V-Guard Industries Ltd, manufacturers of electrical appliances, is in the process of expanding its presence in the non-south market. The company expects 35-40 per cent of its business to come from this market this fiscal.
The company, which posted a turnover of over Rs 1,500 crore last year, had almost Rs 450-500 crore coming from the non-south market.
"This year we are expecting the contribution from South India to go up to Rs 650-700 crore out of the expected over Rs 1,800 crore turnover. The contribution from non-south market was only around five per cent almost four years ago," said Mithun K Chittilappilly, managing director of V-Guard Industries.
The company would be investing in expanding its distribution network this year as part of reaching the growth. By the end of June, there were 350 distributors and 3,000 channel partners catering to 30,000 retailers across the country. Almost 60 per cent of the distribution network has been established in the non-south market, he added.
It had spent 3.5-4 per cent of its sales on brand promotion during the last three years, and invested Rs 80-90 crore last year.
With its major presence in stabiliser, wires, pumps and invertors, the company had entered into the kitchen appliances business last year by launching mixer grinder and induction cook top. V-Guard, which has one model in mixer grinder, is launching three more models in the segment and would be expanding the market from Kerala to Karnataka in the second half of the year.
It would also take the induction cook top to the other South Indian markets as well, he added.
Stabiliser, wires, inverter and fans registered growth during the first quarter of the current fiscal year, while pumps did not see seen any growth. Water heater, which also did not see much of sales in the first quarter, is expected to see growth in the second half of the year.
The company is planning for a Rs 10-15 crore capex this year.
