BSH Household to expand retail presence, launch refrigerators

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The Indian subsidiary of German consumer durable maker BSH Household Appliances Manufacturing will be expanding its own retail outlets while launching refrigerators in the premium mass segment, said a top company official.

"We will be increasing our exclusive branded stores to 200 by 2018 from the current around 60 stores. Most of the new stores will be under the Bosch brand while the remaining will be under Siemens brand," Managing Director and CEO Gunjan Srivastava told reporters at the company's plant near here on Tuesday.

Out the existing company branded stores, 26 outlets are under Siemens brand and 36 are under Bosch brand.

Srivastava also said the company will be launching double door refrigerators upwards of 290 litres in the premium mass segment.

He said the refrigerators may be priced around 10 per cent higher than the competing brands owing to the value it would deliver to the consumers.

According to Srivastava, the refrigerators are contract manufactured in India while many other products like the built-in kitchen applicances sold under the Siemens brand are imported.

BSH Houshold Appliances factory at Sriperumbudur, around 50 km from here, makes frontloading washing machines under Bosch and Siemens brands.

Apart from supplying to the domestic market, the company ships out its washing machines to countries like Australia, New Zealand and others.

According to officials, a sizeble portion of the washing machine components are imported while items like stainless steel drums are made at the Indian plant.

--IANS

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