Fisher & Paykel to expand India presence, set up local arm

MUMBAI: Fisher & Paykel, the New Zealand- based kitchen appliances company which is present in Delhi and NCR, is planning to establish a 100 per cent subsidiary in India by next year to focus more on customising products suited for the country, a to company executive has said.

It also has plans to expand operations to the western and the southern regions of the country.

"We have completed one year in the country and have established the brand in Delhi and NCR. Now, we are looking to expand our presence in the west and south, mostly in the top cities," Fisher & Paykel Country Manager, India, Sanjeev Wadhwa told PTI.

In India, the firm is currently present in 15 cities and is aiming to scale up that to 22 by March next year.

India is a priority market for the company, he said, adding Fisher & Paykel has launched over 70 new products in the country.

"Of these products, around 50 per cent are completely new to their product lines, while the balance are high quality upgrades to existing models," Wadhwa added.

Besides kitchen segment, the new products also feature refrigeration and laundry lines. All new products are expected to be available to consumers in key markets in this financial year, he said.

"We consider India as our focused market. To strengthen our position in the country we will establish a 100 per cent subsidiary next year. The main idea behind this step is to focus more on customising products suited for India."

Going forward, Wadhwa said, Fisher & Paykel aims to become one of the top three players among the premium kitchen appliances segment by December 2015.

"We will also look into setting up a manufacturing unit in the country after we have strengthening our brand presence here."

Fisher & Paykel, he said, is maintaining a slow pace of growth as its emphasis is on after sales service, which will act as a game changer in the future for the company.

The USD 1.1 billion company is present in over 55 countries with over 150 product offerings.