History of Asian Paints Ltd.

The history of Asian Paints dates back to 1942. It was started by four entrepreneurs, Champaklal Choksey, Chimanlal Choksi, Suryakant Dani and Arvind Vakil, as a partnership firm for manufacturing paints, in a garage rented for Rs. 75 a month. In 1945, the partnership firm was turned into a private limited company named Asian Oil & Paint Co. Pvt. Ltd. And in the same year, its turnover touched Rs 0.35 million. In the 1940s, it was largely multinational companies such as British Paints and Jenson & Nicholson that dominated the Indian paints market. In order to increase revenue, Asian Paints concentrated on the smaller towns ignored by multinationals. In 1954, Asian Paints asked the famous cartoonist R.K. Laxman to create a mascot for the company, and from his pen was born Gattu which emerged as one of Indias most memorable mascots. However, APs market research found out that in rural India, farmers who wished to paint the horns of their bullocks preferred to buy paint in small packs. Soon AP came out with 50-ml packs, which became very popular. 1st February, 1942 Armed with little knowledge and great determination, Champaklal H. Choksey, Chimanlal N. Choksi, Suryakant C. Dani and Arvind R. Vakil got together to manufacture paint in a garage on Foras Road, Bombay. They named their company 'The Asian Oil & Paint Company', a name that they picked randomly from a telephone directory.

1945 Asian Paints touched a turnover of Rs. 3,50,000, with an innovative marketing strategy "to reach consumers in the remotest corners of the country with small packs." 1954 Asian Paints mascot, Gattu, the mischievous kid, is born. 1957-66 The family-owned company made the transition to a professionally managed organization. British company Balmer Lawrie rejected the products of a giant British paint company in favour of Asian Paints. Asian Paints embarked on an ambitious grassroots marketing campaign, partnering with thousands of dealers in small towns all over India. 1967 Asian Paints emerged as India's leading paint company ahead of any international competition. Asian Paints became the 10th largest decorative paint company in the world. Asian Paints is more than twice the size of its nearest competitor. It is recognized as one of the most admired companies in India. It is present in 22 countries with 27 manufacturing locations, over 2500 SKU's. On the recommendations of Booz, Allen and Hamilton, Asian Paints restructured itself into Growth, Decorative and International business units and adopted SCM and ERP technology. Asian

COMPANY BACKGROUND:
Asian Paints was founded in 1942 as a small partnership firm & now is India's largest paint company. It ranks amongst the top ten decorative coatings companies in the world today, with a turnover of Rs.44.4 billion. Asian Paints operates in 22 countries and has 28 paint manufacturing facilities in the world servicing consumers in over 65 countries. Asian Paints product range includes Decorative Paints, Industrial Paints & Automotive Paints. The company has five manufacturing units which are located at Mumbai, Ankleshwar, Patancheru, Kasna and Sriperambdur. Each plant is headed by the Factory Manager. Bhandup plant is the oldest plant with an installed capacity of 30000 Tonnes per anum. All plants are also awarded with ISO 9000 & ISO 14000 certification.
Asian Paints has the largest range of colors in the market (e.g. Over 127 shades of green, 206 shades of blue, 118 shades of yellow and many others) and the outlet allows the consumer to choose any among a vast range of colors with the help of a computer.

VISION OF ASIAN PAINTS Asian Paints aims to become one of the top five Decorative coatings companies world-wide by leveraging its expertise in the higher growth emerging markets. Simultaneously, the company intends to build long term value in the Industrial coatings business through alliances with established global partners.

