Fullofpraise:
marketingbosses
aresatlsfiedwittl
theDurexbrand
@GuardianNewsandMediaLimited 2009
Building loyalty is key tu
success in sclljng condoms,
becauscthisisnota business
wherebuyerstakelangtoad-
mirethepacbging,readthe
insrrucrionsordecideonthe
lowesr price. As analysrs at
DeutscheBank, whoregard
SS'-~asagoodinvest-
mem,reportedrecently:"Thc
averageconsumcrtakesjust
sc"ensecondscochoosea con-
dom, and many consumers
areconcemedaoomthequal-
iryoftheproducrbecauseof
the potemialseverirvofrhe
conscquencesoffailure." In
other words,a wcll-known
brand ehat fies bmdoesn't
splitis essential co success.
SSL's financedirccror, Mark
Moran, said: "Thctrickis
eosupnt; consisrencv. We
don'twantcheapknock.offs
mardon'tdothcjobproperly."
Wattsisnowwaitingtost:eifeheOr.Schollbrandin
rheUS,partofthehugeScheringgroup,becomesavail·
ableafterMerck'stakeovcrofScheringinMarchthis
year."Jfitdoescomefree,wewillhavea goodlook.But
itwilldependoneheprice.Witha rurnoycrof.€laamil-
lion,it wouldnotbetransformatjonal,butit wouldgivc
ustwoglobalbrands,insceadofoneanda half."
DeutscheBankbclievestherearerisksforSSL- such
asa strongerpound,condornsafcC)',andrheusualrrou-
bletharcomeswithaCQuisitions.But,irsa}'s:"'Uany-
thing,theproblemSSLfacesisrhatofhavingroomany
opporruniries...
Scholl andDurex, sayanalysrs, could move ioto
more pharrnaceuricalandlifestyle products- from
Qrthopaedicsandfootfa.~hionroeroticunderwearand
producinga widerrangeof"~",asweUastest-
ingfoesexuallytransmjucddjseases.
SSLisalreadyworkingonnewproductsto,among
otherthings,incre3selibidoaudstimulationasweilasto
improvepcople'smoods.Anotherproducrisanerecrion-
strengtheningcondom.Alsoplannedisadothingcol-
leecion. "YoucangetpcoplecowearaT-shirtwirh
Durexonie,"saidValle."Ir'sthargoodabrand." BI
[WWW)Prac!lsemarketingvocabulary.lodwatehlheDurexPlay
commeriealatwww.busineS5-spotiightdelvocabulary
I
(
OH YES '"
SSl
Burwhcrheririsfomeareoefruit-flavouredcandorns,
businessisbooming.InMay,SSL:mnouncedf642.4
milJioninpre-IaxvrQfitsforthe 12 mamhsto 31 March
- a 33 percemeisecomparedtotheycafheiore.Thc
firmsaidehatrisingdemandforirscandornsintheUK
audeasternEuropesawDurex.s..a.ksgrowby7.3per
centcof266.9million.
ThcSSLbrandsareavailablcin 130 countrics,bur 75
percentofsalescarnefromEuropeandthcgroupis
lookingforameeopporruniriestoexpand.RecenrJy,
SSLexercisedanoptioncoincreaseiesholdinginthe
RussiancandorncompanyBLBVrojusrover 50 per
cent.BLBVseilscondomsandmediealproducrsinRus-
sia.Belarus,Kazakhsran,theBalricstau'!'audRomania.
OtherdealsgaveSSLflllJownershipofa Ukrainecon-
dombusinessandrheCrcstcondornbrandinSwit7.er-
land.
"TheohviousholenowisKorea." saidW:nts,"and
wedon'thavernuchcandornbusinessinJapanorin
LatinArnerica.TheyaretOpofthelist."Pricesrobuy
otherfirms,hesaid,havcnowstanedtOcomedown,
"becauseIhereis no privateeQuilycomperjtionout
thereanymore".
Chinaisa hugemarket."Westartedtherea coupleof
yearsagn,~saysValle."Nowthemarketisthesizcof
eheUK."A newSSLcondomfacrnryrherewillbcable
toproduceonehillioncondornsa yearaea thirdofthe
costofproducingtheminEurope.
Profits
I /
I
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