INDUSTRY

Distributors’ federation calls off boycott of Colgate’s products after successful talks

FMCG distributors on Thursday said that they had suspended their boycott of certain products of oral care-maker Colgate. The boycott came to an end after the distributors’ talks with the company’s representatives over the issue of price disparity between traditional distributors and organised business-to-business channel. 


A day after a virtual meeting with Colgate-Palmolive India’s (CPIL) representatives, the All India Consumer Products Distributors’ Federation (AICPDF) called off its stir to boycott certain products of the company starting from January 1, 2022. 


“'From today, the movement against Colgate is postponed till further notice,”' the AICPDF said in a statement. 


Meanwhile, the federation also said that for the next three months, the distributors of Colgate would keep a close watch on the market regarding this issue, and if the situation did not improve, the organisation would again adopt the path of agitation. 


On Wednesday, CPIL had confirmed about meeting with distributors over the issue. 


“'We have met with the AICPDF and shared with them the process of engagement with our distributors and our commitment to address their issues. The federation was supportive of our efforts,” CPIL had said in a statement on Wednesday. 


It had further added that it remained committed to forging productive partnerships with its distribution network to serve consumers. 


The distributors had earlier decided to stop selling products of FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Colgate’s Max Fresh brand in the market from January 1 in Maharashtra. 


Later, they had a meeting with HUL representatives earlier this week and had called off their stir against the FMCG major on Tuesday. 


However, the AICPDF had decided to continue to stop selling Colgate products as it was not coming forward for talks. 


With the talks concluding on a positive note, the AICPDF, which represents over 4,00,000 distributors and stockists across India, called off its boycott against CPIL too. 


FMCG distributors are seeking a level playing field from manufacturers regarding price disparities between the traditional trade and B2B retailers, such as Jiomart, Walmart, Metro Cash & Carry, Booker, ElasticRun and Udaan. 

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