Bajaj Electricals Limited has decided to foray into the water purification business in the country and plans to roll out its water purifier product in the current financial year.
The company sees a huge opportunity in the water purification business in the country the size of which is estimated at Rs 2,000 crore per annum and is growing at the rate of around 20 per cent.
“We are looking to enter the water purification business as it offers a huge scope. Bajaj Electricals will foray into this new line of business in this fiscal”, said P S Tandon, executive president (appliances business unit) of Bajaj Electricals.
Asked if Bajaj's water purifiers will be priced lower than the Tata water purifiers, he said, “We haven't worked on the price specifics as of now. Bajaj always strives to offer value for money products to its customers.”
Bajaj's foray into the water purification business is expected to take the competition for low-cost water purifiers in the country to a new level. The Tata Group did a Nano in the water purification business by rolling out Tata Swach, the most inexpensive water purifiers in the country at a price starting Rs 749 in December last year.
Well entrenched players like Eureka Forbes are also mulling to launch low cost water purifiers, eyeing the huge market for such products at the bottom of the pyramid. Kent RO Systems, known for its medium to high-end purifiers, also announced the launch of its entry level purifier- Kent Gold Optima, priced at Rs 1250 last month.
Meanwhile, Bajaj is also planning to come out with electrical pressure cookers within a couple of months.
Bajaj Electricals Limited has six strategic business units and the company's appliances business unit (ABU) has set a pan-India sales target of Rs 722 crore this fiscal, a 21.54 per cent growth over a turnover of Rs 594 crore which it achieved in the previous fiscal.In the Orissa market, the company's ABU aims to take its overall sales from Rs 25 crore in 2009-10 to Rs 35 crore this fiscal, said S M Mohanty, assistant general manager (east) of Bajaj Electricals' ABU.
The company's ABU has 40-50 market share in almost all the appliances.Bajaj Electricals on Thursday launched its range of pressure cookers and auto lift irons.
The pressure cookers are available in the capacity of three, five and 7.5 litres and are equipped with special annular rings with pores at the bottom to ensure uniform heating.
In 2009-10, Bajaj Electricals sold over 53 lakh units of appliances which include 25 lakh irons, nine lakh mixers and 3.2 lakh water heaters.
