Surface Care in New Zealand

PROSPECTS

Volume sales driving value growth

Population growth and increasing levels of housing construction contributed to current retail value sales growth in line with the review period CAGR. However, the category remained highly competitive, with retail discounting prevalent to drive foot traffic into stores and large pack sizes gained prominence.

Negative media attention to affect wipes

Environmental concerns were at the front of consumer decision making in 2018. While strong new product development activity saw current retail value growth in home care wipes eclipse that of surface care (excluding wipes), the environmental impact of using wipes, as well as the veracity of products advertised as being “flushable” and the associated impact on the country’s sanitation systems, led to a sense of trepidation among consumers.

Task specificity to influence category perfromance

Task specificity was a key trend that influenced the category over the review period but this is expected to wane over the forecast period. The competitive dynamics observed in multi-purpose cleaners over the review period are expected to extend into task-specific categories such as bathroom cleaners and kitchen cleaners.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Dettol market penetration driving Reckitt Benckiser performance

Reckitt Benckiser New Zealand Ltd continued to lead surface care in 2018. The company maintained the Dettol and Easy-Off brands in the category; however its focus was on building the SKU count of its Dettol brand within the category, owing to positive association with hygiene and cleanliness perceptions that brand has among consumers due to its strong presence within home care disinfectants.

Strong performance from eco brands

Eco trends continued to influence the category in 2018, and while it was from a comparatively smaller sales base than the mainstream brands in the categories, eco brands such as Earthwise and Ecostore outperformed their competitors in terms of current retail value growth, and thus both brands grew their category shares in 2018. Present only in surface care (excluding wipes) both locally owned eco brands, Earthwise and Ecostore increased their penetration, and the shelf space allocated to these brands increased in response to consumer demand.

High level of segmentation in surface care

Surface care was one the more competitive categories within home care in 2018, with a higher level of category segmentation than in other categories, with a larger number of brands present. Brands such as Pental Products Pty Ltd’s Janola and Reckitt Benckiser’s Dettol had established reputations owing to their dominance in their “home” categories – bleach and home care disinfectant respectively.

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