Brands
Gillette India ups Ad exp 40 per cent in FY-2014
BENGALURU: Gillette India Limited (Gillette) reported a 40.2 per cent higher advertisement and sales promotion (ASP) spend for its year ended 30 June 2014 (FY-2014) at Rs 419.40 crore (24 per cent of net Total Income from Operations or TIO) as compared to the Rs 299.16 crore (20.8 per cent of TIO) in the year ended 30 June 2013 (FY-2013).
ASP in the quarter ended 30 June 2014 (Q4-2014) was 10.7 per cent lower at Rs 110.56 crore (23 per cent of TIO) versus Rs 123.84 crore (27.2 per cent of TIO) in the immediate trailing quarter (Q3-2014) and was 39.8 per cent more than the Rs 79.06 crore(20.1 per cent of TIO) in the year ago quarter Q4-2013.
Note: (1) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore.
(2) Gillette financial year closes of 30 June, hence, the quarter ended30 June is Q1, while the quarter ended 30 September is Q2; quarter ended31 December is Q2 and quarter ended 31 March is Q3.
Across 10 quarters starting Q3-2012 (quarter ended 31 March 2014) until Q4-2014 (quarter ended 30 June 2014), the company ASP shows an upward linear trend both in terms of absolute value as well as percentage of TIO.
The company’s TIO has also been moving steadily upwards. In FY-2014, TIO at Rs 1749.49 crore was 21.7 per cent more than the Rs 1437.72 crore in FY-2013. TIO in Q4-2014 at Rs 479.72 crore was 5.3 per cent more q-o-q and 22.1 per cent more y-o-y.
Please refer to Fig 1 below.
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Gillette’s ASP is made up of two components – advertisement and trade incentives. Please refer to figure 1A below for the breakup and the ratio. As is evident, the company’s ad spend ratio has gone to 1.41 and 1.42 times as compared to trade incentives in FY-2012 and FY-2013 respectively. In both FY-2010 and FY-2011 ratio of advertisement to Trade Incentives was 1.2.
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Gillette PAT has been steadily going down. In FY-2014, Gillette reported PAT of Rs 51.42 crore (2.9 per cent of TIO) as compared to the Rs 87.16 crore in FY-2013, though in Q4-2014, the company’s PAT at Rs 16.76 crore (3.5 per cent of TIO) was almost double (1.98 times) the PAT of Rs 8.48 crore (1.9 per cent if TIO) in Q3-2014 and was 1.8 per cent more than the Rs 16.47 crore (4.2 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2013. PAT has been showing a downward linear trend across five years starting FY-2010 to FY-2014 and across the 10 quarters under consideration, both in terms of absolute value as well as in terms of percentage of TIO. Please refer to Fig 2 below.
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Three segments contribute to the company’s Income from operations (TIO) – grooming, portable power and oral care. Grooming segment includes blades, razors and toiletries, portable power includes batteries and oral care includes toothbrushes, toothpaste and oral care products. Gillette India’s products are sold under the brand Gillette with sub-brands like Fusion and Mach 3. Gillette India caters to Men’s personal care products such as razors, blades, shaving creams, gels, men’s skincare products, among others in India.
The company says that sale of the grooming segment was up 19 per cent in FY-2014 versus FY-2013, oral care saw a growth of 31 per cent in FY-2014 as compared to last year and portable power saw a growth of 21 per cent in the current year as compared to previous year.
Click here to read the unaudited financial statement
Brands
Uidai partners with Google to help users locate Aadhaar centres
Verified Aadhaar centres to appear on Maps with services and access info
MUMBAI: Finding an Aadhaar centre may soon be as easy as finding your favourite café. In a move aimed at making public services more accessible, the Unique Identification Authority of India has partnered with Google to display authorised Aadhaar centres on Google Maps. The feature, expected to roll out in the coming months, will allow residents to locate verified centres quickly and confidently.
More than 60,000 Aadhaar centres, including state of the art Aadhaar Seva Kendras, will be mapped. When users search on Google Maps, they will be directed to authorised facilities rather than unverified listings, helping curb misinformation and confusion.
The listings will do more than drop a pin. Users will be able to see the nature of services offered at each centre, whether it is adult enrolment, child enrolment, or limited to address and mobile number updates. Details such as operating hours, parking availability and divyang friendly infrastructure will also be shown wherever applicable.
Uidai CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar, said the collaboration is part of the authority’s continued effort to improve ease of living for Aadhaar holders by making authorised centres simpler and faster to navigate.
The partnership will deepen in its next phase, with Uidai using Google Business Profile to manage information and respond directly to public feedback. Looking ahead, the two organisations are also exploring the option of enabling appointment bookings through the Google Maps interface, potentially allowing residents to plan their visits with greater efficiency.
Google India country head, strategic partnerships Roli Agarwal, said integrating verified Aadhaar centres would help millions access trusted services with confidence, bringing essential government infrastructure closer to the people who need it most.
If all goes to plan, a routine Aadhaar update may soon begin not with a queue, but with a search bar.
