 "Groupe SEB forms India arm to take control of Maharaja Whiteline")
France-based Groupe SEB, the world's largest home appliances company, on Wednesday announced that it has bought the entire equity in Maharaja Whiteline, and has renamed the Indian entity as Groupe SEB India (P) Ltd. However, the brand name will be retained.
The French home appliances maker has finally taken control of the Indian business after three years of fierce battle with its India partner. The estimated Rs 35,000-crore French company had entered the Indian market in December 2011 by taking a 55 per cent stake from Harish Kumar, founder of Maharaja Whiteline. However, with its premium imported products, the French company failed to crack the Indian market, dominated by value-for-money products by local manufacturers.
While the two partners were fighting for a long time, the growing spat between the French partner and Kumar stepped out of the board room and reached the court room in 2012. This was after Groupe SEB decided to remove Kumar as the executive chairman and managing director (CMD), for failing to meet the financial targets. Kumar is a veteran of many corporate battles, and came into the limelight after he took Electrolux, his previous joint venture partner, to court.
Kumar was replaced by Frederic Verwaerde, a member of the executive committee of Groupe SEB. Sunil Wadhwa, former managing director and chief executive officer of Usha International, was inducted as the new CEO.
Maharaja Whiteline, set up in 1976, has 500 distributors and sells through 35,000 outlets across India. The company has a manufacturing facility in India with a capacity of more than three million units.
During the past year, Wadhwa said, Maharaja Whiteline has grown by about 70 per cent in sales across the country, while the growth was higher in UP, Rajasthan and Gujarat. "Groupe SEB India expects to clock a further 100% growth in 2015 -16. We at Groupe SEB are looking at India as one of the most exciting markets to be in and are confident that over the next few years India will contribute a much larger share of our global pie," he added.
Emmanuel Serot Almeras vice president (marketing), Groupe SEB India, said that the company plans to roll out about 100 new products across categories by 2016, all designed and manufactured in India. The company plans to increase its distribution base from present 35,000 outlets to 100,000 by 2017. Groupe SEB plans to invest Rs.100 crore by 2016 to expand production capacities, new product development and expanding the dealer network.
Groupe SEB has a range of popular global brands in the premium segment, such as Moulinex and Tefaland Rowenta. The French appliances giant has a little more than 20 product categories.