Bosch hots up home appliances segment

The rising purchasing power of Indian consumers and their changing mindset towards high quality branded products has attracted German conglomerate Bosch to enter India with its premium range of home appliances. BSH Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances Group (BSH), through their Indian subsidiary BSH Home Appliances Pvt Ltd, announced the introduction of the Bosch range of home appliances that include washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators and dryers to the existing product portfolio of BSH Home Appliances Pvt Ltd.

These expensive ranges would compete with other established brands, such as Samsung, LG and Whirlpool, in the over Rs 60,000 crore home appliances market in India.

"Internationally our products are known for their quality, energy and water efficiency. These are premium products targeted at quality-conscious customers. Premium does not mean very expensive," said Marc Hantscher, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), BSH Home Appliances Pvt Ltd.

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"We have been closely observing the Indian market for a very long time. We think this is the right time to enter this market because our targeted consumers are willing to buy premium products that are far superior to others," Hantscher said. The Bosch range of washing machines is priced between Rs 21,990 to Rs 40,000 while the dishwashers range between Rs 30,990 and Rs 81,000. The lowest level refrigerator costs Rs 34,990 while the top-of-the-line model costs Rs 60,000. The dryers are priced between Rs 28,990 and Rs 45,000.

To begin with, the company will import the products from its various factories around the world to cater to the demand from the Indian market and later it would manufacture the products near Chennai.

The Tamil Nadu government has recently allotted land to BSH Home Appliances for setting up a factory. Bosch would be investing Rs 2,500 crore to set up this factory and commence production.

Initially, the Bosch range of products will be available through leading multi-brand retailers in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi-NCR. The company has already appointed 120 dealers who will sell the products from their 220 outlets.

In the second phase the company will make these products available across India. "We will go step-by-step. We will start the second phase from early 2012 and by the end of 2012 the products will be available all over India. Once we start the factory in Tamil Nadu, new products will be added," Hantscher told Mail Today.

He said all Bosch products combine efficiency, quietness and quality, complimented with unrivalled ease of use for a hassle-free lifestyle. Bosch Home Appliances puts their products through rigorous endurance and efficiency tests before launching them in the market to help meet the expectations of discerning consumers.

The company has not set any sales target for India but feels that it is well positioned to garner the rich and upper middleclass customers. BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgerte GmbH is the largest manufacturer of home appliances in Europe and one of the leading companies in the sector worldwide.

The group stemmed from a joint venture set up in 1967 between Robert Bosch GmbH and Siemens AG and posted annual sales of 9,073 billion euros in the year 2010. Now, BSH operates 41 factories in 13 countries in Europe, the US, Latin America and Asia.

Courtesy: Mail Today