Reliance Industries has once again added a legacy consumer brand to its portfolio, acquiring the iconic home appliances label Kelvinator in a bid to deepen its play in the consumer durables space. The deal, announced on Friday by the company’s retail arm, marks another step in Reliance’s strategy of reviving once-popular Indian brands, following its acquisition of Campa Cola, Ravalgaon, and Lotus Chocolate in recent years. Each of these names holds nostalgic value for consumers and forms part of a broader push by Reliance to build a formidable FMCG and consumer goods empire rooted in trusted domestic labels.
While Reliance Retail did not disclose the deal size, Sweden’s Electrolux Group, the previous owner of Kelvinator, pegged the transaction at 180 million Swedish crowns, or Rs 160 crore, in its quarterly earnings update on Friday.
Strengthening product reach and innovation
“The acquisition of Kelvinator marks a pivotal moment, enabling us to significantly broaden our offering of trusted global innovations to Indian consumers,” Isha Ambani, executive director, Reliance Retail Ventures, the holding company of Reliance Retail, said.
The acquisition brings to a close a six-year partnership between Electrolux and Reliance Retail, which began with a brand licensing agreement in 2019. Since then, Kelvinator-branded refrigerators, washing machines, and air conditioners have been sold across Reliance’s expansive store network as well as through third-party retailers.
Reliance Retail said the deal would allow it to integrate Kelvinator’s legacy of innovation with its own deep retail reach, unlocking value in a fast-growing segment of premium home appliances across India. The company operates over 8,700 Reliance Digital and Jio stores, making it the largest consumer electronics retailer in the country. Over the past few years, it has also built a strong private-label portfolio in electronics and appliances, targeting a young, tech-savvy consumer base looking for modern, value-driven products.
Legacy brand with a new future
Kelvinator, named after the British scientist Lord Kelvin, was a household name in India during the 1970s and 1980s, best known for its refrigerators marketed under the tagline “The Coolest One”. At its peak in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Kelvinator’s business crossed Rs 1,000 crore, according to industry executives. However, it gradually lost market share as global competitors from Korea, Japan, and the US entered the Indian market after liberalisation. Before Reliance, Videocon Industries had been marketing Kelvinator products under a licensing deal that ended in 2018.
A joint report by EY and the Confederation of Indian Industry notes that India is among the fastest-growing consumer durables markets globally. The sector is expected to triple in size over the next three years to Rs 3 lakh crore from its current estimated value of Rs 1.17 lakh crore, creating significant opportunities for players like Reliance to scale up further.