Home-grown appliances company Videocon is eyeing 13 per cent market share in the Indian air conditioner market by the end of financial year 2017 with the launch of its first hybrid solar air conditioner range for the households and institutions.
"With the excessive consumption of power and increase in carbon emission, 'Going Green' is the need of the hour. With the ability to be operated with naturally obtained energy, Solar Hybrid AC is the future of Air Conditioner technology," said Akshay Dhoot, Head of Technology and Innovation at Videocon.
The company is all set to come up with an innovative 360° advertising campaign to promote its new solar hybrid ACs. A sum of Rs 50 crore has been earmarked for advertising campaign across all media. The home appliances firm has also allotted 15 per cent marketing budget for digital media.
Videocon has rolled out 2 new models comprising of 1 ton and 1.5 ton, in the solar hybrid AC range and both the models comply with BEE star ratings and possess 5 stars. The new range is priced at Rs 99,000 and Rs 1,39,000 respectively.
Videocon is planning to target all the government organisations and public sector undertakings to market its products. A special team of general managers will lead this vertical and expecting 10 per cent rate of interest at the end of this year. The group has spent Rs 1,000 crore in research and development for all its products.
"We are expecting to sell 6.5 lakh units of air conditioners this year and plan to increase our market share in the AC segment to 13 per cent," said Sanjeev Bakshi, COO-AC division at Videocon.
The company is expecting to sell 6.5 lakh units of air conditioners this year.
With the launch of hybrid solar air conditioner, the company has plans to make its entire AC portfolio compatible with solar energy.
BW Reporters
The author is a journalist with BW Businessworld. He primarily covers Retail, Media & Entertainment and Travel & Tourism sectors
