“Intex as a brand is focused on indigenous product development and delivery” by Nidhi Markanday, Director & Business Head – Consumer Durables & IT Peripherals, Intex Technologies (India) Ltd.
What is your reaction on the budget for Consumer Durables products?
We view this budget as reformist that gives a clear road map for the future course of economic growth in the country. The budget focus on fundamental reforms by giving outlays for farmer incomes, rural upliftment and relaxing income tax will spur the demand for white goods up to the grassroots level. These steps will further give an impetus to consumer demand and act as a catalyst in accelerating and expanding the economy.
Could you please tell us all range of Consumer Durables products?
Intex has a wide range of Consumer Durables products. Just recently, in Nov 2016 the company forayed into Refrigerators segment with Direct Cooling models and the fully automatic Washing Machine models. With this, Intex has also roped in Bollywood legend Madhuri Dixit as brand ambassador for refrigerators and new range of washing machines. In the LED TV segment, Intex launched the Smart LED TV range starting from 32-inch to 55-inch UHD/4K TV and also expanded the Big LED TV range with 58-inch and 65-inch models.
In the IT Peripherals segment, Intex launched its Fake Notes Detector cum Currency Counting Machine and new range of speakers and headphones. Intex has 70+ models in speaker portfolio. Intex had earlier in July 2016 introduced Tablet – iBuddy, which has been well received in market.
Other Highlights include:
- In September & October’16 together Intex sold 150,000 LED TVs and in FY 16-17 will sell around 700,000 LED TV units viz-a-viz 400K in 2015-16. In IT Peripherals, Intex sold 400,000 power banks in Sept & Oct’16. This is in line with the company strategy of extracting a large chunk of its revenues from CDIT in the coming years.
- In September 2016 itself, Intex also announced the appointment of cricketer and Gujarat Lions captain Suresh Raina as its brand ambassador for the new range of Speakers segment
- Intex also launched environment and health friendly Air-Purifiers named Good Air
- Introduced Currency Counting Machine for precise tallying of the money in banks, schools, colleges, hospitals and business organizations
In 2017, Intex will be launching Air-Conditioners, both Window and Split Models. It will also be coming up with Frost-Free refrigerators.
What are your expansion plans?
We have gained a lot of momentum in the last few years and would like to continue this upward trajectory in future as well. For FY 2017-18 and further on we will lay special emphasis on the CDIT business in order to increase our revenue share from 15% currently to 25% by 2018 and up to 50% in the long-term towards company’s revenue. We are focused on innovation and affordability in terms of all our products, coupled with competitive prices and a strong offline-online distribution & after-sales service model.
Could you please tell us about challenges in Consumer Durables Department?
India is a geographically diverse country and to reach consumers across the length and breadth of the country a big distribution network is required. Consumers are price sensitive, spoilt for choice and demand a continuous engagement program. To overcome such challenges, Intex has developed a wide network of 1500 distributors, 80000+ dealers and 75 branded stores Intex Smart World covering 63 cities. We pay complete attention to offering better quality at competitive prices. Also, after sales service is very important for us, hence we have 1500 service touch points to serve our consumers across different regions.
What is Intex doing differently to increase its market share in India?
Since last year in 2016, Intex with a renewed focus on consumer durables has been continuously enhancing its product portfolio by foraying into Refrigerators segment with Direct Cooling models, fully automatic Washing Machine models and air-purifiers. We have also been in the tablets and LED monitors segment and have recently introduced our currency counting machines. After sales service is something very important for us hence we have 1500 service touch points to serve our consumers across the regions. With new technologies and innovations, consumers are also demanding better features to enhance their experience and productivity. Considering the ever changing market trends, Intex has been offering best in class products to consumers.
Would you please reflect upon your R&D work?
Intex as a brand is focused on indigenous product development and delivery. We have R&D centers in India and China. We also have various vendors on board who provide services on the basis of pre-approved designs by the company. We have 5 manufacturing plants in India, which are located in Jammu, Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) and Noida (Uttar Pradesh). The company is coming up with its 6th and the largest manufacturing plant at Kasna, Greater Noida, spread over 20-acre land.
Your message to Consumers.
Brand Intex is all about fulfilling aspirations, offering consumers the best of design & technology at very competitive pricing. We make sure that we give our customers special schemes to motivate and sustain their performance. Also, we provide experience with the expertise of in-shop demonstrators, detailing each and every product specification and selling our products with the help of our partners. This gives us an edge among consumers and we wish this relationship to only strengthen with time.
@Technuter.com News Service