Conquering the Indian laundry market

Abstract

The developing world is looking more and more attractive to the world's leading providers of food, shampoo and laundry detergent. While North America and Europe have reached the mature phase, the market for consumer goods elsewhere is expanding fast as a result of both growing incomes and populations. The laundry market stands at a crossroad as evolving consumer societies intersect with emerging technology and environmental concerns and require change. Traditional detergents must become greener and more efficient in order to maintain a competitive position. This however is not the sole challenge laundry companies face today: they also have to compete with cheap, non-branded products from local producers on the one hand and with multinationals on the other hand, which often possess a better cost structure thanks to their experience and economies of scale. HUL and Proctor & Gamble, which both seemed to have an invincible market share over the last years, are now facing competition from regional brands, who have managed to establish themselves in their own states. Since these products are designed to target the lower income groups in the country, the multinationals will have to adapt their strategies if they want to maintain their position in the Indian laundry market. Summarised, in this quick changing environment, each company, small or big, will have to find its own space with its own customers. In this paper, I will try to analyse how different companies try to formulate an answer to this challenge.