Magazine: Reliable and universal solutions are the stars in cleaning

Even the recession was not enough for cheap unbranded products to gain ground among cleaning products. Why? Because the number one criterion for cleaning products is to work, to offer a solution to a given problem. It is needless to say that consumers gave many wallet-friendly solutions a try during the recession and they got to like many of them. At the same time, they were happy to return to many of the good old products. According to Zsolt Karancsi, corporate relations manager with Procter&Gamble consumers only temporarily preferred lower prices to quality, but it is also true that they are still looking for promotions now that the recession is easing. Unilever’s experience is that people economise in different ways: some of them keep buying the same products but use less of them, while others cut down on the number of products they use and use them for various purposes, a good example of this is Domestos 24H disinfectant that can be used for several surfaces around the house. We learned from category operations assistant manager Renáta Rabóczki that Unilever expanded its Flóraszept range last autumn because under the well-known brand name new products could be put on the market at favourable prices – offering an alternative to cheaper private label products. Consumers are consciously looking for promotions: – It has become more important to appear in promotional leaflets of retail chains. This is why we try to appear in them with Clorox frequently and offer as many promotions as possible – says Viktória Kürti, brand manager with DunaPro. She is of the opinion that consumers prefer buying one type of general cleaner like Clorox, with which they can clean, disinfect and bleach. Eszter Tőrös Végh, junior brand manager with Spotless Hungary Kft. (Vim’s distributor) shares this opinion. Spotless knows that universal and private label products are present and have stable consumer bases in each category, while demand for special products dropped. The company’s most popular product, Vim scrubbing powder is also a multi-purpose product. Réka Nagy, regional brand manager with SCA Hygiene Products Kft. told Trade magazin that in Zewa’s spring campaign the company introduced women with different cleaning styles and called attention to Zewa household paper towels, which are perfect cleaning tools for all of them; Zewa Wisch&Weg can even be wrung out and reused without getting torn. Anna Sándor, marketing manager with Freudenberg Háztartási Cikkek Bt. (Vileda’s distributor) opines that advantages of famous brands such as Vileda are important for Hungarian housewives. Vileda is one of the fastest-growing household cleaning equipment brands worldwide. It is market leader in Europe and in everyday use the brand name already refers to complete product categories or types of textiles. – In the case of bin bags, we cannot speak about brand loyalty in the traditional sense of the term – states Károly Deli, junior brand manager with Sarantis Hungary Kft. Private label products appear in more and more stores and they carve out a bigger slice of the cake: their market share neared 40 percent in 2010. Sales of premium products are declining but the company’s Domet, Hewa and Fox brands are sold at favourable prices, therefore these washing-up sponge, kitchen towel or bin bag products experience positive sales trends. This year Procter&Gamble successfully launched its online multibrand programme, offering useful household management and beauty information to consumers; they are also active on Facebook. Unilever launched Domestos General Cleaner in the first half of the year and in the toilet rim block segment new Domestos Double Power is put on the market. DunaPro will come out with a ‘super’ product in the second half of the autumn. This year Vim appeared in shops with a disinfectant and antifungal spray. In the summer they implemented a coupon promotion. Zewa enters the Hungarian market with Economy kitchen paper towels – sheets of which can be torn into two, so that less of it can be used. Vileda’s biggest novelty in 2011 was the introduction of Vileda1-2 Spray flat mop: the cleaning liquid simply has to be filled into the handle of the mop and can be sprayed when cleaning the floor. This autumn the company cooperates with The Bridge of Health: United for a Healthy Life foundation to fight against breast cancer. Those who buy the limited edition pink mop set support the cause with HUF 100. Sarantis Hungary Kft. introduced 9 new Hewa articles this year; two of them are general-use 30- and 60-litre products in units of 30. Two new Hewa 35-litre, 15-unit and 60-litre, 10-unit self-seal bin bags are also available – these are stronger and facilitate a more hygienic storage.