Hindustan Unilever (HUL) is splitting its second-largest business – beauty and personal care (BPC) – into two as it seeks to fight direct-to-consumer and digital-first brands which have emerged as serious competitors to it in recent years.
On Friday, HUL, the country’s largest consumer goods company, said that BPC, which reported an FY23 topline of Rs 21,831 crore (37% of total revenue), would be segregated into beauty & well-being (B&W) and personal care (PC), with two new division heads to oversee operations.
Harman Dhillon would lead the beauty and well-being division, and Kartik Chandrasekhar would lead the personal care business. Madhusudhan Rao, who was executive director, B&W and PC, had decided to retire, the company said, adding the changes were effective April 1, 2024. Both Dhillon and Chandrasekhar would be part of HUL’s management committee.
Apart from this, HUL has also appointed a chief digital officer, Arun Neelakantan, as part of its larger agenda of driving digital within the company. Neelakantan, currently vice president, digital transformation and growth, will take up his new role effective January 1. He too will be part of HUL’s management committee.
The company also said that it was appointing former revenue secretary Tarun Bajaj as an independent director.
The management structure that HUL is putting in place, said sector analysts, would mirror that of parent Unilever, which too has beauty & well-being and personal care, as separate divisions. Unilever has also identified digital as a key pillar of its business, with digital commerce contributing 15% of its total revenue, the company said in a recent earnings call.
“Beauty and personal care continues to be a source of value creation for us. However, the business model, innovation rhythm and competitive landscape for both, B&W and PC, are diverging,” CEO and managing director Rohit Jawa said on Friday.
“The transition will allow us to bring more focus, and leverage our strong portfolio in both businesses,” Jawa said.
Dhillon, currently India skin care head, joined HUL in 2006. Between 2015-16, she led the TRESemmé business as global brand director, based out of London.
Chandrasekhar, who joined HUL as a management trainee in 1998, is currently global vice-president and head of oral care and skin cleansing for developing and emerging markets. He has worked across Unilever businesses in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.