Exo : Anti-bacterial DIshwash Bar

Exo is a dishwash brand from Jyothi Labs. Exo is a challenger brand in the Rs 10,000 crore dishwash product category in India. The brand currently focuses on South India and is slowly spreading its wings nationally.

Exo was launched in 2000. The brand was launched as a part of the diversification of JLL whose bread and butter was from a single brand- Ujala. Exo entered a very tough market which was dominated by the market leader Vim.

In competitive strategies, theory talks about various strategies like Frontal Attack, Bye-pass attack etc. Exo chose to attack Vim directly and aggressively. When a competing brand chose to attack the market leader, it needs to have a credible differentiator inorderto compete and succeed. Vim have tremendous brand equity in the market and it is a tough task to fight such a leader.

Exo's marketing strategy is a notable example of successful frontal attack. The brand was able to find a credible and sustainable differentiator against Vim. Exo took the position of an Anti-bacterial dishwash bar to fight Vim. 

Exo was India's first Anti-bacterial dishwash bar.As usual, the poor Keedanu ( germs) was at the receiving end. Exo positioned itself as a dishwash bar that killed all the bacteria in the utensils. The positioning was very smart since Vim was positioned on the basis of cleanliness. 

Exo was innovative in creating an awareness about the possibility of germs in utensils. There was also another smart idea from the brand. In theory, we often say that the differentiator should be relevant, sustainable and not easily copied by competitors. Exo's positioning of anti-bacterial benefit can be easily copied by the competitor . In order to counter this, Exo used an ingredient "Cyclozan " to protect its differentiation. The ingredient brand " Cyclozan " ensured that the differentiation of Anti-bacterial benefit cannot be easily countered.

By launching Exo with anti-bacterial property, Exo created both point of parity and point of difference with Vim. The brand talked about cleanliness thus created parity with Vim and then used Cyclozan to establish point of difference thus creating a powerful position in the mind of the consumers.The results was visible . Exo became the second largest dishwash bar in South India. 

To fight the aggressive attack by Exo, Vim launched its own anti-bacterial variant using neem as the ingredient. 

Exo later went into a brand extension mode by launching Exo dishwash liquid and later Exo Scrub. With the acquisition of Henkel in India by JLL, the fate of Exo dishwash liquid appears bleak since  Henkel's Pril is the market leader in the dishwash liquid market. Exo will now be restricted to only dishwash bar category.

Exo is a brand which is promoted exhaustively by Jyothy labs. The brand has very high share of voice and ads keep on driving the USP of germ-killing property. Since the dishwash bar category is not a high involvement category, the brand had benefited greatly by this share of voice. 

With the acquisition of Pril brand from Henkel, Jyothi labs now have two formidable brands in the dishwash category. Vim now faces the most intensive threat to its leadership position. It will be interesting to watch how the fight will turnout to be.

Quco Hair Perfume : For Great Smelling Hair

Have you ever thought of buying a perfume specifically for hair ? Were you ever conscious of how your hair smells ? If not, then marketers are out there to make you conscious about how your hair smells. From armpits to hair, perfume/deo brands are indeed expanding their horizon !! 

Quco is a hair perfume brand from Vini Cosmetics. Vini Cosmetics was founded by Mr Darshan Patel who was the co-promoter of Paras Pharmaceuticals. In 2010 , Mr Darshan Patel sold his stake in Paras to start on his own venture. Quco hairspray is one of the many products the company has launched in recent times.

Quco is trying to create a new category of hair perfume in the Indian market. The hair perfume products are virtually unheard of in Indian market and the launch of Quco has created lot of buzz in the market . 

There are lot of ! and ? about the scope of such a product category in India. One of the most important challenge that Quco face is to establish its usefulness in the mind of consumers. The brand is attempting to create a new category. The product is virtually unheard of in the market and consumers are not even aware of the need for a hair perfume spray . So even before establishing the brand, Quco needs to educate the consumers about the need for a nice smelling hair. The brand has launched its campaign in Television and is attempting to create awareness about the need in its first TVC.

There are many factors that influence consumer adoption of new products like Hair Perfume . Some of the factors are Perceived usefulness, Perceived risks , attractiveness etc. The brand has addressed the perceived risk by claiming to be alcohol-free and safe for hair.

