Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to TTK Prestige Limited Q3 FY22 earnings conference call, hosted by Ambit Capital Private Limited. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listen-only mode, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need assistance during the conference call, please signal the operator by pressing star then zero on your touchtone phone. Please note that this conference is being recorded. I now hand the conference over to Mr. Dhruv Jain from Ambit Capital Private Limited. Thank you, and over to you, sir.
Thank you. Hello, everyone. Welcome to TTK Prestige, Q3 FY22 earnings call. From the management side today we have with us Mr. Chandru Kalro, Managing Director, Mr. K. Shankaran, Whole Time Director, and Mr. R. Sarangan, the CFO of the company. Thank you, and over to you, sir, for your opening remarks.
Thank you, Dhruv, and thank you, everyone, for coming over. Just to summarize the quarter that just went by, this is Chandru Kalro here, by the way. Just to summarize the quarter that went by, it wasn't easy. It was, it was a quarter that was quite tough because of various issues that we were facing. One was that there were constant input cost increases right through from June, July, and that was something we were facing. There were weather vagaries. Then there was Omicron that hit us. Remember that we were starting the quarter with a base effect of the previous year. We had a wonderful quarter in the Q3 of the previous year, and we were on that base, and Diwali, as you know, was a little earlier this year than the previous year.
So we're also coming back on a quarter of Q2, which was fantastic in the current financial year. With all that, I think we've done reasonably well. We've shown a marginal top line increase of about 5%. And, what is most important is that we managed to pass on most of the cost increases, protect the margins, and also we believe that we've largely protected market share while passing on the cost increases, which is great news. I now open the floor for any questions that you might have. Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin with the question and answer session. Anyone wishing to ask a question may please press star and one on your touchtone telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may press star and two. Participants are requested to use handsets while asking a question. Ladies and gentlemen, we will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. The first question on the line is Sameer Gupta from IIFL. Please go ahead.
Hi, good evening, sir, and thank you for taking my question. Firstly, just looking at the geography on the COGS line in the standalone, statement. This is, this I'm computing as cost of materials, purchase of stock-in-trade , and changes in inventory that you report in the P&L. So this is coming at 57.6%, as a percentage of sales this quarter versus 60.1% last quarter. So just wanted to understand it in a better manner. What are the underlying components of this 2.56% improvement in line with, in light with the current inflationary situation? I know steel has corrected a little QOQ, but, rest all the commodities I track are, you know, off the roof in, in, most of the cases. So what exactly is constituting this?
Is it just price increases, the sales mix, lower mix of e-commerce, any other variable that I might be missing?
So largely, this is a function of the price increases that have kicked in. That is one. Of course, the other two would also contribute in a smaller way, in terms of the channel mix as well as model mix. So, but largely, these are the price increases that have kicked in. You are right that, when you say that there are cost increases that continue. While steel is probably the only commodity that has not increased as much as the others, we're still looking at an inflationary situation, albeit not at the same pace as what we've had in Q2 and Q3. We're confident that we can somehow maintain in by the margins in the band of, let us say, 57.5-59.
That's where we are looking at, depending on which way this goes.
And sir, just a follow-up on that, any more price hikes taken this quarter? I know you had announced some 5%-7% last quarter, so any more taken on top of that this quarter?
No, no, no.
Okay. And, sir, second and the last question from me. On the demand front, let's leave this quarter, all the vagaries aside, but from the multiple commentaries that we are seeing across companies, we are basically sensing a kind of a slowdown in demand, especially on the rural side. So what is has been your experience? I know categories might be different, but is there a real pressure in terms of, you know, incomes? Because inflation is, you know, not only affecting companies, but also people and their incomes. So what is your sense on demand, and not only on rural, but overall?
See, overall, if you see, what my sense is, honestly, is that, the inflation is biting the lower middle class. There is absolutely no doubt about that. The fact that we've also taken price increases is not going to be easy on them. Having said that, we as a brand, given the kind of target customers that we look at. We've not had a problem in our demand, albeit I must add that the buoyancy that we were seeing earlier is not there. We're not seeing a drop in demand. We are not seeing a dramatic growth. However, having said that, there is another trend that we are seeing. If there is an innovation in the market, if there is a new product in the market, if there's a slightly more premium product in the market, there is absolutely no slackening of demand.
Got it, sir. That's all from me. I'll come back in case I have any more.
