By Purvita Chatterjee 

Equator Will create India specific products
Houston-based Equator Advanced Appliances has set up a subsidiary in India for sales, distribution and marketing.

The 25-year-old $100 million global appliance player with manufacturing plants across China and Spain may also consider local manufacturing in the country.

“Currently, import duties are steep – between 30 and 35 per cent, but once we achieve scale, we might make the Equator brand here in India,’’ says Atul Vir, who left the country to set up the company in 1991.

Equator has products such as combo washer dyers, refrigerators and wine coolers with presence across North America,
Canada, China and Europe.

In India, Equator would be building distribution across online and offline channels and also to sell through e-commerce players like Flipkart.

Apart from selling through the regular durable retailers such as Croma and Vijay Sales, the company would also launch
direct marketing programmes with mom and pop stores and regional distributors to expand its presence.

“We would be creating India-specific products taking into account problems such as power and water supply. Even for
e-commerce, there would be specific models and we are in talks with big players like Flipkart to sell our combo washers,’’ added Vir.

For instance, it would install additional pumps within its washers to solve the problem of water in India.
Equator already has links with India since it has established its back office operations in the country.

Stiff competition

“We will be investing behind distribution and warehouses targeting $5 million in the first year of operations in India,” he said.

However, there would be competition from existing MNCs who are already established consumer durable players.

Realising the fierce competition, Equator is bringing in WiFi-enabled convertible venting condensing combo washer dyers with energy saving features under its `smart home’ category of appliances.

In India, Equator would be building distribution across both online and offline channels and also to sell through e-commerce players. The company would also launch direct marketing programmes with mom and pop stores and regional distributors to enhance its presence.

Link: TheHinduBusinessLine.com