The fundamental problem is whether this product category has perceived usefulness in the mind of the consumers. Many consumers are not aware about the " hair smell " and even if they are conscious , the consumers depend on shampoo to handle the problem. Another issue is whether the consumer feels compelled to purchase a specific product to solve this issue. 

Quco will be a niche brand because of the nature of the product. It has to be seen how Indian consumers will warm up to the idea of a perfume for hair. Just like Rexona and Close Up taught Indian consumers about odor, Quco will have to educate and convince consumers about hair smell.Will Indian consumer will find the need strong enough to invest in a new product and use it on a continuous basis. These are the questions which the market will answer in future.

Dulux: It's all about 'colourful' people

Dutch brand Dulux Paints, which recently underwent rebranding, is out with communication that aims to position it as the brand with the 'colour credentials'. Incidentally, this is the first thematic brand campaign for Dulux Paints after a gap of 10 years; the previous one was released in 2001.

"While Dulux has always stood for premium, high-quality colours and range, it was time to strengthen the colour credentials of the brand and make it assume category leadership, after having built the sub-brands all these years," says Mrinal Mathur, marketing manager, Dulux Paints.

During this decade, Dulux concentrated on building its sub-brands and products such as the Velvet Touch and Weathershield range.

The commercial to announce the revamped version of brand Dulux has been created by McCann Erickson India, and showcases its endorsers, actors Shahid Kapur and Boman Irani. The ad has Irani instructing his painters to obtain the right shade of red on his home wall, when he is stunned to see a red T-shirt-clad Kapur bringing his daughter home, romancing her in his arms.

He figures out that Kapur is her boyfriend and immediately juxtaposes his distaste for the boy with the shade he is instructing his painter to use, and coins it 'Rascal Red', after Kapur. Over a series of conversations, Irani gets to know that Kapur isn't just a smooth-talking charmer, but also a doctor who knows his work well.

Irani figures 'Rascal Red' isn't a bad colour/person after all. 'Apna Rang Chhalakne Do' goes the tagline for Dulux Paints, indicating that the colour on one's walls is symbolic of personal expression/mood.

"The concept that certain kinds of persons go for certain kinds of colours emerged from our consumer research," says Mathur. Kapur, on the one hand, appears to be an irreverent charmer, yet the responsible individual, while Irani is about exuberance and energy -- all the qualities that Dulux hopes to latch on to, in order to appeal to the youth of today. Dulux hopes to be the brand that celebrates people with different personalities, and therefore, their unique tastes in their choice of paint.

Prasoon Joshi, executive chairperson, McCann Worldgroup India and regional creative director, McCann Asia-Pacific, says, "It is about a deep, metaphoric meaning attached to colours." When asked if it is treading the same path as brands such as Asian Paints may have done in the past -- that of associating paint colour with one's mood/character -- Joshi feels that such a representation of colour is a generic category plank. But, the line 'Apna Rang Chhalakne Do' takes things a step further by stating that the colours emanate from each individual, and each of these are different and intricate. "Dulux is at a stage where it can make such a statement," he adds.

The communication is being supported by radio, outdoor and print, apart from television advertising.

Fresh paint?

Paints, as a category, has largely been in the functional area of durability and quality until a few years ago, when it started experimenting with lifestyle and mood enhancement. For Dulux, it is a marked shift from 'functional' to 'emotifying' paint colours. We do a quick check on what the industry makes of the attempt.

Samit Sinha, managing partner, Alchemist Brand Consulting, feels that despite the impossibility of owning colour -- some may recall the famous Jenson & Nicholson campaign, 'Whenever You See Colour, Think Of Us' -- paint brands persist in thinking that the world of colours is a fertile field to find means to differentiate on subtle emotional nuances.

"The Dulux Paints campaign is a case in point," he says. While it can no doubt lead to noticeable and memorable advertising expressions, he wonders if consumers are more likely to substitute one brand for another without much deliberation, rather than go out of their way for any one particular brand, and this problem is really with the category.

"There is very little to say and possibly nothing to say that hasn't already been said many times before," Sinha opines. "It's also extremely difficult to get consumers too excited about paints. So, I guess there is only so much the advertising can do."