Mm.
Thank you. We'll move on to the next question. That is on the line of Anirudh Joshi from ICICI Securities. Please go ahead.
Yeah. Thanks, sir. Thanks for the opportunity. In terms of, while we have protected the margin, can you also highlight about the market share in the key categories, that is, cookers, cookware, and, some of the key appliances, like mixer? What would be our market share now versus YOY?
The market share is largely stable. I won't say that it moved too much. Remember that all our market share, data comes, at least with a quarter's lag. So if you're asking me Q3, I don't think I will have the right numbers. We're just into January, January end. Having said that, from whatever I can feel from the channel, from our own collections, from our channel checks, we are feeling that we have maintained margin, market share as we go, as we go along. There's been no change there.
Okay, so-
Even if it has, it might have changed very marginally.
Okay, sir, so, is it fair to assume that the market growth itself has slowed down in this quarter? Will it be a fair assumption?
No, I don't know whether we can say that, but as I said, the buoyancy that was there, you know, really galloping, has probably slowed down. I don't think demand has dropped. Now, there is a difference between a slowdown and a drop in demand. The demand, I don't think, has dropped.
Okay, but the buoyancy has definitely kind of slowed down now.
You know, the dramatic growth that we were seeing in the last, say, 9-12 months, unfortunately, we cannot have any comparable period here. That kind of buoyancy we are not seeing there. There is a pent-up fervor which we saw last year, the fervor is not there.
Okay. Okay. Sure, sure, sir. So in terms of going forward, so let's say Q4 or even FY23, how do we see this? It's very difficult to assess the exact demand, but how do you see the demand outlook per se? Will it be better than Q3, or we expect improvement in the environment?
The Q3 is our best season in the year. As you know, we are in a seasonal business.
Right.
Q4 is not, in terms of uptake, that high as Q3. That is a typical thing that we have seen. So we have to only discuss Y-on-Y for that particular quarter. The way I am seeing it is that the volume demand is stable with vis-à-vis last year, Q4. The way I am also seeing it is there will be a small impact because of the Omicron and the number of people who are falling sick all over the place. But having said that, I'm hoping that in the next 10, 15 days, we are likely to see all of that abate. We are still confident that we can, you know, kind of do a similar number like last year in Q4, if things don't deteriorate any more.
Okay. Okay, sure, sir. Last question from my side. If you can indicate the segment-wise price hikes, cooker, cookware, and appliances, YOY price hikes?
If you are looking at price hikes, I think we took about 5% price hike on cookers in Q2. Sarangan, when did we take the
Q2.
In that, that Q2, yes. In Q2, we've taken a couple of price hikes in the region of 5, 7% each in the appliances.
Okay.
The weighted average therefore would be around about 5%-6% that you are seeing.
Okay. Okay, sure, sir. Yeah, that's very cool. Thank you.
Yeah. Thank you.
Thank you. Before we take the next question, we would like to remind participants that you may press star and one to ask a question. The next question is on the line of Sanjay Satapathy from Ambit Capital. Please go ahead.
Yeah, sir, thanks a lot for the opportunity, and also the performance of quarter three is reasonable compared to the kind of guidance. And I distinctly remember that after quarter two call, you had indicated that your second half will be kind of flat on a year-on-year basis, consider the kind of high base it had. So all the comments which you are giving about demand, you probably had already factored that in after you had spoken about the outlook after quarter two results. So my question is that, considering how much strong grip you have about your earnings outlook, will you still maintain that you can grow annually at a 20% rate, I mean, this year as well as next year?
So this year, I think, first of all, thank you for remembering what we said last call, because you're right. I mean, we had given an indication of what we said. I mean, if you're looking at a earnings growth this year of 20%, I think we should be able to achieve that very easily, because you know that our growth in bottom line has been very significant in the area of 40% so far in the first nine months. So that shouldn't be a problem. In the next year, we haven't yet made our plan yet. I think we're waiting for some more time to see how this quarter pans out, and then plan for next year.
Obviously, our attempt will be to again grow by 20% in the bottom line, but I don't think we can state that right now at this point in time.
Understood. And my second question is that, as you have correctly analyzed, I mean, for us, that this particular market that you are addressing is becoming far more discerning. So whenever you are coming out with innovation, irrespective of macro conditions, you are being able to generate sales. So and there should not be any better company than you to really come up with innovation. Of course, you're limited by the range of products that you are in. So what I would want to hear is that, like, how much considering your understanding of the market, how much will depend on market and how much it will be because of you?
