...A very good evening to all of you. I think it's a pleasure to see, all of, you know, a lot of you physically. I think, most of the times we have been on calls and so on, so forth. So I think, good time to really interact and have a conversation with all of you. Today, we are looking at, the Q4 results, which have, which we've announced today, and, along with that, looking at the FY 2024 in terms of how does the year stand by. Take you through a small presentation. You're all familiar with the fact that, we started our journey way back in 1942, and, today we are very clear that we exist to beautify, preserve, transform all spaces and objects, bringing happiness to the world.
So the whole area of bringing joy and happiness to people's lives is a strong area as a core value of the brand, which we kind of really pursue quite strongly all across our initiatives in terms of what we take. A small disclaimer, which you are all aware. Coming to numbers, if you look at the numbers, obviously this quarter was a little bit slow from the point of view of overall value delivery in terms of what you're seeing.
But we've still seen a very, very strong volume growth of double digits, which have come in, which was the promise I made last quarter as I was presenting, saying that we will look at double-digit volume growths to kind of come in, which is something which we have maintained over a period of time, very, very strongly to that extent. However, you are aware of the fact that we've taken a total price decrease of about close to about 3.7%, which impacted literally the volume-value gap that you have been traditionally seeing between the volume and value numbers to that extent. And therefore, the overall value was a little bit depressed below the base at -1.8% in terms of what is there.
Overall, for the financial year, if we look at it, the value growth was closer to about 3% in terms of what we registered, with a volume growth of 9% coming in. Both from a point of view of Q4 as well as a point of view of FY 2024, if you look at the CAGR numbers, over the last about four years, they have been very, very strong in terms of high double-digit numbers, in terms of what you see. And that is something which we have been pursuing, which kind of gives you an idea of the kind of growth which we have been pursuing over the years in terms of what we have kind of resulted in.
So I think that's the overall area in terms of looking at how overall the top line has translated in terms of both Q4 and FY 2024, in terms of what it is. The industrial business, as you are aware, for the last three years, has been doing very, very strong. And our both the industrial JVs which are there, both the APPPG and the PPGAP, which is the joint venture with PPG of U.S., have been, you know, really performing very strongly. If you look at the growths which come in along with the trajectory of the industrial sales as well, to that extent, the industrial sales by itself has really grown very, very strongly, as I said, in terms of both volume and value to that extent.
Today for Q4, if we take those numbers, the value trajectory from that -1.8 comes down to about -0.7, to that extent. And for the FY 2024, the growth rates go from about 3% to about 4%. Overall, the volume growth goes up to about 10% on an annualized level to that extent. So I think it is important, yes, while we see Q4, but the important part is to kind of look at the full year, because quarterly there have been some variations in terms of what we see.
But the important point is that, you've still kind of registered a total double-digit growth in terms of for the entire year coming in strongly, and the value possibly is a little bit depressed because of the 3.6%, kind of a price decrease in terms of what I have indicated to you. With a little bit of downtrading in terms of what has happened, especially in Q4 to that extent.
When we look at this chart, and some of you who have been tracking are familiar with the fact that over the last, you know, almost, you know, eight, nine quarters, 12 quarters, literally, to that extent, if you see the trajectory on the double-digit volume growth has been a very, very strong story, which we have been kind of talking to you every time when we kind of meet and speak about overall of our growth rates. We feel that the volume trajectory kind of gives us a boost in terms of looking at more from the point of view of saying that this is something which is a strong, sustainable business, which is happening quarter on quarter, which kind of comes in.
The numbers are very, very clear that from a compounded average growth rate level, the double-digit numbers are on higher digit levels to that extent, especially if you look at on quarter four, the number is even higher than the normal 15, 16% in terms of what we want, what we really speak of. That's the story in terms of the trajectory, in terms of how we overall see, in terms of the growth, how it pans out. Some highlights in terms of what we see, what has happened to this thing.
While I think, there has been lot been said about the rural markets, so to say, and the rural markets kind of coming back and so on, so forth, we find that, for us, I think the urban centers grew a tad faster than the rural markets. But the difference is not too much in terms of what we see, in terms of how the performance has been to that extent. And therefore, I think our concentration and focus has been on both the side of the markets to that extent. In fact, we see now, in April itself, that there is some more resurgence happening in terms of the rural markets to that extent, which is a good sign and a positive sign in terms of what we are kind of seeing.
If you look at the product mix, yes, the product mix has got affected a little, especially in terms of the overall Q4 to that extent. But if you speak about the entire year, I think two segments where we have gained strongly is, one is the eco, which is the economy smart end of the market, which is there, which is a strong area of growth, which has come in for us, and that itself is a higher contribution in terms of the overall market also, which is there. The second area which has been done well is the luxury set of market, where the luxury products have done well overall to that extent.
But the premium market, which is also a part of the overall thing, has been a little bit slow for us to that extent, and that is something which we have seen that there is possibly some kind of a downgrading which is happening, especially in rural centers, prima facie, in terms of the people going from premium to economy segment overall to that extent. But I must remind you that if you look at the overall structure, you know, the economy market is close to still about, you know, 70% of the total market in terms of what we see.
In both the markets, whether it is eco, premium or luxury, you know, today Asian Paints talks of a stronger share in terms of what we have in all the 3 areas, as we kind of go forward. If you look at from the point of view of distribution, that has been, I think, the very strong strength which Asian Paints has always been driving. Today we feel that in the last about 3 years, we have been able to drive almost about additionally about 72-45 thousand retail points, which are there.
In the current year itself also, there is a very big push in terms of looking at almost about 10,000 retail points more, taking our tally to more than about 163,000 retail points, which is significantly much, much over, almost, I would say, 4 times, 3-4 times any other competitor which is there to that extent, which gives us a very strong, you know, sense of representation across the large tracts of country. And this is something which is comparable to possibly, you know, any large FMCG player as well to that extent. So therefore, I think this is something which has been a strength, and this is something which we feel is a very, very strong support to us, which happens.
We also feel that over a period of time, we have seen that this kind of network also keeps on growing very well for us over a period of time. When you look at the projects, which is the B2B business, that also has been a fairly strong story over a period of time in terms of what we have seen. In Q4 specifically, we felt that there was a little bit of a slowdown, more from the point of view of the government business slowing down because of the impending election code kind of striking into that extent. Therefore, a little bit of a slowdown in terms of what we see, especially in the latter half of half of February and March to that extent.
We feel that possibly this is some postponement of you know demand which is taking place, which would kind of keep coming you know kicking in like in June and July as we kind of go forward to that extent. Overall, I think waterproofing business, which is the brand SmartCare, it's been a hallmark 8 years back when we launched the product, and today we speak of being number one in the retail market in terms of our overall presence across the various regions across the country. Today, the entire range is represented by almost about more than 280 products, which are all indigenously developed by us through our technology.
So I think this is a big, very big area, and the projects area has really kind of prospered because of this, because now you're talking of admixtures which become at the foundation of a building. So you can just imagine that in a B2B business, you are right there at the foundation to the top coats to that extent, and therefore, the full area is something which we cover very, very strongly with our admixtures, membranes, repair chemicals and construction chemicals, which kind of come in as part of the total range. The whole area of innovation has been a strong story of at the backbone in Asian Paints. And today, if you look at, we've almost got more than 126 patents, which have come in over the last about six years.
