Script will be priced 30% to 40% higher compared to competition: Anil S Mathur

At the recent unveiling of its new brand Script to address mass premium customer segment, Anil S Mathur, chief operating officer – Godrej Interio, Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd, responded to queries by Ashish K Tiwari about new brand’s pricing strategy, competitive intensity, sustainability, etc.

Ikea will soon launch a huge range of functional products. How do you see them as competition?

It’s a question in everybody’s mind as to what will Ikea really do in India. A few things need to be looked at here. First, globally it (Ikea) is not a premium brand. It’s a very good design functional brand. It’s addressing a totally different target group (TG) – people who want to buy for a short term. While Ikea is certainly a competition, it is also good to have players coming in the organised space as it will consolidate the market.

Globally, Ikea doesn’t have a double-digit market share mainly because it’s a fragmented market. At Rs 50,000 crore, India is still a large furniture market and more branded players (comprising just 20% of the overall market at present) will only help it grow. While Ikea will largely be present in four metros, our spread is going to be much more across the country with 18 exclusive brand outlets (EBOs).

What’s your pricing strategy for Script?

Script is going to be the richest in terms of the experience it provides. But if you were to be asking me from the existing players in the mass premium or the mid segment, it will be priced 30% to 40% higher in terms of pricing. Having said that, I don’t think it will be the right benchmark though. We should be looking at the overall price value equation and currently there is no comparable expample in terms of the experience and back it up with the kind of services that we will be providing.

Who is your competition in organised space?

There are plenty of online and offline players. In fact, there are quite a few regional players addressing the luxury and premium market. Additionally, there are international players who have been wanting to come to India and some of them have even opened a few stores. However, they are not offering a complete range. Rather they cater to product category like sofas, bedroom areas, etc. That’s the difference we are bringing in to the market. Our idea is to not go room wise but activity wise.

Of the Rs 320 crore revenue being targeted by 2021 for Script, how much will come from cross-selling with Godrej Properties?

Godrej properties sells to different people. If our TG is occupying houses in the real estate built by Godrej properties, then we will definitely like to create a marketing approach to them. Right now we are doing work with them in the kitchen solutions area as well as wardrobes. As the consumer behaviour is different, each one would have a different liking, some would be a Script consumer while some would be an Interio consumer. So we will have to approach them differently.

What are you doing to mitigate the last mile delivery challenges?

Challenges could be in specific pockets due to certain issues at that particular time. Interio has the largest network to approach the last mile delivery because we have over 2,000 points of sale across the country. Our supply chain is well set up to deliver across the length and breadth of the country.

Coul you also elaborate on the sustainability aspect associated with your furniture range?

It is a design for environment (DfE) product which means the designs are made keeping in mind how the material used is recyclable. Most of our manufacturing plants are green co platinum rated, which means the process is itself working towards sustainability. We go a step ahead and get our products certified, we are the only manufacturers who are sending the products all the way to the US to get them certified before manufacturing.