Thriving on urge to smart hygienic living, fine-dining

Fortune India Exchange is in conversation with Areyan Bajoria, Director - Kutchina.

How big is the overall kitchen appliances market in India? At what rate is it growing?

Overall, the Kitchen appliances market in India is estimated to be ₹25,500 crore in 2022 of which 45-50% is contributed by large kitchen appliances. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 13-15%, largely driven by the high growth in the large kitchen appliances segment.

 What is Kutchina's current market share?

We’re the current market leader in the East with 58%. Nationally, we're at 15%.

Kutchina is a household name in the East. Could you please elaborate on your plans for penetrating deep into other markets? How many outlets do you have? What is your retail expansion plans? How many dealers-distributors do you have? What are the projected numbers in this regard over the next two years?

At kutchina, we love to have our customers visit our store and experience the product. Hence, we’re constantly adding stores to go as much nearer to our customers. We have around 80+ outlets along with experiential Kutchina galleries and we also have presence in different retail formats. We plan to make it to 100+ stores this fiscal.

Currently, we're having around 300+ distributors and 4000+ dealers spread all over the country.

Do you have plans to get into tier-II, tier-III cities as well? How much of your business comes from these towns as of now? Are tier 2 cities a growth driver ? What changes are you perceiving in these markets?

We already have strong presence in Tier –II and tier III cities already. We ‘have noticed surge in demand from these cities as well’. We’re fortifying our territory in these cities by increasing our company-led outlets . It’s difficult to quantify the demand from the aforesaid segment but demand is very strong as people are pushed for time and everybody needs to work out on work-life balance with appliances that saves time and helps in cooking varied types of delicacies

We are seeing a surge in purchase of small appliances like non-stick items, induction cookers etc. What would you consider to be the growth driver in this segment ?

Smart hygienic living and fine dining are the growth  drivers in this segment. Also, paucity of time is forcing people to opt for appliances that saves time.

What is your take on projected growth in the small appliances segment?

Yes, we have strong demands for small appliances. Our brand is an established one and we're experiencing roughly around 40% rise in growth.

 What is the break-up of your online and offline sales, currently? Do you think that the same ratio will continue in the years to come, or would you like to tweak your strategy?

Offline sales is still by far the biggest revenue driver as our products necessitates demonstration and help from  our support team. I would say that it is 80:20 in favour of offline. However, in case of small appliances, we receive more online sales. We are more comfortable incase our customers are visiting us, as we get an opportunity to explain and understand the requirement of the customer and provide the best solution. Under normal circumstances, this will definitely prevail and we are okay with it.

Role and Importance of R&D and technological innovation in your growth strategy?

R&D is critical as it helps us gauge the requirement of the customer and accordingly plan our products and stay much ahead of competition. However, we do not plan any fancy product that will be of  lesser value fulfilling the need of the client. We are extremely thoughtful before launching a product in the market.

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