Consumer goods major Unilever will accelerate its investment in India as it seeks to augment its presence in the premium segment, CEO Hein Schumacher said in an investor call on Thursday. The company will also make ‘significant interventions’ in Lux and Lifebuoy in India this year (CY25), which analysts are interpreting as a relaunch of the brands to shore up performance. India is Unilever’s second-largest market after the US, contributing over 11% to the company’s global sales. The company follows a January-December accounting year.
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The London-headquartered firm reported December-quarter underlying sales growth of 4%, compared to a 4.1% forecast by analysts. Subsidiary Hindustan Unilever (HUL) had reported its December quarter results last month, driven by a one-time gain from the divestment of Pureit. Excluding it, year-on-year net profit was down 1.07% and revenue saw sluggish growth at 1.4% as urban slowdown woes hurt demand amid wage and inflation concerns.
Addressing investors, Schumacher, 53, said the acquisition of beauty brand Minimalist in India was the first step in the direction to premiumise beauty and well-being, a category where it was looking to add 900 basis points to its share in the future.
“Under the focus pillar of our growth action plan 2030, we have said that we will double down in India as one of our key markets. We will look to accelerate our beauty and well-being business in the country and that we will commit capital in support of these and other priorities. These came together with the announcement last month that Hindustan Unilever had signed an agreement to acquire the premium brand Minimalist,” Schumacher said.
Unilever CFO Fernando Fernandez told investors on the call that the India business continued to add market share during a period of modest market growth.
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“We expect conditions to improve mid-term following recent fiscal and monetary stimulus (announced in the Budget). India grew 1.8% with 2.4% UVG (underlying volume growth), with tonnage volume growing mid-single digit, partially offset by adverse mix due to the strong growth in home care versus other categories,” Fernandez said. Homecare, led by brands such as Surf Excel, saw 6% underlying sales growth in the December quarter in India,
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