Dawlance to focus on overseas expansion, new markets

Home appliances giant is planning to list on Karachi bourse.

KARACHI:

After dominating Pakistan’s home appliances market for years, Dawlance is planning on international expansion. With consistent growth in revenues, the company is also planning to list on the Karachi Stock Exchange, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Dawlance understands the Pakistani market very well but it also wants to learn about and penetrate international markets, Hasan Jameel, Dawlance’s General Manager Sales and Marketing, said in an interview at the company’s headquarters earlier this week. “For a couple of years, we will be focusing more on exports,” he said.

Arguably, the largest (white goods) household appliances brand in the country, Dawlance is already exporting its products to 11 countries in the sub-continent, the Middle East and Africa. White good refers to appliances like refrigerator, freezer, split air conditioner, microwave oven and washing machine.

“We want to expand in the countries we are already exporting to and enter new markets at the same time,” Jameel said.



The company has identified some new markets in Africa and South America, which have similarities to Pakistani markets. “India will be a huge market if the two countries can liberalise trade in the categories we deal in,” he added.

The company’s plan for international expansion comes on top of a strong performance in the domestic market. Dawlance, according to Jameel, leads in at least three categories namely refrigerator, microwave oven and structured washing machines.

The company is growing both in terms of revenue and volumes. It is even considering listing on the KSE, he said.

As far as listing is concerned, Jameel said, Dawlance has become a big company in terms of sales and volumes. Listing is the next logical step, he said but didn’t give any details or timeframe, only saying another department was dealing with that aspect.



Dawlance’s sales grew 25% between financial years 2008 and 2012. The company earned Rs19 billion in revenues in financial year 2013, Rs1 billion higher than what it had earned during 2012.

The company’s basic objective is to become a global brand, which is one of the main reasons for the international focus.

“If you talk about exports, we are still in a learning phase,” he said. “We have not yet tapped the full potential of the Pakistani market but we want to take advantage of international markets.”

The GM further said by competing internationally, they can learn new things, especially in the area of research and development. If the company improves in R&D, he said, this will benefit the country as it will bring technology back home.

Dawlance has already launched two latest products – inverter-based ACs and low-voltage-starter refrigerator. The inverter-based ACs save 35% of energy compared to conventional ACs while the LVS refrigerators can start at as low as 135 volts.

These products have received good response so far, he said. However, the company is trying to merge its R&D with that of international suppliers for products more suitable to Pakistani market – the company imports compressor kits and inverter-based ACs.

Dawlance has already taken the first step towards international expansion. “We have started participating in international exhibitions,” Jameel said. The company has displayed its products in international exhibitions in Dubai and China and, according to him, the response so far is very good.

“We are ahead of the competition both locally and internationally on performance grounds,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd 2013.

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