More Stories

Informist, Friday, Jul. 4, 2025

 

--Eveready MD: Aim for 53% market share in alkaline batteries in 3-4 yrs

--Eveready MD: Jammu alkaline battery plant to be completed by April

--Eveready MD: See price competitiveness pushing up alkaline battery sales

--Eveready MD:To leverage existing sales channels for alkaline battery sales

 

By Avishek Rakshit

 

KOLKATA – With the construction of its alkaline dry cell plant in Jammu on track, Eveready Industries India Ltd. is eyeing an ambitious 53% market share in the alkaline battery segment in the country in the next 3-4 years, from the current level of 14%, Managing Director Suvamoy Saha told Informist.

 

"In the overall battery segment in India, we have 53% market share, but it is not substantial currently in alkaline battery. I don't see why we cannot have a similar 53% market share in alkaline batteries in the next 3-4 years once we commission the Jammu plant," Saha said.

 

The commissioning of the plant in Jammu, which is also India's first alkaline battery manufacturing unit, is significant for Eveready to further its ambitions in the batteries business, which accounts for over 61% of the company's annual turnover and 85% of its profit.

 

Eveready currently imports alkaline batteries for sale in India. Once its plant in Jammu is commissioned, the company will have direct control over manufacturing and raw material procurement, which may give it an edge in costs over the competition.

 

"By the end of March 2026, the Jammu plant will start producing alkaline batteries," Saha said. "The construction plan is on track." The country's largest dry cell battery producer is building the factory at an investment of INR 1.80 billion. The plant will have an installed capacity to produce 360 million alkaline batteries annually. Industry officials say the country's usual annual consumption is 350 million alkaline batteries.

 

The total size of the dry cell market in the country is around INR 34 billion of which 12%, or a little over INR 4 billion, comprises alkaline batteries, Saha said. The US-based Duracell Inc. is the current market leader in the alkaline battery segment in India with an 82% market share, but its sales are also based entirely on imports.

 

Saha said the alkaline battery market is growing by 25%, and zinc-carbon battery volumes may grow over 7% once rural demand for batteries bounces back. Eveready is in talks with several original equipment manufacturers to push sales of its upcoming alkaline batteries and is also exploring opportunities for exports, he said.

 

"We will be using the existing sales channel for sales of alkaline batteries and our market leadership strategy in the alkaline battery business comprises branding efforts, leveraging the existing distribution channels, and price competitiveness," he said. Eveready's products are sold in over 4 million outlets across 1,000 distribution points across the country covering over 20,000 rural and semi-urban areas apart from the metropolitan cities and other cities.

 

Premium alkaline batteries are priced at about INR 40 apiece and the normal alkaline variant is priced in the range of INR 15-22 apiece. Alkaline batteries are mostly used in urban areas while zinc-carbon batteries are mostly used in rural areas. "The growth of alkaline batteries will be directly proportional to the growth of some of the high consumption of batteries in devices," Saha said. "As sales of devices increase, whether it is an optical mouse or a blood pressure monitoring system or remote-controlled toys or battery-operated toothbrushes, so will sales of batteries."

 

The managing director said that over the next decade, Eveready sees the purchasing power of the Indian middle class increasing, leading to higher sales of alkaline batteries.

 

At 1457 IST, shares of Eveready were nearly 2% higher at INR 324.50 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

 

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.