Chennai-based TTK Prestige, a leading brand in the kitchen appliances segment, is now gearing up to diversify and has recently launched a range of branded, home cleaning products. This and several other roll outs are in line with its strategy to touch Rs. 5000 crore in annual revenue, in due course.

TTK Prestige, a well-known brand in the kitchen appliances category, has entered the home cleaning solutions segment, estimated to be Rs. 2,500 crore market in India. “Our target consumer has always been the ‘Indian Homemaker’. Our products focus on making their lives easy,” says Chandru Kalro, Managing Director, TTK Prestige. In the first year, the company has focused on establishing its presence in a few markets, but going forward, it expects this segment to contribute 3 per cent of its overall revenues.

According to him, cleaning homes has always been a time consuming and back breaking process. Moreover, Indians are known to use the traditional ‘jhadoo-pochha’ method to clean their homes. The usage of modern and convenient cleaning techniques is very limited. However, the traditional home cleaning methodology is inconvenient and unhygienic as it transfers the dirt to different places. The user also has to touch the dirt, which makes the technique unsuitable and unhealthy.

And hence, entering the home cleaning solutions segment was a natural extension of its vision. The home cleaning category, like kitchen appliances, will have at its core, the well-being of the Indian homemaker and market products that can potentially enhance the everyday lives of millions of women in the country.

TTK expects its brand name, the comprehensive range of products and the 6 – 12 months warranty these products come with, will help it gain traction in the market dominated by the unorganised sector.

However, this is not without its challenges, given the dependence on house help. Educating the consumer and making them see the benefits will be the focus in the initial days.

The Offerings

Prestige Clean Home consists of electric and non-electric range of floor, air and water care products that offer convenience and ease of use. “The electric range includes mops and air purifiers as well as India’s first vacuum cleaner cum floor polisher, which comes with two moving heads for polishing and scrubbing at 2200rpm,” Kalro says.

The non-electric portfolio consists of magic mops, spray mops, stick mops, dustbins, dustpans and ladders.

The products have been designed aesthetically and ergonomically to ensure maximum comfort for the user.

The company currently has 15 products in this category and intends to touch 50 – 60 products by the end of the year. A dedicated team of 50 comprising design, R&D and sales and marketing teams have been set up to manage this range.

TTK Prestige has five manufacturing units in Karjan in Gujarat, Khardi in Maharashtra, Coimbatore and Hosur in Tamil Nadu and Roorkee in Uttarakhand. With its manufacturing equipment and facilities, the company can build capacity for the next 20 years.

Competition

Cleaning homes in India is different from in the rest of the world due to the variation in temperatures, type of flooring and family sizes. “So our USP, just like in the kitchen appliances segment, is to be the one stop destination for home cleaning solutions,” Kalro says.  And he adds, “There is no organised player in the market addressing the cleaning requirements of Indian homes.”

The greatest strength of the products, according to him, is that not only do they help transform the way homes are cleaned, but also offers health benefits by eliminating dust and pollution that cause allergies and other ailments.

The home cleaning range will be retailed through more than 50,000 retail outlets, including the 571 PSK – Prestige Smart Kitchen – stores across the country and leading ecommerce platforms. Currently, it is available only in a few of these stores. Moving forward, it will be made available through its existing distribution network.

Vision for the Future

The company aims to transform the way Indians clean their homes, and be present in every Indian home. The company has already tested the domain outside the kitchen by launching ‘LED Lanterns’ in FY 2015-16.

For the kitchen range, it will be launching an average 100 products every year. “We are looking at expanding our exports, to touch our aimed revenue of Rs. 5,000 crore by acquiring UK-based Horwood Homewares last year,” he explains. The company’s current export figure stands at Rs 43.10 crore which it expects to increase in the coming years.

Innovation has been at the core of all TTK Prestige products. “TTK has witnessed a phenomenal 80 percent of total sales coming from products launched just in the last five years.” He lists some of the best sellers in recent years include: the clip-on pressure cooker, which has sold more than 2,50,000 units since its first year of launch; and the Hobtops with Schott Glass and  Sabaf Burners, which has sold more than 40,000 units. “Last year, the Hobtop product won USA’s ‘International Design Excellence Award’. The product will be a permanent exhibit at ‘The Henry Ford Museum’ in Michigan, USA. The Hobtop also won the ‘Red Dot Award’ for best product design 2017 in Germany this year,” he adds.

The company also sees huge opportunity for its induction cooking top in rural markets, especially in power-surplus states, and is planning to tie up with micro-finance institutions to reach out to its target markets, especially in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The company plans to continue to grow aggressively and is targeting Rs. 5,000 crore in the next five years, up from Rs.1,683.06 crore by strengthening its presence in the existing cooking range and the new markets.

Milestones

• 1955– Incorporation
• 1959–First manufacturing unit in Bangalore
• 1981–Second unit in Hosur
• Till 1990– A single product company – Aluminium outer lid pressure cooker,
• 1990-94-Launch of pressure cookers and non-stick cookware, started exports, launched Mantra Brand
• 2006– Launch of differentiated pressure cookers, expanded capacity in Utharkhand and Coimbatore
• 2006-2010–Total kitchen products with addition of other appliances
• 2012– Turnover crosses Rs11 billion
• 2013–At CAGR of 28 per cent in 10 years, turnover crosses Rs 13.8 billion
• 2013-2015–Growth impacted due to adverse economic conditions and state policy
• 2015-16–Crossed Rs 15 billion with double digit growth figure
• 2016– Acquisition of a UK company for exports; also entered home cleaning solutions

What Next

TTK Prestige, one of the leaders in the kitchen appliances space, entered the home cleaning solutions space with its electric and non-electric range of floor, air and water care products that offer convenience and ease of use. It has already released 15 products in this category and expects to take it to 50 by the end of this year. Exports of kitchen appliances is another area of focus and the company has acquired UK-based Horwood Homewares to expand its global reach. With these two new developments, in addition to its growing existing business, the company expects to touch Rs. 5000 crores in five years.