Bigger & Better: Sales of large capacity appliances, big screen TVs soar up to 70% in July

Kolkata: Sales of large capacity refrigerators, washing machines, microwave ovens and large screen televisions have risen 40-70% on-year in July, as urban consumers buy their second appliances while spending more time at home.
Executives with top manufacturers such as LG, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and Voltas Beko said they expect the trend to continue through the festive season.

There is a change in consumer habit due to the Covid-19 crisis, ensuing lockdowns and restrictions, they said. Households now want to automate their daily chores, store more food in refrigerators to reduce frequency of shopping, and buy large-screen television for theatre-like experience.

“There is a distinct trend towards large capacity and size products, be it refrigerator or washing machines which are growing faster,” said Vijay Babu, vice-president (home appliances) at the country’s largest home appliance maker LG India. “For instance, around 70% consumers buying large capacity refrigerators are not even replacing their old unit, indicating the higher need to store products," he said.

Sales of 350 litres-plus refrigerators jumped 70% year on year last month, more than double the rate of the overall refrigerator market. Similarly, 8 kg-plus capacity washing machines are growing at twice the pace of the entire category growth rate of 20-25%, company executives said.

LG said its sales grew 37% year on year in July, while Panasonic claimed sales growth of 18%. Tata-owned Voltas and Sony, too, said they recorded high double-digit growth across categories last month. This was despite localised lockdowns in several parts of the country, and weekend shop closures in some states.


Panasonic India chief executive Manish Sharma said there was demand for products that allow multitasking and managing household work. "Television has got back to a growth that was due for a few years," he said.

Sony India managing director Sunil Nayyar said with movies being released on OTT platforms and halls not yet open, people want to enjoy theatre-like experience at home, pushing demand for screens of 55 inches and above.


Godrej Appliances business head Kamal Nandi said several markets opened up in August and with festive season around the corner, sales would peak, since this change in consumption habit is here to stay. He is also the president of Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association.

All top companies have expanded their production over last year by 15-25% to build festive season inventory, expecting a good growth in business this year.

This story is part of a series of articles in association with Facebook. Facebook has no editorial role in this story.