China's laundry market is undergoing a fierce transformation. In the Chinese household chemicals sector, international giants P&G and Unilever, with their diverse brand portfolios, hold absolute advantages in segments such as shampoo and body wash. However, in the laundry detergent segment, two domestic brands, Blue Moon and Liby, have alternately taken the lead in market share, while P&G and Unilever, having been slow to respond initially, have become chasers. Unwilling to lag behind, the international giants have increased investment in laundry detergent, launched more brands, and attempted to compete for market share with new products such as laundry pods. Competition in the laundry detergent market is intensifying. -01- Launching a 'Share Battle' "Buying laundry detergent? Take a look at Blue Moon's Machine Wash Supreme laundry detergent!" At around 9 p.m., less than an hour before the supermarket closed, as I stepped into the laundry detergent display area of the Carrefour supermarket in Shuangjing, Beijing, a Blue Moon promoter immediately greeted me enthusiastically. At that time, the household chemicals section was nearly empty of customers, with only supermarket staff busy tidying shelves. "In my impression, Blue Moon promoters have always been quite aggressive and numerous. When promoters of other brands haven't reacted yet, Blue Moon's promoters have already welcomed customers to their brand's shelf area," Liu Shan (pseudonym) told me. "Now Blue Moon is heavily promoting Machine Wash Supreme concentrated laundry detergent, which is several times more expensive than regular detergent, so the promoters must be under a lot of pressure." Liu Shan worked as a temporary promoter for Blue Moon in the Northeast from 2013 to 2014. According to her recollection, at that time, in large supermarkets like Walmart, Blue Moon occupied the largest area in the laundry detergent display section. Following Blue Moon were brands such as Chuangneng (under Nice Group), Tide and Ariel (under P&G), Omo (under Unilever), and Walch, Weixin, and Mommy's Choice (under Guangzhou Vilos Daily Chemicals). Domestic brands like Liby, Green Umbrella, and Kaimi were mostly squeezed into corners of the shelves. "Blue Moon had the most promoters. For example, at Walmart, Blue Moon typically had 6-10 promoters working three shifts a day. Next were Guangzhou Vilos Daily Chemicals and Nice Group, with about 2-3 promoters each. But at that time, Vilos had three brands under it, and Nice Group, besides Chuangneng laundry detergent, also had Chuangneng and Diao Pai washing powder, dishwashing liquid, soap, and other products. Companies like P&G, Unilever, and Liby mostly had only one laundry detergent promoter each, and in some supermarkets, they even had promoters from their other products just to tidy up the shelves," Liu Shan recalled. When laundry detergent was still a niche product, it did not attract the attention of the two international giants P&G and Unilever, giving local brands like Blue Moon a perfect opportunity to break through. "At that time, the competition between Chuangneng and Blue Moon was fierce. They even used hawking as a promotional tactic, and almost the entire household chemicals section was filled with their shouting. It was common for promoters to have arguments or even fights over a few yuan in sales," Liu Shan said. In addition to using a 'human wave tactic' and aggressive promotional methods to grab share from other brands, Blue Moon also attempted to further boost sales through strict performance appraisals, making it perhaps the most 'wolf-like' company in the household chemicals industry. "Previously, Blue Moon tried to adjust the performance appraisal for long-term promoters to boost sales. After the adjustment, it became a month-on-month growth performance indicator. Simply put, promoters had to achieve higher sales than the previous month to earn their normal or higher salary, and the same applied the following month," Liu Shan told me. With the giants 'dozing off' and its own relentless drive, Blue Moon, relying on the promotion of tens of thousands of on-site promoters, has educated consumers about laundry detergent—a product different from traditional washing powder—since 2008, and has firmly tied itself to laundry detergent. By the time the international giants came to their senses, Blue Moon had already become the laundry detergent brand with the largest market share in China, holding the championship for over a decade. -02- The Relentless Chasers However, as various brands entered the market, the landscape began to change. Blue Moon's dominant position began to be challenged, and it fell into a predicament of declining market share. Euromonitor data shows that Blue Moon's market share dropped from 23.4% in 2012 to 20.3% in 2016. One of the important reasons for the decline was Blue Moon's 'large-scale withdrawal'—in April 2015, due to the breakdown of procurement contract negotiations, Blue Moon resolutely withdrew from RT-Mart, and in June of the same year, all its products were removed from the shelves of more than 320 RT-Mart