Arun Giridhar, Chief Operating Officer, Splash Corporation

The global pandemic has come at an inopportune time for companies that have been left scrambling to stay afloat amid lockdowns, sluggish supply chains and collapsing consumer demand.

For Bangalore-based Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting, the pandemic disrupted the integration of Splash Corporation – the Philippines’ leading fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company – which it had just acquired.

“We had a company that we had acquired in 2019, we barely put six months into the company and then everyone was working from home and almost all the lines were down,” says Arun Giridhar CEO Magazine.

“No one saw the pandemic coming. After that we saw a very different, disturbed world.’

Risk reduction has become the name of the game… the pandemic caught us completely off guard.

Giridhar, Splash’s COO, has successfully navigated the disruption caused by the global pandemic, which he attributes to Splash having “strong governance already in place” along with “very good systems.” It also helped that the company has more than three decades of experience developing iconic personal care brands, including SkinWhite, Maxi-Peel and Vitress.

As the worst of the pandemic appears to be in the past, Giridhar’s focus is on learning from the experience. He also prioritizes “de-risking” operations and doing things differently as the company moves forward.

Doing things differently

“Risk reduction has become the name of the game. The pandemic caught us completely off guard,” says Giridhar. “If you ask me what’s the one business message we’re taking away from it right now, it’s that we’ve become more sensitive to environmental risk.” We need to look at doing things differently. The old methods and old ways may not be as effective in the future as they were in the past.

Giridhar points to the better understanding of consumer preferences, the post-peak phase of the pandemic, as an example. “The whole value proposition that consumers are now looking for has completely changed,” he says.

“It’s not enough to just try to push what you think is right, you have to uncover what the consumer needs are after the pandemic and try to build them into your offering to better appeal and adapt to consumer needs and preferences.’

Giridhar sees reasons for optimism in the Philippines, although challenges such as recession risks, energy costs, inflation and currency weakness against the US dollar pose risks. Those global storm clouds have him keeping a close eye on the company’s bottom line—another lesson he learned from the pandemic.

“We have to be smarter about cost management. We will have to carefully review every element of spending and be nimble to respond faster,” he says. “My big message going out to the teams is, ‘Let’s spend every dollar carefully and carefully monitor the effectiveness of every dollar spent.’ I don’t mind putting additional dollars into areas that are productive, but let’s also try to cut areas that are bleeding or excessive and not core to our strategy.”

Giridhar is optimistic about getting out of the pandemic. It projects Splash to surpass its pre-pandemic performance in 2023.

We begin with the belief that 2022 was a year of reconstruction and rebuilding, while 2023 will indeed be a year of expansion.

“We start with the belief that 2022 was a year of reconstruction and rebuilding, while 2023 will really be a year of expansion,” he reveals. “The question over the last couple of years has been: What is your baseline, your pre-pandemic baseline? What are the strategy changes to accelerate a faster recovery?”

Giridhar has been with Wipro since 2003, holding various roles in sales and marketing, before moving to the international division. Before coming to the Philippines, Giridhar led Wipro’s operations in the Middle East.

A challenging task

It was a challenging task during COVID-19, he says, because the region’s foreign workforce, which makes up a large portion of the consumer base there, “was in an extremely transitional phase during the early stages of the pandemic, which led to sharp demand shocks “.

“Our response has been to drive the relevance of our personal care proposition to consumers through various marketing programs and new product launches,” says Giridhar.

He relished the opportunity to work in the Philippines, which he describes as “very similar to the Indian market: big, local, consumer population.”

“The trend in the market is that it is extremely sensitive to price and value,” he explains. “They want the best bang for their buck.”

Coming out of the pandemic, Giridhar says Splash is pursuing growth plans that are based on three strategic directions: entering new consumer segments, aggressively regaining market share and growing existing brands.

“We remain open and alive to the M&A opportunities available in the Philippine market,” he says. “We will be looking for opportunities quite actively in spaces and areas that we think complement our current infrastructure and understanding of brands and categories.”

It helps that Splash has a successful history in the Philippines, a strong local culture of getting things done, and the ability to rely on the resources of its parent company. These are all attributes that set it apart from the competition, according to Giridhar.

“The good thing is that we have the entrepreneurial spirit and agility of a local company, where we are able to be nimble, make good decisions and not get tied up in red tape,” he says.

Resource usage

Splash also draws on the resources of a network of centers of excellence across the region.

“Whether it’s marketing, manufacturing and R&D, our people interact with the best minds across our group companies, across regions,” says Giridhar. “It’s something where I think somewhere the whole perspective of this organization has now moved from local.”

“We think globally and act locally. We have access to powerful brands in the region from our group of companies, brands that are tried and tested across consumer segments and ethnicities,” he explains.

“We are able to very quickly take these global brands and solutions and adapt them into relevant offerings driven by a clear understanding of local consumer insights.”

Also working in Splash’s favor is its emphasis on partnerships, which have paid off during the pandemic. Giridhar says the company has avoided prolonged shutdowns and shortages of key ingredients and materials because of its strong relationships with suppliers.

The company responsibly engages the local communities around the factory with all safety protocols to assist during the days of severe traffic control restrictions. This not only helped overcome supply chain challenges, but also generated a lot of goodwill in the community.

It’s not enough to just try to push what you think is right, you have to discover what the needs of the users are after the pandemic and try to build them into your offer to better appeal and adapt to the needs and user preferences.

“We had some of the highest growth rates during the pandemic, even though we didn’t necessarily have the best pandemic-friendly portfolio,” he reveals. “The efficiency of our supply chains has allowed us to have stable growth during the pandemic.”

Splash seeks vendor feedback and opinions, which Giridhar says facilitates a win-win relationship.

“We are very fair and prompt in our dealings,” he says. “We are extremely ethical and transparent. I believe this helps us better support our suppliers, who are valued as contributors to our success.”

The same caring attitude extends to employees. “Every person is seen as a stakeholder, as a potential person who can give ideas to the organization and feel like a valuable contributing member,” adds Giridhar, noting with pride that Splash has won both the prestigious PMAP 2021 Awards and the HR Asia.

“The idea is to make Splash an engaging organization where you enjoy working and feel valued as an important contributing member,” he says with a smile. “People are staying with this company for a long time, so something is clearly going right.”

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