Demand up, prices up –

“We are ramping up our production to match with the country- wide demand that
will help people take precautionary measures,” said Philipe Haydon, CEO,
Himalaya Drug. These companies are also stepping up efforts online to run
awareness campaigns over the Coronavirus outbreak. While Hindustan Unilever
has already advertised in newspapers about its Lifebuoy soaps, handwash and
hand sanitizer and published a precautionary advertisement amid the onset of
COVID-19 crisis, other companies are running online campaigns to promote
personal hygiene.

- However, customers are complaining that these hygiene products are not
available in the market despite their claims about production boost. “It is selling
like a hot cake. The demand has gone up by 400 per cent. Nine out of 10
customers ask for hand sanitizers and liquid soaps. People are asking for these
products in bulk but we are careful not to give them more than two bottles so
that others may also get them,” said Arvind Arora, a pharmacist, Janakpuri.

Pride down, sales up

Leading FMCG companies such as Hindustan Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, ITC, Godrej Consumer Products and Dabur will
slash or have already cut prices of hand sanitisers by up to 70% after the government capped the rate of the essential
commodity, although most of them said this would mean selling at a loss. 

The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution on Saturday issued a notification to cap the retail price of 3-
ply masks at Rs 10 per piece, 2-ply masks at Rs 8 a piece and hand sanitisers at not more than Rs 100 per 200 ml, with lower
or higher volume packs priced proportionately.
The order is effective till June 30. 

One for the country slide

 “We have started new production at the government-decided price. This would mean selling below the cost price, but profit
and business is secondary right now due to public interest,” said Godrej Consumer Products managing director Vivek
Gambhir. 

A spokesperson for HUL said despite the adverse impact of a price reduction on the margins of its Lifebuoy brand sanitisers,
it would continue to ramp up production in national interest.

The cuts for the well being

“HUL will stand in support of the nation during this crisis,” the person said. The firm had already announced a 15% cut in
sanitiser prices and will further bring it down. 

Reckitt Benckiser, which makes the Dettol brand of sanitisers, said the company would price its products as per the
government mandated rates, while ITC said it had already reduced the price of its Savlon brand sanitisers and rushing fresh
stocks to the market. 

Be that as it may, sanitisers of most of these leading brands continue to be in short supply, which they attributed to a sudden
surge in demand of the category which was only Rs 110 crore in size. 

Godrej has slashed prices of its 50 ml pack from Rs 75 to Rs 25, while ITC has reduced the 55 ml pack price from ?77 to ?
27. Dabur has corrected prices of its sanitiser sold online. 

Patanjali Ayurved is expected to roll out its own brand of sanitiers next week, said spokesperson SK Tijarawala. “We believe
in responding to consumer needs on a non-profit basis,” he said. 

Steps by Online Sellers

 Amazon has restricted the sales of face masks and hand sanitizers as a step to curb price
gouging.

 It has issued a notice to its sellers that it will no longer take any more listings.

 The sellers who already have invested will get a reimbursement.

India’s two largest online marketplaces, Amazon and Flipkart, have also asked sellers to cut prices of sanitisers and masks
immediately or face blocks on their listings. However, both items continued to retail at a premium on these ecommerce sites
as of Sunday evening. 

Spokespersons for Amazon India and Flipkart said they have requested sellers to change prices to comply with the
government order. “Taking cognizance of…the Janata Curfew, and the fact that sellers may not have the means to reset the
prices on Sunday, we believe sellers may take more time to make these changes,” the Amazon spokesperson said. 
A Flipkart India spokesperson said it had put in place technology solutions to maintain checks and balances to ensure
compliance. “Should there be instances where sellers breach these directives, we have provisions in place for de-listing as
applicable,” the person said. 

Yesterday you could see, today you can’t

According to reports, face masks and hand sanitizers have vanished from chemist shops in many areas of the national capital
and adjoining towns as people resorted to panic buying amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Some chemist shops that have stocks of masks available with them have jacked up prices, selling items that were available
earlier for Rs 150 at Rs 300, stated a report.

“There was steady demand of hand sanitizers and masks in the past two months since the outbreak of coronavirus but ever
since a case was reported in Delhi, there has been a sudden spike in demand,” a salesperson