Unicharm is growing up fast in India with Mamy Poko diaper pants

MUMBAI: Japanese company Unicharm, maker of the Mamy Poko diaper pants, has turned profitable eight years into the Indian market and is now within striking distance of market leader in the segment, Procter & Gamble.

Indian unit of Unicharm Corporation’s revenues rose 30% to Rs 1,392 crore, logging net profit of Rs22 lakh. A year ago, the company had sales of Rs 1,070 crore with net loss of Rs 84 crore. The Japanese company has nearly doubled sales every two years and is the leader in modern trade stores with more than half the market share. However, Mamy Poko trails P&G Pampers that has about 50% share nationally.

“We expect our India business to make a positive contribution to consolidated annual profits from fiscal 2017. After expanding our sales area into the south of the country, our market share reached 34% in 2016 and we are steadily closing the gap with the leading company,” Unicharm said in its latest annual report.

Unicharm was the first to launch pant style baby diapers in 2009 when it entered the country. With both rivals – Kimberly Clark and P&G — following in its footstep after a few years, the market is now skewed towards pant-style offerings accounting for roughly 80% of the overall segment.

Unicharm, which operates in some 80 countries, has been challenging the dominance of P&G in several markets. Unicharm is the market leader in Asia in baby and feminine care segments as per their annual report and is dominating in countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.

The penetration of disposable diapers is less than 2% in the Indian market, where several smaller stores refuse to stock higher quantities due to its large size.

Also, with a price range of `9 and `43 for a single diaper pack, the segment is pricier for most Indians who restrict its usage even after buying the product.

The price is per unit and range from basic ones to premium value added products. Single use packs are not available so the calculation is based on units per pack; larger the pack, lower the price for a single unit.

Yet, the company is hopeful. India has a vast population of around 1.2 billion and the number of infants is roughly 23 times the level in Japan. “In the future, we think India has the potential to become an even larger market than China,” Unicharm noted in its report. Source Link