Whirlpool India foresees a growth momentum in white goods sales in the next 12-18 months, thanks to implementation of the Central Pay Commission and good progress of monsoon, says Sunil D’Souza, the company’s Managing Director.

These factors are expected to increase peoples’ disposable income levels, which will in turn reflect in the sales of consumer durables. Besides, the lower penetration of refrigerators (20 per cent) and washers (8 per cent) in the country also gives the firm the hope of garnering a better sales margin in the days to come, he said.

The company, with a turnover of ₹4,400 crore, has already registered a 16 per cent growth nationally up to March. “We continue to see this momentum in this fiscal. Hopefully, we should do better than last fiscal”, D’Souza told BusinessLine on the sidelines of the launch of a new range of premium products in Kerala, ahead of Onam festival season.

The white goods sales in the country, according to him, has already posted a strong single-digit growth, after registering a decline in the last few years. The growth is expected to continue further and will translate into a double-digit one shortly.

On the impact of GST on the prices of white goods, he said the execution of GST will be a hiccup in the short-term of 30-60 months due to a 2 per cent surge in taxes; but in the long-term, it will benefit the economy. Even during the demonetisation period, the company registered a 1.1 per cent growth in the December quarter, ahead of the industry.

Kerala, he said, is an important market for Whirlpool as the State accounted for 6 per cent of the business’ turnover. The company is looking at 25 per cent growth in the festival season this year compared with 20 per cent in the previous year.

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