- Godrej Appliances to open exclusive brand outlets
- ‘Excise laws must be changed to make real Indian brandy'
Godrej Appliances to open exclusive brand outlets
Godrej Appliances, consumer durables division of Godrej Group, plans to open its exclusive brand outlets.
“We want to get into exclusive brand outlets (EBOs).There is a school of thought that in years to come, exclusive stores will start getting a foothold. Our competitors such as LG and Samsung also have exclusive outlets,” Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company’s Chief Operating Officer (Godrej Appliances), Mr George Menezes, told PTI.
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, Mr 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 Mr Menezes.
Godrej currently enjoys a market share of 13 per cent in refrigerators. The market is estimated at 10 million units per year, growing at 10-12 per cent.
In washing machines, the company plans to increase the market share from 9 per cent to 15 percent in two years. It also wants to increase the share in the estimated 3-million unit AC market to over 10 pe rcent from the current 9 per cent.
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,” Mr 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 high 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,” Mr Menezes said.
‘Excise laws must be changed to make real Indian brandy'
State excise laws must be changed so that real brandy can be made in the country, says the Indian Grape Processing Board.
It wants brandy, distilled from wine, to be recognised as a separate category, and has made a strong pitch for changing the excise laws in the States.
The brandy made in India is from molasses to which brandy essence is added, while globally the real brandy is distilled from wine, said Mr Jagadish Holkar, Chairman of the Board.
“Indian excise laws were codified in the bygone era when there was no proper definition of grape-based brandy. The law needs to be changed so that the right definition of brandy, which is tune with the global definition, is adopted. With a well defined law, Indian brands could be developed,” he said.
Mr Holkar said that preliminary efforts are being made to develop an Indian brandy just like Cognac of France. A number of Indian wineries are already in talks with established European companies like Remy Martin and Camus Cognac for developing their brands here.
He said the demand from the international market could also be explored. Marketing could commence with the Indian diaspora and restaurants serving Indian cuisine overseas. In Canada, there is good demand from the Indian community for Indian wines, which could also be explored for selling brandy.
Since Maharashtra is the largest producer of wines in India, the Board has already made a representation to the State Chief Minister and the State Excise Minister for making changes in the law.
The Board sees good opportunity for wineries to further diversify their business and cut the losses they had incurred over the last four years.
However, Mr Abimalek David, Vice-President (Sales), FineWinesnMore, a wine seller, said that the Indian climate is not suitable for maturing brandy. As the evaporation losses would be very high. It would be very difficult to make it here, he said.
(Source- brand line)
