Nippon Paint eyes plant in Bengal, aims to double market share in East

Kolkata: Nippon Paint, the only multinational paint company in the country, may look for a manufacturing facility in Bengal in the near future, according to Nippon Paint India managing director Sharad Malhotra. The company is eyeing a double-digit market share in the decorative segment in the East in seven to eight years. It entered the eastern decorative market last year.Malhotra, who was in the city on Thursday, told reporters that the company has seven factories in India and plans to increase the count to 15 in the next three years through both greenfield and brownfield expansions.For Nippon, the decorative segment constitutes 40% of its portfolio, while the industrial segment accounts for the remaining 60%. However, there are many sub-segments within the industrial category; for the automotive original equipment manufacturer (OEM) business, Nippon has a joint venture with Berger Paints as well.Malhotra said that until last month, Nippon only had a decorative paints presence in the South. "We want to focus on the East in the decorative segment now. The East is a very premium market for decorative paints, and we hope to do well," he added.The company currently has a 2% market share in the decorative segment and has set a target of 4% over the next three years (by 2029-30). Malhotra pointed out that the East constitutes 20% of the country's decorative market, which is valued at around Rs 10,000-12,000 crore. Commenting on the impact of the US-Iran conflict, he added that the impact was greater on solvent-based industrial paints than on mostly water-based decorative paints.