The Hindu Business Line : Meeting a knead

Arranged on a raised platform, the line-up of luxuriously appointed chairs makes an impressive picture at the lifestyle products exhibition. Heavy cushioning, upholstery that looks very much like leather and reclined at a comfortable angle, they draw the customer to take a closer look.

The examination is revealing. The armrests have a panel of buttons that control a host of functions — the angle of recline, the type of massage you would like, even the intensity. Obviously, these technology-intensive chairs serve a specific purpose and cater to a niche audience. Welcome to the world of electric massage chairs!

So what if you don’t have a grandson around to knead your feet at the end of a stressful day, you could buy yourself a foot massager or a massage chair! And you can choose from the branded models that come with a guarantee or settle for unbranded ones that may not have as many features but would cost you lesser.

As you might expect, these ‘toys’ are pricey — costing several thousand rupees to a few lakh depending on the features and the make. Which makes you wonder just who shop for these decidedly fancy products?

Clientele

Munish Bhalla, Chief Operating Officer, Osim India, says two out of three branded massage chairs sold in the country are from Osim. The company, which sells around 1,500 chairs each year in the country, says its clients are mostly individuals. However, five-star hotels, fitness centres, gymnasiums and companies who buy such equipment for their in-house fitness centres also feature among its clientele.

Osim India is a franchisee of the Delhi-based Paramount Surgimed Ltd and OSIM International Ltd, an over $300-million company listed on the Singapore stock exchange and the city-state’s largest manufacturer of lifestyle products. Osim has a range of products that spans the gamut from fitness to health and lifestyle.

According to J. Jabez, General Manager, Osim India, their foot massagers, iSqueeze and uSqueeze, priced at Rs 22,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively, are amongst the company’s most popular products. Osim sells between 800-1,000 foot massagers each month.

T. Raja Sekhar, Managing Director, JIL Furniture, who entered this segment a few months ago, sells massage chairs and foot massagers under the brand name JIL Relax. His range of massage chairs is priced between Rs 60,000 and Rs 2 lakh. According to him, such products would be welcomed by anyone who is health-conscious. The product’s health benefits outweigh cost considerations when it comes to the decision to buy, he asserts. Electronics company Panasonic also retails what it calls the electric lounger. It markets just one model in the country, the EP30002 costing Rs 3.79 lakh.

Osim’s range of massage chairs start with the basic model, Noro Melody, priced at Rs 1.20 lakh, which is a fast-moving product and has been bought by several Government departments. The other models include the iMedic Pro; the iSymphonic priced at Rs 2.59 lakh; iDesire, a Japanese product that is equipped with air pressure bags and priced at Rs 3.25 lakh, the uPilot, a massage chair with joystick priced at Rs 3.79 lakh, and the uSpace, modelled like a cocoon and equipped for light therapy, priced at Rs 3.99 lakh.

While Osim and Panasonic are the branded players in the segment, JIL’s Sekhar represents the other end of the spectrum populated by local importers. Overall, the domestic market has a couple of branded players and a few importers.

According to Sekhar, though products such as the massage chair and foot massager have been in the market for the past 10 years, sales have begun to pick up only in the past couple of years. A point that Bhalla also makes. Awareness about these products has been quite low so far and public consciousness about these products is only just beginning to build up. Which is why, he says, it was not possible to trace seasonality or peak/trough periods for sales. The greater the exposure of the products, the greater the awareness about them, says Bhallla.

According to Bhalla, there are takers for chairs at both the lower end and the top end. The entry-level Noro Melody is popular with customers keen to experience the relaxing powers of a massage chair, while those with the resources don’t shy away from going in for the feature-rich higher-end models.

Queried about the fact that Panasonic markets only one model in the country, Niranjan Shenoy, Assistant General Manager (Products), says they have limited themselves to a high-end model as they find enough takers for it. Talking about the impact of the current downturn in the economic scene, Bhalla says: “The slowdown in the economic scenario is a challenge for each and every company but it is part of a business cycle and such conditions are opportunities to test our strength and resilience.”

Shenoy does not expect sales to be affected by the prevailing economic conditions as the company is targeting the really wealthy customer. “In that sense, our products are recession-proof,” he says.

Sekhar of JIL Relax says the situation would lead to a squeeze on funds but believes this will not have a major impact on sales. According to Dr Ravi Subramaniam of the Soundarapandian Bone and Joint Clinic in Chennai, patients who have used the foot massager and the massage chair claim that they provide temporary relief for sore legs or an aching back. Talking about the way in which foot massagers and massage chairs work, he says the massage basically improves the blood circulation in a particular region, thus bringing relief.

Panasonic’s Shenoy also points out that it’s product helps in relaxation — it cannot be used as a treatment. According to Jabez of Osim, one of the important differentiators between a brand such as Osim and an unbranded product is the servicing offered by the branded product besides the medical approval that Osim enjoys and others don’t .

Marketing

So how do retailers of such products reach their clientele?

Touch-and-feel marketing and personal referrals are the most effective ways of selling this product category. Which is why road-shows and product exhibitions are an important marketing tool. Osim has runs print ads in select publications such as in-flight magazines, At a Glance, Good Housekeeping and City Info. It also ran an ad in movie halls during the screening of Singh is Kinng.

Besides having 22 exclusive outlets in the country, Osim also sells its products through other retail chains such as Shoppers’ Stop, Health and Glow and Hi Style.

Sekhar, who has targeted the Southern market, is a regular at product exhibitions.

Says one of the managers at Osim, the foot massager also makes for a good gift item. In fact, one of their customers in the North had made bulk purchases for his entire family during Diwali.

So the next time you contemplate an appropriate gift for a loved one, consider the foot massager or better still a massage chair. After all, what better gift than a relaxing massage whenever and wherever you wish!

More Stories on : Insight | Healthcare Products

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