A Comprehensive Analysis of Top Indian Cosmetic

Company : LAKME
Meghana Salins1, Sujaya H.1 & P. S. Aithal2
1
Research Scholar, College of Management & Commerce,Srinivas University,
Mangalore, India
2
College of Management & Commerce, Srinivas University, Mangalore, India
E-mail: meghana.salins95@gmail.com
November 2019
ABSTRACT
Lakme is one of the leading cosmetic brands with headquarters in Mumbai, India, owned
presently by Unilever. The idea of establishing Lakme in the year 1952 surged into existence
because Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru came to know that Indian women were splurging on
imported cosmetics and spending precious foreign exchange on beauty products. In this case,
he requested JRD Tata to start the beauty sector in India. Lakme then became a100% affiliate
of Tata Oil Mills (TOMCO), a part of the TATA group. Later it became a unique company as
it goes by its tagline ‘Lakme Reinvent’ after it has been acquired by Hindustan Unilever, ‘On
Top of the World’ which now continuously innovates and offers a wide variety of cosmetics
of the world class, skincare product, and beauty salons to the customers around the world. This
article illustrates different elements of the organization, its company sections, marketing
strategies, corporate structure, management, and structure operations while providing beauty
and wellness services. The secondary data were obtained from various scholarly journals,
websites, and books. We have analysed financial performance, corporate social responsibilities
of the company and examined their strategies using the SWOC framework as a research case
study.
Keywords: Lakme Reinvent, Marketing Strategies, SWOC Framework, Corporate Social
Responsibility.
1. INTRODUCTION :
The beauty industry with its enormous potential is also an essential component of all nation's economy.
In the middle ages, the use of cosmetics became prominent among men and women in the upper class.
Cosmetic products were often applied to all preparations that are used externally to clean, texture, soften
or protect the skin, hair, nails, lips or eyes to condition, and embellish the body [2]. The US Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) define cosmetics as "materials designed to be applied to the human body
for cleaning, embellishing, encouraging appeal or changing the appearance without influencing the
structure or functions of the body" [3]. Indian cosmetics sector is one of the most lucrative and stable
industries in the country. Indian brands growth possibilities are enormous. In recent years, the
inclination of males and females towards beauty has driven the development of the Indian cosmetic
industry [4]. The Indian cosmetic market has traditionally withheld a stronghold of few significant
Indian players such as Lakme, which has seen many foreign entrants to the Indian market over the past
decade [5].

In the early 1950s, when India gained liberty, the economy was not in a healthy state. The women in
India spent precious foreign exchange on Western cosmetics and due to non-availability on the Indian
market, they had no access to quality makeup. A brand identity that appealed to both groups of females
was the greatest challenge. Lakshmi lipstick or Lakshmi kajal would never have worked with the Indian
women who used to buy cosmetics from abroad. Former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru suggested
that a cosmetic brand should be established on the Indian platform as more females were discovered to
spend extra money on expensive beauty brands from overseas. So, he approached JRD Tata to find a
solution. Tata, settled on Lakmé, took the title from Leo’ Delibes' French opera, which is said to be a
French version of Goddess Lakshmi, referring 'The Goddess of wealth ' eminent for the elegance of her.

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This was the first time an Indian cosmetic firm was established. Extensive market research was brought
out to determine the requirements of Indian skin and colour. Experts from every sector were recruited.
Lakmé began as a 100% subsidiary of Mumbai-based Tata Oil Mills in 1952. Simone Tata, Naval H.
Tata's French wife joined in 1961 as managing director and rose to chair in 1982. As a Western-born
lady who had made India her home, she grasped the brand's key formula and played a key role in shaping
Lakmé into the family crest. In 1989 she was appointed to the Tata Industries board. In 1996, following
the rapid evolution in the retail industry, Tata sold Lakmé for 200 crores to Hindustan Unilever. They
thought it would be possible for a dedicated FMCG products to do better brand justice [6-7].