1, and 2 is that you have done some acquisitions, recently, and will that kind of succeed to a much bigger thing sometime soon?
So the innovation pipeline is something that we are constantly working on. And let me assure you that the number of products that we will continue to launch will be very significant. As we speak in Q3, we have launched so many new products, and we're launching, I think, many new products in the next couple of months as well. So that approach of ours to the business and the brand, I think will continue. The second question that you have asked, sorry, what did I miss that? What was the second question?
You did an acquisition recently, and basically you're trying to-
Yeah.
become a more full-service, the kind of a kitchen company.
So before that, you also asked how much of the market will the market impact you at all? I don't think we can remain completely insulated from the market. If the market drops, then it will affect us. But I believe that the kind of target audience that we cater to, we are largely protected if we are able to keep that innovation going. Coming back to the acquisition that we've made, clearly it is very strategic in nature. Small, but very strategic. They are into modular kitchen solutions, which, you know, many years back, we also had dabbled into. Except that this acquisition is an end-to-end player in modular kitchens, and it gives us the complete control on the modular kitchen business. And you know, the real estate market is quite hot, and there's a lot of things happening there.
So for us, the network that we have seen with Ultrafresh is also offering a good opportunity. And we believe that, as we go along, and I think it's still early days, we have just about starting to integrate ourselves, I think the opportunities will be immense thanks to this acquisition.
Understood. Thank you. Thanks a lot, sir, and all the very best. Basically, your quarterly seasonality in terms of growth rate is something probably disconcerting for market, but it has been a period like that, as the whole country has been going through some turbulence. Hopefully from next year, we will see much more steady and secular growth from you.
I indeed hope so. Thank you.
Thanks.
Thank you. A reminder to the participants, anyone wishing to ask a question, may please press star and one. The next question is from the line of Digant Haria from GreenEdge Wealth. Please go ahead.
Yeah, hi, sir. So my question is on the e-commerce channel, that, you know, if you can help me with, you know, our positioning in cooker, cookware and mixer segment, like, you know, would we be number one, number two, number three in each of these, segments? And, you know, another question again on e-commerce is that, you know, are the rules of winning in e-commerce any different? Like, you know, should we now just treat it as one more channel where we are present, and, you know, if we are number one in cooker, cookware and mixers in the offline market, we'll become number one in the online market eventually. Is that a right assessment?
The second answer to the second part of your question is yes, that is the right assessment. Eventually, I think the offline brand strength should reflect on the online space as well. Unless, of course, we decide that we want to either stay away or we are not able to follow the rules of the game. The rules of the game are a little different, but evolving, because it's also a new channel. You know, that there have been several regulatory issues itself on the aligned sellers, so to speak, within quotes of both the platforms, both the major platforms, and they are also under flux. There are several new platforms that are coming, which is also creating its own set of evolution.
But having said that, I think digital commerce is a thing that will grow over a period of time, and we, as a forward-thinking company, have lots of things planned for our dominance or a very strong play in the digital commerce space, and that's something we are engaged with. The idea is that over a period of time, because of the customer habits changing, we want to make sure that we have a very, very strong presence in the online space.
All right. Right, sir. So thank you for this. Sir, and then, you know, the second line of question is on, so this whole, you know, your customer base would be very large, like, you know, not just the top 1 crore affluent families. So see the entire cooker, cookware, appliances, this segment, if I look at, you know, versus pre-COVID levels, the whole—you know, almost all the players have grown anywhere between 15%-20% in the last 12 months. But if we look at, you know, all other companies, okay, maybe it's a biscuit company or an FMCG company or a two-wheeler selling company, who will have, you know, a similar customer set, they are still, you know, somewhere at pre-COVID or below pre-COVID levels. So is this extra bonanza for these kitchen appliances segment?
You know, next 12 months we can see tapering off of this bonanza, or you think secular growth is still very much there ahead?
No, I think we already stated that there is a little bit of a slowdown in that buoyancy, not slowdown in demand.
Yeah.
