Colgate India meets distributors' body to sort out issue of price parity

Colgate-Palmolive India (Colgate India) on Wednesday met distributors’ body to sort out the issue of price parity between the traditional trade and organised distributors, which are present offline as well as online. These companies include Jiomart, Booker, Udaan and Elastic Run.

Colgate India said in a response to Business Standard’s email, “As always, we at Colgate-Palmo­live remain committed to forging productive partnerships with our distribution network to serve consumers.”

“To that end, we have held — and will continue to hold — meetings with them to discuss and resolve their concerns. In addition, we have met with All India Consumer Products Distribution Federation (AICPDF) and shared with them our process of engagement with our Distributors and our commitment to address their issues.”

The email response by the toothpaste major also said the Federation was supportive of its efforts. 

“We will keep working with our distribution partners, so consumers can continue to enjoy their trusted oral and personal care products,” Colgate India added.

AICPDF was not available for a comment.

Colgate India’s meeting with distributors comes after the traditional channel stopped supplying its Colgate MaxFresh range of products in Maharashtra. Distributors in the state had decided to also stop the supply of Colgate Vedshakti and the company’s toothbrushes through the rest of the month.

AICPDF wrote two letters in December to fast-moving consumer goods companies to discuss the issue of price parity.

In a stock exchange filing on Tuesday, Colgate India said it was directly engaging with its distributors to resolve their challenges.

Colgate added in the exchange filing, “The company is not aware of any information in this regard (distributors decision to stall supply of Colgate MaxFresh range of products), which requires disclosure to exchanges. Further, there is no material impact of the news article (Business Standard reported on Saturday that distributors in Maharashtra will stop supplying Colgate India’s products in phases) on the company. The company will ensure that supply of its products remains uninterrupted in the state.”