After two consecutive summers washed out by the pandemic, consumer durables firm Usha International is optimistic about 2022, with the economy opening up. Saurabh Baisakhia talks to Christina Moniz about the company’s growth strategy in the rural markets, plans to widen its product portfolio, its long-term association with IPL’s Mumbai Indians, and more.
Offline retail has been Usha’s forte. Was it a challenge to ramp up your online presence during the pandemic?
From a consumer standpoint, the home economy was the big buzzword during these past two years. People were looking for solutions to adapt to this new way of living, and were choosing appliances with a wider range of features. With online retail really taking off, we had to digitise all our processes to meet the consumer’s needs. We are traditionally strong in the offline retail space; during the pandemic, we had to ensure greater integration between online and offline. Therefore, we pivoted our go-to-market strategy. We strengthened our presence online — today, the online channel accounts for 10-12% of our sales, up from 4-5% prior to the pandemic.
During the festive season, you recorded 25% sales growth in rural markets. What factors aided this growth?
In rural markets, we have consistently been doing well quarter-on-quarter. One of the key reasons for this has been Usha’s focus on distribution in rural regions, with less than one lakh population. We are now present across most pincodes in the country. This, coupled with our omnichannel approach, has worked positively for us. Currently, rural markets account for 15-20% of our sales.
The last two summers have been dismal for organised fan companies. With normalcy returning, what are your expectations from summer, 2022?
We have an optimistic outlook this year for the summer. After the last two challenging summers, we expect to see the market stay open this time. We have a range of new coolers, fans and cooking appliances set to be launched this summer. We are not only expanding the width of our portfolio, but we also have a lot of aggressive marketing plans across digital, print, TV and radio. We have earmarked `35-40 crore for advertising and marketing during the next four months.
Currently, we enjoy a good market share in most categories where we operate. We still have a bit of catching up to do in the appliances business, which is a huge opportunity as it is a `10,000-crore segment. We have 7-8% market share in this category, and we aim to drive it up to at least 15% in the next couple of years. While we will continue to strengthen our presence in categories in which we do well, such as fans and sewing machines, we will also focus on expanding the appliances portfolio in a big way as we move forward. We are making investments in both our product portfolio and brand.
This is your ninth year of associating with IPL’s Mumbai Indians. How has that helped the brand?
Usha and Mumbai Indians share synergy in terms of brand values. This partnership has helped strengthen our position in markets like Maharashtra. These associations help drive strong customer engagement, while also strengthening our dealer and employee engagement. Given the popularity of the IPL, the association helps drive up our brand awareness and enables us to strategically communicate new product launches.
The southern region currently accounts for 40% of the appliances market. How does Usha plan to raise its market share here?
The South is definitely a significant market. Usha has been making efforts to not only improve its presence in terms of reach but is also working on building a strong portfolio for categories that do well in these markets. We have named Keerthy Suresh as our brand ambassador for the appliances range in the South.
We have, in fact, grown significantly in the last one year. From a pan-India standpoint, Usha enjoys a good, double-digit market share across the North and East regions, and our aim is to grow our market share to reach a similar number in the West and South in the next couple of years.
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