Comments
A redefined retail experience could drive growth in the paint industry, feels Mr Amit Jain, Managing Director, Decorative Paints India and South Asia, AkzoNobel, makers of the Dulux brand.
With this strategy in mind, the company has converted more than 100 outlets into Dulux Decorator Centres (DDC) that try to make painting a more fun experience. The DDCs have reported an average increase of 200-300 per cent in footfalls as compared to the other dealerships. The strategy also helps increase sales by 10-15 per cent faster than the normal growth, he added.
He estimates that on the back of such a retail experience, the per capita consumption of paints in India will increase by three times within the next 10 years.
“The present per capita consumption of paints in India is extremely low, less than 1.5 kg a person/year, in China it is four times as much,” Mr Jain told Business Line .
Growth drivers
There is an opportunity for growth driven by the increasing number of middle-class who are seeing paint as a means of self-expression and colour, he added.
“Our aim is to bring families to our shop led by the housewife and remove the pain from the paint,” he said.
To upgrade the paint experience of the customers, companies will have to create a comfortable environment in association with dealers to provide interactive tools.
The other driver of sales for the industry would be environment-friendly green products. The company is upgrading to lower volatile organic compounds levels of paints that are plastered on the interiors of houses. The company plans to convert 35 per cent of its product portfolio towards ecologically premium products over the next three years, he said.
But the fastest growing category in the coatings industry is the exterior acrylic emulsion segment. The company has a market share of 20 per cent in this segment and hopes to grow it going forward.
The Rs 15,000-crore coatings industry is expected to double in the next six years, according to Mr Jain. The Rs 10,000-crore decorative paints segment of the industry is growing at the rate of 15 per cent.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.