Sunlight FlakesProduct Life Cycle

Introduction

1890s- Lever brothers, although already selling nearly 40 000 tons of Sunlight soap a year and starts expanding into Europe, America and the British colonies with factories, export businesses and plantations; still wasn’t contented of the product they have that time. External factors such as marketplace trends (customer wants and expectations) made them realize that there’s still some room for improvement for their product. Up to the end of the 19th century, washing clothes at home usually entailed the tedious task of cutting chips off of large hunks of laundry soap to use in creating sudsy water. At that time, what the customers want is a laundry soap that would be easier to use. A Monsieur Charpy employed at Lever in England developed a technology that allowed production of a very thin sheet of soap that then could be flaked.

1899 – It was during 1899 when Lever Brothers introduced a new type of product, Sunlight Flakes –a domestic brand in the United Kingdom, The Sunlight Flakes is basically formed from using scrapes or flakes coming from the former product Sunlight soap, and this makes housework easier than with the traditional hard soap bars.

Growth

1900 –The name changed from “Sunlight Flakes” to “Lux” in 1900, a Latin word for “light” and suggestive of “luxury.” As a trade name, Lux had multiple advantages. The name is short and easy to remember; in Latin it means "light" (and so is related to Sunlight); and by association it suggests luxury. The Lux trademark was registered in the U.S. in 1900. 1906 – The soap flakes began to be imported to the U.S. and manufactured at a new Lever Brothers plant in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1907. The product was not promoted heavily at first, and sales were modest.

Maturity

1925 – Lux toilet soap was launched in the United States in 1925 and in the United Kingdom in 1928 – Subsequently, Lux soap has been marketed in several forms, including hand wash, shower gel and cream bath soap

Product DesignFormulation

Lux Soap Bar Silky TouchThe list below displays ingredients in descending order, with those present in highest quantities coming first. Please note: This is the latest formulation present on the market. It may not exactly match the product label. If the information is not what you require or does not correspond with the product you have bought, please contact our consumer careline for more details.

Ingredients Functions

Sodium Tallowate Surfactant

Aqua Solvent

Sodium Palm Kernelate Surfactant

Glycerin Humectant

Helianthus Annuus Skin Conditioning Agent

Parfum Fragrance

Sorbitol Humectant

Prunus Persica Botanicals

Sine Adipe Lac Skin Conditioning Agent

Lactic Acid Humectant

Bisabolol Skin Conditioning Agent

Tallow Acid Surfactant

Ingredients Functions

Palm Kernel Acid Surfactant

Propylene Glycol Solvent

PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil Solubiliser

Trideceth-9 Emulsifier

Pentylene Glycol Solvent

Sodium Chloride Viscosity Controlling Agent

Tetrasodium EDTA Sequestrant

Etidronic Acid Sequestrant

Sodium Sulfate Bulking Agent

Citric Acid Additive

Ascorbic Acid Additive

Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone Fragrance

Benzyl Salicylate Fragrance

Butylphenyl Methylpropional Fragrance

Citronellol Fragrance

Coumarin Fragrance

Geraniol Fragrance

Limonene Fragrance

Linalool Fragrance

Ingredients Functions

CI 14700 Colourant

CI 15510 Colourant

CI 77891 Colourant

Packaging (Benchmark, CAD or Reengineering?)

Order winners

Lux is famous for its superior fragrances and luxurious products, leading to its number one branded spot as the best-selling soap bar in the world. An iconic brand that has over 90 years of heritage – including some of the world’s most beautiful stars as its ambassadors like Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor. Lux continues to be successful through its history of positive association with suppliers; providing quality raw materials and driving its vision of entering even more key beauty markets worldwide. It also continues to work with regional stars and leading ladies of today.

Advertisement600 million women all over the world regularly use Lux’s superior and trusted products and this is partially due to Lux’s keen engagement with female celebrity endorsements as a method of promoting the brand. It is thought that over 400 world famous actresses have had the pleasure of being the face of Lux at some point over its global journey. The brand endures all beauty brand competition through its outstanding vibe of femininity.

