Assessment of Packaging:
We observed the different variety of tissue papers manufactured by these two rivals. First of all we will compare the facial boxes; Fine has only one main design for facial boxes which is very colourful and had attracting pictures of flowers. This particular box of 200 tissues is worth L.E 2.50; this is a good decoration and attracts the upper class. On the other hand, Flora has three different designs for their facial box; the first on is the cheapest and has a very basic design with one colour (red, blue or green), this does not look attractive and may be aimed at lower level. The second one is more expensive and has a better looking design perhaps targeted at a higher class; this one has white background with sunflowers on it. The third one is definitely the most attractive and is probably for keeping as a decoration piece as well. This is the most expensive of them all, probably because of the packaging which has colourful flowers on the box.
Promotion / advertisement methods:
These days there is very little or no advertisement done by Fine or Flora. However, abut a year ago Flora was advertising a lot on Egyptian television but Fine has never been actively advertising. We recommend Carmen to use heavy advertisement when they launch their newly designed products to remind people about Carmen and to give them a taste of the quality. Currently in metro no promotional methods are being used by either of the two companies. However there is a new company called Klenex who are currently using a buy on get on free promotion. This is because it is a new company and wants to look for customers. We recommend Carmen to use these promotional techniques mainly for the cheaper products so that they attract lots of lower income groups as they will be interested in more quantity and less price. This will also help them acquire a good brand name.
Pricing:
The price difference between these two companies may not make a difference to people like us but it does to low class people and they are very picky about price. They are not bothered about the quality; they want quantity and low price. We examined the prices for the facial boxes and found out that both companies have different prices for different qualities. Fine has one box for L.E 1.95 and the other one for L.E 2.50. The first one is aimed at the lower class and is probably of lower quality than the second. Flora has one facial box which is for L.E 2.25 and they have another box for aimed at children with Disney pictures on it. This is priced at L.E 2.75 and probably is of higher quality as children need softer tissues.
Shelf space:
Fine and Flora by far had the majority of the shelf space in Metro with Zeina having quite little space. Between Fine and Flora, Flora had a bit of more shelf space mostly because of the different variety of tissue papers manufactured by Flora. While viewing the customers buying the different tissue products we noticed that Flora was being bought most with Fine very close to it. Most of customers buying Fine were only interested in the facial box; on the other hand Flora had customers buying toilet rolls, pocket packs, and facial boxes which show that in a close battle Flora dominate.
Survey:
The survey we carried out while we were carrying out market research was basically about what brand they are loyal to and what products the like to buy. The results from our survey showed that most people buy facial packs from Fine as they find that the quality is quite good and the prices are lower that Flora, however most of the people surveyed said that they buy the toilet rolls and the pocket packs from Flora as they are of good standard and well priced. When children were interviewed they preferred Flora as Flora has Disney facial boxes which attract the children. Overall our report showed that Flora is a little more popular than Fine.
USP:
Fine does not have a unique product of any kind, that might be the reason why Flora has more popularity. Flora has a extremely fundamental unique product which no other tissue company in Egypt does. They manufacture a special facial box for children with Disney cartoons so that kids are attracted and force their parents to buy that specific one.
Overall brand image:
We believe that both Flora and Fine are extremely important competitors to Carmen and both are pretty much equal to each other. However we also believe that through advertising, using different designs and having an important USP Flora have created a better brand name for themselves than Fine.
Conclusion/ recommendations:
After all the market research we have a few recommendations for Carmen which might help them successfully launch their new products. First of all we think that the Egyptian people need to be reminded of Carmen which will include heavy advertisement and promotional techniques at the beginning of the launch. Manufacturing a USP, something that is different from rival will give Carmen a huge edge. Further more we wish Carmen all the best for a successful launch of their new products and hope that they are appreciated by the public.
We also recommend Carmen to use market pricing at first so that they are aware of what price people are willing to pay for a product. This will ensure and guarantee sales which are what Carmen would want in the first few weeks of launching their products. After the new products are established then using competitive pricing would be good.
Report prepared by:
Ahmad Mokhtar, Taha Abdel Dayem, Murad Azhar
Report prepared for:
The Chairman of Carmen Company
Date:
30/05/2006
