`Building concepts'

B. Krishnakumar

DESPITE being a recent entrant, BPL has managed to make a presence in the dry cell industry.

The company has a strong presence in the alkaline battery sector and has turned its attention to zinc batteries as well. In two-and-a-half years, the BPL Excell brand gained 27 per cent of the alkaline batteries market.

Mr Surjya Meher, Product Manager (Soft Energy Business Group), shared his views on the dry cell industry. ``...Investments have to be made in building concepts and brand awareness...,'' he said.

About the industry's prospects in the second half of the fiscal, Mr Meher said sales would pick up. The key drivers would be festivals and the harvest season when a lot of gadgets are purchased.

While the prices of key inputs such as zinc and carbon rods rose in recent months, BPL does not intend raising the price of dry cells. Mr Meher feels there is scope to improve realisation through better sales management and operational efficiencies.

``...The relaxation in the import norms for batteries might see cheaper imports flowing in, especially from China and South-East Asian countries...,'' said Mr Meher. Chinese batteries could threaten Indian brands as they were trying to sell, what he calls, their unreliable and low quality batteries below cost.

To enhance its presence in the dry cell market, BPL plans to focus on battery quality and distribution. According to Mr Meher, these two areas will help BPL reach its targetted share in the dry cell market.

Mr Meher felt consumers were still impulse-driven while buying batteries, and had very low concept awareness. He added that brand and channel management would play a major role in future. In the meantime, BPL plans to introduce nickel cadmium batteries. It has launched gadgets that require such batteries. Mr Meher also said that BPL was targetting the replacement market for cellphone batteries.