Mr. Vijay Aggarwal awarded the most innovative corporate leader of the year by Power Brands



The Power Brand Hall of Fame



Mr Vijay Aggarwal received the award at a glittering ceremony in London called The Power Brand Hall of Fame. Mr Aggarwal has been given this award for having successfully steered H & R Johnson (India) [HRJ] in a leadership position in the Indian market. HRJ is today the World’s 7th largest tile company. In his leadership role at HRJ, Mr. Aggarwal has been instrumental in consolidating the leadership of Johnson brand in India and creating Marbonite and Endura which enjoy strong brand equity in the market today. His emphasis to drive leadership through innovation has resulted in a consistent year-on-year growth of HRJ. With gross revenues of over Rs. 1500 crores (FY 2011), HRJ is the undisputable leader in Indian ceramic tile market. It is the only entity in India to offer a complete range of tiles, bath products, and modular kitchens under one roof.

The Power Brand Hall of Fame ceremony was held in London on December 12, 2011 to honour Indian Corporate Leaders who have carved a niche for themselves with their remarkable strategies to channelize growth and take their companies ahead. Some of the prolific Indian Corporate leaders & dignitaries who received the award on the occasion include Mr Adi Godrej (Chairman of Godrej Group); Laurent Demortier (President - Crompton Greaves); Mehul Choksi (Chairman of Gitanjali Gems); Altaf Halde (South Asian Head of Kaspersky Lab); Anirudh Dhoot (Chairman of Videocon Industries); Bollywood Director Farhan Akhtar amongst others.

Power Brand is a research-driven power book of India’s most powerful brands. A brand bible, it garners India’s most aspiring brands which have fortified their presence in the hearts & minds of the Indian consumers. The ideology of Power Brand is to bring into spotlight India's most prolific, successful and emerging companies in order to augment their international brand identity, credibility, stability & sustainability. In line with our commitment to focus on innovation, we unveiled a series of innovative super-premium products at the Acetech 2011 in Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. Some of the innovative products that captured the imagination of our customers included Johnson Intellimate, Johnson Senso, Marbonite GVT Infinity and Johnson Digital, Johnson Stonex etc.
Let us in one voice congratulate Mr Aggarwal on this prolific achievement and reiterate our commitment to follow his vision and take the company to even greater heights.

Tiles for your kitchen




Kitchen Tiles

 

Selecting tiles for the kitchen is not an easy decision as you have to take different factors into consideration. The tiles that you select for your kitchen should not just be aesthetic to look at but also strong enough to resist stains and other damage. Most people only look for elegant looking styles but ignore the tile’s resistance capacity against scratches and stains. There are various options when it comes to choosing the right tiles for your kitchen. The two most common options are Pressed tiles and Extruded tiles.

There are two sub-categories of tiles under Pressed tiles. They are termed as Mono-cottura and Bi-cottura. Mono cottura tiles are produced under very high temperatures which makes them quite strong. Mono cottura tiles have a strong base which can easily withstand strong impact. On the other hand, bi cottura tiles are not as strong enough as Mono cottura tiles. Bi cottura tiles are known more for their stylish and aesthetic looks. They have a low resistance capacity compared to their counterpart.

Porcelain tiles

Another popular option you have for kitchen tiles is porcelain tiles. Porcelain tiles are widely used by many home-owners. Porcelain tiles are also termed as another variant of Pressed tiles. An advantage of porcelain tiles is that they are extremely durable and thus they are an ideal tiling option in commercial spaces like malls, offices and restaurants where it is not feasible to keep changing the tiles frequently. Whichever type of tiles you select for your kitchen but two things need to be considered well in advance. They are durability of the tiles and ease of cleaning.

