Nippon Paint India unveils child-friendly product

Nippon Paint (India) has targeted the home segment with a product marked safe for children. “Called ‘KIDZ’ paint, this is targeted at a very niche market segment,” said S. Mahesh Anand, president — Decorative Business, Nippon Paint (India) Pvt. Ltd. “We have become industry pioneers in this paint category.” Explaining further, he said the new product comprised anti-formaldehyde, anti-viral, anti-bacterial and superior washable properties, and would be costlier than the decorative paints available in the market. Initially, it would be available in Chennai city and rolled out country wide soon. To begin with, Nippon Paint would target the home segment (interiors) and might look at schools, creche, playschool and other segments at a later stage. Talking about the performance of the paint industry, he said in the first quarter it reported good sales volume, which was not so encouraging in the second quarter. Northern parts of the country reported good sales during the Diwali season. “We expect the industry to post 13% to 15% growth this fiscal against 10.5% reported last year. Our growth will be better than that of the industry,” he said. Asked about Nippon PRO Stores that offered complete painting solutions, he said, “In the last one year, we have opened 13 stores in Chennai and two in Coimbatore. It is in a learning stage. The pilot will go on for another 18 months.” Regarding the Chennai plant which produces decorative paints, he said its production capacity had increased from 40% to 56% and the target was to ramp it up to 80% in the next two to three years with the launch of new products.