VarietyLux soap comes in a variety of forms, flakes, bars and liquids. Originally, Lux made Laundry Flakes -- a thin sheet of soap film was cut into small flakes. They called these Sunlight Flakes, but changed the name in the 1900s to Lux, which means light. Lux flakes were made to wash clothes, but were so gentle women soon began using them as dish soap, hair soap and other soap uses. Lever Brothers developed a bar soap form of the Lux Flakes called “Lux Toilet Form.” This became well-known hand soap because of its gentleness.

Product SafetyLux soap products are gentle and do not irritate normal skin. According to the Unilever Corp., it applies high standards checked by in-house safety specialists before bringing a product to market. Unilever has an established Safety and Environmental Assurance Center that ensures safety of the environment, people and production. Lux soap is formulated for use with children under age 3, the elderly and other vulnerable members of the population. All soap formulations are designed and tested for human and environmental use, according to Unilever Corp.

AffordabilityLux, when it was introduced in the United States in 1925, gave people an affordable option to expensive French milled soaps. Lux is also sold in China at an affordable price for consumers, according to China Radio International

Product Design (All)

Product Life Cycle (All)

Process Design (Current Product)

Supply Chain Management (Current Product)

The Unilever company has segmented structure of supply chain management. The purchasing, production control and distribution departments have responsibility for material management.

SITARA CHEMICALS is the supplier of local raw material of soda ash, caustic soda etc.Supplier selection is based on price, quality and delivery.

SAFETY STOCK 2 to 3 weeks for basic (imported) material2 weeks for packaging material

LEAD TIME 13- 20 weeks

FORECASTING

Demand Forecasting“A forecast is the prediction of future events used for the planning purposes”.Forecasting TechniquesThere the three forecasting techniques are available for the purpose of the forecasting of the demand, which are as under.

• Judgmental Method.• Causal Method.• Time Series Method.The usage of these techniques depends upon the availability of the data about the past.

Forecasting at UnileverThe forecasting technique, which is being followed by Unilever, is the qualitative technique.

Sales Force EstimateSales force estimate of forecasts compiled by the members of the company’s sales force (their dealers in each region) about the future demand of the product. They are using this technique because they believe that their estimates are correct since the dealers are much near to the market. Marketing Department is actually involved much in forecasting. They observe the trend of the market and they set their target of sale then they tell to the production that what is their target then production department make productions according to the target set by marketing department.

Time SeriesDemand for the future periods is also determined by the time series method. Historical data about the past demand is the basis for the time series. The data is used for the demand projection for the coming periods.

Marketing ResearchMarketing research is also conducted by the firm. Data obtained is used to determine the customer demand pattern, and trends.

Effective CapacityIt is the maximum output that a process or firm can economically sustain under normal conditions. When operating close to peak capacity, a firm can make minimal profits or even lose money despite high sales levels.Operations manager must examine the three dimensions of capacity before making capacity decisions:

• Sizing capacity cushions• Timing and sizing expansion• Linking capacity and other operating decisions

The capacity cushion is the amount of reserve capacity that a firm maintains to handle sudden increases in demand or temporary loses of production capacity it measures the amount by which the average utilization falls below 100 percent.CAPACITY CUSHION = 100% - UTILIZATION RATE (%)

Another issue of capacity strategy is when to expand and by how much there are two extreme strategies:The Expansionist Strategy, which involves large infrequent jumps in capacity. In this strategy organization remains ahead-of-demand.

The Wait and See Strategy could be to follow the leader, expanding when others do. Management may choose one of these two strategies or one of closely linked to strategies operate between these extremes. Capacity decision should be considered throughout the organization. When managers make decisions about location, resource flexibility and inventory, they must consider the impact on capacity cushions.Capacity cushion buffer the organization against uncertainty as do resource flexibility, inventory and longer customer lead times. If a system is well balanced and a change is made in some other decision area, then the capacity cushion may need changes to compensate.

