Home appliances and consumer electronic maker LG is strengthening its lead in the washing machine segment as the new players enter the market, and the category witnesses a shift towards premium and bigger capacity models, said a company official. In the coming years, LG Electronics India will focus on a new range of bigger capacity machines, said its Product Group Head (Washing Machines) Ashok Masnam.

The washing machine market in India is at around Rs 15,000-16,000 crore and LG is a market leader in the category with a 36.8 per cent market share, he added.

“We want to strengthen the washing machine share. We have seen market shifting, LG has a strong network of sub-dealers and distribution, we have all the chances that we can strengthen our leadership,” Masnam told PTI.

In the appliances category, washing machines will be a high-growth category, he added.

“Washing machine will lead the segment for 2-3 years. The penetration levels are low and there has been an increase in the market like India. People are opting for fully automatic machines,” Masnam said.

Currently, front load washing machines are contributing 30 per cent to the business. The top load is around 35 per cent and the semi-automatic washing machine is 30-35 per cent.

“On a quarter-on-quarter basis, we are seeing that front load is taking a lead, followed by top load and semi-automatic. The major shift of the business has been to fully automatic,” he said.

Earlier, washing machines used to play as an urban product but now, even in smaller towns, people are adopting it.

Currently, around 15 per cent of the business of washing machines are from e-commerce channels.

Moreover, with the entrants of new players into the segment, it has become competitive.

“We have seen new entrants coming up. India is also a fragmented market and different income-level groups are there, thus we need more product depth.

“Thus, there are different products for different customers. There are new trends coming up with different competitors,” he said.

Besides residential, LG has also expanded its washing machine range to the dryer, as a commercial laundromat brand.

LG manufactures around 95 per cent of washing machines in India at its two facilities. At Pune, it manufactures the front loading washing machine and top load and semi-load at the Noida facility.