Britannia, Danone may settle dispute out of court

Monday, July 28, 2008 6:34:54 PM by IANS ( Leave a comment ) Kolkata, July 28 (IANS) Biscuit and dairy product major Britannia Industries Ltd, embroiled in a bitter intellectual property right (IPR) violation litigation with French partner Groupe Danone, is interested in an out-of-court settlement, a senior company official indicated here Monday. We are also simultaneously talking to Danone for settlement of dispute, Britannias chief financial officer Durgesh Mehta said at the annual general meeting, indicating his company was open to an out of court settlement. The relationship between Danone and the Nusli Wadia-led Britannia soured after the Indian company charged the French partner with using its Tiger trademark, a key intellectual property, in the overseas market without prior consent. The two companies moved court for arbitration last year in Singapore and Malaysia. Britannia chairman Wadia said the IPR issue was still pending, adding: We hope it will come near to a resolution sooner rather than later. Tiger is the most popular Britannia brand, accounting for about 20 percent of its total sales, followed by its Good Day dairy product brand. As for Britannias other plans, Wadia said the West Asian operations of its subsidiaries - Strategic Foods International in Dubai and Al Sallan Food Industries in Oman - would be consolidated and based in Oman. Instead of having businesses in two locations, we are putting them in one location, he said. Referring to Britannias acquiring a strategic stake last year in Daily Bread, a loss-making Bangalore-based manufacturer and retailer of high-end bakery products, Wadia said: We are re-looking at our investment. At the same time, the company is looking at inorganic overseas expansion. We are interested in any country which will provide us with better margins, chief financial officer Mehta said. Britannia also plans to invest between Rs.750 million to Rs.1 billion for buying equipment, capacity expansion and development this year, he added. It had invested Rs.2 billion in the past 18 months. Mehta said in view of inflationary trends and rising input costs, the company needed to reduce operational cost by two percent, in addition to raising product price. It will be a big challenge to protect our margins, he conceded. Last year, Britannias margin was about nine percent. The total market for biscuits in India is valued at Rs.80 billion, with Britannia accounting for a lions share of 31 percent. In the last three years, there has been around two percentage points decline in market share due to the entry of new players, Mehta said.

Last year, Britannia launched 20 products including variants. The bread, cake and rusk business crossed the Rs.2.70 billion-mark last fiscal, doubling its revenue in two years. At present, Britannia depends heavily on contract manufacturers, who account for as much as 85 percent of its total production. Related Stories

Britannia settles 'Tiger' brand tangle with US firm - Aug 31, 2009 Britannia to invest over Rs.200 crore this fiscal (Lead, superseding earlier story) - Jul 02, 2011 Britannia to invest over Rs.200 crore in new plants - Jul 02, 2011 Britannia targets women with new biscuit - Jul 16, 2011 French Danone to exit Britannia by selling stake - Apr 06, 2009 Britannia planning greenfield projects - Aug 09, 2010 Britannia to foray into diabetic-friendly products - Aug 06, 2011 Competition watchdog approves Danone's acquisition of Wockhardt arm - Sep 18, 2011 Britannia plans to import sugar - Aug 31, 2009 French dairy major Danone forays into Bangalore market - Jul 06, 2011 Britannia for major advertising campaign to promote brand name - Sep 29, 2008 From humble loaf to slice of multi-grain joy (With Images) - Mar 11, 2011 Danone Declines Ever Approaching Aishwarya - Sep 10, 2010 GSK to decide on rural drink after test marketing results - Oct 06, 2010 Aishwarya Refuses To Be Brand Ambassador Of Danone - Aug 31, 2010

Tags: annual general meeting, asian operations, bakery products, britannia, capacity expansion, chief financial officer, court settlement, daily bread, dairy product, food industries, french partner, groupe danone, industries ltd, intellectual property right, kolkata, mehta, nusli wadia, overseas expansion, rs 1, sallan Posted in Business |

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Britannia plans to import sugar

Monday, August 31, 2009 4:28:33 PM by IANS ( Leave a comment ) Kolkata, Aug 31 (IANS) Biscuit and dairy product major Britannia Industries is planning to import sugar, both raw and refined, on account of the scarcity in the domestic market, a top company official said here Monday. We will import sugar this year. This is the first time we are doing so. We have been allowed to keep an inventory of 15 days, Britannia chairman Nusli N. Wadia told reporters on the sidelines of the companys annual general meeting (AGM).

