Over the past decade or so, Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd (KS&DL) – an Indian public sector enterprise – has observed a significant fall in its signature product’s brand image, Mysore Sandalwood. The company now aims to rebuild its overall image by launching their new, Mysore Sandals Millennium, soap in January 2012.
Millennium is a super-premium luxury soap offering that has taken three years of research and development and is targeted at the top-end consumer segment. It is priced at US$12.60 for a bar – making it the most expensive Indian soap on the market – where the premium range is available for as low as US$0.35 a bar.
Will KS&DL succeed in marketing a product priced at a level that makes it unaffordable to most Indians? How can the company best go about executing and communicating its strategy to make this launch a success?
This case provides students an opportunity to learn about the challenges faced when a company launches a new brand — particularly a luxury brand in a developing country such as India. Through this case, students will learn about the concepts of brand extension, and above all, vertical brand extension. It can also be used to discuss the spillover effects of the launch, and its success, on other existing brands of the company, as well as the overall corporate brand.
Inspection copies and teaching notes are available for university faculty. To receive an inspection copy and teaching note, please email cmpshop [at] smu.edu.sg with your registered faculty email ID and a link to your contact information on the faculty directory at your university as verification. An inspection copy and teaching note will then be sent to your faculty email account.
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SMU Faculty/Staff can download the case & teaching note on iNet with your SMU login ID & Password via the following links:
· Teaching Note (SMU-13-0011TN)
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via The Case Centre, please access the following links:
· Teaching Note (SMU-13-0011TN)
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via Harvard Business Publishing, please access the following links:
SMU Faculty/Staff can download the case & teaching note on iNet with your SMU login ID & Password via the following links:
· Teaching Note (SMU-13-0011TN)
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via The Case Centre, please access the following links:
· Teaching Note (SMU-13-0011TN)
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via Harvard Business Publishing, please access the following links:
(Please note you are purchasing the case only.)
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