Anirban Chaudhuri, who until recently, was senior vice-president, strategic planning, Dentsu Communications, and who is currently a business strategist, says residential paints as a category, is a natural playground for emotionally-charged communication, and the players have been attempting to leverage the same for some time.

"The current Dulux re-launch platform does not sound so fresh. One finds tinges of Asian Paints' 'Merawala Pink' in it," he opines. "Self expression through colours that your home wears has been done over and over. 'Paint Your Imagination' by Berger treaded a similar path."

Further, he is of the view that the Dulux TVC story appears to be a little laboured. He adds that the campaign line, however, has a lyrical touch.

Emails Visitors Spent 30% More Time on Website And Other Email Metrics

Here are few key email marketing metrics, based on data collected over a period of time.

What’s the Average Bounce Rate? It’s 4.72%

Bounce rate is very important for your email campaigns. A high bounce rate means that you have a lot of invalid email addresses in your database. This affects your brand and IP reputation in the long run. We recommend that generally the bounce rates should be lower than 5%. After analysing 75Million emails we found that the average bounce rate was about 4.72%. How does that compare to your campaigns?

What’s the Average Open Rate? It’s 12.45%

That’s the average email open rate we are seeing. Is your campaign doing better? Average Open rates fluctuate a lot. Email open rates vary based on day of the week, time of the day, subject-line and most important, the audience. For example welcome emails generally get more opens than regular emails. A book promotion launch email sent to a particular city will get much better open rates as the content, subject and the audience are closely coupled together. We have used re-marketing, that is engaging inactive audience, moving from full image emails to HTML emails, segregating data into segments and sending relevant content to improve the results of many campaigns.

Average Click to Open Rate is 11.61%

In the 75 million emails that we analysed, we saw a wide fluctuation in click rates as well. Click-Open-Rate is a measure of how many readers who opened the email, clicked on the email. This means that if 10% of your audience opened email and 10% of those clicked on the email, then overall only 1% of your total audience clicked the email. We have seen that click rates improve with prominent call to action, a good mix of images and text (as opposed to full text or full image emails). Relevancy and frequency are also important. Sending too frequently with not much relevant content causes “list fatigue” and give low email click rates.

What’s Email Visitor Behaviour?

What does the email visitor do on the website? What is his navigation path? What pages does he visit most? How does the Email visitor behave vs the visitor from a banner ad? These are some of the questions a digital marketer should be asking. We analysed our own email campaign data from the past 8 months. The Google Analytics code embedded on our website and email links tells us that Email visitors are highly engaged audience. We saw some very interesting results:

Email Visitors spent 30% more time on the website than regular visitors

Email Visitors also viewed more pages on our website and had much fewer bounce rate that other visitors. We are fanatical about Email readers because they take pains to open, read, click the email and visit the website. They are far more engaged and spend more time on the website, view more pages, and should be treated with respect.

Email Outcomes or Goal Conversions

Digital marketers who suffer from OOD (Obsessive Outcome Disorder. How many shopped, or registered, or downloaded a white paper etc and such other metrics.

Facebook Business

From Clean Water To e-Doctor – eHealthPoint Brings Health Care To Rural India

                                                 

E Health Points are healthcare centers operated by a startup, Healthpoint Services India. EHP starts as a center for clean water subscription service (EHP Lite) and then extends to Medical Consultation, Diagnostics and Medicine Dispensary. There are a total of 8 EHP centers currently, all in rural Punjab and around 16 EHP Lite centers.

EHP offers clean drinking water as a service at subscription charge of Rs.75/month and provides 20Litres of water per day. The startup call this service as preventive medicine, as non-availability of clean water is the root cause of most diseases but this basic service works a great pull model for the rest of the services that an EHP offers.

The core offering of EHP is tele-medical consultation. Each EHP is equipped with video-conferencing system that connects HSI’s urban tele-medical center. The doctors are engaged from local areas (for linguistic familiarity) and are specially trained in providing telemedical consultations. There are pilots underway for sourcing the services of specialist doctors from reputed medical colleges and hospitals who would provide consultancy at highly affordable price point at EHPs. The centers also provide diagnostic services at around Rs.40 per test. The startup claims to provide medicines at upto 50% discount at its dispensary.


