New Delhi, Sept. 15 -- India's paint industry is shifting gears. With capex spending cooling, the battle for distribution, brand recall, and customer trust is intensifying. Established players and new entrants are vying for market share ahead of the festive season.

"For incumbents, utilisation is around 70%, while new entrants are still scaling up, so overall, the sector's capital expenditure is expected to normalise from this fiscal. The focus has now shifted to distribution, with both incumbents and new entrants aggressively strengthening dealer networks and even directly engaging with painters," said Poonam Upadhyay, director, Crisil Ratings.

Paint companies are investing in product upgrades, innovation, backward integration, and adv...