Unilever Case Study

NE Consumers

SE Consumers

Income

• $2,250 GDP per capita.
• 53% lives on less than two minimum wages.

• $6,600 GDP per capita.
• 21% lives on less than two minimum wages

Literation Rate

• 60% (1-40%)

• 85% (1-15%)

Demographics

• 65% mixed African and European origins.

• 30% mixed African and European origins.

Clothes Washing Habits

• 28% of households has a washing machine.
• 73% of women think bleach is necessary to remove fat stains.
• Women scrub clothes using bars of laundry soap; they then add bleach to remove tough stains and only add a little detergent powder at the end to make the clothes smell good.
• Clothes washed around 5 times/week.

• 67% of households has a washing machine.
• 18% of women think bleach is necessary to remove fat stains.
• Women mix powder detergent and softener in a washing machine and use laundry soap and bleach only to remove the toughest stains.
• Clothes washed around 3.9 times/week.

Views on Clothes Washing

• More pleasurable activities of their week; meet and chat with their friends.
• Proud to keep themselves and their families spotlessly clean; women see the cleanliness of clothes as an indication of the dedication of the mother.

• Women wash clothes at home alone; perceive as a chore and are primarily interested in ways to make it easier.
• Much less important for self-esteem and social status.

Importance

Evaluation Criteria

Cleanliness, Whitening, Productivity

24%

Judged by the quantity of foam it produces.

Smell, Softness

20%

Associate a strong, pleasant smell with softening power and gentleness to fabric and hands.

Ability to Remove Stains

16%

Ability to remove stains without the need for laundry soap and bleach.

Dissolving Power

16%

Ease with which the power dissolves in water and the absence of residue on the fabric after rinsing.

Packaging

13%

Prefer distinctive, simple and easy-to-recognize packages that are also easy to open and protect against humidity.

Harm to Colors

11%

Fading colors.

Detergent Market

Main Player

Unilever

P&G

Entry time

1957

1996

Main Brand in Brazil Market

Omo (52% market share, $3/kg)
Minerva (17% market share, $2.46/kg)
Campeiro (6% market share, $1.71/kg)

Quanto/Ace (11% market share, $2.4/kg)
Odd Fases/Bold
Pop

Market Share in Detergent Segment

81% nationally
(75% of the NE market)

15% nationally
(17.5% of the NE market)

Strengths

Has a clear leadership in this market;
Has a long history in this market;

Able to draw on a formidable R&D and marketing expertise of the company worldwide;

Weakness

Unilever's low-end brand is not attractive enough in the market.

No low-end product in the market.

Market Opportunities

The entry barriers are high due to capital-intensive manufacturing process.
Market growth rate is high (17%).

Market Threats

The softness of the water in NE reduces the advantages of powders.

Soap Market

Main Player

Unilever

Local companies (e.g. ASA)

Main Brand in Brazil Market

Minerva (19.1% market share, $1.7/kg)

Bem-te-vi (11.3% market share, $1.2/kg)
Flora (6% market share, $1.2/kg)

Market Opportunities

Soap is a multi-use product which has a much larger population base than detergent.
The softness of the water in NE eliminates the weakness of soap.

Market Threats

The entry barriers are low because soap is easy to produce.
Market growth rate is relatively low (6%).
Selling price are much lower than detergents and hard to make break-even.