Added managing director Vinita Bali: There is a shortage and a scramble for sugar in the domestic market, so we need to secure our supplies from domestic as well and as overseas markets. However, they declined to say how much sugar would be imported and when. Regarding the price rise of biscuits, Bali said: In the past six months, we have raised prices by 5-12 percent depending on brands. Without specifying how much hike could be expected in the future, she said, We are raising price all the time according to the need and will continue to adjust prices. Bali said prices of skimmed milk have gone up 35 percent, which has also impacted margins, adding: Given the drought situation, we expect milk yield to go down during the year. At the same time, she said the companys dairy business would be its growth vector. In the coming days, you will see several new launches and they would be differentiated dairy business. Talking on Britannias plans on inorganic growth, Bali said it was open to acquiring the right brand at right value at the right time. The companys profit after tax in 2008-09 fiscal was Rs.180.4 crore.

Britannia buys out partner in New Zealand dairy unit

Tuesday, April 28, 2009 11:22:34 AM by IANS ( Leave a comment ) Mumbai, April 28 (IANS) Biscuit major Britannia has bought out its partner Fonterras 49 percent stake in their joint venture in New Zealand, Britannia New Zealand Foods, the company said in a regulatory statement Tuesday. Britannia had set up a dairy business with Fonterra Cooperative Group, one of New Zealands largest dairy companies, in 2002. With the acquisition, the Indian firm gains complete control of Britannia New Zealand Foods. The size of the deal was, however, not disclosed.

Britannia for major advertising campaign to promote brand name

Monday, September 29, 2008 7:24:14 PM by IANS ( Leave a comment ) Chandigarh, Sep 29 (IANS) After a gap of five years, leading biscuit maker Britannia is all set to launch an advertising campaign to promote its brand name on the electronic media next week.We have not promoted Britannia brand as such in the last many years as we

were only promoting our singular products like Tiger biscuits or Good Day biscuits, Britannia category director Anuradha Narasimhan told reporters here Monday evening. However, this was part of our marketing strategy. At first, we wanted to strengthen the image of the products that we are offering in the minds of the spectators. And now, we will work for the image building of Britannia brand by launching two commercials on television, Narasimhan said. In India, Britannia biscuits are leading with over 33 percent of the market share. Britannia has its manufacturing units at 70 locations across the country. Presently, Britannia is offering biscuits, cakes and breads under the brand. The latest addition in their offering is Britannia daily fresh curd that was launched in Feb 2008 in some parts of the country. In India, packed food market is of about Rs.600 billion ($13 billion) of which the biscuit market accounts for Rs.80 billion. In 2007, Britannias share in the biscuits market was Rs.27 billion, Narasimhan said. She added that in India, the average per capita consumption of biscuits per year is 800 grams whereas in the developed countries it is over 2.4 kilograms. We are increasing our market operations throughout the world as Britannia biscuits were launched in Sri Lanka last month. In 2007, we had acquired two companies in the Middle East, she said.

Britannia settles Tiger brand tangle with US firm

Monday, August 31, 2009 12:18:13 PM by IANS ( Leave a comment ) Kolkata, Aug 31 (IANS) Biscuit major Britannia Industries Ltd has settled legal issues with Kraft Inc, US, over using the Tiger brand, a top company official said here Monday. We have successfully settled all those issues. Britannia will have the right to use Tiger brand in India, Britannia will also have the right to use Tiger brand anywhere in the world, company chairman Nusli N. Wadia said in his address to the shareholders at the annual general meeting. Kraft will use another Tiger, not the one we are using in the country, where it is operating and where it wishes to operate. That completes the settlement. Ultimately, Tiger is a generic term. Kraft is free to develop its own Tiger brand, Wadia said. The Nusli Wadia-led Britannia was embroiled in a bitter intellectual property right (IPR) violation litigation with its partner Groupe Danone after the Indian company charged the French dairy major with using its Tiger trademark - a key intellectual property - in the overseas market without prior consent. The two companies moved court for arbitration in 2007 in Singapore and Malaysia.

Groupe Danone sold its biscuit business to Kraft Inc in December 2007. Talking about its bread arm Daily Bread Gourmet Foods (India) Pvt Ltd, he said the wing has not performed as per the companys expectations. We are now reinventing the company. We will be looking at city-wise bread business, he said. It closed its bread operations in Hyderabad and Delhi in December 2008 with a view to growing its business in Bangalore, where the brand has been available for six years. It is our clear intention to grow our Daily Bread business in India, he said. Wadia said the Middle-East business has not performed well, primarily because of huge surge in raw material prices. We have a lot of hope for Middle-East business. Surge in flour, sugar and oil prices impacted us adversely in the Middle-East. We are consolidating our business in the Middle-East, and currently we will be concentrating on Oman, he said. Apprehending that the current year will be a tough one, Wadia said poor monsoon would affect input prices of the companys products. But we are quite clear that we will drive our cost down and protect our margin, he added. The profit after tax in 2008-09 fiscal was Rs.1,804 million. Last year, our topline has grown 20 percent despite an all-round increase in input prices and our power brand also grew by 20 percent. So it was a good year despite the volatility in prices. Our bread, cake and rusks business has grown three times in the last three years and is now worth Rs.380 crore, he said.

