The FMCG manufacturer Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. is stocking new products that are targeted at the urban consumers. This move is to counterbalance the impact of decline in the rural demand mainly due to the deficient monsoon.
Godrej is all set to launch new products in the home care and personal care segments in a couple of weeks. These new products are expected to augment the urban sales in the next few quarters.
Regarding the same, Sunil Kataria, the GCPL’s Business Head of India and SAARC stated that they have a good standard pipeline and they will be launching innovative products. He stated that there will be a couple of products that will be launched for the urban areas in a couple of weeks in the home care and personal care departments.
As the commodity prices are too low, this is the appropriate time for such FMCG companies to introduce new products that will help in overcoming the slowdown. He further stated that this is the ideal time to introduce new product developments (NPDs) that will help in overcoming the slowdown. He further stated that GCPL will launch two more products in the Q4 of this year.
He also stated that if any company launches strong and innovative products, the customers will pay for the same. He noted that such instances have happened in the past when the situation was worst.
During the slowdown of the rural market growth due to the insufficiency of monsoon, the impact on the GCPL will be lesser as compared to its peers. The best part is that the rural sales of GCPL is not has high as its peers. It is only 28 percent of its overall sales and the other 72 percent is from rural sales, stated Kataria.
He also stated that a majority of the products that GCPL sells in the rural areas are not discretionary products such as talcum powders, deodorants, perfumes, etc. They are basic necessities such as mosquito repellents, soaps, etc. that have demand even while there is a slowdown in rural or urban sales. He stated that it is the discretionary products that will be affected first.
