India’s Marico enters Vietnam mkt

Harsh Mariwala-owned Marico has entered Vietnam through an investment in International Consumer Products Corporation (ICP), an FMCG company in Vietnam. Marico has picked up 85% equity in ICP for an undisclosed consideration.

ICP, which was founded in 2001, by Dr Phan Quoc Cong and his partner, achieved a turnover of a little over S$ 25 million during the calendar year 2010. Mekong Enterprise Fund II, managed by Mekong Capital and BankInvest Vietnam (both private equity funds) and other individual shareholders were the key shareholders that have divested their shareholding to Marico. The company said in a press release, Dr Cong will continue to hold his entire stake of 15% in ICP for 3 years.

ICP’s brands (X-Men, L’Ovite and Thuan Phat) have a significant presence across personal care, beauty cosmetics and sauces/condiments categories. “ICP imparts strength to Marico’s international business group in the male grooming segment. Vietnam is the fastest growing country in Asia. With consumer penetration at 30%, there is enough headroom for growth in these categories,” said Vijay Subramaniam, CEO, international business group, Marico.

Marico said X-Men is a leading player in the male grooming segment in Vietnam. With over 35% market share, the brand leads the men’s shampoo category. L’Ovite, on the other hand, is the company’s premium cosmetics brand ranking among the top 5 premium cosmetics brands in Vietnam. Thuan Phat operates in branded sauces and condiments market in Vietnam.

Tags: Marico Vietnam

Posted by VBN on Feb 19 2011. Filed under Retail. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry