Shaw Contract eyes smaller town, to raise investment limit

Shaw Contract, a business unit of Shaw Industries Group Inc which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, is looking to penetrate into the small towns and also raise investment limit in the country.

The Bengaluru-based Shaw Contract India has been in operations for over two decades and is the second-largest supplier of commercial carpet tiles in the country with a market share of around 22 percent, the company claimed.

Globally, Shaw which had USD 4.8-billion revenue last year is looking to invest more in the country.

With the macroeconomic growth and Shaw's projected investment, it anticipates increasing its business by 18-20 percent annually over the next five years, Rakesh Lakra, regional VP, Shaw Contract India said but did not disclose the investment numbers.

He said in the first phase of expansion, the company will look to enter cities like Chandigarh, Pune and Ahmedabad.

The company will also be focusing more on the Northern markets, primarily the Delhi-NCR region.

Phil Decker, divisional vice president for Asia Pacific said, "India is one of the top three markets for Shaw in Asia and has growing at a rate of about 15 percent in the past few years, and we believe there is much more potential for growth here." The company will be investing in expanding its workforce, both in sales segment and implementing an India-specific design section. The India-focused design section will provide support for Shaw's hospitality and commercial carpet businesses, he said.

Shaw intends to develop more collections specific to Indian architecture and design requirements.