Having said that, you must understand the relative ticket sizes. Now, supposing you are buying a two-wheeler, it is a major purchase, which you plan. If you are going to buy a pressure cooker, it probably doesn't matter to you in your overall scheme of things on your monthly income. So it is also the relative ticket sizes. So if you need another pressure cooker, you're not going to think about it so much in today's day and age, where credit cards are available and all of that. So therefore, we are not hampered so much by inflationary problems as much as the others. If you're looking at an FMCG, they are into several different kind of problems or factors. I wouldn't like to comment on that.
I think over a period of time, if our innovation pipeline continues, we will be in a position to continuously grow as we have been doing.
Right, sir. Okay. Okay, sir, thank you. That's it from my side. Yeah.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Bhavin Vithlani from SBI Mutual Fund. Please go ahead.
Thank you for the opportunity, and congratulations for great set of numbers. This April onwards, there was an implementation of ISI for cookers. Do you see that it has any positive implications for the organized players? And if you could also help us understand, are the agencies implementing it by visiting the production facilities on marketplace?
Well, I can tell you that doing or making BIS come, ISI come mandatory on pressure cookers is something that we welcome. It will standardize the category. And what it has also done is that BIS is also now becoming a little progressive in adding to the standards, and we are very happy with the way they are doing things. They are implementing this. They were short-staffed, and with all the COVID and all that, there was a lot of issues, but I think that's all behind us now. We are all settled down. And it also helps us, you know, work on a good. We were always like that, but I think in terms of category, we would like the customer to be always safe, and the ISI is very good for the category.
So have you seen, because what we see in the marketplace, and maybe the consumer may not be aware that you may be using a proper grade of stainless steel, but the unorganized may not, and consequently, the difference. So have you seen the difference between yours and unorganized or local brands narrow because of proper implementation of usage of proper material?
So, you know, the unorganized players in the last two-three years have been losing a bit of share to the brands, not just to us, but generally to brands, for a variety of reasons. You know what those variety of reasons are. There was GST first. They were not compliant earlier. They are now compliant with the tax regime. Then there the COVID hit. The supply chain affected them more than they affected us. Several such things, and distribution and online and all of those. So it's not ISI that is that has come in the way. The ISI is only one more factor. They have also struggled to come to terms with the ISI thing, which I think even they are behind them also. I don't think there is any issue for anyone to get an ISI mark.
If you can approach the BIS and, you know, get a factory inspection done, and if you're compliant, we'll be with you.
Sure. TTK, we have 670 exclusive stores. Would it be possible to help us? What is the total share in the revenue, and maybe what was the total million square feet that we would be having in the exclusive stores?
Presently, the exclusive stores contribute to about between 11% and 13%, depending on which quarter you're talking about, to our total revenues. These 670 stores on an average have a floor area of between 500 and 600 sq ft. So you're really talking about, what? 30,000 sq ft. 300,000 sq ft, sorry. That's about it.
Okay. In the cooker, in the past calls you have indicated, there was a shift to stainless steel. What would be the mix of SS, aluminum, and anodized in the cooker? And are you seeing any mix in the change in the mix?
Well, the trend is certainly for a brand like ours to go towards stainless steel and anodized. And there was a time when stainless steel and anodized put together were not more than 15%-20% of total sales. Today, that's about 40% of our total sales.
Okay, thank you. Is this similar for cookware as well?
... Cookware is still non-stick is our mainstay. We are at about 85% non-stick, aluminum non-stick. We, as you know, last quarter, we did launch stainless steel cookware with non-stick coating. That's a new segment, and we are hoping that we can create new opportunities for ourselves as we go along. Our anodized is only about 10%-12% of total sales at this point in time, in cookware.
Sure, I understand. In terms of the first question that was asked in terms of the gross margins, where TTK seems to be an only exception, reporting an expansion versus others have reported drop between 2-5 percentage points. Do you believe that we have a room to maybe cut back and grow market share, or we would be maintaining our price levels and these margins?
See, the gross margins, as I said, they're not expanded by too much. Yes, they have expanded in a play, in a market where most of our peer groups have actually shown a shrinkage. Having said that, I think it is a combination of the price increases we have taken, a combination of a strategic model mix and a channel mix that we have gone after. And, and, and after that, overall, how do we run our marketing and our innovation pipeline? We, as a company, have always believed in that, rather than, you know, cutting price and going after market share. As I said in the beginning, as long as I was able to pass on my cost increases and maintain my market share in such difficult times, I was quite happy with what we did.
