Comments
Home-grown FMCG company Marico hopes to complete the acquisition of male grooming brand, Beardo, by the end of this fiscal. Post acquisition, Beardo will be a wholly-owned subsidiary.
Mumbai-based Marico, had in March 2017, made a strategic investment in the start-up Zed Lifestyle (owners of the brand, Beardo) for an undisclosed consideration.
According to Vivek Karve, CFO, Marico Ltd, there is a plan to integrate the Beardo business “within the next 12 months”. Beardo, which is a profitable brand, plays in the mass-premium-to-premium men grooming category.
“While we may continue to run the business through a separate entity, we will own that business (Beardo) 100 per cent, eventually,” Karve told BusinessLine .
Sources say the acquisition may happen through primary infusion and secondary buyouts.
As per the company’s latest annual report, Marico has a 42.88 per cent stake in Zed Lifestyle and the latter is categorised as an “associate company”. An associate company is one where the parent (in this case Marico) has a minority stake.
Karve added that Beardo is run as a “separate company”, with a separate management team. However, the start-up will continue as a “subsidiary of Marico”. Asked if there will be any re-branding post integration, the CFO said: “They are known for the brand that they have created. Marico will provide the necessary support from time to time.”
Male-grooming
Start-ups like Beardo have been able to make inroads in the still niche male grooming category in India, which is pegged at ₹3,600 crore and has a double-digit CAGR.
Marico, incidentally, has been focusing on the men’s grooming category for a while now. In the first three months of this fiscal (April to June), the male grooming franchise had a flat quarter (year-on-year growth) due to a weak performance in deodorants.
It, however, does not expect any medium term concern given the healthy traction in hair gels, hair wax and the online only portfolio of premium face-wash and body-wash categories.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.