stores nationwide. After that, Blue Moon successively withdrew from Carrefour, Walmart, and other supermarkets, sparking heated discussion in the industry. In the eyes of industry insiders, Blue Moon's withdrawal from these KA channels may have been a major 'strategic mistake,' not only slowing its own development but also giving competitors an opportunity. After Blue Moon products were removed from KA channels, its shelf space was quickly occupied by competitors. Subsequently, Blue Moon shifted to an O2O + direct sales channel. Online, Blue Moon signed an exclusive agreement with JD.com; offline, it built its own 'Moon House' community specialty stores. But it turned out that building its own channels was not easy. At the end of 2017, a large number of 'Moon House' stores were closed, marking the failure of Blue Moon's self-built direct sales channel plan. On one hand, strategic mistakes slowed its own progress; on the other hand, competitors who had 'come to their senses' were catching up quickly. Liby quickly gained recognition for its laundry detergent products through hard advertising placements in 'Dad, Where Are We Going?' and sponsoring popular variety shows like 'I Am a Singer.' With this aggressive marketing approach, Liby overtook Blue Moon in laundry detergent for the first time—Euromonitor data shows that Liby's laundry detergent (including the Liby and Good Daddy brands) achieved a market share of 26% in 2017. However, some media also cited the '2019 China Market Commodity Sales Statistics Results Press Conference' hosted by the China General Chamber of Commerce and the China National Commercial Information Center, stating that Blue Moon laundry detergent had ranked first in overall market share for ten consecutive years (2009-2018). Due to different statistical indicators and algorithms, we cannot know for sure which one is truly first, but it is clear that Blue Moon and Liby, two domestic companies, are indeed fiercely competing for the top spot in the laundry detergent field. In addition, although the individual brands of the two dominant players in the household chemicals industry, P&G and Unilever, have never reached the top, their market shares are not to be underestimated. Media reports show that in 2018, the top five brands by market share were Blue Moon, Omo, Tide, Liby, and Ariel. Beyond Omo, Tide, and Ariel, P&G and Unilever have launched new laundry detergent brands. Among them, P&G's brand Downy entered the Chinese market in 2017 with fabric care beads, and in 2019, joined forces with spokesperson Yang Mi, known as the 'Queen of Product Endorsements,' to launch a new 2-in-1 laundry detergent that cleans and softens, entering the fray; Unilever launched the Flower & Planet laundry detergent and announced popular actress Yang Zi as its brand ambassador. Backed by international giants with strong financial resources and channel advantages, new brands are aggressively encroaching on laundry detergent market share. At the Carrefour supermarket in Shuangjing, Beijing, I saw that besides the aforementioned laundry detergent brands, brands such as Kao, Attack, Jiahome, and White Cat also occupied significant shelf space. It is worth noting that in December 2019, 'Blue Moon, which never goes public,' was rumored to be considering an IPO in Hong Kong in 2020, planning to raise about $400 million; in addition, there were reports that Blue Moon was once again partnering with RT-Mart, Auchan, and other Gaoxin Group stores to return to hypermarkets. The authenticity of these rumors remains to be verified, but they also indirectly indicate that the leader in the laundry detergent industry is facing unprecedented competitive pressure. The laundry detergent market is in the midst of a fierce battle. -03- All-Out Breakout Battle Under long-term market education, consumer acceptance of laundry detergent products has increased, and the overall laundry detergent industry has shown a steady upward trend in both production and sales volume and profit. According to data from Zhiyan Consulting, in 2016, China's laundry detergent industry produced 804 million kilograms and sold 786 million kilograms; from 2016 to 2018, the total profit of the laundry detergent industry rose from 2.99 billion yuan to 3.7 billion yuan, and it is predicted to reach 5.56 billion yuan by 2021. However, the entry of many brands has also intensified competition in the laundry detergent market, making product homogenization more serious and falling into a vicious cycle of 'winning by special offers,' where price advantage becomes the basis for sales success. In lower-tier markets, some counterfeit products and small-brand laundry detergents are popular among consumers due to their low prices. In this 'pincer attack' stalemate, large laundry detergent manufacturers have begun to seek ways to break through—by further refining their product positioning and product categories, launching sub-categories such as baby-specific, silk and wool-specific, hand-washing, and enzyme laundry detergents for differentiated competition, and introducing high-end concentrated products