Electrical goods and home appliances-maker Havells India has said it is expecting revenues of nearly Rs 1,000 crore this fiscal from the eastern region.

The company, which is bullish about the eastern market, also hopes to increase its distributor network from 850 to 1,200 in the region over the next two years.

The Noida-headquartered company reported a standalone income of Rs 3,622 crore in the 2011-12 fiscal.

According to Y.K. Gupta, Associate Director, Havells India, the eastern region accounts for nearly 20 per cent (or one-fifth) of the company’s turnover. The eastern region includes West Bengal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand and the North Eastern States.

“We will continue to expand our base and simultaneously strive to grow the market by tapping new opportunities,” Gupta said.

Gupta says the company will bank on its dealer network to make inroads into the tier-II, tier-III and rural markets for its low-end non-modular switches, branded “Reo”.

The company hopes its other products will follow once Reo finds a footing here.

“Currently, Havells India is present in over 500 of the 650 plus cities of the country with populations over a lakh. The Reo launch will enable us to enter towns in the under-50,000 population (category) and mark our entry into rural markets. Reo will become a growth driver going forward,” Gupta said.

By early next fiscal, the company plans to make its new facilities at the Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) unit operational. Once through, the Rs 130-crore expansion plan will help double the plant’s production capacity to 10 lakh stock keeping units a day. The facility manufactures switches and domestic switchgear for the Havells and Crabtree brands.

While some of the production facilities are locally manufactured, a part of the facilities will be imported from Japan and Austria.

abhishek.l@thehindu.co.in

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