India’s Piramal Glass is expanding its presence in Europe and the USA in a bid to tap the $2.5 billion opportunities in their high-end cosmetics and perfumery markets.
The glassmaker, which reported revenues of Rs 1104 crore in 2009-10, attributes 43% of its turnover to the cosmetics and perfumery sector; an area which has reportedly been growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 45% in the last five years.
Piramal Glass’ Managing Director, Vijay Shah, recently reported that the company’s focus would be to change the product mix and focus more on higher value-added products.
“As much as 50% of the premium cosmetics and perfumery segment is concentrated in France and the US,” said Mr Shah. “Other important markets in Europe are Germany, Spain and the UK,” he added.
The company already has an office in the UK and has now opened an office in France, in order to better reach the local market. “In France, we had a resident representative for eight years, but the opening of the office gives a lot of confidence to our local customers like Louis Vuitton and Procter & Gamble,” said Mr Shah. “France and the USA are the production points for select perfumes and have immense potential.”
The US market contributes 32% to Piramal Glass’ sales. The company, which acquired The Glass Group of the USA in 2005, confirmed that some part of the US manufacturing will move to India.
