BPL to expand product offerings in LED segment

NEW DELHI: Consumer electronics maker BPL is looking to expand its product offerings in the LED lighting segment after having started with solar lanterns about a year back.

“BPL intends to add more products through introduction of more efficient and superior LED light sources,” BPL Techno Vision CEO K Vijaya Kumar told.

According to him, India has a “huge potential” for LED smart lightings. In 2013, LED market was worth Rs 1,825 crore and registered 46 per cent growth.

He added: “We are focusing only on LED lantern market at present. In the future, we may venture into other forms of LED smart lighting for the lifestyle segment.”

The company is presently selling two models of solar-based light emitting diode (LED) lighting solutions – Solar lanterns SL 1300 and Chirag.

The company said it is getting good response for the products and despite low key marketing efforts, BPL has sold more than 89,348 units since the launch last year.

“We have a target to sell 2,75,000 units (lanterns) in this fiscal. We will also be launching a new product line in the related category in the near future,” Kumar said, adding that its products “have become preferred brand for micro-finance companies and for firms driving CSR activities in rural India” due to its affordable price.

BPL Techno Vision, a BPL group firm, said its lighting solutions are present over more than 5,000 points of sales.

“In the coming years, we will naturally look at increasing our footprint to other regions that have not been tapped so far,” he added.

The government is pushing for a greater usage of renewable energy. Moreover, by 2021, Karnataka and Kerala governments intend to make new laws for usage of 3 to 6 per cent of the total energy in demand from renewable sources.

“Subsequent to these findings, BTVL sees future growth areas in Solar Inverters and Solar Roof Top PV Systems,” he said.

BPL has partnered with the Kerala government for its solar roof top solutions.

“We are very keen to partner with other state governments also who are launching the solar initiatives of self-metering. It is a matter of time before we associate with the central government on a larger scale,” he added.