INTRODUCTION

The Indian cosmetic industry has witnessed rapid growth over the
last couple of decades.
In that time the range of cosmetic and beauty products in India has
widened tremendously.
Indian competitors have begun to manufacture products to cater to
an intern
ational need. Herbal
cosmetics from India have a great demand in the overseas market
and many cosmetic products
that are manufactured in India today are supplied to international
suppliers of branded cosmetic
products like the Baby shop. New facts that ha
ve been reveal that the industry of cosmetic
products in India is growing at an average rate of almost twenty
percent annually, this increase is
attributed to two main factors. The first being the increase for the
demand in Indian cost
effective products
and the second being the increased purchasing power of the
average Indian.
There are also many reasons for the increased demand for
cosmetic products in particular.
With the introduction of satellite television and a wide array of
television channels as w
ell as the
internet, the average Indian consumer is constantly bombarded with
advertisements and
information on new cosmetic products which often translates into
the desire to purchase them.
A boom in the Indian fashion industry has been linked to the in
creased awareness of Indian
people about their appearances & consequently contributed to an
increase in the demand for
cosmetic products.
However, even with the massive surge in the popularity of cosmetic
products, statistics

have shown that the average I

ndian consumer spends much less on cosmetic products than
consumers from every other part of the world. This means that the
Indian cosmetic industry has
an even greater potential for growth than it is presently experiencing
and it is highly fragmented
and
concentrated in the Tier
I cities only. Hence it is very essential that the products should
reach to the other cities as well as in rural area. Here the marketing
plays an important role. The
companies need to understand the expectations of prospects.
This requires a thorough
understanding of consumer behavior and buying motives.
Consumer behavior is the behavior
that consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using and
evaluating products, services &
ideas which they expect will satisfy their nee
ds.
Consumer behavior encompasses a vast area including
consumption pattern, consumer
preferences, consumer motivation, and consumer buying process &
shopping behavior. The
purchase decision is influenced by various factors such as social,
cultural, demo
graphic,
personal, economic etc. So for effective marketing, the marketer
must know the basis of
decisions taken by customers.

INDUSTRY PROFILE
An ORG- study reveals that while most FMCG products were affected by the general slowdown,
this segment witnessed relatively good growth in volume and value 2001. Not only have more
people started using cosmetics, they are also willing to pay more to look and feel good. The
penetration rate is higher in the skin- care segment compared to lipsticks. While volume growth
has remained low, at 3 percent, in the case of lipsticks, much of the value growth has come from
price rises.
This not only means that consumers are willing to spend the extra bit to look and feel good, but
also indicates the constant up gradation from mass to premium products. Though mass products
still constitute a major portion of the market, a certain segment is obviously ready to upgrade to
the next category as disposable incomes rise. Increased media exposure, the willingness to
spend more on personal care, consciousness about looks, and advertisements and promotions
targeting various consumer segments are some reasons for these trends in consumption and
penetration. The growth trends definitely send positive signals about the industry prospects.
With numerous players fighting for market share, is the industry really big enough and the
growth high enough o accommodate all the players? What makes a player tick and create a
niche for itself in the market? These questions need to be pondered upon before jumping to
conclusions about the industry's prospects. Though most players see huge opportunity in this
industry, what would actually work wonders for the players is strong brand promotion, good
distribution network, constant innovation and quality improvement, the ability to provide a variety
of products and introduce affordable products without compromising on quality. Cosmetics are still
seen as elitist products and may be the last thing on an Average Indian consumer's mind. Though
the low penetration levels for most cosmetic products suggest much potential, the market for
cosmetic products May remain a niche market, accessed by a small proportion of the
consumers. Despite the tall claims, the actual growth prospects would be limited to this Extent.
From the investment perspective, though many big listed companies have a presence in the
various sub-segments of the industry; HUL is the only listed company that has a visible
presence across all segments. Being a diversified large company, the turnover from this
segment may be too small for HUL to affect investment decisions. As to the recent entrants
such as Dabur and Dr. Morepen, it may be a while before their financials reflect the dynamics
of this industry. The other listed players are Emami and J.L. Morison (India). Despite their
good financial track records, investing in these stocks may be highly risky for a retail investor as
low traded volumes and equity base characterize the stocks.

