SECTOR: Ceramics/Tiles/Sanitaryware Somany Ceramics Somany Ceramics Ltd is among the top 15 global giants of the ceramic industry, established 50 years ago by Late Hiralall Ji Somany. Brand Somany is a household name in India for tiles and bathware. Moreover, the company exports its products to more than 55 countries across six continents. It has a wide product selection in all categories: Ceramic (wall and floor tiles), polished vitrified tiles, glazed vitrified tiles, sanitaryware and bath fittings. Abhishek Somany, Managing Director & CEO, Somany Ceramics Ltd, shares more…. Strategies to overcome COVID-19 and other challenges in FY2020-21: During the lockdown as well as when restrictions were eased, a lot of emphasis was given to digital media. We started taking digital as a serious business channel and forayed into e-commerce. Somany launched a new range of disinfectant products like Nexol and Fraisil, which are apt for the prevailing scenario. We started social media campaigns for our trade partners and influencers. We planned and chalked out the steps needed to make our stores safe for our customers and employees. We also ensured that COVID protocols are followed across all our stores and showrooms. We developed COVID-related POSM (point of sale materials) and installed them in all our stores so our customers would feel safe. Another challenge we faced was to ensure people got a similar experience digitally as they would have in a showroom. To address this, we converted all our catalogues to e-format and also created a tile visualiser on our website that gives customers a real feel of the products from the comfort of their home. We also sent cut samples to all customers who wanted to feel the product before they made a purchase decision. Major contributor to growth in FY2020-21: We had a continuous focus on the retail segment aided by an aggressive brand campaign, which has strengthened visibility and top-of-the-mind recall. One major contributor for Somany Ceramics is that we have increased our touchpoints during the year, which has resulted in a deeper distribution network particularly in Tier-III and below towns. Decision avoided/made that helped maintain top-line and bottom-line: In the current scenario, companies faced issues in maintaining stability as well as credibility. We did not compromise on credit discipline at all, particularly in an adverse business condition like the pandemic. This not only helped us keep the business rotation high but enhanced our brand equity in the trade. Plans for growth in FY2021-22 and beyond: The second wave of the pandemic had temporarily halted our expansion plans. Now with the gradual decrease in active cases and restoration of normalcy across the country, we have started working to achieve the goal of establishing ourselves as a brand of choice across all demographic areas. Our aim is to increase our footprint across the country. To achieve this, we will be focusing on our strategy to penetrate the market in gap towns, particularly Tier-III and below towns. In addition, we are focusing on providing our customers with value-added products. We have great internal efficiencies on account of higher capacity utilisation and our team is working relentlessly on higher order fulfilment on a real-time basis with state-of-the-art supply chain management, both upstream and downstream.