
Unilever, Reliance see signs of consumer demand revival in India
Consumers companies are seeing early signs of demand pick up among the 400-million strong group of urban shoppers in India, providing a buffer to any volatility that might be unleashed by the country's trade negotiations with the US.
#Pahalgam Terrorist Attack
The groundwork before India mounts a strike at Pakistan
India considers closing airspace to Pakistani carriers amid rising tensions
Cold Start: India's answer to Pakistan's nuclear threats
Hindustan Unilever
Ltd., the country's no. 1 consumer goods maker that's considered a bellwether for the sector, expects demand conditions to gradually improve boosted by macroeconomic tailwinds, with growth in April to September period exceeding the levels in the preceding six months.
The Indian unit of
Unilever
Plc also saw lesser 'downtrading' this quarter — a practice when buyers start pivoting to cheaper or low-value packs — signaling a recovery in purchasing patterns, its Chief Financial Officer Ritesh Tiwari told reporters last week.
A day later,
Reliance Retail
, part of Mukesh Ambani's energy-to-entertainment conglomerate, posted a 29% jump in quarterly profit, boosted in part by Maha Kumbh Mela, world's largest religious gathering earlier this year.
The green shoots being flagged in India's consumption story signal a yearlong malaise could be lifting. A strong domestic market will provide some respite to Indian firms as US President Donald Trump's tariffs threaten global recession. China too is encouraging its firms to focus on the massive home market amid headwinds overseas.
Live Events
Worst Over
'The worst of the domestic cyclical slowdown seems behind,' said Teresa John, an economist with Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities. Indian government and central bank-led growth boosters 'could shield the economy from tariffs,' she said.
About $12 billion of tax sops announced in February, a rate cut this month with signs of more to come, subdued inflation and forecast of an ample monsoon are expected to perk up India's buyers.
Broader economic factors 'should augur well for discretionary income' in both rural and urban regions, Hindustan Unilever's Tiwari said. He doesn't expect any new headwinds impacting demand.
Macrotech Developers Ltd.
's Managing Director Abhishek Lodha said last week that he expects a lift to purchasing power for the mid-income housing segment, while
Shriram Finance Ltd.
— which lends for purchases of cars and bikes — sees demand for loans in urban India to recover in the coming quarters.
UltraTech Cement Ltd.
, India's biggest maker of this key construction material, expects a strong volumes growth on back of housing and infrastructure demand.
Realtor
DLF Ltd.
is expecting sales in its high-end shopping complexes to grow as much as 10% in the year ending March 2026 after slightly underwhelming sales a year earlier, Pushpa Bector, senior executive director and business head at DLF Retail, said in an interview this month.
The coming quarter will be 'critical' for India's consumption story, said Satish Meena, founder of consumer data firm, Datum Intelligence. 'There is expected to be more money with customers' over the next couple months, he said.
Tariff Shadow
While India's central bank maintains optimism about domestic growth, a top finance ministry official has warned of the ripple effects of US tariffs.
The 'first order' hit from US reciprocal tariffs on India, if imposed, could shave off up to 0.5 percentage point off its
economic growth
, which is 'not a huge impact,' India's Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said in Washington last week. 'But the second order would be important' if the global economy grows less, he said.
'Given global headwinds, exports and private investments are likely to be more impacted relative to consumption,' Nomura's Sonal Varma told Bloomberg News. 'Labor market signals are also mixed, so consumption itself is not out of the woods.'
Some companies also remain cautious.
Tata Consumer Products Ltd.
, the local partner for Starbucks Corp., said on April 23 it slowed the opening of outlets 'a bit' due to softness in the economy.
India's largest carmaker,
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.
has forecast a modest 2% growth for the sector in the year through March 2026.
Trickle Down
Others, however, are accelerating their growth initiatives anticipating that the trickle down effect of tax sops, rate cuts and bountiful monsoon — it boosts rural purchasing power — will culminate into a shopping spree.
Reliance Retail, after streaming its operations and closing underperforming stores, plans to make a marketing and advertising splash for Shein in India after a low-key relaunch in February.
Ambani's unit will also further develop its 30-minute delivery format JioMart to muscle into India's booming quick commerce segment.
Unilever's India unit is also stepping up investments.
