India's Home Appliance Market Braces for Price Hike Ahead of Diwali
The home appliance market in India is bracing itself for a price increase ahead of Diwali and Dussehra, due to rising production costs. According to industry leaders, major brands such as Blue Star, Godrej Appliances, Haier, Daikin, and Super Plastronics have already started raising prices on select items.
The main culprit behind the price hike is the sharp increase in raw material costs, particularly copper, which has surged from around $8,000-9,000 per tonne last year to approximately $14,500 per tonne. This directly affects manufacturing expenses, as a typical AC unit needs 3 to 4 kilograms of copper.
Blue Star's Managing Director B. Thiagarajan noted that climbing commodity prices have already led to price increases of five to eight percent for ACs and deep freezers. Godrej is also raising prices, with Kamal Nandi, Business Head and Executive Vice President of Godrej Enterprises Group, stating that a 5 to 7 percent hike across different product lines is unavoidable.
Haier will bump up TV and washing machine costs next month, while Daikin has already raised prices by eight to 10 percent since September 16th. Super Plastronics Private Limited (SPPL) plans to raise TV prices by around seven percent after October.