Godrej Appliances cuts turnover target to Rs 3,500 for FY17

Godrej Appliances on Friday revised downwards its turnover target to Rs 3,500-3,600 crore for the current fiscal from Rs 3,750 crore earlier due to demonetisation.

The Godrej group firm is expecting almost a flat growth in the third quarter (October-December), although the uptown sales have revived in December.

"We were targeting this years around Rs 3,750 crore. Last year, we were around Rs 3,000 crore. We should be closing somewhere around Rs 3,500 crore to Rs 3,600 crore depending on how fourth quarter goes," said Godrej Appliances Business Head & EVP Kamal Nandi.

He further added: "We have been growing in the first seven months at 26% and now we would go down to half, around 15%. We have lost two month as the company witnessed a degrowth in November with a drop of sales, around 35%, and December would be flat."

The company is expecting to witness growth from January next year.

"We would start getting growth from January. Hopefully, we would have a good summer and would bounce back in February and March with cooling products," Nandi said.

The firm is now foraying in the air purifier segment, and has launched a model in the Delhi market on pilot basis.

"We would formally launch it in the September next year, in the beginning of the festive sales. Right now, we are testing the market," he added.

According to him, the air purifier segment is presently at very nascent stage with Rs 150 crore, but is growing rapidly on account of increasing pollution and rising awareness, and it could be around Rs 1,000 crore market in next three years.

"We would like to have at least 10% of the market share in the segment by then," Nandi said.

Besides, Godrej Appliance has also plans to strengthen the product portfolio of its premium brand NXW by adding washing machine category.

"We would launch washing machine in NXW brand by December 2017. Presently, we have airconditions and refrigerators under NXW brand," he added.

Nandi further added: "Last year, NXW contributed around 10% of the total sales of Godrej Appliances and this year we are expecting it to be around 12 to 13%".

Godrej Appliance, which has production units at Shirwal, Pune and Mohali, is also working on deep freezers.

"We will launch deep freezers in the first quarter of the next financial year, which would be supporting the medical refrigerator business. Same time, we would also offer to the normal b2b market," he said, adding that the company would launch 100 liter deep freezers for the small markets.