SUBMITTED BY:

GAURAV AWASTHI
 INTRODUCTION TO PRODUCT LIFE
CYCLE
• The course of a products sales and profits over
its lifetime is called the product life cycle.
• PLC shows the stages that products go through
from development to withdrawal from the
market.
• Product Life Cycle (PLC):
– Each product may have a different life
cycle.
– PLC determines revenue earned.
– Contributes to strategic marketing
planning
– To identify when a product needs support,
redesign, renovating , withdrawal, etc.
 INTRODUCTION OF COMPANY
HENKEL

Henkel India Ltd. (HIL)

• HIL has manufacturing plants located at Karaikal and Tiljala
manufacturing detergents and cosmetics.

• HIL along with its Subsidiaries manufacture and market a

range of world class Detergents, Cleansers, Cosmetics & Hair
Care products.

• HIL’s product portfolio includes brands like Henko range of

Detergents, Pril Utensil Cleansers, Fa range of Toilet Soap,
Deodorants, Talc, Shaving Cream, and after-shave lotion, Mr.
White range of detergents, Margo bath soap, Bref range of
 cleaners and Neem Tooth Paste. Hair care products from
Schwarzkopf Professional division include Igora, Bonacure,
Glatt, and Osis.

• HIL is poised to launch its International Range of products to

further entrench its position in the minds of the discerning
Indian Consumers.Dedicated to quality, environmental
protection and continuous improvement in all spheres of
activity, HIL is committed to create superlative value for its
consumers and stakeholders on a sustained and enduring
basis.

PLC OF MARGO SOAP

INTRODUCTION TO MARGO:
"COMPLETE SKIN CARE SOAP"
• Margo is one of the oldest herbal soaps in India.

• The brand which is more than 85 years old is famous for its
neem content.

• The product although famous for its positive effects to the

skin is nowhere in the market.

• During its launch, the product had dedicated customer base

and since the product was unique due to its medicinal value ,
customers tend to be loyal.
• The whole brand was having Neem as its core identity.

INTRODUCTION STAGE

• Margo soap is a brand of natural soap India. It is

marketed by Henkel-SPIC. It is manufactured by
Calcutta Chemicals and was marketed by Shaw Wallace
 until1999, when Calcutta Chemicals and Detergents
India Ltd were acquired by Henkel-SPIC.
• At that time there was many competitor of Margo,
which was from brand “LIFEBUOY”, “Lux” etc.
• In the initial stages Margo was introduced in the major
cities of INDIA like Calcutta, Mumbai, and Delhi etc.
• MARKETING OBJETIVES - was to create the product
awareness and to attract the customers towards the
product as it was complete skin care soap.
• Margo MARKETING STRATEGIES in the initial stages :
1. Product = They offer only one product in the
market. They did not come up with the different
type of product.
2. Price = In the initial stages of the product, they
offer the product reasonable cost because; they
want to recover their initial cost of making the
product as well as the market share.
3. Advertising = In the initial stages, they allocate
more advertising budget So that more and more
customers could be attracted towards the product.
4. In ads they targeted the health conscious
customers, who were readiest to buy the product.
INTRODUCTION STAGE

5. Distribution = was to cover all cities of India

according to demand of product. Their distribution
channel was through: Manufacturer Wholesaler
& Retailer

Introduction Stage of the Margo

 Sales Low
sales
Costs Reasonable
cost per customer
Profits Negative
Marketing Objectives Maximize profit while
defending market share
Product Strategy one brand with medical
importance
Price Strategy Price easily accessible to
customers.
Distribution Strategy Build more intensive
distribution
Advertising Strategy Stress brand differences
and benefits

GROWTH STAGE
• In the growth stage, their sales rapidly started rising.
• They have expanded their market to most of cities of INDIA.
• MARKETING OBJECTIVES = The marketing objectives of
the Margo were to expand their market to the town and
villeges of INDIA.
• Another objective was to maximize more market share.

