Godrej Consumer to buy Genteel and Swastik

 GCPL (Godrej Consumer Products) has decided to buy two domestic brands – Genteel (a liquid detergent) and Swastik (soaps) for an undisclosed amount.

complements

Mr Adi Godrej, Chairman, GCPL, said, “The two brands fit well into our portfolio and should improve our profitability in soaps and liquid detergents by nearly Rs 8 crore every year. Besides it should also improve our EPS and market capitalisation by nearly Rs 300 crore.”

With plans of increasing its market shares in both soaps and liquid detergents, Genteel and Swastik Shikakai would complement GCPL's Shikakai soap brand and Ezee brand of liquid detergents. 

Heritage brands

Godrej Shikakai has a 50 per cent share in the category while Swastik Shikakai would add to the market share with its 20 per cent.

Ezee also dominates the category with a75 per cent share and Genteel would add its additional 12 per cent in the same category.

 Mr A. Mahendran, MD, GCPL said, “The acquisition extends our leadership in the speciality liquid detergents category and consolidates our number two position in the personal wash category in India. Genteel and Swastik are household brands in India with a legacy of over fifty years of serving Indian consumers. We look forward to capitalising on the synergies available by adding these heritage brands to our portfolio and helping these brands to their next phase of growth.''

However, GCPL has decided to focus on the acquired soap brands rather than trying to revive dormant soap brands such as Evita and Ganga in its portfolio.