Amidst growing competition from new-age companies, Hindustan Unilever Ltd. has made the decision to divide its beauty and personal care business into two distinct divisions in an attempt to increase concentrate on these high-growth categories. The consumer products manufacturer announced in an exchange filing on Friday that the beauty and personal care segment will split into separate ‘beauty and wellbeing’ and ‘personal care’ companies as of April 1, 2024. The modification aligns with parent company Unilever Plc’s global category structure.
“Beauty and personal care continues to be a source of value creation for us. However, the business model, innovation rhythm and competitive landscape for both, B&W and PC, are diverging. The transition will allow us to bring more focus, and leverage our strong portfolio in both businesses,” said CEO and managing director Rohit Jawa, in a statement.
The section headed by Harman Dhillon would focus on beauty and well-being, while Kartik Chandrasekhar would oversee personal care products. The executive director of B&W and PC, Madhusudhan Rao, announced his decision to retire, and the firm stated that the changes took effect on April 1, 2024. The management committee of HUL would include Dhillon and Chandrasekhar.
Apart from this, HUL has also appointed a chief digital officer, Arun Neelakantan, as part of its larger agenda of driving digital within the company. Neelakantan, currently vice president, digital transformation and growth, will take up his new role effective January 1. He too will be part of HUL’s management committee.
The company also said that it was appointing former revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj as an independent director.
HUL’s annual report states that the BPC sector reportedly accounted for 37% of the company’s total sales in FY23. With brands including Lifebuoy, Lux, Sunsilk, Clinic Plus, Dove, Lakme, Pond’s, and Closeup, the sector brought in INR 21,831 crore in revenue for the fiscal year 2023. Additionally, Lux and Pond’s exceeded the INR 2,000-crore turnover threshold, bringing the total number of BPC brands in this club to five. In addition, it features five digitally-first beauty brands: Novology, Simple, Love Beauty, and Planet; Acne Squad.
Jawa stated that the company has a strong relative market share in the beauty and personal care industry during a conference call with analysts following the second quarter earnings. “So, we feel confident; we understand the consumer.” HUL has been expanding its brands into emerging markets, such sun care, and even into novel product forms like serums. We are inventing quite a bit. This sector, in which we have the technology, R&D, and brand assets, has a stronger profit profile and a virtuously strong growth rate.”