COSMETICS
The cosmetic segment primarily comprises of colour cosmetics (Face, eye, lip and Nail care
products), perfumes, talcum powder and deodorants. All these are very Small segments.
Talcum powder is the most popular cosmetic product in India.
This market is estimated at Rs.3.5 bn and is yet growing at 10-12% in pa. Awareness is very
high at 80% with a penetration of 45.4% in urban areas and 25.2% in rural areas. Pond's
dominates the talcum market with a 70% share Following by Johnson & Johnson, which has
a 15% market share.
Attar and alcoholic perfumes each account for 50% of the fragrance market estimated at Rs. 3
bn. In the alcoholic perfumes market, 1/3rd represented be an Unorganized, with the balance
largely imported. The June 98 budget halved duties to 50R Lakme has a minor presence in the
segment. Perception of damage to skin on.
Account of chemical ingredients restricts usage of face care products. The nail Polish market is
the largest at Rs.25-30%. Deodorants have a very negligible Presence in the Indian market an
estimated of Rs. 0.3 bn. Worldwide, deodorants is The largest market followed by skin care,
shampoos and toothpaste. HUL has Launched a couple of products in this segment. Unorganized,
with the balance largely Imported. The June 98budget halved duties to 50R Lakme ha a minor
presence in the segment. Perception of damage to skin on account of chemical ingredients
restricts. The nail polish market is the largest at Rs.25-30%. Deodorants have a very negligible
Presence in the Indian market an estimated of Rs. 0.3 bn. Worldwide, deodorants is the Largest
market followed by skin care, shampoos and toothpaste. HUL has launched a Couple of products
in this segment.
MARKET SEGMENTATION
The Indian market can be segmented in terms of product category and price. Again oral care,
hair care shampoos & oils, skin care, soaps and distribution Network may divide the product
categories.
ORAL CARE
The oral care market can be segregated into toothpaste (60%), toothpowder (23%) and
toothbrushes (17%). While 60% of toothpaste is sold on the family Platform, around 35% is
sold on cosmetic propositions. On the other hand, while toothpowder accounts for 52% of the
market, red toothpowder accounts for 40% and black toothpowder accounts 8%. The
penetration levels of Toothpaste/powder in urban areas 3 X that in the rural areas. Traditionally

materials such as neem and Tobacoo are popular for cleaning in the rural areas; Frequency of
usage for toothpaste is only 1.5 times among other consumers, compared with 2 times in the
developed world.
Given the low per capita consumption and penetration rates, toothpaste demand is mainly being
driven by the overall market growth of 8-10.The rural segment is also tooth powder growth.
HAIRCARE OILS
The hair oil market is huge, valued at Rs.6 bn. Due to the varied consumption habits of
consumers across the country, where coconut oil and edible oil are interchange used, the size of
the market is likely to be higher than estimated. More importantly, the market is growing at an
impressive 6-7% in volume terms despite the high penetration level . Usage of hair oil is a typical
Indian habit with 50% of the population out of which some perceive that massaging the head
with hair oil has a cooling impact. The penetration of hair oil is fairly high at around 87% and
evenly distribute among the urban and rural areas.
HAIR CARE SHAMPOOS
The shampoo market in India is valued at Rs.4.5 bn with the penetration level at 13% only. The
market is expected to increase due to lower duties and aggressive Marketing by players
Shampoo is also available in a sachet, which is affordable and makes up to 40% of the total
shampoo sale.
The Indian shampoo market is characterized by a twin benefit platform; cosmetic and
antidandruff. It is basically an upper middle class product, as more than 50% of the consumers use
ordinary toilet soap for washing hair. While the awareness level is high, the penetration level is
very low even in the metros, which is only 30%. Urban markets account for 80% of the total
shampoomarket the penetration level is rapidly increasing due to decline in excise duty, which
was 120% in 1993 to 30% currently?
SKINCARE
The skin care market is at a very nascent stage with basic requirements of the Consumers
being protecting the skin from cold and dryness in winter, and improving Fairness of the skin .
Most of the product categories are niche segments. While the awareness rate is high in both
urban areas and rural areas accounting for 30% the penetration level is low for both. This is
because of apprehensions that usage of skin care products may benefit in the long run due to
the chemical contents. Many households prefer to use traditional and natural home made
products.

