Voltas opening 200 outlets in the north

Company to invest Rs 6 crore in retail expansion

To achieve a turnover of Rs 40 crore in the current financial year, Voltas has launched a new range of air-conditioners in the market.

As per its expansion plan, the company is investing Rs 6 crore in retail expansion by opening 125-200 sales outlets in the north, apart from coming up with domains in Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Chandigarh.

"To strengthen our retail network, we are planning to expand our dealer network from 2,000 to 3,500 nationally and strengthen the number of franchisees from 350 to 500," said K J Jawa, senior vice-president of the company.

"We want to bridge the gap between the upper end of the market and the rest with the launch of a new range of WAC & split ACs. After having cornered 16 per cent of the market at present, the company is aggressively strategising to grab a 20 per cent market share in 2006-07, so that we become the leading Indian company in air-conditioning," he added.

Voltas will be targeting lower segments with the launch of the new range of Vertis Premium WACs and high-end customers with Vetris Gold, he said adding that last year, for the first time, Voltas introduced a range of air-conditions below Rs 10,000 which were affordable and accessible to larger section of Indian households, he said.

With the launch of its new range, Voltas breaks the price barriers and highlights AC purchase that was a dream and which has now become a reality for every Indian customer, he said while revealing the strategy of the company to increase its share in the market.

"We have earmarked an amount of Rs 20 crore as marketing expense in addition to Rs 6 crore for the retail expansion. Over and above the advertising spends and other below the line activities, we would be looking at adding 1500 dealers making it a total of 3500 nationally, apart from strengthening our franchisee spread from 350 to 500 this year", he reiterated.

"Voltas is all set to target the leadership, role by introducing India ka AC- the new range of AC's which will be supported by aggressive marketing strategies. The strategy for these markets is still evolving and the current priority is to ensure placement of the product in these markets" added Jawa.

Voltas Limited, India's premier AC and engineering services company of the TATA group recently announced it multi-pronged strategy to attain market share of 20 per cent in the 15 lakh domestic AC units market. Voltas is on a mission to transform the way air conditioners are marketed and enjoyed in India, he claimed.