Premium : Pleasure,Ecstasy ,Euphoria

Brand : Premium
Company : JK Helene Curtis

Agency : Impulse

Brand Analysis Count : 401

Premium is one of the most under utilized brand in the Indian personal care category. A brand which has been in existence for more than 40 years has not been able to make its mark in Indian market.

Premium is a brand owned by JK Helene Curtis which is a Raymond's group company. Despite from a group that owns iconic brands like Raymond's and Park Avenue, Premium failed to reach anywhere near its peers.

What usually comes to my mind about this brand is its Cologne. Premium Cologne is one of the very few affordable colognes in the Indian market. I was initially surprised at the price of this brand because I felt that Premium would cost more.

Premium brand is not a failed brand . Infact company claims that Premium is the market leader in room fresheners.

Premium is an umbrella brand that endorses various products like Talc, Shaving products,perfumes and Room fresheners. There are experts who argue that the unrelated extensions have created problems for the brand.

In a report in Business Line, another brand expert suggested that the brand name Premium has created positioning issues for the brand. The name has caused a perception that the product is priced higher which created a problem of Narrow Positioning.

But more than the brand name, Premium is languishing because of lack of marketing effort. The company has never cared to create a Brand DNA for Premium. There is no brand manthra, no core brand values or a brand persona. There is not even a tagline that gives the brand an identity. There is also no memorable brand campaigns.

I personally feels that the company is not able to fit the brand in its portfolio along with Park Avenue. Park Avenue has its own range of men's toiletries and Premium may be sidelined for making space for Park Avenue range.

Premium is really a sad story. The brand has a good name, a good company to back it and an opportunity in the market but there is no will from the brand owners to develop it.

Park Avenue : Play the Lead

Brand : Park Avenue
Company: Raymonds
Agency : Dentsu Marcom


Brand Analysis Count : 331

Park Avenue is one of the most respected textile brand in India. The brand which was launched in 1986 redefined the ready to wear segment in India.

Park Avenue is a lifestyle brand known for its quality formal wear. The brand is also an example of a brand which was built on print media.
Park Avenue and Raymonds comes from the same company. While Raymonds catered to an older mature executives , Park Avenue focused on younger crowd who are fashion conscious but also needs to wear ultra formal wears . This was visible in the nature of the communication. This brand is for those who look for classic formal wears.

Indian menswear market is estimated to be around Rs 37,000 crore ( businessline 2007) and of which 35 % constitutes the apparels.
Park Avenue built the brand around its distribution strength . The brand is sold through a strong dealer network consisting of multi brand outlets and exclusive outlets. .

Park Avenue built its brand around the print media while Raymonds is known for its television campaigns. Park Avenue is also a brand which understood the power of using foreign models for the ad campaigns. Indian consumers has a penchant for foreign models. Further foreign models gives an upmarket image for the brand.

Besides using aggressive commercials, the brand also emphasis on innovation in style and fabric. Since the brand is a formal wear , the emphasis is on creating elegance which the brand has succeeded .
In 2007, the brand extended itself into women's wear which is Rs 2700 crore market.The brand is targeting the Rs 450 crore premium western wear market. This market is growing at a rate of 20% owing to the changing Indian demographics.

The brand has a tagline "Play the Lead ". I think that the brand is trying to attract those young corporate leaders. However, the ads does not highlight this theme. Most of the ads of Park Avenue focuses on the classic style and quality.

Park Avenue offers its customers a complete range of clothes and accessories including personal care products. Although the personal care products are not promoted, surprisingly the range is highly affordable.

As a customer , what I like about Park Avenue is the quality and the value that this brand offers. Unlike brands like Louis Phillippe or Color Plus, Park Avenue does not have a tag that shows off the brand. But wearing this brand creates a classic formal look for the customers.