The Hindu Business Line : Stovekraft keen to expand luxury brand store Gilma

Hyderabad, April 17 Stovekraft Pvt Ltd, part of the Bangalore-based Vardhman Group, is looking at expanding its luxury brand store network, Gilma, and also at diversifying into solar water heaters and electronic safe.

It plans to have around 70 outlets across the country by the year-end, from the present 38 outlets. “Currently, we are present in six States, but with the addition of the new outlets our products will be available across the country. The long-term strategy is to have 100 outlets by the end of 2010,” Mr Ranganath K.S., General Manager, Stovekraft Pvt Ltd, told Business Line after opening the eighth outlet here on Thursday.

Apart from the four southern States, it has also a presence in the markets of Punjab and Maharashtra. Gilma offers a range of kitchen appliances that include electric chimneys, hobs, cook tops (stoves) and microwaves.

According to him, the company last year invested around Rs 8 crore for developing its product range and new stores. “This year the investment will be significant as we are looking to increase the number of stoves produced in our plant located in Himachal Pradesh from 1.5 lakh units to around 2.25 lakh,” Mr Ranganath said.

For the financial year ended March 31, sales were around Rs 40 crore, a 120 per cent increase over the previous year and during the current fiscal they expect around Rs 80 crore.

On future plans, he said, “We are also looking at launching an electronic safe at an attractive price in August so that people can use it to store valuables safely at home. Also, we plan to launch the solar water heater range across the country this year itself.”

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