Godrej targets 20% contribution from tech-led security products, earmarks ₹100 crore for R&D

As households become more conscious of safeguarding their jewellery and inherited valuables, demand for home lockers is picking up, giving Godrej Enterprises Group's Security Solutions business an opportunity to tap a market where penetration remains as low as 4%.

The company, which currently commands close to 80% of India's home locker market, has witnessed a sharp acceleration in demand this year, according to Pushkar Gokhale, business head, Godrej Security Solutions. Having grown at 15-18% historically, the business is now expecting growth of 18-20%, with technology-led products emerging as a key driver.

"While we have been growing at 15-18%, this year there is a spike we are seeing now," Gokhale said, attributing the demand partly to higher gold and silver prices. He said consumers were increasingly looking beyond gold jewellery to secure silver utensils, diyas and other valuables that have been passed down through generations.

The growth opportunity is significant. Only 4% of Indian households have adopted home lockers, with many consumers continuing to depend on bank lockers and other alternatives. This leaves considerable headroom for organised players, particularly as security preferences evolve and households look for more convenient ways to protect valuables.

Godrej is now looking to technology to expand the category. The Godrej Enterprises Group's Security Solutions business has launched the NX Pro Ncrypt Home Locker and SEETHRU Third-i Multi Apartment Video Door Phone with Face Recognition Lobby Unit, introducing facial recognition across both home security and residential community access.

The NX Pro Ncrypt brings facial recognition to home lockers, while the SEETHRU Third-i integrates the technology into apartment access systems. The launches mark a shift towards incorporating advanced authentication into everyday physical security products.

Gokhale said the move towards facial recognition was driven by changing consumer needs rather than technology for its own sake. The company initially offered key-based lockers before moving to digital keypads and fingerprint-based biometric access. However, feedback from older consumers, whose fingerprints may have worn out, prompted it to explore facial recognition.

"We didn't start with face recognition. We evolved to see how do we address the customer problem," he said.

Technology to drive growth

The company is also looking beyond facial recognition. It is earmarking ₹100 crore over the next three years for research into emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, with the aim of developing connected safes that can be accessed through mobile phones with restricted permissions.

Technology-led, high-end products currently contribute around 10% to the business. Godrej wants to increase this share to 20%, making digital integration a bigger component of its growth strategy.

"These kinds of high-end technology products are right now contributing about 10%. We want to eventually take it to 20%," Gokhale said.

The company also has a sizeable institutional business, supplying security products to banks, non-banking financial companies and gold loan companies. However, the new home locker products are targeted primarily at individual households. Gokhale said online sales were growing, but not at the pace of general trade, partly because consumers prefer discretion when purchasing a safe and several products are heavy.

For Godrej, the challenge will be to convert low household penetration into sustained adoption while making technology a stronger reason for consumers to invest in home security.