Shalimar Paints plans facelift

Shalimar Paints, the country's oldest, nearly 100-year old, paint manufacturer, is looking for a facelift. It is planning a new branding strategy to strengthen presence in the southern and western markets.

The company has doubled its advertising budget to Rs 7.5 crore this year. Says S Sarda, chief operating officer, Shalimar Paints, "The last year has been one of the best for the paints industry in terms of topline growth. This is the right time to go for increased brand building exercise because the economy is doing well and we need to cash in on the demand from both""the housing and industrial sectors."

Unlike bigger players such as Asian Paints and Goodlass Nerolac, Shalimar has no intention of using celebrities to endorse its products.

While four advertising agencies have pitched for the Shalimar campaign, Sarda says that the company is yet to finalise the deal.

Shalimar also plans to revamp packaging for its products as it plans to grow its Rs 220 crore turnover by 25 per cent in 2005-06. The company will set up a new plant in Karnataka or Tamil Nadu to cater to the southern market. The plant will have a capacity of 1,200-1,500 kilolitres per month.

Shalimar has traditionally been strong in the eastern market. In 2003, it set up a plant at Sikanderabad near Delhi to strengthen its presence in the northern market.

Last year, while the overall paints market grew by 14-15 per cent, Shalimar grew 24 per cent in value terms, with its northern market seeing a growth of 21 per cent. This was due to its focus on virgin markets such as Rajasthan, Uttaranchal and Jammu and Kashmir, company officials said.

Though the company had a significant presence in the southern market in the early '90s, it lost out due to competitive pressure and lack of focused branding. It is looking at regaining its competitive edge with its new strategy.

Shalimar also has plans to increase its dealer network across the country from the current 6,000 to 7,500, apart from adding 2 per cent market share in the next one year.

Shalimar has an 18 per cent market share in the protective coating segment. The overall paints market is estimated at Rs 6,000 crore. While Asian Paints leads with around 40 per cent market share, Shalimar has only 6 per cent market share.