BSH eyes 10% share of Indian home appliances market; tweaks products for local buyers

In its second coming in India, German household appliances firm Bosch and Siemens (BSH) is looking to become a significant play in the local market.

BSH Household Appliances Manufacturing had re-entered India in 2010, after a previous stint in the late 1990s.

With plans afoot for India-specific products across five major segments, the company is targeting a 10 per cent market share over the next decade, from a miniscule share at present, with mostly “niche” offerings.

According to Gunjan Srivastava, Managing Director & CEO, BSH Household Appliances, the company will refrain from “me-too” offerings.

Apart from entering the small household appliances category, it will expand the range and “add value” across the four other categories — washing machines, dish washers, refrigerators and cooking ranges (built-in appliances).

BSH has a premium 650L refrigerator, and may explore a foray into more popular categories like a single door offering, said Srivastava. Similarly, it may look at ‘free standing microwaves’ (the ones popular in India) in addition to existing built-in ones.

While ‘Bosch’ is the mass brand competing mostly with Korean majors, ‘Siemens’ operates in the premium category. “We will launch all product categories and expand the product range, maybe with tweaked parameters. The more you enter the kitchen, the more you need to have localised offerings,” he told BusinessLine in an interview.

BSH’s offerings are mostly of international standards and specifications. This, sources say, can come in the way of its India ambitions.

But Srivastava said India-specific solutions have been incorporated to overcome the problem.

In washing machines, it has introduced a monsoon-specific offering that enables quick drying. Dishwasher variants handle “tougher stains”.

BSH has rolled out an advertisement campaign in South India. Based on its success, a similar one may be launched nationwide.

While the company is “still evaluating” approaching the FIPB to introduce company-owned stores, it has decided to firm up its distribution and sales network.

From 1,400-odd point-of-sales (including 65 exclusive ones across the Bosch and Siemens brands) and a presence in 200 cities, the target is to take the number up to over 2,000 across 300 cities in five years.

BSH’s lone manufacturing facility, located in Sriperumbudur (Tamil Nadu), produces washing machines. The rest are imported from Europe or China.