CORE VALUES

 Commitment and Integrity in dealing with internal and external customers A strong belief in individual ability and creating an environment in which entrepreneurial spirit is encouraged Ownership and Responsibility

Board directors Mr. Ashwin C. Choksi, Chairman Mr. Ashwin S. Dani, Vice-Chairman and MD Mr. Abhay A. Vakil, Managing Director Members Mr. Mahendra C. Choksi Mr. Amar A. Vakil Ms. Tarjani Vakil Mr. Deepak M. Satwalekar Mr. Dipankar Basu

INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Asian Paints operates in 22 countries across the world. It has manufacturing facilities in each of these countries and is the largest paint company in ten overseas

markets. Asian Paints operates in five regions across the world viz. South Asia, South East Asia, South Pacific, Middle East and Caribbean region through the five corporate brands viz. Asian Paints, Berger International, SCIB Paints, Apco Coatings and Taubmans. In ten markets, it operates through its subsidiary, Berger International Limited; in Egypt through SCIB Paints; in five markets in the South Pacific it operates through Apco Coatings and in Fiji and Samoa it also operates through Taubmans.

The countries that Asian Paints has presence are as follows: South Asia South East Asia Caribbean Islands Middle East South Pacific : Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka : China, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand : Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago : Bahrain, Egypt, Oman and United Arab Emirates : Australia, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Samoa Islands, Tong

EXTERIROR PAINTS
Asian Paints Deco prime Wall Primer

Asian Paints Deco-Prime Wall Primer can be used as primer for painting of waterbased wall finishes such as distempers & plastic emulsion paints. Its special features are easy brushing, excellent covering, alkali resistance, quick drying & good sealing properties. It is specially fortified with fungicides. Asian Paints Wood Primer

Asian Paints Wood Primer is specially formulated to protect wood. It has an excellent sealing & filling properties which protects wood from swelling due to absorption moisture. Wood Primer penetrates wood fiber & gives excellent adhesion to substrates & also serves as a sound base for application of undercoats & finishing coats. It also protects the finish coat from exudation of resinous matter oozing out from wood

Auto-mobile cotings Deltron

One of the best automotive refinish systems available in the world. available in more than 40000 sha Delfleet

The latest and advance product in fleet coatings technology to meet OEM specifications by top vehicle manufacturers

Decorative Paints Asian Paints Apex

Apex Weatherproof Exterior Emulsion is a water-based 100% acrylic, exterior wall finish. A high performance, long-lasting exterior paint specially formulated to withstand extreme tropical conditions of high rainfall, humidity and heat, Apex provides excellent resistance against the growth of algae and fungi on the walls. It offers excellent protection against alkali and UV degradation too. Cost Range: Mid-Range Availability: Across all Colors World Dealers. Asian Paints Ace

Ace Exterior Emulsion is a water-based exterior wall finish suitable for dry to moderately humid climatic conditions. It offers excellent resistance to chalking, cracking and weathering in comparison to Cement Paint. Ace gives cleaner shades which do not fade and last longer. Ace offers good anti-algal performance in dry to moderately humid climatic conditions. Asian Paints Utsav Acrylic Distemper

Utsav Acrylic Distemper is a water-based, interior wall paint. It is a value-formoney brand that makes it possible for consumers to have beautiful walls at affordable rates. Being an acrylic finish, it offers a smooth and matt finish. The shades retain their brightness for a longer time. White can be tinted with Apcolite Universal Stainer to obtain customised shades. Cost Range: Economy Availability: Across all Colour World Dealers.

Asian Paints Royale Play

Asian Paints Royale Play is a water-based special effects paint designed to create a variety of special effects on interior walls. Cost Range: Premium Availability: Across all Colour World Dealers.

Asian Paints Interior Wall Finish Matt

Asian Paints Interior Wall Finish - Matt is a fast drying, solvent based paint, which

gives a unique matt finish to your home. When applied, it develops a hard tough film which is highly durable, washable and exhibits superior water repellency. Cost Range: Mid-Range Availability: Across all Colour World Dealers. Industrial Paints Protective Coatings

Offers an extensive range of high performance, heavy-duty coatings for protection of assets in aggressive industrial environments.

Floor Coatings

Offers a wide range of coatings and floorings for concrete floors and hygiene wall coatings. Approach to Energy Conservation: In order to meet the challenge of cutting down the cost, maintaining high quality, eliminating waste of all kinds (like Non Value Adding activities, excess material, energy consumption) and meeting high service levels, Asian Paints has started to transform to World Class Manufacturing. This transformation has been brought about by continual improvement & focussed approach to follow Manufacturing

Excellence Model. As energy cost is 16-18 % of total overhead cost, Energy is treated as major raw material and not only just an overhead expense so as to have special focus on lowering down cost.

