 "Gulbahar Taurani, MD and chief executive officer, Versuni")
Versuni, formerly known as Philips Domestic Appliances in India, witnessed a great festival season this year with premium products driving sales.
“The festival season was good, and changed the way the company performed this year. We saw a lot of appetite for premium innovations, and they were leading our sales,” Gulbahar Taurani, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), Versuni, told Business Standard.
Taurani added that the festival season also reversed the post-Covid slowdown that the small appliances market was witnessing.
“Diwali actually turned that slowdown into growth. The industry grew double-digit in the range of 10 to 20 per cent, and we grew faster than the market,” he said.
“Diwali actually turned that slowdown into growth. The industry grew double-digit in the range of 10 to 20 per cent, and we grew faster than the market,” he said.
While the company recorded a strong festival season, Taurani said consumers now are also inclined to shop throughout the year. This has also aided its performance this year.
“This time, there was a lot of buzz around Black Friday, which is a new phenomenon. We also saw a very good response, which we did not expect. It’s a new phenomenon and a learning experience for us,” he said.
He added that while the penetration of premium products is still at a low single-digit, there is a huge potential for growth.
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Pointing towards a growing trend in the industry, Taurani said that premium products like the company’s air fryer and garment steamer are seeing higher demand from not just metro cities, but also from Tier-II and Tier-III cities like Lucknow and Guwahati.
“We are keeping a lot of investment for Tier-II and Tier-III towns, where people are extremely eager to try out new innovations in terms of appliances. Consumers from these geographies are very aspirational and we want to give them that experience,” he said.
“The growth from these cities is around 2.5 to 3 times more than that of big cities. So, even as metros continue to grow at a steady rate, disruptive growth will come from these towns,” he added.
Elaborating on the company’s expansion plans, Taurani said it is in the execution stage of expansion, with a new manufacturing unit coming up in the first quarter of the coming year. “We will also soon be entering newer categories,” he added.
The company sells products under two brand names in India – Philips and Preethi, which it acquired in 2011. In 2022, it achieved global sales amounting to $2.6 billion.
