This paper presents a marketing audit of Rimmel London, the UK-based cosmetics brand founded in 1834. The audit examines the company's diverse product range across makeup categories, assesses variable product quality based on consumer reviews, and identifies key competitors Maybelline New York and Astor. It also profiles Rimmel's primary customer segments — women aged 20–35 with moderate incomes and fashion-conscious teenagers — and analyzes the company's marketing strategy, which centers on affordable pricing, broad product variety, and celebrity endorsements from figures such as Kate Moss and Zooey Deschanel.
The paper demonstrates applied marketing analysis by systematically linking each audit component — product quality, competitor positioning, and customer profiles — back to strategic implications. Rather than describing elements in isolation, the student shows how each factor shapes Rimmel's overall market approach, which is the hallmark of a competent marketing audit.
The paper is organized into five substantive sections following a brief introduction: Products (quality and range), Competitors (Maybelline and Astor), Customers (two segments), and Marketing Strategy (pricing, variety, and celebrity endorsement), followed by a reference list. Each section is focused and concise, suited to an undergraduate business audit assignment.
The following marketing audit is conducted on Rimmel London, a cosmetics brand based in the United Kingdom. The company was established in 1834 by Eugène Rimmel, a French perfumer. It produces and commercializes a wide range of cosmetics products that have been developed and expanded since the company's founding, in order to anticipate consumer needs and adapt to changing buyer preferences.
Rimmel London produces and commercializes makeup products for eyes, nails, lips, face, and body. Each of these product lines includes numerous items intended to address a wide range of user preferences. For example, the eye makeup line consists of several types of mascara — waterproof, adjustable, and regular — as well as eye shadow in mousse, powder, metallic, and regular formulations across multiple color combinations, eye liners, eye pencils in numerous colors, and other items.
Regarding product quality, the company appears unable to maintain uniformly high standards across its entire range (Rimmel, 2010). Some products satisfy users at a high level, while others generate significant consumer dissatisfaction. This variation in customer satisfaction can be observed in the customer review section of the company's website. Products such as skin foundation and face powders have received strongly positive reviews, while certain types of mascara have been considered entirely unacceptable by customers who used them.
Rimmel London's main competitors are Maybelline New York and Astor. These companies commercialize products similar to those offered by Rimmel, and they supply them within the same general price range. The products of all three brands are frequently found in the same stores, drugstores, and hypermarkets. Product differentiation in this context is primarily achieved through differences in production technologies and in the properties and ingredients of individual products.
Maybelline positions itself as the most innovative makeup producer. The company has strengthened its position in the international market through the sales force provided by L'Oréal, which acquired Maybelline. Astor, in turn, positions itself as a high-quality makeup producer.
Rimmel London's marketing audit reveals a brand built on accessible pricing, diverse cosmetics product lines, and aspirational celebrity partnerships that together sustain its competitive position in the mass-market makeup segment against rivals such as Maybelline New York and Astor.
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