Air conditioner manufacturers are tapping the small office home office (SOHO) segment to boost sales this season, in which demand has been hampered by the late arrival of summer in North India.
Companies like Panasonic India, Carrier Midea India, Daikin India and Blue Star are all looking to leverage on the SOHO segment, which is pegged at around Rs 1,800 crore annually.
"AC market has seen healthy growth fuelled by SOHO consumers. Around 10 per cent of our sales come from SOHO clients. We are hopeful that with Indian economy destined for a rebound, this segment should further grow," Panasonic India Managing Director Manish Sharma told PTI.
Sharma said the company is expecting an overall 20 per cent increase in sales over last year.
Expressing similar views, Carrier Midea India Managing Director Krishan Sachdev said: "We foresee a healthy double digit growth trend in SOHO applications."
SOHO clients includes professionals like chartered accountants, lawyers, boutiques and salons.
Daikin India MD Kanwal Jeet Jawa said: "It is difficult to ascertain the exact volume from SOHO, but one can confidently say that this segment is growing at 30 per cent as a large section of businesses today operate from SOHOs."
However, companies believe that while SOHO is a growing opportunity, residential segment will continue to be the largest piece of the market pie for air conditioners.
"Residential sector is still the biggest segment but one cannot ignore SOHO clients as it is a growing segment," Blue Star, Executive Director & President- Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Products Group B Thiagarajan said.
Market for residential ACs is estimated at Rs 7,500 crore and SOHO is Rs 1,800 crore, Thiagarajan said.
