40 years ago...And now: Prestige expands but with caution

It has had to bring back its popular tagline, expand beyond south India to make its diversification work

TTK Prestige, the Indian-bred pressure cooker company, owes its most famous tagline to the positioning it took in its early days - safety. In 1982, the company came up with the 'Jo biwi se kare pyaar, woh Prestige se kaise kare inkaar' (If you love your wife, how can you say no to Prestige) ad. The first to address the safety concerns around the use of the pressure cooker, the newly-minted campaign was to declare the gasket Prestige inserted in the cooker lid for a safe release of excess pressure (that used to lead to bursts).

Even though launched in the 1950s, it was in the eighties that Prestige took on the positioning that marked it apart from competitor Hawkins. Consumers were wary not only of the user safety but also about destroying nutrients when cooking.

Since then, Prestige has diversified into kitchen appliances, and into the north of the Vindhyas with its own retail stores. It has had a few speed-bumps along the way, and currently the brand is in the middle of maneouvering one. However, the genesis of Prestige's many innovations and savvy marketing moves over the years can be traced to its drive to allay the fear of prospective users.

Besides the gasket release system, Prestige also invented the gasket offset device, in-vessel separator and double-lock system. When it launched kitchen appliances in the early-2000s, based on its chairman, T T Jagannathan's insight on how even rural households could do without pressure cookers, Prestige's only product till then, but not without mixers, the innovations continued. It notched up a few more firsts such as metal spoon-friendly non-stick cookware, duplex gas burner stoves, atta-kneader mixer grinders, induction cooktops with Indian menus, induction-friendly pressure cookers and pressure handis. In 2002, it launched Deluxe (with a pressure indicator) and Smart (quick steam release after the stove is turned off) ranges of cookers; the company claims that Deluxe accounts for the majority of its sales.

While Hawkins was known for its inner-lid cookers (lids locked inside the vessel), Prestige's forte was outer-lid cookers. It was an advantage when it introduced pressure pans, a cross between cookers and saute pans in 1984 as the lid was more amenable. Post-liberalisation, by the late-nineties, with more spending power, the replacement cycle got shortened, spurring repeat buyers.

But its innovation streak was undermined by inconsistent communication and marketing push; Prestige's top management was somewhat thrown by the diversification. In the eighties, it had appropriated the safety angle, as a one-product brand, making its rival, Hawkins focus on glamour and form-factor, which pushed up Hawkins' prices when it launched Futura, a stylist range in the eighties at a time when the higher-end of the market was yet to form.

Prestige had nifty marketing early on. It held free service camps and exchange offers when they were unheard of and was successful with house-to-house demonstrations to popularise the basic pressure cooker to spur adoption.

But in 2001-02, Prestige shelved the 'Jo biwi se...' refrain for what it saw was an all-encompassing one - 'Are you ready for a smarter kitchen'. It surmised that as women became independent with their choices, they went for smart, task-reducing products. However, brand analysts point out that it was also the time when it lost its edge of a meaningful positioning. It missed out on putting the spotlight on its thoughtful innovations in appliances. And, by then, new gadgets had woven their way to Indian kitchens - the microwave and OTG (oven-toaster-grill).

Prestige did well with innovations for such devices in its export markets (a plastic microwave rice-cooker in Japan that clicked in the US, too). But in India, the message was just not clear enough. Prestige's milder northern presence, too, affected sales.

In 2002-03, its sales slumped and there was an operating loss of Rs 17 crore. It also exited modular kitchens due to the lack of control over the final quality. It has recovered since then.

In FY-14, Prestige saw sales of Rs 1,325 crore in kitchen appliances, and sold 4.5-5 million cookers in a market of 12-13 million. Its net profit stood at Rs 111.79 crore. Prestige's flagship retail stores, too, have helped in showcasing its portfolio. Thirty-five per cent of its Smart Kitchen stores are outside of south India.

Mohit Modi, director, equities, CRISIL Research, says, "Hawkins remains a formidable competition for Prestige in the pressure cooker and cookware segments, especially in the non-South markets."

But CRISIL has observed that Prestige's brand strength in and revenue contribution from west and north India have improved with its products being available in 70-80 per cent of kitchenware stores. Revenue share of these zones have shot from 25 per cent a couple of years back to 40 per cent. The share of pressure cookers has declined to 37 per cent in FY-14 (which is 35 per cent of the pressure cooker market) from 53 per cent in FY-09, indicating the diversification is taking off.

In 2013, Prestige brought back its memorable catchphrase, this time, mouthed by Bollywood's A-list couple, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan. Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults, says, "The catchphrase is identified with care, love and safety. The company has an umbilical link to the catchphrase and it is identified with it."

However, the familiar tagline might not be enough for Prestige to battle the influx of kitchen appliance makers as the peg of safety is more in play.