• In the growth stage, company had the following

MARKETING STRATEGIES :
1) Product = In the growth stage, the company had
offered the same product in the market.
2) Price = In this stage, the company had changed
their price to some extent because of maximizing the
market share. ( Slightly cut down the prices )
3) Advertising = In the growth stage, they had
increased their advertising budget as in the initial
stages because of attracting the new customers or to
retain the existing customers.
4) Distribution = In this stage, company had
expanded their market to the town and villages of
INDIA. Their distribution channel was the same as in
the initial stages of the product.
5) Promotion = In the growth stage, the company had
also used the different proportioning strategies to
attract the new and the existing customers.
 GROWTH STAGE

Growth Stage of the Margo

Sales
Rapidly rising sales
Costs Average cost
per customer
Profits Rising profits
Marketing Objectives Maximize market
share

Product Strategy Offer product extensions,

services
Price Strategy Price to penetrate market
Distribution Strategy Build intensive
distribution
Advertising Strategy Build awareness and
interest in the mass market
 MATURITY STAGE

• They modified the product by adding some changes in the

product.
• In this stage, few more competitors enter into the market.
• The company has expanded their market to almost cities of
INDIA.

• MARKETING OBJECTIVES = the marketing objective of

Margo is to maximize more profit while defending the market
share. And to expand the market throughout INDIA. With the
re-launch, the brand also targets a younger age group between 20 and
25.

• MARKETING STRATEGIES In this stage are based on:

1. Product = The Margo has made the modification in
the product by introducing: A NEW look, a milder herbal
 fragrance and more lather soap, A variant having neem as the main
ingredient but added glycerin for moisturisation.
2. Price = The Margo product is now available at
higher prices in the market, the reason behind is that
the company’s marketing objectives is to maximize
more profit.
3. Distribution = Now Margo products are available in
almost all the cities of INDIA. Their distribution
channel is same as in the initial stage.
4. Advertising = in this stage Margo advertising has
been reduced to some extent because of the more
brand awareness in the minds of customers.
Recently, they have shown Rani Mukharjee in
advertisements.

MATURITY STAGE

Maturity Stage of the Margo

Sales Peak
sales
Costs Low cost per
customer
Profits High profits
Marketing Objectives Maximize profit while
defending market share
Product Strategy Diversify brand and
models
Price Strategy Price to match or best
competitors
Distribution Strategy Build more intensive
distribution
Advertising Strategy Stress brand differences
and benefits

DECLINE STAGE
• Besides of all campaigns for the sales promotion of Margo .

The reasons for its decline are :

1. Failed to understand the changing dynamics of
Indian consumers, more and more choices began to
unfold before the consumer and Margo was becoming a
niche brand.

2. SLOWDOWN: In year 2008 - 09 due to hard

economic conditions in INDIA and other countries the
sales were highly affected as the consumer started
looking for some alternate products with a cheaper
price than Margo.

3. Competition: Margo has been facing competition

from
HUL: LUX, LIFEBUOY & from other companies like:-
Godrej Consumer Products : GCPL, India’s second
largest soap maker with 9.2% market share with
leading brands such as CINTHOL, FAIRGLOW &
NIKHAR.
Wipro: The presence of Wipro in the toilet soap
industry can be seen through their brands such as
SANTOOR and CHANDRIKA.

DECLINE STAGE

ITC: It entered the segment last year and has made a

strong headway in a short time by growing to 1.75% in
just five months. With the brands like: Superia, Fiama
Di Wills and Vivel.
Maturity Stage of the Margo
 Sales
Declining sales
Costs Low cost per
customer
Profits Declining profits
Marketing Objectives Reduce expenditure
Product Strategy Phase out weak items

Price Strategy Cut price

Distribution Strategy Go selective: phase out
unprofitable outlets
Advertising Strategy Reduce to level needed
to retain hard-core loyal
customers

CONCLUSION
• Every product has a life cycle and every
company focuses on extending it.
• Margo is present in the market from long time
so strategies are being made order extend the
plc, so that customers can make more use of
products.
• Re-packaging, innovating new flavors and
promotional tactics can extend the plc and the
product can remain for a longer time in the
market.

REFERENCES
(1) http://images.google.co.in/images?
gbv=2&hl=en&sa=1&q=margo+soaps&bt
nG=Search+images&aq=f&oq=
(2) http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Margo_

%28soap%29

(3) http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2003
/06/17/stories/2003061700470600.htm
(4) http://www.hinduonnet.com/businessline/ca

talyst/2001/11/22/stories/1922f05d.htm