Since the market is at a very nascent stage with very low penetration levels, the growth rates
are expected to be higher at 24-255 over the next five years. New players such as Avon and
Oriflamme have entered the market with the natural ingredient benefit platform, which could
further spur growth.
SOAPS
The product categories can be classified into three segments; premium (Lux, Dove) Popular
(Nirma, Cinthol), and economy (Nirma Bath, Lifebuoy). The price differential between the
premium and economy segments is about 2X. The popular and economy segments account for
about 4/5ths of the entire market for soaps Penetration of toilet soaps is high at 88.6%.
However per capita consumption levels remain low India's per capita consumption of soap at
460 gms per annum is lower than that of Brazil at 1,100 gms per annum.
DISTRIBUTION NETWORK:
Soaps are available in 5 ml retail outlets in India, 3.75 m of which are in the rural areas.
Therefore availability of these products is not a problem 75% of India's population is in the rural
areas; hence about 50% of the soaps are sold in the rural markets.

PRICE SEMENTATION
Price is common basis for segmenting the cosmetics market. The market Segments formed
accordingly now describe:
POPULAR SEGMENT
The sector is divided into two distinct segments-the premium segment catering mostly to urban
higher/upper middle class and the popular segment with prices as low as 25%-30% of the
premium segment, catering to mass segments in urban and rural markets. The premium
segment is less price sensitive and more brands conscious.
ECONONY SEGMENT
India's rural markets have been a lot of activity in the last few years. Since penetration levels are
pretty high in most categories, future growth can come only deeper rural penetration. FMCG
majors are aggressively looking at rural India since it accounts for 70% of the total Indian
households.
GROWTH
High consumer awareness and penetration levels will enable the market to grow at an average
8-10% per annum with slightly higher growth in the rural areas. Higher penetration stems from
popularity of low-cost detergents. Hence, besides increase in Per capita consumption, there is
tremendous scope for movement up the value Chain.
HUL, Nirma and P&G are the major players in the market with 40%, 30% and 12% share,
respectively. While HUL dominates the premium segment, Nirma is the leader in the popular
segment

MARKETING STRATEGY
Lakme: To Strongly Position The Brand On The Youth Platform.

Lakme Lever is planning to revive its youth-oriented brand, Elle 18.

Having put the brand on `maintenance' mode, this division of HUL was
focusing on Lakme.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr. Anil Chopra, Vice-President, said: "We

are relooking at the Elle 18 brand."

Launched in 1998, Elle 18 targeted the first-time cosmetic user and

currently sports two product lines comprising lipsticks and nail enamel.

"In the first three years, Elle 18 registered sharp growth rates and the
purpose was to create a new segment of consumers," said Mr Chopra.

At that point of time, Elle 18's main competitor in the youth-based

cosmetics market was Tips & Toes, a brand that is almost non-existent
today.
Pricing strategy

With a pricing that is almost one-third that of Lakme, Elle 18, of late,
has also unleashed a campaign based on its products.

"There was a change in our strategy in the past. While Lakme has
been high on innovation, Elle 18 has been on maintenance mode. The brand
has been growing at a lower rate than Lakme. But now we are now relooking
at Elle 18 as there is still no brand that is so sharply positioned on the
youth platform," said Mr Chopra.

There was a conscious price differential between the brands to attract

the first generation users of cosmetics. So, while a Lakme Lipstick would
have an MRP of Rs 165, an Elle 18 Lipstick was pegged at Rs 55.

Meanwhile, Lakme Lever continues to innovate for its existing range of

skincare and color cosmetics under the Lakme brand.

It recently relaunched its skincare range under the name of Lakme

Fundamentals.

"While there is no new product, we will be upgrading the existing skin

care range with new formulation and packaging," Mr Chopra said.

In color cosmetics it has roped in designer Sabyasachi Mukerjee to

unleash the `Free Spirit' range as part of its winter collection.

"The overall beauty market has been growing between 15-20 per cent
but we have been growing higher than the market."

However, it is the salon business that has been registering the highest
growth rates for Lakme Lever.

"With a small base, our salon business has been growing the fastest,"
Mr. Chopra said.

There are plans to have 100 Lakme salons by the end of the year from
the existing 92 salons across the country.

Besides, Lakme Lever intends consolidating its hair care portfolio

launched last year under the Lakme Hair Next brand.

"We do not want to add to existing hair care products in the market.
The brand has been launched in the hair styling category and we want to
create awareness and educate our consumers without confusing them with
more products," said Mr Chopra.

