Extensive SWOT Analysis of Pidilite – An Indian Adhesives Manufacturing Company

Updated on: Mar 6, 2022
SWOT Analysis of Pidilite - Featured Image

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Last time we elaborated on the SWOT Analysis of the world’s most famous sports car designer, Ferrari. This time, we will do a comprehensive study of the SWOT analysis of Pidilite Industries.

As you might be knowing, Pidilite Industries Limited is an adhesives manufacturing company which is based in India. They are well known for their Fevicol range of adhesives: some of which you might have used before like FeviKwik, Dr Fixit, Fevicol, M-seal and many more.

Another aspect that made Pidilite the giant it is now is, its marketing efforts. As the world goes online, marketing is evolving and if you are interested in learning about the latest – check out our Free MasterClass on Digital Marketing 101 by the CEO and Founder of IIDE, Karan Shah.

In this blog, we will cover the SWOT analysis of Pidilite in detail. But before we begin, let us start by learning about the company, its history, products, services and financial success.

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About Pidilite,

SWOT Analysis of Pidilite - Fevicol

Pidilite Industries Limited was started in the year 1959 by Balvant Parekh to make the lives of carpenters and woodworkers easy with their white synthetic resin adhesive solution. Since then it has always been a pioneer of consumer and speciality chemicals in India. Its corporate office is located in Mumbai and has manufacturing units spread across India, including Mahad, (Maharashtra); Vapi, (Gujarat); Baddi and Kala Amb, both in (Himachal Pradesh).

Pidilite is the market leader when it comes to adhesives and sealants construction chemicals, hobby colours and polymer emulsions in India. One of its brand names: Fevicol has become synonymous with adhesives to millions of people in India. It is also ranked amongst the most trusted brands in India. 

Pidilite was the first company in India that started manufacturing violet pigment which was started in the year 1973. In 1984 the company’s consumer product division was born and in 1989 the company entered fevicol acrylic colours transform fabric and multi-surface painting market. The company made its first public offering of equity shares in the year 1993 and since then their share prices has always seen an exponential rise.

Currently, they manufacture a range of products that can be segmented into consumer products: art materials and stationery; food and fabric care; adhesives and sealants; speciality industrial products: industrial adhesives; industrial pigments; industrial and textile resins, leather chemicals, construction chemicals and other industrial chemicals. Over time, Pidilite has become an adhesive monopoly and recently it has reinvested the capital in such a way to also become a monopoly in India’s waterproofing and fevicol business.

Quick Stats on Pidilite
Founder Balvant Parekh
Year Founded 1959
Origin Andheri, Mumbai, India
No. of Employees 6,000+
Company Type Public
Market Cap Rs 1,14,892 Crore (2022)
Annual Revenue Rs 7,443 Crore (2020)
Net Income/ Profit Rs 1,119 Crore (2020)

 

SWOT Analysis of Pidilite - Pidilite Range of Products


Products by Pidilite 

  • Art materials and stationery
  • Food and fabric care
  • car products, adhesives and sealants
  • Industrial adhesives & pigments
  • Adhesives
  • Construction Chemicals


Competitors of Pidilite

  • GHCL
  • Nirma
  • DAP Products
  • Brinsa
  • Green Cross
  • Monument Chemical
  • Norwex


That’s it, now that we have brief information about Pidilite. Let’s know more about the SWOT Analysis of Pidilite.


SWOT Analysis of Pidilite

SWOT analysis is the study of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of a company. This helps the company to know its position in the market and what needs to be improved and what areas it can excel in. It also helps the company to strategize its framework related to business and factors affecting its growth.

To better understand the SWOT analysis of Pidilite, refer to the infographic below:

SWOT Analysis of Pidilite - SWOT Infographics of Pidilite  

So let us first start by looking at the strengths of Pidilite from the SWOT analysis of Pidilite.

Strengths of Pidilite

Strengths are the activities that a company possesses. This helps in contributing to the company’s success. The strengths of Pidilite can be analyzed as follows:

  • Market Leader in Adhesive: Pidilite has created a monopoly when it comes to Adhesive Industry and it was all possible due to its flagship brand Fevicol. The adhesive market is estimated to be at USD 5 billion in India, out of which Fevicol has a market share of 68 per cent.
  • Global Presence: Not only in India but Pidilite is also spread in more than 100 countries with the company having manufacturing facilities in more than 9 countries. You can find their diverse range of products in major developed countries.
  • Good Brand Name: Pidilite has used branding and marketing strategies so well that one of their brand name, Fevicol, has become very synonymous with household adhesive. They have built their brand image in such a way that it is considered one of the most trusted brands in India.
  • Fully-equipped In-house R&D: Pidilite two-thirds of sales happen through in-house innovations by over 150 professionals. They have their in-house R&D centres in India, Singapore, Thailand, Brazil, Dubai and USA.  
  • Wide Product Range: Pidilite has a very wide range of products right from adhesives, sealants, waterproofing solutions, construction chemicals, industrial resins to even chemicals for arts and crafts.
  • Good Network of Suppliers & Distributors: The company has built a very good network and has an extensive channel of distribution across the country which helps it reach out to customers in a very aggressive way. One can go to a stationery store to purPidilite any of their consumer chemical goods.
  • Awards & Recognitions: Pidilite and its products Fevicol and Dr Fixit has some of the biggest awards in the nation. Pidilite has been awarded one of the most promising and prestigious companies of the year, its product Fevicol has also made through the top 15 best adhesives.
  • Great Place to Work: Pidilite has been awarded as a great place to work and this tells us that employees at Pidilite are happy and healthy with their work-life and the organisation in which they are working. 


