INDIAN PAINT INDUSTRY: OVERVIEW
Colours have always been an integral part of the Indian culture and paint is what makes the surrounding things and the homes people live in acquire the colour of their choice. Informally, the Indians started using paint centuries ago, zhen they used herbal colours to make cave paintings and religious figurines. Formally, the Indian paint industry is more than 100 years old. Its beginning can be traced back to the setting up of a factory by Shalimar Paints in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1902. Till the end of World War II, the industry consisted of small producers and two foreign companies. After the war, the imports stopped which resulted in the setting up of manufacturing facilities by local entrepreneurs. Still, the foreign companies continued to dominate the market. Presently, the industry has around 12 major players in the organised sector and more than 2000 producers in the unorganised sector
The Indian paints industry has seen remarkable changes during the last decade. In this period, almost every major multinational has established or entrenched their presence, incumbents have built on their market position and the industry has become far more sophisticated in terms of the products it manufactures, the way it sells to customers and in the range of technologies it uses.
The growth of the industry is not surprising; after all, paint demand is intimately tied to GDP, which has grown at record levels for much of the decade. Overall, paint demand in India has grown 1.5-2.0 times GDP growth, though some segments have done better. Decorative paints, for instance, grew about 20% annually in the second half of the last decade and the overall market by about 18% in 2008-09. Nevertheless, per capita consumption is about 2 litres, showing that there is still potential for growth.
According to survey conducted by Nielsen; Indian paint market is expected to reach 49,545 INR Crs by 2016 – 17, decorative market will continue to grow and would have higher share compared to industrial paints. Overall paint value market is estimated at 26,040 INR Crs for FY 2011-12. Share of decorative paint is 18,490 INR Crs (71%) and share of industrial paint is 7,550 INR Crs (29%) Overall paint volume market is pegged at 3.11mn MT, share of decorative is 2.405 (77.3%) and industrial 0.705 (22.7%)mn MT
Use of water based paints is growing in the Indian paint market; new trends are catching up including paints with low VOC, no added Lead, Mercury, Chromium, odorless paints
Industrial paint market – in terms of growth rate, high growth witnessed for Auto OEM, Protective, Powder coating and Auto refinish paints in comparison to 2007-08 Nielsen survey. High growth witnessed also for exterior emulsion, interior emulsion, and wood coatings in comparison to 2007-2008 Nielsen Survey

A VERY FRAGMENTED INDUSTRY
Unlike in the developed world, the paint industry in India is highly fragmented, with about 1000 companies, of varying sizes and abilities, in the market. At the top of the list are about ten large players, each with annual sales exceeding $20-mn, and cumulatively accounting for about 65% of the total market (valued at about $3.75-bn). The rest of the market is divided between 130-odd medium-sized operators (with sales of $2-20-mn each) and 850 or so small players, with annual sales below $2-mn. Price pressures are, not surprisingly, intense in the bottom of the market, and companies have been vulnerable to shocks flowing in from wild swings in prices of key inputs such as titanium dioxide and other pigments and solvents. This pressure on prices is also manifest in the fact that while the SMEs account for less than 35% of the market in terms of value, they have about 50% share of the 2.3-mn litres of paints sold each year
One way to differentiate this disparate industry is by the consumers it serves: into industrial and decorative coatings. In value terms, the Indian decoratives’ market is about 77% or $2.6-bn, but the share of the industrial segment has increased rapidly in recent years concomitant to growth in key segments as automobiles, white goods to name a few. The dominance of the large companies is clear across both segments, but is even more so in decorative paints, where marketing spends are higher as the industry needs to reach out to a much more dispersed customer base. The organised sector here is a mix of home-grown and multinational companies with Asian Paints the clear market leader (with little more than 50% of the market), followed by Kansai Paints, Akzo Nobel and Berger.

