After acquiring the brand in 2004, the company is currently doing brand building exercise by changing it looks and offering 16 different tile solutions under the one brand.
The company says there is a huge market for this brand to grow in India as over 90% of people still use cement for fixing tiles which can be replaced with Roff products. “Total market size for tiling industry is Rs8000 crore and cost of doing tile fixing job is Rs2000 crore. Currently, the usage of such product is very low which is in the range of Rs200 crore but with the increasing awareness about the product, the market is expected to grow soon,” said Sushil Luniya, President –India, Construction Chemicals Division, Pidilite Industries Ltd.
In an effort to spread awareness about the product, the company recently had organised a three-city event with architects and designers in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Bangalore. They invited two international installation artists, Vass Sandor and Szilagyi Rudolf, along with one Indian artist Shilpa Joglekar, to present art installations using local materials and Roff products. “This was an effort to connect with architects and designers and tell them what all they can do using Roff products,” Luniya said.
Though Roff has a presence since 1986 but it still has very low penetration into the Indian market which the company blames on to lack of awareness about the usage of such products. “The core task for us is to educate customers and upgrade their usage from normal cement to product like this for fixing tiles. I think somebody has to invest in educating the customers. Till now, not many companies have gone into it, that’s why we are now revamping the whole thing by bringing in the whole range and then moving forward to bring about education and awareness,” he added.
Luniya said that Indian customers are very sensible and ready to adopt new technology. “You have to give them right value proposition and you have to educate them. If you do that I am sure that India customer would pay little extra to get a much longer durable finish,” he added.
The company expects to receive good response from its already-exiting strong retail network but it would also focus on project and development segment. With the growing demand for premium and high end buildings, the company feels the developers would go for quality products for better finish and durability.
Though it adds little extra to the cost if compared with cement, the company said, it adds value in terms of savings on labour time and cost besides providing better finish and durability.
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