Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting (WCCLG), the FMCG division of Wipro, with revenues of close to R2,800 crore for the year ended March 31, 2011, contributed to 9% of the revenue of the company. Vineet Agarwal, president of the division, in a conversation with FE?s Shreya Roy, talks about the strategies that worked, WCCL?s long term goals, about product innovation, and about the copyright issues the company faces.
How did the division perform this year?
The segment recorded revenue of R2,726 crore for the year, an increase of 21% y-o-y. For the quarter, revenues were up by 19% to R724 crore. EBIT was R345 crore for the year, an increase of 11%, and for the quarter, it was R87 crore, increasing 5%. Our operating income to revenue was 12.7% for the year, and 12% for the quarter.
What would you say contributed most to this growth?
What has worked for us is that all our strategies fell into place. We grew organically, all our acquisitions did well, and all our thrust areas delivered. Santoor, for instance grew at about 24%, Yardley, which was acquired last year, grew by 25%, and in India we grew at 65%, which is what we wanted to do.
You have engaged international designers and there has been a thrust on innovative products. How would you say this has paid off?
We started engaging international designers to design our own range, to block international companies in that space and as a result, 33% of our sales in furniture come from such premium products which are 2.5 times the cost of mass products.
What would you say is the division?s larger goal over the next few years?
We work on a one year plan, with an indicative three year plan and a five year vision, which get defined by size, market share, and by geographies.