The categories and sizes of the soaps manufactured are given below:Hard SoapLIFEBUOY( Red & White) 140gms.95gms.TOILET SOAPSLUX 140gmsPURPLE &

GREEN 95gmsWHITELIFEBUOY GOLDPink & White 140gms95gmsBREEZE 85gmsLIRIL FRESH 140gmsRAIN FRESH 95gmsMain point about the capacity are given below

• Capacity is measured in terms of output.• Measuring unit is per ton• Sizing capacity cushions are used for the capacity• Planned lead-time for changing a dice is 8 hours.• 4 lines are available for the hard soap (lifebuoy).• Capacity of per line is 210 tablets / min.• Shift production is 40 tons / shift• Daily production is 120-tons/ day with 3 daily shifts.• For toilet soaps 3 lines and 5 machines are available.• Capacity for toilet soaps is 190/ min while the average capacity is 180/ min.• Annual production capacity for life buoy is 30000 tons to 35000 tons.• Utilization = Avg. Capacity/ Capacity• Utilization for toilet soap is 95%• Utilization for hard soap is 97% Effective capacity• Utilization for toilet soap is 90% Peak Capacity• Utilization for hard soap is 93%

Cost DepartmentThis department provides very useful services to the company and is responsible for costing of the products. This department does the yield calculations of the followings:

• Soapery fatty acids• Crude glycerin• Refined glycerin• Edibles

For the calculation of yield, these elements are taken into consideration:

• Storage loss/gain• Bleaching loss• Packing loss/gain• Un-accounted loss• Storage Loss/GainWhen oil and fats are received by the material store, sample is taken for measuring percentage of Free Fatty Acids (FFA) and moisture. All these materials are received by the stores and then issued to production department.

At the quarter end, cost department do the stock taking of all the tanks of oil and fats and also draw a sample for determining moisture. Now the cost department see that what is the difference between the physical n=and book stock. This deference will be the loss or gain and charged to the production account.

Bleaching Loss/GainFor the purpose of bleaching the Activated Earth is used. The Activated Earth absorbs some amount of tallow. This absorption is called bleaching loss. Cost department calculates this loss.

Packing Loss/Gain When the finished products are packed some packing loss or gain took place at this stage. Some products are packed above the standard weight and some less. Packing loss or gain is also determined.

Un-Accounted LossSome losses are not seen in manufacturing process, these are called Un-accounted losses.Reports of Cost DepartmentCost department looks into the yield and performance of the factory with the help of various reports. These are following:

1. Daily stock report2. Production accounts3. Daily production report4. Power & Steam production report

1. Daily Stock ReportThis report tells that how much raw material is transferred to plant, what is the weight of activated earth used, how much fats are spoon-fed, soap cleaned, lye transfer to glycerin section, lye treated and refined glycerin effected into drums. With the help of these information, this department takes care of yield.

2. Production accounts of the productsCost department makes production accounts of all products with the help of followings:

• Raw material cost• chemicals• Packing material• Variable direct material

Raw material cost Value of material consumed is taken from consumption schedule and is charged to production accounts after making adjustment of opening and closing stock.ChemicalsCost of chemicals and taken from consumption schedule and prorated on products pack wise and in these cases whose closing stocks are chemical mixed value is charged to production accounts after adjustment in opening and closing stock.

Packing materialPacking material but is taken from consumption schedule and then total cost is charged to production accounts of the products.

Variable direct materialIt is just as packing material but at present crude glycerin stock has accumulated hence we have to keep variable chemicals value equivalent to its weight in stocks.Steam and power are taken from variable direct schedule in total against their location but same case with crude glycerin, which has been explained, in variable direct chemicals.

3. Power & Steam production report SteamWeekly steam production report is received and from these quarter reports are prepared. Meter reading of all steam main meter and sub-meter are done at quarter end. Cost of steam is calculated and transferred to all the production departments where steam is used. Cost of burners used in factory is subtracted from total Sui gas bill.

PowerMeter reading of WAPDA main meter, and own generator and sub-meter in the factory are done at quarter end. Power is allocated on all factory location on the basis of sub-meter; the technical management gives the standard bases. The cost of power is changed to production accounts.

4. Daily production reportThe reports of daily production are submitted by the production department to cost department. This report helps in watching what is the production of certain product on certain day, and how many transferred to warehouse and what is the present balance on department floor.

Cost control documents preparationFollowing documents are prepared for cost control purpose.Standard yield vs. Actual yieldStandard chemical valuation vs. Actual chemical which is used in productionStandard stem & power vs. Actual steam & power Standard man hours vs. Actual man hoursCalculation of variable cost of sales

Cost department prepares daily, monthly and annual cost reports. These reports are used by the management for control purpose whether the cost is according to the standards is not. The area of difference is pointed out and a better control is exerted for the future. It is also important because if a company is able to lower its production it works more than to increase the market share. It is easy for a company to lower its cost because it is in its own control while the market is beyond the control of management.

