``The existing commercial refrigeration products are derivatives of the products manufactured for the domestic market. We are looking at introducing a range of products that are customised for commercial use,'' says Videocon International Limited's director marketing and sales Navi Gupta.

Videocon is looking at a gamut of product possibilities including visi-coolers (used for storing soft drinks and canned drinks at retail stores), refrigerated chests and refrigeration systems for supermarkets hotels and hospitals.

The company will launch products with featureslike dispensers in case of visi-coolers and different sizes to meet specific requirements. The products will be manufactured in the company's plant near Bangalore, which is currently under construction. The plant being set up with a capacity of 2.4 million compressors per annum will be commissioned by December this year.

At Rs 100-crore, the size of the commercial refrigeration segment is five per cent of the total refrigeration market in the country. Videocon expects the segment to grow to Rs 500-crore over the next two years on account of the flourishing retail market in the country. The spurt in large format retailing will drive demand for the proposed products feels Gupta.

Videocon Appliances Limited already has a presence in the domestic refrigeration segment where it enjoys a 18 per cent market share. Videocon Limited has planned an investment of Rs 500 crore towards backward integration into compressors and compressor components for its entire refrigeration business including airconditioners.

...And launch a low-price domestic fridge

Videocon Appliances Ltd plans to launch a range of products in the domestic refrigeration systems as well. In September this year the company will launch a low-priced 400 liter no-frost refrigerator in the market. The product will be 20 per cent cheaper than the existing products in the no-frost segment on account of the high levels of indigenisation that Videocon has achieved. Late this week the company will also launch completely indigenised refrigerator models in the 360 litre and 430 litre categories.The company is currently working on a communication exercise expected to break in August-September this year. ``We will position ourselves as the complete refrigeration product in the country. The communication for the domestic segment will hinge on the value for money platform for the largest range of conventional and no frost products that we have on offer in the market,'' says Videocon International Limited's director marketing and salesNavi Gupta.