Whirlpool of India, a subsidiary of the Whirlpool Corporation, is ramping up its operations in the air-conditioner category by introducing new range of products, Aviator and Chrome series.
Launching the products in Chennai on Wednesday, Shantanu Dasgupta, Vice-President, Corporate Affairs and Strategy, Asia South, said the air-conditioner segment would be a core growth engine for the company in the next 4-5 years. The company would target 15 per cent market share by 2012 and increase its volume by three times by the end of 2010.
The Aviator and Chrome series would be available in 3 and 5-star BEE ratings. While three-star products would give 22-25 per cent energy savings, five-star products would offer 43-45 per cent, he said.
The company launched 35 new models in split ACs under the Mastermind Chrome and Mastermind Aviator series and five new models in the windows range under Mastermind Deluxe and Mastermind Royale. The new products under split AC were priced between Rs. 21,000 and Rs. 33,000. Window air-conditioners were priced in the range of Rs. 14,000-21,000. Mr. Dasgupta said, currently, Whirlpool of India was selling around one lakh ACs and enjoying a market share of 5 per cent. The company was planning to sell nearly three lakh units of air-conditioners by the end of the current calendar year. He said the company was sourcing its entire range of split air conditioners from China.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2009, the company posted a net profit of Rs. 16.16 crore as compared to Rs. 6.91 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Total income rose to Rs. 523.71 crore from Rs. 423.13 crore.
