Gogia Print-O-Grafix goes online for its wall decor business

Recently, Paharganj, Delhi-based wide-format printer Gogia Print-O-Grafix went a step further and set up an eCommerce venture for wall decoration. The site www.easywallprints.com, launched with the help of Noida-based 72interactive, offers a selection of designer wallpapers especially aimed at the home décor segment. 

 

“The online marketplace is growing in India, and we want to grab this opportunity. This is one of the reasons why we decided to go for the eCommerce venture, said Amit Rai Gogia, proprietor, Gogia Print-O-Grafix.

 

Through the website, the company is providing around 2,000 pre-existing designs. “Besides this, a customer can develop his own design, with the help of the features available at the site,” said Gogia.

 

India has an internet-user base of about 354 million, as of June 2015, and it is the third largest user bases in world, adding around six million new entrants every month. This bodes well for the eCommerce segment. The country’s eCommerce market was worth about USD 12.6 billion in 2013.

 

Paharganj in Delhi is known to be a hub of wide-format printing, of which wallpaper printing is just a tiny segment. Gogia saw tremendous growth opportunities in the segment. He argued that with website, the company will be able to attract customers from across the country, not just Delhi-NCR. For this, the company is also offering free delivery of the products. “We are establishing a dealer network to serve customers across the country. During the first stage, we will have around 200 dealers. We will provide training to our dealers,” he added.

 

Gogia Print-O-Grafix is a family-owned business and run by Amit and his father Sunil Rai Gogia and brother Aman Rai Gogia. “In wide-format printing, we don’t have direct customers. All our works come via middle men,” Gogia said.

 

While the wide-format printing market in India continues to grow, Gogia said the competition is also on the rise. Hence, he believes this new venture into wallpaper printing will help the company grow in the right direction.

 

On its journey to online business, Gogia said, 72interactive was a big help. “Amit Shroff of 72interactive approached us, and we found the plans viable. They then helped us set up the site easywallprints.com.”

 

Amit Shroff, CEO and creative director, 72incteractive, said, “We cater to a niche market. There are just a few players in this segment. Though the market is new, we are hopeful of the future. As the market grows, we will definitely have the early mover advantage.”

 

Gogia said 72interactive will be responsible for both technological support and market and business development in the online venture. “We have tied up with PayU and Amazon for online payment,” he added.

 

While the wallpaper market in India is indeed nascent, especially in the home décor segment, we have also observed that service providers in the segment have not stepped up the game. Most of the service providers offer semi-customised print production facilities. Most of the websites have their fix formats, where a customer enters his inputs to receive the product. Rarely does a printer visit a client site and discuss with the client basics like the quality of wall and its material, age of the wall, the kind of paint and colouring material have been used. At the same time, the service providers also lack a strong design team who can sit with the customers and create a unique product. 

 

Coming back to wide-format printing, Gogia said solvent-based printing is here to stay, even as UV is growing. On an average, Gogia converts around four-lakh square feet media per month. This includes any media in the roll form, as the company does not own a flatbed printer. Gogia Print-O-Grafix is equipped with HP, Epson, Mimaki and Epson printers. In January this year, the company installed a HP Latex 360, supplied by Caldron Grpahics.

 

In the next step, the company is planning a studio with photographers and digital artists.