Godrej's Nature Inspired Home Appliances

Godrej Appliances on Tuesday launched a range of advanced refrigerators and air conditioners, Eon Vogue, a new series of nature-inspired wood-finish home appliances. The consumer durables maker plans to close this year with INR 6 billion in revenue with an expansion of up to 30,000 outlets in the country.

According to a report by Invest India, Air Conditioner Market in India is set to increase to $9.8 billion by FY26 from $3.8 billion in FY21 at a CAGR of 20.8 percent while refrigerator market in India is set to increase to $6.7 billion by FY26 from $3.8 billion in FY21 at a CAGR of 9.5 percent. While as per the survey Indian Households report conducted by the brand, over 70% of respondents said they would like to see more options of appliances that better suit their home décor. While the average age of homeowners has come down to 30-35 years old, with 54% of home buyers being millennials.

Kamal Nandi, Business Head and Executive Vice President of Godrej Appliances, in conversation with IndianRetailer.com, said, “Basically, we clearly understand that our Target Group is young millennials who are now moving towards emphasizing on aesthetics of the product, and that is the trend that every brand should catch up.”

Elaborating further, Nandi said, “Last year we found a significant gap in the Air Conditioner (AC) segment where there was a leakage issue in ACs. We addressed the issue and achieved huge success. As a result, this year we have grown by 100 percent in our AC business.

Designer's Touch

To aid consumers in experiencing and adopting the design transformation in their homes, the brand has collaborated with Krsnaa Mehta, Founder and Design Director of India Circus for a customized home design guide, showcasing the new Eon Vogue series in different home décor styles and specially curated nature inspired India Circus accessories.

Nandi said, “This collaboration will help consumers to really understand that how nature inspired refrigerator or wooden design refrigerator will work together for consumers in terms of home design and architect. He has also suggested some of the references in the guide books which will help consumers to get the right interior.”

Wave of Premiumization 

Talking about the premiumization wave in multiple categories across the Indian market, Nandi said, “Overall, at the industry level, we are witnessing growth in our premium segment, which is much better than the growth in our mass product categories. This trend is not only happening in our sector but across various sectors.”

“Premiumization is driving growth in our category. The challenge lies in the mass product category mainly due to inflation, but we have also seen that premium consumers, who are not impacted by inflation, continue consumption. Another factor that the premium category is growing is due to easy finance, we are seeing people easily upgrading to premium. This is also bringing new consumers to the premium segment.”

He further said, “Previously, people used to upgrade from mass to premium. But now, young target groups are entering directly into the premium segment. We are seeing that trend, and it is driving premiumization. We expect this trend to continue. Given the increasing affordability and disposable income of the younger target group, and the availability of easy finance, we are working towards meeting the demand that is in trend.”

Growth Across Categories

Talking about the growth, Nandi said, “In the AC category, we grew by 100 percent last year, and in fully automatics and other categories, we are growing by 35-40 percent. Mass product categories pose a challenge for us, and this is not only for us but for the entire industry.”

When asked if the brand plans to expand its reach abroad, Nandi said, “I think as an organization or as a brand, our focus is only on the Indian market. We are bringing in products and designs based on Indian sensitivity and gaps. The penetration level of appliances in India is very low. The penetration of refrigerators is only about 40 percent, while that of washing machines is about 20 percent, and ACs is about 12 percent. So there is huge potential in the country itself, and as the economy progresses, which is the fastest in our country, the potential to grow is more in India than in any other country.”

Expanding in India 

He further said, “There are very strong network expansion plans in place, and we are adding 5,000-7,000 outlets every year with our product ranges. That is the way we are penetrating to enhance our reach. We will close this year with about 30,000 outlets in the country.”

Giving a brief idea of the revenue growth, Nandi concluded that Godrej Appliances will close this year with INR 6 billion in revenue compared to INR 5.1 billion last year, with a growth rate of 19 percent while the industry is growing at 8-9 percent.