Lakme Restages Its Opera

Its turnaround sketch has got just a few strokes - grab the fashion
platform, spruce up the supply-chain, and test the rural waters.

High priestess of sacred Indian temple meets English army officer

who's unwittingly strayed into holy ground. They fall in love. Her orthodox
father vows vengeance... That's the story of Lakme, a 19th century opera

written by Frenchman Leo Delibes, from which Simone Tata borrowed the
name Lakme (French for Lakshmi, the name of the priestess).

By 1999, the world looked set for a revised version of the work.
Simone Tata was no longer on the scene. And a home-grown fashion brandoften personified as the high priestess of fashion in the country-had been
sold to a multinational company whose provenance was English, well, AngloDutch, actually-Hindustan Lever Ltd (HUL).

Worse, with HUL not appearing too keen about the brand-the
company, predictably, denies this-Lakm, the brand looked all set to follow
the spirit of Lakm the opera (a tragedy).

Lever was right. The aria, as is now evident, wasn't quite over.
Standing amidst the jamboree of what is, arguably, India's first fashion
summit, the Lakm India Fashion Week (LIFW for short), Anil Chopra, 51,
the affable Director who heads Lakm Lever Ltd is bullish about the brand's
new positioning: ''By taking on the fashion and glamour platform, we have,
in a way, not just taken a lead (over others), but also got a virtual ownership
of this plank. It will be very difficult for any other brand to adopt a similar
approach.'' And reactions to the born-again Lakm at the LIFW did suggest
that Chopra and the brand were on to a good thing. ''Lakm is at the
forefront of product-innovation. Almost everyone has a Lakm-something in

their (cosmetics) collection,'' gushes Mumbai-based fashion choreographer

Lubna Adams. So, is Lakm back?

Getting the focus right

A little bit of Lakm history: in 1995, Lakm Ltd (a Tata Group

company) and HUL formed a 50:50 venture Lakm Lever that would market
and distribute Lakm's products. In 1998, Lakm sold its brands (and the
50 per cent it owned in the JV) to HUL, renamed itself Trent and entered a
different business (retail). Only, the years between 1995 and 2000 saw HUL
wrestling with several issues with a bearing on Lakm's future.

The FAQs: With Ponds becoming part of HUL, what happens to

Lakm's skincare business? What does Lever's launch of Aviance mean for
Lakm? And why is it so difficult to find Lakm products?

Chopra accepts that distribution has been the company's Achilles heel
for some time: ''The supply-chain hasn't been as robust as it should have
been, but that has been the result of our efforts to reposition and
reintroduce the brand.'' The positioning bit, although complex, is clear:
Ponds is Lever's primary skincare brand; Lakm, its apparitional colour
cosmetics brand, which also has a presence in skincare.

The 'aspirational' qualification would mean Lakm would compete at

what the company terms the 'upper-mass' (premium) end of the colour
cosmetics spectrum (products priced between Rs 85 and Rs 250) where a
slew of competitors, ranging from Revlon (through Modi Revlon) to Chambor,
are already slugging it out. Says Meghna Modi, 26, Executive Director, Modi
Revlon: ''The numbers say it all. According to ORG-MARG's retail audit, we
have an 84 per cent share of the premium end of the colour cosmetics
market.'' Chopra is quick to rubbish this claim; he says ORG-MARG does
not have a representative sample of the 60,000 outlets through which colour
cosmetics are sold in India.

Likely outcome by the strategy

The premium segment, however, is just a slice of the Indian market for
colour cosmetics (estimated size: Rs 275 crore). Today, the company has
three brands: Lakm itself, which will be positioned as a fashion-brand; Elle
18, which has enjoyed success as a college-girl brand; and Orchid, a superpremium brand that hasn't really seen much excitement since its 1999relaunch.

The company plans to re-re-launch Orchid by end-2000, and is testmarketing Elka, a brand targeted at the lowest-end of the colour cosmetics
market. The brand, Chopra claims, could also catalyse Lakm's entry into

the hinterland, but only if tests show there is a rural market for colour
cosmetics. Says Nikhil Vora, 28, Portfolio Advisor, Sharekhan.com: ''Though
rural markets are big potential, a company has to think of segments
carefully. Any expansion into new areas should be justified by returns.''

