Description
Discover the captivating journey of Nirma Washing Powder in this intriguing tale of triumph and tragedy. From humble beginnings to a household name, delve into ‘The Rise & Fall of Nirma’ as we uncover the remarkable story of its founder, Karsanbhai Patel. Learn how Nirma soared to unprecedented success, challenging giants and conquering markets, only to face its downfall in the end.
Explore the strategies that propelled Nirma to the top, how it crushed competitors along the way, and the critical missteps that led to its ultimate demise. Join us as we dissect ‘How Nirma KILLED Its Competitors but Failed in Last’ and unravel the question that lingers: ‘Why Nirma Failed.’ Don’t miss this gripping saga of ambition, rivalry, and the harsh realities of the business world.
Success Story
Friends, whether you use Nirma today or not, I hope that you will definitely remember this ad that you saw in your childhood. This is the same Nirma which used to be the king of the detergent market in our childhood. But what mistake happened that its market share dropped from sixty percent to only 6%. But wait, if you think that Nirma has disappeared from the market then it is your misconception. Because Nirma’s founder Karsanbhai Patel is still one of the richest people in India. But how will they know everything in today’s Blog? And yes, don’t miss the interesting story of Nirma Girl.
So friends, this story starts from 1945 when Karsanbhai Patel was born in Patan, Gujarat. His father Khodi Das Patel was a poor farmer but despite poverty and financial constraints, he did not compromise with Karsanbhai’s education and got him a B.Sc. in Chemistry. Khodi Das hoped that his son would get an education and get a good job and this was the only way his family could get out of poverty. But Karsan Bhai was dreaming of becoming a businessman but due to his father’s wish, after completing his B.Sc. at the age of 21, he started working as a lab assistant in a laboratory.
And then after this he started working in the cotton mills of Lalbhai Group of Ahmedabad. Then came 1969 when he got a government job as a chemist in the Department of Mining and Geology of Gujarat Government and due to this job, there started to be a slight change in the financial condition of the family. But friends, 1969 was a time when the entire country was going through a financial crisis. And at that time people were struggling even to get two meals a day. In those times of poverty and scarcity, something like washing powder was considered a luxury item, because most of the population could not afford it.
In such a situation, salt, soda or ash was used to wash clothes. When Karsanbhai Patel saw this, he thought of making a problem solving product using his knowledge as a chemist, which was a cheap and effective washing powder. To turn his idea into reality, he used to work throughout the day at his job and then in the evening experiment with making washing powder. Meanwhile, one day when his daughter Nirupama was returning home from school, a car hit her hard and in this accident Nirupama died on the spot.
Nirupama was Karsanbhai Patel’s most beloved daughter, hence her death had a deep impact on him. Now it was Karsanbhai Patel’s love that he decided to immortalize his daughter’s name forever. He promised himself that he would make his daughter’s name so popular that it would be remembered not only in the country but also in foreign countries. With this thought in mind, he increased the production of his washing powder. In which the experiment failed many times and then failed again and in this way, after continuous efforts, one day he finally found the formula which had brought a revolution in the Indian market.
Actually Karsan Bhai Patel did such a thing Made washing powder which was phosphate free and because of this it was not only great for the environment but was also completely safe for hands. This washing powder was named Nirma. Because Karsan Bhai used to lovingly call his daughter Nirupama as Nirma. Besides, he had also placed a picture of a little girl on the detergent packet, which was symbolic of Nirupama. Now friends, the product was ready but the problem was how to sell it. For this, Karsanbhai Patel met many retailers and tried to convince them to sell his product but no one took him seriously.
After this, Karsanbhai Patel was left with two options: either he should throw away his product and be happy back in his government job or he himself should try to sell it by going door to door. Karsanbhai Patel chose the second option. However, he had no idea what people’s feedback would be regarding this product. Whether anyone will buy it or not. But still he thought of giving it a try and packed a few packets of Nirma on his bicycle before leaving for office in the morning. He started introducing his product in every house on the way to his office.
Now initially he did not get much success, but when people used his detergent, they started considering it a life changing product compared to the ash or cakes available at that time. After which he also started telling the people of his neighborhood about it. Started telling about it and due to such word of mouth advertising, Nirma’s sales gradually started increasing. The reason for this success was not only the better quality of the detergent but its low price also attracted people’s attention.