Businessman loses Rs.1.15 million to robbers

Friday, July 31, 2009 3:47:36 PM by IANS ( Leave a comment ) New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) In a daring daylight robbery, a businessman was lost Rs.1.15 million to two armed men riding a motorcycle in the capital Friday. Sanjeev Gupta, who owns a food grain business, was going to his factory when his car was stopped by the assailants around 10.15 a.m. on Britannia flyover in Pitampura in west Delhi, a police officer said. One of the attackers broke its rear window glass with a pistol butt and took out the bag with the cash. They escaped before Gupta could react, the officer said. Police suspect that some aides of Gupta may have tipped off the robbers.

Labour strike forces Bosch shut Bangalore plant

Friday, September 30, 2011 8:36:24 PM by IANS ( Leave a comment ) Bangalore, Sep 30 (IANS) German auto component maker Bosch India Ltd shut down its Bangalore plant till its workers stopped their tool down strike they went on Wednesday without prior notice. In a regulator filing to the stock exchanges Friday, the listed company said that efforts were on to resolve the labour issues to restore normalcy at the earliest date. Union and workmen of the Bangalore plant have commenced a tool down strike from first shift of Sep 28, without giving prior notice to management. In view of the illegal and unjustified strike, the management has decided to shut down the plant operations from late Thursday, the company said in the filing. The Adugudi plant employees union said the workmen went on tool down strike to protest the companys policy to outsource more work than from the plant, endangering their job security. We fear that at this rate, the management may terminate services of many workers as more job works are being outsourced by the company from the plant, the Mico Employees Association said in a statement. The management, however, clarified that its outsourcing initiative had not resulted in a job loss as it was a common practice followed by the company and the industry as part of modernisation to maintain competitive edge. About 2,400 workers are employed in the Bangalore plant.

Britannia planning greenfield projects

Monday, August 09, 2010 5:04:58 PM by IANS ( Leave a comment ) Kolkata, Aug 9 (IANS) Britannia Industries is planning one or two greenfield projects, Chairman Nusli Wadia said here Monday. We are looking at one or two greenfield projects in the coming days, Wadia said, addressing the 91st annual general meeting of the company. Asked about the location of the projects, Managing Director Vinita Bali said: It is too premature to say the location. It will be finalized in the next few weeks. The company, however, did not specify in which segment in particular it would invest. Investment depends upon the location which should be close to the market, and also on the tax benefit that we can get for the project, Wadia said. Britannia makes buiscuits, bread, cakes and marine products. It is also engaged in dairy business with the launch of cheese, dairy whiteners and processed food products.

Talking about the companys investment in the current fiscal (2010-11), Bali said: Every year we invest around Rs.70-80 crore. This year also we will do the same. Britannia could raise biscuit prices between 5-10 percent depending on products to mitigate the impact of commodity price inflation. Bali, however, said it could be difficult to go for a hike second time this year due to competitive nature of the industry. It has already increased price during the first quarter (April-June) of the current fiscal. While our volume growth has been 20 percent in April-June, value growth was 26 percent, she said. Wadia in his address to the shareholders said: We are yet to overcome the impact of inflation push hopefully we will pass on the impact of commodity inflation as biscuit industry is the only one which is yet to raise prices. Prices of key ingredients for biscuit like wheat, sugar and milk have gone up substantially. Britannia will focus more on differentiated products where there is less competition and we would be able to raise prices, Bali said. About the rent-hike dispute between the company and the Kolkata Port Trust regarding its Taratalla premises, Wadia said the company has adopted two-pronged strategy to resolve the matter. It has moved court and simultaneously it is trying to negotiate and settle the matter with the KoPT through dialogue. Bali confirmed the factory operations are in full-swing in Taratala premises, in the southern outskirts of the city. Regarding the companys foreign operations, Wadia said: The Middle East business continued to be adversely impacted by the challenging global economic uncertainty and a real population decline in the UAE, where it has a sizeable presence. Despite this, it revamped its marketing strategy and made significant brand investments that strengthened its competitive position, resulting in a market share increase in the GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council). Operations in Sri Lanka were discontinued as they were not viable and Britannia will continue to export some of its differentiated brands in Sri Lanka. We are entering into Saudi Arabia market, Bali said. The company declared its first quarter result Monday. It posted net profit of Rs.32.8 crore against Rs.47.3 crore posted during the corresponding period a year ago.

