Home appliances major, Whirlpool, expects high-end kitchen appliances products and water purifiers to be future growth drivers for the company.

“It is currently high value but a small segment. We want to be seen as a premium and niche player in kitchen appliances segment. We see this segment as a future profit driver for us,” Whirlpool of India Vice-President (Corporate Affairs & Strategy Asia South) Shantanu Das Gupta told PTI.

The company is working with lot of kitchen manufacturers for its built in appliances and also talking to builders to use company’s products in their luxury apartments, he added.

Whirlpool is a market leader in Europe in the high-end kitchen appliances segment. Whirlpool’s kitchen appliances include built-in refrigerators, built-in ovens, built in microwave ovens, dishwashers and hobs.

Whirlpool of India plans to expand its offering in the water purifier segment by launching a cheaper and different technology based water purifier. At present, the company has a reverse osmosis based water purifier in its products kitty.

“This segment would grow and we see it as a profit pool for us. In the water purifier segment we are looking for more products,” Das Gupta said, adding that it was time to plug in the gaps of its product line of water purifiers. The company is also looking at tapping direct to home sales channel to sell its appliances such as purifiers.

The company also plans to launch a new multi-door refrigerator by August to boost its refrigerator sales. The refrigerator will be priced in the range of Rs 18,000.

To counter impact of rupee depreciation, Whirlpool of India is looking at ramping up exports. At present, exports - mainly to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Australia, South East Asia and parts of Europe - account of 10 per cent of total sales.

“There is an emphasis on capitalising on currency situation by improving exports,” Das Gupta said, adding that the company was also exploring South America.

For selling these high-end integrated kitchen appliances, primary channel are kitchen manufacturers. “For this new range of high-end kitchen appliances, we are working with lots of partners,” he said.

“We are close to finalising deal with a big builder and that hopefully would kick start enquiries from others too,” he added.

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