Unilever CEO sees India sales bounce-back

Growth Seen in 2nd Half

- VIVEAT SUSAN PINTO

UNILEVER'S FORMER FINANCE chief Fernando Fernandez, who replaced Hein Schumacher as the chief executive officer last week, believes the India business, its second-largest after the US, will see an acceleration in sales growth in the second half of 2025, on the back of Reserve Bank's interest rate cuts and the government's fiscal stimulus measures.

Fernandez, speaking on Friday in a fireside chat with Barclays, his first public comments since his elevation, said he saw food deflation setting in after many quarters of food inflation in India, which would aid spending among middle-class consumers, the backbone of the domestic market for consumer goods.