Godrej Appliances to open exclusive stores

At present,the company sells its products through retail channels and multi-brand outlets (MBOs).

“We will be getting into franchisee model…opening 25 stores in FY13,but will be cautious on this model,” he said.

The company is eyeing a growth of over 20 per cent,aiming at a revenue of Rs 2,100 crore for FY13,and expects a turnover of Rs 1,700 crore for FY12.

It is also ramping up its manufacturing capacity by nearly 50 percent at its two plants to meet the demand for refrigerators,Menezes said.

Currently,the firm has two plants for home appliances: Mohali (Punjab) and Shirwal (near Pune). It plans to set up

another in the south in the next four years.

“Refrigerator continues to be the biggest area for us followed by air conditioners,washing machines and microwave. However,bottom of the pyramid is a new space we are working on,” said Menezes.

Godrej currently enjoys a market share of 13 per cent in the refrigerators. The market is estimated at 10 million units per year,growing at 10-12 percent.

In washing machines,the company plans to increase the market-share from 9 percent to 15 percent in two years. It also wants to increase the share in the estimated 3-million unit AC market to over 10 percent from the current 9 percent.

Besides,the company plans to launch a plethora of products in the bottom of the pyramid segment. “Right now we are building the ecosystem to move the BOP products….we thought instead of limiting ourselves to Chotukool why not create a bouquet of products for BOP segment,” Menezes said.

Chotukool is dubbed as the cheapest segment refrigerator in India at the price of Rs 3,500-Rs 3,800.

He added that current range of products and technology in consumer durables space are beyond the reach of BOP consumers as they are highly priced,and the customers cannot relate to these products.

The company is considering the water purifier and washing machine segments for expanding product portfolio for the BOP. It is also considering increasing its vocational training centres to 400 in the next five years.

“Two years ago,we had four,now we have 40. My endeavour will be to scale it up to 400,” Menezes said.