Out of these patents, you know, almost 60 have been granted to us and, more than about 30 patents have been commercialized. Now, that's the strength which the, the brand brings onto the table in terms of looking at patenting not only the products, but also the process in terms of manufacturing, which gives us a little bit of... in terms of that, you know, difficult for any competition to really ape the products as you kind of go forward to that extent. And today, new products form a sizable part of our overall revenue, almost about getting to 11%-12% of the top line to that extent, which comes in, which is a very strong story in terms of going forward, because it puts excitement in the market.
It also gives higher profitability to the network as we kind of speak of going forward. You're aware we have announced some of these investments some time back. Just to kind of give you an update in terms of where we are. With respect to our greenfield venture in Madhya Pradesh, which we announced some time back, we are talking of a 4 lakh per annum kind of a capacity, which again, would be one of the biggest globally in terms of what would be there, fully automated plants which should come in.
We have done the land acquisition in terms of what is there and the statutory approvals on environment are WIP, and we think we should kind of complete this project by 2028 in terms of what is required, and that would kind of really be a surge in capacity in terms of what will come in. We had initiated a lot of brownfield projects which are there in terms of our existing plants, which are there in Kasna and Khandala and Ankleshwar, Mysuru, and that has given us a good lift of about 17, you know, almost about 17 lakh KL to about 22.7 lakh KL, kind of a capacity boost, which would happen. And out of this, you know, Kasna and Khandala is something which we have completed.
Ankleshwar and Mysuru are underway, and we should be able to kind of complete that in this year as you kind of go ahead to that extent. So overall, the capacity really kind of surges in a big way in terms of this thing. Our backward integration initiatives are also online. The white cement plant in Fujairah in Dubai is something which is online, and we should be able to kind of really commission the plant early next year in terms of where we are to that extent. Today, the machinery has been ordered and everything is in, the pace is right in terms of where we are kind of proceeding with the entire white cement facility which is there. The VAM-VAE plant, again, is something which you would have seen.
We announced our partnership with BPCL in terms of looking at the ethylene supply, which will kind of come in. It's something which is again on track, and we are looking at again you know the year 2026 in terms of when you should kind of look at in terms of getting that also kick-off done in terms of this thing, which would kind of give us a very very strong capability from a point of view of offering you know environment-friendly emulsion, which would be available at almost the lowest price to which is compared to any other player in India to that extent.
So I think that's something which is a strong initiative, which, you know, we are kind of doing in terms of all our CapEx, capital expenditure, which we have kind of announced. The one big announcement which we did was that we are looking at now revolutionizing the bottom of the pyramid. We still feel that the bottom of the pyramid is a very, very huge market, almost about INR 5,000 crore in terms of what we estimate that market to be. It is something which we have a product called distemper, as you are aware, and there are some low-cost emulsions there. We have come out with this new, absolutely, strong technology, which is called the Latex technology, which comes from our stable. To that extent, it's a new platform.
It's a new technology, absolutely, which comes in, which offers the capability of, for the first time offering, you know, a product at the cost of the distemper, which is much, much better from a point of view of durability, coverage, everything, and price has been matched to the distemper product, strongly. And I think, this is something which we launched in January of 2024, and we are seeing volumes really building up and very strong kind of growth happening, which is kind of boosting the whole economy set in a very, very big way in terms of what's coming in. And this is a kind of revolution, because this kind of really actually gives us the whole area of saying, of bringing, joy and happiness to every home as we kind of see it to that extent.
And therefore, this is something which we are talking very strongly, which will have impact both on some of the urban centers, but more strongly on all the rural centers, which will kind of come in to that extent. So that's a very big launch, and because it is so big, we thought that it kind of really needs someone with stature, someone with a lot of respect, someone who's possibly grown on his own kind of work perseverance in terms of what is there. And therefore, we've taken Virat Kohli as the brand ambassador, who has kind of really come on to this table to kind of look at the overall Asian Paints brand. But first of all, we are kind of really leveraging him from the point of view of this Neo Bharat .
And the whole proposition here is of Har Ghar Khelega, Har Ghar Khilega. So basically, every house is going to play with this, and every house is going to bloom as we kind of go forward in terms of this kind of proposition which comes in. And not only this, we have kind of really given a very big kind of, you know, incentive in the market in terms of looking at promoting, you know, kids across a lot of households who could kind of really be selected as part of the cricket scholarship, which we are offering.
So almost about 200 kids will be selected, and we are talking on the expenditure of INR 2 lakh per kid, at least, which would kind of come in, and that's the larger part of the brand in terms of what will play. But that's the impact in terms of what we want to kind of do over a period of time, in terms of looking at really taking on the large area of the bottom of the pyramid in terms of taking. And I think it should kind of really give us a boost from the unorganized sector as well, which is there. So the idea is that basically, as a leader, you keep on expanding the market, okay?
That's where the play is to that extent in terms of going forward. Along with that, I think the innovation really continues in terms of what we keep on doing around the festivals, what we keep on doing around our, you know, initiatives to kind of democratize art overall across the country to that extent. And we have seen that, you know, the whole area of the propensity of a person to buy Asian Paints is something which we have been able to kind of increase, given the, work which we do around with the brand to that extent. And that is a story which we keep on kind of continuing, whether it is innovative, packaging, whether it is innovative ads which we bring onto the table.
But more importantly, I think, what we have done is that the whole area of Beautiful Homes Painting Service , which is a very, very large service for us now, I think it has really bloomed us for us. It is globally now the largest painting service, which is offered by any brand whatsoever, and it is literally growing at the rate of about 70%-80% for us year-on-year to that extent. It's a sizable kind of zone, which comes with a very, very strong NPS, which is what we call the service parameter of almost about 77% in terms of what we offer.
So I think it's a very valuable property, it's something which is growing, and it's something which kind of aids the consumer in terms of getting the best painting experience overall to that extent, in terms of what they can manage. Along with that, I think a host of initiatives which are there around taking the stakeholders, so whether it be the painter, contractor, or it is being an architect, designer, and so on, so forth, I think that is something which we have kind of worked strongly. We have now about 23 Colour Academies across the country, and last year trained about 680,000 painters, plumbers, carpenters across that, upskilling their levels and increasing their livelihood in a very strong manner.
This year, we are literally homing in terms of going to about 8-9 lakh kind of training centers, training numbers, which would kind of really give us a very, very strong pan-India kind of penetration in terms of this community, which is working around us and strongly kind of aiding the overall product growth. So that's, I think, some of the work which is around the brand in terms of what's happening, in terms of what you see. Important part, as I spoke of the A&IDs, we speak of this whole parameter of, you know, color and material intelligence.
We have a property called the ColourNext, in terms of what we speak of, and this has been started in 2003, and more than two decades of work around in this area, which has kind of propelled us in terms of really aligning with the best of the architect designers across the various towns in the country to that extent. Which kind of gives you a very big flavor of the recommendation of Asian Paints as a brand first, which kind of comes in from all the designers to that extent. I think this is an area which kind of propels the premium and the luxury end of the market in a very strong manner, because the sites which the designers do are possibly more the medium to luxury kind of sites, which kind of come into that extent.
