Overall sales of apparel and electronic products have been languishing for over a year now, while those of mass-segment electronic products have been low since the pandemic outbreak. According to researcher GfK, there was a slight pick-up in mass segment during Diwali.
By roping in former revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj at the beginning of this month, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) became the second Nifty 50 and third FMCG company in the past six months to appoint a former bureaucrat as an independent director.
The move is an extension of its internal ordering app Shikhar, which allows small neighbourhood stores to order directly from it. For HUL, the country's biggest packaged consumer goods firm, the app now accounts for about a third of its sales from neighbourhood retailers. Last year, HUL became the first fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firm to join ONDC through its multi-brand direct-to-consumer platform, UShop.
Marico, maker of Parachute and Saffola oils, said the second quarter started on a positive note - with increasing demand trends in rural and urban areas in July - but saw a noticeable drop in overall sentiment, especially in rural areas, during August and early September.
HUL is not alone, with other leading stock exchange-listed consumer goods companies such as Colgate-Palmolive and Marico also expanding their advertising spend by 26-32% year-on-year in the September quarter. Most companies have been increasing advertising expenses with the improvement in margins due to the reduction in input cost pressures, industry executives said.
Rohit Jawa underscored the role of a consistent policy push in ensuring robust growth in Asia's third-biggest economy, pointing to coordinated action by both North Block and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in guiding the nation's finances through the Covid disruptions.
Hindustan Unilever (HUL) managing director, Rohit Jawa, stated that all the categories in which the company operates will experience an S-curve of growth driven by increased per-capita consumption and higher rural contribution. He mentioned that HUL has already shown this growth curve in categories such as home care and fabric conditioners, and sees similar opportunities in new demand spaces.
At present, the making of cosmetics is regulated under a system of inspection and licensing by the state licensing authorities, and products including soaps, skin care and cosmetics are treated to the highest levels of regulatory control like drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
"When you strengthen brand India, the confidence of investors in India will go up; India will have a much bigger say in geoeconomics, politics and will be able to influence major decisions in multilateral forums," said HUL ex-CEO Sanjiv Mehta.
In FY23, the dividend earned by foreign promoters and other overseas investors was nearly ₹1.24 lakh crore compared to ₹53,600 crore in FY20 or ₹53,500 crore in FY19.
Most of the listed FMCG entities reported volume-based growth in home care, personal care, beauty and foods products business, except the ice cream and beverages portfolio which was impacted by unseasonal rains in April and early May during the quarter.
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