Durex Global Strategy

GLOBAL STRATEGY

Position in world market for male condoms

With a market share of approximately 29 per cent, Durex’s position can be defined as the world market leader sector. Company is a market leader in more than 40 countries. Durex condoms are manufactured in 17 factories worldwide and more than four billion of them are sold every year. Obviously, at different national levels, rankings can be slightly different with, for example, 80-85 per cent of market share in the United Kingdom, 55-60 per cent in Italy, 10-15 per cent in the United States and around 5 per cent in Japan.

The competitive Trojan brand accounts for the largest proportion of condom supplies in the United States (with around 60-70 per cent share). The company markets condoms under Trojan brand name in Canada, Mexico and recently, in limited distribution, in the United Kingdom. In Canada, the Trojan brand has a leading market share. Trojan entered the UK condom market in 2003, but at present has only a small share of this market. The company markets its condoms through distribution channels similar to those of its domestic condom business.

The other significant competitor Okamoto has been in existence since 1943. It holds a remarkable 60 per cent market share in Japan, where condoms are the preferred method of birth control. In late 1988, Okamoto introduced its condoms to the US market, but without great success until now.

The Japanese market for condoms is said to be the world’s largest, with annual turnover worth about £200 million. The Japanese market is large because until June 1999 the contraceptive pill was banned and most people had to rely on condoms for birth control. Experts say that it will still take one or two generations before the pill is widely used in Japan. One reason why it took 40 years for the contraceptive pill to be legalized in Japan was because of lobbying by condom-makers against its introduction. Japanese health officials said they concerned that use...