Godrej Appliances has launched a UV-C technology-based disinfecting device Godrej Viroshield in the Kerala market. The product has been tested and certified by ICMR empanelled lab for its UVC Irradiance.

In the context of the overall slow down in demand in the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, Kamal Nandi, Business Head and Executive Vice President, Godrej Appliances said the company expects a spurt in demand with the onset of festival season starting from Onam and reopening of markets.

Several sectors are opening up which will help revive consumption in the second quarter, leading up to Diwali. “Onam is the first in the series of festive seasons across India and it sets the tone for the entire festive season”, he said.

There will be some pent up demand, with rural markets performing better. But given the uncertainty due to the economic slowdown, consumers may still be cautious and curb expenditure. “We are targeting a double digit growth for the entire festival season despite the pandemic”, .

However, on the positive side, appliances have not been hit as badly as few other sectors. The summer conditions, work from home situation, the reluctance in hiring domestic help due to pandemic fear has led to a spike in demand for home appliances, he said.

On the loss of business to Godrej Appliances, he said the sales drop was 30-40 per cent in March. The loss in April was 100 per cent, while the company experienced 60-70 per cent decline in sales in May. “However, we witnessed an approximate 10 per cent drop in sales in June.

However, July panned out well for us. The numbers have been encouraging and we expect the consumption graph to rise from here”, he adds.

Godrej Appliances believes development of a vaccine for Covid-19 is the solution to perk up consumer demand across categories, he said.

e.o.m

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