BRAND PREFERENCE AMONG THE DECORATIVE PAINT

USERS – AN EMPIRICAL STUDY IN CHENNAI CITY

SYNOPSIS

Introduction
Paints and colours have remained an integral part throughout the human
existence, and the domain has evolved rapidly over a period. The Indian paint
industry has come a long way from the days when paints were considered a
luxury item. Today the awareness level on preventing corrosion through paints
is relatively high, a development that should be a huge boost to the paint
industry. The domestic paint industry is expected to touch. 50,000 crore mark
in the next three years on the back of rising urbanisation and economic revival,
according to the Indian Paint Association (IPA). Though the paint industry
witnessed some slowdown in the last few years due to global economic
uncertainties and growing urbanisation, industrial experts feel that a good
growth is expected in over the next three years. The economic growth in India
has led to higher disposable income, increasing urbanization, easy availability
of credit and a concurrent growth in construction, automobiles and consumer
durables segment which have emerged as the driving force behind the rise in
current consumption of paints. Industry has experienced dynamic changes in
the last decade in terms of changing environment and structure which propelled
it to a high growth trajectory. However, India per capita consumption of paints
is still abysmally low at 1.5Kg/annum compared to world average of 15Kg and
25Kg for US. It is even lower than Sri Lanka with per capita consumption of
3.5/Kg. This however indicates tremendous opportunity for paint industry
which is currently highly under-penetrated.
The industry is witnessing inclinations in technology and also in
marketing. These are some of the efforts taken by the major players in the
industry to increase their market share. Moreover, the growth in the
construction and housing sectors along with a considerable increase in the
disposable income of the people and the increasing size of the middle class are
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all reasons for an increase in the demand in the decorative segment. To sum it
all, the Indian paint market is very lucrative but competitive. With the retail
marketing approach, marketers have succeeded to achieve the targets on a year-
on-year basis. It is safe to predict a 9-10 per cent growth rate as per research in
the paint industry in the next 5 years. Indian paint industry is dominated by
organized sector which currently captures 67 percent market share. Organized
sector has grown at a higher rate vis-à-vis unorganized sector in last few years.
Unorganized sector mostly offers lower end products like low end enamels,
distempers, lime wash, cement paint etc. Region-wise, West region market
accounts for 32per cent of paint industry revenues followed by South (28per
cent), North (26per cent) and East (14per cent) in order. Rural regions and
smaller towns contribute 40per cent of the paint industry sales. Growth in Tier
II and Tier III cities is higher than the growth in urban markets due to higher
construction activities and increasing rural income.

Rising income and aspiration levels of young demography along with

changing lifestyle has catapulted the demand for both repainting and fresh
paints. Moreover, rising disposable income and created awareness from
marketing efforts by organized players resulted in consumers preferring for
better quality and higher end products like emulsions. Despite slowdown in
2009, paint industry reported robust double digit growth in last two years on
back of higher demand. Going ahead, industrial experts believe that the
demand scenario to remain strong backed by higher discretionary spend,
increasing penetration and also due to higher construction activities. Robust
construction activities on back of higher housing demand has further boosted
the growth of paint industry. The share of fresh paints in total demand has
increased significantly in last decade on back of increasing urbanization and
higher demand for housing. The fresh demand for paints is expected to remain
strong in many years to come. Moreover, in recent years in India, there has
been considerable reduction in average number of years required for repainting
from 10-11 years 5 years back to 4-5 years now. Traditionally repainting has
dominated the demand for decorative paints but higher construction activities

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on back of demand for housing space has resulted in higher growth for new
painting demand. Share of fresh demand for paints has increased to 30per cent
currently from 15per cent a decade ago. This is the stark evidence of changing
lifestyle with rising income levels. Repainting the home is not just a
discretionary spend as it used to be as changing lifestyle resulted in people
aspiring for cleaner and beautiful looking homes or commercial areas.

