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Richa Mishra

Mr Jawa said that the company was now targeting the corporate segment.

New Delhi , Nov. 14

VOLTAS Ltd, the domestic consumer durables and electronics manufacturer, is eyeing a 15 per cent market share of the air conditioner (AC) market in 2004.

The domestic AC segment is growing at a compounded annual rate of about 20 per cent. The company closed 2002-03 with a market share of 11 per cent.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Kawaljeet Jawa, Vice-President, Cooling Appliances Business Division, Voltas, said, "As far as the institutional market is concerned, we are already well established. Our growth in the domestic market has been on a continuous rise. Keeping in mind the huge opportunity that the domestic market has to offer, we are sure that our performance will improve even further. We have our eyes set to capture a 15 per cent market share in 2004 by selling 1,50,000 ACs (12 per cent in room ACs and 22 per cent in split ACs)."

Outlining the new marketing strategy adopted by the company, Mr Jawa stated that the company was now targeting the corporate segment — banks, telecom companies and call centres. "That is where the action is. All major banks are setting up ATMs, hence we see this as a major growth area. Similarly, telecom shelters are becoming an important point of interface with customers for the telecom biggies, where we see an opportunity for growth," he pointed out.

Apart from the market level activities, the company is also setting up exclusive `Voltas Domes.' In the first phase, these domes will come up in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. "After studying the market dynamics we would look at other key markets across the country," he said.

Sharing his views on market response to the re-launch of refrigerators and its impact, if any, on the company's second quarter performance, Mr Jawa, said, "Relaunching refrigerators has been a positive decision as it was actually meant to position Voltas as an end-to-end provider of cooling appliances. We saw an encouraging response from markets like Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Western UP and Andhra Pradesh."

Overall, Q2 has been satisfactory, he said, adding that though Diwali sales had not met with expectations, they were marginally better than last year. Talking about the recent voluntary retirement scheme offered by the company, he said, "We have right sized — from a strong underutilised workforce to a more manageable strength of 180. Beyond hard numbers, the biggest change is in attitude. Voltas of today is a company transformed. In modern management, change is a continuous exercise."

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