Kurlon Ltd

Kurlon Ltd Deepok Agarwal Parikhito Kundu Ronjeeta Jha Ropesh Kumar

Company • Established in 1962 • Started as manufacturer of cushion seats and bare blocks • Factory is in Mysore and its marketing division is in Banglore • Launched rubberized coir mattress in 1965 under the brand name ‘Kurlon’ • Sales growth 1987-88 to 1988-89 47% 1991-92 to 1992-9329.88 1995-96 to 1996-19978.5 2000-01 to 2001-2002.003%

Consumer • • • • § §

Attributes Rank Softness 1st Thickness 2nd Price 3rd Brand 4th Reasons for buying Replacement of old mattresses (repeat purchase) 42.5% Addition to family 12.5%

Contd. § Marriage of offspring 25% § Health consciousness 15% § Other reasons 5%

Competitors • Most are regional players having strong presence in their regions • Have lower prices than Kurlon • Score more than Krulonon price, softness and thickness index • Give tempting schemes and high margins to dealers • Don’t have too many varieties of products, produce what sells the most

Market • Cotton mattress- 70 % • Rubberised coir mattress, PU foam mattress, spring mattress and others- 30% • Kurlon’s share of branded Rubberised coir mattress market- 30% • Regional players are very strong in their regions • More demand for PU foam

Segmentation and targeting • Economy seekers Ø Price is more important • Comfort seekers Ø Comfort is more important • Value seekers Ø Looks for additional attributes • Orthopaedic buyers

Suggestions • Divide the product portfolio into three segments- Premium products, economy products and orthopaedic products • Retain only the largest selling sub brands • Products should be of standard size • Provide better fit and finish • Introduce PU foam mattresses • Do some R & D • Increase dealer margin

Promotion & Pricing • Promote only two or three sub brands • Do away with coupons and slogan writing • Orthopaedic product line should be promoted to doctors also so that they can recommend it to their patients Pricing Should be according to the segment targeted

Conclusions • Keep doing marketing research at frequent intervals to know consumer preferences, find new emerging trend and spot new opportunities.

Thank you