India Volume 6

114 Market Caught between several pressing priorities power generation in India languished for several years. Indeed, at the turn of Independence it was a dismal 1362 MW – less than the capacity of any one super thermal power station today. The result was predictable: long hours of power outages and poor voltages that weren’t often enough to keep even a low wattage bulb going. It wasn’t till many years later that industry began to consider alternates. Back-up power began to be made available and some effort was made by a handful of companies to develop voltage stabilizers. Most of these early stabilizers were ungainly boxes, had manual operations or were simply unreliable. All that changed when V-Guard began operations in 1977 with two employees huddled in a small room. Today, 40 years later that idea has metamorphosed into the largest and most respected stabilizer brand in India. From a limited distribution network that barely covered Cochin city, it soon expanded into and consolidated its domination of the category in South India and then achieved a stranglehold of the category nationally. Such has been its foray and speed of accomplishment that the brand has already captured large swathes of this huge bazaar. V-Guard stabilizers today have a reputation of unmatched quality and reliability. Priced at a premium in the category, the product has established itself as a reliable and superior market V-Guard Industries Limited, which started as one man’s passion to build and market safe voltage stabilizers in 1977 has grown to become one of the most powerful and enduring electrical appliance manufacturers in India and arguably, the largest in the state of Kerala. Supporting its commitment to the market is an imposing business strategy that dictates the development of cutting edge products, top-of-the-line designs and dedicated customer care centres. The company has diversified from voltage stabilizers to a host of products including domestic and agricultural pumps, electric and solar water heaters, fans, domestic switchgears, inverters and inverter batteries, wires, induction cook tops, gas stoves and mixer grinders. compared to competition. Innovative designs in their stabilizer models, like the jelly bean design, set the benchmark for the category way back in 1980. As it emerged a market leader it continued to set new benchmarks. V-Guard has constantly kept its ear to the ground and keeping up with modern India’s proud acquisitions, has launched stabilizers for ACs, LCD and LED TVs and a host of products being used in every household today. V-Guard’s stalwart Kochouseph Chittilappilly has been honoured with a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the industry and the business world. The company itself has been honoured with a Bronze award in the category of National Awards for Manufacturing Competitiveness (NAMC), instituted by the International Research Institute for Manufacturing (IRIM) for the year 2014-15 for its Kashipur unit. The company has also won three silvers at the 57th National Convention of Indian Institution of Industrial Engineering and 3rd International Conference on Industrial Engineering (ICIE 2015). History Kochouseph Chittilappilly founded V-Guard in 1977 with a borrowed capital of H 100,000 from his father. This marked the beginning of a humble journey for the brand. From the little garage, where he set up a small manufacturing unit for stabilizers he amplified the brand, eventually making it larger than life by expanding the portfolio of products. Stringent quality control measures, quality products, reliable technology, excellent customer service and a responsible approach to business enabled V-Guard to steadily capture the market and most importantly the mindshare of people. 2012 proved to be a watershed year as the company surpassed a turnover of H 1000 crore. Innovative strategies, efficient work-flow, effective marketing, strict control measures and excellent administration paid off reflecting in the phenomenal growth of the company. The year 2014 goes down in the company’s history as a milestone year with V-Guard achieving a turnover of H 1500 crore, an effective increase of 50% over two years. V-Guard turned 40 recently and plans to mark leader. V-Guard today is the only pan-India player in stabilizers and battles local competitors in different states and regions, with aplomb. Various estimates peg stabilizers at a H 1500 crore market, almost equally split between the organised and unorganised sectors. Achievements From selling two stabilizers a day to 300,000 a month V-Guard has come a long way commanding more than 40 % market share in the organised market. Supplying electronic and electro-mechanical products for the past 40 years, V-Guard is recognised as a pioneer in the stabilizer category. Today, this dominant stabilizer brand rules the market as the unquestionable No. 1 in the range it offers and the volume it sells. V-Guard began by challenging the existing available product and developed stabilizers that were significantly smaller and well-designed SUPERBRANDS 2018 superbrandsindia.com