With the cold wave intensifying in the northern parts of India including UP, the demand for heating appliances has reportedly surged by about 35% this winter, according to a survey by apex industry body -- The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).
The demand for traditional heaters, halogen heaters, heat convectors, blowers, oil-filled radiators, geysers, immersion rods, gas-operated heating systems and other such appliances has nearly doubled from about 20% last year to over 35% in the current year due.
Jaspreet Singh, an electronics shop owner in Naka Hindola, said, “The sale of heating appliances has scaled up by about 25% over last year. We have heaters ranging from Rs. 300 to Rs. 2,000 and geysers ranging between Rs. 4,500 and Rs. 10,000.”
The branded heating appliances, though costly, are selling like hot cakes, said shopkeepers in Bhootnath Market, La Touche Road market and Gomti Nagar in Lucknow. During the last fortnight (December 25-January 3) Assocham representatives interacted with about 150 manufacturers, sales and marketing managers at electrical appliances’ stores in Lucknow, Kanpur, Dehradun, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Delhi- NCR, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Jammu, Patna and Srinagar to ascertain the market of heating appliances.
The organised heating appliances’ segment is likely to cross Rs. 150- crore mark this season from over Rs. 80 crore in the last season, as per Assocham estimates. “Apart from the shortfall in supply of heating gadgets, the cost of branded products across varied makes has also spiked by about 15% further adding to the woes of people seeking for heating options during one of the most severe winter seasons in recent memory,” said DS Rawat, national secretary-general of Assocham.
{{/usCountry}}The organised heating appliances’ segment is likely to cross Rs. 150- crore mark this season from over Rs. 80 crore in the last season, as per Assocham estimates. “Apart from the shortfall in supply of heating gadgets, the cost of branded products across varied makes has also spiked by about 15% further adding to the woes of people seeking for heating options during one of the most severe winter seasons in recent memory,” said DS Rawat, national secretary-general of Assocham.
{{/usCountry}}The demand for heating appliances might swell further with weather experts claiming that February and March may also witness a cold spell.
Manufacturers said shortage in supply will not be met this year as heaters are manufactured well in advance. Most of them said due to input price inflation they had increased the prices of these appliances by nearly 15-20% this season.