Hindustan Lever To Park 501 Detergent Brand Under Rin

Fast moving consumer goods major Hindustan Lever (HLL), as part of its brand consolidation strategy, is planning to migrate its detergent bar 501 to Rin bar. The move is aimed at making Rin the main detergents bar brand of the company.

The company had recently brought its fabric whitener brand Ala under Rin. Senior HLL executives said, "The migration is part of our strategy to develop Rin as one of the 30 power brands in the portfolio."

Though the company has not yet disclosed details, it is expected that Wheel, Rin and Surf would become the three main detergents brands of the company over the time. Surf will be focusing on the detergents powder segments and Rin on detergents bar, while Wheel will cater to the low-end users.

 

The company is also taking steps to migrate consumers of the brands being phased out into the existing brands. The bulk of these non-core brands are those which overlap the power brands in positioning and target audience.

Out of the 110 brands in its portfolio, the company is focusing on 30 power brands, which account for almost 75-80 per cent of its turnover. The selection of these brands is on the basis of size, strengths and competitive positioning.

However, the company so far has not made public its list of power brands. According to sources, the list would include Lux, Fair & Lovely, Rin, Denim, Surf, Kissan Annapurna (atta and salt), Taj Mahal, Dove and Nihar.

The company intends to grow these brands by concentrating brand management resources through market appropriation, people resources and innovation resources. Growth will be ensured by making them cross categories and adding value to these brands wherever appropriate.

The company has withdrawn Aim, the rural toothpaste brand, from the shelves. It has extended the Fair & Lovely brand to soaps. Brands such as Hamam get about 60 per cent of its volumes from Tamil Nadu, where its market share is above 30 per cent.

HLL will maintain these as purely regional brands and support them in these limited geographies. In beverages, particularly tea, the company has migrated brands such as Top Star, Red Dust and Super Dust under the Three Roses umbrella.