Hitachi and the art of getting your cool on

India's air-conditioner market is the fastest growing in the Asia-Pacific region and is expected to grow sequentially in the coming years.
Being part of a developing economy in a tropical zone, the Indian AC market is quite price sensitive with little product differentiation. There is a huge opportunity for growth of the air conditioner segment, which has penetrated just 4 per cent of Indian households. With the changing perception of the masses towards this category, especially the aspiring middle classes for whom air conditioners have ceased to be a luxury and have become a necessity.

Further, with the emergence of concepts like smart cities and green buildings, and an increasing awareness about energy efficiency, the demand for smart, energy efficient and eco-friendly air conditioners is growing rapidly.

Hitachi is a premium brand in the Indian AC market which has always been known for its expertise in providing innovative cooling solutions which are not only technologically superior but are also energy efficient. It has a strong nationwide distribution consisting of 203 exclusive sales and service dealers and over 4,000 sales points. Currently, the company has 33 exclusive showrooms in India but with special focus, this number is expected to grow to 150 in the near future.

With its I-Care philosophy at the core, Hitachi has come up with various advance technologies which add to the comforts and improves the lifestyle of its customers. This year, the company launched Kashikoi 5400i, Kashikoi 200i H&C, I-Connect and Toushi Range in its room AC segment. Its star feature is I-Clean Plus technology which cleans the AC's Filter in every 5 Hours. This technology was developed to make the ACs more energy efficient throughout its life time as a cleaner filter not only improves the quality of air but also keeps the AC factory fresh. This also adds to the convenience of the consumers and gives better ROI throughout the product's life.

Besides this, there is tropical inverter technology (that gives cooling even at 52 degrees temperature outside). The I-See, I-Sense and WIFI technology all enhance the overall experience to much more than just cooling.

For its B2C segment of room ACs, Hitachi has gone with non-traditional ways of marketing. With more focus on social media and digital platforms, Hitachi promoted its I-Clean Technology. Its "Badshah Campaign" was a huge success online. Aggressive marketing campaigns using the traditional mediums was also done throughout the nation.

Hitachi currently has a product line-up of 108 SKUs in its RAC segment. Its entire inverter AC range has BEE approved star rating and 36 per cent of this are 5-Star rated which is the highest in the industry.

"In the RAC segment, our total market share (Volume) is 11 per cent which makes us clear #3 in the market today. We have around 10 per cent market share in split ACs and around 22 per cent in window ACs which we intend to grow by increasing the product portfolio and penetration of our distribution network in tier 2 and 3 towns," Hitachi's Executive Director (Sales, Business Planning & Marketing) Mr Gurmeet Singh Sethi said. In the B2B segment, Hitachi plans to outgrow the competition in various product categories like VRF, chillers, ductables etc., with special focus on the VRF segment. "VRF is one category which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17 per cent. So we have invested in infrastructure and technology to get big growth in this segment. Besides this, in our other product segments like Cassettes and Chillers, we plan to launch new models and we aim to gain more market share," Mr Sethi added.

Hitachi has always worked at making its ACs environment friendly while improving the quality of life and safety of its users. With its energy efficient tropical inverter technology and R-410 refrigerant, the company ensures non depletion of ozone layers. Besides this, with 100 per cent copper tubes, 43 safety tests and innovative world class technologies, Hitachi ensures that its ACs perform better than others and also ensure greater ROI to the consumer throughout the product's lifetime.

Apart from focussing on developing innovative and technologically advanced products, Hitachi has also taken many initiatives towards improving its post-sales services.

To ensure customer satisfaction throughout the product's lifetime, Hitachi currently operates 39 customer service centres. The company has also developed various other touch points to address all the service-support related queries like Hitachi Care mobile app, online Live Chat lines, 24X7 customer care no., product demo videos of ACs and refrigerators etc.

A strong product line-up, initiatives for good services and a focused approach towards marketing and business promotion are all expected ro help Hitachi post a quantum growth in the years to come.