Monsoon shopping to drive FMCG cos?

Leading FMCG companies,including Hindustan Unilever,Britannia and Godrej...

Leading FMCG companies,including Hindustan Unilever,Britannia and Godrej,today said they expect good monsoon to trigger demand and drive up volumes.

“The rainy season is turning out to be very good for the consumer product companies. It will surely spurt rural demand and also drive urban sales,” Adi Godrej,Chairman,Godrej Industries said.

Echoing his sentiments,HUL Executive Director Shirjeet Mishra said : “We are hoping to benefit from the monsoon this year as demand for consumer products will go up,especially in rural markets as a good harvest will leave more money in peoples’ pockets.”

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A senior Britannia Industries official said: “Everyone will benefit from a good monsoon.”

Though late,monsoon has finally picked up momentum across the country,which will give a boost to agricultural activities.

On the margin front,Godrej said,though it has been less than last year because of high input prices,it is not likely to shrink further.

“I do not think that there is too much pressure on the margin front. Margins for most of the companies are reasonable,” he said.

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However,a good rainfall may not benefit the consumers much as the companies are not indicating price cuts in the near future.

“We cannot comment if there will be any price cuts or increases right now. We will do what is required to propel consumer demand,” said Mishra of HUL.

Commenting on the same,Godrej said: “Good monsoon will drive volumes and increase production but I do not see any price cuts happening in the next couple of months.”