INDIA BUSINESS WORLD - AUGUST (16th - 31st) 2007
The Month that was ...
BCCL PICKS 16% STAKE IN LIBERTY WHITEWARE
BENNETT, Coleman & Company (BCCL) has acquired a 16% stake in Liberty Whiteware (LWL), a Liberty group company engaged in the business of manufacturing and marketing fine bathroom products and accessories made of ceramics.
"It's our endeavour to provide world-class innovative ideas to Indian consumers at affordable prices and our association with BCCL has come at a right time. It would help us repeating our success story to make Liberty Whiteware a household name," says Liberty Whiteware chief executive Adarsh Gupta.
The market for the premium ceramic segment is estimated to be around 2.5 lakh pieces annually and is growing at the rate of 25-30% every year. At present, the segment is mostly dominated by multi national firms like American Standard, Toto, Cotto, Villeroy & Boch, Duravit and Kermag. Recently, controlling stake in the largest Indian ceramic company, Parryware, was acquired by the Roca Group of Spain. America's leading ceramic brand, Kohler, has also announced plans to set a plant in Gujarat to produce 2 million pieces per year.
Liberty has set up a manufacturing facility with an investment of Rs 100 crore at Neemrana, Rajasthan. It has a capacity to produce 3 lakh pieces of ceramic sanitary wares. This is expected to be doubled by 2009. For this facility, the plant, machinery and the technical expertise is imported from the world's largest ceramic plant producer, SACMI of Italy.
The products are marketed under the brand name "Beach" and has five variants, Beach Jumeira, Beach Marina, Beach Paradise, Beach Gold Coast and Beach Hawaii. These products are now available in key cities of India through a network of about 40 dealers and the company.
The company plans to spruce up its distributions network and reach out to 100 cities through 150 dealers in the next 12 months. Liberty also plans to retail its products through company owned concept stores, franchise outlets and in a shop in shop arrangement with Home Town.
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