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During recession, when people are cutting down on non-essential expenditure, painting one's
house would be the last thing on mind. But, the slowdown notwithstanding, paint maker Jotun
India has big plans to increase its retail stores across the country.

By December this year, the company, part of Norway-based Jotun, is planning to increase the
number of retail stores to 250 from 170 now, Jotun India, General Manager (Decorative) Percy
Jijina said.

These exclusive Jotun stores would be a one-stop shop for all the requirements of customers
wanting to get their house painted. From consultancy to technical support to whether a particular
paint is suitable for the climatic conditions of the city, the company trained staff at the stores will
have the answers to all of them.

The company, that adheres to the European VOC norms for eco-friendly paints, will open most
of these stores in Delhi NCR and south Indian states ² Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra,
Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

Jotun India, which opened its manufacturing plant is Pune in 2005, hopes to achieve a growth of
8 per cent by 2010.

"We are pretty much on the target and the slowdown hasn't impacted us much. In the decorative
paint category we have a market share of 1.5 per cent," Jijina said. However, in the marine and
industrial paints category, the company has a market share of 27 per cent and 14 per cent,
respectively, with the bulk of the demand coming from new power plants like Reliance Wind
Energy and Tata Power and the steel industry.

For the steel industry, the company recently launched a premium industrial product ² Jotatemp
650 ² that can withstand extreme temperatures (-185 c to + 540 c) and can even be applied on
hot steel.

With the demand for industrial paint increasing and the overall paint industry slated to grow at
over 20 per cent annually, the company said it will not feel the pinch of the slowdown.

"Our order book looks pretty good at the moment, mainly because of all the new power and steel
projects that are coming up," Jijina added.