Asian Paints was the leading company in 2020, with a market share of about 39 percent. In the organized segment, Asian Paints led the decorative market segment, while the industrial segment was led by Kansai Nerolac. As of 2019, the Indian paint industry saw around 12 percent growth in its output volumes and about 15 percent growth in terms of its total value. Future growth in the industry is likely to depend on several factors such as disposable incomes, stability of crude oil prices and growth in the automotive and real estate sectors.
Market leaders
The paint, varnishes, coatings and lacquers industry is one the most heavily regulated industries in the world. The Indian paint industry was the second largest in the APAC region in 2020. The sector witnessed significant growth over the past few years. In 2019, the Wholesale Price Index of paints and varnishes stood at 112.7, its highest value compared to the last five years. In 2019, the trade value of the country’s paint industry was over 57 trillion Indian rupees. Despite being the second largest industry globally, the export value of India’s paint industry amounted to around 18 trillion rupees as opposed to the import value worth approximately 39 trillion rupees.
Segmentation
The paint sector across the south Asian country was broadly classified into two segments – industrial and decorative. Exterior and interior wall paints, enamel and ancillary products and wood finishes made up the decorative segment. Automotive, powder and protective coatings on the other hand summed up the industrial segment. The Indian market was dominated by the decorative segment accounting for about 75 percent of the market share compared to industrial segment which had just over 25 percent of the share. Less technical know-how and the involvement of organized as well as unorganized players contributed to this major difference in market shares.