After a strong start in March, April has been a bit sluggish in terms of demand trends for product categories such as air conditioner makers and ice-cream companies. Companies said that lower temperatures, rains in certain parts of the country and consumer preponing purchases have had some impact on sales of air conditioners in April year-on-year (y-o-y). Ice-cream companies too said that while they have seen some growth, it has been lower than anticipated.

Kamal Nandi, Business Head & EVP at Appliances Business of Godrej Enterprises Group, said, “There have been some challenges in April for the air conditioner industry. While some parts of the country saw rains, in other parts temperatures have not yet picked up as usually seen during summer season. Compared to the high base of April last year, the air conditioner industry growth rate is estimated at low single digits to being almost flat.”

Preponing buys

“Given our strategy of launching a strong portfolio, we at Godrej Appliances have done relatively better than the industry and have achieved our targeted growth rate of 30 per cent for air conditioners in April,” Nandi added.

A senior executive with a leading AC company, who did not wish to be identified, said, “We saw consumers preponing their purchases and saw strong demand trends in March for ACs. However in April, there has been a dip. In fact, some estimates suggest that the air conditioner segment has seen a degrowth in April year-on-year.”

In 2024, AC sales witnessed an unprecedented demand touching 14 million units in sales. Players suggested that this year it could be a mixed bag for the AC industry and challenges could remain depending on weather patterns. 

Competition

Meanwhile, ice-cream companies said they have been witnessing growth but it has been a bit lower than expectations amidst heightened competition.

Mohit Khattar, CEO, Graviss Foods Pvt Ltd, which retails Baskin Robbins in India said, “Courtesy the early onset of summer and the intense heat build-up, expectations of the industry were high from the peak summer months. Against these expectations, even though our business delivered a modest over 20 per cent growth, we find it underwhelming.”

“We are still understanding the nuances but it does seem that the industry is witnessing a major churn with customers moving especially from food delivery based aggregators and even offline buying to quick commerce platforms. The competition is a lot more intense on these platforms and that may have been a reason for the modest growth numbers,” he added.  

Published on May 5, 2025