Usha Shriram targets 10% market share for pressure cookers

The Rs 220-crore Usha Shriram, one of country's leading small appliance makers, is eyeing a 10 per cent market share of the Rs 2,000 crore pressure cooker market in one year with the launch of its new range in Kolkata today.

The market leaders in pressure cooker are currently Hawkins and Prestige.

According to Sapnam Singh Sandhu, assistance vice president, sales and marketing of the company, “We have launched cookwear, gas stoves and chimneys. All our products are priced affordably so that they can cater to the mass market. We are eyeing a 10 per cent market share of the pressure cooker market in one year. Close to 50 per cent of the market is unorganised.” “We are also planning to launch cooking pans and small appliances in the next four months. We currently have 850 distributors which is also expanding,” Sandhu added.

It also plans to enter the light emitting diode (LED) lighting products segment, which it may import from Europe and sell them under its own brandname. "LED bulbs are more energy conservative than CFL, but cost nearly 10 times more than CFL items. We plan to price LED bulbs in a manner to position them as an alternative to CFL," Sandhu said.

The LED lighting product market is close to 2-3 per cent of the Rs 5,000 crore Indian lighting industry.