Synopsis Avinash
Synopsis Avinash
Introduction:-
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods
company with a heritage of over 80 years in India. On any given day, nine out of
ten Indian households use our products to feel good, look good and get more out
of life – giving us a unique opportunity to build a brighter future.
HUL works to create a better future every day and helps people feel good, look
good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and
good for others.
The Company has about 18,000 employees and has a net sales of INR 33895
crores (financial year 2016-17). HUL is a subsidiary of Unilever, one of the world’s
leading suppliers of Food, Home Care, Personal Care and Refreshment products
with sales in over 190 countries and an annual sales turnover of €52.7 billion in
2016. Unilever has over 67% shareholding in HUL.
Company Profile :-
In the summer of 1888, visitors to the Kolkata harbour noticed crates full of
Sunlight soap bars, embossed with the words "Made in England by Lever
Brothers". with it, began an era of marketing branded Fast Moving Consumer
Goods (FMCG). Soon after followed Lifebuoy in 1895 and other famous brands like
Pears, Lux and Vim. Vanaspati was launched in 1918 and the famous „Dalda‟
brand came to the market in 1937.
HUL is the market leader in Indian consumer products with presence in over
20 consumer categories such as soaps, tea, detergents and shampoos amongst
others
with over 700 million Indian consumers using its products. Sixteen of HUL‟s brands
featured in the ACNielsen Brand Equity list of 100 Most Trusted Brands Annual
Survey (2008). According to Brand Equity, HUL has the largest number of brands
in
the Most Trusted Brands List. It has consistently had the largest number of brands
in
the Top 50, and in the Top 10 (with 4 brands).
The company has a distribution channel of 6.3 million outlets and owns 35
major Indian brands. Its brands include Kwality Wall's ice-cream, Knorr soups &
meal makers, Lifebuoy, Lux, Pears, Breeze, Liril, Rexona, Hamam and Moti
soaps, Pure-it water purifier, Lipton tea, Brooke Bond (Roses, Taj Mahal, Taaza,
Red
Label) tea, Bru coffee, Pepsodent and Close Up toothpaste and brushes,
and Surf, Rin and Wheel laundry detergents, Kissan squashes and jams,
Annapurna
salt and atta, Pond's talcs and creams, Vaseline lotions, Fair and Lovely creams,
Lakme beauty products, Clear, Clinic Plus, Clinic All Clear, Sunsilk and Dove
shampoos, VIM dishwash, Ala bleach, Domex disinfectant, Modern bread, Axe deo
sprays and Comfort fabric softeners.
Literature Review:-
Aaker, David A and Kevin Lane Keller (1990), in their study on "Consumer
Evaluations Of Brand Extensions" obtained insights on how consumers form
attitude toward brand extensions. The first study showed that attitude toward the
extension was higher when:(i). there was a perception of "fit" between the two
product classes along one of three dimensions and a perception of high quality for
the original brand (ii). the extension was not regarded as too easy to make. A
second examined the effectiveness of different positioning strategies for
extensions. The findings showed that negative associations can be neutralized
more effectively by elaborating on the attributes of the brand extension than by
reminding consumers of the positive associations with the original brand.
Aaker, David (1990), in their article on "Brand Extensions: The Good, The
Bad, And The Ugly" found that extensions enhanced the core brand, but there was
a risk that an extension could stimulate negative attribute association. A
meaningful association that was common to the brand and the extension provided
the basis of fit. An extension usually created new brand associations, some of
which could hurt the brand. Possibly, the worst potential result of an extension was
a foregone opportunity to create new brand equity.
Kent Nakamoto et.al., (1991), “Advertising claims and Evidence as bases for
brand equity and consumer evaluations of brand extensions” studied how the
advertisement and evidence (i.e) genesis of brand equity influenced the types of
product categories to which brands extended. They tested that attribute-based
advertising and quality-based advertising for hypothetical brands. They concluded
that attribute-based advertising and attribute-based evidence benefitted only if that
attribute was valued in the extension category. Similarly quality-based advertising
and quality-based evidence benefitted for only irrelevant brand extensions.
Joseph Eric Massey (2010), in his study on “An Empirical Test of Brand
Extension on IMC Effectiveness” addressed the relationship between
organisational image, branding and brand extension. They found that brand
extensions and integrated marketing communication positively influenced the
image of the organisation.
Afzal and Akif Hassan (2010), in their conference paper on “To Analyze the
Factors Influencing the Acceptability of Brand Extension into Related and Un-
Related Product Categories” pointed that brand reputation, perceived risk,
perceived similarity and consumer innovativeness were the key factors for
successful brand extension in FMCG in Pakistan. This study provided support for
parent brand reputation and consumer innovativeness, had powerful positive effect
on consumers' mind set towards the brand extension in related and unrelated
product category.
Gilles Laurent et.al., (2010), in his study on “Why do older consumers buy
older brands? The role of attachment and declining innovativeness” studied the
consumer behavior towards brand choice. They suggested that older consumers
exhibited a propensity to remain attached to the same preferred brand for a longer
duration than younger consumers.
Yekta, et.al., (2011), in their study on, “An Exploratory Study of Critical
Success Factors of Brand Extension Strategies using Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy
Process” identified critical factors of brand extension strategy. They used Fuzzy
AHP approach to measure relative weights for evaluating success factors. They
found that “Quality”, “Services after sale”, “Determining the suitable strategies in
Brand field”, “Top management commitment and support” and “Advertisement”
were the top five critical success factors of brand extensions.