Teaching Note: Asian Paints under siege: a Birla Opus disruption?

In December 2024, Asian Paints Ltd., India’s dominant paint manufacturer with a 59% share in the decorative paints market, faced its biggest challenge in decades. Birla Opus, a new entrant from the Aditya Birla Group, had entered the ₹800bn Indian paints industry with an unprecedented ₹10,000 crore investment, six large-scale plants and an aggressive go-to-market model. Within months, Birla Opus had built one of the fastest-growing dealer networks, offered free tinting machines, higher dealer margins, digital-first marketing and product warranties – reshaping the industry’s competitive equilibrium.

For Amit Syngle, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Asian Paints, the challenge was existential....