Today, Lakme has grown to have a wide range of products and services covering all aspects of beauty
care and delivering products from head to toe for the customer to pamper. These include products for
the hair, teeth, ears, face and body, and facilities like beauty salons in Lakme [8]. The company has
over 400 Lakmé Salons at top places in more than 125 towns and cities. Lakmé Salons are devoted to
the natural selection and exploration of the contemporary Indian female. Lakmé Salons provide a wealth
of beauty and grooming facilities that are proud to meet global norms. Its range of professional beauty
specialists and hair stylists is highly sought after by modern Indian females who seek to discover
beauty's fine art to the fullest and only the best. Known for creativity with amazing hair and make-up
methods and great skin care services, Lakmé Salons introduces Lakmé Fashion Week's backstage
knowledge and experience to the contemporary Indian female. At Lakmé, professionally qualified hair
and make-up experts with endless displays under their belt and extraordinary skin facilities come
together to offer an unforgettable experience of 360 degrees. In the name of Lakmé Absolute Salon, the
epitome of absolute luxury and exclusiveness was launched by it. The salon offers custom-made
services that define the ultimate hair and beauty facets. The 3 cities Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai
currently have this state-of-the-art salon. In Metro towns, Lakmé Lever is also expanding its smaller
format branded as Lakmé FastnFab, targeting high-traffic areas like High Street Malls, etc. A part of
the Lakmé FastnFab service portfolio is composed of handpicked services from the Lakmé Salon menu
[9].

With over 35 years of experience and a footprint of over 400+ Lakmé Salons in 125 towns across the
nation, we have created a deep knowledge of the beauty sector, its experts and the abilities required to
make a mark at Lakmé Salon. Over 280 entrepreneurs have partnered as franchisees with Lakmé Lever
to own and run Lakmé Salons nationwide. In 2012, the company introduced Lakmé Absolute salon,
offering tailor-made products that describe hair and beauty's ultimate facets. In the three towns of Delhi,
Bengaluru and Mumbai, the state-of-the-art salon is presently existing. In 2015, Lakmé Lever
formalized a strategic partnership with Aptech – a worldwide vocational training leader setting up over
five years of 80 Lakmé Beauty Academies to train 50,000 stylists throughout India. Lakmé Academy,
driven by Aptech, provides both basis and sophisticated skin, hair and make-up training [10]. Lakme
has become india's first major beauty brand and has been proud to be the expert
of Indian Beauty for over 50 years. It is a beauty brand that covers makeup colour, skin care and hair
styling and expands beauty services through the network of Lakme Beauty Salons. The Lakme Fashion
Week is a two-year fashion event which reflects its bond with beauty and fashion taking place in
Mumbai. Its Summer-Resort show takes place in April, while the Winter-Festive show is now the largest
fashion event of its kind in the country in August. Lakme has a footprint of more than 1200 aided sales
stores, the biggest range of stores in the nation with 3 Beauty Advisors [11]. In this paper, we have
analysed the financial performance, corporate social responsibilities of the company and examined their
strategies using the SWOC framework as a research case study [19], [26-27].
2. RELATED WORK :
Lakme became India's first significant beauty brand in 1952. It has taken over 50 years to be the Indian
Beauty expert. Lakme is moving very quickly to attain its company goals and ambitions. Lakme uses
the knowledge and takes into account the present trend in the cosmetic globe to drive the cosmetic
sector to a better future. The associated works of cosmetics under multiple subjects were conducted by
many researchers while going through the literature from other associated works. Some of the scholarly
papers published in cosmetic industry are listed in the table 1 with area of study, focus of the research
along with the references.

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Table 1: Related publications on cosmetics industry by different researchers
S. No Area of study Focus Reference
1 Chemistry Natural Cosmetics Qiushi Chen (2009). [12]
2 Consumer Marketing Impact of Personal Variables, Souiden et al. (2009). [13]
Sociocultural Variables and
Marketing Variables

3 Marketing and Logistics Impact of Traditional and Koubaa et al. (2011). [14]
Cultural Values. Attitude
toward Skin Beauty. Usage of
Cosmetics for Fairness
4 Environment and Personal values and Neuman, J. (1986). [15]
Behaviour commitment to energy
conservation
5 Resources Green Consumer Behavior in Nora Amberg et al. (2019).
the Cosmetics Market [16]
6 Analytical Chemistry Analysis of Cosmetic Alberto Chisvert et al.
Products (2007). [17]

