MYK Laticrete India Private Limited - MYK Laticrete

Recommendation: Upheld | Medium: Industry Member

CCC-R RECOMMENDATION ON REVIEW AS REQUESTED BY ADVERTISER The Consumer Complaints Council Review (CCC-R) panel through a personal hearing, heard the arguments of the complainant and the advertiser. The complainant and the advertiser was present during the deliberations to present their submissions via telecon/meeting with the CCC-R panel. The technical expert who reviewed the supporting evidence provided to the CCC-R panel was present during the deliberations. The CCC-R panel noted the following arguments made by the advertiser: The advertiser in their submissions stated that all inputs used in the final market modelling are directly relevant to the tile adhesive ecosystem in India through material supply chains, end-user industries, or company-level performance. They clarified that the India market analysis is entirely based on localized data and India-specific primary interviews which formed the foundation for market sizing, segmentation, and brand positioning presented in the final report. While intermediate data tables are not publicly disclosed due to sensitivity and NDAs with respondents, all final figures are grounded in credible financial data, trade statistics, and first-hand market inputs. The CCC-R panel noted the following arguments made by the complainant: The complainant in their submission submitted that MYK’s claim of being No. 1 is factually incorrect, misleading to the consumers and unsubstantiated. The data is based on sources which are unreliable (desk research in the first study and predominantly non-India respondents in the second study). Reports are not credible as there is no published data. The CCC-R Decision The CCC-R panel reviewed the concerns regarding the advertiser’s claim of being No. 1 in the tile adhesive market, which was initially based on a market study conducted by DNA OTS. The CCC-R panel noted that the advertiser subsequently submitted another market study report of Market Research Future (MRF). It was noted that MRF is a member of ESOMAR, the industry body for market research in Europe. The CCC-R panel expressed concerns over the methodology used in the study. The research methodology was not clear with too many interviews conducted outside India for a report focused on the Indian market. There were also inconsistencies in how the cities were classified and no clear explanation of how the brand's market share was calculated. Given the niche nature of the tile adhesive sector and the inconsistent findings across different reports, identifying a market leader is difficult to establish. The agency interviewed some ‘industry experts’, the data from which they claimed that the market share figure was arrived at. The methodology, however, did not specify as to how the market share for MYK Laticrete was arrived at. This opaqueness / non-transparency in brand share computation is unacceptable as this is the key metric that is disputed. The CCC-R panel was not convinced that the evidence provided adequately substantiates the advertiser’s claim of "India’s No.1 Tile Adhesive" in the domestic market. Based on this assessment, the CCC-R panel concluded that the said claim in the advertisement contravened Chapter I, Clauses 1.1, 1.4 and 1.5 of the ASCI Code. The earlier decision of complaint being Upheld stands on Review.