SAMEER SAXENA

Q1. Please tell us about the journey of Legrand in India.

Ans)  Legrand India is a global specialist in the electrical and digital building infrastructure. Legrand offers a comprehensive, high-performance portfoliodedicated to electrical and digital infrastructures in buildings—including controls and command products and systems, energy and data flow distribution, cable management and installation components.Globally, Legrand is a leader in wiring devices and cable management with a global market share of over 20% and 14% respectively.It holds leadership position in protection/modular devices and a strong challengerin wiring devices. The company also holds a leading position in Home Automation, MCCBs and Cable management systems. Legrand’s products enjoy undisputable brand equity because they have a clear advantage which reflects in the design-engineering that works, in the simplicity of use and in the simplicity of installation. The company is fast emerging as a leader in its corebusiness by extending products and services that suit every segment in the local market.

Q2. How has the second wave of the pandemic affected business?

Ans)     The second waveof the pandemic is unlike the first wave, which has impacted all the businessesand our loved ones. The first wave of pandemic focused on to revive the businesses whereas,the second wave has unprecedently impacted our customers and team members. Owing to the ongoing pandemic, we understand the sentiments and do not believe in rushing to revive the business.At the current situation,health & wellbeingis our utmost priority. Once things grow to be normal at personal front for all our stakeholders, is when we start reviving our businesswhich will be slow and steady. We will not hustleinto business immediately with terms of orders and new customers.

3) What are the operational challenges faced by Legrand due to Covid-19?

Ans)     As a philosophy, health, and safety are key paramount for Legrand and all our stakeholders. The first challenge faced was to bring each one of us to the level of normalcy. Our aim is to maintain track on the recovery of our impacted team members, in terms of healthwhether they have recovered well, are the post-recovery protocols being followed under doctor’sguidance.The second challenge was to ensure that our employees are vaccinated. The most important challenge is on two parameters, one is business and the other is back end (Manufacturing & Supply Chain). On business front, we will not rush in reviving the business whereas, the manufacturing and the supply chain have continued to work under the Government Safety guidelines. We have increased our inventory during the lockdown owing to when the markets will open, we would be able to serve our customers better. The back end has been working steadily within the limitations to ensure that the supply chain is not impacted.But on the customer end, we will go slow and steadyandserve them as and when required. 

Q4. What are the special initiatives taken by the organization for the well-being of the employees?

Ans)     Due to the COVID-19 pandemic organizationsmust have focus on employees’ mental well-being and emotional quotient to reinstateefficiency. The significant impact of the COVID-19 outbreakon employees’ personal and work lives is leading to employee anxiety, frustration, and burnout. Lack of attention could affect employees’ productivity and engagement, leading to poor work quality, errors and eventually influencing an organization’s ability to survive in these difficult times.  We at Legrand have introducedEmployee Wellness and Assistance Program (EWAP) for mental health and wellbeing of all our Employees and their families. We have also scheduled free consultation with doctors on call andvideo call, assistance with oxygen cylinders, hospitalization, vaccination drives for employees, etc.

Q5. What kind of technological excellence or uniqueness can be found in the products offered by Legrand?

Ans)     Disruptive technologies lead to transformational changes. In today’s scenario, everything is connected via Internet. The integration of networked buildings is altering the reality of how business operates. The IOT/IIOT have a profound impact upon the future of business.Numerous organizations have analyzed and anticipated the impact of the IoT devices creating the opportunity as big as 397 billion dollars by 2025. New categories of services and products are being developed; thereby leading the next economic revolution or we can say building revolution.In the present era of technological advancement, it’s essential to maintain building’s efficiency and ensure uptime. We, as consumers, need to keep a control on our building’s consumptions and how this in turn will be beneficial to us.We recommend that one should use switchgear products, which are connected, energy efficient and adhere to environment standards. Connected products like LV Panel complying with IEC-61439-2, Bus Bar trunking system, ACB, MCCB, Capacitors, MCB, UPS, Lighting Management with data and Home Automation system and Dry type transformers confirming to ECBC norms can be at the core of connected buildings and help installations improve their overall efficiency and reliability.