7 Quality control and Cosmetics and Beauty Heyam Ali (2018). [18]
assurance Products Review
Comprehension

3. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

This study is focussed and limited to comphrehensive analysis of top Indian Cosmetic Company:
Lakme.The main objectives are:
 To explore the business strategy of the company.
 To identify the competitors, products and services offered by Lakme.
 To investigate the financial status of the company.
 To determine the marketing mix of the company.
 To analyse corporate social responsibility of the company during the last few years.
 To suggest some new strategies to be incorporated to enhance customer satisfaction.
4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:
Based on the secondary data, this case study is developed and published sources are taken into account
for data collection. This article describes Lakme Company’s marketing strategies and development
agenda. Using the information collected from journal articles, newspapers, and business websites
including the website of Lakme Company, detailed evaluations are presented.
5. BUSINESS STRATEGY:
Business strategies are aimed at creating value for clients and taking advantage of competitiveness by
exploiting core competencies in particular product or service markets. A company's core competency
must be taken care of and attempted to meet customer requirements in order to achieve excellent yields.
This is achieved through strategies at the business level. The Business strategy is concerned with the
situation of a company in sector with respect to rivals and the various competitive forces. Knowing the
customers is very crucial in order to obtain and maintain a competitive advantage [19].

5.1 PRODUCTION STRATEGY:

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In the organized makeup industry, Lakme continues the dominant player. With cosmetics being used in
India and more women move to work in urban areas, specialists are saying there is increasing pressure
to come up with the chic product. With a range of products and fresh additions, the firm has reacted to
numerous difficulties and seeks to reinforce its strategy within the manufacturing department. The
packaging has also been refurbished and segmented to make working women exciting. The one size fits
all strategy will not work in which Lakme has to formulate separate sections and place their products
for the masses of people and classes accordingly. Under which output is classified as segmentation of
demographic, demographics and psychographic.
1. Demographic: Lakme targeted women from the age group 24-42 in this section and are now
targeting young women.
2. Geographic: It focuses primarily on the production of urban products.
3. Psychographic: Lakme has almost targeted all of India and produces goods based on distinct
segmentation kinds because Indian females generally do not have a fair skin like the Western
counterparts. The Indian economy’s globalization and liberalization and altering demographics, the
business is high on producing products for the Indian economy's growth.

5.2 MARKETING STRATEGIES :

The internal industrial analysis can be carried out using various analytical methods, including SWOC
Analysis [19], PEST analysis [22], ABCD analysis [21-22] etc. Generally qualitative in nature, these
analysis techniques are used to identify market issues, market status, product/service demands, and
other facts related to the sector / organization / problem being considered. The SWOC analysis in this
report reveals the internal state of the industry. Lakme has an extraordinary marketing strategy in order
to attract the customers all over the world. The marketing strategy enforces the marketing mix of Lakme
which analyses the brand and company that covers 4Ps (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) of marketing
mix [23-25].
1. Product: Lakme focus on how to design, develop and manufacture its products in an attractive way
to satisfy the particular needs of society at large. The product range that Lakme Skin has to introduce
are Sunscreen Lotion, Lakme Matte Effect Purifying Face Wash, Lakme intense body milk, Lakme
Pure Defence detoxifying facial wash. Also, Lakme has a wide range of colour cosmetics products
that offer visible results to this vast range to glam up the look.
2. Price: This is the second component of the marketing mix and the company can determine it based
on different economic factors and production and marketing costs. Price is what customers actually
pay in the marketing mix for the product. Lakme has fairly priced its products to Indian customers
in the country. Indian females are price conscious and want value for money and also spend wisely.
They avoid experimenting and therefore take into account the above. Lakme always ensures that it
delivers right product at the highest quality at the lowest possible price, leaving its rivals behind.
3. Place: Customers always prefers to buy the required product from the nearest place where it is
located. It is believed that Place in marketing mix is viewed as distribution channel and cover
physical store as well as internet virtual store. Lakme promoted two categories of distribution
channels. They are :
 Prestige-Department stores, which include specialty stores and chain department stores.
 Broad-Food stores, which include cosmetic discounter, warehouse clubs, and mass
merchandisers.
Lakme has realized that it has to promote a product range that addresses the beautification needs of
not only adult women, but also teenagers in today's context. It has someone's product personality
that takes care of customers and their need for beauty.
4. Promotion: The fourth element of the marketing mix includes the way marketers communicate to
express brand message in a market place. There are different methods of promoting product through
word of mouth, sampling, advertising, and point of purchase.
6. PEST ANALYSIS :
PEST analyzes have always been part of the external macro-environment in which the company
operates in terms of the following factors:
6.1 Political Factors:

