DISCLAIMER

This exercise should be considered as an example of case study that could be used in the
Management Trainee Assessment Centre. The problems have not been fully elaborated, but give
an overview of the type of problems you could be confronted with in a real assessment center.

NOTES:
All case materials MUST be returned to Action Club before presentation
For this exercise, you will assume the role of Board of Management within one of our Business Unit.
The documentation you need, is integrated in this booklet. You will find in it a certain number of e-
mails, reports, articles and other documents that you will need to analyze and integrate in order to
be able to properly deal with the assignment given to you.

It is important that you accept the simulated situation as it is presented to you. Although in a real life
situation you would have access to other sources of information and would be able to consult your
colleagues, in this exercise you are limited to the information contained in the exercise documents.
You are, however, allowed to make logical assumptions where information is missing or incomplete.
You may rearrange the documents in any order you wish and add remarks or make notes as
necessary.

Your concrete task will consist of answering questions concerning the situation described.

1. Make an executive summary of the situation: what are the key issues observed? Define the
goal for your business proposal (e.g. volume share/value share/penetration/in-store targets,…)
2. Which potential solutions do you see to resolve the key problems?
3. What would be your recommendations for the longer term, taking into account the different
parties involved?

There is no right or wrong answer. We will be assessing the team based on following criteria:

Judging Criteria Description Weightage How to score

Holistic
Ability to leverage data, insight, observation to
business
come up with conclusion and answer to key 35%
Analysis and
business questions.
understanding
Strength of
Ability to translate the business finding to bust Presentation to
strategy
consumer barriers using the right buster with the 35% Judges
choices and Big
most optimum plan.
idea

Financial Ability to meet financial objectives and create a

15%
Projections sustainable value via sales and profit.

Leadership, pro-activeness, agility and Observation by

Teamwork 15%
collaboration. Assessors
Mail Message
From: Vijay Dumar (Downy ASEAN General Manager)
To: <Your Name>
Date: 01 May 2017
Subject: Welcome!

Dear (your name),

Welcome to our team!
As mentioned on the phone yesterday, my assistant has prepared the necessary documentation
and information for your first assignment within Downy ASEAN. The information consists of some
basic background information, but most of the documents relate to last 3 year data.
I would like you to read everything in detail and to draft a report summarizing the situation,
proposing some potential solutions and making recommendations for the future. I would also like
you to use the available information.
Many thanks in advance. I will be back from an international conference on 6 May, but please feel
free to contact me or any of your colleagues, should there be any problems or questions from your
side.
My assistant can give you my mobile number.
All the best and see you soon,
Vijay
Downy ASEAN

By the end of 2015, Downy ASEAN has been experiencing 12 months of share decline after several
years being the Market Leader. Furthermore, household penetration among Downy users has been
on a declining trend. Concerned with growth of the brand, Mr. Vijay accelerated innovation pacing
for next year and tasked his Board of Management team to prepare a strong plan by leveraging
Downy’s latest innovation in a patented perfume technology across the entire Downy portfolio.
Linked to the consumer insight that fabric enhancers fail to deliver freshness during torture
situations such as under the hot weather, the new Downy perfume technology is the first in the
market to deliver freshness release when there is friction or interaction between the fabric and
body.
As part of Management Team, you are tasked with recommending a holistic one-year action plan
for the Company to get Downy back to share gain and profitable (minimum breakeven), double
digit sales growth of Downy’s business (vs year ago).
CASE BACKGROUND

Downy Background

Downy is a fabric enhancer brand of Procter & Gamble worth US$3.2 billion dollars, joining the
ranks of the company’s proud “billion dollar brands” such as Pantene, Gilette and Olay. P&G
first launched Downy in 1960 in the USA. Over the years, Downy (also called Lenor) expanded
across the globe into UK, Europe, Latin America and Asia. Today, and for many years now,
Downy/Lenor is the No.1 fabric softener brand in worldwide sales in many countries that it
exists.

