Latest news with #SmartandHandsome
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
FMCG bigwigs turn to D2C lifeline as inflation bites
Kolkata: Leading consumer goods manufacturers are ramping up their direct-to-consumer (D2C) business through acquisitions and new launches to counter subdued demand and intensifying competition, buoyed by 20-25% growth of their digital-first brands . Independence Day 2025 Modi signals new push for tech independence with local chips Before Trump, British used tariffs to kill Indian textile Bank of Azad Hind: When Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose gave India its own currency Companies from Hindustan Unilever to Marico , Dabur , Britannia , AWL Agri Business and Emami plan to target the premium end of market with D2C brands, their chief executives told analysts in earnings calls held in the last three weeks. The rationale for this strategic shift is clear. While FMCG firms have struggled amid high inflation and sluggish consumer income for the past 9-10 quarters, D2C segment has been booming, powered by rise of social commerce among tech-savvy consumers and influencer-driven marketing. Hindustan Unilever's CFO Ritesh Tiwari said its digital first brands in the beauty and wellness segment is a ₹3,000-crore portfolio, growing at over 25% a year. The country's top FMCG company told analysts its digital-first strategy will target high-income consumers. It will have 'four levers' - acquisitions like it did of OZiva and Minimalist, build a new brand like Novology, launch a global Unilever brand like Simple or Love, Beauty & Planet, and extend one or more of its core brands. Dabur's CEO Mohit Malhotra said the company is exploring acquisitions of new-age brands in wellness, food and health to plug gaps in the portfolio. He said Dabur is eyeing premium D2C brands so that margin is accretive to its base business. Live Events Expanding Portfolio These moves come amid sluggish urban demand. The rural market has outpaced urban areas for six consecutive quarters now, indicating a turnaround in consumption in smaller towns and villages. In the April-June quarter, rural FMCG growth reached 8.4% in volume as compared to 4.6% increase in urban areas, as per NielsenIQ data. According to the market researcher, ecommerce is emerging as a key growth engine in urban areas, especially in the top eight metro. Southern metros are leading the ecommerce charge, with a higher share at 18.4%, compared to 15.8% in eight metros in the June quarter. Even though ecommerce accounts for just 11–13% of FMCG value share in metros, it's delivering more than half of the omnichannel growth, as per NielsenIQ. Chief executives also acknowledged the stiff competition from D2C brands in categories like wellness food and health, male grooming, beauty and hair care, which has forced traditional players to rework on their portfolio. Emami vice chairman Mohan Goenka said there is a lot of D2C competition in categories like male grooming and hair care. The company has relaunched its male grooming portfolio under a new brand, Smart and Handsome from its earlier avatar of Fair and Handsome, while its hair care portfolio Kesh King is also being relaunched this quarter. Marico chief executive officer Saugata Gupta said the company is exploring digital-first brands in spaces like foods and personal care, with the company's D2C brands growing at over 25%. He said some of the earlier D2C acquisitions such as Beardo and Plix have broken even, while Just Herbs and True Elements brands will get to the path of break even within the next 18 months. 'Our track-record for acquisition has been good. We now have a good playbook,' Gupta said. 'We also believe that we see ourselves as a strategic investor of choice, because given that we have multiple brands, the kind of synergies, and the kind of cost and the kind of knowledge we can give and help a founder to grow his or her business is significant.'
Mint
19-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Emami's growth plans set to hit a weather bump
Emami Ltd is focusing more on new categories—rebranding and ramping up its presence in faster channels like e-commerce and quick commerce. But for all of this to yield meaningful results, demand needs to pick up amid a softer inflation outlook and rural rebound. But summer, typically a good quarter for Emami, has started on a patchy note. April and May brought unseasonal rains, denting demand for core summer products such as talc powders, especially in the weather-sensitive southern and eastern states; although oils fared slightly better. Still, the March quarter (Q4FY25) wasn't a washout with consolidated sales up 8% year-on-year to ₹960 crore. Domestic net sales were up 9% and volume by 5%. Rural India held up, while urban demand stayed sluggish. Modern trade, e-commerce, and institutional sales, now contributing about 29% of its domestic revenue, grew steadily by 10%. Also Read: JSW Energy's expected Ebitda growth to be fueled by debt binge Within the core domestic portfolio, BoroPlus surged 27%, helped by an extended winter. Navratna and Dermicool together clocked a 16% rise,Zandu Care grew over 50%, now with half its revenue coming from new launches in the past two years. Even 'Smart and Handsome', newly rebranded, finally reversed its slide, growing 7%. International, too, bounced back, growing 6% in Q4 after a rough Q3. Buoyed by momentum, after 25+ launches in FY25, FY26 will see more, especially in male grooming, healthcare, and skin brightening. In Q4FY25, the company entered into the skinbrightening category with the launch of Emami Pure Glow. Pain persists But cracks remain. Pain management was flattish in Q4FY25 and even FY25. Kesh King declined 9% in FY25, with a BCG-led strategy to be rolled out in Q2FY26. The Man Company and Brillare, Emami's direct-to-consumer brands, clocked a revenue of ₹200 crore in FY25 but remain loss-making. The management expects strong double-digit sales growth from these businesses in FY26. Also Read: Tata Power's solar cell plant fuels Q4 earnings, sets stage for FY26 growth Gross margin was up slightly by 11 basis points (bps) on-year to 65.9% in Q4FY25, helped by benign commodity prices and pricing actions. Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) grew 4%, accompanied by a 90bps drop in margin to 22.8%. One basis point is one hundredth of a percentage point. Benign raw material prices should act as a cushion to margin, although how demand pans out is crucial. 'Valuation appears attractive at 30x 1-year forward earnings per share (EPS). However, consistency in revenue trend is a must for a sustained re-rating of the stock to the sector average," said analysts from Jefferies India in a report on 16 brand ambitions are looking brighter, but FY26 is off to a cautious start. Also Read: Are Muthoot Finance investors worried about falling gold prices?