'On macro, the triggers are tending biasing toward positive now,' Rohit Jawa, chief executive officer at Hindustan Unilever, told analysts on Thursday. 'We feel this is the time for us to lean in.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
Centre reduces basic custom duty on major imported crude edible oils from 20% to 10%
New Delhi [India], June 11 (ANI): The central government on Wednesday reduced Basic Custom duty (BCD) on major imported crude edible oils from 20 per cent to 10 per cent. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said in a release that the Centre has reduced the Basic Customs Duty on crude edible oils - crude sunflower, soybean, and palm oils - has been reduced from 20% to 10% resulting in the import duty differential between crude and refined edible oils from 8.75% to 19.25%. This adjustment aims to address the escalating edible oil prices resulting from the September 2024 duty hike and concurrent increases in international market prices. An advisory has been issued to edible oil associations and industry stakeholders to ensure that the full benefit of the reduced duty is passed on to consumers, the release said. It said 19.25 % duty differential between crude and refined oils will help to encourage domestic refining capacity utilization and reduce imports of refined oils. By lowering the import duty on crude oils, the government aims to reduce the landed cost and retail prices of edible oils, providing relief to consumers and helping to cool overall inflation. The reduced duty will also encourage domestic refining and maintain fair compensation for farmers. The revised duty structure will discourage the import of refined palmolein and redirect demand towards crude edible oils especially crude palm oil, thereby strengthening and revitalizing the domestic refining sector. 'This significant policy intervention not only ensures a level playing field for domestic refiners but also contributes to the stabilization of edible oil prices for Indian consumers,' a release said. A meeting with leading Edible Oil Industry Associations and industry was held under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution, and advisory was issued to them to pass on the benefits from this duty reduction on to consumers. Industry stakeholders are expected to adjust the Price to Distributors (PTD) and the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) in accordance with the lower landed costs with immediate effect. The Associations have been requested to advise their members to implement immediate price reductions and share the updated brand-wise MRP sheets with the Department on a weekly basis. DFPD shared the format with edible oil industry for sharing the reduced MRP and PTD data. 'The timely transmission of this benefit to the supply chain is imperative to ensure that consumers experience a corresponding decrease in retail prices,' the release said. This decision comes after a detailed review of the sharp rise in edible oil prices following last year's duty hike. The increase led to significant inflationary pressure on consumers, with retail edible oil prices soaring and contributing to rising food inflation. (ANI)


India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
Indian Oil quadrupled fuel supply for armed forces during Operation Sindoor: Senior official
By Shafali Nigam Port Blair (Andaman and Nicobar) [India], June 12 (ANI): Indian Oil ensured seamless fuel supply to the Indian armed forces during Operation Sindoor from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which went up at least four times, said Rakesh Kumar, Chief Terminal Manager (CTM) of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). 'During Operation Sindoor, the demand from defence has gone up at least four times, and we were there to supply the product just as I told you earlier. We positioned our vessels from Paradip and Haldia refineries and met their demands just in time,' Indian Oil Corporation CTM said. Mentioning the demand during Operation Sindoor, he said, 'In case of need, just like a few months back, at the demand of the Indian Navy, we positioned our vessels from Paradip refinery and Haldia refinery at a notice of just three days.' Indian Oil demonstrated its strategic preparedness and operational efficiency and played a pivotal role in ensuring uninterrupted fuel supply during Operation Sindoor, the official said, adding that despite a fourfold increase in fuel demand from defence establishments, the state-owned oil PSU successfully met requirements by mobilising vessels from its mainland refineries within days. 'We have a very high level of good coordination with defence, almost on a daily basis. Since they are taking products from us, they have requirements. We interact with them on a weekly basis, and we hold meetings with their supply department as well,' he said about coordination with defence and security agencies in fuel supply or infrastructure planning. During a field visit to the Indian Oil POL Terminal in Port Blair, organised by the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for the press, when asked if there are any protocols in case of an emergency situation, Kumar said, 'In case of need, just like a few months back, at the demand of the Indian Navy, we positioned our vessels from Paradip refinery and Haldia refinery at a notice of just three days.' 'We are at the smart terminal of Indian Oil. Here, we have a tanking of 27,000 KL. We are dealing with four products over here, which are petrol, diesel, low-sulphur HFHSD and HSD,' he added. In response to the questions on emergency protocols in place for fuel shortages or natural disasters like cyclones or tsunamis, he said, 'We have emergency protocols. Sufficient tankage is there. On average, we have 25 days of coverage for all the products.' He said the state-run oil major is planning to expand services or upgrade existing infrastructure in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 'We have plans. This terminal is a 27 TKL terminal and a POL terminal. We have requested one more station and we are in an advanced stage of getting new land in Hope Town, where our bottling plant is situated,' he added. Speaking with ANI, V. Ranganathan, Chief General Manager from West Bengal State Office and Port Blair said, 'Port Blair is one of the unique locations where a lot of challenges are there with respect to logistics, as well as product availability.' (ANI)


India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
India-EU FTA will be a great enabler, says Goyal; pitches for stronger economic ties with Sweden
Stockholm [Sweden], June 11 (ANI): The proposed India-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will be a great enabler, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said, adding that India will be able to offer greater opportunities for Sweden. Attending India-Sweden Business Delegation meetings in Stockholm, Union Minister Goyal said, India and Sweden complement each other. 'The India-EU Free Trade Agreement is clearly going to be a great enabler... We do hope to be able to offer you a better pathway and greater opportunities in the future... I can assure you that we are making good progress and are deeply committed to strengthening this partnership, working together.' The Minister also highlighted India's growth prospects. 'Today, amongst all the investment opportunities available anywhere in the world, I dare say the market of 1.4 billion aspirational Indians can beat any other opportunity. When 1.4 billion Indians take one step forward, our country takes 1.4 billion steps forward. That is the spirit in which the Indian growth story is powering on,' said Goyal. Inviting the business community to invest in India, Goyal further added, 'We would like to invite all the distinguished business leaders of Sweden to come to India to experience our country. I am sure this tested partnership can really grow beyond the frontiers of what we have achieved so far.' With over 280 Swedish companies in India and 80+ Indian companies in Sweden, the potential for collaboration is immense. H said the proposed India-EU FTA has huge potential. 'There's huge potential awaiting all of us. We complement each other. Sweden and India, working as friends, as trusted partners, can transform the Indian economy; the Indian growth story can support the Swedish plans for the future.' Goyal said India is not only the largest and fastest-growing economy but it will continue to grow for the next 20-30 years. He highlighted that India has one of the lowest inflation rates and strong forex reserves. Citing the favourable business ecosystem, he appealed to the investor community to make investments in India. Goyal reached Sweden after finishing his two-day official visit to Switzerland. Apart from other engagements, he will engage with the Indian diaspora and address media interactions, further strengthening the people-to-people connections and communicating the vision for the India-Sweden partnership. (ANI)