The Hindu Business Line : Somany Tiles eyes 10 pc sales growth

SPL Ltd, the makers of Somany Tiles, aims to increase its sales by 15 per cent in volume terms and 10 per cent in value terms by next year and reach out to its customers directly.

"We augmented the capacity of our manufacturing units to 37,500 sq. metres per day recently. Production has now stabilised and we expect to increase our output by 15 per cent in 2004-05," the Somany Tiles Executive Director, Mr Abhishek Somany, told Business Line here.

During the current year, the company expects a 10 per cent growth in its sales turnover of Rs 202 crore registered in 2002-03, Mr Somany said.

"As part of our efforts to ensure better brand recall, Somany Tiles will reach out to its customers. To begin with, we have organised a series of architects' meets to build awareness about tiles in general and also our products. We have also set up company-owned retail outlets and are exploring ways to have a direct interface with our end-customers," he said.

Five company outlets, called `Simply Tiles,' are already functional in Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai, and similar showrooms will soon come up in New Delhi, Gurgaon, Kolkata and one location in Punjab. These outlets display the latest range of tiles produced by the company.

"We want to go further than just having company outlets. We are waiting for feedback from these outlets to find out what the customer wants. Depending on response, we will decide whether we go to the customer and do up his house or we set up a helpline, like some paint manufacturers, to help him make the right choice of products," Mr Somany said.

With the quality and products from leading branded segment players such as Johnson and Kajaria almost comparable in quality and price, Somany Tiles wants to distinguish itself by giving value-added services to its customers, he said.

The company has also started importing tiles of styles and sizes that it does not make in India and sells them under the `Missoni' brand.

The company imports tiles from Indonesia, Spain, Italy and even China, Mr Somany said.

"The Missoni range comprises the high-end products for which we do not see volumes in India. We source our products from reliable manufacturers and we offer our guarantee on such tiles," he said.