JL Morison plans buys, product ramp-up

JL Morison, a part of the Raghu Mody group, plans to expand its product offerings through licensing agreements with international brands, developing own brands and acquisitions.

"We are open to acquisitions, which would depend on the product category, size and price of the acquisition. We have been in touch with consultants and other companies for this," said Bipin Vengsarkar, executive director, JL Morison (India).

The company is also looking at expanding into product categories such as vitamin and food nutrition supplements, perfumes and colognes and even hair care.

"We have a network of 1,300 distributors and 19 warehouses across the country. We will launch the products where we can effectively utilise the network," said Vengsarkar.

"This company has always been synonymous with the Nivea brand, but we will gradually change that," he added. Thus it is looking at increasing the offerings under its own brand 'Morisons'.

Vengarkar said they were open to branching out into other products in the baby category, but there was nothing concrete at this stage.

The company is entering into an agreement with Beirsdorf AG, the German parent of the Nivea brand,  which is the main contributor to the company's turnover.

As per the new agreement, JL Morison would handle the contract manufacturing and distribution but not the marketing.

The company has also started marketing Snoreeze, a snoring relief product owned by the UK-based Passion for Life Healthcare.

"We have a very select distribution model for it, focussing on the four metros and a few other cities, and even there only a few outlets," said Sunil Arora, brand manager, Snoreeze.

This is partly because the company is trying to judge the market for the product which is priced at a slight premium.

But Raghu Mody, chairman, JL Morison is quick to point out that the market for such products has barely been tapped in the country and the the potential in this category is tremendous.

Meanwhile, the company expects existing brands such as Carnation, a foot care brand and Emoform, a toothcare brand which recorded 36 per cent growth last year to continue to do well over the next few years on account of the untapped potential in the categories.

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