Lakm will remain a loner in the Lever stable: Unilever does not have a
presence in the colour cosmetics segment. That means Lakm Lever will
have to depend on its own kitchen garden. But a focused-most of its
skincare business and all of its exports business have been taken on by
HUL-Lakm does seem to be on a come-back trail. It's still the second act,
but this opera could well have a happy ending.

Lakme's Profile
Lakm is an Indian brand of cosmetics, owned by Unilever. Lakme
started as a 100% subsidiary of Tata Group (Tomco), it was named after the
French opera Lakm. At the time of its establishment, Indian cosmetic
industry was rather nacent, and there was a very small market base.
Simone Tata joined the company as director, and went on to become its
chairman. When Tata's saw a bigger growth potential in the retail market,
and greater competition from global companies in cosmetics, they enetered
into a 50-50 joint venture with Hindustan Lever Limited (the Indian
subsidiary of Unilever) in 1995 to form Lakme Lever. In 1998 Tata sold of
there stakes in Lakm Lever to to HUL, for Rs 200 Crore (45 million US$),
and went on to create Trent and Westside. Half a century ago, as India took
her steps into freedom, Lakme, India's first beauty brand was born. At a
time when the beauty industry in India was at a nascent stage, Lakme
tapped into what would grow to be amongst the leading, high consumer
interest segments in the Indian Industry - that of skincare and cosmetic
products. Armed with a potent combination of foresight, research and
constant innovation, Lakme has grown to be the market leader in the
cosmetics industry.

Lakme today has grown to have a wide variety of products and

services that cover all facets of beauty care, and arm the consumer with

products to pamper herself from head to toe. These include products for the
lips, nails, eyes, face and skin, and services like the Lakme Beauty Salons

About LAKM
The Carreras family established LAKM Cosmetics in 1997 and is
independent, self-financed and family owned. The family has over 40 years
of manufacturing experience in salon products. Lakm East a regional
distributor of Lakm Cosmetics with its main office in Colchester is
conveniently placed to provide you with all the guidance back up and
support youll ever need.
The Products
LAKM leading hair care products are developed exclusively for
distribution to hair and beauty salons. Branding and packaging of
the product range is first class and they are tested and manufactured
solely for this brand name and no other. The very best raw materials
are used in manufacture using the latest technology and adopting the
highest levels of hygiene. All product formulation is in accordance
with the health standards of the European Union and the United
States Food & Drug Administration and is subject to ISO 9002
certification.

The Promotion

Powerful point-of-sale displays are supplied FREE OF CHARGE

for customer sales and your own use, with freestanding display units
highlighting the unique quality and variety of your products and
enhancing the quality of your sales and service. Combine this with
FREE ongoing in-salon education and you have the perfect basis to
grow your business for yourself, but not by yourself.
Lakme expands skin care products

Lakme, the Indian cosmetics giant has expanded the range of skin
care products it markets in Sri Lanka, and unveiled the company's new
international logo and image, Lakme's local distributor Hemas Marketing
(Pte) Ltd., has announced.

Launched in Colombo earlier this month, the addition to the Lakme

skin care range are the Lakme Nourishing Cold Cream, Nourishing Body
Lotion, pH-Balanced Face Wash, Calamine Lotion, Sun Screen Lotion and
Hair Remover.

Prior to the launch of these products, Hemas Marketing was

responsible for the distribution of Lakme Maximum Moisturiser and Lakme

Deep Pore Cleansing Milk, which the company will continue to market in
new packaging.

Revlon Profile
Revlon is a world leader in cosmetics, skin care, fragrance and
personal care and is a leading mass market cosmetics brand. Our vision is
to provide glamour, excitement and innovation through quality products at
affordable prices. To pursue this vision, Revlon's management team
combines the creativity of a cosmetics and fashion company with the
marketing, sales and operating system of a consumer packaged goods
company. Our global brand name recognition, product quality and
marketing experience have enabled us to create one of the strongest
consumer brand franchises in the world, with our products sold in
approximately 175 countries and territories. Revlon's brands include
Revlon, ColorStay, New Complexion, Revlon Age Defying, Almay,
Ultima II and Flex and Charlie.

Revlon was founded in 1932, by Charles Revson and his brother

Joseph, along with a chemist, Charles Lachman, who contributed the "L" in
the REVLON name.