As Energy Conservation is also part of the initiative to excel the environment standards, Energy Conservation has been focus area of all manufacturing units. Further aligning of the objectives has been done by release of Energy Policy.

MARKETING
Since the user-base has no geographical boundaries, a company's ability to penetrate new markets and improve product awareness would be the key to maintaining market share. The future prospects, thus, depend on the marketing and distribution strategy plays a crucial role in growth of company. Asian Paints have applied a key marketing strategy, flooding the leading media channels with their ads and marketing campaigns. Asian Paints have left the competitor brands way behind in not just the market share but also the recognition factor. They have a countrywide network of dealers and retail shops making their painting solutions products available to you in the easiest possible manner. Asian Paints website offers a comprehensive list of the products manufactured by Asian Paints like distemper, emulsions, interior/exterior paints, metallic finish paints, special rich luster paints, office use paints, premium and tractor emulsions and texture paints. A shade card catalog covering the entire palette of shades and colors is also available at the retail shops or online on Asian Paints.com. Home painting jobs have been made easier with special Asian Paints Painting Services and online painting cost estimator. You can also enquire about the product prices and the designs, texture and pattern choices and ideas. Asian Paints also bring to you Home Solutions Services in select cities like Ahmedabad, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. Newer cities like Noida, Greater Noida, Gurgaon are also being added in the list.

DISTRIBUTION STATERGY
Distribution is the place where Asian Paints is strongly placed. Its dealer network of 14,500 is the largest. It is closely followed by Goodlass Nerolac with 11,000 dealers. Berger Paints and ICI (India) are way behind in terms of market reach. Another major marketing strategy is offering value-added services to consumers. For instance, colour vending machines have been used with great success. Companies that have the ability to provide more choice to the consumers, without significantly impacting the expense budget, are likely to attract more customers.

PROMOTION STATERGY
The product reach also depends on the level and depth of the companies' promotional activity. For the paints industry, however, what matters more is the brand rather than the product. Therefore, the level of ad-spend by the companies should give an idea of the brand-building effort. For instance, Asian Paints registered the highest increase in ad spending (31 per cent growth) in the year ended March 2008 compared to March 2007. Berger Paints recorded a 22 per cent growth. Goodlass growth declined by around 2 per cent, while that of ICI India slipped 30 per cent. For the promotion statergy asian paints has selected soha ali khan &saif ali khan as to promote new products & a thought of HAR GHAR KUCH KAHATA HAI.

STATERGY TO PROMOTE EXPORT

1. The three-way export strategy will primarily see the group train its eyes on markets where it could gain leadership position, countries where it sees opportunities for growth and nations where licensing arrangement possibilities exist. 2. Exports contributed around 20 per cent of the group's turnover of about Rs. 2,500 crores. The objective was to take it to 25 per cent within the next five years, he added.
3. The group, had identified Egypt, the UAE, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand and

Malaysia as `growth focus areas'. The group felt that licensing arrangement could be the least cost route to grow into some countries. In this context, he said the group had broken into countries such as Indonesia, Pakistan and Malta through this licensing arrangement. The foray into Pakistan and Malta happened only in the last few months. 4. Under the licensing arrangement, it would provide technology and brand support to local firms with whom it had tie-ups
5. The company still had to do a lot of work on a strategy to cross sell

technology/brands/products across varied outfits and geographical areas. Effective alignment of HR (human resources) across operations with the overall group corporate vision would be a tough task ahead in the coming days. 6. The wheel had come a full circle when the MNC had sold the shares back to the Danis. The younger Dani has a passion to make the group an MNC to compete with in the international sphere in all respects

