A REPORT

on
Product/Service design from customer
requirement perspective in Hindustan Unilever
Ltd.
By
Anurag Ranjan Das
HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD
A REPORT
on
Product/Service design from customer
requirement perspective in Hindustan Unilever
Ltd.
By
Anurag Ranjan Das
6ND-21725
MBA
A report submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements of
PG PROGRAM (Class of 2008)
ICFAI NATIONAL COLLEGE
1) Acknowledgement
2) Preface
3) Certificate of originality
4) Executive Summary
5) Objective of research
6) Company Profile
7) Research problem and its relevance
8) Research Methodology
9) Conclusion
10) Bibliography
11)Questionnaire
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
As any one who has written a project work, or
research work, it is quite impossible
As any one who has written a project work, or
research work, it is quite impossible
to acknowledge by name every individual who
has played some part in this work. I
to acknowledge by name every individual who
has played some part in this work. I
feel it difficult to express in words my profound
sense of gratitude to most
feel it difficult to express in words my profound
sense of gratitude to most
respected persons who helped me to make this
work possible.
respected persons who helped me to make this
work possible.
I acknowledge my gratitude to respected faculty
Ms Poonam Mallik & Ms
I acknowledge my gratitude to respected faculty
Ms Poonam Mallik & Ms
Vandana Sharma
Vandana Sharma who have been kind enough to
suggest improvement of this work
who have been kind enough to suggest
improvement of this work
and make it broad, based.
and make it broad, based.
I would like to thank my center head Major Gen.
V. S. Yadav INC-GURGAON and
I would like to thank my center head Major Gen.
V. S. Yadav INC-GURGAON and
TEAM OF HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD. for
their support and encouragement.
TEAM OF HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD. for
their support and encouragement.
Finally of course great debts are owed to my all-
friends whose wholehearted
Finally of course great debts are owed to my all-
friends whose wholehearted
support has given me the inspiration and
dedication to complete this work.
support has given me the inspiration and
dedication to complete this work.
Anurag Ranjan Das
Anura
g Ran
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
As any one who has written a project work, or
research work, it is quite impossible
As any one who has written a project work, or
research work, it is quite impossible
to acknowledge by name every individual who
has played some part in this work. I
to acknowledge by name every individual who
has played some part in this work. I
feel it difficult to express in words my profound
sense of gratitude to most
feel it difficult to express in words my profound
sense of gratitude to most
respected persons who helped me to make this
work possible.
respected persons who helped me to make this
work possible.
I acknowledge my gratitude to respected faculty
Ms Poonam Mallik & Ms
I acknowledge my gratitude to respected faculty
Ms Poonam Mallik & Ms
Vandana Sharma
Vandana Sharma who have been kind enough to
suggest improvement of this work
who have been kind enough to suggest
improvement of this work
and make it broad, based.
and make it broad, based.
I would like to thank my center head Major Gen.
V. S. Yadav INC-GURGAON and
I would like to thank my center head Major Gen.
V. S. Yadav INC-GURGAON and
TEAM OF HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD. for
their support and encouragement.
TEAM OF HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD. for
their support and encouragement.
Finally of course great debts are owed to my all-
friends whose wholehearted
Finally of course great debts are owed to my all-
friends whose wholehearted
support has given me the inspiration and
dedication to complete this work.
support has given me the inspiration and
dedication to complete this work.
Anurag Ranjan Das
Anura
g Ranjan Das
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
As any one who has written a project work, or
research work, it is quite impossible
As any one who has written a project work, or
research work, it is quite impossible
to acknowledge by name every individual who
has played some part in this work. I
to acknowledge by name every individual who
has played some part in this work. I
feel it difficult to express in words my profound
sense of gratitude to most
feel it difficult to express in words my profound
sense of gratitude to most
respected persons who helped me to make this
work possible.
respected persons who helped me to make this
work possible.
I acknowledge my gratitude to respected faculty
Ms Poonam Mallik & Ms
I acknowledge my gratitude to respected faculty
Ms Poonam Mallik & Ms
Vandana Sharma
Vandana Sharma who have been kind enough to
suggest improvement of this work
who have been kind enough to suggest
improvement of this work
and make it broad, based.
and make it broad, based.
I would like to thank my center head Major Gen.
V. S. Yadav INC-GURGAON and
I would like to thank my center head Major Gen.
V. S. Yadav INC-GURGAON and
TEAM OF HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD. for
their support and encouragement.
TEAM OF HINDUSTAN UNILEVER LTD. for
their support and encouragement.
Finally of course great debts are owed to my all-
friends whose wholehearted
Finally of course great debts are owed to my all-
friends whose wholehearted
support has given me the inspiration and
dedication to complete this work.
support has given me the inspiration and
dedication to complete this
Fast Moving Consumer Goods popularly known
FMCG is as the name suggests is
the most demanded products in the market. It
includes every thing from food items
the most demanded products in the market. It
includes every thing from food items
like flour, biscuits, ice creams, etc to body
products soaps, face creams to cigarettes
like flour, biscuits, ice creams, etc to body
products soaps, face creams to cigarettes
to beverages, etc. consumers need these things in
their everyday life so they invests
to beverages, etc. consumers need these things in
their everyday life so they invests
a good portion of there income in these things.
There are so many companies
a good portion of there income in these things.
There are so many companies
which are dealing in FMCG products like HUL,
Dabur, Cavin Care, AMUL
which are dealing in FMCG products like HUL,
Dabur, Cavin Care, AMUL
dealing in dairy products, etc. By the vary nature
of the product the companies are
dealing in dairy products, etc. By the vary nature
of the product the companies are
seeing this as a great source of income. As large
number of companies are looking
seeing this as a great source of income. As large
number of companies are looking
this sector as a profitable venture, so for
sustaining there position and gain new
this sector as a profitable venture, so for
sustaining there position and gain new
market they have to bring some thing unique in
there products or services to gain
market they have to bring some thing unique in
there products or services to gain
position in the market or to sustain there.
position in the market or to sustain there.
In this project my focus is on tracking down the
changing requirements,
In this project my focus is on tracking down the
changing requirements,
preferences, needs of customers and their
changing perspective on the different
preferences, needs of customers and their
changing perspective on the different
products offered
products offere

C ERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALIT
This is to certify that the REPORT entitledP R
O D U C T / S E RV I C E
DESIGN FROM CUSTOMER’S
REQUIREMENT PERSPECTIVE IN
HINDUSTAN UNILEVER being submitted to
ICFAI NATIONAL COLLEGE, GURGAON
in partial fulfillment of the
requirement for the award of MASTER IN
BUSSINESS
ADMINISTRATION (MBA) AND POST
GRADUATE IN
BUSSINESS ADMINISTRATION (PGDBA)
an original work
carried out by ANURAG RANJAN DAS
ENROL. NO. 6ND21725
under the guidance of MS. VANDANA
SHARMA (INC
GURGAON).The matter embodied in this
REPORT is a genuine work

done by the aforesaid student and has not

been submitted either to this University or to
any other University / Institute for the partial
fulfillment of the requirement of any course
of study.
Signature of the Student
Signature of the guide
ANURAG RANJAN DAS
---------------------------
(6ND-21725)
FACULTY
INC-GURGAON

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The main objective of the project is to get the
full knowledge of the products of the HUL and
what are they doing to get the customer loyalty,
to maintain there market. This is also to find the
preferences of customer and there market
knowledge and product information, information
about the presence of the rivals of HUL and all
the other options they have in the market. What
are the techniques they adopt to know about the
preferences and changing needs of the
customer?
HUL are also looking to tap the market in rural
sector, so they also taking into consideration the
needs and wants of the people there. They are
also studying the consumption habits of the rural
people. Like most of them are daily wage
earners or small peasants, so they are studying
the buying patterns of them also

