La Opala has done well to dominate a market once considered a domain of only foreign brands.
Company annual reports do not usually flaunt fancy book titles. Those of the Kolkata-based La Opala RG Ltd (LORL), makers of opal glass tableware, usually do. The latest annual report vaunts a stylishly-embossed legend, “The New Family Silver”.
It is perhaps a metaphor for a new middle-class India where sleek is in, dowdy is out, something that excites Sushil Jhunjhunwala, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, La Opala. “We want people to stop using steel utensils,” he says. “Ours is an aspirational brand.”
And it is happening. Opal glass tableware from La Opala, shortlisted as one of the “most trusted brands” in the 2016 Brand Trust Report, is being lapped up by buyers looking for low-priced branded crockery. “There is a shift in customers’ preference towards LORL products,” says a research note from brokerage house Nirmal Bang
Securities. Salony Nangia, President, Technopak, a consultancy, says, “The brand bridges the gap between steeland melamine-based ranges and fine bone china.”
LORL is also focusing on crystal ware, being designed under Executive Director Nidhi Jhunjhunwala. “I was always inclined towards art, and when I got married into the Jhunjhunwala family, I got an opportunity to explore my interests in the business.” Exports account for about 75 per cent of La Opala’s crystalware sales. “Since ours is 100 per cent handcrafted crystalware, it is in great demand in the US,” says Jhunjhunwala.
Nirmal Bang says La Opala will “sustain healthy growth.” Jhunjhunwala expects 15-20 per cent volume growth this financial year. Sara Jaffer, Research Associate, Institutional Equities at Nirmal Bang, says La Opala opalware accounts for 60 per cent of the ₹450-crore market.
Esta historia es de la edición March 26, 2017 de Business Today.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición March 26, 2017 de Business Today.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
"Focus on the challenge of each customer"
SHASHANK KUMAR MD & CO-FOUNDER I RAZORPAY Razorpay is India's first full-stack financial solutions company
PEDAL ON THE FUTURE
THE MG WINDSOR EV, WITH ITS FUTURISTIC AND MINIMALIST DESIGN, COMBINES THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS-COMFORT AND TECHNOLOGY
BREATHE EASY
Whether you're battling allergies, looking to remove pollutants, or simply want to breathe easier, the right air purifier can make a difference
The Taste of India in a Glass
FROM ROYAL LIQUEURS TO DISTILLED MAHUA, INDIAN HERITAGE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ARE HAVING THEIR DAY IN THE SUN
LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP
IN 2025, INVESTORS WILL NEED TO FACTOR IN VOLATILITY ACROSS ASSET CLASSES
MISSING ADVISORS
INDIA HAS JUST ONE INVESTMENT ADVISOR FOR NEARLY EVERY 200,000 INVESTORS. AT A TIME WHEN RETAIL PARTICIPATION IN THE STOCK MARKETS IS BOOMING, THIS ASSUMES SIGNIFICANCE
TURNING A CORNER
SHARED ELECTRIC MOBILITY START-UP YULU'S SHIFT TO SERVICING THE QUICK COMMERCE SECTOR IS HELPING IT GROW FAST. IT IS NOW FOCUSSING ON IMPROVING ROAD SAFETY FEATURES AS IT TURNS EBITDA POSITIVE
REALITY CHECK
INDIAN STOCK MARKETS PLUNGED BEGINNING OCTOBER FOR A HOST OF REASONS, INCLUDING A FALL IN FII OWNERSHIP. HOW DEEP WILL THE CORRECTION BE?
TRUMP'S TRADE TANGO
The return of Donald Trump as the 47th President of the US has put the global economy on edge. India, too, is unlikely to remain unaffected. How will policymakers meet this latest challenge?
"The essence of the Trump administration will be transactional”
Global investor, analyst, and best-selling author Ruchir Sharma decodes why Donald Trump won the elections, what India should do, the risks, and more