That's a big propellant for our premium to luxury kind of finishes in terms of what we work. I can just tell you this, that there is no other competitor who would kind of do this kind of work, which is happening with the A&IDs to that extent. I think this is a big boost in terms of what we look at in terms of going forward. Just coming quickly to the home décor business, and I think this is something which we have been discussing. This has been a strong area of passion and growth in terms of what we have been pursuing overall.
So if you look at, I think the last three to four years in terms of the energy which has been put in, it has resulted in making us the number one integrated home decor player. When I say integrated home decor player, today, this industry is really diversified with a lot of smaller players across various regions and very less national players which are there. To that extent, we have kind of really brought everything together. Now, we talk of 60, you know, BH stores, which is the Beautiful Homes stores across the country, and we are expanding these stores fairly rapidly in terms of our overall foray.
The stores are almost growing at almost about 50%-60% in terms of their existing, and they offer categories which are all across, whether it is fabric, whether it is furnishing, whether it is furniture, lighting, bath, kitchen, so you name it, flooring, everything is something which is subsumed under that. And these stores are phygital stores, which is physical to the digital stores. Doing very well, but if you look at the other categories, whether it is the whole area of decorative lighting, we are number one there in terms of which comes in. Or you look at the area of fabrics, which are our clothes, we are a strong number two, which comes in there. Our Nilaya, our wall coverings and textures, we are number one there.
We have aligned strongly, as you know, with Sabyasachi and Sarita Handa and Jaipur Rugs and lots of other brands to kind of bring in the best to the customer. And I think this is something which we feel is a strong foray. And one thing which we are finding is that, you know, retailers who are kind of getting into this BH kind of a framework are growing much faster in the coatings business as well. So it has a clear correlation in terms of completing the product for the customer. And therefore, the largest strategy is that can we be part of the, you know, the home decor cycle of the customers, so that we are able to kind of assist them, not only from the point of view of painting, but also renovating and making new homes really come alive.
So I think that's the foray, which is doing fairly well to that extent. Kitchen and bath has not done well, to be upfront with you. Quarter four has been down, and the full year, you have seen that, the business has not done well overall. To that extent, I think Bath, our share in the market is very, very small at the moment to that extent, and therefore, we face some headwinds in terms of the demand being on a very low side, and to that extent, also the pressure comes in both from the unorganized segment as well as from the organized players to that extent. And therefore, that is a business which we need to kind of really pick up and work strongly in terms of really taking it ahead.
Kitchen was okay, but not so great in terms of what we see overall for the year. The thing is negative, but the good part is in Q4, we have still registered positive numbers in terms of the overall revenue, in terms of what we see. You are aware that we are talking of now looking at bath and kitchen becoming integral with the Asian Paints business, so that we can really talk of the same service standard, same servicing, everything. And therefore, the merging is kind of giving us a big stroke for next year in terms of what we want to kind of do, both with kitchen and bath, so that we are able to kind of really take this business and make it big as part of our overall decor initiative in terms of which is there.
Both White Teak and the Weatherseal, which is the uPVC doors, windows business, again, those businesses in Q4 have done well in terms of top line. For the full year also, if you see, the numbers are fairly strong in terms of what we are doing to that extent, and as I said, in decorative lighting, we are number one to that extent. And therefore, I think these business will continue to grow with us in terms of the way. The idea here is to kind of really make these businesses large, spread it across the country, use the muscle of our distribution to see that we are able to kind of really look at this going places as we kind of go ahead in the market to that extent.
Really become the, you know, the number one national players in terms of operating in both those areas as we kind of go ahead. So that's the lighting and the uPVC business for you. As I said, we have a partnership with Sabyasachi, and we just launched our new edition of the Sabyasachi wallpapers, which are there, and this is something which is a fairly exciting part. These wallpapers are one of the most expensive wallpapers in the world in terms of what we see, in terms of what comes. Largely, they go up to INR 200-INR 500 per sq ft on a wall to that extent.
You can just imagine that a 10-by-10 wall would be almost about INR 1.5 lakh-INR 2 lakh kind of expenditure in terms of what you are putting into that extent. That's the whole area in terms of really upgrading and looking at making the product, the brand, very, very premium in terms of going where we have Nilaya as a brand to that extent. Global, this is the kind of representations we have all across. If you look at the overall business, you know, if I kind of see the overall business, yes, the business in terms of the overall numbers is negative when you look at the INR terms to that extent, -1% to that extent, in terms of how it kind of really looks.
Quarter four, four was still positive in terms of the numbers, which you take, take. But if you look at from a constant currency point of view, I think we are still good in terms of the overall growth, in terms of what we are registering. And if we take ex, you know, Asia numbers or ex-Nepal numbers, because Nepal has been a market which has been really suffering for the last about two years, and we are number one in the Nepal market to that extent. And that is why if I take net of Nepal, I think the growth are in double digits in terms of what we see for the global business to that extent. So, geographies, in terms of various geographies, Lanka is now back to that extent. Ethiopia, Egypt has started doing well.
The whole UAE market is doing well for us to that extent. But, this is something which we will continue to focus as we kind of go ahead from a point of view of our global business. I think, what we have seen last two, three years, the industrial market, has, become strong for us. Very, very good business kind of coming in. The kind of growth which we are seeing are also very strong. In Q4 itself, we saw one of the businesses, which is the, auto business, growing in double-digit numbers. The other business was also closer to the double-digit numbers, but for a, for the full year, if you see the both businesses have done extremely well in terms of the kind of, growth which we have got in terms of this thing.
Both businesses, in fact, are in double-digit numbers. The good part is that the profits are also very, very strong, which are coming in to that extent, and that is kind of giving us, a kind of, this thing that we are investing more and more in these businesses going forward in terms of propping up the industrial sales. So that is something which is adding, to our overall muscle in a very strong manner. Overall, when you look at from the point of view of overall gross margins, it's been a bright year, obviously, in terms of what we have had. The overall, gross margins have, in fact, gone up in terms of what you see from the last quarter and even from the point of view of last year overall to that extent.
It's a big increase in terms of what we are seeing vis-à-vis last year overall. Obviously, it is aided by in terms of some of the deflation which we have seen in terms of the raw material prices, but a strong part has been also the work on sourcing and formulation efficiencies, which we have been kind of putting in, combined, giving us this kind of overall gross margin improvement overall in terms of what we see in terms of the market. In a nutshell, when I look at from a summary point of view, overall, when we look at quarter four, as I said earlier, the top line in terms of value is, you know, at about a minus 2%. But, if you take the industrial sales, it comes down to almost at base.
In terms of volume, it is double-digit, in terms of where it comes into about 10%. Overall, numbers on PBDIT, PBT has been weaker, given the value sales have not kind of come in in quarter four to that extent. But I think on the whole, it is important to kind of look at the entire FY 2024 standalone numbers, which clearly shows that, whether it is PBDIT, whether it is PBT, PAT, in all cases vis-à-vis last year, the overall margin improvement has happened, strongly in terms of what we've been able to kind of do. And even in terms of the top line, the 10% top line from volume point of view remains.