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 a) Tax Pressure: Lakme Company must bear a 30 percent tax rate, which is the highest among
all the tax rates, as a corporate tax rate. This reduces the company's profits.
b) Environmental Regulations: The green business norms of the government enforce the
company to convert 30% of land in its possession into green land to make the environment eco-
friendly. Even though it is an important contribution to maintain clean environment, the
company incurring extra cost.
c) Tariff and Trade Restrictions: Lakme Company has to bear the expenditure for paying the
state tax for crossing borders (before implementation of GST) for the purchase of raw material
and the delivery of finished product.
6.2 Economic Factors:
a) Inflation Rate: During the inflationary period of year 2013, the company was adversely
affected by the purchase of raw materials, machinery, etc. at a higher price.
b) Interest Rates: The Company pays interest rate of 12% on its corporate loans.
6.3 Social Factors:
a) Health Concern: Keeping the safety of the customers and corporate social responsibility in
mind the company has used the quality and safe chemicals that are not harmful for the skin
even though they are a bit costly than the other chemicals.
b) Environment Norms: Keeping the environment norms in mind, the company has converted
30% of its land into the green area and also used eco-friendly paper for the purpose of
packaging.
c) Emphasis on Safety: The company has emphasized on employee safety and has offered
employees insurance policy of Rs.1 crore with an annual premium of Rs.50,000/-
6.4 Technological Factors:
a) Research and Development: In the coming years, the company has a plan to spend a
considerable amount on consumer research and development of its green product range as the
company has the advantage of being a leader over introducing such products on the Indian
market and to ensure its brand will be easily copied by the competitors. In order to maintain a
tight hold on the market, Lakme has decided to continue investing to research and development
activities.
b) Technology’s Effect on firms offering: The increase in the Research and Development cost
will affect the firms offering as product costs will rise as R&D costs increase.
7. SWOC ANALYSIS :
Lakme's SWOT analysis identifies its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and challenges [19]. The
strengths and weaknesses in Lakme SWOT Analysis are the internal constructs, whereas the external
constructs are the opportunities and challenges. SWOT Analysis is a demonstrated framework that
allows a brand like Lakme to benchmark their company to compete against rivals in its industry. Lakme
is one of the FMCG sector's leading products manufacturer. Table 3 lists Lakme strengths, weakness,
opportunities, and challenges.

Table 3: The SWOC Analysis of Cosmetic product Lakme

Constructs Features
Strengths of cosmetic products  Local brand of particular Indian relevance
of Lakme  Strong capacity for R&D, well connected to company.
 Integrated supply chain and well distributed production
units.
 Cost savings potential.
 Access to the global technology resources of Unilever
and discuss best practices with others
Weakness of cosmetic products  The price of Lakme product is very high for Indian
of Lakme customers.
 The range of quality of its products varies.
 Dropping lame salon quality.

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 Opportunities for cosmetic  Brand growth by increasing usage depth and frequency
products of Lakme across all categories.
 Improving customers to fresh levels of quality and
efficiency through innovation.
 Brand image building through collaboration with top
Lakme fashion designers.
Challenges for cosmetic  Aggressive local and multi-national cut-throat
products of Lakme competition.
 Falsified perception products in rural and small town
limits.
 Long-term non-existence of brand image.

8. COMPETITORS OF LAKME COMPANY:

Lakme, which produces, markets and sells beauty and cosmetic products around the globe, and is India's
number one selling brand [28]. In the beauty care industry, there are a large sum of Lakme rivals
competing among themselves to boost their profitability. Table 4 shows the lists of the competitors of
Lakme on the basis of top performed companies, year established, founded and annual turnover [28-
29].

