Frenchman relishes Unilever challenge
Tardy: We manufacture fast-moving consuner goods, which are necessary items for daily life, so people still have to buy from us.
|
|
After nine years managing big projects in China and Vietnam, Loic Tardy was prepared to face many challenges when he was recently appointed chairman of the Unilever Group of Companies in Thailand.
These include the rising cost of raw materials, the oil price hike and the uncertain political situation.
Tardy, born in France, took the job in July last year at the starting point of the economic downturn and his focus was to adjust internal operations to increase the company's efficiency.
After seven months of work, his company generated Bt3 billion in sales with 7.9-per-cent growth although its profit growth was flat. In addition, the company gained 40 per cent of the fast-moving consumer products market.
In January, a new negative factor arose with the uncertain political climate. Meanwhile, Tardy's goal is to maintain the same growth rate.
At the moment, Tardy maintains an optimistic view that the political situation is not so bad as to affect the company's performance this year.
"We manufacture fast-moving consumer products which are necessary for daily life, so people still have to buy our brands," Tardy said.
The finished-food sector is the company's brightest star this year as modern Thais have little time to cook at home.
Skincare and personal care are other promising sectors. In Tardy's view, there is no sector that has already reached saturation point. All are still growing. Providing better-quality products is the key factor in driving the company's growth.
Unilever is the market leader in 10 of the 12 sectors it is involved in. The 10 sectors include rice porridge (80-per-cent share), detergents (65 per cent), shampoos and conditioners (52 per cent), body care products (50 per cent), salad dressing (45 per cent), soap (35 per cent), fabric softeners (30) and facial care products (25 per cent). The company is the second leader in the two other categories.
This year, the company will allocate 15 per cent of its expected Bt30-billion sales as its marketing budget.
As Tardy has worked in Asia for a long time, he has noticed that consumer behaviour in each country is similar. Consumers in poor regions tend to buy basic detergent as they are mostly farmers who are able to grow their own food. Meanwhile, consumers in richer regions spend more on personal and beauty care. And consumers in very modernised societies focus on processed food as they have less time to cook themselves.
His career in China resulted in Unilever rising from a negative 20-per-cent growth to a positive 30-per-cent growth within three years. The market share of Unilever's Lipton tea brand rose from 10 to 45 per cent.
In Vietnam, the company introduced new products almost every two weeks. Moreover, its sales increased from US$40 million (Bt1.5 billion) to $240 million within four years.
In Thailand, he is facing another set of challenges.
"Unilever has already existed in Thailand for 73 years, so the company will continue life here for at least another 73 years," he said.
Nitida Asawanipont
The Nation
|
