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APRI L 28- MAY 11, 2014

BUSI NESS I NDI A u THE MAGAZI NE OF THE CORPORATE WORLD Security
C
onsider the statistics. In India,
a burglary takes place every
15 seconds, totalling about
500,000 robberies annually, says the
National Crime Records Bureau and
the ministry for home affairs statis-
tics. With security solutions consid-
ered a necessity rather than a luxury
and law enforcement authorities
strongly advocating techno-devices,
the `850 crore Godrej Security Solu-
tions, the agship division of the
$4.2 billion Godrej & Boyce group of
companies, is on a major brand con-
solidation and expansion spree to
rm up its position in Indias niche
but growing home security market.
Though Indian consumers are
concerned about security related
issues, they approach security as a
reactive step rather than a proactive
measure, says Mehernosh Pitha-
walla, head, marketing, Godrej Secu-
rity Solutions. So, while the numbers
indicate a tremendous potential for
security solutions and devices, the
penetration of home safes is less than
1 per cent.
And the concern is on the
rise not only in urban areas
but even in Tier II and Tier III cit-
ies. Safety worries for the children
and senior citizens are gaining par-
amount importance everywhere,
along with fear of thefts, forcing peo-
ple to store precious objects in safes
to deter burglaries. This is especially
so because bank lockers are avail-
able in limited numbers only, apart
from being expensive to rent and
not easily accessible 24x7. Keeping
these points in mind, Godrej Secu-
rities is applying technology to its
maximum, in an effort to satisfy cus-
tomer needs, with a new range of
innovative domestic safes to protect
important documents, jewellery and
valuables.
But the penetration of safes and
lockers in India is at a mere 1 per cent,
as compared to the US 25 per cent
and Italys 30 per cent. Major players
in this segment include Kores Interna-
tional, Maxswell Safes, Safeage Secu-
rity Products, Gardwell Industries,
Rolex International, VR Engineering,
Dhanlaxmi Safe Co, Alpha Electronic
Systems, etc. There is also Swedens
548 million Gunnebo Securities,
the products of which include two
globally known brands, Steelage and
Chubbsafes. Gunnebo has set up a
`35 crore plant at Halol, Gujarat, to
make 2-in-1 safes, biometric safes
and modular safe deposit lockers,
note counting machines, electronic
security, entrance control systems,
etc, as well as Minimax re extin-
guisher and CCTVs.
Catering to banks, metro stations,
airports, large business and commer-
cial enterprises and power plants,
among others, Gunnebo is poised
to touch `600 crore revenue by 2015
and `1,200 crore by 2018. Proposals
by Indian Post ofces to set up bank-
ing operations all over the country
will see demand for safes increase
from all corners of India, says Som
Gangopadhyay, senior vice-presi-
dent, Gunnebo.
All these developments have kept
Godrej too on its toes. After all, it
was its founder Ardeshir Godrej,
who pioneered Indias rst six-
and seven-lever Navtal lock in
1897 and safes in 1902. Godrej
safes were used by the Princess
of Wales in 1905 during her visit
to India and later by King George V
and Queen Mary in 1911 during their
Coronation Durbar in India.
Diversifying safely
Godrej Securities has now diversied
into video door phones, alarm sys-
tems, etc, providing protection from
re and break-ins, CCTVs for surveil-
lance in buildings to spot suspicious
activities and inside the home to
monitor small children and elderly
family members. It is still the leader
in the home safe segment, control-
ling 85 per cent of the `150 crore
market in India, which is growing at
a CAGR of 30 per cent.
Afuent lifestyles and rising
income levels have led to accumula-
tion of precious possessions which,
in turn, have increased the need for
additional safety requirements. The
presence of elderly people alone in
their apartments is another imper-
ative for the prioritisation of safety
needs. So, Godrej Securities has
Building on security
Godrej Securities gears up to dominate the home safe segment
Pithawalla:
scope for
penetration
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APRI L 28- MAY 11, 2014
BUSI NESS I NDI A u THE MAGAZI NE OF THE CORPORATE WORLD Security
woken to the fact that it has to
strengthen its core competence in
home security solutions.
While the use of technology has
enhanced the quality of protection
devices, Godrej Securities is also
aware that burglary and theft tech-
nology too has got modernised. And
the companys biggest problem was
creating awareness to the benets
of proactively securing ones house-
hold, which were not completely
understood in India, unlike in the
US and Europe.
