Orient Electric eyes 10% market share in air coolers by FY18

C K Birla Group firm Orient Electric is aiming to double its market share to 10 per cent in the air cooler segment by fiscal year 2018, a company official has said.
"The organised air cooler market in India is estimated to be Rs 1000 crore that is growing at 15-20 per cent every year. We have almost 5-6 per cent market share in organised space and we want to take it to 10 per cent by FY18," Orient Electric Senior VP and Business Head Appliances Saurabh Baishakhiya told PTI.
The company is among the top five air cooler players in the country with 13 products in the category and plans to launch 12 more before summer.

Air coolers contribute a significant portion to the Rs 200-crore revenue of the home appliances division of the company, which has earmarked a marketing budget of Rs 8-10 crore for the category, he said.
With a strong presence in North, the firm is also looking at Maharashtra as a key region to drive sales.
"North is a natural market for coolers and that is one of our biggest markets for sales. With humid control features in coolers, South is also becoming a captive market, typically markets like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are big markets for coolers. Also, we are looking at Maharashtra as a critical market for success in West," Baishakhiya said.

Besides air coolers, the company is present in kitchen appliances, water heater, room heater and is evaluating the air purifier category to expand its product portfolio.
"Air purifier is becoming an attractive market, it is a Rs 100-crore market. It is one of the categories we are looking in the future. But we want to first strengthen our position in the existing segments and then move from there," he said.