Need for the Study

Over the past years, the Indian paints and coatings industry has
substantially grown and caught the attention of many international players. The
country is expected to witness a higher economic growth in the future leading
to a larger market size for paint and coating industry. Other emerging countries
in Asia-Pacific region are also witnessing this growth as these places are
backed by higher disposable income, exponentially growing population,
improving Infrastructure and huge investments in infrastructure. Indian paints
and coatings market is mainly driven by demand of two types of paints,
decorative paints that constitute 75 per cent of the market and industrial paint
which constitute the remaining 25 per cent. The major players in Indian paints
& coatings market are Asian Paint, Kansai Nerolac, Berger Paints, AkzoNobel
and Shalimar Paints. The Indian paints & coatings market is highly organized
with about 70 percent of market domination by organized player. The market
tends to have a monopolistic competition, led by Asian paints. With
improvements in standard of living and growth in awareness about paints and
coating, the Indian consumers have become more conscious about how the
house interior and exterior looks. They have shifted the focus from regular
paints and distempers to enamel and premium paints. This change has driven
demand for premium paints in the market. The Indian market recorded a
tremendous growth of 45per cent in last five years. The rural sector is still an
untapped market of India. Companies show focus on coming up with paints
and coatings which are consumer specific to the villagers and small towns of
India. The global Paint and Coating industry has witnessed a healthy growth in

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past few years. Its market size is about US $99 Billion. The market is expected
to witness a tremendous growth in the emerging nations of the world. Hence,
the present study made an attempt to investigate the Brand Preference among
the Decorative Paint Users in Chennai City.

Statement of the Problem

India’s paint industry has a bright future not only because the per capita
consumption is high but also because of increase in residential construction
activity, and rising income levels in rural as well as urban areas. The demand
for premium category paints i.e. emulsions is increasing with rise in
construction of housing apartments, commercial infrastructure, like shopping
malls, whose main focus is aesthetics. Indian paint markets are now “buyer
market”. Therefore the marketers have to design suitable strategies to stay
successful in the market. Their success depends on the ability to cater to the
market demand as per consumer preferences, wants and buying capacity. On
the other hand the foremost factors which consumers consider while purchasing
paint are durability, price, health and environment, in that order. The quality of
paints is a prime pre-purchase factor. Hence, this study aims to analyse the
Brand preference among the Decorative Paint Users in Chennai city.

Scope of the Study

In India earlier, it was mostly people above 45 years who chose types
and shades of paints, but that is changing now with more young people owning
apartments and taking such decisions. Demand for premium branded paint
products has been increasing as buyers become more aesthetically aware, and
realize that the paint on their walls is as vital a feature of their homes as the
television set or the couch. Growing demand for paints by both commercial and
household consumers has motivated researcher to pursue this study. The scope
of the present study is limited to the Brand Preference among the Decorative
Paint Users in Chennai City.

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Objectives of the Study

The objectives of the present study are:

i. To reveal the demographic profile of the respondents.

ii. To study the overview of Paint Industry in India.
iii. To study the factors responsible for Brand Preference among
Decorative Paint users.
iv. To study the differences between demographic profile of the
respondents towards various dimensions of awareness about paints,
paint buying behaviour and important factors while purchasing the
paints.
v. To study the Impact of important factors while purchasing the paints
on paint buying behaviour.
vi. To offer suitable suggestions for enhancing the Brand preference
among decorative paint users in Chennai city on the basis of findings
of the study.
Hypotheses
Ho – There is no significant difference between demographic profiles of
the respondents with respect to awareness about paints.

Ho – There is no significant difference between demographic profiles of

the respondents with respect to paint buying behaviour.

Ho – There is no significant difference between demographic profiles of

the respondents with respect to important factors while purchasing the
paints.

Ho – There is no significant difference between demographic profiles of

the respondents with respect to customer satisfaction.

Ho - There is no significant relationship among various dimensions of

awareness about paints.

Ho - There is no significant relationship among various dimensions of

paint buying behaviour.

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 Ho - There is no significant relationship among various dimensions of
important factors while purchasing the paints.

Research Methodology

Research methodology is a scientific and systematic way to solve

research problems. The research methodology deals with research methods and
taken into consideration the logic behind the methods. In total, the research
methodology of the study includes research design, sampling framework, data
collection, framework of analysis and limitations.

Research Design of the Study

Research design is the conceptual structure within which the research is

conducted. It is a blue print for the collection, management and analysis of the
data. The research design in the present study is descriptive in nature since it
describes the phenomena of Brand Preference among the Decorative Paint
users in Chennai city. Apart from this, the present study has its own objectives
and pre-determined methodology. It is purely descriptive in nature.

