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Business Standard
11-06-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Dabur reaffirms support to general trade amid quick commerce disruption
Amid growing distribution disruption due to emerging quick commerce channels, home-grown fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) firm Dabur India has reaffirmed its commitment to general trade distributors. This came on the heels of the company's Chief Executive Officer, Mohit Malhotra, meeting the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) on Wednesday. 'Our general trade stockist partners are not just channels of distribution, they are our growth partners, our frontline ambassadors, and the reason brand Dabur reaches every corner of India. Their entrepreneurial spirit, agility, and deep market understanding have helped us navigate challenges and seize opportunities across decades,' said Malhotra in a statement. This comes as channels like quick commerce gain ground, becoming growth drivers for packaged foods companies. 'As we roll out our new vision strategy, we intend to work with these partners to not only tap emerging opportunities but also ensure that their return on investment is protected and enhanced,' Malhotra said. The maker of Real fruit juices and Hajmola candy recently unveiled its refreshed strategic vision to achieve sustainable double-digit compound annual growth rate in both top line and bottom line by FY2027–28. The new strategy, he said, strikes a fine balance between stability and disruption, scale and agility, and heritage and modernity. 'With new product formats, enhanced supply chain capabilities, and a renewed focus on customer-centricity, we are confident that our general trade partners will continue to thrive alongside us as we steer Dabur into the next growth orbit,' he added. In the September quarter of FY25, the company also undertook a one-time inventory rationalisation exercise for the general trade channel, reducing inventory levels with GT partners to 21 days from 30 days to prevent a supply jam.
Straits Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
‘Boycott Turkey'campaign emerges in India over Turkey's support for Pakistan
Indians have cancelled their holidays in Turkey and traders have decided not to buy Turkish goods. PHOTO: REUTERS – A groundswell of public anger has been rising in India against Turkey over Ankara's strong political and military support for Pakistan in the recent conflict between the two South Asian neighbours, which erupted following a terror attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22. New Delhi blamed Pakistan for the attack that left 26 civilians dead in Pahalgam – a charge Islamabad denies. India launched airstrikes on alleged terror camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir as well as Pakistan on May 7. Islamabad retaliated by deploying swarms of Turkish-made drones that crossed over into India, bringing into relief its close military relationship with Ankara. Turkey, which has a Muslim-majority population and has in the past aligned more with Pakistan's position on the Kashmir dispute, also offered its unambiguous political support for Pakistan this time. While it condemned the terrorist attack in Kashmir, Ankara said India's retaliatory airstrikes had raised 'the risk of an all-out war'. 'We condemn such provocative steps as well as attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure,' it added, endorsing Pakistan's call for an investigation into the April 22 incident. India, however, has rebuffed any such calls, bringing up Pakistan's past lack of cooperation in similar anti-terror investigations and describing its latest call as 'stonewalling tactics'. Angered by this recent Turkish support for Pakistan, a 'Boycott Turkey' campaign has gained traction in India, where patriotic sentiments are running high in the wake of the conflict with Pakistan. Indians have cancelled their holidays in Turkey and traders have decided not to buy Turkish goods. On May 19, the All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation, whose members supply goods to around 13 million grocery stores across the country, announced an 'indefinite and total boycott' of all Turkish-origin goods, including chocolates, biscuits and skincare products. Even other countries such as Azerbaijan and Malaysia have found themselves caught in the crosshairs of Indians with similar calls for a travel boycott because of their support for Pakistan during the conflict. Baku condemned India's attacks against Pakistan, which it said had 'killed and injured several civilians'. India has denied any civilian deaths from the attacks, maintaining that over 100 terrorists were killed in the airstrikes. Malaysia too supported Islamabad after the attack in Pahalgam, with its Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on May 5 expressing his 'full understanding of the difficult circumstances Pakistan is facing'. He also affirmed Malaysia's support for an 'independent and transparent investigation' to identify those responsible for the April 22 incident. China has also faced similar boycott calls in India in recent days, but at a much lower intensity than that directed against the Muslim majority countries of Turkey and Azerbaijan. This is despite Beijing being Pakistan's top defence partner and its jets and missiles having been deployed against India in the recent conflict. Following the 2020 border clash with China, anti-Chinese boycott calls had also surged in India. However, bilateral trade between India and China has increased, given India's dependence on key Chinese imports that drive its economic growth such as electronic and telecommunication items, organic chemicals and plastics. In FY24, bilateral trade with China was valued at US$118.40 billion, against US$113.83 billion in FY23. Backlash against Turkey Mr Rikant Pittie, the chief executive and co-founder of EaseMyTrip, an Indian travel portal, told The Straits Times that cancellations of flight bookings to Turkey had surged by 22 per cent between May 10 and 13 on their platform. Cancellations for Azerbaijan also increased by 30 per cent. These cancellations followed a 'travel advisory' from the firm on May 8 that urged its customers against non-essential travel to Turkey and Azerbaijan, a move it took fearing potential tension between India and these two countries. Ixigo, another online travel portal, has even suspended flight and hotel bookings for Turkey and Azerbaijan amid a patriotic'Nation First, Business Later' sentiment. Traders across India have said they will give up Turkish products such as apples and marble, and Indian ecommerce platforms such as Flipkart, Myntra and Ajio have halted sales of Turkish apparel brands. Among the other casualties are educational ties. At least five prominent universities in India have suspended their agreements for academic and research collaboration with Turkish educational institutions. The Indian government has also made its displeasure known. At a press conference on May 12, India's military officials presented visual evidence of what it said was the wreckage of a Turkish-origin kamikaze drone shot down in an unnamed area by Indian forces, following which a Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson