African market stays key to Godrej Consumer growth

New Delhi: Having a strong foothold in Africa remains a key strategy of Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) as the company increases the pace of overall growth, the FMCG major said.

It is accelerating innovation pipeline by investing in R&D and capacity to step up the pace of growth, GPCL said in its annual report.

"Establishing a strong foothold in Africa continues to be key to our strategy in terms of business size today as well as potential for the future. Our largest investment as a company, of Rs 4,000 crore...," said GCPL Managing Director & CEO Vivek Gambhir.

Among other areas, the company intends to double revenues from the hair care segment.

"Today, catering to the hair care needs of women of African descent contributes to 21 per cent of our revenues. We intend to double this in the next 4 years," Gambhir said in the report.

He added that the acquisition of US-based brand Strength of Nature has catapulted GCPL to become one of the largest players globally.

"It will, over time, also provide a platform for us to further build and drive global leadership," he said.

In December 2017, GCPL inaugurated its factory in Maputo and is one of the biggest employers in Mozambique, as per the company's annual report for 2017-18.

GCPL has presence in over 90 countries and is building a presence in emerging markets of Asia, Africa, Latin America across categories -- home care, personal wash and hair care.

Last fiscal, GCPL had a consolidated net sales of Rs 9,862 crore in which India contributed 53 per cent and rest came from overseas market.

"We are accelerating our innovation pipeline, ramping up capabilities, investing significantly in R&D and cross-pollinating products across geographies," said GCPL Executive Chairperson Nisaba Godrej.

In last five years, new products accounted for 20 per cent of GCPL's global growth and 35 per cent of domestic market growth, she said.

"We are also excited by a lot of the new capabilities and transformations we are exploring in digital, advanced analytics, go-to-market and supply chain technologies. All of this will enable us to create strong value in the coming years," Godrej added.