TGBL to focus more on domestic, select overseas markets

Tata Global Beverages Ltd (TGBL) Tuesday said it will focus more on the domestic market and select overseas ones, as the company begins consolidating into a diversified consumer products major.

"We need to focus in India and select overseas markets. We are looking at each part of the country more carefully and a lot of work has happened in this regard," TGBL Chairman N Chandrasekaran said at the AGM.

Chandrasekaran said he expects the completion of the proposed transfer of Tata Chemical's consumer business to TGBL to take place in the next 12-18 months.

"I would be happy if it happens in the next 12 months," he said. Following the transfer, TGBL will have branded edible salt, pulses and spices in its product portfolio.

TGBL is likely to be renamed as Tata Consumer Products after the restructuring, which will see its turnover "rise 25 per cent".

"In the FMCG segment, we need a large portfolio. We cannot just be a single tea player and depend on it to attain scale. The company has to gain scale through a wide range of products," Chandrasekaran said in his address to shareholders.

"We need to move up the value chain and enter high- value segments... build a high-class, premium consumer products company by leveraging the large consumer base in India. That is the goal that we are working towards," he said.

Chandrasekaran said the company is planning to cut down on the number of subsidiaries, and could also exit more overseas markets like Russia.

Tata Coffee will not be merged with TGBL for now, he added.

Asked whether TGBL will expand the Tata Cha chain -- currently in Bengaluru with only four stores -- Chandrasekaran said it will "evaluate" the prospect.