In Lever Brother the cost of sales is calculated in a very simple way according to the standards of accounting.

The report starts with the opening stock of Material, Steam/Power and Distribution. In these opening stocks the cost of oil and fats which comes from oil & fat consumption report, the chemical cost which is obtained form chemical consumption report, cost of packing material obtained of packing material consumption report, cost of steam/power obtained from steam/power consumption report, for that day production is added and it gives variable cost of production. From this variable cost of production the closing stocks of material, steam/power and distribution that day is deducted which gives total cost of sales.

DISTRIBUTION PROCEDURE OR SUPPLY CHAIN NETWORK

First of all production is transferred to distribution warehouse by the production department. Distribution department has two warehouses, which are capacity wise 700+150 tons (for soap and personal products) and 500+200 tons (for cooking oil. Distribution department arranges the dispatch plan that is provided by the consumer services head office. Therefore products are dispatched according to the dispatch plan. Company has various sales depots located in different cities throughout the country. Such as:Ø FaisalabadØ KarachiØ WazirabadØ LahoreØ Rahim Yar Khan (central)Ø Rahim Yar Khan (south)Ø Dera Ismail Khan Ø Multan

Distribution department sends products directly to distributors or to sales depots as per instruction of sales department head office. Sales department makes sales contracts with different parties and supply by advising distribution in Rahim Yar Khan Factory.All sales depots are controlled by head office. Sales department send plans for despatch to these depots which take necessary action according to plan.Rahim Yar Khan South depot covers the area of Baluchistan and Sind while Central covers the area of Punjab and NWFP. There is another depot named “over flow depot” in Rahim Yar Khan. When there is shortage of space in factory warehouse, production is transferred to this depot.Distribution department Rahim Yar Khan Factory sends despatch plans to over flow depots. This depot arranges the supply accordingly. For all the despatches a despatch advice is prepared in which the full detail of the products are maintained. Five copies of despatch advice are prepared.• One copy is sent to consignee through transporter.• One copy of D.A is sent to customer service head office.• One copy is sent to accounts department.• One is for distribution department Rahim Yar Khan• One copy is given to transporter that is called acknowledgement.

DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS

Lever Brother Pakistan Ltd. (Unilever) has a centralized distribution system in which the products are distributed from one warehouse to the selected distributor of the company, and then

the distributor make the product available to the wholesalers and at the end the product is transformed to the retailers to be purchased by the final customer.

The company had direct relations only with the distributors for making the product available to the target market. It deals with the distributors on net and advance payment bases and does not give any credit facility to them. However the company provides different commissions incentives. There are many certified distributors of LBPL operating in almost all major areas of the country.

Sometimes when the company introduces the same product line in different innovation style then it uses the following channel of distribution. The company has specifically directed its distributors to provide that innovative products to retailers skipping out the wholesalers in the channel. The basic reason for doing this was to eliminate the wholesaler commission so that the price can be placed at relatively lower level.

Channel is like this Manufacturer (LBPL) Company warehouse Consumer Retailer DistributorIn short the intense coverage of market is the basic aim of LBPL distribution policy.

QUALITY CONTROL

Quality is the use of techniques and activities to achieve, sustain and improve quality. It involves integrating the following related techniques and activities:1. Specification of what are needed.2. Design of the product or service to meet the specifications.3. Production or installation to meet the full intent of the specification.4. Inspection to determine conformance to the specification.5. Review of usage to provide information for the revision of specification if needed.6. Utilization of these activities provides the customer with the best product or service at lowest cost. The aim should be continuous quality improvement.

OBJECTIVES

• OFI – Opportunity For Improvement• Always looking for improvement.• The continuous improvement of all services through total involvement of all employees.• The developing and the strengthening of partnership with external and internal customers and suppliers.• Providing innovative and higher quality products and services to achieve total customer satisfaction by understanding their requirements and anticipating their future expectations or needs.FUNCTIONS• Monitoring annual targets for quality improvements in all areas.• Creating a culture of customer focus striving to become the lowest cost producer through agreed annual cost reduction program.

• Value people by understanding and drawing upon their strength i.e. abilities and knowledge and make efforts for their training and development.

