Persistent inflation may hit demand across categories: Tata chairman

MUMBAI: The current operating environment remains highly volatile and persistent inflation will likely impact demand across categories, Tata Consumer Products Ltd (TCPL) Chairman N Chandrasekaran said on Monday.

“To navigate through these “short-term bumps” in this uncertain environment, the company will focus on strong execution, maintaining agility and nimbleness,” he said while addressing shareholders at the annual general meeting (AGM).

Geo-Political tensions, supply chain challenges, and demand-supply mismatches in crude and several other commodities are driving persistent inflation, which will likely impact demand across categories.

“In this uncertain environment, we will continue to focus on strong execution, maintaining agility and nimbleness to adapt and navigate through shortterm bumps; and more importantly to take advantage of opportunities that could arise during this period,” said Chandrasekaran, who is also the Chairman of Tata Sons, the holding firm of the Tata Group.

Terming the FY21 as a “very eventful one”, Chandrasekaran said challenges posed by the pandemic and more recently, geo-political developments have resulted in a very volatile macro-environment with a wide-ranging impact on people, economies, and businesses.

“These unprecedented challenges have also thrown up opportunities for us to adapt to new ways of thinking, be agile and build for the future. This mindset has helped your company deliver strong overall performance,” he said.

TCPL has made significant progress – expanding distribution, accelerating the pace of innovation, redesigning the supply network and driving digital transformation across the value chain.