Air purifier sales surge on rising pollution worries

The media’s increasing attention on a surge in air pollution in urban centres, as well as courtroom battles on related issues, have indirectly led to an increase in air purifier sales in India. Since 2012-13, sales have more than doubled, encouraging manufactures to ramp up operations in the county.

“The air purifier market in India is evolving,” says Manish Sharma, president of the Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) and managing director of Panasonic (India & South Asia). He adds media coverage of air pollution has helped spread awareness about availability of purifiers. Various advancements in technology have also had a positive impact on air purifier sales, he adds.

Panasonic has a share of 12 per cent in this market.. Last year, the company’s sales rose about 100 per cent compared to 2012-13. CEAMA says between 2009-10 and 2013-14, the market grew at a compounded annual rate of 33.4 per cent.

Shuvendu Mazumdar, national product manager at Sharp India, says the company’s air purifiers business has grown three times in 2014-15. Sharp India estimates this market — both organised and unorganised players — at about 125,000 units. Mazumdar says the demand for air purifiers is “sure to grow”, as clean air is a necessity. The trend would be akin to the surge in “sales of water purifiers in the past”, he adds.

Blueair, a Swedish air purifier manufacturing company operating in about 50 countries, accounts for four per cent of the Indian market. Robust growth of late led to the company forming a wholly-owned Indian subsidiary. Jonas Holst, international sales manager of Blueair, says cities such as Delhi, where air pollution levels are “alarming”, are promising markets, as are Beijing or Shanghai.

In the past three years, Blueair’s sales have grown more than 10 times in China. Blueair expects this country to be its second-most important market within the next five years, with 15 per cent market share. While Blueair’s sales have traditionally been stable in “mature markets” such as North America, Japan, Europe and Korea, China contributes the most to its revenue now. Vijay Kannan, head of Blueair India, says apart from media and non-governmental organisations, awareness drives by various companies have also played a key role in the rise in air purifier sales.

CEAMA estimates the air purifier market to grow at a compounded annual rate of 56 per cent and touch 75,000 units by 2018, against the current 12,500 units.