ADVERTISING OF ASIAN PAINTS

Advertising Objective

Position Asian Paints Colour World as the one stop paint shop with all the colours one could want. The advertising should create enough interest in potential consumers to ensure that they come to the Asian Paints Colour World outlet or at least call the Asian Paints helpline. The Asian Paints Advertising Strategy As can be seen from the Creative Brief, the ad is strategic in nature, being a part of the Asian Paints campaign promoting Asian Paints as the brand with the largest range of colours and one that will satisfy the consumer and is able to give him precisely what he wants. The advertising through the campaign is single-minded and focused in its proposition, communication and target audience. The campaign included TVCs and other print advertisements as part of the same communication. At the time, Asian Paints had 13 brands with over 1,100 shades, targeting different niches. They were beginning to realize that though some brands like Apex emulsions, Royale interior emulsion, Apcolite and Touch Wood had high recall; none except Tractor distemper were almost generic. Therefore, they decided to promote the corporate image and the various brands under their umbrella brand Asian Paints through their communication, pushing the generic Asian Paints brand instead of pumping in investment on individual brands. This leveraged on the advantage that Asian Paints was the one company in this low-involvement segment where people actually asked for the paint by brand, breaking away from the earlier tradition where consumers were not known to be very brand-conscious in this low-involvement segment and, more often than not, relied on what the painter bought for them within the budget allocated, being more specific about the colour than its source.

The survey done by one of the leading media channel in 2004 shows following figures

This chart shows that in the promotion or advertising company has spend more than any other company in market; as asian paints spend 47% on television advertisements.

The SWOT analysis of Asian Paints

1. STRENGTHS
Market leaders with 35% market share in the organized sector, the closest competitor does not have even half of APs share;

 Over 90% accuracy in forecasting, 100 fastest SKUs monitored day-today, far superior to competitors; Unlike its competitors who concentrate only in urban areas, AP is found everywhere. It has a country wide distribution A network of 13,000 dealers spread all over the country. The nearest competitor has less than8,000. For this, they have large network of regional offices and company depots and sales personnel to service the nationwide dealer network The pricing strategy is oriented to middle/lower end consumers Unlike its competitors who concentrate only in urban areas, AP is found everywhere. It has a country wide distribution

2. WEAKNESSES
In industrial paints, AP has only a 14% market share. It is far behind the leader Goodlass Nerolac, which has a market share of 43%. Since this is going to be the major growth segment in the future, a lag in this segment will end up as a major weakness; Seasonal demand and hence in off seasons it can lead to cash flow problems; AP has a major weakness on the technology front in industrial paints. Most paint firms have technology tie-ups with manufacturers abroad. For example, Goodlass

Nerolac has a tie-up with Kansai paints, which has provided the company with Cathodic Electro Deposition (CED) technology. Since Kansai is the supplier to Suzuki, Japan, Goodlass with its Kansai connection finds it easy to tap Maruti in India. AP has not been able to make any significant advances either with Maruti or the auto segment in general. Berger has a technical tie up wuth Herbets, Germany, for automotive paints, Valspar Corp, USA for heavy-duty coatings and Teodur NV, Holland for powder coatings;

3. OPPORTUNITIES
AP has always encashed on opportunities that have come its way. It has maintained a product profile keeping the market trends in picture. It shifted to a predominance in industrial paints than industrial paints than in decorative paints as was evident from the production figures of 1995-96; The automobile industry accounted for 50% of the industrial paint market

4. THREATS
Domination of few foreign companies;

Competitors have gone in for hi-tech with instacolour spot mixing. For example, J&Nsinstacolour offers 626 shades;

Automated paint blending in retail points already there. ICIs Touch Colour and Bergers Colour Bank are indicative of this;

Competiton is catching up fast, hi-tech facilities gives abundant choices.

ASIAN PAINTS COLOR RESEARCH STUDIO AT BANGALORE

Asian paints color research studio at NID R & D Campus, Bangalore was launched on 31st Aug 2007. The main objective of the color laboratory is to create a strong color knowledge base. This would be headed by Mr. Michael Foley as the Principal researcher guiding a team of researchers & students in the research process.

