Hager expands in India
Hager expands in India

Having established a solid foundation in India, Hager now expands through Project 2015 initiative where Brazil, India and China will be the key targets of exponential growth. Having catered to the premium segment for almost 15 years, they have now extended their products to the middle class as well with the belief of capturing a larger portion of the market share. In conversation with Retailer Magazine, Benoiy Lecuyer, Mangaging Director, Hager Group and Praveen Kumar Nair, Head−Sales and Marketing India disclose their strategies for India.

 
Saniya Seth (SS): How will FDI reforms in India affect your business plan?
 
Benoit Lecuyer (BL): It will definitely have a positive impact for several reasons. Hager is an international brand with its presence across many counties. We work as per customer specifications in terms of technicality, validity, pricing etc. Substantial investments have been made in the aviation, telecom and banking sectors in India and the FDI reform will only add to the positives of our company. 
 
SS: What are your production, distribution and retail strategies for India?
 
BL: We are part of project 2015 of the Hager group, where India is the key target.
 
Praveen Kumar Nair (PKN): There is a lot of focus on India both in terms of investment and growth of market shares. We have almost 80 per cent of the revenues coming in from the local manufacturers. We have our distribution set-up in Pune. In terms of front end distribution we have close to 170 channel partners. That is the route to the market−we supply to our channel partners and they in turn supply to retailers and customers. Today we have a pan India presence especially in tier one and tier two cities. Further plans are on to get into the tier there cities.
 
Tell us more about the Project 2015 initiative.
 
BL: Under the project 2015 initiative, Hager targets their expansion plans in three countries−Brazil, India and China (BIC). These countries have been shortlisted because there is a strong demand for modernity, comfort and security in these countries. These economies are fast growing and there is urbanization with strong investments in new housing.
 
SS: What strategic alliances you are currently looking for?
 
BL: In India there are very efficient local companies and the technology is evolving fast. At Hager, our human values are very strong. We are open for friendly acquisitions−one plus one equals three, or friendly technical discussions.
 
SS: How is the Indian market/consumer different from the consumers worldwide?
 
BL: In some ways the Indian consumer is even more demanding that European consumers. Pleasing three billion consumers in this country will keep us busy for the century.
 
PKN: Customer segmentation as per the purchasing power is very specific to the Indian market. The mid
segment, the value for money segment, has been growing. This morning we launched offers for the mid-
segment keeping in mind price sensitivity as the key factor.
 
SS: Please tell us about your retail expansions plans in India.
 
PKN: In India Hager was able to access at the most 25 per cent of the market, the rest 75 per cent was not touched because we did not have a portfolio to address the market. With this mid segment launch, we will expand the number to 40 per cent. There is a lot of work to do in terms of building a channel and a team to support it, a lot of promotional activities to get the Hager brand awareness in the market.
 
SS: What kind of marketing strategies are you adopting to target the mid segment?
 
PKN: The first thing was to come up with the right product−the product that we have launched is priced 15 to 20 per cent less than the products that cater to the premium segment. We have already identified mid segment channel partners who will help us redistribute these products deeper into smaller towns. It will be supported by a lot of strong promotions.
 
SS: What initiatives have been taken to provide a robust after sale service?
 
PKN: At present we have service agencies. In fact in all the metros and tier one cities we have service agencies who are have entered into a contract with us. They have been trained to provide after sale service. Our PPMs (parts per million) are 60 to 70 which means that if we sell one million units we expect 60 to 70 to come back, and that is hardly anything. Still we need a strong service platter− we already have a few people on board more to come.
 
SS: What is the biggest challenge you face today?
BL: One of the key challenges today is to grow faster than the market rate and master product offerings and also offer excellent worldwide service. The international players are now local in India, which is good because it pushes us to grow further. The clients are now more and more aware of what safety means. Ten years ago electrical product were for the architects only, but is it very much different now.
 
Fact file:
 
Turnover: € 1.56 billion
Production locations: 20
Global presence: 55 countries
Workforce: 11400
 
Turnover by market
Asia, Pacific, South America: 14%
Germany: 32%
France: 22%
UK,North and East Europe: 22%
South Europe: 10%
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