Domestic market recovering; we'll bounce back by April quarter: WCCL CEO

He says corporation tax cut is a big exercise. It will take some time for the people to start mobilising the money and setting up factories

Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting (WCCL), the consumer care arm of the Azim Premji-led Wipro Group, which recently entered the South Africa market, saw its international business posting best-ever growth in the first half (H1) of FY20. WCCL’s Chief executive officer (CEO) VINEET AGRAWAL tells Samreen Ahmad that the domestic market is on the path of recovery and a positive upturn will be visible in the next couple of months. Edited excerpts:

Why is the rural market reeling from pressure? When do you expect the demand to revive?

A lot of people move from rural areas to urban areas seeking employment. However, because of lack of construction activities, people have returned to their homes. While number of people are more, the source of income remains the same, which is farming. Therefore, the pressure is high. If activities in urban areas such as construction and manufacturing go up, it can take the pressure off the rural population itself. The government has announced several measures to improve rural consumption. Also, monsoon has been good this year so Rabi should be good. Hopefully, we should bounce back by the April quarter. 

Is the government doing enough to create employability in the country?

Corporate tax cut is a big exercise. It will take some time for the people to start mobilising the money and setting up factories. Bringing down the tax rate to 17 per cent for new units, is a big step. 

International markets account for over 51 per cent of your total revenue. Is there a slowdown in global markets?

International business has been very good for us. The first half of this financial year is probably one of the best for us whether it is Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam or China. Our constant currency growth in these markets has been 12.5 per cent. All global acquisitions are doing well for us, which gives us tremendous confidence.

Any acquisition you are looking at to bolster the lighting business?

I don’t see value in making acquisitions in that segment. Wipro is already a strong brand name in lighting. I can’t think of anything stronger than Wipro as a brand name.

What are the expansion plans in terms of manufacturing plants?

We are setting up a plant in Hyderabad. We have plan to expand our facility in Amalner, Maharashtra, which is our oldest plant. We are also introducing manufacturing lines in toilet soaps and personal care products in Amalner. In Hyderabad, we are planning to set up toilet soaps line and a personal care unit. The company is investing Rs 200 crore for the Hyderabad facility, which is expected to start operations by May-June. 

Recently, you have floated a venture arm for funding into start-up segment. What are the plans?

We have already invested in Happily Unmarried. We did another small round of investment in November. We are looking at investing into companies that are smaller in size, with an annual sales of around Rs 12 crore. The idea is not just to stay as a financial investor but bring more value to them by helping the start-ups with R&D, product bouqets, distribution, sourcing and manufacturing. Our fund size is about Rs 200 crore, which we want to deploy over the next three years. We are also looking at investing in 3-4 start-ups each year. In terms of regions, we are looking at start-ups in personal care and home care segments in India and South East Asia.