Godrej Appliances aims to up market share in premium segment

Godrej Appliances is aiming to increase its market share in the premium segment of air- conditioning and refrigerators this financial year.
It is also adding new models of 5-star range of ACs and frost free and direct cool refrigerators to its lineup.
"We are targeting to increase our market share by 5 per cent in the air-conditioning segment and in refrigerator by 3 per cent this financial year. We are targeting primarily high end of the segment that is where we relatively smaller player," Godrej Appliances Business Head and Executive Vice- President Kamal Nandi told PTI.
At present, Godrej has six per cent market share in the AC market, but in the 5 Star category, it has 12 per cent market share, he added.

"Refrigerator market is also doing well. In fact, in March and April this year, it has a very good growth. We have launched new products this year in the direct cool and as well as in the frost free segment. Our expected growth in the refrigerator category is 25 per cent," he added.
Godrej is planning to launch over 35 models in the premium end of frost free refrigerators this financial year.

"All of the launches if you see this year are targeting the premium end of direct cool and frost free," Nandi added.
Godrej has already completed launches of premium end of direct cool fridges, which sell more in summers.

The company is looking for nearly 30 per cent increase in sales to touch Rs 2,700 crore turnover in the ongoing fiscal on the back of new launches in the air conditioning and refrigerator category.
For washing machine segment, the company has planned 16 new launches this season post July, when the sales picks up, he said.
"We have lined up launches this year for semi automatic and fully automatic, July onwards... 16 new models are getting launched," Nandi said.
Apart from production and sales, Godrej Appliances is also looking at issues such as gender diversity in its two manufacturing units at Pune and Mohali. The company, which has around 10 per cent of its workforce as women, is going to increase the ratio to 50:50 in next five years.

"We are already in the process of recruiting more and more women in the plant and our objective is to reach 50:50 in both the plant in next five years," he said.
The company is targeting the female ratio to be 20 per cent by the end of this fiscal, he said.
"At our Shirwal (Pune) workshop our entire green AC line (5 Star Category) is run by women work force," he said.
It has a capability to produce 2.5 million refrigerators, 0.8 million Washing Machines and 0.3 million ACs.