Urban Consumption Woes Persist, Show HUL Results

Volume growth in Q3 slows down in urban markets; increases sequentially in rural

- Suneera Tandon

NEW DELHI: Across India's towns and cities, consumption has cooled. And, it's unlikely to pick up any time soon. That was the sombre message from the quarterly earnings of Hindustan Unilever Ltd, India's largest packaged consumer goods maker seen as a proxy for domestic consumption.

On Wednesday, the company reported flat volume growth for the third quarter, at a time when concerns of a demand slowdown have grown. Alongside, it has noted signs of a shift in consumer shopping behaviour towards smaller packs, a trend which has strengthened during the quarter.