Home ›› 06 Dec 2021 ›› News
Changes in lifestyle and people’s preference for convenience and comfort widened the market for geysers and water heaters in tropical Bangladesh with locally-manufactured and assembled products dominating over the international brands.
Electronic instant geysers and water heaters have more demand among people compared to the conventional ones, said the sellers.
No statistics on the market size of the products and their demand is available as there is no formal or informal body of producers or importers of the products.
According to the Bangladesh Electrical Merchandise Manufacturers Association, 10 per cent of the total market of electronic products in Bangladesh account for winter products. And the association estimates the annual market size of electronic products in Bangladesh at Tk 50,000 crore.
Some producers and sellers estimated that the annual sales of geysers and water heaters might stand at 3.5 lakh units across the country.
The sellers said locally-made geysers are more popular than foreign brands for their affordability.
Just a few years ago, there were only two companies - Shameem Refrigeration Works Ltd and Shameem and Company – producing geysers and water heaters but now some big entrepreneurs such as Pran-RFL and Walton joined the bandwagon and began manufacturing and assembling the products. The sellers said there are some Malaysian, Italian, Chinese, and Indian products in the market but their price is much higher.
The convenience of having hot water without much effort is the main reason behind people’s purchasing this product. After the installation of pre-paid gas meters in Dhaka, many also prefer geysers to save energy costs. The Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company Limited in 2017 estimated that Dhaka people burn gas worth Tk 58 crore per day simply for boiling water.
Jubayer Ahmed, manager in charge of an electronic shop named Miyako Electronics at Baitul Mukarram Market, told The Business Post that locally made geysers are dominating the market and they are much popular than foreign brands for their cheaper price.
He said geysers and water heaters are slow-going products but during winter months 500 to 600 geysers are sold at his shop. He said ten to 12 types of geysers are available in the market.
Key market players of geysers and water heaters are Shameem Refrigeration Works Ltd, Shameem and Company, Pran-RFL, Walton, Best Electronics Limited and Butterfly.
Monoranjan Mandal, Assistant General Manager at Shameem Refrigeration Works Ltd, said that though they sell geysers round the year and the demand peaks ahead of the winter season and their products are delivered across the country.
Md Imran, Product manager of Butterfly Marketing Limited, said they sell Media and Conion brand geysers and both are imported. They sold about 4,000 units in 2020 but before the pandemic, more than 6,000 units were sold per year. He hoped that this year the sales would cross 6,000 units.
Kamaruzzaman Kamal, director of marketing at Pran-RFL, said geysers are a seasonal product and 80 per cent of the bulk sales take place during the winter season and the remaining 20 per cent are sold throughout the year.
“During the peak season, our sales reach 15,000 to 18,000 units of geysers and water heaters per month,” he said.
Pran-RFL has nine different types of geysers with prices ranging from Tk 5,775 to Tk 13,500. “We cover more than 25 per cent market share with 20 per cent yearly growth rate,” Kamruzzman.
Tech giant Walton’s Deputy Chief Business Officer Md Bony Amin said they are new in this sector and last year they sold nearly 14,000 units of geysers and the yearly sales growth is about 15 per cent.
“We have about 10 types of geysers. This year we have launched three new models of geyser WG-C 30-litre, WG-C 45-litre, and 67-litre which are absolutely locally manufactured,” he said.
Md Borhan Hassan, Manager at Shameen and Company, said their company is the first to introduce geysers in Bangladesh. He declined to divulge their production and sales statistics saying, “Our sales are well as we produce quality products.”
Spot visits to wholesale markets found geysers with various sizes of geysers ranging from six-litre to 900-litre are available with prices ranging between Tk 5,500 and Tk 90,000. Geysers with the capacity of 10 litres, 15 litres and 25 litres are more popular than other sizes, the sellers said.
At the main branch of Shameem Refrigeration Works Ltd at Kalabagan in Dhaka, the sales attendants were found too busy with delivering the products to customers.
Md Ratan came from Faridpur and bought a 15-litre Tropica brand geyser at Tk 8,500. He said he bought it for the convenience of her elderly mother living in the village.
Another retail buyer Md Harun said he was buying a geyser for his flat in Dhaka and all of his friends suggested him to buy Shamim’s product.
According to Market and Research, the global water heater market was valued at $32,603 million in 2017 and is projected to reach $48,519 million by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 5.1 per cent from 2018 to 2025.
