Japanese home technology major Panasonic Homes & Living has stormed the Indian market by launching its first exclusive L-Class modular kitchen experiential store in Bengaluru, as well as six franchise outlets. The launch of L-Class kitchens reflects Panasonic’s focus on the expansion of its housing business, which includes housing equipment and construction materials such as kitchens, baths and toilets.
Besides the flagship experience centre, Panasonic franchise stores have come up in Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Mumbai (two), while Hyderabad and Chennai will see July launches. The company aims to have 15 stores in metro, tier I and tier II cities by the end of the current fiscal.
Comments Masashi Yamada, managing executive officer–Panasonic and senior VP-Panasonic Life Solutions, “We at Panasonic believe in inspiring the consumers’ way of living, and are committed to offering the best of comfort, safety and class to everyone around the world by combining high-class technology and vast knowledge of housing appliances. We now aim to offer the same to our consumers in India by fulfilling their requirements through our goal of ‘a better life, a better world’, by multiplying our technologies and expanding our business into the overall housing segment.”
Speaking at the flagship store launch, Panasonic Life Solutions India managing director Vivek Sharma said, “Bengaluru is a dynamic, progressive and evolved market when it comes to embracing technology and innovation in products, especially amongst the millennials.” He explained that present-day consumers prefer smart products that are elegant, comfortable and easy to use. “They are choosing new-age materials and selecting contemporary, sophisticated designs for their homes,” he remarked, adding that Panasonic understands the importance of the kitchen as the most vital part of the home. “We aim to go the extra mile and offer our consumers the most delightful kitchen experience with our newly designed L Class models.”
Joint MD Dinesh Aggarwal added, “Panasonic has established itself as a manufacturer of high quality and innovative electrical construction material over the past decade, especially for the residential and commercial infrastructure. We have established strong relationships amongst developers, contracting companies and specifiers; which encourages us to bring in additional products from Panasonic Japan.”
Aggarwal shared that the response has been positive, which has given the company confidence to sell the L class kitchens across India and bring in more housing products from Japan. “The modular kitchen market in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 20%, and we believe that franchisees who share our belief in creating innovative spaces will be an integral part of our expansion. Panasonic L class promises affordable luxury kitchens which are very elegant and highly functional.”
The flagship experiential store, spread across 5,200 sft, is located at Indiranagar in Bengaluru. The two-storey showroom displays seven variations of kitchens, besides residential materials such as interior doors, exterior walls and showers designed for the elderly. Customers can try out Panasonic’s fully automatic cleaning toilet Alauno, which is quite popular in the Japanese market, in the store’s toilet room. The franchise outlet at Koramangala in the same city is spread across 1,280 sft.
The L-Class kitchens are three-storied compartments with 10% higher storage capacity than conventional models, and also feature surgical grade SS film to prevent dents, stains and maintain overall product appearance. The model ensures safety through earthquake locking system that protects cabinet contents from quakes and helps avoid potential damage. Besides, the facility of a safety strip and dust resistance helps enrich the overall product life.
