Market
It seems inconceivable that less than 25 years
ago, refrigerators were classified as luxury items
in the Indian lexicon. But such are the benefits
of economic emancipation that yesterday's
luxuries are today's necessities and so it has
been with several other products in India.
The refrigerator, today, quite simply is an
indispensable item of everyday use.
The refrigerator market has registered almost
40% growth over the last 4 years – from 3.3
million units in 2004/05 to 4.5 million units in
2008/09. With growing disposable incomes and
a low penetration level for the category (34%
even in urban India), the market is set to
explode in the coming five years.
Refrigerators which account for 60% of the
turnover of the appliances division of Godrej &
Boyce have constantly outdistanced the industry.
Even in a low growth year such as 2008/09 –
when the industry grew by only 4%, Godrej
88
SUPERBRANDS
registered almost
three times the
growth at 11%
with frost-free
growing by 19%
and direct cool
growing by 9%
(Source: ORGGfK data).
Achievements
Critical recognition
coupled with
consumer
appreciation is the
most potent
testimonial for a
brand. Testimonials
abound for Godrej
Appliances, from
several quarters –
Godrej Eon
Refrigerators were
awarded the Design
Excellence award
by Business World
and the National
Institute of Design
for being the Best
Designed Consumer Durable. The company also
won the CNBC Awaaz Consumer Award, three
times in a row. Reader's Digest felicitated it with
the Most Trusted Brand Gold award for four
consecutive years, the latest being in
2009. It was adjudged the Best Brand
in the Refrigerator category at the
Smart Living Awards 2007 while the
FMCG Federation of India honoured
Godrej Eon with the Most Preferred
Frost-Free Refrigerator Brand at the
5th Consumer World Awards.
It is not just in design and quality
that Godrej Appliances products
have been honoured, they have
also won all round approval for
their commitment to the
environment. In 2008, the
Urjavaran Foundation felicitated the
company with the Best Model Impact towards
Energy Efficiency – Direct Cool and Best Market
Impact towards Energy Efficiency
in the Frost-Free refrigerator categories.
Godrej displays the same
commitment to preserving
the environment; long
before it became a need,
Godrej had begun offering
100% Green Refrigerators;
indeed, as early as 2002
when research revealed
the dangers of
CFC/HFC/HCFC laden
refrigerants.
However, its most prized awards have come
unsolicited from actual consumers. Several
hundred people have written to the company
commending it on the fine quality of the
product – many of which had run, without a
glitch, for 30 years or more.
History
Godrej pioneered the refrigerator industry in
India in 1958 – in fact, it was the first Indian
company to manufacture refrigerators. Over the
next few decades, the company garnered a
lion's share of the market on the back of its
demonstrable reliability and performance.
Supported by a philosophy of innovation,
Godrej launched refrigerators with Poly
Urethane Foam (PUF) in 1989, which went
on to become an industry benchmark.
Market expansion and competition from
foreign brands in the 1990s only helped to
invigorate it and once again brought to the
fore its pioneering spirit. Godrej Refrigerators
met these challenges with its own product
development.
In 1996, it unveiled the first-of-its kind
refrigerator model in India, the 260-litre deep
door refrigerator; it followed this in 1998 with
the roll out of a 400-litre refrigerator in the
frost-free range. This was, at the time, the largest
refrigerator ever to be manufactured in India.
Godrej raised the bar yet again in 2001 with
the launch of the all-new Pentacool range. With
its 5-side cooling, these refrigerators were
generations ahead of several brands in
technology.
The spate of innovations continued with the
launch of Godrej Eon in 2006 – once again
setting new benchmarks in the cooling space.
Having more than held its own against global
competition the company is today, set to
accelerate its growth by catering to the needs
of the young Indians with its promise of brighter
living. It is basing its success on the strength of
the fact that no one knows the Indian consumer
better than Godrej and no one can, therefore,
make products that truly touch their hearts
and souls.
Product
Designed exclusively for India, Godrej
refrigerators are young, contemporary and
aspirational. No longer is a refrigerator
perceived as an ice making machine and a cold
water convenience. With consumers increasingly
experimenting with a variety of food in their
kitchens, the refrigerator has moved from being
a boring cold storage box to an exciting
food factory.
To satiate the growing desire for aesthetically
inspired products, Godrej, introduced a new
series of Eon Refrigerators in 2007. Available in
four brilliant shades, these refrigerators infused
colour into the monotony of steels and greys
that were traditionally available. In doing so,
Godrej was only repeating history – becoming
yet again, the first company to initiate the
concept of aesthetic designing.