FIGURE 1: Percentage of organized and unorganized players in India

FIGURE 2: Percentage of Industrial and Decorative paints in India
Decorative Paints include exterior wall paints, interior wall paints, wood finishes and enamel and ancillary products like primers, putties to name a few as its major segments. Asian paint is the market leader in this segment. The business gives high margin and the demand is created by household paintings and other display purposes. Industrial paints include industrial wood coatings, marine paints, protective coatings, automotive OEM, automotive refinishes plastic coatings, powder coatings and general industrial coatings

The Indian paint industry has been growing at an average 15% per annum over the last decade. Growth has been consistent with the Indian GDP growth rate and in some years the industry has grown at a rate of 1.5 to 2 times higher than that of GDP growth. Construction remains the key growth sector and is driving demand for decorative and protective coatings. The sector accounts for nearly 45% of the total national investment in infrastructure and the trend is expected to continue in the future.
Growth in the Indian car market is strong, at about 10-12% p.a., which is creating good demand for OEM coatings, and vehicle refinishes too in the long term. The refinish segment is enjoying growth in each of the premium, medium and economy sub-segments as a result of rising car ownership across all classes. However, as car ownership is likely to increase at the low end in the future, the greatest growth is to be expected in the economy area.
Many paint companies are expanding their operations in India but the rapid growth of the paint industry, with billions of rupees being invested in enhancing capacities, is causing concern among environmentalists

THE ORGANISATION SYSTEM
Most of the organized companies in India’s paint and coatings market have a nationwide presence with multi-location manufacturing facilities. The companies in the unorganized sector are mostly regional, spread in and around their manufacturing facilities and deal in low value products. The companies have divided their sales organizations into decorative, industrial and high performance coatings business units. The national level organization structure is split into zones, regions and branches.
Established in 1962, The Indian Paint Association (IPA) is the apex body of the Indian Paint Industry, which represents both the organized sector and the small scale unorganised sector in the paint industry. It is a voluntary non-political and non-profit organization which promotes the interest of the paint industry and the society. The representative character of the association is seen by the fact that more than 80% of the total paint production in the country is accounted for by members of the IPA.
MODERNISATION OF SUPPLY CHAIN AND EXPANSION
The decorative paint business leverages a wide retail network to use push strategy, which are spread throughout the year, but with some seasonal bias. The strong growth in the real estate sector, driven by availability of ready home finance, and the government’s emphasis on boosting residential infrastructure are important drivers.
Uniquely to India, choice of paint is seldom in the hands of the consumer (except, possibly, for choice of colour) and often rests with dealers, contractors, architects and interior decorators. Companies have recognized the vital role played by contractors and try to win their loyalties through incentives and loyalty programs.
The retail supply chain has seen significant expansion and upgradation, especially in the second half of the last decade. There are now about 50,000 outlets selling paints across the country, and nearly half have been set up in the last five years. Large paint companies have also invested significantly in related infrastructure – each of the large companies has 40-70 depots to replenish inventories at the retail end. The majorities of paint dealers (90%) are small shops, but are a vital link in the chain from the paint company to the consumer/contractors.
During the last decade, paint companies ventured to set up tinting systems at the sites of their dealers to enhance the user experience and bring efficiency into a complicated supply chain. The idea has since caught on and some 30,000 tinting systems have since been installed across the country. At the same time, the channels for distribution are also becoming more sophisticated, in response to a trend amongst consumers to be more involved in the paint buying process, unlike in the past. For the first time – as in developed countries – paints are being sold through brand and ‘experience’ stores (manned by colour and lifestyle consultants!), multi-product stores, multi-brand stores to name a few, besides the traditional ‘hardware’ stores. However, one important segment – do-it-yourself (DIY) popular in Europe and America; still remains conspicuous by its absence and this is unlikely to find a place in the Indian scenario in near future.
SHIFTING PAINT HABITS
With economic growth has come about a significant shift in painting habits. From a task to be taken up on occasions such as weddings and festivals, painting is increasingly seen as an ‘anytime’ activity with even the monsoons not as much a deterrent as before; thanks to quick drying paints. The quality of products used has also seen a significant shift: low-cost lime wash (with colour) and distempers are giving way to emulsion and wood finishes, with better properties and margins for producers. In urban centres, dictates of fashion (colour, texture and even smell) have opened up niche markets, which are gradually being expanded.
A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE
The paints sector in general is raw material intensive, with over 300 raw materials (50% petro-based derivatives) involved in the manufacturing process. Thus variation in prices of raw material procurement, directly affect the cost of production significantly. FY’13 was a mediocre year for the paint companies. While all the major players like Asian Paints reported a strong growth in sales, operating margins came under severe pressure due to raw material price inflation. Top-line growth was enhanced by strong demand from the rural markets. But the demand environment in the industrial segment continues to remain tough due to unstable global economic conditions. However, companies are undertaking a gradual and carefully thought of, price increase in order to shield margins.
A MARKETING PERSPECTIVE
As the competitive paints industry thrives in Indian market, a Porter’s analysis, can give a clearer view of the kind of environment in which it functions; and the barriers involved at the entry and exit of the industry.

Because of the presence of organised as well as unorganised producers, the industry is fragmented. Usually, the supply exceeds the demand. Demand for decorative paints depends on the housing sector and good monsoons. Industrial paint demand is linked to user industries like auto, engineering and consumer durables.

A TECHNICAL PERSPECTIVE
Colour dispensing machines, both computerized and manual, have transformed the business, particularly on the manufacturing and distribution sides. The machines altered the production pattern from shades to producing bases thus providing economies of scale, reduced inventory levels and eliminated redundancy of stocks. It has cut down the new products introduction cycle considerably. This has helped expand the range of shades for each product category, offering a choice of shades to consumers in the hundreds. For the retailers also, it eliminated the sales loss for want of range/desired shade. The machines have brought a total change in the way business is transacted and revolutionized business processes as well. The colour-tinting machines installed at the dealers’ end include multiple machines on some counters. Also popular are the gear mixers for 2K finishes in auto refinishes, which are installed at the dealers’ end and at leading garages.
AN OPERATIONS PERSPECTIVE
Companies not working on operational efficiency business models tend to loose in to the competitors. Asian Paints and Nerolac have been aggressively working on cutting costs and operating expenses. Berger has been managing well with economical yet acceptable formulations and low operating costs.
The industry is not capital intensive and depreciation charges are not significant. Working capital requirements are moderate. However, most companies in the small segmenmt are unaware about the realization of debtors. The highest efficiency required is in physical distribution.
The poor forecasts of demand result in poor distribution. As a result, companies are investing in sophisticated supply chain management tools. Margins have remained under pressure due to dropping prices, which have been more strategic and forced by the market leader. Companies have been working on improving internal efficiency to retain profits.
Even with the turnaround of the Indian economy, the pressure has not lessened. The customer, or retailer, has also been dictating his terms as most companies have common counters to meet their objectives. So they have no choice but to lure more customers through incentives. Lower productivity of high cost labour in the old units has been another problem. This in totality has increased operating pressures. A company can gain a competitive edge in this market with radical and unique ranges of products properly conceived and marketed in the Indian context and supported with machines.

MAJOR PAINT COMPANIES IN INDIA
ASIAN PAINTS
Asian Paints Ltd. was established in 1942. More than half a century down the lane, Asian Paints is India’s largest and Asia’s third largest paint company today. Asian Paints operates in 22 countries and has 29 paint manufacturing facilities in the World. Besides Asian Paints, the group operates around the world through its subsidiaries, Berger International Limited, Apco Coatings, SCIB Paints and Taubmans. Asian Paints along with PPG Inc, USA is one of the leading manufacturers of automotive coatings in the world. Asian Paints Industrial Coatings Limited caters to the Industrial coatings market and has tied-up with Protech Chemicals, a world leader in powder coatings.
Products:
Decorative Paints - Asian Paints India manufactures interior and exterior home paints like distempers, emulsions, metallic finish paints, special rich luster paints, office use paints, premium and tractor emulsions and texture paints.
Exterior Wall Paints - Asian Paints offers a range of emulsion paints for your exterior walls. You can choose from ACE, Apex, Apex Ultima, Apex Duracast and more, based on the specific demand of surface area.
Interior Wall Paints - Asian Paints offers emulsions and distempers like Royale Luxury Emulsion, Asian Paints Interior Walls Finish – Luster or Matt, Tractor Emulsion Smooth Wall Finish, Tractor Acrylic or Synthetic Distempers, Utsav Acrylic Distemper. Among these Tractor Acrylic Distemper, with better durability, is one of the best performing distempers.
Designer Finishes - Asian Paints also has an exclusive product range in special effects finishes. You can check their Royale Play products for more information.
Industrial Paints - Industrial use paints for automobiles, aviation, protective coatings, road markings, floor coatings to name a few, are also available in Asian Paint.
BERGER PAINTS
Berger Paints was the creation of Mr. Lewis Berger, who in 1760, through his shades had offered people a chance to transform their homes through the power of imagination. Berger Paints India Limited has been in India since 1923.
Products:
Industrial Paints - Berger Paints manufacture varnishes, dry colours, enamels, pastes, distemper, ships paints, boiler components and various other kinds of Industrial paints. Some of the brands manufactured are Castle, Parrot, Duroglaze, Murisan, Synthetic, Soligum, Apexior, to name a few.
Decorative Paints -In Decorative Paints, Berger has paints and paint systems for every application – interior, exterior, concrete, plaster, metal and wood, special kids room décor paints.- as well as special applications like water storage.
Interior Wall Paints - include Luxol Silk Luxury Premium Emulsion, Rangoli Easy Clean Emulsion, Rangoli Super Acrylic Emulsion, Bison Super Emulsion and Bison Acrylic Distemper
Exterior Wall Paints – include Weathercoat Long Life, Smooth 100% Acrylic Emulsion, Weathercoat Textured Exterior Emulsion, Walmasta Antifungal Exterior Emulsion, Durocem Extra Waterproof Cement Coatings.
Special Surface Paints - include Enamels for Metal Surfaces like Luxol Hi Gloss Synthetic Enamel, Luxol Duroglaze Rich Matt Enamel, Luxol Luster Enamel.
Wood Finish Coatings like Woodkeeper PU Clear and Woodkeeper Melamine.
Services:
Berger Paints India has specialized painting services like:
Lewis Berger Home Painting - If you are looking for a painting solution, the experts at Lewis Berger will take care of everything right from the selection of the product to be used, well-trained painters, supervision, and painting materials delivery to clean up process. This service is available in all major cities in India including Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.
Illusions - You can get designer finishes for your house walls and offices by using the decorative paints service by Berger Paints.
Galaxy – This is a Berger Paints specialty service for kids. You can create a glowing night sky in the ceiling of kids’ room by this easy-to-use self-help kit.
Berger Kidz - The popular cartoon network characters of Johnny Bravo, Powerpuff Girls, and Dexter to name a few, can be brought to kids in their room.
An online color visualizer, a painting cost estimator and an online shade card are available at their website.
ICI PAINTS
Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) is a major paint, adhesive and specialty products business with products and ingredients developed for a wide range of markets. ICI is present in Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas. However, in the beginning of 2008 ICI became a part of Akzo Nobel, the world’s largest coatings manufacturer, the number one in decorative paints and performance coatings, and a leading supplier of specialty chemicals.

