We've continued our strong growth momentum in paints and coatings to register record quarterly topline

Rajiv Rajgopal

Managing Director, AkzoNobel India

Can you comment on the company's sustainability in the paint business?

AkzoNobel is a leading paints & coatings company and the maker of Dulux Paints in India. In the aspirational district of Darrang in Assam, our project Indradhanush is increasing employability and entrepreneurship of women in the local decorative painter community. AkzoNobel has trained over 300 local women, who in turn, are manning the district's first 100% women-owned and operated dealership and 25 stores under a hub and spoke model.

The company had recently launched a new campaign. Can you highlight some of the points?

The new campaign titled 'Dulux Velvet Touch - Feels Like Home' aims to strengthen the brand promise of rich intense colours and gain consumer preference through its newly introduced TruColor technology. Conceived by Mullen Lintas Delhi, the campaign hinges on a woman's need for autonomy of space to underline the product superiority of Dulux Velvet Touch.

Dulux Velvet Touch epitomises the best quality of decorative paint. As Indian consumers are increasingly spending more time rejuvenating their homes, walls have become a canvas of self-expression. Dulux India is now further empowering consumers to flourish through colours.

Inspired by global contemporary design themes, the all-new Dulux Velvet Touch with TruColor technology embodies finesse and brings to life a specially curated palette of intense rich colours for an ultra-smooth finish. AkzoNobel's Global Aesthetic Centre at Amsterdam has distilled its colour expertise into three design palettes - the elegant, serene, and romantic ESSENTIAL colours; the fresh, cheerful and energising ACCENT palette; and the ATMOSPHERE palette inspired from colours of forest, ocean and sky. The range provides three options for consumers to choose from - Platinum Glo, Pearl Glo and Diamond Glo. Strengthening consumer connect, the first-ever digital campaign was released for Dulux Aquatech range of premium waterproofing solutions. Through its humorous storytelling, the Parulaur Painter - Ek Love Story! campaign underlines that in real life, Dulux Aquatech is a 'Must hai, Best hai' solution to end all waterproofing woes of consumers.

What has been the technology driver of your company in the paint industry?

AkzoNobel India believes in evolving with the times, be it for their products by inducting new age technology or their communication campaign, where they've chosen to take a more progressive stance on an independent woman's autonomy of space, positioning the brand as more modern and relevant.

How has been AkzoNobel India performance in the paints segment?

We've continued our strong growth momentum in paints and coatings to register record quarterly topline. In decorative paints, growth was led by refreshed flagship luxury (Dulux Velvet Touch with Tru Colour technology and premium brands (Dulux Weathershield Max), supported by new launch in mass segment. Metro and Tier I towns continued to drive growth, while inflationary pressures were felt in semi-urban and rural geographies which had distribution led growth. Demand uptick led by automotive, marine and protective and powder resulted in robust double-digit growth across all coatings business. Staying on course with its Grow & Deliver strategy, AkzoNobel India continued to address raw material increase and currency volatility with pricing actions.

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