Whirlpool India is focussing on an aggressive product portfolio, distribution and production capacity expansion as it is eyeing revenues of $1 billion by 2020. As part of this aggressive expansion, the company intends to launch one new product every two months this year.

Sunil D’Souza, MD, Whirlpool of India, told BusinessLine , “As a brand, Whirlpool has been very strong in the middle end of this spectrum also known as mass premium. Over the past year, we have made a lot of portfolio corrections across categories to add more products at the mass and premium end.”

This is being done to tap into the strong growth potential at the entry level and premium level segments due to higher disposable incomes, rural electrification and rapid urbanisation.

“This year too, we have a pipeline of new launches and will be launching one new product every two months. Overall, we are accelerating our journey of product portfolio, production and geographical distribution expansion this year,” he added.

The company, for instance, launched its premium Supreme Care range of front load washing machines last year and has now expanded it with the launch of the FreshCare range positioned in the mass premium end. In the semi-automatic machines segment too, it has expanded the range at the premium end with the launch of larger capacity semi-automatic washing machines. It has revamped its frost-free refrigerators and direct-cool refrigerators range, besides launching a new range of air-conditioners.

“As GDP per capita grows and consumer affluence increases, more first-time buyers in semi-urban and rural regions will buy entry level products, while existing consumers will upgrade to premium products. We are seeing an uptick in semi-urban and rural piece of our business,” he added.

In terms of distribution too, the company is adding significant number of distributors and increasing the reach of its products at new retail points. It has already announced plans to expand its manufacturing capacity at plants in Pune and Puducherry.

“Besides our core portfolio, we have identified three key segments for future growth which includes cooking, air and water,” D’Souza said. In the past two years, the consumer durables company has been strengthening its presence in the in-built and commercial kitchen appliance segment and has been aggressively expanding its presence in the air-conditioners segment and has also made a foray in air purifiers segment.

“In the air-conditioners segment, we have launched a wide range of new products this year with features such as humidity control and air purification. We are focusing on gaining a significant share in the AC segment,” he added.

Whirlpool India is also eyeing growth from the water purifier segment. “Water purifiers segment is expected to become one of the fastest growing segments in the consumer durable space. We will get more aggressive in the space,” D’Souza added.

Meanwhile, the company is also closely watching the smart appliance space and will develop capabilities to ensure its new products are IoT-ready. “While there is a lot of chatter around IoT, it needs to be seen what value IoT can create for the consumer and whether the consumer is willing to pay for that. As this space evolves, in the short to medium term, we will also launch some products in this space,” he added.

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