ICI Paints, headquartered in UK and manufactured in 24 countries, has some of the world’s top paints and decorative product brands. ICI’s Paints division in India is a susidary of ICI Dulux Institutional, a world leader in paints. The Indian subsidiary, ICI Dulux India which is popularly known as Dulux Paints India, owes its success to strong brands such as ICI’s exterior emulsion brands – Weathershield and Supercote and retail brands like Dulux Velvet Touch, Acrylic Emulsion and Gloss.
Products:
Interior Walls and Ceilings - The well-known paints include the much publicized Dulux Velvet Touch Paints, Dulux Supreme 3-in-1, Dulux Acrylic Emulsion, Dulux Satin Finish, Maxilite Distemper, Supercote Interior Emulsion.Special diamond glaze and matt finish paints by Dulux are also gaining popularity.
Exterior Wall Paints – Include Dulux Weathershield Max, Dulux Weathershield Tex (for textured finish), Supercote, ICI Paints Exterior Acrylic Primer, ICI Pre Treatment Coat.
Designer finishes – Include a new product Duette, a two tone pattern finsh with more than 20 Lakh colour combinations to choose from.
Metal Surfaces Paints – Include ICI Dulux Satin Finish, Supergloss 5-in-1, ICI Dulux Gloss
Wood Surface Paints - Include ICI Dulux Satin Finish, Supergloss 5-in-1, Dulux Gloss, Dulux Timbertone Melamine, supermatt satin wood paint.
Tiles Protective Coatings – Include Dulux Tileshield.
Other paint products - include endurance paint, floor paints, full cover texture paints, heritage range of paints, lumitec and nature’s touch designs, quick dry gloss finish paints, vinyl silk look and vinyl matt finish paints.
Special kidzone at Dulux Paints caters to the kid’s room décor paints and themes.
Services:
Dulux Paint Studio – Dulux has a Paint Studio in select cities, for Colour consultancy and Painting service, where trained colour consultants will help you choose the right colour combinations with the help of specially designed software and painting experts are available for painting your home.
KANSAI NEROLAC PAINTS
The history of Nerolac Paints dates back to 1920. Nerolac Paints was established as Gahagan Paints and Varnish Co. Ltd. in Mumbai. In 1933, it was renamed to Goodlass Wall India Ltd. and later became Goodlass Nerolac Paints Pvt. Ltd in 1957. And recently in 2006, it acquired the present name Kansai Nerolac Paints Ltd.

