In Fast Moving Consumer Goods sector, personal care industry plays a key role in enhancing the confidence and self-image in consumers by presenting new products leading to new trends in the market [1] . This attracts the attention of many businesses due to increasing market size as the average annual growth of market is about 16% per year [2] . However in such an industry where there is such immense competition, in order to maintain a sustained and sound competitive position in the market companies should not only be profitable now rather for survival in the future they should have a clear understanding of “What they are now” and “Where do they want to be?” [3] And here strategic marketing plays a key role in order to formulate strategies which enable the firm to achieve its corporate objectives.
Everything in this world has a life so is the case with a product – limited life. In Product Life Cycle there comes a stage in the life cycle of a product where sometimes it requires thinking beyond its current state, going deeper to re-work on it and re-launch it either to entirely reposition it, to revive a brand or entirely take it to another differentiated level [4] . This restructuring is required by many of the brands not only when they are failing but also to improve their current sales mix and most importantly market share and profits to enhance their competitive position.
This study will mainly assess the factors leading to decline in market share of ZIL Limited particularly after the re-launch of the Capri Personal Care Range in June 2011 – as the firm performed major transformation in order to reposition Capri by changing the marketing mix – upgraded the product, packaging and promotions to transform its image of being a luxurious family soap to a Personal Care brand [5] . However instead of improvement in the market share of the firm the company started to lose even their existing market share. What went wrong then? Was the re-launch of Capri a wrong move by the firm or timing of re-launch was a factor which led to negative results? More specifically the study will critically analyze the existing marketing strategies of the company to get answers to all of such questions and also to highlight key area of improvement for the firm in order to improve their relative position in the market.
This Chapter will give you an overview about ZIL Limited – its history, mission, vision, products and services offered by the company along with the key objectives and core values of the firm which are acting as growth drivers in today’s time.
ZIL Limited (formerly known as Zulfeqar Industries Ltd) started its business in Hyderabad in 1954 initially Ali family being its owner, in order to enhance the business and to cater to the growing demand they bought a factory by the name of Zulfeqar Industries Ltd in 1980; this name of business was made official after getting it registered on Karachi and Lahore Stock Exchange in 1986 [6] . ZIL Limited has the expertise in its business due to about 50 years experience of working in the industry – soap manufacturing. The company’s product portfolio consists of well-known brands such as Capri,Palmy and Opal – which make ZIL Limited one of the leading soap manufacturing and marketing companies in the Pakistan. It not only provides products for home customers rather than the customized products are also available for it’s out of home customers which mainly are offices, hotels, restaurants, industries, hyper market chains [7] .
ZIL Limited’s Vision is to “to create a feeling of well-being among people and make their lives a little easier and more beautiful” [8] .
ZIL Limited’s mission is “to ensure growth & profitability by extending product portfolio in other categories of HPC business in domestic & international markets and to continuously improve system and products to enhance customer satisfaction” [9] .
The corporate objectives of ZIL Limited are as follows [10] :
To develop a high performance culture, through training and motivating employees.
To implement effective MIS in order to integrate business processes and speed-up decision making process.
To assure quality at every production step and enhance design quality.
Proper optimization of resources to ensure business competitiveness.
The core values of ZIL Limited which are acting as key drivers for the company are [11] :
Source: “Values at ZIL Limited” Annual Report ZIL Limited 2011, page 5.
The main products of ZIL Limited include the following:
Capri is the main brand of ZIL Limited which has strong brand recognition followed by a strong presence in the beauty soap market. Capri Natural Skin Care range is positioned as brand in the premium segment. In order to reestablish Capri as a key player in the market, company made major transformation in the main brand. Moreover new variants were also introduced in the category for example Capri Moisturizing with Aloe Vera, Rose Petal and Capri Refreshing with sea mineral extracts and the other variant with tea and white Orchid [12] . The firm has also made brand extensions to the parent brand Capri by launching Capri Face wash and Capri Hand Wash range. Capri Product Range.jpg
Initially the ‘face wash ‘was considered as a niche product for a premium market. However recognizing the current needs of the market Capri penetrate into face wash category as well providing natural ingredients such as Aloe Vera and cucumber extracts; providing deep cleansing for glowing skin [13] .
On the other hand ZIL Limited also enhanced its product portfolio by introducing Hand Wash with variants such as Capri Aloe, Capri Pink and Capri Refreshing – this will help company to strengthen its personal care range in the market.
Palmy Soap an important product for the company is popular among the target market who wants beauty care within the affordable beauty soap category [14] . Palmy soap was re-launched in 2001 to revitalize the brand and to strengthen its position in the market by enhancing the characteristics of the product.
Opal is characterized on the basis of its innovative packaging which involves the concept of multi-packs i.e. four soaps in one pack and hence it provide those consumers a good solution who want best value for money [15] . Opal is present in two variants currently in the market which are ‘Opal Beauty’ for glowing skin and the other one is ‘Opal plus’ for refreshing skin [16] .
