The Indian unit of Korean consumer electronics major LG Electronics intends to nearly double its refrigerator sales to Rs 1,300 crore in 2004 on the back of launches of new models and increasing marketing spends.
Volume sales of refrigerators are also targeted to grow almost 100 per cent this year to maintain its leadership position in this segment, LG Electronics India product group head (refrigerators) Ajay Bajaj told TNN on Tuesday.
“We would be aggressively promoting our refrigerators to remain number one. We intend to more than double our marketing and promotion spends to Rs 80-90 crore this year,” Bajaj said.
While there would not be a product-specific brand ambassador for the refrigerator segment, the company hopes to cash in on the positive rub-off effect of its corporate campaigns (to be unleashed shortly) on its refrigerator business, he pointed out.
“We are confident that refrigerator sales in West Bengal also will double this year given the increase in the spending power there,” Bajaj said. The eastern region is currently the smallest of LG’s refrigerator market, accounting for 13 per cent of its total sales in this business.
“We have lined up a slew of launches this year to make our refrigerators more attractive to the prospective customers and generate some interest in this segment as a whole,” he said.
LG’s new manufacturing facility at Pune would help it grow its refrigerator business immensely. “It (the new Pune plant) would be operational by July-August and boost capacity in a big way,” he said. LG’s major competitors in the refrigerator business include Samsung and Whirlpool.
From Times Of India