“The industry has imposed an additional price hike of 5% from starting of October,” Lahoti said, adding that while most of the cost inflation has been passed on, some categories still have more costs to absorb.
Despite the price increases, demand remains healthy across several consumer durable categories. Lahoti said kitchen appliances are seeing strong demand, while cooling products have also performed well after an extended summer. Induction cooktop demand has cooled from a high base but remains healthy.
For the July-September quarter of 2026 (Q2FY27), Lahoti expects healthy top-line growth, supported by price hikes, and sees this trend continuing in the coming quarters. Importantly, he does not see a major inventory build-up at the retail level.
“Demand has been healthy in Q2 also. So, there is no channel inventory concern for us. That is largely at normal level,” he said.
Among consumer durable stocks, Orient Electric remains HDFC Securities’ top pick. Lahoti expects the company to continue gaining market share, building on the improvement seen over the past two years under its current leadership.
The valuation also provides some comfort. Lahoti said the stock has fallen sharply over the past five years, but improving performance and market-share gains make the current valuation attractive. On 2027-28 (FY28) estimates, the stock is trading at around 20 times earnings, which he considers reasonable and at a significant discount to its long-term average.
HDFC Securities is also positive on Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals, but believes execution will be the key driver for the stock. The company has been looking beyond its traditional fan business, where growth has remained slow, and is entering newer categories such as solar, water purifiers and other segments.
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Lahoti said Crompton’s performance in these new categories will determine the scope for further upside.
While LG Electronics India has continued to perform strongly and recently touched a fresh high, Lahoti has a negative stance on the stock at current valuations. He expects revenue growth of around 15% this quarter, but said much of the growth is being driven by price hikes rather than underlying volume growth.
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