Chandra Lampshades (CLS) is one of the leading lighting companies dealing in technical, architectural and decorative lighting for indoor & outdoor applications across India since 1991. Over the years, CLS has emerged as a preferred partner that has been successfully catering to the lighting requirements of various projects. Besides having state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Bengaluru, the company has three showrooms, two in the country’s Silicon Valley, and an experience centre in Delhi.
CLS takes pride in partnering in lighting projects that include residential, commercial, hospitality, shop lighting besides modern workspaces for both indoor & outdoor applications. The company that was exhibiting at the recently concluded Light India International Expo 2018 in New Delhi, has recorded commendable enquiries not only from India, but also from overseas especially from Middle East and African countries, which it hopes to materialise.
We, at LED World, got hold of CLS’ Pankaj Kumar Gargya, Devendra Goyal, and Abhishek Goyal to discuss more on company’s future plan and its marketing strategy. Here are the excerpts to follow:
How is CLS placed in the Indian lighting industry?
We have two showrooms in Bengaluru – one in city market and the other in Shanti Nagar but a large part of our business comes from projects. Apart from that we have an experience centre in Delhi. Our USP is to customise and manufacture lights as per
the requirements of our valued clients that include architects, lighting designers, electrical consultants, builders & contractors. We have executed projects pan India starting from say, Mohali in the north to down south till Kochhi and Trivandrum in Kerala, and Kolkata in the east, we have also done projects in Mumbai & Ahmedabad in the west.
Now that we have made significant presence in the southern part of the country, we want to explore opportunities in the northern corridor by expanding our retail footprints. This, however, doesn’t mean that we do not have presence in the north. We have done quite a few projects here, for instance, Accenture-Gurgaon is our ongoing project. Besides, we have done Coworks, Google, and Adidas’ Corporate Office in Gurgaon, while Nokia in Noida.
Can you please mention some of your major projects?
Though we have executed a range of projects in various sectors including hospitality, residential, healthcare, builders’ project, and individual bungalows; our major thrust is in corporates wherein we have completed quite a few renowned projects including TCS (pan India), Microsoft Office, Google – Hyderabad, Amazon-Hyderabad & Bengaluru, etc. We have also executed a few overseas projects like CCD in Prague, Czech Republic. Currently, we are doing a project in Colombo, Sri Lanka for TEC – The Executive Centre, a co-working place.
Some of the well-known projects that are illuminated by CLS include Capgemini, Gold’s Gym, Google, BNP Paribas, Xerox, Yahoo, Centun, City, CMH Park, CTS, Headstrong, Mercedes, P&G, Misys, Phoenix Market City, Star Bazaar, TCS, Wells Fargo, Mantri Paradise, Mantri Sarovar, Mantri Classic, Mantri Altius, Sobha valley View, Sobha Arena, Sobha Forest View – External and Club house, Sobha Halcyon, Sobha Indraprastha, Sobha La Bella Vita, Salarpuria Greenage, RMZ Galleria, RMZ Sawaan, TCS Pan India, Infosys, CTS (Chennai, Bangalore, Pune), IBM Bangalore, BNP Paribas Chennai, Ernst & Young (Kochi, Trivandrum), Prestige Menswear, Fastrack Showroom, Bhima Jewellery (Phoenix Mall), Diani & Skyye Lounge (UB City).
What does the portfolio at CLS represent?
Aligning with the government’s vision to Make In India, the emphasis at CLS has always been on manufacturing international quality products and offering the same locally at Indian pricing. We, at CLS, offer a gamut of products that are innovative, combining efficiency with elegance while focusing on customisation to suit various applications and client needs.
Our portfolio comprises designer lights, which we offer both in standard options and tailor-made ones. We not only offer lighting products but the entire lighting solution that includes light planning & design, customised lighting solutions and creation of artificial light as near natural. We offer a high degree of customisation and localisation using various base materials to produce metal based, acrylic & polycarbonate based and fabric lighting fixtures. We do have technical team that does the installation and makes sure that lighting is done properly.
