Henkel Spic now challenges HLL and P&G with price cut

Our Corporate Bureau
07 May 2004

At a time when the two detergent majors HLL and P&G are in the midst of a deadly price war, which is eating into their margins, Henkel Spic could not have avoided getting into the ring for long.

After offering its Pril cleaning bar free with its premium detergent powder, Henko Stain Champion, the company has now cut the product price by Rs15 / kg to Rs75 / kg.

The company is also relaunching the Rs103 crore brand in a new gusset packaging (changing from pillow pack), with a new ingredient and a new media campaign.

“The price cuts have merged the two detergent segments — compact and premium — into one, that is, premium,” says managing director A Satishkumar.

With its latest move, Henkel Spic has made its premium detergent the cheapest in the premium category. The others in this segment are Surf Excel and Ariel both priced Rs99. “We are not entering the price war. The reformulation of Henko Stain Champion and relaunch were on the cards for the past six months. And that has happened now,” Satishkumar adds.

While the price cuts are damaging their margins — around 33 per cent for their premium categories — the companies need not fear for their bottomlines.