Consumer durables makers expect 20% sales uptick

KOLKATA: Expecting to garner over 20 per cent growth in sales during the festival season, consumer durables manufacturers are focusing on new launches, higher spending on marketing and innovative offers.

“The industry is optimistic as companies on average have increased their marketing budgets by as much as 10 per cent this year. Consumer durable companies hope to increase their sales by almost 15-20 percent,” Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) President Manish Sharma told IANS.

Festive sales usually comprise around one-third of the annual turnover and none of the companies can ignore this segment.

“In general, festive sales contribute 35-36 per cent of the annual sales for the industry. We spend five per cent of our turnover on marketing.

Since the quantum of sales rises during the festival season in comparison to other periods of the year, the share of the marketing budget for this season is also significantly higher,” Godrej Appliances’ Business Head and Executive Vice President Kamal Nandi told IANS.

Sharma said e-commerce players too were trying hard to get maximum traction. “They have decided to cut their commissions from large and preferred sellers by 30-50 per cent,” he said.

The festive season starts with Onam in Kerala in September, continues through Ganesh Chaturthi in Maharashtra and Durga Puja in West Bengal, and extends till Diwali in October, jacking up the propensity of customers to spend.“With a good monsoon and implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission’s recommendations, the second half of the year will witness higher growth compared to last year, which can result in 30 percent growth this year,” said Panasonic India’s Sales and Service Head Ajay Seth.

“With t he expected growth, our target sales for this financial year are Rs 10,800 crore ($1.6 billion). For mobiles, we are expecting the sales to grow to Rs 2,500 crore this year from Rs 1,800 crore last year. Our sales target for the festive season is Rs 1,200 crore,” Seth said.