Sure. Just last question from my side. Appliances as a portfolio has seen a much slower growth versus cooker and cookware at 2%. Any particular category where we have seen flatness in the growth within the appliances portfolio? And if you could just give us an outlook, because this is a category where we have been expecting a much faster growth vis-à-vis the cooker and cookware.
No, if you look at it as the nine months, no, you will get a clearer picture. I don't think we should look at it just on quarter. So if you look at it on the nine months picture, our appliances, growth is quite significant in almost, all the major categories. I mean, if you look at gas stoves, if you look at induction cooktops, if you look at, kitchen hoods, OTGs, wet grinders, all of these places, you know, we are looking at very substantial growth. The quarter, as such, because of the vagaries of the quarter itself, is looking like that. Otherwise, we've done very well even in the appliance space.
Sure, sure. Thank you so much for taking my questions.
Yeah.
Thank you. We'll move on to the next question. That is from the line of Ekta Sanghvi from Vallum Capital. Please go ahead.
Hello? Hello.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Hello.
Go ahead.
Hi, thank you for the opportunity. Most of my questions have been answered, but so the sales mix for appliances has reduced marginally this quarter. So is the current sales mix sustainable, or like would it change in the next few quarters?
No, I think, as I keep saying this, don't, don't judge everything from one quarter. Look at it from a longer period of time, and I think the longer period of time has very clear trends. We are looking at market shares for those particular categories in which we are there. And individual strategies are being applied for all the core categories that we are going after, which are gas stoves, mixer grinders, induction cooktops, kettles, kitchen hoods and wet grinders. And our product strategy, our marketing strategy is all after that. So I think that the present growth that we have seen in the nine months, relatively speaking, I think will happen even going forward in the same proportion. I'm not saying the same percentage. I don't see so much variation in the overall product portfolio.
Okay, all right. And, which one—which category out of the three would have be having the highest margin for now?
Out of which three? Which three?
Out of cookers, appliances and cookware.
Well, it will be cookers and cookware.
Okay. My next question is, so what will be the overall contribution of rural to the revenue?
Rural to the revenue is still very small, as you know. I mean, we are looking at what? One second, let me see if I can give you the data. Sorry, I don't have it immediately, but, let me... Over the nine months, we are looking at, what, 5% in rural.
Thank you so much.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Mithun Aswath from Kivah Advisors. Please go ahead.
Just a couple of questions. One was, just wanted to understand your CapEx plans for the next year. And my second question was more in terms of, do you see a large opportunities in any adjacencies like, tableware as well? Which is a segment, which seems to be growing quite quickly, but where you're not present. So just wanted to understand areas in the kitchen where maybe you're not present right now, that you are looking at. Are there any opportunities, M&A opportunities there that you would consider as well? Thank you.
Yeah, first, the CapEx question, CapEx is likely to be between INR 50 crores and INR 100 crores in the next couple of years, depending on how, by how fast we can get projects off the ground. In terms of the second question, you know, we had dabbled with tableware, as a distributor arrangement in the past with, World Kitchen. And, I don't think we, we enjoyed that business too much, and I don't think we have the core competencies to keep pace with the design attributes of that business. So as of now, we are not looking at the table with crockery and things like that. We've got enough in the kitchen itself, within the kitchen, in the appliance space and in the cookware and cooker space, which we are going after, and that will be our strategy going forward.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you. A reminder to the participants, anyone wishing to ask a question, may please press star and one. The next question is on the line of Nirav Vasa from Anand Rathi. Please go ahead.
Hello, sir, and thank you very much for the opportunity. So my first question is, like, for nine months, FY22, we have reported a very strong growth of around 27%. Would it be possible for you to dissect this growth in terms of value and volume? Approximate number would be helpful.
So the volume growths are in the double digits, in the low teens.
Mm-hmm.
And then the rest has come because of the modular mix and the channel mix.
So you can say the rest of around 15%-18% is because of the price hikes. Is there-
Around 12, 12%-15% is because of the price hikes, model mix, and channel mix.
Great. Thanks. So the other question is like, sir, we, as you just informed, that the rural is just 5% of our revenues. So what steps are we undertaking for our range and reach expansion? And are there any particular areas in the country which, where our presence needs to be significantly augmented?
Let me first clarify. When I say rural is 5% of our sales, it is what we can directly attribute as rural sales.
Mm-hmm.
That is through these MFIs largely, and nothing else.
