Merino is known to be the pioneer in innovating new products and creating awareness for generating new demand with new applications that is their backbone. Merino is also a company that has a number of products in line those are evergreen, sustainable and long lasting. The previous years were very hassling for all and no one could have passed that phase without any difficulties. Here is a brief on the conversation with Mr. Manoj Lohia, Director, Merino Industries Ltd.
Q: - Previous years were uncertain for all. In your opinion, how is the market now and how was the growth in the last two years?
Last two years have been difficult for everyone and almost every one’s financial results have observed some kind of shock in that period. I would like to say that the industry has been affected. But on the other side, something good has also happened. The Indian economy was pretty resilient that time. I think the demand was there and things are coming back to normal. Looking forward, the outlook is very bright.
Q: - What is your opinion about the retailers as they largely complain that the time was not good despite there was a sudden spike for a short time last year?
The last two years have been bad and most of the retailers have been given very tough choices and always complain that they didn't have laborers during that time. If I talk about laminate it is a very skilled job identifying the design and handling the laminate sheets, so definitely the dealers’ fraternity had suffered.
But, every bad thing has a silver lining and the business being conducted pre-covid has completely changed. Now most of the dealers have become conscious in terms of credits. I think this is a good sign and in my opinion the manufacturers, dealers or any other stakeholders are part of the team. Take an example that in a football game the forward cover players are most important, similarly in the retailers play most important part in business. If the forward cover does not get any ball, how can they put them into the goal post. So, if the retailer suffers, the manufacturer's suffering is imperative and without their help we can’t do anything.
Q: - Laminate is the largest surface material but many other substitutes have come up, is it affected laminate market share?
There is an analogy, my career started with plywood in 1995, since then I have been hearing that the plywood industry is going to lose its ground, but it never happened and the demand has been increasing day by day. Although, new and innovative products have come, of course the way plywood was produced has changed
Similarly, the laminate will never lose its ground, as its offerings are so vast that one can get it as a commodity to the premium products. In the product line there are commodity type liners and 0.8mm and in the premium segment there are 1mm, MR plus and special finishes also. So, the demand is there in all segments and is still growing.
I think more complimentary products will come into the market, but the demand for laminate will also increase. In my opinion the good retailers if they want to grow they should go for a brand. The retailers working with non branded products are also selling but they can grow only with brand.
This is a product that has become an Ideal for the customers to take because they have tooling and machine facility also. That was the reason this product came three years before but didn’t do that well. I am very hopeful that this product becomes very popular as OEMs are going to play a very important role in it.
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Gloss Meister high gloss PU plus acrylic panel is a revolution in the world of high end pre laminated gloss boards. It is the result of a fully automated process which ensures unmatched strength and durability. The melamine board is coated with gloss acrylic coating in specially conditioned and exposed with UV rays to create a fully cured with high gloss PU plus acrylic panel that passes even the most stringent quality tests.
This PU plus coating provides elasticity and softness to the board making it easy to cut and route without any chipping. All the properties are tested as per the deliverance of EN 438 & NEMA LD 3 standards. The testes include high spectacular gloss for premium reflective surfaces than other competitors’ products with better gloss, DOI & RIQ values. This results in no haziness, weavings and orange peel.
The tests for micro scratch resistance, abrasion tests, impact resistance for protection of sudden impact, resistance to steam showing no distortion and fading, dry heat resistance, resistance to stain tests also shared no impact on it with various materials of stains and also no peeling out after cross cut.
The spectacular gloss of Gloss Meister PU plus acrylic panel lights an experience of creativity come to life with the lustrous super gloss finish, unmatched strength and unparalleled durability. When it comes to gloss surfaces, Gloss Meister is indeed above all others.
Q: - What is the trend today, whether it is gloss, matt, or pre-lam board or laminate? How is the demand and what changes have happened in the last few years?
Because of covid few things get accelerated, for example with the advent of OEMs, mechanized processing of material is more and has become much easier. Today every OEM works in large quantities. In that context the advent of pre-lam - the product like Gloss Meister has become much more important and ideal. This progression will definitely be there. With the advent of digitization, the world has become a global village. So, the advancement in technology will definitely come to us sometime, maybe in a year or two.
We are thinking that more demand will be fueled by tier 2 - 3 cities than the metros. But, they have their own preferences and we cannot change them. Today we can say that we have matt or gloss but their preferences are something else. So, we have to understand the preferences of the customers and go with that.
Q: - Gloss Meister came into the market 3 years before. Does it suit the retailers? What are the future prospects?
This is a product that a regular carpenter feels difficulties in its processing because the material is also hard and requires edge banding for its finishing in applications. As I said earlier post-covid there is an advancement of tooling, workmanship etc, which was not there pre-covid time.
This is a product that has become an Ideal for the customers to take because they have tooling and machine facility also. That was the reason this product came three years before but didn’t do that well. I am very hopeful that this product becomes very popular as OEMs are going to play a very important role in it.
Q: - Retailers think that there is no margin in brands. Gloss Meister is a product to which majorly OEMs deal with, then what is your message to retailers?