Understanding that consumers
want to take responsibility of their
own security and ensure the safety of
their families through reliable home
security measures, Godrej Security
Solutions has launched a series of
innovative technology-driven home
safes. The move has also been sup-
ported by a `20 crore, 360 degree
campaign encompassing TV commer-
cials, dealer advertisements, radio
spots and on-ground promotions.
The advanced home security mar-
ket is niche, says Pithawalla. But we
feel that there is a need to integrate
technology into everyday security
solutions, which customers use like
safes. And the fact that technological
devices like smartphones are gaining
widespread acceptance is enhancing
awareness further.
The focus is on biometric secu-
rity which, according to a report by
Frost & Sullivan, is expected to touch
`52.55 billion by 2015, as against
`5.43 billion in 2011. And as consum-
ers are keen to have technology-in-
tegrated products, Godrej is moving
on to the technology of the future.
Its new innovations include biomet-
ric and electronic security products,
priced `4,000-55,000, which today
account for 65 per cent of its portfo-
lio, with sales rising by 30 per cent.
It is this new technology that
Godrej is propagating with its new
range of home safes, which are fool-
proof and can become an integral
part of peoples lives. The range
includes the `55,000 Matrix Safe
I-Warn comes equipped with a sen-
sor panel which emits an alarm if
the safe is tampered with (and the
alert, either by SMS or by phone call,
goes to eight numbers across the city,
country or even overseas, as pro-
grammed, so that timely action can
be taken); the `10,100 Privy, which
opens at the top, while secret com-
partments allow valuables to remain
hidden within the ooring for extra
security; Secreto, for `11,499, comes
disguised as a drawer and can be t-
ted in any wardrobe or table; E-Bio,
at `12,999, opens only to a persons
ngerprints; and E-Swipe, at `12,499,
reacts only to the owners credit
card.
The ad campaign was focussed
around one theme: Musibat kabhi
bata kar nahi aati (Trouble doesnt
come announced), where the ve-
lm ad campaign showcases situa-
tions which expose the consumers
vulnerability. They use tongue-in-
cheek humour to show how the
home owner is always in control of
home security, whether he is at home
or even away from home.
The aim was to build and cre-
ate awareness, says Pithawala. The
real problem with Indian consum-
ers is the sense of denial. They seem
to think that calamities happen to
other people only. So, the key was
to overcome consumer barriers and
lead to category adoption.
One ad lm titled Why would a
thief need a passport has two thieves
trying to open a Godrej safe. The
domestic help walks in to nd the
thieves trying to break the safe. He
smiles and asks them: Passport hai?
To banwana padega, nahi to tum log
Japan kaise jaaoge? (Do you have pass-
port. If not, you have to get it made;
otherwise, how will you go to Japan?)
The implication is that the owner is in
Japan, and the safe opens only with
his ngerprint. The scene shifts to
the owner and his wife enjoying their
holiday in Japan wearing kimonos.
The voiceover says: Only your nger-
print can unlock it. Godrej E-bio.
The critical message is that such
security never fails, says Tista Sen,
national creative director J. Walter
Thomson. And it is delivered by fea-
turing real life everyday people in
situations we are familiar with. The
thieves remain hoodwinked by supe-
rior technology from Godrej and
the support cast adds to making the
spots engaging and fun with the tag
line Ab musibat se darna kaisa.
The integrated marketing cam-
paign with the lm campaigns in
October 2013, January and Febru-
ary 2014, saw Godrejs sales rise by
64 per cent. Sensing the opportu-
nity, Godrej Securities is invest-
ing over `25 crore in expanding its
plant in Vikhroli, Mumbai, as well
as in other locations. It is also going
for new products like video door
phones, with two-way audio commu-
nication, 15 wireless alarm systems
with LCD display and 15 zone sensor
panels costing `8,000-15,000.
Spreading its wings
To meet demand from Tier II and
Tier III towns, GSS is now present in
over 6,000 outlets across India. It is
in furniture and appliance stores,
e-commerce portals, etc, and plans to
expand to 8,000 outlets by June. Giv-
ing the performance of these products
a boost is the certication of quality
from Underwriters Laboratory, USA,
as well as from SP Laboratories, Swe-
den, for re resistance. VDS labora-
tories, Germany, and ECBS endorse
them as being up to European stan-
dards, which has seen exports rise by
40 per to over 60 countries in Europe,
the Middle East, Bangladesh, Nepal
and African countries.
No doubt, India still needs to
catch up with technology-driven
countries like Japan, but consum-
ers should also realise that, with
advancement in technology, burglary
and theft have also gone modern.
u R OB I N A B R E U
REVENUE
(` crore)
FY14 FY13 FY12 FY11
500
610
730
850
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