Siel Aircon Transfers Marketing Rights Of Ac, Cooler To Usha

A leader in market appliances, the company has entered into a marketing agreement with Siel Aircon for marketing its Compact and Tempest range of air conditioners. These products were earlier being marketed by Siel Aircon, a 100-per cent subsidiary of Siel.

With a 40 per cent increase in sales of ACs and water coolers envisaged, Usha expects to increase its turnover to Rs 500 crore by 1998 end, the companys chairman Siddharth Shriram said here yesterday.

Siel Aircon will pump in Rs 60 to 70 crore for its factory at Greater Noida or Rajpura. Usha has a market share of 10 per cent in the country which is expected to grow to 35 to 40 per cent in the next four to five years. However, the company hopes to retain its current ten per cent hold on the total volume of the market till the year 2000.

The compressors for the air-conditioners are being procured from both domestic and international suppliers like Kirloskar and Rotary. Talking about the expansion plans, Shriram said Usha intends to invest Rs 3 to 4 crore a year for the next five years to improve sales capacities. The company also intends to diversify into washing machines and refrigerators, he said.

Usha International also plans to make its entry into other white goods like refrigerators, washing machines and vacuum cleaners among others in the near future. According to Shriram, Ushas entry into white goods is in synergy with its existing product portfolio.

He recently took over the reins of Usha International as chairman, succeeding his father Charat Ram.

Usha enjoys good brand loyalty and also has one of the largest sales and service networks in India. Its products are currently available at over 11,000 retail outlets in the country. The company has planned a target of 1,000 additional dealers by the end of next year, to enhance its existing dealer network for these new products.