The liquor trade tends to be dominated by males, its merchandise are consumed much more by males than by ladies, and in India, ladies — particularly poorer ladies — have usually virulently opposed liquor consumption. Nagarajan, who was related to Reckitt Benckiser earlier, will not be the primary girl to lead a spirits company in India, however will be the primary to move a really massive liquor company.
Abanti Sankaranarayan, who’s presently the chief technique and company affairs officer at USL, was the MD of Diageo India between 2010 and 2015, however that was when the British drinks large had a really small presence in India. Diageo vaulted to the No. 1 place right here after its acquisition of USL.
Kripalu will step down on the finish of June, greater than a yr earlier than his contract expires, the company stated.
Kripalu got here on board on the finish of 2013, and assumed the highest position in May the next yr. He leaves after a really robust yr, the Covid pandemic having led to bars, pubs, resorts and eating places shutting down and retail retailer gross sales plummeting. Fortunes of beer and spirits corporations have been adversely impacted a number of instances over the previous few years, together with after demonetisation and the ban on sale of liquor alongside highways, a ban that was lifted after some months.
USL prolonged Kripalu’s time period until 2022 final yr, however the company stated he’s leaving to pursue different alternatives.
Under Kripalu, who had stints in Mondelez and Unilever, USL centered extra on its premium merchandise — drinks which yield extra margins in comparison with the mass market drinks. Such drinks, which embody Johnnie Walker whiskey and Smirnoff vodka, now contribute greater than half of the company’s volumes and two-thirds to the highest line.
“Since 2014, as part of our transformation journey, we set a clear strategy to grow our brands with a strong focus on premiumisation. Reinforcing this premiumisation trend, last year, the luxury segment grew faster than the premium segment, which in turn has grown faster than prestige,” he advised TOI final yr. Revenue grew at a CAGR of 23% to Rs 28,589 crore between 2014-15 and 2019-20, whereas the variety of instances produced (of 9l every) got here right down to 80 million final fiscal from 117 million in 2015. USL’s share worth beneath him remained flat, reflecting the blended fortunes of the sector generally.