Company Profile

Godrej Appliances Ltd

Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. Appliance Division is in the business of manufacturing and/ or marketing Refrigerators, Washing Machines, Air Conditioners, DVD Players and Microwave Ovens. Godrej began manufacturing of refrigerators in 1958. From creating a revolution with PUF (Polyurethane Foam) in 1989 to, colored doors and vinyl draping, 100% CFC free Refrigerators, to Godrej Pentacool five side cooling in 2001 and Pentafresh Technology in 2004 and now EON range of Frost Free Refrigerators with seven wonders including revolutionary Cool Shower Technology, we have been at the forefront of product innovation. The recent awards and recognition only bear testimony to our consumer focus: -Readers Digest conducted a survey recently in 2006, which awarded Godrej Appliances Gold in the Refrigerator category for the Most Trusted Brand. Godrej has won the CNBC Consumer Awaaz Award for the Most Preferred Refrigerator for the second time in a row (2005 & 2006). Godrej started manufacturing Washing Machines in 1996. We have a complete range of Hi Tech Semi Automatic , Fully Automatic and Front Loading Washing Machines. Our manufacturing facilities are located in Shirwal (near Pune) & Mohali (near Chandigarh). In the AC category we have over 15 models straddling Split and Window segments. Equipped with Blue Fin and I-TREC technology, Godrej ACs offer best in class cooling and efficiency. We have recently stepped into the Microwave Oven category and in a short span of time garnered a good market presence, through our range of models across solo, grill and convection segments. DVD players mark our foray into the Consumer Electronics segment. With a portfolio of 4 unique models which club great aesthetics and big sound, and plans of more models we are geared to making our presence felt here as well. In addition to the above products, we also have the Godrej Smartcare Service brand to provide excellent 'After Sales Service'. With 370 service centers spread over the country, consumers continue to rate Godrej After Sales Service the best in the industry. Apart from catering to the domestic consumers, Godrej is also a key OEM supplier in India. After the success achieved in the domestic market, Godrej is also looking at Exports in a big way and has launched its Refrigerators and Washing Machines in Sri Lanka. We also export our products to Singapore, Afghanistan, the Middle East, Egypt, Kenya, Rwanda, Bahrain and Oman.

GODREJ profile

GODREJ company profile Started in 1897 as a locks manufacturing company, the Godrej Group is today one of the most accomplished and diversified business houses in India. Godrejs success has been driven by the companys commitment to delivering innovation and excellence. Through

the consistent application of this commitment and a century of ethical business conduct, Godrej has earned an unparalleled reputation for trust and reliability. In 1930, Godrej became the first company in the world to develop the technology to manufacture soap with vegetable oils; that spirit of innovation has continued throughout the organizations history. Today Godrej is delivering consumers exciting innovations across a spectrum of businesses. The companys pursuit of excellence is equally well established and enduring. In the 1944 Mumbai docks blast, Godrej safes were the only security equipment whose contents were unharmed; an equal level of product quality continues to be expected from every product bearing the Godrej brand name. Godrej management understands that the companys greatest asset is the trust and faith that consumers have reposed in it, and recognizes that the company must continue to earn this trust. This translates to the organization delivering outstanding quality and value in everything it does. Godrejs ethical and visionary practices have allowed the company to successfully expand into a number of businesses. Today Godrej is a leading manufacturer of goods and provider of services in a multitude of categories: home appliances, consumer durables, consumer products, industrial products, and agri products to name a few. A recent estimate suggested that 350 million people across India use Godrej products. The group has more recently entered the real estate and information technology sectors, and management views these as avenues for enormous growth. The Godrej Group stands in a strong position today. With annual sales in excess of $1 billion, a workforce of approximately 18,000, and a strong diversified portfolio, Godrej has proven its ability to deliver strong financial performance.
Byravee Iyer

ore than a century ago, Ardeshir Godrej gave up law and decided to make surgical equipment. He took

a loan from a friend of his father, and with that money he made scalpels, forceps, scissors and pincers. He then showed these to the owner of the company he was working with. The owner was impressed with what he saw but when Godrej requested the product be tagged 'Made in India', the deal fell through. Today, the Rs 10,000-crore (Rs 100 billion) group named after him wants to straddle the emerging markets in Asia, Europe, Africa and South America with its hair colours, household insecticides, soaps and so on. A quarter of its business comes from abroad, and it wants to scale up the contribution in the days to come. It has become the second-largest player in insecticides in Asia (Japan excluded). Much of this growth has come through acquisitions. So far, Godrej Consumer Products has spent almost Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) to buy companies, brands and distribution networks abroad. The company's board last year authorised it to raise Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion) for expansion.

So, the war chest still has considerable ammunition left, though some of this money, around Rs 800 crore (Rs 8 billion), may go in the purchase of Sara Lee's 51 per cent stake in Godrej Sara Lee.

"Over the last few years, we have followed a very disciplined and focused approach to identifying
acquisitions that represent a strong fit with our business, both strategically and operationally," Godrej Consumer Products chairman Adi Godrej recently said in a statement. The acquisitions, fast and furious that they have been, appear fragmented across geographies and product lines. For the company, there is method in the madness. "It's our '3 by 3' matrix strategy," says Godrej Consumer Products managing director Dalip Sehgal. The company will operate in three continents (Asia, Africa and South America) in three categories: Hair care, home care (including insecticides) and personal wash. The three continents have now begun to grow fast, which has opened a huge market for consumer products. These are also markets where multinationals like Unilever, Procter & Gamble and L'Oreal don't have an overbearing presence; this leaves ample scope for smaller companies and regional brands to grow. And the three product categories are those in which the Godrej group has done well in its domestic market. Godrej Consumer Products is the leader in hair colours and dyes with brands like Godrej Expert, Renew and Colour Soft. Its Godrej No. 1 is the third-largest brand in the soap market after Hindustan Unilever's Lifebuoy and Lux. And Godrej Sara Lee leads the pack in household insecticides with brands like Goodknight, Hit and Jet.

"These emerging markets are not very different from Indian consumers, and hence we will build on what
we already know," says Sehgal. Investment analysts say that Indian companies like Godrej Consumer Products have realised the worth of emerging market and are thus in a hurry to expand there. "The company's strategy is similar to other Indian FMCG companies like Marico, which are trying to garner 24 to 30 per cent of their business from their international business," says Anand Shah of Angel Broking. Apart from Marico, Dabur and Wirpo too have begun to push hard in East Asia and West Asia, respectively. So, Godrej Consumer Products may not be the only one to think of emerging markets; but it is certainly the most aggressive of the lot. A close scrutiny of the acquisitions shows that Godrej Consumer Products has brought products, brands as well as distribution networks. This gives it the opportunity to move products across geographies. Trade channels can be used to sell multiple products. Its regional brands can thus become multinational in nature. "It's all about cross-synergies," says Sehgal.