Our Bureau
New Delhi
This year, the rain gods have not been kind to the market and the unseasonal rains have hit the summer sales badly. The summer sales have been impacted by the sudden rains and this has caused the companies to lower their growth targets for Q1. These unseasonal rains in the month of April and May have impacted and hampered major sectors ranging from air conditioners to cold beverages and personal care products
The companies have started cutting their growth targets for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 and have already slowed down their productions a bit so that they can prevent inventory glut. The major brunt of these unseasonal rains has been on Air Conditioner Manufacturers who have seen a major decline in sales. Major companies like Havells, Voltas, Blue Star, Panasonic, and Godrej Appliance have all suffered a 20-25% drop in their sales in the two months so far.
It was reported that these companies had planned for a growth this year after last year’s terrific increase in sales they saw during the same time of the year. Some companies even had growth in the first three months of the year and were expecting the growth to continue.
B Thiagarajan, the director of Blue Star has stated that retailers had bought around 4 million units back in the month of March but the sales have failed them. According to him, there were at minimum around 15 to 20 lakh AC units more in the inventory then there should’ve been. This in particular shows the steep drop in sales and the losses that retailers might have suffered.
Companies have decided to take a more cautious approach to the June quarter. As the weather remains to be uncertain, the heavy lifters in the market seem to be cooling down a bit for the time being just to observe the progression that happens regarding the sales.
