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HLL, JK to battle it out for Helene Curtis brand

Arijit De & Reeba Zachariah

FMCG major Hindustan Lever Ltd and niche player JK Helene Curtis, controlled by the Vijaypat Singhania family, could well be preparing the stage for a trademark violation battle over the Helene Curtis brand.

Unilever, the UK-based parent of HLL, owns the trademark globally, including India. But following the acquisition of Helene Curtis of the US, the Singhanias claim ownership in India as JK Helene Curtis is registered in Bombay.

JK Helene Curtis Ltd was established in 1964, in technical collaboration with Helene Curtis Inc, USA, to manufacture cosmetics and toiletries. Though Helene Curtis had exited from the venture with the Singhanias years back, the Raymond group continues to use the brand name.

The Singhanias, following the divestment of non-core businesses, are planning to step on the gas in the FMCG business and are planning fresh investments as well as new brand launches.

On the other hand, following the removal of quantitative restrictions, HLL has already begun to import a range of Helene Curtis' cosmetics products in India aimed at the top end of the market.

"With the Helene Curtis name with the Raymond group and products in the local market sold by HLL, complete confusion has been created among consumers," analysts said.

An HLL spokesman said: "We are planning to continue importing Helene Curtis brands in India. The brand is owned globally by Unilever and is a continuation of our plans to import." HLL officials maintained that no one but Unilever has the right to the Helene Curtis brand.

When contacted, NN Mehta, executive director of JK Helene Curtis, said: "JK Helene Curtis is a separate registered company." He added that like all the existing company brands, future product launches would also bear the Helene Curtis name.

The existing brands marketed by the company, such as Park Avenue and Premium, bear the tag "By JK Helene Curtis".

JK Helene Curtis was earlier a joint venture, with Raymond holding 51 per cent and the balance 49 per cent held by the foreign partner. Later, Raymond increased its shareholding to 60 per cent. In 1974, JK Helene Curtis became a 100 per cent subsidiary of Raymond.

JK Helene Curtis' leading brands are Park Avenue and the Premium range of personal products. While the Park Avenue range mainly concerns men's toiletry, Premium is positioned as a family product.

As part of its expansion plans, the Raymond group has set up a new wholly-owned subsidiary, JK Helene Curtis Distribution for marketing and distributing FMCG products of local and global brands. This company is in addition to the existent JK Helene Curtis.

While at the moment, the two companies JK Helene Curtis and JK Helene Curtis Distribution would co-exist as separate companies, there are future possibilities of the two exploring synergies in distribution.

Riding on a growth platform of 20 to 22 per cent, JK Helene Curtis has projected a turnover of Rs 800 million in the next fiscal. The company is expanding the distribution network from 150,000 to 300,000 outlets.

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