Though Reckitt & Colman is non-committal about the date of the launch saying that the plans are still at the `ideation' stage, some of the dealers in Mumbai, however, say the launch is round the corner. According to them, Lizol will be out in the marketplace by the end of this month.

According to market sources, one of the main reasons for Lizol's slow movement is its higher price. Available in 200 and 500 ml packs at Rs 40 and Rs 90 respectively, Lizol is priced higher than competitor Domex All Purpose Disinfectant cleaner priced at Rs 30 (200ml) and Rs 60 (500ml).

Though the strategy behind the move was not shared by the company, industry analysts state that low-unit priced sachets will boost market growth in terms of prompting a consumer shift to branded products versus using detergents for surface cleaning purposes.

The proxy market is huge in surface cleaners. Since the demarcation between a surface cleaner or a floor clear or toilet cleaner was not well defined in the past, with most of the proxy products doubling up for all purpose use, the estimation of the total market volume is vague. The total market volume, along with surface cleaners, toilet cleaners and other unbranded specialist cleaners, is roughly around 40,000 tonne.

Lizol was launched in January 1997, while Lever Johnson's Domex All Purpose Disinfectant cleaner was launched in March 1997. Currently, Domex leads with a market share of 70 per cent while Lizol's share is at 30 per cent. Two years ago, both the brands were running a neck-and-neck race with market shares around 38 per cent, which means that Domex has raced well ahead of Lizol.

The size of the surface cleaning market is estimated to be around Rs 300 crore, and growing at 30-35 per cent annually. The market is dominated by these two brands only. Another brand, Brisk of Henkel, which dominated the scene much before HLL and Reckitt came into the picture, has lost out heavily. Industry observers said that the lack of initiative to aggressively advertise led to Brisk losing out to Domex and Lizol.

Domex's market share was further strengthened with the launch of its extension Domex Phenolic which unlike Domex All Purpose is meant for cleaning floors alone. Priced at Rs 30 for a 500 ml bottle, Domex Phenolic is slightly premium to the exiting phenol cleaners. To catch up, Reckitt followed up by introducing a phenyl variant-Pinol Shakti, priced at Rs 13 (200-ml) and Rs 20 (500-ml) to complement the existing cleaning brand Lizol.

Lizol is among Reckitt's three brands-Dettol and Mortein are the other two-identified by the company to drive its recently launched Healthy Home strategy. To drive home the strategy, Reckitt has in the recent past targeted hospitals, doctors, and health authorities.

As part of the `healthy home' strategy, the company in May this year launched a toll-free line in the Capital. Called the Healthy Home Careline, the service allows consumers to directly ask the company questions about Dettol, Mortein and Lizol and request a Healthy Home booklet. Reckitt's careline facility is the first of its kind in the household category in India.