HUL hikes prices to counter rising input costs

The company, the largest FMCG firm in the country by sales, has hiked prices in nearly all categories of personal care and home care products, according to distributors and retailers.

"Since the past one-and-a-half to two months, the company has been raising prices consistently," a Mumbai-based distributor, who handles nearly 1,000 stock keeping units, said. Distributors are notified of the change at the time of billing for new stock, he said.

"This (the price hike and weight cut) gets reflected in the market in three to seven days. Every week or every two weeks, we are informed of a price hike in some product or the other," he said. On Thursday, Hindustan Unilever increased the price of the OK soap brand, a mass-market product, by Re 1 to Rs 9 for a 200 gram bar, distributors said.

However, a Hindustan Unilever spokesperson said that the soap was currently priced at Rs 8. The distributor said the company hiked the price of OK soap late on Thursday. This is the second time the price of the soap has been increased.

In personal care, a 100 ml bottle of Sunsilk Shampoo now costs Rs 49 as against Rs 45 at the end of March. "The price was revised at the time ofits re-launch," said a retailer.

"Many FMCG companies like us have been facing continuous and significant increase in input costs. Companies need to protect themselves from margin erosion," a company spokesman said on the price hikes.