Mm-hmm.
Whether our sale, how much of our sale is happening from the Tier Four cities, where we have distribution going into rural, is something we can't track, because that is not tertiary sale that we track. We don't believe that that is insignificant. It could be quite significant from the Tier Three, Tier Four towns, and unfortunately, we are not able to track that. In terms of our endeavor going forward, we are going through a very large, market research exercise at this point in time, to understand the kind of distribution that is there in these Tier Four, Tier Threes, and, Tier Five towns, and see how we can then actually expand our reach to service these towns in a bigger way, so that rural demand is serviced.
See, as the infra push is happening, travel no longer is a problem from rural areas to these towns. We are looking at outside the MFI channel, how we can set up a channel which is robust and can service those customers.
Right. And, sir, like, government had given a significant push towards gas stoves via Ujjwala Scheme. So do you think that, you know, that can be a basic lever based on which the demand for other such, other kitchen categories can gradually increase, and where we can monetize that really big time?
Absolutely. You're absolutely right. The Ujjwala Scheme and penetration of LPG into so many kind, these kind of households, will open the doors for other appliances in those kitchens. And we... That is why we are doing what I just said to you.
Right. And, sir, now coming to the premiumization piece of our business. So we were, you know, working towards the premiumization and getting into in-built appliances. And we, as per, as I recall from my last notes, that premiumization part had a little bit slowed down because of the COVID piece, especially the in-built appliances. So any incremental updates, and do you see synergies being forged between your modular kitchen and your in-built appliances business?
So, I'm glad you brought that up. We did have that plan, and we still do have ambitions in that area. But remember that during this period, we just didn't not only have COVID, but apart from COVID, we took the unilateral decision of moving the supply chain from China to India on our existing appliances, which we were importing. So that has kept us very, very occupied. Remember that the categories that we were importing, we not only had to move those molds and dies here, we've also got to launch new products in those categories.
Mm-hmm.
So this has gone into a back burner, unfortunately. We believe that, now we also have the time and space to, once we integrate Ultrafresh, to see what is the size of that opportunity. Because remember, Ultrafresh has got 85 stores already, and, therefore, that could offer us a readymade channel as we go along. As and when we have these products developed, after we've, you know, kind of stabilized on the supply chain of the existing categories, we will go there. We still believe that there is a lot of potential in those areas of premiumization of built-in appliances.
So, sir, just to dwell on this piece a little bit. Like, as I understand, this built-in appliances market is mainly being catered by a lot of these foreign brands, like Miele, Gaggenau, Liebherr, et cetera. And these are the brands which have a very, very strong customer pool. So how do we intend to get with that kind of a customer pool, and what can be the pricing differentiation or maybe pricing differentiation in the built-in appliances, please?
So here, I don't believe pricing alone is going to drive those kind of customers at that level. It has to be a product, it has to be an overall offering. And I don't think we are going to go into this on the basis of a price. It has to be on the basis of the value that we offer those customers. It's difficult to define a strategy today on the periphery. Only once we get our feet wet, we will be able to say more on this.
Thank you, sir. My queries have been answered.
Thank you.
Thank you. A reminder to the participants, anyone wishing to ask a question, may please press star and one. The next question is from the line of Achal from JM Financial. Please go ahead.
Yeah, good evening, sir. Thank you for the opportunity. Sorry, if I would be repeating the question, I got disconnected in between. Can you help us in terms of the price hike we have taken in the third quarter? And if there is anything we have announced or planning to take in the fourth quarter, sir?
We don't - we have not announced anything in the fourth quarter. The price increases that we've taken are largely taken in the Q2 and the beginning of Q3. Those are in the region of 5%-7% in pressure cookers and cookware, and in the region of 7 to 8, 10% in the appliances space.
This is each quarter or cumulative 7%-8% you're-
Cumulative. Cumulative.
Cumulative. Both. Okay, understood. But now, is it fair to say that we have covered the cost inflation or is there any still room where... or is there still impact of cost inflation, which are yet to cover, yet to be covered?
You can see from our COGS percentages, we have largely passed on the pricing cost increases. Having said that, cost increases continue. We are keeping a close watch on it. I believe that there is no need for us to take any price increases immediately as we speak. But we have to watch, because there is nothing that is long-term as a trend that we are still seeing.
