It has been four years since I began writing this newsletter, and this is the 200th edition. As I worked on the inaugural piece, on Dmart’s supersizing imperative, I had no idea how expansive Trade Tricks would become in its coverage. Retail, e-commerce, FMCG, fast food, cinemas, wearables, and even paints—this newsletter has taken me to every nook and cranny of the fascinating world of consumption.

Trade Tricks has, week after week, mirrored the biggest shifts in that world, such as the rise of instant delivery, the fall of internet-first consumer startups, and the emergence of disruptors in unexpected corners.

It’s not just me, though; several former and current colleagues, including Aakriti, Nuha, and Pranathi, have made Trade Tricks much richer with their contributions. And Jonathan, until last week our newsletters editor, and Tanim have put the finishing touches on every single edition. I couldn’t thank them enough.

But all our efforts are in service of making your Tuesday morning a little more enjoyable. Thank you for keeping us going! Let’s now get on with this edition. 

It’s results season, and companies are bound to bring up the impact of the cut in the goods and services tax (GST). And Colgate-Palmolive (India) is no exception. When it announced its financials for the September quarter last week, Prabha Narasimhan, the toothpaste maker’s chief executive, spoke of “the transitory disruption at distributors and retailers across channels caused by GST rate revision”.

As part of a wide-ranging move, the government in August slashed the GST on oral-care products from 18% to 5%. But the reform unleashed confusion, and FMCG companies, distributors, and retailers had to scramble to figure out what to do with the inventory carrying the old prices. 

Colgate’s sales in the September quarter fell 6% year-on-year to Rs 1,520 crore ($172 million). The company didn’t report the quantity of products sold, but one analyst pegged the fall in volume at 7%. But he estimated that the change in GST was only responsible for over one-fourth of the decline. 

So Colgate’s struggles are independent of the GST change. That’s evident in the fact that its revenue had slid in the previous two quarters, too.