Today, India is said to be the third largest consumer of ceramic/vitrified tiles in the world, with a ₹26,500 crore market (comprising both organised and unorganised players). Perhaps it is only fitting that the most certified ceramic tile company in the world should be an Indian company — Kajaria Ceramics!
It is also India’s largest, and the world’s ninth largest manufacturer of ceramic and vitrified tiles. It was launched in 1985 by Ashok Kajaria in collaboration with Todagres of Spain (for transfer of technical know-how, training and assistance in setting up its plant). It was incorporated at Kanpur the same year.
In 1988, the company set up its first plant at Sikandarabad in Uttar Pradesh.
Thereafter, it witnessed steady growth, taking the organic route to success, gradually increasing the number of plants and their capacity over the years. Ashok Kajaria’s sons joined him in the business in 1999. Around the same time, recognising the shift in consumer preference from ceramic to vitrified tiles, Kajaria started importing vitrified tiles from countries like China, Italy and Spain and later, it expanded its production capacity to meet the domestic demand.
Made in India
Today, Kajaria has eight plants: one at Sikandarabad in Uttar Pradesh, one at Gailpur and another at Malootana (both in Rajasthan), four in Gujarat and one at Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh (AP). A new plant is coming up at Tirupati, also in AP. These plants fulfil all international standards and are heavily automated, thus eliminating the possibility of human error.
After growing organically, the company went in for inorganic growth, mainly to augment its capacity and enter the semi-urban markets. Starting with Soriso Ceramic Private Limited (at Morbi, Gujarat) in 2011, Kajaria went on to acquire a major stake in more companies — Jaxx Vitrified Pvt. Ltd. (Morbi), Cosa Ceramics (Morbi), Vennar Ceramics Pvt. Ltd. (Vijayawada) and Floera Ceramics Pvt. Ltd. (Rajahmundry, AP).
Today, the company claims that 98 per cent of its products are manufactured within India; only 2 per cent are imported.
Diverse offerings
The company’s name has become synonymous with quality and innovation. Its products are examples of creativity and exclusivity. Apart from ceramic wall and floor tiles, polished vitrified tiles, glazed vitrified tiles (Eternity) and digital tiles (tiles on which any design can be printed using digital printing technology; a first-of-its kind in India), the company manufactures sanitaryware and faucets under the brand name Kerovit.
It offers about 2,000 options in tiles, with new patterns and designs and variants on existing ones being introduced almost every day. A variety of sizes are on offer alongside different finishes like glossy, super glossy, non-slip gloss, polished, matt, satin matt, metallic, wood, rustic, sugar hone, Spanish design and the like.
Kajaria’s focus on tier-2 and tier-3 cities gave it a first-mover advantage, which was augmented by its strong, multi-layered distribution network of more than 10,000 dealers and sub-dealers across India. These provide able support to the offices that also double up as display centres for Kajaria products.
Feedback from the customer is given special attention, which is the reason the company has invested heavily in its network of classy display centres/showrooms — Kajaria: World, Galaxy, Star, Prima and Studio — to attract retail customers. These outlets display not just tile samples but also mock-ups of bathrooms and kitchens using various combinations of tiles. This allows the customer to experiment and make choices, which then form the plank for creating future designs, sizes and patterns.
This is where the company scores over other tile firms, as retail sales (both for new houses and renovation of existing ones) reportedly account for a huge volume of total sales.
Adapting to changing times
Kajaria Ceramics has always believed in brand building — emphasising the fact that it is ‘Indian’ first and foremost, and a business only later. It has advertised heavily in print and on TV to create visibility for its brand. Film actors Akshay Kumar and Anushka Sharma are its brand ambassadors. Its latest ad, the ‘ Desh ki mitti ’ campaign — which focussed more on the ‘Make in India’ concept than on the brand — attracted a lot of eyeballs. The company also regularly participates in exhibitions and trade shows to ensure brand recall. Its interactive Twitter and Facebook presence has made it instantly recognisable among the youth.
The tile industry is set to grow but factors such as rising fuel prices, limited availability of natural gas and raw materials like clay, increasing competition from the unorganised sector and cheap Chinese imports are a matter of concern. Kajaria handled the first problem by replacing high-cost fuel propane with natural gas at its Gailpur plant in Rajasthan. Competition from the unorganised sector, which has never been very serious, has been nullified by offering premium products. The implementation of GST has also helped. Since the anti-dumping duty was introduced by the government, cheap, low-quality Chinese products are no longer in the fray.
The company’s turnover in 2017 was about ₹2,500 crore (Kerala accounted for around 15 per cent of the business, that is ₹400 crore). Hopes are high that 2018 will see even better results. Future growth prospects too remain optimistic because of the growth of nuclear families, the spike in disposable incomes, the opening up of rural and semi-urban markets and government initiatives such as the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan, Housing for All by 2022 (affordable housing) and Smart City Mission, among others.
It exports its products to more than 30 countries, including Canada, the US, New Zealand, Australia, the UK, France, Spain, Germany, UAE, Maldives and Mauritius.
Certifications and awards
To support the ‘Most certified ceramic tile company in the world’ tag, Kajaria Ceramics is India’s first tile company with the ISO-9001:2008 (Quality Management); OHSAS-1001 (Occupational Health & Safety Management); SA-8000 (For the development, maintenance and application of Socially Acceptable practices in the workplace); ISO-14001 (Environmental Management); ISO-22000:2005 (Food Safety Management); and ISO-50001:2011(Energy Management) certifications.
The company has won a slew of awards including the prestigious Superbrand Award for 10 years in a row (it is the only ceramic tile company in India to achieve this honour); the Capexil Special Export Award five times; Asia’s ‘Most Promising Brand 2017’ award in the Premium Tiles category; and the President’s award for the maximum exports in the industry. It is positioned 184th in the list of India’s top 500 organisations.
Kajaria Ceramics is a member of the Indian Green Building Council, which means that it uses eco-friendly manufacturing processes. This includes the use of local transportation, the use of packaging (like shrink wrapping) that minimises loss in transportation, and recycling procedures to reduce environmental impact.
The company’s CSR activities include provision of preventive healthcare and construction of sanitation facilities in schools in the vicinity of its factories. It has also donated generously to educational trusts and for promotion of sports activities.