On the growth path

Jindal Architecture, part of the US$ 6 billion conglomerate Jindal Stainless, expects to chart a healthy growth path. S S Virdi, director, Jindal Architecture talks about the company's plans. By Sanjeev Bhar

SS Virdi

Jindal Architecture, the architectural & design solutions subsidiary of Jindal Stainless, ISO:9002 & ISO:14001 certified conglomerate, has recently launched its new retail outlet for stainless steel modular kitchens in Ahmedabad. The new retail store is part of its present strategy to offer a unique and stylish range of modular kitchens in different finishes, colours, designs, concepts, configurations and accessories.

These kitchens have been titled as 'arc' and claim to offer a perfect balance between aesthetics and design and technology, customised as per clients' needs. S S Virdi, director, Jindal Architecture, says, "Arc aims to satiate the Indian consumers' desire for an aesthetically beautiful modular kitchen. The inside surface is completely rust and termite proof thus making it 100 per cent hygienic for their family." The coloured shutter designs in stainless steel for the range has been developed indigenously at Jindal Architecture's fully equipped manufacturing facility in Haryana, he informs.

Outlining growth

The company is adding new range of products some of which are being launched for the modular kitchen consumers. In addition to that - 'Arc' has also collaborated with Proiek - a Spanish company for manufacturing a range of products. Viridi informs, "These products include designer street furniture for home applications as well as for urban infrastructure applications. As a result of this partnership, new products will be offered to the consumers like stainless steel benches (for various applications like malls, railway stations & hospitality industry), modular kiosks, stainless steel shelving systems for homes, stainless steel litter bins for public areas, households, offices etc."

Looking at the latest reports and surveys, the company is hopeful that the hospitality sector is slated to witness a remarkable growth in the near future. Virdi states, "The World Travel and Tourism Council, India says that India ranks 18th in business travel and will be among the top five in this decade. Sources estimate that demand is going to exceed supply by at least 100 per cent over the next two years. There is no reason for not believing that hospitality industry in India is set to grow at 15 per cent a year. This figure is expected to sky rocket next year, when Delhi hosts the Commonwealth Games."

Jindal Architecture is increasing its presence in southern India. The company plans to open a Mother Store in Bengaluru and then register its presence through franchisee route across other important cities in the south like Chennai, Hyderabad and Coimbatore over the next five to six months, informs Virdi.

Future plans

The company already has two retail stores in Delhi NCR to cater to the northern sector and is coming up with a showroom in Bengaluru to cater to the south India market. Virdi says, "Now that Ahmedabad is in our bouquet for reaching out to more pubic, we expect the brand 'arc' to take our growth plans forward. We are planning to open a couple of new stores in Bengaluru, Indore, Chandigarh and in the southern parts of India; all will be 'Exclusive Stainless Steel Modular Kitchen' retail outlets." The company will be investing around Rs 50 lakh in the beginning for each store. This expense will include only the product display cost and the cost of doing the interiors and setting the retail ambience. "The running cost of the stores is not included here. The funding for this investment is done through internal accrual as well as through our term loans from various financial institutions," he says. The company also plans to expand soon in other parts of Gujarat.

Jindal Architecture has performed well in these trying times. "Despite the global economic meltdown, the company was in profits last year and based on the average growth rate over the last three fiscal years, this year the growth is projected to be more than 50 per cent compared to last year," assures Virdi.