Warc, 28 January 2013
NEW DELHI: ITC, the conglomerate, is seeking to boost its
portfolio of "Indian brands" in the fast-moving consumer goods sector
as it tries to increase sales in the country.
The firm, which is part-owned by British American Tobacco
and still draws sizeable revenues from cigarette sales, is attempting to tackle
what is sees as a long-term deficiency among Indian firms.
"From baby food to breakfast cereals, there is a
surfeit of foreign brands in the country. Our country has not been able to
build strong local brands," Y C Deveshwar, ITC's chairman, told the
Economic Times.
"ITC is engaged in building Indian brands across all
consumer goods categories," he continued. "With our brands, value
will be captured and re-invested in India."
The company generated Rs5,500 in revenues from the
fast-moving consumer goods category in its last fiscal year, and has outlined
the goal of boosting this figure to Rs15,000 by 2015–16.
"We are the fastest-growing FMCG company in the
country. I want to make ITC the number one FMCG company in the country. This
won't happen in my life but I want to set it on that course," Deveshwar
said.
Its food business, which yielded around 60% of sales outside
of cigarettes, currently spans categories ranging from biscuits and crisps to
noodles.
"Brand-building requires a lot of investment, but we
have the staying power and the resources," said Deveshwar.
ITC's leading brands at present include Sunfeast biscuits,
Bingo savoury snacks and Candyman confectionery. One of its longer term targets
is to enter the chocolate category, which is growing rapidly.
While ITC's FMCG business registered a modest loss of Rs24
crore in the last quarter, Deveshwar also reported that is has now reached
breakeven stage, and would received further support if needed.
"The profitable parts of the business are funding the
non-profitable ones. But if in the future, we decide to make more investments,
we will use the cash flow from cigarettes to build brands and assets," he
added.
Data sourced from Economic Times; additional content by Warc
staff
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