Al Hammond, who calls himself a “serial social entrepreneur,” says he decided after studying low-income consumers that a for-profit company had a better chance than a nonprofit of delivering medical care to millions who need it. “It only makes sense to do this if we can scale enough to change the health-care system,” he says. “I wouldn’t, as a startup, try to change the U.S. health-care system. But in rural India, there is no health-care system, so it’s much easier to innovate there.”

Rural healthcare has seen tele-medicine as an initiative from the govt. earlier but it failed to take off, mainly due to infrastructural limitations. Given the fact that this is a for-profit organisation and not a social service, the initiative will see a better response from industry and people involved. HSI aims to bring in govt. aid to fund for extremely poor patients who may not be able to afford the Rs.30-40 consultation fee at the centers.

Private Labeling

Private labeling is when a retailer purchases products from various manufacturers and then markets those products under its own brand. Private label goods are often referred to as "store brands," as opposed to the "name brands" that are sold under the brand name of the manufacturer. For example, the consumer products giant Procter and Gamble manufactures peanut butter and sells it under the brand name Jif, while the supermarket chain Kroger purchases peanut butter from smaller manufacturers and sells it as Kroger brand peanut butter. Private label products tend to be less expensive than competing name brands, largely because of reduced advertising expenditures.

Private labeling gained prominence during the recession of the late 1980s, when many consumers chose to give up expensive name brand products in an effort to save money, and many retailers began to market store brands in an attempt to increase sales. But when consumer confidence in the economy rebounded in the 1990s, consumer loyalty to name brands did not. Today, private labeling is a widespread business practice among supermarkets, drugstore chains, and mass merchandisers. These retailers sell hundreds of different items under their own brand names, from basic household items and food to specialty items and even clothing. A survey by the Private Label Manufacturers Association indicated that sales of private label merchandise topped $43 billion in 1998. In addition, the market share held by private brands was expected to increase to 23 percent at large food retailers by 2004.

In the early days private label goods were essentially cheap imitations of the leading brands, even copying the colors and designs of the major competitors' packaging. Even though court rulings have supported right of private labelers to imitate the packaging of leading brands (unless there is documented confusion among consumers), private label retailers have now moved away from imitation and toward attractive packaging of their own design. Some retailers believe that they need eye-catching packaging because they do not do much advertising, and instead rely on consumers taking notice of their offerings as they walk through store aisles. Over time, many consumers began to consider store brands on the same level as national brands as far as quality, performance, and satisfaction.

Another emerging trend concerns the type of products that are sold as store brands. Whereas the majority of private label products used to be the most basic household goods, the areas of growth in recent years have been in premium and super-premium goods. "The growth in premium brands shows that while today's consumers are value-conscious, they're still picky about product quality," Jenny McCune wrote in an article for Small Business Reports. "Inferior goods aren't attracting consumers at any price, which is why sales of generic goods—the no-name, no-frills varieties—are actually down."

The continued growth of private labels has encouraged retailers to devote significantly more attention to developing store brands. "Eager to satisfy these value-conscious consumers and make higher margins to boot, many retailers are promoting their house brands as never before," McCune noted. "They've focused on improving the quality of store brands to better compete with name brands and other private-label lines. They're also lavishing the brands with marketing attention, rather than simply tossing the goods on the shelves and leaving them to fend for themselves."

McCune claimed that the recent growth of private labels has also provided new opportunities for small and medium-sized manufacturers in a whole spectrum of industries. Rather than competing directly with much larger companies and incurring the related advertising expenses, these small manufacturers can grow by marketing their products to retailers. "Despite the competition, the trends in private labeling present opportunities for small and midsize manufacturers that can meet the demands of this market," McCune stated. In essence, the small businesses who create private label goods serve as the manufacturing arm for their retail customers.


FACTORS IN SUCCESSFUL PRIVATE LABEL MANUFACTURING

In her article, McCune outlined three main factors that determine the potential for success of small businesses that wish to manufacture private label goods: the right product, a competitive price, and a strong marketing program. For products to be considered for private labels, they must have a large sales potential, because retailers are not usually interested in branding low-demand items. In addition, the manufacturer must be able to assure that the product quality is as good or better than the leading brands. As McCune explained, "A retailer puts its own name on the line when it private labels your product, and it won't want that name to be sullied by inferior or inconsistent quality." Small manufacturers may gain a marketing advantage if they are willing to assume responsibility for product quality, rather than leaving the retailer holding the bag. This might involve providing a toll-free number on product packaging for consumers to make complaints or suggestions, or giving the retailer a discount on future orders if the quality does not meet predetermined standards.

