• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• Business Line
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Sindhu J. Bhattacharya

New Delhi , Aug. 16

WIPRO is looking at acquisitions as one of the ways to grow its FMCG business. Having completed the acquisition of the soap brand Chandrika in June this year, Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting (a business unit of Wipro Ltd) is keen to expand its toilet soap portfolio further by acquiring brands that are synergistic with the existing products.

Further, in a bid to generate organic growth, the company is getting into new product areas. It has already begun test marketing Wipro Sanjeevani Isabgol (laxative), a fairness cream under the Santoor brand name and is expected to launch more over-the-counter products soon.

"We want growth to come organically and will look at acquisitions in case they are synergistic. In particular, we are looking at acquisitions in the toilet soaps category, where we do not plan to launch any more of our own brands," the President of Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting (WCCL), Mr Vineet Agrawal, told Business Line.

Asked whether the company was still keen to bid for Mysore Sandal soap, an undertaking of the Karnataka Government, Mr Agrawal replied in the affirmative but said there was no word from the State Government on whether the brand was still up for sale.

The existing toilet soap brands under WCCL include Santoor, Chandrika, Milk & Roses, besides Wipro Shikakai. He said while the process of acquiring Chandrika was begun a long time back, it has been completed only in June this year.

But even now, this hand-made soap is being manufactured by the Chandrika family and WCCL will only market and distribute the product.

Another area where the company is keen to launch more products is the health category.

Mr Agrawal said the Santoor brand portfolio is also being expanded. It currently includes the soap, a talcum powder and a face wash, while a fairness cream is being test marketed. Santoor is at present manufactured in the Maharashtra and Karnataka plants. A third plant with 10,000-tonnes-per-annum installed capacity has been put up at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh and is expected to commence production later this month.

However, WCCL has shelved earlier plans to set up a subsidiary for this new plant, Mr Agrawal said adding, "We did consider setting up a separate subsidiary but realised there would be no value addition."

And, besides expanding the product portfolio, the company is planning to scale up exports this year. It intends to distribute its products across the Gulf, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Mr Agrawal said all the brands acquired last year have grown faster than the respective product segments. Chandrika sales were up 28 per cent in the first quarter this year, Santoor soap by 20 per cent and Glucovita by a whopping 50 per cent.

More Stories on : Strategy | Mergers & Acquisitions | Personal Products

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Wipro eyes acquisitions to grow FMCG business

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line