Voltas, India’s premier air-conditioning and engineering services company, has launched a new range of sleek and elegant room ACs in India, targeting the premium and luxury segments. Functional as well as stylish, the new models are destined to create a chilly thrill in the summer of 2008. Among the new models is India's first corner AC, the Vertis ‘Pristine’. With a unique triangular shape, the Pristine has been designed to be accommodated discreetly on the wall in a corner of the room, an excellent fit for high-end homes. The portfolio also includes several new product ranges for consumers — the Vertis Panache, with a revolutionary DC inverter technology and a versatile heating-cooling function; the Vertis Elan; the Vertis Elite; the new-look Vertis Gold; and of course the flagship Vertis Plus. Voltas was the first company to go mainstream with star-rated ACs last year, complying voluntarily with the government’s energy-efficiency labeling programme and its system of test checks in government-approved laboratories. For the customer, this translates as clear-cut savings in electricity costs. The Voltas range includes star-rated ACs in both split and window categories, going right up to the most efficient 5-star rated units. Voltas room ACs are thus fully geared up to deliver economical performance in 2008 and this, combined with their elegant looks, makes for a formidable product offering. Voltas announced the launch of a total of 42 new models this year, at a press conference on Wednesday. Speaking on the occasion, Pradeep Bakshi, VP – Unitary Products Business Group, Voltas, said: “Our endeavour in the air-conditioner market is to lead the industry and make really good-looking as well as economical products available to all segments of consumers. We were the first to launch star-rated ACs in 2007, to provide a power-efficient, money-saving option that is particularly relevant in these days of high electricity tariffs. This year we are introducing a whole new range of ACs with really exclusive designs. Our Vertis Pristine and Panache ranges in the premium AC segments will compete with the best luxury brands in the market. The AC market, estimated at 20 lakh units (windows and splits) in 2007, is growing at a robust rate of 30 per cent per annum. With their pioneering launch of star-rated ACs last year, Voltas gained market share and are currently estimated to sell around one out of every six ACs bought in India, a 17-per cent market share. Their new launch promises to grow the market further, since the products are backed with an increased advertising budget. Voltas also have an extensive distribution network of exclusive sales and service dealers nationwide, as well as a presence at all leading retail and consumer electronics stores. With a stated target of achieving 20 per cent market share, the company has put in place an aggressive distribution strategy to increase the number of channel partners from the current 2000 to about 3000 next year. Voltas is also investing in beefing its service infrastructure, to give the best service experience to customers. Finally, Voltas’s “India Ka Dil, India Ka
AC” campaign has had a special resonance with consumers,
appealing to the pride of Indians in the new emerging
India and its booming economy, and the feeling that
India has now arrived on the global stage. It stands
in marked contrast to the feature-led advertising strategy
followed by other air-conditioner and consumer durable
marketers and is, for that reason, all the more successful
in gaining a big share of mind in the crowded marketplace.
The coming summer, therefore, promises a battle royal
in the AC market between ‘India Ka AC’ and
international companies.
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