Strategic Thought Transformation - The IIPM Think Tank

N I R M A
It was during the summer of ‘69 where
this journey started and even 37 years
later, this so called ‘minnow’ stands
tall against powerful sweeping forces
of the multinational brands, which till
date have brushed aside many an Indian
entrepreneurial motive. And such vigorous
was Dr. Karsenbhai Patel’s motive
that it shook the very foundation of the
likes of detergent majors like Hindustan
Lever Limited (Indian subsidiary of the
NYSE-listed $85.64 billion Unilever Group)
and Procter & Gamble Co. (another global
FMCG major with a market cap of $194.44
billion on the NYSE).
And the journey started perhaps
with the brand name itself. Thinking of
a strong name for a brand and then to follow
it up by strengthening and increasing
the goodwill for that brand in the market
is certainly the toughest ask from a marketer,
especially when we consider the
crowd of brands existing in the market for
any product or service category as such.
So when we think of brand names being
established after celebrated designers and
entrepreneurs, a host of names come to
our mind, but when it comes to an ethnic
sounding brand name Nirma, (christened
after Dr. Karsenbhai’s daughter) one realises
that there’s much more behind the
legend, than what is visible.
Being a home-grown brand, Nirma has
taken full-advantage of its local knowl-
‘Naming’ a brand
& then ‘branding’
the name is the
toughest task for a
marketer to
establish in today’s
tough business
environment
edge and regional intelligencia. For the
price sensitive Indians, Nirma means
more of a revolutionary concept than just
a detergent brand. And of course, Indian
consumers (including 74% Indians living
in rural towns and villages) got a new
jingle to titillate, with Nirma certainly
becoming sabki pasand despite foreign
and bigger players shelling out crores of
rupees for all marketing purposes! But
then, was it a simple case of the pricesensitive
Indian being lured by a cheaper
washing agent; or was the reason simply
an example of how local brands have penetrated
every nook and corner of the nation,
thus posing a threat to MNC giants
across all product categories This paper
attempts to cover those critical factors
that have ensured the above mentioned
entrepreneurial success that made a domestic
brand’s positioning as strong, if
not stronger, as those of MNCs.
Down the memory lane…
Karsenbhai Patel, the son of a small farmer,
started his now successful story with a
clear vision coupled with a manufacturing
unit in his backyard at Ahmedabad.
Despite a lot of problems that cropped
up and the lack of monetary resources
that threatened his progress, his ride
to success did not witness a decelerating
phase. And if we credit Michael
Dell for having mastered the concept
of supply chain management
and logistics, Karsenbhai undoubtedly
deserves the credit of having pioneered
the model of personal selling. He
started off by packing the detergent in
a polythene bag and moved on to lure
his prospective clients from door to door
with the product stacked on his
bicycle (and those of his many
assistants)!
And yes, little would
he have realised then that
he was initiating a marketing
strategy that would be
adopted religiously by mature
firms thirty years after he gave
birth to the personal selling revolution!
That now has ensured that Nirma
crosses the doorstep of every value-
for-money minded Indian household!
Clearly, this door-to-door philosophy
allowed Nirma to have a comprehensive
ground level focus on the consumer behaviour.
And there lies the genesis of
the legend. What has propelled Nirma
to the status of a David lies in these ‘local’
origins themselves. Understanding of
consumer psyhcology, empathy towards
the value-for-money Indian target market
and ensuring low costs due to its localised
nature were advantages Nirma enjoyed;
advantages, which at that time became
significant competitive advantages for
Nirma over MNCs. The most important
factor here is that Karsenbhai passionately
struck the note of ‘customisation’,
and stuck to it, because he understood
very clearly the conditions common Indians
pass through.
And the result of all this – Nirma sold,
and like nobody’s business! Not long after
the launch, Nirma crossed the borders of
Gujarat and the fever spread all across
India sending shivers down the spine of
all other biggies! Till the late 60s and
early
70s, detergents were
still considered
luxury items in a
An IIPM Intelligence Unit Publication STRATEGIC INNOVATORS 77