Hindware: Hindware turns red

Sanitaryware brand Hindware has unveiled a new brand identity to connect with the youth. The new logo, set in red (earlier it was black), looks to position it as a young, global, vibrant and dynamic brand, which symbolises ‘change, positivity and passion’. It unveiled the new logo among 400 of its distributors recently in Agra. “This is an effort to refresh an old brand, the colour red symbolises energy and passion that Hindware stands for,” says Sandip Somany, joint managing director, HSIL Ltd (formerly Hindustan Sanitaryware & Industries Ltd, the flagship company of the Somany Group).

The company has been on a product expansion spree over the last couple of years. Somany says that consumers in India are changing rapidly, and this is the right time to try and strike a chord with the new generation. “The company is focusing on new product ranges and has already introduced more than 250 products in the last 18 months,” Somany adds.

The company roped in London-based Fitch, which specialises in branding and strategy, for the rebranding exercise. It took Hindware around 15 months to draw the roadmap for this exercise. The company has earmarked Rs 30 crore as its advertising budget for the year.

Over the years Hindware has tried to evolve from being a sanitaryware brand to a comprehensive bathroom solutions name. It has forayed into tiles and has introduced a unique range of LED showers as part of Hindware’s Italian Collection. The company claims to have a 40 per cent share of the Rs 2,000-crore sanitaryware market India, with a growth rate of 35 per cent year-on-year.

It is now opening specialty home interior stores across the country. It has five such stores in place, while five more are coming up. “We aim to give our customer an end-to-end solution. So when we install a kitchen, we take care of all issues, even those that do not necessarily relate to fittings. The idea is to gain consumer loyalty with our pre-sales and after-sales service,” adds Somany. HSIL claims that it is the only Indian company to have its sanitaryware research and development centre recognised by the Government of India’s Ministry of Science & Technology.

The company has lined up a range of marketing initiatives this year. “We will begin by changing the existing signages, which will be followed by change in point-of-sales material at all the stores where Hindware products are sold. Next in the pipeline will be advertisements for the print medium, while television commercials will be rolled out by the end of next month.”

HSIL’s major product is ceramics (it has 1,000 designs), while the second biggest is taps (it has 1,600 models). HSIL will open two manufacturing units as well — one in Gujarat to manufacture ceramics, and the other in Rajasthan to produce taps.