LG India expects 30 pc growth in home appliances, AC business in 2022

New Delhi: Consumer electronics company LG Electronics India on Thursday said it expects around 30 per cent growth in 2022 in its home appliances and air-conditioner business, on the back of strong demand and new product launches.

The company unveiled a new lineup of home appliances on Thursday and said it is confident of retaining its market lead in categories such as refrigerator, washing machine, microwave oven and AC "In the previous calendar year, we have seen a growth of more than 20 per cent (for home appliances and AC), and we are expecting to grow more than 30 per cent this year with the new line of products, which we have introduced today," Deepak Bansal, LG Electronics India VP-Home Appliances & Air-Conditioners, told PTI.

The home appliances and air conditioner segment is the mainstay of LG Electronics India business as it contributes around 70 per cent in terms of revenue, he said.

In 2021, the segment's revenue was around Rs 15,000 crore, he added.

Talking about compressor-based cooling products such as refrigerator and air-conditioner, Bansal said LG Electronics India has witnessed an "unprecedented growth" in the early months of 2022 and expects to continue the pace in the coming months.

"We have already started to see a precursor to the unprecedented growth which we are going to see in the refrigerators and AC. The pace of growth is much higher than what we had expected," said Bansal.

However, the cooling segment, particularly AC, has already witnessed two rounds of price hikes, and according to experts, a third round is also expected on account of the continued impact of commodity inflation, soaring crude oil prices and metals such as copper and aluminium.

When asked whether LG would go for a price hike next month, Bansal said: "We are on a wait-and-watch mode... With the supply chain which we have, we are looking for stable growth and have not made up our mind." The company has already increased the prices in the first quarter this year, he said, adding that some changes at the global level might happen but LG normally avoids knee-jerk reactions.

Compressor-based products contribute around 65 per cent of the revenue of the home appliances business of the company.

The company, which will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in India in May 2022, would continue to invest in its manufacturing operations at its existing plants at Noida and Pune.

"We are investing in the facilities to increase our capacities and with the new product launches, we are definitely going to expand further," Bansal said.

LG Electronics India is a wholly-owned subsidiary of South Korea Chaebol LG Electronics.

The company's 2022 lineups include a range of smart home appliances with artificial intelligence and new product categories like wearable air purifier priced at Rs 14,990.

According to Bansal, LG believes in the democratisation of new technologies and would continue to provide new cost-efficient products to the masses.

"Today we are launching over 270 models which are designed to enhance ease of use and convenience for consumers. Over the years, we have strengthened our market leadership in home appliances by introducing Indian insight-based products with advanced technology," said Hyoung Subji, LG India Director-Home Appliances & Air Conditioners.