Emami hungry for more acquisitions in health and personal care

FMCG major Emami Ltd is hungry for acquisition to grow its healthcare and personal care products.
"We are open to acquiring both small-sized as well as big companies provided the brand value and the business model is good. We can acquire companies which has a Rs 50 crore to Rs 500 crore turnover," Emami director Harsh V Agarwal said at the company annual general meeting here.
"This year, our core focus will be on the healthcare and personal care products. There will be brand extensions as well as new launches," he said.
Goods and Services Tax(GST) has opened up more possibilities for Emami to make acquisition of smaller companies. As GST calls for tighter compliance norms, several small companies in the consumer goods space will be up for grab.

In June 2015, Emami Ltd acquired Kesh King for Rs 1,651 crore which was one of its largest deals in the FMCG space. The company also acquired the Zandu brand in the past which opened up the balms portfolio for the company.
Agarwal said Emami was also aiming to increase its presence in Bangladesh by widening the product portfolio as it expects that country's growth to be considerably higher than other foreign countries it operates in.

Bangladesh accounts for 30 per cent of Emami Ltd's consolidated international sales.
Emami chairman R S Agarwal in his address to the shareholders said that the company has initiated the process to reduce dependence on wholesale channels and instead increase the emphasis on direct distribution.

"In FY 16-17, the company has increased its direct distribution by 1,00,000 to 7,30,000 outlets with a vision to ramp it up upto 8,00,000 in the current year," he said.