“The unorganized segment in decorative paints is close to 20% of the total, mostly restricted to operations at the regional level. With the Government undertaking key initiatives such as Make in India, 100 Smart Cities and Skilling India, the paint industry is poised for a rampant growth in the upcoming year. The ease of doing business & relaxation in FDI will attract global giants to Indian markets. This will result in an increase in infrastructure, which would result in more consumption of paint. Mahesh Anand, President, Nippon Paint (India) Decoratives shares his view with Sandeep Sharma about his company, core competencies, latest innovation and trend in the decorative paints segment, verticals and geographies catered, product portfolio, challenges and opportunities before the paints and coats manufacturers in India. Edited excerpts... Could you tell us about your organization, mission, and core competencies? We are the number one paint manufacturer in Asia, and among the leading paint manufacturers of the world. We are driven by the philosophy of enhancing life through innovations that not only serve customer aspirations, but also protect the world we live in. Our own work lays emphasis on human and eco-friendly products. What is the latest innovation and trend in the decorative paints segment? The Indian paint industry has been witnessing a gradual shift in the preferences of people for higher quality paints with decorative paints having the maximum demand. There have been many functional properties made possible with paints, for example, anti-bacterial. We have recently launched a paint that is anti-viral, and has Silver-Ion Technology. We are known for our formaldehyde abatement paint called Odourless Aircare (with Active Carbon technology). Now, with Virus guard, we are planning to promote this functional range of paints with better focus. Which verticals and geographies are you catering to, as far as Paints and Coats offering goes? Presently our divisions include; Decorative, Industrial and Auto Refinish. We are catering to almost all cities in India, with a primary focus on South India. Could you share with us brief insights about your product portfolio? We provide an impressive collection of Emulsions (for interiors & exteriors), enamels, and undercoats for a wide range of surfaces from cement to metal to wood. Our interior emulsions include breakthrough odour-less technology, low VOC, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, easy washability, hiding, durability and more. The exterior paints consist of properties like water-resistance, dirt-pickup-resistance, anti-algae, anti-fungi, alkali-resistance and UV-resistance which protects and preserve the freshness of your home. Undercoats help ensure the adhesion of paint to the surface, increase the durability of the paint itself, and protect the surface that is being painted while the Metal and Wood coatings helps you keep them beautiful and healthy. How do you ensure Customer Delight mainly the household segment? The demand for decorative paints arises from household & building painting. As the net disposable income of every individual is on a constant rise, the product up gradation is inevitable. Our focus is to bring products which are enticing in nature and also which are fungicidal, anti-bacterial and anti- viral that absorbs pollutants and prop ups well being. We have also been working on ways and means to reduce the ‘Pain out of Panting’ thereby reducing the re-painting intervals. What are the challenges and opportunities before the paints and coats manufacturers in India? The unorganized segment in decorative paints is close to 20% of the total, mostly restricted to operations at the regional level. With the Government undertaking key initiatives such as Make in India, 100 Smart Cities and Skilling India, the paint industry is poised for a rampant growth in the upcoming year. The ease of doing business & relaxation in FDI will attract global giants to Indian markets. This will result in an increase in infrastructure, which would result in more consumption of paint. What kind of future markets do you see for Nippon Paints in India? Change is constant and necessary. Aspects akin to health and wellness play an increasingly important role for the customers to make their homes safer with a variety of hues to choose for making their own sensory-rich space. Nippon Paint aims to build such secure and alluring products and aims at boosting sales, by introducing innovations that would bring down the repainting intervals. Water-based emulsions make up for about 80 to 82 per cent of our sales. Once we consolidate our market in South India, we will look into expansion in other parts of the country by 2018 or 2019.