l cost. The success of EDI led to the development of Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) program. This made it possible for Kao to constantly innovate its distribution and other marketing activities. Moreover, Kao Corporation sets up regional production plants in order to reduce cost. Countries chosen would be one that has low production cost due to cheaper rent and labour. Regional plants make distribution within the region to be faster and cheaper. However, Kao Corporation still practices the conventional distribution channel despite its efforts to reduce logistic cost. (Refer to Appendix A). Promotion The establishment of Kao products in the market is Kao Corporation promotion objective. This is especially important due to the fact that in the Fast Moving Consumer Product industry, consumer practice the Habitual Buying Behaviour. This is whereby the consumer would choose a brand based on familiarity or convenience. Through the use of Promotion, Kao aims to instil brand loyalty. The media is also very useful for Kao Corporation to create awareness in market about a new product. Through the use of advertisements Kao can educate the public about the existence and the benefits of particular new product it has launched. The promotional tools used by Kao are as follow: - 1) Advertisements - TV, Radio, Newspaper and Magazines. 2) Personal selling 3) Sales promotion Competitive Strategies Currently Kao Corporation uses the differentiation strategy to fend off its competitors Kao has adopted a consumer orientated approach in order to better understand the needs and wants of the consumer. Kao is always improving its existing product through Research & Development in order to provide value for the consumers. At the same time, Research & Development enables Kao to introduce new products into the market. Some of these products are first in the market while others are new product lines aimed at winning market share from competitors. Take for instanc...
