All stories by Sharleen D'Souza
'Growth Of Cheese Market In India Is Exponential'
Rediff.com3 days ago'Only 20 per cent of families in India buy cheese twice once a year.'
Crude palm oil rates on boil, FMCG prices move north
Rediff.com6 days agoWith crude palm oil prices on the rise, companies have started to jack up rates of soaps and edible oils in order to pass on the hike to consumers. Crude palm oil, one of the main ingredients in the manufacture of some consumer goods, saw a price rise of 45.2 per cent in the last three months. One of the country's largest consumer companies, Hindustan Unilever, said it has already started to take price increases in the skin cleansing category.
Diwali Shopping Still Sluggish
Rediff.com24 Oct 2024While there was a 6 to 7 per cent increase in volume compared to last year in the first few days of the month which coincided with festivals, a large part of the demand is yet to hit the market.
Who Will Lead The Tata Group?
Rediff.com11 Oct 2024Will it be Noel Tata, Ratan Tata's half brother?
Q-com's growth disrupting retail, say distributors
Rediff.com27 Aug 2024Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) distributors' association has written to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, expressing its apprehensions that the "unchecked expansion" of quick commerce platforms was leading to severe disruptions in the retail ecosystem. India Consumer Products Distributors Federation on Thursday shot an email to the government, saying that significant challenges were posed by the rapid growth of quick commerce platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart to the traditional retail sector and the FMCG distribution network in the country.
Retailers see light at the end of tunnel as I-Day sales provide much-needed boost
Rediff.com16 Aug 2024Retailers are set to end a prolonged period of sluggish sales as the end-of-season sales (EOSS) coincide with the upcoming long weekend. Apparel and lifestyle retailers have faced challenges since the festival season last year. However, with EOSS, which began in June, sales have started to recover, showing noticeable improvement in July and August.
Budget Encourages Gold Rush
Rediff.com26 Jul 2024'Customers are coming in; if they aren't buying, they are at least visiting the stores, which was not the case before the Budget.'
Kishore Biyani's nephew Vivek launches retail chain for D2C cos
Rediff.com19 Jul 2024Vivek Biyani, the nephew of retail veteran Kishore Biyani, will launch a retail chain focused on direct-to-consumer (D2C) brands under the name Broadway, along with actor Rana Daggubati, Apurva Salarpuria of Salarpuria Group and Anuj Kejriwal of Anarock Retail. This new retail format is a multi-brand outlet, which will house D2C brands under one roof. The first store is set to open in Delhi in August this year, and subsequent store launches in Hyderabad and Mumbai are slated in September 2024 and March next year, the company said in its release.
Subhash Dandekar: The man who brought colours to artists and students!
Rediff.com17 Jul 2024Subhash Dandekar, chairman emeritus of Kokuyo Camlin and the man known for bringing colours to artists as well as students in the country, passed away on Monday at 85.
Unilever job cuts: HUL to assess parent's global initiatives for its biz
Rediff.com15 Jul 2024Hindustan Unilever (HUL) will closely assess the global initiatives of its parent under the productivity programme and evaluate what works best for its business and people, said the company. The statement from HUL comes after its parent Unilever recently told its employees that it will cut a third of office-based jobs in Europe by the end of 2025. "We will closely assess the global initiatives of Unilever under the productivity programme and evaluate what works best for our business and our people," HUL told Business Standard.
Early 'end of season' sale amid muted demand
Rediff.com26 Jun 2024The spring/summer end-of-season sales have been advanced by a week with brands having high inventories due to weak demand in May because consumers avoided shopping in the hot month.
'Akshaya Tritiya also witnessed strong demand'
Rediff.com16 Jun 2024'Customers flocked to purchase gold in large numbers during the event.'
'Rural demand for FMCG would come up in next quarter'
Rediff.com15 Jun 2024'We are seeing signs of improvement in rural overall in terms of demand, but I would still keep my fingers crossed.'
What is going to be the main focus for HUL?
Rediff.com19 May 2024'Although currently, urban areas contribute more to growth than rural, there is no reason why rural areas should not contribute.'
'In three years, we want to reach 1 million direct outlets'
Rediff.com15 May 2024'Our target will come from rural areas as there are more outlets there.'
FMCG cos to face volume pressure in Q4
Rediff.com12 Apr 2024Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies anticipate sustained volume pressures in the January-March quarter (Q4) coupled with sluggish rural growth during the period. Brokerages estimate top-line growth to be in low single digits in the quarter. Also, the late onset of winter had an impact on demand for winter products which range from moisturisers to hot beverages.
Television prices may go up by 10% in April due to rising open cell rates
Rediff.com15 Mar 2024Consumers may have to shell out more to buy television panels as manufacturers say they may raise prices again in April. The industry has been facing this issue of price rise post the pandemic and open cell prices have gone up by around 30 per cent in the last one year. And, television panel manufacturers expect this trend to continue.
Ikea India shuts its Mumbai City store, might open another in Pune
Rediff.com23 Feb 2024Furniture retailer Ikea India on Thursday said it will shut down its store in Mumbai's R City Mall by the middle of this year and explore omnichannel formats in the city. The store at R City Mall, which is spread across 72,000 sq ft, opened in June 2022 to test the viability of small-format stores. The company's plan to shut down the store illustrates the concerns surrounding the viability of running a small-format store, given the rising rentals.
'Rural areas been stressed for many FMCG companies'
Rediff.com15 Feb 2024'In staples, we have still managed in rural areas.'
Incumbent FMCG brands continue to corner 65% market share in India
Rediff.com5 Feb 2024In India, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) majors continue to hold sway, with incumbent brands cornering 65 per cent of the market share, shows a Bain & Company report. While identifying the continued preference of Indians for incumbent brands, the report says that the dominance of general trade in the country has allowed national brands to maintain their supremacy. The low penetration of e-commerce in the country has also helped large brands.