After nearly three years of sluggish growth, consumer durable firms hope for a good festival season on the back of good monsoons, higher disposable income as well as uptick in consumer sentiment.
Also companies believe premium products are expected to see an uptick across categories as durable firms and retailers are wooing consumers to upgrade to the latest technology products with attractive finance, cashback and freebies schemes.
Kamal Nandi, Business Head & EVP, Godrej Appliances, said that overall the consumer appliance industry which saw single-digit growth of about 7-8 per cent last year, during the festival season is expected to see a growth of 15-20 per cent this time. “We believe the trend of premiumisation is getting more pronounced as consumers are looking to upgrade to the latest technology,” he added.
LG India too, said that it is leveraging this opportunity to push premium and technological superior products with lucrative offers.
Eric Braganza, President, Haier India, said that since April the industry has seen an upswing in demand and hopes to see an uptick in rural demand due to good monsoon. “We have been witnessing growth for our mid-to high end products such as front loading washing machines, large panel TVs and bottom-mounted refrigerators. We believe a longer wedding season will also boost demand,” he added.
Most consumer durable firms are targeting high double digit growth of 25-30 per cent in sales. CM Singh, COO, Videocon, had earlier told BusinessLine that the company will be focusing on extended warranty schemes and attractive finance schemes this festival season.
Meanwhile, consumer electronics retailer Croma said that it saw nearly a 30 per cent jump in sales within the first four days of Navratras compared to a year-ago period.
Ritesh Ghosal, CMO, Infiniti Retail, which operates Croma, said that the company is focusing its communication and promotional strategy on encouraging consumers to upgrade and expects uptick in sale of products with higher ticket sizes. The company is also betting big on high double-digit growth this festival season.