Understood. Understood. And one more question I had is with respect to the new product categories, you know, A, if you can update on the you know, the cleaning solutions and any other category which we plan to kind of launch. Any thoughts on the same?
So we, we didn't have a very good nine months for cleaning solutions because we had a very different base on the cleaning solutions and certain specific products that were significant in value. These were—these two categories were vacuum cleaners and fruit and vegetable cleaner. Unfortunately, the base that was there the previous year on these two categories was substantial, thanks to the COVID year and what that did, and the lockdown. So therefore, on that base, we have not been able to kind of grow. Having said that, we are now looking at how we can expand distribution further. The COVID has not been very kind on expansion of distribution, unfortunately.
We are hoping that from here on, we will be able to have a very strong FMCG supermarket, kirana store, distribution that we are working on for the cleaning products, because that is where we need the products to be available. That's what we are seeing with at this point in time.
Would that require further investment in this area, sir, or with the existing resources?
Not really, nothing significant, except that there are that many feet on street that will have to be put so that we can serve the whole situation.
Understood. Understood. Just last question, if I may. You know, we see that some of the peers who have the offering or who focus more on the value for money segment have been reporting very strong numbers. Now, we have our own offerings, yeah, with another sub-brand. I wanted to understand the status of that as to what kind of run rate we are clocking. How, how do you see that potential of that segment?
See, so far, we have not been handling that brand as a, a growth driver. That has been a defense mechanism that we have used. We've also just about stabilized on our supply chain. So in the absence of an abundance in supply, we would rather supply for Prestige rather than the cheaper brand. That's been our approach so far. Having said that, we now have a national footprint of that brand. We have, I think, as we speak, about 60+ distributors already on that brand. We've got feet on street for that brand, and we are looking at how we can create its own personality and not just a one-for-one cheaper product. So you will see some very interesting activity on that brand. But we are not looking at that to cannibalize existing Prestige products to gain market share for TTK Prestige.
We will make sure that Prestige continues to grow, and we see if we can get some share at that price point from the other brand.
Understood. And just last question, bookkeeping question, sir, if you can help us with what is the capacity we have for cooker, cookware each at this point in time?
See, these are in flux kind of situation. Let me tell you that we are utilizing about 80-85% of our pressure cooker capacity and we are utilizing about 70% of our cookware capacity since we have just started a new line. We are still expanding this capacity going forward, because obviously we are looking at growth for the coming years.
Understood. Understood. This is very helpful, sir. Thank you so much.
Thank you. The next question is on the line of Bhavin Vithlani from SBI Mutual Fund. Please go ahead.
Thank you for the opportunity again. Could you help us understand, mixer grinder as a category? So your presentation highlights 4 new SKUs that you have launched, but, given the brand sales, our revenue seems to be much smaller than or market share seems to be much smaller than what we could achieve. So, in your view, what is it that the corrective action that you need to take to get to the market leading, position?
See, look, this is the grinding appliances and especially motorized appliances, are not an easy space, number one. Number two, we are not marginal players even today. We are currently between number three and number four, depending on the geography that you are looking at, TTK Prestige for. Third, we are continuously launching products, but let me tell you, it's an extremely competitive industry, and all our peer group also have launched several products, so it is evolving very fast. And what seems to be happening there also is that in mixer grinders, the value of the mixer grinders are growing faster than the entry-level mixer grinders. And that has been what we are also doing, so it's a fast evolving product range. There are experts in this business.
We are not insignificant in market share, and I think we will continue to grow market share as we go along. We've launched, if I'm right, more than 12 new models just this financial year. And you will find that in the next few months, we will have another 3-4 models coming up.
Sure. And, what could be our market share in this category, according to you? And, are we lacking on the bottom end of the market or on the top end of the market?
Actually, we are in the only in the middle end. We are lacking in both the top and the bottom. And our market share from the last report that we got was between 6% and 7%, and the leader's market share was between 13% and 14%, just to give you a relative perspective on that.
Understand. And just a last follow-up on this: so the 12 new launches and the 4 new that you are expecting in the current quarter, would that kind of bridge the product gap as you highlighted? You're strong in the middle end and not in the entry and the premium end.
Initially, yes, but this is not a static market. It's very dynamic in nature. So we can only answer after we've got those four models again, again, whether we have to launch another one. But we are actually currently working on some breakthrough concepts. That could be a very different ball game.
Sure. So something like the Svachh that you launched on the cooker side?
