Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd.   (COLPAL)

CPIL was incorporated in 1937 as a wholly owned subsidiary of its US parent. Currently the parent company holds 40.06% stake in the company. The products of the group include soaps, shampoos, cosmetics and toilet preparations, toothpaste, tooth powder, toothbrushes, shaving brushes, fatty acids, glycerin and calcium phosphate. It is the market leader in the Indian oral care market, with a 51% market share in the toothpaste segment, 48% market share in the tooth-powder market and a 30% share in the toothbrush market. It also has a presence in premium toilet soap and shaving products, which are sold under the Palmolive brand. The company faces competition from second positioned Hindustan Lever, local brands like Meswak, Babool, Anchor and other MNC`s such as Smithkline (Acquafresh). However, the company has retaliated by new launches and revitalization of its flagship brand CDC. In past few years the company has increased it expenses for promotions and aggressive campaigning. Apart from launching battery-based toothbrushes, the company has undertaken oral and dental care awareness programs. Colgate has not been able to achieve any significant success in expanding its non-oral care portfolio. The company has a rural distribution network with over 30 lakh outlets. CPIL has its plants in Mumbai and Aurangabad in Maharashtra, and a toothpaste manufacturing facility at Baddi in Himachal Pradesh. It manufactures di-calcium phosphate, a key ingredient in toothpaste, slashing cost of production by 20%. Subsidiaries of the company are Passion Trading & Investment Company, Jigs Investments and Multimint Leasing & Finance.

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