The value is about 3% after that 3.6% price decrease in terms of what I spoke of to that extent. So overall, I think, gross margins improvement, PBDIT margin improvement vis-à-vis last year in terms of the full year, in terms of what we are seeing very, very strongly. Obviously, in Q4, the PBDIT margins have come down, vis-à-vis the last year and both sequentially to that extent. But that is more because of the fact that we've seen the value sales not really coming in to that extent, which has impacted the PBDIT margins to some extent in terms of the quarter four.
But overall, I think the picture looks very healthy from the overall financial year 2024 point of view in terms of all the margins kind of going up for us and really kind of the profits being strong in terms of how it has resulted. Similarly, I think the consolidated numbers are similar to that extent. In fact, if you look at from a Q4 point of view, the consolidated PAT is up in terms of how it kind of really looks at. Even the top line is about -1% to that extent. In terms of the FY 2024, the numbers are similar. The PAT is almost up by 32%. The PBDIT margins are up from last year, almost about 220 basis points to that extent.
And similarly, in Consol, the as you compare for Q4, the PBDIT margins are lower, both from last year and sequentially to that extent. So I think that's the picture in terms of what comes in. Still a very, very strong year, I would say, given the conditions in the market, and to kind of log in about a double-digit number for the entire year is, I think, a strong performance coming with strong PBDIT margin improvements overall is the story which comes in. So that's the overall financials for here, for you.
We declared a 60%, kind of, payout dividend, which in terms of absolute value is much, much higher in terms of what we are kind of looking at giving, and that's been the story, which is strong in terms of the dividend percentage and how been rewarding the shareholders with this kind of a performance which comes in. And obviously, now, the moot question which all of you are kind of looking forward to hearing is that what's next? What's coming in? How is the next year kind of looking into that extent? As we enter into the next year, obviously, I think this year there has been a little bit of this blip because of elections, the heat wave and so on and so forth, what is there. But we have started seeing some now movement in the market.
In fact, the rural markets are now responding much better, as we see in the month of April and the starting of May. As of now we see it to that extent. So we are still positive on the overall quarter in terms of how it would go, in terms of looking at it and looking at really aiming for still strong double-digit volume growth for the quarter going forward to that extent. And also for the year in terms of we are pretty, looking pretty strong because two, three factors which are coming across. One, I think the monsoon prediction still now has been good, which kind of is always a strong area of improving the sentiment, which kind of comes in both from the point of view of rural markets to that extent, and that is something which we are hoping.
Second, we have a decent Diwali period, the festival period, which is kind of coming to that extent, which would kind of aid both Q2 and Q3 to that extent for us in terms of going forward. So that's another kind of positive in terms of what we are seeing. We are also seeing a little bit of a deferred demand from, you know, Q4, which is now going to come both in retail and the B2B business to some extent, and that is something which is there. We also see a resurgence with respect to the B2B business, which will happen in terms of the government continuing to spend money with respect to their development areas, the infrastructure areas to that extent. And these are very, very strong areas which is there.
Even in industrial, we see both the industrial, protective, paint market as well as the auto market continue to grow as we kind of see auto players build up their builds and newer players kind of entering with newer models and so on and so forth. The whole electric car revolution is also kind of becoming strong. So we think, I think, industrial business would kind of continue to go, this thing. On, international, we are a little bit, this thing on Asia, because, I don't think so we are seeing too much recovery in Nepal to that extent, but we are still buoyant in terms of the overall, UAE business, which is there, Ethiopia, Lanka, and some of the other kind of countries which are there. So therefore, I think that market is strong.
The decor market is something which we will continue to focus, and that's a very strong area of focus. We feel that in one of the big focus which we are taking is the bath and the kitchen business in terms of what we want to kind of put it back on a growth trajectory as we kind of go forward. Overall, I think fairly strong in terms of the next year, fairly optimistic about in terms of where we are and the promise of volume growth still remains intact in terms of what we want to kind of put in. ESG, again, very strong kind of commitment and as a leader is something which we are setting new trends here.
So whether it is from the point of view of looking at product stewardship in terms of the environment, or looking at the whole governance standards in terms of what we spoke of, or the whole area of social in terms of building a certain safety culture, building and energizing people around it, I think that's a big area in terms of what we are kind of looking. If you look at the kind of commitments which we are looking going forward till 2030, are very, very strong in terms of what we are putting upfront as numbers going forward to that extent, and this is kind of reflected in the kind of work which we are doing.
We are almost looking forward to a scenario where today Asian puts up a, Asian Paints puts up a new plant and we don't require water, we don't require electricity, we would require only land, okay? And if land was available in Meta, we would put a plant in the Meta world to that extent. So that's something which we kind of look at strongly in terms of our commitment to sustainability and green as we go forward. Democratizing art, as we kind of look at going ahead and bringing joy and happiness to all your lives. Thank you. Great. So we have... Okay.
Thanks.
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Hi, sir. Good evening. This is, Mihir Shah from Nomura. Thank you for taking my question. So congrats on double-digit volume growth despite the high base. It's quite appreciable. So how should... You mentioned double-digit volume growth for FY 25 also, and in monthly also. But I just wanted to check, you know, how should one think about, you know, volumes? Can they accelerate from 10%+ levels to early to mid-teen levels? Especially, you know, for two reasons or few reasons, rather. One is that you are starting to cycle a moderate volume base, unlike last year. Second, rural recovery is quite ripe because of monsoons, et cetera. Third, this new launch about the NeoBharat that you've done, and tapping an untapped market versus earlier and increasing your total addressable market.
So, can volumes potentially be into 12-15+% range rather than being just about 10+% range?
See, obviously, you know, most of the points you mentioned are right because these are the movements which we are seeing, especially, I think, the rural uptick would be a very strong point in terms of what would come in. I think the whole area of, us, which we are talking of, Har Ghar Latex, almost is a very strong point in terms of what we want to bring to the table, in terms of looking at that segment, giving us very strong growths, which can come into that extent.
Apart from the fact that a whole lot of initiatives which are lined up from the point of view of both premium and luxury markets as well in terms of looking at it, because we would like to kind of really look at growth in those segments also coming very, very strongly as we kind of go ahead. So currently, I think obviously, while we are putting ourselves at double-digit, it's very difficult to say whether it will be just about double-digit or it would be in mid-teens to kind of say, but the endeavor obviously would be to kind of really take this and really see if we can explore the market as we kind of go forward in terms of all these initiatives.
I think the confidence which we are getting with respect to our new launch, which is NeoBharat , is very, very strong, and we will have to just see that how things augur well. And I think the real test would be possibly to that extent, the Q2, Q3 kind of quarters, which will come in, in terms of what will really establish and show us in terms of where are we headed, in terms of looking at going to that extent. If you remember that from a point of view of volume, always the CAGRs have been very, very strong. In fact, the CAGRs been in the area of about 14%-15% overall to that extent in the last four years. So the endeavor is definitely to kind of go towards that kind of a zone.
I think, what we are looking at underwriting definitely strongly, is that you should get into a double-digit volume growth next, definitely for next year.
... Got it. So one ancillary question to that is on the difference between the value and volumes. Given that the, you know, there's another very sharp equal to distemper price point launch, and rural also will probably can further deteriorate the mix. Should one revisit our assumptions on the difference between value, volume or the sales from primary and the other segments can take care of that, and mix may not deteriorate further from here on?