Q6. Why there is a need to invest in automation equipment? What are the different smart solutions offered by Legrand for the Indian market?

Ans)     As Covid-19 reaches all facets of industries like healthcare, life sciences and the public sector, are finding new ways to defend against the spread of virus and mitigate the impact that could have long-term effects on businesses and the economy. Home Automation provides tools and solutions to support customers in navigating these unforeseen challenges.The overall home automation market is expected to grow from USD 45.8 Billion in 2017 to USD 114 Billion by 2025 at a CAGR of 12.1% during the forecast period. The wireless home automation systems segment is expected to be driven by the increasing demand from around the world. (Content Credit – Fortune Business Insights Report). We offer various smart solutions for the Indian market such as  Smart home IOT for retrofit solution, Smart home with MyHomup, Smart home with customized keypad & integrated solution Vantage for IB's, Smart & connect Energy Meters, Smart connect Audio system " Nuvo players & speakers", Smart Connected Door Phone" Classe300", Smart IP door Phone, Smart connected " Electrical Cabinet CX3", Smart Connected  Weather station, Air quality Monitor , Indoor & outdoor cameras, Smart integrated KNX system, Smart connected Lighting Management system, Smart connected Guest room Hotel Management system for Hotels &Smart connected Nurse calling system "Neat" for assisted living & healthcare.

Q7. How technologies like IoT, Big Data and other smart technologies are helping the industry in survival?

Ans)     We have already stepped into a world where virtual communication exists. IoT which means a network of physical devices, vehicles, electronics, sensors, software, and every other object around you that are digitally connected and assists collection and exchange of data.IoT technology refers to the Universe of devices with in-built sensors that provide data for further transmission in a much more convenient way. In today’s time all the latest technologies are simply for survival. The latest technologies have impacted all industries, from logistics to manufacturing to healthcare – we are about to enter a connected world. Not just organizations, IoT has also led to massive empowerment of the consumers by providing greater control of household systems and appliances, washing clothes is no more a human task AI means ‘machine learning’. For data to be useful it must be analyzed, which is exactly what AI does. AI makes huge volume of data meaningful. It tries to imitate human brains, how the human brain thinks, behaves, and react to the respective actions.AI provides results as per consumer behavior, for example, Amazon will suggest you movies and books based on your last buy. It brings in ‘intelligent connectivity’ to the users of IoT since mere connectivity of devices will do no good until the data from those devices is analyzed in terms of what is relevant and what is not.

Q8. Given the current situation, what will be the future of electrical switchgear market in India?

Ans)     Owing to global pandemic the shut down of manufacturing and processing industries have led to decline in growth. The emerging economies are investing heavily in developing power infrastructures to strengthen the grid projects. As the COVID-19 spread in India is approaching the third wave lockdown, it is showcasing a decrease in the power demand from the industrial and commercial sectors The increasing energy demand has led to a need for a reliable and stable T&D network. New regulations for reducing the power blackouts and upgrading the power system infrastructure across the globe are creating a potential opportunity for the growth of the market.The global switchgear market size was USD 105.43 billion in 2019 and is projected to reach USD 170.40 billion by 2027, exhibiting a CAGR of 6.6% during the forecast period.(Content Credit – Fortune Business Insights Report).

Q9. How is Legrand as a company fairing in the market? Are you planning any launches in the coming 3 months?

Ans)     We as a company are progressing well. The first quarter of 2021 was quite robust as compared to the year 2020 and the momentum was good. Unfortunately, the second quarter was impacted due to the second wave. Our inventory and supply chain were progressing smooth and ready to serve the customers once the markets open.Product launches are a key part of Legrand's strategy from past 20 years.All have witnessed Legrand's aggressive product launches each year with various products. Although we are facing pandemic from last year till now, our product platforms are robust and are investing in product launches. We have launched Myrius Next Gen product in January month. We have also planned few more launches once market is normal.