Kishore Biyani’s Big Bazaar wants to take Hindustan Unilever and Procter & Gamble to the cleaners, with its own laundry brands

• India’s largest retailer, Future Group is set to scale up its share in laundry market with new liquid and powder detergent brands.
  
• The move is set to cut shelf space by a third and hit Hindustan Unilever and Procter & Gamble’s market share.
  
• Future Group owner Kishore Biyani announced his company’s new plans.
  

India’s largest retailer, Future Group is planning to scale up its share in the laundry market with its own line of liquid detergents and powders.

The Founder of the group, Kishore Biyani said that he wants to take on giants like Hindustan Unilever and Procter & Gamble (P&G) by cutting their shelf space by a third in the segment, says an Economic Times report.

The Group’s Future Consumer (FCL), the consumer arm of the group which runs Big Bazaar stores, already launched its own liquid detergent brand, Voom. It soon plans to come up with a powder format of it, in two weeks.

On the Shelf

Biyani wants to gain disproportionate share in the market, building on its vast retail presence. “Consumers will finally decide which brands to pick but we have to push our own brands on shelves too,” Biyani told ET.

The Future Group operates around 1,500 stores across supermarket chains like Big Bazar, Easyday, HyperCity, Easyday and Nilgiris. Together, they account for around 5% of the HUL and P&G’s annual sales worth ₹4,000 crores.

FCL is leaving no stone unturned to get its brands into the market. It is planning to stock its new laundry brand Voom across fashion stores too owned by the group like FBB, Brand Factory and Central stores.

Ambitious targets

Laundry is the biggest market category for both HUL and P&G. The largest segment in the home and personal care space is worth ₹24,000 crore. HUL and P&G have flagship brands like Surf, Rin, Ariel and Tide, which control more than half of the market.

But, Future has set ambitious targets to get 70% of sales from their own brands in the next few, said the ET report. Laundry is a big part of this grand plan. Biyani restructured his retail company into a fast moving consumer goods company (FMCG) company, nearly a decade back. Future Consumer has its own brands and private labels.

FCL already has a 20% share in the biscuit segment. It is also the third largest player after household brands like Britannia and Parle. Within their own stores, FCL has a majority share in the body wash segment and also snacks.