Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) is an Indian

consumer goods A final good or consumer good is a final product ready for sale that is used by the consumer to satisfy current wants or needs, unlike a intermediate good, which is used to produce other goods. A microwave oven or a bicycle is a final good, but ...

company based in Mumbai, India. GCPL's products include

soap Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are use ...

, hair colourants,

toiletries Personal care or toiletries are consumer products used in personal hygiene, personal grooming or for beautification. Products Personal care includes products as diverse as cleansing pads, colognes, cotton swabs, cotton pads, deodorant, eye li ...

and liquid detergents. Its brands include 'Cinthol', 'Godrej Fair Glow', 'Godrej No.1' and 'Godrej Shikakai' in soaps, 'Godrej Powder Hair Dye', 'Renew', 'ColourSoft' in hair colourants and 'Ezee' liquid detergent. GCPL operates several manufacturing facilities in India spread over seven locations and grouped into four operating clusters at Malanpur (Madhya Pradesh), Guwahati (Assam), Baddi- Thana (Himachal Pradesh), Baddi- Katha (Himachal Pradesh), Pondicherry, Chennai and Sikkim.

History

The consumer products business was part of the erstwhile Godrej Soaps Limited (GSL) and was demerged into Godrej Consumer Products Limited in April 2001, pursuant to a scheme of demerger approved by the Honorable High Court of Judicature, Mumbai, dated 14 March 2001.

Acquisitions

GCPL has bought out foreign companies such as Keyline Brands Limited (United Kingdom) in 2005, Rapidol (Pty) Limited in 2006, and Godrej Global Mid East FZE in 2007 and Argencos in Argentina, and later acquired Cosmética Nacional, a Chilean company. In 2015, Godrej announced it had fully acquired a 100% equity stake in South African hair extensions firm Frika Hair.

Business categories

GCPL operates in the domestic and international markets in the 'personal and household care' segment. Some of the categories are soaps, hair colourants, professional hair care products, toiletries and liquid detergents. In 2012, it made an entry into fast-growing air freshener category by launching a new fragrance product "aer" in the market.

Competition

* In the soaps category, GCPL brands compete with Lux and

Lifebuoy A lifebuoy is a life-saving buoy designed to be thrown to a person in water, to provide buoyancy and prevent drowning. Some modern lifebuoys are fitted with one or more seawater-activated lights, to aid rescue at night. Other names Other nam ...

(

Hindustan Unilever Limited Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is a consumer goods company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a subsidiary of Unilever, a British company. Its products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents, personal care products, water pur ...

). * In the hair colours category, its products compete for market share with

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, Super Vasmol and L’Oreal. * Competitors in shaving cream category are

Gillette Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G). Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gil ...

, Palmolive and

Old Spice Old Spice is an American brand of male grooming products encompassing aftershaves, deodorants and antiperspirants, shampoos, body washes, and soaps. It is manufactured by Procter & Gamble. Old Spice was launched as Early American Old Spice by W ...

. * GCPL's talcum powder brands, compete with

Pond's Pond's is an American brand of beauty and health care products, currently owned by Unilever. History Pond's Cream was invented in the United States as a patent medicine by pharmacist Theron T. Pond (1800–1852) of Utica, New York, in 1846. M ...

(HUL) and

Denim Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This twill weaving produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. While a denim predecessor known as dungaree has been pr ...

. * In the liquid detergent category, GCPL brands Ezee and Genteel, compete with Safewash (

Wipro Wipro Limited (formerly, Western India Palm Refined Oils Limited) is an Indian multinational corporation that provides information technology, consulting and business process services. Thierry Delaporte is serving as CEO and managing directo ...

) and Surf Excel (HUL).

Manufacturing facilities

GCPL operates several manufacturing facilities in India spread over seven locations and grouped into four operating clusters at Malanpur (Madhya Pradesh), Guwahati (Assam), Baddi- Thana (Himachal Pradesh), Baddi- Katha (Himachal Pradesh), Pondicherry, Chennai and Sikkim. Further, its manufacturing facilities located abroad in South Africa produce a range of personal care products and hair colour products.

Sales and distribution network

GCPL has a widespread distribution network across India. It makes sales in both urban and rural markets, enabling it to benefit from the opportunities in both segments. It has a sales team of over 250 staff spread across the country. It has a network of 33 C&F agents and as on 29 February 2008. It had 1,247 distributors, 142 super stockists and 3,175 sub stockists to support the sales team in India. Its distributors and sub stockists cover around 650,000 retailers in India. GCPL has linked its major distributors in India through a system called 'Sampark', a collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment system with its ERP system leading to reduced inventory levels.

Research and development

GCPL's R&D departments focus on developing new products, standardising new analytical methods and finding cheaper and more abundant alternatives to key raw materials. Through this research and development centre, GCPL continuously interact with consumers to obtain feedback on its products and information obtained is leveraged to complement new product development activities. The Godrej Research & Development Centre is recognised by the Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi.

Size of the company

As of 2014, GCPL employs 21,000 employees.

References

External links

* {{Nifty 200 companies Manufacturing companies based in Mumbai Indian soap brands Personal care companies Godrej Group 2001 establishments in Madhya Pradesh Indian companies established in 2001 Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange