- **JSW Dulux** - India’s newest paints heavyweight - a seven-decade-old coatings company that was bought by JSW Paints Limited, part of the JSW Group, in December 2025 and renamed almost overnight, combining the household trust of the Dulux brand with the industrial muscle of a US$ 23 billion conglomerate. The business was originally Indian Explosives Limited, spent over 60 years building a reputation as Akzo Nobel India, and now operates under a single, recurring logic: own the brand, control the formulation, and push product through a distributor network that reaches more than 22,000 paint retailers across 5,000-plus towns. That approach - premium chemistry sold through a dense physical network, backed by warranties that competitors cannot easily match - explains both its decorative paints dominance and its industrial coatings ambitions. # Business segments Two engines at different stages - a decorative paints franchise built on brand and distribution, and an industrial coatings business serving factories, ships and infrastructure - both now fuelled by the JSW Group’s scale and customer relationships. ## 1. Decorative paints: the brand that households reach for **Dulux commands a price premium because its proprietary formulation and warranty programme create stickiness that rivals struggle to break - once a consumer uses it, they rarely switch.** - **The “secret sauce” is real** - the company describes its formulation as akin to “the formula of Coca-Cola,” a proprietary mix that delivers colour consistency and finish that management claims makes users loyal for life. - **Warranties lock in the premium** - the Dulux Assurance programme, described as an industry first, covers 17 products with warranties of up to 15 years, promising perfect colour, uniform finish and coverage; the flagship Dulux Velvet Touch Eterna comes with a 10-year warranty and features tea tree oil to eliminate paint smell. - **Distribution is the backbone** - roughly 70% of the business runs through distributors who carry about 20-21 days of stock in a hub-and-spoke system, feeding 22,000-plus retailers equipped with over 16,000 tinting machines that mix colour on the spot. - **Projects feed the pipeline** - the institutional business, serving builders and commercial customers, accounts for about 20% of decorative revenue and is ranked number three in the industry; in FY26, project teams began integrating with JSW Paints in seven metros, selling both brands side by side. - **The portfolio spans every wallet** - from the ultra-luxury Dulux Velvet Touch Eterna and designer Velvet Touch Luxury Finishes, through the mid-range Dulux SuperClean 3-in-1 with anti-bacterial properties, down to Dulux Promise Freedom in the Economy+ segment. ## 2. Industrial coatings: the invisible layer on things that move and things that last **This business earns its keep by selling high-performance coatings to manufacturers, shipyards and infrastructure builders - relationships are deep, contracts are long, and price moves are slower than in decorative.** - **Three distinct sub-segments under one roof** - Automotive and Specialty Coatings serves vehicle makers and repair shops; Marine and Protective Coatings guards ships, bridges and power plants; Industrial Coatings covers metal used in construction and the inside of beverage cans. - **The Navy is a flagship customer** - the company “coats most of the Navy around South Asia,” including a large share of the INS Vikrant, India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier, using anti-corrosive and anti-fouling paints under the International brand. - **Car makers are locked in** - the Vehicle Refinish business won over 150 new bodyshops in FY26 and became the exclusive recommended paint partner for Porsche India’s repair network; the company is also the exclusive supplier of interior coatings for premium EV models from leading domestic manufacturers and a primary supplier to JSW MG Motor India. - **Every second drink can relies on it** - management states that “50% of all canned drinks” are kept safe by its packaging coatings, and the Accelshield™ 700 BPX-Ni product for beverage can ends won a sustainability award in FY26. - **Infrastructure is a growth lane** - protective coatings are deployed on India’s largest nuclear power infrastructure, major hub airports including the new Navi Mumbai Airport, and marine vessels; marine coatings improve vessel fuel efficiency by reducing drag. # Group structure and partners **JSW Paints Limited, part of the Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group, owns a 61.2% majority stake - and before the takeover, the company bought the Dulux brand outright and sold a non-core powder coatings unit to its former parent.** - **The ownership changed in two steps** - in June 2025, JSW Paints signed a deal to buy up to 74.76% from AkzoNobel entities; after a mandatory open offer, it closed with 61.2%, and the erstwhile promoters sold their residual 13.56% on the stock exchange. - **The Dulux brand is now owned, not rented** - in February 2025, the company's board approved the acquisition of all intellectual property rights for its decorative paints business in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal from AkzoNobel, eliminating ongoing royalty payments and establishing technological independence. - **Powder coatings were carved out** - the Powder Coatings business, which ran under the Interpon and Resicoat brands and contributed 10.70% of consolidated turnover in FY24, was sold to an AkzoNobel subsidiary via slump sale because it used fundamentally different technology with limited synergies with the liquid paints business. - **Transitional licences keep the lights on** - a royalty-bearing IP licence gives continued access to AkzoNobel know-how for performance coatings, while a royalty-free corporate brand licence allows use of the ‘Akzo Nobel’ and ‘ICI’ names for 15 months before they must be phased out. - **The board reflects the new order** - Parth Jindal was appointed as a Non-Executive Non-Independent Director and Chairman in January 2026; Rajiv Rajgopal moved from Chairman and Managing Director to Joint Managing Director and CEO; an employee stock option plan covering up to 3,75,124 shares was created in March 2026.