In an interview with Vietnamnews, Mr. Vaibhav Bhanchawat, Chief Operating Officer of South-East Asia & South Africa – Marico Ltd, detailed his strategic triad - transformation, diversification, and resilience - that navigated the leading consumer firm through tough times, while fostering a richly diverse work culture.

Mr. Vaibhav Bhanchawat, Chief Operating Officer of South East Asia & South Africa – Marico Ltd

1. Upon joining Marico in Southeast Asia in July 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, what were the principal challenges you encountered?

Fundamentally, our twin challenges were centred around business transformation for financial sustainability and maintaining employee engagement and motivation.

Everyone wants to feel like they are part of a winning team, and this feeling greatly influences their work engagement. If they perceive that we are growing at a slow pace,  it naturally affects their morale and motivation. It is evident in the change in their body language and their overall energy. Thus, the two crucial challenges were not only to ensure the financial success of the business but also to ensure that our employees felt good about their contributions and were motivated to achieve their individual and collective business goals.

2. How would you describe your leadership style? And could you share how you used this inspiration to implement your strategy at Marico SEA?

With a corporate journey spanning 23 years, my leadership style is a blend of influences, notably from renowned figures like Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. His ability to maintain grace under pressure while unifying his team is particularly inspiring. My approach is also informed by the book "The Founder's Mentality: How to Overcome the Predictable Crises of Growth", which emphasises the importance of preserving agility while scaling.

This inspiration has been instrumental in shaping my strategy at Marico SEA. We've championed a collaborative approach, eschewing the conventional top-down tactic. An illustrative example was in 2020, when 30 leadership members from various departments gathered in Vung Tau to discuss business challenges and collectively forge our strategic path. This strategy was a shared endeavour rather than a mandate from upper management, with a focus on enhancing our core business, identifying portfolio expansion opportunities, and ensuring commercial excellence.

Mr. Vaibhav Bhanchawat (third from left), together with his Management Committee, is honoured with the "Visionary Leader Award" at the Vietnam Excellence Awards 2023

3. Could you elaborate on these strategic pillars to cope with challenges?

To transition from low single-digit to high double-digit growth, we formed a three-pillar plan: Strengthening the Core – focusing on growing our core portfolios, Portfolio Expansion – expanding our portfolio to new adjacent categories like female personal care, and Commercial Excellence - ensuring effective execution in the field.

X-men has gained market leadership in the male deodorant and shampoo category.

Additionally, we implemented "GOWIN" (GOWIN Culture Code - The Foundation of Success), our local culture framework promoting Growth Mindset, Result Oriented, Winning together, Integrity, and Nurturing talent. Implemented across the organisation, it fostered a shared language and ethos, further supporting our growth. We believe that by nurturing and being consistent with our core values, thereby inspiring and creating cohesion in GOWIN culture, we created leverage for Marico to bounce back in this moment.

4. Could you discuss how your three-pillar strategy has unfolded and the results it has yielded?

Marico SEA's three-pillar strategy has guided its significant achievements. With core strengthening efforts, X-Men witnessed its highest-ever sales growth in 2022-2023, gaining leadership in men's deodorant, consolidating its leadership in shampoo, and gaining significant share in the shower gel market. Concurrently, mass media promotions propelled strong double-digit growth in the Food category, particularly for Fish Sauce.

In its portfolio expansion, we entered the women's personal care sector, launching Lashe Superfood and acquiring Purité de Provence and Ôliv. This move strategically positioned us in both men's and women's care markets with three critical women's products.

Portfolio diversification was identified as key enabler of Marico South East Asia growth strategy.

We have also embraced commercial excellence by adopting an omnichannel commerce strategy. Through a focus on sales performance enhancement and the application of modern distribution methods such as effective promotions, impressive product displays, and product categorisation, we have achieved a notable market share.

Meanwhile, tough decisions were made to right size the organization in 2020 to re-invest behind our brands. However, the team's resilience allowed them to maintain retail coverage, through an increase in productivity illustrating their commitment to do more with less. The strategy's successful execution has been instrumental in Marico's growth.

Reflecting on our transformative three-year journey, driven by our corporate purpose to "Make a Difference", we at Marico SEA have delivered impressive business results, reinforcing our ambition to emerge as one of the most rapidly expanding FMCG companies in Vietnam. Alongside our commercial success, we remain committed to fostering and inspiring a robust team. Evidence of our successful approach is manifest in our regular employee engagement surveys, where we have consistently achieved an engagement index of 85 per cent or above from 2021 to 2023.

5. What have been the best achievements for Marico in Southeast Asia and Vietnam? And what is your vision for the future of Marico in Vietnam?

Marico SEA has shown strong growth, and is the leader in male grooming personal care categories, and is gaining significant share in the body wash and fish sauce sectors. We've also entered the women's grooming market with "Lashe Superfood”, Purite and Ôliv.

Vietnam is a priority market for Marico. We've grown considerably, accelerated profits and increased our market share. Our future plans include further organic expansion through investments in our brands and exploring inorganic opportunities to tap into the huge potential that Vietnam offers.

Furthermore, we've embarked on a digital transformation journey, equipping our team with comprehensive knowledge of the digital and e-commerce landscape, using global playbooks and insights from direct-to-consumer businesses in India. This has resulted in notable strides and success in our grooming products.

6. What does winning the recent award mean for you and your company?

We are honoured to receive this award, a testament to our team's collective effort and a source of immense pride. Far more than just ticking off targets or surpassing competitors, this accolade symbolises the shared journey we've undertaken, the bold decisions we've endorsed, and the transformative impact we've had as a team.

Marico SEA regularly organizes team-building activities each year

Looking ahead, we'll endeavour to further unlock our team's unique skills and stimulate creativity. We remain unwavering in our commitment to celebrate our team's contributions at all levels and intervals. By sharing inspiring stories and keeping our team engaged with our ethos, we aim to foster a sense of stewardship, fuelling our continued growth and illuminating our path towards a prosperous future.

Winning this award is a moment of great pride. It extends beyond the internal validation we receive from exceeding targets and outperforming competition with an external acknowledgment that makes every member of our organisation proud. This award is not only for me, but for everyone who helped us succeed. It validates the risks we took, the courageous decisions we made, and the impact we created as a team.

7. What kind of culture and working environment are you aiming to build in your company? Can you describe it in three words?

Three words that I believe encapsulate our culture are Entrepreneurship, Collaboration, and Inclusion – Diversity.

Firstly, we want people to operate as entrepreneurs, having the freedom to run things independently. For example, our business model allows every brand manager to feel like they're running a mini-business.

Secondly, collaboration is at the heart of our operations. No one can achieve success in isolation. We have a "win together" ethos, and we foster a culture devoid of politics and biases.

Lastly, we embrace inclusion and diversity. We welcome everyone, irrespective of their preferences, political views, regional views, or gender. Everyone should feel safe, comfortable, and welcome in our workspace. Today, our leadership team is predominantly female, and that is not by design but simply a testament to the talent available in Vietnam and our commitment to giving everyone an opportunity to grow.

As we move forward, our resolve to uphold these values remains unwavering, fuelling our collective journey towards future successes.