With rising mercury across India, sales of white goods pick up finally

Demand for air conditioners and refrigerators has picked up over the past week amid rising mercury across India, after a lull because of unseasonal rains that caused temperatures to dip.

Beverages have also witnessed a demand uptick.

According to consumer durable retailers and manufacturers, orders for compressor-driven products are on the rise, especially in northern India.

“Air conditioners witnessed a pick-up in demand from March onwards, but refrigerators have now started to see a pick-up in the northern belt,” said Kamal Nandi, business head and executive vice-president, Godrej Appliances (part of Godrej & Boyce).

He explained refrigerator demand was weak, especially until April 10-12 in northern India.

“While the industry is witnessing growth of 20-30 per cent in air conditioners, we are growing at 80-90 per cent in April due to launches in the segment with new technology, which is anti-leak,” Nandi said.

Godrej Appliances is also witnessing sales growth of over 40 per cent in frost-free refrigerators, as well. The segment for the industry is, otherwise, growing at 10-12 per cent, Nandi said. 

He expects sales to be 100 per cent higher in May compared to the same month last year.

Another industry major said its air conditioner sales have doubled in the past three-four days when compared with the first 15 days of April. Also, it has witnessed a 35 per cent increase in refrigerator sales over the past few days versus the first fortnight of April.

The Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) expects the industry to witness an increase of 15-20 per cent this summer in the refrigerator and air conditioner sales.

“Because of rainfall (in March and early April), there was a blip in demand. But this year, we expect demand to remain strong. Last year, we witnessed a strong summer and this year too, the trend will continue provided, there is no more unseasonal rainfall,” said Eric Braganza, president, CEAMA.

He further noted demand in April is likely to be the same as last year.

Consumer durables retailer Vijay Sales, too, has witnessed a pick-up in sales, of late. It expects demand during this April to at least match last year’s demand for the month, if the scorching summer heat remains unabated.

“In May, we may see a 7-8 per cent increase in volumes, but it will all depend on summer heat,” said Nilesh Gupta, managing director, Vijay Sales.

In the beverage segment, PepsiCo India, too, expects strong summer demand. “We are optimistic that our portfolio of well-known brands, such as Pepsi, 7UP, Mirinda, Slice, Sting, and Mountain Dew, will be able to meet consumer demand… Most of our high-octane, brand summer campaigns have been launched, and they feature celebrities with mass appeal to further strengthen the connect with consumers and ensure brand love. We look forward to a great summer while remaining committed to providing consumers the right products at the right occasions across the beverage portfolio,” said George Kovoor, senior vice president, beverages, PepsiCo India.

According to the data by Bizom, beverage sales grew the most in FY23 on the back of a hot summer last year; stocking up for a hotter one is being predicted this year.

In FY23, sales of beverages were up 23.7 per cent compared to FY22.

Summer boost

CEAMA expects demand to be higher by 15-20% this summer

Godrej Appliances sees AC demand shoot up 80-90% in April; 40% growth in frost-free refrigerators

Vijay Sales expects volumes to be higher by 7-8% in May