Panasonic aims to double its market share in refrigerator segment

Consumer electronics major Panasonic India is looking at doubling its market share in the refrigerator segment to over 5 percent by the end of this fiscal year, according to a PTI report.

The company is expanding its portfolio in the refrigerator segment by adding SKUs (stock-keeping units) with advanced features such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of things (IoT) to cater to the evolving consumer lifestyle and the growing preference for smart appliances with affordable pricing.

In this regard, Panasonic India, a subsidiary of Japan-based Panasonic Corporation, on Monday introduced AI-enabled refrigerator range powered by six-speed inverter compressor and ''Econavi'' intelligent sensors, which detect unconscious waste of energy, reports PTI. 

"With the refrigerator household penetration of only 40 percent, there is a huge opportunity to tap in the Indian market. With the AI-enabled series, we are targeting a market share of 5 percent by the end of FY20-21. We expect to double it in this fiscal.” PTI quoted Harshal Soman, Panasonic India Head, Home Appliances Business as saying.                           

The Indian market for refrigerators is estimated to be around 12 million units in which 9 million is direct cool and rest 3 million is frost-free models.

Panasonic's current market share in the refrigerator segment is around 2.6 per cent.

As per the report, Panasonic plans to bring some new models of refrigerator on the IoT platform this year. The new AI range refrigerators are manufactured at its Jhajjar, Haryana-based plant.