Godrej unit sets sights on Mideast, Africa markets

Godrej Security Solutions, a unit of Indian business conglomerate Godrej Group, will explore Middle East and African markets through its business hub in Dubai, its top official says.

Pushkar Gokhale, business head at Godrej Security Solutions, said Dubai has emerged as an important financial hub in the region and the company will expand its business in the region through the emirate. He said the UAE is not just an important market for Godrej Security Solutions, but is also significant for the parent company.

“Godrej & Boyce has a very ambitious growth plan charted out for the next 3-5 years and we expect this to be bolstered by our exports. Currently close to 10 per cent of our revenues are generated from exports with a focus on the Middle East, Saarc countries and Africa,” Gokhale told Khaleej Times in an interview.

As far as Godrej Security Solutions business in the UAE is concerned, he said the emirate is an important growth market for the company. “For Godrej Security Solutions, 15 per cent of our export revenue is generated from the UAE market and we are targeting a growth of 30 per cent over the next two years.  We believe that we are well poised to meet our export demands owing to our engineering capabilities, experience and capacity expansion plans,” he said.

UAE-India cooperation

Gokhale said UAE-India cooperation is promising with the commitment of enhanced bilateral trade and investment. “While the physical security exports from India to UAE is not that significant, we believe there is a huge headroom for growth. We expect an aggressive growth in our residential and commercial security solutions exports to UAE where consumers demand smarter and more aesthetically defined solutions,” he said.

“With a target to increase our retail touchpoints by 25 per cent in the next two years. This will also lead to an increase in our workforce in the region by 15 per cent,” he said.

Top 3 safe manufacturers

Gokhale said Godrej Security Solutions is among the world’s top five manufacturers of $100 million safes and vaults business. The company is keen to become one of the top three manufacturers in coming years. “We are aiming for a 30 per cent growth in the Middle East market in the next two years and specifically 15 per cent in the home security segment,” he said.

“We have already started initiatives like Secure 4.0, an initiative in line with offering our customers more evolved security solutions with growing landscape and adoption of technology,” he said, adding that this was also recently initiated by Godrej Security Solutions in India to spread awareness about the change in type of threats and making users conscious about upgrading for best possible security measures. “This is what we believe sets us apart and supports our vision for growth,” he said.

“Currently we have a dominant market share in the physical security solutions space in this region with the home segment amongst others also steadily growing. In the UAE we have witnessed increase of 20-25 per cent in terms of demand for home safes over the last year,” he said.

Exploring growth markets

Gokhale said Godrej Security Solutions will explore the Middle East and African market to increase its market share in the region. “We are aiming for a 30 per cent growth in the Middle East market in the next two years like I mentioned earlier. We are also planning to aggressively increase our retail touch points by 25 per cent,” he said.

“We already have strong associations with some of the leading players in the region like Zayani & Co LLC, Khimji Ramdas, Abdullah Abdul Ghani and Al Nabooda Group, to name a few. We are also available on major e-commerce marketplaces like Amazon.ae,” he added.

Godrej Security Solutions currently has 50 retail touch points in the UAE. “We are constantly innovating in the space of Home Security and introducing connected Safes and IOT Based products and solutions,” he said.

Innovation-led products

Gokhale said the company has introduced innovation-led products and security solutions in the region.

Referring to Smart FOG, he said it is a recent innovation that is one of its kind solution that offers a powerful fogging security system enabled to stop intruders in their tracks. It was designed with a simple motto -- Let the Safe/Space defend itself.

“We have also recently launched AccuGold, a Gold Purity Testing machine that is equipped to determine gold purity with the highest accuracy without damaging the ornament. This is in line with the growing need experienced among gold loan companies, banks, jewellers and hallmarking centres,” he said.

To a question about the UAE-Middle East tailored needs for smarter and convenient security solutions, he said the UAE and Middle East have been markets that have always been ahead of the curve when it comes to adopting technology.

“There is also a very high sense of aesthetics in this part of the world. We are geared to launch products that are connected, integrated based on IoT and extremely high on design and convenience,” he said.

125 years celebrations

Godrej & Boyce is the flagship company of the Godrej Group and it is celebrating a milestone year having completed 125 years.

“In the last century and more, we have established ourselves as a leader. A landmark moment for us was when we were assigned the responsibility by the Indian government, to manufacture 1.7 milllion ballot boxes in a matter of just four months for India’s first election after the freedom struggle. We also made India’s first home safe,” he said.

“From then to now, we continue to be the first choice for security solutions and products not just across 20 million homes but also institutions and premises globally. We are today exporting to more than 60 countries. This is a strong legacy that we will be carrying forward as the market evolves, not only in India but globally,” Gokhale concluded.

Scope of safes, vaults business in UAE

Gokhale said the UAE offers good business opportunities for the company despite the fact that it is one of the safest countries in the world with zero crime rate in the emirate. “I believe a strong and fire-resistant safe and vault is a requirement of everyone in the UAE to save their important documents, gold and jewellery and money in the post- Covid era,” Gokhale said.

He said there are some building fire incidents in the UAE and Godrej Security Solutions has launched a wide range of products as low as Dh1,000 to cater to the needs of everyone.

“Demand of our products is on the rise in post-Covid era as visa reforms, successful Covid strategy and promising economic outlook have inspired many UAE residents to consider the emirate their first home,” Gokhale said.

• Business