So, I think, like we have, while we have spoken of Neo Bharat very strongly, but, we have almost launched a lot of differentiated products in each category. We have a product called Ultima Protek, which is there in the premium segment, which is, by itself, a patented product in terms of what is there. And similarly, we have a Glitz, which is there in the luxury segment to that extent. So I think the amount of work which we are looking at to kind of do with all the stakeholders, looking at architects, designers, which I spoke of, the endeavor there is that, we should kind of really look at balancing the economic growth, which is coming with some good growth happening both in the premium and the luxury sector also.
So the entire effort and the endeavor would be that we balance the numbers, to some extent and kind of really operate still in that gap of about 5%-6% between value and volume, which has been possibly the area which we would like to kind of look at. I think this quarter has been a bit of an anomaly in terms of because of the price decrease, which has been taken to that extent. But I think going forward, we, we will kind of maintain that kind of a gap going forward in value and volume.
Got it. Thanks for that clarification, sir. So my second question is on margins. You know, despite a price cut, despite down trading, you know, witnessing in the quarter, your sequential gross margins were held up. You know, so you've done very well on that part as well. How should one think about gross margins going forward? Do you see that, margins can sustain at the current levels for some time? We understand the medium-term guidance that you had shared with us earlier, and I'm sure that you're not changing that. But maybe, you know, for the near term, for the next, four quarters of FY 25, can we sustain such margins that we are holding up currently? That's it, sir.
So obviously, I think, our guidance in terms of, both PBDIT margins and overall gross margins would remain the same in terms of what is there. We are not changing the guidance, going forward. But I think importantly, the PBDIT margin, maintaining it between that 18%-20% is very important for us in terms of what we will see in terms of our various initiatives. If we look at, the current, geopolitical situations are a little bit, worrying, and, the whole area of, crude kind of behaving slightly differently when we see in terms of up and down kind of a thing which is happening, would kind of decide in terms of what really happens to the overall gross margins to that extent, which is there.
But I think we will have to kind of react accordingly, depending on how the raw materials kind of behave in terms of their pricing as we kind of go into quarter two and quarter three to that extent. So that remains to be seen. But having said that, I think the commitment to kind of get the PBDIT margins maintaining in the same guidance range of 18%-20% remain.
Got it. So one quick bookkeeping question. Any one-offs in employee cost or other, other expenses in this quarter? And that's all from my side. Thank you very much. I'll come back in the queue for more.
So quarter four, we have increased our marketing spends, definitely, and that is something which we have consciously done in terms of a higher marketing spend, in terms of what we have taken. I think the whole area of brand building is something which is very close to us. We feel that the equity of the brand has to be really supported and has to be leveraged much more in terms of what is there, because that is something which will propel us both in the premium luxury segment and also kind of retain the kind of possibly, you know, recall or the consideration to buy, which people have for Asian Paints to that extent. So I think marketing spends, we have kind of upped the ante, and that, I think, will continue in quarter one and quarter two as well.
Hi, Amit. This is Amit Desai again from HSBC. Sir, I have two questions. First question I want to ask is that given that obviously new competition has finally come to our doors, and we have been anticipating it for a while. Now, question is, everybody interprets it differently. People in this room interpret it differently, you probably interpret it differently, and other participants in the paint industry would also have a view. So... And we may have a different view, right? So I just wanted to ask you that given initial pricing is in place, and I'm sure a lot of people who joined that company has come from the same ecosystem, and there's some familiarity and some unknowns.
But how you are reading the situation in terms of pricing, their aggression level, or signaling that you have put already in the marketplace, one should... Is it disruptive to you? Is it normal to you, or is it something that is still evolving and you want to watch out for? I just want your sort of initial reaction to it, because the bit of an event that which has already happened now, and we want your reaction to it.
According to me, one of the things is just, I would say, is just a copy-paste, which is happening in the market to that extent. There is nothing which is unusual. There is nothing, something which is innovative, which I see in terms of what is happening. Just because, one can put a pricing pressure or one can put, you know, a muscle in terms of looking at saying that I want to do a launch all across, I think it doesn't really impact the market because the market is pretty seasoned, and they've seen so many new players in the last two decades, which have kind of come and gone to that extent. But having said that, I think, it's too early to say anything in terms of really, because they've just kind of, come in and launched to that extent.
And as I said, all competition is welcome because I think it brings the best out of the existing players in terms of what we will do and how we can kind of take on to the market. And also, given the fact that as a leader, I think we believe that it is important to kind of really increase the overall pie rather than keep on fighting on the same pie to that extent. So I think, our objective is something which is very different, and therefore we are not really perturbed. We are not kind of really amazed by anything which has happened till now.
... Sure. Well, that's very helpful, sir. So, you know, I want to ask, I want to just push it a little bit more than obviously, what you are suggesting is that industry structure is likely to be rational, and the response from you is not gonna be anything unusual, rather than just a normal competitive response, typically in a cycle that happens. But I want to ask that, what sort of signaling industry has already given to them? Signaling by which your pricing decision that you have taken in the last two years. Has the industry conveyed to them that how you guys will think if they were to do XYZ? I just want to understand, what's the, what's the, what's the behavior shaping that has already happened? Is there some reading you get?
There's nothing which is shifting, first of all, because how we see the market is that the market operates on MRP less, okay? It doesn't operate on in terms of what is the discounted value to the dealer to that extent and therefore.
Sure.
And the idea is that today, in terms of Asian Paints, has been commanding premium market, at least 5%-10% in terms of the overall prices. We've had so many competitors who have come, who have priced themselves 10%, 15%, 20% lower to that extent. But I think the customer is very clear that when they are buying into a brand, they are buying into a trust, they are buying into an equity, they are buying into, something which is a warranty, which kind of comes in, and a quality to that extent. So currently, from even the pricing levels we see, actually, there is nothing which, the market is kind of seeing, because with vis-à-vis the existing players, they feel that the pricing is the same.
Got it. Well, that's very helpful, Amit. Thanks so much for that. The second bit I want to ask is a little bit of, you know, what my colleague has already asked in some way, but let me just try my luck again. I want to sort of understand the pricing outlook, as you see evolve, for the next year. Given where the input prices are, you already know them, and given where the demand environment is, and you have some hope that demand will pick up, in premium end, which is, not so sort of, you know, strong right now. But given where we are, do you see pricing to flat to like a zero, or it would still be deflationary? As is, assuming things are as is, as we stand.
See, currently what we see is that, you know, the crude has been going in a certain band. Some of the crude derivatives, like monomers and all, have shown some signs of pickup in terms of which is there to that extent in the market. But the key raw material, which is TiO2, which is something which is still stable in terms of the overall value. So I think for the coming quarter, we don't see any big kind of changes with respect to the raw material prices which will happen, and therefore, I think prices would remain benign. We don't see any disturbances which would happen in terms of price going forward.
I think as a strategy, what we are very clear that going forward, I think it is better to kind of really invest in terms of, taking the brand further into the equity and so on, so forth, rather than kind of putting pressure in the market in terms of pricing. Because that pricing is something which sometimes is never sustainable, because any competitor who wants to sell vis-à-vis you would always keep that gap, which is already there to that extent. I don't think so it really helps anyone in the industry to that extent.