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Emami net profit rises 9% to Rs 162cr in Q4 FY25
1 2 3 Kolkata: FMCG major Emami Ltd registered a 9% jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 162 crore in Q4 of 2024-25 from Rs 146 crore in the year-ago period. The consolidated revenue in Q4FY25 stood at Rs 963 crore, growing by 8% on a year-on-year basis. Gross margins expanded by 10 basis points to 65.9% and EBITDA grew by 4% to Rs 219 crore. The company repositioned Smart and Handsome from a fairness-focused product to a complete male grooming solution during the quarter. The company also forayed into the brightening cream category with the launch of Emami Pure Glow. Harsha V Agarwal, vice chairman and MD of Emami Limited, said: "Our core domestic business continued to demonstrate strong momentum, delivering robust double-digit growth of 11% in Q4FY25, supported by healthy volume growth of 7%." Mohan Goenka, vice chairman and whole-time director, Emami Limited, said: "Our sustained interventions on the distribution front, including a sharp focus on GT-marts, significantly expanded the purchase potential of each outlet."
Mint
07-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Dermicool soaps? Emami bets on legacy brand extensions to fuel growth
New Delhi: Consumer goods company Emami Ltd, known for brands like Zandu balm, antiseptic cream Boroplus and Navratna cooling oil, is embarking on an ambitious expansion of its core product lines to fuel growth. The move will see the Kolkata-based company extend its established brands, including Dermicool and Kesh King, into new categories such as soaps and wellness, signaling a strategic shift to capture a larger share of India's burgeoning consumer market and ensure sustained growth. Emami recently extended its Smart and Handsome cream into the wider male grooming segment and is chasing similar expansions for other brands to increase their addressable market size and consumer relevance. Also read: Costa Coffee sees India becoming one of its top-five markets 'Our growth strategy is very clear—how do we make our legacy brands bigger. There are two or three areas to make them bigger. One is, how do we make our existing products grow faster. Number two is, how can we extend those brands via premiumization or targeting different sets of audience and selling through different channels," Harsha V. Agarwal, vice chairman and managing director, said in an interview with Mint . Earlier this year, the company renamed its almost two-decade-old male grooming brand Fair and Handsome to Smart and Handsome with plans to tap into a broader male grooming market that is set to expand to ₹ 32,000 crore over the coming years. For instance, it has launched soaps, cooling gels and specialized powders under its talc brand Dermicool that it acquired in 2022. It recently launched a ₹ 1 talcum sachet under its Navratna cooling oil brand, expanding it from oils to powders apart from adding more expensive therapeutic oils under the brand. Also read: Sunscreen wars: and HUL spar in court over ad campaigns 'We are relooking at our entire portfolio of our brands, be it Navratna, Dermicool—brands that are summer-focused. When we took over (Dermicool), it was only one product brand i.e. talcs—now we are doing specializations like active talcs targeting those into sports etc. Apart from that, we have launched a summer gel and soaps. The point is to expand the overall market as well as play to the overall strength of our brands," he added. This aligns with a broader trend among large packaged goods companies that are chasing growth by entering previously untapped categories amidst intense competition. Rivals such as Dabur, Marico and Hindustan Unilever have similarly extended their core brands. For example, Hindustan Unilever now offers peanut butter under its Kissan brand, while Marico has established a significant foods business under the Saffola oil brand. In FY24, Emami reported a 5% increase in revenue to ₹ 3,578 crore and a 13% rise in net profit to ₹ 724 crore. Despite its portfolio of well-known brands like Navratna, Zandu, Boroplus and Kesh King, the over 50-year-old company's overall business remains relatively smaller than domestic peers. 'There is a very clear target, whether we can take Navratna to ₹ 1,000 crore in the next two to three years or can Dermicool reach ₹ 500 crore mark in next three years," he added. Although Emami doesn't disclose individual brand performance, the cooling oil market is estimated at ₹ 1,048 crore, with Navratna cool oil holding a 62.8% share by volume. 'You will see a lot of activities in all our brands, particularly in Dermicool we are very, very aggressive. From the new product perspective, a lot of work is happening in brands like Kesh King, Boroplus, Navartna etc," he added. Also read: Temasek confirms investment in Haldiram Snacks Agarwal also acknowledged greater competition in the market that he said is prompting companies to step up innovation. Emami has all also had a string of acquisitions over the years—in 2015, it acquired the hair and scalp care business of Kesh King for ₹ 1,684 crore. It acquired the Dermicool brand from Reckitt for ₹ 432 crore. Emami has over the years invested in Helios Lifestyle Pvt Ltd, which owns the men's grooming brand The Man Company. In 2023, Emami entered the juice category by acquiring a 26% stake in Axiom Ayurveda. In 2022, it bought a 30% stake in Cannis Lupus Services India, a pet care startup, among other investments. On future acquisitions, Agarwal said the company was 'open to all kinds of acquisitions". Emami Ltd is part of the Emami Group, which operates in healthcare, real estate, cement and retail, among other sectors.
