Dabur goes scouting for Pak COO

A top Dabur India team is leaving for Pakistan on Monday to appoint a chief operating officer for its operations there as well as to conduct a feasibility study for setting up a manufacturing facility.

The team consists of chairman Vivek Burman, chief executive officer Sunil Duggal, group director PD Narang and Dabur International's CEO Arvind Kumar.

"We are going there to appoint a COO. We will also study the market to, eventually, set up a manufacturing base there," Narang told Business Standard on Friday. The team will also visit the markets in Pakistan and speak to consumers.

Dabur's products are now available in Pakistan as imports from its manufacturing plant in Dubai. The initiatives in Pakistan are part of Dabur's plan to increase its overseas business -- worth Rs 183 crore (Rs 1.83 billion), or 12 per cent of the total annual turnover now -- to Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion) in four years. That will be about 15 per cent of the total turnover, on the basis of growth projections in the next four years.

According to indications, the manufacturing base in Pakistan will cost not more than Rs 15-20 crore (Rs 150-200 million). The bulk of Dabur's expenses there are likely to go into brand building, including advertising.

Pakistan has been identified by the company as a "focus" country, under its new international plan for 2006-10 (the company draws up a new plan every four years).