Market

Each sunrise is not just the dawn of

another day; for a country like India, in
a hurry to catch up with the rest of
the developed world it is, in fact, the
emergence of another opportunity to
play tag. It is for this reason that business
and industry are booming in India and
the spectre of the ghost that ate up
entire economies two years ago has
simply disappeared without trace. Of the
many signs that the poltergeist has fled, is
the renewed vigour and energy in the
housing and infrastructure development
sectors. Hundreds of thousands of
projects now dot the Indian landscape.
In this round of progress one big change
stands out: a great deal of developmental
activity is centred around semi-urban hubs with
several leading to rural areas. This necessarily
means that the economically weaker sections of
society can, for the first time, have a lintel roof
above their heads and boast of a covered
washroom. This happening is a good sign for
Indias sanitary ware industry.
But there is more. Fuelled partly by rural
development, partly by evolving demographics
egged on by nuclear families, rising incomes,
higher aspirations and affordable mortgages and
partly by an entire market moving from the
unorganised sector to the structured, the
sanitary ware industry is estimated, by some, to
be growing at over 15% per annum.
Sitting atop this very alive business is
Hindustan Sanitaryware & Industries
Limited (HSIL).
HSIL is a pioneer-manufacturer
that commenced operations
more than 50 years
ago. Thanks
substantially to the
efforts of this
company, the
organised sanitary
ware market in India
is closing in on the
magical figure of
Rs. 1000 crore
(US$ 222.20 million).
Despite growing
competition, HSIL
itself continues to
show sterling
performance,
commanding a share
of more than 40%
(Source: internal
estimates) and
servicing it through a
network of more
than 1400 dealers and 12,000 retailers.
Achievements
Over the years, HSIL has been consistently
acknowledged as an innovative organisation.
Indeed, HSIL is credited with bringing in
the very concept of vitreous china
sanitary ware to India and
defining the
standards of
quality for these
products.
With a
background such as
this, none will be
surprised to learn that HSIL has won literally
dozens of awards and recognitions. The
company was deemed an inspirational
organisation and honoured with the Bizz 2010
award by WorldCob, a leading industry
association headquartered in Houston in the
US. IMM, a leading business school, awarded
HSIL with the 2010 IMM Award for Excellence
and the World Environment Fund bestowed
upon the company their Golden Peacock
National Quality award and the Golden Peacock
Environment Management award. The Capexil
and IES Excellence awards both in 2009
further substantiated HSILs pre-eminent status.
Interestingly, HSIL has also won the Business
Superbrand award all three times 2005, 2008
and 2010 that the accolade has been
declared.
While the company has distinguished itself,
the brand that it has nurtured, too, has won
plaudits. Brand Hindware won the prestigious
Elle Deco International Design award in both
2008 and 2010; in the same year CII GBC
7th National Award declared two of its
developments The Most Innovative Water Saving
Products besides being awarded, thrice, by
Golden Peacock awards for its innovation,
quality and environment management. The
brand has been honoured twice by 4Ps in Indias
100 Most Admired Brands and was given the
Powerbrand award in 2010 and was twice
declared a Consumer Superbrand in 2007 and
in 2009. Readers Digest, too, has thrice
bestowed the Trusted Brand award on it.
History
In the 1960s Indian industry was subjected to
what is euphemistically referred to as the
Licence-Permit
Raj. This simply
meant that
entrepreneurs
had to take
permission
before starting
an industry.
Since the bigger
business houses
of that time had
already reserved
the more
lucrative
categories the
ones with low
interest were left for grabs. A chance visit to a
hospital in Madras now Chennai which
reportedly had to wait for more than one year
to obtain sanitary ware it had ordered, opened
a door of opportunity.
After visits to several manufacturers abroad,
Twyfords was chosen to be its joint venture
partner. Hindustan Twyfords Limited was born in
1962 and pioneered vitreous china ceramic
sanitary ware in India. Its first plant was
commissioned in the same year in Bahadurgarh.
Within three years, it had received the ISI mark,
established the standardised formulation and
had taken complete charge. The companys
name was changed to Hindustan Sanitaryware &
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Industries Limited.
As it expanded its
operations it sought
other areas of
interest. In 1981
it acquired
Associated Glass
Industries Limited (AGI) in
Hyderabad and in 1989 Krishna
Ceramics Limited at Bibinagar also
in Andhra Pradesh.
The 1990s were a period of
rapid up gradation. HSIL installed
Indias first state-of-the-art, open-
flame tunnel kiln imported from
the UK and launched its brand,
Hindware. The company soon
crossed Rs. 100 crore (now
US$ 22.20 million) in turnover and
gained recognition amongst Forbes
Global 100 Best Small and
Medium Companies. In 1999 it
acquired Raasi Ceramics in
Hyderabad and in the same year became an
ISO 9000 company and earned the EN ISO
14001 certification for environment
management systems.
