Grasim's paint entry sparks rivals' fading hues

23 Feb 2024 CW Team

India's paints industry might transform into a challenging environment for several established companies, as the Aditya Birla Group's flagship, Grasim, creates a significant impact with the introduction of the 'Birla Opus' brand. This move has the potential to reshape market share and profitability dynamics in a sector that, until now, experienced fewer fluctuations compared to one of its primary revenue generators, real estate.

As Grasim enters the scene, casting a shadow over most of the existing players, it is anticipated that their stocks could also see a decline in value. Grasim declared its venture into the paints business slightly over three years ago, initiating an initial investment of Rs 50 billion, later doubled to Rs 100 billion.

Since then, the majority of players have seen their stocks underperforming broader market benchmarks. With the exception of Asian Paints, the market leader, the shares of various other paint manufacturers are lower compared to their position three years ago. During the same period, the Nifty 50 has witnessed a surge of over 48%.

George P Thomas, a fund manager at Quantum Asset Management Company, expressed the opinion that it is reasonable to assume a marginal dip in the overall profit pool. This is expected as players may feel compelled to increase their advertising expenditures to safeguard their market share. The impact of heightened advertising spending will likely be more pronounced for tier-2 and tier-3 players, from whom Grasim is poised to capture market share, Thomas added.

Grasim Industries is set to launch its paints business under the 'Birla Opus' brand, equipped with six manufacturing facilities and a production capacity of 1.3 million liters of paint annually. The conglomerate plans to unveil the business today, accompanied by an aggressive pricing strategy and a value proposition for the dealer network.

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