The Hindu Business Line : P&G relaunches Ariel in two variants

Actress Sharmila Tagore with aroma therapist Blossom Kochhar at the launch of new Ariel Spring Clean and Ariel Fresh Clean detergents in New Delhi on Thursday. — R.V. Moorthy

New Delhi , Jan. 6

PROCTER & Gamble today relaunched Ariel in two new variants while keeping prices constant.

P&G, which owns global fragrance brands including Hugo Boss, Lacoste, Old Spice and Valentino, decided to combine the cleaning function of a detergent with fragrance after research findings indicated that fragrance in detergents is an important factor of delight for the housewife in her daily laundry chore, the Associate Director Sales, Mr Shumit Kapoor, told presspersons here.

"While intuitively we knew that fragrance is a strong delight factor, our conviction grew stronger when a consumer study on laundry habits indicated that almost eight out of every ten consumers expressed a desire for fragrance in their detergent to break the monotony of the laundry chore. More so, a winning combination of superior stain removal and pleasant fragrance was unmet by current detergent powders in the market," Mr Kapoor said.

The two variants are called Ariel Spring Clean (floral fragrance) and Ariel Fresh Clean (refreshing fragrance).

Mr Kapoor claimed P&G has cornered almost 10 per cent of the Rs 5,000-crore detergent market by value during 2004 with each of its brands - Ariel and Tide - becoming about Rs 250 crore.

He said with the relaunch of Ariel, the company was expecting its market share to grow significantly this year but asserted that the company had no plans to launch Ariel detergent bars and would like to concentrate on the powder segment at present.

On whether the company was contemplating any more pricing action in detergents, Mr Kapoor said, "The pricing game may not be over just yet, it all depends upon market dynamics and a lot of other factors."

He declined to specify whether the company was planning another round of price cuts.

He said that the detergent market grew by a mere 2-3 per cent in 2004 and the growth rates were expected to remain in low single digit in 2005 as well. The relaunched variants of Ariel are available at existing prices of Rs 145 for 1.5 kg, Rs 99 for a kg, Rs 50 for 500 gm, Rs 22 for 200 gm and Rs 2 for a 20 gm sachet.

P&G said that powders comprise 57 per cent of the detergent market, while the remaining 43 per cent was bars. Leading players in the category include Hindustan Lever Ltd, Henkel, Nirma and Ghari.

P&G India claims to have a turnover of over Rs 1,000 crore. Among the brands it sells in the country are Tide, Ariel, Pantene, Whisper, Pampers, Head & Shoulders and Rejoice.

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