Saint-Gobain aims Rs 1,000 cr income from housing solutions business

Saint-Gobain India, which has entered into the B2C segment in the housing solutions business, is looking at a revenue in the range of Rs 750 crore to Rs 1,000 crore in the coming three to five years. B Santhanam, Saint-Gobain CEO (APAC and India), Chairman and Managing Director of Saint-Gobain India, told the media that the company anticipates the housing solutions segment to be a Rs 15,000 to 20,000 crore market in about five years and to have a minimum of 5% market share. The company is a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, a French multinational in the construction space, and will be offering investments of Rs 2,500 crore in India in FY22 and FY23. Saint-Gobain India, by the concept brand of ‘MyHome’, is providing solutions to customers for products including ceilings, shower cubicles, kitchen and wardrobe shutters, windows, mirrors and roofing products. Santhanam added that housing accounts for approximately 80% of the construction industry. The demand for housing will only go up in the future as nearly 70% of India's population is still non-urban. There are several categories like shower cubicles where the market penetration is quite flat and the opportunity here is to improve the categories. The company is focusing on increasing share in the fragmented categories and building new categories. Saint-Gobain India is attempting to gain a share of the fragmented downstream markets and generate new categories, going ‘phygital’ by consolidating its physical stores with digital experience to homeowners. Santhanam stated that they have built dedicated MyHome physical stores where their solutions are available under one roof.Customers get to experience the solutions in real-time and can envision how they would look in their houses. It is investing in improving consumer touchpoints and retail stores. It has started MyHome stores in Kochi and Chennai. They intend to open another 18 such shops in major cities before the end of the year. These investments will take place in their primary sites in Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh, he stated. Saint-Gobain India has more than 20 factories located across major states in India -- Karnataka, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, and Himachal Pradesh as well. In 2019, Saint-Gobain recorded sales of around Rs 7,300 crore. In 1996, Saint-Gobain entered India. Two large entities - Grindwell Norton Limited (GNO), a publicly traded firm, and Saint-Gobain India Pvt Ltd (SGI) - house Saint-Gobain's companies in India. Image Source Also read: Saint-Gobain enters agreement to acquire Chryso