STAGES

RAW MATERIAL:When raw material is received the quality of raw material is inspected according to the standards. According to these standards if the personnel of receiving department will inspect according to the standards. If there are a lot of 500 and they choose 13 samples from the whole lot then they select the sample from the upper and lower and right and left side of the whole packet. It means that they select the sample by way of diversifying the area. If the 2 units of the sample are rejected then the whole lot will be rejected and if the lot is rejected then they call back the vendors and vendor check that lot again. If the lot is very much needed by the production department then they place a written request. The 100% inspection is done on it. In this case, they call the vendors or their inspectors and they check it on 100% basis. But this happens in very rare cases.On the other hand if the lot is accepted then it is remarked as GRL (good received lot) and sent to the store. While four copies of GRL are made and sent to the following four departments: 1. Purchase Department2. Quality Control Department3. Store4. For computer entry

DURING THE PROCESS:When the product is in-line then quality inspector check it at every stage of process. If these inspectors will sign it for next process then product will go for next process. If they do not sign it then the work will stop. Then for the accepted and rejected production, the quality inspector will give report. This report has also included the sign of supervisor of process area. So that analyzing the rejection and acceptance %age for next rectification and improvement.Then report will pass to the production manager so on this base they can make the weakly and monthly report. And it will pass to the top management. In this inspection is done at every stage and will pass towards the top management. The ISO has given them standard for the whole process. It also includes the initial cost but the running cost is more safe and effective because the chances of rejection are reduced. We can say that the chances of rejection will be controlled. In this way the quality level is much improved and it reduces the customer complaints. Monthly charts are also made and management also takes correction actions.If there is a need of corrective action then they will request. The immediate action will be taken on that form and until the corrective action will not be taken they production level will be ceased.Quality control department has given their dimensions. And if there is any deviation from these dimensions then even the MD of the company cannot start the production. And charts are also following these dimensions everywhere in the production area.

UNILEVER DIGITAL COMMUNICATION FOR SUPPLY CHAINUnilever, speaking at the recent Melcrum Digital Communication Summit in London. His session, ‘Connecting employees to the heart of Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan’ provided

fantastic insight into a behavioural change management strategy to put sustainability in the spotlight across the entire organisation – the way employees work, the value chain and even the way consumers use Unilever brands.

Here are a few points from the very informative session …

Align internal/external - A significant part of an IC strategy in today’s digital world should be aligning internal communications with external. Unilever did this by creating integrated campaigns that targeted both internal and external stakeholders to share the progress the business was making, generate solutions and invite interested parties to help shape Unilever’s plans. One tactic used was to create a 24-hour ‘web jam’ forum with a variety of live events, discussion and online participation that was open to both external and internal participants.

Focus on content first, channel second – Focus first on the content – what content is needed for the messaging? How does it need to be localised or segmented to the audiences that will be receiving it? THEN look at what is the right channel to communicate the message. When generating content, Neil noted the ‘three Ps’ that interest employees: People (what are others doing?), Product (for example, here, how are they sustainable) and Participation (how can I participate?).

Create a user journey overview: Plan the entire user journey across all the channels you will be using to communicate so you can ensure consistent messaging is going out. Ensure local teams get the help they need to minimise the effort to implement the content. This can include supplying localised by language.

Employee generated content is powerful - User generated content is VERY engaging. Especially in the form of storytelling, which we as humans respond to and helps us understand the message. Unilever opened up two-way channels to give employees many ways to tell their stories. Everyone was invited to submit ‘sustainability heroes’ in their workplace, participate in local events – and post their photos from the day. Plus, existing channels were ‘socialized’ – such as adding forum chat into SharePoint.

