A fan that swings from side to side to forbid a politician from taking a bribe to one which helps in playing cricket without a bat, manufacturers of this almost stagnant category are out to lure consumers with new campaigns and premium offerings to revive the segment this summer.

The past two years has seen the ₹5,000-crore fans category record almost flat growth, hovering between 3-4 per cent due to a slow real estate market and weak consumer demand. But now a slew of new premium and energy efficient models from fan majors including Usha, Bajaj, Orient and Havells are making sure the category gets on track this summer.

“The fans category needs to grow and along with campaigns, new technology is the only way to add sheen. We expect the category to pick up with more energy efficient fans, which will be priced 15 per cent higher than the regular fans. Besides, the premium end of the category is likely to grow faster so we have our E-Series with aesthetic designs and are also entering new licensing deals to bring in more kids characters in our fans,’’ says Rohit Mathur, Senior VP, Usha International.

Usha fans, a pioneer with its 65-year-old brand, has unleashed new products developed at its ‘Usha air lab’ with the tagline ‘We play with air’ and is sponsoring and buying airtime on IPL.

Bigger motors, blades with LED lights and more energy efficient fans are going to be the way forward to grow the category where the replacement market is considerably low. “Fans are a must have category unlike ACs in India, but with relatively low replacement demand.  We want to change this by having more premium and aesthetically designed fans to appeal to consumers with high disposable incomes,’’ added Mathur.

In fact, going forward, fan manufacturers expect the category to get more premium with consumers willing to move away from the base price of ₹ 2,000 to ₹3,000 fans. Bajaj Fans recently decided to upgrade its portfolio at the premium end. CGS Mani, Executive President & Head, Fans, Bajaj Electricals said, “Since the last two years has seen relatively flat growth, we want to upgrade our fan models and re-invent ourselves at the premium end where growth is considerably fast. The summer looks good and should result in 12-15 per cent growth for the category.’’ Bajaj recently unleashed a new campaign for its more premium fans which are pegged at ₹20,000 and expects 25 per cent of its sales to come from this segment.”

Riding on hopes of a harsh summer ahead, fan makers are making sure their brands are visible and are ready to splurge with higher ad budgets across media and brands such as Usha and Havells are taking the cue from topical events such as the elections and the IPL.

For instance, Havells with its ‘clean politics and common man driven’ campaigns is using the elections as a platform to propagate its premium fans this summer. “Premium fans are in vogue as the lower end of the fans category is moving up the value chain. There are more designs and options in energy efficient fans today as we expect our new campaigns and the theme of elections will help grow sales from the current ₹700 crore to cross ₹1,000 crore this summer,’’ said Vijay Narayanan, VP Marketing, Havells India.           

 

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