As Summers Arrive, Blue Star Launches New Range Of Home ACs

Blue Star unveiled its new range of Room Air Conditioners, including a ‘best-in-class affordable’ range and a ‘flagship premium’ range, for the upcoming summer season. The company has launched nearly 75 models of inverter, fixed speed and Window ACs, and across price points to cater to every consumer segment.

Blue Star has also deployed a Total Cost Management (TCM) programme to maximise efficiency across the entire cost-value chain in order to achieve cost leadership.

According to an official statement by the company, the new range of ACs comprises 3-star, 4-star and 5-star inverter split air conditioners which are available in various cooling capacities ranging from 0.8 TR to 2 TR at prices starting from Rs 29,990. Features and specifications such as ‘Turbo Cool’ for fast cooling, Convertible 5-in-1 cooling, NanoBlu Protect Technology and Hydrophilic ‘Blue Fin’ coating to prevent coil corrosion and leakage and for longer life, respectively, ‘Eco-Mode’ for energy-saving, ‘Comfort Sleep’ function that auto-adjusts the AC temperature during night and 4-way swing for uniformity have been included in this range. 

The company also shared through a press conference that Blue Star Climatech’s new automated and smart factory at Sri City is functional, having commenced commercial production of room ACs in January 2023. 

Keeping sustainability in mind, the company has also rolled-out numerous initiatives such as installing an advanced effluent treatment plant, engaging in rain water harvesting and installing solar power at the plant. Besides, Blue Star has also applied for the IGBC Gold Rating for this facility.

B Thiagarajan, Managing Director, Blue Star, said, “With a strong focus on self-reliance, by aligning ourselves to the ‘Make in India’ initiative and leveraging on the PLI scheme by the Indian Government, we take immense pride in the fact that Blue Star Climatech’s new automated and smart plant at Sri City is now operational. With this Plant in place, Blue Star intends to leverage the synergies between the Company and this Plant, to enable Blue Star to further accelerate growth in the room ACs segment, especially in Tier 2, 3, 4, and 5 markets, apart from Tier 1.”

He added, “Blue Star will continue to invest in expanding the distribution footprint, enhancing R&D capabilities and brand building. All of this, in turn, will enable us to roll out affordable best-in-class room ACs. Our new range of room ACs for 2023 strongly recapitulates our focus in this direction.”

During the event, Blue Star launched a range of flagship models comprising ‘Super Energy-Efficient ACs,’ ‘Heavy-Duty ACs,’ ‘Smart ACs,’ ‘ACs with Hot & Cold Technology,’ and ‘ACs with Anti-Microbial Filter,’ to offer solutions for all types of consumer need.

Giving some market insights, Thiagarajan shared that while the global market size for room ACs is over 150 million, the expected market size for this segment in India in FY23 is 8 million. This figure is expected to be somewhere between 10 to 20 million within the next five years. He also shared that India has the potential to be a global player after China, which currently has 85 million domestic market size and a total market size of 110 million. 

He further shared that 95 per cent of the buyers for Room ACs are first-time buyers and 65 to 67 per cent of the sales are happening in Tier 3, 4 and 5 towns for this particular product. He added that 45 per cent of the sales are through consumer finance. “This gives an idea of what is happening. It is a market driven by first-time buyers, middle-class aspirational society driving the growth,” he said. He further shared that the company was expecting the second-time buyers to increase in the next five years.