SOCIAL MEDIA: Connecting with Partners and Consumers the new-fashioned way

Supply Chain Challenges Because of the relative economic instability, the typical trend analysis and projection models are not meeting business requirements. Simply said, predictive analytics, by definition, do not function well in times that are unpredictable. When you can’t predict the future with some level of reliability, it is even more important that the business knows exactly what is going on in real time or near real time. With this in mind, we can think of two areas of importance where social media might provide value to improving supply chain performance and risk avoidance: Monitoring both planned and actual consumer behavior (I’m gonna buy vs. I just bought) is critical. What value does a social media solution bring in comparison to POS information Brand reputation is always

critical, but even more so now with top-tier CPG brands losing market share to less costly private label products. It is critical to have immediate responses to customer feedback, issues, concerns, and complaints. Is there a role for social media here Are there any privacy issues around the commercial utilization of social media information gathering and how can they be minimized Supply chain professionals are concerned with the customer “population” as opposed to a 1 “sample.” What are the current and projected representative demographics of those participating in the area of social media

Supply Chain Challenges Increasing supply chain responsiveness leading to a more customer-driven process: The ability to treat inventory in transit as available for the safety stock calculations and have the ability to make mid-course changes to shipments. Third-party logistics outsourcing. Re-negotiating partner agreements. Innovate with the tools you have or take those same activities and hand them off to a 3PL, and let them do the innovating. The risk of becoming too reliant on outsourcing is allowing ourselves to be less alert and aware of changes. When contracting with a 3PL, we expect them to provide expertise in areas of importing and exporting for example -- specifically in regulatory matters, such as the Transportation Safety Administration appose new cargo screening regulations and 10+2 regulations on shipment documentation. There is a need to keep up to date on the latest regulations affecting international trade. http://logipi.com/public/item/244464C-Level involvement in supply chain: There is much more attention on the C-suite—with the chief operating officer, your chief executive officer—there’s more recognition on their part of the impact of logistics and supply chain, whether it’s managing the inventory, managing the sourcing, managing the transportation. It’s now more and more that the C-suite executives are starting to really get the impact of supply chain.

Leadership Impact of Social Media Innovation Ahead of Competition Out of Price Wars Differentiation Mission & Vision Direction Focus Flexibility Engagement Execution Framework Delivery to Goals Accountability Ownership RO Strategic Plan Metrics for Accountability Feedback Achievement Targets Guidance Net Promoter Social Solution Suites Marketplace Message Communication Memorable & Impact Value Influence Market

What tools will drive your success Social networks Video sharing Photo sharing Micro blogging Link sharing Social calendaring

Unilever always focuses on Brand reputation because it is always critical, but even more so now with top-tier CPG brands losing market share to less costly private label products. It is critical to have immediate responses to customer feedback, issues, concerns, and complaints in that case Unilever always try to be best in providing services to customers

SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis for LUX:The SWOT analysis for Lux helps identify the external environment faced by Lux, and the opportunities and threats that it presents.Strengths –

Lux possesses a very strong network of market research. Door to door surveying and sampling is done annually in rural as well as urban areas selectively.

Lux has a very wide range of products to offer. The parent company of Lux has helped in establishing a strong supply and distribution

network. Besides, it also has access to the resources of the parent company of Unilever. Lux possesses a very strong brand image in the market. The focus of Lux is going strong on beauty segment. Lux is a dynamic brand and is undergoes changes as per the changes in demand and

trends, which is evident from the launch of the new range of body washes – Magical Spell, Scarlet Blossom, Strawberry & cream and Peach and cream have been launched with the tag line of the secret to liquid silk skin.

The brand has innovative sales promotions tactics that spread across different forms of media – print, electronic and social.

The brand is known to deliver value-for-money in the eyes of the consumers. It has a broad market presence and mass appeal, being the market leader in so many

countries. As per the BCG matrix, developed by the Boston Consulting Group, Lux can be put into the STAR category for high market growth and high market share.

Weaknesses – Lux lacks a unisex appeal as it has essentially been portrayed as a women’s beauty soap

and has a lot of feminine appeal. The wear rate of the soap is very high. It gets dissolved pretty fast and gets mushy and

soggy quickly. Certain variants of the soap, like the Haute Pink, Sunscreen, etc did not do so well in the

market as some of its other variants have. Some of its advertisements have been quite controversial, specially the one with Shah

Rukh Khan in the bath tub, and the one of Haute Pink soap with the model in the bath tub flying up in the air in a hot air balloon.

The stock replenishment in semi-urban areas and rural areas is quite long, despite having such a wide distributor network. This leads to stock out in these areas.

Opportunities – The industry today is growing at a rate of more than 10% per annum. The compounded annual growth rate, better known as CAGR is also rising at a steep

pace. This is evident from the performance of Fair and Lovely in its segment. So, Lux can yield great benefits by reinforcing itself in the beauty segment.