From hi-tech engineering solutions to
world-class consumer products,
Godrej is consistently setting
quality benchmarks and
redefining customer
satisfaction. A fine
example of this is
the premium
range of
Godrej Eon
frost-free refrigerators. Crammed with
innovative features, this range is truly top-of-theline. Equipped with first-in-the-world features
like its patented cool shower technology
and poly bag
suspenders, it is no
surprise that it was
awarded the
Best Designed
Consumer Durable
Product by NIDBusinessWorld.
Not one to rest
content, Godrej has
taken Eon frost-free
refrigerators to the
next level with the
introduction of the
Fresh range. Using silver shower technology,
silver fresh zones, an aroma lock system and a
nutra lamp these refrigerators provide superior
cooling and keep food
fresh for longer.
In the direct cool
segment, Godrej
recently re-stamped its
superiority with the
introduction of India's
first 5-star energy rated
refrigerator range. What
stands out are five
exceptional features:
superior cooling, a
unique step designed
freezer coupled with
the convection control
technology, thicker
insulation which made for the fastest ice-making
and in the event of a power failure, gave it the
ability to retain cooling for longer. Launched
under the brand name Edge, these features have
quickly catapulted the brand into the number
one position.
There is no doubt that Godrej refrigerators
have defined the Indian market ever since they
were introduced. But the company which has
been a pioneer in the segment for more than
half a century continues to innovate and
manufacture products that are, as their
philosophy states, designed by curiosity.
Recent Developments
Over the past few years, the company has
focussed on offering relevant technologies,
driven completely by market research and
supported by product development. It has set
up a new R&D centre manned by more than
100 engineers and designers who are
responsible for developing products and
technologies that are relevant to today’s market
needs. Eon was a range of refrigerators that
came out of this effort.
Its success propelled the company to extend
the brand franchisee across other categories, as
well. Today, the Eon umbrella brand also covers
an entire range of 5-star energy rated split airconditioners with EM5 compressors, washing
machines incorporating DAC + Technology
which automatically adjusts to water and power
cuts and microwave ovens with steam mode to
cater to the needs of the young healthconscious Indians.
Promotion
Despite the high heritage quotient it enjoys,
Godrej is a firm believer in the power of
communications. It spends
nearly 5% of its turnover on
advertising, using innovative
media vehicles and icons the
young urban Indian can
empathise with.
Godrej has sought to exploit
two of India’s biggest passions –
Cricket and Bollywood – to
connect with consumers. The
brand was closely involved with
the IPL series, crickets’ high point
in recent years, and with films
and movie stars. Its tie-up in the film ‘Luck By
Chance’ and Soha Ali Khan anchoring Khelo Jeeto
Jiyo, a TV show promoting Godrej products, have
yielded exceptional results. These have been
further strengthened by Godrej’s brand
ambassador, the vivacious Priety Zinta.
With consumers getting net-savvier, Godrej
Appliances has launched consumer-help sites
such as www.myhomeairconditioner.in,
www.myhomemicrowaveoven.in and
www.myhomerefrigerator.in. These are designed
to empower customers to take knowledgeable
decisions when selecting a brand to fit their
special needs.
Godrej has also developed a series of
consumer-centric initiatives which has on the
ground over 500 trained personnel who go
door-to-door discharging an advisory role.
Godrej is the only appliances company which
has an around-the-clock, around-the-year call
centre where customers have a human interface
and can register a service requests. More than
400 service centres across India are usually able
to attend to complaints within two hours.
Brand Values
For a company that’s been a pioneer in the
appliances industry for more than half a century,
curiosity is more than
just a word. It’s the
desire to
search, find,
understand and innovate. This has resulted in
several path-breaking and, by now, familiar
technologies – PUF, Pentacool, Cool Shower,
DAC and i-Sense. For Godrej curiosity is the
elixir of life, it defines the new Godrej Eon and
keeps the company young, eager and motivated.
It’s what helps Godrej act as a bridge
between 100 years of history and tomorrow. In
its celebrated and fêted past it is an organisation
rooted in the enduring values of trust and
reliability; in its modern and contemporary
avatar it is an organisation reaching into a future
full of promise and opportunity.
www.godrejappliances.com
Things you didn’t know about
Godrej Refrigerators
National Readership Survey (NRS) data shows
that every third household in India owns a
Godrej refrigerator
No other refrigerator company in India, other
than Godrej, manufactures refrigerators that are
100% CFC, HFC and HCFC free
Godrej introduced coloured refrigerators in the
country. It was also the first company to launch
designer refrigerators – draped with vinyl
sheets – that could be changed
Godrej was the first consumer durable
company to introduce branded service care
under the Godrej SmartCare brand
SUPERBRANDS
89