Battle Royale in the Paint Aisle: Birla’s Big Bet Shakes Asian Paints’ Throne

Image Source: Linkedln

India's decorative paints industry is experiencing a seismic shift as Aditya Birla Group's Birla Opus mounts a fierce attack on Asian Paints' four-decade market leadership. Within a year of its launch, Birla Opus has quickly established a strong presence, disturbing the ₹80,000 crore industry and compelling Asian Paints to change its approach.

Key Highlights:

Market Share Shakeup: The market share of Asian Paints has declined from 59% to 52% over one year, as Birla Opus captured a high single-digit share. Channel checks confirm Birla Opus increased by 350 basis points over the first nine months of this fiscal year alone, targeting 6–8% by March.
Aggressive Pricing and Dealer Strategy: Birla Opus underprICES the competition by 3–10% and provides dealers with margins of 10–12% (vs. Asian Paints' 4–5%). This has resulted in aggressive dealer onboarding, with Birla Opus reaching 6,000 towns through 50,000 dealers.
Capacity and Innovation: With an investment of ₹10,000 crore, Birla Opus is creating a production capacity of 1.3 million kilolitres over six plants, almost equal to Asian Paints' 1.7 million. Innovative dealer incentives, free tinting machines, and its wall care putty network leverage are driving market penetration.
Asian Paints' Countermeasures: Asian Paints is retaliating with new product launches, improved dealer incentives, and greater marketing, but is under margin and sales pressure.
Industry Impact: The intense rivalry is working to the advantage of consumers in the form of improved prices and services, with market analysts envisioning a fast-changing market environment.