Mumbai: Godrej Locking Solutions and Systems (GLSS) will be investing Rs 100 crore over the next three years for research and development (R&D) and marketing of new products. The company is planning to focus on digital, keyless locks in the next three years.
Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Shyam Motwani, Executive Vice-President and Business Head, GLSS, said, “A bulk of expenditure will go into the process capability development in terms of technology and equipment, quality and design.” Without giving specific numbers, Motwani stated rest of the expenditure will go into developing and marketing of new products.
The company has prepared a three-year roadmap for high-end digital electronic locals. “It will be consuming a part of investments. We will be providing keyless solutions to Indian homes. There will be an online and offline promotion which will include various level of activations,” said Motwani. The company is hoping that growth from digital technology will start to reflect in their overall numbers in the next three to five years. Motwani said, “At present, it is a very small percentage of our revenues. It will grow significantly maybe three-four times from what the number is today. The base is small but the growth will be substantial.”
The demand of digital locks are largely in metros but the penetration of locks as a category is increasing in tier III-IV cities.
Motwani stated that the growth in mechanical locks will be steady. Mechanical locks have a large base but the growth in this segment will be in the range of 7-10 per cent in a year. “For the next 15-20 years, we will see decent growth in mechanical locks.”
Unlike other categories that eye e-commerce space for growth, GLSS strongly believes that traditional channel will be their mainstay. But as a company that has an omni-channel approach, GLSS also has presence in online platforms but there is a little growth there, he said. He thinks there will be certain progression that will take place.