AC mkt has been stagnant for past 2-3 years: LG officials

Slowing down of the economy and delay in real estate projects are among the reasons that have led to stagnation in the air conditioner market for the past few years, top officials of consumer durables manufacturer LG India said today.

"The market has been almost stagnant for the last 2-3 years due to delayed projects in the real estate sector," Saurabh Baisakhia, Business Head, Air Conditioners, LG India, said.

LG Electronics' Head, Corporate Marketing, Sanjay Chitkara added that erratic weather, power cuts and slowing economy were the other reasons for the said market scenario. Baisakhia noted that with an increase in possession of homes in the coming years, he expected the industry to look up as there is scope for "business to improve."

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However, the commercial sector was doing well with an increase in office spaces and this segment contributed to about 15 per cent of the South Korean company's total business, he said.

LG had set its focus on key buying factors and was therefore working to provide the right value proposition to the customer including good payback options, he added. Announcing the launch of a new range of ACs including the Inverter V series, he said split AC segment contributed to 75 per cent of the 3.2 million units strong AC market.

Responding to a question, he said he would "not rule out the possibility" of window ACs being phased out gradually in the coming years. Its market share has been constantly declining in the last few years, he added.

South India contributed to about 26 per cent of the company's overall market share while it stood at 23 per cent at the national level.