Markets sparkled this Diwali, as sales of multiple brands shot up, after a prolonged period of gloom. Niche brands in particular, saw an impressive growth in sales.
Innovative marketing strategies adopted by retailers to push sales, through attractive discounts on select products accounted for some of the growth in volume of sales. Concept destination mall for home interiors and design, Ishanya, for instance, attributed the increased demand for soft furnishings, like table runners and cushion covers, to its sales strategy. Sales in soft furnishings were higher than that of big ticket home furniture items.
“Overall this shows that people are ready to experiment with refreshing the look of their homes on a budget and are not spending on big ticket products, as was seen in the last few years,” says Ishanya & Houselife CEO, Mahesh M. The retailer claims a 15 per cent increase in sales in volume over last year. “We registered a double-digit growth and close to 15 per cent increase in footfall,” says Mahesh, “which could have been better, had Diwali come at the beginning of the month among other things…”
Car companies and their dealers also offered special discounts and gold coins to accelerate sales. Leading car manufacturers, Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai, claim to have sold more than 45,000 units on Dhanteras (a day on which Hindus traditionally buy metal, particularly gold). “This Dhanteras, the customers have done heightened purchases with deliveries of 15,153 Hyundai cars, a growth of 26 per cent over last year,” says Hyundai Motor India Limited, senior vice president (sales and marketing), Rakesh Srivastava.
Two-wheeler brand, Honda, too did brisk business, selling a whopping 12.5 lakh units, of which its top selling scooter model, Activa, accounted for sales of seven lakh units. Honda also sold more than two lakh motorcycles of the CB Shine brand. Commenting on the company’s performance, Yadvinder Singh Guleria, senior VP (sales and marketing), Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, says, “Honda’s festive retails grew a phenomenal 25 per cent to stand at 12.5 lakh units during the festival. Moreover, Honda also closed its April to October, 2016 YTD (year-to-date) dispatch with 21 per cent growth, which is nearly double that of the 12 per cent industry growth.”
Air Purifiers Whistle
Post Diwali, the demand for air purifiers usually rises, but this year it saw a new high. Before Diwali there were not too many enquiries about the product, but with a deadly smog engulfing the national capital and its satellite towns, shopkeepers had a tough time coping with the demand for air purifiers. According to a report by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham), air purifier sales rose by 50 per cent across the region in the four days after Diwali. The industry body estimates the market for air purifiers to be worth Rs 250 crore.
Panasonic India general manager, Syed Moonis Alvi, says he expects a 400 per cent jump in sales of his company’s air purifiers since Diwali. Home appliances company, Sharp India, which sells 1,500 air purifiers in a calendar year, claims to have sold around 1,600 products post Diwali.
Home Appliances Shine
Premium home appliances brand, Daikin India, witnessed a robust growth in sales during the festive season. The company attributes the bonanza to strong consumer demand, its pan-India distribution network and month-long festivities that began with Navratri and continued after Diwali (October 30).
“We have recorded a 40 per cent to 45 per cent plus growth during October 2016. And on YOY (year on year) basis, we have clocked more than 50 per cent growth. The west region for Daikin India is witnessing the highest growth thus far, which is fuelled by a very lucrative festive offer / scheme,” says Kanwaljeet Jawa, MD & CEO, Daikin India
Anirudh Dhoot, director, Videocon, echoes his views. “This year we launched new products across categories. With a focus on 4K technology, backed by the great response from customers to our new products, Videocon has been able to register around 30 per cent sales growth over the last year,” says he.
Amitabh Tiwari, COO, Sansui points out, “September and October sales were great this year. In comparison to last year, we registered a sales growth of over 55 per cent YOY for the same period. The festivities were aided by a good monsoon and a hike in salary because of the 7th Pay Commission.”
Mobiles Ring Out
Diwali sales are apparently incomplete without new smartphones and the legend is possibly true, for smartphone sales shot up by 40 per cent, with festive offers as a bait. Micromax chief marketing officer, Subhajit Sen, says his company witnessed a 40 per cent increase in sales by volume over last year, going by customer activations. “If they include Yu,” he says, “sales were up 60 per cent.”
Huawei is bullish on India and used the festive season to launch its new smartphone, ‘Honor 8’. The company claims to have received 2.5 lakh pre-orders at Honor stores. George Zhao, president, Honor, says, “We are overwhelmed with the response we have received for our Honor 8 smartphone. Being sold out within 48 hours of its sale showcases that the Honor brand connects very well with the youth, basis the unmatched value Honor offers of the latest technology, design and features.”
Emerging mobile brand, LeEco, boasts of having earned a revenue of Rs 350 crore through sales of three lakh superphones and 3,500 Super television sets in its first Diwali season. Atul Jain,COO, LeEco Technology India, says the company was humbled by its growth and momentum in the Indian market in just a year. He told newspersons, “During the festive season it was our endeavour to offer a great value proposition to our customers, to enable them to experience our products”.
Samsung mobile phones sales have reportedly gone up by 40 per cent in terms of value this year too. The consumer electronics segment as a whole is believed to have witnessed a 30 per cent jump in sales.
Quirky Sparklers
Organic personal care product, Organic Harvest, which aims to have a Rs 100 crore venture soon, also had a good Diwali season. The company acknowledges the competition in the market, now chock-a-block with beauty brands, admitting in the same breath that its products had been pretty well received. Rahul Agarwal, founder and CEO at Organic Harvest, says, “There was 22 per cent growth during the Diwali season this year and 72,629 units were sold during the festive season.” Agarwal points out that the company had registered a 41 per cent growth in sales in the previous quarter.
High-end fragrances and candle brand, Krixot launched an exotic range of premium candles. Mehul Mahajan, Founder, Krixot says, “The Diwali season was a hectic one for Krixot. With the increasing interest of people in choosing innovative options for home décor and corporates looking for pioneering gifting solutions, the order s were placed in bulk. Krixot was able to make complete use of the season by marking 60 per cent increase in the online sale showing a raise of 40 per cent of its sale during the Diwali week itself.”
Sanjana Desai, Head – Business Development, Desai Brothers Ltd. (Food Division) of pickles and condiments brand, Mother’s Recipe, points out that the company’s products were available throughout the year through offline and online retail, accounting for healthy sales. “However, during the festive period, the growth numbers are further augmented,” she says, adding, “Overall, Mother’s Recipe saw a growth of around 20 per cent - 22 per cent during the festive season, with about 3.5 million units been sold in this period.”
Mayank Kumar, Category Head, (Fruit Beverages) Dabur India Limited says, “Consumers are now increasingly moving away from traditional gifts like sweets, etc. and adopting healthier gift options like fruit juices. Dabur has been the pioneer in this category with its ‘Real’ range of gift packs. This year too, Dabur’s Réal and Réal VOLO gift packs were a welcome change from the calorie-laden traditional gifting options and were very well appreciated by the consumers”.
abid@businessworld.in
BW Reporters
The author is a journalist with BW Businessworld. He primarily covers Retail, Media & Entertainment and Travel & Tourism sectors
