Cashing in

Calcutta, May 15: Samsung India Electronics Ltd is targeting higher sales of consumer appliances at home and abroad.

The consumer appliances business includes audio/video and home products.

Managing director Ravinder Zutshi said, “We have seen good growth in the consumer appliances segment. In the first quarter, sales of air-conditioners were up by 65 per cent, flat TV by 70 per cent and plasma or LCD TV by 250 per cent. This business is expected to grow 30-40 per cent this year.”

Samsung will add refrigerators manufactured in India to its portfolio of exports and increase the sales of home appliances, Zutshi said. “With the addition of refrigerators, export earnings is expected to go up to Rs 100 crore from Rs 40 crore last year,” he added.

The company may also export washing machines, even though no plans have been finalised as yet, he said.

Consumer appliances contributed 53 per cent of the total sales of Rs 4,900 crore last year and the company expects a steady contribution this year too. Its overall sales target for 2005 stands at Rs 6,500 crore.

As part of its plans to increase its lifestyle segment, Samsung has launched Miniket, a MiniDV camcorder.

The organised domestic market for camcorders was 60,000 units last year. It is expected to grow to 80,000 units this year.

“High-end products contribute 10 per cent of the total revenue from consumer appliances,” Zutshi said. “This may go up to 15 per cent over the years. We are also looking at doubling the number of exclusive Samsung outlets from 74 by December.”

The company plans to tap non-metro markets, which are showing an interest for high-end products such as home theatres. Emerging markets constitute 35 per cent of the total industry sales.

Samsung expects to double its air-conditioner business and is eyeing a 25 per cent growth in the sales of frost-free refrigerators and 20 per cent in microwave ovens.

Another major growth segment will be projection systems and home theatres. “The projection system market is expected to grow three-fold from 20,000 units sold last year,” Zutshi said. “Of this, we had a 25 per cent market share and expect to take at least 35 per cent of the pie this year.”

Speaking on the trends in TVs, Zutshi said Samsung had seen a 128 per cent growth in flat TVs. “Ninety per cent of the TVs sold last year were flats. The round segment saw a downward growth of 15 per cent,” he added.