Kansai Nerolac Paints is a subsidiary of Japan based Kansai Paint Company Limited that is one of the top ten coating companies in the world. Nerolac is the second largest in India with a leading position in industrial and automotive paints and also in powder coatings.
Products:
The paint products by Nerolac Paints for Home and Office Walls include:
Interior Surfaces Paints that include-
Water Based Emulsions such as Nerolac Impressions – 24 Carat/ Metallic/ Disney, Nerolac Beauty – Premium Acrylic Emulsion/ Silky Smooth/ Smooth Finish
Water based Distempers such as Beauty Premium Acrylic Distemper/ Oil Bound Distemper.
Solvent Based Paints such as Nerolac Pearls Luster Finish / Synthetic Flat Paint Interior.
Enamels such as Nerolac Synthetic, Nerolac Satin, Goody Synthetic, Impressions Hi-Performance
Exterior Surfaces Paints that include -
Emulsions such as Impressions Excel – Anti Peel/ Total, Suraksha Advanced.
Cement Paints such as Nerocem With Titatnium +
Special Paints such as Nerotex Matt Decorative and Protective Exterior Finish, Nerolac Impressions Everlast Self Cleaning with Piolite.
Paints for Wood Surfaces like PU Interior +, Multisealer, Water Clear Lacquer, Wood Stains, NC Sealer/Wood Filler/Thinner.
For Metal Surfaces – Nerolac Impressions Hi – Performance Enamel, Nerolac Satin Enamel, Nerolac Synthetic Enamel.
Industrial paints include automotive, powder, general industrial and high performance coatings.
Services:
Online Guide - Nerolac Paints India offers an online guide to painting jobs, a list of the dealers’ network, a complete shade card citing all the shades and colours available in the paint you want, painting cost calculator, online color visualizer and Vaastu solutions for your house.
Nerolac Assured Paint Service - This is painting services for your home by expert craftsmen of Nerolac. This service is available in select cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, and Kanpur to name a few.
Nerolac Disney Collection was launched in a tie-up with Walt Disney Company (India). Nerolac gained a lot of popularity in this category targeted specially for kids since the kids room décor is incomplete without their most favorite Disney characters Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Pluto.
SHALIMAR PAINTS
Shalimar Paints was incorporated in India in 1902 as Shalimar Paint Color & Varnish Co. Ltd. It became a public limited company in 1961 and adopted the present name Shalimar Paints Limited in 1963. Shalimar Paints was the first large-scale manufacturing unit in India and also in the whole South-East Asia region. Shalimar Paints have their corporate office in Mumbai.
Some of the most commendable achievements by the Shalimar Paints R & D units are being the first Indian company to develop a radiation resistant paint for nuclear power plants coating and another would be aviation coatings epoxy/ vinyl system for ester lubricant resistant aircraft finish.
Products:
The whole range of Shalimar Paints products include:
Exterior Paints - such as Xtra Premium 100% Acrylic Exterior Finish, Superlac Acrylic Emulsion, Shaktiman Exterior Acrylic Emulsion
Husain Collection - Based on the acrylic copolymer emulsion, Husain Collection is fast drying, and smooth in flow and leveling and gives a smooth and silky finish
Other Interior Wall Finishes – such as No.1 Silk Emulsion, Mela Acylic Distemper.
Synthetic Enamel Paints- Superlac Hi – Gloss Synthetic Enamel/ Satin Finish Soft Sheen Synthetic Enamel/ Luster Finish, Diamond Synthetic Enamel, Goldmin Synthetic Enamel
Other Paints such as Cement Paints,Wood Finishes, Putty, Primers, Aluminium Paint, Multi Purpose Varnishes, Wood Polishes, Dry Colours, Road Marking Paints.
Industrial Paints – The industrial paints products by Shalimar Paints cater to high performance coatings in the heavy industries like petrochemicals, nuclear and thermal power, heavy machinery manufacturers, construction industries to name a few, along with coatings finish for two wheelers, tractors, cylinders and textile machinery. Metal decoration coatings and Indian marine industry also are among the major clients of Shalimar Paints.
Services:
The Shalimar Paints website has a ‘Color Space’ where you can find over 5000 shades for choosing a particular shade. Shalimar Color Space Tinting Systems use the colorants of the premium international quality to ensure the widest possible range of colors to choose from.
Another popular category is the Hussain Collection Shade Card which is available online. The advantages of Hussain collection are that there is a whole spectrum of colors in shade card to choose from.
JOTUN GROUP
Jotun group, a Norwegian paint manufacturer which is headquartered in Sanderfjord, Norway, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of paints, Coatings and powder coatings. The group has 71 companies and 40 production facilities on all continents. In addition, Jotun has agents, branch offices and distributors in more than 70 countries.
Jotun Paints inaugurated its first manufacturing facility in India, in April 2008 at Ranjangon in Pune and will soon set up a manufacturing unit in North India. The manufacturing unit in Pune mainly caters to Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra and will move to the northern markets such as Gujarat, Delhi and Haryana subsequently. Jotun has launched retail outlets in a many towns and cities of India.
Products:
Jotun Paints has created highly advanced Marine Coatings, Protective Coatings, Decorative paints and Powder coatings. The entire range of Jotun Decorative paints includes interior emulsions,exterior wall paints, epoxy and polyurethane systems, alkyd-based enamels for wood, steel and plastered surfaces.
Emulsion Paint: Fenomastic Gold, Fenomastic, Durosan and Jollyfix are emulsion based paints recommended for use on surfaces such as plaster, gypsum board, concrete, asbestos cement panels and rendered blockwork.
Enamel Paint- Gardex and Bengalac are alkyd based enamel paints available in different gloss levels. They are ideal for use on a variety of interior and exterior surfaces.
Textured paint: To create special looks with a blend of texture and colours, we can vary the texture from fine and medium to heavy and special or alternate between a coarse or smooth finish, matt or glossy.

