Mumbai-based Jyothy Laboratories will relaunch Henkel’s brands as the merger between the two companies gets going. Jyothy announced on Friday Henkel India would be merged with it a year after it was acquired.
The merger process is likely to be completed by January next year, Ulhas Kamath, joint managing director, Jyothy Laboratories said. The gameplan, according to Kamath, will be to relaunch the products in phases in the next two years.
In the current financial year, brands such as Margo, Pril, Henko and Fa from the Henkel portfolio will be relaunched. The rest, including Mr White and Chek detergents as well as Neem toothpaste, will follow next year.
New commercials for Margo and Pril are already on air in West Bengal and the southern markets as part of the endeavour. Margo, a neem-based soap, is strong in the east, while Pril, a surface cleaner, is known largely in the south.
Kamath said eventually both Margo and Pril will be positioned as national rather than regional brands, as Jyothy targets a larger footprint for Henkel products.
Henko and Fa will also be positioned as national brands, Kamath says.
“In comparison to Jyothy’s brands, Henkel’s products have a better chance of working nationally,” Abneesh Roy, associate director (research) at Edelweiss Capital, said. A key reason for this is the international appeal of these products. Henkel’s products so far have typically targeted the urban areas, while Jyothy has opted to peddle its wares in the hinterland.
Barring fabric whitener Ujala and household insecticide Maxo, which are both national brands, other Jyothy products like its detergents and soap Jeeva are regional. The company is likely to stick to this regional positioning to avoid conflict with Henkel products, persons in the know say.
