Chennai, (IANS) New Delhi-based kitchen appliances company Maharaja Appliances Ltd has signed up with two public sector oil marketing companies to sell its products through their dealer networks.
According to the deal, cooking gas dealers of Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HP) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BP) would sell Maharaja kitchen appliances.
“With this tie-up, the Maharaja Appliances will add 9,900 new retailers (5,200 cooking gas dealers of HP and 4,700 of BP) to its existing 16,000 retailers,” Pawan Chadha, general manager, Maharaja Appliances, told IANS here.
According to the agreement, the dealers would place their orders for goods through the websites of the two oil marketing companies.
The Maharaja Appliances would supply the goods directly to the dealers and keep the oil companies informed about the supplies.
Harish Kumar, managing director, Maharaja Appliances, said: “In rural and semi-urban areas, LPG dealers have a good relationship with consumers. We are sure households will not say ‘no’ when their gas dealer starts selling small consumer durables.”
For oil companies, such marketing deals provide higher non-core income.
In 2003, BP started this initiative, which is now a separate strategic business unit. The company’s dealers today sell items like tea, kitchen appliances, water heaters, generators, and vacuum cleaners.
“This initiative provides our consumers value at their doorstep. The sale price of the products sold by gas dealers is lower than the market price and goods are delivered at the doorstep,” said S K Jain, executive director, liquefied petroleum gas, BP.
According to Jain, IT professionals in Bangalore and other cities are increasingly buying their requirements of branded kitchen items from gas dealers.
“The cylinder delivery boys are happy as they get additional income when they sell or deliver other products,” added Jain.
BP has signed up with multiple brand owners so that cooking gas consumers are given a host of brands to choose from, he added.