In the 2000s, HSIL upped the tempo and
in quick succession entered into a strategic
partnership with Sanitec of Europe to bring
in their largest selling European brand,
Keramag, to India, received the OHSAS
18001 certification, developed sub-brands
in Hindware Italian Collection and
Hindware Art and Hindware and to
reflect its wider operations renamed itself
HSIL Limited.
Product
Brand Hindware offers the
largest range of sanitary
ware products in the
country. The huge success
this has met encouraged HSIL to enter
complementary categories such as
bath-fittings, wellness products and kitchen
appliances.
However, it is in its core segment of
sanitary ware that HSIL continues to reign
unimpeded. Its decision to create three
distinct categories has proven to be an
outstanding judgement of the market. While
Hindware Art, its high-end premium range and
Hindware Italian Collection, its range of fully
imported products drives its image, Hindware
itself a brand in the popular segment drives
its volumes.
The bath-fittings segment, too, has been
rejuvenated by HSILs entry. The company has a
range of fourteen different themes, supported
by three unique selling propositions: superior
casting which ensures a leak-free product; triple
coating to guarantee a long-lasting lustre and
very special cartridges, manufactured on
computer-aided machines, promises a
near-zero defect. The latest addition is the
LED showers range.
In the wellness product range, Hindware
offers multi-
function
enclosures and
spas and massage
tubs with pre-
fitted whirlpools.
The brand also
offers a wide
range of
ergonomically
designed bath tubs
in steel and acrylic
and shower
enclosures
with toughened
safety glass.
In the kitchen
segment, Hindware
offers a top-of-
the-line range of
sinks, built-in hoods and hobs, designer
chimneys, cooking ranges and built-in ovens.
Recent Developments
2010/11 marks HSILs golden jubilee. Almost
as though on cue, the company notched up
its highest ever turnover of Rs. 836 crore
(US$ 185.80
million) an
increase of
a stunning
29% over
the previous
year and
announced a
100% dividend.
With one
landmark having
been crossed, the company
viewed the beginning of the
next as another challenge to
be negotiated. In this pursuit
HSIL entered
the Rs. 9000
crore (US$ 2
billion) tile
market with a
range of top-
end floor- and
wall- tiles,
sourced from the most
respected manufacturers across
the world. This addition plugs a
long-pending breach in HSILs
business portfolio.
2010 also underscored
several other milestones. A
strategic investment in a green-
field container glass facility gave the company
control of 70% of the market in South India and
enhanced manufacturing capacity from 15,000
tonnes per annum (TPA) to 360,000 TPA. AGI
is, today, the countrys second largest container
glass manufacturer and counts most prestigious
brands from the pharmaceutical, beverages, and
liquor industries as its clients.
Another strategic acquisition was the
chrome-plated bathroom fittings division of
Havells that operated under
the Crabtree brand name,
which has recently been
re-branded and re-introduced
as Benelave.
The third acquisition was
Barwood Products of the UK.
This acquisition will pave the
way for HSIL to develop
global markets.
Promotion
HSILs promotion strategy has
been the result of feedback
generated from the field and
intense market studies.
Between them, the company is able to analyse
emerging trends and develop both products and
communications that would meet them. It is this
that has kept competition at bay and HSIL at a
distinct advantage.
The most recent evolution has emerged from
the take that increasingly washrooms are
becoming personal haunts and synonymous with
such modern lexicon as me-time and myspace.
These expressions have found voice in the
companys new positioning statement Get In,
Get Charged and in the exquisite new range
under its Italian Collection. The first, of course is
suggestive of an invitation and the second is the
perceived effect of acceptance.
Hindware communicates using all appropriate
media vehicles. Besides television, Hindware
targets young buyers through FM radio, the
internet and mobile marketing initiatives. These
complement its sustained print and out-of-home
presence. At the retail level the brand is
showcased and presented to consumers
through its chain of Hindware Lacasa outlets
supported across India by select Hindware
boutiques and Hindware arcades.
Brand Values
Several things drive HSIL Limited. The first is an
avowed responsibility towards its customers and
the second is its concern for the environment.
These have been addressed in the quality of the
products HSIL manufactures and in the green
processes that it has adopted at its plants.
www.hindwarehomes.com
57 BUSINESS SUPERBRANDS
HSIL manufactures five sanitary ware pieces
every minute; 310 every hour and 2.80 million
each year
Using advanced flushing technology, Hindware
bathroom products save 167,000 litres of water
per bathroom per year
Hindware Nano, its electronic water closet,
uses just 1.50 litres to flush
Hindwares range of intelligent urinals uses
microwave and infrared technology to minimise
water use
In 2010, the company introduced over 50 new
designs under its bathrooms, bath-fittings and
kitchen categories
HSIL can manufacture 953 million bottles per
annum with the capability of simultaneously
manufacturing 400 different products in three
colours
HSIL is the second largest manufacturer of glass
containers in India
Things you didnt know about
HSIL
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