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Informed InvestoRR
There’s something timeless about the smell of fresh paint – it whispers of new beginnings, festivals, and pride. For Indians, painting isn’t just décor; it’s a tradition, a celebration, a mark of progress. From city flats to village homes, be it owned or rented, a fresh coat of paint has always meant something more.
But there was a time when this joy was a luxury. With only a handful of expensive imported options, painting was out of reach for many, until one man saw the gap. What began as a bold idea in pre-Independence turned into a ₹2.2 trillion empire that redefined how a nation lived, felt, and celebrated its spaces. Curious how one stroke of vision changed it all? Read on.
Born in Restriction
It was 1942. The world was at war, India was under colonial rule, and the British government had just banned the import of paints. While others saw chaos, Champaklal Choksey and three friends saw a blank canvas.
With foreign paint companies halting operations, the Indian market stood wide open. In the heart of Mumbai, the foursome launched Asian Paints, with a modest dream and a deep understanding of India’s layered consumer psyche. What began as a wartime workaround was soon to become India’s most iconic colour story.
and Beginnings
Distributors in cities weren’t interested in a fledgling paint brand. So, Choksey looked beyond skylines and turned to the soil. He noticed a curious ritual in villages, painting bullhorns and home entrances for festivals and traditions. It was more than decoration; it was emotion, aspiration, and identity.
Asian Paints catered to these rural needs, one tin at a time. The paint caught on, the word spread, and ironically, the same big distributors who once rejected Choksey came knocking. By 1952, just ten years in, the company clocked ₹23 crore in revenue, powered by a bottom-up strategy that outsmarted top-down giants.
Gambit
In a market ruled by dull, smelly distempers and costly emulsions, Choksey saw an opening. Asian Paints developed a washable distemper, a perfect middle ground. Affordable, odor-free, and high-performing.
To sell it? They didn’t just use a mascot, they made a legend.
Enter Gattu – the paintbrush-wielding boy drawn by none other than R.K. Laxman. A marketing masterstroke followed: a nationwide contest asked Indians to guess his name. Out of 47,000 entries, two got it right. Gattu wasn’t just a mascot, he became a movement.
And the campaign’s punchline?
“Don’t lose temper, use Tractor Distemper.”
The paint flew off shelves.
New #1 in Town
Through the ‘50s and ‘60s, Asian Paints kept climbing, not with brute force, but with brainy moves. While profits were modest, their CAGR grew by 21%, and margins soared from 2% to 13%. By 1967, Asian Paints dethroned Shalimar to become India’s #1 paint brand.
But they didn’t stop at paint. They turned their eyes inward, to the very bones of business, distribution, tech, and capital flow.
Reinventing Supply
Back when competitors offered credit periods of up to a year, Asian Paints flipped the playbook. They incentivized faster payments with cash discounts and loyalty perks for dealers. It freed up capital, kept inventory moving, and created a self-reinforcing supply chain loop.
Even more radical? Cutting out the middlemen in the 1970s. Dealers now got products directly. With no distributors eating into margins, Asian Paints built a robust dealer ecosystem, one that loved them back. Today, they serve 70,000+ dealers across India, more than any rival.
Colour Code
Here’s a fun fact: Asian Paints had a supercomputer before ISRO or IIT Powai did. In 1970, they spent ₹8 crore (an eye-watering figure back then) to forecast demand more accurately. From branch billing to real-time truck tracking, they digitized their processes decades before it became cool.
Efficiency shot up. A plant that once needed 1600 workers could now run on 100. Revenues per depot and factory outpaced all competitors. It wasn’t just smart manufacturing, it was future-proofing.
Dealer Love Story
One major reason for Asian Paints’ unshakable dominance? The tinting machine. Instead of forcing dealers to stock every shade, these machines allowed for thousands of custom mixes on-site. The kicker? While others charged dealers heavily, Asian Paints leased the machines, absorbing the initial costs.
The result? Even the smallest paint shop in a Tier-4 town could offer premium service, equalizing opportunity and multiplying loyalty.
A New Era
Today, Asian Paints is far more than a paint company. They’ve stepped inside your home, literally.
From textured paints (Royale Play) to waterproofing, from modular kitchens to bath fittings and décor, they want to own the entire home experience. Their focus is no longer just walls, but the stories between them.
They’re also preparing for the DIY revolution, building tools for everyday people to pick up the brush, literally and figuratively. As labour costs rise and tools become user-friendly, Asian Paints wants to empower every Indian to paint their own canvas.
at Home and Abroad
Asian Paints stands tall in the global paint industry, backed by a market capitalisation of ₹2.2 trillion as of June 2025. This number isn’t just impressive, it’s a testament to the company’s dominance, both in India and worldwide.
Since 1967, Asian Paints has remained India’s market leader and has steadily climbed the global ladder. Today, it ranks as the 2nd largest paint company in Asia and 8th in the world, known for its sharp professionalism, consistent growth, and commitment to delivering value to its shareholders.
and a Strong Global Footprint
The company operates 27 state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and caters to customers in over 60 countries. Its global presence is further strengthened by well-recognised subsidiaries like Asian Paints Berger, Apco Coatings, SCIB Paints, and Asian Paints Causeway.
Operating in more than 15 countries, Asian Paints isn’t just painting walls, it’s leaving a legacy of innovation, reach, and market leadership across continents.
Their Colour
Even with changing leadership and occasional boardroom turbulence, Asian Paints has never lost its rhythm. They’ve consistently recruited top-tier talent, embraced technology before time, and evolved their marketing with Indian culture.
Their board remains fiercely independent, and their strategy, unlike many corporates, is rooted in long-term trust, not short-term gains.
the Future
Asian Paints is a rare breed of brand that scaled not just with strategy, but with soul. They saw potential in painted bullhorns, invented a market between price points, built a supply chain that beats global benchmarks, and earned the love of 70,000+ dealers.
And now, they’re gearing up to paint dreams, not just walls.
The brush is still in their hands, and the canvas is only getting bigger.
Yash Vora is a financial writer with the Informed InvestoRR team at Equentis. He has followed the stock markets right from his early college days. So, Yash has a keen eye for the big market movers. His clear and crisp writeups offer sharp insights on market moving stocks, fund flows, economic data and IPOs. When not looking at stocks, Yash loves a game of table tennis or chess.