We are very clear that today we are looking at more investing into the brand as we kind of go forward, unless there is a big change with respect to the geopolitical collapse happening in some geography of the world, which causes mayhem to that extent, which would kind of really mean that we would react accordingly in terms of seeing what has to be done on pricing.
Sure, sir. Can I just assume that, you know, pricing will not be deflationary with what you're just saying?
You can assume what I'm kind of saying from what is there, is that as I look at it from a Q1, we see that basically it will be benign in terms of what is there clearly. As we kind of go forward, I think we only expect some inflation to take place in terms of pricing.
Got it, sir. Thank you very much.
Hi, Tejas from Avendus Spark.
Hi.
Hi. Amit, as he, Amit, rightly said, that it has been the chapters of this competition has been unfolding gradually. So last two years, talent loyalty was put to test. In six months, perhaps customer loyalty will be put to test. And as we stand today, dealers' loyalty will be put to test. So just wanted to understand that, as the landfall is happening, as we speak now, of the competition, what is your understanding from past experiences also? How do you retain dealership, dealers' loyalty? And just, an additional point over here, the expansion that we have done on dealers from last three, four years, 10,000 dealers again this year.
One grievance that we are picking up in our channel check now is that the dealers are complaining about their territory getting smaller and smaller. So how should we think this paradox of, as at one point you want to expand distribution and then grievances are also now building up?
See, as I see it in terms of overall, some of these loyalties which you, you spoke of, I think it is too early. Some of them, we are already seeing fracturing happening there to that extent, okay? Even at this stage, to that extent. As a clear kind of strategy, Asian Paints has only used consumer as a very, very strong tool in terms of influencing the network, influencing the stakeholders which are involved to that extent. And today, we believe strongly that one of the big areas which kind of puts pressure on the network, on the influencers, is the consi- is the consumers' consideration to buy, okay? And that is something which we would kind of really put, heavy muscle in terms of ensuring that today, the mind share Asian Paints has-...
We would kind of continue to invest that we get that mind share, very clear to that extent. We feel that if you're able to work on the brand and with your supply chain efficiencies in terms of what you have put in, with the innovation which you kind of bring in terms of differentiation. I think today, the dealer loyalties are very difficult to shift to that extent, which is there to that extent, because dealer also kind of understands the environment, where they understands the pressures in terms of what comes in from a demand kind of a scenario to that extent. As I said, that therefore, it is difficult to kind of go and change the market very easily in terms of the structure of the market.
Whatever you do, whether you copy the formulations, whether you take the people, whether you copy the plants, it's not so easy, and we have seen it in the past with so many new companies coming into the forefront to that extent. Five years back, when there was another competitor which entered, I think all of you were asking the same questions, and now no one asks about that competitor at all. So maybe I think we don't know what happens in the next two years.
The last one, the muscle that we spoke about, one visible muscle that we have on our PNL this year is versus your long-term guidance on margins versus where we are existing this year, there's a gap of 200 basis points or 250 basis points as you take the bank. Do you think this as ammunition that you'll use this year to kind of protect or gain market share if need be?
As I said, I think, whatever is the ammunition we will put behind as a hint is that we are putting a lot of muscle behind our marketing, and that is something which we will continue to do. You've seen a new brand ambassador, which has kind of come in. These brand ambassadors don't come in cheap to that extent. Today, as we kind of look at, okay, we are putting our muscle, whether it is IPL as a media or in terms of any other hot properties which are coming. We think, I think that's a strong imperative which is there, and this ammunition will help us in terms of doing that.
Okay, thanks and all the best.
Yeah, thank you. Good evening, everyone. And sir, thanks for reassuring on the volume growth. But my question relates to, again, the VAM and VAE we have discussed in the past, but one of the competitors reiterating again that there's no benefit of manufacturing VAM here in India. So could you give us, again, a perspective that what exactly the margin benefit we are looking at, and how that benefit will flow to us, in terms of manufacturing versus, you know, importing, from the international markets?
Okay. So, you know, when we got into this business and we are looking at investing more than INR 2,100 crore in terms of setting up a plant, okay, we would not be blind to set up a place where there is no cost benefit. Okay? That's the first answer. Okay? Second, when we look at the benefit which will come in, vis-à-vis any import which comes in, the advantage is not only with respect to the cost, but in terms of the innovation in the emulsion properties, which we will be able to get, which no one is able to do with direct imports to that extent.
And this will add some unique properties to the paint at a cost which is unimaginable to that extent, by maintaining possibly, you know, the same or higher margins in terms of what will come in. What we think, depending on how we kind of really rapidly increase the utilization of the plant, I think, overall, in terms of margins, it will definitely aid in terms of at least about 1-1.5% in terms of boosting the margins.
At the overall company level, 1-1.5%. And the second question relates to the segmentation of the market you described, like eco, premium and luxury, and you mentioned that, there are pressures in the luxury segment. So could you give us a broader market differentiation, how these three markets have grown in FY 2024? And how do you expect these markets to grow, and, what is our play in each of the market? We understand NeoBharat , but what is our play in the segment, like luxury and, the premium markets?
So in each of the markets, whether it is economy, premium or luxury, I think the share Asian Paints enjoys is very strong to that extent. So therefore, it is not that the share is higher in one and share is lower in other to that extent. So the shares are very strong. In fact, progressively, if you go to premium to luxury, the shares get only higher to that extent. That is one. Secondly, what we see is that, you know, as the market construct is today, luxury is coming in very strongly, whether we see luxury apartment sale, which is happening, second homes, second villas, which are kind of coming for people. We see a penchant in terms of people kind of upgrading strongly to that extent.
So we are banking very strongly that the premium and the luxury segments will kind of fight back strongly because there is nothing which is a worry of loss of share there. It's only in terms of the propensity of the people to kind of really upgrade and get into that kind of a segment. We also feel that the downgrading would be much lesser in the coming year in terms of what is there, which would kind of really prop up that premium segment, which there is something which we have felt in terms of a slow movement this year to that extent. So given that fact, we are definitely... You know, this year, we have done fairly well in economy and luxury. As I said, premium was slow.
Next year, we are looking at definitely taking economy with the Neo Bharat coming in in a very big way. But we are putting a lot of energy, both in premium and luxury, to match the growth rates which we can get in economy even there.
Okay, sir, thank you, and best of luck.
Thank you.
Hi, Sheela Rathi from Morgan Stanley. So my first question was, with respect to our distribution strategy this year. So one, obviously, what is the plan in terms of expansion, and is there any differentiation we are trying to bring to the table this year in terms of what we are doing on the distribution side? Because there's a lot of catch-up, which is being done by even the existing competition in terms of their market strategy now on distribution.
... See, the entire game on distribution is basically seeing that how we can look at really aiding the retailer from the perspective of ROI. I think that is a very big factor in terms of what really governs how the retailer gets loyal to you to that extent. So I think the parameters which I spoke of, one of the bigger parameters is that are you able to generate demand, okay? So are you able to kind of really see that whatever you are giving to the retailer, he's able to liquidate and rotate that capital in a certain manner. What we are really aiming is that can we improve that rotation so that possibly the whole ROI number kind of really jacks up to that extent.
