New Delhi, Nov. 27 -- A bruising market-share battle is escalating in India's Rs.70,000-crore paints sector, forcing companies to look beyond aggressive discounting and instead strengthen their foothold in key geographical areas while sharpening their product portfolios.

India's third-largest paintmaker, Kansai Nerolac, is strengthening its presence in markets where it already commands scale, while smaller rival Nippon Paint is leveraging its dominance in South India.

Kansai's managing director, Pravin Chaudhari, during a post-earnings interaction with analysts in October, said that they face 'heavy competition' in the decorative paints segment.

"We will be making calculated investments in our strong markets and also improving our prod...