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A year after its entry into the Tamil Nadu market, Nippon Paint is looking to strengthen its footprint in Tier II and III locations in the State.
Mark Titus, General Manager (Marketing), Nippon Paint (India) Pvt Ltd, told BusinessLine that “We plan to launch more PRO stores in Chennai and Coimbatore. These exclusive experiential stores will offer painting services rather than selling paints.”
PRO stores
Nippon has 12 such outlets (including one that opened here on Thursday), 10 of which are in and around Chennai and two in Coimbatore.
Elaborating on the services, he said, “From colour consulting with virtual visualisers to helping customers engage professionally trained painters, we offer all services under one roof.”
“Wall painting can be a daunting task. Identifying a right painting contractor can be a long-drawn process,” Titus said. “Timelines are rarely met as contractors come up with their own terms and conditions, which can often put customers through a lot of inconvenience.
“We specify the timeline (the time that will be taken to complete repainting a room or the entire home, the quantity of paint required, etc) and provide the service at zero-cost EMI (equated monthly instalment). Around 40 per cent of our customers opt for this service. It is perceived as a hassle-free painting experience, as it helps the customer budget the cost even before embarking on the project,” he explained. Nippon has tied up with a thrid-party skilling organisation to reach out to smaller towns for such services. According to Titus, the third-party organisation has so far trained more than 700 painters across the State.
Tie-up for skilling
In Tamil Nadu, Nippon has tied up with over 1,500 dealers for distributing its product range. “We are looking to add more. Our dealer network was around 400 in 2017. It has gone up almost four times in the last 12 months,” he added.
Admitting that the Nippon brand is yet to make a dent in the South, he said: “We are seeing some positive trend. The company has registered an average annual growth if 15 per cent, which is higher than the industry average of 10 per cent. Home repainting segment is picking up.”
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