It's not easy for any other player to kind of do that, because it requires a whole lot investment, not only from a point of view of just the supply chain engine, which kind of really works, but it also requires a lot of investment with respect, with respect to your forecasting abilities. And therefore, what we are doing is we are also invoking a lot of element of AI and other algorithmic models which are kind of coming in, which will kind of really look at improving our forecasting ability and our ability to kind of really increase our you know the order fill rates, which we call in terms of the retailer when they kind of really order something from us.
And therefore, parallelly, given the marketing spend on consumer, looking at saying that equally, the liquidation also gets very, very strong in terms of going forward. We have a very strong painting service which is going on. We are looking at a very strong, digital program in terms of, how we look at, customers kind of behave. We have almost about 4 crore customers coming on our website. And today, we are looking at really seeing that we are able to get these customers to kind of, get converted into demand for our retailers in a strong manner. So the entire perspective which we are bringing, which is very different from competition, is to really kind of, re-energize the ROI in terms of which goes up, which will basically means revamping of the supply chain model.
It would mean kind of getting AI to kind of really look at better prediction, which kind of comes in. And third, in terms of looking at a marketing capability to energize, the whole area of demand and the whole compulsion of the customer to really buy into Asian Paints.
Any guidance on the growth rate on distribution?
So at an average, I think, we have been adding almost about 10,000 retail points every year, and not with standard standing. Someone said that today, some people are saying that their business is decreasing because of the numbers coming in. I think this country is huge, and the way it is expanding, the way the demand is going, where the cities, suburbs are expanding, okay? I don't think so there is any saturation which we are seeing in terms of clusters which are opening up, especially when we look at the rural segments in terms of to that extent. So I think that area of about 10,000 retail points would kind of really remain.
So my second question is, with respect to EBITDA margin. You know, you said that we've maintained the guidance of 18%-20%. So just wanted to understand from you that what are the levers for us to maintain these margins? Because you talked about investments around, you know, media investments. So just wanted to get your perspective there.
See, the big levers definitely there are, is the whole area of the, you know, a world-class supply chain model in terms of what we run, which ensures that the kind of, overheads, the CPTs, which we kind of work across our plants, is something which gives us a very, very big advantage in terms of what we are able to kind of get in terms of our overall cost to that extent. The second area is in terms of our efficiency in dealing with, overheads, with the kind of scale, economies of scale, which kind of come in as something which is a second big imperative.
The third area is the whole area of sourcing and formulation efficiencies, which work as a very big lever, because in the paint industry, almost about 58%-60% cost is raw material cost to that extent. And therefore, any work which happens in this framework will only give you more and more margins, which could kind of come into that extent. And the fact that you are a fairly strong player, I think you do get economies of scale. Today, if you look at the EBITDA percentage margin difference between us and any other player, it's a significant difference which kind of really exists. And therefore, we feel that some of these initiatives which we are kind of looking at will give us far more leverage in terms of looking at maintaining this kind of a guidance in terms of what we are putting up.
And not only that, once we kick off our backward integration initiatives in terms of the white cement and the VAM VAE, which is kind of coming in, that itself will kind of give a boost in terms of maintaining this kind of a guidance going forward.
Hi, this is Jay Doshi from Kotak Securities.
Yeah, hi.
Down trading from premium to economy is a trend that we are seeing across most consumption categories, partly due to inflationary pressures that consumers are facing. As a market leader, what are the steps you are taking to arrest this decline to the extent possible?
So, see, I think it's a natural propensity of the people that, you know, the value for money equation is something which is very, very important to the Indian consumer. And therefore, I think, where we are kind of working very strongly is that to improve the VFM equations for the customer very strongly. So for instance, to give you an example, if there is a premium product which is priced at a certain point, we are looking at saying that, can the customer get higher coverage out of that product? Which basically means that the per square feet cost for the customer at a premium level becomes very, very attractive in terms of which is there, without decreasing the price of the product to that extent.
So there are, I think, initiatives like that, where we are looking at saying that at a certain price point, the kind of value which you can give to the consumer is so strong that possibly the down-trading attraction is something which becomes lower. Because the moment the customer down-trades, what the person gets out of that product is not similar to what he has left at a certain price point.
Nothing essentially on pricing,
That's why you asked me a roundabout question, and I gave you a roundabout answer on that.
No, I meant, are you—I mean, you generally talk about 3% price reduction, but we don't know whether the 3%, I mean, it's 5%, 7% at the premium level and negligible at luxury level or something like that.
No. So see, there is some balancing of costing, which we will keep on doing, depending on possibly where is what you feel as some bit of a pressure which comes to the market. But essentially, what is being seen is from the point of view of is the affordability at a consumer level. We don't really benchmark ourselves in terms of looking, because today, what we feel is that we are the first ones who would kind of really regulate a certain price in the market in terms of what we want to do, to that extent. We don't really look at XYZ in terms of what they are offering to that extent, because whatever is the pricing, people adjust their discounting accordingly, to that extent. So the pricing model has to be seen along with the discounting model, okay?
Unfortunately, a 2%-3% increase in the hike in the market doesn't do anything because the discounting is much more than that, which is happening. Therefore, I feel that today, pricing is not the right way to kind of really look at it. Whatever kind of, corrections which we are taking is more because you are seeing the kind of inflation, inflationary levels, which we have seen in the years gone by to that extent. And there is some correction in terms of what we are doing because of that, and the deflationary environment, which is giving us some buffer in terms of saying that you can't look at possibly increasing your margins to a little bit beyond the point, because then the consumer starts down-trading, which is what we spoke of.
Sure. Second one is actually on pricing, direct one. You know, there is a 15% price gap between Birla Opus and Asian Paints today, ballpark, if you consider their extra grammage. Should we expect this to narrow down during the course of FY 2025?
I don't think so, because today there are already competitors who are less than 15% than us. And that is something which we have felt that it's been for years. It's not something which is extraordinary in terms of what is there. So all the new players, basically, they even go down to 20% lower. So this is not an extraordinary strategy in terms of looking at pricing lower. In fact, what really happens is that, over a period of time, you know, the pricing literally for the other players kind of dips forward, and they start competing with some of the smaller players in the market to that extent. So I think each player finds its own level of pricing to that extent.
I think what you need to be very clear is the elasticity in your pricing, which is there in the market to some extent.
Thank you very much.
Hi, this is Shirish from Centrum. So two questions in the beginning. You mentioned that 70% market is economy. So just one clarification, this includes putty and distemper, or it's only economy emulsions?
No, no, it includes putty and distempers.
So if that 70% is there, there are two questions here: What was this number five years before? And is the main source of growth for this quarter or going forward?
Correct. So I don't think the structure of the market has changed much. In fact, what I would say is that, the premium and luxury segments have grown bigger only over a period of time to that extent. So the economy segments have only kind of reduced, because what we find is that the unorganized companies which were very largely into powder distemper, cement, cement paints and so on and so forth, all have graduated to possibly some emulsion paints to that extent or low-cost emulsions to that extent. So therefore, the overall segment in terms of looking at only premium and luxury has grown a little bit more as compared to the previous years.
Okay, thank you. My second question is on the new businesses. Not new, but Ess Ess Bath, we've been struggling. I'm using the word struggling, because last 10 years, we've done many rounds of changes, front and back, and now you're saying that there is a synergy and you are going to integrate this business. What is missing here? Is this business are not related or the way we are projecting, are you really confident that this business, after integration, will start showing a positive number?
I think, one of the things which we have not been able to do in the two businesses is brand building, okay? That has been the core strength of Asian Paints overall in terms of what we bring. I spoke about generation of consumer demand, the fact that you become default, the first choice for the consumer to that extent. I think in both the businesses, we have not been able to build the businesses very strongly, and as a result, we are changing, taking a significant change and now bringing everything under Beautiful Homes as an umbrella brand. Therefore, we feel that going forward, start building the umbrella brand, Beautiful Homes, so it is Beautiful Homes Kitchen, Beautiful Homes Bath, as you kind of go forward.
That is something which becomes a resonance with the consumer in terms of taking it today. Because I think the brand consciousness today is going very, very high to that extent, and we find that the whole area of people kind of graduating to more and more brands is becoming very strong. Currently, I think Asian Paints was just an underlayer there to that extent. It was not upfront in terms of what was there, because we had Sleek by Asian Paints or Ess Ess by Asian Paints kind of a thing. Now, we are trying to bring it in upfront in terms of what we want to kind of do. And we feel that given that strategy, if tomorrow we are looking at doing any corporate campaigns in terms of BH and others, it would kind of give a very strong kind of impetus in these two areas.
Because we think at the back end, in terms of factories, production, product, premiumness, there is nothing which is lacking to that extent. We have the quality, which is really paramount and very good to that extent. It just needs basically a nudge and a push in terms of the overall brand, which is what we are kind of taking this year very strongly in terms of building that synergy we want to do.
... Just last question related to this, the new business which is closer to your heart, home decor. Can you give us the idea now from 60 stores next 5 years? Because somewhere you mentioned in previously that you want to have at least targeting 10% contribution from this business. So where we are this on the journey? Will it happen in 3 years? Will it happen in more than 4 years, 5 years? Maybe some more color if you can share?
First of all, all businesses are close to the heart, okay? Some might be in left ventricle and some might be in the right ventricle, to that extent, but all businesses are close to heart, to that extent. As we see it in terms of growing the decor business, in terms of we have spoken of about 60 stores, we are looking at this year going to about 85-90 stores in terms of what we want to kind of do. Over a period of five years, I think the trajectory we would like to build is anywhere between 150-200 stores in terms of what we want to build in to that extent.
But these stores, what we are looking at is not only looking at the number, we are looking at now the per sq ft size of the stores going up to that extent, which is the larger strategy. Going from about a 6,000 sq ft store to more than 10,000 to more than 15,000 sq ft kind of store, which is there. We have recently put up a store in Chennai, which is in Anna Nagar, which is more than almost about 14,000 sq ft in terms of what has been put to that extent. So I think the strategy is to kind of look at the per sq ft space, which is kind of offering the home decor to that extent in terms of the locations, and not only looking at the number of stores to that extent.
While we are looking at number INR 150- INR 200, which I said, okay, but I am also looking at the per sq ft cost space going almost to about 2x-3x.
Okay. Thank you, and all the best.
Hi, sir, this is Avi from Macquarie, over here.
Yeah. Hi.
Hi, sir. So just first, you know, if I, from whatever the earlier analyst meetings have been and from your predecessors as well, we've conditioned ourselves to look at paint industry as a growth in the percentage of GDP. And when we look at the current year in terms of value growth for, and I'm taking you as a benchmark for the industry, the relationship seems to have fallen out of place. Could you, you know, give us an understanding of why this year, if it is different, why? Or do you see the relationship has to be revisited? Would love to hear your thoughts.
Okay. See, first of all, I see, what you are very correct is that the GDP correlation is something really gone for a toss, in the current year, which you are very right to that extent. I also feel that today, I'm not very sure, of the, you know, the, how the GDP numbers are coming, okay? And you guys are better wizards in terms of really understanding, in terms of how those numbers are coming and so on and so forth. And sometimes you feel that, there is such a variation happening across industries, you know. How does that GDP really correlate, to the actual GDP in terms of what we are kind of talking of?
So even if you look at the core sectors, whether it is steel, cement, so on and so forth, nowhere it is correlating with the kind of possibly overall GDP growth in terms of what we are kind of talking of to that extent. So therefore, I feel that, there is something which, we need to kind of look at from a normalization of this GDP growths, which are happening, to find out more realistically that if we are talking of a 7% growth, whether that 7% really translate to a real time of 5% or 4% GDP for a certain sector. And therefore, kind of look at extrapolating data in terms of seeing how the correlation works out.
So currently, as you rightly said, even we are not kind of really correlating to the GDP in terms of looking at it, because hypothetically, if you look at a 7% kind of a GDP or a 6.5% GDP, you would call it almost about 9%-10% of a value growth, which will come in the market to that extent, which possibly is the correlation which is spoiled. So we are also looking ways and means in terms of finding out what is the real GDP.
Okay. So you, you believe that the relationship still would exist, and there's nothing to kind of-...
Yeah, but the correct GDP in terms of what would kind of really be applied to a certain sector is something which I think we need to kind of do a work to kind of find out, because the GDP is also varying from region to region, okay? So if you look at possibly certain regions in the country, some regions are growing faster, some regions are growing slower to that extent. But when you get the GDP number overall, that's a – that's a conglomeration of a full number, which kind of comes into that extent. So I think, maybe some more work needs to happen in terms of really dissecting that. </transcript
Got it, sir. The second, I just had some, you know, basic bookkeeping questions. First was, would you be able to give us a sense on how ad spend for FY 2024 is as either a percentage of sales or from a percentage growth perspective? And B, if you could give us a sense on tinting machine count, where do we stand and what is the outlook there, if you could give us that sense?
So see, as I said, in terms of the tinting machines, you know, the rough way to kind of look at is that we are almost about 3 to 3.5 times any nearest player to that extent, okay? Since you know the numbers of the others, you can extrapolate that data anyway to that extent. So that is one in terms of how we kind of look at in terms of the overall tinting data, in terms of how it kind of really looks. From a point of view of advertising, really, I think it's a band in terms of what we keep on looking at in terms of going. So basically, the band can go to 3%-4%, it can go to 5%.
It is a band in terms of what we kind of look at in terms of this thing, because there are very much strong components around it. There is something which is happening, which is more below the line, which is more disruptive work in terms of, for example, the work which we do in terms of street art, which is there, okay? That is a very different kind of work which happens in terms of the attributable spend in terms of what we make. But that's the kind of band in terms of what we operate on.
So 3%-5% roughly?
Yeah. Yeah.
Sir, lastly, I'm sorry, one bit that I wanted to clarify, the 5%-6% that you said is the difference in value and volume that you expect, right?
That's right.
Okay. Thank you very much, sir. That's all.
Thank you, everyone. We now invite Mr. Amit Syngle to give the closing remarks.
Okay, great. I think, it's lovely to kind of interact physically with all of you. I think it, kind of really also gives some familiarity in terms of who's asking the question. Otherwise, on the screen, it's just a question which kind of really flashes across. So, but it's great, and I would kind of really say that, you know, how we kind of look at forward, we look at possibly strong business, you know, in terms of taking it in, and we feel that, we should kind of come to your expectations clearly when we look at meeting again after the quarter one. Thank you.