Britannia Industries enters milk-based drinks segment

Friday, October 30, 2009 5:20:00 PM by IANS ( Leave a comment ) Chennai, Oct 30 (IANS) In order to expand its Rs.200-crore dairy products portfolio, the Bangaloreheadquartered Britannia Industries launched a milk-based vitamin fortified drink targeting mainly children here Friday. This is not a flavoured milk but a vitamin fortified milk-based drink, Britannia managing director Vinita Bali told reporters at the launch.

With Actimind, the new product, Britannia will have a presence in the milk-based health drink category but away from the competitive brown or white drinks segment where brands like Boost, Complan and Horlicks are fighting it out. The advantage is it is ready-to-drink and can be had anywhere including in a school with or without refrigeration, Bali said, adding that the beverage had a shelf life of six months. Britannia will initially launch the product in Tamil Nadu and look at rolling out in other parts of the country later. We dont have any specific plans now for a national rollout, Bali said. According to her, the company has been focussing on value-added dairy products like low-fat cheese and fat-free processing milk after exiting the commodity milk business around seven years ago.

Kate Middletons family firm launces Britannia scratch card

Tuesday, March 15, 2011 4:25:09 PM by ANI ( Leave a comment ) London, Mar 15 (ANI): Bride-to-be Kate Middletons family has launched a Britannia scratch card, complete with crowns, and reference to corgis and the Queen, which have been designed to be used to play a game of trivia. The scratch cards are part of a Best of British range that has gone on sale at Party Pieces, the website owned and run by the Middleton family. The Britannia Scratch Trivia card costs 3.99 pounds for a pack of ten. It is designed to be played by adults, allowing them to test their knowledge not just of British history and celebrities, but also the Royal Family. Scratch away one crown to reveal the correct answer and impress your guests with your British knowledge, the Telegraph quoted the advertisement on the firms website as saying. The cards risk further accusations that the website is taking advantage of the forthcoming wedding of Middleton to Prince Wiliam. Party Pieces, set up by Middletons parents Carole and Michael, has already been criticised for selling street party paraphernalia to coincide with the wedding. Party Pieces has become a very successful website, selling busy parents all the equipment they need to throw a childrens birthday party - from plates and table cloths, to invitations and fancy dress outfits. It has branched out to adult parties, including hen nights. (ANI)

Britannia targets women with new biscuit

Saturday, July 16, 2011 7:05:38 PM by IANS ( Leave a comment ) Chennai, July 16 (IANS) Hoping for growth in its health and wellness product revenue this fiscal, biscuits major Britannia Industries Ltd has launched a new product - Vita Marie Honey Oats biscuit - which targets women, an official said Saturday. The adult health and wellness biscuit category is logging an annual growth of 20 percent. The segment is estimated to be around Rs.5,000 crore per year, Anuradha Narasimhan, category director - Health and Wellness - told reporters here. Even a five percent shift in favour of our new product Marie Honey Oats by our Marie Gold biscuit customers will be good, she added. According to her, there will not be major cannibalisation as customers will be going in for a higher priced product. The company is targeting women with its new product as a heart-friendly biscuit for women. Launching the product here, Narasimhan said the biscuit will be gradually introduced in all the major cities soon. She said 90 percent of the companys turnover is contributed by the biscuits segment and the balance is chipped in by dairy, bread and other products. Speaking about the market trend, the official said a significant shift is happening from Rs.3 glucose biscuits segment to Rs.5 cookies packet as the price difference between the two got reduced. Earlier, glucose biscuits accounted for 33 percent of the total industry biscuits sale while the cookies used to be 14 percent. Now cookie packets has grown to 25 percent while glucose biscuits have come down to 25 percent, Narasimhan said. She refuted that the company is going slow on its popular Tiger glucose biscuits because of the market shift, though the product is not available as earlier in shops. Narasimhan said the company does not have any plans to increase the prices after it was revised upwards in February-March this year.

Britannias net profit rises 27.3 percent

Saturday, August 06, 2011 8:05:37 PM by IANS ( Leave a comment ) Mumbai, Aug 6 (IANS) FMCG major Britannia Industries Saturday reported an increase of 27.3 percent in net profit at Rs.41.8 crore for the quarter ended June 30 as against Rs.32.8 crore during the like period of the previous financial year.

The net sales stood at Rs.1,106 crore as against Rs.911.5 crore during the like period of the 2010-11, the company said in a regulatory filing. At the Bombay Stock Exchange, the shares of the company closed 1.89 percent lower at Rs.469.3.