Westinghouse set to re-enter India with August launch

Westinghouse said their competition would be with Philips and Morphy Richards

Westinghouse Electric Corporation, the US appliances brand that ranks among top 10 globally, is making a comeback in the country through an exclusive brand licensing arrangement with Delhi-based Amerex Private.

Westinghouse, set up in 1886, will initially launch about 70 home appliances. “We are all set to launch in August end, initially starting from north India and then spreading across the country. We expect to sell about 20 per cent of our products online,” said Gautam Seth, managing director of Amerex, which specialises in providing appliance brands with e-distribution as well as online support.

The $4-billion US company had in 2011 entered India through a brand licensing arrangement. It had to shelve its plans to sell appliances and consumer durables then as the market was not prepared for mid and premium products.

The Rs 8,000-crore home appliances market in the country is already crowded with a bevy of international as well as Indian brands such as Bajaj Electricals, Philips, Morphy Richards and Groupe SEB, among others. Thus, to make a mark, Westinghouse plans to target the mid as well premium end of the market. The company has said their competition would be with Philips and Morphy Richards and not with mass-market products.

If everything goes well, the US firm would extend its cooperation for consumer durables as well as consumer electronics products.

Seth said that the company would partly manufacture its products in India through third-party vendors and also import them from markets like China. A plan to manufacture in the company’s own plant would be taken once the volumes pick up.

Westinghouse sells its products across 40 countries. It has an electronics division, which sells TV, computers and earphones, and a lighting business. It sells power equipment like portable generators and inverters, too.

Mixer grinders, with or without juicers, constitute about 20 per cent of the home appliances market in the country, followed by gas stoves and room coolers, at around 15 per cent, and irons, at around seven per cent.

It would face tough competition in the juicer mixer market where Maharaja, Phillips and Bajaj reign supreme. In irons, Bajaj, Phillips, Orpat and Usha have a large market share. In the OTG category, they would have to battle Morphy Richards, Bajaj and Sunflame. In pop-up toasters, which constitute only one per cent of the total market, the big boys include Morphy Richards, Bajaj and Phillips.