A small study on why Parryware lost the top spot in the sanitaryware industry in India.

1. BRAND MANAGEMENT GROUP ASSINGMENT
Brand: PARRYWARE
Term IV: 2011-13
Group Members:
Lalit Kumar Sharma 2011103
Yasser Ali 2011112
Nawal Ragit 2011119
Nitish Aggarwal 2011129
Prateek Sikka 2011140
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2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page Number
Brief History ……………… 3
Evolution ……………… 3
Market Standing ……………… 4
Product Offerings ……………… 5
Competition ……………… 6
Brand Positioning ……………… 8
Brand Personality ……………… 9
Distribution Network ……………… 10
Pricing Strategy ……………… 11
Analysis of strategies adopted by Parryware ……………… 12
Suggestions and recommendation ……………… 14
Financial Forecast …………….... 18
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3. Brief History:
Parryware, the flagship brand of Parryware Roca Private Limited is the No. 1 Sanitary
ware manufacturer in India and the 9th largest in the world.
EID Parry Limited is a public company headquartered in Chennai, South India that
has been in business for more than 200 years. It has many firsts to its credit, including the
manufacturing of fertilizers (1906) for the first time in the Indian subcontinent.
Established in the year 1788, Parry is presently engaged in a wide galaxy of
diversified activities. It became a member of the Murugappa group in the year 1981 and
thereafter the story has been one of turnaround and of steady growth. When Murugappa
Group acquired EID parry in the late 80‟s, Parryware became a part of the Murugappa
family. Parryware is a range of premium sanitary ware produced and marketed by EID Parry,
a part of the Rs. 3500 crore Murugappa group based in Chennai.
EID Parry is one of the oldest business entities of the Indian subcontinent and was
originated by Thomas Parry, a Welshman who came to India in late 1780s. On 17 July 1788,
he started a business of banking and piece goods. By 1819, a partnership firm named Parry
and Dare was founded by Thomas Parry and John William Dare. Parry's Corner, one of the
most prominent central business districts of Chennai, derives its name from Thomas Parry.
Parry & Company Limited and East India Distilleries & Sugars Limited were merged
to form EID Parry India Limited. In its more than 200 year existence, this business house has
remained active and covered a large range of businesses. The Murugappa Group took over
EID Parry in 1981 from financial & public institutions such as Life Insurance Corporation Of
India, United Assurance Co, and Unit Trust of India.
Evolution:
With the Indian Sanitary ware market growing and with large international players
entering the market, the group saw a huge opportunity, and in 2006 spun off Parryware– till
then a division of EID Parry, into a separate 50:50 JV with the world‟s largest sanitary ware
manufacturer from Spain Roca Sanitario. With two powerful brands – Parryware and Roca,
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4. the company Parryware Roca Private Limited has improved its market presence and share in
the last two years. Recently, Roca has expressed its desire to increase its stake in the
company. The Murugappa group has expressed its willingness to sell a further 47% stake to
Roca and is now a part of Roca Sanitario, Spain.
The Indian sanitary ware industry has witnessed a sea-change. With India emerging as
the second largest in the baths and sanitary market in Asia Pacific, the sanitary ware market is
poised to grow exponentially. The real estate and construction boom in India has helped in
the increasing demand for bathroom products. Secondly, buying homes has become more
„affordable‟ to Indian customer with several housing finance companies offering attractive
home loan packages. The average age of an Indian youth buying his first house is in the early
thirties or late twenties. They are willing to spend on their houses and demand the latest
international trends and products for their new homes. And thirdly, the „replacement‟ market,
comprising renovations, home improvements and refurbishments in bathrooms is growing
significantly.
Parryware now a 100% subsidiary of ROCA Sanitario of Spain and is known as Roca
Bathroom Products Private Limited. It was created as a subsidiary of EID Parry called
Parryware Private Limited then became a JV between EID Parry and Roca called Parryware
Roca India Private Limited after Roca purchased 45% of its shares. EID Parry later divested
its remaining holding in Parryware Roca India Private Limited to Roca.
Market Standing:
Parryware has manufacturing facilities at Ranipet in Tamil Nadu, Alwar in Rajasthan
and Dewas in Madhya Pradesh. Sanitary ware products are marketed under the trade name
"Parryware" and "Johnson Pedder". The Company also markets a complete range of
bathroom accessories including taps. The market share is 26%.
