{"id":117807,"date":"2021-07-07T10:42:34","date_gmt":"2021-07-07T10:42:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=117807"},"modified":"2021-07-07T10:42:34","modified_gmt":"2021-07-07T10:42:34","slug":"why-urban-poor-remain-a-worry-for-fmcg-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/business\/why-urban-poor-remain-a-worry-for-fmcg-companies\/","title":{"rendered":"Why urban poor remain a worry for FMCG companies"},"content":{"rendered":"
30 per cent of total sales comes from the urban poor, especially for food firms.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n As the second wave of the pandemic ebbs and the daily caseload falls, the struggles of the urban poor have come into focus.<\/p>\n Many have suffered income and job losses after two successive waves.<\/p>\n The second wave, in particular, has seen the poor being hit hard on account of lack of medical and financial help.<\/p>\n For the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies this has meant that an important segment is under severe distress.<\/p>\n To put things in perspective, urban areas contribute 60-65 per cent to an FMCG firms’ total sales.<\/p>\n The rest 35-40 per cent comes from rural areas, according to market research agency NielsenIQ.<\/p>\n According to experts, half of urban sales or 30 per cent of total sales comes from the urban poor, especially for food firms.<\/p>\n While home and personal care companies get 20 per cent of their total sales or a third of their urban sales from the urban poor.<\/p>\n Which is why the lack of policy measures for the urban poor hit by the pandemic has been concerning for companies.<\/p>\n “There are no social security or employment guarantee schemes for the urban poor, which exists for the rural poor.<\/p>\n “Last year, there was a major reverse migration of the poor in urban areas to their villages because of the disruption caused by Covid.<\/p>\n “There is certainly some policy-level support that is needed to help the urban poor,” Sunil Kataria, chief executive officer (CEO), India & SAARC, Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL), said.<\/p>\n NielsenIQ had indicated in May that it was monitoring the drop in consumption closely due to the pandemic across key segments.<\/p>\n The Rs 4.3-trillion FMCG market had closed the March 2021 quarter with an overall growth rate of 9.4 per cent.<\/p>\n But given how strong the second wave was, said industry experts, the June quarter may see a drop in FMCG growth rate because of localised lockdowns through April and May.<\/p>\n The growth rate for the April-June period, according to industry estimates, is likely to be in the region of 5-6 per cent, though the July-September period may see a rebound, touching levels of 10-15 per cent in terms of FMCG growth rate.<\/p>\n Some senior executives say the unlock process does hold hope for the urban poor, since resumption of economic activity will restore jobs and therefore incomes for many.<\/p>\n “I see the unlock process offering some comfort for the poorer sections in the urban areas.<\/p>\n “As businesses resume, the requirement for people will grow, giving some respite to the poor, many of whom are daily wage earners.<\/p>\n “At the same time, states such as in Maharashtra and Delhi have announced welfare measures recently for the urban poor,” Mayank Shah, senior category head, Parle Products, said.<\/p>\n Maharashtra, for instance, had announced a Rs 5,746-crore relief package for the economically weaker sections of the state in April, including providing free food, grants to construction workers, rickshaw drivers, and pension scheme beneficiaries.<\/p>\n Delhi announced free ration, education, and financial aid for the Covid -affected in May and the Centre too announced distribution of free foodgrains to the poor across the country till November.<\/p>\n Mohit Malhotra, CEO, Dabur India, said FMCG companies may push more low-unit packs into areas dominated by the urban poor.<\/p>\n “Companies push small packs into rural areas and large packs into urban areas.<\/p>\n “But given the stress that the urban poor have witnessed with two successive Covid-19 waves, low-unit packs could be pushed even more into areas where the urban poor are dominant,” he said.<\/p>\n