Onida expects 35% growth in AC business this season

The company bets on new range of smart phone controlled ACs based on based on Internet of Things technology

MIRC Electronics, manufacturers of home appliances under the ONIDA brand, is expecting a 35 per cent growth in air-conditioner (AC) business this season, or during the summer of 2015, betting on its new range of smart phone controlled ACs based on based on IoT (Internet of Things) technology.

Sunil Shankar,Product Head, AC, MIRC Electronics, said that IOT technology is basically something wherein a machine can interact with another machine, and the connectivity is through wi-fi (wireless) network. He added that the company is expecting to boost its sales by at least 35 per cent this season thanks to the new product range. "So far, we were focussing mainly on seasonal sales, however, now we have decided to focus on the AC business throughout the year," he said.

Onida aims to target the youth segment through its new range. "Our products are popular amongst the above 35 year old segment, however, now we want to influence the influencers, or lets say the smart phone generation."

The company's new range would come equipped with interesting features like electricity consumption indicator, pre-set consumption based on electricity bill wherein the AC would send a message to the smart phone when the pre-set limit is reached, apart from smart features like self diagnostics whereby the AC will not only diagnose any fault in the machine, but also send a message to the user's smartphone as well as the company's service center all by itself.

As for this fiscal, the company is eyeing a 60 per cent year-on-year growth to touch revenues of Rs 800 crore. The overall size of the AC market in India is around 4 million units per annum, which is growing at around 12 per cent. The Gujarat market size is around 270,000 units, which has clocked a slower growth rate last year, at around 4-5 per cent, according to Shankar.