The type of manufacturing process involved is another important product-related aspect of private labeling. In general, private labels are most appropriate for products that can be manufactured on a tight schedule while maintaining high quality standards. Private label manufacturers must be able to assure their retail clients of reliable, on-time delivery. In addition, they must be flexible enough to ramp up production quickly to meet increases in demand or to change the product's formulation according to the retailer's wishes. "Given these demands, private labeling generally isn't for industry newcomers," McCune noted. "Retailers look for manufacturers, whether large or small, that are well-regarded in their fields. In a relatively young company, however, the owners' own reputation can compensate for the firm's short track record."

Price is another important component of successful private label manufacturing. The price must compare favorably to competing name brands while also enabling both the manufacturer and the retailer to make money. In general, private label sales provide high volume but tight margins, so price calculations are crucial. McCune claimed that private label goods are usually priced 20 percent or more below the market leader. In addition, the retailer generally expects to see a profit margin on private label goods that is 8 to 10 percent higher than it receives with name brands. When calculating the final sales price for private label items, manufacturers must be sure to consider any costs that are incurred especially for the private label line. These may include tailoring the product to meet retailer specifications, or designing special packaging for each retailer.

The third factor in successful private label manufacturing is a strong marketing program. The marketing program for private label goods consists of two parts: contracting with retailers to become their supplier for a certain product, and assisting the retailer in marketing that product to the final consumer. If a small business lacks expertise in dealing with retailers, it is possible to hire distributors or consultants who specialize in private-label selling. For small manufacturers who proceed on their own, however, McCune recommended getting all of the conditions of the contract in writing. It is particularly important to determine the amount of packaging that must be kept in stock, since extra packaging with a certain retailer's label becomes useless if the deal falls through. Manufacturers will want to keep the amount as low as possible and perhaps also include a clause that requires the retailer to reimburse them for unused packaging. It is also important that the contract specify realistic delivery dates, product design modifications, and the amount of notice required to terminate the contract. Finally, it may also be useful for private label manufacturers to contribute their product marketing expertise to their retail accounts. This may involve recommending specific promotions or even creating advertisements and writing ad copy.

Overall, McCune noted that private label manufacturing can present tremendous opportunities for small businesses, as well as significant challenges. For example, creating private label goods often requires developing a partnership with retail clients. "Private label veterans …warn newcomers to be prepared for some hand-holding, since the relationship between retailer and private-label supplier tends to be especially close," McCune wrote. Still, she recommended that small businesses who manufacture private label goods not allow any one retailer to account for more than 15percent of their sales. After all, most contracts in this area are open-ended, which enables retailers to change suppliers at any time. Another potential challenge is that name-brand manufacturers are increasingly being attracted by the growth of private labeling. It has encouraged many to reduce prices, improve value, and in some cases even set up private-label divisions of their own to take advantage of their excess manufacturing capacity.


PRIVATE LABELS AND E-COMMERCE

An emerging trend in private labels is the rapid adoption of these brands by firms involved in Internet commerce. "While supermarkets and department stores in the brick-and-mortar world can take years before they venture into private label merchandise, etailers—in a development that echoes the rapid emergence of the medium itself—are developing private label programs as they approach the starting gate," Elaine Underwood wrote in Brandweek.

According to Underwood, some electronic retailers are attracted by the higher margins typically offered by private label merchandise. Others see it as a way to offer unique merchandise that helps differentiate them from competitors. For example, the online toy retailer eToys sold special cabinets and stands for customers to display their collections of toys under their own brand name. Some experts claim that offering private label merchandise gives substance to online brand names and reminds customers of ecommerce Web sites. Electronic retailers must be careful not to offend big name manufacturers by copying their products and packaging too closely, however, because they lack the leverage in the chain of distribution that is enjoyed by regular retail stores.

