Bolstering its ‘Make in India’ strategy, Lloyd, the consumer durables brand from Havells India, on Tuesday launched a new range of ACs (air conditioners), refrigerators, washing machines and QLED TVs in the mass premium segment. The segment, at present, contributes 30% to the company’s overall growth, which is expected to go up 50% in the coming years, Alok Tickoo, executive VP, Lloyd, told FE.
He said, “We have been on our journey to becoming a mass premium brand for the last three years. However, in the Indian consumer market, there are a lot of ‘me-too’ products and we need to break that clutter, customers will only pay a premium if the product is different.” However, he added that India remains a volume-led country across all sorts of product categories.
While the company is highly focused on having a profitable quarter in the next fiscal, the company won’t compromise on the volumes, he added. Electrical appliances and components company Havells India acquired Lloyd Consumer Durable Business Division (Lloyd Consumer) in 2017 for Rs 1,600 crore and in Q3, FY24, Lloyd contributed 15% to Havells’ overall topline. Lloyd’s business saw its net loss widening to Rs 62 crore in Q1, FY24 versus Rs 56 crore in Q1, FY22 and Rs 23 crore in Q4,FY23.
Calling Lloyd a ‘long-term’ journey, Yogesh Kumar Gupta, executive director, Havells India, said that he sees the opportunity for the consumer durable brand not only in India but also in the Middle East and the US markets. Chalking out its growth plan, he said that the company is working on its manufacturing, enhancing brand building, expanding channel expansion and creating the service network pan-India. “We want to play a long game. Like way we have been very strong in electricals via Havells, we want to be a formidable force consumer durables and it will take its course of time,” he said.
To secure its position as one of the top AC manufacturing companies in India, it has recently launched a new AC manufacturing plant in Sri City near Chennai (apart from its Ghiloth facility which produces ACs and washing machines). The new facility boasts an annual production capacity of one million ACs, thereby increasing the company’s total annual production capacity to two million units, which can be stretched to 2.4 million. This strategic move is poised to solidify Lloyd’s position in the AC manufacturing sector significantly, Gupta said.
Expecting a ‘good growth’ this year on the back of the summer season, he said “investment is not an issue for us. We don’t feel there is a depressed demand, at least the indications are not for us.”
Offering more than 120 models of ACs, Llyod today exports to 30 countries, although the revenue share from that remains low at present, Gupta said.