King Swan is a significant brand of ZIL Limited representing its Home Care product range. It is a type of laundry soap that not only maintains the freshness of clothes but also enhances the colors making them brighter and radiant [17] .king-swan.jpg
The soap industry in Pakistan is in the growing stage as the rate of growth in soap industry is about 9.8% per year [18] and due to change in the socio-cultural factors the personal care has become a part of life of the people. On the other hand, considering the main brand of ZIL Limited so the product in back 2010 was close to the maturity stage of its product lifecycle as it was experiencing a sharp decrease in its sales and it was losing its market share to other competitors such as LUX and Palmolive.
The company recently then re-launched Capri brand in 2011 in order to reposition its image in the mind of the consumers to give a more contemporary look and image and to enhance its brand equity. This decision was majorly based on observing the competitive situation of the market and their strategies rather than the specialized market research. ZIL Limited in this case would be considered as a ‘follower’ as it changed the marketing mix of its brands by observing what others i.e.’ competitors are doing in the market place specifically the LUX which is currently the market share leader. ZIL Limited has a main marketing objective to enjoy share growth. This is particularly aimed at achieving greater market share through targeting new customers by actually reviving the image of its brand Capri.
The primary target market for Capri soap is young belonging to socio-economic class A and B. Moreover the new Capri is targeted for consumers having a mindset towards modern beliefs who appreciate the values of beauty and personal care [19] .
As for the Capri re-launch, the brand was entirely repositioned by upgrading of the features of the core product to give it a more modern look in order to transform its brand image from being a toilet soap to a Personal Care brand by focusing on the marketing mix of the brand and modifying the product and the promotional strategies [20] .
The discussion of the marketing mix i.e.; 4P’s of Capri soap is given below:
Capri is currently present is various new variants such as Capri Moisturizing with Aloe Vera, Rose Petal and Capri Refreshing with sea mineral extracts and the other variant with tea and white Orchid [21] . Recognizing the current needs of the market Capri penetrate into face wash category as well providing natural ingredients such as Aloe Vera and cucumber extracts; providing deep cleansing for glowing skin [22] . Capri is currently available in sizes such as 40gms, 80gms, 115gms and 155gms in the market. Capri also has its brand extensions such as Capri Hand wash and Capri Face wash. In the new Capri the fragrance of the product is also changed by making it more intense; also the packaging of the soap was changed from hard cover to a soft cover [23] .
New Capri is considered as a premium product of ZIL Limited and is offering a brand to the consumers – a value for money. The consumers in this category are less sensitive to the movement of prices. The price of Capri soap 40gms is Rs. 15, 75gms is Rs.30 and 115gms is Rs. 42, 155gms in Rs. 50. Whereas the bundle pack nowadays is being offered with three soap bars of 115gms at a price of Rs. 116.
Capri has a large distribution network within Pakistan. Their main manufacturing facility is based at Hyderabad. An Intensive Distribution strategy is adopted by ZIL Limited after the re-launch and the brand is available at various retail outlets stores and supermarkets in the cities. The purpose of this distribution is easier availability for the target market and in this way the visibility of the product has also improved. The modern retail – wholesale centers such as Metro and Makro are the source of about 40% of the sales of Capri brand hence they play a crucial role in the sales [24] .
The awareness levels of the target market regarding Capri soap was made better by making effective promotional campaigns after the re-launch of the brand. For this matter the use of electronic media as well as print media was made. The company increased its marketing expenditure in 2011. For the sales promotion, the intermediaries involved (retailers) were provided with various gifts items in order to achieve the required sales level [25] . Moreover bundle pack schemes were introduced by the company to provide an incentive to the consumer to induce them for trial purchase.
Michael Porter (1985) suggested the idea to analyze that how through a set/ chain of various activities in product to depict how customer gathers value. In the whole process the value chain is entire set of various kinds of steps, activities, strategies performed to product the final product, market it and deliver it to the end customer and also to provide with after-sale services [26] . These primary and support activities in case of ZIL Limited are as follows:
Improvement in supply chain management is the key focus of ZIL Limited at this time in order to improve efficiency and further decrease the level of costs. For that purpose the firm is trying to increase its current distribution network over the entire country and also to improve information sharing among them. To support the logistics functions of ZIL Limited, the distribution centers and warehouse are available in all big cities of the country – transportation facility is also provided by the distributors for the delivery of stock to the retailers as well as wholesale centers.
Since the company focus has changed now so in order to make the operations of the firm more efficient – focus has been more towards reducing costs and increasing the sales.
