Micromax forays into white goods

Smartphone maker Micromax today forayed into home appliances two years after launching light emitting diode (LED) television sets.

The country's largest smartphone maker after Samsung launched a range of split and window air-conditioners, with plans to produce refrigerators and washing machines.

"The products are affordable, in keeping with our strategy of providing the best possible price to consumers," said Rajesh Agarwal, co-founder of Micromax.

FUTURE PLANS

• Launching ACs; plans to get into other categories such as refrigerators and washing machines
   
• Rs 200-300 crore is the expected investment
   
• Plans to become an end-to-end electronics major
   
• Present in LED TVs, tablets and wearable devices (smart watches), apart from smartphones

"The price range is Rs 20,000-30,000 for 1.5 tonne split and window ACs," he added. Micromax's LED TV sets are available for Rs 10,000-90,000, while its smartphones sell for Rs 1,000-19,000.

The company is foraying into white goods as rival smartphone makers are snapping at its heels. Analysts said Micromax's diversification into durables was an attempt to emerge as an end-to-end electronics major. In April, the company had launched a smart watch and expanded its range of tablets, LED TVs and smartphones. It's annual turnover is over Rs 10,000 crore, with the bulk of the revenue coming from smartphones.

It plans to take revenue from durables, including TVs, to about Rs 1,500 crore in the next few years. A plant had been set up in Rudrapur to make air-conditioners and LED TVs, Agarwal said but did not disclose Micromax's investments for its white goods venture.

Experts, however, said it would not be less than Rs 200 crore. Unlike smartphones, which are mainly manufactured in China, Micromax plans to manufacture white goods locally.