Starting with a single product - a nail enamel unlike any before it - the
three founders pooled their meager resources and developed a unique
manufacturing process. Using pigments instead of dyes, Revlon was able to

offer to woman a rich-looking, opaque nail enamel in a wide variety of

shades never before available.
Revlon's first beauty item was nail enamel. Opaque and longlasting, it was an improvement over the more transparent, dye-based
products of other manufacturers. Revlon's nail polish owed its
superiority to the use of pigments, which also allowed a wider color
range than the light red, medium red, and dark red then available.
Initially, the revolutionary "cream enamel" came from the tiny Elka
company, in Newark, New Jersey, a polish supplier to beauty salons
for whom Charles Revson began to work as a sales representative in
1931. Charles Revson and his older brother Joseph distributed Elka
nail polish as Revson Brothers. Within a year, however, Charles Revson
decided to open his own nail polish company, going into partnership
with his brother and a nail polish supplier named Charles R.
Lachman, who contributed the "l" to the Revlon name. Revlon was
formed on March 1, 1932.
Revlon had a keen fashion instinct, honed by his seven years of

sales experience at the Pickwick Dress Company in New York.

Coupling this with his experience at Elka, he noted that the

permanent wave boom was making beauty salons more popular and
that demand for manicures was rising in tandem. He therefore
targeted beauty salons as a market niche--a fortunate choice whose
importance would grow.
Within its first nine months, the company boasted sales of
$4,055. There was a sharp rise in sales to $11,246 in 1933, the year
the company incorporated as Revlon Products Corporation. At the end
of 1934, the company had grossed $68,000. By 1937, sales multiplied
more than 40 times. In that year, Revson decided to enlarge his
market by retailing his nail polish through department stores and
selected drugstores. This gave him access to more affluent customers
as well as those with a moderate amount of money to spend on beauty
products. Formulating a maxim he followed for the rest of his life,
Revson steered clear of cut-rate stores, selling his product only at
premium prices.
Marketing strategy
Postwar sales strategy, too, was influenced by increases in
spending and department store credit sales. Returning interest in
dress sparked the company's twice-yearly nail enamel and lipstick

promotions, which were crafted in anticipation of the season's

clothing fashions. Each promotion featured a descriptive color name
to tempt the buyer, full-color spreads in fashion magazines, color
cards showing the range of colors in the promotion, and display cards
reproducing or enlarging consumer ads. Packaging was designed
specifically for each line.
The Fire and Ice promotion for fall 1952 was one of the most
successful. Its features included the cooperation of Vogue magazine,
which planned its November issue around the lipstick and nail
enamel, "push" money given to demonstrators in stores without Revlon
sales staff to insure full retail coverage, and radio endorsements
written into scripts for performers such as Bob Hope and Red Skelton.
These efforts produced excellent publicity and helped to raise 1952
net sales to almost $25.5 million.
The company received its next boost from its 1955 sole
sponsorship of the CBS television show The $64,000 Question. Though
initially reluctant to go ahead with this project, Revson was
persuaded by the success of rival Hazel Bishop, whose sponsorship of
This is Your Life was providing serious competition for Revlon's

lipsticks. Attracting a weekly audience of 55 million people, The

$64,000 Question topped the ratings within four weeks of its debut.
Revlon's advertising budget for the year, $7.5 million, proved Charles
Revson's adage that publicity had to be heavy to sell cosmetics; as a
result of the television show, sales of some products increased 500
percent, and net sales for 1955 grew to $51.6 million, from $33.6
million one year previously.
Takeover strategy
The 1970s began with annual sales of about $314 million. The
Cosmetics and Fragrances division, its six lines separately aimed,
advertised, and marketed, was the industry leader in all franchised
retail outlets. Revlon fragrances, such as Norell and Intimate for
women and Braggi and Pub for men, had also become familiar to U.S.
consumers. Revlon also had a new line of wig-maintenance products
called Wig Wonder.
An

important

1970 acquisition

was the Mitchum Company of

Tennessee, makers of antiperspirants and other toiletries. Mitchum

joined

the

Thayer

Laboratories

subsidiary,

formerly

Knomark.

Mitchum-Thayer division's widely publicized products required a 1971

advertising budget of $4 million.

In 1973, Revlon introduced Charlie, a fragrance designed for the
working woman's budget. Geared to the under-30 market, Charlie
models in Ralph Lauren clothes personified the independent woman of
the 1970s. Charlie was an instant success, helping to raise Revlon's
net sales figures to $506 million for 1973 and to almost $606 million
the following year.

