Asian Paints, Kansai Nerolac, others face challenge from Grasim’s entry with Birla Opus

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₹10,000 crore. The company has an ambitious goal of becoming the number two player with a double digit market share in decorative paints in the medium term. The company is targeting ₹10,000 crore revenue from the paints business and expects it to turn net profit positive in FY28.

Grasim Industries has commissioned three plants and plans to operationalise three others in the next 12-15 months. At full capacity, all the six plants of Birla Opus will have a total commercial capacity of 1,332 million litres per annum, becoming the second in terms of capacity, only after Asian Paints. The company plans to have a high single-digit market share and secure the second position in the decorative paints market at the end of FY25.

Read here: 0 to 10,000 in 3 years: Birla sets ambitious target for new paints business At present, the Indian paints sector is ruled by Asian Paints, which is the market leader with the biggest market share of over 50% in decorative paints, followed by Berger Paints with around 19% market share and Kansai Nerolac at around 12%. The entry of the new player in the industry has stirred concerns among established players in the industry, particularly Asian Paints. Market analysts predict that the heightened competition may lead paint companies to resort to price reductions and increased advertising expenditures, ultimately impacting their profit margins.

“Paint stocks are likely to face margin pressures amid increased competitive intensity with the entry of Grasim Industries. Asian Paints being the leader in the industry, will also see an impact on margins," said Amit Purohit, Vice President at Elara Capital. The brokerage firm has a negative view on the sector and a ‘Sell’ rating on all the paint stocks.