Profile of the study area

Chennai also known as Madras the official name until 1996 is the capital
of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Located on the Coromandel Coast off the
Bay of Bengal, it is the biggest cultural, economic and educational centre of
south India. According to the 2011 Indian census, it is the sixth-most populous
city and fourth-most populous urban agglomeration in India. The city together
with the adjoining regions constitutes the Chennai Metropolitan Area, which is
the 36th-largest urban area by population in the world. Chennai is among the
most-visited Indian cities by foreign tourists. It was ranked the 43rd-most
visited city in the world for the year 2015. The Quality of Living Survey rated
Chennai as the safest city in India. Chennai attracts 45 percent of health tourists
visiting India, and 30 to 40 percent of domestic health tourists. As such, it is
termed “India’s health capital”. As a growing metropolitan city in a developing

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country, Chennai confronts substantial pollution and other logistical and socio-
economic problems.

Chennai had the third-largest expatriate population in India, at 35,000 in

2009, 82,790 in 2011 and estimated at over 100,000 by 2016. Tourism-guide
publisher Lonely Planet named Chennai as one of the top ten cities in the world
to visit in 2015. Chennai is ranked as a beta-level city in the Global Cities
Index, and was ranked the best city in India by India Today in the 2014 annual
Indian city survey. In 2015 Chennai was named the “hottest” city (worth
visiting, and worth living in for long term) by the BBC, citing the mixture of
both modern and traditional values. National Geographic mentioned Chennai as
the only South Asian city to feature in its 2015 “Top 10 food cities” list.
Chennai was also named the ninth-best cosmopolitan city in the world by
Lonely Planet. In October 2017, Chennai was added to the UNESCO Creative
Cities Network (UCCN) list for its rich musical tradition. The Chennai
Metropolitan Area is one of the largest municipal economies of India. Chennai
is nicknamed “The Detroit of India”, with more than one-third of India’s
automobile industry being based in the city. Home to the Tamil film industry,
Chennai is also known as a major film production centre. Chennai is one of the
100 Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under the Smart Cities
Mission.

Sampling Framework of the Study

The sampling framework of the study consists of determination of

sample size and sampling procedure of the study.

Determination of Sample Size (For unknown population)

The determination of sample size is a very important issue, because

samples that are too large may waste time, resources and money. While
samples that are too small may lead to inaccurate results. According to
(Saunders et al., 2000) researchers normally work to a 95 percent level of
certainty. This means that if sample are selected 100 times, at least 95 of these
samples would be certain to represent the characteristics of the population.
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The margin of errors describes the precision of the estimation of the
population. For most business and management researches, a researcher
estimates the population’s characteristics by plus or minus 3 to 5 percent of its
true values.

The researcher has applied the following formula to determine the

sample size.

Sample size n = (ZS/E)2

where

Z = Standardized value corresponding to a confidence level of 95% = 1.96

S = Sample SD from Pilot study of 100 samples

E = Acceptable Error =5% = 0.05

n = (1.96* 0.6021/0.05)2

Sample size = 557.06

In this study, the researcher took 557 samples from the population1.

Sampling Procedure of the Study

There are 557 respondents are taken as a sample for the present study.
One Thousand Two Hundred and Fifty questionnaires were distributed among
the sixteen taluks in Chennai City as shown in the table 1.

Table 1

Distribution of Sampling

Number of Number of Filled

Name of the Taluks in
Sl.No. Questionnaire Questionnaires
Chennai City
distributed Received
1. Thiruvottriyur 100 25
2. Tondiarpet 50 10
3. Madhvaram 50 5

1
Robert V. Krejcie and Daryle W. Morgan. (1970), Determining Sample Size for Research
Activities, Educational and Psychological Measurement, Volume 30, p. 607-610.

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 4. Perambur 50 15
5. Purasawalkam 100 20
6. Ambattur 50 15
7. Ayanavaram 50 10
8. Aminjikkarai 50 10
9. Madhuravoyal 50 10
10. Mambalam 100 35
11. Egmore 100 40
12. Guindy 100 70
13. Mylapore 100 75
14. Velachery 100 80
15. Alandur 100 72
16. Sholinganallur 100 65
Total 1250 557

