Month: June 2006

By Posted on Posted in My Photos

All the pictures you can see in my trips related postings are taken by me unless these are products pictures, brand logos or elsewhere indicated . I try to minimize the pictures resolutions so the visitors can experience a fast browsing of my blog.

All and most other company names, brand names, logos, colors, products, products pictures, process, technology, ideas, innovations on this blog are the worldwide trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

By Posted on Posted in Brands
During my market visits, I drop by the major key accounts to check the displays and the visibility of my company’s products and on my way out I grab a copy of the promotional leaflets to check the latest offers and trends of the market.What was catchy to my eyes this time where the washing powders.
Oh my God the washing powders !!!
They are everywhere and it shows, below is a collage of 4 different catalogs offering the same brand Bonux, a Procter & Gamble extension to its global known brand Ariel. And the case is not only for Bonux, many others are in the same game, Ariel, Persil, Omo, Rex, Lenor, Colgate, Palmolive, Dalin, Always, Dove, Head & Shoulders, etc …

Different formats, different fragrances, different promotions, but one lost consumer inside the pages of the catalogs, for sure housewives are mainly loyal to one brand because it touches their daily life, but what is the purpose of having 14 powder promotions in the same catalog. It is the usual market share war going around and around since forever.



Ariel Bonux Persil Omo Rex Tide Surf Totals
Selgros

4

2

1

0

1

1

3

12
Metro

6

3

2

0

0

0

3

14
Cora

0

1

1

1

0

1

0

4
Carrefour

1

1

0

1

1

0

0

4
Totals

11

7

4

2

2

2

6

34


34 promotions on one single sub-family in the same category in 4 different chains, with an average of 4 per hypermarkets and 13 per Cash & Carry. I am wondering what the total number would be if I was able to get all the catalogs of all the key accounts in Romania.
Look at the price war and difference between the 6kg Bonux Active Fresh at Cora and the 6kg Bonux 2 in 1 at Carrefour, it is 0,01 Lei, equal to 0,0036 US$. Consumers will spread the word, Carrefour is cheaper ;-)

By Posted on Posted in Companies
You can not visit Romania without noticing the SENSIblu stores all over the country. A Romanian network of 190 pharmacies with 1,100 employees, serving daily 20,000 patients. Thus, while in 1997 Sensiblu turnover was 2 million Euro, in 2005 it reached 63.7 million Euro.Sensiblu’s development was a dynamic one, having an average annual growth rate of the market share of approximately 30%. This fact materialized in the increase of the number of clients that step in a pharmacy each day, from 161 in 1998 to 1000 in 2006.SENSIblu stores are not only pharmacies, they also offer a wide range of cosmetic and beauty products. Also their fidelity cards with multiple benefits honors 880,000 active members.



When you visit the shopping complexes and malls in Romania, you are also attracted to other store brands names carrying the same ending as SENSIblu, Miniblu is a baby cloth and accessories stores and OPTIblu is offering all types of fashion glasses and medical glasses.I have found these 3 stores in the same shopping complex, the Feeria.I have felt that the company behind SENSIblu and the other XYZ-blu stores which is A&D Pharma is trying to grab market shares in other different industries, business universes and categories, building their objectives and targets on the successful story behind SENSIblu, hoping such extensions will not be hurting the core business as branding history proved that not all “any-type-of-extension” are workable and doable!
When the first time I arrived into Romania a year ago and the taxi was driving me from the airport to my hotel and I saw the very first SENSIblu store on my way, the first thought and image that crossed my mind was the Bulgari perfume BLU that I used to use some time ago, which means that the Bulgari marketing team did the right job.
So what’s the next Blu is going to be in Romania, I would try to guess and say, maybe hypermarkets, supermarkets or minimarkets …