FMCG major Emami Ltd plans to shore up the hiring of sales staff and launch new brands and product extensions to increase its penetration in rural markets.

The company is also exploring acquisition possibilities to strengthen its hold in these markets, said Mr Naresh Bhansali, Chief Executive Officer, Finance, Strategy and Business Development, Emami.

Undeterred at having lost its battle for Paras Pharma's personal care business to Marico, Emami is now eyeing new acquisitions.

“The personal care business is a competitive industry and we should find adequate value in acquiring a company,” he said.

Marketing force

The company's popular brands such as Boroplus and Navratna have been growing at over 20 per cent. But are yet to penetrate the rural markets, Mr Bhansali told Business Line .

Emami will expand its frontline sales team by 15 per cent this year. Close to 400 people are employed in the company's rural sales team at present.

“We are looking at adding more strength to our sales team. We had expanded our sales team by about 20 per cent last year,” he said.

The company had in 2010 rolled out Project Swadesh to increase its penetration in rural areas.

Under the project, Emami hired stockists to market its products on mobile vans.

“This helped us cut costs and reduce dependency on wholesalers. This will be a sustained initiative and will take time to achieve scale of business. But we believe consistent efforts will yield results,” he said.

> shobha@thehindu.co.in

Related Topics