Strategy formulation framework

Revlon

Lakme

CRITICAL

WEIG

RATI

WEIGHT

RATI

WEIGHT

SUCCSES

HT

NG

ED

NG

ED

FACTOR

SCORE

SCORE

PRICE

0.15

0.45

0.60

FINANCIAL

0.10

0.43

0.40

0.10

0.40

0.40

POSITION

CONSUME
R LOYALTY

ADVERTISI

0.10

0.30

0.30

0.10

0.40

0.30

0.15

0.45

0.45

NG

PRODUCT
QUALITY

INNOVATIO
N

MARKET

0.10

0.40

0.20

0.06

0.18

0.18

0.15

0.45

0.60

SHARE

MANAGEM
ENT

GLOBAL
EXPANSIO
N

TOTAL

3.33

3.43

OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

To find out the impact of Lakme and Revlon informative

Cosmetics

Products on the brand switching behavior of the

consumer.

To study the effect of Consumer Satisfaction on the

marketability of Cosmetic products.

To know the impact of various striking features on buyers

behavior.

To know the media access by consumers to know about

Cosmetics Products.

To know various cosmetics product range in the market

level for Cosmetic Products (Nail Enamels, Lotions, Shampoo).

LITERATURE REVIEW

Studies on customer perception

particularly in the Indian context are limited some of
such important studies are briefly reviewed in the following papers.
Consumer behavior is defined as the study of the processes
involved when individuals or groups select, purchase, use, or
dispose of products, services, ideas, or
experiences to satisfy needs and desires. (Solomon, 2009) All
exchanging issues could affect the consumer before, during, and
after a purchase. A consumer
refers to a person who identifies a need or desire, makes a
purchase, and then disposes of the product during the three
consumption process. (Solomon,
2009) Good business requires marketers to understand the role of
consumption activities in the daily lives of consumers. (Arnould. et
al., 2004)
2.7 Factors Affecting Consumer Behavior
Purchasing behavior is the result of the complex interaction of all
the cultural, social, personal and psychological characteristics.
These characteristics are
essential for marketers to identify interested purchasers and to
satisfy their needs better. In this context, to develop marketing
strategies, marketers are
supposed to understand many of those factors to understand
consumers with unique cultural backgrounds, and needs of
consumers in various markets. (Kolter.
et al., 2005)
Most buyers pass through a series of stages to reach a purchasing
decision. According to Kolter, typically five steps are involved in
consumption decision
process: need recognition, information search, and evaluation of
alternatives, purchase decision and post purchase behavior. This
model implies that marketers
should pay attention to the whole purchasing process rather than
just purchase decision. Moreover as some purchase decisions are
less significant, some of

these steps might be skipped by a consumer. Information search is

seen as the most significant part of the high-involvement decisionmaking process. Thurs
marketers are suggested to utilize a great deal of media sources
and various communicating manners to serve potential consumers.
(Fill, 2002)
In a common sense, gender plays an essential role in the study of
consumer behavior. Gender identity is always linked to those
differences in psychological
characteristics, norms, attitudes, and behaviors. (Arnould, et al.,
2004) In western societies, people stereotypically linked such sextyped characteristics as
aggressive, tough, muscular, dominating, instrumental, (Burns,
1979) independent, assertive, and competitive with males. (Arnould,
et al., 2004) Further,
traditionally it was strongly believed that men and women think and
behave in quite different ways. For instance it seems that physical
attractiveness plays a
significant role in creating a happier and better-adjusted man via the
obtainment of many positive feedbacks and acceptance of others.
(Burns, 1979)
Nonetheless in womens eyes, appearance is not regarded as the
most essential attribute applied in judging whether a man is
attractive or not. Their ideal men
are supposed to possess financial stability, emotional strength,
loyalty, security, and a good sense of humor. (Tungate, 2008)
Sex role is in terms of a persons conceptualization of his own
degree of masculinity or femininity. (Burns, 1979) Many studies
found that men tend to achieve
agentic goals while women are more likely to pursue communal
goals. (Solomon, 2009) That is why males purchasing is strongly
driven by functionality and
performance of products. (Tungate, 2008) In addition patterns of
responses to market stimuli may be shaped by differences in sexrole orientation. (Solomon,
2009) As time goes on, evolution of sex roles occurs with
continuous change of societies. In the past, people regarded males
and females a