Foray into paints, B2B e-commerce are set to transform Grasim, says Birla

Both ventures complement existing businesses of Grasim; they cater to a large market, offer access to new customer pools, firm says

The foray of the flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, Grasim, into paints and business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce are set to transform the company as these new ventures complement the existing businesses of the company, Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the group said on Monday.

“The journey will be marked by the strong growth of our existing scale businesses as well as by the creation of new growth engines. The strategic foray into paints and B2B e-commerce are decisive steps in that direction. Both paints and B2B e-commerce businesses complement the existing lines of business within the Grasim umbrella. They cater to a large market, offer access to new customer pools, and hold the promise of creating sustained stakeholder value,” Birla said while addressing the company's shareholders.

The viscose staple fibre (VSF) business has set an ambitious target to achieve net-zero carbon emissions across all its operations by 2040.

“Witnessing a strong demand in the advanced materials (epoxy) business, your company has decided to double its capacity to 246 KTPA by FY25,” Birla said.

On the paints business, Birla said the company is focused on project execution and is on track to achieving the plant commissioning timelines starting from the March quarter of FY24.

“For FY23, Grasim has earmarked Rs 3,117 crore for the existing lines of businesses excluding the paints and B2B ecommerce business.

The board of your company has approved a total capex amount of Rs 10,000 crore for the paints business, out of which Rs 605 crore has been spent till FY22. Additionally, the company has earmarked Rs 2,000 crore for the B2B e-commerce business,” Birla said.