Why Engineered marble score over other tiling options

When it comes to flooring there are a lot of options that you have. However, most undisputed and the most preferred option for flooring is Engineered marble flooring. Engineered Marble tiles have become a revered option with many home-makers because they offer a lot of aesthetic and practical benefits. So what makes marble flooring so popular? Let us look into some of the features of Engineered marble tiles. The first thing that comes to our mind when we think of marble tiles is their durability. Marble tiles are extremely durable and designed to last for a long time without any damage. Once you install marble tiles on your floor, you do not have to worry about changing your flooring for a long period. This is one reason why marble flooring has become so popular with the masses. 

Spruce up your home and office with Engineered marble tiles 

Engineered Marble tiles can be used to jazz up your home as well as office. They are considered an ideal flooring option for residential as well as commercial spaces. Marble tiles give a stylish, modern and a classic feel to your home or commercial space. Marble tiles are elegance personified as they help to create the desired look in the room. 

Easy installation 

One may wonder that installing Engineered marble tiles can be a tedious task. However, the installation procedure involved with marble tiles is quite a simple one and also takes less time. Though it is easy to install, it is always recommended that you hire a professional mason to install them to avoid any unwanted damage to the tiles. 

Plethora of designs to choose from 

One striking reason which makes Engineered&nbspmarble tiles so popular is the variety in which they are available. Marble tiles come in a pool of styles, colours, patterns and designs. Such a vast variety makes it easy for you to choose the right tiles to complement your home décor.

Three home décor mistakes to avoid




Home Décor

 

While designing your home, you have to pay attention to different factors like the theme, furnishings, upholstery and other things. One of them is the choice of colour you will select to paint your home walls. The choice of the colour should be correct for your home and it should not look either too overpowering or too dull. Many people get swayed by the colours shown in glossy colour magazines and blindly opt for the colour without considering whether the particular colour will be suitable for their home. Here a few tips when choosing the right paint for your home. 

Avoid choosing paint from a paint chip

Though a small chip of paint will look beautiful in the flashy fluorescent light of the paint store, it might actually be completely overpowering for your home walls. Whenever you select a particular colour, buy a quart of the colour and paint a section of the wall to see how the colour looks like. If you are fine with the look, then you can go ahead and finalize the colours for your walls.  

Don’t make the final decision in the store

Whether you are buying colours, fabric, flooring or other upholstery for your home, never make the final decision in the décor store itself. You can always ask the store manager to send in a few samples of the paint, fabric or the flooring that you have liked. Once in the home, you can check them under natural light to see whether they look or not.

Avoid choosing your favourite colour for everything

Just because you love the colour red, don’t go about painting all your home walls in bold red colour. You will not realise it in the beginning but painting all your home walls in flashy red will make it look like a haunted house rather than a home. You can instead of subtle shades for your walls to create a nice background to place your antique accessories and furnishings.

H&R Johnson to invest Rs. 400 crore in two years



Vijay Aggarwal, Managing Director



Ceramic tile maker, H&R Johnson (India), which has entered the bath fittings and kitchen cabinets segment, plans to invest nearly Rs. 400 crore in the next two years for expanding its various businesses. The Rs. 1,500-crore company hopes to increase its revenue by 25 per cent in the current fiscal.

Vijay Aggarwal, Managing Director, H & R Johnson India, said the ceramic tile market was growing along with the demand for bath fittings and kitchen cabinets. To meet the increasing demand, the company had invested Rs. 225 crore for expanding its ceramic tile manufacturing plant in Andhra Pradesh from 3 million sq.m to 6 million sq.m.. This was being further expanded to 9 million sq.m by January 2012.

Greenfield projects

The company would also be investing in two new plants at Rajkot in Gujarat. It had already invested Rs. 20 crore during the current fiscal in a joint venture to make 2.3 million sq. m of small tiles. The second one, a greenfield plant, would come up by February 2012 to produce one million sq.m of engineered marble and quartz at an investment of Rs. 50 crore. The company also planned to increase the capacity of industrial tiles, Endura, from 1.5 million sq.m to 2.5 million sq.m by March next year. It would be investing Rs. 35 crore for this expansion plan.

