Why is Wipro’s Consumer Care & Lighting company on an acquisition spree?
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Recently, Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting announced the acquisition of Ahmedabad headquartered Dermatouch, an online first premium skincare brand. The deal entails Wipro initially acquiring a 60% stake in the company at an enterprise value of ₹387.5 crore, with the remaining 40% to be acquired over the next three years.
According to a release, Dermatouch’s FY26 revenue stood at ₹131 crore ($13.6 million), a growth of 114% over FY25. The recent acquisition comes less than a month since the company said they had signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Good Home and Eva brands from TTK Healthcare for ₹256 crore, and the acquisition of S brands in the Philippines, which is the third market outside Indian that brings ₹1,000+ crore in revenue.
Entry into India’s skincare market and a digital-first bet
On its recent bet on India’s premium skincare market, Kumar Chander, CEO, Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting and MD, Wipro Enterprises, sees it as alignment of the earlier set out strategy of accelerating growth and future-proofing the business—which includes getting AI more into the business and a digital-first brand in the portfolio.
Speaking to Fortune India, Chander said while the company is a leader in the skincare segment in Malaysia, and largest mass skincare brand in countries such as Singapore and Taiwan, they had no presence in the segment in India.
“Skincare in India, in our assessment is around a ₹30,000-crore market, not small, but it is still relatively small compared to Southeast Asia and even China. If you look at China today, per capita consumption of skincare is almost 10 times that of India. So, if these ₹30,000 crore went up to the level of China, which may happen over the next 10-12 years, then it has the potential to become ₹3 lakh crore,” he said.
Having a digital-first brand in India in its portfolio brings the secret sauce that helps connect with the consumer, which Chander says is something that offline brands are not able to match in terms of scale and execution. He points at large revenue shares that digital brands are able to generate from online sales. For instance, Dermatouch gets between 85% and 88% from online, and the balance is coming from offline, while the total e-commerce sales for Wipro stands at around 7-8% of the overall sales of the company.
With Dermatouch, Wipro has plans to increase its brick-and-mortar presence and learn from Dermatouch how they're so successful on online selling and explore if those practices can be used for increasing sales on e-commerce channels.
Future acquisition focus
In India, focus on the skincare segment comes following its bets in the food & snack market a couple a years ago. In FY23, the consumer care division crossed ₹10,000 crore in its gross sales, expanded its food category with the acquisition of the Kerala Ready to Cook range and spice brand “Brahmin” in May 2023, while also launching an in-house research and development centre in Bengaluru to develop innovative food products, starting with snacks.
According to the company, India is among the fastest-growing markets, with FY26 revenue reported at ₹10,800 crore.
“We are focussed on Asia and Africa. So, if we get something that opens up a new geography for us, then it would be of interest in these categories of household and personal care that we are strong in. In India, we've said we'll double down on household and foods,” Chander said on what would have interest to the company in the coming days.
Specifically, what Wipro doesn't mind having is a haircare brand. “That's missing in our portfolio. If you've got a good hair care brand, then maybe we can bring those products here too,” he further added.