Godfrey set to export own brands

Godfrey Phillips India (GPI), the second largest cigarette manufacturer in the country, is set to export its brand of cigarettes to the Middle East and African countries.

The company has already dispatched the first consignment of cigarettes to the Republic of Guiena. Its new international brand, Force 10, will be officially launched in the Republic of Guiena on June 10.

This is for the first time that the company will be exporting cigarettes under its own brand, while it used to export cigarette to the Middle East and African countries for other brands under contract manufacturing basis.

"We are planning to export cigarette under our own banner as a part of our strategy to consolidate our position in exports. For the first year we expect over 15 per cent of the volume to come from exports. The Force 10 king-size cigarette will be officially launched in the Republic of Guiena on June 10. The first consigned that has been dispatched is on a test basis. We focus to tap the African and the Middle East markets to start with," said Sundeep Kumar, senior vice-president, corporate affairs.

The company is targetting to tap over 10 per cent of the Republic of Guinea's market in the first year of the launch of Force 10. To focus on exports, the company has recently restructured, splitting into two divisions, domestic and international, each headed by an independent chief executive officer.

The international division will be headed by Amrish Anand, previously executive vice-president, sales and marketing. The company also plans to invests significantly for the modernisation of its manufacturing facilities to achieve the growth target in the international markets.

"The fresh investments will be targeted towards achieving growth mainly in the international markets, we want to grow our international volumes to equal domestic volumes in the next ten years," said Kumar.

The export volumes of the company in 2003-2004 grew by over 36 per cent. With exports forming 15 per cent of the domestic volume, the company plans to export to over 40 countries in the next 10 years.

Godfrey Phillips has an annual turnover of over Rs 1,100 crore. The company was incorporated in 1936 in India and established its own manufacturing facilities in 1944.

Being headquartered in New Delhi, the company at present operates in the entire northern and western parts of the country with manufacturing facilities in Ghaziabad near New Delhi and Andheri in Mumbai, with a tobacco-buying unit at Guntur in Andhra Pradesh.

The company aims at becoming the leading tobacco player in India and abroad. Godfrey Phillips reported a growth of 8.3 per cent, beating the industry growth of 4.4 per cent in 2003 - 2004.

The company also reported an increase of 9.15 per cent in sales for the financial year 2003-2004, while net profit of the company grew by 37.3 per cent to Rs 52.04 crore in 2003 - 2004.

The company has two major stake holders "" the K K Modi Group and Phillip Morris of the US "" and the company has over 15,000 shareholders in the country.

The company manufacturers some of the most popular brands in the country which includes, Red and White, Four Square, Tipper, Prince, Jaisalmer and Cavenders among others.

Its products are distributed through an network comprising around 500 exclusive distributors and over 800,000 retail outlets.