Winning Requires Superior Business Crisis Planning
Almost four decades in the consumer products industry, with the most recent seven years running India’s leading beverage alcohol company through the turbulence of the ‘Highway Ban’, demonetisation and GST, I have had my fair share of excitement and a few battle scars — but none has presented the unparalleled test of leading through a crisis, as in the year just gone by.
Business As Usual
When the news of Covid-19 in China started percolating in early 2020, we were already faced with the head-winds of a slowing economy and soft category growth. But, in an industry where dealing with issues is an everyday way of life, adopting a ‘business as usual’ mindset came naturally to us, and so we continued to run our business without being overly concerned. It was when the lockdown came into effect in March, that the reality of the impending crisis hit us — and how!
Starting March 24, unlike any other FMCG, our industry faced