Downy first entered the ASEAN market via Vietnam in 2000, followed by Malaysia and
Singapore in 2005. Downy then entered the Thailand market in 2008 and completed its
ASEAN footprint by launching in Indonesia in Dec 2010. By this time, all markets already had a
dominant competitive manufacturer owning a significant share of the fabric softener category.
Despite this, Downy became a US$100 million dollar business growing at an average rate of
+50% year-on-year. However, by the end of 2015, Downy faces the challenge of declining
share at a category growth of 9% vs Year ago.
Fabric Enhancer (FE) Category Background

History and evolution of FE

Fabric softeners were used as far back as the 1900s, largely by cotton manufacturers who
used an emulsion of oil and water to soften their textiles. With advances in organic chemistry,
new compounds were created that could soften fabric more effectively. Finally, in 1960s,
fabric softeners were commercialized to the public, with key players such as P&G (Downy)
and Unilever (Comfort) manufacturing and promoting this new category into becoming one of
the most popular household chemical products of the century.
The innovation on fabric softeners has evolved around the needs of consumers, and although
softness is the core purpose of a fabric softener, the category demand is increasingly driven
towards freshness—fragrance longevity in particular. While FE variant line ups were originally
designed on scent or fragrance types, manufacturers continuously seek and develop new
technologies in order to improve the product’s ability to deliver better freshness longevity, such
as antibacterial ingredients which help prevent the growth of malodor causing germs on fabric,
and perfume microcapsule, a technology which releases scent under hot conditions or friction.

With innovation being at the heart of the company, Procter & Gamble launched the first ever
Single Rinse fabric softener in the world in 2004. A breakthrough innovation that removes
detergent suds while adding fragrance and softness, the product is a remarkable way of
saving consumer’s time, water and effort from the tedious chore of rinsing. Since its debut in
Mexico, Downy Single Rinse has made its way across many markets – China, Vietnam,
Thailand and is one of the best selling variants amongst lower income markets.
Today, there are various forms of fabric softeners. Beads for washing machines and liquids,
which include dilutes and concentrates for both hand wash and machine wash conditions.
Liquid fabric enhancers continue to be the most favoured form, with the category increasingly
progressing from dilute to concentrates due to the higher density of active ingredients instead
of water on a per ml basis, enabling better performance at a lower dosage, and the
convenience of handling a compacted size.
The evolution of fabric softeners over the past 50 years has contributed to a remarkable
change in consumer’s lives. Transitioning from a basic softening need to saving an additional
15 minutes of consumers’ time from rinsing and providing consumers the confidence of
smelling fresh throughout the day—it is now obvious that innovating to create product
superiority to delight consumers is at the heart of Downy.
FE in ASEAN

There are two main forms of fabric enhancers (1) dilute liquid form (2) concentrate form. Prior to
2000 time period, fabric enhancers in ASEAN were mainly in dilute liquid form, garnering an
average US$200MM of sales revenue. Procter & Gamble first tapped into the ASEAN market
by launching in Vietnam in 2000 and the company decided to launch Downy in its most superior
form—concentrates. Concentrate fabric softener gives approximately 5 times the freshness of a
normal dilute fabric softener. Furthermore, only ½ cap (20 ml) is sufficient for 15-20 items,
whereas a bigger dosage is required when using dilutes. The market response towards Downy
was phenomenal. Within 2 years, Downy Vietnam gained 25% share. Subsequently, Downy
was the first brand of its kind to launch the concentrate form across the entire ASEAN spanning
markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Downy was driving the category
growth in ASEAN via its concentrate form of FE products. With strong potential behind
concentrates spearheaded by Downy, subsequently, other manufacturers began investing in
the concentrate form—Unilever launched their Ultra version of Comfort (previously only in dilute
form) in Vietnam and Indonesia in 2003, and Thailand in 2007; Colgate-Palmolive launched
Softlan Ultra (previously only in dilute form) in Malaysia in 2006; as well as local players who
joined the bandwagon.