said India had 'taken note' of such support for Pakistan. The government also indefinitely deferred a May 15 ceremony at which the Turkish Ambassador-designate Ali Murat Ersoy was to present his Letter of Credence to the President of India. The Turkish embassy will continue to function. India's Bureau of Civil Aviation Security on May 15 also revoked the security clearance for Celebi Airport Services India, which is owned by Turkey-headquartered airport ground handling major Celebi Aviation Holding, because of concerns related to 'national security'. The firm offered its services at nine airports and employed several thousand Indian workers. Celebi, whose stock price has since crashed by nearly 20 per cent, has challenged the decision in court, saying the move to revoke its clearance by merely citing national security, without specific justification, was 'vague' and 'unsustainable in law'. Mr Prakash Singh, a former chief of India's Border Security Force, said Turkey's political and defence support during the recent conflict for Pakistan clearly indicates that Ankara considers Pakistan its friend. 'Now that being so, I think we need to redefine our relationship with Turkey... It can't be one-way traffic,' he told ST, referring to the support India had extended Turkey following the devastating earthquake there in 2023. One possible intervention he suggested is terminating business partnerships between Indian and Turkish airlines, a call that has been raised by many others. IndiGo, India's largest airline, has an extensive code-sharing agreement with state-backed Turkish Airlines, which allows Indian passengers to travel to over 30 destinations across Europe from Istanbul. IndiGo has stood by its agreement. Turkey rising as a major arms exporter Turkey has emerged as a major arms exporter in recent years, developing a strategic relationship with Pakistan, a key destination for its military exports. According to a March 2025 report from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Pakistan was the second-largest recipient of Turkish arms exports from 2020 to 2024, accounting for 10 per cent of the country's total defence exports. The United Arab Emirates was the top buyer with an 18 per cent share. In this five-year period, Turkey's arms exports also increased by 103 per cent compared to the period between 2015 and 2019. Its defence exports increased year-on-year to reach US$7.1 billion (S$9.19 billion) in 2024, up from US$1.9 billion a decade ago. Ankara has also cultivated close political ties with Pakistan, which has the world's second-biggest Muslim population after Indonesia, to further expand its influence in the Muslim world. It is a strategy that also ties in with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's desire to position himself as a 'neo-Ottoman' caliph. In this light, it is unlikely that Indian calls for a Turkish boycott would be effective in shifting Turkey's policy towards Pakistan. Professor Arshi Khan, an expert on Turkey at Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh, said the widespread public calls for Turkey's boycott were an 'immature and emotional reaction compared with India's past track record of handling differences with Turkey diplomatically'. Turkey's close relationship with Pakistan does not mean it is against India, he told ST, underlining widespread appreciation for India among ordinary Turkish people. 'It is a different matter that Pakistan uses Turkish drones against India. That has to be dealt with by India diplomatically and by its technical teams, but certainly not this way,' added Professor Khan. Debarshi Dasgupta is The Straits Times' India correspondent covering the country and other parts of South Asia. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
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Business Standard
06-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Colgate in a spot as distributors set to halt product buys in Maharashtra
Oral-care major Colgate Palmolive (India) is in a spot in Maharashtra, where its distributors have decided to suspend purchase of all its products starting May 12 over issuance of trade credit notes without applying corresponding GST, and steep discounts the firm has been offering to quick-commerce (qcom) channels. The company's distributors, under the umbrella of All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) — a trade body representing distributors of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) — will suspend all purchases from the oral-care major from May 12 in general trade. AICPDF said in its statement that distributors had received showcause notices and tax-recovery orders, putting them at legal risks. It also said the liability had shifted to the trade partners. It also said that while the suspension was at a state level, it would also escalate into a nationwide campaign. An email query sent to Colgate Palmolive (India) had not elicited a response by press time. AICPDF said Colgate Palmolive distributors under its umbrella had received GST notices demanding about Rs 200 crore. This issue started two years ago, when the company issued trade credit notes to its distributors without the corresponding GST, putting the burden of the tax payout, interest and penalties for the said credit notes on the distributors of Colgate Palmolive India. On the qcom issue, the distributor's body said the company was aggressively pushing stock into qcom leading to deep discounts to the tune of 50-60 per cent for the consumer. These discounts offered to the consumer bring the product price down even below the purchasing price of distributors and retailers. 'Moreover, field sales executives are being demotivated by incentive losses, as their targets become unattainable amid falling volumes. This has triggered high attrition, further compromising the last-mile service backbone Colgate once relied upon,' AICPDF said in its statement. It added that general trade volumes had dropped by more than 50 per cent in many districts. The distributors federation has also been fighting qcom companies and has filed a petition with the Competition Commission of India (CCI) against leading qcom platforms in March.
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Business Standard
06-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Colgate distributors in Maharashtra to stop purchases from 12 May
Co in a bind over issuing credit notes without GST and offering deep discounts to quick commerce platforms, as distributors threaten a nationwide suspension Sharleen Dsouza Mumbai Listen to This Article Oral-care major Colgate Palmolive (India) is in a spot in Maharashtra, where its distributors have decided to suspend purchase of all its products starting May 12 over issuance of trade credit notes without applying corresponding GST, and steep discounts the firm has been offering to quick-commerce (qcom) channels. The company's distributors, under the umbrella of All India Consumer Products Distributors Federation (AICPDF) — a trade body representing distributors of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) — will suspend all purchases from the oral-care major from May 12 in general trade. AICPDF said in its statement that distributors had received showcause notices and
