Nippon to increase share in southern Indian market

Japanese paint manufacturer Nippon Paint has drawn up a strategy to become a dominant player in the southern Indian market by end 2019, a senior official said.

"Our expansion plan includes increasing the production volume, introducing more water-based products, penetrating into Tier-III cities of southern states and rolling out skill training programmes for painters,” S Mahesh Anand, President – Decorative Business, Nippon Paint (India) told The Hindu.

The company plans to increase the production by more than 50% in the coming months. About 60% of the products are sold in the south and rest are transported to the north and west, he said.

"While the paint industry has been growing at the rate of 10% CAGR/yr over the past three years, we are growing at 16%. So, we are confident of increasing our market share and also the production capacity to 50%,” he said.

According to him, Nippon Paint occupies the fifth slot in the country in decorative paints. It has three business lines – decorative, industrial and automotive.

The decorative division accounts for more than 50% of the sales revenue followed by industrial and automotive divisions, he said.

"Painters are the mediators between the manufacturers and end users. So, we are planning to impart a skill development programme to turn them into professionals.

"Initially, we will train 20 painters and this will be increased to 100 within six months,” he said.