Philips looks to expand product presence in mother and child care

Answer: Phillips

Consumer appliances major Philips is looking to expand its product presence in the mother and childcare space in the next 18 months.

In an interaction with Moneycontrol, ADA Ratnam, President, Personal Health at Philips, India Sub-continent, said that this segment is a huge business opportunity for the company.

"Health and wellness will be a key focus area going forward. We are trying to boost the mother and childcare space including our Avent Breast Pump and containers," said Ratnam.

He explained that since a lot of mothers have difficulty in producing breast milk after delivery, the breast pump will be helpful. Ratnam said that this will also enable them to target users from an early age, who can then be cross-sold products like electric toothbrushes when they grow older.

While Avent has been in the Indian market since 2011, the company has expanded its product range in the last 12-14 months and is also selling them across e-commerce portals. The brand is now going deeper by setting up awareness campaigns among expecting and new mothers on the benefits of breastfeeding and giving tutorials on how to use the products.

Ratnam, however, did not share numbers on the growth expectations.

Globally, Philips group sales amounted to EUR 17,780 million in 2017 of which personal Health businesses’ sales amounted to
EUR 7,310 million.

Among the products, Philips' plan is to expand the product portfolio across pacifiers, breast pumps, bottle warmers and sterilisers.

The mother and child care market in India is estimated to be Rs 15,000 crore, with a growth rate of 15 percent every year.

Kitchen vs non-kitchen

Ratnam said that the kitchen appliances segment is their largest, though he did not reveal numbers. The aim, according to him, is to have a Philips product in every Indian household by 2025.

In the kitchen segment, Philips has food processors, juicers, air-fryers and other smaller cooking appliances. Among the household appliances, they are large players in segments like iron and air purifiers.

"We have been growing 1.5 times the market growth in each of the segments that we are present in. Our male grooming segment is seeing a growth and we are focussing on offering a value-based shaver. We want to be an aspirational but affordable brand," he added.

Philips also offers female beauty products including epilators and hair dryers. Ratnam said that they are also looking to expand the beauty space.

"There is a lot of stigma attached around epilation and usage of air dryers among women. So our brand campaigns is trying to address that," he explained.

Manufacturing cost rises

The consumer durables segment has seen a rise in manufacturing costs from high taxes, fuel price increases and rupee depreciation. Ratnam said that rupee depreciation impacted them but they managed to bounce back.

When asked about whether the company will increase product prices in 2019, he said that it will depend on the segment.

"It (price increase) will depend on the need for price hike and could be in the range of 2-3 percent," he added.

Inorganic growth is also on the expansion strategy. Ratnam said that in the water purifier segment, they are looking for a player to whom they can lend the Philips brand and help them in quality, finance and distribution. However, he added that this is not the top priority.