Panasonic Appliances India Co is looking to expand in the eastern and North-Eastern regions. The BSE-listed entity is part of the Panasonic Group.
According to Hidenori Aso, Managing Director, Panasonic Appliances, the company is looking to double its sales in the East (and North-East) to 10 per cent of its turnover.
Panasonic Appliances had reported a turnover of nearly Rs 180 crore for the year ending March 31, 2012. Nearly 60 per cent of its turnover is from the southern region, where it is a dominant player.
“We plan to double sales in the eastern region on the back of our new products. We are also ramping up our distribution and sales network in the region,” Aso said.
Distribution and Sales Network
According to a company official, Panasonic is planning to increase its distribution and points of sale in the region. It has 14 regional distributors (in East and North-East) and is looking to increase it to 25 by March 2014.
Points of sale too will be increased to around 400 — a near 30 per cent increase — from the existing 300. Panasonic has 12 standalone shops (called Panasonic Brand Shops) in the region.
Market Share and Manufacturing
Panasonic enjoys a 70 per cent market share in the automatic cooker segment and another 75 per cent in the premium (Rs 5,000 and above) mixer-grinder segment. It competes with Philips and Prestige.
Its lone manufacturing facility in Chennai has an annual production capacity of 12 lakh automatic cookers and 4 lakh high-end mixer-grinders. Around 15 per cent of automatic cookers and 30 per cent of mixer-grinders are exported to West Asia , LatAm and Africa.
Other household appliances, such as sandwich-makers, are imported from Thailand, Malaysia and China.