OBJECTIVE OF THE RESEARCH

The main objective of this project is to find,
what are the steps Hindustan Unilever Ltd. is
adapting to be market leader and to differentiate
itself from its competitors. What is the steps
company is utilizing to find current trend in the
market?
Most of the product of HUL comes in the
category of convenience products. They are
frequently used and bought by the customers.
There is large no. of players in the market, who
are supplying similar product to the customers.
Now, customers have become smart, they have
great knowledge of market, product and
suppliers. So, they are looking for the product
which is providing something extra.
HUL has a wide range of product in FMCG
sector, covering almost every needs and wants
of the customers. It has products for child,
young & adult, male & female, etc. so, it has to
differentiate its products taking into account the
needs and demands of all the sectors of the
society.
Not, only product but it has to look upon the
services and feed back from customers also. It
should do something to give after sales service
and collect feed back from the customers.
The basic objective of this project is as
mentioned above to find ways so that HUL
remain market leader by considering all the
needs & wants and fulfilling their demand.

COMPANY PROFILE
Company’s Background
Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's
largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods
Company, touching the lives of two out of three
Indians with over 20 distinct
categories in Home & Personal Care Products
and Foods & Beverages. They endow
the company with a scale of combined volumes
of about 4 million tonnes and sales of
Rs.10,000 crores.
HUL is also one of the country's largest
exporters; it has been recognized as a Golden
Super Star Trading House by the Government of
India.
The mission that inspires HUL's over 15,000
employees, including over 1,300
managers, is to "add vitality to life." HUL meets
everyday needs for nutrition,
hygiene, and personal care with brands that help
people feel good, look good and get
more out of life. It is a mission HUL shares with
its parent company, Unilever, which
holds 51.55% of the equity. The rest of the
shareholding is distributed among 380,000
individual shareholders and financial
institutions.
HUL's brands - like Lifebuoy, Lux, Surf Excel,
Rin, Wheel, Fair & Lovely, Pond's,
Sunsilk, Clinic, Pepsodent, Close-up, Lakme,
Brooke Bond, Kissan, Knorr-
Annapurna, Kwality Wall's – are household
names across the country and span many
categories - soaps, detergents, personal products,
tea, coffee, branded staples, ice
cream and culinary products. They are
manufactured over 40 factories across India.
The operations involve over 2,000 suppliers and
associates. HUL's distribution

network comprising about 4,000 redistribution

stockists, covering 6.3 million retail
outlets reaching the entire urban population, and
about 250 million rural consumers.
HUL has traditionally been a company, which
incorporates latest technology in all its
operations. The Hindustan Unilever Research
Centre (HLRC) was set up in 1958, and
now has facilities in Mumbai and Bangalore.
HLRC and the Global Technology
Centers in India have over 200 highly qualified
scientists and technologists, many
with post-doctoral experience acquired in the US
and Europe.
HUL believes that an organization’s worth is
also in the service it renders to the
community. HUL is focusing on health &
hygiene education, women empowerment,
and water management. It is also involved in
education and rehabilitation of special or
underprivileged children, care for the destitute
and HIV-positive, and rural
development. HUL has also responded in case of
national calamities / adversities and
contributes through various welfare measures,
most recent being the village built by
HUL in earthquake affected Gujarat, and relief
& rehabilitation after the Tsunami
caused devastation in South India.
In 2001, the company embarked on an ambitious
programme, Shakti. Through Shakti,
HUL is creating micro-enterprise opportunities
for rural women, thereby improving
their livelihood and the standard of living in
rural communities. Shakti also includes
health and hygiene education through the Shakti
Vani Programme, and creating access
to relevant information through the iShakti
community portal. The program now
covers 15 states in India and has over 31,000
women entrepreneurs in its fold,
reaching out to 100,000 villages and directly
reaching to 150 million rural consumers.
By the end of 2010, Shakti aims to have 100,000
Shakti entrepreneurs covering
500,000 villages, touching the lives of over 600
million people.
HUL is also running a rural health programme –
Lifebuoy Swasthya Chetana. The programme
endeavors to induce adoption of hygienic
practices among rural Indians and aims to bring
down the incidence of diarrhea. It has already
touched 70 million people in approximately
15000 villages of 8 states. The vision is to make
a billion Indians feel safe and secure.
If Hindustan Unilever straddles the Indian
corporate world, it is because of being
single-minded in identifying itself with Indian
aspirations and needs in every walk of
life.

