The Hindu Business Line : Bajaj Electricals devises new marketing strategy

BAJAJ Electricals Ltd is working out a marketing strategy, which includes launching new brands at different price points and a campaign through print and electronic media for its fans and cooler segments.

The company's TV commercial is expected to roll out in March, with an advertisement budget of Rs 4 crore. The campaign will see 20-second films with different creatives to highlight the company's marketing pitch — `Bajaj fans sabse tez' and Bajaj coolers, `ek dum solid thanda'.

"Our products can be seen only in the last few seconds in these ads. For example, one campaign will open with a scene of papers flying around in a room, and only towards the end, we show our fan is the reason for that," says Mr R. Ramakrishnan, President and Chief Operating Officer.

Also, the company will use a series of five-second shots that will seek to highlight its claim that Bajaj fans have the largest RPM (rotation per minute). "The average RPM of our fans is about 400, while those of our competitors range from 330-340," Mr Ramakrishnan told Business Line.

As part of its marketing strategy, Bajaj Electricals plans to come out with new products at different price points. "We will be sharpening our focus on the two new products in the fans segment, Bahar and Maxima, which are priced at Rs 800 and Rs 900, respectively. This is just a little over the prices offered by the unorganised sector. The idea is to get a slice of the unorganised market based on our brand equity. At the other end, we will be introducing new brands such as Bajaj Regal Gold and Bajaj Crown, which are priced at about Rs 1,250," he said, adding that the company's objective was to offer products in a wider price band.

India's fan market is growing at a steady clip. It is estimated at three lakh-four lakh pieces a year in the organised sector. In the previous financial year, the company had sold about 52,000 pieces and this year its fan sales are likely to cross 65,000. "We are at present No. 3 in the industry and we would like to move up to the second position, after Kenstar, shortly," according to Mr Ramakrishnan.

In the cooler segment, the company plans to come out with a new product, Bajaj Coolest, which will be at the top end, in March.

Apart from launching new products, the company is also strengthening its distribution network, with more focus on having new dealers. "We had some 6,000 retailers about three years ago, today we have more than 10,000. New dealers accounted for about 20 per cent of our growth in sales last year," Mr Ramakrishnan said.

Bajaj Electricals reported a net profit of Rs 5.51 crore in the first nine months of the current fiscal, against a loss of Rs 6.31 crore during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. A five-pronged turnaround strategy, envisaging a 15 per cent increase in topline growth, focus on products that yield higher margins such as luminaries and appliances, reduction of working capital, cutting fixed costs and increasing consumer pull through brand building exercises.

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