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The Indian unit of South Korea's LG Electronics Inc. plans to double its market share in the growing refrigerator segment in 2003 by launching a slew of new models, a senior official said on Monday.
The unlisted LG Electronics India Pvt Ltd is among a host of foreign companies that have entered India in the past decade to tap the huge potential in the consumer electronics market.
It competes with a host of firms including Electrolux Kelvinator Ltd, the Indian arm of Samsung Electronics and domestic firms such as Videocon International Ltd for a slice of the growing white goods industry.
"We have targeted sales of 850,000 refrigerators in 2003," Pradeep Tognatta, vice-president at LG's wholly-owned Indian unit, told reporters on the sidelines of a news conference.
"We are looking at a market share of 28 percent next year."
LG Electronics India - which also hawks colour televisions, washing machines and air conditioners - hopes to sell around 550,000 "direct cool" and "frost free" refrigerators in 2002.
The company sells refrigerators priced between Rs 7,500 and Rs 125,000 with a capacity ranging from 175 litres to 800 litres.
Tognatta said LG's new line of refrigerators would be targeted primarily at smaller towns and first time buyers.
"Refrigerators are a basic necessity for any household. The market is growing as penetration levels are just at 25 per cent," he said.
LG officials estimated 3.4 million refrigerators are bought every year in India, which has a population of more than a billion.
The firm would be outsourcing 10 per cent of expected sales in 2003 from Indian company Voltas Ltd and importing 10 per cent of volume sales from its parent, Tognatta said.
It has already invested $40 million to set up a refrigerator-making facility at its plant near Delhi and another $25 million to make compressors.
LG Electronics India expects to post a 36 per cent jump in 2002 revenue to Rs 30 billion.