How has the business proposition at CLS transformed over the years?
Designer lights have always been there but we very smoothly adapted to the change. As I said, we mainly work for architects who come with a particular requirement. We try to offer them the solution as per their specifications irrespective of the light source– be it incandescent, CFLs, T5 or now LEDs. A lot has changed after LEDs came in. At the time of incandescent, lux level was not so important. It came into force with the evolution of office lighting solution. With LEDs entering the frame, the fixtures have become more compact and their sizes have been reduced.
How has the advent of LEDs changed the way lighting was perceived at CLS?
Initially the primary objective of lighting was to illuminate spaces. Over time, lighting has evolved as the source that allows spaces to speak for themselves. With LEDs entering the scene, lighting became a commodity as the possibilities get enhanced. LEDs enable the lights to be tuned and users or the occupants can change the colour of the lights as per their mood or requirements of the occasion.
Earlier for a particular fitting, if our client didn’t want shadows, we would increase the height of the fittings, making sure that there is no shadow. But after the introduction of LEDs, we have been able to make the fixture more compact making the solution more pleasing aesthetically. For instance, Linea lighting was made of standard T5 that required extra space, which with the introduction of LEDs have become compact, sleek and aesthetically pleasing.
Like for ceiling lights, there used to be 4x40W T8 tube-lights occupying expanded space of minimum 4 sq. Ft., which was later on replaced by 3x36W CFLs and got the reduced size of 2 sq. ft. It went on get replaced by 4x14W T5 tube-lights, which now with LEDs, has become further sleeker and aesthetically appealing and consuming much less power.
You said, you also want to enhance your retail presence!
Yes! We now want to enhance our retail presence across the country. We are also selling through E-commerce platforms. Let me tell you that we have developed an application that is in testing phase, which will be available to the architects and designers soon, to let them know about our recent updates in terms of products and designs.
Which cities are you targeting for your enhanced retail presence?
For expanding on retail, we are targeting B & C cities across the country wherein we want some lighting retailers to come forward. We would offer them the required support for their businesses to expand and flourish. The support would be in the form of consultation on design conceptualisation, technical requirement, lux level calculation, etc. We would also offer them the installation support, if needed.
What is the purpose of Delhi’s Experience Centre?
Our experience centre in Delhi has been operational since 2016 where we invite specifiers like architects, lighting designers, lighting consultants, etc. to show them the possibilities that we can offer. The Centre boasts of some sample products and a few projects for specifiers, allowing them to experience the quality of our lighting and the effect it elicits in different spaces. We want them to know about our accomplishments and the project handling capabilities. We also ask them for their specifications to develop products accordingly.
What is the USP of CLS?
The USP as we mentioned earlier is to translate the concept of lighting designers and architects in to reality. We can manufacture the products as specified by them and meet their expectations. We have our facility in Bengaluru and the capacity depends upon the requirement & design of the lighting. Normally, it takes us 3 to 4 weeks to deliver a project. We manufacture locally and have the capabilities to serve projects of varying scales.
For instance, we recently executed a project in Mohali where the architect was from the US and brought a sample of fabrics with him. We then recreated these in our Bengaluru facility through specialised equipment creating fittings that were 9 metres long and 4 metres wide. These were the largest fittings we had created but did so with a passion and excitement that made its fulfillment our goal. Although it took 45 days to develop this fitting, we prioritised the needs of our clients over constraints of time. Similarly, our project for Tika Software in Bengaluru required us to make a boomerang with each side measuring up to 70 feet. Once again, our focus was on realising the desires of our collaborators, leading to success.
What is the motive to go online?
We want to reach internet savvy customers whose presence in today’s day and age is unmissable and essential to our business. We offer standard products and will keep updating the basket on monthly basis so that they can get a variety of options to choose from. We may become the biggest sellers on Amazon or Flipkart in two years from now.
