MAM
Local paint industry looking at bright future: Kamdhenu Paint’s Saurabh Agarwal
NEW DELHI: The Indian paint idustry, pegged at Rs 50,000 crore in total value, is coping with tough times these days, consequent to the extended lockdown condition and interrupted economic activities in the country. According to Kamdhenu Paints director Saurabh Agarwal, the prospect for the industry is not going to be good for the current year.
“The pandemic and lockdown conditions enforced throughout the country has caused significant problems to local businesses having to maintain their fixed expense such as salary payments to their staffs, rental obligations of shops or offices etc. Further, local business is also looking at a massive shortage in the availability of labour in the markets as migrant workers have left the cities and head to their home towns,” he told Indiantelevision.com.
However, Agarwal believes that the industry is looking at a bright future ahead as there will be tremendous growth prospect for all Indian paint companies, courtesy the ‘Vocal for Local’ campaign, initiated by the Indian government.
He told Indiantelevision.com that the paint industry is greatly dominated by Indian players. “Domestic brands have a market share of about 75 per cent to 80 per cent of the paints industry while the rest is made up by international companies operating in the country. The promotion of the ‘Vocal for Local’ campaign will have a positive impact on Indian paint companies as branded customers will now be focusing on domestic companies rather than going for products of international players.”
The brand has taken extensively to raise the support and awareness towards the motto of popularising local brands in India. It also launched a new social media campaign to amplify the message of buying local and self-reliance.
Agarwal shared, “The main idea behind the various social media campaigns that we undertake is to support the call made by our PM. It is a good opportunity for all Indian industry to come forward and support this campaign. It is also our moral duty to encourage our fellow countrymen to buy only 'Made in India' products.”
He showed confidence in the fact that with such campaigns, Kamdhenu Paints will be able to add new consumers to its portfolio.
Elaborating more on the consumer behaviour towards the local brands, Agarwal quipped, “Consumer buying behaviour can be broadly categorised into two. One category is the brand-conscious buyer that will only buy brand names and the other is the price-conscious buyer who will buy products that give him the biggest bang for the buck. By adopting better standards in the manufacturing process local brands can produce competitive products with quality that are at par with the best. Improving quality in production by local brands can attract both the brand-conscious buyer and the price-conscious buyer as high-quality local brands will be available to consumers at very economical prices which suits their pocket.”
Agarwal also praised the government support, which has been extended in the past few weeks. “The government has announced a very good package for the economy. I am sure it will have a positive impact on economic recovery as we come out of the lockdown restrictions. The result may however not be visible instantly as the impact of the initiative will take some time to percolate through.”
However, he also feels that as we emerge from the shadows of the lockdown and the economy slowly begins to pick up, the government needs to do more as this is not a one-shot cure and more needs to be done to prop up the economy.
He concluded, “The government can look at giving some relaxations in tax slab that can help cushion everyone from the impact of the pandemic. They might consider giving some relaxation in tax slab for all individual, an interest waiver for full-year on EMI of all types of loans, direct benefit transfer of some amount directly to low salary workers in both organised and unorganised sector, compensation of rent for all low-class employee or migrant labourers and arrangement of shelter homes for all migrant workers with provision for food and stay facilities.”
Brands
Hardik Jhaveri named senior director marketing at Colgate-Palmolive Asean hub
Former Hill’s Pet Nutrition general manager returns to the company to steer marketing for South Asean from Kuala Lumpur
KUALA LUMPUR:Â Hardik Jhaveri has been appointed senior director marketing for the South Asean hub at Colgate-Palmolive, marking a return to the consumer goods major after a three year stint with Hill’s Pet Nutrition. He will be based in Kuala Lumpur and will lead marketing strategy for the region.
Jhaveri joins the role after serving as general manager at Hill’s Pet Nutrition in Taipei, where he led a cross functional team and oversaw the business with full profit and loss responsibility. The role placed him at the helm of operations in Taiwan, managing growth in what he described as a start-up style environment within a global multinational.
Before that, Jhaveri spent over a decade with Colgate-Palmolive across several marketing and innovation roles in Asia. As associate director innovation for Apac excluding China, based in Hong Kong, he led new product development and launches across multiple markets.
His portfolio ranged from developing specialised oral care products such as a diabetes focused toothpaste for the Indian market to launching premium oral care experiences under the Colgate Total brand in Australia. Alongside innovation, he also worked on launch planning, brand strategy and communications for the company’s oral care portfolio.
Earlier in his Colgate-Palmolive journey, Jhaveri held roles including marketing manager innovation, senior brand manager and brand manager. His work spanned urban and rural markets in Mumbai and customer development responsibilities in the Greater Kolkata Area.
Prior to his long association with Colgate-Palmolive, Jhaveri worked as brand officer home care at Unilever, where he helped drive marketing initiatives for the Rin detergent brand, including nationwide relaunch and on ground activation campaigns.
He began his career in advertising with Bates David Enterprise, working on brands such as IDBI Bank, The Leela Hotels and The Times of India.
Jhaveri holds a post graduate programme in management from the Indian School of Business and has also completed a level 4 diploma in wine from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Announcing the move, Jhaveri said he is excited to begin his new chapter at Colgate-Palmolive’s South Asean hub and thanked colleagues and mentors who supported his journey at Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
