After a rough year in dealing with the pandemic, consumers in India are gearing up to celebrate the festive season, encouraged by an increase in the pace of vaccinations.
With markets now fully open and consumer sentiment looking positive, consumer durables companies are betting on the festive season to bring back the sales caused by the pandemic. While the industry is witnessing 20% growth, constraints like a possible third wave of the pandemic, supply crunch as well as the possibility of another price hike could worsen.
Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEMA) President Kamal Nandi said, “Consumer sentiment is looking positive after the second wave. Hindu.
“Demand has increased as a result of restrictions in the first quarter, which will boost sales during the season. Consumers are also focusing on upgrades,” he said.
He said that after a difficult year of dealing with the pandemic, consumers in India are gearing up to celebrate the festive season, encouraged by an increase in the pace of vaccinations.
Mr Nandi, who is also the business head and executive VP of Godrej Appliances, said the festive season usually contributes to 30% of the sector’s annual sales. “We are seeing encouraging signs of recovery in demand and are targeting double-digit growth of over 20% during the festive season,” he added.
Rohit Mathur, President, Electric Fans, Water Heater & Pumps, Usha International said that shortage of critical components along with rising cost of raw material was a constant challenge for almost a year. However, the company was now better prepared and planned operations accordingly.
“We are optimistic about being able to meet the demands of our consumers and provide each and every one of them with a great shopping experience. This festive season, we expect a revival of consumer sentiment at pre-Covid levels and are optimistic There will be an increase in demand across categories for specific celebrations,” said Mr. Mathur. He added that the start of the wedding season will also help in sales.
LG Electronics India, which saw decent double-digit growth during Onam and Ganesh Chaturthi, expects this trend to continue till the end of the year. Deepak Bansal, VP Corporate Planning, LG Electronics India, said, “As far as demand is concerned, we are optimistic. [The] The reason is the change in consumer trends. Consumers are opting for premium products with cutting edge technology and large capacity devices and oversized TVs. This will generate enhanced business value. “
However, Mr. Bansal said that prices are likely to rise further as raw material costs continue to rise.
Due to the continuous upward trend in raw material prices, players across the industry took several price hikes, leading to an increase of around 15% across all categories of products.
“The overall price hike is around 15% against 22% cost escalation and this has impacted the overall demand. The devices are generally priced competitively, and this leaves the industry with no option but to pass this cost escalation on to the consumers,” Mr Nandi said.
Manish Sharma, President and CEO, Panasonic India and South Asia, said that the consumer sentiment is improving gradually and if sales continue with the current trend, Panasonic expects to surpass the 2019 festive sales figure. “The only potential risk is the possibility of a third wave, which could derail the performance. With vaccination campaigns and increased awareness, we are hoping that the impact of the pandemic on sales will subside in the coming months,” he said.
Mr Mathur said the company is seeing demand from all sectors – urban, rural and metropolitan – and markets in the south have performed well, especially in the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
“This can be attributed to an overall improvement in consumer sentiment. Additionally, the rural economy has been performing really well in these last few months and this has driven up demand and hence is more evenly distributed,” he said. Other factors helping rural demand, digital adoption by rural India, better distribution network, easier access/availability, and easier finance planning as well as wealth spread in the rural economy due to a good monsoon and some great government initiatives Is. Huge increase in rural expenditure.
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