STRATEGIC BRAND AND

PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

Kurlon Ltd. Case analysis

GROUP 4

Prativa Thakur(18PGDM030)

Prithvi Guha (18PGDM031)

Nikki Jaiswal (18PGDM33)

Ravisha (18PGDM35)

Rejish Mathew (18PGDM36)

Q1. What is this case study all about? What are the key issues presented in this case study?

This case study is about the problems that Kurlon Ltd is facing as their sales have hit a plateau.
We see that Kurlon has a very impressive growth trajectory. From table 2 we can see that Profit
before tax has increased by almost 4 times and they have managed to reduce the cost of sales
promotion, advertising and other expenses. Mr. Shivram Bhat is looking at dropping sales and he and
his team needs to figure out what was the reason behind this and what they needed to do to solve
this problem.

Some of the key issues presented in this case study is that –

 Kurlon’s sales have been falling, market share has been declining and revenues have been
stagnating and there appears to be a disconnect or some kind of a mismatch between the
needs of different consumer segments and their product offerings.
 While Kurlon’s brand recall is high, we can see from the case that brand name is the fourth
item in influencing purchase decision. From table 12 we see Kurlon has a score of 90 in the
top of the mind brand recall but scores much lesser in brand loyalty and perceived quality
especially in the fit and finish parameter. This shows that even though people are aware of
Kurlon, the end up purchasing other brands which means there is a gap between recall and
actual purchase behavior.
 Kurlon’s major weaknesses now seem to be a higher price point, variety of options to choose
from which are not clearly differentiated which makes it too confusing for consumers, lower
promotions and dealer margins compared to competitors.

Q2. Evaluate and comment on the competitive brand positioning of Kurlon vis-à-vis its competitors.

 Kurlon positioning strategy involved a statement - Pure sleep, nothing else. The reason for
the change to this strategy was that the earlier positioning had become very stale and that a
more dynamic, appealing, and unique statement was required. The strategy, hence, was to
project sleep as something very basic and sublime as well as highlight the importance of
pure undisturbed sleep by using Kurlon mattress. However, it seems like Kurlon should also
start highlighting a value for money theme with its positioning statement. We also see from
the perceptual map that Restoflex and Duroflex are rated more in being consistent with the
value for money theme. Thus our evaluation of Kurlon’s brand positioning will be that it is
good but it can be made better by highlighting the value proposition along with improving
with their lacking fit and finish and highlighting it along with the comfort aspect.

 The other established brands like Duroflex, Starlite, Centuary, and Aaram, followed a very
aggressive advertising policy concentrating intensely on their regional markets.

Q3. Analyze and interpret the consumer-based brand equity scores for Kurlon and its competitors.

Below is the brand wise brand equity analysis of Kurlon and its competitors brand wise:

 Kurlon is generally purchased as an expensive brand but scores the highest marks on top of
the mind brand recall. Kurlon scores very high on durability and reliability. Also it has high
scores on loyalty variables like switching costs, liking and satisfaction but we see from the
case that there has been a disconnect and this is not being converted into purchase.
  Restoflex has the lowest brand equity among all and has mostly sub-par scores among all
variables. However, it still scores more than Kurlon in fit and finish.
 Starlite has decently high brand recall and liking and it scores an average of 70 in perceived
quality. It is a tough competitor to Kurlon as it has better quality. However, brand awareness
is lacking and loyalty is on the lower side.
 Aaram has good recall and decent liking. Performance is lacking with an average score of
60.
 Centuary has almost similar scores to Aaram. However, it is worth noting that their fit and
finish scores are higher than Kurlon.
 Duroflex is the competitor that comes the closest to Kurlon in the brand equity scores
lagging behind only in top of the mind recall. Its perceived quality is much higher than
Kurlon.

Q4. Do you feel that the new positioning statement “Pure sleep, nothing else” will work for Kurlon?
If yes, why? If not, suggest new positioning approach for Kurl-on

 Yes, it will work for the most part but we would recommend few additions.

 Kurlon was positioned on the platform of 'Comfort for good sleep'. The product is promoted
using the statement " Pure Sleep, Nothing Else”. The product category is such that there is
limited scope of differentiation.

 The strategy to project sleep as something very basic and sublime is very apt. It actually
highlights the importance of pure undisturbed sleep. It shows the impact of good sleep on
the body.

 Most of the players focus on Good Sleep and Back Support for their promotions. Duraflex is
a brand that is trying to put emotion into the campaigns by positioning their mattress as one
that can kindle romance in you. But Kurlon is also doing the same with its emotional
wedding gift Ad campaigns.

 Product like mattress are not an impulse product. They are bought on special occasions like
marriage and on new housewarming. The emotional component can help only to an extend
in the marketing of the product. This Is because what matters is the end use of the product
that is to provide good sleep. And this is what the company is trying to communicate
through its statement.

 So it can be concluded that the new positioning works awesome. However, the durability
and value for money aspects need to be added to the slogans.

Q5. Based on the case facts, what marketing actions would you suggest for Kurlon?

We see that Kurlon has 5 variants namely Apsara, Super Deluxe, Romantique, Klassic and
Ortho. We can ascertain that consumers can broadly be divided into four segments. They would be
the people for whom price is the deciding factor, the ones who seek comfort and premium looks
above all else, the ones who seek a value for money product having a good balance of comfort at a
fair price and the people with orthopedic and back problems. Based on the above and certain
analysis some marketing actions that we would suggest for Kurlon are:

 Kurlon should align their offerings with consumer preferences. Having too many product
offerings which are not differentiated and communicated properly can confuse the
consumers. Their Apsara line is perfect for the price sensitive segment, however they need
to reduce the prices, they can keep the prices higher than Bedsy though and this product
should be advertised in local home décor magazines and tv channels. Also since this is their
highest selling segment they can employ salesmen at retail stores for pushing this product.
For the comfort seeking segment their offering Klassic is best suited and we suggest giving
dealers good incentives to push this along with advertising it on premium magazines and
through ads on lifestyle television. For the value for money segment they need to have only
one product. The super deluxe and Romantique offerings create confusion here. For the
people with medical problems like back, joint pain they have the ortho line which they can
promote by linking up with doctors and specialists and through ads on health magazines.
 They can try to have a low cost strategy, reduce production costs through economies of
scale. Also add value proposition to their “pure sleep” positioning strategy.
 The fit and finish score is very less for Kurlon which needs to be taken care of as this goes a
long way in building consumer perception and influencing buying behavior.
 They should tie up with big online retailers and build a strong online presence. With the
young generation being very active online this would be a very potent wat to attract their
attention especially to their bestselling Apsara brand and their premium Klassic brand.