Saint-Gobain eyes Rs 1,000 cr revenue from housing solutions biz in 5 yrs

Saint-Gobain India is looking at a revenue in the range of Rs 750 crore to Rs 1,000 crore in three to five years

Saint-Gobain India, which has entered into the B2C segment in the housing solutions business, is looking at a revenue in the range of Rs 750 crore to Rs 1,000 crore in three to five years, a top company official has said.

The company expects the housing solutions segment to be a Rs 15,000 to 20,000 crore market in around five years and to have a minimum of 5 per cent market share, B Santhanam, Saint-Gobain CEO (APAC and India), Chairman and Managing Director Saint-Gobain India.

Besides, the company, a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, a French multinational in the habitat and construction space, will be completing investments of Rs 2,500 crore in India in FY22 and FY23.

Saint-Gobain India through the concept brand of "MyHome" is offering solutions to customers for products including windows, shower cubicles, ceilings, kitchen and wardrobe shutters, roofing products and mirrors.

"We are focusing and growing our presence in this segment. Taking a conservative estimate of Rs 5 lakh spends for interiors, the addressable market is Rs 15,000 to 20,000 crore. We hope to get a minimum share of 5 per cent of this market in the next 3-5 years," Santhanam told PTI.

According to him, there is a "huge opportunity" for organised players in these categories to gain market share.

"The housing accounts for nearly 80 per cent of the construction industry. The need for housing will only go up in the future as nearly 70 per cent of India's population is still non-urban," Santhanam added.

There are several categories like shower cubicles where the market penetration is quite low and the opportunity here is to grow the categories.

"We are focused on gaining share in the fragmented categories and creating new categories," he said.

Saint-Gobain India, which as per the strategy is trying to gain a share of the fragmented downstream markets and create new categories, is going "phygital" by combining its physical stores with digital experience to homeowners.

"We have created dedicated MyHome physical stores where our solutions are available under one roof. Customers get to experience the solutions in real-time and can visualise how they would look in their homes," he said.

It is investing in developing consumer touchpoints and retail stores and has opened MyHome stores in Chennai and Kochi.

"We plan to open another 18 such stores in major cities before the end of the year," he said.

While talking about Saint-Gobain's ongoing investment in India, Santhanam said FY22 and FY23 will be "fairly strong" for investments.

"In the next 2 years, we will be ahead of the curve on the investment front. Based on the long-range plan, as a group in FY22 and FY23 we will be completing investments Rs 2,500 crore," he said.

It is creating larger facilities, looking at potential acquisitions, investments in start-ups, accelerating spends on digital transformation, and increasing the R&D spend, Santhanam added.

"These are the investments that will take place across our major sites in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh," he said.

Saint-Gobain India has more than 20 factories located across major states in India -- Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh as well.

In 2019, Saint-Gobain has registered sales of a billion-plus (around Rs 7,300 crore).

Saint-Gobain had entered India in 1996. Two large entities - Grindwell Norton Limited (GNO), a publicly-traded company, and Saint-Gobain India Pvt Ltd (SGI) - house Saint-Gobain's businesses in India.