Air purifier market growing by leaps and bounds

Of the 20 most polluted cities in the world reported by World Health Organisation in 2015, 13 were in India with New Delhi topping the list. Though the news itself is nothing to rejoice about, industry players find this an opportunity to leverage air purifier market in India.

The market for air purifiers witnessed a huge growth in recent months with the entry of players such as Kent RO Systems and Hindustan Sanitaryware India Ltd (HSIL) into the segment.

Four or five air purifier models were launched in the last three months. New Delhi was the leading market.

Adarsh K Menon, Vice-President - Electronics and Auto, Flipkart, said air purifiers have witnessed a 300 to 400 per cent growth month-on-month in the last quarter, with close to 75 per cent sales coming from metro cities such as New Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai.

According to an Amazon.in spokesperson, sales of air purifiers jumped 450 per cent between October and December 2015 compared to the same period last year. While the demand from West and South India are in the range of 10-15 per cent. Around 65-75 per cent demand comes from North India.

Bengt Rittri, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Blueair, a Swedish air purifier manufacturer, said air pollution is one of the major concerns for people in India. “Though outdoor air is unhealthy, people want the indoor air to be clean, which is one of the reasons for rising demand,” he added.

The air purifier market is currently concentrated in the premium segment, with expatriates and embassies accounting for about 60 per cent sales.

“But awareness among the people is increasing and we are seeing even mid-segment people buying our products in recent times. We are hoping to sell close to 5 lakh units in another four-five years,” Rittri said.

Varun Gupta, Director, Kent RO Systems, a water purifier manufacturer, said with rising demand in the last few months, the segment has become a thrust area for many companies.

The company entered the segment in January 2016 and has sold around 1,500 purifiers. Gupta said, “This is the next big thing for us.”

HSIL, a manufacturer of sanitaryware products, entered the air purifier segment in the third quarter of FY 2015-16 under a brand ‘moonbow’. Rakesh Kaul, President and Chief, Consumer Business, HSIL, said air purifiers market in still nascent and projected to grow at a CAGR of around 40 per cent for the period 2014-2019.

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