Voltas expects double-digit growth in AC sales, demand from smaller towns to go up

When asked about growth, Voltas Managing Director and CEO Pradeep Bakshi told PTI: "We expect a strong double digit industry growth this summer."

"We were back to pre-Covid numbers during the festival season, and we will continue with this positive momentum in this summer of FY22 and beyond. Our Room AC business recorded a growth of 46 per cent over the corresponding quarter (non-Covid period) of the previous year. We expect this momentum to continue in the next few quarters," he added.

Though the company has recently gone for the price hike due to inflationary pressure on the material inputs but is optimistic about sales.

"Even though the recent increase in prices of raw materials has translated into price hikes for a variety of white goods, we remain optimistic about consumer sentiments, due to pent-up demand and a buoyant summer," he added.

This year, summer has already set in in many parts of the country, with the south and central region seeing temperatures rising in February, while the rest of the country is warming up in March.

"We also expect the current hybrid working routine to further fuel the demand for cooling products and functional home appliances. While the lockdown impacted the sales of the cooling products last summer, we have already witnessed a good come-back during the festival period, due to the pent-up demand, and this phenomenon is bound to continue this summer," said Bakshi.

The company expects the north Indian market, the largest contributor to its volumes with more than 40 per cent of its business, to continue its lead followed by the south.

"However, it is important to note that the western states are catching up steadily, and even the eastern region is becoming a potential market for cooling products,” Bakshi added.

While talking about smaller markets, Bakshi said there has always been an increasing need for cooling products and home appliances in the tier II and III markets, which will get stronger in the post Covid times.

“Currently, the share of AC sales between the metros and non-metros is 55:45. We do expect this number to reverse in the future,” he said adding "as the pace of electrification increases and also the increase in disposable incomes, there will be a trickle down effect on demand of consumer durables from rural as well as tier II and III cities."

According to Voltas, entry-level products will work better in tier II and III markets and the company is prepared with those affordable range catering to this segment.

“Keeping this in mind and anticipating major growth in demand, we have recently opened several brand shops, across tier II and II cities. This is in line with our strategy of being extremely accessible and reaching out to customers through these channels," he said.

Voltas is also consistently ramping up production at all its plants, including those in Pantnagar and Sanand to meet the demand.

"We are looking at further augmenting our production capacity of air conditioners by setting up another plant very soon," he said.

Voltas'' distribution network has grown many times over the last decade, to more than 20,000 consumer touchpoints pan India and would continue to expand it.

"We also have several exclusive brand outlets in the country and will continue to invest in this expansion,” Bakshi said.