I believe that OEMs, Interior Designers are fair weather friends but the retailers are our friends of all times and stand by us equally in happiness and sorrow. There are dealers from Mumbai, Pune, Jaipur, South India, Haryana, Punjab, UP who are associated with us for the last 30- 35 years. I really thank them for making us what we are today. I don’t think that there are any OEMs who are associated with us for such a long time.
I think more complimentary products will come into the market, but the demand for laminate will also increase. In my opinion the good retailers if they want to grow they should go for a brand. The retailers working with non branded products are also selling but they can grow only with brand.
I think the dealers play an important role as our job is to manufacture, but they know the market, exchange the credit into the market effectively. We can’t do that as our specialization is manufacturing and we want to stick with it only. Secondly, if you talk about margin, I believe that this is a premium product so its selling traits should be different. The price becomes secondary if you take the right approach for sales, so I refuse to talk about the price of Gloss Meister. If you see MR+ no one talks about the price and that is also sold by retailers, why is it so?
Q: - If a similar product is available in the market in a sheet for them how will they manage the inventory of boards?
Merino has a very different approach in inventory management. Today the competitor asked distributors to stock more but, we say to stock less and we will give you quick delivery. Today there is supply chain disruption that is why there are some issues. But it is for all, not only for Merino. Today, by and large all the stocks for distributors are managed by the company itself. We will do that for Gloss Meister also. Our turnaround time for metros is three to five days and for remote areas it will be a little longer
I firmly believe that if any customer asks for quick delivery means, he is asking for consistent after sales service. If that is seven days then send it in seven days every time. I want to say that bargaining at any stage is an Indian's mentality. People do it even for buying vegetables. Similarly when you tell your customers 10 days they will ask in 7 days. But, this is our confidence that Merino will deliver 10th day every time. I want to give assurance to the retailers.
Q: - What are the benefits of Gloss Meister? Why should a retailer opt for it?
Gloss Meister has much better chemical resistance properties as compared to acrylic and PVC laminate etc. Secondly, the highlighters and charcoal like products are highly flammable whereas Gloss Meister has much better fire retardant properties. If we talk about abrasion resistance, it is much better than acrylic laminates. In terms of physical properties I don’t think there is a comparison.
The retailers always want exclusivity. With Gloss Meister is there any system that retailers have in sales?
When we talk about exclusivity it can’t be a one way street. If any retailers ask for it the manufacturers will also ask for volume from them. Secondly, the cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, Chennai, etc are such big cities that one counter can’t cater to the entire area.
Earlier it was a practice that a particular area was dedicated to a particular range of products. Today the market is everywhere and scattered because the consumers want everything in their proximity. If I give exclusivity to someone how could we give us volume, margin, and geographical reach of the market?
That is why exclusivity is off the table. If we talk about the after sales service we are always there with the dealers/retailers. I believe both the market is there but any retailers can’t grow beyond a limit without premium products.
Q: - Wastage in boards makes Gloss Meister costly, that's why retailers are hesitant for it. What’s your view?
The customer for some reason is unable to understand this, for example, take a size 713/398 mm. If you cut the kitchen shutter of this size you get 8 or 9 pieces with only 14% wastage. If you change the size to 678/448mm the wastage on board is nearly 39%. So, with just a change in size the wastage has gone up. Similarly for a wardrobe 2.25m/398mm it gets the wastage of only 10% and changes it to 1950/ 498mm the wastage is again 35% .
So, one can see the difference. In my opinion the retailers can also play an important role if they educate the customers. To some extent the carpenters remain insensitive to such practices, so if today we convince the customers to reduce the wastage, by which they will get the cost reduction also. On the other hand along with their goodwill among the customers the sales will also improve.
The retailers who wish to grow today must have the bent of mind to give service, not just the product. If you give just a product there will be the matter of negotiation, but when you give the service (these kinds of value added service) the customers remain speechless to negotiate.
Q: - What is your suggestion to retailers/dealers/OEMs? How do you see the journey ahead?
The overall economic outlook is appearing very good for India says the experts. The housing sector will be one of the important parts of it and have a pie in the development of the country. We are already much behind the other counties in the housing sector, so the scope is very high. We as Merino have always believed that the dealers’ fraternity is an inclusive part of our growth story. It is up to them how much they want to get associated with us. We are also needed to be deeply connected with them, because whatever you can do we don’t. So, you also have to play an important role in the field.
The customer for some reason is unable to understand this, for example, take a size 713/398 mm. If you cut the kitchen shutter of this size you get 8 or 9 pieces with only 14% wastage. If you change the size to 678/448mm the wastage on board is nearly 39%. So, with just a change in size the wastage has gone up. Similarly for a wardrobe 2.25m/398mm it gets the wastage of only 10% and changes it to 1950/ 498mm the wastage is again 35%.
If there is apprehension that the company directly goes to the clients, then look at our side. Why do we need to go? So, this is very important to support each other, the growth will be there. Lots of new products will also come to the market. So, we will grow together with the new opportunity coming up. I wish everyone to be all safe and be cautious with caution flowing appropriate covid behavior