Parryware not only provides bathroom solutions to millions of homes in India, but its
significant presence is also seen in the overseas markets of South Africa, Sri Lanka, the
Middle East and a host of other countries. The global stature of Parryware Roca was further
established when Ceramic World Magazine ranked it as the 10th best sanitary ware
manufacturer in the world in 2007. Parryware was the first and only sanitaryware
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5. manufacturer in India that was conferred initially as “Superbrand” and “Powerbrand” in
2011.
Parryware has a gamut of product ranges that include vitreous sanitary ware, seat
covers, plastic cisterns, bathtubs, kitchen sinks, electronic flushing systems and an imported
range of bathroom products. After setting benchmarks in the sanitary ware industry,
Parryware is now transforming itself into a total bathroom solutions provider. Currently
Parryware is having 5 manufacturing units located at Ranipet, Perundurai, Alwar, Dewas &
Bhiwadi.
The brand has aligned itself with 5 brand values to stay relevant with the changing
times and continue leadership in the standard segment. These brand values are: Trust,
Practical, and Contemporary, Value for money and Youthful. With a clear focus on the
present and a strong sense of tomorrow Parryware continues to dominate the industry and
maintain its status as the premier bathroom solutions brand.
Product Offerings:
Parryware entered into the market by changing the perceptions of the Indians towards
bathroom. Company focussed on the products to match them with their strategy of
glamouroom and they made the product trendy and stylish.
The product of Parryware in India may be devided into the following categories and sub-
categories:
Product
Offerings
Allied
Sanitaryware Faucets Wellness Furniture
Products
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6.  SANITARYWARE
 Closets
 Basins
 Conventine
 Urinals
 WELLNESS
 Bath Tubs
 Shower Panels
 Shower Enclosures
 ALLIED PRODUCTS
 Accessories
 Cisterns
 Seat
 Pressure Pumps
 Kitchen Sinks
 Mirrors
 FURNITURE
 Vanity Cabinets
Competition:
Major players in sanitaryware industry in India are:
1. HSIL (Hindustan Sanitary Industries Limited), now Hindware: The Somany Group‟s
flagship company, HSIL was set up in 1962 in collaboration with Twyfords of UK. In
India, it soon pioneered Vitreous China Sanitaryware and gave the concept of
sanitaryware a new meaning. Now, the "Hindware" brand commands more than a
third of the Indian sanitaryware market and is a leader in several categories.
Furthermore, amidst sanitaryware brands, it‟s a top export from India.
2. Parryware
3. Cera: Launched in 1980, Cera is a pioneer in the sanitaryware segment in India. The
first sanitaryware company to use natural gas, Cera has been on the forefront of
launching a versatile colour range and introducing the bath suite concept. It also
launched innovative designs and water-saving products.
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7. 4. Other Local Companies: There are various regional companies which have a small
market share of 11% distributed among them. They sell sanitaryware products at very
low prices in the area they are based in.
Market Share of these companies is:
Companies Market Share
HSIL (Hindware) 41
Parryware 26
Cera 22
Others 11
Market Share of Sanitaryware companies in India
11%
HSIL (Hindware)
Parryware
22% 41%
Cera
Others
26%
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8. Brand Positioning:
Positioning is the process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the
minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization.
Parryware endeavoured into serious branding this sanitary wares as early as 1983. In
1985 it introduced the Peacock shaped closets branded as Cascade which focused on
saving water. The product was highly successful and became almost generic to the
category. Parryware was the super-brand in the Indian sanitary market. It revolutionized
sanitary market and completely changed the way India viewed bathrooms. It
understood the changing trends and became a pioneer in branding.
In 1990 Parryware came up with the concept of “Glamourooms". The purchase of
sanitary wares was never a high involvement purchase. But this new concept of
“Glamourooms” changed that. It inspired the customers to have bathrooms as stylish
and fashionable as their living rooms and bedrooms. This caused a spurt in the demand
for aesthetic bathrooms. The concept of attached bathroom came up in the same time
and the Glamouroom campaign hit the bull‟s eye in catching customer‟s attention.