MISSION
Unilever's mission is to add Vitality to life. We
meet everyday needs for nutrition, hygiene and
personal care with brands that help people feel
good, look good and get more out of life.
Our deep roots in local cultures and markets
around the world give us our strong relationship
with consumers and are the foundation for our
future growth. We will bring our wealth of
knowledge and international expertise to the
service of local consumers
-
a
truly
multi-local
multinational.
Our long-term success requires a total
commitment to exceptional standards of
performance and productivity, to working
together effectively, and to a willingness to
embrace new ideas and learn continuously.
To succeed also requires, we believe, the highest
standards of corporate behavior towards
everyone we work with, the communities we
touch, and the environment on which we have an
impact.
This is our road to sustainable, profitable
growth, creating long-term value for our
 shareholders,
our
people,
and
our
business
partners

-:Organizational Structure:-
1. Chair Man
Mr. Harish Manwani
2. CEO & Managing Director Mr. Douglas
Baillie
3.Finance & IT Director
Mr. D. Sundaram
4.Executive Director
Mr. Nitin Paranjpe
s
I. Mr. Sanjiv Kakkar
II. Mr. A. Narayan
III. Mr. V. Narayanan
IV. Mr. D. S. Parekh
V. Mr. C. K. Prahalad
VI. Mr. S. Ramadorai

RESEARCH PROBLEM AND ITS

RELEVANCE
RESEARCH PROBLEM
HUL is facing the problem rather challenges
from
• Large no. of players in the market
• Continuous changes in the taste and
preferences of the customers
Such problems were identified as Research
Problems and the objective statement was
formed on its basi

RELEVANCE OF THE RESEARCH

The relevance of the research is to find out
• Acceptability among the customers
• Promotional analysis

SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH

The scope of the research has been limited to the
Delhi & NCR
Keeping in mind the objective stated,
questionnaire was designed for the people.
Subsequently a research was conducted.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
There is large no. of FMCG companies in the
market, to find the defining strategies
used, the methodology used is interview and
survey method.
Data Collection Method:
For this research study, primary data as well as
secondary data was collected.
Primary Data has been collected through
personal contact. For this purpose both
questionnaireand one-on-one interview was
considered with the consumers, shop
owners and distributors & suppliers of the
company.
Secondary data has collected from magazines,
newspaper, company literature and
websites.
Data analysis:
Analyzing codes to each question were awarded.
Thereafter every questionnaire was
written. After which the data were analyzed
MAJOR FINDINGS
Major competitors
1. Dabur
2. Jhandu
3. Johnson &Johnson
4. Cavin Care
5. Procter & Gamble
6. Britannia
7. ITC
8. Gillette
METHODOLOGY FOR RESEARCH
PROBLEM
Following steps where taken in to consideration,
to identify the research problem-
1. Informal investigation
•
Visit to the shop owners, talked to the
distributors and to the consumers
in the locality and surrounding areas.
2. External and Internal Analysis
• Understanding customer problem
• Understanding the market structure
3. Situational Analysis

• Tastes & preferences

• Needs & income
• Major Competitors
ITC
Dabur
Procter & Gamble
Cavin Care
Amul
Johnson & Johnson, etc

A Compressive study of Secondary and Primary

data (Informal Interviews) was
collected through specific questionnaires for
people and shop-owners & distributors.
SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
For my survey I used Cluster Sampling
technique. I selected a sample of 100 people
around the area and interviewed them according
to the questionnaire.
In the survey I tried to find out their preferences
& tastes, their purchasing habit, are
they brand loyal or they consider their friends
advice or some reference group during
purchasing. I also tried to find out that are they
satisfied with the quality or present
stature of product, did they want any change in
the existing product.
I also interviewed some of the shop owner and
distributors and try to find out what the company
is doing to sustain their customer and what new
changes they are bringing in their product to
gain competitive advantage from other
competitors
RESEARCH INSTRUMENT
Research instruments, for the purpose of primary
data collection were Questionnaires. The
Questionnaires were designed in two sets, one is
for customers and another is for shop-owners
and distributors.
•
The first set is to find out about the needs and
preferences of the customers and what they want
from in the product and also the level of
knowledge about different products in the
market.
•
Second set is all about what are the steps
company are taking to get about the information
about he changing preferences in the taste and
needs of the customers and what company is
doing to sustain their market position as well as
to tap new market.

