January 19, 2015: Kolkata based Eveready Industries India which is a leading player of the dry cell battery market in the country, is looking to venture into the distribution of LED lighting products with the target of making it a major influencer in its next phase of growth. According to latest reports, Amritanshu Khaitan, managing director, Eveready Industries India, has said that they are getting into the LED business with the motive of doubling its revenues in the next three years.
This move by Eveready has come in response to its reduced competitiveness in the market with a 20 per cent hike in the price of its batteries in the last 18 months, as compared to the Chinese imports which are selling the same products at a much lower price owing to the withdrawal of anti-dumping duties on batteries.
Amritanshu Khaitan expects this new venture of theirs to start contributing considerable revenues to its business from the next fiscal year itself. In fact, while batteries contribute 60 per cent of the company’s turnover, the managing director expects it to drop to 40-45 per cent, and the LED business to pick up on the other hand.
The LED lighting products that Eveready plans to sell will be manufactured in China through an outsourced contract. This is because the company’s scale of business would not justify the setting up of a greenfield manufacturing unit. It’s the same reason why the company is also in talks with some Indian LED manufacturers to keep a tab on the quality of the outsourced products their R&D teams. In the coming months, Eveready is planning to go bigger in introducing some more products in its lighting and electricals segment, including rechargeable fans which are slated for lunch in the coming summer.
The company hopes to be free of all debts in the next three years with its fresh and tactful starts in other segments. Eveready’s total debt stood at $2.25 billion at the end of fiscal 2014.