Parryware was credited for innovating the concept of "Stainzfree" bathrooms,
introduced easy to clean surfaces, antimicrobial seat covers, touch free electronic
urinals and bathroom for physically challenged people. These innovations coupled with
some smart campaigns made this brand a market leader. It was the first customer
centric company and was the first to have a website for customers. Parryware also
changed the retail format for selling sanitary wares by creating shopping experience for
customers through "Experience centres". These were retail outlets which were designed
to give customer an experience of the look of their bathrooms with Parryware. The
brand also kept track of the changing minds of the Indian consumer. There is a marked
shift in the preference of Indian consumers from Wet bathrooms to a Dry one and
Parryware was ready for that also. With a strategic partner in ROCA, Glamourooms
concentrated on the luxury and medium segment while ROCA concentrated on the
Super luxury segment bringing in the International range to Indian market.
Although the brand pioneered the concept of "Glamourooms" it found that the concept
was copied by other players. Hence the brand changed its tagline to "Add Glamour to
Your Life". Then again the brand began to give importance to hygiene and changed its
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9. line to "Sparkling Clean Glamourooms ". Now the base line is somewhere between
"Everything else can wait" and "Surrender to Temptation".
Brand Personality:
Brand personality is the way a brand communicates and behaves. It means
personifying the brand, giving it human traits and characteristics to achieve differentiation
and create a – connect or a bond with the customers, something that a customer can identify
themselves with. These traits are observed in the audio-visual communication of the brand to
the target audience.
Trustworthy:
Trust is one of the building blocks of Parryware. Parryware has built a strong bond of trust
with its consumers. They have earned this trust through superior quality of products,
competitive pricing, fabulous range of products and unmatched service. Now it is one of the
most trusted brands in India.
Practical
An eye for detail enables the company to create products that cater to the needs of every
consumer. Parryware offers easy to implement bathroom solutions. The range of products fits
every customer‟s imagination, space and pocket. It is this practicality that has made
Parryware a preferred choice.
Contemporary
In the fast changing world one needs to constantly reinvent in order to keep pace. By
understanding the dynamic needs of the consumers the company changed and evolved every
day. The latest range of designer bathroom fittings is proves the fact that we have evolved
while keeping the core values intact.
Youthful
The spirit of the organization is forever young. Parryware keeps experimenting and keeps
challenging the status quo. It is this youthful exuberance that it always offers products which
are trendsetters.
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10. Strong Distribution Network
Distribution Strength in No's
Distributors 155
Retailers 1300
Depots 21
Exclusive Distributors 60 %
•Parryware has one of the strongest Pan- India distribution strength amongst all building
product manufacturers with a large network of dealers and retailers covering each and every
town which has a population of more than 50,000 people.
• Parryware has considerably increased its depots from over 2 to 21 to cover all parts of the
country in the past 2-3 years. This has enabled distributors to have a low inventory cycle and
thus efficient working capital which increases their ROI.
• This has made the distributors happy and loyal to Parryware products which gives them
better returns. Thus the sales push from these retailers and distributors has been good.
• Parryware has implemented ERP and a strong IT platform amongst its distribution network
to keep track of the market and hence work efficiently depending upon the demand for
various products.
• Parryware has been active to build the brand amongst the plumbing community who have a
great influence in buying of sanitary ware through better interactions and providing them
good service. Parryware‟s strong network of service centers addresses service calls within 48
hours through its focused after-sales service professionals.
• Parryware plans to strengthen its distribution network by addition of over 400 distributors
and 3000 retailers in the next 5 years and thus covering each and every town in India with a
population of over 25,000 people. This strong network of distribution is difficult to replicate
and helps in increasing its market share.
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11. Pricing Strategy:
Price is the one element of the marketing mix that produces revenue; the other
elements produce costs. Price also communicates to the market the company is intended
value positioning of its product or brand. A well designed and marketed product can
command a price premium and reap big profits. Parryware has its products which are priced
such that they are within the reach of middle end and upper end of the markets.
Parryware follows Market Orientation Pricing: it has its products being priced for all
segments of the market such as it has pearl, jade, twist and coral taps and fittings under
standard range starting from Rs.555 to Rs.1800. It also focuses on upper ends of the market
for which it has diamond, agate, ruby, trio and sapphire products starting from Rs.620 to
Rs.4655.
Competition based pricing: The Company is a price follower. There is intense competition in
the industry and the customers are well aware of the costs as information is readily available.
