Air Conditioner

The race for ‘cool' just got hotter

Publication: Business Line

Provider: Kasturi & Sons Ltd.

April 28, 2011

Translation powered by Google Translate

en

Air-conditioner and refrigerator makers are gearing up to tap the market with products that are innovative, have star-ratings and are high on aesthetics.

W hen Haji Akbar Ali, a jewellery businessman from a small mofussil town near Kozhikode was scouting around for a new air-conditioner and refrigerator to replace the old ones (that were in good condition), his wife had a big say in the matter. The usually reticent purdah-clad housewife wanted something that would impress her Dubai-based son-in-law and also help her upgrade to a better model. They finally settled on an AC and refrigerator that promised to cleanse the air of harmful viruses, were star-rated and even matched their interiors, thanks to interchangeable panels.

Y. V. Verma, Chief Operating Officer, LG Electronics India, notes that each month the company is adding a slew of such customers seeking to replace durables in perfect running condition with the latest models in the market. Unthinkable even a decade ago!

Verma attributes this to a growing Indian consumer base with higher disposable incomes, improved lifestyles and the desire for products that pack in performance with aesthetics. ?Indian consumers are not price-conscious but value-conscious. The replacement cycle has fallen from 9-10 years to four-five years. Eighty per cent of the AC market is in favour of split ACs. Similarly, we see demand for large frost-free refrigerators. Sales of our premium range of refrigerators are growing in double digits," he adds.

For the current season, the company targets a turnover of Rs 4,000 crore from refrigerators and Rs 3,500 crore from ACs.

Recently, LG introduced its premium-end ?wonder door' refrigerator. Price: Rs 1.77 lakh. Verma says India is the second market after Korea where LG has launched its premium range.

Manufacturers across the...