According to Godrej Soaps managing director Adi Godrej: ``Hair colour is our main area of focus. Our presence in dark hair colours in India is commendable and we will continue to focus on this.'' Godrej said that the company has an advantage in hair colours over other players in terms of being a low-cost producer and in having the technology to produce a quality product.

In Sri Lanka, Godrej has garnered a 25 per cent market share displacing all-time leader Bigen. The company plans to replicate this success in markets like Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Middle East over the next five years. These markets aredominated by rival hair colour brand Bigen, which is a leader worldover in the dark hair colour market. Godrej has garnered around 15 per cent market share in the Middle East market.

The only way it can lead the hair colour brand to leadership is through cost and quality and towards this, pricing will play a key role, says Godrej Soaps president (consumer products division) HK Press.

Godrej caters to these global markets through exports which will be beefed up shortly. The company does not intend to start manufacturing in these markets, said Press. The company is conducting market research in global markets to determine the consumer demand and the gaps that exist in the markets. ``Products will be tailor-made for each market,'' said Press.

Among truly global hair colour brands, L'Oreal of France is a major player in markets like Europe and America. As against L'Oreal, Godrej's presence is restricted only to dark hair colour brands. Further, Godrej does not intend to foray the European and Americanmarkets in the near future, and is thus not in direct competition with L'Oreal.