MAM
HUL’s promotional spends drop 3.58% to Rs 26.97 bn in FY’12
MUMBAI: Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has reduced its spend on advertising and promotions by 3.58 per cent in the fiscal ended 31 March 2012 compared to the year-ago period.
The company spent Rs 26.97 billion on promotions, down from Rs 27.97 billion.
Despite the fall in marketing spends, the company has reported a 16.99 per cent increase in its net sales year on year which stood at Rs 229.88 billion for the fiscal as against Rs 196.48 billion in the prior year.
HUL’s consolidated net profit was up 21.54 per cent to Rs 27.91 billion compared to Rs 22.96 billion in 2010-11.
Meanwhile, for the quarter ended 31 March 2012 (standalone), the ad and promotional expenses of HUL spurted 8.67 per cent. The company spent Rs 6.77 billion in the final quarter, up from Rs 6.23 billion a year ago.
The company’s net sales grew 20.6 per cent to Rs 56.60 billion, in comparison to Rs 46.94 billion. Correspondingly the net profit for the quarter under review also saw an increase of 20.63 per cent to Rs 6.87 billion.
HUL chairman Harish Manwani said, “Our performance through the year has been consistent, with broad based growth ahead of the market, driven by a relentless focus on innovation and in-market execution. In a year of competitive intensity and high volatility, a sharp focus on cost management helped the business to continue to invest behind our brands and capabilities while delivering an improvement in margins.”
During the quarter domestic consumer business grew at 20 per cent with strong underlying volume growth of 10 per cent. Soaps and detergents grew 28 per cent as momentum was sustained in both bars and powders with Rin benefiting from the bars being relaunched in the third quarter of 2011. The focus on driving upgradation stepped up growth rates in Surf. During the quarter, Rin made a foray into the fabric blues segment with the launch of Rin Perfect Shine. Household Care delivered robust double-digit growth led by Vim and Domex.
The personal care category grew at 17 per cent and was strongly volume led in the process. Skin cleansing registered double-digit growth across all price segments. Lux accelerated its momentum, delivering the third successive quarter of double-digit growth post its relaunch. Lifebuoy Clini-care 10 was launched with the breakthrough ‘Activ Naturol Shield’ technology to further strengthen its germ protection superiority in the hygiene segment.
In skin care Fair & Lovely (FAL), Ponds and Vaseline continued to grow in double digits. FAL growth was broad-based with the FAL Menz variant more than doubling during the quarter. Vaseline grew on the back of a robust performance in lotions and Ponds performed well at the premium end. Innovations in the quarter were led by the relaunch of Ponds Age Miracle, FAL anti-Marks, FAL Under Eye Serum and Vaseline Menz.
In Hair Care, Dove, Sunsilk and Clear delivered double-digit growth. Dove sustained its growth momentum and volumes doubled in the quarter. Conditioners continued to lead market development with growth in high double digits.
Oral Care registered modest growth in a competitive environment. Pepsodent GumCare performed well gaining from stepped up investments and distribution expansion.
Packaged Foods grew 10 per cent, buoyed by Kissan and Kwality Walls Kissan. The Knorr franchise was expanded with the introduction of a new Chicken variant and multi-packs in Soupy Noodles. Kwality Walls continued its strong growth momentum, led by innovations and distribution expansion.
AD Agencies
Abhay Duggal joins JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales
The streaming giant brings in a seasoned revenue hand as the battle for Hindi television advertising heats up
MUMBAI: Abhay Duggal has a new desk, and JioStar has a new weapon. The media and entertainment veteran has joined JioStar as director of entertainment ad sales for Hindi general entertainment channels, adding 17 years of hard-won revenue experience to one of India’s most powerful broadcasting operations.
Duggal is no stranger to big portfolios or bruising markets. Before joining JioStar, he spent a brief stint at Republic World as deputy general manager and north regional head for ad sales. Before that, he put in three years at Enterr10 Television, where he ran the north region for Dangal TV and Dangal 2, two of India’s leading free-to-air Hindi channels. The north alone accounted for more than 50 per cent of total channel revenue on his watch, a number that tends to get attention in any sales meeting.
His longest stint was at Zee Entertainment Enterprises, where he spent over six years rising to associate director of sales. There he commanded the Hindi movies cluster across seven channels, owned more than half of north India’s revenue across flagship properties including Zee TV and &TV, and closed marquee sponsorships across the Indian Premier League, Zee Rishtey Awards and Dance India Dance. He also handled monetisation for the English movies and entertainment cluster and the global news channel WION, a portfolio that would stretch most sales teams twice his size.
Earlier in his career Duggal closed what was then a Rs 3 crore single deal at Reliance Broadcast Network, one of the largest in Indian radio at the time, before that he helped launch and monetise JAINHITS, India’s first HITS-based cable and satellite platform.
His edge, by his own account, lies in marrying data and instinct: translating audience trends, inventory signals and client demands into long-term partnerships built on cost-per-rating-point discipline rather than short-term deal chasing. In a media landscape being reshaped by streaming, fragmented attention and AI-driven advertising, that kind of rigour is increasingly rare and increasingly valuable.
JioStar, which blends the scale of Reliance’s Jio platform with the content firepower of Star, is doubling down on its advertising business at precisely the moment the Hindi GEC market is getting more competitive. Bringing in someone who has spent nearly two decades doing exactly this, across some of India’s most watched channels, is a pointed statement of intent. Duggal has spent his career turning audiences into revenue. JioStar is clearly betting he can do it again, and bigger.
