With consumers increasingly shifting to the online channel for purchases due to the pandemic, Havells India has decided to launch its own online platform which will be integrated with its offline dealer network.
Despite various business disruptions due to Covid-19, the consumer durable and electrical goods company said its plan to enter into the refrigerators sector under brand Lloyd remains on track.
Anil Rai Gupta, CMD, Havells India, told BusinessLine, “Consumers don’t want to spend a lot of time at stores and we believe we need to enable our dealer and distributor network to respond to this new normal. In line with the evolving consumer behaviour due to the pandemic, we have introduced the new business model of Online to Offline (O2O). This move marries the offline and online channels. It will also help boost their sales and strengthen the availability of our products at the hyperlocal level.”
Consumers can order the company’s products at Havells’ e-store which will be fulfilled by the dealers and distributors in their area. The company had launched the O2O model as a pilot in May, which has now been expanded to a full-scale launch and already over 20 per cent of its dealers and distributors have registered for the programme.
Rural, semi-urban areas
Post lifting of the lockdown, all production facilities of Havells India are now operational and are operating at 50-100 per cent capacity utilisation depending on the product categories and locations. “Demand trends are evolving every week. We are witnessing more demand traction from semi-urban and rural markets compared with urban centres. Due to higher intensity of Covid-19 spread, many markets are still not operational in urban centres,” Gupta added.
The company believes demand in rural and semi-urban centres will bounce back quicker. “We have been strengthening our direct rural distribution and our efforts in this direction will intensify further. We expect to expand direct rural distribution to 3,000 small towns by the end of the year, from the current 1,700 towns. We will also be pushing more products, which are relevant for consumers in these regions, through this channel,” he added.
Refrigerator space
The company is also gearing up to enter the refrigerator space under brand Lloyd. Gupta said the company has already begun test-marketing these products and the full range of refrigerators will be launched by October-November.
“Consumers are going to increasingly look at buying safe and quality branded products, which offer good after-sales service. We don't expect to see a lot of downtrading in the categories where we have a presence. ACs, washing machines and refrigerators will be the key growth drivers for brand Lloyd,” Gupta added.