The newly appointed president of PPG Comex, Javier Sosa, predicted strong growth for the brand in Mexico over the coming year, rising at a rate three times the generally predicted 2% gross domestic product (GDP) expansion in the country. Comex is the leading paint and coatings brand in Mexico, and is also sold throughout Central America and the Caribbean.

As the brightest spot in the sub-region, paint and coatings growth in Central America will reach 4% this year, while Brazilian growth is predicted to demonstrate only a 0.3% increase, Sosa recently told CW in response to questions. Sosa also now serves as the PPG vice president for architectural coatings in Latin America.

Beyond the Comex brand distribution in the Northern tier of the Latin America region, PPG’s Glidden and Renner brands will help the company achieve predicted overall growth in the greater region.

Comex Export Growth in the Sub-Region

In parts of the Mexico-Caribbean-Central America sub-region, Comex partners with other PPG brands to offer customers a wide portfolio of product choices. “We share technology knowledge, talent and best practices but we develop customized solutions for each region based on customer preferences, weather conditions and market landscape,” Sosa said.

“The Comex brand is not designed for export to other LatAm countries, but we operate in Central America with a brand channel strategy using Comex in North Central America for specialized paint stores, while using Glidden in home centers and hardware channels,” Sosa explains. “For Costa Rica and Panama we use Glidden as the primary brand for all channels, manufacturing locally at our facility in Panama,” he added.

Within the Southern Cone sub-region – including Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay – Comex relies on Renner. “In Brazil we have a strong brand, Renner, to serve the south region of the country, with all product channels produced locally in our Gravatai facility,” Sosa said.

Recovering from COVID With Protection Products

Part of the Comex strategy to rebuild sales out of the COVID pandemic is providing an enhanced product line to cater to customer concerns about health. “Our differentiated premium products are growing fast because of their clear and appreciated added value: protecting against COVID, influenza and other common bacteria, with Vinimex Total Antibacterial,” Sosa said.

“Similarly, our Fast Dry systems for Enamels with Esmalte100 Total and waterproofing like Top Total provide warranties of seven to 10 years. And our specialized protection solutions like Pittchar NX offer a passive fire protection system that is used in all the metal structures within the Dos Bocas Refinery, for example,” Sosa said.

“The mid-range products are growing at almost the same rate, driven by the business recovery for contractors, and by the recovery in commercial and hospitality segments,” Sosa said.

Store and B2B Network Growth

Comex’s growth in Mexico will hinge on the company’s large store network of some 5,000 locations. “The expectation for growth of at least three times above the market is based on our high-performer concessionaire network through very clear foundations: retail expansion will include 120 new stores this year,” Sosa said.

“We are moving forward with our concessionaire network by improving the performance of each store, and evolving to a much more interactive and omnichannel experience including the e-commerce Comex platform, utilizing the physical space to improve the quality of inspiration and technical advice, combined with digital tools and focus to provide the best service protocol in our 5,000-plus stores,” Sosa said.

“Recently we presented a unique concept store in Mexico where we don’t exhibit one single can of paint; it’s all about understanding the customers’ needs and adjusting personalized advice,” Sosa said. 

“We will be leading inspiration with our ColorLife Comex Trends program utilizing physical and digital tools to increase the use of color, creating color trend palettes with Mexican creative leaders from the most relevant disciplines like architecture, design, fashion, etc., facilitating our customers color selection process,” Sosa said.

“Innovation continues to be a key differentiator for Mexican consumers, providing state-of-the-art technology for health and wellness, sustainability and high performance coatings solutions and specialized services like Specification, Field Technical and Application areas,” Sosa added.

“Our common goal and value proposition is to provide the best customer experience within our specialized paint stores, as well as outside the store with the best B2B teams in the industry,” Sosa said.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) efforts also will help reinforce the Comex brand among consumers over the coming year. “We will be making continuous investment in our ESG efforts through our social impact program Mexico Bien Hecho, which has positively impacted more than 1 million lives, as well as improving the quality of life by strengthening social communication and color through the Causa Comex Foundation in Mexico,” Sosa said.

Industrial and Marine Coatings Sales Also Will Expand

Apart from architectural sales at the company stores, this expanding Comex sales network will help boost industrial segment sales. “We will accelerate our B2B position in the maintenance and new construction segment for medium to large projects with our architectural, PMC (Protective & Marine Coatings) and Traffic paint portfolio leveraging more than 2,000 sales reps across the country,” Sosa said.

“We are also increasing the number and quality of our concessionaires sales reps and B2B teams, taking our value propositions directly to the customer projects,” he notes. “This takes place at the beginning of each job with feasibility analysis, and continues through the entire process of specification, commercial and technical advice, application, on-site technical services and warranties,” he explained.

“The PPG Architectural team of over 5,000 in LatAm is committed to protect and beautify the world and honor our human purpose. We are working hard to create a diverse, talented and engaged professional team focused on living the values of the PPG Way. We are running the business as our own, making things happen, partnering with our customers to create mutual value, trusting our people every day in every way, and being better today and every day than we were yesterday. Its about being ‘One PPG to the World,’” Sosa concluded.