India, while actress Laila will promote the product in southern India.

Henkel Spic is a joint venture between the Germany-based Henkel KgaA and Tamilnadu Petroproducts Ltd.

The detergent market in India was estimated to be about Rs 2,024 crore in 2003 of which popular segment (lower-end product) contributed about 53 per cent, premium was 32 per cent and the mid-range was 15 per cent.