French cosmetics gaint L’Oreal has refurbished its haircare range, changed packaging and is now focusing on cheaper offerings to drive sales in a market it considers key.
The firm’s flagship haircare brand, of the same name as the company, has traditionally been positioned as a premium product, costing at least Rs 135 for a 175ml bottle.
In the past few months, L’Oreal has pushed the entry-level 75ml range, which comes for Rs 69, to take on Hindustan Unilever’s Dove and Procter & Gamble (P&G)’s Pantene brands.
The effort on brand L’Oreal comes as the company pushes consumption of price warrier Garnier, available for Rs 65 for an 80ml pack. A 175ml Garnier shampoo, on the other hand, costs Rs 120.
Moving India up the ladder
During his trip to India earlier this year, Jean-Paul Agon, chairman and chief executive, had indicated L’Oreal would take all necessary action to push India up its pecking order.
The country now ranks 15th, with annual sales of Rs 1,580 crore. Agon had said he wanted to see India move into the top five in the next decade with annual sales of nearly Rs 7,000 crore.
The company, he said, would do this by localising products, pushing distribution, and looking at cutting-edge India-specific innovations driven by its new research & innovation (R&I) centre in Mumbai.
The Rs 4,000-crore-shampoo-market in India is dominated by HUL with nearly 50 per cent share, followed by P&G with around 30 per cent share.
Local players such as CavinKare and Dabur are also key competitors in the market, according to FMCG analysts.
The move to drive affordability in India is also linked to L’Oreal larger objective of reaching one billion consumers in the next decade.
This number is expected to be achieved with the help of markets such as China and India, the first and second-most populated countries on the globe, also amongst the world's largest consumption markets.
“Our endeavour is to universalise beauty by targeting not just the top end of the market, but also the growing middle class with products that take into account Indian needs,” Agon had said.
“In about 10 years we are looking to reach 150 million consumers from India alone,” he added.