Promotions strategies like kiosks, price offs, sample distributions, etc. are essential with competitors like ITC, etc. catching up fast.

The soap, as mentioned above, is in the maturity stage of its life cycle. So it is essential that a retentive strategy be adopted so that this can be sustained.

A Lux Kids Special soap would also help the brand greatly, as this segment has been running dry for quite some time now. In this way, brand loyalty could be caught young!

The brand extension products of Lux – the body washes, with its new range launched recently, is in the growth stage of its life cycle. They can pick up fast pace is positioned and marketed properly. Active marketing of these body washes is going on in the social media.

During the sales promotions schemes, the level of servicing goes very high and this needs to be brought down.

Lux has only near about 20% penetration in rural markets. Lux holds great scope if it taps the rural markets.

Threats – Number of competitors is rising – ITC, P&G, etc are fast catching up. High internal competition also exists for the soap. Lux seems overly relied on the beauty segment, so in case the consumer trends or

preferences change, then Lux stands to be highly vulnerable. More focus needs to be put on the newer technology – currently body washes being the

latest technology. This can already be seen in the market, but it needs to be enforced further.

If constant reinvention is not there, then Lux can slip down from the maturity stage it currently is in and get into a declining phase.

Thus, Lux is a soap that so many generations grew up using, so much so that, today the term “soap” and “Lux” are used interchangeably in so many households. However, it never takes much time for a bubble to break and yet it could be impossible to break a strong bubble. With appropriate marketing strategies and developments, Lux could not only retain its alpha position but also climb further up the ladder before any of the competitors got to catch up or come close to it.

OUR VISION

Every day, our products touch the lives of over 160 million people – whether that's through feeling great because they've got shiny hair and a brilliant smile, keeping their homes fresh and clean, or by enjoying a great cup of tea, satisfying meal or healthy snack.

UNILEVER WORKS TO CREATE A BETTER FUTURE EVERYDAY.

The company 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 inspires people to take small everyday actions that can add up to a big difference for the world.

The company develops new ways of doing business that allows business growth whilst reducing the operations’ environmental impact.SMALL ACTIONS, BIG DIFFERENCE

We’ve always believed in the power of our brands to improve the quality of people’s lives and in doing the right thing. But today, with the scale of the challenges the world faces, it’s easy to believe that our individual actions are too small to make a difference.

Because of the sheer range of our portfolio, our global reach and scale, we can give people the confidence that their small actions, together with those of millions of others who buy our brands every day, can make a big difference.

For example, together we are already saving over 3 million lives by encouraging hand hygiene, improving the oral health of tens of millions of people by creating a toothbrush that costs only 10 Rupees, and supporting millions of farmers and their families by purchasing tea from sustainably approved sources.

Our small actions really do add up to creating a better future every day.

A BETTER FUTURE FOR THE PLANET

As our business grows, so do our responsibilities. We recognise that global challenges such as climate change concern us all. Considering the wider impact of our actions is embedded in our values and is a fundamental part of who we are.

Purpose & principlesOur corporate purpose states that to succeed requires "the highest standards of corporate behaviour towards everyone we work with, the communities we touch, and the environment on which we have an impact."

Passion for excellence

We commit to exceptional standards of performance and productivity. We share a passion for excellence.

Teamwork

Teamwork is the heart of our relationship. WE are all talented individuals who achieve more by working together.

Respect for each other

Respect for each other is a deeply held value. We encourage openness while upholding the dignity, worth and self-esteem of every individual.

Continuous learning

Continuous learning is a battle cry. We seek and provide opportunities to learn, develop and grow to become the best that we can be.

Working with others

We want to work with suppliers who have values similar to our own and work to the same standards we do. Our Business partner code, aligned to our own Code of business principles, comprises ten principles covering business integrity and responsibilities relating to employees, consumers and the environment.

Integrity

Integrity is the cornerstone of our business. We conduct our internal and external affairs within a strict code of business principles and fairness.

Balanced life

We live a balanced life. Our work allows us to have the time, energy and resources to pursue a joyful and fulfilling life our family, friends and co-workers.

Social responsibility

We have a social responsibility to the Filipino society. We ensure the safety of our workers and partners. We care for the environment and develop the communities we live in.