Bajaj Electricals Ltd plans to establish an integrated R&D Centre that will drive innovation and help it create cutting edge technology across its three business verticals.
The company that gets nearly half its top line from the consumer durables and kitchen appliances business, is also increasing its focus in non-urban centres and plans to develop appliances specially aimed at the needs of this market.
Citing the example of Bajaj Auto, which has created its own technology for its motorcycles, Shekhar Bajaj, chairman and managing director, Bajaj Electricals said, “The R&D Centre will study market needs and make what the consumer wants.” The location for it had not yet been finalised, but would be around Mumbai, he said.
Elaborating on this, Anant Bajaj, joint managing director, said that he wanted to move away from the mind-set of differentiated quality products (appliances) for export and domestic markets. “Cutting edge technology is the only way for products to remain strong,” he said, adding that the product could then be sold across geographies. Currently exports account for a mere 1% of Bajaj Electricals’ sales, and there was a lot of scope on this front. “We may even have few manufacturing and assembly in export free markets to make exports viable,” he added.
As part of a strategy to increase its focus in rural areas, Bajaj Electricals has set up exclusive showrooms that display its entire range of consumer products. At present 50 of 68 Bajaj World outlets are in non urban locations, and the plan is to grow the total number to 100 in the current year.
The company expects to close the current fiscal with 25% growth to a turnover of Rs 4,200 crore (Rs 3,400 crore last year). While the consumer durables and lighting businesses will each grow by 15% to Rs 2,100 crore and Rs 900 crore respectively, the projects vertical will see 70% growth to stand at Rs 1,200 crore against Rs 640 crore last year.
“We want to execute and hand over older projects, and close all the gaps by the year end. Then we can focus on our new order book,” Anant Bajaj said. The company’s projects order book at the end of Q3 of 2013-14 fiscal stood at Rs 1,465 crore, and is expected touch Rs 1,500 crore by the end of the fiscal.