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Business Standard
3 hours ago
- Business Standard
Unilever India's new CEO tasked with invigorating a sluggish consumer giant
Hindustan Unilever Ltd.'s new Chief Executive Officer Priya Nair is inheriting India's largest consumer goods maker that has seen stuttering growth in the last few years. The company's stock has inched up about 4% in the last three years while the benchmark NSE Nifty 50 index surged almost 42%. Its volume growth has been sluggish. Sales expansion has been a fraction of the 2022 levels while disruptor local brands are eating into its market share across product categories. Often seen as the bellwether of the consumer sentiment in the world's most-populous nation, Hindustan Unilever, or HUL, also was dragged down by a consumption slowdown in India over the past year. So strong was investor disappointment that the sudden announcement about Rohit Jawa stepping down as the CEO half-way through his term to make way for Nair stoked a stock rally on July 11. The first woman CEO for HUL was earlier serving as the president for the beauty unit and the Global Chief Marketing Officer at the London-based parent. Nair has led the Indian unit's home care, beauty and wellbeing businesses in the past. Nuvama Wealth Management called Nair 'a more aggressive leader' in a note soon after her appointment was announced. Nair's 'focus remains on delivering volume-led competitive growth that is profitable and sustainable,' a representative for Unilever's India unit said in an email. The company will 'share more details at an appropriate time.' Not kept pace Hindustan Unilever 'has had a problem for multiple years,' said Arvind Singhal, founder at retail consultancy Technopak Advisors. 'India has been changing rapidly and they haven't been able to keep pace with India's changes.' The seller of Bru coffee and Dove soaps was battling a consumer demand slowdown in the past few quarters as picky city buyers chose to spend less or switched to artisanal products. Hindustan Unilever gets about two-thirds of its sales from urban India, while rural areas contribute the rest. 'The firm will have to have a fresh distribution strategy and rejig margin structure,' Singhal said. It will also need to 'develop new products,' and figure out the categories which can be rebuilt, he said. Sales growth in the recent past has been tepid too, dragged down by global price volatility in raw materials like palm oil and coffee, though the June quarter saw the return of revenue expansion. Nair will also be in the global spotlight. Unilever's new CEO Fernando Fernandez told analysts last week after its quarterly earnings that it would be investing a 'disproportionate' amount in the US and India, adding that 'momentum is building in India.' India is Unilever's second-largest market by revenue after the US and the largest by volume. Fernandez praised Nair's 'deep understanding of our home and personal care business in India that she successfully ran for many years.' She also has the international markets knowledge to keep the company's portfolio in turn with consumer needs, he said. HUL's beauty and personal care segments — they contribute over a third of HUL's sales — have been hit by rising competition from local startups like Honasa Consumer Ltd., with its Mamaearth brand, and global rivals like L'Oreal SA pushing hard into India. Jawa, Nair's predecessor, tried to double down on premiumization through the firm's 'ASPIRE' strategy by upgrading its legacy brands, adding new brands and spending on digital push. In January, HUL acquired skincare upstart Minimalist for 26.7 billion rupees ($305 million), in one of the biggest local deals for a cosmetics startup. Ratings upgrade At least three brokerages including Goldman Sachs upgraded their ratings outlook on HUL on Friday and at least 17 analysts, including Jefferies and Citi, raised their price target for the stock, signaling that Nair has the wind at her back. 'We look forward to an update on the strategy' as the new CEO takes over, Jefferies analysts including Vivek Maheshwari wrote in a note Friday.
Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Unilever India's new CEO Priya Nair has to invigorate a sluggish consumer giant
Hindustan Unilever Ltd .'s new Chief Executive Officer Priya Nair is inheriting India's largest consumer goods maker that has seen stuttering growth in the last few years. While the Indian unit of Unilever Plc posted a forecast-beating quarterly profit last week, Nair, who took over the CEO role on Aug. 1, has her task cut out in sustaining this momentum. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Degree Project Management CXO Operations Management Technology Management Product Management others Others Data Science Artificial Intelligence Cybersecurity Public Policy MCA healthcare Leadership Data Science MBA Design Thinking Digital Marketing Data Analytics Finance PGDM Healthcare Skills you'll gain: Data-Driven Decision-Making Strategic Leadership and Transformation Global Business Acumen Comprehensive Business Expertise Duration: 2 Years University of Western Australia UWA Global MBA Starts on Jun 28, 2024 Get Details The company's stock has inched up about 4% in the last three years while the benchmark NSE Nifty 50 index surged almost 42%. Its volume growth has been sluggish. Sales expansion has been a fraction of the 2022 levels while disruptor local brands are eating into its market share across product categories. Often seen as the bellwether of the consumer sentiment in the world's most-populous nation, Hindustan Unilever, or HUL , also was dragged down by a consumption slowdown in India over the past year. So strong was investor disappointment that the sudden announcement about Rohit Jawa stepping down as the CEO half-way through his term to make way for Nair stoked a stock rally on July 11. Live Events The first woman CEO for HUL was earlier serving as the president for the beauty unit and the Global Chief Marketing Officer at the London-based parent. Nair has led the Indian unit's home care, beauty and wellbeing businesses in the past. Nuvama Wealth Management called Nair 'a more aggressive leader' in a note soon after her appointment was announced. Nair's 'focus remains on delivering volume-led competitive growth that is profitable and sustainable,' a representative for Unilever's India unit said in an email. The company will 'share more details at an appropriate time.' Not Kept Pace Hindustan Unilever 'has had a problem for multiple years,' said Arvind Singhal, founder at retail consultancy Technopak Advisors. 'India has been changing rapidly and they haven't been able to keep pace with India's changes.' The seller of Bru coffee and Dove soaps was battling a consumer demand slowdown in the past few quarters as picky city buyers chose to spend less or switched to artisanal products. Hindustan Unilever gets about two-thirds of its sales from urban India, while rural areas contribute the rest. 'The firm will have to have a fresh distribution strategy and rejig margin structure,' Singhal said. It will also need to 'develop new products,' and figure out the categories which can be rebuilt, he said. Sales growth in the recent past has been tepid too, dragged down by global price volatility in raw materials like palm oil and coffee, though the June quarter saw the return of revenue expansion. Nair will also be in the global spotlight. Unilever's new CEO Fernando Fernandez told analysts last week after its quarterly earnings that it would be investing a 'disproportionate' amount in the US and India, adding that 'momentum is building in India.' India is Unilever's second-largest market by revenue after the US and the largest by volume. Fernandez praised Nair's 'deep understanding of our home and personal care business in India that she successfully ran for many years.' She also has the international markets knowledge to keep the company's portfolio in turn with consumer needs, he said. HUL's beauty and personal care segments — they contribute over a third of HUL's sales — have been hit by rising competition from local startups like Honasa Consumer Ltd., with its Mamaearth brand, and global rivals like L'Oreal SA pushing hard into India. Jawa, Nair's predecessor, tried to double down on premiumization through the firm's 'ASPIRE' strategy by upgrading its legacy brands, adding new brands and spending on digital push. In January, HUL acquired skincare upstart Minimalist for 26.7 billion rupees ($305 million), in one of the biggest local deals for a cosmetics startup. Ratings Upgrade At least three brokerages including Goldman Sachs upgraded their ratings outlook on HUL on Friday and at least 17 analysts, including Jefferies and Citi, raised their price target for the stock, signaling that Nair has the wind at her back. 'We look forward to an update on the strategy' as the new CEO takes over, Jefferies analysts including Vivek Maheshwari wrote in a note Friday.
Time of India
15 hours ago
- Time of India
Air India cancels Bhubaneswar-Delhi flight due to technical issue
Air India flight AI500 from Bhubaneswar to Delhi got cancelled. The cancellation occurred due to high cabin temperature. Passengers faced inconvenience. On July 31, Air India flight AI2017 from Delhi to London experienced delay. The flight aborted takeoff due to a suspected technical issue. Passengers were provided with an alternative aircraft. Air India prioritizes passenger safety. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Passengers scheduled to fly from Bhubaneswar to Delhi on Air India 's flight AI500 faced unexpected disruptions on Sunday as the airline cancelled the service due to a technical airline cited abnormal cabin temperatures on the ground as the reason behind the an official statement, an Air India Spokesperson said, "Flight AI500 scheduled to operate from Bhubaneswar to Delhi on 3 August has been cancelled due to a technical issue causing high cabin temperature on ground prior to the departure. Our airport team in Bhubaneswar is assisting the impacted passengers with alternative arrangements to fly them to their destination Delhi. We regret the inconvenience caused".The issue was identified while the aircraft was still on the tarmac, preventing it from taking off as July 31, the passengers of Air India flight AI2017, scheduled to fly from Delhi to London, experienced an unexpected delay after the aircraft aborted the takeoff and returned to the bay following a suspected technical to a statement issued by an Air India spokesperson, the cockpit crew made the decision to discontinue the take-off run in accordance with standard operating procedures."Flight AI2017 operating from Delhi to London on 31 July returned to bay due to a suspected technical issue. The cockpit crew decided to discontinue the take-off run following standard operating procedures and brought the aircraft back for precautionary checks. An alternative aircraft is being deployed to fly the passengers to London at the earliest. Our ground staff is extending all support and care to the guests to minimise inconvenience caused due to this unexpected delay. At Air India, the safety and well-being of our passengers remain the top priority," the Air India spokesperson said.
