Competitor Analysis

COMPETITOR ANALYSIS-

Competitor is nothing but rivals sellers, manufacturers ,product or services trying to capture market share, achieve same goals, increasing profit by trying different methods in price, product ,distribution and promotion.

For Colgate the main competitors in India  :

1. Pepsodent

2. Close up 

3. others (Amway-Blister ,VICO bujradanti ,dabur etc)

This competition is greatly affected Colgate in India and it production.

In the first half of calendar year 2011, Colgate Palmolive India's market share in the toothpaste market stood at 53.1 per cent, its highest since 1998, a rare instance of a market leader gaining new ground.

Aggressive marketing and huge 32% jump in spending  on advertising makes it’s sales better and better.

STRATEGIC POSITION

CATEGORY	VOLUME SOM%	MARKET SHARE	RELATIVE SHARE
Toothpaste	53.1	1	2.3

·          Source ac Nielsen

VOLUME MARKET SHARE TILL MAR-2011

NAME	2008	2009	2010	APR-MAR 2010	APR-MAR 2011
Colgate Competitior1(market challenger) all other(market follower)	49.4 24.5 26.1	52.4 22.8 24.8	53.5 22.5 24.0	52.9 22.6 24.5	53.1 22.8 24.1

 * wikipedia

PORTER’S FOUR CORNER MODEL

This model designed by Michael porter describes best about a competitors course of action.

Motivation – drivers

This helps in determining competitor's action by understanding their goals (both strategic and tactical) and their current position vis-à-vis their goals. A wide gap between the two could mean the competitor is highly likely to react to any external threat that comes in its way, whereas a narrower gap is likely to produce a defensive strategy. Question to be answered here is: What is it that drives the competitor? These drivers can be at various levels and dimensions and can provide insights into future goals.

·         The likely entry of the world's largest consumer goods company, Procter & Gamble (P&G), into the Rs.4,500-crore branded oral care sector in India is creating ripples for Colgate.

·         Both Crest and Oral-B are very strong global brands. In fact, Crest is the largest selling brand in the US.

·         GlaxoSmithKline Consumer forayed into the sector by launching Sensodyne, while Future Group launched its toothpaste brand Sach.

·         Colgate is facing stiff competition from HUL & DABUR. later’s share increased from 10% to 15%.

Motivation – management assumptions

The perceptions and assumptions the competitor has about itself and its industry would shape strategy. This corner includes determining the competitor's perception of its strengths and weaknesses, organization culture and their beliefs about competitor's goals. If the competitor thinks highly of its competition and has a fair sense of industry forces, it is likely to be ready with plans to counter any threats to its position. On the other hand, a competitor who has a misplaced understanding of industry forces is not very likely to respond to a potential attack. Question to be answered here is: What are competitor's assumption about the industry, the competition and its own capabilities?

• Colgate India, which, so far, has not been too aggressive on the publicity front, has roped in tennis star Mahesh Bhupathi and film star Rahul Bose as brand ambassadors for its flagship brand Colgate Total.

·         To sustain our leadership, we are chalking out a three-pronged strategy, which includes, innovations, innovative integrated marketing plans and oral care awareness programmes, Rekha Rao, vice-president-marketing Colgate-Palmolive told FE.

Actions – strategy

A competitor's strategy determines how it competes in the market. However, there could be a difference between the company's intended strategy (as stated in the annual report and interviews) and its realized strategy (as is evident in its acquisitions, new product development, etc.). It is therefore important here to determine the competitor's realized strategy and how they are actually performing. If current strategy is yielding satisfactory results, it is safe to assume that the competitor is likely to continue to operate in the same way. Questions to be answered here are: What is the competitor actually doing and how successful is it in implementing its current strategy?

·         We see a big opportunity for growth in driving the penetration of the oral care category. With around 35 % of people still not using toothpastes, it offers us a huge opportunity-p&g.

Actions – capabilities

This looks at a competitor's inherent ability to initiate or respond to external forces. Though it might have the motivation and the drive to initiate a strategic action, its effectiveness is dependent on its capabilities. Its strengths will also determine how the competitor is likely to respond to an external threat. An organization with an extensive distribution network is likely to initiate an attack through its channel, whereas a company with strong financials is likely to counter attack through price drops. The questions to be answered here are: What are the strengths and weaknesses of the competitor? Which area is the competitor strong in?

·        P&G is flying high on it’s two strong global brands crest and oralB.crest is the market leader in America and brazil.

·        HUL is targeting youth segment through it’s strongest supply chain.

Colgate is also facing stiff competition from dabur as this product is doing good job in herbal toothpaste market by creating it’s image as pioneer of “ayurvedic” brand.