Recently i was planning to get my house painted…Before calling vendors for quotation, i jotted down my requirements very clearly so that there is no ambiguity in the quotes from different vendors (Apple to Apple comparison)…As usual my research started to find out the best…I shortlisted Asian Paints, Nerolac and Berger paints (Subsidiary of Asian paints only Pls refer trail April 03, 2012 update for clarification from Asian Paints on this point)…I decided to call representatives of these 3 companies for quotation….
I called customer care of all 3 & left my contact details….Asian paints was quickest to contact, same day I received call & executive fixed appointment for weekend visit…Next day I received call from Nerolac & I called them before Asian Paints…Berger never called, which means they don’t need business :)
The Nerolac representative visited my premises and took measurements of complete house..As I was very clear on my requirement therefore I appraised him of same before survey…He told me that quality of walls is good so i can go ahead with 1 application of putty (Where ever required) and 2 Coats of Premium Emulsion paint…Now it was turn of Asian Paints guy, he suggested me 1 application of putty, 2 Coats of primer and 2 Coats of Premium Emulsion paint… When I told him that quality of walls is good so he was bit confused & told me to go for 1 application of putty & 2 coats of paint….
Now it was time to review quotes…Asian Paints quoted me 1.07 Lac and Nerolac quoted me 55k (Both included 2 designer walls & 1 ceiling with Glow paint)…. Asian Paints quote was double than Nerolac…I called Asian Paint guy (he was distributor for my area) and he gave me all the reasons of high quote i.e. superior quality, Brand name etc etc..He also told me that if I can get my house painted directly from him, he will give me a discount of 15% and on negotiations he agreed for 18% discount….I was shocked to hear becoz if he is giving discount of 18% then what should be the margins of Company on actual quote of 1.07 Lac…Secondly distributors also don’t have glow paint so he told me to revert back on mail from Asian paints, mentioning I would like to go ahead only with Glow Paint or designer wall paint….Now this entire dealing was sounding bit fishy and I decided to dig deep…
As i finalized the paint colors (with ref no) so i visited nearby hardware shop and checked that i need between 12-15 liters of paint for entire house….Each 1 liter paint box was costing between 230 Rs to 280 Rs depending on the qty of colors used (over and above base color) so paint was costing me between 3000 Rs to 3750 Rs….
I also called 1 so called interior designer and asked for total labor and material cost if i provide the paint..He quoted approx 15k for same….
So finally, the cost of 2 Designer walls and 1 ceiling from Asian paints was approx 20k and Total house painting cost (Asian Paints Premium Emulsion) costed me under 40k against quoted price of 1.07 lac thus I saved approx 67k…
Now the big catch…One of my friend who was staying slightly far from my house got quote of approx 70k for flat of same dimensions + 2 Designer Walls + 1 Glow paint Ceiling with Asian Paints Royal i.e. 1 grade better paint than premium emulsion.. I called one of my acquaintances from paint industry to check this entire illogical cycle…He told me that paint companies quote different rates for different apartments depending on their classification, which is quite ridiculous…Indirectly the company who is putting more money in media to create customer pull, pulls more money from customer..So why customer pay for it.
My advice is to buy your own paint, hire some agency to paint professionally and if u have any requirement of designer wall or glow paint then hire services of paint company…You will save more than 50% of cost so why to pay Xtra to paint company when u can get same job done @ cheaper rates…Like me u can also utilize money saved to buy some gadget.
Update April 03, 2012: Today i received a phone call & an email from Asian paints..Details are as follows
(a) A call from Asian Paints representative Mr Manjunath (Mob No: 99000*****) & i explained to him the complete details…But i dont agree with the justification provided by him on topic.
(b) An email from Asian paints Custome Care wherein they clarified that “Berger India is not a subsidiary of Asian Paints. Asian Paints, in some countries owns the Berger Brand, but certainly not in India.Berger India is a separate business entity in India.” but just to clarify from my end… if u check out Asian Paints Indian website http://www.
Copyright © 2011-2012 Nitin Bhatia. All Rights Reserved.
Will get back to you on this.
Will get back to you on this.
Dear Mr. Bahtia,
I am an Ex-employee of APHS, the berger link you have mentioned above is of International Website taken over by Asian Paints wayback in mid last decade, you might have also noticed that there is a logo of SCIB…that is SCIB,Egypt taken over in 2004-05 if I am not mistaken, In India “Berger” is known as Lewis Berger.
Prosenjit Barua
Dear Sir,
I received clarification from Asian Paints on this. i stand corrected on this point & have incorporated correction in my post. Thanks for your feedback
Hahaha….. all marketing game, believe me these MNC’s have read Kotler’s book thoroughly, suggest to compare fair deals with competitive companies to know the real root … never fall into lucrative traps of such companies…. jago grahak jago team
Hi, Can you give me the approximate size of your house? I was told I would need 25 liters of paint for a 3BHK which is about 1500sq ft carpet area. It seems okay as when i painted my own pooja room I used 1 liter for a very small 8 X 5 room. I won’t be painting the ceiling. only walls.
Super Built up area is 1800 sqft
Hi Nitin,
Thanks for sharing this. I am also struggling to deal with these Asian paints Dealers. They more than the double price what Asian paint calculator suggests. What city are you based in?
They cannot charge extra provided there is no extra process involved e.g. depending on condition of wall, some walls may require 3 application of putty instead of standard 2 application.
Thanks Nitin. I agree and planning to put a complaint to Asian Paints once I get formal Quote. But looks like they don’t have much control over dealers.
For 2200 sq ft Surface Area (around 600 carper area), this dealer has estimated 70,000 for Royal Shyne Emulsion where as the paint calculator on their site says 30- 35 K. I wanted to look for Royal Aspira but he said generally, they don’t paint using Royal Aspira.
You may explore
(a) Ask for Individual quote from Asian Paints Dealer. It will be atleast 20% cheaper compared to Asian Paints quote. Complete work will be done by Asian Paints Dealer as per Asian Paints process but you will get the bill of dealer not of asian paints
(b) You hire labour separately and buy material on your own. You will save atleast 40%-50% on the quoted price of Asian Paints.
I opted for 2nd option and saved 50%.
Thanks Nitin. Hiring a local painter was my original plan but painters in my area expects a lot. Time of painters, carpenters and Electricians in my area is costlier than a Doctor’s time :). I have contacted few dealers directly but haven’t heard anything yet. I contacted Berger and Dulux but no call back from them
Mine is new house from a Builder but the paint quality wasn’t good and there were stains on the wall so decided to re-paint. Asian Paint Home service has mentioned 2 coat putty and 2 coat Primer.
I don’t think so new construction require 2 coat of putty and primer as quality of wall is very good. Dealer is simply minting money.
reasonable and competitive painting work. Contact us at exinpc@gmail.com (mumbai). Thank you
Thanks for sharing!…
Thanks for sharing…one of the most rediculuois this Asian paints is charging rs 500 for visiting and providing quote!!!! Have you ever heard of this!
Quite unfortunate..
Hi Niitin…
Really good info… i was looking to pain our house very soon… and this article helps me to decide what should i do…
Hi Nithin…
Thank you for the info….have been struggling on deciding whether to go with the company or the local agency…and after contacting local agency, it saved me much money…..And yeah, I too am thinking of buying a gadget……
awsome!! great help sir. thank you :)
Hello Nitin,
We have bought a new 2 BHK of 1255 sq. ft. That’s the super build-up area. Could you please let me know how much litres of paint would be required after the wood work?
My apologies but i don’t have idea on same. You may get these details from painter.