PRICE OF INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR PAINT PRODUCTS Interior Paints Segment | Product | Price(per Lt.) | Company | Walls (Emulsion) | Royal | Rs 360-450 | Asian Paints | Walls (Emulsion) | Velvet Touch | Rs 360-450 | ICI Dulux | Walls (Emulsion) | Impression | Rs 360-450 | Nerolac Paints | Walls (Emulsion) | Silk | Rs 360-450 | Berger Paints | Walls (Emulsion) | Premium | Rs 250-280 | Asian Paints | Walls (Emulsion) | Super Smooth | Rs 250-280 | ICI Dulux | Walls (Distemper) | Tractor | Rs 60-80 | Asian Paints | Walls (Distemper) | Bison | Rs 65-80 | Berger Paints | Metals & wood | Dulux Gloss Premium Enamel | Rs 200-230 | ICI Dulux | Metals & wood | Synthetic Enamel | Rs 200-270 | Nerolac Paints | Metals & wood | Luxol | Rs 200-270 | Berger Paints | Metals & wood | Apcolite Premium Gloss Enamel | Rs 200-270 | Asian Paints |

Exterior Paints Segment | Product | Price (per Lt.) | Company | Walls (Emulsion) | Apex Ultima | Rs 350-400 | Asian Paints | Walls (Emulsion) | Dulux weather shield Max | Rs 350-400 | ICI Dulux | Walls (Emulsion) | Apex | Rs 250-300 | Asian Paints | Walls (Emulsion) | Dulux weather shield | Rs 250-300 | ICI Dulux | Walls (Emulsion) | Weather coat All Guard | Rs 250-300 | Berger Paints |

DECORATIVE PAINTS MARKET IN KERALA
Kerala has emerged as the number one market for exterior emulsion paint companies like Asian Paints, Nerolac and Dulux.
Market leader Asian Paints is estimated to get around Rs 400 crore worth business from Kerala. Asian Paints which has around 45 percent market share, as compared to 60-70 percent share in every other state.
The decorative paints market in Kerala alone is worth Rs 850 crore and growing at 40 percent a year, highest in India. The reason for this is because, with all the money coming in from the Middle East, there is more spending power with the people in Kerala The exterior emulsion market is very competitive, it is witnessing new trends, which is customization of paints for roof tiles as houses in Kerala have a slanting roofs due to excessive monsoons making roof tiles a huge business.
Analysts believe test marketing for paint companies in Kerala is a smart move, as weather and acceptability are both tested to their highest levels.

THE ROAD AHEAD
The forecast for paint industry looks good. A good monsoon resulting in more demand, growing purchasing power parity of Indians and a promising rural market, all contribute towards a high demand for paint, which is estimated to grow at 1.5 times to 2 times GDP in the next five years. To match up the supply, all the key players are expanding their businesses. As per estimates, paint capacities are expected to go up by 50-70% in the coming 3 to 5 years.
Decorative paints segment is expected to witness higher growth going forward. The fiscal incentives given to the housing sector by the government have immensely benefited the housing sector and are factor in increasing the demand for the sector.
The demand for industrial paints too is expected to increase going forward. This is because of the increasing investments in infrastructure. Domestic and global auto majors have long term plans for the Indian market, which factor well for automotive paint manufacturers like Kansai Nerolac and Asian-PPG. Increased industrial paint demand, especially powder coatings and high performance coatings will also enhance top line growth of paint majors in the medium term.
Consumers can look forward to new product launches and also some specialised products as companies will be increasing the value added services available to customers by offering a variety of finishes through specialized and trained applicators. There will be more options like ranges of colors/finishes for wood applications through the tinting machines. The trend towards water-based coatings is likely to set in both for industrial and decorative applications. The Indian paint industry has progressed well and moving ahead is likely to be influenced by several factors including new technologies, new innovative products, new associations, consolidation of industry and poor performers getting out of the market.

REFERENCES

1) http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/colourful-kerala-top-market-for-paint-firms-110012500049_1.html 2) http://architectureideas.info/2009/02/list-of-well-known-paints-in-india/ 3) http://projectreports.eiriindia.org/indian-paint-industry-bright-growth-prospects-ravi-raghavan/ 4) http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/Indian-Paint-Market-expected-to-reach-49545-INR-Crs-by-2016-2017-IPA-Study/5589228799 5) http://keralaarchitect.blogspot.in/2008/04/paint-brands-in-india.html