All of India gets ready for the mid-winter harvest festival, turning out laddoos, Pongal, Puran Poli and other endless delights.
Step into the world of wholesome eating and try these delicious ragi recipes, where ancient grains meet modern flavours.
Betting big on a range of new products, including commercial refrigeration, high-end televisions, cooking and food processing appliances, Godrej Appliances is targeting a turnover of Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) for 2008-09 against Rs 1,400 crore (Rs 14 billion) in the current financial year.
The appliance makers expect a good churn in the festive season, led by the government's proposal to reduce the GST slab on air-conditioners from the current 28 per cent to 18 per cent, which will reduce the price from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500 depending on the models.
Make a simple, delicious jaggery and suji halwa in your microwave.
A simple microwave recipe that will provide treats for your home New Year bash.
You can make these cutlets in a microwave oven without compromising on their taste.
Go experimental while making your modaks! Try unusual stuffings and coverings.
Consumer durables firms and fashion retailers expect double-digit growth in value terms in the ongoing festival season as consumers have stepped up purchases during this period. They expect to see value sales growth upwards of 15 per cent, which is especially coming in from cities. However, volume growth may lag behind value growth.
Bake a cake and cookies with millets this season.
Since 2008, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency is running a star rating programme, under which electric equipment are rated according to their efficiency. This in turn helps the consumers save electricity.
Consumer durables retailers and manufacturers may end up bearing the cost of the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) tightening on easy personal loans, as their margins are expected to be impacted by higher borrowing costs. During the recently passed festival season, consumer durables companies started offering longer tenure loans, zero down payments, and zero interest on a wider assortment of products than ever before, making the products more affordable. While 18- and 24-month easy monthly instalment (EMI) options were available earlier, companies offered them only on select products; now, they are being extended to a larger section of products.
The latest hike is likely to be followed by another such move next month, said industry players. Before the latest hike, companies had initiated price hikes to the tune of 12-13 per cent in 2021 but they weren't able to fully cover the increase in costs.
The festival season has already begun in the west and south of India with Ganesh Chaturthi and Onam, respectively, and consumer companies are witnessing a pick-up in sales compared to pre-Covid levels. Retailers, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and consumer durables companies expect their sales to grow in double digits this festival season compared to pre-pandemic times, as there are no curbs on movement now. Adani Wilmar expects sales volume to be higher by 15-20 per cent as rural India has largely witnessed good monsoon rains, and employment has picked up in urban areas.
Enjoy a healthy, guilt-free Diwali as you embrace 2023's superfood.
With Onam and Raksha Bandhan just around the corner, the festival season is ready to kick off in full swing. As people embrace the celebratory spirit, companies anticipate a surge in sales this year. Consumer durables firms are expecting strong growth of 40-50 per cent in the premium segment during the upcoming season. Appliance makers also foresee increased demand for cooling appliances - refrigerators and air conditioners - which were impacted by unseasonal rainfall.
Consumer durable companies will again start to face a supply issue of components as China extends lockdown due to its zero Covid strategy. This will impact the flow of finished products into the Indian market, unlike last year, this impact will be felt post Diwali. While supply chain issues have been a problem since the start of the pandemic, China's zero Covid strategy has also posed another risk for consumer durable companies.
Consumer durable firms, including Haier, Whirlpool, Panasonic, Godrej Appliances and Daikin, are increasing prices of their products by up to 5 per cent following the withdrawal of excise duty sops, coupled with high input costs.
Godrej Appliances has launched a music-enabled refrigerator, Godrej Edge SX MuziPlay, with FM radio and MP3 player. The refrigerator has additional facilities such as a mobile charging point with USB port.
The company has started using a new composite material for manufacturing refrigerators which will subsequently be rolled out to other product lines. The company has also done away with its regular corrugated boxes for packaging to incorporate stretch-hood film packaging and shrink wrapping. Stretch-hood packaging boasts of benefits such as better load stability, flexible adaptation to load height, width and depth and weather protection (rain, dirt and dust-proof).
Maharashtra, which contributes between 12 and 15 per cent of appliances sales, announced lockdown-like curbs, meaning there will be no business for the second half of the month as well from the state.
As the rupee continues its freefall against the dollar, cars, TVs, washing machines and other home appliances are set to cost more with companies set to hike prices to offset impact on their margins.
Godrej appliances is targeting to become the third largest player in the air conditioner market.
Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association Consumer has also welcomed the move saying the it would improve the sentiments and strengthen the growth.
Some companies argue that the culture of staying, working and learning at home will persist for a while, altering lifestyle habits of consumers.
GST will create a single, unified Indian market
From auto, refrigerator, and mobile handset makers to real estate firms, companies are tying up with banks to dole out attractive finance schemes and discounts to make buying more affordable.
While e-commerce operations for these firms are small at the moment, it is slated to grow in the next 3 to 4 years.
Categories such as washing machines, refrigerators and television sets have seen sales growth of around 8-10 per cent in August compared to last year, industry sources said, with September also reporting a similar growth trajectory.
While FMCG companies were not barred from carrying out their operations during the 21-day lockdown, since most manufacture staples and essential products, capacity utilisation remained poor, owing to the restricted movement of raw materials, finished goods, and labour.
Prices of all metals - from steel to copper, aluminium, zinc and lead - have shot up by about 5-11 per cent in the past month. Commodity inflation is raising its head, forcing companies to consider price hikes.
'While most companies were bullish before the second wave of double-digit sales growth in FY22, that may not be the case now.'
Indian consumer durable market faces competition from Korean dealers.
Panasonic India is set to increase the prices of its products by up to 7 per cent, while some others players have already increased it.
The usually busy Greater Noida expressway is empty except small groups of commuters that gather at its sidelines, seeking lift from every passing vehicle.
But it may come with a downside risk of further rise in prices of several products.
Since April, India has seen multiple strains of the coronanavirus sweep the nation, upending life and businesses alike. Out-of-home retail and discretionary categories such as durables, auto, fashion, lifestyle, hospitality, food services, travel, and tourism have been the worst-hit as Covid cases remain high, leaving state governments with no option but to curtail mobility and economic activity.
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