@dd1474 Many thanks for starting this thread.
Following are my pointers.
Strong brand strength of Dabur
In my opinion Dabur brand is the most powerful homegrown FMCG brand and maybe only Nestle brand inspires more awe than Dabur. I am saying this in regards to the number of highly regarded distinct products under its belt, so have not included Lifebuoy or Dettol. This is my personal opinion based on what I perceive qualitatively. Godrej brand is also highly regarded but it is more diversified in Security Locks, RE, Consumer Durables and IMHO in FMCG Godrej’s brand strength is not as rich as Dabur.
Perhaps, Dabur has started to realize this only recently and so have been pushing its all new products under the mother brand or sub-brands only. Based on eCom reviews and local scuttlebutt I was confident that Dabur Sanitize products have gathered enviable strong reputation among the now-crowded hygiene space. They were among the first to fast-track sanitizers aggressively through its well entrenched distribution network when the there was massive shortage of branded sanitizers after COVID fallout.
Also, Dabur was not able to extend the Fem brand well and so now pushing the personal care products through Dabur Gulabari brand. They have kept their hand wash in Fem and was not faring well against competitors. Maybe they will release it under Dabur Sanitize brand too given that they have already launched soap under that brand.
Dabur also had cleaner products under Dazzl brand for a long time but its only after they launched it under Dabur Sanitize brand that it has started to sell substantially. E.g. Dazzl Disinfectant Floor Cleaner (Amazon Rank #16,756 in Health & Personal Care), Dabur Sanitize Disinfectant Floor Cleaner (Amazon Rank #2,708 in Health & Personal Care). So, Dabur clearly have been running enough pilots to understand that they can only gain scale faster with Dabur sub-brands.
Real, Odonil and Odomos have good enough brand strength. Especially, Real has strong market leadership in Fruit Juices segment and it is now ventured into dairy beverage segment too. Beverage market is growing strongly and Real in particular is growing at ~ 20% CAGR. Another potential food focused brand is Dabur Hommade which can grow big if taken good care of.
Aggressive Current Management
Also the current Chairman (Amit Burman) and CEO (Mohit Malhotra) combo has been taking some aggressive steps in reviving growth since mid 2019 (HDFC Sec Dabur Update - 11 SEP 2019.pdf) and the results are getting more visible day by day. Amit Burman in particular is an entrepreneur in itself and has single-handedly built the Real Brand (which was earlier a subsidiary and now have merged with the company. He have founded Lite Bite Foods which is an equally successful venture. One can read about Amit Burman’s journey and some interesting things about the family & the company from The Inheritors book.
Missed Ayurveda wave (almost)
This is very correct. One company you haven’t mentioned is the The Himalaya Drug Company. I again don’t have the data but from the availability and the feedback of their rapidly growing portfolio it seems to me that they are growing the fastest with strong reputation. Before the Ayurveda wave Himalaya was a small brand with very limited visibility.
Regardless, Dabur has fared poorly in comparison to many. Only in Dabur Lal toothpaste it gained strong ground and in its other existing ayurveda portfolio it was able to defend its position but there was not much brand extensions like was seen in Himalaya. However, its refreshing to see a number of Ayurveda related releases after the current management took the helm and also during COVID.
Optionalities:
Dabur’s promoter Burman Family is a conservative one and it is quite possible that going forward we may see many of their startup ventures and major financial investments getting merged with Dabur.
For example:
- Amit Burman may consider merger of Lite Bite Foods if he deems it fit in future. It can be to Dabur what Starbucks JV is to Tata Consumer.
- Dabur group has taken a significant stake in Eveready, which is at present a financial investment by Burman Family in its personal capacity. Maybe in future after turning around the company well it can merge it with Dabur. According to VC Mohit Burman " both are FMCG businesses, and if we were to get involved we believe that we could add a lot of value to Eveready." Eveready can be to Dabur what PureIt is to HUL.
There can be many such optionalities which I am not aware of.
Disc: One of my oldest core stock.