Ajanta Health eyes Rs 120 crore turnover

Ajanta Health, the healthcare product division of Ajanta India Ltd which manufactures and exports clocks and wrist watches, aims to post a turnover of Rs 120 crore in the first year of operation.

Launched 10 months ago, Ajanta Health has sold products worth Rs 85 crore so far.

The company's products which include toothpaste, shampoos, soaps, hair oil, talcum powder and shaving cream are manufactured at a plant that Ajanta India has set up at Morbi in Gujarat with an initial investment of Rs 25 crore. This plant is located beside the clock and wrist watch manufacturing plant of Ajanta India.

Manish Purohit, chief executive officer of Ajanta Health, said that one reason for the company's good performance is the low prices at which its products are offered.

"We will continue this pricing policy and there are no plans to increase prices," Purohit said.

He said with this kind of pricing, the company expects to more than double its turnover to at least Rs 300 crore through the healthcare division in fiscal 2004-05.

D K Rachh, marketing manager of Ajanta Health, added: "Our huge clock and watch dealership network has also helped us tremendously. While companies into the fast moving consumer goods sector take as much as three years to establish a dealership network, we took less than six months to reach every city and town of the city."

The Ajanta Health distribution network consists of 250 super stockists and over 3,500 distributors and establishing the network was completed in October this year. "In most cases, stockists of watches and clocks are doubling up as stockists for our FMCG goods," Rachh added.

Ajanta Toothpaste, which is available in three variants in the white toothpaste segment and three other variants in the gel segment, has emerged as the most popular product of the company, with over 70 per cent of the total share.

"Our toothpastes are approved by both the Indian Dental Association and the Vegetarian Society of the UK. Our aim is to provide healthcare at a realistic price," Mathur said.

According to a survey, just 45 per cent of Indians use toothpaste and Ajanta Health is aiming at the remaining 55 per cent.

"We have already carried out a massive door-to-door campaign across India and expect a huge response from the semi urban and rural pockets of the country," said a company official.

The toothpaste market in the country stands at Rs 3,000 crore, of which Ajanta Health is eyeing a ten per cent share by the end of next fiscal.

"When we launched the division 10 months back, our monthly sale was Rs three crore. In November this year, we sold goods worth over Rs 10 crore," Purohit said.