Pennzoil revs up in automobiles - Top Brands Part II: Consumer Survey

Discount Store News, Oct 19, 1992

Quaker State, which led the 1991 Top 10 list of brands that discount store consumers prefer, fell to fifth on the '92 survey, while Pennzoil picked up a bit of support to capture the No. 1 spot.

And Havoline has yet to register as well with consumers it does with store managers.

Only 5% of consumers named Havoline as their preferred brand to place it No. 7 on the Top 10 list. In comparison, 37% of store managers named it as one of their top performing brands, placing it No. 2 on their list.

Consumers continued to register their strong preferences for branded automotive products, with 80% expressing a brand preference, compared to 67 for sporting goods and 59% for hardware.

At the same time a substantial percentage, 15.3% said they preferred a private label product about half the 31% for hardware, but far above the 4% for sporting goods.

Consumer confidence in finding their favorite automotive brands jumped this year, with 54% of those surveyed saying they were sure of being able to find their favorite brands from 41% last year.

About 47% said they would switch to another brand.

Despite differences in relative rankings, nine automotive brands made both the consumer and store managers' Top 10 lists: Pennzoil, Fram, Vavoline, Turtle Wax, Havoline and Mobil and AC-Delco, which tied for No. 10 on the store managers' list.

The exception was Armor All, which made the consumer preference list but dropped off the store manager's Top 10 list of brands they consider their top performers.

Pennzoil, which virtually tied with Quaker State for top honors last year, picked up a bit of support to garner 21% of the preferred brand rankings of consumers, compared to 19% in '92. Pennzoil thus has captured the top spot four of the last five years.

Conversely, Quaker State's standing dropped, with 11% of consumers citing it as their preferred brand, down from 20% last year.

Because more consumers split their preferred brand votes, Fram moved up to the No. 2 spot from No. 3 last year, even though only 14% of consumers named it their preferred brand this year, compared to 18% in '91.

Pennzoil thus widened the gap between its leading position and the rest of the field.

Mobil was a newcomer to this consumer list this year as it was to the store managers' list, gaining 4% of preferred brand citations.

Motor oil brands accounted for seven while Fram, noted for oil filters, accounted for an oil-related brand on the Top 10.

Only one hard parts manufacturer, AC-Delco, scored as a top brand among consumers, as it also did on the store managers' list of top brands.

Pennzoil also performed well on the power brand rating, winning an index rating of 207 on a scale where 100 equals normal acceptance of a brand among both retailers and consumers.

The other oil brands on the list of 37 power brands were: Valvoline, 122, and Quaker State, 120. Fram filters won an index rating of 135 on the power brands side of the survey. [Tabular Data Omitted]