Rural sales expansion and an aggressive pricing policy helped us increase our market share
Steel

Rural sales expansion and an aggressive pricing policy helped us increase our market share

SECTOR: Steel - Tubes/PipesAPL Apollo TubesWith a capacity to produce 2.6 million tonne per annum (mtpa), APL Apollo Tubes Ltd is the largest producer of structural steel tubes in India. The compan...

SECTOR: Steel - Tubes/PipesAPL Apollo TubesWith a capacity to produce 2.6 million tonne per annum (mtpa), APL Apollo Tubes Ltd is the largest producer of structural steel tubes in India. The company has an extended distribution network of warehouses and branch offices in 29 cities across the country catering to the domestic market as well as 20 countries worldwide. Its multi-product offerings include over 1,500 varieties of structural steel tube and hollow steel sections, making APL Apollo one of the leading branded steel product manufacturers in India. Headquartered in Delhi-NCR, APL Apollo, with its world-class facilities, widely spread three-tier distribution network and over 800 distributors, is committed to strengthening India’s infrastructure backbone. Sanjay Gupta, Chairman & Managing Director, APL Apollo Tubes Ltd, shares more….Strategies to overcome COVID-19 and other challenges in FY2020-21: There were five main challenges we faced when the COVID-19 pandemic struck: Uncertainty, safety of employees, supply chain disruption, disruption of demand and structural damage to the industry. To tackle uncertainty, we switched to the cash-and-carry model from the normal trade practice. To ensure employee safety, we took care of all the protocols at our plants. We did some bulk purchase of steel before prices started to go up owing to the supply chain disruption. We focused on rural markets aggressively and also became aggressive on our pricing policy. So, rural sales expansion and an aggressive pricing policy helped us increase our market share. As many of our hotel and airport projects were impacted, we focused on other segments such as hospitals and rural housing. We pitched our construction solutions to these sectors, which helped us offset the loss in the impacted sectors. Major contributor to growth in FY2020-21: Our volume declined in April and May of first quarter FY2021 because of the lockdown. If you look at June 2020 to March 2021, we have grown at 15 per cent on a year-on-year basis. The reason for this growth was gains in market share, which we achieved on the back of rural sales expansion and an aggressive sales policy. There was also a lot of disruption with unorganised and small formal players. So, Apollo being the largest company, we could increase our market share, which led to 15 per cent growth for the period from June 2020 to March 2021. Decision avoided/taken that helped maintain top-line and bottom-line: We did not lose patience because we knew sales would be slow initially. We did not go for heavy discounts with customers as we knew that secondary demand would recover soon because construction activity was gaining momentum. So we just held our nerve and did not unnecessarily reduce the pricing. Also, we did not increase credit days with our customers, while a lot of companies in other building material industries were scared of revenue losses and were offering extended period days to their clients. We did the reverse and reduced our credit days to zero. Plans for growth in FY2021-22 and beyond: Since February, we have been focusing on two new products: Colour-coated tubes and heavy structural tubes. Colour-coated tubes are unique tubes that will be launched in India for the first time – this is a high value-added product. And the heavy structural tubes are 500 x 500 mm sq diameter tubes. These products will help us create a new market and grow our volume.

Next Story
Technology

We’re building robots that flow, not just move

Founded in 2021, Flo Mobility is reimagining construction automation with vision-AI robots designed for seamless movement through complex sites. In conversation with CW, Manesh Jain, Founder & CEO, discusses the company’s origin, its LiDAR-free tech stack, and expansion plans in the Middle East and US.What inspired the name Flo Mobility? Why ‘Flo’ and not ‘Flow’?When we started the company in 2021, our focus was on building autonomous navigation systems for robots. Since our work centred around robot movement, ‘mobility’ naturally became part of the name. We wanted to co..

Next Story
Real Estate

We’re committed to setting benchmarks in sustainable luxury living

From a landmark land acquisition in Boisar to ambitious launches across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), National Capital Region (NCR), Bengaluru and Pune, Birla Estates is driving future-ready growth with a strong focus on sustainability, partnerships and premium living, firmly anchored in its LifeDesigned® philosophy. K T Jithendran, Managing Director & CEO, outlines the company’s premium, sustainable growth playbook in conversation with PRATAP PADODE, Editor-in-Chief, CW. Excerpts:Birla Estates recently acquired a 70.92-acre land parcel in Boisar, Maharashtra, for..

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

Mumbai’s land crunch and ageing homes call for structured renewal

Founded in 2022, Etonhurst Capital Partners is a real-estate fund management platform focused on the Indian market. As the firm achieves the first close of Rs 1.8 billion for its debut Rs 5 billion fund, Bamasish Paul, Co-founder, Managing Partner & CEO, discusses its sharp focus on redevelopment-driven value creation in Mumbai’s urban core with CW. Excerpts:Etonhurst Capital has achieved a significant milestone with the first close of Rs 1.8 billion for its Rs 5 billion fund. What factors contributed to this early success and how do you plan to attract further investments to r..

Advertisement

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Talk to us?