Ten years later, the fabric enhancer category in ASEAN today is worth US$800 million in value
and growing at 9%. The category continues to still be almost 100% liquids but now with two
distinct segments: dilutes and concentrates. While dilutes hold a salience of 50% in some
ASEAN markets such as Thailand and Malaysia, concentrates, which Downy plays in, is
driving the category growth at an average rate of +31%. Dilute fabric softeners continue to
decline in salience and in the case of Vietnam, practically extinct. At this rate, the concentrate
segment will overtake market dominance in ASEAN in 2 years time.
Fiscal Year (FY) 1415 Market Value and Salience

Downy Value Category Growth

(US$MM) %

ASEAN 300 9%

Philippines 115 14%

Vietnam 37 11%

Thailand 51 7%

Indonesia 58 9%

Malaysia 25 7%

Singapore 14 8%

Downy Brand Equity

The Downy brand is all about helping make everyday life better. All product innovation,
strategy and execution are designed towards fulfilling this very simple purpose—a simple
delight to what would have otherwise been a tedious chore.
WHO: Consumer Behavior

Laundry is mostly performed by the woman/housewife of the household. The main laundry
process is normally done in the mornings in order to catch the afternoon sun during the
outdoor drying process. The incidence of washing machine usage vs. hand wash varies by
country, socioeconomic class, and types of clothes washed (e.g. delicates may be hand
washed vs other heavy linens such as bed sheets which are commonly washed in washing
machines). Fabric enhancers are added to the last rinse post washing off the detergent to add
softness and fragrance to the clothes.

Laundry Habits

Step 1: Sort the clothes

Step 2: Soak the laundry
Step 3: Wash with detergent (average 15-20 clothes per load)
Step 4: Rinse off detergent with clear water (average 3 times)
Step 5: Soak with FE
Step 6: Wring and hang dry
WHO Learnings on Downy

Sensorial Collection users

•Downy perfume collection users are typically people who seek a
sensorial experience (vs. cleaning efficacy) from doing her laundry
•The key attributes she seeks from her laundry are: •Mood-uplifting
scents
•Fabrics with scent that are luxurious and indulgent •Scent that
lasts for a long time after washing •Superior softness on fabrics
•The emotional need she seeks is to feel good through her laundry
process despite her roles at home

Base Collection users

•Downy Base users are people who focus on functional laundry
results such as anti-bacterial prevention, malodor removal, easy-to-
iron benefit, and long lasting fragrance
•The key attributes she seeks from her laundry are: •Superior freshness
on her clothes
•Shape retention of her clothes •Soft, comfortable clothes
•She fulfils her emotional needs by giving the best care that she
can to her family
Media Consumption behavior

¡ The main source of awareness of FE brands continue to be TV (90%) although in-

store presence (70%) also plays an integral role
¡ TV commercials play a powerful role in providing knowledge and influencing her choice of
brands, followed by her personal product experience and word-of-mouth recommendation
¡ Other sources of influence include celebrities, in-store promoters and immediate family
members
¡ Online/digital is growing in importance especially to premium users who frequently search

online and look for after-use comments or to be influenced by key online influencers

Product Line Up

Downy has 2 main pillars of products—Base and Sensorial. While the total brand is positioned

as an FE that provides long lasting freshness to delight the consumer, the Base pillar of

Downy serves functional needs such as bacteria protection and single-rinse wash. The

Sensorial pillar serves an experiential need of consumers by delighting consumers with its

scent characters.
Product Upgrade & Initiative Background

With the worrying declining trend of share loss and penetration and consumption losses, Mr
Vijay attempted to arrest the decline by accelerating the innovation pacing and bringing the
upgraded products to the market earlier. This was an attempt to rejuvenate the brand and
provide consumers a reason-to-believe in Downy’s product superiority again. As such, the
Downy team rioritized qualifying the product to ensure win vs. other competitive products.
The product testing turned out to be a +10 points product win vs. competitive products.

