Nippon Paint India, part of the NIPSEA Group has unveiled a comprehensive India-first growth strategy under the leadership of its newly appointed Managing Director, Sharad Malhotra. This marks the company’s first detailed articulation of its strategic roadmap following the recent leadership transition and reinforces its long-term commitment to the Indian paints and coatings market.
The newly outlined strategy focuses on strengthening Nippon Paint India’s localized operating model, accelerating pan-India market expansion, and exploring inorganic growth opportunities, including strategic partnerships and acquisitions, to further enhance its product portfolio and market presence in India.
Backed by seven state-of-the-art manufacturing plants across India, advanced Japanese technology expertise, and a strong Make in India foundation, Nippon Paint India is deepening investments in manufacturing excellence, product quality, and market-specific innovation. The company plans to expand beyond its traditionally strong southern markets by sharpening market segmentation, increasing penetration in high-growth urban and semi-urban regions, and strengthening its nationwide dealer and distribution network, while consolidating leadership in core markets.
Commenting on the strategy, Sharad Malhotra, Managing Director, Nippon Paint India, said, “India is a priority and long-term growth market for Nippon Paint. Our focus is on building a differentiated, India-first strategy driven by manufacturing strength, disciplined execution, and deep local market understanding. As a fully integrated global paints and coatings company in India, we benefit from direct access to Japanese technology, governance standards, and manufacturing discipline. As the first Indian Managing Director of Nippon Paint India, my mandate is to create a robust, India-specific growth model that aligns global best practices with local market realities.”
Supporting this vision, Mark Titus, President – Decorative Business, Nippon Paint India, added, “India represents a significant long-term opportunity for Nippon Paint’s decorative paints business. Growth will be driven by premiumisation, stronger brand building, and enhanced dealer, contractor, and influencer partnerships. Our strategy is to scale responsibly by bringing global best practices in product innovation, sustainability, and manufacturing excellence to the Indian market, while building strong, market-relevant brands.”
Under the new leadership structure, Nippon Paint India will consolidate its decorative, industrial, automotive OEM, automotive refinish, and wood coatings businesses under a unified operating model. This integrated approach enables flexible manufacturing, operational efficiencies, and a cohesive pan-India distribution framework, allowing the company to achieve scale, synergy, and faster go-to-market execution.
With over 60 years of leadership across the Asia-Pacific region, Nippon Paint brings a proven track record of technology-led growth, disciplined expansion across multiple coatings segments, and manufacturing excellence. The Group’s unique “Asset Assembler” business model is designed to deliver sustainable earnings growth through a combination of organic expansion and disciplined inorganic growth. This strategy is further supported by selective M&A in paints and adjacent markets, operational excellence, and a culture of continuous improvement.
