The Managing Director of Suntory Beverage & Food Nigeria Limited, Mr Chinedum Okereke has spoken about the company’s plans to achieve as much as 65% profit increase in 2018 through the introduction of new product lines and the widening of distribution network across the country.
Okereke, who recently disclosed this in Lagos during an interview with Bloomberg, noted that the plan will see the company’s annual contributions to its parent company in Japan grow.
The company has just emerged from a bad year necessitated by economic recession which decreased its revenue and adversely affected profits. The Nigerian economy had been devastated by the recession owing to poor oil prices, decreased external reserves and high exchange rates. Manufacturing companies such as Suntory Beverages & Food Nigeria Limited had therefore battled forex issues as it struggled to import vital raw materials necessary for its productions. The economic recession also affected the average Nigerians’ purchasing power, thereby leading to decreased sales.
Meanwhile, the company has since made efforts to target market share while wading off competition. Late last year, it introduced Boost Satchet, an offshoot of its popular, but also expensive Lucozade brand targeted at lower income earners. The company now plans to introduce new product lines, which Okereke hopes will be available “in almost every shop, in every neighborhood.”
The company is also hoping to begin exportation of its products to other West African countries soon. As Okereke puts it, “We have a plan, a very aggressive growth agenda,” he said.
Recall that Suntory Beverages & Foods Nigeria Limited began operation in 2016 following the purchase from Glaxo Smith Kline Nigeria Plc the local right to manufacture and distribute Lucozade and Ribena in Nigeria and beyond. The company is owned by Japan-based Suntory Beverages & Foods which specialises in the manufacturing of beverages.
