After witnessing a lull in sales during the summer months this year, consumer durable manufacturers are planning to cash in on the festival season by showering offers, introducing new products and spending a significant sum on consumer promotion campaigns.
Companies are looking at 30-40 per cent growth in sales during the festival period this year despite the inflationary pressures and high interest rates. Sales during the festival season – which typically starts with Onam in Kerala – account for almost 35-40 per cent of the annual revenue of a company, senior industry experts said.
Delayed buys
“One would have imagined the present economic conditions to be a dampener in sales. However, a number of people had postponed their purchases during the first few months of this fiscal on account of poor summer. Those purchases will now take off during the festivals thereby contributing to higher sales,” said Mr Kamal Nandi, Vice-President – Sales and Marketing, Appliance Division, Godrej and Boyce.
Godrej plans to announce the launch of some new products and consumer schemes for the season, he said. The company would spend close to Rs 60 crore on its marketing and consumer promotion activities during the festive period.
Finance options
Samsung aims to clock sales to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore during the period. Apart from the rise in disposable income, the increase in availability of finance options has been encouraging sales, said Mr K. Mahesh, Vice President, Home Appliances, Samsung.
Samsung has tied up with Bajaj Finance for financing consumer durables. “Close to 10-12 per cent of our total sales are by way of finance options,” he said. The company plans to spend Rs 150 crore on its ‘Smart Utsav' promotion campaign this season.
Panasonic expects a year-on-year growth of 100 per cent during the festive season. The company plans to spend nearly Rs 100 crore on marketing activities, a company spokesperson said.
LG Electronics India Ltd expects an ‘unprecedented growth' in sales in the month of October this year. “This year both Durga Puja and Diwali fall in the month of October. So we are anticipating substantially higher sales,” said Mr Amitabh Tiwari, Head of Sales, LG.
Cutting prices
In the digital segment, the camera makers are also slashing prices to target a larger pie in the market.
Canon, for instance, has reduced the price of its entry-level camera by 10 per cent to Rs 4,500. “We are expecting 60 per cent growth in the digital cameras and 100 per cent growth in SLRs segment this festive season,” said Mr Alok Bharadwaj, senior vice president, Canon India.
Sony India, on the other hand, is focussing on value additions and offering accessories like memory cards, camera cases and covers and data cables as a part of its festival offerings. Olympus has also slashed entry-level prices of its camera by Rs 1,000 – to Rs 4,999.