Adur Pradeep, OP
Bhubaneswar: The Rs 1,800-crore V-Guard Industries, a consumer electrical and electronics major in the country, targets revenue of Rs 100 crore from the state this financial year, according to a top official of the company in Odisha.
V-Guard, which garnered revenue of around Rs 86 crore in the previous financial year from the state, looks to introduce new products in a bid to boost its market share in Odisha.
“We target a business of Rs 100 crore from the state this financial year. Last year, our revenue from the state was around Rs 86 crore,” Sumanta Kumar, sr manager, marketing, V-Guard, told Orissa POST in an interview.
“We plan to introduce electrical switches, mixer grinders, gas stoves and rice cookers in the state. We have already launched these products in South India successfully and we plan to introduce them in Odisha in April next year.
Kumar said the company was able to establish its leadership position in several products in the state within a short span of time.
“We have started our operations in Odisha in 2006. Now we are brand leaders in stabilisers and geysers in the state,” Kumar said.
While taking about the company’s specific sales strategy in Odisha, he said a majority of the company’s sales is coming from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack.
“A bulk of our revenue comes from Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Behrampur, Sambalpur, Rourkela and Baleswar. Around 40 per cent of our sales are from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack alone,” Kumar pointed out.
The founder of V-Guard, Kochouseph Chittilappilly started the company in 1977 after borrowing Rs 1 lakh from his father. Chittilappilly, a renowned philanthropist, has also formed the K Chittilappilly Foundation, a non-profit organisation for charitable and philanthropic activities. In 2011, Chittilapilly donated one of his kidneys to a truck driver and also started an organ donor chain. The company has also been involved in several CSR activities across the country.
While talking about V-Guard’s CSR initiatives in the state, Kumar said: “We have donated ambulances to all states, including Odisha. The company has also offered water purifiers and first aid boxes to at least 100 schools in the state. In a bid to spread the message of environment protection, we have planted trees in several parts of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Road dividers have also been provided. Besides, V-Guard has also conducted a free eye camp in Sambalpur area.
“In future, we are planning CSR activities in the rural areas and some slums in the cities also. We plan to have a tie-up with municipalities to construct free toilets in several parts of the state,” he added.
One of the latest products launched by V-Guard in the country is a Bluetooth-enabled smart inverter. The smart digital uninterruptible power supply inverter helps users to access its various functions from a mobile phone.
V-Guard has also reported a 25 per cent increase in its net profit at Rs 46.49 crore for the quarter to September. The corresponding figure during the same period of the previous fiscal was Rs 37.18 crore, the company said in a BSE filing. Net sales during the quarter rose 15.26 per cent at Rs 559.91 crore when compared with Rs 485.75 crore in the year-ago period.
“We have been able to partly recover the sales loss due to GST,” V-Guard managing director Mithun K Chittilappilly was quoted as saying in a report.