The Hindu Business Line : Anchor Daewoo plans foray into air-conditioner segment

CONSUMER electronics company Anchor Daewoo Industries Ltd (ADIL) is planning to set up two new units for manufacturing its products. The units, which are to come up in Bhuj (Gujarat) and in Uttaranchal, apart from generating additional capacity, would also help the company save costs by way of taxes and distribution costs.

According to a company official, ADIL, a joint venture between Daewoo Electricals of Korea and Anchor Electricals, would spend about Rs 100 crore towards setting up the two units.

Apart from durables, these units would also make electrical products for Anchor Electricals.

"We have made investments of about Rs 250 crore till now in our consumer durables plants located in Ranjangaon and Noida. The new units would help us as we expand into newer product categories," said Mr Anil Chopra, National Sales Head.

ADIL re-launched the Daewoo brand of consumer durables in India in October 2003. Anchor Electricals is learnt to hold nearly 90 per cent stake in the venture.

The company currently has presence in refrigerators, colour televisions, and microwave ovens, and plans to enter air-conditioners and washing machines next year.

"We will be rolling out our range of air-conditioners in January 2005. The strength of our company is that we are manufacturing everything on our own, unlike a few others in the category," Mr Chopra said.

On whether the brand would suffer from the negative brand image that `Daewoo' has as a result of the failure of the automobile arm, he disagreed, saying: "The brand is clearly on a revival path."

ADIL will be spending significantly on building the brand during the forthcoming festive season, and is planning to spend to the tune of Rs 7 crore on a festive consumer scheme.

The company has set ambitious targets for itself and aims to garner a turnover of Rs 700 crore in the next calendar year, with about 50 per cent of its expected revenue coming from the colour TV segment.

"We are aiming to be the fastest growing durables company next year and among the top 10 in the country next year. Our products range across price segments from the entry level to the premium segment, including products such as plasma TVs," Mr Chopra said.

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