Nitco Tiles to open Le Studio Nitco-branded showrooms
29 Sep 2007
Chennai: understanding the importance of retailing to the end-consumer, Nitco Tiles has come up with a two-pronged strategy, to set up company-owned showrooms under the Le Studio Nitco brand, and talking to its existing and prospective dealers for the Le Studio Express brand that will give the company a corner of the store in the form of a niche "Nitco zone".
For the Rs480-crore company, vitrified and ceramic tiles contribute about 70 per cent of its revenues, followed by its marble slabs business with about 20 per cent. The pavers and mosaico divisions contribute the remaining. Nitco sees competition from the unorganised sector, which commands almost 30 per cent of the market share for tiles.
With
competition in the tiles space intensifying, and a sticky hesitation by market
players to stick with proven options, most of Nitco''s products were perceived
as "me-too" products, and hence competing on prices as opposed to design.
Despite its innovative designs, Nitco still could not command a premium on account
of its existing retailing format. Now,
partnering with its dealers, Nitco assist them in creating a "Nitco zone",
contributing in designing the floor space, and chipping in some part of the finances.
A decorator
will design the layout, and Nitco will deploy an employee at the Express outlets
to assist customers. The
company has set up 10 company owned showrooms in metros and mini-metros over the
last 7-8 months, and aims to open 100 Express outlets next September.