FMCG major Dabur India said it would invest over Rs 250 crore in the next one year to set up a greenfield facility for manufacture of to manufacture a range of consumer goods and upgrade its existing facilities.
Dabur also plans to hike prices of its consumer and healthcare products, to tackle the intense inflationary pressure.
“We are planning to set up a new manufacturing facility in India entailing a capital expenditure of about Rs 150 crore, in the next financial year. Besides, we will be undertaking another Rs 100 crore capital expenditure this year at our existing facilities,” Dabur India Chief Executive Officer Sunil Duggal said.
However, he did not divulge details about the greenfield facility planned by the company.
Sources said Dabur could be looking to set up the new facility in one of the hill states, where it could get tax exemptions. The unit is expected to manufacture a range of new personal care products.
Dabur is expected to hike prices in the core FMCG business under its consumer care division by 7 per cent and in the consumer health division by 8-9 per cent, Duggal said.
“There would, however, be no hike in price of our food products,” he said.
Duggal said the company is also expanding its product portfolio with plans to launch an ayurvedic skin care range.
Dabur India had forayed into the skin care market last year with the launch of rose-based skin care products under the ‘Gulabari’ brand name.
“The brand Gulabari posted a 175 per cent growth in the first quarter of the 2008-09 fiscal,” Duggal said.
Dabur plans to open 5-6 new stores over the next few months across the country, Duggal said referring to the company’s retail venture.
“We feel there will be a downward trend in rentals soon and don’t want to lock ourselves in at high rentals. So, we have pre-booked properties and expect the stores to break even operationally from day one,” he said.
Dabur has also trimmed the size of its new stores from the earlier average size of 1,200-1,500 sq ft to 700-1,000 sq ft, Duggal added.