Table 4: List of Top Performed Companies in 2018

S. No Name of the Company Established on Founder Annual
Turnover
1. Lakme 1952 Simone Tata J.R.D Tata $49.9 M
(owned by Unilever)
2. Lotus 1993 Kamal Passi $1.7 M

3. Biotique 1984 Vinita Jain $ 3.3 M

4. L’Oreal 1909 Jean-Paul Agon $31.1 B
5. Shahnaz Husain 1970 Shahnaz Husain $37.7 M
6. Revlon India 1995 Charles Revson, Charles $2.5 B
Larchman, Joseph Revson

7. Maybelline 1915 Thomas Lyle Williams $95 M

8. Himalaya 1930 M. Manal $25 B

9. Color Bar 2004 Samir Modi $2.5 M

10. Elle 18 1998 Owned by Unilever $14.4 M

9. THE MAJOR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED BY LAKME AND ITS

COMPETITORS:
Among the many businesses in the same sector, 10 firms are regarded as significant rivals who provide
their customers with comparable products and services. These companies are listed as the top 10
Cosmetic companies during 2018. The major products and services provided by Lakme and its
competitors in same industry is depicted in Table 5 [30].
Table 5: Products and services offered by Lakme and its competitors

S. No Company Industry Products and services

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 Lakme
1. Personal Care Face, Body, Hair, Nail and services
through Lakme Beauty Salons, online
services.
Lotus
2. Herbal and Ayurvedic Face care, sun care, white glow, anti-aging,
bath and body care, hair care, lip care,
facial kit, eye care, baby care.
Biotique
3. Personal Care Men and women Ayurvedic skin products
L’Oreal
4. Personal Care Colouring products, hair care makeup and
skincare products.
Shahnaz Husain
5. Herbal and Ayurvedic Herbal products and Ayurvedic treatment.
Revlon India
6. Personal care Makeup Cosmetics, Hair colour, Nails and
Beauty tools and service though online
Revlon Professional services.
Maybelline
7. Cosmetics Makeup, Eyebrows, lip, nailcare products,
online sales.
Himalaya
8. Health care products Pharmaceuticals, personal care, baby care,
well-being, nutrition and animal
health products.
Color Bar
9. Cosmetics Beauty and skin care products, online
services.
Elle 18
10 Health and Beauty Cosmetics and online services.

10. FINANCIAL STATUS:

The summary of the financial status of the Lakme Company for the financial year ending on March 31,
2018. Actual numbers and more financial data are included in the purchased financial report, updated
until March 31, 2019* (Table 6).
Table 6: Financial status for the financial year ending March 31, 2018
Operating Revenue INR 100 cr – 500 cr
EBITDA 0.32%

Net worth 12.75%

Debt/Equity Ratio 0.43
Return on Equity 11.31%
Total assets 0.64%
Fixed assets -4.00%
Current assets -25.01%
Current liabilities 59.55%
Trade Receivables -41.48%

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 Trade Payables 40.24%
Current ratio 0.25
* Reported as approved financials of the company for 31 March, 2019.
11. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY :
Lakme believes in certain values &principles that stimulate the Lakme CSR policy where Lakme is
committed to undertake its activities with regard to integrity in the interests of its stakeholders and in
line with its Business Principle Code. Lakme thinks that growth and environmental sustainability need
not have conflict. The business model of Lakme is intended to produce sustainable growth. The model's
inputs are its operations. The model's outputs are sustained development, reduced environmental and
social adverse effect. USLP (Unilever Sustainable Living Plan) is the differentiator in their business
model and the objective of sustainable living. Lakme is working with and engaging with various
stakeholders including NGOs, IGOs, Governments, Farmers, and Distributors to address the various
challenges faced by society.