Yes. We are looking at a breakthrough, not, not, you know, one more feature, one more benefit, one more this or a price or this. We're looking at something that is little breakthrough, different.
Sure. Yeah. That's all my questions. Thank you so much for taking them.
Thank you. The next question is from the line of Charanjit Singh from DSP Mutual Fund. Please go ahead.
Hello, sir. Thanks for the opportunity.
Yes.
So just one question on the, you know, different categories. If you can just highlight what would be the share of regional brands or smaller, you know, companies in these categories, be it in cooker, cookware. And you had earlier, you know, talked about how some of these, you know, regional brands were struggling, and they had seen reduction in their shares. And is it the case right now also, are you seeing them coming back? That's my first question.
So I didn't say regional brands, I said unorganized players. And these are unorganized players which are mainly, that are losing share. So, for example, in pressure cookers, they've lost close to 12% in the last two years, from what? Something like 46-47, they've come down to 36-37, then 34-36%. Similarly, there are other categories where they've lost share. I don't remember offhand the individual pieces of market share, but conceptually, the unorganized players have lost market share. Regional brands have been, you know, moving around, if you might say. Someday this brand is strong, someday that brand is strong. It's not been a consistent performance. National brands such as ours, and even I can say, zonal brands, have gained in this on the expense of the unorganized player. That's what I meant.
Okay. And so if we see that, you know, TTK has been taking the price hikes to pass on the commodity increase. So one, in terms of the price gap versus the other competitors in different categories, if you can highlight that, you know, how, what could be the quantum of that price gap? And, in terms of further price hikes, and what are these-- what we are seeing is also, you know, in particular product segment, you might be moving up the price curve, and, you might have to vacate certain particular product, you know, SKU, because the price has increased.
How we are trying to, you know, incorporate that and maybe bring in the SKUs at the lower price points, if you can touch upon that in different product categories, be it in cooker, cookware, as well as appliances?
... First of all, let me assure you that we have not taken price increases unless there has been a necessary cost increase. Our peer group has been a little delayed on taking price increase. If you look at the quantum of price increases that they have taken, they have probably taken similar price increases or even higher price increases in some case, but delayed. So what you are seeing is that their margins have contracted in a particular quarter, and they probably delayed taking the price increase to be fair to them, thinking that, "Okay, the commodities will cool off maybe going forward. Why do we take the price increase, et cetera?" But the long and short of this is that we have not become uncompetitive because of the passing on the price increases. We were merely more timely than the others.
Okay. And, sir, in terms of the channel mix, I don't know whether you have touched on that. If you can, you know, highlight in terms of the general trade, online, what is the share now? Online, we had seen it had increased significantly for TTK. Are we seeing it further increasing as a overall mix in the distribution?
No, the channel share, you see, we have made sure that we have not gone after any one particular channel. That is something that we have done very, very consciously. So, and we have not, like you in your previous question you asked, we have not played the price game where we believe it was not healthy for the brand in the long run, or it was unhealthy from a channel conflict perspective. So therefore, what has happened is, in this financial year, our offline channels have grown at a high-
Hello? Sorry to interrupt, sir, we are not able to hear you. Mr. Kalro, we are not able to hear you. Ladies and gentlemen, we seem to have lost the audio from the management's line. Please stay connected while we try to regain the audio.
Can you hear me?
Yes, sir, we are able to hear you now. Please proceed.
Yeah. Yeah, I finished answering, I thought. Were you able to hear me when I had finished?
So you said that, you know, our offline channels has grown faster than online. That was the-
Yes, that is correct. And I also said at the same point in time that our growth last year in the online was very high, so the base was very high.
Okay. So from a mix perspective, were you able to, sir, just share in terms of what percentage is coming from now online?
So our online, our online today is at about 18% or thereabout of the total sales.
Okay, sir. Great. That's all from my side. Thanks for taking my question. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that's the last question. I now hand the conference over to the management for the closing comments.
Well, thank you. That was an engaging session indeed. So, we had a very good quarter from our perspective, given the kind of situation we were in. And we hope to continue the growth trajectory and the margins as we have been. And hopefully, the third wave will abate, and we will get back to normalcy, and we will have a little more predictable future as we go along. So thank you all for coming, and all the very best. Stay safe. And this is all.
Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Ambit Capital Private Limited, that concludes this conference call. We thank you for joining us, and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.