theLightingWay
WRITTEN BY Laura Watling PROJECT DIRECTED BY Jordan Boswell Venkat Raman, MD, Luceco 2 Issue 107 · Business Enquirer Magazine
LucecotheLightingWayGroup are considered as market leaders in key electrical categories worldwide by bringing power to life.
Luceco
Established in the UK 70 years ago, Luceco Group has established a network of independent regional hubs. The business, which has retail brands including BG Electrical, Masterplug, Ross and Sync EV, foresees significant growth opportunities in the MENA region. Sync EV is the latest addition to the Luceco Group, tapping into the electrical vehicle charger market. Business Enquirer discusses Luceco Middle East’s plans for the future with regional Managing Director, Venkat Raman.
Business Enquirer Magazine · Issue 107 3
“A majority of our sales in the MENA region comes from working in partnership with electrical consul tants and end clients. Luceco Middle East are in 4
Luceco Group is known for its major brands for projects, such as Luceco lighting, DW Windsor, Kingfisher lighting and Urban Control.
manufacturer, Luceco Group, employs over 1600 people worldwide, across its four manufacturing facilities (three of which are in the UK and one in Asia) and eight sales centres. Its UK facilities include a 30,000m2 manufac turing, assembly, distribution, warehousing, and sales divisions in Telford, Mansfield & Hodesson.
Autonomous regions Luceco first started exporting to the Middle East and North African region in early 90’s, estab lishing its regional base in 2015.
The business’s brands are sold to projects, retail, and trade sectors, via distributors, DIY channels and into wholesalers. Key markets include edu cation, healthcare, hospitality, industrial, resi dential, and retail builds.
Luceco Electrical
Issue 107 · Business Enquirer Magazine
“Our sales centres are based strategically around the globe,” shared Mr Raman, “for example, our office in Dubai is the centre for the MENA region, whilst Mexico covers Latin America, Asia for Hong Kong, Spain for mainland Europe and Johannes burg for English speaking African countries”.
“Each regional subsidiary has its own indepen dence,” explained Mr Raman, “the client base in each area varies, and so as a business we must be strategic. For example, in the Middle East DIY shops aren’t as popular as in the West”.
To put that into figures, Luceco in the UK sells 75-85% of its products through the DIY and trade channel. In the Middle East, however, only 30% is sold through retail and trade.
Electronics Feature Issue 107 · Business Enquirer Magazine 5
6 Issue 107 · Business Enquirer Magazine
Polydoros Vassiliou Ltd POLYDOROS VASSILIOU LTD was founded in November 1975, in Larnaca, by Doros Vassiliou, from Famagusta TheCyprus.company imports and distributes in Cyprus high quality wiring accessories and lighting fittings to cover the needs of professionals and individuals. The excellent service, professionalism and the quality of its products, in wholsale and retail trade, have esta blished POLYDOROS VASSILIOU LTD as a leader in Cyprus market for almost 50 years. With frequent visits to international exhibitions and successful cooperation with foreign companies, ex clusively represented in Cyprus by POLYDOROS VASSILIOU LTD, the products and materials that the com pany has to offer are regularly renewed based on the current trends and developments in the field of elec trical materials. The subsidiary company DOROS LIGHTING was foun ded in 1996. From an early stage, the company had a positive im pact in the market due to the quality of the lighting fittings it has to offer, the competitive prices and ex cellent customer service.DOROS LIGHTING has interior and exterior lighting features, imported from Europe an countries.
POLYDOROS VASSILIOU LTD will continue to play a lea ding role in the Cypriot market by following the devel opments and progress, renewing the range of its pro ducts in each new challenge of the market. Filiou Zannetou 23, PO Box 40153, 6022 Larnaca, Cyprus +35724654474 / www.vassiliou.com.cyp.vassilioultd@cytanet.com.cy
Electronics Feature
Mr Raman sees the potential for sustainable, longterm growth in the region by following this strategy.
“We have started to work with our customers on a consultancy basis, effectively giving them an extra arm of employees. By sharing the workload and using our product expertise, they can fulfil more work,” said Mr Raman.
With over 20 years of experience in the electrical industry, including working for Phillips, Qatar, Mr Raman and his team built the MENA regional division from scratch.
“Being persistent, bold and fast-paced has helped Luceco to achieve 70% growth in his region in the last seven years,” said Mr Raman Mr Raman considers the key to sustainable growth is to follow a “one at a time” strategy for each business vertical.
Luceco Business Enquirer Magazine · Issue 107 7
It is Mr Raman’s visionary blend of leadership that secured him the role of Managing Director for MENA, he believes.
A visionary leader
Having completed a Bachelor in Engineering, followed by a postgraduate in Human Resource Management, Mr Raman has a unique view of creating a successful business, with both prod uct and people at the core.
volved in the design and build process from the very beginning,” shared Mr Raman. By functioning in this way, Luceco has been able to build a stronghold in the MENA region.
“I like to set a vision for the business and then com municate this with the team. It’s very important that the team understand the goals so that we can work collaboratively to achieve them,” he shared.
Luceco Middle East has played a role in signifi cant projects in the region, such as Dubai’s new Prosecution Building. The municipal building, which opened in October 2021, featured Luceco luminaires which offered both style and func tionality, showing exactly what the business has to offer. “Whilst meeting energy efficiency and cost effec tiveness criteria, the luminaires are also part of the contemporary and architectural interior decor of the building. This project was an open and shut case in favour of well-engineered luminaires enhancing the lit environment of the building,” shared Mr Raman. www.strix.com
A double-digit growth story
“We’re seeing a shift again now, and 2022 is look ing to be a fantastic year with strong open orders and good project pipeline,” shared Mr Raman, “legacy brands in the region are struggling and so we are seeing an opportunity for growth.”
Luceco
A step above Of Luceco’s £230 million global sales turnover, 50-60% is down to the business’s top products, which are manufactured in house. Not only are Luceco’s electrical products a cost-effective solution, it also offers products at different tiers of expense, making them accessi ble for all projects.
Despite the challenges, Luceco is still one of the fastest growing electrical companies, with dou ble digit growth year on year in the MENA re Thegion.key focus for Luceco in the MENA region in the next 12-18 months is expanding into Paki stan and Qatar. “With new regions, it is important that we identify the needs. Not every region will need all of Luceco’s products,” said Mr Raman, “There is a huge mar ket here for low voltage electrical products, which can support our double-digit growth in the next three to five years”. Mr Raman foresees the potential for further ac quisitions to bolster the business growth in the region.
Two in ten projects in the Middle Eastern region are completed using Luceco products. Luceco Middle East has built a unique offering for the wider business, by offering a consultant-led ap proach. “What sets us apart from competitors is that we are the perfect blend of product and cost,” explained Mr Raman, “we are one step above our competi tors technically, but one step below commercially.”
8 Issue 107 · Business Enquirer Magazine
The COVID pandemic helped the DIY sector to see growth, with people stuck in their homes and seeking to invest in improvements. The opposite impact was seen in the MENA region, where most of its clients with large scale proj ects were forced to close during the periods of lockdown.
The government is a key spender in MENA re gions such as Dubai, where 50% of projects are government funded, and the other 50% private sector. Of course, this has come with its chal lenges, particularly when the government has chosen to prioritise investment into infrastruc ture over building development, for example.
What sets us apart from competitors is that we are the perfecet blend of product and cost. We are one step above our technically,competitorsbutonestepbelowcommercially. “ “ Electronics Feature Issue 107 · Business Enquirer Magazine 9
info@busenq.comwww.busenq.com
Luceco www.luceco.com
