Comments
BSH Home Appliances (BSH) is expanding its retail presence with a dual brand strategy for the Indian market, through Bosch and Siemens. The brands will be available through 1,000 retail establishments across India (excluding the East) by December, informed Mr March Hantscher, Managing Director and CEO of the Indian subsidiary of the over €9-billion Bosch and Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH, Germany.
The company was selling the Siemens brand of home appliances and built-in kitchen appliances since 1996, through a distributor whom it bought out in April this year. In September, BSH launched Bosch home appliances in India, with a retail presence across 220 stores.
“We will be taking Bosch national by next year, from the four-State presence initially in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi (NCR) and Tamil Nadu. While the concentration will be on larger cities, it won't just be focused on metros and tier one. At the same time, we will not be going to the countryside,” explained Mr Hantscher.
The brands are available in cities such as Mangalore, Mysore, Rajkot and Lucknow. By the end of 2012, the intent is to cover all tier one cities in India while expanding presence in each, and also explore potential in other cities.
Dual premium play
Both brands straddle a similar price range in India, and will be distributed through the same network. But there is a clear demarcation between the two, with Siemens being more ‘cutting-edge,' explained Mr Dirk Dedekind, Head of Marketing, BSH.
“In India, Siemens is liked by the more technologically-oriented with exposure around the world, while more Indians know Bosch from its presence in automobiles, as a sturdy, reliable, brand that delivers innovation relevant to the common man,” explained Mr Dedekind.
BSH sells refrigerators, washing machines, dishwashers and dryers in India. While refrigerators (coolers) sell most globally, washing machines sell maximum for both brands in India. The play is in mass premium and above, with washing machines priced between Rs 22,000 and Rs 70,000, while refrigerators sell upwards of Rs 35,000.
Mr Hantscher added, “We are very clear about the product portfolio – in washing machines, we will have only front-loading, and only fully automatic. In refrigerators, the price and class range we play in don't allow us to compete with the mass market brands in India.”
No price drop withIndian production
Some members of the research and development teams visiting India regularly, to tailor make products for the market, will start working out of the Chennai facility that's expected to start operations by 2013. BSH plans to start manufacturing washing machines here.
The move will help it overcome the ‘significant import barriers' that it currently faces. However, there is no intent to pass on the cost reduction to end-consumers, given the current 30 per cent taxes on imports.
Mr Hantscher said, “Our prices are defined by how we compete in the market, and are benchmarked against competition. We do not currently factor in the import tariff we pay.”
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.