Q3 to be one of the healthiest quarters in the last few years: NS Satish, Haier Appliances

NS Satish, President of Haier Appliances India, is optimistic about the upcoming festive season. He highlights the company’s strong focus on innovation, key product categories like air conditioners, LED TVs, and washing machines, and its ambitious goal of surpassing ?11,000 crore in revenue by FY26.

How has the year been, so far, for Haier Appliances India?

It’s been a mixed year, year-to-date (YTD) we have seen 25% growth over the previous year. Rains hampered the air-conditioner category and the growth trajectory would have been better if this vertical had performed.

We are in Q3, that’s the festive season, how are you looking at the festive season this year? What is the consumer sentiment that you're picking up on ground, particularly after the cut in GST rates?

 Traditionally, Q3 and the festive season is the biggest quarter. Premium products across categories - right from refrigerator, washing machine, AC, LED - get sold. Additionally, this year the GST reduction has come in at the right time, with a smooth implementation and seamless integration and will directly impact our numbers. Consumers looking to purchase a 40-inch or a 43-inch LED TV, could now look at instead, upgrading to a 50-inch or a 55-inch LED TV. If a household earning income is around Rs 60,000 then the saving we expect from the GST reduction across all categories, is anywhere between Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,500, this is the disposable income in the customer’s pocket.

We are one of the industries that really benefits from the GST reduction as we expect consumers to either bring home new appliances or upgrade the one, they already have. The initial demand has seen good traction, plus there has been a lot of pent-up demand. Q3 would definitely be one of the healthiest quarters for the industry in the last few years.

So, what is the growth that you're anticipating for Haier?

We have planned a 35% growth during this period. The plan we have laid out includes new models, new product introductions, new segment introductions. In terms of marketing and communication, we have put in a lot of money on marketing and are one of the most active brands in advertising this season.

Will the GST reduction also lead to an increase in advertising spends, particularly since festive season over the last three years has been very muted?

We are a challenger brand and one thing which have been consistent with is to always be in the minds of the consumer. Our plan has been stable, and we have been consistently investing over the years. I reiterate, we will be one of the most active brands, and probably one of the highest spenders during this period.

How has your media mix evolved. With Digital garnering a significant chunk, how are you balancing that with traditional media and ATL versus BTL?

 BTL is one of the key aspects of marketing, because at the end of the day, almost 90% of our sale happens in the offline business. So, obviously the shop floors become key for us in ensuring customer engagement and that is an investment which we continue to do. We have almost 10,000 trained boys and girls on the shop floors who are managed by us and who promote our brand.

Apart from that, there is sports and entertainment. We've been consistently investing on cricket such as Asia Cup and on other sporting activities this year. We will continue to invest on sports as we have done in the past.

A big shift in media has happened towards the digital space. Barring, probably the southern part of India, where linear TV is still a strong candidate, otherwise nationally, we have moved all to digital, either OTT or the traditional, I would say your digital in-market campaign. We have completely moved out of print. This year, I think we have not even released even a single ad, and as of now, in the print media.

You are not looking at Print, this festive season?

We have a lot of choices. Today, digitally, we are connected so much in terms of the connectivity and we prefer a mix more towards digital, both in-market as well as on OTTs

Besides sports, you have also tied up with high-impact properties such as Amazon MX Player’s Rise and Fall as well as the Associate Sponsor for both Season 19 of Bigg Boss Hindi on JioHotstar and Bigg Boss Tamil Season 9 on Star Vijay and JioHotstar. In Bigg Boss, Haier showcased its premium innovations including the Haier Lumiere Refrigerator and Haier LED TVs. So, what are your expectations from tie-ups such as these?

Many households watch properties, like Bigg Boss, continuously over a period of time and we are seamlessly integrating our product within these high-impact properties. We want to be a part of the daily life of a consumer, and that's why we picked these properties, Bigg Boss or Rise and Fall where we seamlessly integrated the brand and consumers can see how it can be directly integrated in the daily life of our consumers.

For this festive season, you have launched the premium M92 and M96 Series QD-Mini LED AI TVs in India. What has been the initial reaction to these launches?

 I was recently in the Southern part of the country for a market visit and the initial reaction of the dealers/trade has been tremendously positive for the mini-LEDs i.e. M92 and M96 Series QD-Mini LED AI TVs. When it comes to television, there are three key aspects, picture clarity, sound, and connectivity and this television scores in all the three aspects. This is one of the best launches which we have ever done in the television segment.

Innovation has been a key aspect at Haier. You were one of the first to introduce bottom mounted refrigerators in India. Today, the refrigerator is the biggest segment in your portfolio. How are you looking drive up innovation in the other categories you are present in - air conditioners, washing machines, television?

At Haier, we are very passionate about the product which we bring in. We strongly believe that the product is the hero. In addition to the bottom-mounted refrigerator, we were the first brand to launch a 3-door side-by-side refrigerator and 4-door convertible side-by-side refrigerator and colorful refrigerators in India.

Even in washing machine, we were the first one to launch washing machine with NZP (Near Zero Pressure) technology (i.e. washing process will not be disrupted due to low water pressure it operates at water pressure as low as 0. 01 Mpa) and direct drive technology. Recently, we launched the F9 series, front-load washing machine, with India’s only AI color panel with one touch washing machine. This is done tremendously well, far better than what we expected.

Similarly, this year we launched the Gravity Series in air conditioners, a high-powered cooling capacity air conditioner. Our share in the 5-star plus segment really took off because of the Gravity Series. It is one of the most innovative looking models and attracts the consumer by the way it has been designed and performs.

Most of our products are designed and manufactured in India and this is our focus area. Being a challenger brand, we need to bring in innovative products in every category, and every season we will try to bring some innovation to the consumer.

The air-conditioner and washing machine categories are still very under-penetrated in India. What are you doing to drive adoption and expansion?

Product-wise, the penetration of air conditioner is around 12% and for washing machine it is around 23%, so there's always an upside for growth. The ones who don't have these appliances will come in for a product which is affordable and value for money. The ones who already have these products, will look for a premium product.

 In terms of channel, there is a scope for us to improve our penetration in the channels, and ensure the products are more affordable to the consumer. In terms of our growth engines for the future, I would say air conditioners, LEDs and washing machines. These are the categories where our current market share is below 10%, so our target would be to focus on these three categories and push our market share beyond 10%

What percentage of your overall revenue comes from refrigerator, vis-a-vis air conditioners and washing machines?

Refrigerators contribute approximately around 45% of our revenue, air conditioner is around 20%, then between washing machine and LED, it'll be around 15% contribution each.

India is currently the fourth largest market for Haier. What are your plans to move up to be among the top three markets globally?

One is innovative products. Second is our world-class manufacturing facilities in Noida and Pune and we are exploring the third possibility. Third point is the backward integration. Our key focus is to ensure localization happens, so that we have a better control on the quality, and the execution time reduces.

 In terms of channel expansion, we will continue innovation, be aggressive in marketing and ensuring the right communication reaches to the new changeover generation.

If you ask me. what keeps you awake in the night? The one simple fact is that we are becoming older while our customers are becoming younger day by day. How do we reach out to GenZ in a relevant way, and how efficiently can we reach them? That's one of the biggest challenges. If we are always innovative, and ready changes, if we are able to visualize and adapt to those changes which are happening, I think we will be there.

Finally, how are you looking to end the financial year FY26?

Last year we had done a revenue of Rs 8,800 crores. This year, we would end at over 11,000 crores. This is definitely one of the most aggressive numbers which the industry would look at.