Pantene in asia

* SCHULICH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
* Marketing in Asia
* MKTG 6951 S
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* Group Assignment
* Pantene Taiwan Case Analysis
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* Instructor:
* Yigang Pan
* Group Members:
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* David Cheng
* Krishna Sunil Kumar
* Andrew Gardiner
* Braniola Stambolliu
* Maria Kobayashi
* Braj Mishra
* Ken Yoon Keun Jung* Gary Ng
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* Jul 15, 2008

1.






Executive Summary
After a very successful launch that extended from Taiwan to the rest of the world in the early 1990’s, Pantene Pro-V lost its market leader position due to strong competition from Unilever’s and Kao’s brands in a market space that is getting increasingly crowded and more sensitive to price dueto economic factors. Hence, the key for Pantene to regain leadership is a strategy that focuses on effective differentiation from the competitors and that seizes unclaimed spaces through early detection of consumer trends and the utilization of the brand’s and P&G’s strengths. This led us to recommendations that focus on brand strategy issues (i.e. localization, positioning, and targeting forgrowth) to achieve the necessary degree of differentiation in the Taiwanese hair care market.

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* 2. Updates of the Pantene case
After P&G concluded in 1989 that “shine through health” positioning, combined with 2-in-1 technology, would provide a good market entry point after research and studying, it successfully introduced Pantene Pro-V in the Taiwanese market. From there, thecompany replicated the success of the brand worldwide. Within 18 months of the establishment of this model, Pantene expanded into more than 20 countries with a presence in every major region of the world, establishing itself as the market leader again and again. By 1995, Pantene was the best-selling hair-care brand in the world, with a lineup that included shampoos, conditioners, and stylingproducts for all types of hair.

However, the brand was challenged in 2001 by its leading competitor, Unilever, who designed a shampoo line extension for Dove and, following Pantene’s model, launched it in Taiwan as well. After an extremely successful launch, based on the “1/4 moisturizing cream/ purity” positioning at first and then on the “Campaign for Real Beauty”, Dove seized the leader positionfrom Pantene. Unilever’s following move in 2003 was to introduce its Lux Super Rich line of shampoos, positioned along the lines of “aspirational glamour”. Lux Super Rich had been a leader in the Japanese market since its 1987 introduction by Nippon Lever. As it can be seen in Appendix B, the brand gained the leadership of the market, pushing Pantene to the seventh place in terms of market share.3. Environmental and Competitive Challenges faced by Pantene Taiwan:
From the External and Porter’s Five Forces Analyses, we can conclude that Pantene will have to face the following competitive and environmental challenges:
Looming economic downturn in Asia: The economic downturn in the region may seem unlikely in near future but with globalization tightly connecting world-wide economicactivities, the slow down in US economy and hiking commodity prices could negatively impact the Asian economies.

Increased price sensitivity: As a result of the economic slowdown, consumers have been switching to mid-to-low priced hair care products. They are now keener on the value/price ratio, which has been an attribute that has been highlighted in advertisement during 2007.

Potential pricewars: In close relation to the previous issue, fierce price competition is expected to continue due to the competitive environment. Major mass brands will be discounted frequently, particularly in hypermarkets, thereby constraining growth in average unit prices. However, premium brands and new products will offset this trend and increase average unit prices over the forecast period.

Increased...