In order to improve business relationships the firm is now taking steps to improve its relationship with the other retailers and wholesalers so that through this way they can improve the visibility of their product in the market. The manufacturing facility for ZIL Limited is located in Karachi which incorporates all the required facilities to support the production process. Company has also started focusing more on the communications channel to reach to their existing channel.
The company has recently tried to improve the marketing of its product by actually re-launching the Capri soap. Already the soap lost its existing consumers then again it was re-launched to provide it with a new brand image. Previously there was much emphasis on word of mouth in case of its advertising however realizing the potential of increasing competition the communication strategy was revisited and hence new marketing campaigns for Capri were developed; which included a new brand ambassador for the product as well from the Media Industry. Secondly the other promotional activities were also increased and in this way bundle packs were introduced for promotion purposes in order to encourage the purpose of Capri soap. The company in short improved its channels of communication.
The firm is not only responsible till it delivers the product to the customer rather than that it is the point from where the firm starts to build a relationship with the consumer because consumer will experience the product only after its purchase and the product performance and the expectations of the consumer if they match then the consumer will have an extra-value for the product which he/she has bought and hence his experience will encourage him to further repurchase the product. The use of other software in order to improve the relationship with the customers for example the order management in which the firms can keep the track that how much of the stock is available with the wholesaler and also for the customer relationship management [27] .
ZIL Limited is operating in Home and Personal Care industry and has its business spread mainly over the entire country while the main focus of the business are the major cities of Pakistan. For this purpose the Head office for the company is located in Karachi which was recently modified entirely with a new look. This production facility is also based there with the latest technological equipment and also facilities.
ZIL Limited believes in the fact that their human capital is their sole asset which can prove to be beneficial for the growth of the firm. The strategy at ZIL Limited is to empower the employees by giving them the space to actually try what they want to achieve which is concurrent to the corporate strategy [28] .
ZIL Limited conducts various projects and training programs over the year – for the new hiring ZIL Limited believes in hiring those people who are talented, creative and responsible enough to enhance their capabilities and to increase their performance. For that purpose in recruitment special careful attention is given to the people being recruited in sales and marketing as the performance of those people directly impact the revenue of the firm. Other than this various training programs are also conducted for the employees – these training sessions help the employees to upgrade their knowledge and skills.
ZIL Limited believes in continuously upgrading the technology most importantly the information management system – which further results from the up gradation of the infrastructure. Considering the information system at ZIL Limited, the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) has been implemented in the organization since 2011 in order for the effective operations of the firm. In order to smoothly run the sales and distribution process a sales software system has been implemented in Karachi initially for the test run after the successful implementation of this software there it will be implemented according at all the major cities of the country at ZIL Limited offices [29] . This software will help track the sales record and the stock position at the distributors end as well.
The primary goal of ZIL Limited is to maximize the overall supply chain value for the firm while fulfilling the demand of the customer. For this purpose the operational costs should be reduced over the entire supply chain and hence in this way profitability of the firm can improve [30] . For this purpose flexibility in operations and the high responsiveness of firm is required in the supply chain to meet the customer demands.
Evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of ZIL Limited will help identify the competencies which can be capitalized upon in the long run; also, the deficiencies in the firm could then be reduced by taking appropriate actions. The SWOT Analysis for the firm is given below:
The strength of Capri lies in the brand image – the popularity that the soap has in the beauty soap category among all the socio-economic classes. The various variants of the soap enable Capri to make a good presence in all the categories of personal care range products. Capri has a high mass appeal as compared to the other soaps. Company has a strong brand portfolio focusing on both premium as well as value for money range category which helps ZIL Limited to maintain a strong position in the market.
Capri soap has an image of being soap especially for the modern women – previously it had an image of being a family soap after the repositioning its focus has entirely changed from being a family brand to a modern brand and due to this it is forgoing a large chunk of the target market i.e.; the male group. Firm has currently less focus towards the promotional strategies which is detrimental to the sales of Capri – a need to revisit those promotional strategies is required. Capri even after such popularity has an image of being a brand of secondary choice rather than primary – there is a need to work on the desirability of the brand.
Soap industry is currently in growing stage – considering the brand extensions of Capri such as face wash and hand wash etc so the market currently has a potential for such type of personal products. Change in life style of the people also plays a positive role in the success of the industry – consumers are being more knowledgeable than ever and hence they are willing to try new products relating to personal care range. Increasing population is also positive sign for the company as they will have larger amount of target market than ever.
Considering the threats for the firm, so firstly personal care industry has high level of threat of new entrants and increasing level of new firms in the market are creating a threat for the firm in case of market share. Large number of MNC’s are already leading the market whereas the local companies are following the strategies of those foreign companies in an attempt to get brand loyalty like those. ZIL Limited currently is operating only in the personal care range which can be a threat for the company as if the target market changes its preferences or if the personal goes through any declining stages. Extensive need for R&D and technological change is required in order maintain a strong position in the market.