Because at that time, Hindustan Lever, now known as Hindustan Unilever, was dominating the surf market, the price of one kg of which was ₹ 13 and it was not within the power of the poor to buy it. That is why Karsanbhai Patel kept the price of his detergent at only ₹ 3 per kg. So that everyone can easily afford it. When such an amazing product started becoming available at such a cheap price, then people started purchasing it. But friends, price and quality were not the only factors behind its popularity, but the trust that Karsanbhai Patel had given to its customers was also an important reason.
In fact, they had given a guarantee that if their detergent fails to clean the clothes then they will refund the full amount of the customers. This guarantee started creating confidence in the minds of people and within no time Nirma started being used in every household. Now Karsanbhai Patel got a lot of profit from this and then he invested that money back in his own business. But friends, Karsanbhai Patel was not very happy with this progress because he did not have to be limited to these small streets.
But his friends were far away from him because at this time he was also doing a job. as well as washing powder He was managing everything from manufacturing to packaging, distribution and marketing single-handedly. He was so engrossed in all these things that he was neither able to do a proper job nor business. That’s why he thought that now he will focus on only one work. For which, after three years i.e. in 1972, Karsanbhai resigned from his high paying government job and then set up a small factory near Ahmedabad and started doing production and distribution work with the help of some employees.
And in this way, Karsan Bhai’s hard work paid off so much that by 1988, Nirma had become a big name in the market. But the question is, how did this miracle happen in such a short time? So actually, in order to sell his products in remote areas from the city, Karsanbhai Patel thought of doing radio advertisement of Nirma. For which in 1975 he collaborated with Purnima Advertising Agency. And friends, the company’s most popular jingle came from here. Everyone’s favorite was Nirma, which was liked so much that it was used in ads for the next 33 years.
Due to this radio ad, Nirma started getting recognition outside Gujarat also. But despite this, she could not shine much in front of the popularity of surf. Here, shopkeepers were also worried that if they picked up Nirma’s stock, it might remain unsold in the shop. Because Surf had created its own presence in the market. Whereas very few people knew about Nirma. That’s why the shopkeepers never made full payment for the goods to Nirma.
Due to which the company started incurring huge losses. In 1982, Karsanbhai Patel started feeling that he would go bankrupt and then in this situation, he started thinking what should he do so that the shopkeepers buy his product after making full payment. After a lot of thinking, he came up with a great idea and got 90 percent of Nirma’s stock available in the market back. After this, the company released its first TV ad of everyone’s favorite Nirma and by including characters like Hema, Rekha, Jai and Sushma in this ad, the company directly targeted the female audience.
Because of which this ad campaign was quite successful. People liked this commercial so much that from the very next day the crowd of people asking for Nirma started increasing at the shops. But every time he had to return disappointed, because there was no stock. Here the shopkeepers also got worried. After all, how can they stock Nirma as quickly as possible? This strategy of Karsanbhai Patel worked wonders.
Because due to the increasing demand of Nirma day by day, the same shopkeepers who were earlier reluctant to keep Nirma in their shops even after taking loan, started stocking them by giving advance payment. Due to this, the company got huge profit and along with the financial strength of Nirma, its popularity in the market also increased a lot. But friends, by the time Nirma was introduced in the low income market in 1969, Hindustan Unilever had created its monopoly in the premium market.
For this reason, senior executives of Hindustan Unilever refused to accept Nirma as their competitor. They believed that this low income market is not ours and we do not want to reach Nirma’s target audience. But when he soon saw the success of Nirma, he realized that this brand could become a big threat for him. Therefore, Hindustan Unilever thought that we cannot reduce the price of our product to Nirma but why not put it in the minds of people that not every cheap thing is good.
That is why Hindustan Unilever made an advertisement with the then famous TV actress Kavita Chaudhary who says that there is a difference between buying a cheap thing and buying a good thing. Through this ad, Hindustan Unilever wanted to tell that even though their Surf is costlier than Nirma, it is the best in the market. But friends, by that time a large number of people had become loyal customers of Nirma. In such a situation, such advertisements could not divert their mindset.
After the success in the detergent powder market, the company thought of increasing its product portfolio. After which in 1987 it also launched Nirma Detergent Cake. Which again was an excellent quality product at a cheap price. And friends, due to its excellent products, Nirma captured sixty percent market share by the year 1988. Nirma had truly become everyone’s favourite. When the panel conducted a survey in December 1998, it was found that compared to other detergents available in the market, Nirma detergent cake melts less in water and provides better stability.
Because of which it is a more effective and long lasting option for consumers. But friends, Nirma, which had 67% market share in 1988, had only 13% market share by 2015 and in 2019, it dropped to more than 6%. But now the question is, what happened to Nirma that he fell straight from the throne to the floor. So actually friends, when Hindustan Unilever saw that despite many efforts it was moving ahead of manufacturing, then in such a situation they made a plan to enter the low income market also.