Pursuant to Section 135(5) of the Companies Act, 2013, HUL (Hindustan Unilever Limited) is
committed to spend at least 2 percent of its average net profits made during the financial year on some
of the identified assets listed in Schedule VII (as amended) to the Act. This will include expenditure
through operations conducted by the Hindustan Unilever Foundation (HUF), the non-profit subsidiary
of Lakme, and also aimed at constructing water conservation capacity and further community
development projects. Lakme's various CSR initiatives are the following:
(1) Project Shakti: This is a programme used to enrich rural females financially and generate
possibilities in order to support their livelihood. In this project, Lakme is striving to improve the
livelihood of rural people especially women. Approximately 70% of Shakti Ammas work in districts
with a small Human Development Index (HDI < 0.51). They appoint and contact rural females as Shakti
Entrepreneurs (SE), frequently known to be called as 'Shakti Ammas’. The rural promoter is provided
training about the Company's products/services and their usefulness in everyday life in the maintenance
of health and hygiene. After training, she receives goods from the rural distributor at a discounted price
at which the products are sold in the normal course. Then she sells these products to customers directly
(through home to home selling) as well as to village distributors. The Company would provide the
training throughout the villages to thousands of Shakti Ammas in an effort to create an entrepreneurial
mindset and make them financially independent and empowered.
(2) Sustainable Sourcing: Major proportion of raw materials come from agriculture and such
procurement choices can have a profound impact on climate change and farmers' livelihoods. In 2012,
Lakme entered into a public-private partnership with the Maharashtra Government for local sustainable
tomato sourcing. In 2013, the Maharashtra Government recorded over 1,600 farmers growing tomatoes
on over 2,000 acres of land for this project.
(3) Safe Consumption of Water: Lack of clean drinking is a major public health problem, especially
in developing countries where the majority of waterborne diseases occur. To make secure drinking
water available to individuals, Lakme partners with NGOs throughout the nation.
(4) Fair and Lovely Foundation (FAL): The initiative recognizes exceptional young women with
financially challenged backgrounds and offers scholarships to applicants. The choice is made by a panel
of eminent personalities from various areas to preserve integrity and fairness.
(5) Sanjivani: The Hindustan Unilever Limited organizes a free mobile medical camp in Sanjivani near
Doom Dooma Factory in Assam. The goal is to provide free mobile medical facilities in Assam's indoor
villages. The goal in Assam's indoor villages is to provide free mobile medical facilities. The plan
consists of two mobile vehicles, each with a male and a female physician, two nurses, a medical assistant
(helper) and an operator. Since its founding in 2003, the Sanjivani team has given medical help to almost
2.5 lakh patients, covering more than four thousand camps until July 2013.

(6) Prabhat: 'Prabhat Dawn' is a system based that focuses on communities around factories. Health &
Hygiene, building livelihoods, and water conservation are the areas of practice. The Water Conservation

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project is led by the Hindustan Unilever Foundation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HUL, which aims
to improve water safety in selected regions.
12. SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS :
Based on the above assessment, we propose further viable enhancement suggestions:
1. The distribution channel should be efficient to enhance the demand pattern of cosmetics. Lakme
vendors should see that their salesmen are well trained and should be inculcated if special training
is needed to market cosmetics. Customer’s complaints about salesmen's discourteous therapy must
be addressed instantly.
2. Improve online sales in Tier 1 and Tier 2 towns taking the customer’s time limit in the image and
to make consumers aware of all products other than flagship products such as lipsticks, foundations,
napkins and so on.
3. Lakme must introduce natural beauty product lines as individuals are increasingly inclined towards
herbal goods nowadays. As products should also concentrate on health-conscious individuals and
target them.
4. Cosmetic stores should decrease their advertising spending, particularly in urban regions, and focus
on online advertisements to reach new generation customers.
5. The masculine industry is also becoming aware nowadays so that the male beauty section can be a
focus zone.
6. Consumers have powerful brand loyalty to global brand cosmetics. Although customers have the
right to purchase a specific cosmetics brand, they must purchase their own country brand and
promote it because Lakme was the first Indian brand.
7. Developing new, effective, and durable cosmetics using the latest emerging technology like
nanotechnology give product differentiation advantage to create a monopoly at least for some time
to the company [31].
8. Proper study should be carried out based on new research to generate quality cosmetics, to
understand consumer behavior and to evaluate the brand loyalty that will definitely improve
cosmetics demand patterns covering all fields.
13. CONCLUSION :
A cosmetic is implemented primarily to change or enhance skin, hair, nails, lips, and eyes beauty. Each
appearance is subject to the appeal of cosmetics. So, from ancient times to contemporary times
cosmetics were used. It is used not only by women but also by men from cradle to grave it becomes
vital for human beings. A testimony to the significance of cosmetics is the development of beauty
industries in and around the globe. India's ever-increasing population significantly multiplies the use of
cosmetics. Lakme Company has in one manner or another occupied an important position in human
lives for Indians. Thus, the marketing of cosmetics becomes competitive. This paper was conducted to
analyze the company's strategy, rivals and results. If all the suggestions and findings of this study are
listened to and carried out, the analysis pattern of cosmetics will undoubtedly be beneficial not only in
India but also outside. With many players coming up with innovative products in the beauty care sector,
Lakme aimed to penetrate mainly untapped markets, and have a stand in the market and is continuing
to expand globally. The analysis, therefore, offered in-depth data on Lakme's business strategies and
how these strategies affected its general growth.
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Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3497696