Air Water and Ionic Purifiers

Cos change tack in water purifier mkt – Yahoo! India News

Tata Group's foray into the water purifier market has created ripples in the sector. To sustain its competitive edge in the Rs 1,650-crore sector, Hindustan Lever Ltd (HUL) is stepping up its marketing strategy, which includes retail initiatives, mass media campaigns and new launches. HUL's arch rival Eureka Forbes Ltd is also sharpening its focus on technology, services and branding strategy to take on new and old rivals.

“Major players like HUL and Eureka Forbes are already gearing up to take on Tata Swatch in this sector. The tug-of-war between HUL and Eureka will further intensify with the arrival of Swatch,” said an analyst based in Mumbai. At present, Eureka Forbes leads the pack with a market share of 52%.

HUL recently launched “Pureit Autofill” to widen its product portfolio. “With this new launch, we have made an entry into the retail market. HUL is now selling Pureit, its debut product in the category, through DTH channel,” said a company spokesperson. He said the Rs 200 crore Pure-It brand is rapidly building a strong franchise across the country, with nearly three million households now covered. “The business has expanded to smaller towns and is focusing on product innovation and channel development,” he added. Encouraged by the response to its ad campaign “Pure-It Rs 1 crore safety challenge”, HUL has just launched a new mass media campaign with a tagline, “Rs 1 crore is unclaimed, the challenge is still on”.

Eureka Forbes is in the process of rolling out a new ad campaign to promote its new launch, “Aqua Sensa”, said Marzin R Shroff, CEO (direct sales), Eureka Forbes. “We will continue to focus on building consumer relationships, services and marketing. We are not worried about one or two new players in this sector,” he added. On Tata's strategy for Swatch, Sabaleel Nandy, head, water purifier business, Tata Chemicals Ltd, said, “Product unveiling was done by Ratan Tata on December 7. Nationwide rollout was planned starting with Maharashtra, followed by Karnataka and WB.”

Lalitha Srinivasan

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