Marico says majority of retail distributors resume ops in Bangladesh

Indian consumer goods maker Marico said on Wednesday that a majority of its retail sales force and distributors have resumed operations in Bangladesh following a brief interruption, and that it expects manufacturing operations to resume soon.

Bangladesh saw violent student-led protests that culminated in the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday. Following this, its army announced the formation of an interim government, with Bangladesh’s president appointing Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus to head it.

The ‘Parachute’ hair oil maker gets 44% of its international revenues from the country, where it has a distribution network of more than 770,000 outlets, as per Marico’s website.

“We would like to inform you that operating conditions in the market are gradually improving,” Marico said in a statement.

“We firmly believe that the medium-term prospects of Marico’s business in Bangladesh remain intact.”

International revenues account for about 26% of Marico’s total revenues. Analysts have estimated Marico’s revenue exposure to Bangladesh at 11%.

The company said it “remains watchful” of the situation in the country and is prioritising the safety of its employees, factory workers, distributors and other stakeholders. It had earlier flagged in a post-earnings call that the impact of the interruption was not immediately clear.

Marico has been looking to diversify into other markets like Vietnam and South Africa to reduce earnings dependence on Bangladesh.

“We expect the revenue share of Bangladesh to moderate gradually to about 40% by FY27,” Managing Director and CEO Saugata Gupta said in Marico’s latest annual report.