High-end Paints Rule The Game

Consumers are showing a remarkable shift when it comes to painting their homes these days. Compared to the scenario of five years ago, they no longer hesitate to spend a lot of money to paint their homes.

“The paint manufacturing industry has grown with leaps and bounds in the last few years, thanks to the boom in construction sector. The consumers are also going for higher quality products,” says Soumitra Roy, general manager of Asian Paints Nepal Pvt Ltd, who puts the reason for the change to the durability of the paint and increasing quality consciousness among consumers. “It is the time when advertisements show paint lasting even as the home owner starts growing old.”

Saibal Ghosh, country manager for Berger Jenson & Nicholson (Nepal), a subsidiary of Berger Paints India, also puts the growing awareness and durability issues on top of a consumer´s priority list these days. He, however, also quotes rising labor cost as a major issue. “People have started understanding the value of high quality products. But the rise in popularity of these products have been contributed by the rise in labor cost, which has gone up by almost 50 percent in the last three years,” he said, elaborating that people can now afford to paint their houses less number of times due to rise in labor costs. “It is obvious that people would love to go for paint that lasts longer.”

Ghosh also cites the psychographic changes that people have gone through as another reason behind people´s shift to high-end paints. “People are now thinking beyond what paint is basically remembered for -- aesthetics and protection,” he said, adding, “Another factor that triggered this shift is lifestyle. The color of the house and the rooms now reflect a person´s moods, personality and profession.” Ghosh said people are now choosing paint to show the vision that they have.

Another factor behind the rise in the sale of high-end paints is the painters. Most people just set aside the budget and let contractors choose the brand. Manufacturers say painters and contactors choose the best paint that can be had on the allocated budget because their reputation depends on their work.

Ghosh said high-end products, which cost Rs 300 per liter and above, make up 65 to 70 percent of his company´s sales. Retailers like Prajay Man Karmacharya of Sheetal Hardware in Thamel and Nandan Adhikari of Colour Spa in Old Baneshwar also agree with the manufacturers.

Another change in preference has been the choice of colors and shades. “Until five or 10 years before, people used to prefer light colors and shades. Now they are going for much brighter shades of all colors,” Roy said.

Ghosh said the choice has shifted from sober colors to experimentation with louder ones. “Ten years ago, louder colors were associated with the low-income consumers. But these days the higher income people are painting their rooms with such colors,” he said, adding that people were now experimenting with both types of colors and using them much more creatively.

“One of the major causes in this shift is the interiors shown in movies and Indian tele-serials which use very vibrant colors.”

The wider availability of better quality paint and paint related products like wall putty has also helped people go for higher-end products. According to manufacturers, people are also putting more effort on interior paint than on exterior.