About 90 per cent of what we sell in India is manufactured locally

Jean-Charles Thuard, CEO, Legrand India With forecasts from analysts that the electrical equipment market in India is set to grow at a CAGR of 13.38 per cent from 2013 to 2018, the country is certainly on the global radar. Legrand, a global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures, has been strengthening its base in India for over 15 years. From developing single products to catering to a wide variety of offerings in the wiring devices segment, the company testifies that modular switches contribute over 50 per cent by value to the switches market. Its core business of wiring devices has been developed through strategies such as acquisition and organic growth. Hence, with a share of 20 per cent and 14 per cent in wiring devices and cable management, it has successfully grown and developed to position itself among the leaders in the market segment. In conversation with MONISHA RAO, Jean-Charles Thuard, CEO, Legrand India, elaborates upon the company's product offerings in India and future plans. Tell us about your presence in the commercial, real estate and industrial sectors. We provide dedicated solutions for the commercial sector depending on the requirement: comfort, security and energy saving. As a group, 40 per cent of our business comes from the commercial sector, 50 per cent from the residential and 8 per cent from the industrial sector. The modular switch market in India is expected to reach $600 million in 2016. How much of it will be driven by construction and real estate? The market will progress towards acquiring these solutions. All new buildings will be installed with modular switches. Tier-I cities generate good revenue but Tier-II and Tier-III are not far behind either. We have witnessed a huge demand from low-cost housing projects that will drive volume for the coming years. The demand for wiring devices mainly comes from the domestic market in India. To cover the highly fragmented market, a vast distribution network is a must. Does the company customise its product range for the country? Products launched in India are manufactured locally. About 90 per cent of what we sell in India is manufactured locally. With international expats training and supervising the local team, the company ensures that the country enjoys international standards of manufacturing in a local arena. Have you recently launched any new products? We have recently launched DX3, a comprehensive range of miniature circuit breakers, isolators, residual current curcuit breaker with over current protection, residual current curcuit breaker, accessories, measure, time-switch, contactor that meets requirements across the board. This offering positioned at the premium end of the market is aimed at large industrial, commercial and residential complexes and comes with 12 patented features. All these are safety and protection devices that ensure that the home and commercial establishments are more secure. What are your future growth plans in India? In the past 10 years, we have grown 10 times and we hope to keep up this pace. It is difficult to predict the future but we have a very strong ambition. Tier-II and Tier-III cities are strong potential markets and, hence, we are developing our sales and retail network to access these.