Innovations and promotions drive deodorant sales

Deodorants sell best in the summer period but they do well in the Christmas season too, because they are an integral part of gift packages – we learn from Dávid Jécsi, Unilever’s junior category operations manager. Approximately 80 percent of deodorants sales is realised in hypermarkets and drugstores. Unilever’s experience is that women prefer the latter, while men tend to buy in hypermarkets. In Unilever’s deodorant portfolio we find the Dove, Baba, Rexona and Axe brands. The company does not offer women’s and men’s products under all brand names. Unilever holds on to the market leading position despite the regular appearance of new players: the company’s credo is that all age groups are equally important, so they try to serve the demands of everyone – from teenage boys to elderly women. Fourth Kft. is the distributor of Denim, a deodorant for masculine men. We learned from Andrea Marokházi, the company’s marketing executive that Denim’s buyers are loyal to the brand, which has been present on the market for 40 years and is currently available in four versions (Black, Original, Musk, White). In 2010 a new product family, Denim Young appeared in shops with its Get up, Look up and Speed up shower gels, deodorants and after shaves. Unilever’s expert told Trade magazine that their latest innovation AXE Excite started this April, Dove Original was enriched with vitamins and the Dove men+care range was expanded with a new product version, Aqua Impact. Their Rexona portfolio will be renewed completely this year. This year Unilever’s ‘Help wisely’ programme was organised for the third time, supporting the work of the National Ambulance and Emergency Service with HUF 110 million.