Brand portfolio analysis in the female segment of Russian market: The case of Gilette company

Abstract

The main goal of the current master thesis is the research of the brand portfolio architecture. Brand portfolio analysis is made from two perspectives: analysis of the theoretical concepts and models of the brand portfolio architecture; and the practical analysis of the Gillette Company brand portfolio in the female segment of Russian market. With this example the author aimed to make a practical application of the brand architecture theories and to check their viability in the real business cases. The example of the Gillette Company brand portfolio seems to be wide because the Gillette Company has huge brand portfolio in different product categories and market segments. Thus, there is a big opportunity for analysis. The main aim of the current research of Gillette portfolio is to find weaknesses of the current brand portfolio architecture in the Gillette Company and to improve them by the theoretical models application. Moreover, the research is concentrated over one phenomenon, which was found in the Gillette brand portfolio. As company targeting different market segments, its entire brands can be divided according to the segment of operation, i.e. product for male audience and for female consumers. The male market presented by “Gillette for men” brand, but female market has its own brand, called Venus. Hence, the central problem raised in the research can be formulated as following: “Can this phenomenon be explained by the classical theory models and if not, what are the main rationales for it”.