Fairness Cream

C: Okay. Our units have been declining. This could be a result of either a fall in demand or problems on the supply side. Is there any one bucket you would like me to explore?

I: Yes, the demand for creams has gone down

C: Right. Demand is a function of Market Size x Market Share. Can you tell me if we have seen a fall in these?

I: Yes, both the market size and our market share has reduced.

C: Okay. So, it seems like the reduction in market size is responsible for industry wide profitability decline while we are facing further decline due to reduction in our market share. Is that a fair deduction?

I: Yes.

C: Okay. Would you like me to explore both of these reductions?

I: Yes, you can start with the market size.

C: Okay. I think that the market size could have declined because of the following reasons:

1. Govt regulations around skincare products

2. Natural or better substitutes

3. Change in tastes and preferences of consumers

4. Change in consumer demographic

Can you help me understand if any of these factors are at play or is there something I am missing?

I: No, these sound fair. We have seen that both our demographic has changed, and their tastes and preferences have. In terms of demographic, we have more younger consumers/ millennials now. Can you tell me why they are not demanding fairness creams?

C: Okay. I can say from personal experience that fairness creams peddle white skin as a standard of beauty and that discrimination on the basis of skin color is slowly being rejected by Indians. Is that what's happening here?

I: Yes, that's exactly the problem. Now we can look at why our market share is decreasing .

C: Sure. So, our market share can be a factor of the following:

Firstly, the need for fairness creams. But I am assuming that that has been addressed via the market size. Therefore, I will look at the following

1. Whether the consumers who purchasing are Aware of our product

2. If they are Aware, whether they can Access it

3. If they can Access it, whether they like what is on offer

4. If they can Afford what they like

Is this a fair way of going about the problem?

I: Yes, sure. We are seeing that new consumers, especially younger people, are not aware of our product.

C: Okay. Is there any particular reason so or would you like me to explore?

I: Yes, we aren't targeting younger consumers as much. Can you think why?

C: Right. I think it is because we still believe that the purchasing power rests with the parents or senior members of the family and we aren't considering younger members as decision makers. However, younger consumers, as we discussed, seem to be the primary consumers today.
Is that a fair hypothesis?

I: Yes, you have hit the nail on the head. We can close the case here. Thank you.