LIMITATIONS OF STUDY
1. The sample size may not adequately represent
the national market.
2.This study has not been conducted over an
extended period of time, it
do not consider any changes due to changes in
the sudden needs of the customer because of
some seasonal change or any kind of festivals.
DATA ANALYSIS
For the analysis of data collected through survey
work, a series of steps were followed
which are given in a chronological order
• Each question of the questionnaire was
assigned codes (coding)
• Each questionnaire was punched into ms-
excel sheet thus forming a data base
(punching)
• Further the data was analyzed by using
diagrams, graphs, charts etc.
• The graphic rating scale and ranking method
was used to measure the response
and attitude of the customer.
Finally, an effort was made to extract
meaningful information from analyzed data,
which acted as a base for the recommendations
MAJOR FINDINGS
The Crisis of Declining Markets
Through the nineties, the FMCG markets grew
at almost 15% per annum in value. Suddenly, in
2000, FMCG market growth stalled and then
declined for the next four years. It is important
to understand why this happened.
The rapid opening up of the economy resulted in
many new avenues of expenditure for the
consumer’s growing income. A sharp drop in
interest rates from 18% to 8% led to explosive
demand for consumer durables like white goods,
two-wheelers and automobiles. After all, one
could drive out of a car showroom in a Maruti
800 with a down payment of only Rs. 2000. The
home ownership market grew exponentially as
the average age of a home loan borrower
dropped from 50 in 1999 to 30 in 2004. Mobile
phone ownership and usage exploded due to its
amazing lifestyle and convenience benefits as
well as lower prices. Entertainment, Leisure and
Travel sectors also boomed.
The lure of new avenues of expenditure in
products and services led to consumers
restricting their expanse on FMCG. It is not that
they bathed less often or brushed their teeth less
often or indeed washed their clothes less often.
But they did downtrade to lower priced
substitutes from higher quality brands. For
example, a consumer buying six tablets of Lux
in a month went to buying three of Lux and
three cheaper brands. Or a consumer buying
Surf Excel for her clothes mixed it with a
cheaper powder. As a result of this shift in
spending patterns, the FMCG market declined in
value in the last four years creating a major
challenge for growth
The new Hindustan Lever: Focused on FMCG
In 2000, 75% of our sales came from FMCG
businesses. The rest came from several non-
FMCG businesses which were not profitable,
and did not offer prospects for long-term
leadership. Besides, they were a drain on the
core FMCG business, both in terms of resource
and focus.
They decided to disengage from all non-FMCG
or commodity businesses. In all, we have
divested and discontinued 15 businesses
including Animal Feeds, Speciality Chemicals,
Nickel Catalyst, Adhesives, Thermometers,
Seeds, Mushrooms etc. with sales of Rs.1,750
crores as in 1999.
Today they are a focused on FMCG company
with our branded business accounting for over
90% of sales, consisting of 35 brands across 20
categories. These will be their main engines of
growth, with higher levels of resource
concentration, be it technology, people talent or
media spend.
Building blocks of a strong Foods business
In Foods, there is enormous growth potential in
leading the evolution of consumers to branded
and processed foods. Over the last few years
they have focused on putting in place the
building blocks of a strong Foods business.
Historically their Foods business was
fragmented and lacked scale. It was often
commoditized with low margins. They
recognized that changing food habits would
require considerable investment, which the
current business simply could not afford.
Therefore they divested the non-value added
parts like Vanaspati. They have consolidated
theuir portfolio and improved the gross margins
by over 13% through product mix and cost
reduction. They have also cleared the supply
chain of all old stock and geared up for fresh
availability on shelf

