The Columbian
market for
architectural,
automotive and
industrial paint
and coatings is
estimated at 36
million gallons,
of which Pintuco
claims to hold
nearly half.
by Charles W. Thurston
Latin America Correspondent
thurstoncw@rodmanmedia.com
Colombia’s Pintuco is building out its net- work of Pintacasa branded paint stores rapidly, having added 80 during 2013, and
targeting a total of 236 stores in Colombia in 31
cities, as well as locations in the Andean Region,
Central America and the Caribbean. Overall,
Pintuco plans to invest $22 million this year, according to recent statements to the local press by
Andrés Ortega Méndez, the managing director of
Pintuco, in Medellin. Within five years, the company hopes to elevate the network to include more
than 800 stores across Latin America, possibly
adding Mexico and Peru to its sales region.
Pintuco indicates that 95 percent of its
Colombian store network is franchise based
and that only five percent are company owned.
Pintuco also plans to expand the store network in
Ecuador this year through franchises. Growth in
the construction industry in Ecuador, in Colombia
and in Panama, is expected to lead to greater industrial sales in those countries this year.
The Colombian market for architectural, automotive and industrial paint and coatings is estimated at 36 million gallons, of which Pintuco claims
to hold nearly half. The architectural segment
represents 30 million gallons of the total and the
other segments combined represent six million, he
suggested. With a portfolio of products in all three
segments, Pintuco currently has sales in 11 countries, including: the Andean region – in Colombia,
Ecuador and Venezuela; the Caribbean region –
in Aruba and Curacao; and the Central America
region – in Panamá, Costa Rica, Honduras,
Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Pintuco’s market is served by nine paint and
coatings production plants and three distribution centers. Total paint and coatings sales for
the company were up five percent to an estimated $240 million last year in Colombia, and
to $360 million in sales in other countries. Sales
increases in prior years were in the double-digit
range, the company indicated.
Paint and coatings are the leading products
for Pintuco parent Orbis, which changed its
name this year from Grupo Mundial, which has
been in business for 90 years. Water, chemicals
and general trade are also business units of the
conglomerate. The company’s major Colombian
paint brands include Aerocolor, CRC, Kativa,
Kem, Koraza, Pintuco, Protecto and Viniltex. It
also sells the Pintec brand in Ecuador and the
Venezolana de Pinturas brand in Venezuela.
Among competitors in the do-it-yourself market for company stores in Colombia is Chile’s
Sodimac, which expanded its Colombian network
by six stores during 2012 to a total of 29 stores in
16 cities. Sodimac Colombia launched $161 million in Colombian bonds to fund the expansion.
Along with the modernizing name change,
Orbis plans a major advertising campaign
through social media including the Twitter,
Facebook, LinkedIn and Google platforms.
As part of its sustainability activities, Pintuco
last year provided several thousand gallons of
paint for a community of houses on a hillside
slum in Medellin, and at other sites with historic
architecture. The effort is also supported by Orbis’
social responsibility charity, Fundación Orbis. CW
Colombia’s Pintuco Builds Out Stores
