Please delve into the emerging opportunities, growing competition, and innovative products from Inovar Floor in the market?
Like any other category, flooring also witnessed a lot of changes, namely application based up gradation. Vinyl segment saw the launch of very good quality Luxury Vinyl Tiles. Customers were fed up of cheap offerings in 1.5 and 2mm thick products with 0.1 and 0.15mm wear layer, when we launched a 3mm LVT with 0.3mm wear layer with additional ceramic coating for added wear resistance and NANO silver tech to prevent bacteria growth, the market just lapped it up. Now we have launched our new 'LOOSE LAY LVT' for the first time, so we don't need glue and no expensive click systems. Therefore, the market needs good products meeting both – the functionality and the beauty. Traders' mafia always gets in cheap products with only price as a USP, it is the manufacturers' responsibility to show courage to get in superior offerings. The markets need to get upgraded. Customers are willing to pay for value.
Competition will grow, new entrants will come, some will die, while stronger ones will survive and grow. Stronger means, players with strong value propositions, distribution depth, and technical capabilities.
Where do you see the potential coming from? What all do you have in your kitty?
Potential for good quality products lies mainly with the residential segment. Slowdown in builders' projects coupled with easy access to low cost products from neighboring countries gave the market a severe jolt and slowly every one settled down in their own price/value levels. In India, the performance guarantee for products is not very keenly enforced, and it allows the developers to put brand XX in their demo flats, and deliver with a cheap lookalike floor. It is noticeable and very unfortunate that even reputed developers do it, though not all. In case of sanitaryware and bath fittings, the customers can see the brand name, but not in case of flooring! Residential buyers realize that cheap does not mean lasting. So, it would be in the company's individual interest to know which segment to target. For us, it goes with the size of market to cater to neo-segment of customers. We are targeting tier 2 and 3 cities.
At Inovar, we have a portfolio of solutions with as many as six varieties of products, which include laminate wood, hard-wood, engineered wood, bamboo, vinyl, outdoor decking, besides having solutions for ceilings and cladding. All these can be sold even in one single house at different places depending upon customers' choice of placing these materials within.
From where do you get the inspiration for developing new products/designs? Please discuss.
Based on the customers' feedback, we can identify those areas which have not been addressed yet by the existing players. Our R&D team works on these opportunities. Besides, we do work in association with specifiers like architects and interior designers, who help us learn what their clients' requirements are, and accordingly our design team develops products. This is apart from meeting individual buyers and developers.
What constitutes a successful flooring project? How important is the role of installation team?
To my mind a successful project is the one, where you can solve the customers' flooring needs by supplying, installing, and finally executing the project on time in a professional way. Installation is very-very crucial. Skilled and trained installers are needed and only a flawless execution can help you stay in the business. Also, it is important to understand and address the specific need of customers – be it a renovating-home customer or a new home buyer.