Today, their Foods business has a healthy gross

margin and a supply chain driven by
freshness. The Foods business will now invest
for growth through relevant innovation.
FMCG still offers enormous potential
As the largest FMCG player it was up to them to
reverse the downtrading to realize its true
growth potential. They could achieve this by
raising the bar and becoming world class in what
their brands offered and how they worked.
Nothing less would do.
Penetration levels in several of the categories
and consumption levels in all of the categories is
low by any comparison. Across the world, they
are seeing a strong correlation between income
levels and the size of FMCG markets. Over the
next 10 years, per capita income in India is
likely to touch China’s current levels. At those
levels, the FMCG market will be over
Rs.100,000 crores from a current value of
Rs.40,000 crores. This is an opportunity that
they have to seize.
Portfolio of Strong Brands
Their main challenge was to reverse the
downtrading in the categories and re-establish
the relevance of their brands in the mind of the
consumer. In 2000, they had 110 brands, many
undifferentiated and lacking scale. They chose to
focus on 35 power brands covering all consumer
appeal and price segments. They are already
seeing the benefits. Six brands – Brooke Bond,
Lifebuoy, Lux, Fair & Lovely, Rin and Wheel –
have emerged as mega brands in the last five
years, each with sales of more than Rs.500
crores

Better Value
The first step was to ensure that they offer world
class quality and real differentiation backed by
technology to give them the advantage over low
priced competition. They have invested over
Rs.400 crores, or 5% of sales, in the last three
years to upgrade the brands.
In several cases they reduced prices to make the
brands more affordable. Better
quality and more affordable prices have
increased the value to the consumer.
They have also launched several low unit size
and price packs for single use to make the
brands more accessible to all income groups. For
example, they are the first to introduce a branded
toothpaste in a tube at Rs.5 and a branded
quality shampoo in a bottle at Rs.5.
Bigger Role in Consumers’ Lives
Perhaps the most significant change has been to
move the brands beyond merely making
functional claims to playing a bigger and deeper
role in the lives of consumers. They had to move
from selling a soap or a detergent to something
far more important and central to the consumer’s
life. How often have we heard someone say, “A
soap is a soap is a soap!” Or indeed, “All
detergents clean clothes as well”.
In the case of Lifebuoy, it was only when they
associated it with the promise of health and
protection against disease that it claimed a larger
space in the consumer’s mind. It moved from
being a mere soap to a health essential. Today
Lifebuoy, their oldest brand, has grown at over
15% for the last three years.

Similarly, in the laundry market, Surf Excel

went well beyond the benefit of ‘great clean’ by
saving two buckets of water with every wash.
Imagine the importance of that benefit to
consumers in cities, who often get running water
for only a couple of hours a day. Surf Excel is
one of their fastest growing brands today.
Both Lifebuoy and Surf Excel have succeeded
because they are relevant to two key
concerns of the Indian housewife: family health
and the scarcity of water.
In addition to the growing consciousness of
health, consumers today are looking for ways to
look good and feel good so that they can get
much more out of life. In short, consumers are
seeking Vitality in their lives. Their portfolio of
35 power brands is uniquely positioned to offer
nutrition, hygiene and personal care benefits and
thereby deliver Vitality.
Technology, the Key Differentiator
Their brands and sound understanding of the
local consumer are supported by a world class
Research and Development capability. They
have over 200 of the brightest scientists and
technologists based in India.
Their recent reorganization leverages the talent
pool from across 16 global technology centres,
of which four are in India. In all, they have over
4,000 high quality minds across Unilever
working relentlessly to provide new benefits that
make a real difference to the consumers.
Winning with Customers
Hindustan Lever has historically had a strong
bond with its customers. They have
strengthened this and reinvented the way they
manage their distribution channels and

