There has been a sea change in the Indian tiles industry. As designs and dimensions expand from the 6” x 6” format, Orientbell Tiles stands at the precipice of digital revolution. They have the ambition to become the go-to destination for easiest tile procurement nationally. Alok Agarwal, Chief Marketing Officer, Orientbell Tiles provides a 360-degree perspective on the journey of a global industry player and how tiles, the under-rated stars of construction and real estate, are now gaining importance.

Channel Partners and their Requirements

Be it an automobile brand, the HoReCa sector, or retail, every channel partner has different requirements that Orientbell Tiles serves effectively. Partners from automobile brands require similar look and feel for their showrooms everywhere in India. “They seek consistency, and we ensure that by assigning one point of contact, who takes care of on-time tile delivery, which translates to store inaugurations within pre-decided time frames,” elaborated Agarwal.
Food or the restaurant sector seek ethnicity and experiment with different colors. Retail has specific color codes. For instance, beige is very popular for the fashion sector, wherein dealers prefer the tiles to look understated, so that clothes got all the attention.

But what about a retail player looking for different designs for their showroom, changing room, office, and stores? Orientbell Tiles has a user-friendly tile customization interface embedded in their website, which allows people to either upload the image of their existing showroom or an AutoCAD design. “You can choose from several combinations of tiles available to create a unique look. Almost 500 of our channel partners have a proprietary software called Quicklook that has user-friendly steps to design bathroom, living room, and other residential spaces. Once done, the samples can be sent via WhatsApp. Conversions increase when shoppers see these kinds of visualizations,” he maintained.

Besides customization, Orientbell Tiles is the only company in the country who has gone beyond the purview of executive coaching and imparts on-the-job coaching to masons. “We show them how to lay the tiles properly. It makes a huge difference in the final outcome. That’s one of the reasons behind our product diversity.” Bespoke solution comes in handy when clients want tiles for different utilities inside the same space. They may want a glossy finish for the showroom and office, and a matte finish for workshops or service stations to prevent accidents caused by oil spills for any other form of damage caused to the floor. 

Making Tile Purchase Convenient 

Today, technological advancement has empowered progressive brands such as Orientbell Tiles to provide absolute clarity on the price of any tile that one wants shipped to any given address. In doing so, Orientbell Tiles has become the first D2C tile brand in India. They are also improving customer awareness through information updated and added frequently on their digital platforms, especially the website.

“We are the first tile brand to allow purchase of floor and wall tiles online. If you enter a pin code, our technology calculates the transportation cost and gives a fairly accurate estimation of the price of tiles for that area. We also provide the help of an in-house designer to supervise the look of your room. We have delivered in more than 700 cities in India till now,” he added. 

There’s a lot of curiosity about tiles, and these volumes will go up as housing becomes more affordable in the next 20 years. Since the majority of buyers are unaware of important aspects such as pricing, Agarwal is all for sensitizing the purchase decision of the consumer. “Even after 5+ years of GST rollout, power and fuel, which is roughly 30-40% of the cost base for heavy industries, is still outside the GST ambit, resulting in cascading of taxes, and thus, it makes for a higher cost for the consumer.”

Agarwal also bats for an input credit mechanism for the real estate sector. “The absence of such a mechanism for taxes paid against raw material supplies makes the entire system inefficient. It may result in leakages for the exchequer. Availability of input credits should make housing more affordable, while arresting the potential malpractices.”

Devising Eco-friendly Solutions 

Corporates have become safety-conscious and prefer to deal with brands believing in waste recycling and aiming for a zero-carbon footprint. “To reduce carbon emissions, we ensure that there is zero waste discharge from our factories. We recycle broken tiles. We are also signatories of ISO: 50,000, which means that we will keep reducing our energy consumption year-on-year,” Agarwal explained, sharing the example of their factory in Secunderabad, which uses water recharging and rainwater harvesting. It is one of the biggest factories of Orientbell Tiles and contributes more water than it consumes for every square meter of tile it makes. 

Optimizing operation cost is also a way of reducing carbon footprint, wherein the brand sources materials from nearest locations to use fuel judiciously. This apart, they also have products such as cool tiles, which reflect solar heat. “The high solar reflective index of the tile reflects heat back to the atmosphere, making indoor cooler than outdoor,” Agarwal added. 

Innovating for Safety

During the pandemic in 2021, Orientbell Tiles had an intense discussion with real estate players and RERA officials. As stakeholders, they were planning the next plausible steps for potential customer base, which was shut indoors. New opportunities arose with people exploring various utilities areas of their residences. “The number of at-home bars or elevated balconies increased drastically as people found novel places to relax in their homes. People also replaced inlay carpets with tiles for the ease of maintenance,” he asserted.

Healthcare also became one of the roaring sectors for novel tile segment. With the dramatic rise in data centers and other facilities in hospitals, the use of electrical appliances increased exponentially, giving way to the need for a tile that could ground static shocks. “We created an anti-static tile that grounds static charge and sparks, which are hazardous in a sensitive environment. We found great use in places like MRI or CT scan centers inside medical hospitals, computer centers, and laboratories using inflammable, volatile solvents. 

The journey to innovation is only just evolving for Orientbell Tiles, and as Agarwal puts it, the future generation will buy online and it is the duty of brands to create a buzz where the future customers thrive.