The lockdown is giving Indian consumers a difficult time as far as household chores go. Bollywood stars have been lamenting on social media about washing utensils in an effective manner.

Though the reach of dishwashers in the country is estimated to be less than one per cent, BSH Home Appliances, which sells Bosch and Siemens brand in India, thinks affluent consumers may finally warm up to dishwashers.

Neeraj Bahl, MD & CEO, BSH Home Appliances, said, “We expect to see a huge demand for dishwashers among affluent consumers once the lockdown is lifted. We are already getting enquiries and booking for dishwashers. Even among affluent consumers the penetration of dishwashers has been very low in India.”

The combined market share of brands, Bosch and Siemens, in the dishwashers segment currently stands in the range of 50-60 per cent in India. “Since our products are positioned in the premium and luxury segments, we believe there will be demand for dishwashers as well as washing machines from our target group of consumers, post the lockdown,” he added.

Bahl said that affluent consumers are used to having household help but under lockdown they have to do all the household chores themselves. “In India, some consumers believe that greasy utensils cannot be cleaned in dishwashers which is not true. Post the lockdown, we will be making dedicated efforts in the dishwasher space and strengthening our engagement with consumers,” Bahl added.

For now,the company is trying to help solve consumer issues virtually. “We managed to solve over 1,100 complaints through our call centre, as employees work from home, during the lockdown, by giving consumers instructions on the phone. Unfortunately, even in the extended lockdown period our service engineers are not getting passes so some 5,000 complaints are still pending,” he added.

In a bid to manage fixed costs in this zero-revenue period, the company has cut down on marketing and travel costs and freezed new hirings, but hasn’t cut down salaries or stopped promotions besides the voluntary cuts taken by senior management level employees. Infact, as per the appraisal cycle, the 1,200-odd staff of BSH Home Appliances got their increased salaries and promotions for previous year’s performance by March 31.

Given the increased focus on health and hygiene, Bahl said the company is exploring possibilities of bringing in 2-3 products with a focus on enhancing hygiene in kitchens. “We are hopeful of introducing refrigerators and cooktops by next year, despite the current challenging situations,” Bahl added.

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