"Keeping pace with the market demand and trends, Centuryply is constantly innovating and launching exciting designs in its range of laminates and veneers," says Mr. Shankho Chowdhury, Executive Business Head – Decoratives, Centuryply in an interview with Maria R.
What are the new launches from Centuryply for the festive seasons? What are their USPs?
In CenturyLaminates, the newest range will have the new trends in the market like marble finishes, textile, cement wash finish etc. Other new trends will also be unveiled which the consumer will get to know after launch. Our biggest USP is that we offer 7 years warranty from our inception. We have all the environment-friendly certifications like FSC, Greenguard and have the latest international range. Our products conform to Fire retardant Grade 2 and are Anti-fungal & anti-bacterial. These USPs will be continued in all the 1mm launches in future as well.
At Century Veneers, we are constantly innovating and launching innovative designs to cater to the rising need in the market to showcase something new and exciting. Some of the new ranges just introduced are:
Revoluzion Series- This is a revolutionary design hand-crafted from widely accepted Natural Veneers like American Walnut, Barkburn, etc. We have spliced our veneers in a very unique pattern to showcase pattern to bring out symmetry in asymmetry.
Shimmer Collection – Our new range where we are filling Gold, Silver and Copper fillings in our Veneers. We are the only company offering an entire Range of filling. For this festive season, we are expanding our Range by adding 3 new colours making it a range of 6 fillings.
Era Collection - This is our latest range of Aged-by-design veneers. Natural veneers undergo a special process in our state-of-the-art facility and these veneers exhibit aged, grey shades in regular species. These have received an overwhelming response from the market on this range and have extended the range to 8 Designs.
What are the emerging applications areas and demand drivers of Laminates and Veneers?
Laminates can be used on the surface of all the furniture, wall panelling, modular kitchens. The application can be both on vertical or horizontal surface-tops. Few designs are however not recommended for horizontal surface-tops and are clearly mentioned in our product catalogues. To add, laminates are widely used in offices, lounges, hotels, restaurants, gyms, coffee, and shops. The ease of maintenance is making this category more popular amongst all the interior applications.
Veneers can be used on the surface of all the furniture, wall panelling, and ceilings. Highlighter Veneers are extensively used for Pillars nowadays. The application can be both on vertical or horizontal surface-tops. Veneers are widely used in offices, lounges, hotels, restaurants, gyms, coffee shops, homes and any interior space you can think of. Our Veneers are a timeless piece of decorative element that adorns your spaces and makes a statement for lifetime.
What steps for are being taken to promote Customer knowledge and awareness?
CenturyLaminates came up with our first ever TVC in Dec 2014 and also invested heavily on press ads to touch the lives of end users directly and to increase the Brand awareness. We are present in various social networking sites where we post about the technical know-how of our products and the suggested application techniques. We have a dedicated website at www.centurylaminates.in. CenturyVeneers have recently launched our new Website www.centuryveneers.com. We have introduced a fantastic interface whereby a normal consumer can interact with our veneers. He can select an environment from Bedroom to his office space, select a veneer design and get an actual look and feel of the application of veneers in those spaces. Veneers is a very technical category and most people shy away from using this product because they can’t actually visualize the application. This is a small effort to break the ice and get them closer to getting a visual understanding of using decorative veneers as a product.
Apart from the above, we are present on various social networking sites where we post about the technical know-how of our products and the suggested application techniques. We have a consumer care number 1800- 2000- 440 which resolves any complaint of the consumer with all information & the best of support.
What is the role of specifiers like architects and designers in promoting your products?
In laminates, the influencers play a very important role in specifying the product in projects or retail segments as well. But gradually more consumers are getting educated about the quality of products, installation etc and they themselves are specifying the brand that they want to purchase. This is all the more happening because of the amount of Marketing spent in various ATL, BTL activities by the Top brands.
In veneers, the specifiers play a very important role in suggesting the product as an option. These are very technical and low consumer involvement product before commencement of work. The specifiers help to filter and direct correct consumers towards the correct product, be in Laminate or Veneer. As they work on multiple assignments and turnaround time and consistent quality of material play a vital role in their business, they help consumers to pick the right product and the right price.
How do you see the market of laminates and veneers in the next few years?
Due to industrialization, there will be a good growth amongst the organized players in our category. It will be the onus of the Top brands to innovate in the marketplace and add newer trends for the ever changing demands of the consumers. For veneers, market indicators show a plunge in real estate sector, but we are still growing over 20% Year-on-Year and looking for even higher numbers in the coming financial year. To achieve these numbers, we have an in-house professional team of designers that are constantly innovating and coming out with new designs and processes. This is helping us garner market share from other players and grow even in these poor market conditions.
