Sometime this week the three sites will be combined into one comprehensiveushaworld.com. The new site will have a home page, from where individualsites for Usha Furniture, Usha Lexus (its home appliances range) and UshaBrita (water purification system) can be accessed.

According to Pradeep Narain, senior general manager, Usha Shriram, onlinesales are expected to account for about five per cent of the company's totalturnover next year. The group's turnover for 1998-99 was Rs 110 crore andthe current fiscal's target is Rs 150 crore.

The take-off is likely to be slow, but the company sees this as aninvestment for the future -- an early mover advantage, so that when the boomof e-commerce actually begins, ``we will have our systems well in place.''No other major appliances company has actually begun the process of sellingon the Net, according to Usha guesstimates. Admits Narain, ``It will take usat least four years to really break even.''

Regarding delivery of orders, the company has divided the market into fourzones (north, south, east and west) and all orders are being servicedthrough its 26 regional warehouses located across these zones. Three morelocations will be added to the present network this year. In the case ofsmall orders, couriers like Gati and FedEx are being used for delivery. Allpayments are being accepted by cheque, draft or, in the case of smallappliances, even by VPP. At a later stage payments through credit cards maybe accepted once a fool proof method is devised.

Polishing furniture e-sales
The company is focusing its e-commerce initiative on its furniture business,for this is where the margins are higher. It is also able to absorb thecosts of transportation and delivery of goods. Its completely knock-downunits with detailed instructions make transportation easier. Online sellingin furniture would also mean a saving in the cost of distribution asinvestment in virtual showrooms would be much less than investing in a hugeshowroom.

With this in mind, Usha has set up a very comprehensive site for its entirerange of furniture, running into 150 pages, providing the minutest detailsregarding wood finishes, polishing, upholstery etc. Added attractions toencourage more hits and orders include offers like tips on interiordecoration and a home makers guide, besides special contests like luckydraws.

These will continue for 6-7 months to popularise the site. Besides this,there is a special bargain counter that offers furniture at a 40 per centdiscount, as against the 30 per cent offered at its regular outlets. Anotherattraction for buyers on the Net is a special offer of free upholstery onthe complete apartment package. On its range of 17 appliances, which extendfrom electric irons to mixer grinders and room coolers, the company is notoffering any Net discounts on the ticket price as margins on these productsare too low. On its OTGs, which it regards as a potential growth area, it isoffering recipe books and recipes.

There is also an order form for online ordering of spare parts.Since it setup ushafurniture.com in October '99, the company has transacted businessworth Rs 25 lakh. In appliances, where it began online sales only inJanuary-end, it has so far netted sales of around Rs 3 lakh, the mostpopular items being electric irons and OTGs.