Experimentation: The Key to Innovation

Little did Harry Brearley know that in 1913 when he made "rustless steel" for rifles, it would make so much of a difference in the world as we know it today. The first experiments with "rustless steel" were made by a local cutter when he made knives for Brearley. Today, retailers like artd’inox, inspired by such out-of-the-box innovations, are creating differentiated retail concepts.

The First World War (1914-18) used stainless steel (SS) in rifles and aero engine parts. In today's context, stainless steel has donned many modern avatars – from the Saturn V Rocket of Apollo 11 that put the first human being on the Moon in 1969, to the modern paper clip. They are used in making watches, metro trains, shaving blades, automotives (cars, 4 wheelers, etc.), furniture, for architectural purposes, and so on. The uses of stainless steel are diverse.

India, with an apparent SS consumption of 1.1 metric tonnes and placed 7th in terms of global SS consumption, has evidently outpaced the global growth rates consistently over the last several years. Against average world growth rate of 6 per cent, Indian production has grown over 16 per cent during the last 15 years to hit melting production of 1.87 metric tonnes. In the year 2005, more than 1.7 metric tonnes of SS was produced in India; it is estimated that the country's share of global production has doubled in the last 10 years.

While India produces more of SS and more and more consumers are getting exposed to the global trend of using SS in their day-to-day activities, almost 75 per cent of SS continues to be consumed by the kitchenware and utility segment. Other prominent and emerging segments are automotives, railway and transport.

With international brands such as Alessi, Bodum, WMF and Oneida taking the international market by storm with their designs, customers in India are also getting increasingly aware of the versatility and style that lifestyle accessories made from stainless steel offer. What also furthers the cause of innovation is that stainless steel lends itself well to amalgamation. There has been a lot of experimentation between SS and other materials to form the end result. Stainless steel can be teamed with leather, ceramic, wood and stone to form elegant designs/products – the opportunities for product differentiation are enormous!

With the increase of discretionary income available to the consumer, it has become important for brands in India to cater to the needs of the customer who is increasingly becoming house-proud.

Providing forward integration from the industrial uses of SS is artd'inox, the lifestyle brand that offers a wide range of SS-based products, which have contemporary, minimalist designs and fit into a modern Indian home rather well. The product portfolio includes beverage range, home décor, dining range, bath accessories, bar accessories and office accessories.