H&R Johnson (India) is planning to
ramp up its retail footprint in Tamil Nadu by Establishing consumer experience
zones across the State. These consumer experience zones will take the from of
shop-in-shop retail with three key modules branded as Johnson Arena. Johnson
Class and Johnson Exclusive.
The
company is setting up these consumer experience zones across the country with
plans to set-up more than 300 experience zones over the next two to three
years. Out of these nearly 150 will be set-up in South India. Tamil Nadu will
account for nearly half of the planned stores in South. H&R Johnson (India)
focuses on driving penetration in Tier 2 & 3 markets through its retail
expansion.
Commenting
on the consumer experience zones being set-up the company in Tamil Nadu, Mr B
Jagannathan, Senior General Manager – South 2 & 3 said, “The customer
experience zones we are setting up is the thrust we put on customer experience
as the core of our marketing activities. Through these retail customer
experience zones we will focus on providing a wholesome brand experience to the
customer tarher than just selling products.
Today’s
consumers are clear that they expect a
personalized customer experience. They want this personalized experience across
every element of the product mix and at every layer of the decision making
process. Moreover, they want these experience to be driven by their product,
channel and frequency preferences. Out retail expansion is in line with this
customer need.”
H&R
Johnson (India)’s plans to scale up retail footprint through its consumer
experience zones is in adding to the modern retail stores it operates 54 modern
retail stores. The large format retail stores are called House of Johnson while
the smaller format modern retail stores are called Johnson Corners.
The
company plans to expand the footprint of House of Johnson stores to over 20
stores during the current fiscal. The modern retail footprint is spread across
Metros as well as Tier 2 cities.
The
company has also undertaken technical upgrade at its manufacturing units in
Karaikal near Tamil Nadu as well as its Silica technical upgrade, the Karaikal
unit commenced commercial production of Digital wall tiles.
The
digital wall tiles being rolled out from the unit are branded as DigiStyle. These
are special collections aimed for the discerning choice of the South Indian
customer. The technical upgrade a Silica JV will ensures that the company can
reproduce designs on Johnson’s Marbonite Slabs through the digital printing
technology.
H&R
Johnson has implemented a capex of Rs 400 crores to build capabilities across
its business verticals. It has already invested Rs. 225 crore to increase the
vitrified manufacturing capacity at its Silica JV unit in Andra Pradesh. It has
set-up its second bathroom product manufacturing unit in J&K.
With
this unit, the overall investments in the bathroom product & accessories
business have crossed Rs 40 crores. The company has also invested nearly Rs 50
crore in setting up its new unit to manufacture engineered marble & quartz.
Post
these investments, at peak capacity utilization the Silica JV unit will
potentially contribute nearly Rs 300 crore; the two bathroom products units
will jointly contribute Rs 100 crore and the Engineered Marble & Quartz
business will add Rs 150 crore to the company’s overall topline. The funding of
this capex is made through a combination of debt and internal accruals.
About
H&R Johnson (India): Established in 1958, H&R Jonson (India) is the
pioneer of ceramic tiles in India. Over the past five decades, HRJ has added
various product categories to offer complete solutions to its customers. Today,
HRJ enjoys the reputation of being the only entity in India to offer end-to-end
solutions of Tiles, Sanitary ware, Bath Fittings and Kitchens.
HRJ
along with its Joint Ventures and subsidiaries has a capacity of over 51
million m2 per annum spread at its manufacturing plants across the country.
Under its flagship brand, Johason, HRJ offers glazed wall and floor tiles, bath
products, kitchens, laminate / engineered wooden flooring, and engineered
marble and quartz.
Johnson’s
Marbonite brand offers a complete range of vitrified tiles (polished and
glazed) and Johnson’s Endura offers industrial tiles and tiles for soecial
applications like bathrooms / high traffic areas / swimming pools etc. During
the fiscal year-ended 31st March 2012, H&R Johnson’s gross
revenues crossed Rs. 1729 crores with total sales volume crossing over 46
million Square meters.
Its
pan-India distribution network is one of the largest in the industry and
comprises of over 54 modern retail stores called House of Johnson & Johnson
Corners besides 1200 dealers, 15000 sub-dealers and a large network of retail
franchisees.