their customers. The sales structure has been

transformed to leverage scale and build expertise
in servicing Modern Trade and Rural Markets.
They have also de-layered their sales force to
improve the response times and service levels.
Their customers are serviced on continuous
replenishment. This is possible because of IT
connectivity across the extended supply chain of
about 2,000 suppliers, 80 factories and 7,000
stockists. They have also combined backend
processes into a common Shared Service
infrastructure, which supports the units across
the country. All these initiatives together have
enhanced operational efficiencies, improved the
service to the customers and have brought us
closer to the marketplace.
Our Acorns: Investing in our Future
In the pursuit of growth, they have also begun to
nurture some acorns for the future.
These are both new businesses and new ways of
engaging with consumers.
Their entry into Water Purifiers, through Pureit,
shows great promise. Pureit delivers 100%
protection against all water-borne diseases. It
provides water which is as safe as boiled water,
without needing electricity or continuous tap
water supply. At 17 paise per litre, it is
extremely affordable for the common man. They
have launched it in Tamil Nadu and are fine-
tuning all aspects of the business system before
a phased national launch.
In urban India, Hindustan Lever Network (HLN)
is their direct selling initiative selling a special
range of products. It already reaches 1,400
towns with over 3 lakh consultants. Besides
reach, HLN enables direct interaction with
consumers and customises solutions for them to
give them a complete brand experienc
Our People & Organisation
They have restructured the company, integrating
eight Profit Centres into two Divisions – Home
and Personal Care (HPC) and Foods. The result
is a simpler and leaner organisation, less
hierarchical with fewer levels and greater
empowerment. This has eliminated complexity
and speeded up decision making. Today the
company is far more youthful in attitude and
spirit. There is greater openness and
transparency.
The Transformation: Investment in the Future
To ensure that Hindustan Lever remains
competitive in the long-term, they have made
significant investments in product quality,
pricing and marketing. As mentioned earlier, the
investment in product quality alone has been in
excess of Rs. 400 crores, or 5% of our sales.
In addition there has been the cost of defending
their market position. Recently an international
competitor attacked their laundry business led
by a price reduction of as much as 50%. They
acted with speed and determination leveraging
all their past experience in India and
internationally. They have been able to fully
protect their market leadership and share, albeit
sacrificing short-term profit. They made this
necessary trade-off as market share is the best
means of sustaining future profit. Over time,
their stronger market positions will surely lead
to greater long-term profit.
 Despite these significant investments to
strengthen the long-term competitiveness and
the costs of defending the strong market
position, they still remain one of the most
profitable companies in the country

BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
• Kothari, C.R., 2005 Research Methodology,
Wishwa Prakashan, India.
• Kotler, Philip. 2005, Marketing Management,
Prentice hall India.
• Marketing Management, ICFAI University
Press
Magazines
• Business Today
• Investors India
• Business World
• Economic Times
• Business Standard
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
• Kothari, C.R., 2005 Research Methodology, Wishwa Prakashan, India.
• Kotler, Philip. 2005, Marketing Management, Prentice hall India.
• Marketing Management, ICFAI University Press
Magazines

• Business Today

• Investors India

• Business World

• Economic Times

• Business Standard

QUESTIONNAIRE
From Customer’s
1.How much is your income?
a.<Rs.10,000
b.Rs.10,000-Rs.25,000
c.Rs.25,000-Rs.50,000
d.>Rs.50,000
2.How much do you invest on consumption?
a. <30%
b. 30-60% c. 60-80% d. >80%
3.During purchase what in influence your
purchase?
a. Price
b. Quality
c. Packaging
d. Experiment
e. Influence by others
4.Do you prefer any particular brand? ( If ‘yes’
which brand )
a. Yes
b. No
5.Do you know about the presence of different
products of different
companies in the same category?
a. Yes
b. No
6.Have you ever tried them?
a. Yes
b. No
7.Are you satisfied with the products you are
using?
a. Yes
b. No

8.Do you want any changes in the product?

a. Yes
b. No
From Shop-owners & distributors
1. What is the market share of HUL?
2. How much is the consumption of HUL’s
product with respect to the
products of other companies?
3. Do you think customers are satisfied with the
products and services you are
offering?
4. What are the ways to get the feed back from
customers?
5. On which part customers are really not
satisfied?
6. How do you find the changing tastes and
preferences in customers?
7. What is HUL is doing to tackle this problem?