After seven years of consolidating its presence in urban Indian markets, SC Johnson, the  family-owned company which owns brands such as Mr Muscle, Glade and All Out says it is ready with its strategy for the “other” India.

Mr Shumone Chatterjee, the newly appointed Managing Director  of SC Johnson India  says, “We have divided the country into India A and India B. India A comprises consumers who are exposed to global products and solutions. India B is about those consumers who want the kind of products and services available in India A. ”

The company intends to double its distribution from the current 1.2 million outlets to 2.4 million outlets in the next two years. A majority of these outlets will be in rural India.

“India is becoming seamless and consumption patterns across the country are not really different. We intend having ‘weighted’ distribution which means that we reach out to only those outlets which contribute bulk of the consumption,” explains Mr Chatterjee.

He says the company plans to step up “shopper based activities” at the new outlets in the rural markets to drive home the message about the efficacy of its products.

The focus now, says Mr Chatterjee, is to build its Glade brand in the air-care space. One of the new moves is to piggyback on to its other brands to build further equity for Glade. For instance, it has recently merged its cleaning brand of Mr Muscle with the fragrance of “Glade” perfume. “We have merged the power of both Mr Muscle and Glade to create new solutions as there was a need for fragrances in floor cleaning,” explains Mr Chatterjee.

What this means

Clearly India’s promise continues for American companies in the consumer space. My colleagues and I at Amritt maintain our very bullish attitude on consumer India and any products/services that serve this broad segment and its supply chain.