I am a little more bullish this year than last year: Sudhir Sitapati

Volume recovery will happen quite soon, but the volume growth in this category will be range bound to 2-3 per cent, says Sitapati

Godrej Consumer Products expects recovery in urban demand in 12-18 months. Sudhir Sitapati, managing director and chief executive officer, tells Sharleen D’Souza that its recovery in the volumes of soaps will happen soon. Edited excerpts:

 

When do you expect urban demand to recover?

 

I’m hoping it will recover in 12 to 18 months. The factors in recovery are there. I would say I am a little bit more bullish this year than I was last year.

 

What is your distribution reach and where do you aim for it to be in FY26?

 

Our distribution is roughly a little less than a million outfits directly, and we hope to grow 20 per cent in two years.

 

When do you expect recovery in volumes in soaps?

 

Recovery will happen soon but growth in volumes will be range-bound — 2-3 per cent.

 

Do you expect to cut prices of soaps?

 

We will probably not do price cuts at this point in time. Palm-oil prices in the past two weeks have crashed, so we have to wait and watch.

 

What are your plans for the categories you have described as “categories for the future”?

 

These categories are those that must grow in mid-teens. And these are highly under-penetrated and high-growth categories — deodorants, fragrances, air care, laundry, liquids, and pet care.

 

When do you expect margins to improve?

 

I think margins will improve by the second half (of FY26) because costs seem to be coming down.

 

Godrej Consumer Products has entered the pet food category. Will you look at pet care too?

 

“Pet” is an exciting category and we will look at more opportunities there. We don’t normally speak of plans before we implement them. For now, we have entered the category with Godrej Ninja, and we will evaluate with time.

 

When do you expect to see price growth coming back in the Indonesian market?

 

Part of that market is price growth. Part of it is because of currency devaluation. We grew 5 per cent in volumes and 1 per cent in rupee terms because of currency devaluation. That’s a volatile thing. It’s hard for me to predict. In international markets, I just look at growth in volumes. Even for Indian markets, my focus is always on volumes and prices. These are not in our hands.

 

Are smaller packs doing better for Godrej Consumer Products?

 

They are. We expect this to continue for the next one or two quarters.