P&G Home Products upbeat on Andhra market

Procter & Gamble Home Products Limited (PGHP), which currently has a 10 per cent market share in Andhra Pradesh, expects to keep up pace with the three per cent rate at which the detergent market is growing.

Addressing a press conference to announce the launch of 'Tide' detergent bar, K Parthasarathi, district manager and sales head of Andhra Pradesh, Procter & Gamble Home Products Limited, said: "In the last two years, the company has increased its market share from six per cent to 10 per cent and we expect to keep up the momentum with the market which is growing at around three per cent year-on-year."

According to him, the state ranks third and accounts for 11 per cent or Rs 560 crore of the total detergent market in the country which is approximately Rs 5,000 crore. Bars account for 43 per cent or Rs 2,200 crore and detergent powder for 57 per cent or Rs 2,800 crore of the total detergent market.

"Out of the 10 per cent market share, Ariel accounts for six per cent and tide accounts for the rest," Parthasarathi said.

Speaking about the new detergent, Parthasarathi said that the Tide bar is being launched at a price that is similar to market leader Hindustan Lever's Rin Supreme.

The Tide bar is being introduced at three price points "" Rs 5 for a 75 gm bar, Rs 8.50 for a 125 gm bar and Rs 13 for a 200 gm bar.

Parthasarathi said that the launch of Tide bar, which as a brand has a global turnover of $4 billion, would coincide with the withdrawal of Ariel detergent bar.

According to him, the company has launched the bar because 95 per cent of consumers in the country use a combination of powder and bar. "Instead of trying to change the consumer's choice, we thought we must leverage on their existing preference," Parthasarathi said.

Tide bar has a P&G proprietary technology, green speckles called Whiteons, which helps in whitening the fabric. The new product substitutes Ariel bar as it provides cleaning for both white as well as coloured clothes.

P&G's laundry business contributes around 35 per cent or $12 billion of the company's total turnover, which is $51 billion. The company totally has 14 laundry products that are marketed to 77 countries across the world.

Responding to a question Parthasarathi said, "We would be concentrating on promoting the Tide bar for the moment and then would think if we can bring the other products that the company has in the segment."

He however did not give a time frame as to when the other products like Bounce, which helps in softening and freshen clothes, Cheer which helps protect against fading, color transfer, and fabric wear in powder or liquid, with or without bleach and others, will be sold in the Indian market.