XPERT Dish wash bar

Xpert is a dishwash bar brand from Rohit Surfactants Pvt ltd (RSPL) which is now on an promotional overdrive. The brand is from RSPL which is famous for its Ghari detergent brand. Ghari literally made the large FMCG MNCs a run for their money. The Ghari brand is infact larger than the HUL's Surf and is the second largest selling detergent brand in the country

Xpert was launched in 2006 by RSPL as a part of its diversification. The brand is now competing in the Rs 800 crore utensil cleaner market. The market is dominated by HUL's Vim with a share of around 60%. The market is characterized by one big player and several small players. The nearest rival is Exo diswash bar and Pril with a share of around 8% each. As history has shown, fighting HUL's Vim for market leadership position is not an easy task but that is the risk that a challenger brand needs to take.

Xpert has chosen celebrity endorsement as a route to attract consumers towards the brand. For this Xpert chose Madhuri Dixit as the celebrity endorser. The brand is currently running a campaign in TV featuring the celebrity.

The brand is using its Aquashine formula as the USP and like any other brand , it is talking about quick and easy cleaning.


The ad is very basic and rather than using Madhuri Dixit for testimony, the brand chose to use her as Gangu Thai ( a housemaid character in the movie Ganesha) for the campaign. If one has missed the Ganesha movie, the ad plot will be half lost.

Xpert is priced around Rs 10 for 200 g bar while Vim around Rs 12. Exo is priced at par with Xpert. The brand hopes that the price differential together with celebrity will tilt the consumer choice towards Xpert. This aggressive pricing + promotional strategy is going to affect the smaller brands rather than Vim in the short-term.

What is lacking in the current strategy of Xpert is the absence of a clear differentiator. While Aquashine formula is the USP, the brand fails to communicate what it means and how it is going to benefit . May be in future campaign, these will be explained. Without a powerful differentiator, Xpert may not be able to break into the market of Vim. Exo tried with its aggressive promotions and anti-bacterial properties with limited success. It is very difficult to create a differentiator in a market like dishwash bar and almost all options has been used up by the players.

It will be interesting to see how this high profile attack of Xpert will play out in the future. In the short-term we will see some action in this dull category .

Price war between MNCs, growth of Ghari threatens small detergent with washout

A price war between multinationals and rapid growth of the Ghari brand across the country have washed hundreds of regional detergent brands out of the market. Almost. 

More than 500 local detergent brands such as XXX, T-Series, Vidsha, Tran Keri and Power Detergents have lost 10% of the 12,000-crore Indian detergent market, according to Nielsen data. Their combined market share slipped to just 2.9% in 2010 from 13% in the year earlier.

This is mainly because the small players could not hold their price lines in the wake of inflating input costs, while national players such as Hindustan Unilever and Procter & Gamble either cut or held on to prices, bridging the price differences with local brands.

The prices of crude oil, the key ingredient for making detergent, have almost tripled to $112 per barrel from 2009 levels of around $40 per barrel. "Unable to make low-cost detergents is one of the main issues faced by these smaller firms. And branded players are getting very aggressive on all fronts-marketing, new launches as well as customer acquisition through increased distribution," says Indiabulls Securities Vice-President Anand Mour.

Multinationals hit the small brands where it hurts the most-on the pricing front. "Consumers tend to move to branded players if the price differential narrows down, especially in segments such as laundry," says Mour.

In 2009, P&G launched a low-priced variant of its washing powder brand Tide at 50 per kg to take on Hindustan Unilever's Rin, which was priced at 70 per kg. The market leader reacted by slashing the price of Rin to 50 per kg. In the mass segment too, national brands such as Hindustan Unilever's Wheel, Ghari and Nirma resisted passing on increase in raw material costs to consumers. This forced several low-priced warriors out of business. Another factor was the rapid geographical expansion of popular homegrown brand Ghari.

The Kanpur-based brand, owned by Rohit Surfactants, almost doubled its market share to become the second-largest player behind Hindustan Unilever with a 13.5% share in December 2010. "We have almost doubled the states where we sell and have kept our prices unchanged and affordable despite raw material pricing inching up consistently, " Rahul Gyanchandani, Director, Ghari Detergents, said.

The company that has been operating primarily in Uttar Pradesh for two decades started distribution in eight new states last year. It now covers 20 states across the country. "We are also setting up a new plant in Karnataka to cater to newer markets," Gyanchandani added.

This may help Ghari challenge Hindustan Unilever's Wheel as the largest detergent brand in the country. But the multinational giant is in no mood to cede any ground.

