Vijay Sales anticipates strong sales of room air conditioners (RACs) this summer, spurred by forecasts of above-normal temperatures and heatwave conditions in parts of the country over the next three months.
In a conversation with CNBC-TV18, Nilesh Gupta, Director of Vijay Sales, alongside Mahesh Palawat, Vice President of Meteorology and Climate Change at Skymet Weather Services, shared their outlook for the upcoming summer.
“The temperature is going to increase over north-west India, it will be in upper 30 degrees and lower 40 degrees by mid of April. The intensity and duration of heatwaves will be much higher in April and May and the first half of June,” Palawat noted.
Reflecting on these predictions, Gupta mentioned that Vijay Sales has already begun to witness a rise in the sales of RACs.
Gupta said Vijay Sales has already started seeing an upsurge in the sales of RACs.
Intermittent rains across the country last year spoiled the party for consumer durable companies. Vijay Sales hopes to make the most of the above normal temperatures this summer.
For the current financial year, Gupta expects the RACs segment to grow 15-20% year-on-year (YoY).
Channel checks by brokerage firm Nirmal Bang on RACs also indicates heightened optimism about summer sales in April-June 2024.
While easy availability of consumer finance and cashback offers are the main reasons drawing consumers towards premium products, Nirmal Bang has observed that the mass category brands have lost some sheen.
Pricing discount for products also has been under ₹500-1,000 despite fierce competition, the brokerage firm said in a recent note.
Gupta's observations aligned with the views of Nirmal Bang.
Gupta believes that recent product price increases, led by input price rise, are unlikely to hamper sales, as 75-80% of sales are funded through loans (equated monthly instalments or EMIs).
While the refrigerator category still remains a laggard, the television (TV) segment has still not seen the full impact of the Indian Premier League (IPL) led sales, Gupta said.
He, however, anticipates a pickup in TV sales as the IPL tournament progresses.
Palawat also highlighted that by the end of July the La Nina conditions will start developing. "We think that monsoon this year will be normal – the upper side of normal that is 100% or more than 100%. We will come out with our detailed forecast in the second week of April.”
La Niña is a climate phenomenon characterised by cooler than average sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean.
It often leads to significant weather variations, such as increased rainfall in some parts of the world and drought in others.
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(Edited by : Shweta Mungre)
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