With the third Covid-19 wave expected sometime later this year, the Future Consumer group has announced to shift to the online shopping model. The company plans to change the orientation of all its business and brand activities to make them Digital First.
This comes after the company saw tremendous growth opportunities via online sales at a time when the pandemic brought the world to a halt. The second wave of Covid-19 in March 2021 made the year-end with significant disruptions yet again, FCL noted in the report.
“During these times, while footfalls at offline retail slowed down, a new way of consumption was adopted by Indian masses with e-commerce becoming an integral part of frequent daily basket shopping,” the FCL report said.
The company said it believes that “habits formed in current times will tend to remain in the long term as well”. It has been “agile to adapt itself to ensure your company’s portfolio commands leading shares in the online basket”, the company added.
“Your company is focusing on changing the orientation of all business and brand activities to make them ‘Digital First’. “This will be phased out in a series of short-term penetration, market share growth objectives, long-term brand and loyalty-building goals,” FCL Chairman G N Bajpai wrote to shareholders on behalf of the company’s directors in the report.
FCL also said that it will continue to grow its portfolio of food and home and personal care products. Key brands including ‘Golden Harvest’, ‘Tasty Treat’, ‘Karmiq’, ‘Desi Atta Company, ‘Mother Earth’, ‘Voom’, ‘Cleanmate’ and ‘Caremate’ will continue to drive volume and value growth.
“Decision making will be driven by data analytics including customer buying habits, brand stickiness, category penetration, among others,” the FCL report said, adding that the company would aim at increasing its penetration in the consumer’s shopping basket across categories.
While the company will explore opportunities in new generation categories, the prime focus will be on expanding and enhancing the existing portfolio with a strong focus on increasing gross margins across food, home and personal care categories, it added.
FCL said it will use Future Retail Ltd’s (FRL) “retail muscle to expand its distribution reach” although it is also steadily expanding its reach outside of the group firm’s stores. The company said it will adopt a cluster-wide launch approach to enter general trade stores, with home and personal care brands leading the way.
Sharing its plans for a focused drive to reach out to more and more households using an e-commerce platform, the company said it plans to scale up its presence on existing e-retailers like Amazon and Nykaa, where the brands are already present, along with adding new channels like Tata Cliq, Purpelle and more.