Hence the company cannot vary its prices greatly compared to those of the competitors.
Otherwise it stands to lose its customers who will move over to the other brands. Thus the
prices are quite sticky even though the price elasticity is quite inelastic as the purchase of
fixtures and fittings generally cannot be delayed. These are the reasons why all the firms in
the industry refrain from entering in price wars.
Premium Pricing: To gain larger market share Parryware introduces speciality products
which focuses on lifestyle. It keeps on innovating its products which contributed to 18% of
total sales and improves its quality and thus customers don‟t feel cheated. It has special
electronic taps costing Rs 8550. Parryware Roca Private Limited, No 1 bathroom solutions
provider in India today launched the premium international Crestia Collection´ in Mumbai.
The Crestia collection constitutes 22 completely new products with international styling and
attractive features
The premium market for sanitary ware in India is today estimated at Rs 130 crores per
annum, Parryware commands a 10% share of the Premium segment. With the launch of
Crestia Collection, we are confident of further improving our share in this segment in the
coming months.
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12. Analysis of Strategies adopted by the Parryware:
Parryware redefined the bathroom fittings by innovating the concept of
Glamourooms. The brand achieved super brand status through this smart positioning.
i. Change in the brand positioning: During 2003, the brand made a big mistake in
changing its core positioning to "Add glamour to your life" and then changed the
tagline again to "Surrender to the temptation “The brand adopted the tagline “What a
bathroom”. The brand came from Glamourooms to bathrooms, from where they had
begun a successful journey to the top. It was the biggest blunder made by the brand.
The ads were shockingly disappointing coming from the market leader in the industry.
The brand crashed from “Glamourooms” to “Bathrooms”. Glamourooms
differentiated the company from the others and now they too, started to talk about
bathrooms and bathroom fittings. The creative heads at JWT completely misjudged
their move and let go off a highly successful positioning. Yes, there is a need for
change after a while but that‟s the job of the creative heads and ad agencies to come
up with fresh, new and creative ideas and not stupid ones that end up hurting the
brand. The brand has undone the entire equity built over its past years (Glamouroom
era).
ii. Stagnation in Product offerings: During this period, the company did not come up
with any new innovative products. The product range remained limited while the
competitors like Hindware came up with newer designs and models and increased
their product range and offered more variety to the customers. This stagnation in
product offering lead to a decrease in market share by competitor companies.
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13. iii. Poor after sales service: Parryware also failed to provide good after sales service as
compared to Hindware or Cera. Our interaction with the distributor revealed that
customers who faced issues in fittings had to wait for as long as 3 weeks before their
issue was looked at and fixed by the technicians from the company. This led to a poor
customer experience and decrease in trust in the company.
iv. Decrease in product quality: The distributor also revealed that the Parryware‟s
product quality was also not at par with that of the products provided by competitor
companies. The products offered by Parryware lacked the shine and glossiness which
were there in the products offered by Hindware, Cera or Jaguar.
v. Huge discounts to commercial clients: Parryware lost a major chunk of retail
customers to competitors like Hindware and Cera. The company was selling its
products to commercial builders and large projects at dirt cheap prices, offering
discounts of up to 50% in some cases. This hurt the equity, name, value and
perception about the brand.
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14. Suggestions and Recommendations:
1) Rejuvenating the brand/Re-Launching the brand:
Parryware needs to rejuvenate/re-launch the in order to get back to the top spot by
repositioning the brand.
a) Repositioning: Roca Parryware has tried to do reposition the brand in their new
“Apna sa kona” campaign.
IMC Mix:
i) TVCs -The new TVCs and print ads communicate the bathrooms are not just
bathrooms and but your “personal space” where you can be what you want to be,
who you really are, express your feelings without worrying about being seen. The
ads try to connect to the customers emotionally emphasizing the importance of the
role a bathroom can play in our lives.
ii) Billboards: Roca Parryware is also investing in communicating the new stylized
premium quality products through billboards in major cities at prime locations.
