The India-headquartered manufacturer has been investing a lot in Africa over the last ten years, with five others completed during this time as it has looked to focus on strong growth in the market, which it views as similar to its strong domestic one in India.
Last year the company’s Managing Director Vivek Gambhir said that the company’s turnover in Africa stands at Rs 1,200 crore/ $176 million (€158m) and that more buys were expected in the personal care area as the company eyes huge growth in Africa over the next five years.
The announcement of the Canon Chemicals deal is the next step in that planned growth as Godrej hopes it will help to further build its presence in the Sub Saharan Africa market, given the company’s 2015 revenue was KSh 1,146 million (€10m).
"We are delighted to add Canon Chemicals Limited to our home and personal care portfolio in Africa,” says Vivek Gambhir of this acquisition.
“Canon has a strong track record of serving consumers in Kenya for over 40 years and we look forward to leveraging its strong brand equity and distribution infrastructure, for our business.”
Canon manufactures and distributes products in the personal and home categories, and its major brand is Valon, a petroleum jelly.
“This acquisition reflects our continued commitment to scaling up our presence in Africa and providing African consumers with a wide range of superior quality products at affordable prices,” continues Gambhir.
“We remain very excited by the tremendous potential of the African market and look forward to further building our business."
Building Africa business
The aim for Godrej Consumer Products is to increase its presence in personal and home care in Africa, segments where the company is strong in India.
It believes this s doable by investing in local brands and letting them be the face of the company, as there is a greater chance of succeeding because consumers in Africa will be familiar with local brands rather than products transported from India, according to Gambhir.
In the last ten years, the five other acquisitions Godrej Consumer has made in Africa, include Rapidol, Kinky and Frika hair care brands in South Africa; Tura, a personal care brand in Nigeria; and the Darling Group, a hair care company that has a presence in 14 countries on the continent.