Patented perfume technology: The biggest innovation from the initiative is Downy’s
patented perfume technology. The perfume technology works such that once the fabric
washed with Downy interacts with friction, the perfume deposited on the fabric bursts and
releases freshness that can last up to 24 hours during in-wear conditions.
Market Landscape

ASEAN Landscape (population, usage frequency)

Total ASEAN
150 MM

Non-FE
FE users users
91 MM 59 MM

Direct
Downy competitor Others
18
35 MM 38 MM MM

Use 1x Use 2x Use 3x

per week per week per week
5
15 MM 15 MM MM
Channel landscape

There are 2 main channels in ASEAN—traditional trade and modern trade retailers. While
Traditional Trade (High Frequency Provision Stores) makes up a bigger proportion of
Vietnam and Indonesia market, Modern Trade (Hyper/ Supermarkets, Minimarts) takes up
a bigger % value share of trade in the other ASEAN markets.

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40% Modern Trade

30% Tradtional
Trade

20%
10%
0%

*Retail Channels are typically separated by Modern Trade Channels and Traditional Trade
Channels – the former refers to modern retail store formats such as hyper markets, super markets,
drug & pharmacy and convenience stores. Traditional retail channels are large & small provision
stores, commonly referred as “mom & pop stores”, often found in wet markets, rural areas and
housing estates. These stores are usually single owner and carry a lower assortment of products
compared to Modern Retail stores
Mail Message
From: Alan White (Downy Vietnam General Manager)
To: Vijay Dumar (Downy ASEAN General Manager)
Date: 02 May 2017
Subject: Re: Welcome!

Dear Vijay,

Thank you for your warm welcome!

This is to let you know that I’ve recently encountered 2 serious issues within the country:

1. Downy production line in Vietnam has heavily been impacted by fake products in the market.
We’re partnering with local Government to educate users on how to tackle the fake ones and
the reliable places for buying real products. However as you might know, it normally takes us
up to 6 months to clear up all these mess.
2. Half of my local Management Board have submitted their Resignation Letter. Per my exit
interview report, it turns out that most of them left to pursue personal interest, either to set up
a new start up company or go to our competitor side. This alerts the confidentiality of our
new product initiatives being leaked to other competitors easily.

All of these can potentially impact my commitment to deliver the year end plan vs the goal.
Much appreciate your help to take these factors into consideration.
Best regards,
Alan.
Mail Message
From: Marry Land (Downy ASEAN Communication Head)
To: Vijay Dumar (Downy ASEAN General Manager)
Date: 03 May 2017
Subject: Update on Media Channel

Dear Vijay,

After 1 month intense follow up with market trend and media channel, this below summarizes key
challenges in media we’ve encountered:

1. Youtube and Facebook are being banned by local Government in Vietnam, Singapore and
Thailand. This is due to their penalty in anti-government and sexual harassment
advertisements in the market. Other countries are considering reapplying the same banning
method towards these companies.
2. Our key competitors are going to copy and launch a brand new product which is 90% similar
to our new initiative which will be launched soon. This is sensing info without clear evidence
and proof outside.
3. Election period in the Philippines and Indonesia will broadly impact our social channel within
3 upcoming months. We are advised to stay inactive and reactive towards any info provided.

Please help transfer this message to all of your Management Board.

Thanks,
Marry.
Mail Message
From: Vijay Dumar (Downy ASEAN General Manager)
To: Downy ASEAN Management Board
Date: 05 May 2017
Subject: Update on next year budget

Guys,
I’m in the Global Meeting now and there is a heads-up I’d like to give: Next year budget will be
potentially cut half. The Global decision will be on hold to see how well Downy ASEAN can come
back with our action plan. Only after the 1st six months with strong and convincing action plan that
Global Finance will consider release remaining budget to us.

This gonna be the game changing – All in to win!

Please make any adjustments needed for this new news coming. I’ll be hearing your proposal
tomorrow!

Thanks,
Vijay.