The billboards communicate the same concept of washrooms being the “personal
space” and thus should have the same attributes and characteristics with which
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15. you identify yourself – contemporary, stylish, upbeat, etc.
iii) Print ads: Roca Parryware should also advertise in various lifestyle magazines
such as GQ, Vogue, etc.
iv) PR events: Roca Parryware should also invest in PR events to remind the people
that are the ones who brought Glamour to the washrooms and are now making
those glamourooms your personal space with new, stylish, superior quality,
premium products.
v) India International Trade Fair: The Company should also advertise and showcase
the products in International Trade fairs organized in various tier – 1 and tier – 2
cities.
vi) Experience Centres: The retail outlets should be turned into “experience centres”
where the customers can actually experience the look and feel of the bathrooms
and bathroom fittings. They can have the option of customizing the washrooms to
their specifications and fancies. Because the customers have now become a lot
more experience centric rather than product driven.
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16. b) Logo:
The logo of the brand should not be changed. The italicized and cursive font in the
logo signifies class and sophistication. This is what the brand is. Premium quality,
classy and sophisticated.
c) Tagline: In our opinion, the biggest blunder made by Parryware was to change the
tagline from “Add glamour to your life” to “Wow, what a bathroom!”, the earlier
tagline brought style and fashion and trend to the washrooms. The washrooms weren‟t
just washrooms but a place as stylish as your living room or bedroom. From that
stylish space, they portrayed glamourooms as bathrooms.
The first thing that is needed is to do away with the current tagline. Since the brand is
now communicating washrooms as “your personal space” the tagline that we suggest
is “Be yourself”. As washrooms is the space where you can be whoever you want to
be without the worry of being seen.
d) Sales Promotion:
i) PoP marketing: There should be better PoP marketing in the form of better
catalogues and brochures at the retail shops, dealers and experience centres.
ii) Gifts and Give aways: Roca Parryware can also come up with Gifts or some
goodies to be given to the dealers, retailers or customers on purchase such as gift
coupons, discount coupons etc.
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17. iii) Dealer Promotion Schemes: The Company should also come up with dealer
promotion schemes wherein they give some sort of an incentive such as foreign
trip or a bathroom makeover in the dealers‟ home on continuously achieving high
targets.
2) Pricing:
According to the information we gathered, we found that Roca Parryware lost its brand
equity because of high discounts of up to 50% given to commercial builders as they were
losing out on retail customers. This image has to be changed.
Since Parryware has been taken over by Spanish Sanitary giants Roca Group, it can
leverage on this take over and charge a slight premium and portray itself as a new brand
with newer, stylish, technologically advanced, export quality products. This would
improve the brand perception and the image of the brand in the customers' minds.
The Company can charge a 5-8% premium on the Standard range products like Pearl,
Jade, twist etc. whereas a 12-15% premium on the higher end products like Diamond,
Agate, Ruby, Trio, etc.
3) Venture into Kitchen Appliances:
In order to widen the product range, the company can also look to venture into new
product category - Kitchen appliances.
Various kitchen appliances like cooker hoods, hobs, cook tops, built in ovens etc. can be
provided to the customers. This will give the customers greater number of options and
also provide the customer with a common theme on which they can customize their
kitchens and bathrooms.
4) Customer feedback:
We also strongly believe that Roca Parryware should constantly be in close contact with
the dealers and the consumers in order to keep a track of the desires of the customers and
innovate according to what the customers want.
For this, the new MD of the company is planning tours to meet with the dealers Pan India.
The MD has a trip scheduled for Chandigarh where he will go and meet the dealers
personally to get their feedback and discuss customers‟ issues and desires.
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18. Financial forecast of implementing our recommendations
We have come up with the sales promotion budget that include the investments
required to re-launch the brand into the market.
3rd Quarter 4th Quarter 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter
2012 2012 2013 2013
Advertisements
-Print ads 2,00,00,000 1,50,00,000 1,15,00,000 1,75,00,000
-TV ads 4,00,00,000 3,00,00,000 2,50,00,000 3,00,00,000
-Online ads 2,00,000 2,00,000 2,00,000 2,00,000
-Radio ads 5,00,000 5,00,000 5,00,000 5,00,000
Marketing Campaign
-Launching event 50,00,000
-Graduation event 15,00,000
Direct Marketing
-Website, Toll free,
5,00,000 5,00,000 5,00,000 5,00,000
etc.
Others
-Brochures, banner,
28,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000 25,00,000
pamphlet, etc
Total 6,87,00,000 5,02,00,000 4,12,00,000 5,12,00,000
Percent of Sales 5.49% 4.02% 3.29% 4.09%
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