MUMBAI, APR 25: Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) has identified 9 new business initiatives which along with the present businesses, will drive the company's ambition to double its turnover every four years. The 9 new growth engines comprise entry into categories new to HLL and unique business systems for specific channel or segment opportunities. K B Dadiseth, who passes on the baton of chairmanship to M S Banga at the end of this month, unveiled the new growth blueprint today in his last AGM address. Implementation of the strategy, an outcome of the year-long `Project Millennium' exercise, has already begun. Said Dadiseth, ``Our new growth engines will become thriving businesses of significant size over the next 6 to 8 years. They will help us accelerate new demand at the lower end of the market spectrum and also capture value from shifts in the nature of demand at the upper end. Significantly Hindustan Lever will make rapid strides in the New Economy, by leveraging the power of the Internet technologies in the web-enablement of its existing infrastructure and in launching several new e-business.'' Recalling the lunch of Project Millennium, he said, ``HLL's vision is to create a self-sustaining virtuous cycle of business growth through people growth. The better we leverage the capabilities of our excellent people, the more certain we are that Hindustan Lever will grow. And the faster the company grows, the more opportunities we can create to attract and retain high calibre people.'' The blueprint therefore will sustain HLL's position position as an employer of choice. Equally, it ensures that HLL enables growth through consumer-focussed business structures, appropriate knowledge management and continuing focus on better management of costs, he said. HLL will develop appropriate products for rural India. It will deploy communication and information technology to establish connectivity in the distribution system at scale never attempted before. Finally in a win-win partnership, it will joint hands with rural self-help proper the initiative will create critically needed sustainable jobs for thousands of villagers where the company it will translate into extending its distribution into hitherto unexplored territory. HLL has developed a 3-pronged strategy to leverage the Internet. ``First the company will `Connect'. The web-enabled extended supply chain of stockists, suppliers, banks and even potentially top retailers will create the most capital efficient supply chain optimised for handling product, cash and information flow. Second HLL will `Attract' consumer and further strengthen relationships by becoming the preferred online provider of information products and services on health, beauty and nutritional needs. Finally, HLL will `Transact', supported by its extensive physical infrastructure. The company is uniquely positioned to create India's most widespread, robust and efficient `click and brick' business model,'' he said.
