ITC to foray into new FMCG categories... eye acquisitions: Chairman
Kolkata: The 108th ITC Annual General Meeting was held in Kolkata,where Sanjiv Puri, Chairman, ITC Ltd. charted out the approaches to consolidate ITC's position as a resilient 'Enterprise of Tomorrow', that generates sustained value for all its stake holder, while contributing to national priority goals that accelerate job creation and replenish the environment.
Around 25% of ITC's Segment Revenue is from newer FMCG businesses. the segment's EBITDA at Rs. 688 crores in FY19, has increased 51% over last year. To accelerate growth in the FMCG businesses the endeavour is not only to fortify the existing categories towards delivering industry leading performance but also to foray into newer categories and sub-segments. Over 50 products were launched last year to strengthen existing categories and enter newer segments. Hotels business has expanded over time to encompass 109 properties with more than 10,000 rooms, which enrich the nation's tourism landscape.
ITC's formidable distriution network enables it to place products in more than 6 million retail outlets. Substansive investments are being made in expanding this network and in developing alternate and emerging channels such as, Modern Trade, On-the-Go, Food services, end-to-end Cold Chain, e-Commerce. Today, ITC's vibrant portfolio of brands represents an annual consumer spend over Rs. 18,000 crores.
The integrated fruits, vegetables and perishable value chain has enabled ITC to foray into new segments with wide range of offerings including frozen food,dehydrated onions, potatoes, mango pulp, prawns etc. ITC's newly launched initiative, 'Baareh Mahine Hariyali' programmeis aligned to the Prime Minister's vision of doubling farmer incomes, is being progressively rolled out to 1 million farmers. This year, ITC crossed the historic milestone with its soil and moisture conversation programmes covering more than 1 million acres of water stressed areas.
ITC's globally benchmarked R&D centre, the ITC Life Sciences and Technology Centre is mandated to secure science led competitive advantage and develop future ready products and processes. ITC is also engaging with the start up eco-system to gain from their vibrant innovative capabilities.
ITC has formulated a comprehensive business-wise digital strategy driving transformational change across value chains. Efficiencies in the backend are being enhanced through increased use and experimentation of digital technologies such as Industry 4.0, Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Augmented & Virtual Reality, Advanced Automation, Robotics and Mobility, among others. These are being deployed to enable smart manufacturing, smart utility management, enhance efficiencies in dealer management and transportation management systems, supply chain agility as well as in front-end execution in sales and marketing.
ITC is investing in building state-of-the-art manufacturing infrastructure across the country to rapidly scale up the FMCG businesses, build an extremely competitive supply chain and contribute to the country's Make in India vision. The 20 Integrated Consumer Goods Manufacturing and Logistics (ICML) facilities being progressively built will provide formidable strength to the Company's FMCG brands by enhancing cost efficiency, economies of scale, freshness and close-to-market distribution.
'Nation First: Sab SaathBadhein' philosophy underlines our core belief in building a globally competitive and profitable Indian enterprise that makes an exemplary contribution to creating larger societal value.ITC's e-Choupal initiative has empowered over 4 million farmers, the Afforestation programme has greened over 7,30,000 acres, whilst generating over 135 million person days of employment, the Animal Husbandry programme has covered over 17,75,000 milch animals, initiatives in Women Empowerment have reached over 64,000 beneficiaries, Vocational Training has covered over 67,000 youths, the Primary Education programme has benefitted over 6,90,000 children, while more than 35,000 toilets have been built. ITC's Well-being Out of Waste programme (WOW in short) contribute to the Swachh Bharat Mission and comprehensively addresses the problem of solid waste management, of which plastic waste is a significant component. The initiative provides an end-to-end sustainable and scalable solution that has reached out to 89 lakh citizens in the country.
A recent initiative on building climate-smart villages aims to reduce the vulnerability risks faced by poor farmers. ITC's Social Investments Programme, which today covers 235 districts in 27 States of India, are progressively being scaled up.
ITC's model of distributed leadership has today created a diverse talent pool of professional entrepreneurs - 'Proneurs'. ITC provides a culture akin to start-ups, where young people with passion and determination can contribute significantly to creating winning products and services. As ITC moves into the future, Team ITC's unwavering commitment even in the face of all adversity will lend new wings to its aspiration. It will also be ITC's untiring endeavour to lead by example as an Enterprise of Tomorrow by pursuing growth strategies that will be responsibly competitive, sustainable and inclusive.
