French electrical equipment maker Legrand is open to further acquisitions in India and is targeting the local market to make it the company’s third largest globally, encouraged by an increasing appetite for technology in the country.
“India is a strategic market for us. It is 5% of our sales and 15% of our people…our internal objective is to make it the third largest market out of our global business portfolio,” Legrand global CEO Benoit Coquart told ET during a recent visit to the city. “It is true that in India, we have greater visibility than we had 10-15 years ago.” The French company set up business in India in 1997, clocking sales of Rs 40 crore. Last year, its revenues touched Rs 2,300 crore. It has acquired five companies in India to date and has 5,500 people working for it locally. ELIOT, a program launched worldwide in 2015, is growing at a double-digit rate, contributing a significant portion to its total sales globally.
In India, Legrand plans to digitalise 40 out of 100 product families, like light switches, circuit breakers, and door-entry systems, by 2020, Coquart said.
Encouraged by the appetite for technology in the country with projects such as smart cities, the company is bringing its Internet of Things-based home solutions ELIOT to India in January after launching it at a global level in 2015. It is partnering Google, Amazon and Samsung for its interoperability as it aims at elevating Legrand’s position in India to the third largest globally after the US and France. Currently, India is the fourth-biggest.
The company locally makes 85% of what it sells here, a move that is also protecting it from currency fluctuations. It wants to localise more and is using India as an export base. Currently, 10% of its sales are exported through its acquired brands, including the switchgear business of Indo Asian Fusegear.
Much like its international rivals ABB, Legrand is also making charging stations for the fast-growing electric vehicles market in the country, besides the electrical equipment to support the stations. “The market for electric vehicle will develop..and we are pushing hard for it,” said Coquart.
