Blue Star eyes Rupees 1,700 crore revenue from AC biz

Launches 100 new products including 40 inverter air conditioners 

New Delhi: Blue Star Ltd, a leading manufacturer of air-conditioners and commercial refrigeration products, on Tuesday launched 100 products including energy-efficient 3-star and 5-star inverter split-air conditioners. With the launch of new products for this summer season, Blue Star has set a target of Rs1,700 crore revenues from room AC segment as well as higher market share during the current fiscal.
 
Speaking to the media after the launch of new products, B Thiagarajan, Joint MD, Blue Star Ltd, said: “We see more demand for A/C products as there are strong indications of a severe summer. The domestic market is expected to grow by 15-20 per cent. We’re confident that Blue Star will have market share of 12.5 per cent by end of the current fiscal from 11.5 per cent at present.”

On its expansion plans, Thiagarajan said the plan to launch a Jammu facility was shelved due to GST impact and the land was handed over back to the state government. Instead, a new facility would come up in Himachal Pradesh (HP).

C P Mukundan Menon, President (sales & marketing), Blue Star, said: “The company is looking at clocking Rs1,700 crore revenue from room AC segment for the current financial year. 

Blue Star recorded Rs1,500 crore revenue in the fiscal 2017-18 from this vertical.” 
The 40 new models of highly energy-efficient inverter split air conditioners are designed to deliver more benefits to the consumers. “This range promises up to 30 per cent extra cooling power resulting in powerful cooling, faster temperature pull-down and extra energy savings,” adds Thiagarajan.

Blue Star also plans to invest Rs85 crore during the current financial year on new product development, research and design and advertising and brand promotion. The company has decided to add 50 exclusive stores this fiscal, taking the total exclusive stores count to 200 in the country. Blue Star is offering a complete range of inverter split ACs with hot and cold inverter technology. 

Three models of the 5-star inverter split AC range are equipped with a smart Wi-Fi feature, enabling the user to operate the machine remotely. These machines with precision cooling technology deliver precise cooling in decimals, as accurate as 0.1 degree C or 0.5 degree C. The launch of 17 top-end models into the 5-star inverter split AC category is yet another first-of-its-kind in the industry, he said.

Blue Star’s share in the inverter and 5-star segment is higher than that of the industry average and the complete range of inverter models has been equipped with eco-friendly refrigerants.

Blue star registered a growth of around 15 per cent during January-December 2017 as against the 10 per cent growth of room air-conditioner market in the country.