Indicating a change in consumer demand and buying pattern during the COVID-19 pandemic, BSH Home Appliances, Europe’s largest appliances brand, reported thrice the demand than usual for dishwashers as house helps stayed away from work due to the lockdown.
In India, BSH Home Appliances, which controls 60% of marketshare of this small category, said the demand for dishwashers has been very high and it will sustain for this year.
“We have witnessed phenomenal sales in dishwashers. We had the stocks for three months so we could meet part of the demand. We are sold out and we have placed orders to import 30,000 units from Turkey and will start supplying from July,” Neeraj Bahl, MD & CEO, BSH Household Appliances Manufacturing Pvt. Ltd., said in an interview.
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The demand for dishwashers was so high that the company met its monthly sales targets in a week’s time. “In Bengaluru alone, we sold 3,000 units in one month, 10 times higher than our nearest competitor. During Diwali, we had sold 1,700 units in that market,” Mr. Bahl said.
He said there demand has come from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, NCR Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad.
“Surprisingly we have seen demand from places like Rajasthan (150 units), Odisha (75 units) and Bihar (50 units). This year the overall industry volume will grow by 50% as sales could go up to 90,000 units,” he said.
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Unlike the West, dishwasher is a relatively new category in India and most Indian kitchens are not designed to accommodate this appliance.
BSH Home Appliances which started building this category four years back in India said it was anticipating demand due to sustained consumer education but COVID-19 accelerated it.
“The sense of personal hygiene was creating demand but COVID-19 accelerated it,” he said.
In India, the Bosch range of dishwashers costs between ₹32,000 and ₹50,000. A duty cut can make these essential items cheaper said Mr. Bahl.
On the reason behind people opting for dishwashers, he said besides convenience this appliance provides high level of hygiene while washing dishes and utensils.
“The Bosch dishwashers not only use water at 70 degree celsius, ensuring 99% germ-free utensils but also offers dishwashers that uses up to 85% less water than hand-washing,” Mr. Bahl said.
It requires only 9.5 litres of water as against 60 litres used in handwashing, he said.
The company has helped in saving of around 711 million litres of water in 2019 alone, it said.