"We have taken several actions to strengthen our leadership position," a company spokesman says. "We have invested on our brands, be it in terms of innovation, product quality or marketing spends."

Last year, Hindustan Unilever added more than 600,000 outlets despite having the largest network of a million retail outlets already.

It increased its sales across the portfolio. Wheel reported the highest growth. Its multinational rival P&G too gained the most from Tide's low-priced variant launched a year and a half ago.

Meanwhile, the fall in regional brands fortune is dramatic because many of them were seen as a threat to national brands just two years ago. Market experts expect them to return to the market when the crude oil prices bottom out. That will help them sell cheaper detergents.

The trend of strong and established players gaining momentum is similar to 2004 when Nirma, the second largest detergent brand then, found itself caught in the crossfire between HUL and P&G, when both the companies slashed prices by 30%.

This time, however, on the firing line are local players, each trying to replicate the Nirma model. Experts feel Ghari's market share will now even out while HUL and P&G's could show a marginal increase.

FDI's Inflows : India's top 10 Sectors

With strong governmental support, foreign direct investment has helped the Indian economy grow tremendously.

India has continually sought to attract FDI from the world's major investors.

In 1998 and 1999, the Indian government announced a number of reforms designed to encourage and promote a favourable business environment for investors.

FDIs in India are permitted through financial collaborations, private equity or preferential allotments, by way of capital markets through euro issues, and in joint ventures.

FDIs, however, are not permitted in the arms, nuclear, railway, coal or mining industries.

A Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion fact sheet mentioned 10 sectors attracting highest FDI equity inflows.

All the figures are for April 2010 to March 2011.

1. Services sector (Financial and non-financial)
FDI equity inflows: Rs 123,706 crore ($27,668 million) 
The service industry forms the backbone of social and economic development of any region.

It has emerged as the largest and fastest-growing sectors in the world economy, making higher contributions to the global output and employment.

The contribution of the services sector to the Indian economy has been 55.2 per cent in gross domestic product and has been growing by 10 per cent annually.

An international comparison of the services sector shows that India compares well even with the developed countries in the top 12 countries with highest overall GDP.

The two broad services categories, namely trade, hotels, transport, and communication; and financing, insurance, real estate, and business services have performed well with growth of 11 per cent and 10.6 per cent, respectively in 2010-11.

Only community, social and personal services have registered a low growth of 5.7 per cent due to base effect of fiscal stimulus in the previous two years, thus contributing to the slight deceleration in growth of the sector.

2. Computer (software & hardware)
FDI equity inflows: Rs 48,135 crore ($10,821 million)

Foreign direct investment Inflows to Computer Software and Hardware Industry in the first half of the fiscal year 2007-08 has been $0.3 billion.

Software Technology Parks, regulatory reforms by the Indian government, the growing Indian market and availability of skilled workforce have been important factors in boosting FDI inflows to computer software and hardware in India.

The computer software industry has witnessed a growth of 28 to 30 per cent CAGR in the past five years.

The computer hardware industry has occupied about $1.4 billion in the entire electronics hardware industry as has been accounted in the Financial Year 2005.

This includes personal computer, servers, and laptops.

Hundred per cent foreign direct investment is permitted under automatic route in the computer hardware industry.

3. Telecommunications (radio paging, cellular mobile, basic telephone services)
FDI equity inflows: Rs 48,313 crore ($10,611 million)

The Indian Telecommunications network with 621 million connections (as on March 2010) is the third largest in the world. The sector is growing at a speed of 45 per cent during the recent years.

This rapid growth is possible due to various proactive and positive decisions of the government and contribution of both by the public and the private sectors. 

The rapid strides in the telecom sector have been facilitated by liberal policies of the government that provides easy market access for telecom equipment and a fair regulatory framework for offering telecom services to the Indian consumers at affordable prices.

Presently, all the telecom services have been opened for private participation.

4. Housing and real estate
FDI equity inflows: Rs 43,288 crore ($9,655 million)

The finance ministry recently called for tougher foreign direct investment norms in the housing and township sector.

It has also proposed stringent monitoring to ensure FDI rules are strictly followed in this 'sensitive' sector.

