NEW DELHI: Homegrown consumer appliance-maker Godrej Appliances is now scouting for alternatives to China for its supply chain needs, including potential opportunities for local sourcing of raw materials, company officials said on Friday during the launch of a new range of products.
The company is also hopeful of reaching full capacity production at its manufacturing facilities since market demand has almost come back to nearly pre-Covid levels, according to the company’s business head Kamal Nandi.
“From 60 per cent now, we aim to reach 80 per cent capacity in July and operate on full capacity from August,” he pointed out. The larger industry, too, has reached 90 per cent level sales and is now preparing for the festive season, observed Nandi, who is also the president of Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA).
Intensifying calls for a boycott of Chinese products amids heightened Sino-India border tensions, he said, are yet to impact sales of consumer durables but could reflect in the purchase behaviour of consumers “over a period of time”. Sales in the month of June, he said, were already at last year’s level.
On Friday, the company expanded its refrigerator and washing machine range. It launched three new models of semi-automatic washing machines and refrigerators to be marketed under the brand names Edge Rio and Edge Nio range for refrigerators and Edge Ultima (washing machines). The refrigerators come with a vegetable tray of 16.4 litres which gives consumers enough space to store vegetables.
Available in 192 litre capacity with 5-star, 4-star, 3-star and 2-star variants, the refrigerator prices start from Rs 14,000. The washing machines are priced upwards of Rs 16,400. “As Indian households fight the pandemic, home appliances can go a long way in reducing their burden and easing out their stress. These are being manufactured at our state-of-the-art factories, yet another step towards supporting ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’,” Nandi said.
Demand Rising