The company that boasts of its expertise in design, engineering, and manufacturing, promises to provide with the most cost-effective solutions for POP or store fixtures. Specialised in customised solution – be it POP or store fixtures – the company offers the quality not only that its clients expect, but also the quality they deserve. Propus Inc.’s portfolio of solutions includes customised retail fixtures, displays, shop-in-shop, kiosk, visual merchandising, window display, events & brand activation and exhibition architecture.
“We are now a recognised name and reliable source for any temporary or permanent business displays and fixtures,” says Vikas Jha, the company’s Vice President while he was in discussion with Sign & POP World’s team. He spoke at length about Propus’ strengths and USP along with other things. Jha has recently joined Propus with greater responsibilities of revamping the company’s stature in retail solutions. Here are the edited excerpts of our candid conversation:
What all does Propus’ bouquet include?
For over two years now, Propus Inc. has gained the knowledge and experience needed to provide the highest quality products specifically tailored to our clients’ needs. Our flexibility, versatility, and expertise allow us to develop various custom and stock products ranging from point of purchase displays to store fixtures and the things in between.
As you know, we are the solution providers for retailing industry; our job starts right from conceptualisation to initial design through to the process engineering, and then to delivering final products. Throughout the process, we do every possible effort to make sure that the final product must reflect the vision of our clients.
Considering that every customer is different with his/her own individual needs, goals, and vision in mind, we serve our clients with the best in custom displays and store fixtures. Further, we aim to develop a long lasting relationship with our clients, and to maintain this, we ensure that the partnership so created is nurtured with utmost attention and care.
Which all kinds of store fixtures do you offer?
We offer store fixtures for any kind of retail outlets. For example, we have created a shoe rack, which is unique in concept. The clothing hangers can help the retailers or brand owners to showcase shirts, T-shirts, or any kind of apparel merchandise, while our casks have been created for our liquor clients.
In the renowned exhibition InStore Asia 2019, our entire stall was prepared using prefabricated modular panels which were manufactured at our factory. It took us a week to complete the production part, while the assembling got done just in one day. Amidst a healthy mix of wood and metal, we maintained a rustic look with some level of stain all across the setup. Apart from these, we do offer our services to exhibition, events, and promotions.
There are quite a few international clients who have their own existing style and brand statements. How do you deal with them?
As you know, we offer solution in retail fixtures which includes not only store fit-outs (in MS, Wood and Acrylic), but also the designs if customers ask for. In our list of clientele, we have some renowned international brands or brands that have international presence. For them, we follow their respective designs to execute the project. However, few of the clients ask for our design and drawing support. For example, we have Samsung as our client. It’s a Korean brand and they are very critical about the quality. So, they do proper QC for each and every process and components.
What new have been added to the Propus Infrastructure recently?
In addition to our 25,000 sq. ft. facility in Gurgaon, we have recently started a new unit spanning across 75,000 sq. ft., which is equipped with all the latest technologies and machinery including CNC, Amara tare tincture and bending machines. We also have a special facility for the most modern powder coating machine with seven time processes and a 4kW laser cutting machine capable of cutting up to 25mm of MS sheets. With all these, the new unit is capable of producing both wooden and metal fixtures.
How is this going to benefit Propus Inc.?
The idea was not only to augment the facility, but also enhance production. Our existing smaller plant is equally equipped and we are dedicating it to cater to our clientele in liquor brands. As we are poised to take up bigger orders and plan to widen our customer base, the new facility is planned to take up bigger challenges. For now, we cater to brands like ABFRL, Samsung, Nikon, PMI, Casio, Pernod Ricard, Madame and more for their respective retail fixtures and POPs requirements.
With the capacity expansion, we can now handle any custom display project regardless of the size or scope as being equipped with the most advanced machinery, our facility is now capable of delivering the exact kind of display that our clients want. Our engineers and designers can be instrumental in creating a custom display that is not only stunning, but also practical.
What made you succeed despite rising competition?
The origins of our success stem from the most important part of our business, i.e., the customer. Maintaining and sustaining our customer relationships throughout the years has been our main catalyst, and it has really driven us forward and made us stand out from other companies in the market.
How has been the journey so far?
We aren’t very old in this segment. When we started, it was really tough getting clients and knowing their exact needs. It was challenging to align with their requirements. But eventually with time and experience, we got to learn the key points and tried concentrating on the same. Now, we know and can truly understand what our clients want.
How do you see the competition gearing up?
Competition is increasing with each passing day. On daily basis, a lot of technological advancements are getting introduced in the system, be it in terms of design, technology or kinds of items. Nevertheless, we are open to embrace these advancements. And whatever is introduced in the industry, we try to incorporate the same in our system. For all these to cope up, we keep training our workforce on a regular basis. For instance, using mesh wire is part of the contemporary design as it adds to beauty and aesthetics.
Where do you see Propus Inc. after a couple of years from now?
Growing by leaps & bounds, we are recording double the revenue year-on-year since last two years. If we could somehow maintain the momentum, we see ourselves one among the country’s top five players in the industry.
Is there any threat from Online or Web-based store? Where is the potential coming from?
Online system is not affecting our business at all. Indian customers are habitual of touch & feel, especially when it comes to household things and this is only possible in a showroom. And we all know that new mall is coming up almost every month as many of our cities are yet to see this format of retailing. This shows that retail has its own value. Take for example, Metro Cash & Carry are opening small stores across the country’s major cities, which in turn are offering opportunities though smaller ones to change and upgrade the existing setup of their shops.
What makes Propus different from the league?
We have a list of strengths like a full-time team of creative designers and structural engineers available for consultations and prototyping with customers, in-house display manufacturing capabilities, which allow us flexibility during the entire process, top of the line software giving us the ability to render specialty drawings and designs for all retail display systems, and a dedicated project management team that helps the clients through the display manufacturing process which is capable of developing and manufacturing a variety of display solutions.
Why should one opt for Propus in display solutions?
At Propus Inc., retail display systems are made of every imaginable material. Our engineers are highly knowledgeable about combining materials, and we can offer clients as many options as they like. If any of our clients is not sure about the suitable material, we help them to choose the best fit according to their merchandise. We know that it’s common to determine the display’s structure during the design process.