Wipro Consumer to withdraw sanitisers from market as demand decreases

Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting is considering withdrawing sanitisers from the market as the demand for such products has dwindled due to decrease in Covid-19 severity.

The company may also withdraw some variants of other categories that were launched during the pandemic, said Vineet Agarwal, chief executive officer of Wipro Consumer Care. He, however, did not give details on the products the company is planning to withdraw from the market.

“The only product which is likely to be pulled off is sanitisers,” Agarwal said, adding: “Sanitisers, obviously, gave us good revenue in both FY21 and FY22. But that is practically down to zero… Other categories and some variants that we had launched will be removed.”

The company is looking to take the acquisition path to strengthen its foothold in the market that it is already present in. The maker of Santoor soaps plans to deepen its presence in developing countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia. “We can look at more acquisitions in these areas to make our presence stronger,” Agarwal said. The company will also look at acquisitions in India as well.

“Fortunately, from March, international travel has resumed and, therefore, we will be able to assess various companies a lot better,” he said.

The acquisitions the company plans to make will be in its existing categories — personal care, skincare, and home care.

Wipro Consumer Care Ventures, the investment vertical of the company, has invested and its total investment is just shy of Rs 100 crore. 

“We are reasonably happy with the performance of that fund. We are now open to invest in Southeast Asia, especially Vietnam and Indonesia,” Agarwal said.

Wipro Consumer Care Venture only picks stake in start-ups, the company does not intend to acquire these companies to run them but learn from these companies to get a better understanding of the emerging trends.

In FY22, the company’s revenue stood at Rs 8,630 crore. It sees 52 per cent of its revenues from its international operations and 48 per cent from the India business. The soap brand Santoor, its second-largest soap brand in India, crossed Rs 2,000 crore last year, Agarwal said. In terms of market share, Santoor is number one in five states — Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.

Agarwal said the demand was impacted in March and April, but recovered in June. The rural demand was hit more than urban demand due to inflation.

He, however, said the cooling off of commodity prices, coupled with the reduction in fuel prices and a good monsoon, would revive the demand.

Revenue Share

FY22 revenue: Rs 8,630 crore 

52%: International markets

48%: Indian market