This chapter includes the critical analysis of the literature on the FMCG sector specifically the soap industry of Pakistan. It gives an overview of how
In any economy, FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) sector acts as important contributor to the economy and it is also known as one of the biggest industry of the world [31] . Even with the instability in the economic condition of the country along with other key challenges in the external environment – still there exists many factors which contribute positively to the growth of this sector [32] . Factors such as increase in population, increasing urbanization, changes in the socio-cultural factors and the fact that almost about a major portion of population lies under the age of 20 years are all the factors which provide FMCG sector with an assured and sustainable future growth5.
Considering the FMCG sector of Pakistan, it is characterized by strong presence of the Multinational Companies along with few local key players leading to an intense competition in the industry. Within the FMCG sector there are various categories such as Home and Personal Care (HPC), Oral Care, Skin and Hair care etc. Consumer Goods sector is one of the fastest growing sectors even global FMCG sector research shows that the consumer base globally will reach to 2.5 billion people [33] in 2012 which shows an immense potential for growth in this industry. However considering the economic condition of Pakistan, so the Real GDP growth rate in 2011-12 is almost 3.7% [34] which has further led to increase in the consumption behavior and is showing a positive trend and outlook of the retail as well as the wholesale industry. Moreover as the FMCG industry growth is directly correlated with the economy, hence a positive growth trend in this industry will help to contribute towards the GDP of the country. According to Economic Intelligence Report, the aggregate consumer demand in Asiais on the increasing trend and for the case of soaps and cleaners it is expected to increase by 11% in 2012 [35] .
Within the FMCG sector, the Home and Personal Care (HPC) segment plays a significant role and is considered as one of the main segment driving the profitability of the firm.Considering the product mix within the industry so there is a diverse set of products which caters to various demographics and psychographics groups. Major categories within the Home and Personal Care (HPC) segment are beauty soaps, detergents, shampoos,fabric conditioners, etc.
Change in socio-cultural environment and increasing number of consumers are the few main factors which have transformed the dynamics of the HPC industry. Another major factor is that the consumers are now well-informed about their needs, they want to get best out of their money and for this they want a product which can act as a longer-term solution rather than for a short time. Such factors have not only increased the depth of the market, created various niche’s but also have intensified the competition. Currently the HPC market is in the stage of growth but over the few years it is expected that the growth in this particular industry will slow down and this will lead to the maturity stage of the industry [36] . The competiveness is quite intense within the industry especially due to the thrifty consumers which are price sensitive and hence there arises an opportunity for all those manufacturers who produce counterfeit products offering at a much lower price. Many of the private labels have have entered the market and they are catering to the mass market and following penetration pricing to make their place in the market and many of the consumers resort to such products due to either income constraints or the unawareness about the product. Not only this but also the incidence of bringing in the smuggled soap in to the country is quite prevalent these days which is affecting the sales of all other manufacturers who are providing quality products to the consumers.
Considering the key players in the Personal care industry of Pakistan so currently Unilever, Colgate Palmolive, ZIL Limited, Reckitt and Benckiser, IFFCO Pakistan Limited, etc which is offering beauty soaps such as LUX, Palmolive, Dettol, Royal Lather, Hoor, Dibet, Pears. Considering the total market size for the soap industry, so it is estimated to be around 300,000 tons per year and also there has been observed a lot of trend in using the antibacterial soaps and in few years it is expected that the sales of these soaps will further increase [37] .The market analysis shows that almost 50% of the market share is taken by the beauty soaps, whereas 40% signifies the share of the antibacterial soaps followed by the share of 10% in other categories. However within the antibacterial soap category Safeguard has a share of 39%, Lifebuoy with 33%, followed by a market share of 17% and 11% of Dettol and Palmolive respectively [38] . Chemical companies also have a strong correlation with the sales of the personal care products and about 40% of their sales mix is dependent on such industries which mainly include Home and Personal Care (HPC) industry. This sector has been of great importance to the chemical companies due to high profit margin of around 10% to 30% and also the fact that currently it accounts for over $10billion of sales through personal care industry [39] .
Considering the Home and Personal Care Segment so due to the adverse economic condition of the country the demand of such products can get affected as changes in the economic condition or inflation immediately gets translated into the changes in the disposable income of the consumers which further in affect changes the level of purchasing power. Although the multinational companies are offering products with high quality and benefits but still being a luxury item the economic environment can have a negative effect on the demand in the difficult times [40] .
Another major challenge for the local industry players is that currently there is a high domination of multinational companies present – local players on one side are catering mainly to the mass market whereas the other MNC’s have more diverse range of products available for various categories hence they grab a larger chunk of the market. Reason for this imbalance share lies not only in the difference in investment in capital and expertise by the domestic and multinational firms rather than differences in the marketing strategies also seem to be a major factor [41]
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