The total number of questionnaires distributed in the self-administered

survey was 1250 sets. Purposive sampling method is applied in this research
for selecting the sample. A form of non-probability sampling in which
decisions concerning the individuals to be included in the sample are taken by
the researcher, based upon a variety of criteria which may include specialist
knowledge of the research issue, capacity and willingness to participate in the
research. Some types of research design necessitate researchers taking a
decision about the individual participants who would be most likely to
contribute appropriate data, both in terms of relevance and depth. For example,
in life history research, some potential participants may be willing to be
interviewed, but may not be able to provide sufficient data. Researchers may
have to select the samples carefully. Based on the collected questionnaires, 382
sets of questionnaire were incomplete and 311 sets of questionnaires were not
returned. Assumption was made that the respondents were either reluctant to
collaborate or did not want to answer the questionnaire seriously. As a result,
only 557 valid sets of questionnaires (44.6 percent) were available and then

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used for further analysis using SPSS software version 21. The data analysis
methods carried out for this research was descriptive analysis, scale
measurement analysis and inferential analysis.

Sources of Data

The present study is completely based on the primary data. The

secondary data collected from the books, journals, magazines and websites
were used to form the theoretical framework of the study and the review of
literature. The primary data was collected personally with the help of structured
questionnaire.

Construct Development of the Study

The present study is completely based on the primary data collected

from the sampled customers in Chennai City. A special care was taken to draft
the questionnaire. The questionnaire was divided into five parts. The first part
of questionnaire includes the demographic profile of the respondents. They are
gender, age, educational qualification, marital status, occupation, family size,
monthly income, number of earning members in family, nature of resident and
nature of living. The second part of the questionnaire consists of thirty two
variables of awareness about paints. The variables are measured with five point
Likert scale. The third part of the questionnaire includes of fifteen variables of
paint buying behaviour. The variables are measured with the five point Likert
Scale. The fourth part of the questionnaire includes of twenty one variables of
important factors while purchasing the paints. The variables are measured with
the five point Likert Scale (SA-Strongly agree, A-Agree, N-Neutral, DA-
disagree, SDA-strongly disagree). The fifth part of the questionnaire includes
of thirty variables of customer satisfaction. The variables are measured with the
five point Likert Scale. The relevant variables of the above said concepts were
drawn from the review of previous studies. A pilot study was conducted among
100 customers of Decorative Paint. Based on the feedback from the pretest,
certain modifications, additions, deletions and simplifications were carried out.

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The draft of the questionnaire was prepared to collect the data from customers
of Decorative Paint users in Chennai City.

Framework of Analysis

The analysis of data in a research plays a pivotal role in the sense that it
interprets, justifies and proves the hypothesis and the proposals. The judicious
blend of analytical tools used has its own impact on the findings of the
research, thereby making it highly objective and scientific. In this context, the
tools for analysis have been rightly chosen as follows.

Descriptive Analysis

 Chi Square Test

 Correlation Coefficient

 t – Test

 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)

 One Sample t Test

 Multiple Regression Analysis

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The present study is subjected with the following limitations:

 The present study includes the respondents of Decorative Paint users in

Chennai City.

 The answers given by the respondents towards Brand Preference among

Decorative Paint users may be affected by the personal value judgment.

 The aspects of Awareness about Paints, Paint Buying Behaviour,

Important Factors While Purchasing the Paints and Customer Satisfaction
have been measured with the help of the variables drawn from previous
studies.

 All the descriptive variables are measured by likert five points scale.

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CHAPTER PLAN

The present study is classified into five chapters for neat and clear
presentation.

The first chapter includes the introduction, need for the study,
statement of the problem, scope of the study, objectives of the study,
hypotheses of the study, operational definitions, period of the study, research
methodology, framework of analysis, limitations of the study and chapter plan.

The second chapter deals with the review of relevant literature.

The third chapter exhibits a conceptual framework of the study.

The fourth chapter exhibits an overview of paint industry in India.

The fifth chapter explains the demographic profile of the respondents

and their opinion towards various dimensions of Awareness about Paints, Paint
Buying Behaviour, Important Factors While Purchasing the Paints and
Customer Satisfaction. And find the differences between demographic profile
of the respondents with respect to Awareness about Paints, Paint Buying
Behaviour, Important Factors While Purchasing the Paints and Customer
Satisfaction. To study the Impact of various dimensions of Important Factors
While Purchasing the Paints on Customer Satisfaction.

The sixth and final chapter summarizes the findings of the study,
suggestions, conclusion and scope for future research.

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