The research center has been built because the company wanted to upgrade their products so that their national & international market increase. Another objective of it is to satisfy its customers with best quality product.

HUMAN RESOURCES STRATEGY

Human resources are the most critical asset of any organization. According to the latest research, the efficiency level of an organization largely depends on its human capital management (HCM). The study showed that over 80% of managing

directors believed Human Capital Management to be vital for the fundamental success of a business, while effective measurement is crucial to deliver effective HCM. Recruitment, selection, interview, payroll & maintaining the flow of workers to the job given particular group. So now the above terms at length:-

1. Recruitment: - it is a process of the employing people for particular job. in Asian paints the H.R. department head looks after the affairs of recruitment for recruitment H.R. department gives advertisements on TV. channels, news papers ,internet ,magazines etc.

2. Interview:-it is the another duty of H. R. department for recruiting people company need to interview them. so in Asian paint the (monk ) interview is taken by the managers & assistance. in this interview they check the behavior of the candidate ,his knowledge about the particular field he applied for.

3. selection :- selection of the candidate is done by the high authority of H. R. department. The selection is based on the overall score in the Aptitude test, group discussion, personal interview. The type of interview or selection is changes as per the type of the worker company needed.

4. Training:-the training or induction is must for any worker of the company during his first few days in company. The H.R. department takes care of these training sessions. It is the period during which the employee comes to know the company aims &objectives. 5. suggestion scheme :-Its is kind of innovative strategy company is practicing since last quater. its all about taking or asking for suggestion from workers about any problem or any solution needed by company. This idea is innovated by one of our H.R. head during his visit to Japan.

INNOVATIVE STRATEGY
Its Indias most preferred HCM software. It has a proven record of boosting the productivity of over 100, 000 people. Whatever is needed to power our people, and our business is set to roll with Adrenalin! Adrenalin is a unique Human Capital Management Software that enables the process of acquiring talent, aligning them with organizations goals and leading the transformation, to help your organization take that leap in performance. From automating routine tasks, to generating strategic reports, to giving access to employee related information through self-service, Adrenalin does it all. It fits into any existing Process that any company may be using. Such flexibility coupled with an amazing quick implementation makes it favorite. Its key Modules include Performance Management, Training & Development, Recruitment, HR Workgroup and Report/Analytics, Payroll, Self-Service.

FEATURES
1. It will help in smooth conduct of any H. R. activity. 2. This software gives a technological base to the company 3. Adrenalin will save the time of the H. R. department 4. This software will help the company to reduce the cost of H.R. activities so its very useful during current economic crises. 5. Adrenalin will upgrade the efficiency of the work done by H.R. department.

FINANCIAL POSITION & STATERGY

APLs International business is on growth trajectory. Currently international business contributes ~18% to the consolidated revenue. For the year ended 31st March 2007, International business grew by ~21% led by buoyant growth in Middle East and south Asia. Currently international business derives ~65% of revenue from high potential market of Middle East and Caribbean regions. REGION WISE SALES BREAK-UP

APL enjoys market leadership in the regions of Caribbean and South Pacific Islands. Going forward Middle East and South East Asia would be seen as major growth drivers for international business. We expect international business to grow at CAGR ~20% in the next three years. We believe international business would be major key growth driver for APL in future.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS GROWTH (IN MILLION)

APL derives 74% of its consolidated revenue from domestic paint market. Other major contributor includes International business, which contributes 18% of the total consolidated revenue. Industrial segment and Chemical segments contributes 5% & 3% of the total consolidated revenue respectively.

REVENUE BREAKUP:

BALANCE SHEET FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31ST MARCH 2007.

