Norwegian premium paint brand Jotun is expanding its presence in the Philippines by opening three retail stores here.

In a media reception hosted by the Norwegian Ambassador to the Philippines Christian Lyster in Makati City Friday, Jotun (Philippines) Inc. General manager Rohan Shetty said it has already opened its first retail store in Cebu in July and is opening two more stores in Metro Manila—in Ortigas and in Makati—for decorative paint, within this year.

On the sidelines of the event, Shetty told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that the company is riding on the recovery of the construction sector, which building activities slowed down during the pandemic.

“Definitely, the Philippines, with its growth opportunities there’s a huge room to grow our retail base,” he said.

He added that Jotun expanded to the decorative segment as this comprises 70 to 80 percent of the paint market locally, with demand coming from residential and tourism sectors, particularly hotels.

“Almost 25 to 30 percent of it is the premium segment, and we want to tap that market,” the executive said.

For his part, Lyster said: “Jotun, a Norwegian world-renowned paint company, in the near future is opening a brand new type of retail store regarding paint in Manila.”

Before opening retail stores here, Jotun has been supplying premium quality paint for Philippine clients for industrial and marine use for the past 30 years.

In 2017, the Norwegian paint manufacturer invested in a production facility in Sto.Tomas, Batangas producing industrial and marine paint.

Its Batangas facility caters 100 percent to the local market.

Shetty said the decorative paint that will be sold in its retail stores will be imported, but once the company sees a significant growth in the market, Jotun’s Batangas plant has four hectares of land ready for expansion to manufacture decorative paint locally. (PNA)