Weaknesses of Pidilite

Weaknesses stop an organization from performing to its utmost potential. One should analyze the weakness and work upon them to help the firm excel in all terms.

  • Focus on Consumer Chemicals: The company extensively focuses on consumer chemicals only. They can dive into other product lines too.
  • Over Dependence on Fevicol and M-Seal: The company is excessively dependent on the two brands: Fevicol and M-Seal which accounts for more than 55 per cent of their revenue. Thereby most of their focus is dived into these 2 brands only as that’s what makes them earn most of their profit. If somehow one brand fails will cost hefty for the company.
  • Improper Research Strategy: They have a very improper research and development strategy. They delegate and outsource most of their research work or they acquire companies for research purposes. This is a very poor strategy as it limits their innovation and future growth.
  • High Dependency on Acquired Brands & Partners: As discussed before, in most other domains, Pidilite looks up to acquisition for research support. This becomes a weakness in terms of innovation since it limits the company to a great extent and increases its dependency on acquired brands.


Opportunities for Pidilite

Opportunities are external factors that are in favour of the company and the firm can use it to its advantage to grow.

  • Project Parivartan: The company has launched a new initiative Project Parivartan which will analyze their supply chain workflow and try to streamline costs in all fields from warehousing to transportation.
  • New Branding Strategies: The company has appointed Amitabh Bachchan as their brand ambassador and this move is expected to further improve their brand image and shares & equity since this campaign is also going to be followed by strong digital and social media promotion.
  • Acquisitions of International Brands: Pidilite has agreed with WD-40 Company, which is a global marketing agency, to help them better manage sales and distribution of their WD-40 Multi-Use product. This product has an array of applications such as maintenance and repair. The firm can also use the goodwill and brand image of WD-40 allowing them to sell their products in the home construction and adhesive verticals.


Threats to Pidilite

External factors that might affect the bank are known as threats. These issues should be taken into consideration as soon as possible to prevent causing damage to the firm. The threats to Pidilite are as follows:

  • Low Growth in the Adhesives Sector: Pidilite is overly dependent on the adhesive and sealants sector which saw annual growth of 4 per cent in 2016 and this is expected to slow down since it has been impacted by the fluctuations in the macroeconomic environment.
  • Low Growth in Chemical Industries Segment: Sales growth in other fields like paint chemicals and art & craft supplies have seen a gradual decline which indicates that the company might have to look at newer product categories for survival.
  • Fall in Real Estate: Sales growth in the domestic subsidiaries of Pidilite in waterproofing solutions has seen a sharp decline mainly because of the fall in real estate prices.
  • High Dependence on Other Low Growth Sectors: Many of the product categories of Pidilite are such that they are dependent on sectors like manufacturing and construction which currently have very low demand in this status quo. These have emerged as threats to the company.


This ends our extensive SWOT analysis of Pidilite. Let us conclude our learning below.

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To Conclude

Pidilite is a big conglomerate that has become well known for its range of adhesive products. All of us have already heard about its 2 most popular products: Fevicol and M-Seal. In the SWOT analysis of Pidilite, we observed how the company makes good use of their branding strategies and distributor network to emerge out as the market leader and how its over-dependence on Fevicol has turned out to be its biggest weakness. 

They do have thought of a few long term plans which will help them to reduce weakness and retain their position of market leader for a long time. With increasing competition in this saturated market, companies are left to use more innovative marketing strategies and campaigns to retain profits and to see gradual growth. 

At the moment where digital marketing has become the need of the hour for all the companies running in this competitive market. If you are interested in kickstarting your journey in digital marketing then do check out IIDE’s 3 Month Advanced Online Digital Marketing Course to know more.

We hope this blog on the SWOT analysis of Pidilite has given you a good insight into the company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

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Aditya Shastri

Lead Trainer & Head of Learning & Development at IIDE

Leads the Learning & Development segment at IIDE. He is a Content Marketing Expert and has trained 6000+ students and working professionals on various topics of Digital Marketing. He has been a guest speaker at prominent colleges in India including IIMs......[Read full bio]

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