BRITISH consumer goods company–PZ Cusson is not leaving the Kenyan market, management has affirmed, dismissing claims that it was considering shutting local manufacturing activities.
A recent launched of a strategic review of its operations in Kenya had raised concerns over the future of the company’s operations, local jobs and its longstanding presence in the East African market.
The manufacturer of Imperial Leather soap has instead announced a Sh150 million investment over the next one year which will go towards addressing changing market tastes, channel redesign and portfolio refocusing.
Managing director Sekar Ramamoorthy said PZ Cussons East Africa continues to ramp up its local investment, with a keen eye on the shifting consumer behavior and disruption in the supply chain.
“We are not going anywhere, we are the oldest local soap manufacturers and the Kenyan market remains very key to us,” Ramamoorthy told the Star.
The firm on Wednesday announced a major strategic shift in its regional business approach, doubling down on its investment in production, distribution, innovation placing greater emphasis on the younger Generation Z and Millennials aged below 35.
Speaking when he revealed a revamped flagship Imperial Leather range, Ramamoorthy said the company’s move responds to rapid evolution in consumer behaviour in its personal care category, where younger shoppers experiment more, demand a wider range of scents and formats and adopt new brands and innovations faster than older cohorts.
Kenya’s beauty and personal-care market is estimated at Sh20 billion and shows a steady high-single-digit growth rate. These are the demand dynamics that make investment in growth sensible.
“Our research shows that consumers in this region under 35 years are adventurous with fragrance and personal care, consistently stretching their imagination and experimentation with new formats, favouring bold, differentiated scents and buying across online and modern retail channels,” he said, adding that they comprise more than a third to nearly one half (35% to 45%) of personal-care spend in urban or modern-trade channels.
To deepen its grasp in the market where the firm maintains a strong lead at 25 per cent, Ramamoorthy said the company had arrived at a pivotal moment in its 60-plus years of operating in the local market, to increase its production capacity, deepen distribution through newer relationships, innovate with new pack sizes, packaging and fragrances and widen its appeal to younger populations.
“The category we play in is increasingly becoming more nuanced, with differentiation leaning towards niche markets. We are opting to go for broader sections of the population, having recognised that they have more in common,” he said, “ PZ Cussons intends to grow here and has no plans to divest from the local market.”
He reiterated that the regional business remains strategic for the firm’s Africa agenda, pointing to positive, volume-led growth in modern and general trade and the targeted reinvestment in consumer-facing innovation and distribution as evidence of its commitment to the market.
In recent years, several firms have exited or scaled down manufacturing in Kenya, including American multinational consumer goods manufacturer Procter & Gamble (P&G) and British pharmaceutical multi-national GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and De La Rue (2023) , citing high costs and market conditions.
Others are CMC Motors and Copia Kenya, with many other local manufacturers like Sameer Africa also ceasing operations.
