The $500 million BR Punj group has a problem. While its various group companies are involved in a wide range of businesses — manufacturing air conditioners (ACs), chillers, heat exchangers, radiators among a host of other things, besides information technology and housing projects — the retail customer doesn’t have a real ‘connect’ with it.
However, she understands consumer electronics. So the group, known more for its manufacturing and engineering businesses, is making sure it becomes a household name. To begin with, it has separated the consumer durable business from the group’s flagship Fedders Lloyd and has merged it with Lloyd Electric & Engineering. It is now expanding its portfolio with the launch of LCD and LED TVs. “In 17 years, between 1991 and 2008, we became a well-recognised brand for room ACs. Now we feel we should get into non-seasonal products like TVs,” explains Nipun Singhal, president, Lloyd Electric & Engineering Ltd.
However, the company is not aiming to be a mass product. “We do not want to cater to the absolute bottom of the market and hence our range starts only from 3 stars up to 5 stars,” reveals Singhal, talking about the AC business in which the company has an 8 per cent share. The same logic reflects in its move to launch LCD and LED TVs, that are more expensive than the conventional cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs. “It is the fastest growing category in TVs, and besides anybody who buys an AC can afford an LED/LCD as the price point is very similar,” says Singhal. The company is expecting to grab a market share of 9 per cent this year in the LED/LCD segment.
Apart from ACs and TVs, Lloyd offers cloth driers, garment steamers and bread makers, and will shortly introduce deep freezers and bottle coolers. Singhal explains, “We do not want to go into low technology or highly competitive consumer durable products; hence we have highly innovative products.”
To promote the new TV range, it has roped in director Karan Johar as the brand ambassador, who will be seen in a television commercial. There will also be below the line activities and a “Rs 1 crore quality challenge” offer during the festive season which challenges the consumers to find a better quality product in the same price range and win the amount if they succeed. The overall marketing budget is pegged at Rs 25 crore.
Consumers can expect more product offerings by the company soon. “We are looking to launch high-end refrigerators and a few models in washing machines, only fully automatic with tilt design. This is in continuation of our philosophy to target the mass affluent section of the society,” concludes Singhal.