the goan I network
PANAJI
Blue Star Limited on Wednesday launched 40 new models of its 3-star and 5-star air conditioners buoyed by the huge demand for air conditioners in Goa and across the country.
Addressing media persons, B Thiagarajan the Joint Managing Director of Blue Star Ltd, said that an overwhelming majority of home AC buyers were first time AC users and were often drawn to the idea of an AC after experiencing it at work, at malls, cinema halls etc even as an air conditioner continued to remain a low priority buy for most families and came only after a TV, refrigerator, a kitchen appliance and a vehicle.
The market for air conditioners in Goa is expected to grow between 20 -25% over the coming months, Thiagarajan has said.
“Most of the four wheeler owners do not have ACs at home,” he said contrasting it with China which has a population similar to India, but sells 100 million home ACs per year with a penetration of 30% as compared to India’s 5.5 million ACs per year with a penetration of only 4%.
This indicates that India’s market for ACs is huge and will continue to witness a growth despite the twin ‘disruptors’ of demonetization and GST rollout, which has put off people’s buying. “This range promises 30% extra cooling, faster cooling and energy savings besides soundproof operations,” Thiagarajan said.
“In Goa, our market share is 8% and we estimate Goa to grow at 20-25%,” he said adding that the growth would be driven by the continuous growth in the tourism sector. “We expect to outperform the market and achieve a market share of 12.5% in 2019,” he added.
He said that in Goa, where power bills are not a concern as compared to some other cities of the country, the populace was open to buying ACs that are cheaper but not as efficient or power saving as some of the more expensive inverter and smart ACs.
