New entrants eat into key players’ pie.
The market for specialised home-cleaning products is on the rise, though smaller players and new entrants are eating into the marketshare of established players like Reckitt Benckiser and Hindustan Unilever.
The latest AC Neilsen retail audit reveals that the branded toilet cleaner market in India is set to touch Rs 130 crore by the end 2008-09, up 16 per cent from around Rs 112 crore a year ago, while the specialised floor cleaner market is expected to end the year at Rs 75 crore, up 30 per cent from Rs 55 crore in 2007-08.
However, market leader Reckitt Benckiser saw new brands eating into its toilet cleaner brand Harpic’s share of the market. Harpic’s volume market share dropped from nearly 77 per cent at the end of the 2007-08 fiscal to under 70 per cent in November 2008. In value terms, too, Harpic’s market share dropped from nearly 80 per cent in 2007-08 to slightly over 73 per cent in November 2008.
Dabur India’s strategy of variants and bringing in a brand ambassador seems to have done the trick with Sanifresh witnessing a jump in its volume market share grow from under 8 per cent at the end of 2007-08 to nearly 13.5 per cent in November 2008, replacing Domex as the second brand in the category. Domex, despite losing the number-2 slot to Sanifresh, saw its market share grow to 11.7 per cent in November, up from 8.1 per cent in 2007-08 fiscal.
“Sanifresh was re-launched in July 2008 as Sanifresh Shine and we signed Sakshi Tanwar as a brand ambassador that, coupled with the new advertising campaign, helped us drive deeper into Indian homes,” a Dabur spokesperson said.
In the branded floor cleaner market, the entry of new players like Cavincare (with Topp Mopp), SC Johnson (with Mr Muscle) and Dabur India (with Dazzl), in 2008, has helped expand the market. “The growth is a result of the growing hygiene consciousness among the modern households, with consumers seeking specialised cleaning products for their homes,” a sector analyst said.
Reckitt Benckiser brand Lizol, by far, continues to be market leader in the branded floor cleaner category, with its volume market share growing from nearly 51 per cent at the end of the 2007-08 fiscal to over 57 per cent in November 2008. Domex and Easy-Off Bang from Hindustan Unilever (HUL), on the other hand, have witnessed a shrinkage in their respective market shares as new entrants launched aggressive offensives and ate into their market.
Domex saw its volume market share drop to under 30 per cent in November 2008 from around 40 per cent in 2007-08. Easy-Off Bang’s volume market share shrunk from 5.5 per cent in 2007-08 to 3.3 per cent in November 2008.
The new entrants in this market performed well with Mr Muscle witnessing its volume share grow from 1.9 per cent in 2007-08 to 4.1 per cent in November 2008. Dazzl captured 3.8 per cent of the market during the same time period, up from 0.3 per cent in 2007-08. Topp Mopp, the latest entrant, also ended November 2008 with a 0.1 per cent volume share.
Anand Shah, FMCG analyst at Angel Broking, reasoned: “HUL tends to lose out only on the basis of its sheer volume. With more players entering these categories, there will be more fragmentation but the categories will also grow further.”
Correction
Easy Off is a Reckitt brand as has been pointed out. The sentence should have read: 'Domex from Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Easy-Off Bang from Reckitt Benckiser, on the other hand, have witnessed a shrinkage in their respective market shares as new entrants launched aggressive offensives and ate into their market'. The error is regretted.
