Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) is banking on new innovations and enhanced distribution to beat competition in categories such as soaps and household insecticides.

Younger companies and start-ups like Patanjali and Global Consumer Products have been posing a threat but the FMCG player is still undeterred by their efforts to make a mark in some of these categories where it is a market leader.

“It is still early days for Patanjali and even Nielsen does not capture their data despite the kind of claims it has made on its soaps turnover of ₹574 crore. Our Godrej No. 1 has natural ingredients and its focus will be on quality and consumer franchise,’’ said Vivek Gambhir, CEO & Managing Director, GCPL, during the company’s Q4 results.

With its brands Godrej No. 1 and Cinthol, “soaps registered sales growth of 9 per cent despite price increases and the withdrawal of consumer offers during the quarter.

“There was excess stock of soaps in consumer homes in the past and now we find that they are replenishing their soap stocks. There is plenty of opportunity to increase distribution and invest in marketing for our soaps brands,’’ he added.

In household insecticides where it has a soft quarter with growth at 4 per cent, there was competition from new brands like DND from start-ups like Global Consumer Products (started by GCPL’s erstwhile Managing Director).

“We do not see competitive intensity with the entry of new brands like DND. We are creating growth vectors and are expanding the category. This quarter, we entered the personal repellent category under Good Knight along with Hit gel sticks at ₹30 and are creating different price points in the segment,’’ he said.

Hair colour segment

Even in hair colours, where it considers itself as the market leader at the mass end, GCPL recorded its highest exit share with growth at 13 per cent in quarter. “We increased our market share between 30 and 100 basis points during the quarter in both hair colours and household insecticides. In hair colours, the bulk of the growth has been driven by brands like Expert Creme and even B Blunt has shown strong promise,” he said.

GCPL had picked up a 30 per cent stake in the salon chain of Bblunt to gain entry into the salon trade.

To improve its cash flows, GCPL has decided to stay away from making acquisitions. “We do not expect any big ticket acquisitions to happen and are not planning any new brands,” he added.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW