Thanks to the coexistence of different paints in the industry, our generation no longer wants to live surrounded by walls dipped in lime wash. The plethora of paints has exposed us to a world where any color that we imagine our house to have can be turned into reality. And, not only home decor but the industrial paints also form a part of the industry’s canvas now.
Berger Paints has a worldwide heritage of 250 years going back as far as 1760, and this heritage has endorsed Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited to have the absolute leadership in the local paint industry backed by diversified product offerings, product innovation, unparalleled customer service, and wide distribution network. The eminence of its name can be sensed with the vibrant images of Berger’s work being reflected through the households and offices of many generations that it has been serving for.
Recently on a discussion with Ice Business Times, Mr. A.K.M. Sadeque Nawaj, GM, Marketing, Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited, shared various insights about the company from his seventeen years of industry experience.
Berger back in 2012 was the first company to tap into the needs of a more health-oriented generation with its idea of lead-free paints, and by introducing the first eco-friendly paint under the brand name of Breathe Easy.”
How have you observed the growth of this industry based on your long career experience?
As our country is going through an economic progression, a boost in the infrastructural development in the last couple of years has contributed much to the industry’s demand. With the rise in disposable income and the increased influx in remittance flow, the industry has also seen a growth due to the improved lifestyle, and development of rural economy. Since housing falls under one of our fundamental needs, the consumers are nowadays spending on paints as a part of their colorful lifestyle. However, recent years have also seen a collapse in the real estate industry. Furthermore, the level of foreign direct investment has not been up to the expected level to fuel the economic progress further, which has a positive correlation with the paint consumption. Until this year, interest rate was also quite high. But on the other hand, the advantages of using the new methods of painting have outweighed that of the conventional one. Thus, a decent growth in the industry has been noticed in recent years.
What is your observation about the prospect of this industry (regarding innovation and others)?
There is no doubt that this industry has more potential to grow regarding innovation. However, the paint industries worldwide have now diversified its focus into various aspects of paints, not just household only. A lot of global brands have already entered the local market. To reach the next level, we now need to focus on industrial coatings along with our existing household segment. The protective coating has far-reaching aspects than that we already know about and is one the most demanded things now. This segment has huge potential, but a sufficient flow of foreign direct investment (FDI) is what we need at the moment. Furthermore, an increase in FDI will help in the rise of more industries, thus increasing the demand for high-performance coating and the paint industry as a whole.
Regarding innovation, the industry has been continuously adapting to new measures that are being used worldwide. For instance, Berger back in 2012 was the first company to tap into the needs of a more health-oriented generation with its idea of lead-free paints, and by introducing the first eco-friendly paint under the brand name of Breathe Easy. Berger also introduced tinting technology in 1998 titled ColorBank for household segment that lets our consumers choose from a wide range of 5000 shades. Innovation has also been done in the arena of wood coating. In propositions where local investment has not been made possible, Berger has taken strides to make alliances with international players in the market, like with Hempel for high protective marine coatings, with PPG for vehicle refinish, with European Technology for Innova Wood Coating, to name a few, so as to bring these new technologies into the local market. Berger has also overseen innovation in the area of high-performance coatings. Thus, it will not be long, that this industry will be a better contributor to our growing GDP.
What were the challenges that you faced in sales/marketing?
Business is all about adversities. Keeping a good relationship with all the stakeholders and bringing them together under one umbrella is quite difficult. Our biggest challenge like all other industries is the legal infrastructure. All government bodies should work in a cohesive manner in ensuring foreign direct investment and supporting the local business to ensure economic prosperity. Especially in the scenarios where we are trying to bring in technology from overseas, these challenges are our foremost concern. Government should take enhanced steps to ensure governance to create the level playing field for all the companies operating in the industry, and in the step take processes to make the rules and regulations more business-friendly.
Making the consumers more knowledgeable about the protective values of paint besides its aesthetics, to protect the value of the asset, is another crucial challenge that we’ve been facing. This will lead to further knowledge-based decision making in their painting process.
The industry as a whole needs to ensure proper application of paint using appropriate application tools. Products are also going through a continuous process of innovation, and therefore, there is a need to increase the number of applicators as there is currently a dearth of applicators in the industry. Furthermore, owing to this constant innovation, there is also a need to increase the education of these applicators.
A critical challenge in the industry is managing the relationship with all the stakeholders keeping their individual interests in mind. Balancing the individual requirements and interests of all these stakeholders and growing the business is also another important issue.
What are your suggestions for people who want to build a career in this industry?
Irrespective of the industry, aspects like hard work, passion, and knack for learning are a set of common factors that every fresh graduate should focus on to excel. Apart from this if we specifically talk about the paint industry, graduates need to understand that the norms of this industry is quite different from those of mainstream industries. There are different variants of paint, each of which have different shades, made using different technology, and have different stakeholders. Thus, to understand the mindset of consumers one needs to spend more than just a couple of years here. It is also essential for employees to enjoy their work for a greater inflow of innovative ideas. All these things help contribute to the self-development of individuals as they march forward with their careers.
