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| Edited By: Shailaja Sharma |Source: DNA |Updated: Mar 16, 2018, 05:30 AM IST
Lornamead Brands Inc, the Dubai-based personal care products firm, which started its India operations in 2008 with the launch of its fragrance brand Yardley, is planning to unveil a slew of products from its international portfolio in a phased manner.
According to the company’s head of India operations Sriram Prasad, Lornamead Brands is aiming to be present in each category of personal care products and is looking at becoming a major player in the segment.
The company, at present, has 36 personal care brands internationally and is evaluating launching three new brands.
Currently, the company is investing on its talcum powder and deodorant brand Yardley in India, which it had acquired from P&G in 2005. Earlier, Yardley was available in India through licencees.
In a month’s time, the company will be launching toilet soaps under the same brand name and in October, it will start test-marketing a new hair-care brand Finesse in Delhi before rolling it out nationally.
“For the current year, all our investments will be towards Yardley, which is doing quite strong in the South (Kerala and Tamil Nadu). There is a huge amount of Yardley that still comes to India by various means and we will be replacing that. We have refurbished the brand and the packaging, alongside its imports. Now, we are looking at localising the product for certain markets in India,” Prasad said.
After the launch of Finesse, the company will unveil its lip-care brand Lypsyl and another hair-care brand Aqua Net in India. The company had acquired Finesse and Aqua Net from Unilever in US and Canada in 2006.
“After a year of launching the soap brand, we will take a decision on whether we need to start manufacturing soaps in India,” Prasad said, adding that manufacturing the product locally would mean great costs savings.
In the current year, the company is investing Rs 20-25 crore towards above-the-line activities on Yardley and will increase the investment to Rs 100 crore in 18-24 months. “For us, organised retail would contribute 20-25% to our overall sales against 6% for other FMCG companies,” Prasad said.
