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Ajita Shashidhar

CHENNAI, June 20

THE Rs 4,350-crore toilet soap market has grown by around 4.5 per cent in April after degrowing for almost two years at a stretch.

According to industry projections, while the growth of the category in the premium segment has been rather slow, it is the sub-popular brands such as Breeze, Nirma and Lifebuoy that have driven the growth. This segment has grown in value terms by 16-17 per cent.

However, the growth is restricted to urban areas; the rural market continues to degrow.

An industry source attributed this consistent degrowth in the rural areas to the foray of shampoos in sachets, due to which the rural consumers' consumption of soaps has drastically come down.

"Toilet soaps were being used by the rural consumers even to wash their hair. However, with the entry of shampoo sachets at price-points of 50 paisa, the rural consumers are now looking at shampoos as a better option for hair care."

On the general degrowth of the category over the last two years, he said, "The marketing tactics used by most soap brands, of offering a soap free with the purchase of every soap, has been a major hurdle in the overall growth of the category."

In the premium soaps category, according to industry figures, Dettol soap is leading the race with a 3.3 per cent market share nationally, followed by Pears with 3.2 per cent while Liril has 2.5 per cent share.

Margo and Mysore Sandal occupy the fourth slot with market share of 1.9 per cent each.

On the other hand, while the Lux normal brand from the HLL stable is leading the charts in the overall toilet soap category with a market share of 15 per cent, the Lux International brand, which comes under the premium segment, is way behind with just 1.5 per cent.

Industry figures show that Dettol grew, in value terms, by 13.8 per cent in April compared to 11.5 per cent in March. Similarly, Liril has grown by 10.5 per cent in April compared to a 10 per cent growth in the previous month.

Though the toilet soap category has been growing over the past couple of months, the deodorants and talcs markets are continuing to degrow, despite the oppressive summer this year.

According to industry figures, the Rs 100-crore organised deodorant market has degrown by 3.3 per cent as in April this year.

The market leader, Rexona, has degrown by 26.6 per cent in April from 27.4 per cent in March.

However, Fa has grown by 11.6 per cent in April from 10.4 per cent in March, sources said.

Similarly, the Rs 450-crore talcum powder category has degrown by four per cent.

However, Ponds, the market leader, with a market share of 53.9 per cent in April, saw a slight increase in its share over the previous month.

As an industry analyst said, by retaining its market share, Ponds has a slightly larger share of a talc market that shrank.

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Toilet soaps work up 4.5 pc lather in April

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