The Hindu Business Line : British Petroleum to standardise lubricants brands across markets

A senior company official said it would consolidate its lubricant products under five major brands. The initiative would begin with its flagship brand Castrol, which would be standardised across 20 countries in Asia, Africa and Turkey in Europe.

"In the long run we may even blend lubes at just one or two locations for an entire region. For example, our West-Asian blending plant feeds the Nepal and Bangladesh markets, as costs are lower. However, tax laws and legal provisions in India would not allow us a similar arrangement from here at the moment," Mr Naveen Kshatriya, Managing Director and newly- appointed Regional Vice-President - Transcontinental business, Castrol, told Business Line.

Castrol currently has five international business divisions - Europe, America, Asia-Pacific and Transcontinental. The Transcontinental lubricant business includes South Asia (including India), West Asia , Africa and Turkey. It covers 20 countries across three continents and employs over 1,400 employees and brand portfolio includes five major lubricant brands - Castrol, Aral, BP, Duckhams and Veedol.

The strategy is to supply products of uniform quality and packaging across regions. It would also mean uniformity in marketing and advertising. For instance, the Castrol Power1 brand used English soccer star David Beckham as its brand ambassador world over. Also, the brand `Activ 4T' looks the same in every market.

"We plan to leverage scale through what is defined as the `market spaces' approach. The belief is that irrespective of different cultures, needs of individual customers, when it comes to what they expect of lubricants to enhance vehicle performance, are more or less homogenous. Also, we spent Rs 70 to 80 lakh on advertising on these brands across seven to eight markets thus saving costs," Mr Kshatriya said.

Uniform branding across markets will also help the company cut costs by integrating supply chains and procurement of base oil (the main raw material for making lubes).

Although Castrol India has seen its first quarter performance slip this time, the company has reported a healthy top line growth because of its internal restructuring and cost cutting practices.

Naveen Kshatriya is V-P of transcontinental biz

MR Naveen Kshatriya, Managing Director, Castrol India Ltd, will take over as Regional Vice-President of BP's transcontinental business, from June 1.

Mr Kshatriya will now report to BP's Group Vice-President, Lubricants, who head its global lubricants business. He will be a member of the Global Lubricants Leadership team, a news release said here.

He will simultaneously oversee Castrol India as Managing Director but will now be supported by a new position - General Manager, India.

Castrol Ltd UK, part of the BP Group worldwide, owns 70.92 per cent of the paid-up capital in Castrol India Ltd.

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