Welspun group targets Rs 10 bn sales from new flooring venture in 3-4 years

Home textiles major Welspun is bullish on its new flooring venture to clock a turnover of Rs 10 billion in the next 3-4 years on the back of its new modular solutions, according to a senior company official.

Welspun Flooring, an integrated and independent flooring vertical of the $2.3 billion Welspun Group, is looking to tap the potential of the renovation segment of the Rs 350-billion overall Indian tiles market.

"Our target is to achieve a turnover of Rs 10 billion in the next three to four years," Welspun Flooring CEO Mukesh Savlani told PTI.

Commenting on distribution network plans, Savlani said:"We will have presence in 30 cities, from metros up to tier III, by March 2019. Currently we are in the process of appointing distributors."

Further, he said from the middle of next year, Welspun Flooring will start exports to the US, Europe, Australia and southeast Asian countries.

Bullish on the potential of the business, Savlani said:"The overall Indian tiles market is around Rs 350 billion per annum, of which 90 per cent is for new construction and 10 per cent is renovation. Our belief is that the renovation segment will grow significantly."

Explaining why the segment will grow, he said while many aspects of home decor such as wall painting, curtains and interiors have changed over the years making it easier and less time consuming, flooring hasn't changed.

"It is still considered as part of construction. What we are trying to do is change it with the concept of modular flooring. With our solutions we can do flooring in 5-8 hours or just one hour in cases of small offices," he added.

Welspun Flooring will offer stone polymer composite luxury performance tiles, carpet tiles, wall to wall carpets and artificial grass to begin with.

The company is in the process of setting up its Rs 11.5 billion manufacturing facility spread over 600 acre in Hyderabad, where it will produce items for residential, hospitality and commercial applications.

"The plant will be operational by March next year," he said adding at present the company is in the pilot stage of marketing its products.

The facility will have an initial capacity of 10 million square feet in the phase I and can be further upgraded as per requirement, he added.