The Chinese brand appears well-placed to finally move out of its stronghold in southern India and secure its place in the consumer electronics market which is set to grow from $9.7 billion in 2015 to $20.6 billion by 2020 to become the fifth-largest in the world by 2025.
Haier India has clocked sales worth Rs 21.5 billion this fiscal and is looking forward to achieve a target of Rs 65 billion by 2020. Even as sales numbers look positive for the Chinese player, the company is pushing its product portfolio through multiple-brand retail outlets.
At present,about 90 per cent of Haier India’s revenues come from multi-branded stores whereas standalone brand stores contribute 10 per cent. This is in stark contrast to the 50-50 per cent split in revenue share by multi-branded stores and stand-alone stores in 2010.
The company believes that it’s these positive numbers that has led Haier India to focus on expanding its network of dealers and distributors as against opening up more standalone stores. As of now, Haier India only has 30 standalone brand stores as against a multiple branded dealer network of 5,500.
According to the company, it is commanding strong growth in markets such as Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Haryana, and looking to grow in cities such as Delhi and Hyderabad.
Haier India has been selective in forging multi-branded retail partnerships. This is so because it does not want to be lost in the crowd of multiple brands. While choosing retail partners Haier Indialooks at stores that offer 3,000 to 4,000 square feet in area and can display up to 15 to 18 company products.
By Baishakhi Dutta
