If history has taught us anything, it’s the fact that whenever we don’t have any competition, we tend to become complacent. One company which seems to be almost immune to this notion though is Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited which has been the absolute market leader in the paint industry for as long as anyone can remember. Catering to lion’s share of country’s total paints requirements, Berger Paints has become synonymous with color, happiness, and protection, and Mohsin Habib Chowdhury is a name synonymous with Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited. Having joined Berger straight after completing MBA from IBA in 1995, the Senior General Manager of Sales and Marketing has grown with the company becoming one of its most vital members in the process. ICE Business Times had the opportunity to speak to him. Mohsin provided valuable insights on how the biggest paint company in Bangladesh has set its foundation for the better part of the past three decades and how it plans to coat the market with years of success.
“Unmatched product quality, relentless innovation, and unparalleled consumer satisfaction. These are the core values that have made Berger the leading name in Bangladesh when it comes to painting. Its vision has always been to be the most preferred brand and every single department of the company has the same goal: To ensure consumer delight. We have also always been pioneers in introducing technology-based innovation to Bangladesh. For instance, we were the first to introduce tinting system under the brand name Berger ColorBank in 1998 which revolutionized the industry,” details Mohsin. It was the first to introduce environmentally-friendly paint which it calls “Breathe Easy”, ushering in the era of green products in the Bangladesh market. “Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited has continuously pushed the envelope to ensure that it can keep on producing import substitute products to help benefit Bangladesh by allowing her to save precious foreign currency and this is what helps it to broaden its innovation pipeline as well,” Mohsin added. Berger has also never failed to adapt to changing trends. The world is shifting its focus to digitization and in 2009, it implemented SAP (Systems Applications and Products in data processing) to enhance internal efficiency. Their digital market team consists of highly qualified individuals who work tirelessly to ensure that end consumers are integrated into Berger’s database through their digital ad campaigns. Berger also has a state of the art website which is up-to-date with all current information about products.
“Unmatched product quality, relentless innovation, and unparalleled consumer satisfaction. These are the core values that have made Berger the leading name in Bangladesh when it comes to painting.”
Being an international company, it is vital for Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited to ensure consistency in product quality with its foreign counterparts, and it does exactly that through a very stringent production procedure with no compromises whatsoever. All raw materials are imported from the best international companies so that consumers know that they are paying for products of the highest standard. Another unique characteristic of Berger is that, despite its monumental status, it never shy away from pairing up with other global companies in order to grow and mitigate the product gap between Bangladesh and the world. Mohsin referred to this as “Strategic Partnerships”. “We want to keep on growing and also bring the best industry experience of technology to the market. Since there are certain limitations in Bangladesh, we partner up with Global brands to bring cutting-edge products to our country. For instance, we collaborated with global giants Hempel to bring to Bangladesh Marine coatings for ocean-going products. We have paired up with Sherwin-Williams for wood coating, Becker Sweden for coil coating and PPG for vehicle refinish in Bangladesh.” The company believes in catering to the demands of a developing nation such as Bangladesh. Mohsin elaborates on how Berger has expanded to the construction chemicals to cater to the burgeoning demand of the country’s construction development, “We feel as if there is a lot of potential in this field since the government has undertaken massive projects and we would want to offer them the best product available. For that purpose, we are doing a joint-venture with Fosroc UK who are global leaders in the field of constructive chemicals. We also plan on providing solutions for the textile industry of Bangladesh. In short, we do what’s best for Bangladesh and for that we never shy away from reaching out to global leaders to bring new innovations to our country. We believe in products that are not only aesthetic but functional as well.”
Out of all the core values, unparalleled consumer satisfaction is what Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited focuses on the most. It is paramount to understand the needs of the consumer and visualize what they are asking for before they have even asked for it. This requires a lot of research work and interaction with various stakeholders but the key to staying on top is fast implementation. “We aim to provide consumers with the best experience so that we can earn their trust and loyalty. There’s plenty of room for improvement on the application side of things and so we have taken the initiative to introduce “Berger Express Painting” tools to Bangladesh which are the newest painting tools in the market.” Mohsin understands that technology is drastically innovating the market for paints. His team strives to bring a wide range of products that cater to the needs of the eclectic market. “These tools will give consumers a dust-free experience which will encourage consumers to go for repainting. This will really change the experience for consumers and applicators alike. To bolster customer satisfaction, we have also introduced Berger Home Decor service. Through Home Decor, we offer consumers color scheme, technical consultancy, painter and dealer selection. It is basically how we interact directly with our end consumers. You can call this the complete package. Through Home Decor we have implemented “Berger Express Painting” which is the next big thing,” Mohsin concluded.
In order to make sure that Berger’s world-class products are being applied properly, all of its painters and applicators have to go through an elaborate training process. It maintains a very healthy relationship with their applicators and also the dealers. Berger Paints has the widest network of dealers who Berger refer to as channel partners and they are responsible for finding applicators. Aside from finding applicators, the channel partners are also responsible for making Berger products accessible for people all around the country. As for the painters, they are carefully screened and selected through a painters panel and they have to attend workshops on a regular basis. Known as “Painters’ Engagement Sessions”, these workshops teach these individuals all they need to know about different surfaces and application through practical demonstration. They teach them about the science behind everything so that the painters are aware of what paint would be ideal for what surface. There is absolutely no room for error.
“Our per capita paint consumption is 1 kilograms (kg). This figure is 2.5 kg for India, 7 kg for Thailand, 10kg for China and 22 kg for the USA. Our reluctance to invest in painting and coating results in Bangladesh losing 2-3% of our annual GDP.”
Although Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited is seemingly on the top of its game and miles ahead of any competitors, it does have its fair share of challenges. Bangladesh lags behind in terms of paint consumption. On top of that, not enough people know about the importance of repainting and coating to avoid corrosion and erosion. Mohsin regretfully informed us, “Our per capita paint consumption is 1 kilograms (kg). This figure is 2.5 kg for India, 7 kg for Thailand, 10kg for China and 22 kg for the USA. Our reluctance to invest in painting and coating results in Bangladesh losing 2-3% of our annual GDP.” Mohsin strives to create a country that is aware of the importance of painting, “Berger Paints Bangladesh Limited already does its best to make top quality products available in every nook and cranny of the country but we will also need assistance from the government and policymakers. We have created a lot of difference in households and various sector of the country so I believe Berger is very closely involved with the development of the nation and we would like to keep on contributing to this.”
“Apart from business, we have been promoting the young and creative talents of the country through Berger Young Painters’ Art Competition (BYPAC), Berger Award for Excellence in Architecture (BAEA), Berger Award Program for the Students of Architecture of BUET (BASAB) and Scholarship Program for the students of Architecture Discipline, Fine Art Faculty, Dhaka University and Khulna University. These programs have already benefited and inspired thousands of young minds. We have the privilege of providing assistance to 8-10 different organizations for the wellbeing of specially challenged children and also for the organizations working in many aspects of the socio-economic development of the society.”
