Painting a new future

Chennai: "Ours is a three-pronged growth strategy - market expansion, acquisition and outsourcing", says Manish Choksi, vice-president, strategic planning and information technology, Asian Paints (India), Mumbai. By taking the above steps, the industry leader in the decorative paints segment (market share: 35-37 per cent), and number two in the industrial segment (20 per cent share), plans to emerge frontrunners in the paint sector.

Elaborating on the strategies, Choksi says Asian Paints' present focus is on smaller cities and towns, even villages, where walls, interiors and exteriors are mostly lime-coated - and in the coming years most of them would be paint-coated, making them a major potential market for paint companies.

Choksi says his company will be investing around Rs 100 crore to expand its dealer-tinting line called Colour World, by adding another 2,000 systems. The demand for acrylic paints in smaller towns and cities is increasing. And another area where the company is currently focussing on is wood polish.

As part of market expansion and brand-building plans, the company has formed a consumer services division. A prospective customer can call the division's helpline and check out all about paints and even get a quotation to paint his house or shop - a novel way to reduce the influence of painters over the customers choice of brands.

The company intends to augment its production by de-bottlenecking its plant. This is expected to increase production by 80,000 tonne per annum (tpa) to 2.4 lakh tpa, says Choksi, a chemical engineering graduate who has an MBA in entrepreneurial management.

Choksi, nephew of company chairman Atul Choksi, says Asian Paints is on the lookout for acquisitions - both domestic and overseas. The industry hasn't seen any mega mergers as there are very few [but large] players and because of low-entry barriers. Asian Paints, in fact, has a considerable presence abroad, with 10 international joint ventures to its credit. "We are looking for buyouts in the Gulf, West Africa and other emerging markets, he says.

The economic slowdown has affected Asian Paints, too. Though the global slowdown has affected all segments of the company, Choksi says it is felt more in the industrial coating segment.