Consumer markets

Building capabilities for future success

PwC's Strategy& India consumer and retail practice works closely with organizations in the consumer goods, durables, and retail space to address their top-of-mind concerns as well as to drive their capabilities agenda. Our work includes addressing both strategic and operational issues that face the senior management across these organizations. Our consultants have consistently worked on cutting-edge business challenges and have helped frame solutions that build and sustain the “essential advantage” for our clients.

The India consumer and retail team is a balanced mix of both consulting and industry veterans with access to a team of industry experts with significant Indian and global experience. Our recent Indian experience with consumer product companies in India consists of projects across growth strategy, marketing strategy, market entry strategy, M&A due diligence, large-scale go-to-market transformation, and large-scale supply chain transformation. Similarly, our retail team has deep expertise in critical areas such as business and format strategy, expansion planning including acquisition evaluation, distribution, and supply chain management, promotion and marketing effectiveness, cost-base transformation, organization and change management, and working capital reduction.

We are differentiated from our competitors in our ability to deliver implementable solutions to the client’s problems, with clear benefits realization, while effectively leveraging our local and global expertise.

Capabilities-driven strategy

While companies today must understand where the consumer products market is heading, real growth comes from focusing on specific capabilities—the people, processes, tools, and structures that help differentiate one organization from another. Capabilities such as translating consumer insights into new products and services, converting online activity to sales, and managing retail execution are among key considerations for consumer products companies today. At Strategy&, we help leaders clarify their strategic priorities and the distinct capabilities that will help them to win in the consumer market.

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Fit for Growth

Consumer products companies are struggling to expand revenue and profitability in low-growth markets with fragmenting consumer demand, shifting channels, and evolving technologies. But industry financial performance reflects limited success, with overall revenue growth declining and eroding operating margins. At Strategy&, we leverage our Fit for Growth* approach to help companies develop the capabilities they need to drive growth, while reducing and eliminating unnecessary costs across the enterprise. Our Fit for Growth transformations deliver results across five critical dimensions that drive performance:

Ensuring strategic alignment
Investing to support distinctive capabilities for growth
Transforming cost structure
Aligning the organization and operating model
Enabling change and cultural evolution

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Revenue management

Superior revenue management is essential for consumer products companies to boost profits and prepare for long-term growth. Driving sustainable improvements requires an integrated approach to pricing strategy, customer management, and trade promotion optimization. At Strategy&, our deep expertise in revenue management is supported by a market-tested framework, advanced analytic approaches, and a sophisticated set of tools that enables fact-based decision-making.

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Digital strategy and services

Today’s ongoing digital transformation means much more than taking advantage of the latest technology, social media platform, or mobile app. At Strategy&, we help consumer products manufacturers use digital strategy to drive innovation and collaborate with retail trading partners, as well as to build deeper relationships directly with consumers and employees. Digital services and analytics also play key roles in capturing major cost reductions to help fund investments in differentiated capabilities.

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Operations strategy

Consumer products companies face challenges from increasing competition, growing complexity, evolving retail channels, and extended supply networks. At Strategy&, we help clients deliver profitable growth in relatively low-growth environments by enabling rapid innovation and design-to-value product development, while managing differentiated product flows across lean supply networks in response to fragmenting demand.

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M&A transformation

At Strategy&, we help clients transform their business through deals that realize strategic goals, capture value, and deliver growth. In consumer products, we work with companies to take advantage of new opportunities in the rapidly evolving consumer landscape—from globalization to consolidation to the rise of new, high growth brands.

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Differentiated capabilities system drives growth

A large company began to see declining performance from some of its most profitable brands. Strategy& was engaged to develop a growth strategy based on a differentiated capability system, considering the largest opportunities across multiple businesses. We focused on how the client could add value to consumers, the critical few capabilities they had today and those capabilities that they must invest in to gain a right to win. This combined market-back and capability-forward approach enabled the company to develop a clear strategy focused on the its greatest strengths and how its distinct capabilities could work together to provide a competitive advantage. The new strategy provided clear growth guardrails to prioritize investments and focus the organization. As a result of our work, the company saw solid growth with increased operating profit and net sales.

Multinational company dramatically cuts costs

A multibillion-dollar consumer goods company, active in several business areas across multiple geographies, was experiencing limited revenue growth, declining market shares, and increasing margin pressure. Strategy& helped develop an ambitious business improvement and cost reduction program. We set up a comprehensive two-pronged transformation strategy involving (1) a radical cost-savings program based on a new, less complex, capabilities-driven operating model, and (2) the reinvestment of a significant part of the savings into major growth drivers, such as growth markets, customer centricity, and innovation. As a result of our holistic work, the company is on track to deliver structural cost reductions in line with the objectives of the project. The client now also has solid cost-management capabilities and a productivity and cost-consciousness mind-set. Cost performance indicators have been institutionalized, and cost management tools and processes are being used throughout the organization.

U.S. beverage maker develops loyalty program to drive revenue

A U.S. beverage maker wanted to enhance its customer experience strategy and develop a more personalized loyalty program. Strategy& created journey maps, assessed opportunities to transform its digital organization, and evaluated more than 25 loyalty program elements. As a result of our work, the client is now delivering a seamless experience across all channels, its customers’ mobile purchases increased by 22 percent, and its membership and loyalty are estimated to be up double digits over the next five years.

U.S. beverage manufacturer redefines category leadership

A large U.S. player in the alcoholic beverage space wanted to leverage its full portfolio across beer, wine, and spirits to enhance customer collaboration with on- and off-premise accounts. Strategy& helped develop and prioritize a broad set of innovation concepts, as well as identify key changes to the organization and operating model that would unlock disruptive opportunities. As a result of our work, the client is now pursuing a multi-release roadmap with targeted benefits to increase top line growth by several points per year over five years.

Delivering profitable growth with tailored product platforms

A consumer products client was integrating acquired product lines that added substantial complexity with significant overlap across price points and features. Strategy& helped to redesign the product portfolio and establish standard product platforms with differentiation to meet distinct value criteria. The product platforms enabled consolidated operations and efficiency improvements that reduced the cost of goods sold by almost 20%, while delivering sales growth two points above the category average.

Transformative merger and divestiture redefines industry structure

Strategy& assisted with the strategic assessment, pre-close planning, and post-close execution of one of the largest consumer goods deals in history, helping the client plan a simultaneous acquisition and asset sale involving two other companies. This included the establishment of complex contract manufacturing relationships, preparation for critical Day 1 transitions of field-sales execution and information management, and alignment of strategic priorities behind two brands. Our work positioned the client as number two in the industry and ensured the stand-up of a third-party competitor that was essential to clear antitrust.