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Rather than revive dormant brands such as Evita and Ganga, Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) will continue to scout for soap brands which have a ?strategic fit' in terms of having presence across the `value chain' in its personal wash segment. Commanding a 10 per cent share in the Rs 7,500-crore soaps market (with brands such as Godrej No.1, Cinthol and Fair Glow), the FMCG major is looking to boost growth in this category through more acquisitions.
Speaking to Business Line , Mr Anindo Samajpati, Category Head, Soaps, GCPL, said: ?For every acquisition that we make, we look at synergies which can complement our soaps portfolio in terms of geographical reach and benefits. We are looking at getting more growth into our soaps portfolio with brands across the value chain.?
Inorganic growth
Recently there have been reports about the company eyeing the Margo brand which was offloaded from Henkel's portfolio. In fact, analysts say that it would be easier for the company to pursue inorganic growth by acquiring brands rather than trying to build them from scratch.
We do have dormant soap brands such as Evita and Ganga but there are no plans to divest them,? Mr Samajpati said. There are also soap brands such as Crowning Glory and Vigil which are present in certain regions but we have not been incurring media spends for these brands, he added added.
Besides, GCPL may also look at bringing in acquired brands such as Tura from Africa in the soaps category going forward. ?As we already have an international footprint, we are evaluating bringing in brands like the Nigerian personal care brand of Tura,? said Mr Samajpati.
Meanwhile, the 10-year-old FairGlow soap brand has been re-launched, and the company is expected to extend the brand to more categories. ?We are trying to strengthen the core of the FairGlow brand and might look at complementary and adjacent categories like skincare. The purpose is to make Fair Glow part of the fairness regime for consumers,? added Mr. Samajpati.
No Samjhauta' campaign
It has also launched a `No Samjhauta' campaign to encourage non-users into sampling the soap, thereby building FairGlow's relevance in one's beauty regimen which revolves around achieving a lighter skin. However in the past FairGlow had been extended into the creams and subsequently withdrawn with strong competitors such as HUL (Fair & Lovely) already dominating the category.
Today, the company continues to extend its Cinthol brand into categories such as deodorants and talcum powder. It had also test-marketed shampoos under the Godrej No. 1 brand, but has since withdrawn from the category.
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