The ministry has said a more effective monitoring mechanism could be set up jointly with the ministries of commerce and urban development to ensure FDI does not "render policy objectives in a sensitive sector of the economy with limited practical significance".

At present, 100 per cent FDI is allowed in this sector, but with some riders.

However, there have been concerns over the lack of clarity of rules, the need to tighten these and the difficulty in monitoring these.

For instance, foreign companies willing to invest in this sector need to have a minimum capitalisation of $10 million for wholly-owned subsidiaries, and $ 5 million for joint ventures.

The funds have to be brought in six months of commencement of business. Also, the minimum area to be developed under each project is 10 hectres.

5. Construction (including roads & highways)
FDI equity inflows: Rs 42,160 crore ($9,491 million)

The evolution of Indian construction industry was almost similar to the construction industry evolution in other countries: founded by government and slowly taken over by enterprises.

After independence the need for industrial and infrastructural developments in India laid the foundation stone of construction, architectural and engineering services.

The period from 1950 to mid 60's witnessed the government playing an active role in the development of these services and most of construction activities during this period were carried out by state owned enterprises and supported by government departments.

In the first five-year plan, construction of civil works was allotted nearly 50 per cent of the total capital outlay.

It contributes more than 5 per cent to the nation's GDP and 78 per cent to the gross capital formation.

Total capital expenditure of state and central government will be touching Rs 8,02,087 crore (Rs 8,020,87 billion) in 2011-12.

6. Automobile industry
FDI equity inflows: Rs 28,037 crore ($6,199 million)

FDI Inflows to Automobile Industry have been at an increasing rate as India has witnessed a major economic liberalisation over the years in terms of various industries.

The automobile sector in India is growing by 18 per cent per year and is one of the high performing sectors.

This has contributed largely in making India a prime destination for many international players in the automobile industry who wish to set up their businesses in India.

7. Power
FDI equity inflows: Rs 27,848 crore ($6,156 million)

The huge size of the market in the power sector in India and high returns on investment are important factors in boosting FDI inflows to power.

Hundred percent FDI is permitted to this sector under automatic route in almost all the power sectors in India except the atomic energy.

There are huge opportunities of FDI in power sector in India.

The power sector in India has grown significantly and is an important part of infrastructure.

Investment potential in the power sector of India is huge due to the market size and returns on investment capital.

Past few years have witnessed an outstanding growth in the power sector especially the sectors based on renewable sources of energy.

The government of India aims at reaching 2, 00,000 MW of capacity by 2012.

8. Metallurgical Industries
FDI equity inflows: Rs 18,724 crore ($4,286 million)

The country's metallurgical sector garnered Rs 5,023.34 crore (Rs 50.23 billion) in foreign direct investment in the financial year 2010-11, a 150 per cent increase compared to the previous fiscal.

The sector, which also includes steel, had attracted over Rs 1,999 crore (Rs 19.99 billion) in FDI in FY'10.

According to statistics from the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, he added the metallurgical sector attracted Rs 4,152.56 crore (Rs 41.52 billion) in FDI in 2008-09.

9. Petroleum & Natural Gas
FDI equity inflows: Rs 13,763 crore ($3,159 million)

Hundred per cent FDI is permitted under automatic route in petroleum and natural gas. Petroleum and natural gas Industry accounts for 35 per cent share in the entire energy requirements in India.

Important initiatives have been taken by the Indian government to drive FDI inflows to this sector.

Petroleum and Natural Gas Industry accounts for 35 per cent share in the entire energy requirements in India.

Downstream industries like petrochemicals, fertilisers and energy play a vital role in the oil industry in India.

10. Chemicals (other than fertilisers)
FDI equity inflows: Rs 13,234 crore ($2,927 million)

FDI Inflows to chemicals industry has increased over the last few years, thanks to several incentives by the government of India.

The increased FDI Inflows to chemicals industry has helped in the growth and development of the sector.

Hundred per cent FDI is allowed in chemicals under the automatic route in India.

FDI policy in chemicals industry in India comprises:

1. Up to 100 per cent FDIis allowed through the automatic route for all the items in the chemical industry except for the chemicals that are of hazardous nature for which the approval of the government is required.

2. The government plans to establish chemical parks in special economic zones in order to provide world class infrastructure, increase clustering, and also ensure concessions in tax.