After which in 1988, it introduced wheel detergent powder which was a direct competitor of Nirma because its price was also kept around the price of Nirma. Hindustan Unilever advertised Bill in such a way that people understand that Nirma is unsafe for their delicate hands while Well is a gentle product. In this way, Hindustan Unilever tried its best to attract customers and away from Nirma on the basis of low pricing and advertising.
But friends, at that time it was not only Hindustan Unilever’s Bill which was giving competition to Nirma, but a competitor had also entered the market which was becoming a threat to Bill too and the name of that competitor was Ghadi. Detergent. A year before the bill i.e. in 1987, ISPL launched the watch whose price was kept very low so that rural customers, middle class and lower middle class customers could also be targeted. And friends, the amazing thing is that Ghadi’s strategy was also same to Nirma’s.
Now when competition started increasing, Nirma along with focusing on its hero product started trying to add more successful items to its product portfolio. That is why in 1990, Nirman launched its own soap whose advertisement was done with the then famous actress Sonali Bendre and friends, like Nirma washing powder, its single beauty soap Nirma also became quite popular. Beauty Soap Nirma. Now friends, Nirma definitely benefited from all these strategies but along with this, launching cheap products proved to be harmful for the company in the long term.
After launching many different products at really cheap rates, an image of Nirma as a cheap brand started developing in the market. To get rid of this, Karsan Bhai thought of entering the premium segment as well and friends, Nirma introduced Super Nirma Washing Powder as its premium detergent powder and in just two years it started gaining hold in the premium market as well. Gave. After this, Nirma launched shampoo, toothpaste, table salt named Shuddh and many other such products.
But perhaps Hindustan Unilever had thought that no matter what Nirma does, it will be able to regain its lost market share. That is why, after continuous ad campaigns and various efforts, Whale finally achieved the number one position around the year 2000 by defeating Nirma. But friends, the reason for Nirma’s lagging behind was not only HUL’s ad campaign, but the consumers’ perception about Nirma had also changed and the company could not get as much popularity in the premium segment as it did in the budget segment.
That is why despite many efforts it could not remove the tag of being a decisive brand. Now, on one hand, the purchasing power of the people was increasing at that time; on top of that, many new brands had come into the market. In such a situation, why would anyone buy that old Nirma, which does not show anything special in the name of innovation. In fact, for a long time Nirma had neither changed its packaging nor made any effort to change the ad jingle. However, Nirma was also probably aware of the increasing competition in the market and the changing perception of customers.
That is why he started diversifying his business into different segments. In the year 1995, Karsanbhai Patel also thought of entering the field of education and established Nirma Institute of Technology in Ahmedabad. After this, in 2003, she also laid the foundation of Institute of Management and Nirma University of Science and Technology and friends, in order to diversify into other similar businesses, Nirma reduced the focus on her main business. Its competitors started getting full benefit of this.
But friends, the good thing is that despite the continuously falling market share, Nirma did not reduce the pace of its acquisitions. In 2007, Nirma purchased American raw material company Fearless Valley Minerals and after this acquisition, Nirma became one of the top seven soda ash manufacturers in the world.
After this, in 2014, Nirma Group also started cement manufacturing in Nimbola, Rajasthan and this company was named Nuvo Co Vista, which is managed by Karsanbhai’s two sons Rakesh and Hiren Bhai Patel and today Nuvo is India’s fifth largest cement manufacturing company. Largest cement maker. After this, in 2016, another name was added to Nirma Group of Lafarge India, which was the India unit of LafargeHolcim, the world’s largest cement company. Along with this, in the year 2020, Nirma Group had acquired Emami Cement for Rs 5500 crore.
Now if we look at it from one side, the company was performing very well in different sectors, but was withdrawing from its main business. Because by this time many other competitors like ITC, Unilever and Godrej had come into the market, it was perhaps no longer possible to regain their position by weighing them. That is why Nirma started working in different sectors to strengthen her business.
Today Nirma Group is working in many sectors apart from detergent and cement. But we can say that laying the foundation of such a big empire without any support was not an easy thing at all. Today Karsanbhai Patel is the 63rd richest man in India and according to Forbes, his total net worth is 435 billion dollars. Although Karsan Bhai is about to touch 80, due to his inner passion and determination to do something, he is ideal for today’s generation as well.
Anyway, see you again with the powerful explanation of the Success Story.