in an attempt to drive a new round of upgrades in the Chinese laundry market, increase sales, and improve product profit margins. Currently, in the high-end concentrated detergent field, the most active players are P&G and Blue Moon. In 2014, concentrated washing product laundry pods were introduced to China by P&G, and domestic brands such as Lonkey and Mommy's Choice launched corresponding products. In addition, Lonkey and P&G jointly participated in drafting the industry standard for laundry pods, joining forces to increase the exposure of this niche product. In 2015, Blue Moon launched the pump-dispensed 'Concentrated+' laundry detergent Machine Wash Supreme. In the early days, Blue Moon was basically the only one vigorously promoting concentrated detergents, but with little success and few buyers. Blue Moon's 'leader' Luo Qiuping frankly stated that the main difficulty in promoting concentrated products lies in consumers' misconceptions about laundry detergent, including habits that are hard to change quickly. "For example, consumers tend to think that the more detergent you use, the cleaner the clothes will be, and the more foam, the better the cleaning effect. But in reality, foam has nothing to do with the cleaning power of laundry products. In fact, washing products worldwide are moving toward low-foam or even no-foam trends. Changing these ingrained perceptions and existing habits is very difficult and requires a long process." At Carrefour, I saw that Blue Moon's Machine Wash Supreme is now available in multiple fragrances and is placed in the most prominent position on the shelves, also being the first product recommended by promoters. In terms of price, Machine Wash Supreme is several times more expensive than regular laundry detergent. A 660g bottle of Machine Wash Supreme costs as much as 70.9 yuan, while a 500g bottle of dual-purpose laundry detergent is only 12.8 yuan. "One pump of Machine Wash Supreme is 8 grams, enough to wash 8 items of clothing. For a full load in the washing machine, you only need to press 3 times, saving a lot of product," the Blue Moon promoter explained when I asked why the price difference was so large. She recommended the 'more cost-effective' Machine Wash Supreme combo set, priced at 149 yuan per set, including 1 bottle of 660g Machine Wash Supreme + 2 bags of 500g Machine Wash Supreme refills + 1 bottle of 500g dual-purpose laundry detergent. By this calculation, the unit price per 500g of laundry detergent exceeds 34 yuan, positioning it quite high-end. Clearly, not only in terms of usage but also in price, Blue Moon's Machine Wash Supreme poses a challenge to ordinary consumers. When laundry pods were first introduced to the Chinese market, they also faced difficulties in opening up the market. But in recent years, among young people who are keen to try new things and seek convenience, this concentrated washing product is also becoming the first choice for laundry. In this sub-category, international giant P&G has taken the lead. In supermarkets, P&G's Ariel and Tide occupy the main positions on the shelves for this category. Tide quickly signed top domestic celebrity Xiao Zhan, and on December 9, 2019, took the opportunity of launching a new brand ambassador to release Tide Color Guard Anti-Color Transfer Laundry Pods and a series of new products. On P&G's official flagship store, a box of 19 Tide laundry pods is priced at 39.9 yuan after discount, equivalent to 2.1 yuan per pod, with monthly sales of over 100,000 units. The top celebrity's product endorsement power is indeed strong. Currently, laundry detergent brands that have obtained the 'Concentrated Detergent Mark' also include White Cat, Qiqiang, Good Daddy, Blue Moon, Chuangneng, Green Umbrella, and Lonkey. In the future, competition in this field will become even more intense. -04- Summary The battle in the laundry detergent world has always been 'full of gunfire, and the players are always strong.' After washing powder replaced laundry soap, and laundry detergent disrupted the washing powder market, laundry detergent now faces a new challenger—concentrated detergents. Orderly competition is always the primary factor driving industry progress. This is not only a contest of strength among household chemical companies, but also a competition and evolution of Chinese consumers' awareness and concepts, which also reflects the continuous upgrading of domestic consumption levels. At present, the market share of concentrated laundry products in China is expanding, but the penetration rate still lags far behind countries like the UK, France, and the US, indicating huge growth potential. This also means that whoever can capture more share in concentrated detergents will have more opportunities to become the industry leader. In the future, in the 'fierce battle' between domestic brands and international giants in the laundry market, who will come out on top? The cover image in this article is from Pixabay, licensed under CC0; other images are from the 'Bullet Finance' gallery, photographed by Xu Yun. Source: Bullet Finance (ID: www.hygc)