Toh bhaiyo aur behno, ab ye ITC aur Britannia ke beech packaging ko lekar jang shuru ho gayi hai. ITC ne Calcutta High Court mein Britannia Industries ke khilaaf case daal diya hai. Unka aarop hai ki Britannia ne unke 'Sunfeast Wowzers' biscuit ka trade dress (matlab packing design) copy kiya hai apne '50:50 Cheese Dipped' biscuit mein. ITC ka kehna hai ki 'Sunfeast Wowzers', jo late 2024 mein launch hua tha, woh ek saal mein hi category mein number two ban gaya aur isne lagbhag ₹51 crore ka sales turnover kamaya. Lekin, jab mamla pehli baar court mein gaya, toh High Court ne turant koi ad-interim order (matlab immediate stay) pass karne se mana kar diya. Court ne dono parties ko affidavit submit karne ko kaha hai, iska matlab ye mamla thoda lamba chal sakta hai aur dono companies ke liye uncertainty badha sakta hai.
Market Mein Kaisi Hai Takkar?
Yeh pura mamla India ke zabardast biscuit market mein badhti competition ko dikhata hai. Britannia is market mein lagbhag 38% share ke saath sabse aage hai, uske baad Parle aata hai jiska share 32% hai. Lekin haal hi mein, fiscal year 2024 mein, ITC food business ₹17,194.5 crore ki sales ke saath Britannia ke consolidated sales ₹16,769.2 crore ko piche chhodkar India ki doosri sabse badi packaged foods company ban gayi hai (Nestle India pehle number par hai). Aise mein, brand ki alag pehchan banana aur usko maintain karna bohot zaroori hai, jahan trade dress, matlab product ki poori visual appearance, ek aham role nibhati hai. ITC ka kehna hai ki 'Sunfeast Wowzers' ka black, orange aur yellow colour wala design unka original artistic work hai.
Valuation Aur Growth Ka Game
Analysts ka kehna hai ki Britannia ka P/E ratio lagbhag 62x hai, jo dikhata hai ki investors uski future growth par bada vishwas rakhte hain. Par, iski forecast earnings growth 12.9% annual hai, jo Indian market ki 17% growth se kam hai. Wahi, ITC ka P/E ratio zyada conservative, lagbhag 20-26x ke aas paas hai. ITC ka food business FY24 mein 9% grow kiya, jo Britannia ke 2.9% growth se kaafi behtar hai. Kuch reports ne yeh bhi ishara kiya hai ki Britannia market share aur top-line growth par zyada focus kar sakti hai, jis se shayad margins par pressure aa sakta hai, aur iske biscuit segment mein volume growth bhi flat reh sakti hai. Dusri taraf, ITC ko bhi kuch sector-specific challenges face karne pad rahe hain. Aur ye packing wala legal case agar zyada time chala toh dono companies ka time aur focus bhi kha sakta hai.