NIRMA GROUP

"It all started to earn a side income, and at that stage, I had never imagined this kind of
success."
- Karsanbhai Patel, CMD, Nirma Ltd.

Introduction:
Nirma is a group of companies based in the city of Ahmedabad in western India that
manufactures products ranging from cosmetics, soaps, detergents, salt, soda ash,
LAB and Injectables. Karsanbhai Patel, a well known entrepreneur and philanthropist
of Gujarat, started Nirma as a one-man operation. Today Nirma has over 15000
employees and a turnover of over Rs. 3550 crores. In 2004, Nirma's detergent
approached 800,000 tonnes one of the largest volumes sold in the world under a
single brand 'NIRMA'.

Overview
Starting as a one-product, one-man outfit from a 100 sq ft (9.3 m2) room in 1969,
Nirma became a very successful company within three decades. The company had
multi-locational manufacturing facilities, and a broad product portfolio under an
umbrella brand Nirma. The company's mission to provide, "Better Products, Better
Value, Better Living" contributed a great deal to its success.
Nirma successfully countered competition from HLL and carved a niche for itself in
the lower-end of the detergents and toilet soap market. The brand name became
almost synonymous with low-priced detergents and toilet soaps. However, Nirma
realized that it would have to launch products for the upper end of the market to
retain its middle class consumers who would graduate to the upper end. The
company launched toilet soaps for the premium segment. However, analysts felt that
Nirma would not be able to repeat its success story in the premium segment.
In 2000, Nirma had a 15% share in the toilet soap segment and more than 30%
share in the detergent market. Aided by growth in volumes and commissioning of
backward integration projects, Nirma's turnover for the year ended March 2000
increased by 17% over the previous fiscal, to Rs. 12.17 bn.

History
In 1969, Dr. Karsanbhai Patel, a chemist at the Gujarat Government's Department of
Mining and Geology manufactured phosphate free Synthetic Detergent Powder, and
started selling it locally. The new yellow powder was priced at Rs. 3.50 per kg, at a
time when HLL's Surf was priced at Rs 15. Soon, there was a huge demand for
Nirma in Ruppur (Gujarat), Patel's hometown. He started packing the formulation in a
10x10ft room in his house. Patel named the powder as Nirma, after his daughter
Nirupama. Patel was able to sell about 15-20 packets a day on his way to the office
on bicycle, some 15 km away. By 1985, Nirma washing powder had become one of
the most popular, household detergents in many parts of the country.
By 1999, Nirma was a major consumer brand offering a range of detergents, soaps
and personal care products. In keeping with its philosophy of providing quality
products at the best possible prices, Nirma brought in the latest technology for its
manufacturing facilities at six locations in India. Nirma's success in the highly
competitive soap and detergent market was attributed to its brand promotion efforts,
which was complemented by its distribution reach and market penetration. Nirma's
network consisted of about 400 distributors and over 2 million retail outlets across
the country. This huge network enabled Nirma to make its products available to the
smallest village.
In November, 2007, Nirma purchased the American raw materials company Searles
Valley Minerals Inc. - making it among Top-7 Soda Ash manufacturer in the world.



CORE VALUES
Better Products
Better Value
Better Living


CHALLENGES
Competetors
Huge market
Lack of infrastructure
Premium Segments
Distribution:
Nirma Limited markets its products through its fully owned subsidiary Nirma
Consumer Care Limited (NCCL), which was incepted in 1985. NCCL in turn resells
these products in the market under the umbrella brands NIRMA and NIMA along
with extensions.
The distribution strength of Nirma is based on mutually rewarding and satisfying
relationship.
Nirma pioneered the concept of flat distribution network. Nirma Consumer Care
Limited operates with two parallel distribution networks. The NIRMA brand is
marketed through the first network, which consists of about 450 exclusive
distributors. It is one of the lowest cost FMCG distribution channels of the country.
Principal Channel [Nirma Products]:
Lowest Cost system in India
Speed in distribution
Flexibility

The NIMA range of products is marketed through a parallel marketing network that
comprises of more than 2000 distributors.

Parallel Channel [Nirma Products]:
Wider Reach
Speedy Market Intelligence
Competitive edge & Better focus
Complementing Principal Channel

All NIRMA and NIMA range of products have a retail reach of over two million retail
outlets and more than 40 million loyal consumers spread all over the country. The
Company has been successful in establishing an extremely good urban as well as
rural presence through the two distribution channels. The distribution channels have
played a significant role in making Nirma a household name. The efficient network
has made Nirma Washing Powder and Nirma Detergent Cake, the brands with
highest penetration in the respective product categories in the market. The network
is well equipped to meet the demands of the loyal consumers of the Company
across the country.
The robust network ensures the availability of various products at different retail
outlets across the nation. The Distribution channel is geared up to enhance trade
relations, build up the retailer base by providing various benefits and incentives,
organize and implement different activities to generate sales and manage numerous
other programmes, schemes and activities concentrated towards business
development.