The market for tiles is estimated at Rs.14,000 crore. The share of the unorganised sector is around Rs. 8,000 crore and the balance is the contribution of the organised sector. Of the total organised market, Rs. 5,000 crore came from medium-end products and the balance from top-end products. For H&R Johnson, Marbonite and Johnson tiles contribute 45 per cent of its sales and the balance came from Endura.

The company had introduced digital technology for printing new designs on the ceramic tiles. Mr. Aggarwal was of the view that digital technology would catch up in the ceramic tile market in future.

On the bath fittings division, he said the company was planning to double the capacity of Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) plant. It would be doubling the capacity to 50,000 pieces of taps annually. It was also planning to set up a greenfield project in Jammu to manufacture 50,000 pieces of taps by April next. The revenue from this vertical was Rs. 70 crore last year. This would go up to Rs. 100 crore in the current fiscal, he added.

He said the kitchen cabinet division was started two years ago and was providing one-stop solution to customers. At present, the company had 40 dedicated showrooms. This would go up to 70 in the next six months.

Bathroom refurbishing- What do you need to know?




Bathroom Tiles

 

In the earlier days, bathroom refurbishing was strictly restricted to changing the flooring and replacing few fixtures and accessories. People used to not pay much attention to bathroom décor as they did to home interiors. Things have drastically changed in the present times with more and more people giving important to the nuances of bathroom designing and exploring new bathroom designs.

Cost- effective plans

If you are wondering whether the costs of bathroom designing will be astronomical, then worry not as you can choose a bathroom design that suits your tastes as well as your budget. Bathroom redesigning does not require looting a bank or taking a loan from the bank. You need to chalk out a well thought out plan and discuss your plan with the local contractor. You need to explore the creative bent of your mind and think from an artist’s perspective. Look at your bathroom as a piece of empty canvas and start imagining every idea that comes to your mind. Remember that each one of us have a different take on what is aesthetic and what is not. So, the designs are solely subjective and it does not matter whether the contractor likes your idea or not. If you are satisfied with the idea and if it looks feasible, then you should not think twice before proceeding with the same.

The old and the new designs

Bathroom designs range from the age-old Victorian style bathrooms to the new, contemporary ones. The Victorian styled bathrooms are characterised by sculpted pedestal basins, claw-footed roll top baths and free standing showers. Much thought has been in poured in the contemporary bathroom designs which have straight, sleek designs and geometric lines. White remains the most chosen colour for bathroom furnishings with other fittings in shades of polished chrome.

It always helps to proceed with a fixed plan in mind. You also have to think about the budget and stick to a planned one while renovating our bathroom. If you are ready to spend a bit extra, you can play a lot with the look of your bathroom.

Thinking of creating a ‘romantic’ bedroom? Read on…



Bedroom Tiles


We all want a bedroom that looks nothing less than a romantic heaven. However, this is the most conventional thing to think about as romance can start about anywhere in the room. Take for example the living room. You can create an equally appealing romantic mood in the living room. With the right music, soft rugs, right mood, cosy dining space, soft cushions with a few scented candles can make your living room a truly romantic place. However, most people are under the impression that it is the bedroom which is the centre of all romance and hence spend a lot of time, money and effort in designing the bedroom. Though designing the perfect romantic bedroom may seem to be an easy task, it cannot be a cake walk and you have to be very careful while designing this space.

Relaxation or work?

While designing the bedroom, you have to take into consideration many factors. You first need to decide the amount of time you spend in the bedroom. You may be spending half your day in the bedroom or may just be entering it for a good night’s sleep. You may decide to create the bedroom into a functional space by including the TV or your PC or you can simply keep it as a place of rest. Though you may agree that work pressures do not allow you to keep you bedroom a purely comfort space as you often need to work at odd hours and so need to get your laptop inside the bedroom.

On the other hand, you may strictly keep it as a place of indulgence, which is for relaxation, reading and some rest. You may also want to isolate the room from your domestic life and create a romantic haven for you and your spouse. Whatever decision you take, you also need to consider your budget. If you are working on a tight budget, then you might have to reuse some old items or refurbish them while designing your bedroom.