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Our Bureau

Pune, April 18 Home durables maker Whirlpool Corporation will invest $15-20 million in its Indian subsidiary, Whirlpool of India Ltd (WIL), over the next 12 months to enable expansion of its range of higher capacity refrigerators and washers.

The company which recently invested approximately $5 million to set up a new line for manufacture of large frost-free refrigerators at its Ranjangaon facility expects to introduce a 500-litre refrigerator in the coming months.

Elaborating upon their business plan, Mr Tamal Kanti Saha, Vice-President (Sales), WIL, said that the focus would be to push sales of its frost-free refrigerators by 30 per cent during this fiscal. Currently WIL claims second position in the frost-free segment of the Indian refrigerator market with a 23.2 per cent share, while it says it is market leader in the direct cool segment with a 25.6 per cent share.

During the nine months ended December 2007, WIL, which earns around 70 per cent of its revenue from refrigerator sales, notched a turnover of Rs 1,389 crore and expects to close the previous fiscal at around Rs 2,000 crore, Mr Saha said. It is targeting overall growth of 25 per cent during the current fiscal on the back of a host of newly-launched products like the ‘Genius’ and ‘Fusion’ range of refrigerators and ‘Professional’ range of washing machines and frost-free fridges. In addition to introducing newer, more India specific products, WIL is also increasing the ad-spend from Rs 70 crore last year to Rs 77 crore this year.

Among the other growth-drivers for the company will be the recently introduced water purifier, air-conditioners and microwave ovens, which it only markets in India. “We sold 100,000 air conditioners and 50,000 ovens last year,” Mr Saha said, adding that the target is 100 per cent growth in these numbers during this 2008-09.

More Stories on : Outlook | Home Appliances | Air-conditioners & Refrigerators

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