Owner's fund

Mar ' 07
95.92 832.58

Equity share capital Share application money Preference share capital Reserves & surplus LOAN FUNDS Secured loans Unsecured loans

36.70 40.70

1,005.90

Total

Fixed assets Gross block Less : revaluation reserve Less : accumulated depreciation Net block Capital work-in-progress Investments NET CURRENT ASSETS Current assets, loans & advances Less : current liabilities & provisions 1,035.22 1,017.28 937.89 509.06 428.83 136.25 422.88

Total net current assets Miscellaneous expenses not written TOTAL NOTES: Book value of unquoted investments Market value of quoted investments

17.94 -

1,005.90

345.50 254.26

In the balance sheet owner fund is 928.5 & loan funds are secured &unsecured is 77.4 their for total fund is 1005.90 & fixed assests are 987.96 &total net current assests are17.94. Current assets, loans & advance are more than current liabilities & provision their for Total net current assets is more Its result of companies growing business & highest market share in organize sector.the company is growingis growing in all aspects such production ,sales ,recognisition incase of brand.company is in profitable position with the help of its strong base of assests over liabilities.

Reasons for profit of company 1.Good equity fund. 2.increase in international business. 3.Good brand position. 4.strong market holding.

Owner's fund

Mar ' 07
Equity share capital Share application money Preference share capital Reserves & surplus LOAN FUNDS Secured loans Unsecured loans Total 36.70 40.70 95.92 832.58

1,005.90

Fixed assets Gross block Less : revaluation reserve Less : accumulated depreciation Net block Capital work-in-progress Investments NET CURRENT ASSETS Current assets, loans & advances Less : current liabilities & provisions Total net current assets Miscellaneous expenses not written TOTAL NOTES: Book value of unquoted investments Market value of quoted investments Contingent liabilities Number of equity shares outstanding (Lacs) 345.50 254.26 222.05 959.20 1017.28 1,035.22 -17.94 937.89 509.06 428.83 136.25 422.88

1,005.90

TURNAROUND STRATEGY
Turnaround strategy is nothing but the companies own way of recovering or converting the loss making business in profit. Each company has its turnaround strategy because no one knows when any company will suffer loss. Turnaround strategy is always taken in practice when no other option is last. Turnaround strategy should be introduced when there is some hope of recovery is remaining otherwise the turnaround strategy also cant recover the business.

elements of successful turnaround strategy as given below: (1) Change in c management. (2) Initial control. (3) Identifying quick pay of activities. (4) Quick cost reduction. (5) Revenue generation. (6) Asset liquidation for generating cash. (7) Better internal co-ordination. (8) Competitors analysis.

AWARDS
Awarded the Sword of Honor by the British Safety Council for all the paint plants in India. This award is considered as the pinnacle of achievement in safety across the world. Forbes Global magazine, USA ranked Asian Paints among the 200 'Best Small Companies of the world' in 2002 and 2003 and among the top 200 'Under a Billion Firms' of Asia in 2005. Received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Manufacturing award in 2003. Asia money - one of Asia's leading financial magazine ranked Asian Paints as the Best Small Company in India for 2002 (Small company implies companies with market capitalization of below USD 500 million). Golden peacock national quality award by union labour ministry, Best supply chain award by i2 solutions in 2006, Golden peacock environment management award & Five star rating by British safety council in 2003 & 2005.

CONCLUSION
Asian Paints is the undisputed leader in the paints industry. There have not always been good times for the industry, but the company has done well to retain its top position. It has been ruling the decorative paints market for over 45 years and till date has been successful in catering its consumers in this segment. The main aim of Asian Paints is to stick to the core values of the company, ensuring product quality and improving on the same. Asian Paints has always been introducing high technology products in line with the desired Brand Personality and continuously investing in advertising so as to keep pace with times. The company has also been strengthening its already extensive network with over 15,000 dealers spread over all its market. This is the fast growth segment where Asian Paints is the market leader in this segment. Asian Paints has a presence in the form of Asian PPG, a joint venture with PPG, a world leader in industrial paints. The future for Asian Paints is certainly bright. In terms of earnings, the performance over the third and fourth quarters of 2008-09 and later has been better than before. The Company is not likely to face any major problems in the near term. Even tough there are economic crises going on company is having good business.

BIBLIOGRAPHY1.www.nse.com,www.asian paints.com,www.eocnomic times.com 2. import & export procedures proforma (books).