Lloyd aims at 11% share in AC mkt; to sell 4 lakh units

Lloyd Electric aims to sell around 4 lakh units of home air conditioners this summer to corner about 11 per cent share in the domestic AC market, cashing in on growing sales in metro centres.
It is also looking at higher ad spend of up to Rs 55 crore in the current financial year to push sales.
"This year we are aiming for up to 11 per cent market share in the residential AC segment from 8 per cent of the last season," Lloyd Electric & Engineering Ltd Director Nipun Singhal told PTI.
The industry is expecting to sell around 40 lakh units of AC this season and Lloyd's contribution would be around 4 lakh units under its brand, he added.

Last year, the company had sold around 2.5 lakh units under Lloyd brand.
"The optimism for 45 per growth is because of pedigree of a trusted brand which we have. This is one the factors on which the purchase decisions are made. We have one of the largest range of ACs in the industry...Also improved our service network," Singhal added.

On the expected sales split, he said: "Lloyd's tier II & III market share are strong and metro is slightly weak. But this season we are expecting equal contribution from both the segments".
The company is expecting that increased ad spend would help it to gain market in metros which is a weaker zone.

"In the coming years, as we are investing in brand spends, it would result in increased brand pull in metros, we will come in the line of industry, which sells 65 per cent AC in developed markets," Singhal said.
"We have increased our ad spend this fiscal to make our brand more visible by engaging media. This year we would spend between Rs 50 crore to 55 crore on advertising," he said.
Last fiscal, Lloyd had spend around Rs 35 crore on it.
Lloyd, which has an installed capacity to manufacture around 6 lakh units of ACs, also manufactures for other leading brands. It has two units, one at Pantnagar in Uttarakhand and second at Kala Amb in Himachal Pradesh.

Last year, the company had manufactured 3.5 lakh units of residential ACs for other brands. It has a pan India network of over 7,000 dealers with 300 service centres.
The company had started its operation in 1956 under the JV of Federal Lloyds and one of the pioneers of AC industry in India.
It went bankrupt in 1990 and closed its consumer durable operations. It came back in 2008 under the brand Lloyd.