Gandharv Tongia, CFO of Polycab, mentioned that the company is exploring a shift from product manufacturing to delivering customer-centric IoT (Internet of Things) solutions.
Polycab unveiled a new brand logo and identity on September 18 at a press conference. On the sidelines of the event, Tongia told Moneycontrol that Polycab is trying to provide home solutions to customers.
“One of the products we have launched is home automation. This is an app-based, IoT-enabled solution, which would help you in operating almost all electrical products with the help of an app or over the internet. For example, a customer wants to set up a rule that at 6 pm every day, the water heater or geyser needs to switch on. You can also have complex rules like when I put my TV on theatre mode, the AC should come to 23 degrees Celsius, lights should be dim and curtains should be lowered. All those complex solutions are possible,” said Tongia.
Tongia also added that the company in the future aims to certify their own electricians enabling the latter to cater to the requirements of end customers with the help of the company’s products.
Tongia said there is robust demand in the wires and cables segment as India is a consumption powerhouse and the demand from various sectors like infrastructure, real estate, and industries will benefit Polycab. “From a company’s standpoint, we believe that we should be able to get to Rs 20,000 crore of top line by fiscal 2026 or probably sooner than fiscal 2026 as demand is robust,” he said.
When asked about the steps Polycab is taking in order to strengthen their FMEG business which saw a soft quarter with 2 percent yearly revenue growth, Tongia said the company witnessed a transition in various aspects in the last year. This includes their distribution wing that they rejigged, developing manufacturing facilities and ensuring products in every price segment.
“Suppose a particular dealer has the ability to do only Rs 2 crore of business a year, and your ambition is Rs 10 crores, then there is no point in continuing with that dealer because he can’t meet your expectations”, Tongia said. Tongia added that the transition was slow “because you can't go and tell him on day 1 that from tomorrow onwards I'm going to do something like this. You have to tactfully explain to him that his size and aspirations are different than ours, and he will be remapped to a larger dealer.”
“Now because most of these initiatives have been completed, including this brand refresh, we believe that slowly and gradually, in the quarters to come, we should be able to get to a better growth rate in FMEG,” said Tongia.
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